By Michele Heisler, Professor of Internal Medicine and Health Behavior and Health Equity, University of Michigan
Rohini J. Haar, Assistant Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology, University of California, Berkeley
Images and videos from Minneapolis, Chicago and other U.S. cities show masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents in military-style gear pointing weapons at people protesting or observing immigration enforcement actions. These are not typical firearms; they are riot control agents, and they emit cascades of projectiles or plumes of smoke.
In other scenes unfolding in cities across the country,…
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By Samuel Cornell, PhD Candidate in Public Health, School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney
A dramatic ocean rescue reminded us that Australian coastal weather can be unpredictable. Here’s how to spot when conditions are changing.
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Wednesday, February 4, 2026
New evidence reveals a proliferation of sexualised images of youngsters generated by artificial intelligence (AI) and a dearth of laws to stop it, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Wednesday.
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By Jaigris Hodson, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Royal Roads University
Until recently, you might have never heard of the TikTok competitor UpScrolled. But as of Jan. 29, the app reached No. 1 one in Apple’s app store as disgruntled TikTok users in the United States rushed to sign up.
The exodus to UpScrolled comes after a group of American investors, including Oracle founder Larry Ellison, acquired…
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By Sam Power, Lecturer in Politics, University of Bristol
Peter Mandelson is under criminal investigation after documents released by the US government appeared to show that he released sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein and his associates while he was a government minister.
He could potentially face charges of misconduct in public office. This is a law, as outlined by Spotlight on Corruption, that more often than not covers offences conducted by serving…
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By Paul van Hooft, Research Leader, Defence and Security, RAND Europe
The New Start nuclear arms control treaty expires on February 4, opening up the way for a period of great power uncertainty and the possibility of a new arms race.
The US-Russian agreement, negotiated in 2010 and extended in 2021, limited the number of deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550, with roughly 3,500 non-deployed warheads in reserve. It was the last of the arms control agreements that were rooted…
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By Timothy J. Dixon, Emeritus Professor in the School of the Built Environment, University of Reading; University of Oxford
Following a visit to Gaza in January, the UN undersecretary general, Jorge Moreira da Silva, called the level of destruction there “overwhelming”. He estimated that, on average, every person in the densely populated territory is now “surrounded by 30 tonnes of rubble”.
This staggering level of destruction raises urgent questions about how, and by whom, Gaza should be rebuilt. Since 2023, a variety…
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By Adam Behr, Reader in Music, Politics and Society, Newcastle University
The singer’s song about the killings in Minneapolis translates private loss into a collective experience rapidly shared through social media.
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By Naomi Braithwaite, Associate Professor in Fashion and Material Culture, Nottingham Trent University
The UK heritage shoemaker Russell & Bromley has been bought by high-street clothing giant Next. Despite the brand’s rescue from administration, dozens of jobs will be lost in initial redundancies, and there are rumours that more than 30 shops could close. As one of the few independently owned footwear brands left in the UK, the sale spells another loss to the industrial heritage of the British footwear industry.
The closure of fashion stores is nothing new, and the gradual demise of the
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By Steffi Colyer, Senior Lecturer in Sports Biomechanics, Centre for Health and Injury and Illness Prevention in Sport,, University of Bath
Skeleton is an exhilarating Winter Olympic sport in which athletes race head-first down an ice track at speeds reaching over 80 miles per hour (130km/h). While the event can look basic at first glance, success relies heavily on highly engineered equipment and extensive wind‑tunnel testing – much like elite Olympic track cycling programmes.
Each run begins with the athlete pushing a sled (also known as a “tea tray”) explosively off the starting block, then sprinting rapidly for about 30 metres downhill. After diving on the sled, they ride the rest of the course with their head just a…
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