By Humaira Hansrod | – Citizens of Saudi Arabia are having to get used to something that has long been an unpleasant fact of life in most parts of the world. On July 1, the kingdom tripled the VAT levied on consumer goods and services from 5% to 15%. There were reports of frantic stockpiling […]
Islam’s anti-racist message from the 7th century still resonates today
By Asma Afsaruddin | – One day, in Mecca, the Prophet Muhammad dropped a bombshell on his followers: He told them that all people are created equal. “All humans are descended from Adam and Eve,” said Muhammad in his last known public speech. “There is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab, or of […]
How racism in US health system hinders care and costs lives of African Americans
By Tamika C.B. Zapolski | – As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the U.S., the virus hit African Americans disproportionately hard. African Americans are still contracting the illness – and dying from it – at rates twice as high as would be expected based on their share of the population. In Michigan, African Americans are […]
The Corporations that are Swinging behind Green Energy may make all the Difference in Climate Emergency
By Zdravka Tzankova | – The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea My new analysis of companies that seek to buy renewable electricity finds that business is becoming a powerful new ally in the U.S. political battle to stop climate change. Driven by pressure from environmental groups and […]
Netanyahu’s proposed annexation of the Palestinian West Bank could Provoke a ‘diplomatic tsunami’ against Israel
By Tony Walker | – In a deadly game of Middle East cat and mouse, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is continuing to weigh his options in pushing ahead with plans to extend Israeli sovereignty over territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 war. This is a highly complex issue involving multiple calculations, diplomatic and […]
New research shows the South Pole is warming faster than the rest of the world
By Kyle Clem | – Climate scientists long thought Antarctica’s interior may not be very sensitive to warming, but our research, published today, shows a dramatic change. Over the past 30 years, the South Pole has been one of the fastest changing places on Earth, warming more than three times more rapidly than the rest […]
With a 500-Year History in N. America, Muslim-Americans assert Solidarity with Black Lives Matter
By Amir Hussain | – The killing of George Floyd took place at the doorstep of Muslim America. He was killed in front of Cup Foods, a store owned by an Arab American Muslim, whose teenage employee – also a Muslim – had earlier reported to police that Floyd tried to use a counterfeit $20 […]
How Modern Human-Driven Climate Change began with European colonisation, mass slavery and the ‘great dying’ of the 16th century
By Mark Maslin and Simon Lewis | – The toppling of statues at Black Lives Matter protests has powerfully articulated that the roots of modern racism lie in European colonisation and slavery. Racism will be more forcefully opposed once we acknowledge this history and learn from it. Geographers and geologists can help contribute to this […]
Saudi Arabia was hoping to replace Failing Oil with Tourism: Then Covid-19 Hit
By Seán McLoughlin | – Saudi Arabia has finally clarified that due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic only very limited numbers of local pilgrims will be allowed to perform Hajj in 2020. During the past decade, the kingdom has typically welcomed between 1.9 to 3.2 million pilgrims per year from across the Muslim world, generating […]
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