The afterglow of an explosive collision between giant planets may have been detected in a far-off star system: A visualisation of the huge, glowing planetary body produced by a planetary collision. Mark Garlick, Author provided The afterglow of a massive collision between two giant planets may have been detected for the first time. The wreckage …
Johannesburg has been hit by severe water shortages: new plan to manage the crisis isn’t the answer: Johannesburg and its surrounds, at the centre of the industrial heartland of South Africa, have been hit by severe water cuts. Water interruptions have been happening for years, but they have been scaled up dramatically in recent weeks. …
Shop theft has been building for years – here’s how to tackle retail crime and keep workers safe: Retailers want police to respond more to shop theft reports. Brian A Jackson/Shutterstock Retail giants like Boots, Tesco and Primark are pushing for Home Office action after violent incidents and abuse against shop staff almost doubled since …
Consciousness: why a leading theory has been branded ‘pseudoscience’: Hubis/Shutterstocl Civil war has broken out in the field of consciousness research. More than 100 consciousness researchers have signed a letter accusing one of the most popular scientific theories of consciousness – the integrated information theory – of being pseudoscience. Immediately, several other figures in the …
Inflation: I’ve been analysing the Bank of England’s forecast over the past two years – here’s how they got it wrong: The Bank of England (BoE) has been strongly criticised for failing to predict the surge in inflation. Had it done so, it could have reacted more quickly and prevented inflation from rising as high …
Kwame Nkrumah: memorials to the man who led Ghana to independence have been built, erased and revived again: Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park lies at the centre of Ghana’s capital, Accra. Recently renovated, it is dedicated to the memory of Kwame Nkrumah, the leader of Ghana’s independence struggle and its first president. Marking the spot of …
Andrey Rublev has been called the ‘greatest Russian artist who ever lived’ – but one of his most famous works is at risk under Putin: Andrey Rublev (or Rublyov – nobody is sure how his name was pronounced) has been described as “the greatest Russian artist who ever lived”, whose work had “a clarity of …
City watchdog finds no evidence for recent political ‘debanking’ – but private banks have been picky for centuries: Ex-politician Nigel Farage accused his bank of refusing his business because of his political views. Frank 2012/Shutterstock After a row over the closure of his bank account earlier this year, former politician Nigel Farage has hit out …
Ukraine war: reports suggest that Russia has been deliberately targeting journalists – which is a war crime: At least 15 media workers have been killed in Ukraine since Russia began its full-scale war in February 2022. Along with targeting civilians, hospitals, schools, orphanages, residential buildings, communications centres and places of worship, the Russian state has been …
South Africa’s court system has been abused by powerful people: five ways to stop it: After a battle of about four years to secure the removal of South Africa’s public protector, Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, the country’s parliament finally delivered the coup de grace in early September. Parliamentarians voted to impeach her just a month before …
How Russia’s theatre scene has been obliterated by Putin’s culture war: View from stage of Moscow's Vakhtangov Theatre. Pavel L Photo and Video/Shutterstock Over the past decade, Russian president Vladimir Putin’s regime has introduced ideologically driven cultural policies intended to shape a new, virtuous Russian citizen for the future. For those – like Putin himself …
The scent of the ancient Egyptian afterlife has been recreated – here’s what it smelled like: Burial ceremonies as depicted in the Book of the Dead of Hunefer. © The Trustees of the British Museum, CC BY-SA To be human is to wonder what happens after we die. Is there an afterlife? If so, what …
Concrete crisis: officials thought asbestos in schools was safe too – the same mistakes have been made over Raac: The decision to close some schools and erect emergency structural supports in others just days before the start of a new term appeared to come about suddenly. The announcement followed three recent failures of reinforced autoclaved …
School concrete crisis: how Raac has been used well beyond its expiry date: More than one hundred schools in England have been fully or partly closed just days before the start of the new academic year, due to concerns over the safety of concrete roof panels. Problems with what the construction industry terms “reinforced autoclaved …
Gabon coup has been years in the making: 3 key factors that ended the Bongo dynasty: The recent military intervention that put an end to the Bongo family’s 56-year hold on power in Gabon has been many years in the making. Its roots can be traced back to when deposed president Ali Bongo Ondimba suffered …
South Africa’s government has been buying land and leasing it to black farmers. Why it’s gone wrong and how to fix it: The progress with South Africa’s land reform programme has not been properly monitored. This has resulted in an incorrect understanding of the real progress made to correct the racial distribution of farm land …
After months of negotiations Ukraine will be getting the F-16 warplanes it has been begging for – here’s why that’s important: After months of diplomatic pressure to supply Ukrainian forces with advanced fighter jets, European governments have agreed to supply F-16 aircraft to the Ukrainian air force. The deal, under which Denmark and the Netherlands …
Lucy Letby: the focus has been on her unspeakable crimes – but we should think about the victims and their families: The understandable response of many to the horrendous crimes of Lucy Letby has been: “Lock her up and throw away the key.” Letby, a former NHS nurse, has been given 14 whole-life sentences for …