Death

3 things to watch for in Russia’s presidential election – other than Putin’s win, that is

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

While the result may be a foregone conclusion, the election offers an important glimpse into the Kremlin’s domestic challenges as it continues a war against Ukraine that recently entered its third year.

Key Points: 
  • While the result may be a foregone conclusion, the election offers an important glimpse into the Kremlin’s domestic challenges as it continues a war against Ukraine that recently entered its third year.
  • As an expert on Russian politics, I have identified three key developments worth paying attention to during and after the upcoming election.

1. Don’t mention the war (too much)

  • With Russian domestic media and politics all but gutted of dissenting voices, the war has become the organizing principle of post-2022 Russian politics, shaping all major policies and decisions.
  • Yet, while the context of the war looms large, its role is largely implicit rather than occupying center stage.
  • There are relatively few ardent supporters of the war, outweighed by a more general sense of fatigue among the public.
  • Yet the war is putting pressure on the government’s ability to juggle ensuring a disengaged population and bolstering support for a grinding war that demands unprecedented resources.
  • That choice surprised some insiders, who expected Putin to weave his announcement into a high-profile, choreographed event focusing on domestic achievements and not the ongoing war.

2. Pressure to deliver results for Putin

  • For officials, the election is a litmus test for their ability to muster administrative resources and deliver Putin an electoral windfall.
  • Most reports suggest the Kremlin is hoping to engineer that the turnout is at least 70%, with around 80% of the vote for Putin – which would surpass his 76.7% share from 2018.
  • For observers of Russian politics, what will be of interest is not the result itself, but how the result is produced during wartime conditions.
  • Moreover, political disengagement and the certainty of a Putin victory means that interest in voting is at an all-time low.

3. Silencing political opposition

  • The death of longtime Putin critic Alexei Navalny in February 2024 was a huge blow to the opposition but is representative of the state of political repression in Russia.
  • Since 2018, some 116,000 Russians have faced political repression.
  • Yet the scale of public mourning for Navalny and the enthusiasm for Nadezhdin reveal that despite draconian wartime censorship and repression, there remains a sizable bloc of Russians eager for authentic political alternatives.


Adam Lenton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Ukraine war: Pope Francis should learn from his WWII predecessor’s mistakes in appeasing fascism

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

Pope Francis has provoked fury by suggesting in a television interview that Ukraine should find “the courage to raise the white flag”.

Key Points: 
  • Pope Francis has provoked fury by suggesting in a television interview that Ukraine should find “the courage to raise the white flag”.
  • As Pope Pius XII, Eugenio Pacelli led the Catholic Church throughout the second world war.
  • However, while Hitler’s determination to eliminate the Jewish people was brought to his attention, he did not publicly condemn it.
  • Though he admired the authoritarian regimes of Franco in Spain and Salazar in Portugal, Pius XII was not pro Nazi.

‘Catholics will be loyal’

  • He told the German chancellor:
    I am certain that if peace between Church and state is restored, everyone will be pleased.
  • The German people are united in their love for the Fatherland.
  • I am certain that if peace between Church and state is restored, everyone will be pleased.
  • He feared that criticism of Hitler’s regime would provoke harm to German Catholics.
  • In August 1942 Pius XII received a letter from Andrej Septyckj, a Ukrainian Cleric, bearing news of the massacre of 200,000 Jews in Ukraine.
  • Pius XII flirted with public criticism of Nazi inhumanity in his 1942 Christmas Eve broadcast.

Evil then and now

  • As I discovered while researching my book, Reporting the Second World War - The Press and the People 1939-1945, he could have learned as much by reading British newspapers.
  • In autumn 1942, titles including The Times and Daily Mail reported the World Jewish Congress’s belief that a million Jews had already died.
  • Today, his successor might contemplate the damage inflicted on his wartime predecessor’s reputation by his meek collusion with the wrong side.
  • Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba responded caustically to Pope Francis’s crass comments with: “Our flag is a yellow and blue one.


