We can’t ban AI, but we can build the guardrails to prevent it from going off the tracks

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Simon Blanchette, Lecturer, Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University

Artificial intelligence is fascinating, transformative and increasingly woven into how we learn, work and make decisions.

But for every example of innovation and efficiency — such as the custom AI assistant recently developed by an accounting professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal — there’s another that underscores the need for oversight, literacy and regulation that can keep pace with the technology and protect the public.

A recent case in Montréal illustrates this tension. A Québec man was fined $5,000 after submitting “cited expert quotes and jurisprudence that don’t exist” to defend himself in court. It was the first ruling of its kind in the province, though similar cases have occurred in other countries.

AI can democratize access to learning, knowledge and even justice. Yet without ethical guardrails, proper training, expertise and basic literacy, the very tools designed to empower people can just as easily undermine trust and backfire.

Why guardrails matter

Guardrails are the systems, norms and checks that ensure artificial intelligence is used safely, fairly and transparently. They allow innovation to flourish while preventing chaos and harm.

The European Union became the first major jurisdiction to adopt a comprehensive framework for regulating AI with the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, which came into force in August 2024. The law divides AI systems into risk-based categories and rolls out rules in phases to give organizations time to prepare for compliance.

The act makes some uses of AI unacceptable. These include social scoring and real-time facial recognition in public spaces, which were banned in February.

High-risk AI used in critical areas like education, hiring, health care or policing will be subject to strict requirements. Starting in August 2026, these systems must meet standards for data quality, transparency and human oversight.

General-purpose AI models became subject to regulatory requirements in August 2025. Limited-risk systems, such as chatbots, must disclose that users are interacting with an algorithm.

The key principle is the higher the potential impact on rights or safety, the stronger the obligations. The goal is not to slow innovation, but to make it accountable.

Critically, the act also requires each EU member state to establish at least one operational regulatory sandbox. These are controlled frameworks where companies can develop, train and test AI systems under supervision before full deployment.

For small and medium-sized enterprises that lack resources for extensive compliance infrastructure, sandboxes provide a pathway to innovate while building capacity.

Canada is still catching up on AI

Canada has yet to establish a comprehensive legal framework for AI. The Artificial Intelligence and Data Act was introduced in 2022 as part of Bill C-27, a package known as the Digital Charter Implementation Act. It was meant to create a legal framework for responsible AI development, but the bill was never passed.

Canada now needs to act quickly to rectify this. This includes strengthening AI governance, investing in public and professional education and ensuring a diverse range of voices — educators, ethicists, labour experts and civil society — are involved in shaping AI legislation.

A phased approach similar to the EU’s framework could provide certainty while supporting innovation. The highest-risk applications would be banned immediately, while others face progressively stricter requirements, giving businesses time to adapt.

Regulatory sandboxes could help small and medium-sized enterprises innovate responsibly while building much needed capacity in the face of ongoing labour shortages.

The federal government recently launched the AI Strategy Task Force to help accelerate the country’s adoption of the technology. It is expected to deliver recommendations on competitiveness, productivity, education, labour and ethics in a matter of months.

But as several experts have pointed out, the task force is heavily weighted toward industry voices, risking a narrow view on AI’s societal impacts.

Guardrails alone aren’t enough

Regulations can set boundaries and protect people from harm, but guardrails alone aren’t enough. The other vital foundation of an ethical and inclusive AI society is literacy and skills development.

AI literacy underpins our ability to question AI tools and content, and it is fast becoming a basic requirement in most jobs.

Yet, nearly half of employees using AI tools at work received no training, and over one-third had only minimal guidance from their employers. Fewer than one in 10 small or medium-sized enterprises offer formal AI training programs.

As a result, adoption is happening informally and often without oversight, leaving workers and organizations exposed.

AI literacy operates on three levels. At its base, it means understanding what AI is, how it works and when to question its outputs, including awareness of bias, privacy and data sources. Mid-level literacy involves using generative tools such as ChatGPT or Copilot. At the top are advanced skills, where people design algorithms with fairness, transparency and accountability in mind.

Catching up on AI literacy means investing in upskilling and reskilling that combines critical thinking with hands-on AI use.

As a university lecturer, I often see AI framed mainly as a cheating risk, rather than as a tool students must learn to use responsibly. While it can certainly be misused, educators must protect academic integrity while preparing students to work alongside these systems.

Balancing innovation with responsibility

We cannot ban or ignore AI, but neither can we let the race for efficiency outpace our ability to manage its consequences or address questions of fairness, accountability and trust.

Skills development and guardrails must advance together. Canada needs diverse voices at the table, real investment to match its ambitions and strong accountability built into any AI laws, standards and protections.

More AI tools will be designed to support learning and work, and more costly mistakes will emerge from blind trust in systems we don’t fully understand. The question is not whether AI will proliferate, but whether we’ll build the guardrails and literacy necessary to accommodate it.

AI can become a complement to expertise, but it cannot be a replacement for it. As the technology evolves, so too must our capacity to understand it, question it and guide it toward public good.

We need to pair innovation with ethics, speed with reflection and excitement with education. Guardrails and skills development, including basic AI literacy, are not opposing forces; they are the two hands that will support progress.

The Conversation

Simon Blanchette 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. We can’t ban AI, but we can build the guardrails to prevent it from going off the tracks – https://theconversation.com/we-cant-ban-ai-but-we-can-build-the-guardrails-to-prevent-it-from-going-off-the-tracks-268172

Baseball in Canada is thriving — but not on campus

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By George S. Rigakos, Professor of the Political Economy of Policing, Carleton University

Baseball in Canada is thriving, from the grassroots to the professional level.

Recent Toronto Blue Jays viewership numbers have been extraordinary, youth participation continues to climb, elite player showcasing and recruiting is expanding — and a new 19U national championship has just been announced by Baseball Canada.

When I’m not researching or writing about policing and security — an area requiring reflection about the interplay of structures, power and bureaucracy — I devote my energies to doing my small part to help the state of baseball in Canada, both as general manager of the Carleton Ravens baseball team and as a researcher.

I helped found the Ottawa chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research, co-authored a peer-reviewed article for the Baseball Research Journal and have reflected on the state Canadian university baseball for the Canadian Baseball Network.

My research and experience points to an an unavoidable conclusion: university baseball in Canada is shaped less by a lack of interest than by a series of persistent organizational barriers.

Formal recognition lacking

To start, outside Ontario, no major university sport body formally recognizes baseball.

University teams in Atlantic and Western Canada operate only because coaches and students organize their own schedules, pay their own way and operate outside the formal sport-administration structure that supports varsity teams. The notable exception is the UBC Thunderbirds, who play in the U.S.-based National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

The bodies overseeing university sport in Western Canada, the Maritimes and Québec don’t sanction or host university baseball in any capacity.

