Of all the New Year’s resolutions to have been put forward by various celebrities, I find Zarah Sultana’s message to be the most hopeful. Her short, sweet and simple tweet didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the heart of the matter. It read: “My message of hope for 2026. Abolish the monarchy.”… Continue reading Abolishing the monarchy through identity
Any planned US annexation of Greenland would give America almost total control over an increasingly vital trading route. The US government’s recent abduction of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has drawn widespread condemnation from those who see it as a breach of international law. These events have been followed particularly closely by the people of Greenland,… Continue reading Trump, Greenland and the Polar Silk Road
On 13 January, Mark Zuckerberg announced the appointment of Dina Powell McCormick as president and vice chairman of Meta. Powell McCormick — who previously served on Meta’s board of directors and was a key advocate for deeper ai integration across the company’s platforms — brings an extensive background as a senior finance executive. Her appointment,… Continue reading The silent coup of American public discourse
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) remains one of the most debated and scrutinised federal agencies in the US. Established in 2003 under the Homeland Security Act of 2002 following the 11 September attacks, ICE consolidated immigration enforcement and customs investigative functions previously housed in the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the US Customs… Continue reading The current state of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement — ICE
The conflict between Venezuela and the United States is not a conventional war, but rather a prolonged political, economic and diplomatic standoff rooted in ideological differences, contested elections, sanctions policy, energy geopolitics and regional security concerns. Over the past decade, tensions have intensified, eased at moments and then resurfaced—particularly around Venezuela’s electoral legitimacy, US sanctions,… Continue reading Oil, sanctions and sovereignty — the ongoing conflict between Venezuela and the United States
Nausea was spilling like soup in my eyes around 1 am, as I turned in bed. It was the Monday night I had just finished marking 2100 MCQs and 42 mini essays. Meanwhile, I got an urgent email from two of my students, saying they had 24 hours to apply for a Rohingya student scholarship… Continue reading The Rohingya Crisis From My Bedroom
As we reflect on the past year and attempt to digest its wildest moments, it feels fitting to coin these past 12 months as “the year of the billionaire”. Some of 2025’s biggest moments were headed by business moguls, most notably Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk; whether they were launching rockets into space or making… Continue reading Are billionaires trendy now?
Scrolling through our feed, thumbs flicking past the absurd headlines that have become the wallpaper of our modern life: “Satire, Propaganda, or Just Tuesday?”, “Everything’s Fine, Experts Assure, as World Burns’ We laugh, a small, nervous sound that dies in the blue glow of our screens. “At least the jokes are still funny, right?” muttering,… Continue reading When parody becomes propaganda — laughing our way toward disaster
Earlier this month, the University of Nottingham announced that it was considering cutting up to 48 courses from its programme, encompassing 15 subject areas. The reason given for this decision was the courses no longer being “financially viable” for the university. A look over the subject areas highlighted for the ban vary widely, from food… Continue reading The discontinuing of language education in the UK — a step further from Global Britain?
In a city just south of Seoul, the government is ordering cafés to erase English from their signs. In France, Le Académie Française continues to issue new warnings against the use of Franglais. Meanwhile, in the UK, the Oxford English Dictionary adds over fifty Korean and Japanese words to its pages. And Spanish Royalty decrees… Continue reading Words of power — how language borrowing reflects global shifts in cultural influence
