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Things appear to be moving with disturbing speed towards a disastrous all-out conflict in Myanmar. There have been reports from defecting military officers that they expect plenty of their comrades to change sides in response to the military junta’s savage treatment of protesting Burmese citizens.
The military, or Tatmadaw, has long been the guarantor of power in Myanmar. Even as the country seemed to be opening up to democracy, the Tatmadaw retained effective control of the country through a powerful constitutional position. But the February coup – and the violent oppression that has followed – might have risked the unity of the armed forces and security services. This could be a critical moment in the crisis. If enough officers
desert the military regime there could be a popular revolution. Too few and there could be civil war.
Meanwhile, in neighbouring India, a second wave of COVID-19 has pushed new infections to the highest in the world, with over 168,000 new cases reported in one day this week. And warnings of perilous declines in human sperm counts are being given credence by research into the effects pollutant chemicals are having on the hormonal development of male foetuses.
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Jonathan Este
Associate Editor, International Affairs Editor
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Will the line break in Myanmar?
Robert Boc / Alamy Stock Photo
Natasha Lindstaedt, University of Essex
History tells us that the stability of a country's security forces is key to the success or failure of a popular uprising.
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DIVYAKANT SOLANKI/EPA
Sujeet Kumar, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to show decisive leadership in not only controlling the surge of the virus, but also providing financial assistance to millions of urban poor.
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The sperm count of western men is falling at an alarming rate.
Komsan Loonprom/Shutterstock
Alex Ford, University of Portsmouth; Gary Hutchison, Edinburgh Napier University
Our chemical environment appears responsible for an alarming plummet in sperm counts – in humans and in animals.
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Health + Medicine
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Peter Abel, University of Central Lancashire
European regulators are investigating a possible link between the vaccine and a second rare blood disorder.
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Kylie Quinn, RMIT University
If one adenoviral vaccine is linked with blood clots, it doesn’t mean all vaccines in this family will have that same effect. But it's definitely worth health authorities assessing the data.
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Erin Hannah, Western University; James Scott, King's College London; Silke Trommer, University of Manchester; Sophie Harman, Queen Mary University of London
The fight for vaccine equity needs to stop looking to multilateral institutions for permission and instead focus on the policy tools that are already available to states.
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Politics + Society
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Bas van Bavel, Utrecht University; Auke Rijpma, Utrecht University
GDP only measures economic growth – not inequality, poverty or unpaid work like elder care. So researchers in the Netherlands developed a new way for governments to see how people are actually doing.
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Christoph Bluth, University of Bradford
Most observers believe Israel was behind the a cyberattack on Iran. But what was the thinking behind it?
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Science + Technology
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David Martill, University of Portsmouth; Cariad Williams, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Gigantic flying reptiles had impressive wingspans of up to 12 metres – and a special trick in their necks.
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David Tuffley, Griffith University
Elon Musk's brain-machine interface technology could bring humans and computers closer together than ever before, and herald a new frontier in healthcare
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Arts + Culture
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Anna M. Kotarba-Morley, Flinders University
We sometimes call Egypt the 'civilisation without cities'. The Lost Golden City of Amenhotep III will bring new understanding of Ancient Egyptian urban life.
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Aleks Pluskowski, University of Reading; Guillermo García-Contreras Ruiz, Universidad de Granada; Marcos García García, University of York
Practicing Islam was banned in Spain after the Catholic conquest but recent discoveries prove that Muslims continued eating traditions in secret.
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Environment + Energy
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Niki Rust, Newcastle University
A new survey serves up a tall order for UK agricultural policy outside the EU.
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Featured events
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Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Cardiff [Caerdydd GB-CRD], CF10 3BA, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Cardiff University
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University of Reading, Whiteknights House, PO Box 217, Reading, Reading, RG6 6AH, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Reading
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University of Reading, Whiteknights House, PO Box 217, Reading, Reading, RG6 6AH, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Reading
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Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Cardiff [Caerdydd GB-CRD], CF10 3BA, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Cardiff University
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