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‘Science-based approach essential to address environmental hazards’
TEHRAN – Environmental health plays a key role in preventing hazards and safeguarding public health; addressing environmental health challenges requires scientific, evidence-based decision-making, enhanced intersectoral collaborations, and benefiting from the country’s scientific capabilities, Health Minister Mohammad-Reza Zafarqandi has stated.
VOICE OF BUSINESS: Dayton area businesses have a big stake in election
Dayton area businesses invest capital, time, talent, reputation, and passion in building companies and creating jobs that employ our families, neighbors, and friends. The decisions made by elected officials at the local, state, and federal levels can shape the environment in which our businesses operate, grow and compete. For business leaders, civic engagement is an important part of protecting those investments and helping shape the future of the Dayton region.
‘She’s One of Us’: Mary Peltola’s Bumpy Rise to Political Power
Ms. Peltola, the Democratic Senate candidate in Alaska, has complicated politics: She is pro-gun, pro-oil and pro-gas — but also pro-environment and especially pro-fish.
Covington to launch pedestrian-friendly ‘Entertainment Destination Center ‘during Oct. 8-11 BLINK festival
Covington will launch an Entertainment Destination Center during BLINK 2026, creating a pedestrian-friendly environment where visitors can experience the festival while enjoying Covington’s…
A 9-Million-Year-Old Tooth Just Challenged What Scientists Thought They Knew About the Atacama Desert
Scientists were surprised to discover a fossilized tooth from a capybara that lived almost 9 million years ago in what is now northern Chile’s Atacama Desert. Chile’s Atacama Desert is an unlikely place to find traces of capybaras, the world’s largest living rodents, whose lives revolve around water and wetland plants. Yet a fossilized tooth
No. 1 Texas Survives Tennessee in Wild SEC Showdown!
The Texas Longhorns are 4-0. No. 1 Texas traveled into one of the toughest environments in college football on Saturday and escaped Neyland Stadium with a 20-17 victory over No. 14 Tennessee in a thrilling SEC showdown. It wasn’t always pretty for the Longhorns, but when the game was on the line, Texas’ defense came…
Sports and entertainment were part of early Iron Range
The Iron Range has changed tremendously since the 1880s, 1890s, and early 1900s.
Global health summit in Saranac Lake tackles the shifting threat of dengue fever
The Trudeau Institute hosted a summit to discuss ongoing evaluation of treatments for the battle against dengue fever.
Why Smithsonian scientists flood an Anne Arundel forest every summer
On a large campus in Edgewater, scientists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center flood a forest every summer to learn about climate change. It's just one of the large-scale experiments conducted at the institution which has, so far, escaped some of the scrutiny and critique that Donald Trump has lobbied at the rest of the Smithsonian.
Ivy Tech science faculty to offer free nature hike
Ivy Tech Community College Columbus science faculty are offering free local nature hikes for anyone interested in learning more about the natural environment around them.
Open for business
Customers turn out for new Burlington Sheetz BURLINGTON — The lot was full of vehicles and dozens of customers were on hand only one hour after the opening of the […]
Health and Safety Advisory issued after contaminated marijuana vaporizers sold at over 400 stores in Colorado
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has issued a health and safety advisory after contaminated "Regulated Marijuana Vaporizer Delivery Devices" were sold at 400+ stores
NFL Power Rankings: ESPN Ranks Worst Team After Two Weeks
The Miami Dolphins have endured a difficult opening to the 2026 NFL season, with their 0-2 record putting them at the bottom of ESPN’s Week 3 power rankings. The early results have exposed major concerns for a team that entered the season hoping to compete in a challenging AFC landscape. Miami’s struggles have affected nearly […] The post NFL Power Rankings: ESPN Ranks Worst Team After Two Weeks appeared first on Gridiron Heroics.
Jon Gruden Questions Steelers’ Offensive Line Chaos Amid Struggles: ‘Why?’
Jon Gruden has seen plenty of offensive lines during his coaching career; however, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ current setup has left him genuinely puzzled. The former head coach watched the unit shuffle players between positions through the offseason and into the regular season, and now the results are becoming harder to ignore. The Steelers entered the […] The post Jon Gruden Questions Steelers’ Offensive Line Chaos Amid Struggles: ‘Why?’ appeared first on Gridiron Heroics.
Earth microbes survive simulated conditions of Saturn moon’s ocean
Experiment suggests organisms could live in harsh environment under Enceladus’s icy crust, strengthening possibility moon could support life
Watch: How data centers impact the environment and health in rural areas
Find fresh angles and untold stories about data centers' impact on rural environmental health from a panel of experts.
Scientists Reveal the Shocking Body Temperature That Kept T. rex Alive - Futura-Sciences
Breaking Free from the Cold-Blooded Stereotype For decades, dinosaurs have been compared to the reptiles and lizards we know today. People saw them as typical “cold-blooded” creatures—scientifically called ectotherms—whose body temperature depended almost entirely on the environment. That’s why you see lizards basking in the sun or hiding in the...
Notre Dame's ND-LEEF holds annual Science Sunday in South Bend
The annual free event offers adults and children a chance to explore ND-LEEF and the range of environmental research conducted at Notre Dame.
REPORT: 2026 Delta Science Program Research Impact Report
From the Delta Science Program: The Delta Science Program is proud to share its inaugural Research Impact Report, highlighting the emerging science and management impacts of the 2019 Delta Research Awards and 2020 Delta Science Fellowships. Since 2010, the Delta Science Program has invested more than $50 million in over 160 research projects to advance its mission of providing the best possible unbiased science to inform water and environmental decision-making in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Because the influence of research […]
Iron helped scientists trace Earth’s oxygen. Now it’s telling a bigger story
New research shows the same geological record also bears the fingerprints of mountain building and the rise of land plants
Environmental citizen science in schools: impacts on knowledge, attitudes and behaviour
Providing students with hands-on nature-based citizen science education can lead to greater frequency and range of pro-environmental behaviours.
Girondins de Bordeaux set to avoid liquidation
As per a report from Sud-Ouest, Girondins de Bordeaux are set to avoid liquidation, with English investment firm Park Bench nearing a takeover of the French club. The deal between Park Bench and Géra...
Arkansas Gridiron returns with Golden Mockingbird Awards ahead of November election
Gardner council OKs plans for massive entertainment, education district. What’s next?
While the project is one step closer to reality, there are some details that will be ironed out next month. Here’s what to know.
Computer science student embraces opportunity and aims high as Bone Scholar
Senior computer science major Neer Jain is one of 14 Illinois State University students named Robert G. Bone Scholars for 2026-27.
Scientists sound alarm over new endangered species rules
Scientists and environmental advocates say Trump administration changes could put species like the North Atlantic right whale in harm’s way.
Voting Is a Minnesota Business Issue
In a challenging election environment, supporting employees’ ability to vote is more than a civic gesture.
UT Health San Antonio ranks on Forbes list of ‘America’s Best Employers for Healthcare Professionals 2026’
UT Health San Antonio, the academic health center and health system of The University of Texas at San Antonio, has been named one of America’s Best Employers for Healthcare Professionals 2026 by Forbes, earning a place among just 250 healthcare organizations nationwide recognized for creating strong workplace environments for healthcare professionals. The national recognition, […]
Pope: Climate crisis is not just an environmental challenge, but a matter of justice
On the occasion of the Plenary Session of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Pope Leo receives its members in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican and ...
