   
CEO Picks - The best that international journalism has to offer!
 S30How to choose the right sneakers, shoes and boots - and make them last   How long does a pair of boots last? For the Princess of Wales, nearly two decades and counting. Her favourite tassled riding boots by Penelope Chilvers recently featured in Netflix's The Crown worn by the young student Kate (played by Meg Bellamy) at university. They were first worn in public by Kate Middleton in 2004, and are still her go-to boots for countryside engagements.If well-made and well looked-after, footwear can last for decades, and retain its value. When she was a bride-to-be, Wassima Gamal dreamed of wearing "Cinderella" shoes on her wedding day. Designed by Amina Muaddi, the glass-like slingbacks, with their crystal-embellished brooch and distinctive fluted heels, retail for around £850 ($1,080). Already over-budget and conscious that she'd probably only wear them once, Gamal wondered if there was an alternative to buying a new pair. Enter her fairy godmother: By Rotation.
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S2Designing Breakthrough Products  Thanks to the collaboration the internet has made possible and the open innovation it has spurred, we live in a world where ideas and solutions are abundant. The main challenge facing innovation managers today is how to take advantage of this wealth of opportunities, says the author, a professor of innovation management. He contends that being first to launch a new technology is less important than being first to envision its greatest untapped market potential. Most companies focus on employing new technologies to better serve customers’ existing needs. Those that have technology epiphanies strive to create products and services that will provide customers with a completely new reason to buy a product: Think of Nintendo’s Wii, Apple’s iPod, and Swatch.
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S3The Power of Natural Language Processing  The conventional wisdom around AI has been that while computers have the edge over humans when it comes to data-driven decision making, it can’t compete on qualitative tasks. That, however, is changing. Natural language processing (NLP) tools have advanced rapidly and can help with writing, coding, and discipline-specific reasoning. Companies that want to make use of this new tech should focus on the following: 1) Identify text data assets and determine how the latest techniques can be leveraged to add value for your firm, 2) understand how you might leverage AI-based language technologies to make better decisions or reorganize your skilled labor, 3) begin incorporating new language-based AI tools for a variety of tasks to better understand their capabilities, and 4) don’t underestimate the transformative potential of AI.
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S4Making Quantum Computing a Reality  While quantum computers exist in the lab, general-purpose quantum computers aren’t yet available for commercial use. How can businesses respond to potential disruptions from this technology before it has actually emerged into the mainstream market? One company that has been investing substantially into quantum computing is Infosys, and so the authors reached out to several researchers and business leaders at the company to learn more about their work. They found that Infosys has taken a hybrid approach, blending elements of classical and quantum computing in order to build a bridge from the reality of today to the disruptive technologies of tomorrow. This has helped the company make headway in leveraging quantum technology in a variety of applications, including optimization problems, machine learning, and cybersecurity. While there’s still a long way to go when it comes to developing and applying quantum tech, a hybrid approach is enabling companies to serve customers today, while getting a leg up on the future — even if some of the technology involved is still catching up.
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S55 Pillars for Democratizing Data at Your Organization  Many companies have made becoming data-driven a goal, and yet many traditional organizations are still struggling to democratize data beyond the data experts. The authors state that companies must adopt a new management paradigm to truly democratize data, and offer 5 pillars to create a “data democracy”: 1) Broaden data access by rolling-out data catalogs and marketplaces, 2) stimulate the generation of data-driven insights through self-service, 3) level up data literacy with specific curricula for personas or role families, 4) advance data practices by creating communities, and 5) promote data through various corporate communication channels.
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S6Cybersecurity Is Putting Customer Trust at the Center of Competition  If you’re selling a product, you’re now selling trust. That’s thanks to two conflicting trends. One is our increasing reliance on software across nearly every dimension of our lives. It’s for this reason that, among all Fortune 500 CEOs, a full 71% now claim they are running technology companies. The second is the inherent privacy and security vulnerabilities related to software itself. As security and privacy pioneer Willis Ware once wryly declared, “The only computer that’s completely secure is a computer that no one can use.” To navigate these two trends, companies across every vertical will need to prioritize data privacy and security, clearly demonstrate those priorities to consumers, and safeguard their relationships with customers by being fully honest about the dangers of data in the digital age.
