State opening of parliament 2026: experts on plans for cost of living, EU ties, tourist tax and more
©House of Lords/Roger Harris, CC BY-NC The government has set out its legislative agenda for the new parliamentary session in the king’s speech. Our panel of experts reveals the key points. Measures to ease high living costs Jonquil Lowe, Visiting Academic, The Open University Surveys suggest that the cost of living is still a major […]
Trump-XI summit: US president says he will discuss arms sales to Taiwan – breaking decades of US policy
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are likely to discuss many issues as they meet this week in Beijing. But alongside trade, technology and the war in Iran, one topic of conversation will stand out – the future of Taiwan. Taiwan has long been a sensitive issue in Sino-American relations. Beijing regards the island as a […]
Why the Caspian Sea has become so important in both the Ukraine and Iran wars
The recent attack by Ukraine of a Russian missile-carrying corvette stationed in the Caspian Sea more than 1,500km away from Kyiv has put the spotlight on this large, often overlooked body of inland salt water. The Caspian Sea hosts major offshore oil and gas fields and critical maritime infrastructure, including ports, pipelines and terminals that […]
Nasa bets big on nuclear engines to cut journey times to Mars
Illustration of a Mars mission that utilises nuclear propulsion. Nasa Nasa is developing ways to use nuclear power to send spacecraft to their destinations. Nuclear propulsion could greatly reduce the journey time to Mars, perhaps cutting a voyage of more than six months to three or four months. The idea of nuclear propulsion in space […]
From ‘French leave’ to ‘Irish goodbyes’: why you may be right to exit a party without saying goodbye
Rawpixel.com Whether you call it an Irish goodbye, French leave or filer à l’anglaise (leave in the English style), as the French prefer, the act of quietly slipping out of a party without fanfare is a familiar social impulse. The Brazilians called it sair à francesa (French style), the Germans a Polnischer Abgang (Polish departure), […]
King’s speech: much-needed water industry reforms do not go far enough
JU.STOCKER/Shutterstock Water bills are rising, public anger over sewage pollution has not abated, and the government has now set out a major overhaul of water regulation in the king’s speech. The proposed water reform bill signals a shift in emphasis. Rather than focusing solely on water companies, the legislation aims to address pollution more broadly, […]
What a list of Black Death survivors reveals about the way people recovered from plague
The Dance of Death by John of Kastav (1490). National Gallery of Slovenia In our research in the British Library’s medieval collections, we have identified a previously unnoticed document that provides fresh insights into the survivors of the outbreak of plague known as the Black Death (1346–53). The document – a scrap of parchment inserted […]
Eric Morecambe at 100: the beloved British comedian with an anarchic northern spirit
For many people over the age of 50, the first few bars of an old 1960s song will always prompt a smile. Bring Me Sunshine, adopted by comedians Morecambe and Wise as their theme tune in 1969, came to define the pair who sang it at the end of every show. May 14 2026 marks […]
Cannabis: it’s medicine if you’re rich enough – a crime if you’re not
elenavolf/Shutterstock.com In Britain, whether cannabis is treated as medicine or a crime may depend less on medical need than on the ability to pay. In 2018, the UK government changed drug policy, allowing specialist doctors to prescribe cannabis-based medicinal products. The decision was presented as a move towards evidence-based healthcare, recognising cannabis may have therapeutic […]
Other countries can learn from the UK’s successful shift to fortnightly bin collections
Maulana Noriandita/Shutterstock The government has recently introduced simpler rules on recycling in England, planning to end the confusion of different types of waste being collected in different postcodes. Scotland and Northern Ireland already operate (or are updating) their own devolved recycling laws that are equivalent to England’s simpler recycling system. This should also mean the […]