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Kanye for president: the dangerous allure of the celebrity politician
JOHN TAGGART / BLOOMBERG / POOL/EPA Rapper and sometime Trump supporter Kanye West has announced that he will be running for president of the United States. Without the tens of thousands of signatures needed to get on the ballot in all states or the backing of a small party, West’sContinue Reading
Type 2 diabetes: eating a diet rich in fruit and vegetables daily lowers risk, study shows
The more fruit and vegetables consumed, the lower the risk. Anna Shkuratova/ Shutterstock Eating about five servings of fruit and vegetables a day is widely promoted as a key part of a healthy diet. This is because consuming fruit and vegetables is linked to lowering the risk of health problemsContinue Reading
Can big countries realistically eliminate COVID-19 without a vaccine? Four experts discuss
The UK should change its COVID-19 strategy to try to eliminate COVID-19 even without a vaccine rather than simply managing the disease, according to Independent SAGE, a group of scientists set up as an alternative to the government’s advisory body. New Zealand has effectively managed to eliminate the virus, butContinue Reading
Is stop and search contributing to the spread of COVID-19 in the UK?
As I was finishing my one-hour walk of the day on the afternoon of June 11 2020, two officers from the Merseyside Police Force stopped me near where I live and work in Liverpool. The men, who were in civilian clothing, identified themselves by showing me their IDs and handcuffs.Continue Reading
Why the press is right to be suspicious of the UK government’s new lobby arrangements
Boris Johnson’s government is committed to introducing “a culture of transparency and openness”. At least, that’s what a government spokesperson said on July 3 when announcing that the regular Downing Street press briefings will become a daily fixture. Who could be against “transparency and openness” – which must be doublyContinue Reading
CERN: physicists report the discovery of unique new particle
A tetraquark. CERN, CC BY-SA The LHCb collaboration at CERN has announced the discovery of a new exotic particle: a so-called “tetraquark”. The paper by more than 800 authors is yet to be evaluated by other scientists in a process called “peer review”, but has been presented at a seminar.Continue Reading
Black lives are being lost in the Mediterranean – but the world remains silent
A black baby was born on a boat on the Mediterranean Sea in late June. Its mother was trying to escape from Libya, together with 92 men and women. Help was on the way, with the Italian rescue vessel Mare Jonio nearing the boat in distress, ready to rescue themContinue Reading
New census reveals extent of lack of ethnic minority representatives in local councils
A new census, the first of its kind, of all local councils in the UK reveals significant under-representation of ethnic minorities, with some councils having fewer ethnic minority councillors than would be expected given their highly diverse local populations. An institutional disadvantage in local government can perpetuate wider ethnic disadvantagesContinue Reading
How parasitic worms could lead to new treatments for asthma
Vector Mine/Shutterstock The UK has one of the highest rates of asthma in the world – around 9% of the population – with 60,000 emergency hospital admissions every year. This translates on average to three people dying from asthma in Britain every day. Asthma is a condition characterised by difficultyContinue Reading
Summer statement: Rishi Sunak goes all out for jobs, leaving public finances for another day
Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s summer statement on July 8 was intended to show how the government can quickly end its emergency bankrolling of the economy, and let a re-energised private sector take the strain again. Since the lockdown was imposed in March, a furlough scheme has allowed shuttered firms to retainContinue Reading