By Sam Power, Lecturer in Politics, University of Bristol
Reform UK’s national conference has been rocked by allegations that senior members of the party plotted to circumvent rules on political donations. The reports centre on two payments – one real and one suggested, but both important. The two Reform staff members at the centre of the investigation have been suspended.
The apparent plans were captured in a sting, filmed in London and Clacton by undercover journalists from Verbatim Investigations and broadcast by Channel 4 News. The first allegation from the film is that James Orr, who was Reform’s…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Cambodian Senate building, the Solidarity Palace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, August 21, 2026. © 2026 AP Photo/Heng Sinith (Bangkok, September 4, 2026) – The Cambodian government should withdraw proposed legal amendments that would drastically reduce opposition party representation in top positions on local councils, Human Rights Watch said today. On August 20, 2026, the Cambodian National Assembly, which is dominated by the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), unanimously passed amendments to the Law on the Administration and Management of Commune/Sangkat. The…
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By Amnesty International
In response to the Tunis Court of Cassation upholding the convictions and lengthy prison sentences against 34 defendants in the politically motivated ‘conspiracy case’, Yasmine Ahmed, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Regional Human Rights Impact, said: “The Tunis Court of Cassation’s decision to uphold these unjust convictions is a devastating blow to justice and an […] The post Tunisia: Upheld convictions in mass ‘conspiracy case’ a travesty of justice appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By Jake Phillips, Associate Professor, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge
David Peplow, Senior Lecturer, Sheffield Creative Industries Institute, University of Sheffield
Former supreme court justice Lord Brown described the IPP sentence as the ‘greatest single stain on our criminal justice system’.
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By Max Davis, Postgraduate Research Student, Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism, University of Bath
Finishing a tough workout always feels good. That is, until a few hours later when those uncomfortable muscle aches start setting in. This discomfort can linger for days – making easy, everyday tasks a challenge.
In search of relief, some recreational gym-goers are adopting the kind of recovery techniques once reserved for elite athletes. Social media and professional sport have helped popularise everything from ice baths and compression garments to massage and recovery supplements.
While…
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By Solon Magrizos, Associate Professor, University of Birmingham
One Sunday morning, Juliet* woke up to an eager delivery driver with a large package she had no recollection of ordering. She was quick to dismiss it as an e-commerce mistake before the card inside helped solve the mystery: “To Sober Juliet, from your friend, Drunk Juliet.”
The fact this story was recounted to us while researching this topic illustrates the rise of a cultural trend that surprisingly few academics have explored. But drunk shopping is a rapidly growing consumption phenomenon.
Intoxicated consumers generate billions of dollars in annual revenue: by one
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By Peter McGowran, Lecturer in Human Geography, Queen's University Belfast
Rinchen Angmu Lama, Assistant Professor, School of Environment and Sustainability, Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS)
Cascading hazards and entrenched inequalities have led to false starts in reconstruction and ongoing suffering since the 2023 disaster in India’s eastern Himalayas.
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By Robert Muggah, Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow na Bosch Academy e Co-fundador, Instituto Igarapé; Princeton University
The agreement could mark a turning point for public policies on social media precisely because it addresses the architecture of the platforms themselves.
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By J.C. Bradbury, Professor of Economics, Kennesaw State University
Research has repeatedly found that stadiums generate little economic benefit, while subsidy referendums often fail when put before voters. Yet team owners continue to receive billions in tax dollars.
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By Kevin B. Johnson, Professor of Pediatrics, Biomedical Informatics and Science Communication, University of Pennsylvania
The case against social media has gotten so well rehearsed that most people can easily merge it into ordinary conversation: It makes people lonely. It sorts them into camps. It hands them a room full of people who already agree with them and calls that a community.
I’ve given this speech myself, with feeling, having read my phone notifications in the host’s powder room 11 minutes earlier.
I am a pediatrician, health communicator and researcher at the University of Pennsylvania,…
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