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S7S8How Well Does Your Company Use Analytics?  Almost every company is trying to capitalize on the promise of data and analytics, but a large majority of senior leaders don’t feel like their organizations are hitting the mark. What separates leaders from these lagging companies, and how can firms struggling with the analytics mandate catch up with — and even surpass — their competitors? The authors offer a framework to help leaders assess their current capabilities and invest in strengthening their capabilities across seven dimensions: culture, leadership commitment, operations and structure, skills and competencies, strategy and analytics alignment, proactive market orientation, and employee empowerment.
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S9Generative AI Will Transform Virtual Meetings  Generative AI will forever change the way meetings are conducted. In the near future, meetings will offer personalized content and purpose-driven expertise, while also serving as guardians against bias and promoting active learning. As AI continues to advance, every meeting holds the promise of being productive, efficient, and influential, unlocking infinite possibilities for teams and organizations.
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S10Talent Management in the Age of AI  The world of work is changing fast and the most important thing to do is realize that the old playbooks, especially around talent management, will not work — now, it’s time to adapt. Leaders should focus on three big shifts that will set their businesses up for new levels of success in the age of AI. They should: 1) redefine jobs as a collection of a skills and tasks, not titles, 2) bring skills and workforce learning to the center of talent management, and 3) embrace AI to focus teams on human-to-human collaboration.
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S11The Leap from Project Manager to CEO Is Hard -- But Not Impossible  Project managers who aspire to be CEOs are often surprised to learn that their skills, while highly valuable, do not directly align with those needed for positions of executive leadership. Why isn’t successful management of high-stakes projects and organizational resources sufficient to ascend to the top ranks of the business? In this article, the author explores the subtle, yet significant, differences in career trajectories of PMs and CEOs as well as nine attributes PMs should develop to increase their potential to become the next executive leader.
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S12The Relationship You Need to Get Right Seeking to better understand this crucial dynamic, the authors, from the Center for Work-Life Policy, surveyed and spoke with thousands of professionals. Their findings constitute an invaluable guide. Sponsors should, among other things, advocate for their protégés’ promotions, coach them, call in favors for them, and help them make connections. Protégés must be loyal, contribute 110%, and bring complementary skills and networks to the table. No matter what your career level, such relationships are lifelong projects to be carefully cultivated, consistently nurtured, and periodically refreshed.
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S13Are You Leading Through the Crisis ... or Managing the Response?  Replete with both complexity and change, crises require executives to both lead and manage effectively. But more often than not, leaders tend to focus their efforts on management, rather than leadership.The most effective leaders in crises ensure that someone else is managing the present well while focusing their attention on leading beyond the crisis toward a more promising future. The authors identify four traps that most leaders fall into: 1) taking a narrow view; 2) getting seduced by managing; 3) over-centralizing the response; and 4) forgetting the human factor.
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S14The New Managerial Work Managerial work is undergoing such enormous and rapid change that many managers are reinventing their profession as they go. With little precedent to guide them, they are watching hierarchy fade away and the clear distinctions of title, task, department, even corporation, blur. Faced with extraordinary levels of complexity and interdependency, they watch traditional sources of power erode and the old motivational tools lose their magic.
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S15Is Your Sales Strategy Worth Scaling?  Trying to scale a successful sales strategy can often be a huge waste of time and resources. Not every success can or should be replicated, and what worked with one client won’t necessarily work with others. Leaders should ask four questions to help establish when it’s worth the effort, and when you’re setting yourself and your team up for failure. 1) Does the program you’re thinking of scaling align with corporate sales strategy? 2) Do aspects of this program allow salespeople to spend more time with customers? 3) What is the return on investment likely going to be for scaling? 4) Can leaders create the right incentives to drive adoption, and get people to actually use it?
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S16Have You Restructured for Global Success? The organizational structures of many multinational corporations are inadequate to the task of capitalizing on opportunities in emerging markets. Locating customer-facing processes in each country—and even using transnational structures that exploit location-specific advantages—just doesn’t cut it anymore. So argue Kumar and Puranam, of London Business School. The authors show how the growth of China and India as lead markets and as talent pools, coupled with advances in technology, enable companies to optimize their organizations by segmenting R&D both vertically and horizontally, thereby creating T-shaped structures.
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S17Building Loyalty in Business Markets Paradoxical though it may sound, the strategies that companies use in business markets often come between them and the customers they desire. Every organization knows that in order to succeed, it must acquire and retain customers, especially profitable ones. Companies start by asking the vision question: What businesses are we in? Then they segment the businesses and deploy branding strategies, communication tactics, and sales tools. That top-down approach may work well for consumer products, but in business markets, it leads companies astray, hampering their efforts to acquire and retain customers.
