Only a few weeks after the Haiti earthquake, aid agencies on the ground are only starting to deal with the challenges. In doing so they need to apply the lessons they should have learned from the response to the previous catastrophic earthquake in January 2010. At the end of AugustContinue Reading
Luigi Di Sarno was part of a team of specialist advisers brought in to help the government of Haiti prepare for future earthquakes after 200,000 people were killed in 2010. Over a decade later, very few of their recommendations had been adopted. It was about 8.30am, local time, on AugustContinue Reading
Halfpoint/Shutterstock The UK government has opened consultations on mandatory vaccination for frontline health and social care staff in England. The plans could require vaccination against COVID-19 and flu for workers who come into contact with patients and those receiving care. A policy like this will have implications for the humanContinue Reading
Shutterstock/BasPhoto Unemployment levels will be an important test of the economic impact of COVID-19. Some sectors have seen employees furloughed en masse, and the longer-term effect on businesses could mean that many lose their jobs permanently. Aside from causing financial difficulties, unemployment can take its toll emotionally and psychologically. ResearchContinue Reading
Britain’s birth rates are plunging. The number of babies being born has been in steep decline since 2017. Now, researchers are investigating early signs that the pandemic may have caused rates to drop even further. This is not totally surprising given the difficult economic conditions that have come with theContinue Reading
The chairperson of one of Ireland’s largest hospital groups has quit her role, citing government failures to deliver reforms in the health service as the reason for her departure. As the Irish Examiner reports, Professor Geraldine McCarthy, chair of the board of the South/SouthWest Hospital Group, has become the latestContinue Reading
As TikTok goes from strength to strength, Instagram is suffering from an identity crisis under the ever-closer control of FacebookContinue Reading
Despite what they insisted as they swept through Afghanistan, the Taliban appear to have remained largely the same since the days they ruled the roost in the 1990s. But Afghan society has changed tremendously since they were ousted by the US-led invasion in 2001. This is shown by the levelContinue Reading
Christin Lola/Shutterstock From local parks to celebrity neighbourhoods, “pet theft” is on the rise. The violent abduction of Lady Gaga’s French bulldogs, Koji and Gustav, brought this problem further into the spotlight. The UK government announced plans to criminalise pet theft, which has grown during the pandemic as more peopleContinue Reading
Alessandra Fuccillo, CC BY-ND As the Taliban closed in on Afghanistan, the European Union co-signed a joint statement with dozens of nations agreeing that “the Afghan people deserve to live in safety, security and dignity” and that the international community was “ready to assist them”. As someone who has beenContinue Reading
