Ecowas breakup could push up food prices and worsen hunger in west Africa: The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) lost three of its founding members on 29 January 2025. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger comprised 16% of the bloc’s population of 424 million and 7% of its economy. Some commentators have labelled their …
Manchester United’s plan to raise ticket prices could be a breach of the ‘social contract’ between club and fans: When billionaire Jim Ratcliffe took a 27.7% stake in Manchester United back in February 2024, he had big plans. He would, he said, take the club “back to the top of English, European and world football, …
Reducing air pollution could increase methane emissions from wetlands – here’s what needs to be done: Sampling in a Pantanal lake, Brazil. Vincent Gauci, CC BY-NC-ND What if well-meaning policies that reduce one atmospheric pollutant could also increase natural emissions of powerful greenhouse gases? Our findings, just published in the journal Science Advances, advance an …
Most of Britain’s peat bogs could stop forming new peat as the climate changes – new study: Joe Dunckley / shutterstock By the 2080s, climate change will mean most of Britain’s peatlands could be too dry to form new peat. That’s the stark warning from a new academic study my colleagues and I just published in …
Why improving social housing could be remarkably simple (and affordable): Tragedies in social housing, such as the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 and the death of toddler Awaab Ishak due to damp living conditions in 2020, remain shocking. As a coroner commented at the time, “How in the UK in 2020 does a two-year-old child …
Gaza ceasefire: fragile deal offers hope for peace but could still fall apart: This article was first published as World Affairs Briefing from The Conversation UK. Click here to receive this newsletter every Thursday, direct to your inbox. Waiting for news this week of whether a ceasefire deal between Hamas and the Israeli government must …
How lynx and wolf reintroductions to Britain could be shaped by preconceptions and psychology: Four lynx were recently and illegally released into the Scottish highlands in two separate incidents. The news prompted searchers to comb the Cairngorms region, the UK’s biggest national park. People were warned not to approach the animals if they encountered them. …
West Africa could soon have a jihadist state – here’s why: The Sahel region of Africa, between the Sahara and the tropical savannahs to the south, has emerged as a significant base of groups that want to establish jihadist states. A jihadist state is a structure that operates under Islamic law, or sharia, and is …
Why bovine colostrum supplements could be a health gamble: Alena Prylepa/Shutterstock From Kim Kardashian Barker to Gwyneth Paltrow, wellness celebrities are extolling the benefits of taking bovine colostrum supplements. Social media influencer Sofia Richie Grainge has even launched her own bovine colostrum-laced smoothie. The supplement, they claim, offers a wide range of health benefits, including …
Better ways to recover metals needed for technology from electronic waste could benefit the environment and human health: Korawat photo shoot / Shutterstock Our increasing reliance on technology is placing pressure on the global supply of materials that are essential for manufacturing electronic devices. Raw materials are being mined to cover the demand for smartphones, …
South Africa’s fight against extreme poverty needs a new strategy – model shows how social grants could work: South Africa has been struggling for decades to reduce poverty, inequality and unemployment and raise the rate of economic growth. Economic growth has been slow since a recession in 2008. The annual growth rate averaged 1.1% between …
IMF isn’t doing enough to support Africa: billions could be made available through special drawing rights: At the 2021 UN Climate Summit, Barbados prime minister Mia Mottley called for more and better use of special drawing rights (SDRs), the International Monetary Fund’s reserve asset. The special drawing right is an international reserve asset created by …
An Israeli invasion could push an already unstable Lebanon over the edge into total state collapse: For the past year, many have feared that the war between Israel and Hamas will spill over into neighbouring countries and drag the Middle East into a devastating conflict. While there is still hope that the most dire predictions …
Kenya’s whistleblowers are key to fighting corruption: how a new law could protect them: Kenya has published a draft bill outlining protections for whistleblowers. Long in the making, the Whistleblower Protection Bill 2024 could help to encourage disclosures in a country where 86% of the respondents to a 2023 survey feared what might happen to …
Our 24-hour climate comic explores what a sustainable future could look like: Daniel Locke It’s hard to imagine what a sustainable future might really look like. In early June, during one of the wettest starts to a summer any of us can remember, we created a climate comic over a 24-hour period to experiment with …
Gaza update: what the Lebanon pager attacks could mean for the Middle East conflict: This article was first published in our Gaza Update newsletter. Click here to receive our fortnightly updates on the conflict direct to your inbox. Israel tends not to rush to claim responsibility for assassinations and the like. But the reputation of …
Olympics in Africa: Egypt’s ambitious bid to host the games could succeed – but will it be worth it?: The modern Olympic Games is billed as the largest multi-sport event in the world, with a history dating back to 1896. Yet there’s a glaring absence on the Olympic map and on its logo of five …
Oil prices will whipsaw as we move to net zero, which could be disastrous for low-income producer countries: One huge question for the future of the global economy is how oil will be affected by the transition to net zero. Any energy economist will tell you that predicting oil prices is something of a fool’s …