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Of the around 118 million children plunged into hunger so far in 2025, around 63 million – over half – were forced into this situation by conflict.

The Windsor Gate development in Berkshire comprises more than 100 properties built on former countryside and wildlife habitats. Lack of access to nature has crucial implications for physical and mental health. Recent studies show that living near parks or natural green space reduces anxiety and depression by about 20%.

A global analysis led by La Trobe University has highlighted the hidden harms to women and children caused by men’s alcohol use and calls for urgent gender-responsive and alcohol policy action worldwide and in Australia.

The Chronicle is tracking higher ed’s dismantling of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. As colleges make changes in response to anti-DEI legislation and mounting political pressure, an inconsistent and confusing landscape has emerged. The pace of change ramped up in 2025, when the federal administration targeted DEI at colleges and universities through a series of of executive actions and threatened institutions that didn’t comply with a loss of federal funding.

Vanessa Holyoak explores memory and loss after the L.A. fires

The myth of political correctness is still alive 30 years later, invoked to deny and justify the repression from the right. Understanding how the culture wars brought us to this point of authoritarianism is essential to leading us toward the goals of academic freedom and free expression on campus.

Julie Cerel, Ph.D., is a Professor in the UK’s College of Social Work and Director of the Suicide Prevention & Exposure Lab. In this Q&A, Cerel discusses her work on CODE RED Safety Planning — a proactive crisis planning intervention. CODE RED stands for “COntact,” “DElay decisions,” “RElax” and “Distract.” This approach fosters open dialogue and encourages individuals to create a simple, customized safety plan they can access during a crisis.

As a philosopher, I specialize in the Enlightenment thinker Immanuel Kant, who had volumes – literally – to say about virtuous actions. What I find fascinating, however, is that Kant also believed people can think virtuously, and should. Above: A late 18th-century portrait of Kant, possibly by Elisabeth von Stägemann.

Abby and Milo first met three years ago when they arrived at Renison as freshmen in the Social Development Studies program. Milo is self-described as an introvert while Abby would best be described as an extrovert, but that’s where the differences end. Abby and Milo are both SDS (Social Development Studies) students, destined for a career in social work. They have chosen a career anchored in helping others; little wonder they also want to help and support their fellow students. Above: Milo (left), and Abby (second from left)

SINGAPORE: A report looking into the death of four-year-old Megan Khung found multiple lapses and shortcomings among agencies that handled her case. Several key lapses identified in the report included officers who did not follow protocols, the mischaracterisation of Megan’s injuries by social workers, as well as the failure of police officers and child protection specialists in following up on Megan’s case after the information was made known to them.

A digital twin is a virtual replica of a real system, a dynamic model that, fed by real-time data, mimics the behaviour of what it represents. It is like having a smart mirror that not only reflects something’s state, but also learns from each movement it makes in order to predict the next.

Harvest Hope is South Carolina’s largest food bank and works across 20 counties in the Midlands, Pee Dee and the Upstate. CEO Erinn Rowe said the timeliness of the announcements gave too short of a turnaround, especially for people who cannot immediately find a job to supplement the loss of benefits. “My mother-in-law — she’s qualified for SNAP. She can’t go a get a job by next week to make up for it, and that’s a lot of the way she’s feeding herself,” Rowe said. The state reported 127,907, or 22.8%, of SNAP recipients as of September 2025 were older than 51 years old.

Eden Middleton (center) at their 2024 theatre piece After There Will Be Flowers with collaborators Eve Beauchamp (left) and Lizzie Rajchel (right). Their research looks at how people understand their time in the hospital during a mental health crisis, and how theatre can help them tell and change their stories.

Just one-third of researchers, publishers, funders and librarians believe academic reward and recognition systems are working well, according to a survey from Cambridge University Press.

The term “covert action” is a peculiarly American invention; it does not appear in the lexicon of other intelligence services. Nor does the term appear in the National Security Act of 1947, which created the Central Intelligence Agency. Covert action refers to secret operations to influence governments, organizations, or persons in support of a foreign policy in a manner that is not attributable to the United States. Above: Counter-attack by Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces supported by T-34 tanks near Playa Giron during the Bay of Pigs invasion, 19 April 1961.

