By Matthew Flinders, Founding Director of the Sir Bernard Crick Centre for the Public Understanding of Politics, University of Sheffield
The life of the average British MP is not luxurious or lavish. It is stressful and strange. And sometimes, it can be dangerous.
Former Labour MP Paula Sheriff is the latest to detail the threats she endured in her time at Westminster and call for greater protection for politicians.
MPs are expected to be “on call” 24/7 and be able to cope with incompatible pressures and…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Osman Kavala © 2017 Private (London, August 25, 2026) – The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights today delivered a landmark judgment in the case of Osman Kavala, the human rights defender and civil society leader unlawfully imprisoned in Türkiye since November 2017. The court ruled that Kavala's continued detention is unlawful and found that his rights to fair trial, freedom of expression, and association have been violated. The court also found that his aggravated life sentence amounts to inhuman and degrading treatment and that…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image The UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, meets with local officials in Taizz, Yemen, February 12, 2024. (C) 2024 Ahmad Al-Basha/AFP via Getty Images Houthi authorities transferred at least six detainees to the Specialized Criminal Prosecution in Sanaa on August 23. Among them is a United Nations employee, a UN consultant, and three people who worked with international and local nongovernmental organizations.It’s the latest move in the Houthis’ campaign of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances of dozens of UN staff and employees of Yemeni and…
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By Amnesty International
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights today delivered a landmark judgment in the case of Osman Kavala, the human rights defender and civil society leader unlawfully imprisoned in Türkiye since November 2017. The Court ruled that Kavala’s continued detention is unlawful and found that his rights to fair trial, freedom of expression and association have […] The post Türkiye: Osman Kavala must be immediately released following European Court order to quash his conviction appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By Jérémie Bertrand, Professeur de finance, LEM-CNRS 9221, IÉSEG School of Management
Caroline Perrin, Chercheuse postdoctorante | Commission européenne
Laurent Weill, Professeur d'Economie et de Finance, Université de Strasbourg
A study across 18 western countries has found that left-handed people sit on the left of the political spectrum backed by data supporting that it has more to do with identity than biology.
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By Itamar Shatz, Affiliated Lecturer, Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, University of Cambridge
Faced with a task or project, do you repeatedly tell yourself that you’ll do it “tomorrow”, “soon”, or “after watching just a few more videos”?
If so, as someone who has studied the science of procrastination for years, I can reassure you that you are not alone. Around 20% of adults procrastinate regularly.
Those of us who do this…
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By Mikael Roll, Professor of Phonetics, Lund University
For an experienced reader, recognising the words on this page feels effortless. Yet, evolutionarily speaking, your brain shouldn’t be able to read. Reading has existed for too short a time to have shaped a dedicated centre in the brain.
Therefore, the brain has to learn to read using systems that evolved for other purposes. But it has long been unclear exactly which systems it recruits to do so and how.
This is important, as…
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By Derk-Jan Dijk, Professor of Sleep and Physiology and Director of Surrey Sleep Research Centre, University of Surrey
Anne Skeldon, Professor of Mathematics, Head of School, School of Mathematics & Physics, University of Surrey
For decades, the answer to “how much sleep does an adult need?” has been simple: eight hours. The idea dates back to the mid-19th century when the notion of eight hours of work, eight for recreation and eight for sleep first took hold.
But growing evidence suggests that eight hours may not be the ideal amount of sleep for everyone, as a new narrative review…
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By Amnesty International
Responding to news that Chinese artist Gao Zhen has been convicted of the offence of “slandering China’s heroes and martyrs” and sentenced to three years in prison, Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks said: “The lengthy pre-trial detention and, ultimately, decision to convict Gao Zhen and sentence him to the maximum three-year prison term under […] The post China: Maximum sentence for artist Gao Zhen is an assault on artistic freedom appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By Sergey Alexeev, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney; UNSW
If prospective recruits come to expect a job-market cost after voluntary war service, Russia may find it harder or more expensive to attract volunteers.
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