Cleaner air in east Asia has driven recent acceleration in global warming – new study: A traffic jam in Beijing in China, where air pollution has drastically reduced. Hung Chung Chih/Shutterstock Global warming has picked up pace since around 2010, leading to the recent string of record warm years. Why this is happening is still …
The Moon had surprisingly recent volcanic activity, samples from Chinese space mission confirm: Volcanoes were erupting on the Moon as recently as 120 million years ago, evidence collected by a Chinese spacecraft suggests. Until the last few years, scientists had thought volcanic activity ended on the Moon around 2 billion years ago. The findings, published …
Diseases on farms in South Africa: recent outbreaks point to weaknesses in the system: South Africa has had a number of outbreaks of animal diseases in recent months that suggest there are weaknesses in the country’s biosecurity system – the measures in place to reduce the risk of infectious diseases being transmitted to crops, livestock …
City watchdog finds no evidence for recent political ‘debanking’ – but private banks have been picky for centuries: Ex-politician Nigel Farage accused his bank of refusing his business because of his political views. Frank 2012/Shutterstock After a row over the closure of his bank account earlier this year, former politician Nigel Farage has hit out …
Bharat: why the recent push to change India’s name has a hidden agenda: The invitations to a state dinner to mark India’s hosting of this year’s G20 came not, as you’d expect, from the office of the president of India, but from the “president of Bharat”. This has prompted speculation from observers both at home …
How subtle forms of sexism in financial services led to recent City scandals – what research shows: William Perugini/Shutterstock When I first worked in the City of London, a few years out of university, a company-appointed “style consultant” suggested I would be taken more seriously as a female professional if I wore more make-up and …
Digital bank runs: social media played a role in recent financial failures but could also help investors avoid panic: SObeR 9426/Shutterstock A crisis of confidence in the US banking sector led people to pull their money from banks including Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse, and more recently, First Republic Bank and California-based PacWest Bancorp. …
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 …
Soaring interest rates contributed to recent bank failures – and there could be more to come: Sven Hansche/Shutterstock US bank regulators closed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on March 10 2023, after it suffered US$ 42 billion (£35 billion) of deposit withdrawals in a 24-hour period. This was the largest bank failure since the 2008 global …
Why mortgage rates will not return to recent lows any time soon: Mortgage rates are set to stay high for some time. Ink Drop/Shutterstock The Bank of England base rate has increased steeply from 0.25% in January 2022 to 4.25% in March 2023. More than 4 million UK households now have significantly higher mortgage costs …
Middle East: recent developments could rewrite the political map – but a lot will depend on Israel: kirill_makarov via Shutterstock Following political developments in the past fortnight, two state-level policy changes in the Middle East are likely to combine to have a substantial impact on regional stability. On March 10, in a deal brokered by …
Toyin Falola: 3 recent books that explain the work of Nigeria’s famous decolonial scholar: Toyin Falola has turned 70. Image courtesy Olusegun Olopade Toyin Falola, distinguished professor of history, is one of Africa’s most accomplished intellectuals. Born Oloruntoyin Falola in 1953 in the Nigerian city of Ibadan, he grew up in a sprawling, polygamous household …
Recent pay rises suggest that collective bargaining may be on the way back: Paramedics and ambulance staff striking for better pay in January 2023. Ajit Wick/Shutterstock London bus drivers working for transport company Abellio recently negotiated an 18% pay rise following industrial action organised by the trade union Unite. Such success shows the impact that …
How science fiction predicted recent high-tech developments in chemistry: Chemists are often the unsung heroes of scientific breakthroughs that change our lives Matej Kastelic/Shutterstock Real-world technology is often foretold by science fiction. In 1927, characters in the film Metropolis made video calls to each other. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry hung flat-screen colour monitors on …
Trust in UK politics has taken a hit after recent chaos – and historical data suggests only a change of government can fix it: A YouGov poll conducted in October this year asked respondents if they trusted the Conservative party. Some 68% said that the party could not be trusted and only 14% said that …
Strikes: why soaring CEO pay could help explain UK’s recent industrial action: Lower earners are counting the cost of a growing wage gap. Andrey_Popov / Shutterstock The pay gap in UK business is eye-watering. Bosses of the largest UK companies earn around 100 times more than the lowest-paid employees in their organisations, according to some …
Pensions: how yours may have been affected by recent market turmoil: It's worth checking your finances after recent economic turmoil. Inside Creative House / Shutterstock The early signs are that the financial markets have been appeased by the government’s October 17 decision to reverse two-thirds of its September mini-budget tax cuts. Yields on gilts – …
Six recent discoveries that have changed how we think about human origins: Neanderthal adult male, based on 40,000 year-old remains found at Spy in Belgium. IR Stone/Shutterstock Scientific study of human evolution historically reassured us of a comforting order to things. It has painted humans as as cleverer, more intellectual and caring than our ancestral …