By Dylan Wyn Jones, Lecturer in Biomedical Science, Bangor University
For someone waiting for a hip replacement, the NHS waiting list is not an abstract policy problem. It is the difference between walking to the shops or staying indoors, sleeping through the night or waking in pain, returning to work or putting life on hold.
Across Wales, there are signs that some long waits are finally beginning to move in the right direction. More people are getting through the system for planned operations, tests and appointments. But that is only part of the story. The parts of the NHS people rely on when they are frightened, seriously ill, or waiting for cancer…
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By Aamer Mahmud, Associate Professor in Automotive Design, Coventry University
Ferrari’s new sportscar, the Luce (pronounced Loo-che), raises some interesting questions about the future of hi-tech, high-cost supercars in the electric era.
The Italian sportscar maker’s first move into the electric vehicle (EV) segment – with an eye on the Chinese luxury market – signals strategic pragmatism rather than ideological continuity.
Compounding this is the decision to collaborate with LoveFrom, the company…
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By Alper Kara, Head of Department of Economics, Finance & Accounting, Brunel University of London
To stay in the top job, a British prime minister has to try and keep certain groups happy. MPs, party members and donors do not like to be ignored.
Nor do the bond markets. And often it feels like they matter the most.
That’s because those markets are what make it possible for governments to spend money. Each of the bonds is essentially a loan from an investor to the state.
In return for the loan, the government pays a certain amount of interest (yield) for a set period, before…
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By Mehri Khosravi, Energy and Carbon Senior Research Fellow, University of East London; United Nations University
They may not have the luxurious cabins and glamorous restaurant service of the famous Orient Express, but new European sleeper train routes are offering tourists an alternative to short-haul flights and busy airports.
Services setting up in 2026 include a new sleeper train between Paris and Berlin. One of the most significant…
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By Matthew Flinders, Founding Director of the Sir Bernard Crick Centre for the Public Understanding of Politics, University of Sheffield
In politics, very often a speech about one topic is actually designed to deliver a very different and far broader message. This was certainly the case with Keir Starmer’s statement on banning social media for under-16s.
This was not just an announcement about the government’s proposals. It was an announcement of Starmer’s intention to fight for his position. And it was an attempt to set the agenda at the beginning of a week in which the good folk of Makerfield may well send the King of the North, Andy…
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By Jodie Raybould, Lecturer in Psychology, Coventry University
Daniel Waldeck, Assistant Professor in Psychology, Coventry University
Dogs and cats both give you a brief mood lift, but only one of them seems to raise your stress levels too.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image A woman and her daughter in Revere, Massachusetts, US, December 11, 2020. © 2020 Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images On June 4, the United States House of Representatives passed the 2027 agriculture appropriations bill. If enacted in its current state, the bill would cut US$200 million from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) compared to 2026. The reduction would hit fruit and vegetable benefits for 5.4 million pregnant and postpartum women and young children, disproportionately affecting low-income families…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image A US Border Patrol Tactical Unit agent sprays pepper spray into the face of a protestor near the scene where a woman was shot and killed by a federal agent, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 7, 2026. © 2026 Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images US President Donald Trump signed the Secure America Act into law on June 10, including roughly $70 billion for immigration enforcement. The legislation funds several agencies through September 2029, including approximately $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and $26 billion…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image The European Parliament chamber in Strasbourg, France, February 11, 2026. © 2026 Serge Tenani/Hans Lucas via Reuters The European Parliament in Strasbourg adopted on June 16 its second motion in a year pressing European Union institutions and governments to address transnational repression.Transnational repression encompasses violations used by states to target, silence, or intimidate critics, particularly nationals and former nationals, who are outside their borders and beyond their territorial jurisdictions. In its worst forms, transnational repression includes…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Human rights defender Rufat Safarov. A Baku court’s June 12 decision to convict prominent human rights defender Rufat Safarov on bogus criminal charges and sentence him to eight years in prison is the latest blow to Azerbaijan’s already severely restricted civic space.Safarov, executive director of the human rights organization Defense Line (Müdafiə Xətti), was convicted by the Baku Court of Grave Crimes on charges of fraud, hooliganism, and intentional infliction of bodily harm. His lawyers said they would appeal.Authorities arrested Safarov on December 3, 2024,…
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