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S18Globalization in the Age of Trump  As recently as a decade ago, business leaders believed that the world was becoming “flat” and that global companies, unconstrained by country borders, would soon dominate the world economy. Those exaggerated claims were proven wrong. But today’s cries for a massive pullback from globalization in the face of new protectionist pressures are also an overreaction, in the other direction. This article examines common misperceptions about what is — and isn’t — changing about globalization and offers guidelines to help leaders decide where and how to compete in a complex world.
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S19S20How John F. Kennedy Changed Decision Making for Us All Late in the evening on October 18, 1962, Attorney General Robert Kennedy squeezes into the front seat of his car. With him is the CIA director, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a driver. Six other high-level officials crowd into the back seat. The packed car secretly speeds off from the State Department to the White House, where President John F. Kennedy waits.
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S21Data Scientists Don't Scale  Big data is about to get a big reality check. Our ongoing obsession with data and analytics technology, and our reverence for the rare data scientist who reigns supreme over this world, has disillusioned many of us. Executives are taking a hard look at their depleted budgets — drained by a mess of disparate tools they’ve acquired and elusive “big insights” they’ve been promised — and are wondering: “Where is the return on this enormous investment?”
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S22The Rise of Data-Driven Decision Making Is Real but Uneven  Growing opportunities to collect and leverage digital information have led many managers to change how they make decisions – relying less on intuition and more on data. As Jim Barksdale, the former CEO of Netscape quipped, “If we have data, let’s look at data. If all we have are opinions, let’s go with mine.” Following pathbreakers such as Caesar’s CEO Gary Loveman – who attributes his firm’s success to the use of databases and cutting-edge analytical tools – managers at many levels are now consuming data and analytical output in unprecedented ways.
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S23Leading in Times of Trauma  How? By demonstrating your own compassion and unleashing a company-wide compassionate response. When you help people make sense of terrible events and support one another, you enhance their capacity to heal and strengthen bonds among colleagues and with the organization. Bolstered by these bonds, your company can adapt, even excel, during difficult times.
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S24Preparing for Decision-Making Meetings Tim’s email seemed like an innocent enough request. “Our graphic designer missed this week’s deadline. Gather in the conference room at ten to decide what to do.” Since he never actually said “meeting,” Tim’s message caught me off guard. “Gather” sounded like a family picnic, with Golden Retrievers and frolicking. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
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S25To Get Better Decisions, Get a Little Fuzzy It’s easy to equate crisp, clear, black-and-white decisions with good decisions. After all, the very definition of decisive includes words like “unmistakable,” “final,” and “conclusive.” Make the call, check the box, clear the decks, and move on to the next topic. Spending my days facilitating meetings with senior management teams, I’ve seen this classic model of decision making dominate companies in practically all industries and corporate cultures.
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S26What It Takes to Think Deeply About Complex Problems  The problems we’re facing often seem as intractable as they do complex. But as Albert Einstein famously observed, “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.” So what does it take to increase the complexity of our thinking? To cultivate a more nuanced, spacious perspective, start by challenging your convictions. Ask yourself, “What am I not seeing here?” and “What else might be true?” Second, do your most challenging task first every day, when your mind is fresh and before distractions arise. And third, pay attention to how you’re feeling. Embracing complexity means learning to better manage tough emotions like fear and anger.
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S27 Why Manufacturers Need a Phased Approach to Digital Transformation  The winter 2024 issue features a special report on sustainability, and provides insights on developing leadership skills, recognizing and addressing caste discrimination, and engaging in strategic planning and execution.The winter 2024 issue features a special report on sustainability, and provides insights on developing leadership skills, recognizing and addressing caste discrimination, and engaging in strategic planning and execution.As complex as digital transformation can be for manufacturers, leaders in that sector tend to view it as a single process, the success of which can be demonstrated via a single metric: return on investment.
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S28How billion-dollar store makeovers are taking on the 'retail apocalypse'  At JCPenney stores across the US, shoppers may notice a fresh paint smell, better lighting and shiny new signage – with even more improvements planned for the coming months. Centralised checkout counters are replacing registers once spread across multiple departments, and posters promise a "new and improved shopping experience" once the remodels are complete. Change is afoot at the retailer, and not just in the form of upgraded carpet (though that, too, is on the list).The updates are part of a $1bn (£808m) investment the company announced in late August – a pricey effort to reinvigorate the brand following a high profile 2020 bankruptcy and subsequent restructuring. The funds will be partly dedicated to slicker technology and improved e-commerce features, but much of the focus remains on JCPenney's more than 650 physical stores.
