Category: English

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Neville Morley, Professor in Classics, Ancient History, Religion, and Theology, University of Exeter

In his opening remarks at his summit with Donald Trump on May 15, the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, invoked the fifth-century BC Greek historian Thucydides to issue a veiled warning to the US president.

“The world has come to a new crossroads. Can China and the United States transcend the so-called ‘Thucydides Trap’ and forge a new paradigm for major-power relations?”

Thucydides has been surprisingly prominent in international affairs this year. In January, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney cited the famous line from the Melian Dialogue, that the “strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must”, to warn against the decline of a rules-based order. Others have quoted it to describe US military action in Venezuela and Iran – both positively and negatively.

Xi looked instead to Thucydides’ view of the “truest, though least discussed, reason” for the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. The most familiar translation of his words, from 1875, is that: “It was the rise of Athens, and the fear this aroused in Sparta, that made war inevitable.”

American international relations scholar Graham Allison developed from this the idea of Thucydides’s Trap. Thucydides’ stated goal was that readers would find his history useful for understanding future events. So, Allison argued, we can turn his words into a general principle: when an “established power” like Sparta is confronted with a “rising power” like Athens, conflict is usually the result.

History, claims Allison, bears this out. Across the centuries, 12 out of 16 examples of an established great power facing an upstart rival have resulted in war, including the two world wars. Will this also be the case between the USA, the global hegemon since the Soviet Union collapsed, and a resurgent China challenging its dominance, especially economically?

Three traps

Allison’s idea was much discussed. In 2017, he was invited to the White House to talk about it in relation to China and the US. So Xi’s mention of the Thucydides Trap was less a new idea than a call-back to the first Trump presidency. The theory has been taken seriously by the Chinese government, if only as a guide to American thinking. It has been identified as one of three traps faced by China today, together with the Tacitus Trap and the Middle Income Trap.

Discussion of the Thucydides Trap has largely focused on Allison’s account of the contemporary situation. Debate has centred on whether his characterisation of the US-China relationship is correct, and whether the advent of nuclear weapons and/or economic interdependence has changed the dynamic.

Allison offered the Thucydides Trap as a warning, to encourage both governments to pursue compromise and cooperation. The risk is that the established power might think Thucydides is telling them to suppress potential rivals before they become a threat – even if that makes war more likely. Hence Xi’s emphasis on avoiding the trap. But China hawks see that as a ruse to delay conflict until the balance of power is more even.

Cautionary tale

Since this is presented as a theory grounded in historical data and the authority of Thucydides, it is worth noting that it is questionable on both counts. Characterising many past conflicts as concerning just two rival powers, established and rising, is dubious; was the first world war just about Britain and Germany, for example?

As for Thucydides, the crucial line is a very loose translation of what he actually wrote, which is much more ambiguous. A more literal version: “Athens becoming great caused the Spartans to fear, and compelled towards war.” Compelled whom? Thucydides doesn’t specify. The Spartans? (And if so, were they actually compelled, or simply felt themselves to be compelled?) Both sides? Or the whole situation? Is he just being unclear – or is this deliberate, to push his readers to think more deeply?

Having offered this opaque and slightly ambiguous statement, Thucydides then presented a detailed narrative of the events leading to Sparta’s declaration of war. This included many points where things might arguably have turned out differently. His interpretation emphasised both short- and long-term developments, and both individual decisions and emotions as well as structural factors. His “trap” is much more complex – and it’s definitely not inevitable.

This is very familiar to discerning readers of Thucydides. His work doesn’t offer straightforward laws of war and politics, but sets out the complexity of human behaviour in a way which prompts us to think more deeply about it. But his ideas are often wrongly presented as simplistic principles that supposedly explain the world.

Trump’s response to Xi – that the USA may have been in decline under Biden but it’s now the hottest country ever – is a misreading even of Allison’s simplified version of Thucydides. The “Trap” theory says nothing about decline, only that the established superpower now faces a rival.

But anxiety about decline and decadence now pervades western thought. Perhaps this is evidence for the same sort of fear that came to govern Spartan thinking and, as Thucydides himself recounted, drew both states into a destructive war.

Neville Morley 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.