Tim Luckhurst has received funding from News UK and Ireland Ltd. He is a member of the Free Speech Union and the Society of Editors

Is my water safe to drink? Expert advice for residents of South African cities

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

In early March 2024 the residents of Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city and the economic capital of the country, were hit by extended cuts in water supplies. This was a new low after months of continuous deterioration. Professor in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand Craig Sheridan sets out the risks this poses to drinking water in the city. What can get into my water that will make me sick?You can have chemicals in the water that are toxic, or you can have pathogenic organisms which can make you ill.

Key Points: 


In early March 2024 the residents of Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city and the economic capital of the country, were hit by extended cuts in water supplies. This was a new low after months of continuous deterioration. Professor in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand Craig Sheridan sets out the risks this poses to drinking water in the city.

What can get into my water that will make me sick?

  • You can have chemicals in the water that are toxic, or you can have pathogenic organisms which can make you ill.
  • As a general rule, South Africa’s water works are able to remove almost all chemicals such that the water is safe to drink.
  • The water treatment works also disinfect the water, killing harmful bacteria and viruses.

Is my tap water safe to drink?

  • And if the water has residual chlorine in it, that means the supply to your home is good.
  • Unfortunately, this relies on drinking water treatment works functioning properly, which is not always the case.
  • The department of water and sanitation runs an auditing process of the water treatment works and the water they supply.

My water supply has been interrupted a lot. Is my tap water safe to drink?

  • If there is no water in the pipe, and there is an underground sewage leak near the water pipe, or contaminated storm water near the pipe, there’s a real possibility that contaminated water can enter the pipe.
  • As water supply returns, this “first flush” down the pipe has the potential to contain contaminants.
  • If your water remains brown or discoloured, report it and drink purified water.

I get my water from a mobile water tanker. Is this safe to drink?

  • But there are far too many instances of
    unscrupulous, roaming water tanker suppliers selling water, especially in areas with no access to safe tap water.
  • Since water supplies have become less dependable, the state has turned to businesses to supply water to communities.
  • If this is the case, it is sensible to purify the water.

What are the diseases that make drinking water unsafe? How are they spread?

  • When water is sent to a laboratory for testing, the first test is for an organism called Escherichia coli, or E. coli.
  • But if it is found in the water, there is absolute certainty that the water has been contaminated with faecal matter which has not been properly treated.
  • This is why it is used as a screening tool for more serious diseases which are also spread through faecal matter.
  • It is highly contagious and can spread by contact mainly from drinking contaminated water, food or from unwashed hands.

If I store water in bottles, how long before it’s unsafe to drink?

  • How warm is the water?
  • Water safety cannot be fully assured without analysing the actual water.
  • At the Centre of Water Research and Development we are doing research partly funded through the Water Research Commission to develop test strips to give a rapid analysis of drinking water quality that can easily be understood by the general public.

Is purifying water difficult?


At the University of the Witwatersrand we commissioned a short animation in all of South Africa’s 11 official languages as well as French and Portuguese on how to prevent cholera transmission and how to purify your water to ensure you stay safe. We have also shared guidance on how to purify your water to make it safe.
Craig Sheridan receives funding from The Claude Leon Foundation, the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), The Water JPI, The BMBF, FORMAS and the Water Research Commission. Craig Sheridan is a member of the South African Institution of Chemical Engineers (SAIChE), the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), and the International Water Association (IWA).

Rishi Sunak’s plan to redefine extremism is disingenuous – and a threat to democracy

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

This, he has argued, is needed because “our democracy itself is a target” of antisemitic and Islamophobic extremists.

Key Points: 
  • This, he has argued, is needed because “our democracy itself is a target” of antisemitic and Islamophobic extremists.
  • However, the reality is that no measures do more damage to democracy than policy proposals like the one Sunak is promoting.
  • The UK already has a definition for extremism, which is used in efforts to tackle terrorism.
  • A key reason why this definition is not contained in legislation is because it is so vague and unclear.