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S29The unwelcome new tax surprise for side hustlers  Every day, Milo, a 29-year-old maintenance worker, reports to his full-time job at a university in London. But his salary, paid weekly, isn't quite enough. So, he goes to his second job after he clocks out of his first.He started his side gig – delivering food for app-based companies like Uber Eats – in September 2019, and is still doing it on nights and weekends. He also set up a YouTube channel, London Eats, where he documents his life on the road.
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S31The 10,000-year-old origins of the sauna - and why it's still going strong  With the rise in popularity of cold-water swimming, there's now a renewed enthusiasm – even evangelical fanaticism – for the perfect counterpart to an icy outdoor dip, the hot, sweaty sauna. Across the Nordic region and beyond, new public and private saunas are opening, and existing saunas are overrun with visitors. And they're even making it on to the big screen. Anna Hints's Sundance Award-winning feature documentary Smoke Sauna Sisterhood follows a group of women in a traditional Estonian wood-fired smoke sauna.These spaces come in all shapes and sizes, from the positively rustic to the deluxe and even high-tech.
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S32The story behind the only known painting by The Beatles, as it goes up for sale at auction  It was meant to be their big introduction to the East, but when The Beatles disembarked at Tokyo's Haneda airport on 29 June 1966, dressed in matching Japanese happi coats, the security was oppressive. "I've never seen so many people guarding us," drummer Ringo Starr commented at the time. Death threats made by Japanese nationalists, who considered the Fab Four emblems of an invasive Western culture, saw the band confined for almost all of the five-day tour to the lavish Presidential Suite at Tokyo's Hilton Hotel, with little more than their musical instruments and their own company to entertain them.Among a number of gifts delivered to their room were art materials of the highest quality, including wooden brushes, watercolours and oils. To pass the time, the band members laid a sheet of fine Japanese art paper on a table, placed a ceramic lamp at its centre to secure and illuminate it, and set about creating Images of a Woman, thought to be The Beatles' only painting.
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S33S34The Zone of Interest: new Holocaust film powerfully lays bare the mechanisms of genocide  The Zone of Interest opens by introducing viewers to a husband, wife and their family as they picnic by a river. The scene seems idyllic. Shortly after, the family drives home. Everything seems normal – but on closer inspection, their number plate is adorned with the insignia of the SS, the elite guard of the Nazi regime.This scene encapsulates why The Zone of Interest is so unsettling. It depicts the everyday life of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), his wife, Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) and their family – yet, industrialised, genocidal violence moves along, continuously, in the background and periphery.
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S35S36Masters of the Air: Apple's Air Force drama is imperfect, but powerful  Apple TV’s new second world war series, Masters of the Air, tells the story of the 100th Bomb Group of the US 8th Air Force, which operated B-17 “Flying Fortress” bombers from an airfield at Thorpe Abbotts in Norfolk. The series is based on Donald L. Miller’s history book of the same name and is produced by Stephen Spielberg and Tom Hanks.As a historian with interests in the history and memory of the 8th Air Force, I was largely impressed by the show’s historical accuracy, especially the recreation of the base at Thorpe Abbotts. The series delivers a moving portrayal of the American bomber boys and explores their role in the European air war with care and sensitivity.
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S37Boulder strengthens rules against plastic bags - but do bans and fines actually reduce waste?  Boulder, Colorado, passed stricter regulations against plastic bags at the beginning of 2024, banning them from all retail stores. The tougher rule builds on a 2013 local law that banned plastic bags from grocery stores and began charging shoppers 10 cents for every paper bag they required at checkout. The new law, part of the state’s Plastic Pollution Reduction Act, also prohibits restaurants and retail food establishments from using Styrofoam takeout containers.The Conversation interviewed Eleanor Putnam-Farr, an assistant professor of marketing at Rice University and co-author of “Forgot Your Bottle or Bag Again? How Well-Placed Reminder Cues Can Help Consumers Build Sustainable Habits,” about the challenges of changing people’s behavior – even when their intentions are good.
