American man developed an Irish accent after getting prostate cancer – foreign accent syndrome explained: pathdoc/Shutterstock An American man developed an Irish accent following treatment for metastatic prostate cancer. The man was in his 50s and had never been to Ireland. The accent was described as “uncontrolled”, meaning the man couldn’t stop talking with an …
Ukraine recap: how the conflict stands after 12 months of bitter fighting: It would be wrong to say that nobody saw this war coming. Vladimir Putin’s troops had been massing on the Ukraine border in Russia and its ally Belarus for some months. And, despite his assurances to the contrary, the president’s bellicose rhetoric and …
Three in five long COVID patients have organ damage a year after infection: Rick_Jo/Shutterstock The latest data from the Office for National Statistics suggests that more than 1.2 million people in the UK report living with long COVID for 12 months or more. Several studies have confirmed that symptoms can persist in people with long …
After Nicola Sturgeon, what’s next for Scottish independence?: In the wake of Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation, it cannot be overlooked that she became leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) after it had suffered a double blow. The party had failed to achieve its cherished goal of independence in 2014, and lost its (then) best …
60 years since Sylvia Plath’s death: why modern poets can’t help but write ‘after Sylvia’: This year marks the 60th anniversary of Sylvia Plath’s death. Had Plath enjoyed the longevity of her poetry, she would have turned 90 in October 2022. So significant was Plath’s contribution to modern poetry (her most recent biographer, Heather Clark, …
Artemis is a new body suit for period pain – here’s why it’s named after a Greek goddess: A new body suit to control period pain is in the pipeline – and it’s called Artemis. Named after the Greek goddess of chastity, hunting, childbirth and the moon, it works by combining a tens machine (which …
Newport ship: after 20 years’ work, experts are ready to reassemble medieval vessel found in the mud: An artistic impression of how the Newport Medieval ship may have looked . David Jordan/Newport Museums and Heritage Service When construction work began on a new arts centre in Newport, south Wales, in 2002, the builders on site …
Future of Welsh rugby at stake after misogyny allegations: Allegations of sex discrimination should be a watershed moment not only for Welsh rugby but the people of Wales Shutterstock When Prime Minister Harold Wilson said “a week is a long time in politics”, it’s unlikely that many thought Welsh rugby would one day be the …
Myanmar: two years after the military seized power the country is mired in a bloody civil war – but there are grounds for optimism: Two years on from the latest military coup that deposed Myanmar’s democratically elected government, what began as a wave of national protest against the army’s power grab has descended into outright …
UK slides in corruption perception index after series of political scandals: The UK has fallen down Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index (CPI) after a year of high-profile government scandals. The CPI is not a measure of corruption itself but a measure of how much corruption is perceived to exist across a country’s public sector. For …
Gandhi’s image is under scrutiny 75 years after his assassination – but his protest principles are being revived: Harshit Srivastava S3/Shutterstock Mohandas Karamchand “Mahatma” Gandhi remains, even 75 years after his assassination, a useful symbol for many in India. For secularists, the leader of the country’s independence movement represents an imagined India of the past. …
Ernest Cole: South Africa’s most famous photobook has been republished after 55 years: Men wait for at a railway station for transport to a mine. Ernest Cole/© Ernest Cole Family Trust/Courtesy Wits Historical Papers/Photography Legacy Project Photographer Ernest Cole was born in 1940 in the Pretoria township of Eersterust, just before apartheid was formally introduced …
The Black Death may not have been spread by rats after all: The black rat, or ship rat, was thought to have helped transmit the Black Death Shutterstock / Carlos Aranguiz The Black Death ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1353, killing millions. Plague outbreaks in Europe then continued until the 19th century. One of the …
Matteo Messina Denaro: arrest of mafia boss after 30 years on the run is the end of an era – but not the end of the Cosa Nostra: Matteo Messina Denaro, one of the leaders of the Sicilian mafia, the Cosa Nostra, has finally been detained after 30 years on the run. His arrest came …
What’s next for the anti-Nato left after Ukraine?: When Russian troops invaded Ukraine in February 2022, much of the political left across the western world were faced with a dilemma. Unlike in 2003 – when US oil interests seemed to explain the invasion of Iraq all too neatly – this time it was much more …
Ukraine war: life on Russia’s home front after ten months of conflict: It’s been a year since I last visited Russia. Back then, most people I met thought the prospects of a war with Ukraine were very remote, despite the massive troops build-up on the border. So I was curious to see how attitudes had …
Vivienne Westwood: how the brand will maintain the spirit of transgression and rebellion after her death: The death of the English fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood at the age of 81 on December 29 2022, has not only moved the fashion industry, but the world. Through her designs and her activism, Westwood had a profound …
Five options for restoring global biodiversity after the UN agreement: EDGAR PHOTOSAPIENS / shutterstock To slow and reverse the fastest loss of Earth’s living things since the dinosaurs, almost 200 countries have signed an agreement in Montreal, Canada, promising to live in harmony with nature by 2050. The Kunming-Montreal agreement is not legally binding but …