Why are women paid less than men? New research in South Africa shows the company you work for makes the biggest difference: Why do women earn less than men? The usual suspects – occupation, hours, experience – explain some of it. But a powerful, often overlooked reason is simply this: where women work. The companies …
Which infectious disease is likely to be the biggest emerging problem in 2025?: COVID emerged suddenly, spread rapidly and killed millions of people around the world. Since then, I think it’s fair to say that most people have been nervous about the emergence of the next big infectious disease – be that a virus, bacterium, …
Loaded: one of the biggest lads’ mags returns – these are the challenges it will face: Copyright Lawrey Tell the lads. After a nine-year hiatus, Loaded magazine is back. Actually, don’t tell the lads, tell their dads. According to executive director Danni Levy the relaunch is to target the original buyers, only now they’re “living …
How the biggest chocolate makers and sellers in the UK fare on sustainability: UK consumers get through more than 80 million Easter eggs each year Shutterstock Estimates indicate that the UK ranks seventh worldwide and fourth in Europe for chocolate consumption. Each person in the UK consumes on average about 8.1kg of chocolate annually, with …
Benjamin Netanyahu’s biggest problem in negotiating an end to war with Hamas and Hezbollah may be his own government: Three months since Hamas launched its murderous October 7 attacks, Israeli foreign policymakers remain far from achieving their goals. The Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) military campaign in the Gaza Strip has been unrelenting. According to data …
Dark energy is one of the biggest puzzles in science and we’re now a step closer to understanding it: Over ten years ago, the Dark Energy Survey (DES) began mapping the universe to find evidence that could help us understand the nature of the mysterious phenomenon known as dark energy. I’m one of more than …
E3: why the world’s biggest video game event just closed for good – and what’s next for the industry: The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), an annual trade event for the video game industry, has been permanently cancelled by its organisers, who cited the COVID pandemic and changes in company marketing techniques as the reason for …
How we’re building the world’s biggest optical telescope to crack some of the greatest puzzles in science: ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope. ESO/wikipedia, CC BY-SA Astronomers get to ask some of the most fundamental questions there are, ranging from whether we’re alone in the cosmos to what the nature of the mysterious dark energy and dark …
Giraffes could go extinct – the 5 biggest threats they face: Giraffes are the world’s tallest mammals and an African icon, but they are also vulnerable to extinction. Giraffe populations have declined by 40% in the last 30 years, and there are now fewer than 70,000 mature individuals left in the wild. What are the …
Diabetes is South Africa’s second biggest killer disease: hiking the sugar tax would help: Death rates in South Africa have declined slightly during the past few years. But the country faces a steady rise in both death and disability caused by increases in non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cancer. According to the NCD Alliance, …
Discrimination is the biggest career obstacle for women of colour in the NHS – new research: Photoroyalty/Shutterstock In March 2023, NHS midwife Olukemi Akinmeji won an employment tribunal case against the hospital in Kent where, as an employee, she had faced race discrimination and victimisation. That same month, Michelle Cox, a healthcare manager and senior …
World’s biggest bat colony gathers in Zambia every year: we used artificial intelligence to count them: Straw-coloured fruit bats at Kasanka National Park, Zambia. Fabian von Poser/Getty Images Everybody who visits Kasanka National Park in Zambia during “bat season” agrees that the evening emergence of African straw-coloured fruit bats from their roost site is one …
Age, not class, is now the biggest divide in British politics, new research confirms: Shutterstock/Hyejin Kang “Class is the basis of British politics; all else is embellishment and detail.” So wrote Peter Pulzer, the former Gladstone professor of politics at the University of Oxford in the 1960s. Nowadays, however, it is age, not social class, …
South African women: violence, health and money issues among 5 biggest obstacles that stand in their way: Getty Images Every year on 9 August South Africa celebrates Women’s Day, marking an important moment in the country’s history. This was the day in 1956 when women marched to the seat of government, the Union Buildings in …
Edinburgh Fringe 2023: how to immerse yourself in the world’s biggest arts festival: When the Edinburgh International Festival launched in 1947, it was inevitable that a fringe event would follow. Beginning with just eight companies of performers in five venues, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (known as “the Fringe”) is now the biggest arts festival in …
Traffic jams are overwhelming Africa’s biggest city – here’s what could help: Traffic in Lagos, Nigeria, one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing cities, can be a nightmare. Citizens often spend 30 hours a week in traffic jams. In 2023, Lagos was ranked the fourth most uncomfortable city to live in in the world partly …
Northern Europe faces biggest relative increase in uncomfortable heat and is dangerously unprepared — new research: Northern Europe will experience the greatest relative increase in uncomfortably hot days if global temperature rise reaches 2?. DRG Photography/Shutterstock Limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5? is getting harder. A recent UN report even stated that there is …
Death in Jenin: Israel’s biggest attack in the West Bank in 20 years is down to Netanyahu’s political weakness – here’s why: Israeli forces say they have completed a 48-hour military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin – the largest in two decades. Beginning on Monday, July 3, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) …