By Alper Kara, Head of Department of Economics, Finance & Accounting, Brunel University of London
Dylan Ryan, Lecturer in Mechanical & Energy Engineering, Edinburgh Napier University
Jonquil Lowe, Visiting Academic, The Open University
Maha Rafi Atal, Adam Smith Senior Lecturer in Political Economy, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow
It was a “breathing space” budget from Chancellor John Healey. In the absence of big surprises or bold change, Healey’s trade-off appears to be small reliefs now in exchange for “fresh hope” in the future. Here’s what our experts made of the chancellor’s first budget.
Targeted help with energy costs as bills keep rising
Jonquil Lowe, Visiting Academic, The Open University
This budget took place against a backdrop of global turmoil and rising inflation, driven largely by higher energy costs. These are continuing to squeeze household budgets.…
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By Amnesty International
Reacting to yesterday’s announcement by the Dutch public broadcasting organization, NPO, that they would not take part in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2027 due to the Israel’s continued participation, Amnesty International’s Europe Director, Steve Cockburn, said: “The Dutch broadcasting body is the latest to decide not take part in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest […] The post The Netherlands: Withdrawal from Eurovision must spur the European Broadcasting Union to suspend Israel appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, representative to the United Nations of the United Arab Emirates, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting at UN headquarters on February 23, 2023. © 2023 John Minchillo/AP Photo (Beirut) – Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, a long-serving UAE diplomat and foreign affairs official, has an extensive record of denying and whitewashing the country’s rights abuses in Sudan and Yemen, Human Rights Watch said today. On October 21, 2026, the UAE formally nominated Nusseibeh to be the new United Nations secretary-general.“For years, Lana Nusseibeh has used her…
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By Global Voices Announcements
Global Voices is partnering with The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) to highlight the ways justice functions as critical infrastructure for any society.
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By Roopender Kumar, Lecturer in Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, UCL
The hydrogen atom: the universe built almost everything with it. Synthetic chemists are only just learning to use it in the lab.
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By Waqas Ali, Lecturer in Business Management and Research, Faculty of Arts, Business, and Social Sciences, University of Wolverhampton
OpenAI’s president, Greg Brockman, recently suggested that its advanced model, known as GPT-6 Astra, could mark the arrival of something called artificial general intelligence, or AGI.
If AI itself is often defined as the ability to simulate human intelligence, OpenAI defines AGI as an AI system that outperforms humans at most economically valuable…
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By Alex Brown, Associate Professor of Medieval History, Durham University
Stories of wandering spirits and the restless dead were common in the Middle Ages. These ghostly encounters were recorded in a wide variety of medieval literature.
Medieval ghost stories combined folklore traditions with religious doctrine. The widespread belief in purgatory – a place where souls were cleansed of sin before entering heaven – helped fuel the belief in…
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By Helen Rainford, Lead for Primary Care, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Lancashire
As a GP, I know that chest pain is one symptom that makes people worry. The immediate concern is that it’s a sign there’s something seriously wrong – such as a problem with their heart or lungs.
But these aren’t the only reasons that chest pain can happen. For many otherwise healthy people, especially those who exercise regularly, the sudden onset of chest pain may actually be caused by a painful, yet generally harmless, condition called costochondritis.
Costochondritis occurs when the tissue connecting the ribs to the breastbone becomes irritated. This causes pain at the…
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By Adam Taylor, Professor of Anatomy, Lancaster University
The shape of your bottom cannot tell you anything about your hormones, whatever recent social media posts claim. The only way to find out your levels of cortisol, oestrogen or anything else is a blood test.
A heart-shaped bottom, influencers say, signals healthy oestrogen, while an H shape means too much cortisol. In reality, buttock shape doesn’t reflect your circulating hormone…
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By Yashaswini Singh, Thomas J. and Alice M. Tisch Assistant Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice, Brown University
Three times a week, Amber Titus wakes up at 5 a.m. to get ready for the 45-minute drive to the methadone clinic.
Titus, 38, and her husband live with their two young children in Bisbee Junction, Arizona, a rural community near the U.S.-Mexico border. The couple started taking methadone, a medication that treats opioid addiction, in early 2025.
“It’s been a godsend,” she said.
But accessing methadone is not easy. The closest place they can receive treatment is a clinic in Sierra Vista, about 30 miles from their home.
The clinic opens on weekdays…
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