Have you heard the story about the cowboy who tried to ride two horses at the same time? Everything is fine while the horses happily gallop along in the same direction but as time goes on, each horse wants to head in a different direction. It becomes harder and harderContinue Reading
Luis Arce, former finance minister in the government of Evo Morales, celebrated with his campaign team in La Paz in the early hours of October 19 as an exit poll forecast his victory in the country’s presidential elections. Although the official results will not be announced before October 25, allContinue Reading
The anger was evident in Andy Burnham’s voice as he declared that Greater Manchester would stand firm in the face of any UK government attempt to impose a “tier three” restriction on the northern English city-region without adequate financial compensation. The mayor and other local leaders were unanimous in opposingContinue Reading
Alexey_Erofejchev/Shutterstock.com Alert systems need to be clear and easy for everyone to understand. Yet, to date, the UK’s national alert system has created confusion and been largely ignored. Now, a second local alert level system has been introduced in England. I’m not convinced it will do any better. Other countries,Continue Reading
The Japanese research community is in turmoil. On October 1, after less than three weeks as prime minister, Yoshihide Suga rejected the appointment of six scholars to the governing body of the Science Council of Japan (SCJ) in an unprecedented move. The decision was widely criticised, sparking protests that itContinue Reading
I am always suspicious when members of government begin to denigrate lawyers, and even more so when this happens alongside what seems to be a concerted attempt to reshape the relationship between government authority and law. This is not because lawyers are not worthy of criticism; of course they (we)Continue Reading
The amount of money spent on US elections eclipses the annual total economic output of some small countries. The total spending by candidates, political parties and independent campaign groups in the 2016 race was US$6.5 billion – comparable to the GDP that year of Monaco, Kosovo or Liechtenstein, and moreContinue Reading
As COVID-19 cases have risen sharply in large parts of the north of England, local leaders have united to challenge government policy. Representatives from across the north have come together questioning the government’s decision to impose local lockdowns in their region. They have particularly criticised central government for failing toContinue Reading
Is time up for WeChat in the US? Boumen Japet/Shutterstock Chinese Americans are waiting nervously to hear whether the Trump administration’s efforts to ban the app WeChat in the US will be successful. Donald Trump issued an executive order on August 6 placing the Chinese-owned app in the firing line,Continue Reading
After a brief return, freedom of movement has been once again withdrawn from people who live in the north of England. For residents of Manchester and Newcastle, meeting people from other households is once again prohibited, and in Liverpool, pubs and bars have been closed entirely except if they operateContinue Reading
