Shutterstock/Halfpoint The UK is on the brink of losing the highly skilled and experienced migrant workers currently propping up the care sector. If the government does not make changes to its new points-based immigration system a major crisis could emerge. These key workers cannot be replaced by digital innovations, whileContinue Reading
One year since Narendra Modi’s government scrapped the special status that Kashmir had held for decades, Kashmiris remain deeply concerned about their future. In late March, while India was under a coronavirus lockdown, the government of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) redefined domicile rules for Kashmir. This made it easierContinue Reading
The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously disrupted the UK economy and major increases in unemployment are already occurring. It has already been reported that 649,000 jobs have disappeared during the lockdown. If history tells us anything, it’s that a significant surge in unemployment could cost Boris Johnson significant voter support –Continue Reading
Bulgaria became the most recent country from central and eastern Europe (CEE) to show hostility toward China. In the latest sign of relations souring between the region and the Asian superpower, Bulgaria’s prime minister, Boïko Borissov, claimed that a series of compromising pictures, appearing to show him sleeping with aContinue Reading
Shutterstock Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and the preparations for a “new normal”, we have continued to observe how disabled people have at best been overlooked and, at worst, deemed expendable. We argue this is due to deeply entrenched ableism – society’s tendency to presume that everyone is able-bodied, thereby marginalisingContinue Reading
fizkes/Shutterstock Discrimination against minority groups can be difficult to prove. Perpetrators are typically motivated to deny their prejudices, and are not always aware of their biases. This makes it possible to suggest – as happened recently in the Dutch national parliament – that racism is virtually nonexistent, and that claimsContinue Reading
Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock Thousands of people took part in Black Lives Matter protests in the UK in recent months, not just in solidarity with Black people in the US following the murder of George Floyd, but also standing against racism in the UK. However, some people in the UK may assume thatContinue Reading
Turkey’s increasingly authoritarian government led by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has always made use of crises to consolidate its power. The coronavirus has been no exception. The regime has cracked down on opposition and attempted to undermine its effectiveness, while endeavouring to legitimise the rule of the long-servingContinue Reading
What a contrast it was. In early May 2000, Vladimir Putin strode through the Kremlin’s gilded corridors, his progress relayed on live TV across the world’s largest country, and beyond. I was reporting from Moscow for the BBC. Putin looked purposeful, slim and sober as he swore to uphold theContinue Reading
Coronavirus conspiracy theories fuel anti-vaccination protests. Rebekah Zemansky / Shutterstock.com With prospects of a COVID-19 vaccine looking up, attention is also turning to the problem of anti-vax ideas. According to a recent survey, one in six Britons would refuse a COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available. Although vaccine hesitancy isContinue Reading
