Vladimir Putin denounces Kiev for mobilising forces against pro-Russian gunmen in east of country – Jump to comments Ukrainian government forces launched their first significant military action in the east of the country on Tuesday, clashing with about 30 pro-Russian gunmen at a provincial airfield and heightening fears that the standoff could escalate into a major armed conflict. Shots were ... Read More »
Bacterial diseases cause millions of deaths every year. Most of these bacteria were benign at some point in their evolutionary past, and we don’t always understand what turned them into disease-causing pathogens. In a new study, researchers have tracked down when this switch happened in one flesh-eating bacteria. They think the knowledge might help predict future epidemics. The flesh-eating culprit ... Read More »
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is hosting a photo exhibition on its premises, titled “The Aegean Islands at the dawn of the 20th Century” in Brussels, opening on April 29. It is an event planned as part of the Greek EU Presidency. The exhibition features two series of photographs dating from the beginning of the 20th century (1908-1913), ... Read More »
Ipsos Mori survey of adults in 20 countries finds that those in richer countries fear their nations’ best days are behind them • Will your generation have a better life than your parents’? See how the data breaks down Adults in parts of the developing world are far more optimistic than their counterparts in rich nations, where the majority feel ... Read More »
The UK has a “boys’ club sexist culture”, the UN’s spokeswoman on violence against women has said. Rashida Manjoo is on a visit to the UK, studying its approach to the issue. She described the over-sexualisation of females as “pervasive” and raised fears that sexual bullying and harassment in schools was routine. The Home Office said the government was committed ... Read More »
“There is no evidence that Jesus himself openly advocated violent actions. But he was certainly no pacifist. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I have not come to bring peace, but the sword” (Matthew 10:34 | Luke 12:51).” ― Reza Aslan, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth Those living through this present ... Read More »
Members of the Boko Haram Islamist terrorist group have allegedly kidnapped at least 200 girls from a school in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno state, according to reports. Parents of the girls told the BBC that attackers arrived at the school in Chibok and forced the teenagers at gunpoint on to four lorries. Boko Haram, which has been conducting an armed campaign ... Read More »
Campaigners have raised privacy concerns over a facial recognition database being developed by the FBI that could contain 52m images by 2015. The civil liberties group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) obtained information about the project through a freedom of information request. It said it was concerned that images of non-criminals would be stored alongside those of criminals. The FBI say ... Read More »
EVERY now and again we’re reminded of the thing we call a generation, and it’s often a confronting experience. We know a human generation to be the period of time that most people take to produce offspring, but this can vary depending on the situation. Generations tend to be longer in boom times with high numbers of women in jobs ... Read More »
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