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S38Longtime NRA chief Wayne LaPierre is leaving the gun group in trouble but still powerful  Wayne LaPierre will resign from the National Rifle Association at the end of January 2024. During most of the 33 years he spent at its helm as its executive vice president, the gun group’s membership, revenue and clout grew sharply. LaPierre, 74, cited “health reasons” as his rationale for resigning. The group announced his impending departure shortly before the NRA’s civil fraud trial began in New York City.
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S39For 150 years, Black journalists have known what Confederate monuments really stood for  In October 2023, nearly seven years after the deadly Unite the Right white supremacist rally, the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia, was melted down. Since then, two more major Confederate monuments have been removed: the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery and the Monument to the Women of the Confederacy in Jacksonville, Florida.Defenders of Confederate monuments have argued that the statues should be left standing to educate future generations. One such defender is former President Donald Trump, the likely GOP presidential nominee in 2024.
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S40Why Trump's control of the Republican Party is bad for democracy  Distinguished Practitioner in Grand Strategy, Jackson School of Public Affairs, Yale University In our forthcoming book, “The Origins of Elected Strongmen: How Personalist Parties Destroy Democracy from Within,” we explain the dangers that arise when leaders come to power backed by political parties that exist primarily to promote the leader’s personal agenda, as opposed to advancing particular policies.
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S41The opening of India's new Rama temple made waves - but here's what the central ritual actually meant  The consecration rituals of the icon of Lord Rama were performed in a newly built mega-temple in the town of Ayodhya, India, on Jan. 22, 2024. The prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, performed the rituals during a 48-minute period considered auspicious by Hindu astrologers. Lord Rama, an avatara or incarnation of Vishnu, is one of the most important deities in the Hindu tradition.Amid the carefully staged pageantry, the media’s hysteria over the guest lists and the celebrations of exultant Hindus – not just in India but from Golden Gate Bridge to Times Square – the religious significance of the rituals, known in Sanskrit as “prana pratishtha,” or “establishment of breath,” was completely lost.
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S42Why AI can't replace air traffic controllers  After hours of routine operations, an air traffic controller gets a radio call from a small aircraft whose cockpit indicators can’t confirm that the plane’s landing gear is extended for landing. The controller arranges for the pilot to fly low by the tower so the controller can visually check the plane’s landing gear. All appears well. “It looks like your gear is down,” the controller tells the pilot.The controller calls for the airport fire trucks to be ready just in case, and the aircraft circles back to land safely. Scenarios like this play out regularly. In the air traffic control system, everything must meet the highest levels of safety, but not everything goes according to plan.
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S43Dog care below freezing - how to keep your pet warm and safe from cold weather, road salt and more this winter  Time outside with your dog in the spring, summer and fall can be lovely. Visiting your favorite downtown café on a cool spring morning, going to a favorite dog park on a clear summer evening or going on walks along a river when the leaves are changing color are all wonderful when the weather is favorable. But in much of the country, when winter rolls around, previously hospitable conditions can quickly turn chilly and dangerous for people and pups alike. Winter brings some unique challenges for dog owners, since dogs still need activity and socialization during colder seasons. Studies have shown that dog owners are almost 50% less likely to walk their dogs when the weather gets cold. Knowing the basics of winter safety is critical to maintaining a healthy lifestyle for your dog.
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S44Telehealth makes timely abortions possible for many, research shows  Access to telehealth abortion care can determine whether a person can obtain an abortion in the United States. For young people and those living on low incomes, telehealth makes a critical difference in getting timely abortion care. We surveyed 1,600 people across the country who accessed telehealth abortion in 2021 and 2022, prior to the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision in June 2022 that led to abortion bans in much of the U.S. South and Midwest.
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S45S46What is an atmospheric river? A hydrologist explains the good and bad of these flood-prone storms and how they're changing  Hydrologist, Center For Western Weather and Water Extremes, University of California, San Diego A series of atmospheric rivers is bringing the threat of heavy downpours, flooding, mudslides and avalanches to the Pacific Northwest and California this week. While these storms are dreaded for the damage they can cause, they are also essential to the region’s water supply, particularly in California, as Qian Cao, a hydrologist at the University of California, San Diego, explains.