– ref. Xi warned Trump against the ‘Thucydides Trap’ – here’s what ancient Greece can tell us about US-China relations – https://theconversation.com/xi-warned-trump-against-the-thucydides-trap-heres-what-ancient-greece-can-tell-us-about-us-china-relations-283106

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Adam Johnston, Honorary Research Associate in Peatland Hydrology, University of Manchester

Thousands of holes are appearing in the Pennine hills, as part of efforts to improve carbon storage by restoring damaged peatland.

Peat itself is carbon rich and so as it grows it will help to capture the CO₂ that is produced by industrial fossil fuel use that is warming the atmosphere.

Meanwhile, damaged or drained peatlands turn into a carbon source, releasing greenhouses gases themselves. About 15% of the world’s peatlands have been drained, making these kind of restoration projects essential.

But now a new project is attempting to bring these wetlands back to life. On Holcombe Moor in the West Pennines, 3,000 bunds were created in 2021, with a further 700 in 2024 as part of Natural England’s Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme. Improvements are already starting to be seen.

What’s the history here?

The hills of the West Pennines are no stranger to holes, with a long history of lead and coal mining stretching back to the Roman period.

Coal fired the mills nearby during the industrial revolution in cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield. Smoke drifted back to the hills, carrying the heavy metal impurities of lead and arsenic from coal burning.

The industrial legacy remains visible in the elevated concentrations of heavy metals near the soil surface, which made it difficult for most plants to survive. Areas were stripped of all vegetation, leaving expanses of exposed soil. In the most affected places, these erosional gullies cut deep into the surface, turning places like Kinder Scout into a moonscape.

What was exposed and eroded so quickly had taken over 8,000 years to form. Much of the Pennines are covered in blanket peatland, a type of bog made through the slow accumulation of partially decayed plant matter (the type of soil we call peat).

The conditions for peat to form require a delicate balance, with the water table maintained high enough to limit the decomposition of plant matter, while still allowing plants to grow. Not just any plant can tolerate these harsh growing conditions. One species is truly specialised to bog life and forms the main building block of peat itself – Sphagnum.

Finding a super moss

Sphagnum moss is the key ecosystem engineer in peatlands, holding up to 20 times its weight in water to maintain the saturated conditions needed for its growth.

When in a healthy state, new Sphagnum grows up through the older moss, raising the water table with it to leave the older moss submerged, partially decayed, which forms the peat itself. Bogs grow only millimetres per year, but over millennia this can build several metres of peat.

The organic nature of peat means it is carbon rich, so much so that UK peatlands store over 3 billion tonnes of carbon, around ten times more than all UK woodland carbon stocks.

Restored wetlands could also help protect the area from wildfires at the UK starts to see more extreme temperatures.

Human pressure and pollution

With human pressures, including past industrial pollution, bog growth has been disrupted. Sphagnum has disappeared from these peatlands.

Now, peatland restoration efforts are under way. From the early 2000s organisations including Moors for the Future Partnership have spent decades blocking gullies to raise water tables, reseeding bare peat and planting Sphagnum moss, transforming the worst affected peatlands from dark moonscapes to vibrant green moss-scapes.

Though blocking erosional gullies with stone or timber dams has proven successful in deeply eroded peat, restoring flatter moorland plateaux presents a different set of challenges. Namely, how to restore the wet conditions required to encourage more Sphagnum moss to grow. However, this hasn’t stopped restoration organisations from trying a novel restoration method which might work to restore flatter peatlands.

Five years on from the start of the project, the original bunds are covered with grasses and many pools are now brimming with Sphagnum moss, looking more like natural bog pools.

Scallop bunds are crescent-shaped pools, created by digging shallow scrapes in the peat surface using special low impact excavators. The aim is to capture surface water which would otherwise run quickly off the hill after rainfall. The water stored in bund pools helps to maintain wetter conditions at the bog surface for Sphagnum moss to re-establish and grow on moorland plateaus.

The National Trust, in partnership with the University of Manchester, is undertaking long-term research to understand the potential for bunds as a peatland restoration method.

The 2025 drought followed one of the driest springs in England for over 100 years.

