By Richard Nedjat-Haiem, Ph.D. Candidate in Comparative Literature, University of California, Santa Barbara
The 75-year-old pop star is part of a generation of Iranians in the diaspora who are watching, with bated breath, as their compatriots seek to topple the Islamic Republic.
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By Martijn Boersma, Associate Professor, University of Sydney Business School, University of Sydney
Emmanuel Josserand, Affiliate Researcher, Work and Organisational Studies, University of Sydney
How one union’s changing strategy over 30 years led to historic recent wins, including a landmark $90 million payout from Qantas.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Protesters, lawyers, and aid workers outside a court in Mytilene, on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos, Greece, January 13, 2023. © 2023 Panagiotis Balaskas/AP Photo After a seven-year legal ordeal, humanitarian workers wept with relief today when a court on the Greek island of Lesbos acquitted all 24 defendants who had been baselessly charged with felonies for saving lives at sea. The courtroom erupted in cheers, shouts, and tears as the verdict was read. “Saving lives is not a crime,” said Sara Mardini, one of the acquitted. In August 2018, police on…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image A home near a coal-fired power plant in Cheshire, Ohio, US, April 14, 2025. © 2025 Joshua A. Bickel/AP Photo The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 12 that it will no longer ascribe an economic value to saving lives and improving public health when considering whether to curb harmful air pollutants. This move could weaken emissions standards and imperil communities exposed to toxic pollution. The EPA, which enforces federal environmental laws, said it would stop estimating the economic value of health benefits from…
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By Ali Mamouri, Research Fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University
Narrative control is a central battleground in times of conflict. It’s having a profound impact on the violence in Iran.
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By Dr Konstantinos Mersinas, Senior Lecturer in Information Security, Royal Holloway, University of London
Francesco Ferazza, PhD researcher, department of Information Security, Royal Holloway, University of London
When a protest by angry traders about what they see as the Islamic Republic’s poor handling of the economy morphed into a national uprising across Iran, the authorities moved quickly to shut down the internet. It’s a tactic the regime has used before. Closing down communications makes it harder for resistance to organise. It also makes it hard for people protesting in Iran to communicate with and enlist support from the outside world.
Authoritarian regimes, such as the Islamic Republic in Iran,…
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By Adam Davies, Associate Professor, College of Arts, University of Guelph
Heated Rivalry, the Bell Media-produced Canadian gay hockey romance based on the novel by Rachel Reid, has taken the world by storm. The series stars Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander, a Japanese Canadian hockey player for the Montréal Metros, and
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By Anton Roberts, Sociologist and Social Policy Researcher at the Policy Evaluation and Researcher Unit at Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester Metropolitan University
The government’s recently announced grand plan to end homelessness in England is the latest instalment in a long line of promises (and failures) by governments across the UK. This latest strategy, published in December, promises billions in investment in rough sleeping services, alongside a previous commitment to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament.
It’s an attempt to address the UK’s acute housing crisis. On the surface, there is plenty to praise in the…
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By Paul Whiteley, Professor, Department of Government, University of Essex
British electoral politics in the 1980s were dominated by Margaret Thatcher, the prime minister for the whole of that decade. Similarly, Tony Blair dominated elections when he was in Downing Street from 1997 to 2007. In sharp contrast, the decade from 2015 to 2025 saw no fewer than six prime ministers come (and mostly go) – five Conservatives and Keir Starmer for Labour.
Traditionally, Labour has been reluctant to sack its leader, but if the May elections turn out to be as bad as the polls suggest, the…
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By Neil Dawson, Research Fellow in International Development, University of East Anglia
Adrian Martin, Professor of Environment and Development, University of East Anglia
Iokiñe Rodríguez, Senior Lecturer in Environment and Development, University of East Anglia
Restoring the ability of local communities to act as guardians of nature is a promising approach to both ecological and social recovery.
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