War in the Gulf and on US free speech
Brent crude oil surged to US$126 (£94) a barrel after US president Donald Trump announced that he was willing to prolong the blockade of Iranian ports for “months if needed”. This conflict has been billed as a matter of who can absorb the most pain. And Trump is betting on it being the US. Trump […]
How to talk to children when terrorist attacks and violence dominate the news
When a man stabbed Jewish people in Golders Green, London, in what police declared a terrorist incident, the story spread fast – through news alerts, social media and the whispered conversations of anxious adults. When this happens, children notice. Whether they catch a fragment of a TV bulletin, overhear a parent on the phone, or […]
‘Executive power is subject to checks and balances’: why King Charles cited Magna Carta in the US Congress
In his speech to Congress during a trip to the US to mark the country’s 250th anniversary, King Charles made repeated references to Magna Carta, the medieval English charter that laid the foundations for the modern rule of law. Dating back to 1215, Magna Carta also established for the first time that the monarch was […]
Trump uses assassination attempt to justify his assault on first amendment rights to free speech
The Trump administration has called on TV network ABC to “take a stand” after a joke from its late night comedy host Jimmy Kimmel offended the US president and first lady. Two days before the White House Correpondents’ dinner on April 25, Kimmel broadcast what he said was a “roast” of the Trump administration. Roasts […]
What is a just war? Inside the war of words between the Trump administration and the Catholic church
Pope Leo’s words on Palm Sunday were pointed. “Jesus does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war”, he said during an address at the Vatican. A few days later in early April, when Timothy Broglio, the archbishop for US military services, was asked on CBS’s Face the Nation if the Iran war […]
Which bird has the best song? These experts think they know
To mark International Dawn Chorus day we’ve asked wildlife experts to make their case for why their favourite songbird deserves your vote. Cast your vote in the poll at the end of the article and let us know why in the comments. We hope their words will inspire you to step outside and soak up […]
Dolls beat screens for building children’s social skills, study finds
Vach cameraman/Shutterstock What’s the point of play? Is it simply a way to keep children occupied, or something more? For some, it’s about learning literacy and numeracy. For others, it’s how friendships form and relationships deepen. But it can be all of these at once, and more. Most parents recognise that play matters. But there’s […]
What alternatives do Gulf states have to the Strait of Hormuz?
The Gulf states have built a variety of emergency pipelines over the years to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Md. Raihan Uddin Rafi / Shutterstock Two months into the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz is still mostly shut. Vessel traffic is running at a fraction of pre-war levels, with the patchwork of ceasefires, […]
Eleven types of cancer are on the rise in England’s under 50s – these factors might explain the trend
The overall number of cancers in people aged roughly 25 to 49 has risen by around a quarter since the early 1990s. Halfpoint/ Shutterstock Rising cancer rates in younger adults are real, worrying and still partly unexplained. A new analysis adds important detail for England, suggesting that 11 cancers are becoming more common in people […]
We found a lost copy of the earliest surviving English poem in a medieval manuscript in Rome
Elisabetta Magnanti and Mark Faulkner with a copy of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Courtesy of the authors, CC BY-ND Some medieval texts have barely survived. Beowulf, the Old English masterwork, exists today because of a single manuscript – one that narrowly escaped combustion in 1731. For such texts, the single manuscript is […]