Poland's judges forced into retirement purgatory – another blow to justice
Jul 09, 2018 14:26 pm UTC| Insights & Views Law
It was always going to be a hard task to rebuild judicial independence in Poland. Throughout some 40 years of communist rule, an independent justice system was incompatible with the way the state was governed. For example,...
How Novichok is different from radioactive poisons – and what this means for decontamination
Jul 09, 2018 14:25 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science
A man and a woman were found unconscious in Wiltshire, England, on July, after having been exposed to the nerve agent Novichok. This is the same substance that was used to poison the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and...

Football's coming home! But where is 'home' really for the England team?
Jul 09, 2018 14:23 pm UTC| Insights & Views Sports
I dont know whether youve heard it its just a rumour. This was an England supporter in Moscow recently talking on BBC Radio 5 Live, alongside an unsuspecting fan of a rival World Cup team. Rumour? he is asked, with...
Poland's judicial purge another step toward authoritarian democracy
Jul 09, 2018 14:23 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics
Since the elections of 2015, Poland has been ruled by the Law and Justice Party (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, or PiS), a far-right nationalist group that has transformed the country beyond recognition. Poland had once been...
What next for the EPA? Here's what Reagan did
Jul 09, 2018 14:22 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy
Scott Pruitts resignation as EPA administrator caught many by surprise because President Donald Trump had repeatedly supported Pruitts efforts to dismantle environmental protections and the agency itself. But it is not...

Is the Supreme Court's legitimacy undermined in a polarized age?
Jul 09, 2018 14:22 pm UTC| Insights & Views Law
When I learned Justice Anthony Kennedy would retire, my thoughts went immediately to the confirmation of the newest justice, Neil Gorsuch. The Senates confirmation of Gorsuch was unprecedented in the history of the...

How Ethiopia and Kenya have put a world heritage site in danger
Jul 09, 2018 14:21 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature
Lake Turkana is the worlds largest desert lake. Located in Kenyas remote northern arid lands, it is the most saline of Africas great lakes, and its vast aquatic resources contribute to the livelihoods of over 300,000...