There is no shortage of news in the international media at the moment: conflict, natural disasters, elections and the ongoing work of governments around the world. In the last couple of weeks many of our students have put pen to paper, sharing their opinion on matters close to their hearts. They have been writing for the Blavatnik School Blog, which collects news and views from the School's faculty, students and alumni, and some of their opinion pieces have also gained public recognition by being published by established news outlets. 

When the news of the conflict in Yemen broke, MPP student and Advisor for the National Dialogue Support Programme in Yemen Alia Eshaq wrote a blog for the Huffington Post UK. In “The War in Yemen: where no one wins”, Alia expresses concern for her country and hopes for a ceasefire. “Let's be clear,” she writes. “If the goal of the war is to combat the Houthi advancement and restore president Hadi, this war is doomed to be a failure.”

MPP student and former Nepali Times journalist Rubeena had already written about Kathmandu's seismic risk a few months ago on occasion of the Challenges of Government Conference. After the earthquake struck last week, Rubeena wrote again, this time for the New Statesman, criticising the unpreparedness for an event that had long been expected and at the same time highlighting how this can be an opportunity for the country. She writes: “Over the coming years, sustainable development and disaster preparation should guide our politics. Public participation, government accountability and responsive governance can all flow from there.”

Meanwhile World Malaria Day spurred MPP student and medical doctor Lawal Yusuf to look at the positive lesson that Nigeria can learn from having successfully tackling other health crises such as Ebola.

Our DPhil students have also been productive: Ivo’s opinion piece about the role of Europe in Bulgaria’s banking crisis made it into the European news website EU Observer, while JD found new inspiration for his DPhil while training for a marathon.

We also have students reporting on what's life like at the School and many more blogs to come, so keep checking back in the next few weeks.