The child and family agency, Tusla, responded to less than 1pc of referrals it received about child welfare issues in parts of Wicklow in the first three months of 2025, new figures from the agency show. Social Democrats TD for Wicklow, Jennifer Whitmore, has expressed serious concern over the data, which is available on Tusla’s website, calling it a “crisis in the child protection system”.

Architects Witherford Watson and Mann won the prize, for the second time, for the Appleby Blue development. Run by the United St Saviours Charity in Bermondsey, South London, it provides 57 units of one and two bedroom apartments for residents aged over 65, with 11 units fully wheelchair accessible. It is explicitly a new take on urban almshouses, which date back to the Middle Ages. Throughout their history, almshouses have primarily provided accommodation for the elderly. Above: The rooftop garden is one of many spaces where the residents of Appleby Blue and members can interact.

Brain scans reveal that menopause reshapes the brain’s structure, affecting memory and cognition. New findings suggest these changes may not be entirely permanent — the brain shows signs of adapting and recovering over time.

Faculty members and professors attend a rally outside Columbia University in New York for academic freedom in September 2025.

Education Minister Sonia LeBel during a press scrum at the National Assembly on March 18, 2025

The world’s most powerful companies used my books, and millions more, without permission to train their AI models. I’m suing to stop them.

The first official Park(ing) Day resulted in 47 mini-parks in 13 cities in three different countries. Eighteen years later, there were at least 178 Park(ing) spots in dozens of cities across five continents, with Bela estimating that anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 people participated in one form or another. These installations now go beyond greenery and park benches; groups have transformed on-street parking spots into mini-playgrounds, yoga studios, chess clubs, farm stands, pollinator gardens, hammocks for napping, café seating, and just about every possible use of public space imaginable.

A study published in JAMA last year has come into the spotlight in recent days following a controversial warning about the use of a common pain reliever. The research studied acetaminophen (paracetamol) use during pregnancy and its possible connection to children’s risk of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. The heightened interest in the study follows warnings by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the President that have startled the medical community and left pregnant people across the nation confused.

Keir Starmer has backed safeguarding minister Jess Phillips, as a fifth abuse survivor calls on her to quit to restore trust in the grooming gangs inquiry. Carly, not her real name, joins a group of four abuse survivors who have accused Phillips of “betrayal” over a letter where she described reports the scope of the inquiry could be expanded as “untrue”.

Having survived the most restrictive supermax prison in the country on a trumped-up charge, Eric King tells what he saw.

The center also plans to eventually partner with the UAFS Department of Social Work to expand research and workforce development opportunities. That includes research initiatives and paid internships that give students real-world nonprofit experience while supporting community organizations.

Private contractors exploit these weaknesses with a set playbook. A crisis strikes—a database fails or a reporting system collapses—and vendors arrive as “emergency responders” with premium-priced fixes. Vendor lock-in is intentional—nonprofits face high setup costs, staff resistance to new interfaces, and obstacles to data transfers. Nonprofits, desperate to maintain their services, often sign contracts with little leverage. The company takes advantage and consolidates its gains.

Bereaved families are calling for a public inquiry into what they say are “repeated failures” by the UK government to protect vulnerable people from a website promoting suicide. A report by the Molly Rose Foundation says departments were warned 65 times about the online forum, which BBC News is not naming, and others like it but did not act. The suicide prevention charity says at least 133 people have died in the UK as a result of a toxic chemical promoted by the site and similar forums.

Meridah Nandudu, 35, couldn’t find a job after graduating with a degree in social work. That’s when she began to think about coffee as a way to transform her life and the lives of the women from her village. As the owner of Bayaaya Specialty Coffee in Mbale, Uganda, she now buys her coffee directly from more than 600 women farmers, overcoming the initial resistance from the men in the village.

Nitazenes are ultra-potent synthetic opioids now linked to rising overdose deaths and often disguised in counterfeit pills.

The way Australians pay for residential aged care, or nursing homes, is changing from November 1…. Residents won’t have to pay for clinical care, such as physiotherapy, no matter their income or assets.

The world’s largest coffee company has dodged taxes on about $1.3 billion in profits over the past decade through the clever use of a subsidiary in Switzerland, according to a report released earlier this year. These tax shenanigans, the authors explain, deprive governments of “revenues to fund essential public services, including education, health care, infrastructure and support for vulnerable people and communities.”

