FEATURES

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…

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…

Saturday, 14 May 2022 06:04

‘We can’t breathe’, residents cry out as refuse takes over Calabar once reputed to be Nigeria’s cleanest city

In the 2000s, Calabar emerged as a tourism hub in Nigeria but all that good work has now been rubbished by heaps of litter. Each day, just after dawn in the sleepy southern Nigerian city of Calabar, Hannah Edet sets up shop within the perimeter of a mountain of rubbish right in the heart of Watts Market, or Urua Watts as locals call it. She dangles a thick bunch of fresh pumpkin leaves to passing commuters and vehicles, advertising to them in her native Efik language, ignoring the stench of decomposing rubbish in the air. The refuse, which piles up…

Saturday, 14 May 2022 06:02

How to become a better listener, according to science

High-quality listening is an underrated ability. How well and frequently you listen to others is a better predictor of your leadership potential than your actual intelligence or personality. As a recent review shows, good listeners tend to perform better at work, and to report higher level of wellbeing, as well as more meaningful and fulfilling relationships. We tend to trust them more, and they tend to be seen as curious, empathetic and emotionally intelligent. To some degree, the power of listening can be explained by the fact that good listening is rare. We live in a world in which people…

Thursday, 12 May 2022 06:31

Ukraine is winning the battle on Twitter, but in the real world Kiev is losing the fight for the Donbass

Scott Ritter Western media coverage of the Ukraine conflict has been so hysterically one-sided, and divorced from reality, that it's probably only a matter of time before Iraq's erstwhile 'Comical Ali' is brought out of retirement to insist that there are no Russians advancing towards the Ukrainian army's front lines. Meanwhile, the actual fighting continues to result in a string of defeats for Kiev's battered forces, who have already lost control of two major cities, despite unprecedented support from the US and its allies. As American officials work with the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to craft a perception…

Saturday, 07 May 2022 06:23

Are you an introvert or an extrovert? How to know for sure, using just one question

Knowing which way you lean on the extraversion scale can make a big difference in how you run your business--and how you live your life. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? It took me years to figure out the right answer to that question. For most of my life, I considered myself an extrovert. People told me I was a good communicator, I enjoyed spending time with others, and I was a pretty outgoing person. But once I started learning more about what extroversion (or extraversion) and introversion truly are, I came to a key realization: I'm an introvert.…

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Monday, 02 May 2022 06:49

Ukraine: The narrative the West doesn't hear

"Ukraine and its allies, including London, are threatening Russia for the last 1,000 years, to move Nato to our borders, to cancel our culture - they have bullied us for many, many years." That is what Yevgeny Popov, a member of the Russian Duma (parliament) and an influential TV host in Russia, told the BBC's Ukrainecast on 19 April. "Of course Nato plans for Ukraine are a direct threat to Russian citizens." His views were both surprising and enlightening as to the very different narrative put out by the Kremlin, compared to the way it's viewed in the West. To…

Sunday, 01 May 2022 06:21

Neuroscience says this might be what happens to your brain when you die

How's this for a leadership exercise? I'd like you to think for a brief moment about the most important milestones in your life. Think of the friends and family you've loved, and the experiences you've had. Think of the people you've known, the key lessons you've learned, and the things you've built and grown. Think also of what you're not as proud of: the mistakes you've made and the choices you would have done differently if you had a second chance. Now, imagine what it would be like to remember all of this, in a single flash of an instant,…

Saturday, 30 April 2022 05:57

All people really need to shut up and listen more for these reasons

A good friend was honored recently at a fancy event attended by several hundred people, which featured a keynote speech by an important and well-regarded economist. He was astonished to see that, only moments after the speaker began her talk, so many audible conversations began at tables across the room that it actually became difficult to hear the presentation. These weren't whispered responses or reactions to anything being said. They were flat out chats, conversations, and sidebars having nothing to do with the event or the speech. Since dinner had already been served and the guests had been seated for…

Wednesday, 27 April 2022 06:57

What to know about the dirty, dangerous but lucrative illegal oil refineries of Nigeria’s N’Delta

The deaths of more than 100 people following an explosion at an illegal oil refinery in Imo state has thrown a spotlight on the lucrative world of illicit refining, which the BBC's Mayeni Jones and Josephine Casserly have been investigating. Hours by car, motorbike and on foot brought us to a remote illegal oil refinery - a site recently raided and shut down by the authorities. The smell of oil hits the nostrils first before anything is visible. Then, the lush green vegetation falls away and we arrive at a blackened clearing. There are puddles of oil on the floor,…

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