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S47Disposable vape ban: local communities voiced their concerns - and the government has listened  On a wet day in January 2023, I took Scottish Labour MSP, Mercedes Villalba, on a vape hunt. Having seen some of the vape litter picking videos I had made which went viral, she asked to come along and see the problem for herself. Armed with bin bags and litter pickers, we set off around the University of Dundee campus in search of discarded disposable vapes. Within an hour, we collected dozens of these electronic devices. This experience spurred Villalba on to act. She asked questions in parliament questions, attended events and spoke at debates alongside other parliamentarians who had similar concerns about the harmful environmental impacts of single-use vapes.
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S48Intelligence doesn't make you immune to conspiracy theories - it's more about thinking style  Scientists agree that having a measure of skepticism about official accounts of events is healthy and important, but conspiracy theorising can lead to dangerous consequences for the individual and for society. Some conspiracy theories, for example the QAnon conspiracy, can be considered a minority belief, with a 2021 YouGov poll showing that 8% of those polled in the UK endorsed this conspiracy theory. However, some beliefs are more widespread. A 2018 survey of people from around Europe found 60% of British participants endorsed at least one conspiracy theory. So, who are the people who are more susceptible to conspiracy theorising?
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S49Climate change: university researchers feel powerless to take action - survey  Nearly all (95%) are extremely, very or somewhat worried about climate change. A similar amount (96%) want to do more about the problem in their university, not necessarily within the confines of their roles, but are prevented by high workloads, uncertainty over what they can do and a lack of agency or power to act.There is also a very high level of support for peers: 98% said they think it is appropriate for their colleagues to advocate for university action on climate change. Despite this, there is a great deal of uncertainty about what their peers actually think and do.
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S50The surprising reason why insects circle lights at night: They lose track of the sky  It’s an observation as old as humans gathering around campfires: Light at night can draw an erratically circling crowd of insects. In art, music and literature, this spectacle is an enduring metaphor for dangerous but irresistible attractions. And watching their frenetic movements really gives the sense that something is wrong – that instead of finding food and evading predators, these nocturnal pilots are trapped by a light.Many old explanations for this hypnotic behavior have not fully panned out. An early notion was that the insects might be attracted to the heat of a flame. This was interesting, as some insects really are pyrophilic: They are attracted to fire and have evolved to take advantage of conditions in recently burned areas. But most insects around a light are not in this category, and cool lights attract them quite well.
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S51S52AI companies are merging or collaborating to even out the gap in access to vital datasets  Some recent mergers, acquisitions and investments in the business world have highlighted the strategic value of data to companies. These businesses are not just buying assets or market share – they are also acquiring or investing in large, complementary datasets. This process is known in the business world as horizontal integration.This integration can drive innovation and provide competitive advantages. It can also open up new revenue streams. Some examples include Microsoft’s acquisitions of LinkedIn and GitHub as well as Amazon’s acquisitions of WholeFoods and the Washington Post. Then there has been Discovery Communications’ merger with Warner Brothers, IBM’s investment in Hugging Face and Google’s investment in Anthropic.
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S53Bespoke humanitarian visa schemes like those for Ukraine and Hong Kong can't replace the asylum system  The UK government has spent the past three years working to reduce the number of refugees coming to the country. At the same time, political crises around the world have meant millions of people needing to flee their home countries and seek asylum elsewhere, including the UK.Alongside new laws designed to tighten the asylum system, the government has launched two bespoke humanitarian visa schemes providing “safe and legal routes” for people from Hong Kong and Ukraine amid political turmoil and war. These schemes exempt beneficiaries from going through the usual asylum process, and give them immediate access to live and work in the UK – something that is denied to other asylum seekers.
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S54V&A's decision to loan looted Asante gold back to Ghana has implications for other British museums  The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) has announced a loan agreement with the Manhyia Palace Museum in the Asante region of Ghana to return gold and silver royal regalia that were looted from the country by the British in 1874 and 1895. The decision was announced on the 150th anniversary of a sequence of wars of aggression, waged by the British empire against the Asante kingdom in Africa’s Gold Coast (modern day Ghana).This agreement is part of a renewable framework of exchanges agreed not with the Ghanian government but with the current monarch of the Asante kingdom, a constitutionally protected region of the state of Ghana. The exact length of the agreement is unclear but most accounts suggest that this is a three-year deal.
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S55S56Iran has so far resisted direct involvement in the Gaza war, but is that changing?  Iran has tried to keep the war in Gaza at arm’s length by providing support for Hamas through armed groups it backs in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq. The Islamic Republic has indicated it wants neither to get directly involved in the fighting nor see the conflict escalate across the region. But as illustrated by the recent drone attack by pro-Iranian militias in Jordan that killed three American soldiers, the violence is spreading. Tehran may not be able to sustain its strategy much longer.