It provided the first test of extreme weather in this peat bund experiment. Preliminary monitoring during the 2025 drought suggests bunded areas remained wetter for longer than unrestored peat, helping to maintain wetter conditions near the peat surface for longer – the conditions required to support Sphagnum growth.

The excavator machines up on the hills today don’t signal a return to the industrial past, but an attempt to restore the damage it left behind.

Adam Johnston has received funding from charities delivering peatland restoration

– ref. The Pennine hills are full of holes – here’s how they’re helping fight climate change – https://theconversation.com/the-pennine-hills-are-full-of-holes-heres-how-theyre-helping-fight-climate-change-282925

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alimuddin Zumla, Professor of Infectious Diseases and International Health, UCL

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo a “public health emergency of international concern”, with cases now confirmed in neighbouring Uganda. Here is what you need to know.

What is Ebola?

Ebola is a serious potentially fatal infectious disease. It causes fever, damage to blood vessels, and in severe cases, bleeding, organ failure and death. It was first identified in 1976 in central Africa and most outbreaks have occurred there since.

What is Bundibugyo virus, and how is it different from “regular” Ebola

Ebola is actually a group of related viruses. The most well-known and deadly is the Zaire strain, which has caused the largest outbreaks. Bundibugyo is a different strain, first identified in Uganda in 2007.

The Bundibugyo virus tends to kill around 30-50% of those infected – serious, but slightly lower than some Zaire outbreaks.

To put that in context, seasonal flu kills fewer than one in 1,000 people. COVID killed around one to two in 100 people early in the pandemic. Ebola is therefore far more deadly than most diseases most people have encountered. Outcomes depend on factors like how quickly someone receives care, the strength of the local health system and whether the patient has other underlying conditions.

Existing Ebola vaccines were designed for the Zaire strain and may not protect against Bundibugyo.

How does Ebola spread from person to person?

Ebola spreads through direct contact with an infected person’s body fluids, such as blood, vomit, diarrhoea, sweat or semen. This most commonly happens when caring for sick patients, during traditional burial practices involving the body, or through contact with infected animals. Ebola does not spread through the air like flu or COVID, and people are not contagious before their symptoms begin.

Why has this outbreak appeared in Uganda, and could it spread internationally?

Uganda borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Ebola outbreaks occur regularly. People, animals and goods move frequently across that border, which can allow disease to spread before it is detected. International spread via air travel is possible but unlikely to cause a major global outbreak – Ebola requires close physical contact to spread, and international monitoring and airport screening systems help catch cases early.

What is a “public health emergency of international concern”?

This is the World Health Organization’s highest level of global health alert. It signals that an outbreak poses a potential international risk and that countries need to work together urgently. It helps unlock funding, technical support and faster international cooperation. It does not mean a global pandemic is inevitable. It is a tool to mobilise a rapid, coordinated response.

What are the symptoms of Bundibugyo virus disease?

Early symptoms are similar to flu or malaria: fever, tiredness, headache, muscle pain and sore throat. As the illness progresses, patients may develop vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, a rash, confusion and shock. Some patients experience bleeding, though this is not universal. Because the early symptoms overlap with many common diseases, laboratory testing is needed to confirm the diagnosis.

Why do Ebola outbreaks keep occurring in the DRC?

Scientists believe Ebola lives naturally in certain fruit bats. Outbreaks usually begin when people come into contact with infected animals – for example, through hunting or handling wildlife. The DRC experiences repeated outbreaks because of dense forests, high human-wildlife contact, weak health infrastructure, conflict, poverty and limited access to medical care. Climate change and deforestation may increase the risk further.

If there is no vaccine, what treatments are available?

There is no approved vaccine or targeted treatment for Bundibugyo virus specifically. Patients are treated with supportive care, meaning medical treatment that keeps the body functioning while it fights the infection. This includes fluids, oxygen, nutritional support and treating complications. Good supportive care can significantly improve a patient’s chances of survival. Researchers are actively studying antiviral drugs and antibody treatments that might work against multiple Ebola strains.

What is being done to stop the outbreak?

Health authorities, supported by the WHO and international partners, are working to identify cases quickly, isolate patients, trace people who may have been exposed, and educate communities. Safe burial practices are also critical. The global capacity to respond to Ebola has improved greatly over the past decade, with better laboratory testing, faster information-sharing, and stronger regional coordination.

