Do shorter prison sentences make society less safe? What the evidence says: The final report of the Independent Sentencing Review has proposed the most significant reform of sentencing and punishment in England and Wales since the 1990s. The review, chaired by former Conservative justice secretary David Gauke, calls for a number of changes to address …
VAT hikes can raise tax without hurting the poor: an economist sets out the evidence: South Africa’s 2025-6 budget has been subjected to more comment than usual. This is due to the political tensions generated by a proposed increase in value added tax (VAT). South Africa’s choices on how it manages the revenue and expenditure …
German party leaders are united against immigration – but there is little evidence for a key part of their argument: As Germany elects its next Bundestag, migration remains one of the most important issues to voters. But politicians are not debating how to attract the 288,000 migrants the country needs every year to maintain its …
Experts have challenged the medical case against Lucy Letby. What about the statistical evidence?: An international panel of medical experts have thrust Lucy Letby back into the spotlight. At a press conference convened by Letby’s legal team, the experts cast doubt over the former nurse’s conviction. Letby was given 15 whole-life sentences for murdering seven …
Expanding Heathrow is incompatible with net zero – here’s the evidence: Plane Photography / shutterstock The UK government is set to back plans for a third runway at Heathrow, the country’s busiest airport, and to expand two other airports near London: Gatwick and Luton. The move is designed to support the government’s “mission” to grow …
Tulip Siddiq resigns: there’s no evidence she broke any rules, but here’s why she had to go anyway: Tulip Siddiq has resigned as anti-corruption minister after getting embroiled in a corruption scandal. A number of questions had been raised about her following an investigation by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission into the country’s former prime minister Sheikh …
Cop29: world leaders must be held to account on climate with scientific evidence: The latest scientific assessment by an international team of climate scientists that I lead shows how human activity is warming the world more rapidly than ever before, and we are now perilously close to the Paris agreement’s 1.5°C guardrail. This evidence underscores …
Does parrot farming protect wild species? Wildlife trade researchers review the evidence: The lives of people and parrots have been entwined for thousands of years. These colourful, charismatic birds are kept as pets all over the world for companionship and entertainment. However, today, nearly one-third of the 400 parrot species globally face the threat of …
Pourquoi payer des impôts ? Une étude en Afrique met en évidence le rôle clé de la confiance envers le gouvernement: Les impôts jouent un rôle fondamental dans le financement des services publics essentiels, tels que la santé, l’éducation, les infrastructures et les programmes de protection sociale. Ils sont également indispensables au développement économique des …
Farming with a mixture of crops, animals and trees is better for the environment and for people – evidence from Ghana and Malawi: Moving away from intensive farming practices comes with many benefits. Nikada Farming just one kind of crop in a field at a time, and using a lot of chemicals, poses a risk …
Little evidence suggests Rishi Sunak will benefit from a football feelgood factor by holding a July election – it may even be an own goal: Excitement is building around the country for the contest ahead. Shutterstock/Jacob Lund Amid the shock of prime minister Rishi Sunak’s unexpected election announcement, it has not gone unnoticed that the …
How long did Neanderthals and modern humans co-exist in Europe? Evidence is growing it may have been at least 10,000 years: A human bone fragment from the new excavations at Ranis in Germany. Tim Schüler TLDA. , CC BY-ND The idea that two different human species, Homo sapiens (us) and Neanderthals, co-existed in western Eurasia …
Ear seeds: what are they and why have they been controversially linked to ME without scientific evidence?: Research into CFS has been chronically underfunded in the US and UK Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images When Giselle Boxer recently pitched her brand of a needle-free form of acupuncture known as “ear seeds” to the investors …
Should we believe Rishi Sunak’s hint that the election will be in October? What the evidence tells us: So now we know. After weeks of speculation, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he is “working on the assumption” that a general election will take place in the second half of this year. That’s just a …
Do claims that Crimean Tatars are worse off under Putin than Stalin stand up? An expert examines the evidence: The deportation of at least 240,000 Crimean Tatars to central Asia by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in 1944 is forever ingrained in the memory of the people of that region. Stalin used claims, later disputed by …
No compelling evidence that air purifiers prevent respiratory infections – new study: Prathankarnpap/Shutterstock The COVID pandemic led to many calls for improved indoor air quality with claims that doing so would reduce the risk of the virus spreading. But the real-world evidence to support these claims has been lacking and studies undertaken during the pandemic …
AI-generated faces look just like real ones – but evidence shows your brain can tell the difference: Can you tell which faces are real and which are synthetic? Answers are at the bottom of the article. Robin Kramer, Author provided For a while, limitations in technology meant that animators and researchers were only capable of …
How Israel underestimated Hamas’s intelligence capabilities – an expert reviews the evidence: Israel has a cutting-edge security technology industry and was (and still should be) considered to be the leading nation for national security. The controversial electronic intelligence platform Pegasus was developed in Israel, and the border between Israel and Gaza was considered – before …