Iran has ruled out joining informal talks with the U.S. and EU to revive the nuclear deal agreed in 2015. The U.S. withdrew from the deal in 2018 under President Trump, but newly elected President Joe Biden has expressed a desire to re-engage Iran to commit to limiting its nuclear
“Net-zero emissions by 2050” has become an increasingly popular target among industrialised countries, with nations such as the U.K., France, Denmark, and New Zealand passing laws in 2019 to formalise climate targets in accordance with the 2015 Paris agreement. Japan and South Korea followed suit this October, while China, currently
Political leaders in the U.S. and U.K. have made concerning statements in recent days that have indicated a disregard for the rule of law. Trump ally Roger Stone, who had been convicted of lying to congress and witness tampering in the Russia investigating only to have his prison sentence commuted
Ancient forests, indigenous people, and vulnerable wildlife are under threat in India as Prime Minister Modi has launched a plan to auction 40 new coal mines to the private sector. The move to open India’s state-owned coal industry to the private sector will significantly increase coal production, wreaking environmental havoc
The UN has described the rise in domestic violence globally seen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as ‘unprecedented’ and a ‘shadow pandemic’. Lockdowns implemented in many countries have left women confined and isolated, making it difficult for them to report or escape domestic violence. The added stresses, tensions
The global COVID-19 pandemic is, without a doubt, the defining event of 2020. Every country in the world has experienced dramatic changes in everyday life and faced one of the worst economic crises in their history. A few months ago, most people considered the idea of lockdown, with its tremendous
Far-right groups in Britain have seen a resurgence in recent weeks in response to the global Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Sara Khan, Britain’s first counter-extremism commissioner, has said that far-right activists have spread white supremacist narratives and incited hate online by taking advantage of the BLM protests. In June,
The Amazon rainforest comprises over half of the world’s remaining rainforests, with 60% of it located in Brazil. As the largest and most biodiverse area of rainforest in the world, the Amazon is hugely important to the wellbeing of the planet, yet recent years have seen an intensifying assault on
A skirmish between the Indian and Chinese armies on 15 June has led to the worst incidence of violence between the two countries in decades, with 20 Indian troops and an unknown number of Chinese soldiers dying in combat. The conflict took place in the Galwan Valley, a disputed area
India’s growing COVID-19 pandemic has seen several worrying developments for migrant workers and rural communities, much of it due to the lockdown in effect since 25 March. The economic shock it caused has devastated rural economies and left millions of migrant workers stranded, unemployed, and in some cases exploited. The
Since 2016, Japan has received over 10,000 asylum applications a year, of which only a few dozen are accepted. Despite having a population of 126 million, the number of refugees it welcomed in 2019 was just 40, a tiny fraction of the number accepted by smaller countries such as Canada
Large-scale protests have erupted in U.S. cities in recent days, with some resulting in violence between police, protestors, and counter-protestors. The events were catalysed by the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed 46-year old man, by police officers in Minneapolis on 25 May. Floyd died after Officer Derek Chauvin knelt
Severe flooding has caused devastation across several East African countries in recent weeks. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced in Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Rwanda and Ethiopia, with a probable death toll of around 300. Kenya has faced the brunt of the disaster, with the government reporting 237 deaths as of
