Four volcanic hotspots in the Solar System: Io has volcanism. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona Evidence for current volcanic activity on the planet Venus has recently made the news. But Venus is far from the only world beyond Earth to exhibit signs of volcanic activity. In fact, having volcanic activity (volcanism) on planets is quite common. Here …
When banks go bust: the four factors at play – trust, confidence, contagion and systemic risk: Shutterstock Banks are in the news again. Two bank failures in the US, and the forced takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS in Switzerland, have triggered the worst turmoil in the banking sector since the 2008 financial crisis. There’s …
Four ways to protect your small business from a banking crisis: Jono Erasmus/Shutterstock The banking sector is currently experiencing great strain, which has resulted in several bank bailouts – most recently UBS’ deal to buy its Swiss competitor Credit Suisse following a collapse in confidence in the latter. HSBC’s acquisition of the UK arm of …
Keir Starmer: four lessons from history for an opposition trying to be the ‘government-in-waiting’: Labour’s Keir Starmer has one inestimable quality in leading a government-in-waiting a year out from a general election: a consistent 20-point lead in opinion polls. He also boasts an increasingly rare biographical feature: a big job before he went into politics. …
Milestone developments at four years old help children tell lies, play hide-and-seek and read maps: ANURAK PONGPATIMET/Shutterstock At the age of about four, children reach important milestones in brain development. One of these is a leap forward in understanding others’ thoughts and feelings. Another is in spatial thinking – understanding how objects are positioned and …
Netflix’s You: the real monster of series four is ‘dark academia’: Warning: the following article contains spoilers for the first half of You series four. Since its release in 2018, Netflix’s drama You has sparked both intrigue and controversy. Based on the fictional novel of the same name by Caroline Kepnes, the show follows the …
Four habits of happy people – as recommended by a psychologist: Happy habits = happy people. Pexels/Godisable jacob What makes you happy? Maybe it’s getting up early to see the sunrise, hanging out with family and friends on a weekend, or going for a dip in the sea. But what does science say about the …
Four ways that fossils are part of everyday life: The building blocks of the Giza pyramids contain trillions of fossilised remains of an ocean-dwelling organism called foraminifera. Sui Xiankai/Xinhua via Getty Images South Africa boasts some of the best fossil records on Earth. Fossils are found in strata and rocks in many parts of the …
Tanzania is ruled with impunity – four key issues behind calls for constitutional reform: Tanzanian opposition politician Freeman Mbowe (left) flashes a victory sign at a public rally in January 2023. Michael Jamson/AFP via Getty Images Tanzania’s president issued a statement in June 2016 announcing a ban on political rallies outside campaign periods. The ban …
Four possible consequences of El Niño returning in 2023: Dry conditions are likely to resume in northeastern Brazil. Cacio Murilo/Shutterstock Every two to seven years, the equatorial Pacific Ocean gets up to 3°C warmer (what we know as an El Niño event) or colder (La Niña) than usual, triggering a cascade of effects felt around …
Teaching the Holocaust through literature: four books to help young people gain deeper understanding: A survey commissioned in 2019 revealed the shocking result that over half of Britons did not know that at least six millions Jews had been murdered during the Holocaust. This result was all the more surprising given the fact that the …
Ghana’s domestic debt restructuring has stalled: four reasons why: Ghana is trying to put together a debt restructuring programme to satisfy major stakeholders Wikimedia Commons Ghana is facing multiple financial and economic challenges and has requested a US$ 3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help it restore macroeconomic stability. This will …
Four reasons swimming should be your next workout: A few swims a week can make a big difference for your fitness. wavebreakmedia/ Shutterstock When most of us think of exercising, images of long runs on the treadmill or picking up heavy weights often come to mind. But although these are both great ways of keeping …
Four ways winter heatwaves affect humans and nature: Temperature anomaly in Europe, Jan 1. Much of the continent was 10°C or more (dark red and grey) above the long-term average. WX Charts, CC BY-NC An extreme winter heatwave meant countries across Europe experienced a record-breaking New Year’s Day. New daily temperature records for the month …
Four ways to avoid gaining weight over the festive period – but also why you shouldn’t fret about it too much: Africa Studio/Shutterstock This holiday season, as COVID restrictions have eased around the world, we have the chance to break bread together again with friends and family. For some people, however, the festive period comes …
The history of four festive sweets – from familiar favourites to the downright dangerous: ’Tis the season when supermarket shelves fill with selection boxes and tubs of chocolates that shrink a little more with each passing year. But despite Christmas “shrinkflation”, our festive love of sweets has endured for hundreds of years and shows no …
One in four homes is ‘hard to decarbonise’ – without help their inhabitants could get stuck in fuel poverty: Existing decarbonisation measures are often unsuitable for the least efficient homes. Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock Millions of people are facing soaring energy bills this winter. Yet according to our research, at least 20% of homes in the …
US-Africa summit: four things African leaders should try to get out of it: At the 2022 US/Africa summit US President Joe Biden will be building on the 2014 gathering convened by Barack Obama. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images US president Joe Biden will be hosting African leaders at this week’s summit, as a group. This has its …