A three-game season

While Ontario University Athletics (OUA) formally recognizes university baseball, the organization’s official university baseball schedule is woeful, consisting of three, maybe four games. Under the OUA structure, the only sanctioned competition is a single regional weekend in October, followed by an underwhelming two-game provincial championship for the four teams that win their regions. This represents the entire formal university baseball calendar in Ontario.

A team that doesn’t move past the regional stage, therefore, completes its entire OUA “season” in one weekend.

This would be extraordinary for any major sport, but it is especially remarkable in baseball: a game built around long schedules, repeat matchups and consequential sample sizes. The 20 or more games that teams actually do play in September and early October are not acknowledged by the OUA in any formal way.

There are no official standings, statistics, athlete profiles or an official league website. For most of the fall, university baseball effectively takes place outside the provincial athletic system.

Held together by volunteers

Because the OUA acknowledges only a small fraction of the schedule, coaches organize every game, secure fields, arrange umpires, co-ordinate travel and compile statistics that are published by yet another savvy volunteer.

Some programs receive modest institutional support; most rely on player fees. Some Ontario universities treat baseball as varsity sport while most classify it as a “club” or “varsity club.”

By contrast, for student athletes participating in the three other major Canadian sports — hockey, football and basketball — established provincial and national structures provide visibility, scheduling and predictable competitive pathways.

Baseball’s exclusion from the varsity system in Ontario and its complete absence from university athletics bodies in the remainder of the country simply does not square with fan interest and participation.

Despite its tremendous popularity, baseball has been treated as the odd man out.

Baseball athlete exodus

This structural absence contributes to the large number of athletes who leave the country to pursue collegiate competition. According to data compiled by the Canadian Baseball Network for 2025, 1,187 Canadian baseball players are currently competing at U.S. colleges across NCAA, NAIA and junior college levels.

To put this into some perspective, Canadian collegiate baseball rosters typically carry about 25 to 30 athletes. The Canadians now playing south of the border therefore represent approximately 45 fully rostered university and college baseball teams.

Even if only a small fraction of these players remained in Canada, it would dramatically expand the competitive landscape and provide enough depth for a robust college and university system. As I wrote this article, there were only 26 recognized university programs competing in Canada.

The cost of this exodus is not merely athletic. Canadian colleges and universities are currently facing a serious financial crisis.

Assuming an average annual undergraduate tuition of $7,573 per year, the Canadian student-athletes now playing baseball at U.S. colleges represent up to $36 million dollars in foregone four-year domestic tuition revenue alone.

This is not simply a story of elite prospects seeking professional opportunities. Many players leave because there is no structured, visible or reliable university baseball pathway at home.

A dead zone

Even so, the experience of university baseball is meaningful to those who play.

Coaches, managers and other volunteers record results, manage schedules and transform the fall season into consequential competition, counting the results toward qualification for a grassroots championship involving teams from Ontario, Québec and the Maritimes.

The broader problem is institutional. Public interest is high, youth development is strong and the talent exists in abundance. University baseball in Canada is active, committed and culturally meaningful — but left outside the structures that ordinarily support and sustain collective achievement, it struggles to thrive.

In sociological terms, it operates in a state once described by the late, great social anthropologist David Graeber: a “dead zone.”

For Graeber, a “dead zone” is fostered when a system creates obstacles that frustrate and silence people, effectively making them unseen. Often these zones operate outside formal rules, and are dependent on unpaid labour. As a consequence, they’re prone to crises and collapse.

How could this change?

Despite the apparent fragility of the current system, change would be neither complicated nor costly. Indeed, as we have noted, a “rogue” national championship already exists.

In late October, coaches from Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia organize their own Canadian “national” tournament, selecting teams, setting the schedule and administering the entire event.

Teams from Alberta and B.C. compete in the Canadian College Baseball Conference with a different calendar. A fuller national tournament — a “Canadian University World Series” — could incorporate these teams, even by using final placement from the previous year as a qualifier if necessary.

In a 2019 research paper, statistics student Mitchell Thompson and I explored the utility of a simple mathematical model used in NCAA baseball to determine “at-large” qualifiers and seeding for their College World Series.

We examined how useful the NCAA’s Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) would be for a potential Canadian University World Series, which would see teams across Canada compete for a national championship.

Nothing, of course, beats head-to-head qualifiers but most programs currently lack the resources for athletes and staff to travel on short notice. Any viable system will therefore have to respect limits of time, distance and funding.

But what’s missing is not data, talent or competitive interest. It’s a willingness by provincial sport organizations, Baseball Canada and, most importantly, universities to build and resource a structure that addresses their shared constraints.

At this point, even modest institutional co-ordination would move university baseball out of its current dead zone and into a system where student-athletes could be seen, recognized and supported.

The Conversation

George S. Rigakos is affiliated with the Carleton University Ravens baseball team but writes here as an independent researcher. His views are his own and do not represent Carleton University or Carleton University Athletics.

ref. Baseball in Canada is thriving — but not on campus – https://theconversation.com/baseball-in-canada-is-thriving-but-not-on-campus-269785

The US plan for ending the Ukraine war: What do we know?

Source: Radio New Zealand

By Ania Tsoukanova, AFP

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a joint press conference with Turkey's President following their meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on 19 November, 2025.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on 19 November, 2025. Photo: OZAN KOSE / AFP

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet senior US army figures in Kyiv on Thursday (local time), after Washington presented a plan to Ukraine that would end the war on terms favourable to Moscow.

The surprise proposal from the United States envisages Ukraine giving up land to Russia and limiting its military capacity, concessions that Kyiv has previously rejected as an unacceptable capitulation to Moscow, which launched its full-scale invasion almost four years ago.

Here’s what we know about it:

Territory

Details of the plan, shared with AFP by a senior source familiar with the matter, suggest Ukraine is being asked to give in to some of Russia’s key demands, while it remains “unclear” what commitments Russia would make in return.

On territory, the plan calls for the “recognition of Crimea and other regions that the Russians have taken”, the source said.

Russia’s army occupies around a fifth of the country — much of it ravaged by years of fighting.

In 2022, the Kremlin annexed four Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — despite not having full control over them.

Russia also annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously demanded Ukraine completely withdraw its troops from Donetsk and Lugansk, and offered to freeze the front line in the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, according to Turkey’s foreign minister, who mediated three rounds of peace talks earlier this year.

Ukraine has said it will never recognise Russian control over its land, but has conceded it might be forced to get it back through diplomatic means.

Ceding territory in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions that Ukraine still controls could leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attacks by Russia.

