Category: English

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Marianna Poberezhskaya, Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations, Nottingham Trent University

The Middle East is experiencing a period of intense political and economic turbulence, with several countries in the region embroiled in conflict. These conflicts are taking place against the backdrop of an escalating climate crisis.

In 2023, global thinktank the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace concluded that Middle Eastern countries “are among the world’s most exposed states to the accelerating impacts of human-caused climate change – including soaring heatwaves, declining precipitation, extended droughts, more intense sandstorms and floods, and rising sea levels”.

The capacity of a society to receive, process and act upon climate-related information is at the heart of an effective climate change response. Media plays an important role: it is central to advancing public understanding of climate change and its connection to individual, communal and national security.

Yet over the past two decades or so, media coverage of climate change in the Middle East has been among the lowest in the world. According to the University of Colorado Boulder’s Media and Climate Change Observatory, media organisations in the Middle East each produced an average of around one article about climate change in August 2025 – compared with 66 articles for North American media in the same month.

Wars and climate change are inextricably linked. Climate change can increase the likelihood of violent conflict by intensifying resource scarcity and displacement, while conflict itself accelerates environmental damage. This article is part of a series, War on climate, which explores the relationship between climate issues and global conflicts.

The lack of climate coverage in the Middle East is because media outlets there face a number of structural problems. How does one talk about climate change when armed conflicts are spiralling out of control, or when public discourse is monopolised by what are perceived to be more pressing issues?

Jordan presents a useful example to help us understand these challenges and how to overcome them.

Media in Jordan

Jordan has long played a stabilising role in the Middle East. It has accepted large numbers of refugees from neighbouring conflicts and has acted as a mediator and peace broker between Middle Eastern rivals. However, climate change is threatening Jordan’s stability.

Raed Abu Soud, Jordan’s minister of water and irrigation, said in May 2025: “Jordan is grappling with one of the most severe water crises in the world, with per-capita water availability dropping to just 60 cubic metres per year.”

A host of other factors are worsening the situation. Economic underdevelopment in Jordan is leading to persistent unemployment and public unrest, while regional conflicts are undermining social cohesion.

Read more:
Jordan joins regional push to sideline Islamist opposition

How Jordan responds to the risks presented by climate change, and preserves its stability, is extremely important for the Middle East and beyond. Public understanding of this challenge is going to be pivotal to an effective response. And here enters the role of media.

Our research on climate change in Jordan has involved analysing more than 2,500 news articles in the country’s major print media and carrying out extensive interviews with local people. We have found that, while climate change is becoming a more important topic in the country, there are still many barriers preventing a coherent climate change discussion there.

It is common in Jordan, as in many other countries affected by conflict, for conversations related to climate change to be pushed to the background when other crises emerge. Since 2023, when the war in Gaza began, Jordanian media outlets have understandably been drawn to covering the humanitarian crisis there at the expense of climate change.

This has been exacerbated by the fact there are very few journalists in Jordan who work consistently on climate-related issues and can offer accurate and timely coverage. The shortage of climate journalists is a common problem across the Middle East.

When climate change is covered by Jordanian media, it is often discussed as a secondary consideration relative to geopolitical threats – not as a challenge in its own right. Due to the country’s policy of hosting refugees, Jordanian media outlets have often portrayed their country as a “second victim” of the civil war in Syria and the intractable Israel-Palestine conflict. Refugees are depicted as another strain on scarce resources.

Eroding trust

Climate change discourse in Jordan tends to be heavily influenced by international partners including foreign governments, charities and funding bodies.

There are numerous externally funded educational and vocational courses focused on climate change available in Jordan for various audiences, including media professionals. While this facilitates the advancement of climate change discussions, it can distance climate coverage from the local context and knowledge. This is particularly true if external partners merely “teach” Jordanians what they believe is necessary, without fully understanding the specific challenges Jordan faces.

It can also erode trust between Jordanians and these foreign partners. In some of the cases we studied, journalists in Jordan saw climate change as part of a western-imposed agenda aimed at controlling developing countries.

Jordan is highly important for the Middle East, Europe and beyond. Without effective climate adaptation, it risks losing its role as a refugee haven and regional stabiliser.

Media can play a vital role in advancing climate change discourse in the Middle East, both by holding governments to account and raising awareness of climate issues. Some studies suggest that public concern correlates with the volume of media coverage, and attention can fade when other issues dominate the media space.

Sustained, inclusive coverage is essential to ensure long-term engagement and informed public participation in climate action, even during times of political and economic turbulence.

