FEATURES

Sunday, 19 June 2022 02:59

Your understanding of ‘eye of the needle’ is probably wrong

If you were in Jerusalem for a religious pilgrimage and wanted to trace Jesus’s steps along the Via Dolorosa to chaotic tourist hotspot the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, you would pass by the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Alexander Nevsky. You might not realize it, because the church emits the architectural feel of a high end hotel, but this baroque church claims to house the Judgment gate through which Jesus allegedly walked and also a rather out-of-place looking hole in the wall. The latter is supposedly the “eye of the needle,” a small entryway that some claim is the…

Friday, 17 June 2022 06:41

China and Russia are building bridges. The symbolism is intentional

For decades the Amur River has separated modern China and Russia – its waters cutting though more than 1,000 of their roughly 2,500 border miles. But it’s always lacked one thing: a vehicle bridge. Now – as Russia’s economic isolation in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine pushes it closer to Beijing – that is changing, with fanfare. Last Friday, Beijing and Moscow feted the launch of another new link – what state media on both sides have called the first highway bridge over the Amur – with rockets trailing colorful smoke bursting overhead, and local officials applauding from…

Saturday, 11 June 2022 05:58

People who married for money reveal what happened after

Sure, some people marry for love, but have you ever wondered what it's like to marry for money? In three separate Reddit threads from a while back, people who married for money are sharing the reasons behind their decision and what it's actually like — and they even revealed their biggest perks and biggest regrets. Here are some of the most fascinating — and eye-opening — stories: 1. "Not me, but my aunt did. Her husband is a gigantic prick, and she knows it. He is the most uptight man you will ever meet; you could shove coal up his…

Thursday, 09 June 2022 06:46

In Nigeria's disappearing forests, loggers outnumber trees

Deep in a forest in Nigeria's Ebute Ipare village, Egbontoluwa Marigi sized up a tall mahogany tree, methodically cut it down with his axe and machete, and as it fell with a crackling sound, he surveyed the forest for the next tree. Around him, the stumps dotting the swampy forest were a reminder of trees that once stood tall but are fast disappearing to illegal logging in Ondo state, Southwest Nigeria. "We could cut down over 15 trees in one location, but now if we manage to see two trees, it will look like a blessing to us," the 61-year-old…

Thursday, 09 June 2022 06:45

‘We are stuck’: Months of university strikes leave young Nigerians’ lives on hold

Before February, Khalil Rahman Abdullah would start his day with morning prayers before racing off to classes at the University of Ilorin, where he is a final-year medical student. These days, he wakes to his phone and laptop screen, then browses the web or signs up to online courses. As time ticks by, like many Nigerian students, he is becoming enormously frustrated. Nigeria’s Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the umbrella body for university lecturers, went on strike on 14 February … and staff have not returned since. “With the strike, it means I will spend a longer year,” says…

Thursday, 09 June 2022 06:42

New Theory of Decision-Making seeks to explain why humans don’t make optimal choices

Summary: A new theory of decision-making helps explain why humans often make decisions that are simply adequate, not optimal. According to the theory, people often use relative thinking when they should use absolutes, and vice-versa. A new theory of economic decision-making from Mina Mahmoudi, a lecturer in the Department of Economics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, offers an explanation as to why humans, in general, make decisions that are simply adequate, not optimal. In research published in the Review of Behavioral Economics, Mahmoudi theorizes an aspect of relative thinking explaining people may use ratios in their decision-making when they should only…

Tuesday, 31 May 2022 06:32

The U.S. is losing a strategic, nuclear-armed ally to China

In a rousing speech delivered on May 26, Pakistan’s recently ousted Prime Minister, Imran Khan, gave the ruling coalition until June 1 to hold fresh elections, which were originally scheduled for October next year. Speaking after a night of political turmoil, when thousands of his supporters had laid siege to capital Islamabad, the cricket-star-turned-politician doubled down on his claim that he had been removed from office through a U.S.-funded plot. “Our people will not accept under any circumstances an imported government foisted upon us by an American conspiracy,” he said. Khan’s anti-American pitch marks the lowest ebb in U.S. relations…

