Wednesday 8th May 2024

Latin America: several countries look to combat gang violence by fighting fire with fire

Gangs have an enduring presence in Latin America. They have existed as power brokers, illicit economic actors and spoilers in the developmental processes of several countries. And yet, despite their power and influence, the gangs have long been regarded merely as irritants – always present but never strong enough to rock the boat.

Fast forward to the present day and we are presented with a whole new configuration. Criminal gangs have become a critical power to reckon with. From island nations like Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago to big economic powerhouses such as Brazil and Mexico, gang menace is spreading fast.

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Novelist J.G. Ballard was experimenting with computer-generated poetry 50 years before ChatGPT was invented

The novelist and short story writer J.G. Ballard, is known for conjuring warped and reimagined versions of the world he occupied. Dealing with strange exaggerations of realities and often detailing the breakdown of social norms, his unconventional works are hard to categorise.

Sitting on the edge of reality, these unsettling visions often provoked controversy. Eschewing a science-fiction of the distant future, Ballard described his own work as being set in “a kind of visionary present”.

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Most Gypsy and Traveller sites in Great Britain are located within 100 metres of major pollutants, shows research

Gypsy and Traveller communities are among the more socially excluded groups in the UK. There is a long history of government failures in meeting these groups’ housing needs.

The shortage of sites has resulted in a homelessness problem. Those who do secure pitches on council-managed sites often have to contend with living near potential hazards.

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Assisted dying: why Scotland should be wary of changing the law

Scotland took the first step towards legalising assisted dying on March 27 with the publication of the assisted dying for terminally ill adults (Scotland) bill. If the law is passed, Scotland would become the first UK nation to offer terminally ill people assistance to end their lives.

The bill’s promoter, the Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur, cites uncontroversial-sounding principles of compassion, autonomy and legal clarity as the bill’s objectives.

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Africa dramatically dried out 5,500 years ago - our new study may warn us of future climate tipping points

Addis Ababa University provides support as an endorsing partner of The Conversation AFRICA.

Around five and half millenia ago, northern Africa went through a dramatic transformation. The Sahara desert expanded and grasslands, forests and lakes favoured by humans disappeared. Humans were forced to retreat to the mountains, the oases, and the Nile valley and delta.

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How 2-Tone brought new ideas about race and culture to young people beyond the inner cities

This Town, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight’s latest drama for the BBC, brings to life a defining – if short-lived – era in the history of British youth culture and popular music. Set in the West Midlands against the backdrop of industrial decline and social unrest in the early 1980s, the drama unfolds to the syncopated sounds of 2-Tone.

A furious mix of punk and Jamaican ska, 2-Tone became a genuinely national phenomenon, bursting out of a bedsit in Coventry and into the charts and the popular consciousness.

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As climate change amplifies urban flooding, here's how communities can become 'sponge cities'

“When it rains, it pours” once was a metaphor for bad things happening in clusters. Now it’s becoming a statement of fact about rainfall in a changing climate.

Across the continental U.S., intense single-day precipitation events are growing more frequent, fueled by warming air that can hold increasing levels of moisture. Most recently, areas north of Houston received 12 to 20 inches (30 to 50 centimeters) of rain in several days in early May 2024, leading to swamped roads and evacuations.

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The National Aboriginal Hockey Championship celebrates the strength of Indigenous sporting communities

Carriera Joy Lamoureux works for the Manitoba Aboriginal Sports & Recreation Council (MASRC).

The puck has dropped on another National Aboriginal Hockey Championship (NAHC) — one of Canada’s most unique youth athletic competitions and cultural celebrations. This year’s tournament runs from May 5 to 11.

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An outsider on the inside: how Ans Westra created New Zealand's 'national photo album'

They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of what it means to be a New Zealander. Even at the point of publication, their works seem anachronistic and clichéd.

Harnessing the New Zealand identity has proven to be as challenging as clutching at fog – it may be apparent everywhere, but it seems impossible to pin down.

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Controversial 'Steal from Loblaws Day' is not just illegal -- it won't foster meaningful change

Posters declaring May 12 the first annual “Steal from Loblaws Day” began popping up across Toronto the last week of April. They have since spread, and have been sighted in Atlantic Canada as well.

The appearance of these posters has sparked intense discussions both online and offline. While some appear to support it in the face of perceived corporate greed, others have condemned the promotion of theft as unethical and illegal.

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