British Sign Language will now be taught as a GCSE subject
The introduction of BSL to the UK education system is a vital step towards a more inclusive society. After a 12-week consultation with the deaf and hearing communities, the Department of Education has announced that British Sign Language (BSL) will be introduced as a GCSE option from September 2025. The government’s...
Current in Change
Drug consumption rooms could save thousands of British lives
The world’s largest review of drug consumption rooms reveals that they are integral to harm-reduction and could slash the transmission of fatal diseases. In addition, they may help reduce pressure on ambulance callouts and the burden on UK hospitals. Data published by the Office for National Statistics shows that...
Climate change is impacting babies’ birth weight
According to a new study, exposure to cold or heat stress, particularly in the latter stages of pregnancy, leads to children being too large or too small for their gestational age. Last year was the hottest on record by an enormous margin, with the Earth 1.48°C warmer than pre-industrial...
Climate Defiance group pledge solely to fight ‘cowards’ of US politics
‘We do not do petitions. We do direct action,’ is the opening gambit of Climate Defiance’s website. The eco activist outfit’s MO is political disruption, and it has its eye on the 2024 US election. With the next US presidential election scheduled for November 2024, the nation’s eco-activists are upping...
Is Coca-Cola finally about to realise its plastic reduction goals?
For the world’s largest plastic-producing company, a transition to using environmentally friendlier packaging materials is long overdue. Is Coca-Cola finally getting serious about its 2030 targets? In the global fight against plastic pollution, a problem which wreaks havoc on marine life and our planet's overall well-being, Coca-Cola stands as the...
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an ecological disaster
According to new research, the planet-warming emissions generated during the first two months of the war in Gaza were greater than the annual carbon footprint of more than 20 of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations. It’s no secret that war is bad for the environment, with toxic chemicals left polluting...
The necessity of menstrual leave policies in India
By being vocal against the notion of a period leave, the Indian Minister of Women and Child Development has started the conversation about why they are a necessity for the country’s women workforce. A storm of debate on menstrual leave erupted last week after Minister of Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani, stated during the winter session of the Indian Parliament that ‘menstruation is not a disability’. Her words have sparked...
Climate change is driving up sugar prices
Rising temperatures are fuelling droughts and other extreme weather events that affect crop yields across the globe. This is having a major impact on of one of the biggest commodities in the world. For many, climate change remains a distant threat. Though the crisis dominates our news feeds, an alarming number of people continue to turn a blind eye to the havoc it’s wreaking on our planet. A recent revelation that...
How the Red Sea crisis is threatening global economic stability
In the Red Sea, a growing crisis fueled by Houthi attacks on commercial vessels is shocking the global economy, disrupting trade routes, and raising concerns about the broader stability of the region. Since mid-November, there has been a growing trend of Houthi militants targeting commercial vessels entering the Suez Canal through its southern end. This is in response to Israel's military strikes on Gaza. The Houthis have attempted to board ships...
The Uttar Pradesh state is threatening women’s safety and freedoms
Having recently revoked its own scheme of banning late evening coaching classes for girls, the Uttar Pradesh state of India continues to show worrying signs of patriarchal moral policing. When the Uttar Pradesh government recently prohibited girls from attending coaching classes after 8pm in the name of security, it stirred a furor across India. While the administration claimed it was shielding women under the ‘Safe City’ project, women’s rights...
