By Tom Felle, Associate Professor of Journalism, University of Galway
During the unrest that followed the 2024 Southport murders, British tabloid the Daily Mail reported on the activities of far-right activist Tommy Robinson. The story was covered by freelance reporter Andrew Young, and edited by the Mail’s own Jacob Dirnhuber.
On October 28, Robinson was convicted for threatening and harassing Young and Dirnhuber. A jury at Southwark Crown Court in London found Robinson guilty of two…
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By Erica Consterdine, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Lancaster University
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s headline announcement on immigration centred on how long someone must spend in the UK before they can be granted indefinite leave to remain (ILR). She said this period will double from five to ten years – but social care workers will be exempt. This proposal was widely expected, but exempting social care workers is a U-turn for the government.
The proposals were met with a mixed…
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By Helen Minnis, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Glasgow
Like many of us, I always enjoy the John Lewis Christmas advert and 2026 is no different. This year, I love the fact that the star of the show is a grandmother.
Feeling disconnected from her visiting grandchildren and ready to resort to cash in envelopes for Christmas, Gloria (Kristin Scott Thomas) is scolded by her childhood toy dog Pickles, who comes to life and whisks her on a whirlwind London TukTuk ride. Inspired, Gloria transforms her home office into a glittering, disco-lit “gran cave”, bridging the…
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By Ricardo Palomo-Zurdo, Catedrático de Economía Financiera y Decano, Universidad CEU San Pablo
Sending money from your phone seems simple: just choose a contact, enter an amount, and press confirm. But behind these apparently simple actions lie national payment systems that are not always interoperable.
In Europe, the Madrid-based European Network for Payments (ENP) has been established to link five mobile payment solutions operating in 13 European countries: Bizum (Spain), Bancomat (Italy), SIBS-MB WAY (Portugal), Vipps MobilePay (Norway,…
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By Anne Twomey, Professor Emerita in Constitutional Law, University of Sydney
The One Nation leader’s case is among a slew of cases the High Court will deal with in coming months on freedom of political communication.
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By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
The PM will devote Monday to chair meetings on the mid-December budget update before flying off again for the COP summit in Turkey.
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By Óscar Calles
Venezuela’s Nobel laureate María Corina Machado returned to Caracas in a massive celebration after months in hiding and exile, sparking deep hope and sharp questions about the country’s political future.
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By Global Voices
We stand in solidarity with Faktoje following a series of coordinated attacks that have weaponized its transparent financial data to undermine its vital work exposing misinformation around local protests.
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By Johanna Lim, Research Associate, Strategic Technologies, University of Sydney
Olivia Shen, Director, Strategic Technologies, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney
This week’s mid-term elections in the United States saw huge swings to the Democrats, away from President Donald Trump’s Republican party.
One surprisingly important factor was a rising backlash to the ongoing boom in data centre development triggered by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in recent years.
Americans across ten states overwhelmingly voted in favour of candidates campaigning for local restrictions on data centres.
According to exit polls, some…
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By James Dyke, Assistant Director of the Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter
Climate breakdown could undermine the social trust, political cooperation and financial resources needed to tackle it – new research shows how this might play out.
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