Calling all current and future scientists: Kiel is the place to be this week
This week, Kiel has become a meeting place for science in Europe. Researchers, school pupils, young scientists and members of the public are coming together through a series of major events led or co-organised by Kiel University.At the centre of it all are around 150 of Europe’s most talented young researchers, aged 14 to 20, who have travelled to Kiel from nearly 40 countries for the 37th European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS). Running from 22 to 27 September, the European Union’s flagship competition for young scientists brings together winners of national science competitions to present around 100 original research projects across fields ranging from engineering and computer science to medicine, environmental research and the social sciences. The winners will be announced at the Award Ceremony on Saturday.For Kiel University, hosting EUCYS is both an honour and a natural extension of a much longer story. Germany’s northernmost comprehensive university has invested for many years in supporting young scientific talent and bringing research into dialogue with society. The Kiel Science Factory gives school pupils opportunities to experience research first-hand, while programmes such as Rent-a-Scientist send researchers directly into local classrooms. Major annual public events including Kiel Week and the European Researchers’ Night take science beyond the campus through talks, exhibitions and hands-on activities.That long-standing commitment has increasingly taken on a European dimension – and this week, many of those efforts are coming together.One of the foundations for this success is the European Researchers’ Night (ERN), which celebrates its tenth edition in the Kiel region this year. The initiative is funded through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, with Kiel University developing the successful EU proposals and securing the funding, while regional partner KielRegion coordinates the many activities on the ground. Together with research institutions, schools, companies, local authorities and civil society, they have built ERN into a major platform for public engagement.Over the years, Kiel’s ERN programme has grown far beyond a single evening into a whole “Science Summer”, beginning with “Science Shopping” in spring and culminating tomorrow, 25 September, in Science Day.“We have developed a wide range of public engagement formats, often together with the other research institutions in the region, the city and regional authorities, schools, companies and civil society,” says Eckhard Quandt, Kiel University’s vice president for research, academic infrastructure and transfer. “Over the past decade, we have increasingly taken this commitment to the European level.”That combination of European funding expertise and strong regional partnerships also helped Kiel University take the next step. Drawing on its experience with ERN and its European networks, including the SEA-EU University Alliance, the university brought together Brest in France and Split in Croatia for a successful bid to the EU’s new Science Comes to Town initiative. Throughout 2026, the three cities are serving as Europe’s first Science Ambassadors, with more than one thousand activities bringing science into schools, public spaces, cultural venues and everyday life.EUCYS is perhaps the clearest example of how Kiel University is using Science Comes to Town to create new connections between major European initiatives. From the outset, the university deliberately planned the contest for the week of European Researchers’ Night and opened the EUCYS exhibition to the wider Science Day audience. Tomorrow, that means thousands of visitors can encounter the next generation of scientific talent first-hand, while the young researchers themselves gain a much bigger public stage.“Because we opened EUCYS up for European Researchers’ Night, there will be a lot of people actually visiting the exhibition,” says organiser Stefanie Altemark of Kiel University.“We wanted Europe’s most talented young scientists not only to compete with one another, but also to become visible to the wider public. At the same time, people in Kiel will have the opportunity to see what the next generation of scientists are already capable of,” says Quandt.“We’ve shown over the last years that science is a big part of Kiel, and it’s always been the goal to not only show that to people in Germany, but also to show it to people all over Europe. Thanks to Kiel University’s expertise in European funding programmes, we have been able to turn that ambition into reality,” says Sünje Fock, who is coordinating the Science Summer at KielRegion.The model is characteristic of Kiel University’s approach: combining European funding expertise and international networks with strong regional partnerships to give major initiatives greater reach and visibility.This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, giving Kiel University the special opportunity to welcome Vanessa Debiais-Sainton, Head of Department for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions at the European Research Executive Agency, to Kiel tomorrow. Her visit brings together two priorities that have shaped Kiel University’s work over the past decade: supporting researchers and bringing science closer to society. Debiais-Sainton emphasises how closely the two are connected: "For thirty years, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) have given more than 150,000 researchers the chance to pursue their dreams and open up new fields. Doctoral Networks and Postdoctoral Fellowships give them the freedom to move, to connect, to train and to follow their curiosity across borders, sectors and disciplines. But excellence cannot live only in laboratories. Researchers’ Night takes science out of the lab and into the city, to the families, the schoolchildren and the curious minds who will become the next generation. Kiel shows what that looks like at its best. That is the MSCA promise: open science, open borders, open doors."For Kiel University, these activities are not separate endeavours. They are part of a broader understanding of academic excellence in which outstanding research, talent development, international cooperation, knowledge transfer and engagement with society strengthen one another.“For me, one of the most important lessons from the past decade is that scientific excellence, knowledge transfer, talent development and engagement with society cannot be treated as separate tasks,” stresses vice president Quandt. “They reinforce one another.”That philosophy is also reflected in Kiel University’s current bid for Germany’s Excellence University status. The designation is part of Germany’s national Excellence Strategy, which provides substantial long-term funding to selected universities to strengthen internationally competitive research and their overall institutional development. A successful outcome would provide new opportunities to build on what has already been created: deepening international cooperation, creating more opportunities for knowledge exchange and public engagement, and extending the university’s reach across the region and beyond. “If we are successful, it would allow us to take what we have built in Kiel considerably further – including expanding our networks and transfer activities beyond the region and increasingly across the Baltic area,” says Quandt.This week’s events offer a glimpse of what that could mean in practice: a university using its research strength, European expertise and regional partnerships to create opportunities for scientists at every stage of their careers while making science more visible, accessible and exciting to the wider public.
Science Debunks Cracked Solar Panel Fears
Scientific studies suggest cracked solar panels present little environmental danger, with protective designs limiting chemical exposure and testing showing contamination levels remain below established safety limits.
In rural Pa., doctors confront the hidden health impacts of environmental disasters
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. In February 2023, George Garrow jumped in his car and hurried to help people impacted by a freight train that had derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. The crash happened about a quarter-mile west of the […]
Hands-on science can be cool
After spending many long days conducting experiments to find a new way to combat bacterial infections in crops, Misha Hegde and Mia Soleil Maurer have been rewarded with international recognition and access to top research facilities. But these are not typical scientists. They are 16-year-old German high school students.“Our supervisor told us that in order to start a project, you need to begin with either a question or a problem,” says Misha, adding that she and Mia had read about antibiotic resistance in certain plants being treated for bacterial infections. “We found out that antibiotics overuse is very common in agriculture,” explains Mia. “Our aim was to create an alternative to antibiotics and to try to raise awareness of the problem of overusing antibiotics.”Their subsequent research has focused on harnessing bacteriophages, the natural predators of bacteria, to eliminate pathogens threatening food crops treated with antibiotics. At the Schuldorf Bergstraße Jugend forscht MakerLab in Seeheim-Jugenheim, located in the German state of Hesse, they discovered a novel phage that infects the Rhizobium rhizogenes bacterium, which causes the hairy root disease that can reduce yields of tomatoes, carrots, soya beans and other food staples.The students believe their method could curb antibiotic use, while protecting plants from infections without disturbing the natural soil microbiome. “The application of phages is host-specific, so they would only kill the targeted pathogen or disease-causing bacteria,” explains Mia. It may also offer environmental benefits, since applying antibiotics can contaminate groundwater.Getting to this point has not been easy. The childhood friends admit to feeling frustrated when their trials did not yield the expected results. “We spent six months on our first experiment, just doing the same thing over and over and over again, to the point where we thought, is it even worth it? Why are we doing this?” Misha says. “You just need to be brave enough to take that first step and keep going.”The benefits of inquiry-based learningTheir determination has paid off. In 2025, the pair won first prize in biology at Jugend forscht, Germany’s national competition for young people interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. They were also among the winners of the German Research Foundation Europa-Preis, which is awarded to selected national winners at Jugend forscht, and took third place in the 2025 European Union Contest for Young Scientists.The Jugend forscht Foundation opens doors for young people to connect with scientists as well as industry professionals. Jessica Bönsch, executive director of the Foundation, sees Misha and Mia as prime examples of how young people can develop a deeper understanding of science through their own research projects. “The experience of working on your own research question is very important,” she explains, adding that “inquiry-based learning engages with real-life problems in a way that can be more motivating than traditional classroom teaching.”The Jugend forscht Foundation offers financial support through sponsor pools in Germany’s federal states. Some projects are developed in cooperation with student research centres, university labs or informal collaborative learning areas called makerspaces. Other activities start as hands-on “garage projects” and can grow within the Jugend forscht network and infrastructure.The Jugend forscht Foundation is also a partner of Science Comes to Town, an EU initiative to strengthen public awareness about science and create bridges between researchers and communities. The EU-financed project involves universities, research institutions and other stakeholders in three host cities — Brest (France), Kiel (Germany) and Split (Croatia).“It's so important for people not to live in a bubble, because I think science can be very scary if you misunderstand it,” Mia says of SCTT. The initiative’s aim of raising awareness about science is “absolutely amazing,” Misha adds. “I think it's the best way to kind of make science digestible for the public. In a world where misinformation in science is getting more radical, more dangerous, becoming more of a threat to the trust in scientific infrastructure and foundations, we need such programmes.”Misha and Mia also believe that SCTT can help break down gender stereotypes in science by encouraging young women to study and pursue careers in scientific fields. Both students have benefited from female mentors and encouragement they had when they were much younger. Mia’s love of science began with a class trip to a lab, while Misha — with a smile on her face — says she wanted to study history until “a teacher kind of coerced me into joining a school science club.”Recognition beyond EuropeIn May, Misha and Mia were among the finalists at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair held in Phoenix, Arizona, and involving nearly 1,700 pre-university students from over 60 countries. “It was very crazy because there were so many people and so many teenagers interested in science,” Mia recalls. The event was also challenging. “It was eight hours of continuously presenting your project,” adds Misha.Attending the fair was a chance for the young women to see first-hand the value of international collaboration as well as how research cultures differ. “America is a bit more willing to take risks, and I think that's something we can learn about here in Europe,” Misha explains. However, she continues, “I think Europe has the talent, has the innovation and has the resources” to be competitive.Misha and Mia plan to continue their phage experiments in the new school year, inspired by the project’s hands-on nature and the support they receive from their supervisors. They have also attracted the interest of professional scientists and received invitations to leading research facilities, including the Centre for Synthetic Microbiology, jointly run by the University of Marburg and the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Germany. “It is so cool that we can do something to try to move the world in our school and at this age,” Mia says.After completing secondary school, Mia plans to study microbiology and pursue a career in medical research, focusing on Ebola and other infectious diseases. “This has been my dream for so long,” she says. Her friend Misha is interested in biological research with a focus on medicine. “I've gotten addicted to the process of going to the lab, planning out experiments, then failing, trying again,” Misha says. “I think there's just so much to be discovered, so much to be done.”The students' names and photos were published with the permission of their parents.Science|Business, which connects policymakers, academics and industry through its news reporting, analysis and events, is an SCTT partner.