Vague to vaguer

  • What does it mean to undermine or overturn the rights or freedoms of others?
  • Would arguing for the UK to leave the European convention on human rights count meet the bar?
  • What about calling for restrictions on the right to free speech or the right to protest?

Existing laws are enough

  • But the UK already has numerous laws in place to tackle what it considers to be unacceptable behaviour at protests.
  • The Terrorism Act (which is also incredibly broad) can be used to prosecute people who damage property or create a serious risk to public safety during protests.
  • Counter-terrorism laws can also capture forms of expression at public demonstrations or online.
  • This can now be applied by he police to criminalise protests that are considered to be making too much noise.

The right to protest

  • People may self-censor out of fear of being identified as extremist, not least when their employer has a duty under Prevent.
  • There is a deep danger of conflating protest with extremism and terrorism, undermining the legitimacy of these protests.
  • To stretch the concept of extremism to cover these views is what is actually undermining democracy and the rights and freedoms of others.


Alan Greene does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Pacific Islanders have long drawn wisdom from the Earth, the sky and the waves. Research shows the science is behind them

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

One man mentioned a black-winged storm bird known as “manumanunicagi” that glides above the land only when a cyclone is forming out to sea.

Key Points: 
  • One man mentioned a black-winged storm bird known as “manumanunicagi” that glides above the land only when a cyclone is forming out to sea.
  • As the conversation continued, residents named at least 11 bird species, the odd behaviour of which signalled imminent changes in the weather.
  • We reviewed evidence on traditional knowledge in the Pacific for coping with climate change, and found much of it was scientifically plausible.

A proven, robust system

  • People have inhabited the Pacific Islands for 3,000  years or more and have experienced many climate-driven challenges to their livelihoods and survival.
  • They have coped not by luck but by design – through robust systems of traditional knowledge built by diverse groups of people over time.
  • Traditional knowledge in the Pacific explains the causes and manifestations of natural phenomena, and identifies the best ways to respond.

Reading the ocean and sky

  • In Vanuatu’s Torres Islands, 13 phrases exist to describe the state of the tide, including anomalies that herald uncommon events.
  • Distant storms can drive ocean swells onto coasts long before the winds and rain arrive, changing the usual patterns of waves.
  • Winds that blow from the east (matā ‘upolu) indicate the imminent arrival of heavy rain, possibly a tropical cyclone.
  • Many Pacific Island communities believe a cloudless, dark blue sky signals the arrival of a tropical cyclone.

The wisdom of animals and plants

  • In Tonga, when the frigate bird flies across the land – unusual behaviour for an ocean species – it signals a tropical cyclone is developing.
  • Another study, which included data on frigate birds in the Pacific, found seabirds appeared to circumvent cyclones, probably by sensing wind strength and direction.
  • Traditional knowledge about insect behaviour in the Pacific Islands is also used to predict wet weather.
  • Across the Pacific, common signs of impending wet weather are found in the behaviours of some plants.
  • This can be explained scientifically by a process in which plant leaves close to protect their reproductive organs from extreme weather.

Planning for a warmer future

  • This is true of the Pacific Islands, where in some places, traditional knowledge is all but forgotten.
  • As climate change impacts worsen, optimal planning for island peoples should combine both approaches.


Patrick D. Nunn receives funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) via the Australia Pacific Climate Partnership (APCP), the Australian Research Council, and the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research. Roselyn Kumar receives funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) via the Australia Pacific Climate Partnership (APCP)

All of Us Strangers buys into tropes of tragic queer lives – but there is hope there, too

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

On the surface, All of Us Strangers, directed by Andrew Haigh, is a dark and twisty love story.

Key Points: 
  • On the surface, All of Us Strangers, directed by Andrew Haigh, is a dark and twisty love story.
  • Underneath, there is the often-present storyline seen in queer cinema: that of trauma and tragedy.
  • All of Us Strangers follows lonely middle-aged gay man Adam (Andrew Scott), struggling to come to terms with his tragic past and sexuality.

