China, Africa and disappearing donkeys: an unexpected crisis offers a clue to perils ahead

The surging export of hides created domestic tensions – and shows how globalisation plays out in unexpected ways What can help to protect women’s health, boost the incomes of impoverished families and thus allow girls to avoid early marriage? What – when it disappears – can set back children’s education, damage mental wellbeing, drive conflict within communities… Read More China, Africa and disappearing donkeys: an unexpected crisis offers a clue to perils ahead

Most common mental health misinformation on TikTok

Experts establish four themes to the misinformation contained in videos with a #mentalhealthtips hashtag More than half of top 100 mental health TikToks contain misinformation, study finds Rachel Hall Thousands of influencers peddle mental health misinformation on social media platforms – some out of a naive belief that their personal experience will help people, others… Read More Most common mental health misinformation on TikTok

Microsoft’s 50th anniversary event disrupted by employee protests over AI use in Israeli military operations: ‘Shame on you’

At Microsoft’s 50th anniversary celebration on Friday, the mood shifted dramatically when a company employee disrupted the event to protest Microsoft’s involvement in Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The demonstration took place while Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, was presenting updates on the company’s AI assistant, Copilot, at its headquarters. Videos circulating online… Read More Microsoft’s 50th anniversary event disrupted by employee protests over AI use in Israeli military operations: ‘Shame on you’

Israel’s killing of paramedics: a new atrocity in an unending conflict

Editorial After 18 months of slaughter, it is still possible to be shocked by events in Gaza. More than 50,000 people have been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities. More are starving because Israel has cut off aid. The offensive is intensifying again – with 100 children killed or maimed each day since Israel resumed… Read More Israel’s killing of paramedics: a new atrocity in an unending conflict

Why alcohol is so dangerous for young adults’ brains

From the myth of Europeans’ “healthy drinking culture” to the surprising harm of some common family traditions, science is overturning old beliefs around alcohol and young people David Robson I turned 18 the day before I left home for university, conveniently passing the UK’s age threshold for buying alcohol just in time to explore student pubs and… Read More Why alcohol is so dangerous for young adults’ brains

Gaza death toll 40% higher than official number, Lancet study finds

Analysis estimates death toll by end of June was 64,260, with 59% being women, children and people over 65 Research published in the Lancet medical journal estimates that the death toll in Gaza during the first nine months of the Israel-Hamas war was about 40% higher than numbers recorded by the Palestinian territory’s health ministry.… Read More Gaza death toll 40% higher than official number, Lancet study finds

How modern slavery, in China and elsewhere, undermines the fight against existential threats

By Erik English Since 2014, the Chinese Communist Party has perpetuated human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region under the guise of anti-terrorism and anti-extremism—subjecting them to forced labor, mass detention, and land transfers. Now, a new report reveals that some Chinese pharmaceutical products made using forced labor in… Read More How modern slavery, in China and elsewhere, undermines the fight against existential threats

Stormy weather

Like all despots, major & petty, Mamata thrives on playing the victim. But now, faced with this horrendous instance of a genuine victim, her fake-victimhood shrivels up into a carbonised farce.. Just as global warming creates unpredictably cruel weather, corruption too creates its own hard rain. Ruchir Joshi On the evening of the day Rizwanur… Read More Stormy weather

Choking to Death

The scale of the silicosis crisis in India is staggering. A report by the Indian Council of Medical Research in 1999 estimated that, apart from 5.4 million construction workers, 3 million workers in other industries were at high risk of silica exposure. These figures are already over two decades old, but exact current estimates are… Read More Choking to Death