By David Hastings Dunn MBE, Professor of International Politics in the Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham
Mark Webber, Professor of International Politics, University of Birmingham
Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham
Shortly after the US military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on January 3, US president Donald Trump restated his claim to Greenland. The White House sees Greenland, which is part of the kingdom of Denmark, as crucial for national security and is reportedly considering a range of options to acquire the island. This includes “utilising the US military”.
Trump’s proclamations have led to a sense among Europeans that US aspirations for dominance over the western hemisphere extend beyond Latin America. And the fact that Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio,
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By Will Smith, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, University of Nottingham
Domestic pigeons have surprising cultural significance. They inspired Charles Darwin in his thinking about evolution, delivered wartime messages to save lives, and have symbolic meaning around the world.
The domestic pigeon is among the best understood animals on the planet, with research published weekly on…
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By Arash Beidollahkhani, Research Fellow at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester
The question for many Iranians appears to be not whether their political system can be repaired, but whether continuing to live under it is viable at all.
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By Paul Hanel, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychology, University of Essex
If we look at people’s values - abstract ideals that guide our behaviour - there are reasons to be positive about society.
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By Emily Hay, PhD Candidate in Scottish Literature, University of Glasgow
The last letter of Mary, Queen of Scots goes on display in 2026 for the first time in almost a decade. Deposed from her Scottish throne in 1567, Mary spent 20 years in captivity across Scotland and England before she was executed for plotting against her cousin and captor, Elizabeth I of England. Writing that final letter was one of the last things Mary did before mounting the scaffold on February 8, 1587.
As I explore in my PhD thesis, writing was a key concern for Mary throughout her captivity.…
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By Larry Savage, Professor, Labour Studies, Brock University
Adam D.K. King, Assistant Professor, Labour Studies Program, University of Manitoba
Canada does a poor job of gathering labour relations information. In a period of rising inequality and renewed workplace conflict, stakeholders need better data.
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By SoRelle Wyckoff Gaynor, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Politics, University of Virginia
Why does health care reform keep failing despite decades of attention and expanding costs? A scholar of Congress has some answers.
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By Jacob Blanc, Professeur agrégé d'histoire et des études du développement international, McGill University
The American operation in Venezuela was completely unprecedented. The outcome promises to be risky for Donald Trump, a Latin American expert explains.
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Wednesday, January 7, 2026
A sweeping UN human rights report released on Wednesday concludes that in the occupied West Bank, Israel is violating international law prohibiting racial segregation and apartheid, warning that the discriminatory practices have accelerated dramatically since late 2022 amid growing violence, repression and impunity.
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By Human Rights Watch
Smoke rises at La Carlota airport in Caracas, Venezuela on January 3, 2026 following US airstrikes. © 2026 AP Photo/Matias Delacroix (New York) – The Trump administration’s brazen military assault risks causing a new human rights disaster for Venezuelans, Human Rights Watch said today. In the early morning hours of January 3, 2026 the US military conducted strikes on Venezuela and took into custody the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores. They have since been arraigned before a US federal court on drug trafficking and other criminal charges. “Venezuelans…
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