Queer representation

  • Queer representation in mainstream media has historically been marred by negative stereotypes, tokenistic representation and death.
  • In my recent interactive documentary, Queer Representation Matters, queer media scholars and queer screen storytellers share how queer characters are often relegated to roles characterised by tragedy or trauma, perpetuating harmful tropes like “bury your gays”.
  • Online queer news site, Autostraddle, have compiled a list of the 230+ dead queer female TV characters, which continues to be updated with each death.
  • Essentially, for queer people, it starts to feel like you can’t have queer representation without someone dying tragically at the end.
  • Read more:
    We studied two decades of queer representation on Australian TV, and found some interesting trends

We need diverse stories

  • Tropes will always exist in storytelling, but by having more diverse queer filmmakers telling more diverse queer stories, audiences will have a more balanced narrative about queer life (and life expectancy).
  • We need to see stories that challenge the narrative that being queer ultimately leads to pain, trauma and tragedy.
  • We need to see we can also live long and happy lives, so we can believe we can have the happy ever after.
  • Read more:
    All of Us Strangers: heartbreaking film speaks to real experiences of gay men in UK and Ireland


Natalie Krikowa does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Surviving fishing gear entanglement isn’t enough for endangered right whales – females still don’t breed afterward

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

On Feb. 14, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that the whale was #5120 in a catalog that tracks individual right whales.

Key Points: 
  • On Feb. 14, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that the whale was #5120 in a catalog that tracks individual right whales.
  • Further, the agency said, rope that had been deeply embedded in the whale’s tail had likely come from lobster fishing gear in Maine.
  • Entanglement in fishing gear is a deadly threat to these critically endangered animals.
  • Scientists estimate that before commercial whaling scaled up in the 18th and 19th centuries, there may have been as many as 10,000 North Atlantic right whales.
  • When whales become entangled in fishing gear, they use extra energy dragging it as they swim.

Smaller females are having fewer young

  • By 2018 there were only about 73 breeding females left, representing roughly half of all females and a sixth of the entire species.
  • Other research has shown that poor health and physical condition are making it harder for these females to even start breeding.
  • Smaller whales have fewer calves.
  • Many organizations are involved in tracking North Atlantic right whales, including government agencies, aquariums and conservation groups.
  • Even females who have previously reproduced are less likely to breed again following an entanglement event.
  • By identifying and photographing whales repeatedly over time, scientists can estimate different stages of their life, such as when females give birth.

Weakness of current regulations

  • If they are larger and enter the blubber, they are classified as moderate.
  • Our research makes it clear that such value-laden terms are potentially misleading because even minor entanglements can threaten whales’ successful reproduction.
  • In our view, these measures do not give enough weight to preventing all types of entanglements, regardless of severity.
  • And the plan closes trap fishing areas seasonally when whales are known to be present in those zones.

Coming back from the brink

  • While these estimates seem promising, females need to start and continue producing calves to increase whales’ numbers.
  • From our work, it is very clear that both lethal and sublethal impacts of entanglements are of grave concern for these whales.
  • She also is a member of the International Whaling Commission Scientific Committee.
  • Peter Corkeron consults for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility on right whale conservation issues.
  • Rob Harcourt receives funding from the Australian Federal Government Department of Climate Change, Environment, Energy and Water for research on right whales.

What can we expect from six more years of Vladimir Putin? An increasingly weak and dysfunctional Russia

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

The only real question is whether he will receive more than 75% of the vote.

Key Points: 
  • The only real question is whether he will receive more than 75% of the vote.
  • It could be tempting to see these results as a sign of the strength of the Russian system.
  • It is also increasingly dysfunctional, trapped in a cycle of poor quality and weak governance that cannot be solved by one man, no matter how much power he has.