Marianna Poberezhskaya received funding for the associated research project from the Climate Social Science Network.

Imad El-Anis receives funding from the Council for British Research in the Levant and the Climate Social Science Network.

Marwa Mustafa received funding from Climate Social Science Network.

– ref. Middle Eastern countries are among the most exposed to climate change – so why is media coverage so low there? – https://theconversation.com/middle-eastern-countries-are-among-the-most-exposed-to-climate-change-so-why-is-media-coverage-so-low-there-262757

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Paul Cheshire, Professor Emeritus of Economic Geography, London School of Economics and Political Science

Economists have argued for years that council tax in the UK was rushed in and badly thought out. After the poll tax fiasco of the early 1990s, a substitute was urgent. The answer was council tax, but this was almost as unfit for purpose as the poll tax it replaced.

So if the experts know council tax is an unfair mess, why has there been no reform? There seem to be three main reasons. First, while everyone can think of big improvements, there is no consensus on what exactly should replace it. So although almost any sensible reform would be better, nothing changes.

The second reason is politicians’ and policymakers’ fear of rocking the boat. There would certainly be losers as well as winners from any decent reform – and those losers would complain vociferously.

Finally, council tax is cheap to collect and yields a lot of revenue. Perhaps there is also the fear that if the stone is lifted, we would also need to address the problem of paying for local government.

Historically “domestic rates” were the main source of local government income in the UK, but their contribution to local spending had fallen to a low of about 10% by 2010.

Since then, local governments have increasingly borne the burden of austerity, however, with the result that council tax now covers 30% of their spending. But the system is creaking. The Thatcher government’s deeply unpopular flat-rate “community charge” (poll tax) was a per-person levy supposed to pay for local services. Council tax was a hybrid – part property tax and partly a charge levied by local government.

These days, the house values providing the tax-base for council tax are still fixed at hypothetical 1991 values, even for new houses. But in the real world, UK house prices have increased, more than fivefold since 1991. And in London they have increased by a factor of eight compared to only 3.5 in the north, creating another problem of perceived fairness.

To make matters worse, the house values themselves were not used to calculate the tax, but rather eight value bands. These have not been updated, still stopping at £320,000 – reflecting the prices of a forgotten world. The result is the single occupant of a house worth £2.5 million may pay less than their married neighbours with a child in a one-bedroom flat.

The poll tax was supposed to represent a payment by residents for local services, so is levied on people not property. To retain an echo of this per-person charge, council tax has a 25% discount for single people. Paying is the liability of the occupier, not the owner.

So how could it be improved?

The most obvious reform for property taxes is to revalue all houses at current prices and wrap up stamp duty (another bad and unpopular tax) and council tax in a single payment. This could be charged as a percentage of a home’s value – a “proportional property tax” (PPT). Then all houses would be revalued every year.

There are objections and complications to such an obvious reform. It would be impossible to remove the government’s stamp duty revenues without replacing them. So a proportion of the total revenue from any PPT would go to the Treasury, with the rest helping to fund local government. The total revenues would still have to be divided between the two.

A second complication is older people who bought houses in the 1980s, for example, and who are now retired. For them, paying the same proportion of current values as those in work might be a stretch. One suggestion is that housing-rich, income-poor people could roll up their tax liability, so it was only paid when they sold the house or after they died.

However, some oppose such a delay since it removes the incentive to downsize (a move that would cost less if stamp duty had been abolished as part of the reform).

But could people suddenly find their liability leap fivefold if their house was revalued?. This fear is unfounded, since the tax would not be the assessed value of the house but some very small proportion – maybe 0.5%. Still, it might need strong and articulate political leadership to convince people of this.

As for the task of revaluing houses every year, these days AI can give accurate and almost instantaneous valuations. But homeowners should have a right to appeal the valuation. This would be free if experts judged the AI value was more than 5% out. If not however, the homeowner would be stuck with that valuation and would also have to pay the costs of the appeal.

To solve the problem of dividing the revenues of a PPT, there should be both nationally and locally set rates of tax on the value of houses. A recent calculation concluded that a rate of 0.11% of house values would offset the Treasury’s lost stamp duty revenue. On a £1 million house, that works out as £1,100 a year.

Councils would then set their own rates, with the receipts paying for local services. This would provide some incentive to permit new house building, as tax receipts would rise to cover the extra costs rather than disappearing into national coffers.

