Former American Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in 2019. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Peter Vale, University of Pretoria Henry Kissinger, who sexed up the art of diplomacy in the eight years between 1969 and 1977, will turn 100 in May this year. Given his age, and his long influence on global affairs, several “anticipatory obituaries” have been written. Some …

An abandoned house in the old town of Mosul, Iraq. (Ali Al-Baroodi, @ali_albaroodi), Author provided Mend Mariwany and Nehal El-Hadi, The Conversation On March 19, 2003, the United States led an unlawful invasion into Iraq — at the time, the reason given was the search for weapons of mass destruction. The U.S. occupation of Iraq lasted over eight years, until …

An Iraqi person walks down a road blocked by burning tires in Basra in August 2002. Hussein Faleh/AFP via Getty Images Brian Urlacher, University of North Dakota President George W. Bush and his administration put forward a variety of reasons to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In the months before the U.S. invasion, Bush said the looming conflict was …

Is a wildly popular social media app a threat to U.S. citizens? AP Photo/Michael Dwyer Doug Jacobson, Iowa State University On May 17, 2023, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed legislation banning TikTok in the state. The law imposes fines of US$10,000 per day on any app store that offers the popular Chinese-owned video social media app, and on the app …

Jose Caballero, International Institute for Management Development (IMD) China’s billions of dollars in global investments and infrastructure projects seem to be paying off politically and economically. Just recently, Honduras signalled it is set to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan, having been one of the few remaining countries to recognise the island as a state. This switch of allegiances would be …

British working class and ethnic accents still face the same negative bias they did 50 years ago. mentatdgt/ Shutterstock Devyani Sharma, Queen Mary University of London Do you judge people’s abilities based on their accent? Do you think a person with a posh accent must be more intelligent or better informed than someone with a multicultural London accent or a …

Saudi Arabia, to the surprise of many, chose China to broker its deal with Iran in March 2023. Chinese Foreign Ministry/Anadolu Agency via Getty Image Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Rice University The fact that Saudi Arabia entered a rapprochement deal with Iran and chose China to broker it came as a surprise to many international observers. The agreement, officially called the …

shutterstock Amy Wigelsworth, Sheffield Hallam University An emerging genre of fiction in France is providing an unlikely brand of escapism. Growing numbers of French writers are choosing work as their subject matter – and it seems that readers can’t get enough of their novels. The prix du roman d’entreprise et du travail, the French prize for the best business or …

Most of turmeric’s reported health benefits are linked to compounds called curcuminoids. tarapong srichaiyos/ Shutterstock Duane Mellor, Aston University Turmeric has been used by humans for more than 4,000 years. As well as cooking and cosmetics, it’s been a staple of the traditional medicine practice of Ayurveda, used to treat a variety of conditions from arthritis to wind. Even today …