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S57S58S59How do I handle it if my parent is refusing aged care? 4 things to consider  Perhaps the house and garden are looking more chaotic, and Mum or Dad are relying more on snacks than nutritious meals. Maybe their grooming or hygiene has declined markedly, they are socially isolated or not doing the things they used to enjoy. They may be losing weight, have had a fall, aren’t managing their medications correctly, and are at risk of getting scammed.You’re worried and you want them to be safe and healthy. You’ve tried to talk to them about aged care but been met with swift refusal and an indignant declaration “I don’t need help – everything is fine!” Now what?
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S60'Toxic positivity' is out: welcome to the new world of indulgent pettiness  Call them pet peeves, call them petty grievances, one thing is certain – complaining about everyday irritations feels cathartic. It’s also the premise of American comedy podcast I’ve Had It.Hosts Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan state, tongue in cheek, that their goal is to compartmentalise complaining and be nicer in their day-to-day life. Their complaints range from pedestrian (cordless vacuums, people who clap when a plane lands, long Instagram captions) to political (the state of the education system). Eyebrow-raising complaints include, simply, “pregnant people”.
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S61Labour hasn't won a UK general election since 2010. Will 2024 be any different?  Democracy faces challenges around the globe in 2024: at least 64 countries will ask their citizens to elect a government this year. One of the most keenly observed will be the United Kingdom general election, likely to be held in November. The British Labour party has not won an election since 2010, and has lost the last four elections. At the last election in 2019, it was beaten handsomely.
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S62S63Schools have a long way to go to offer equitable learning opportunities, especially in French immersion  The Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Right to Read report, published last February, called for changes in the province’s educational system. The commission found shortcomings in how schools support students with special education needs. We found similar trends in our interview-based study on the accessibility of French immersion for students with special education needs from low-income communities in Toronto. We interviewed eight mothers with diverse socio-economic status, home language and immigration backgrounds on their experiences with the French immersion program.
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S64Northern Ireland deal to restore power sharing after two year gap - how it happened and what comes next  The Democratic Unionist party (DUP) leader, Jeffrey Donaldson, has finally moved to restore power sharing in Northern Ireland after nearly two years of protest.The DUP, which has the second most seats in the Northern Ireland assembly, collapsed the government in February 2022 over the terms of the Brexit deal. Many unionists felt that the checks on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland served to separate the region from the UK, and so undermined the Union.
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S65From ancient Greece to now, the bravado of athletes transcends centuries  “I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was. I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I was really the greatest.” This quote from Muhammad Ali summarizes his legendary wit. But it also indicates the self-confidence and attitude that characterizes so many athletes.Since the beginning of sport media coverage on radio and television, and now with social media providing intimate access to athletes, it has been clear that boasts, attitudes and confidence are part of the athlete persona. These attitudes, however, are nothing new.
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S66How a 'turn it off' approach to energy conservation could benefit Canada, and the planet  There remains, however, a fundamental communication challenge in moving the focus from consuming different kinds of energy to facilitating a revolution of consuming less. Recent electrical grid events in Alberta offer a compelling case study.On Jan. 13, 2024, extreme cold hit Alberta — the coldest in half a century. As people turned up their thermostats to stay warm, Alberta’s power grid was put under immense strain. To avoid taking pressure off the electrical grid with rolling blackouts (rotating half an hour power outages throughout Alberta), the Alberta Emergency Management Agency sent an alert to all Albertans.
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S67Here are some dos and don'ts to help tackle ableism  When we met each other in Grade 11 in Alberta, we were far from the typical high school success story. Heidi has cerebral palsy and was seen as too disabled for regular schools, and Michelle was a chronic truant and an activist. Throughout the course of our careers and lived experiences, we have seen the daily ableism people living with disabilities contend with. As professors of education and disability ethics, we have put together the following list of dos and don’ts.
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S68S69S70'Looksmaxxing' is the disturbing TikTok trend turning young men into incels  A new trend taking over TikTok is targeting vulnerable young men. The “looksmaxxing” phenomenon – to maximise one’s looks – is aimed at young men and boys who want to change their appearance to become more attractive and gain social acceptance.Unhappy with their appearance, teenage boys and young men scrolling the app are directed to chat rooms where they’re instructed to upload photos in exchange for advice.
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