“It is a matter of our country’s survival,” Zelensky said recently.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin meets with the media in Moscow on 23 October, 2025.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in October, 2025. Photo: AFP/ Sputnik pool photo – Alexander Shcherbak

Army and weapons

The plan calls for Ukraine to reduce its army to 400,000 personnel, cutting its military by more than half, the same source told AFP.

Kyiv would also be required to give up all long-range weapons.

That fits with other Russian demands put to Ukraine at talks in Istanbul earlier this year when Moscow called for a reduction in troop numbers, a ban on mobilisation and a halt to the flow of Western weapons.

Russia has also repeatedly said it will not tolerate any NATO troops on Ukrainian soil.

By contrast, Ukraine wants concrete Western-backed security guarantees, including a European peacekeeping force, to prevent Russia from re-invading in the future.

Whose plan?

US media outlet Axios reported the plan had been drawn up by the Trump administration in secret consultation with Russia.

Many elements appear to echo Moscow’s demands for how the conflict should end.

“It seems that the Russians proposed this to the Americans, they accepted it,” the senior source told AFP.

“An important nuance is that we don’t understand whether this is really Trump’s story” or “his entourage’s”, the official added.

Since returning to the White House, US President Donald Trump’s position on the Ukraine war has shifted dramatically back and forth.

Over 2025, he has gone from calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator” to urging Kyiv to try to reclaim all the land captured by Russia and hitting Moscow with sanctions.

US President Donald Trump (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin stand together after delivering a joint press conference after participating in a US-Russia summit on Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)

US President Donald Trump (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin after participating in a US-Russia summit on Ukraine in Alaska, in August, 2025. Photo: AFP / Andrew Caballero-Reynolds

Reactions

There has been no official reaction to the plan in Kyiv. The Kremlin said it had nothing to say when asked about the reports.

The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said any peace settlement must have the agreement of both Kyiv and Brussels.

“For any plan to work, it needs Ukrainians and Europeans on board,” Kallas told reporters ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

“We have to understand that in this war, there is one aggressor and one victim. So we haven’t heard of any concessions on the Russian side,” she added.

– AFP

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Eight new MPs elected to Tonga parliament

Source: Radio New Zealand

Longolongo polling station, Tongatapu 1 constituency, Nukualofa, Tonga. 20 November 2025

Longolongo polling station, Tongatapu 1 constituency, Nukualofa, Tonga. 20 November 2025 Photo: RNZ Pacific / Teuila Fuatai

Eight new MPs have been elected to Tonga’s parliament in the general election amid a continuing decline in voter turnout.

Results released by the electoral commission overnight show six people’s representatives and two noble’s representatives among the new cohort of MPs.

Tonga’s caretaker Prime Minister Dr Aisake ‘Eke has retained his place in parliament for another term winning his constituency in the general election by nearly three-quarters of the electorate vote.

His predecessor Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni – who resigned from as prime minister in the face of a motion of no confidence last year – commanded similar support among his constituents at Thursday’s general election.

Both men will now hold people’s representative seats for Tongatapu in the new 26-member parliament.

In Tonga, the parliament is divided between 17 people’s representatives, which the general population vote for, and 9 nobles’ representatives, selected by the nobles in a separate election process.

The results for the peoples’ representatives were announced by the Supervisor of Elections Pita Vuki last night and broadcast live on local TV and radio.

Six of the new MPs are first-timers, while Semisi Sika – who won in one of the 10 Tongatapu constituencies – is back after losing his seat four years ago.

One of the most notable losers in the election results announced last night was the long-serving politician, Samiu Vaipulu, who has been in and out of parliament three times since 1987 with his latest run in the Vava’u seat lasting a decade. A political career totalling up to 31 years of service as an MP.

For the nobles’ seats, two new representatives were elected – Lord Veéhala in Eua and Lord Ma’afu in Tongatapu.

In regard to voter participation, just 49.4 percent or 31,988 of registered voters turned out to cast their ballots. The rate was even lower than the previous 2021 election turnout of 62 percent.

Pita Vuki, Supervisor of Elections, reads out the results of Tonga’s 2025 general elections. 20 November 2025

Pita Vuki, Supervisor of Elections, reads out the results of Tonga’s 2025 general elections. 20 November 2025 Photo: RNZ Pacific / Teuila Fuatai

Vuki previously said the decline in voter participation was due to a range of reasons, including eligible voters being out of the country on polling day.

Currently, there’s no provision for overseas voting. He also said some people remained on the list even though they no longer lived in Tonga and were no longer eligible to vote.

However, unless the Electoral Commission received official notice of a change in residential country, it was not permitted to remove names.

Vuki also said he and his team would now await any potential requests for recounts of general election results.

“Some of the polls themselves are a bit close…so yeah, every election we expect a recount. But it’s up to the candidates,” Vuki said.

Under election rules, candidates are permitted to request a recount within seven days.

“So, by next Thursday we’ll know if there will be a recount,” he said.

Vuki said no issues with voting had arisen throughout Thursday.

“I drove around…most of the polling stations and had a look whether they had any issues and things, but I didn’t find any. I talked to polling officials. They were fine at the polling stations.”

Overall, more than 200 polling stations across Tonga’s islands operated throughout the day.

Stations for the general public opened at 9am and closed at 4pm. The nobles’ election took place at the palace office in Nuku’alofa. It began at 10am, and results were announced at about 1pm.

Following yesterday’s result, a handful of successful candidates, including ‘Eke, Hu’akavameiliku and Lord Fakafanua – the speaker of the house who retained his nobles’ seat – are expected to vie for the role of prime minister.

The position will be decided by the newly elected representatives through an election in parliament conducted via a secret ballot.

Following that, the successful candidate for prime minister nominates their cabinet ministers for the King to appoint.

The constitution also allows the prime minister to nominate up to four members of his cabinet from outside of parliament.

These ex-officio members of parliament, unless otherwise provided in any Act, sit and vote in the Legislative Assembly and have all the rights, duties and responsibilities of an elected representative except that they are not entitled to vote in any vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister.