Downtown businesses prepare for Ironman weekend
Thousands of Ironman triathletes and their families are days away from arriving in Augusta, and downtown businesses are preparing for the boost that comes with them.
Trump SBA to Extend Comment Period After Ranking Member Markey Leads Effort to Rescind SBA Policy that Reclassifies Billion-Dollar Businesses as “Small Businesses”
Trump admin policy would reclassify 114,000 larger businesses as “small” to access small business resources and win federal contracts meant for small businesses Letter (PDF) (Washington, September 23) – This week, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced its plans to extend the deadline to submit comments on its controversial proposed rule regarding small business size standards until November 20. The Trump SBA’s announcement came shortly after Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), alongside 12 of his Senate colleagues, sent a letter to Administrator Kelly Loeffler demanding that the Trump SBA rescind a harmful policy that would dramatically redefine what a small business is. The Administration’s proposed policy would change the small business size standard to designate 114,000 larger companies some with annual revenue above $1 billion—as small businesses, giving these businesses access to small business resources and federal contracts typically set aside for actual small businesses. In the letter, Ranking Member Markey and the lawmakers emphasized that small businesses will be shut out of the federal contracting space as government agencies award contracts to larger businesses, causing small businesses to lose revenue, lay off workers, or close their businesses entirely. “For more than 70 years, SBA’s mission has been clear: promote and protect the interests and viability of small businesses. By proceeding with this proposed methodology and rule, SBA moves further away from its mission of facilitating healthy small business participation in the U.S. economy. We urge SBA to rescind these proposals, meet in earnest with small businesses across the country, and discuss the proposal and methodology with congressional committees of jurisdiction. SBA must be committed to developing measured increases to the size standards that do not reward large, billion-dollar companies but instead helps our small businesses survive, grow, and thrive.” The lawmakers highlighted the following points in their letter: Under the Trump SBA’s new size standards, the highest receipts-based standard would exceed $1 billion in annual revenue—more than 20 times the current $47 million maximum—and the highest employee-based standard would reach 3,600 employees—more than twice the current 1,500 employee maximum. Specific increases include an increase in size of nearly 492% for banks, 1,500% for law firms, and more than 2,051% for private equity firms. Of the 114,000 businesses that would be newly classified as small, more than 37,000 of these businesses have collectively won more than 100,000 federal contracts worth approximately $71 billion in Fiscal Year 2025 alone without a small business designation. If SBA included the awards won by these 37,000 businesses in its Fiscal Year 2025 analysis, small business contracts would have accounted for 38% of all federal contracts, instead of the 27% that SBA announced this summer. The letter was co-signed by Senators Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Christopher Coons (D-Dela.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.). Ranking Member Markey is fighting to protect small businesses in Massachusetts and across the country from the Trump SBA’s harmful policies that put big businesses and billionaires over American small businesses, workers, and families. In August, Ranking Member Markey slammed the Trump SBA’s proposal to overhaul its small business size standards to benefit big businesses over small businesses. In July, Ranking Member Markey and House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY-7) introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to rescind the Trump administration’s policy that bans green card holders from accessing essential Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to start and grow their businesses. Also in July, Ranking Member Markey and Senator Hirono submitted a comment letter to the Small Business Administration (SBA) opposing a proposed rule change by Trump’s SBA to the 8(a) Business Development Program that would harm underserved small business owners and entrepreneurs. In June, Ranking Member Markey released a new report highlighting Trump’s drastic reduction in federal contracting dollars awarded to American small businesses. ###
Newsom talks climate with world leaders in New York
He called Trump the most destructive environmental president in American history and “an invasive species”
Record number of businesses coming together for Savannah Business Expo
The Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce will host its annual Business Expo and Business Connection Thursday at Kehoe Iron Works, featuring more than 80 exhibitors, the largest number in the event’s history.
OU Health nursing teams earn 4 workplace excellence awards
OU Health nursing teams earned four of the five Oklahoma Nurses Association Excellence in the Workplace Environment Awards for 2026.
St. Joseph County Department of Health hosting free Bicycle Safety Rodeo this Saturday
Free helmets, tune-ups, and safety courses are being offered for youth riders at Ironworks Plaza.
Environmental Justice Index: Find communities facing cumulative health effects of place and space
The Environmental Justice Index offers reporters a way to find communities where environmental hazards, social and health risks overlap.
One Health Symposium
One Health Symposium: Human, Animal, and Environmental Futures On September 30, the Health, Culture, and Societies (HCS) Program at New College of Florida will host an interdisciplinary symposium, “One Health…
Environmental disasters are becoming a public health focus
Researchers are learning more about the long-term public health effects of living through extreme weather, especially in rural communities.
Populous’ Jonathan Mallie Named a 2026 VenuesNow All-Star
Jonathan Mallie, Global Director and Managing Director of the Americas at Populous, has been named a VenuesNow 2026 All-Star, an annual list that honors those in the live events and venue management industry, celebrating their leadership, innovation, and impact on the global live entertainment environment.
A Massive Jackpot of Green Fuel Is Locked Underground—and Scientists May Have Just Found the Key
A new study replicated the heat and pressure conditions of Western Australia’s vast iron-ore deposits to produce natural hydrogen gas.
This Week in Politics: Rollbacks and Restrictions
The Trump administration made several consequential announcements this past week, from rescinding environmental protections to supposedly banning several news agencies from the White House. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which sets national regulations to protect the environment and public health, announced on Monday, Sept. 14, that it will remove regulations on greenhouse gas...
