How close are quantum computers to being really useful? Podcast: Audio und verbung/Shutterstock Quantum computers have the potential to solve big scientific problems that are beyond the reach of today’s most powerful supercomputers, such as discovering new antibiotics or developing new materials. But to achieve these breakthroughs, quantum computers will need to perform better than …
Russia: Serbia’s history is key to understanding its close relationship with Moscow: Over the past few weeks, international attention has focused on Ukraine in the run-up to the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. But Ukraine is not the only part of Europe where Russia is seeking to assert its influence and …
African football won the 34th Afcon, with Côte d’Ivoire a close second: The 34th Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) came to an end in Côte d’Ivoire with millions of viewers around the world shouting at TV screens, and an astonishing performance by Côte d’Ivoire both on the field as champions and off it as hosts. …
Most east African refugees are hosted close to borders – it’s a deliberate war strategy: The Burundian flag flies at the head of a convoy of buses moving refugees back home from Tanzania in 2019. Tchandrou Nitanga/AFP via Getty Images There are close to 4 million people living in refugee camps across Africa. Of the …
Ukraine recap: Kyiv keeps its friends close, but will they send the latest warplanes?: The latest dispatches from the Institute for the Study of War make for sobering reading. After a few months in which the initiative on the battlefield was generally considered to be firmly with Ukraine, the pendulum appears as if it could …
Noma to close: why it’s so hard to run a sustainable high-end restaurant: For over a decade, Noma in Copenhagen has been one of the standard bearers of the high-end culinary world. This “New Nordic” restaurant made its reputation (and obtained its three Michelin stars and position in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants ranking) by …
Why being bilingual can open doors for children with developmental disabilities, not close them: Antoni Shkraba / Pexels When parents learn their child has a developmental disability, they often have questions about what their child may or may not be able to do. Children with developmental disabilities, such as Down syndrome, often have challenges and …
Why humans walk on two legs: a close look at chimpanzees puts some old theories to the test: Issa chimpanzees live in a woodland dominated environment interspersed with riparian forests, grasslands, and rocky out-crops. Photo: R. Drummond-Clarke/GMERC There’s no trait that distinguishes humans from all other mammals more clearly than the way we walk. Human …
Raf Simons to close – a fashion marketing expert explains how the brand lost relevance: Raf Simons walks the runway for his Calvin Klein Collection during New York Fashion Week 2018. FashionStock.com Surviving 27 years in the competitive and fast-changing world of fashion is an accomplishment many brands only dream of. Raf Simons weathered the …
Climate tipping points could lock in unstoppable changes to the planet – how close are they?: Tipping points in the climate become more likely beyond 1.5°C of warming. Desdemona72/Shutterstock Continued greenhouse gas emissions risk triggering climate tipping points. These are self-sustaining shifts in the climate system that would lock-in devastating changes, like sea-level rise, even …
Zimbabwean study challenges the idea that women are inherently close to nature: A man collecting firewood in Zimbabwe. Photo by John Moore/Getty Images In Zimbabwe, it’s mainly women who collect and use fuelwood. The more women cut down trees for household energy needs, the longer it takes to find and fetch wood. Women are thus …
The Marburg virus: urgent need to contain this close cousin of Ebola: Roger Harris/Science Photo Library In July 2022 Ghana confirmed its first two cases of the deadly Marburg virus, a highly infectious disease in the same family as the virus that causes Ebola. The Conversation Africa’s Wale Fatade and Usifo Omozokpea asked virologist Oyewale …
Ukraine war: all eyes on Lithuania as sanctions close Russian land access to Kaliningrad: Tensions between Russia and Nato, already stretched considerably by the invasion of Ukraine, have ratcheted up even further over Kaliningrad, a small piece of Russian territory sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic coast and cut off from mainland Russia. …
South Africa’s estuaries face a growing threat from pollution: we took a close look at four: Mntafufu Estuary in the northern part of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Anusha Rajkaran In the popular imagination, estuaries don’t have the prestige or the romanticism of their two constituent parts: the rivers that feed them with freshwater from …
Rising food prices hit poor people the hardest: a close look at inflation in South Africa: Food prices in South Africa are rising. Photo by Chen Cheng/Xinhua via Getty Images Concerns about rising food prices are making the headlines across the world as pressures mount in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war …
Body image issues affect close to 40% of men – but many don’t get the support they need: Many men wish they were more muscular or lean. chaiyawat chaidet/ Shutterstock Lead guitarist of The Vamps, James Brittain-McVey, recently spoke out about the pressures he experienced with his body image. These pressures, which began when he …
Rwanda has reopened the border with Uganda but distrust could close it again: Rwanda has fully re-opened the Gatatuna-Katuna border with Uganda, ending a three-year impasse. Cyril Ndegeya/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Rwanda has now fully reopened the Gatuna border with Uganda, ending a three-year impasse on the Northern Corridor, one of East Africa’s key …
South Africa in the news: The Ashes: Australia captain Pat Cummins out of second Test as close contact of Covid-19 case: Smith, 32, will lead Australia for the first time since he was stripped of the captaincy for his part in the ball-tampering scandal and attempted cover-up in South Africa in March 2018. The batter …