What attracted attention in the first half of April 2024

April 1 2024 Watch: Swastikas ‘need to be taken in context’, Met officer tells Jewish woman Vigilantes lynch woman suspected of role in kidnap and killing of young girl ‘I’m doing my best’: King greets well-wishers on surprise walkabout April 2 2024 JK Rowling dares police to arrest her over SNP’s new hate crime law

Good and bad news for the second part of February 2024

Essential reads Microplastics found in every human placenta tested in study Microplastics have been found in every human placenta tested in a study, leaving the researchers worried about the potential health impacts on developing foetuses. The scientists analysed 62 placental tissue samples and found the most common plastic detected was polyethylene, which is used to

Firestorms, mutant coronavirus strains and other viruses,

Firefighters mobilise to tackle the blaze in Viña del Mar CREDIT: Cristobal Basaure/The Telegraph The Valparaíso region of Chile is wealthy and densely populated, but last Friday there was little to warn residents living in the green hills and valleys that a firestorm packing the power of several hydrogen bombs was to hit. Residents recalled

Ebola, parrot fever, Covid, psychoactive substances, betel nuts, synthetic drug kush, vaccines and ageing

Ebola is known to circulate in local bat populations and was present in the region long before the start of the West Africa outbreak CREDIT: Simon Townsley In the depths of Guinea’s vast forests, the decayed carcass of a once great tree marks the spot where the West African Ebola epidemic is believed to have

Health issues for the last week of November 2023

Asian neighbours ‘put guard up’ amid fears China’s wave of disease will spread India, Nepal, Taiwan and Thailand ramp up surveillance and tell doctors to be on alert for pneumonia cases. Chinese paediatric hospital wards have been overwhelmed in recent weeks, as respiratory viruses and the bacteria mycoplasma pneumoniae surge following years of suppressed transmission

UK government free rein to fast-track developments that damage the environment or amend local social housing targets

Local democracy at risk as government dodges scrutiny in Levelling Up Bill Local democracy is back in the government’s crosshairs as the House of Commons 17th October 2023 passed an amendment to key legislation that gives the Secretary of State arbitrary powers to override development plans that were democratically approved by local communities.   is

The exercise of managing water is ultimately an exercise of power

“The exercise of managing water is ultimately an exercise of power. Somebody needs to build something somewhere in somebody’s backyard to control and manage water resources. And [with that] some will benefit and some will lose,” says climate scientist and author Giulio Boccaletti. Climate change is shifting our relationship with water, bringing power and politics

Wildfires all over the northern hemisphere in 2023

Climate change has spurred on hotter, drier conditions around the world that have lengthened fire seasons in many regions, including California, Europe and Siberia. Changes to the climate have put more energy into the atmosphere, which means severe lightning storms are happening much further north.

Climate debt trap and a horrible twist of irony

“It is a horrible twist of irony that our climate vulnerability makes us risky, and because we are risky, we can’t borrow the money needed to protect us from climate change.” Aminath Shauna Maldives’ minister for environment, climate change and technology Climate adaptation finance is hard to come by too. To meet its coastal adaptation

Dengue danger showing up in Europe

Dengue – a sometimes lethal disease spread by mosquitoes – is having a moment. The “break bone fever” is sweeping country after country in Asia and South America, and is starting to emerge closer to home. The Asian tiger mosquito originally came from Southeast Asia but from the tropical and subtropical regions with warm and