Reform and the UAE – a threat to British politics
By Alex Carlen The United Arab Emirates likes to present itself as part of the solution to the climate crisis. The oil-rich Gulf state has committed to Net Zero by 2050, hosted COP 28, and even declared “championing climate action” as one of three strategic objectives for this week’s session of the United Nations General Assembly. But behind the scenes the UAE has quietly built one of its closest political relationships in Europe with the party most hostile to climate action in Britain: Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. There is no evidence that the UAE is funding Reform. But a new FairSquare report, Petro-populism: the UAE–Reform threat, published today, documents a growing political relationship that should concern anyone interested in the integrity of British democracy. Reform’s leaders have embraced the UAE’s political model and promoted positions that align closely with the Emirati government’s priorities, while the UAE has given Farage and his party unusually warm access and public backing. What is emerging is not simply a relationship between British politicians and a wealthy Gulf state, but a channel through which an authoritarian government can cultivate political influence here, and abroad. Democracy for Sale relies on its readers. If you already support us, thanks so much. If you don’t, sign up to support fearless independent investigative journalism. Subscribe Back in January, Nigel Farage appeared at a GB News event in Dubai. On the 50th floor of a tower overlooking the luxury resorts and upscale residences of Palm Jumeirah, the Reform leader declared: “I want Clacton to look like this.” At the event – which Farage never declared on his official register of interests – senior Emirati officials mixed with British expats. Farage was keen to flatter. “We recognise you are our friends”, he said, assuring them that “a Brexit London, a Reform London, will remember you.” Controversy surrounding Reform’s finances and its susceptibility to foreign influence have centred around high-profile donations from billionaire crypto donors, and the jailing of Nathan Gill, Reform’s former leader in Wales, for accepting bribes to give pro-Russia speeches. Far less attention has been paid to Reform’s blossoming new alliance with the UAE, an oil-rich authoritarian state with a track record of ruinous anti-democratic interventions. Farage wasn’t always so fond of the UAE. Back in 2023 he called it an “absolute monarchy with an abysmal human rights record.” Now Reform’s hierarchy calls the UAE home. Deputy leader Richard Tice splits his time between his constituency and Dubai and has called on the UK to learn from the UAE. The party’s treasurer Nick Candy runs a firm which has been in partnership with a UAE-state linked firm since 2024. Nadhim Zahawi sits on the board of an Abu Dhabi think tank alongside an array of the most senior UAE officials and is reportedly close to three brothers of the country’s despotic ruler Mohammed Bin Zayed. Reform’s leading lights have effusively praised the UAE’s governance model, defended it from criticism, and advanced its political agenda in the UK. GB News, whose two major shareholders – the Legatum Foundation and Paul Marshall – have strong links to the UAE, has been more than happy to broadcast UAE propaganda and was forced to pay damages in 2025 after airing a false claim about a UK charity by the UAE “disinfluencer” Amjad Taha. The UAE has responded in kind. When the UAE Minister for Foreign Affairs conducted an official visit to the UK in May, Farage was the only non-government figure granted an audience. UAE state media publicised the meeting, and said that they discussed “the strategic relations between the two countries and ways to enhance them in a manner that serves mutual interests.” For the UAE these ‘mutual interests’ largely concern its paranoia over political Islam, and in this regard the UAE-Reform alliance is part of a broad and troubling pattern. Following a crackdown on dissent at home in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, the UAE has offered material and political support to a range of violent and authoritarian actors willing to oppose the Muslim Brotherhood with no regard for the consequences. Its meddling in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, and most notably Sudan, have been devastating. The UAE’s strategy of seeking out partners on the political fringes who it believes will advance its interests is not unique to Britain – it extends beyond the Middle East to Europe and the US. In France, it has offered clandestine support to Marine Le Pen through secret meetings, as well allegedly funding trips to the region after which Le Pen returned with a renewed focus on the UAE’s perceived enemies – Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood. Left-wing opposition leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon has accused the UAE of smearing him and of “encouraging discrimination, hatred or violence”. In the US, the UAE actively supported the rise of Donald Trump, establishing itself as a key ally during both his first and second terms. Around these relationships sits a wider ecosystem of figures willing to amplify UAE narratives, that even extends to Andrew Tate and Tommy Robinson. Subscribe In Britain, the UAE has used a combination of aggressive diplomacy and illicit, disruptive tactics to achieve its policy goal of eliminating any perceived threat from political Islam. In 2012, for instance, it threatened to block billion-pound arms deals with the UK and stop inward investment if David Cameron did not act against the Muslim Brotherhood and rein in the BBC’s coverage of the group – going so far as to suggest, with no supporting evidence, that the group had infiltrated the BBC. It has financed smear campaigns against a high-profile UK charity and funded a mercenary to secretly surveil, and possibly assassinate, a British national on British soil. In Reform UK, the UAE has finally found an ally willing to not only ban the Muslim Brotherhood, but to publicly vilify the group and repeat the UAE’s claims that dangerous Muslims are a fifth column in British society, a narrative that aligns with the Islamophobia and anti-immigration sentiments that underpin Reform’s populist politics. The Rycroft review into foreign interference concluded that “hostile states and non-state actors have a clear incentive to attempt to undermine UK democracy.” The UAE’s network and alliance with Reform must be understood within that framework. It is a powerful, disruptive and deeply authoritarian actor with the resources and networks to intervene in our politics, and a track-record of doing so in a multitude of other countries. The evidence of the threat the UAE poses is overwhelming. The question is whether parliamentarians are willing to call the UAE out and demand action using the tools that the government has to respond. Placing the UAE on the “Enhanced Tier” of the Foreign Registration scheme alongside Russia and Iran would send a powerful signal to the UAE that its meddling will no longer be tolerated, and would place Farage’s next trips to the UAE under the scrutiny they deserve. Alex Carlen is research and advocacy manager at London based human rights organisation FairSquare and author of its new report Petro-populism: the UAE–Reform threat. Subscribe
In Rural Pennsylvania, Doctors Confront the Hidden Health Impacts of Environmental Disasters
Researchers are learning more about the long-term public health effects of living through extreme weather, especially in more isolated communities.
San Francisco 49ers Urged to Make Major Mac Jones Decision
The San Francisco 49ers have become a team mentioned quite often in the NFL rumor mill following Week 2. Those rumors would not see the team acquire a player. Instead, they would see the 49ers opt to trade one. Mac Jones has become a hot topic across the NFL. Quite a few teams saw their […] The post San Francisco 49ers Urged to Make Major Mac Jones Decision appeared first on Gridiron Heroics.
What links smoking, body fat, mental health, genes, and heart risk? Inflammation may be part of the answer
In a large UK Biobank study, higher levels of the chronic inflammation marker GlycA were associated with smaller heart chambers, thicker heart walls, impaired diastolic function, reduced stroke volume, and a 43% higher risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in the highest versus lowest GlycA group. Genetic susceptibility also modified the associations between environmental exposures, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk, while inflammatory proteins in the IL-1, TNF, and IL-6 pathways statistically mediated several of these associations.
The science that brought green back to China’s Loess Plateau awarded the 2026 Volvo Environment Prize
Once stripped of vegetation and scarred by some of the world’s most severe soil erosion, China’s Loess Plateau has undergone a remarkable ecological transformation. Professor Bojie Fu, one of the scientists who helped make that recovery possible, is the recipient of the 2026 Volvo Environment Prize.
From AI Users to AI Leaders: How Businesses Can Navigate Generative AI | Elmhurst University Elmhurst University Blog
Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of how organizations operate, compete and make decisions. Businesses not only need more AI programmers and data scientists; they also need managers, analysts and business leaders who understand what AI can do, where it can create value and how to use AI responsibly in a changing business environment.
Platinum Equity Completes Sale of Global Environmental Services Business Urbaser to Blackstone and EQT for $6.6 Billion
Sale of Madrid-based environmental infrastructure platform follows multi-year transformation process LONDON (September 22, 2026) – Platinum Equity announced today that the sale of Urbaser to Blackstone and EQT in a transaction valued at approximately $6.6 billion (€5.6 billion) has been completed. Urbaser is a global integrated environmental infrastructure platform specialized in the collection, management and […]
Byron Donalds scrubs most Trump references from new campaign site for Florida governor’s race
Donalds’ campaign said the new site is designed to focus on policy issues. The move comes as Trump faces low approval ratings and a challenging political environment.
Manetti Shrem Institute hosts two speakers
Quiltmaker Anna Von Mertens, who creates research-based work weaving together science, history, and materiality, and Sophie Weston Chien — an assistant professor of environmental design at the University of Colorado,
Planetary crisis heightens global inequality of health opportunities
The worldwide inequality of health opportunities is being further heightened by the triple planetary crisis - climate change, loss of biodiversity and environmental pollution.
