The Race to Build Wind Farms That Float on the Open Sea
There’s huge potential to generate renewable energy far out in the ocean. But designing turbines that can survive rough waters isn’t exactly a breeze.Continue Reading
2022-07-01
Ukraine invasion suggests Putin is more Vladimir the Reactionary than Peter the Great
Screenshot at Vladimir Putin’s recent evocation of the military successes of 18th-century tsar Peter the Great against Sweden is just the latest example of his distinctive cherry-picking of imperial predecessors, Soviet rulers and religious icons to justify his invasion of Ukraine. It’s all part of the imperial nostalgia that theContinue Reading
2022-06-30
Ukraine Recap: Putin plays historian while the west closes its ranks
On day one of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, February 24, Russian troops seized Snake Island, a tiny rocky outcrop south-west of Odesa which – before the war – played host to a marine research station and a lighthouse. Resistance to the Russian assault became a propaganda coup for Ukrainians.Continue Reading
2022-06-30
G7 and Nato summits lay bare deep and hostile divide between Russia and China and the west
Against a backdrop of unprecedented turmoil – the first major war in Europe in three decades, the highest inflation rates in decades and a rapidly worsening global food crisis – western leaders have met for two major summits. The G7 met in Germany and Nato leaders gathered in Madrid. TheContinue Reading
2022-06-30
The World Can’t Wean Itself Off Chinese Lithium
China dominates the global supply chain for lithium-ion batteries. Now rival countries are scrambling for more control over “white oil.”Continue Reading
2022-06-30
Scottish independence: what has changed since the last referendum
Michael Reynolds / EPA-EFE If the SNP Scottish government and Nicola Sturgeon, first minister, get their way, then in October 2023 voters in Scotland will again be asked “Should Scotland be an independent country?”. This will be the same wording used in September 2014 for the first independence referendum. This,Continue Reading
2022-06-30
Hope from despair: how young people are taking action to make things better
Hope as a stubborn desire. Onkundi Nyabuto | Unsplash, FAL All too often, hope is equated to a desire for something fleeting: good results on an exam, the win of a favourite team, the wanted present. Quite whether something so insubstantial can actually be called “hope”, though, is a questionContinue Reading
2022-06-29
Tenants being pitted against each other in rent bidding wars, Dáil hears
Prospective tenants are being pitted against one another in rent bidding wars, the Dáil has heard. As the Irish Examiner reports, Labour leader Ivana Bacik raised a case of a constituent who had been asked to indicate the top rent they would be willing to pay by a landlord advertisingContinue Reading
2022-06-29
Hong Kong’s handover 25 years on: why human rights eroded so dramatically in the past two years
Protests have been banned at the 25th anniversary of the Hong Kong handover ceremony. John Ye/Shutterstock July 1 marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover from British colonial rule to the People’s Republic of China. The restrictions on how the anniversary is being held are symbolic of how muchContinue Reading
2022-06-29
Trophy hunting will not save Africa’s lions – so the UK ban on imports is a positive step for wildlife conservation
Over the past 25 years, lion numbers have decreased by 43% throughout Africa, as their range has declined by more than 90%. Shutterstock Over the past 25 years, I have spent a lot of time counting lions as part of my job. Only last month, I spent three hours withContinue Reading
2022-06-29