The constitutional dark arts

  • This centralisation is the product of an increasingly common logic that I call the “constitutional dark arts”.
  • This logic generally holds that democracy and rights protection are best guaranteed in a constitutional system that centralises authority in one elected leader.
  • This line of thinking is present in many populist, authoritarian countries, such as Hungary and Turkey.
  • Thirty years later, however, we can see how this use of the “constitutional dark arts” backfired spectacularly.

Poor quality governance in Russia

  • Although this centralised system has allowed Putin to dominate politics, it fosters weak and poor governance, particularly outside Moscow.
  • First, centralised decision-making in Russia is often made using incomplete or false information.
  • It was based on intelligence that the operation would be over quickly and Ukrainians would likely welcome Russian forces.
  • In his February 29 address to parliament, Putin tacitly acknowledged these problems, promising new national projects to improve infrastructure, support families and enhance the quality of life.

An increasingly dysfunctional Russia

  • Externally, this centralisation is likely to produce an increasingly unpredictable Russia, led by a man making decisions on the basis of an increasingly paranoid world view and incorrect or manipulated information.
  • It will likely foster harsher repression of any dissenting voices inside Russia, as well.
  • We are also likely to see an increasingly dysfunctional Russia, one in which roads, housing, schools, health care and other infrastructure will continue to deteriorate, particularly outside of Moscow.


William Partlett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Where’s Kate? Speculation about the ‘missing’ princess is proof the Palace’s media playbook needs a re-write

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

Social media have been awash with speculation about Catherine’s health and whereabouts.

Key Points: 
  • Social media have been awash with speculation about Catherine’s health and whereabouts.
  • As scrutiny reaches a fever pitch, we ask: why is the Palace’s typical media playbook no longer working?

Not so ‘unprecedented’

  • Anne Boleyn (circa 1501-1536), the second of six wives of Henry VIII, was executed after being found guilty of adultery, incest and treason.
  • The long-reigning Queen Victoria (1819-1901) was widely regarded as as a loyal wife and mother.
  • Yet she too became the target of gossip regarding her close friendship with Scottish servant John Brown after her husband, Prince Albert, died in 1861.

The Palace’s strategic communications

  • The royal family has gradually adjusted to new media and technologies, though not as quickly as the public might like.
  • On one hand, the Palace continues its age-old tradition of announcing major news on a noticeboard at the gates of Buckingham Palace.

Internet sleuthing and a manipulated image

  • There were also more serious claims that she was in a coma, or dead, or getting a divorce.
  • In the midst of this speculation, TMZ published a grainy photo of Catherine in the passenger seat of a car near Windsor Castle.
  • The public quickly realised the image was at best poorly photoshopped or at worst AI-generated.
  • The Associated Press, Getty Images, AFP and Reuters subsequently issued “kill notices” on the image, stating concerns it had been digitally manipulated.

Old media PR won’t work in a new media world

  • The situation with Catherine’s absence from public life exposes the limits of old media strategies in a “new media” world.
  • The Palace is used to being able to control media coverage through the royal rota, a select group of press outlets in the UK given access to royal events.
  • Yet the interest in Catherine’s health has prompted a number of statements to the press.
  • These old media strategies don’t seem to be working, with news outlets that are part of the royal rota reporting critically on the manipulated image.


The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Affluent Medical : Excellent valve performance at 1 year follow up and rising recognition of Epygon biomimetic mitral valve.

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

Affluent Medical : Excellent valve performance at 1 year follow up and rising recognition of Epygon biomimetic mitral valve.

Key Points: 
  • Affluent Medical : Excellent valve performance at 1 year follow up and rising recognition of Epygon biomimetic mitral valve.
  • The article summarizes the procedure and the follow up at 6 months, which showed continued good prosthetic performance.
  • Examination through a transesophageal echocardiogram revealed excellent valve performance, with neither mitral regurgitation nor paravalvular leak.
  • Mitral valve regurgitation is a serious and potentially fatal disease affecting 2% of the world's population, or approximately 160 million people.