This would also resolve the problem of how to divide PPT revenues between local and national government and avoid imposing a sudden, massive jump in property tax liability for people in southeast England. This is where the majority of £1 million-plus houses are located.

Setting the local rate at a uniform national 0.51% – yielding the same national total as council tax – would mean the owner of the £1 million house suddenly being hit with an annual bill not of £1,100, but £6,200. This would create serious opposition. So where house prices were higher, the local rate could be lower and still yield the same revenue.

An advantage of the PPT is that it could also be an effective and collectable wealth tax. Houses are the biggest element in personal wealth so the national rate of PPT could even be set higher than the 0.11% rate, increasing Treasury revenues and addressing appeals for a wealth tax.

This article was co-published with LSE Blogs at the London School of Economics

Paul Cheshire receives funding from ESRC. He is affiliated with the Centre for Economic Performance.

– ref. Council tax is an unfair mess – here’s a system that could work better – https://theconversation.com/council-tax-is-an-unfair-mess-heres-a-system-that-could-work-better-264843

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

A little blue pill is creating a stir in Hollywood – and no, it’s not Viagra. It’s propranolol, a beta blocker originally designed for heart conditions, that’s now making its way into dressing rooms, award ceremonies and even first dates.

At red carpet events this year, actors Kristen Bell, Rachel Sennott and Natasha Rothwell all mentioned taking beta blockers. But they weren’t the first.

In 2022, Khloé Kardashian admitted she borrows her mother’s pills to calm her nerves. And last year, at the Golden Globe awards, Robert Downey Jr. quipped: “I took a beta blocker, so this will be a breeze.” What’s behind this unlikely trend – and how did a drug for heart disease become a Hollywood anxiety fix?

To understand why A-listers are reaching for heart medication, we need to look at how these drugs actually work.

Beta blockers, such as propranolol and atenolol, were first developed in the 1960s to treat heart conditions such as high blood pressure, arrhythmias (irregular heart rate) and angina. Doctors soon discovered they also worked for other conditions, including migraines and an overactive thyroid.

The use of beta blockers for anxiety was first identified in 1965, when they demonstrated calming effects during clinical trials aimed at treating rapid heart rate associated with hyperthyroidism. Although licensed to treat anxiety in the UK, propranolol is increasingly prescribed off-label (prescribing a drug for a condition it’s not officially approved to treat, based on clinical judgment and available evidence) in the US as it remains unlicensed by the Food and Drug Administration.

So how do beta blockers help with anxiety? Adrenaline is a hormone that activates the body’s fight-or-flight response, often causing symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, sweating and trembling. Beta blockers work by blocking adrenaline’s effects on specific sites in the body called beta receptors.

When beta blockers attach to the beta receptors in the heart, they prevent adrenaline from exerting its usual effects. This leads to a slower heart rate and weaker heart contractions. This, in turn, lowers blood pressure by reducing the heart’s demand for oxygen. By blocking adrenaline, beta blockers help to reduce the physical symptoms of anxiety – racing heart, trembling hands and sweating.

But how well does it actually work for anxiety? The research paints a complex picture. In one study, patients who took propranolol had significantly lower anxiety and depression compared with those who received a placebo.

Another study looked at two different doses of propranolol (20mg and 40mg) and found that both doses led to noticeable improvements in anxiety levels compared with participants who didn’t take any anxiety medication.

However, a recent review of the evidence concluded that while propranolol may help with physical symptoms of anxiety, the evidence that it helps in comparison to other anxiety medication is limited – a lot of the clinical trials have few participants and are of low quality.

Unlike Valium (diazepam), the benzodiazepine known in the 60s as “mother’s little helper”, propranolol is not addictive. It doesn’t produce sedation or euphoria, and its risk of dependence is low. However, it’s not without risks or side-effects.

Common side-effects include dizziness, fatigue, cold hands and feet, and vivid dreams. More serious risks – though rare – include heart failure, breathing difficulties and allergic reactions.

People with asthma, diabetes or certain heart conditions need to consult a doctor or pharmacist as beta blockers are often unsuitable for them.

There have also been increasing cases of propranolol being used in overdose. It may cause your heart to slow down too much, lead to dizziness, shaking or seizures and make breathing difficult.

The prescription reality

Despite not appearing in national guidelines, doctors are increasingly prescribing propranolol for anxiety. Research shows doctors view it as a pragmatic, low-risk option – especially for patients on long waiting lists for counselling or reluctant to take antidepressants.