Longolongo polling station, Tongatapu 1 constituency, Nukualofa, Tonga. 20 November 2025

Longolongo polling station, Tongatapu 1 constituency, Nukualofa, Tonga. 20 November 2025 Photo: RNZ Pacific / Teuila Fuatai

2025 general election results

People’s representatives

  • Tongatapu 1: Tevita Puloka
  • Tongatapu 2: Semisi Sika (returns to parliament after losing seat in 2021)
  • Tongatapu 3: Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni
  • Tongatapu 4: Mateni Tapueluelu
  • Tongatapu 5: ‘Aisake Eke
  • Tongatapu 6: Fane Fituafe (newly elected)
  • Tongatapu 7: Paula Piukala
  • Tongatapu 8: Viliami Sisifa (newly elected)
  • Tongatapu 9: Dr Sevenitini Toumo’ua
  • Tongatapu 10: Kapelieli Lanumata
  • Eua 11: Dr Taniela Fusimalohi
  • Ha’apai 12: Saimone Vuki (newly elected)
  • Ha’apai 13: Esafe Latu (newly elected)
  • Vava’u 14: Dr Moale ‘Otunuku
  • Vava’u 15: Dr Alani Tangitau (newly elected)
  • Vava’u 16: Viliami Latu
  • Niua 17: Latai Tangimana (newly elected)

Nobles representatives

Va’vau (2 reps)

  • Incumbent Lord Tuiafitu 5 vote (re-elected)
  • Incumbent Lord Tuilakepa 5 votes (re-elected)
  • Lord Luani 3 votes
  • Lord Fulivai 1 vote

Ha’apai (2 reps)

  • Incumbent Lord Fakafanua 6 votes (re-elected)
  • Incumbent Lord Tuihaangana 6 votes(re-elected)
  • Lord Tuihaateiho 2 votes

Eua (1 rep)

  • Lord Lasike 1 vote
  • Lord Veéhala 20 votes (newly elected)

Tongatapu (3 reps)

  • Lord Lasike 6 votes
  • Lord Ma’afu 12 votes (newly elected)
  • Lord Tu’ivakano 8 votes (elected)
  • Lord Vaea 10 votes (elected)

Ongo Niua (1 rep)

  • Lord Fotofili (won unopposed)

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Ukraine and Europe’s weakness exposed as US and Russia again negotiate behind Kyiv’s back

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham

Renewed talk of no-longer-secret negotiations between the Kremlin and the White House over a plan to end the war in Ukraine that heavily favours Russia adds to a broader sense of doom in Kyiv and among its western partners.

Coupled with the fallout from a sweeping corruption scandal among Ukraine’s elites and stalling efforts in Brussels to provide additional financial aid to Kyiv, a storm is brewing that may lead to Moscow prevailing in its war of aggression.

However, this is not a foregone conclusion. Ukraine is having a very difficult time at the moment on various fronts. The fall of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine is a question of when, not if, and of how many men both sides will lose before Russia captures the ruins of the city.

Russia has also upped pressure on the Zaporizhian part of the front and around Kherson on the coast. It is very likely that the Kremlin will continue to push its current advantages, with fighting possibly increasing in the north again around Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv.

For now, the war of attrition clearly favours Russia. But from a purely military perspective, neither the fall of Pokrovsk nor further Russian territorial gains elsewhere spell the danger of an imminent Ukrainian collapse.

A map showing Russia's territorial control of large parts of eastern Ukraine.
The war of attrition in Ukraine is currently favouring Russia.
Institute for the Study of War / Critical Threats

However, war is never solely a military endeavour – it also requires political will and financial resources. A more existential threat to Ukraine’s war effort, therefore, is the continuing fallout from the corruption scandal. Here, too, certainties are few and far between.

A characteristic feature of political scandals in Ukraine is the difficulty of predicting the reaction of Ukrainian society. Some incidents can become a trigger for large-scale protests that lead to massive change.

This was the case with the Euromaidan revolution in 2014. The revolution triggered a chain of events, from the annexation of Crimea to the Russian-proxy occupation of parts of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, to the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Other political crises pass without major upheaval. This was the case with the dismissal of the popular commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, in 2024. Widely seen as a possible challenger to Volodymyr Zelensky in future presidential elections, Zaluzhnyi was subsequently sent into exile as Ukraine’s ambassador to London.

So far, the current corruption scandal has not sparked mass protests in Ukraine. Nor has there been a very harsh response from European leaders. But the fact that virtually all of Zelensky’s inner circle is involved in corruption, according to Ukraine’s national anti-corruption bureau (Nabu), has forced the president to launch a comprehensive response.

Sanctions were imposed on Timur Mindich, Zelensky’s long-term friend and business partner, who fled the country just hours before Nabu raids on November 10. Then, a week after the latest scandal broke, Ukraine’s parliament dismissed the ministers of justice and energy, German Galushchenko and Svitlana Hrynchuk, who were both involved in the scandal.

Meanwhile, Zelensky himself has embarked on a whistle-stop diplomatic tour of European capitals to shore up support for his beleaguered government and country.

He managed to secure deliveries of US liquefied natural gas imports from Greece, which should help Ukraine through the difficult winter months. A landmark military deal with France also promises improved air defences for Ukraine in the short term, and the delivery of 100 fighter jets over the next decade.

Important as they are, these are stopgap measures rather than game changers. And not even all the necessary stopgap measures are done deals. The EU and its member states are still prevaricating on an urgently needed loan to Ukraine. If this loan does not materialise, Kyiv will run out of money in February to pay its soldiers, civil servants and pensioners.

In the meantime, Zelensky is also facing pressure from his own parliamentary faction, Servant of the People. He will be keen to present his tour of Europe to them as a vote of confidence by his western allies. Yet he may also still have to offer the resignation of his longtime ally Andrii Yermak, who was also implicated in the latest corruption scandal.

As head of the presidential office, Yermak is sometimes considered the de facto ruler of Ukraine. Dismissing him would probably please Zelensky’s domestic and foreign critics. Not doing so, on the other hand, should not be seen as a sign of strength. The very fact that the position of such a key ally is up for discussion is a further sign that Zelensky’s political power is, perhaps, fatally weakened.

Moving forward

Critically missing in all of this are three things. The first is a Ukrainian succession plan. Opposition politicians like former president Petro Poroshenko and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko are as unpopular as they are tainted by allegations of corruption during their reigns.

There is no clear route to replacing Zelensky if he refuses to step down. And even if he were replaced, a broader-based coalition government is unlikely to find a magic wand to turn Ukraine’s precarious military situation around.

The second unknown is the White House and its dealings with the Kremlin. Apparently, a 28-point US-Russia peace plan is in the making. Yet again, this plan requires major concessions from Ukraine on territory and the future size of its army, while providing no effective security guarantees.

European foreign ministers have been quick to insist that any peace plan needs Ukrainian and European backing. But their appetite to push back hard may be waning. If Kyiv’s western allies get the sense that Ukraine and Zelensky are lost causes, militarily and politically, they may cut their losses and retrench.

This would probably see these countries beef up their own defences and sign up to a US-backed plan that trades Ukrainian land and sovereignty for the extremely slim prospects of Russia accepting such a bargain.

The third critical unknown is whether Putin will cut a deal or drag out negotiations with Trump and push on regardless in Ukraine. Putin’s past track record of playing for time speaks for itself.

