By Veselina Stoyanova, Associate Professor in Strategy & International Management, University of Birmingham
As an avid tennis player, I never imagined an injury would lead me to discover a new sport. But just a few months ago, forced to take a break from tennis, I picked up a padel racket for the first time. I assumed that years of playing tennis would give me a head start; after all, how different could two racket sports really be? To my surprise, the answer was “very.”
Padel, which originated in Mexico in the late 1960s, is an enclosed-court racket sport typically played in doubles. Combining elements of squash…
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By Aylin Baysan, Professor of Cariology in relation to Minimally Invasive Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London
Fluoride helps prevent tooth decay, but some toothpastes leave it out. Researchers examine the evidence behind natural and herbal alternatives.
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By Stephan Blum, Research Associate, Institute for Prehistory and Early History and Medieval Archaeology, University of Tübingen
Michael La Corte, Research Associate, Curation and Communication, University of Tübingen
Tech billionaire Elon Musk was up in arms about the recent adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey by director Christopher Nolan, which he heavily criticised for its diverse casting and accused of lacking historical accuracy. Claiming he wanted to show that artificial intelligence could bypass traditional Hollywood studios and deliver a story “historically accurate and true to the art of Homer” at a fraction of the cost, he set his AI Grok Imagine to the task.
On October 23, the platform posted the first…
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By Musica Lorence, PhD Candidate in Global Political Economics and Gender, King's College London
The 2026 US midterm elections delivered a decisive blow to Donald Trump’s Republican party. Democrats successfully flipped seven seats in the Senate, gaining a decisive majority. This turnaround was mirrored in the House of Representatives, where the Democrats could end up taking 258 seats against 177 for the Republicans.
Women voters played a significant part in this Democratic party “blue…
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By Alper Kara, Head of Department of Economics, Finance & Accounting, Brunel University of London
The Bank of England’s decision to put interest rates up for the first time in over three years could be bad news for prospective homebuyers. Higher borrowing costs risk putting home ownership even further out of reach for many people.
But the numbers aren’t all bad.
Official figures show that annual earnings between 2021 and 2025…
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By Amnesty International
Reacting to Friday’s conviction of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu and his sentence of four years’ imprisonment for incitement, after he was acquitted of treason, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, said: “Tundu Lissu should never have been arrested, let alone prosecuted and convicted. Today’s verdict and four-year prison sentence […] The post Tanzania: Conviction and sentencing of opposition leader Tundu Lissu a travesty of justice appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 16, 2025. © 2025 Lian Yi/Xinhua via Getty Images The United States is scheduled to appear in Geneva on November 10 for its Universal Periodic Review, the United Nations’ peer review process of every member state’s rights record. But the US is unlikely to show: the Trump administration declared in 2025 that the US would not participate. After the US failed to turn up in November 2025, the review was rescheduled. Should the US again fail to appear next week, it should not be given another extension and…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Smoke rises from a plant in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley, October 18, 2023. © 2023 Eli Reed for Human Rights Watch The government announced on November 4 that it will propose a law regulating the human rights impacts of companies in the United Kingdom’s global supply chain. The UK’s Corporate Justice Coalition, along with some businesses, have long led advocacy efforts for such legislation. The government’s announcement responds to some of those demands and marks a chance to turn corporate responsibility into meaningful legal obligations.According to the announcement,…
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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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