Renaud Foucart, Lancaster University L’invasion de l’Ukraine a placé la Russie au bord de la faillite. Les taux d’intérêt ont doublé, le marché boursier a fermé, et le rouble est tombé à son plus bas niveau historique. Le coût militaire de la guerre a été exacerbé par des sanctions internationales sans précédent, soutenues par une large coalition de pays. Les …

El presidente turco, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Shutterstock / ymphotos Antonio Alonso Marcos, Universidad CEU San Pablo La guerra de Ucrania ha ofrecido imágenes inéditas como las de un dron turco Bayraktar TB2 destruyendo tanques rusos BMD-3. Turquía es un actor internacional que no ha atraído tanto la atención en los últimos años como el Estado Islámico, EE. UU., Rusia o China. …

Johan Franzen, University of East Anglia Following his capture by American troops, Saddam Hussein made a startling admission to George Piro, the FBI investigator tasked with interrogating him. The reason he had played cat and mouse with UN weapons inspectors for over a decade was not because he was trying to hide Iraqi production of weapons of mass destruction from …

The Arab Spring was a revolutionary wave of both violent and non-violent demonstrations, protests, riots, coups and civil wars in North Africa. ymphotos/shutterstock Tuba Turan, University of Essex From 2010 to 2012, Arab states in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region experienced dramatic upheavals in what came to be known as the Arab Spring. These popular uprisings were …

Rido/Shutterstock Kyungmee Lee, Lancaster University COVID-19 restrictions required universities to move their classes online. It was a tremendous – although difficult – learning experience for all involved in this shift. As restrictions have been lifted, universities are moving back to in-person teaching. With campuses getting busy again, it may look like nothing has changed. Universities would be wise, though, to …

Aglaya Snetkov, UCL and Marc Lanteigne, University of Tromsø As Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, China’s role has been thrown into sharp relief. Prior to the war, some commentators suggested that China would openly side with Russia or seek to act as a mediator – so far Beijing appears to have resisted doing either. As Qin Gang, China’s ambassador to …

Shutterstock/Shopping King Louie Olaya Moldes Andrés, Cardiff University The early days of COVID brought a new sense of urgency to shopping for certain items. Toilet paper, pasta and bread flew off the shelves as people stocked up on vital supplies. Then came the must-have purchases to help with the tedium of lockdowns, with hot tubs, kitchen gadgets and new pets …

Kenton White, University of Reading As Russian military activity moves nearer the Ukrainian border with Nato, the potential for direct confrontation between Russia and the alliance increases. On March 13, Russian aircraft reportedly fired rockets at the Yavoriv International Center for Peacekeeping and Security, 20km from Ukraine’s border with Poland, a Nato member. The possibility of a unit from the …

NASA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Jovana Radulovic, University of Portsmouth The UK government is reportedly considering a £16 billion proposal to build a solar power station in space. Yes, you read that right. Space-based solar power is one of the technologies to feature in the government’s Net Zero Innovation Portfolio. It has been identified as a potential solution, alongside …