Sunday, 29 May 2022 06:41

How can you tell someone has exceptional leadership skills? It boils down to 1 word

The ability to effectively lead others is a key to success in growing a business. But in the transactional business world gone virtual, we spend the majority of our time treating one another as strangers. Taking into account all the digital exchanges we have in the course of a workday, what can we as leaders do to humanize our interactions, draw people to us and build trust? It comes down to one word: curiosity. Research has found that curious people are known for having better relationships and other people are more easily attracted and feel socially closer to individuals who…

Sunday, 22 May 2022 06:25

8 skills every leader should master

The challenges we have faced the last two years have changed a lot of our working habits and the entire concept of onsite work. Now more than ever, we need to lead by serving. Here are eight skills every leader should master in order to thrive. 1. HUMANIZATION The humanization of a brand is a long process that has to do with the business’ relationship with its own customers. As a leader, you need to understand how the humans coming into your business perceive you and those who represent the company you run. I’ve always focused on humanizing myself, my…

Saturday, 21 May 2022 06:55

Is Putin losing the information war with Ukraine? Well, it depends on who you ask. These are the numbers

It’s never easy to measure such things, but here are a few numbers. While 141 countries in the UN voted to condemn Russia’s aggression, the number of African, Middle Eastern and South American countries who have imposed sanctions on Russia is 0. Last week, President Joe Biden hosted a summit with eight nations of the Association of Southeast Asian nations, and pressured them to criticize Russia. Their response: silence. When the Russian Federation released an official list of “unfriendly” nations, no country from Africa, Asia, or South America was on the list, and neither was India or China—the two most…

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Thursday, 19 May 2022 06:23

'We have to fight back.' Afghan women are losing their hard-won right to work under the Taliban

Afghan teacher Masuma is used to having her clothing scrutinized. The girls’ school where she works—among a minority to have reopened after most girls’ secondary schools were closed when the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan last year—has long required her to wear a uniform consisting of a dark, ankle-length dress, and a black headscarf. But in recent weeks, the pressure has grown. On a hot late spring day in April, the school supervisor told Masuma her uniform did not comply with the Taliban’s latest guidance, which advised that women cover their faces in public. Despite the heat, he said, she…

Wednesday, 18 May 2022 06:21

The modern world can't exist without these four ingredients. They all require fossil fuels

Vaclav Smil Modern societies would be impossible without mass-scale production of many man-made materials. We could have an affluent civilization that provides plenty of food, material comforts, and access to good education and health care without any microchips or personal computers: we had one until the 1970s, and we managed, until the 1990s, to expand economies, build requisite infrastructures and connect the world by jetliners without any smartphones and social media. But we could not enjoy our quality of life without the provision of many materials required to embody the myriad of our inventions. Four materials rank highest on the…

Tuesday, 17 May 2022 06:30

3 Scenarios for how Putin could actually use nuclear weapons

Here’s how to think about the unthinkable. We know that Russian President Vladimir Putin is thinking about using nuclear weapons. He has twice warned the West not to intervene in Ukraine or face “consequences that you have never encountered in your history.” Recently, Moscow again threatened “unpredictable consequences” if the U.S. continued sending advanced armaments to Ukraine. CIA Director William Burns has said that “none of us can take lightly” the prospect that Putin might resort to the use of tactical nuclear weapons. While any use of a nuclear weapon is unthinkable to most of the world, under current Russian…

Sunday, 15 May 2022 06:12

Did you really 'click' with someone? Science explains it

Sometimes when you meet someone new, whether it's a potential co-founder or your latest Tinder match, you just feel like you 'click' with them. Conversation comes easily, you naturally understand each other, and the whole getting to know you process feels fun and effortless. It's an experience we've all had, but what causes it, and is there anyway to know for sure that both parties felt as good about the encounter as you think? Helpful new science offers answers. Science explains what makes you 'click' with someone Before we get into details of the new research recently published in Proceedings…

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