Detroit students learn about environmental science with lessons at Belle Isle Park
Situation Report No.11: Earthquakes in Venezuela 2026 (M7.2 and M7.5)
Nearly three months after the 24 June 2026 earthquakes in Venezuela, the response has moved into early recovery while sustaining essential emergency operations. Efforts now center on maintaining continuity of care across mental health, sexual and reproductive health, maternal and neonatal care, NCDs, and rehabilitation, alongside restoring affected facilities, supporting transitional camps, and strengthening Health Cluster coordination as Emergency Medical Teams and international partners withdraw. Health system recovery is advancing, with 16 ASICs and 356 health facilities assessed (61% operational) and rehabilitation progressing under CERF, CFE and US funding, while fluctuating electricity, medication refrigeration and emergency-generator gaps continue to challenge the safe continuity of essential health services. Public health surveillance and prevention remain active, with 47,145 cumulative vaccine doses administered and 556 health professionals trained, while intensified surveillance in La Guaira and Miranda and mounting environmental risks from tropical rains and heatwaves continue to require sustained vector-control and water/sanitation action. Contraception remains the most consistent unmet need across assessed shelters, particularly among adolescents and young women, while mental health needs continue to rise across the transitional camps amid limited supplies and specialized personnel. PAHO/WHO continues to support the response with critically needed medical supplies and medicines, having shipped 46.6 metric tons to Venezuela to date, benefiting 72 actors and reaching 117,714 people with treatment through PAHO and partner donations, while sustained technical and logistical support to the Ministry of Popular Power for Health (MPPS) has strengthened the national supply chain and ensured the continuity of health services through the coordination, reception, and mobilization of international donations of essential medical products.
Voters, scientists say candidates should dig into environmental issues
Extreme weather events cost taxpayers and impact recreation and health, experts say.
Opinion: A Call for a Community Advisory Board for Data Center Business Development
"As a proactive measure, I propose that the City of Alameda form a community advisory board to set clear policies for data center- and AI-related business development to protect human safety, environmental health, and economic equity," writes Christina Liebner. {Opinion}
University of New Haven starts construction on new business school building
A rendering of the new Pompea College of Business at University of New Haven building, as seen looking west up
Planetary crises deepen global health inequality, paper warns
The global inequality in health opportunities is being further heightened by the triple planetary crisis—climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution. Addressing it is more than a question ...
Q2 Data & Business Process Services Earnings: EXL (NASDAQ:EXLS) Earns Top Marks
The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how EXL (NASDAQ:EXLS) and the rest of the data & business process services stocks fared in Q2.
Eye on Small Business
Andi Schreiber, founder and owner of Eye Candy Boudoir in Scarsdale. Courtesy Alison Sheehy Photography. Once largely associated with bridal
Bridging Climate Action and Health Security through One Health
Climate change is increasing the risk of infectious disease outbreaks, threatening health security around the world. A One Health approach is essential to managing growing risks at the intersection of people, animals, and the environment.
Underdog Ole Miss at Florida puts Rebels on upset alert
Fans still enjoying and reveling in the Magnolia Bowl win over LSU and Darth Kiffin are finding themselves with a wake up call that Ole Miss are underdogs to Florida this Saturday. The No.4 Rebels (3-0, 1-0 SEC) are hitting the road into one of the toughest environments in college football at the Swamp in […]
“Politics Are Desperately Important at the Moment”: Bill McKibben on Midterms, Trump & Climate Crisis
Ahead of the midterm elections, activist and writer Bill McKibben says he has been traveling across the United States with Third Act, the environmental group he founded to harness the power of seniors who care about the climate and democracy. “These elections are also starting to set the groundwork for 2028,” says McKibben, who calls the next U.S. presidential vote “maybe the last election that happens in a timeframe when we still really have an opportunity to affect some of the outcomes of these things.”
Gavin Newsom paddles to the political right with 3 notable vetoes
Newsom's rejection of pension, work-from-home and environmental bills won points with the right but angered some unions and advocacy groups.
Is 50 the new 60?
Subscribe TL;DR: Younger generations are showing signs of worse health compared to earlier-born cohorts at the same age This backward “drift” is showing up both in mortality risk and chronic disease Worsening trends in obesity and diabetes are the most consistent signals Taking the long view, we’ve made astonishing gains in health and life expectancy in the last century. Global average life expectancy has more than doubled from 32 years in 1900 to 73 years in 2024. (But don’t forget, there were still old people when life expectancy was 32). As people lived longer, they also generally lived healthier along the way. It turns out that avoiding things that can kill you early, like malnutrition and lots of childhood infections, also keeps you healthier later in life. In a classic 2004 paper, Finch and Crimmins proposed that cohorts of children who benefited from fewer early life infections had less lifetime exposure to inflammation and cardiovascular disease later in life, accelerating mortality improvements at older ages. Poor nutrition in the womb has also been linked to a higher risk of later chronic disease. The upshot is that improvements in childhood health can pay dividends many decades later. The combination of better living conditions (nutrition, sanitation) and medical advances (antibiotics, vaccines, blood pressure meds, etc) meant that people’s healthy lifespan generally expanded, even as they lived longer. Aging researchers call this best-case scenario “compression of morbidity”—meaning we delay the onset of disease and disability even faster than the years of life we are adding. During my 20+ year research career, we could generally bank on the idea that younger generations would not only live longer but also keep getting healthier along the way. “60 is the new 50” as they say… Enter “Generational Health Drift” Sadly, this expectation of steady progress may be changing. You’ve probably heard that US life expectancy gains have slowed to a crawl in the past couple of decades. Mortality improvements are also slowing (though less dramatically) in many other high-income countries (you can read more about that in a review paper I wrote here). Mortality is a very blunt health measure, but it is often a good barometer for the broader population health trends happening underneath. And we are now seeing that younger generations may be in worse health at similar ages compared to earlier born cohorts. My collaborator Prof. George Ploubidis at University College London coined this worsening health in more recently born cohorts “generational health drift.” “Generational health drift” is bad news on multiple fronts. Most obviously, we don’t want our health progress to go backward. But the timing is also bad, since our populations are aging. In demographic terms, “population aging” means that the proportion of the population at older ages (i.e >65 years) is increasing. Fun demography fact: Current population aging is not due to the recent declines in the birth rates making the news, but declines in fertility decades ago, after the “baby boom.” As baby boomers reach older ages, the smaller cohorts behind them mean the percentage of older adults will increase. For example, the share of the population age 65 and older in the US increased from 12.4% in 2004 to 18.0% in 2024. This story of population aging was written long ago. Many worry that population aging will put pressure on health care and pension systems. But if people reach older ages in better health than in years past, those fiscal pressures would be less dire than projected. Healthy older people can also continue to contribute to society in many valuable ways, including paid work, caregiving, community service….even high political office 🤷. On the flip side, if younger generations reach retirement age in worse health and with more disabling conditions, this could magnify the societal challenge of population aging. Evidence for worsening generational health A recent paper that I LOVED in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Dr. Leah Abrams and colleagues examined which birth cohorts (aka generations) were behind worsening US mortality. Behold the Lexis diagram (cue swooning demographers). Calendar time is on the x-axis, age on the y-axis. Birth cohorts can be followed over time as they age on the diagonal lines moving up and to the right. This figure plots the year-on-year % change in all-cause mortality at a given age. Green shading indicates mortality improvements over time, white is stagnation, and gray shading indicates worsening mortality. Following the diagonal line for those born in 1950, you can see a noticeable shift from green to gray that follows this cohort for most of their lives. This gray shading shows generally worsening mortality for the 1950 to 1959 birth cohorts compared to their predecessors across all ages. Concerningly for my GenX and elder millennial peeps, there was also a deterioration in mortality for birth cohorts born in the 1970s and 1980s, visible as dark gray areas at ages 30 to 45 during the 2010s. While some of these mortality changes reflect specific shocks such as the opioid epidemic, most deaths still occur from major causes of death such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. For cancer, the gray in the top left corner of the figure below reflects the legacies of smoking for older cohorts, followed by a period of green with improvements in cancer mortality as smoking