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Was the Stonehenge Sacrificed for the Better Good? The latest attention-seeking act of vandalism from Just Stop Oil protestors involved spraying Stonehenge stones with orange paint. The radical environmental movement wants the next elected government to sign a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030.
Plaid Cymru Seeks to Decolonise Wales: Plaid Cymru’s party manifesto calls for several Welsh heritage artefacts currently held at the London British Museum, including a gold cape and Moel Hebog shield, to be returned to Wales in the interests of fostering national identity.
Somerset Welcomes Nudefest! Calling all naturists! From the 17-23 of June Thorney Lakes begins its annual celebration of Naturism and, yes, you can pack light as clothes are not on the agenda for the 600-strong crowd expected to attend this year.
Why Don’t Wealthy Countries Want Children? An OECD study reveals that across 38 of the world’s richest countries, birth rates have dropped by more than a half since the 1960s, from 3.3. to 1.5 in 2022. This is below the ‘replacement level’ of 2.1 children per woman needed for a country to be classed as ‘stable’ without immigration. The high cost of housing was viewed as one barrier to having children.
Is London’s Housing Market Increasingly Surreal? A new study by Zoopla reveals first-time London buyers need earnings of £103, 000 to afford property. In comparison, first-time buyers in Wales need an income of £38,000 and £31,500 if you’re in Scotland.
Are We About to Get More Time? Our days could soon last longer as the Earth’s inner core has been noted to spin at a slower pace, a process known as ‘backtracking.’ However, any temporary changes in the core’s spin time would only be thousandths of a second, so are unlikely to be felt by us or affect our clocks and calendars at this point.
Have We Misunderstood Misinformation? The World Economic Forum ranked misinformation as a top global risk, with a capacity to ‘radically disrupt’ electoral processes and ‘trigger’ civil unrest. But just how influential is misinformation in turning voters’ minds? One problem is that the effects of misinformation are notoriously difficult to detect and prove, argue researchers. However, everyone agrees that the problem with misinformation lies in its ability to foster doubt and suspend our present beliefs; which is enough in itself to cause social unrest and change the course of elections.