Recent comments by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov that there were no new developments to announce on a possible peace plan also strongly suggest that there has been no change in the Kremlin’s approach. Given what is apparently on the table, even if Putin were inclined to make a deal, it would hardly be of comfort for Kyiv and Brussels.

The danger for Kyiv and its European partners is that talk of Ukraine’s political and military collapse turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy. The consequence of that – Kyiv’s submission to a Russian peace dictate – would be the result of the dysfunctional nature of Ukraine’s domestic politics and the fecklessness of western support as much as any collusion between Trump and Putin.

The Conversation

Stefan Wolff is a past recipient of grant funding from the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK, the United States Institute of Peace, the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, the British Academy, the NATO Science for Peace Programme, the EU Framework Programmes 6 and 7 and Horizon 2020, as well as the EU’s Jean Monnet Programme. He is a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Political Studies Association of the UK and a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London.

Tetyana Malyarenko receives funding from the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University and the Research Council of Norway (project WARPUT, 361835, implemented by Norwegian Institute of International Affairs)

ref. Ukraine and Europe’s weakness exposed as US and Russia again negotiate behind Kyiv’s back – https://theconversation.com/ukraine-and-europes-weakness-exposed-as-us-and-russia-again-negotiate-behind-kyivs-back-270104

The deep sea and the Arctic must be included in efforts to tackle climate change

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Juliano Palacios Abrantes, Postdoctoral researcher, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia

Animals on the seafloor, such as corals and crinoids, take carbon into their bodies. When they die, this carbon is taken into seafloor sediments, where it is stored for hundreds and even thousands of years. (Schmidt Ocean Institute/Erik Cordes), CC BY

This year’s COP30 comes after the international Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) finally acquired the required number of ratification votes by United Nations member states.

The treaty, effective from January 2026, is the first global agreement for marine areas beyond national jurisdictions, with a direct reference to climate change risks in its legal text. Its ratification comes at a crucial time for marine environments.

The momentum of COP30 and the BBNJ treaty creates a unique opportunity to further integrate the ocean, particularly the deep sea, into the climate agenda. By connecting the BBNJ under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2015 Paris Agreement, UN member states now have the tools to better conserve the deep sea’s biodiversity and its role in the global carbon cycle.

The deeps sea’s role in our climate

The deep sea (areas deeper than 200 metres) covers more than half our planet’s surface and accounts for over 90 per cent of the ocean’s volume. It is Earth’s largest long-term carbon sink.

Since the Industrial Revolution, the deep sea has absorbed roughly 30 per cent of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions and about 90 per cent of excess heat, significantly slowing warming and buffering the planet against even more catastrophic impacts.

The deep sea stores 50 times more carbon than the atmosphere and 20 times more than all terrestrial plants and soils combined. It helps regulate the Earth’s climate and its importance in fighting climate change is immense, stretching from pole to pole.

The polar regions support essential climate functions. The Southern Ocean around Antarctica absorbs approximately 40 per cent of the global oceanic uptake of human-generated carbon. The opposite pole, the Arctic Ocean, is facing some of the most immediate threats from climate change.




Read more:
A walk across Alaska’s Arctic sea ice brings to life the losses that appear in climate data


Against this backdrop, COP30 is hosting an unprecedented number of Indigenous people, with around 3,000 participants. Inuit, Sámi, Athabaskan, Aleut, Yupiit and other Arctic and global Indigenous leaders are voicing the need for climate policy to reflect local knowledge, rights and values in line with claims by Arctic states to sovereignty and stewardship.

However, discontent exists given the lack of representation of Indigenous people in COP30 negotiations. More than 70,000 people participated in the parallel People’s Summit which produced the Declaration of the Peoples’ Summit towards COP30. The declaration calls for more equitable solutions to climate change that include Indigenous and other communities.

Indigenous Peoples already co-create scientific management of marine protected areas, such as the Primnoa resedaeformis coral habitats and glass sponge reefs in Nova Scotia. However, more efforts are needed to reach the 30×30 target to designate 30 per cent of the Earth’s land and oceans as protected areas and achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Closing the ocean gap

Recent sessions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have focused on co-ordination across major international agreements like the BBNJ. These sessions, along with the latest vulnerability assessments from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and UNFCCC’s Ocean Climate Change Dialogues, have urged parties to align ocean actions with climate commitments and close measurement and reporting gaps.

In the summer of 2024, Brazil and France started the Blue NDC Challenge, encouraging countries to include ocean-based climate solutions in their National Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans.

The UNFCCC requires NDCs to increase carbon uptake rather than historical storage to mitigate. Carbon uptake is the process, activity or mechanism by which natural sinks remove CO2 from the atmosphere. On the other hand, National Adaption Plans may protect deep-sea ecosystems and their biological pump roles.

While recent syntheses show that about 75 per cent (97 out of 130 coastal states that have submitted their NDCs) of UN member states now reference marine and coastal actions in their NDCs, the formal mechanisms for implementing adaptation efforts that include the ocean are lagging behind.

Of the roughly 100 climate indicators being considered at COP30 to monitor the progress of the Paris Agreement’s global goal on adaptation, only 14 include marine or ocean dimensions, with the majority focusing on coasts or shallow waters.

Although those with marine dimensions could be extended to include the deep sea, a persistent omission of deep-sea ecosystems risks undermining both mitigation and adaptation goals. While the final indicators are yet to be determined, it’s critical to ensure that deep-sea ecosystems are explicitly incorporated.

The global stocktake — the Paris Agreement’s process to evaluate the world’s climate action progress — determines if countries are meeting goals and identifies gaps. The stocktake must also identify the deep ocean and deep-sea life specifically, and elaborate on appropriate ocean-based climate actions, comparable to elaborations on the need to halt and reverse deforestation and forest degradation.

Supporting the Paris Agreement

photo of bivalves and yeti crabs under water
A hydrothermal vent community of bivalves and yeti crabs (Kiwa hirsuta). Chemosynthesis converts inorganic compounds like sulphide/methane via microbial communities where light is unavailable in the deep sea.
(Schmidt Ocean Institute/Erik Cordes)

Emerging activities, misguidingly branded as helping the energy transition — like deep-sea mining — further threaten oceans by causing irreparable damage to the sea floor and in the water column.

Geoengineering technologies to remove excess CO₂ from the atmosphere are so far costly and ineffective, but may be necessary to meet the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 C target. However, marine-based technologies may disrupt seafloor habitats, alter ocean chemistry and disrupt the natural carbon cycle in unpredictable ways.

The largest uncertainties in future climate projections stem from potential changes in ocean circulation and biological activity that could reduce the ocean sink efficiency. Even if emissions are stopped, a substantial fraction (20 to 40 per cent in some models) of emitted CO₂ will remain in the atmosphere for a millennium or longer, persisting until slow geological processes complete the sequestration.