rates declined. But the white/gray shading in the bottom right corner highlights a stagnation and reversal of the cancer trends, with cohorts born around 1970 to 1985 experiencing worsening cancer mortality. This deterioration was most noticeable for colon cancer mortality, possibly linked to obesity or dietary factors. Not just dying more, but less healthy along the way. A recent paper by Dr. Laura Gimeno of University College London (of which I am a co-author), found evidence that more recently born cohorts in Great Britain have stagnating or worsening health. A stylized picture of what“generational health drift” might look like: The review paper found: Rates of childhood overweight and obesity were highest among Gen Z. Rates of diabetes in the 40s almost doubled from 3.1% among the Baby Boomers to 5.9% in Generation X. Gen Z reported higher rates of poor mental health in adolescence compared to earlier-born groups. These UK results are consistent with studies showing worsening health across generations in the US as well. A 2021 US study found that more recently born cohorts had worse biological markers (like blood pressure and blood sugar) than earlier generations at the same age. A separate 2022 study of Americans aged 50 and over found that more recently born generations had a higher number of chronic diseases, with younger age of disease onset. A 2024 Lancet paper found that in the US, women born in 1945 had 33% obesity prevalence at age 50, rising to 48.2% for women born in 1970 turning 50. So what’s going on, and can we turn it around? We don’t have a definitive answer for what’s causing the deteriorating health of younger cohorts, but circumstantial evidence points to worsening trends in obesity and diabetes in both the US and UK. Remember that cohort trends reflect lagged effects of early environments, and younger generations have faced both earlier onset and more severe obesity across their lifetimes. Despite these very concerning trends, the future is not set in stone. We’ve reversed poor generational health trends before: drops in smoking are a major reason cancer and heart disease deaths fell so dramatically in recent decades. GLP-1 drugs may finally turn the tide against rising rates of obesity and diabetes, though it is still early days. But things could also get worse…for example from a return to higher levels of childhood infectious diseases that can have a lasting impact on health. See for example: [ ](https://jenndowd.substack.com/p/dont-you-forget-about-measles-the) [ Don’t You Forget About Me(asles): The Virus That Erases Immune Memory ](https://jenndowd.substack.com/p/dont-you-forget-about-measles-the) Jenn Dowd, PhD · March 24, 2025 [ Read full story ](https://jenndowd.substack.com/p/dont-you-forget-about-measles-the) Even as an optimist, emerging data on the “generational health drift” has my full attention. For most of my research career, we took it for granted that each generation would be healthier than the last. But if present trends continue, **50 could be the new 60….**and Gen Z celebrities will soon look older than Paul Rudd :). Stay well, Jenn Share the Health! If you found this post useful, please share it with a friend. Share
Jiang Feng: The Unravelling of German & European Politics
A state election in eastern Germany has become a revealing test of the changing political landscapes of Germany and Europe, writes Jiang Feng, Professor and Chairman of the Council of the Shanghai Academy of Global Governance and Area Studies (SAGGAS) at Shanghai International Studies University. His analysis follows the decisive victory of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) (which has been classified as right-wing extremist by German authorities)in the state of Saxony-Anhalt on 6 September, in which it finished far ahead of its mainstream rivals. Jiang previously served as Minister-Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Berlin. The following article was published on 8 September 2026 on huanqiu.com, the online platform of the Global Times. On 6 September, the results of the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, were announced. The Alternative for Germany (AfD), classified as far-right by German authorities, made history by becoming the largest party in the state parliament, winning 43.8 per cent of the vote — twice its share in the previous election. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which had governed the state continuously for 24 years, won just 17.2 per cent, its worst result ever in Saxony-Anhalt. On the night the results were announced, the atmosphere at the CDU gathering was unusually calm. There was neither shock nor argument, as if the defeat had long been expected. Several veteran party members who had spent years working in the state government said: “Defeat is not a bad thing. It is time to make changes.” This state election has not only upended Saxony-Anhalt’s political landscape, but also laid bare the deep tensions between Germany’s traditional party structure and model of governance, on the one hand, and an increasingly polarised society on the other. Its repercussions are already being felt at the federal level, making Saxony-Anhalt a useful case study of the broader trend towards political polarisation and realignment in Europe. Governing Difficulties after Electoral Victory The most immediate consequence of the election is a historic setback for the mainstream party order that took shape in post-war Germany. In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD has leapt from a peripheral party to the largest political force in the state. Its electoral base has expanded beyond the traditional category of “marginal protest voters” to take on the characteristics of a cross-class coalition. The party has not only consolidated its support in rural areas, but also attracted many middle-class voters and even members of the social elite with stable jobs, their own homes, and substantial incomes. It has thus evolved from a “protest party” into one with the potential to govern. Despite its commanding lead in the vote, however, the AfD faces an institutional obstacle to governing the state: the mainstream parties’ long-standing “firewall” against it. Neither of the two potential routes to forming a government appears likely to break the current political deadlock. The first would be a coalition of establishment parties, led by the CDU and bringing together the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens, the Left Party (Die Linke) and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) in a cross-camp government. In terms of parliamentary arithmetic, such a coalition could prevent the AfD from forming a government and preserve the outward stability of the traditional political order. Yet these parties are fundamentally divided over key issues including immigration, the energy transition, economic management, and cultural and education policy. Coalition negotiations would therefore be extremely difficult, and even if a government could be formed, it would most likely prove short-lived. More importantly, an alliance of establishment parties aimed at keeping the largest party out of government would play directly into the AfD’s narrative that “political elites are suppressing public opinion”. It could deepen perceptions of political unfairness, further strengthening the AfD’s political capital, and creating a dynamic in which “the more it is suppressed, the more people vote for it”. Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD’s candidate for state premier, has said that if efforts to form a government fail because other parties refuse to cooperate, the AfD will push for a fresh election, which he believes could deliver the party an absolute majority of seats. This points to more intense political battles ahead. The second option would be a coalition between the AfD and the BSW. Together, the two parties would command a simple majority in parliament, making this, on paper, the quickest route to forming a government. The BSW is the only elected party that has not ruled out cooperation with the AfD, and the two parties share some common ground, including on policy towards Russia. There is therefore a degree of political basis for cooperation. Were such a coalition to materialise, Germany would see its first state government jointly formed by a party defined as far-right and one with a far-left background, creating what might be called a “bipolar anti-establishment alliance”. Such an outcome would fundamentally break with the ideological boundaries of post-war German party politics. It is worth noting that even if the AfD ultimately fails to enter the state government, its roughly 47 per cent share of parliamentary seats would give it a powerful blocking minority. Without its consent, major decisions requiring a two-thirds majority — including constitutional amendments, significant budgetary adjustments, and state-level institutional reforms — would be extremely difficult to pass. Therefore, whoever ultimately forms the government, the AfD will be an unavoidable force in Saxony-Anhalt politics, with a direct influence on the state’s legislative process. Systemic Failures in Germany’s Governance Model The Saxony-Anhalt election result reflects a systemic failure of Germany’s post-war mainstream-party model of governance to adapt to rapidly changing socioeconomic conditions. It stems from multiple, mutually reinforcing structural tensions and highlights the existing political system’s difficulty in adapting to “an increasingly polarised society First, collective anxiety has replaced individual material hardship as a central driver of political mobilisation. The rise of the AfD can no longer be explained simply by poverty or social marginalisation. Its increasingly cross-class electoral base suggests that what is driving voters towards the party is, above all, concern about the broader direction of society. This anxiety about the future of the political community goes beyond individual gains and losses. In political discourse, economic anxiety has become closely intertwined with immigration, while immigration and refugee issues are, in essence, questions of social fairness. This perception turns conflicts over the distribution of social resources into negative assessments of governing parties, providing a broad social basis for far-right political narratives. Second, regional