Mental health: Young people are finally getting the attention they deserve
Worldwide, at least 13 per cent of people between the ages of 10 and 19 live with a diagnosed mental-health disorder, according to the latest State of the World’s Children report, published this week by the United Nations children’s charity UNICEF. It’s the first time in the organisation’s history that...
Why Hollywood stars don’t want to shower: ‘Maybe in the end, it is more about others than it is about us’
Showering wasn’t really a thing in 18th-century France. There weren’t showers, for one. Clean water was scarce. To contemporary sensibilities, the pre-revolutionary French probably could have used at least a rinse. Especially since public sanitation was rudimentary and the streets held sewage runoff. In Patrick Süskind’s 1985 historical novel Perfume,...
Women scientists cry foul after this year’s Nobel main science prizes went to men
The decision to award this year’s science Nobel prizes exclusively to men has been met with an outpouring of frustration and disappointment from scientists. Last year was relatively good for Nobel prize gender equality: three out of the eight 2020 science laureates were women. But any gains for increased diversity...
Espionage: US Department of Justice confirm arrest of nuclear engineer and wife on espionage suspicion
The United States Department of Justice confirmed on Monday the arrest of Maryland nuclear engineer and his spouse on espionage-related suspicions. Jonathan and Diana Toebbe, both of Annapolis, Maryland, were arrested in Jefferson County, West Virginia, by the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service on Saturday. DOJ said in...
‘CIA officers play high-stakes game to accomplish their mission of uncovering and speaking the truth’
Two long-running spy thriller series, Brad Thor’s Scot Harvath and Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon, topped the New York Times Bestseller list during back-to-back weeks in August. The second season of the Jack Ryan series, tracking the adventures of the eponymous CIA analyst, was reportedly one of Amazon’s most popular shows...
Should the world use number of children a woman has at 50 years to foretell population growth?
The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) team has done its study on population growth quite differently. Instead of basing its model on fertility rates, and how they would change, the group used a variable called completed cohort fertility at 50 years (CC50). This counts the number of children...
Demographers say Covid will slow down fertility in richer nations, fertility surge in poor countries
Predictions of population in both the near and long-term future typically come down to estimates of how quickly fertility will change. And that means demographers have to make some educated guesses about how people will behave as their circumstances alter. In high-income countries, these behavioural changes are usually driven by...
With fertility rates thinning in developing world, bitter disputes now dominate global population forecasts
The 1980s were a puzzling time for would-be parents in Singapore. The government initially told them to “Stop-at-Two” and backed up the policy with a series of measures to deter couples from having three or more children. It increased hospital fees for the delivery of third babies and withdrew maternity...
Human right: You can’t have a life of dignity, freedom and equality without environmental standard
As the impact of our species on the natural world intensifies, so does the knowledge of our dependency on it: from crop-pollinating critters and wild fish populations that nourish millions, to ecosystems that inhale carbon emissions and filter air and water. These connections have bolstered a legal argument around the...
Rosy picture Greece paints of low refugee numbers masks serious human rights violations in camps
A little over a year ago, the Moria refugee camp on Lesvos burnt to the ground – thrusting the dismal conditions in the overcrowded, under-resourced and squalid camps on the Greek islands into the international spotlight. The Greek government has since declared success in bringing the movement of asylum seekers...
