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Editor's note
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It may seem counter-intuitive that one of the legacies of Donald Trump’s administration might be a radical, government-directed plan to transition the US to a socially just society with a zero-carbon economy. It’s not Trump’s idea, needless to say, but an initiative of the Sunrise Movement, an environmental and social justice group championed by recently elected congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. This week we’ve been looking at what the Green New Deal means for populist politics in the US – and in the UK.
We read last year about how the Space X project, founded by Elon Musk, had launched a Tesla Roadster into space, with a crash test dummy in the driving seat. Today sees the launch of the unmanned Crew Dragon spacecraft into low-earth orbit with the aim of being the next generation of capsules ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station. While not being as fuel economical as the Tesla, the Space X rockets have brought costs down to a fraction of what they had been, which brings the final frontier a whole lot closer.
There’s an election campaign on in India and the country’s more than 200m WhatsApp users are receiving regular updates from the rival parties determined to win their votes by hook or by crook. And there’s a great deal of crook, sadly. Misinformation coming straight to people’s smartphones has inflamed recent tensions with Pakistan as well as leading to riots, murders and lynchings. Predictably politicians are blaming the app and the app’s creators are pointing the fingers at mendacious politicians. Same story, different tech.
This week we also discussed whether robots could develop a sense of self, how your body defends itself against colds and flu and what Alan Partridge and Piers Morgan
have in common.
From our colleagues around the world we read about the downfall of Australia’s most senior Catholic, the riding political tension in Sudan and, from South Africa, the rebirth of a once-great anti-apartheid newspaper for Afrikaaners.
Have a good weekend.
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Jonathan Este
Associate Editor, Arts + Culture Editor
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Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unveils the Green New Deal resolution.
EPA-EFE/SHAWN THEW ALTERNATIVE CROP
Rebecca Willis, Lancaster University
By making people confront the scale of the climate challenge, the Green New Deal is a great leap forward.
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Minutes after launching the Falcon Heavy rocket, SpaceX was livestreaming footage from the Tesla Roadster it released into space.
SpaceX
Wendy Whitman Cobb, Cameron University
SpaceX's advances in space technology have reduced barriers to space and changed the direction of American space policy, but it is not without its challenges.
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Shutterstock/lidear21/AshTProductions/Dishant Shrivastava/Rawpixel
Philippa Williams, Queen Mary University of London; Lipika Kamra, O.P. Jindal Global University
India has more WhatsApp users than any other democracy – and a worrying history of 'fake news'.
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By YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV/Shutterstock
Vishwanathan Mohan, University of Essex
Scientists have developed a robotic arm with knowledge of its physical form – a very basic sense of self.
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Be with you in a sec …
Aleksandra Suzi/Shutterstock
Adam Taylor, Lancaster University
Snot very good to be ill. But here's how your body mounts its defence against the dreaded lurgi.
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BBC WorldWide 2018/Andy Seymour
Richard Hewett, University of Salford
Gauche and awkward, a media star for the 21st century.
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Richard Betts, University of Exeter
Wildfires broke out across the British Isles during a recent heatwave. But the burning question of the link to climate change does not have an easy answer.
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Simon McCarthy-Jones, Trinity College Dublin
Stopping people from talking about their unwanted thoughts may have a terrible impact on them and on society.
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Andy Price, Sheffield Hallam University
The Labour leader has cautiously backed a fresh vote – and that's all parliament needs to get the debate going.
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Sascha Stollhans, Lancaster University; Oranna Speicher, University of Nottingham
Debunking the myth that English is the only language you need.
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From our international network
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Michael Douglas, University of Western Australia; Jason Bosland, University of Melbourne
The public ought to be provided with a set of written reasons explaining why the court decided the suppression order was justified in the Pell trials.
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Andrew Edward Tchie, University of Essex
Fed up with the high cost of living, and an oppressive state, the people of Sudan are rising up against their president.
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Herman Wasserman, University of Cape Town
A progressive Afrikaans newspaper will be relaunched soon. But Vrye Weekblad can't trade on its history alone. It will need to consider the challenges of the present and the future.
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Featured events
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Eldon Building, Winston Churchill Avenue, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 2DJ, United Kingdom — University of Portsmouth
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Lower ground floor, Emily Wilding Davison Building, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, United Kingdom — Royal Holloway
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Bishop Hall Lane, Chelmsford, Essex, United Kingdom — Anglia Ruskin University
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Boilerhouse Auditorium, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, United Kingdom — Royal Holloway
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