US funding cuts have crippled our HIV work – what’s being lost: The loss of research capability means losing an understanding of how to prevent or treat HIV. Photo by sergey mikheev on Unsplash The Trump administration’s cuts to funding for scientific research have left many scientists reeling and very worried. At the National Institutes …
Living with multiple chronic conditions cuts lives short – but Africans are overlooked in research: When a person suffers from two or more long-term health conditions at the same time this is known as multimorbidity. The World Health Organization says multimorbidity puts patients at greater risk and complicates primary care. It also drives up healthcare …
A double whammy of winter fuel payment cuts and scrapping a planned cap on social care costs is set to hit older people: Many older people will lose out financially under the government's policies. PeopleImages.com – Yuri A Before the general election, former prime minister Rishi Sunak was asked on TV why he “hated pensioners”. …
South Africa’s new plan to end power cuts is seriously flawed. Here’s why: South Africa experienced unprecedented electricity shortages in 2023 as ageing coal plants became increasingly prone to breakdowns. The country urgently needs to develop new electricity generation facilities and reduce reliance on coal power. In the first week of 2024, the South African …
Autumn statement: what national insurance cuts and other changes mean for young people: Natee Meepian/Shutterstock At first glance, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement appears to reduce the tax burden, increase pay and make our lives a bit easier. But given the cost of living and other pressures, the big picture is not as pretty. If …
Autumn statement: experts react to national insurance and business tax cuts: UK chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, with his 2023 Autumn Statement. Simon Walker/No 10 Downing Street/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND The UK chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, as announced a raft of changes to the tax and benefit system as part of the government’s autumn statement. They included: main employee …
Autumn statement live: will chancellor unveil tax and benefit cuts?: UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt. Sean Aidan Calderbank Welcome to The Conversation’s live blog for the UK’s autumn statement 2023, which is due to be delivered to parliament from midday. We’ll be updating the blog throughout the day. Check back here for details of what’s in …
Autumn statement: earlier tax cuts could boost UK economy, but businesses also need more certainty: It’s the right time to cut taxes to grow the economy, according to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Both he and the chancellor have been discussing the “path to reducing the tax burden” in recent days. The government is set to …
Tax cuts rumoured but the UK’s autumn statement will offer little economic comfort: Bk87/Shutterstock The UK chancellor’s autumn statement is likely to be relatively uneventful – yet extremely significant. Although some headline-seeking tax cuts are rumoured, sluggish economic growth and persistent inflation leave little scope for major policy announcements. That said, the fiscal update is …
Development aid cuts will hit fragile countries hard, could fuel violent conflict: Fragile and least developed countries have had their development assistance cut drastically, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. For instance, net official development assistance to sub-Saharan African countries has shrunk by 7.8% compared to 2021. And development aid for peace …
Farming in South Africa is being hobbled by power cuts and poor roads. Rural towns are being hit hardest: The cost of irrigation adds to the farmers' burden. GettyImages South Africa’s agriculture has had great consecutive seasons since 2019/20. The sector’s gross value added grew by 14.9% in 2020, 8.8% in 2021 and modestly by …
Farmers in South Africa face power cuts and a weak rand – but a number of factors are working in their favour too: All of South Africa's wheat production takes place during the winter months GettyImages Winter is an important season for South African agriculture, with some of its key field crops being produced during …
Power cuts and food safety: how to avoid illness during loadshedding : Keep as little food as possible in your fridge and freezer. Shutterstock South Africa has been grappling with power cuts for 15 years, which have worsened in recent years. The persistent power outages have disrupted every facet of life, including food safety. The Conversation …
Does carbon capture and storage hype delay emissions cuts? Here’s what research shows: Daniel Heighton/Shutterstock Is carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) an important tool for slowing climate change, or merely a way to justify the continued extraction and burning of fossil fuels? I’m a social scientist who studies the politics of environmental technology and …
Four global problems that will be aggravated by the UK’s recent cuts to international aid: Flags fly outside the UN building in New York. Andrew F. Kazmierski/Shutterstock UK economic forecasts have improved markedly since the September 2022 mini-budget. The economic recession may now be more shallow and public borrowing lower than previously expected. However, faced …
Power cuts are hurting small businesses in South Africa – but sharing resources and equipment might be a solution: A corner shop in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Small businesses could benefit from sharing resources, like electricity. Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images Worldwide, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are seen as the backbone of a thriving economy. …
Power cuts: South Africa’s state of disaster is being contested in court – COVID rulings give clues as to the outcome: Demonstrations against South African power supplier ESKOM in 2015. Ihsaan Haffejee/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images South Africa has declared a second national state of disaster in less than three years. The first was the COVID-19 disaster …
South Africa’s bailout of Eskom won’t end power cuts: splitting up the utility can, as other countries have shown: AFP via Getty Images The announcement by the South African finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, of debt relief for the country’s troubled power utility, Eskom, is a step forward. It will fix one problem: Eskom has too …