We rarely hear about the disasters that were avoided – but there’s a lot we can learn from them: When a huge cyclone slammed into East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh) in November 1970 it caused water in the Ganges Delta to rise by 10 metres. Entire towns were submerged. At least 300,000 people died – …
Why imprisoning repeat shoplifters rarely breaks the cycle of offending – and what may work better: The possibility of introducing mandatory prison sentences for prolific shoplifters has been mooted by government ministers. Neil Bussey/Shutterstock The UK government is taking a harsher approach to tackle criminal activity which is blighting local neighbourhoods. And recently, government ministers …
Landslides are a global injustice – they’re rarely caused by the people worst affected: Joshimath is slowly sliding. Amol_M / shutterstock In northern India, a tragedy is playing out in slow-motion. Located at about 2,000 metres elevation in Chamoli District in the Himalayas, Joshimath is an ancient, sacred town of about 17,000 people. Popular with …
‘You rarely see abuse directed at men’: a look at the sexist abuse women police officers face online: Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock The third series of BBC police drama Happy Valley marked the end of a beloved programme, and the end of Sergeant Catherine Cawood’s career navigating Yorkshire’s criminal underworld. Cawood’s age and gender is not …
Rishi Sunak’s reorganisation: history shows creating government departments in response to short-term problems is rarely a good idea: UK prime minister Rishi Sunak has announced a major reorganisation of Whitehall, creating a new department dedicated to energy and another for science and innovation as well bringing various business and trade portfolios under one roof. Reorganisations …
Binge-eating disorder is more common than many realise, yet it’s rarely discussed – here’s what you need to know: Television personality, author and hair stylist Jonathan Van Ness recently shared on social media his struggles with his eating and weight after “years of feeling out of control with food”. He described suffering from binge-eating disorder …
Superbugs in the environment rarely transfer to humans – new study: Igor Stramyk/Shutterstock The rapid spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) around the globe represents a crisis on many fronts. Infections that are difficult, or impossible, to treat cause considerable public health and economic burdens, but also pose a serious threat to food security. Undoubtedly, the …
Why big firms are rarely toppled by corporate scandals – new research: Shutterstock/Donatas Dabravolskas Everyone makes mistakes. And that includes the world’s biggest companies, which are reliably prone to gaffes, errors of judgment and wrongdoing. Some of these moments could even be labelled as corporate scandals – the kind of incident which shoves firms into …
Food bank use surged during the pandemic – but they can rarely provide all the help people need: HASPhotos/Shutterstock Many families have faced a number of new economic challenges since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Although some incomes have been bolstered through a £20 weekly universal credit uplift or protected through the job retention scheme (furlough), …
History tells us that ideological ‘purity spirals’ rarely end well: Iconoclasm: the beheading of the English king, Charles I, in January 1649. Nobody is more dangerous than he who imagines himself pure in heart, for his purity, by definition, is unassailable. Author James Baldwin’s words, written in the America of the late 1950s, captures perfectly …
Royal Navy sailors were appalled by conditions on slave ships, but those they ‘rescued’ rarely experienced true freedom: The capture of a slave ship by the Royal Navy in 1859, from which 847 enslaved Africans were released. Illustrated London News Britain was once among the most enthusiastic of slave-trading nations. But just over 200 years …
Rarely seen, – weird looking’ bird rescued by the B.C. SPCA: She works at Ogden Point in Victoria and about noon on Monday noticed a “weird looking bird” on the pier. “He was just sort of standing there and he had his head underneath his wings,” she said. : Weird News Have you tried: Diving …
Congolese musicians rarely provide a critique, but continue to provide solace: Authenticité survives in the present generation of Congolese musicians like Fally Ipupa (with the red vest). From YouTube The “Indépendance Cha-Cha” is one of the best-known songs in the Congolese cannon. It was composed and first performed by the father of modern popular Congolese …