Is there an Ebola vaccine? If not, are there developments in this field?

Yes, two vaccines exist for the Zaire strain of Ebola and have proven highly effective. However, neither is approved for Bundibugyo virus. Scientists are now working urgently to develop vaccines that protect against multiple Ebola strains at once. New antibody treatments that could work across different strains are also in development, with promising results in early research. The current outbreak has reinforced how important it is to invest in these broader tools before the next crisis strikes.

Alimuddin Zumla 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.

– ref. Ebola outbreak declared a global health emergency – what you need to know – https://theconversation.com/ebola-outbreak-declared-a-global-health-emergency-what-you-need-to-know-283130

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ian Williams, Professor of Applied Environmental Science, University of Southampton

Europe is wasting huge amounts of food while millions of people globally experience hunger. Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have squeezed supply chains. The cost of living crisis has pushed many families to the edge.

Without strengthening environmental sustainability, supply chain resilience and household affordability, food security risks will increase significantly. Yet households still throw away huge amounts of edible food. This is not just waste. It is lost calories, lost money and a growing climate problem.

My team’s new analysis of European households find they discard more than 70kg of food per person each year. An estimated 69 million tonnes of food was wasted in Europe and the UK in 2025 according to our calculations, based on average food waste for the EU and the UK, and the current combined population. But it’s a global problem: around the world in 2022 – the latest year we have data for – households, retail and food service wasted 1.052 billion tonnes.

The European Commission reports that a four‑person household would save €400 (£346) per year on food that is ultimately wasted. But the problem is not simply about money. The main drivers of food waste are lack of knowledge and understanding, as well as health-related concerns about supposedly out-of-date food, plus an increase in eating for convenience.

Here’s why Europeans waste food and what we should do about it.

Shopping: why we buy more than we eat

Promotions and panic buy triggers push people to buy more than they need. Multi-buy deals, three-for-two and buy-one-get-one-free offers nudge shoppers to take more than they need. Time pressure and shopping while hungry make this worse. Our analysis shows planning matters: people who check their fridge and shop with a list waste less.

Retail design plays a key role. Large pack sizes and limited small portion options mean single households buy food they cannot finish. Near-expiry discounts can help, but only if shoppers have a plan to use or freeze the food. Retail nudges must be paired with household tools, not left to chance.

Once food is home, everyday management determines whether it is eaten or discarded. Confusion over date labels is a major driver of avoidable waste. Many people treat “best before” as a safety cutoff. They throw food away to avoid the risk of illness. This fear outweighs guilt about wasting food. Simple clarity on labels would cut discards fast.

Storage skills matter too. Freezing, batch cooking and first in, first out routines (using oldest stock first, with newest stock used last) dramatically reduce spoilage. Frozen food is wasted far less than fresh. Teaching basic storage and quick preservation techniques is a high‑return, low‑cost fix.

Food planning can be hard: modern life is busy – people eat on the go and many rely on convenience meals. That convenience culture increases waste. Social norms push buying too much food. Hosting, hospitality and the desire to offer choice leads households to cook more than they need. In some cultures, abundance equals care – and that creates more uneaten food being left on plates.

Income alone does not explain the pattern. We found no simple link between national GDP (the standard measure of the size of an economy and of economic growth) and household food waste. Wealthier countries can waste less, but the relationship is inconsistent and shaped by local habits, tourism and measurement methods. The real drivers are behavioural and contextual.

Next steps

Our study points to three clear ways to strengthen policy and build resilience of food supply chains by cutting waste.

First, fix the signals. Standardise date labels and run a public information campaign. When people understand the difference between quality and safety, they throw away less.

Second, change retail practices. Encourage smaller pack sizes, resealable formats and messaging on promotions to encourage items are frozen for a future date. Incentivise supermarkets to sell imperfect produce and to price near expiry items clearly to encourage people to buy them.

Third, support households directly. Fund community cooking classes, fridge management campaigns and simple digital tools that track what’s in the home. Invest in kerbside food collections and food digestion treatment so unavoidable waste is diverted from landfill.

No single policy will solve household food waste. Interventions must combine retail reform, clear regulation and consumer support. They must be tailored to local cultures and household types and designed to strengthen the maintenance of food security.

