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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By Helen Minnis, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Glasgow
Like many of us, I always enjoy the John Lewis Christmas advert and 2026 is no different. This year, I love the fact that the star of the show is a grandmother.
Feeling disconnected from her visiting grandchildren and ready to resort to cash in envelopes for Christmas, Gloria (Kristin Scott Thomas) is scolded by her childhood toy dog Pickles, who comes to life and whisks her on a whirlwind London TukTuk ride. Inspired, Gloria transforms her home office into a glittering, disco-lit “gran cave”, bridging the…
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By Ricardo Palomo-Zurdo, Catedrático de Economía Financiera y Decano, Universidad CEU San Pablo
Sending money from your phone seems simple: just choose a contact, enter an amount, and press confirm. But behind these apparently simple actions lie national payment systems that are not always interoperable.
In Europe, the Madrid-based European Network for Payments (ENP) has been established to link five mobile payment solutions operating in 13 European countries: Bizum (Spain), Bancomat (Italy), SIBS-MB WAY (Portugal), Vipps MobilePay (Norway,…
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By Anne Twomey, Professor Emerita in Constitutional Law, University of Sydney
The One Nation leader’s case is among a slew of cases the High Court will deal with in coming months on freedom of political communication.
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By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
The PM will devote Monday to chair meetings on the mid-December budget update before flying off again for the COP summit in Turkey.
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