If deep-sea carbon sinks were to weaken due to these climate-induced changes, CO₂ would accumulate faster in the atmosphere, making the 1.5 target significantly more difficult to achieve. Therefore, the deep ocean’s capacity determines the long-term fate of CO₂ and the ultimate success of the Paris Agreement’s targets.

Acting without a precautionary approach and failing to incorporate Indigenous values could further damage marine ecosystems and increase inequalities. In addition, failing to establish appropriate protocols for research ethics, project implementation and scientific assessments could result in negative outcomes in terms of CO₂ sequestration.

The Conversation

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.

ref. The deep sea and the Arctic must be included in efforts to tackle climate change – https://theconversation.com/the-deep-sea-and-the-arctic-must-be-included-in-efforts-to-tackle-climate-change-269581

How heat from old coal mines became a source of local pride in this northern English town – new study

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Michael Smith, Associate Professor of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle

In Gateshead, north-east England, a solar park provides electricity for a mine water heat pump that provides district heating. Graeme J Baty/Shutterstock

Around a quarter of UK homes lie on disused coalfields. These abandoned coal mines are flooded with water that is naturally heated by the Earth.

This has enormous potential as a sustainable energy source. Schemes such as the mine water district heat network in Gateshead, in north-east England, are already providing low-carbon, cheaper heat and hot water to residential homes.

To maximise the full potential of this energy source by developing new schemes and expanding existing ones, it is critical that people have trust in new energy systems and are motivated to connect to them. This will speed up the number of homeowners signing up.

Communities built around former coal mines tend to have higher levels of socioeconomic disadvantage compared to other areas of the UK, with more social housing. Mine water district heating is a potential source of cheaper energy for these communities, but social housing residents must be involved in the transition to new, sustainable energy systems. This will ensure a smooth transition and avoid people feeling like new systems are being imposed on them.

In our new research, we interviewed 18 Gateshead residents about what a switch to mine water heating would mean for them.

We spoke to people from a community where homes are scheduled to move from gas heating to the mine water district heat network. Residents told us about their awareness of mine water heat, their motivations to connect and resources which could support them through the transition. We heard from social housing tenants, homeowners, private renters and landlords to understand how specific issues would affect different people’s lives and homes.




Read more:
How mine water could warm up the UK’s forgotten coal towns


Our participants had limited awareness of mine water heat. Only around a third of participants in our study had previously heard of district heat networks. People had a range of incorrect assumptions about how they work. Improving awareness is clearly needed to enable homeowners to make informed decisions about whether to adopt the new technology. This could involve working with residents to design resources to increase their understanding and ensure that the issues most important to residents are addressed.

Residents we interviewed liked the idea of cleaner, greener energy, but many people said cost would be a barrier unless the mine water heat is cheaper than gas. They would happily “do their bit” for the environment, but not if it means higher bills.

angel of the north big steel sculpture on green grass, blue sky with two people walking towards it along path
The Angel of the North sculpture is built on the site of a former colliery and commemorates the region’s coal mining history.
PJ_Photography/Shutterstock

One homeowner, a woman in her 70s, told us: “We like to do our bit with recycling and trying to save on energy costs, but that’s a luxury. If you’re a pensioner, you can’t. You don’t have unlimited resources … it shouldn’t [cost] any more than an ordinary gas boiler.”

The people we spoke to were proud that heat is being produced from old mines. They felt it connected the area’s coal mining heritage to a more sustainable future. Our participants liked the idea of generating energy from the disused mines in the area. When another 38-year-old resident discovered that the heat came from mine water, they said it “feels like a waste that we haven’t been tapping into that sooner”.

Community co-creation

Mine water district heating schemes provide an opportunity to involve communities in their energy futures. Community engagement ensures that people feel network expansion is being done with them, and not to them.

Raising awareness is important, but that isn’t enough to increase trust and acceptance. Addressing incorrect assumptions that sustainable energy will inherently be more expensive for consumers is key.

In Gateshead, there are cost savings through cheaper energy bills and no maintenance costs to the consumer. Communication of this information to consumers is vital to overcome resistance.

Building a narrative linked to the legacy of energy from coal mines can resonate with communities who are proud of their coal mining heritage. However, that needs to be achieved without glorifying mining history, because so many communities were adversely affected by the consequences of mine closures.


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The Conversation

Michael Smith receives funding from Innovate UK and Northern Net Zero Accelerator.

Faye Doughty 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. How heat from old coal mines became a source of local pride in this northern English town – new study – https://theconversation.com/how-heat-from-old-coal-mines-became-a-source-of-local-pride-in-this-northern-english-town-new-study-269959

These dinner-plate sized computer chips are set to supercharge the next leap forward in AI

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Luo Mai, Reader at the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to make today’s artificial intelligence (AI) systems work at the scale required to keep advancing. They require enormous amounts of memory to ensure all their processing chips can quickly share all the data they generate in order to work as a unit.

The chips that have mostly been powering the deep-learning boom for the past decade are called graphics processing units (GPUs). They were originally designed for gaming, not for AI models where each step in their thinking process must take place in well under a millisecond.

Each chip contains only a modest amount of memory, so the large language models (LLMs) that underpin our AI systems must be partitioned across many GPUs connected by high-speed networks. LLMs work by training an AI on huge amounts of text, and every part of them involves moving data between chips – a process that is not only slow and energy-intensive but also requires ever more chips as models get bigger.

For instance, OpenAI used some 200,000 GPUs to create its latest model, GPT-5, around 20 times the number used in the GPT-3 model that powered the original version of Chat-GPT three years ago.

To address the limits of GPUs, companies such as California-based Cerebras have started building a different kind of chip called wafer-scale processors. These are the size of a dinner plate, about five times bigger than GPUs, and only recently became commercially viable. Each contains vast on-chip memory and hundreds of thousands of individual processors (known as cores).

The idea behind them is simple. Instead of coordinating dozens of small chips, keep everything on one piece of silicon so data does not have to travel across networks of hardware. This matters because when an AI model generates an answer – a step known as inference – every delay adds up.

The time it takes the model to respond is called latency, and reducing that latency is crucial for applications that work in real-time, such as chatbots, scientific-analysis engines and fraud-detection systems.

Wafer-scale chips alone are not enough, however. Without a software system engineered specifically for their architecture, much of their theoretical performance gain simply never appears.

The deeper challenge

Wafer-scale processors have an unusual combination of characteristics. Each core has very limited memory, so there is a huge need for data to be shared within the chip. Cores can access their own data in nanoseconds, but there are so many cores on each chip over such a large area that reading memory on the far side of the wafer can be a thousand times slower.

