By Robyn Atcheson, Open Learning Tutor in Social History, Queen's University Belfast
Sunday January 6 1839 signalled the end of the festive season, the last of the 12 days of Christmas. The people of Ireland woke to light snow and many were looking forward to the evening’s celebrations.
January 6 was known as Nollaig na mBan – “women’s Christmas” when womenfolk across the country took a day off from their traditional domestic chores as a reward for all their efforts, and visited friends and family.
The temperature…
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By Pablo Uchoa, PhD Candidate in International Politics, Institute of the Americas, UCL
The capture of Nicolas Maduro marks a return to gunboat diplomacy, or as the US president says: the ‘Donroe doctrine’.
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By Adeola Y. Oyebowale, Assistant Professor in Banking, University of Doha for Science and Technology
Amr Saber Algarhi, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Sheffield Hallam University
Buy-now-pay-later is an appealing proposition. You get what you want now, but you delay settling the bill until later, with no interest and no fees.
It’s how lots of things are bought. The UK’s buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) sector has nearly 23 million users and was worth £28 billion in 2025.
In 2026 though, it will face a major transformation. From mid-July, its lenders – the likes of Klarna and PayPal – will be regulated in the UK for the first time by the Financial…
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By Adam Collins, Associate Professor of Nutrition, University of Surrey
Millions are taking weight loss drugs like Wegovy. But what happens when you stop? Eggs might help fill the gap.
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By Max Telford, Jodrell Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, UCL
The oldest fossilised remains of complex animals appear suddenly in the fossil record, and as if from nowhere, in rocks that are 538 million years old.
The very oldest of these are simple fossilised marks (called Treptichnus) made by something worm-like with a head and a tail. A host of other animals appear rapidly, ancestors of the diverse animal groups we know today: ancient crab-like arthropods, shelled molluscs…
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By Martin Farr, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary British History, Newcastle University
It is unlikely that within the first few days of a great global event – one moreover triggered by its closest ally launching a coup and kidnapping a head of state – a British government has said so little. It took 16 hours for it to say anything at all, and then, not much. And it has said not much thereafter.
So little said, at such length: the prime minister, in his Sunday morning BBC TV interview; James Kariuki, chargé d’affaires in the UK Mission to the United Nations at Monday morning’s Security Council emergency session; and Yvette Cooper, foreign secretary,
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By James Muldoon, Associate Professor in Management, University of Essex
When Roro (not her real name) lost her mother to cancer, the grief felt bottomless. In her mid-20s and working as a content creator in China, she was haunted by the unfinished nature of their relationship. Their bond had always been complicated – shaped by unspoken resentments and a childhood in which care was often followed closely by criticism.
After her mother’s death, Roro found herself unable to reconcile the messiness of their past with the silence that followed. She shared her struggles with her followers on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu…
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By Andrew Charlton-Perez, Head of School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences and Professor of Meteorology, University of Reading
Charlotte Bonner, Associate, University of Gloucestershire
Ensuring that all young people develop strong climate and nature literacy will be essential for both personal resilience and national prosperity.
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Tuesday, January 6, 2026
Responding to the seizure of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro by the United States, UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Tuesday reiterated deep concerns that the military operation undermined fundamental protections for sovereign countries.
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By Matt Wilde, Lecturer in Human Geography, University of Leicester
Harry Rodgers, PhD Candidate in Human Geography, University of Leicester
The contrasting reactions of Venezuelans to Maduro’s capture reveal a moment shaped as much by uncertainty and suspicion as by relief and hope.
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