Propranolol targets the body’s response to anxiety, not the underlying psychological causes. It may help someone deliver a speech without shaking or take an exam without sweating, but it won’t address persistent worry or panic attacks. As such, it’s best seen as a short-term aid rather than a long-term solution.

For ongoing anxiety, evidence-based treatments like cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness and antidepressants are more appropriate. UK guidelines recommend these approaches as initial treatments.

Before you start raiding your mum’s medicine cabinet for a dose of red-carpet calm, remember it’s a beta blocker, not a bravery booster. It won’t fix your fear of public speaking or make you smoother on a first date – though it might stop your hands from shaking while you try.

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. Beta blockers: why are celebrities name-checking this drug? – https://theconversation.com/beta-blockers-why-are-celebrities-name-checking-this-drug-265132

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ayoush Lazikani, Lecturer in Medieval English, University of Oxford

Each night, the Moon glistens in the night sky, replete with all sorts of meanings depending on the person viewing it. Poets and artists have contemplated it for thousands of years.

The Moon meant a great deal to medieval people around the world. It was believed to have an enormous impact on Earth, affecting the tides, the trees, animals and human minds and bodies. But it also had many symbolic associations, whether in the realms of love, illusion or religion – as I explore in my new book, The Medieval Moon: A History of Haunting and Blessing.

In fact, I suggest we can talk about medieval moons in the plural, because the Moon was seen in such a wide variety of contexts and guises. The book travels across multiple regions and cultures to seek these medieval moons, taking in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Mayan, Norse, Persian, Polynesian and Welsh traditions, among others.

I use “medieval” as a shorthand for the years AD700AD to AD1600 around the world, but the term is an imperfect one developed to describe European history – so should be applied to other regions and cultures with care. What constitutes a medieval period varies from language to language and from culture to culture.

In many ways, the Moon was like a riddle for medieval people. As a symbol, it did not have an easily decipherable meaning, which encouraged viewers to read it in playful ways. Consequently, many Old English and Old Norse riddles appropriately have the solution “Moon”.

The Moon was also seen as place of travel and adventure. Japanese, Italian, English, German and Dutch sources all testify to stories of travel to and from the Moon, long before the age of real space travel.

The Moon was also involved in many kinds of prophetic activity. In the literature of the period, sorcerers and kings studied the Moon to find out about the future. The legendary sorcerer Merlin, for example, made prophecies involving the Moon in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain (circa 1155)

The Moon was also a rich symbol in religious contexts. In medieval Christian and Islamic sources, the Moon could represent everything from the Islamic Prophet Muhammad to the Christian Church as an institution.

The Moon was also involved in all kinds of prognoses and regimes related to ill-health and healing. It was believed by people like Geoffrey of Meaux, a French author and scientist (active 1310-1348), that a lunar eclipse in Libra, alongside a conjunction of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn in the sign Aquarius, was the cause of the terrible pandemic known as the Black Death.

Medieval people frequently consulted “moonbooks” – manuscripts that offered guidance about what to do depending on the position of the Moon – to find out about the prognosis of various illnesses, as well as ascertaining the right time to undertake healing practices like bloodletting or surgery.

Despite its perceived usefulness to medicine, the Moon was also associated with inconstancy and illusion. Poets including Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) and Robert Henryson (1460–1500), and authors of stories such as the animal fable Kalīla and Dimna, wrote about the Moon as an illusory force, tricking those human beings who read it incorrectly.

Christian poems and prose such as The English Pearl (a dream vision) and Guide for Anchoresses (a guidebook for religious recluses) also asked readers to think about the Moon as a marker of changeability, mirroring life in the Earth below it.

Read more:
Three medieval tales about adventures to the Moon from around the world

Despite this freight of negative meanings, the Moon was also associated with love. Medieval Sufis – commonly known as Islamic mystics – wrote of “moon beauties”. For these poets, the moon beauty was not an earthly lover but the divine – Allah. Poets like Aṭṭār of Nishapur, Jalāl al-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, Abu Ḥasan al-Shushtarī and Muḥyiddin Ibn ‘Arabī imagined the divine as the ultimate “moon beauty”.

As it shimmered for medieval audiences, the Moon grasped at deep emotions and complex thoughts, pervading people’s lives in moments of harshness and moments of tenderness.

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Ayoush Lazikani 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. For medieval people, the Moon was both a riddle and a blessing – https://theconversation.com/for-medieval-people-the-moon-was-both-a-riddle-and-a-blessing-261795