Limits in the routing network on each chip also mean that it can’t handle all possible communications between cores at once. In sum, cores cannot access memory fast enough, cannot communicate freely, and ultimately spend most of their time waiting.

Illustration of a computer chip network
Wafer-scale chips get slowed down by communication delays.
Brovko Serhii

We’ve recently been working on a solution called WaferLLM, a joint venture between the University of Edinburgh and Microsoft Research designed to run the largest LLMs efficiently on wafer-scale chips. The vision is to reorganise how an LLM runs so that each core on the chip mainly handles data stored locally.

In what is the first paper to explore this problem from a software perspective, we’ve designed three new algorithms that basically break the model’s large mathematical operations into much smaller pieces.

These pieces are then arranged so that neighbouring cores can process them together, handing only tiny fragments of data to the next core. This keeps information moving locally across the wafer and avoids the long-distance communication that slows the entire chip down.

We’ve also introduced new strategies for distributing different parts (or layers) of the LLM across hundreds of thousands of cores without leaving large sections of the wafer idle. This involves coordinating processing and communication to ensure that when one group of cores is computing, another is shifting data, and a third is preparing its next task.

These adjustments were tested on LLMs like Meta’s Llama and Alibaba’s Qwen using Europe’s largest wafer-scale AI facility at the Edinburgh International Data Facility. WaferLLM made the wafer-scale chips generate text about 100 times faster than before.

Compared with a cluster of 16 GPUs, this amounted to a tenfold reduction in latency, as well as being twice as energy efficient. So whereas some argue that the next leap in AI performance may come from chips designed specifically for LLMs, our results suggest you can instead design software that matches the structure of existing hardware.

In the near term, faster inference at lower cost raises the prospect of more responsive AI tools capable of evaluating many more hypotheses per second. This would improve everything from reasoning assistants to scientific-analysis engines. Even more data-heavy applications like fraud detection and testing ideas through simulations would be able to handle dramatically larger workloads without the need for massive GPU clusters.

The future

GPUs remain flexible, widely available and supported by a mature software ecosystem, so wafer-scale chips will not replace them. Instead, they are likely to serve workloads that depend on ultra-low latency, extremely large models or high energy efficiency, such as drug discovery and financial trading.

Meanwhile, GPUs aren’t standing still: better software and continuous improvements in chip design are helping them run more efficiently and deliver more speed. Over time, assuming there’s a need for even greater efficiency, some GPU architectures may also adopt wafer-scale ideas.

Medicine capsules being made
More powerful AI could unlock new types of drug discovery.
Simplystocker

The broader lesson is that AI infrastructure is becoming a co-design problem: hardware and software must evolve together. As models grow, simply scaling out with more GPUs will no longer be enough. Systems like WaferLLM show that rethinking the software stack is essential for unlocking the next generation of AI performance.

For the public, the benefits will not appear as new chips on shelves but as AI systems that will support applications that were previously too slow or too expensive to run. Whether in scientific discovery, public-sector services or high-volume analytics, the shift toward wafer-scale computing signals a new phase in how AI systems are built – and what they can achieve.

The Conversation

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.

ref. These dinner-plate sized computer chips are set to supercharge the next leap forward in AI – https://theconversation.com/these-dinner-plate-sized-computer-chips-are-set-to-supercharge-the-next-leap-forward-in-ai-270094

Economic forecasts point to a Democrat win in the 2026 US midterm elections

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Paul Whiteley, Professor, Department of Government, University of Essex

The resounding victories in recent elections by Democrats Zohran Mamdani in New York, Abigail Spanberger in Virginia and Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey has reinvigorated the party after a dismal year since Donald Trump became president.

The victories were not a mandate for a sharp ideological shift to the left. This may be true for Mamdani, but it is not for Spanberger and Sherrill, since both are mainstream centrist Democrats. The main reason for the victories can be seen in the chart below.

Trends in presidential job approval and Donald Trump’s handling of the economy 2025:

The data comes from successive polls in the United States conducted by YouGov on behalf of the Economist magazine. All three candidates focused on the issue of the US economy which proved to be a winning strategy since it is clear the economy strongly affects Donald Trump’s job approval ratings.

As the president’s ratings on the economy decline, so does his job approval ratings. The result is that the Republicans took the blame for failing to deal with the issue.

The midterm Congressional elections in the US are due to take place in November 2026. Given the strong relationship between the economy and support for the president, it is interesting to examine how the economy is likely to influence support for the Democrats in those elections.

To investigate this, we can look at elections to the House of Representatives over a long period, given that they occur every two years.

The graph below compares the number of House seats won by the Democrats and economic growth in the US in all 40 House elections since 1946. Economic growth is weighted so that the Democrats benefit from high growth when they control the House but are penalised by this when the Republicans are in control.

This also works in reverse with low growth producing a poor electoral performance for the party when Democrats are in charge and a good performance when the Republicans are in control.

The relationship between economic growth and House seats won by Democrats 1946 to 2024:

The impact of the economy on voting in these elections is clearly quite strong, but the number of House seats won declines as the party’s majority gets larger. This is what is known as a “ceiling” effect meaning that when the majority is very large it is difficult to win more seats even in a thriving economy.

But this relationship can nonetheless be used to develop a forecasting model of the seats likely to be captured by the party in midterm elections next year.

When forecasting seats, an additional factor to consider is the inertia of party support over successive elections. If the Democrats did well in one year, they were likely to do well two years later.

For example, in 2008 when Barack Obama won the presidential election, the Democrats captured 233 House seats and the Republicans 202. In the following midterm election in 2010 the party won 257 seats while the Republicans won 178 and so the Democrats retained control of the House.

At the moment the House has a Republican majority of 219 against 213 Democrats. So Republican control is quite vulnerable to a surge in support for the Democrats.

Multiple regression analysis

The forecasting model involves a multiple regression analysis. This uses several variables to predict the behaviour of a specific variable – in this case the number of House seats won by the Democrats.

In addition to the two variables already mentioned, approval ratings and the performance of the economy, the fact that the incumbent president is a Republican is included in the modelling as well since this influences the vote for the Democrats.

We know the number of House seats from the 2024 election and the fact that Trump is a Republican, so to forecast Democrat House seats we need a prediction for economic growth in 2026.

The Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis provides data which forecasts growth in the US economy up to 2028. It predicts that growth in real terms will be 1.8% in 2026 – and when this is included in the modelling, the overall forecast from these variables is 80% accurate.

If a variable is a perfect predictor of House seats it would score 1.0 and if it failed to predict any seats at all it would score 0. The impact of growth on seats when the Democrats controlled the House was 0.75, the inertia effect of past Democrat seats was 0.26 and Trump’s presidency was 0.19.