We can cut household food waste quickly by encouraging clear labels, smarter shopping and better storage. Small changes at home add up to big savings for the planet and for family budgets.

The next step is simple: design policies that work for people where they live, shop and cook. That not only cuts down on food waste – we will also save money, emissions and dignity (by enabling people to access and use food without shame or judgement and without the need for charitable food banks).

This all increases our food security. The solutions are practical, cheap and ready to scale. There is no time to waste.

Ian Williams receives funding from UK Research Councils, including the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s Impact Acceleration Account.

– ref. Why European households throw away so much food – and how to curb the waste mountain – https://theconversation.com/why-european-households-throw-away-so-much-food-and-how-to-curb-the-waste-mountain-282198

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Parvati Nair, Professor of Hispanic, Cultural and Migration Studies, Queen Mary University of London

In April, as India’s governing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ran elections in parts of the country, a visionary Indian passed away. He went quietly, much as he had lived, and left behind a vast photographic archive of the world’s most populous nation.

Raghu Rai (1942-2026) was India’s foremost photographer. Born prior to independence in what is now Pakistan, he and his family were one of the many millions forced to relocate during Partition.

For more than 60 years, Rai created a continuous visual record of India post-independence. He photographed major national figures, important moments in the country’s complex development, and the wide diversity – geographic, religious, cultural, social and ethnic – that shapes what it means to be Indian.

In subtle but persistent ways, his images challenged the country’s current dominant narratives. His work raised doubts about rigid nationalist rhetoric, government policies, and some of the questionable myths that underpin the ideology and politics of Hindu nationalism.

Photographs of a changing nation

Rai rose to international fame when he became the first Indian to join the renowned photographic agency Magnum. Well before then, though, his images were in the global daily press. As such, his photography is intrinsically woven into how India came to be thought of at home and abroad.

Rai shot both in colour and black-and-white, his aesthetic turning ordinary moments into fragments of awe, insight and grace. His lens captured the breadth of India – from Kashmir to Kerala, and from the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea.

He photographed major establishment figures and the many unpredictable moments of everyday life, including quiet, personal scenes of reflection. His subjects ranged from leaders such as Indira Gandhi, the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa to the landscapes and ordinary people of rural and urban India.

Thematically, Rai’s images spanned city life, spiritual journeys, landscapes and many other aspects of Indian society. They were often shot from a wide-angled lens that framed social scenes. His images of classical Indian musicians offer proof of how photographs can hold the flow and rhythm of music through nuanced attention to tonality, mood and evocation.

But perhaps most haunting is his photograph of a dead infant buried in rubble. It was captured in the aftermath of the world’s worst industrial tragedy, the Bhopal disaster of 1984.

Over 500,000 people in the vicinity of the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant were exposed to the highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate. The child’s open, sightless eyes force the viewer to look this horror in the face.

In Rai’s wide-ranging photographs, the nation appears in transformation. His work helped Indians to see themselves as part of this larger national movement, connected through shared relationships and interactions. In his images, you can see the colours, contrasts, tensions and energy of Indian life, captured in brief moments that seem to flow into one another.

To consider the panorama of his work is to see India not as divided or hierarchical, but as a complex, interconnected mix of people and cultures.

A spiritual exploration

Rai’s death marks the end of an era of photojournalism forged in pre-digital times. Much changed in his lifetime, but his dedication to photography was, as he put it, a spiritual exploration. His work reflects this search for revelation across the length and breadth of India.

This idea of “quest” should be heeded. Its relevance is more urgent today than ever, as India’s Hindu nationalist government finds yet more ways to extend its grip on this vast and diverse nation – promoting the view that to be truly Indian, one must adhere to its ideology.

Rai’s images go beyond what is shown in the frame, opening up possibilities that aren’t fully defined or explained. His work traces the evolution of India over more than half a century, and proposes endless facets of the country in ways that build connections across geographies, perspectives and people.

Parvati Nair 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.

– ref. Raghu Rai: the trailblazing photographer who documented the vast diversity of a changing India – https://theconversation.com/raghu-rai-the-trailblazing-photographer-who-documented-the-vast-diversity-of-a-changing-india-282934