Informal mining in South Africa is here to stay. Police brutality won’t end it – here’s what will: In mid-January 2024 over 1,000 hunger-weakened miners exited two abandoned mine shafts in Stilfontein, near Johannesburg in South Africa. They had been starved out by the police in Operation Vala Umgodi — meaning “plug the hole” – …
Headed to Glasto? How to stay healthy in the festival heat: Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock It’s finally summer festival season – and the heat is on! Hopefully, the warm weather’s what you wanted – we all know it’s miserable getting stuck in a cold, wet field, watching your wellies slowly sink into the mud. Mud permitting, …
The idea that US interest rates will stay higher for longer is probably wrong: The 0.4% rise in US consumer prices in March didn’t look like headline news. It was the same as the February increase, and the year-on-year rise of 3.5% is still sharply down from 5% a year ago. All the same, this …
Humans are going back to the Moon to stay, but when that will be is becoming less clear: NASA A 2019 Time magazine cover portrayed four astronauts running towards the Moon. Pictured alongside the headline “The Next Space Race”, one of the astronauts carried an American flag, one carried a Chinese flag and the other …
Focusing on functional fitness in your 20s and 30s can help you stay ready for anything — and many exercises can help you achieve it: CrossFit is an example of a workout which focuses on functional fitness. Kjetil Kolbjornsrud/ Shutterstock What’s the best type of exercise you can do for your health? The answer seems …
Central banks say interest rates will stay high but it’s unclear if this will be enough to curb inflation: Central bankers, policymakers and academics meet annually at Jackson Hole, Wyoming to discuss the economy. Sarah Hollemans/Shutterstock The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, has recently signalled that it will keep interest rates high for as …
Exercising during a hospital stay linked with faster recovery – new research: As little as 25 minutes of walking a day had benefits. Photo_imagery/ Shutterstock When a person is admitted to hospital for any reason – whether due to illness or to undergo surgery – it’s expected they will spend the duration of their stay …
Albania’s brain drain: why so many young people are leaving and how to get them to stay: SHV_photo/Shutterstock About 46,460 Albanians left the country in 2022. This exodus was 10.5% higher than in 2021, with the majority, about 36,000, being young people, according to new data from the Albanian Institute of Statistics. This data also …
Inflation: why prices look likely to stay high in the UK and Ireland, and what that means for mortgages: Counting the cost of rising prices. Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock The European Central Bank (ECB) has raised its three key interest rates by 0.25% to their highest levels in more than 20 years. The ECB’s “main refinancing rate” …
South Africa’s cold weather has arrived — some tips on how to stay warm and safe: When cold weather sets in there are several ways to keep yourself warm. NickyLloyd/Getty Images Research shows that the world is undoubtedly warming. And, as the global average temperature keeps rising, heatwaves are increasing in their frequency, duration and …
Teachers are quitting – here’s what could be done to get them to stay: Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock Each year roughly one in ten state school classroom teachers in England leave the profession. This is a significant problem when the government continues to miss teacher recruitment targets. Just recently, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged that more teachers are …
Four reasons inflation will stay stubbornly high for some time: Climbing inflation. Sergey Tinyakov/Shutterstock Price inflation is starting to fall in many countries but it still remains way above the typical 2% target of most major economies. In the UK, inflation has been above target since August 2021 and in double digits since August 2022. …
Do trees really stay in touch via a ‘wood-wide web’? Here’s what the evidence says: Anders Floor/Pixabay Trees in a forest might look solitary but they are connected underground by a complex network of thread-like strands of fungi, some of which may only be visible to us as mushrooms on the surface. Through these connections …
Teacher recruitment target missed in England – why people don’t want to enter or stay in the profession: Phovoir/Shutterstock The Department for Education has managed to recruit less than 60% of the new secondary school teachers expected this year in England, recent figures show. This is unsurprising for those of us working in education. Since …
How wildlife in ponds has evolved to survive frozen water – and how you can help more animals stay alive: "Great!" Mabel Amber/Pixabay, CC BY-SA When filled with ice-skaters or a clumsy Bambi on a Christmas card, a frozen pond is a merry sight. But spare a thought for the living things trapped below. The …
ANC in crisis: South Africa’s governing party is fighting to stay relevant – 5 essential reads: President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses African National Congress members in Johannesburg in July. Phill Magakoe/AFP via Getty Images South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), is in a crisis. Having dominated the country’s politics since democracy in 1994, …
How to stay warm when you’re working from home (without turning the heating on): A blanket and dog help. eva_blanco/Shutterstock If you’re working from home all or part of the time, the chances are that your home working space is getting chillier as winter sets in. But with heating so expensive right now, having it …
Why women sometimes stay with abusers: insights from a Nigerian study: Victims in abusive relationships are traumatically bonded to the abuser. Getty Images Domestic violence is a public health problem in most parts of the world. A 2021 United Nations report showed that one in three women aged 15-49 years in sub-Saharan Africa had experienced …