Low growth boosts Democrats’ prospects

Clearly economic growth dominates the picture showing that low growth rates next year will strengthen the Democrat challenge. This is likely to happen since a recent IMF report suggests that US growth is likely to slow next year.

Actual and predicted House seats in elections 1946 to 2026:

The third chart shows the relationship between Democratic House seats predicted by the model and the actual number of seats won by the party. The predictions track the actual number of Democrat House seats fairly closely and so the forecast should be reasonably accurate

It should be noted that all forecasting models are subject to significant errors. As the chart shows, the predicted number of seats is not the same as the actual number and if something unforeseen happens the predictions could be wrong. That said, however, the forecast is that the Democrats will win 223 seats – an increase of ten over their performance in 2024. This will give them enough to hand them control of the House.

The Conversation

Paul Whiteley has received funding from the British Academy and the ESRC.

ref. Economic forecasts point to a Democrat win in the 2026 US midterm elections – https://theconversation.com/economic-forecasts-point-to-a-democrat-win-in-the-2026-us-midterm-elections-270178

Five everyday habits that could be harming your pancreas

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dipa Kamdar, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice, Kingston University

A few everyday habits play a major role in pancreatic damage. carlesmiro/Shutterstock

The pancreas is essential for staying alive and healthy. This small organ sits behind the stomach and has two main jobs. It produces digestive enzymes that break down food and hormones such as insulin and glucagon that control blood sugar.

Everyday habits such as heavy drinking and unhealthy eating can gradually damage the pancreas. Once injured, the consequences can be serious and include inflammation, diabetes and, in some cases, cancer.

Several common lifestyle factors can put the pancreas under strain:

1. Alcohol

Regular heavy drinking is one of the leading causes of pancreatitis. Acute pancreatitis causes severe abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting and often needs hospital care. Repeated episodes can develop into chronic pancreatitis, where long-lasting inflammation and scarring permanently reduce pancreatic function. This can lead to malabsorption of fats, vitamins and other nutrients, diabetes and a higher risk of pancreatic cancer. Researchers have several theories about how this damage occurs.

Alcohol can cause digestive enzymes such as trypsin, which normally work in the small intestine, to activate inside the pancreas before they reach the gut. Instead of digesting food, they digest pancreatic tissue and trigger severe inflammation.

Alcohol also makes pancreatic juices thicker and stickier. These thicker fluids can form protein plugs that harden into stones and block tiny ducts. Over time this causes irritation, scarring and the loss of pancreatic cells. When the pancreas breaks down alcohol it produces a toxic chemical called acetaldehyde that irritates and damages cells and triggers inflammation.

Alcohol also encourages the release of chemical messengers that switch on inflammation and keep it active. This makes tissue damage more likely.

Guidelines recommend drinking no more than 14 units of alcohol per week. It is safest to spread this across several days and to avoid binge drinking.

2. Smoking

Smoking increases the risk of both acute and chronic pancreatitis. Acute pancreatitis develops suddenly with severe pain and sickness. Chronic pancreatitis develops over many years and repeated inflammation causes permanent damage. Several studies show that the more someone smokes, the higher the risk. Another study found that quitting significantly reduces risk, and after about 15 years the risk can fall close to that of a non smoker.

Smoking is also strongly linked to pancreatic cancer. Scientists do not yet fully understand every mechanism, but laboratory studies show that nicotine can trigger sudden increases in calcium inside pancreatic cells. Too much calcium harms cells and worsens inflammation. Tobacco smoke also contains carcinogens that damage DNA.

One of the earliest genetic changes in pancreatic cancer involves a gene called Kras, which acts like a switch that controls how cells grow. In more than 90 percent of pancreatic cancers this gene is mutated, which locks the growth switch in the on position and encourages uncontrolled cell growth.

3. Diet

Diet affects the pancreas in several ways. Eating a lot of saturated fat, processed meat or refined carbohydrates raises the risk of pancreatic problems.

One major cause of acute pancreatitis is gallstones. Gallstones can block the bile duct and trap digestive enzymes inside the pancreas. When enzymes build up they begin to damage the organ. Diet contributes to gallstone formation because high cholesterol levels make bile more likely to form stones.

Another type of fat in the blood is triglycerides. When triglycerides rise to very high levels, large fat particles known as chylomicrons can clog tiny blood vessels in the pancreas. This reduces oxygen supply and triggers the release of harmful fatty acids that irritate pancreatic tissue.

Frequent spikes in blood sugar from high sugar foods also strain the pancreas. Constant surges in insulin over time reduce insulin sensitivity and may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer.

4. Obesity

Obesity increases the risk of acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Fat can accumulate in and around the pancreas, a condition called pancreatic steatosis or non-alcoholic fatty pancreatic disease. This build up can replace healthy cells and weaken the organ.

Excess body fat also increases levels of pro-inflammatory molecules such as TNF-alpha and IL-6, creating long-lasting inflammation that supports tumour growth. Obesity disrupts insulin sensitivity and hormone signals from fat tissue. Gallstones are more common in people who are obese and can increase the risk of pancreatitis.

5. Physical inactivity

A sedentary lifestyle worsens insulin resistance and forces the pancreas to produce more insulin. Without activity to help muscles absorb glucose, the pancreas remains under constant strain. This metabolic stress increases susceptibility to diabetes and pancreatic cancer.

Physical activity may lower pancreatic cancer risk both directly and indirectly. It supports immune function, improves cell health, reduces obesity and lowers type 2 diabetes risk. Regular movement strengthens antioxidant defences and increases the activity of disease fighting immune cells.

Pancreatic cancer may lead to diabetes, as a damaged pancreas cannot produce enough insulin. Diabetes can increase the risk of pancreatic cancer.

Adults are encouraged to include strength training at least twice a week and to aim for 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week.

Because pancreatic conditions can be life threatening, recognising early symptoms is important. Seek medical advice if you have persistent abdominal pain, unexplained weight loss, loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting that do not settle, jaundice, greasy or foul smelling stools or chronic fatigue.

Many risks are modifiable. Limiting alcohol intake, quitting smoking, eating a diet rich in fruit, vegetables and whole grains and being physically active all reduce the likelihood of pancreatic disease. Even small changes such as choosing plant-based protein or cutting back on sugary drinks help lighten the load on this vital organ.

By understanding how the pancreas becomes damaged and by noticing symptoms early, you can take simple steps to protect it. Look after your pancreas and it will look after you.

The Conversation

Dipa Kamdar 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. Five everyday habits that could be harming your pancreas – https://theconversation.com/five-everyday-habits-that-could-be-harming-your-pancreas-266647