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Guinea coup leader Moussa Dadis Camara speaks to the media in 2009. EPA/STR

Europe is training military forces in weak states – and that’s seriously risky

Jesse Dillon Savage, Trinity College Dublin and Jonathan Caverley, US Naval War College

A well-trained military is crucial to a functioning civil democracy, but it can be a liability too.

AfD supporters celebrate as exit polls are announced. EPA/Thorsten Wagner

Germany’s AfD: how to understand the rise of the right-wing populists

Daniel Hough, University of Sussex

After taking more than 13% of the vote, this young party is entering parliament for the first time. And a lot of people are upset about it.

Angela Merkel wins a fourth term in office – but it won’t be an easy one

Patricia Hogwood, University of Westminster

The chancellor wins again, but the rise of the populists will probably force the next administration to the right.

This is not a drill: how 1985 disaster taught Mexico to prepare for earthquakes

Steven Godby, Nottingham Trent University

Earthquake drills, advance warning systems and higher building standards all help to save lives.

Theresa May in Florence: little room and no view

Simon Usherwood, University of Surrey

The British PM finally acknowledged the need for a transition deal, which will play well in Brussels. But her vision for the future continues to amount to vague platitudes.

Banksy strikes again: Basquiat, graffiti, and the issue of copyright law

Enrico Bonadio, City, University of London

Guerilla street artist Banksy has livened up the new Basquiat exhibition in London with some choice murals outside. But is it an homage or infringement?

A Helmandi policewoman is trained to load and fire a weapon in 2009. Hannah West

Women and war: after Afghanistan, there’s a chance to deploy gender-led approaches to conflict

Hannah West, University of Bath

Successful counterinsurgency depends on winning the hearts and minds of men and women.

Great created newt. Chris Dresh/The Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC)

In defence of great crested newts: why these elusive amphibians are worth the worry

Yvonne Black, University of Hull

Building work on brownfield sites is often delayed while newts are moved to ponds elsewhere.

German election: Merkel safe but don’t underestimate the right-wing populists

Katharina Karcher, University of Bristol

The chancellor remains strong but right-wing populists are likely to enter parliament on Sunday.

Tighter sanctions on North Korea could have a harsh humanitarian impact

Kevin Gray, University of Sussex

Are harsher measures to squeeze North Korea's population worth it? Everything we know about sanctions says probably not.

Young people oppose Fitbits in schools

Charlotte Kerner, Brunel University London; Mikael Quennerstedt, Örebro University, and Victoria Goodyear, University of Birmingham

Digital fitness trackers may look cool, but many teenagers don't want them in PE lessons.

Some light reading before an important speech. Tim Cox

Theresa May in Florence: what advice would Machiavelli have for Brexit?

Andrew Campbell, UCL

Pearls of wisdom for a prince will serve a prime minister, too.

There may be trouble ahead. JGA/Shutterstock

Ryanair’s red hot growth may have left its pilots in the cold

Padraic Regan, Trinity College Dublin

Did pride come before the fall for Ireland's budget airline?

A non-stigmatising image on the left, and a stigmatising image on the right. Canadian Obesity Network/Shutterstock

Obesity is about much more than an unhealthy lifestyle

Stuart W. Flint, Leeds Beckett University and James Nobles, Leeds Beckett University

But you wouldn't know it to look at a newspaper.

British police dealing with mental health is a sticking-plaster solution that doesn’t get to the heart of the problem

Arabella Scantlebury, University of York

Mental healthcare in the UK needs more integrated solutions, not patch-ups.

How much longer will Polish migrants be picking English apples? Joe Giddens/PA Archive

Why a ‘guest worker’ visa system is not the answer for Britain after Brexit

Luke Cooper, Anglia Ruskin University

Comparisons with other immigration systems that deny rights to temporary workers raise questions over Britain's post-Brexit future.

Bearing the brunt of wider failures. Peter Macdiarmid/PA Wire

A pay rise for prison officers won’t solve the wider crisis within the justice system

Aaron Pycroft, University of Portsmouth

An overhaul of the probation system has left the justice system foundering.

Q&A: how cities can recover from natural disasters

Alfredo Stein Heinemann, University of Manchester

An expert in post-disaster reconstruction explains what works, and what doesn't, when it comes to rebuilding a city.

Report from Mexico earthquakes: spotlight falls on politicians in aftermath of latest tragedy

J Alejandro Espinosa Herrera, University of Oxford

Growing up with the threat of earthquakes, you learn how people can come together in the aftermath.

How geopolitics helped create the latest Rohingya crisis

Matteo Fumagalli, University of St Andrews

A preoccupied US combined with India, China and Russia protecting their own interests created the perfect conditions for Myanmar to settle its Rohingya issue