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3 weeks ago | 
theguardian.com | Ryan Baxter |Rachel Salvidge |Ali Assaf |Josh Toussaint-Strauss |Leana Hosea
Pfas are a group of thousands of chemicals that are used for their non-stick and water-resistant properties. They are often refered to as 'forever chemicals' because they can take thousands of years to break down. Pfas are being found in so many everyday items that it's starting to feel like they are everywhere - non-stick frying pans, waterproof mascaras, stain-resistant clothing, packaging for takeaway food items. Pfas are even in our food, our drinking water and in the rain.
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1 month ago | 
theguardian.com | Ryan Baxter |Ali Assaf |Alex Healey |Neelam Tailor
Temu’s deals feel like a game but behind the scenes the Chinese shopping app uses underhand psychological tactics known as ‘dark patterns’ to keep us spending. Temu was the most downloaded app in the UK, US, Australia and Canada at the beginning of last year. Neelam Tailor uncovers the tactics the shopping app borrows from casinos and gaming apps to manipulate shoppers, and explores the environmental, ethical and data privacy risks that come with those bargain hauls
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2 months ago | 
theguardian.com | Alex Healey |Ryan Baxter |Steve Glew |Neelam Tailor |Ali Assaf
What happens when western billionaires try to ‘fix’ hunger in developing countries? Neelam Tailor investigates how philanthropic efforts by the Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the organisation they set up to revolutionise African farming, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra), may have made matters worse for the small-scale farmers who produce 70% of the continent's food.
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2 months ago | 
theguardian.com | Ryan Baxter |Ali Assaf |Elena Morresi |Patrick Greenfield
Net zero is a target that countries should be striving for to stop the climate crisis. But beyond the buzzword, it is a complex scientific concept – and if we get it wrong, the planet will keep heating. Biodiversity and environment reporter Patrick Greenfield explains how a loophole in the 2015 Paris climate agreement allows countries to cheat their net zero targets through creative accounting, and how scientists want us to fix it
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2 months ago | 
theguardian.com | Alex Healey |Ryan Baxter |Steve Glew |Josh Toussaint-Strauss |Ali Assaf
As droughts become more prevalent, corporate control over our drinking water is threatening the health of water sources and the access people have to them.
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Mar 6, 2025 | 
theguardian.com | Alex Healey |Ryan Baxter |Steve Glew |Neelam Tailor |Ali Assaf
Plastics are everywhere, but their smallest fragments – nanoplastics – are making their way into the deepest parts of our bodies, including our brains and breast milk. Scientists have now captured the first visual evidence of these particles inside human cells, raising urgent questions about their impact on our health. From the food we eat to the air we breathe, how are nanoplastics infiltrating our systems? Neelam Tailor looks into the invisible invasion happening inside us all
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Feb 28, 2025 | 
theguardian.com | Amy Hawkins |Jem Talbot |Ryan Baxter |Ali Assaf |Elena Morresi
China has dramatically increased military activities around Taiwan, with more than 3,000 incursions into Taiwan's airspace in 2024 alone. Amy Hawkins examines how Beijing is deploying 'salami-slicing' tactics, a strategy of gradual pressure that stays below the threshold of war while steadily wearing down Taiwan's defences. From daily air incursions to strategic military exercises, we explore the four phases of China's approach and what it means for Taiwan's future
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Jan 30, 2025 | 
theguardian.com | Alex Healey |Ryan Baxter |Steve Glew |Josh Toussaint-Strauss |Ali Assaf
Efforts at stopping population movement by force often fail to stop people migrating across borders. But for many politicians, that can be a good thing. Josh Toussaint-Strauss explores how immigration is being exploited for business, to boost political agendas, and as a weapon of war• ‘Weapons of mass migration’: how states exploit the failure of migration policies
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Jan 16, 2025 | 
theguardian.com | Ryan Baxter |Ali Assaf |Alex Healey |Neelam Tailor
Why are your favourite products getting smaller but costing the same? From toilet paper rolls to snacks, shrinkflation is the sneaky tactic is affecting many things we buy. In this video, Neelam Tailor looks into how companies hide shrinkflation and what you can do about it. After a holiday season where festive treats like Cadbury’s Christmas selection boxes shrank while prices stayed the same, shrinkflation continues to impact shoppers in 2025.
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Dec 19, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Neelam Tailor |Alex Healey |Ali Assaf |Steve Glew |Ryan Baxter
Pharmaceutical corporations claim high prices are the cost of innovation, but the reality is far more complicated — and troubling. In 2030, the patents of some of the world’s best-selling drugs will expire, an event called the 'patent cliff', and companies are doubling down on tactics such as 'evergreening' patents and pay-for-delay deals to keep prices high and competition out.