disparities and East German identity have undermined the strategy of addressing eastern Germany’s structural challenges at the regional level. More than three decades after German reunification, eastern states such as Saxony-Anhalt have experienced periods of economic growth, but their underlying economic structures remain weak, and household incomes and wealth remain significantly below those in western Germany. At the same time, they continue to face population outflow, an ageing population, labour shortages, and other structural challenges. At a deeper level, historical experiences — including the collapse of the former East German economic system, mass unemployment during the transition, and the westward shift of decision-making power over major issues — have left some residents with a sense of being “second-class citizens” and of being excluded. For years, the German government treated the “syndrome” of reunification as a regional problem to be gradually addressed at the local level. That approach is becoming increasingly unsustainable, as regional development disparities emerge as a core structural factor shaping national politics. Third, the erosion of institutional trust is perhaps the most decisive factor. AfD supporters tend to distrust establishment institutions, including parliament, government, and the mainstream media. Their concerns about economic security, pensions, and social fairness are significantly greater than the social average. Increasingly, their support for the AfD reflects not an expectation that the existing system can be improved, but a search for an alternative to the current political order. Such a systemic deficit of trust will be extremely difficult for the traditional parties to repair in the short term. Fourth, a generational shift in political mobilisation has amplified political polarisation. Unlike traditional parties, which rely heavily on offline rallies and mainstream media coverage, the AfD has developed a social-media mobilisation strategy built around “raising an issue — identifying who is responsible — offering a simplified solution — building a shared identity”. It turns complex social tensions into concise political narratives, rapidly channelling public sentiment into political support. The contrast on the eve of the election was particularly telling. The establishment parties, together with trade unions and churches, organised an offline march attended by more than 10,000 people, but its reach was largely confined to those present and to traditional media coverage. The AfD held a much smaller indoor event, yet livestreaming on TikTok, YouTube, and other platforms, combined with the involvement of online influencers, gave it a reach and mobilising capacity far beyond that of the march. The contrast illustrates how the traditional parties’ methods of political mobilisation are increasingly struggling to keep pace with a political environment transformed by changes in media technology. A Microcosm of Structural Political Change in Europe The shockwaves from the Saxony-Anhalt election quickly travelled beyond the state to the federal level. Calls for political accountability followed immediately after the results were announced. The governing CDU and SPD are now under enormous pressure, while Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil face an unprecedented test. Political polarisation in Germany is no longer simply a regional phenomenon. The post-war model of multiparty government by establishment parties is breaking down and being reshaped. Viewed in a broader European context, the Saxony-Anhalt election is part of a continent-wide wave of party polarisation, mainstream-party decline, and rising right-wing forces. Far from an isolated phenomenon, it is a microcosm of the structural political changes unfolding across Europe. Weak economic growth, cultural tensions over immigration, and declining trust in institutions are fuelling the rise of right-wing forces in several countries, challenging the liberal internationalist order established in post-war Europe. As a core member state of the European Union, Germany’s ability to adapt its political system and the direction of its politics will have profound implications for both European integration and the evolution of the international order. Subscribe [ Pekingnology China’s Germany watchers take stock of Berlin’s uneasy turn On 7 December 2025, nearly 50 Chinese scholars and policy researchers gathered in Beijing for the 2025年德国形势年终研讨会 “2025 Year-End Seminar on the Situation in Germany… Read more 9 months ago · 31 likes · 1 comment · YIRUI LI and Yuxuan JIA ](https://www.pekingnology.com/p/chinas-germany-watchers-take-stock?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web&embedding_publication_id=1151841) [ Jiang Feng on Germany's 2025 and beyond: no easy exit ](https://www.eastisread.com/p/jiang-feng-on-germanys-2025-and-beyond) Yirui LI and Yuxuan JIA · Jan 24 The following is an op-ed by Jiang Feng, published on 29 December 2025 at Shanghai Observer 上观新闻, the digital platform of Jiefang Daily, the official newspaper of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). [ Read full story ](https://www.eastisread.com/p/jiang-feng-on-germanys-2025-and-beyond)
Drought and state neglect deepen health crisis for Peru’s recently contacted Matsés
A worsening convergence of drought driven by climate change, epidemic disease, and state neglect is creating a severe health emergency for the Indigenous Matsés people in the Peruvian Amazon. Mongabay staff writer Aimee Gabay traveled to Matsés territory to investigate the environmental threats to the region. Instead, she found Matsés communities suffering from severe outbreaks […]
Polystyrene nanoplastics may threaten reproductive health and offspring development
Plastic pollution is increasingly being recognized as more than an environmental problem. Tiny plastic particles can enter living organisms, circulate through biological systems, and potentially reach reproductive tissues.
DOH urges health precautions after Hurricane Lala
In the wake of Hurricane Lala, the Hawaiʻi Department of Health urges the public to be vigilant about health risks associated with heavy rains, high winds and power outages. Major storms create environmental conditions that can be detrimental to public health.
The Fed Moved. The Borrowing Math Changed for Businesses.
Citizens’ Mark Valentino and Eric Merlis unpack the business implications of the Federal Reserve’s latest rate hike, examining what the new borrowing environment means for investment and financial …
Erika La Plante Honored with Inaugural UC Regents Innovation Award
The associate professor of materials science and engineering, received the Best Startup Award for her work as co-founder and head of monitoring, reporting and verification and environmental strategy at Equatic.
Republicans Enter Final Midterm Stretch With a Significant Financial Edge
The party and its allies are currently set to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more on advertising than Democrats are, giving Republicans some hope in a tough midterm environment.
Environmental science takes an average of seven years to influence international policy, study finds
A new study led by the University of Alicante (UA) and the Mediterranean Center for Environmental Studies (CEAM) analyzes the barriers separating scientific knowledge from environmental policy and its ...
Halo 3, Mass Effect, BioShock, Rock Band, and More: Fall 2007 Was the Greatest Season in Xbox – and Also Gaming
The fact that you can slice up the Fall of 2007 in so many different ways – best Xbox season ever, best PC season ever, best November ever – and the argument for its unmatched brilliance still holds up is iron-clad proof that it is, indisputably, the best season in video game history.
Rochester Public Schools expands mental health teaching
In accordance with a new Minnesota mandate, Rochester Public Schools (RPS) is incorporating additional instruction and support for mental health into the school curriculum and environment.
Exclusive: Inside Brad Bird’s 30-Year Quest to Hard-boil the Future in Ray Gunn
The ‘Iron Giant’ filmmaker is shooting for another sci-fi favorite with his private-eye tale starring Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, and Tom Waits.
Noise pollution is a serious but often forgotten public health problem
Creating a quieter environment can improve your health – but you have to know what you’re listening for.
Environmental Science Takes an Average of Seven Years to Influence International Policy, Study Finds
A study led by the University of Alicante (UA) and the Mediterranean Centre for Environmental Studies (CEAM) analyses the barriers separating scientific knowledge from environmental policy and its effective implementation.
Six Girona footballers called up to their national teams
Six Girona FC footballers have been called up by their respective national teams to take part in international commitments during this September and October break.Vlad Vanat will be part of Ukraine's ...
Transformative Biological and Environmental Frontiers: Synthesizing the 2026 Tang Prize Science Laureates
The Tang Prize in Sustainable Development and Biopharmaceutical Science honors pivotal scientific advances that improve global health, restore damaged ecosystems, and deliver transformative medical treatments. The 2026 science laureates, Professor Susan Solomon for Sustainable Development, along with Dr. Steven A. Rosenberg, Dr. Michel Sadelain, and Dr. Carl H. June for Biopharmaceutical Science, demonstrate how disciplined
‘We need more cash’: Democrats privately flashing alarms over GOP spending deluge in midterms
Top Democrats across the country are privately warning that they do not have enough cash in the November midterm battle to capitalize on what could be their party’s best political environment in over a decade and are at serious risk of leaving winnable seats on the table.
Girona takes the three points from Cádiz
Girona FC won at Cádiz CF's stadium by 1-2. The Girona team went into halftime with a two-goal lead, and although Cádiz reduced the deficit in the second half, they managed to hold onto the result u...
Money Troubles Come To An End For 3 Zodiac Signs On Tuesday, September 22
Money troubles come to an end for three zodiac signs on September 22, 2026, during Chiron retrograde. They are: Cancer, Leo, and Capricorn.