A Fralin Biomedical Research Institute study found that after a cocktail, study participants taking medications for diabetes and weight loss saw delayed effects from alcohol.

The open, cross-border pollination of an American extremist movement has not gone unnoticed by intelligence agencies.

As youth mental health challenges rise across Connecticut, Dr. Jon Phillips is helping lead the effort to meet the growing demand for trained behavioral health professionals through the new $2.4 million federal grant. Phillips is working to train the next generation of social workers to collaborate with other health care workers to better serve children and families across Connecticut.

Responding to the figures, Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly said that the under-resourcing of Tusla was an issue that could no longer be ignored…. A team of 1,700 social workers dealt with the referrals, and last year, the agency warned that Ireland is “not producing an adequate supply” of social workers and social care workers through third-level institutions to meet the existing and future requirements for the profession.

People experiencing their first psychotic episode who also have skin conditions such as rashes or itching are at greater risk of depression and suicidal thoughts, according to new research presented at the ECNP meeting. Scientists found that 25% of these patients experienced suicidal ideation, compared with only 7% of those without skin issues. The study suggests that dermatological symptoms could serve as early warning markers for worse psychiatric outcomes.

Look Up Hong Kong released the survey findings on Sunday in support of its push for parents to wait until their children turn 14 before getting them a smartphone and until 16 for granting them access to social media.

In New Mexico, the Regional Farm to Food Bank program (RF2FB), created under the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, provided contracts to over 200 farmers, ranchers, and other food producers to support locally sourced food. The 900,000 pounds of food they sold helped provide 749,502 healthy meals for the most vulnerable people in New Mexico. These sustainable contracts also helped small and midsize producers grow and scale up for the upcoming growing seasons. The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) termination of the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) will not only impact New Mexico’s RF2FB program but all similar programs across the nation, which will be imperiled—or altogether abandoned—because of these funding cuts.

Neoliberalism has decimated our collective understanding of what it means for a government to serve all people, and to build mutual aid and community. It has led to the aggressive decline in social welfare services, and to the false narrative that our economic stability can only be built upon the intentional neglect of those who are most vulnerable…. Canadians must remember that a different approach is possible: we do not need to settle for the tired and ineffective status quo that has been our reality until now…. It is imperative for us to accurately identify poverty as an unnecessary societal anomaly and recognize that under neoliberalism, poverty is simply the result of a system functioning as intended.

Tens of thousands of disabled people are being excluded from working due to welfare cuts. And until recently Labour and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) covered up that it had made cuts.

The evolution has become increasingly clear: surveillance systems that once merely gathered personal data are now weaponising that information to trap users in carefully constructed fantasy worlds, force-feeding them algorithmic content designed to maximise engagement at any cost. This represents not just an intensification of existing practices but a qualitative shift in how digital capitalism operates.

Founded in 2023, Alongside offers services related to advanced preparations for death, targeting same-sex couples in particular. For example, they help couples write wills to appoint their other half as the executor, giving them the right to handle their partner’s estate and arrange their funeral. Above: Posters in social enterprise Alongside’s office

Stanford University History Professor Jack Rakove offers a more professional, succinct explanation. In a functioning constitutional republic, the executive (President) lawfully and constitutionally executes the nation’s laws; the parliament (US Congress) passes the laws and provides a check on unlawful or excessive use of executive power; and a constitutional court (Supreme Court) ensures the other two branches of government act lawfully and constitutionally. He observes that none of these things now occur in the United States.

Nearly all participants described the South as a place deeply shaped by conservative values, especially those rooted in religion and traditional family structures. The Black church emerged as both a protective factor and a challenge. While offering vital community support, it also often reinforced stigma around homosexuality and discouraged open conversations about sexual health. Above: Information about PrEP in the clinic can go only so far without community support.

Good data drives good decision-making, and education is no exception. The data provided to researchers from independent research organizations, public-private partnerships, and other institutions helps teachers, administrators, and lawmakers make good decisions about how to approach schooling. That’s why it is critical to highlight the administration’s assault on public data at the Department of Education — just one part of its war on public education in general.

Emotional manipulation has been hardwired into AI right from the beginning

From the wholesale gutting of federal agencies to the ongoing government shutdown, Russell Vought has drawn the road map for the President’s second term. Vought has consolidated power to an extent that insiders say they feel like “he is the commander in chief.”