Culturally Relevant Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Care Strategies
(Feature Impact) Driven by rising rates of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and other risk factors, cardiovascular disease has surpassed cancer as the leading cause of death among Hispanic adults in the United States. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('fixed-big-ad-top-asset'); }); Hispanic people represent nearly 1 in 5 of the U.S. population and are the nation’s largest ethnic minority group, yet many continue to face barriers to achieving heart health and accessing high-quality healthcare. A new scientific statement published in the American Heart Association’s flagship journal, “Circulation,” revealed how social, economic, cultural and environmental factors contribute to persistent disparities in cardiovascular health, calling for culturally tailored prevention strategies, equitable access to care and greater representation of Hispanic populations in cardiovascular research.“Hispanic populations in the U.S. are incredibly diverse even within their own communities with differences in genetic ancestry, language, cultural traditions and social experiences that can significantly influence cardiovascular health,” said Johanna Contreras, M.D., M.Sc., FAHA, director of the Division of Heart Failure and medical director of the Hispanic Heart Center within the Mount Sinai Health System. “Yet Hispanic people remain underrepresented overall in the research that guides prevention and treatment strategies… Without better representation and more detailed data, we risk overlooking important differences that can help us improve care and save lives.”Hispanic Cardiovascular Health by the NumbersCardiovascular risk factors – obesity (nearly 46%), type 2 diabetes (15.5%) and high blood pressure (approximately 44%) – are prevalent among Hispanic adults and often emerge at younger ages and occur more frequently among Hispanic adults compared with white adults.According to the report, only about 1 in 5 Hispanic adults achieves ideal cardiovascular health as defined by the American Heart Association’s original Life’s Simple 7 metrics. Updated analyses using the Life’s Essential 8 framework demonstrated persistent disparities for heart and brain health, as well as suboptimal dietary quality, sleep patterns and levels of physical activity.Social and Economic Barriers MatterBiology alone does not explain cardiovascular health disparities. The environments where people live, work and age, along with social and economic challenges, impact heart health. In fact, approximately 17% of Hispanics live below the federal poverty threshold, compared with 8.2% of white adults. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('fixed-big-ad-middle-asset'); }); “Many Hispanic adults face obstacles that extend far beyond the doctor’s office,” Contreras said. “Limited health insurance coverage, language differences, food insecurity, environmental exposures and concerns related to immigration status can make it more difficult to prevent disease, manage chronic conditions and receive timely treatment.”Contreras emphasized the cultural values and practices of Hispanic people also influence how they perceive their health and healthcare options.“Family plays a central role in many Hispanic communities and can be an extraordinary source of strength, support and resilience,” Contreras said. “At the same time, family members are often called upon to translate medical information, navigate health systems and help make healthcare decisions for loved ones. Those responsibilities can shape how health information is understood and acted upon.”An Action Plan for Improving Hispanic HealthThere are practical opportunities to achieve equitable cardiovascular health and reduce disparities through community engagement, culturally responsive care, inclusive research and policies that address the underlying drivers of health.“Reducing cardiovascular disease among Hispanic populations demands action at every level,” Contreras said, “from improving access to culturally responsive care and expanding research participation to addressing the social and environmental conditions that shape health.”By addressing both medical risk factors and the social conditions that shape health, experts believe there is an important opportunity to reduce disparities and help more people live longer, healthier lives. Learn more at Heart.org.Photo courtesy of Shutterstock googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('fixed-big-ad-bottom-asset'); });
Culturally Relevant Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Care Strategies
(Feature Impact) Driven by rising rates of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and other risk factors, cardiovascular disease has surpassed cancer as the leading cause of death among Hispanic adults in the United States.Hispanic people represent nearly 1 in 5 of the U.S. population and are the nation’s largest ethnic minority group, yet many continue to face barriers to achieving heart health and accessing high-quality healthcare. A new scientific statement published in the American Heart Association’s flagship journal, “Circulation,” revealed how social, economic, cultural and environmental factors contribute to persistent disparities in cardiovascular health, calling for culturally tailored prevention strategies, equitable access to care and greater representation of Hispanic populations in cardiovascular research.“Hispanic populations in the U.S. are incredibly diverse even within their own communities with differences in genetic ancestry, language, cultural traditions and social experiences that can significantly influence cardiovascular health,” said Johanna Contreras, M.D., M.Sc., FAHA, director of the Division of Heart Failure and medical director of the Hispanic Heart Center within the Mount Sinai Health System. “Yet Hispanic people remain underrepresented overall in the research that guides prevention and treatment strategies… Without better representation and more detailed data, we risk overlooking important differences that can help us improve care and save lives.”Hispanic Cardiovascular Health by the NumbersCardiovascular risk factors – obesity (nearly 46%), type 2 diabetes (15.5%) and high blood pressure (approximately 44%) – are prevalent among Hispanic adults and often emerge at younger ages and occur more frequently among Hispanic adults compared with white adults.According to the report, only about 1 in 5 Hispanic adults achieves ideal cardiovascular health as defined by the American Heart Association’s original Life’s Simple 7 metrics. Updated analyses using the Life’s Essential 8 framework demonstrated persistent disparities for heart and brain health, as well as suboptimal dietary quality, sleep patterns and levels of physical activity.Social and Economic Barriers MatterBiology alone does not explain cardiovascular health disparities. The environments where people live, work and age, along with social and economic challenges, impact heart health. In fact, approximately 17% of Hispanics live below the federal poverty threshold, compared with 8.2% of white adults.#placement_976606_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid976606 = window.pid976606 || rnd;var plc976606 = window.plc976606 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=976606;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid976606+';place='+(plc976606++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');“Many Hispanic adults face obstacles that extend far beyond the doctor’s office,” Contreras said. “Limited health insurance coverage, language differences, food insecurity, environmental exposures and concerns related to immigration status can make it more difficult to prevent disease, manage chronic conditions and receive timely treatment.”Contreras emphasized the cultural values and practices of Hispanic people also influence how they perceive their health and healthcare options.“Family plays a central role in many Hispanic communities and can be an extraordinary source of strength, support and resilience,” Contreras said. “At the same time, family members are often called upon to translate medical information, navigate health systems and help make healthcare decisions for loved ones. Those responsibilities can shape how health information is understood and acted upon.”An Action Plan for Improving Hispanic HealthThere are practical opportunities to achieve equitable cardiovascular health and reduce disparities through community engagement, culturally responsive care, inclusive research and policies that address the underlying drivers of health.“Reducing cardiovascular disease among Hispanic populations demands action at every level,” Contreras said, “from improving access to culturally responsive care and expanding research participation to addressing the social and environmental conditions that shape health.”By addressing both medical risk factors and the social conditions that shape health, experts believe there is an important opportunity to reduce disparities and help more people live longer, healthier lives. Learn more at Heart.org.Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
New England Patriots Starter Suffers Major Injury in Week 2
The New England Patriots were able to shake off their rough Week 1 performance with a dominant 20-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the team was able to look better this week, they have an injury to an important player on the offensive side of the ball. Let’s take a closer look at who […] The post New England Patriots Starter Suffers Major Injury in Week 2 appeared first on Gridiron Heroics.
'Rusty Treasure' in Austria Revealed as Europe's Largest Cache of Iron Age Iron Bars
500 swords' worth.
'Nothing short of a minor miracle': 'Rusty treasure' found in the Danube is full of 2,000-year-old iron bars that could equip an entire army with weapons
Archaeologists in Austria have analyzed a collection of 500 iron bars that were likely lost in a Danube shipwreck 2,200 years ago.
Green Bay Packers Reveal Brutal Injury News After Beating Jets
The Green Bay Packers were able to pull out an ugly win over the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon. Despite trailing in the fourth quarter by a score of 17-7, the team was able to come all the way back to take home a 20-17 victory. With the win, the Packers moved to 1-1 […] The post Green Bay Packers Reveal Brutal Injury News After Beating Jets appeared first on Gridiron Heroics.
LSU Loss to Ole Miss Reveals Truths About Team
We learned a lot during the latest Magnolia Bowl. Thanks to Lane Kiffin, we expected the stage in Mississippi to rank among the peak game backdrops in the sport, and it delivered. The raucous environment in Oxford, Mississippi, exposed the college football world to the raw energy of hatred and the passion that accompanies a …
Minecraft Takes Science to a New Level: A Fly’s Brain Was Transplanted Into the Video Game
The experiment demonstrated the potential of gaming as a tool for testing consciousness in a virtual environment.
Poll: Most voters say Trump has hurt the economy as competitive midterm election looms
Trump’s approval and economic ratings point to a gloomy environment for the GOP, but the race for Congress is closer than in his first midterm, with the Democratic Party still unpopular.
UH gets $3.6M grant to study health risks from state’s plantation-era contamination
A University of Hawaii at Manoa-led research team has received a five-year, $3.6 million National Institutes of Health grant to investigate whether pollutants left behind by Hawaii’s plantation era still could be affecting residents’ health — and whether wildfires and other natural disasters can bring those contaminants back into the environment.
A 66-million-year-old tooth reveals T. rex was nearly as warm as a human
Chemical clues preserved inside fossilized T. rex teeth reveal that the dinosaur maintained a body temperature of about 97 degrees Fahrenheit, almost identical to humans. The finding provides direct evidence that the giant predator was warm-blooded, helping explain how it stayed active and survived in chilly environments as far north as Alaska.
Bills’ Heartfelt Gesture Makes Highmark Stadium Debut Unforgettable for Buffalo
For over fifty years, Buffalo Bills‘ football thrived in the raw, ice-bound atmosphere of the original Highmark Stadium. Due to the necessity of modern facilities Bills’ went through a transition and now they have a $2.1 billion dollar worth stadium. The stadium finally welcomed the fans and the organization didn’t forget to make it special […] The post Bills’ Heartfelt Gesture Makes Highmark Stadium Debut Unforgettable for Buffalo appeared first on Gridiron Heroics.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs leans into a GOP-friendly message in battleground Arizona
Even as the political environment favors her party, Hobbs is focused on the middle as she seeks a second term in a state Trump won in 2024.