Life
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Should you hide negative emotions from children?
From crying in the toilet to leaving the house in a rage, many parents and carers don’t want their children to see them getting emotional. But is this the right thing to do, or should you come clean about your fear of spiders or how angry you...
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‘Not a day went by when I didn’t wish my father by my side’
Former Labour MP Karl Chircop passed away 10 years ago today. His son Jan, a medical doctor who has followed in his father’s footsteps, talks to Simonne Pace about the joy of being able to relive his father through his profession. Jan Chircop was...
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Getting to the bottom of Chardonnay blends
Though blended white wines (made from two or more grape varieties) have been produced in Europe for centuries, they aren’t always fully appreciated. And yet, they can be wonderful bottles that have the prowess to fascinate aficionados like a...
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Mount Etna is sliding towards the sea and now we know why
The southeast flank of Mount Etna in Sicily is sliding towards the sea at a rate of several centimetres a year. This might not sound like much, but the kind of stress that this movement creates inside volcanoes can cause devastating landslides.
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International Day of the Girl Child: Empowering future women
‘With her: A skilled girl force’ recognises that today’s girls need to be prepared to enter a world of work that is being transformed by innovation and technology. This is the theme chosen for 2018 by the United Nations for the International Day...
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Ditch meat and save the world
The world could feed its growing population without causing irreparable damage to the environment if people ate less meat, halved food waste and adopted better farming practices, scientists said. But failing to implement even one of those actions...
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The psychology of closure – and why some need it more than others
Imagine your partner unexpectedly changes their Facebook status from “in a relationship” to “single” and then refuses to communicate with you. This sounds awfully cruel, completely robbing you of your right to find out why you have been dumped so...
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Why some women feel sad when they breastfeed
As a health visitor, you get used to friends with babies asking questions about sleep, feeding and dirty nappies. Usually, these are straightforward, or you can at least direct people to the right help. But every once in a while, you get asked...
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Migration: new map of Europe reveals real frontiers for refugees
Since the EU declared a “refugee crisis” in 2015 that was followed by an unprecedented number of deaths in the Mediterranean, maps explaining the routes of migrants to and within Europe have been used widely in newspapers and social media. Some of...
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World Mental Health Day: Focus on young people
Saturday, 4pm, two weeks ago. The police call the 24/7 crisis line. A young man called them saying he left a goodbye note on his bed and is going to end his life. The reason? His parents received revealing pictures of him interacting with a woman...
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Scottish pupils learn to 'make life better' as ethical entrepreneurs
When an 87-year-old man fell down outside their primary school, the children brainstormed how to help elderly people in their Scottish village. And their conclusion was to start a business. Going door-to-door, the children had already noticed that...
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Mental health crisis could cost the world $16 trillion by 2030
Mental health disorders are on the rise in every country in the world and could cost the global economy up to $16 trillion between 2010 and 2030 if a collective failure to respond is not addressed, according to an expert report on Tuesday. The...
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Bumper harvest gives English winemakers extra fizz
Forget green fields and clouds. Blazing sunshine and rows of grapevines are now a growing part of the English countryside, leading to a rise in locally produced sparkling wine - boosted this year by a bumper harvest. At the Chapel Down winery in...
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Protecting marine areas could have insidious political effects
Zones of ocean known as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are all the rage. They have no single or agreed definition, but essentially they are areas of sea in which human activity is restricted or prohibited in order to preserve and protect marine...
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New book on the people who built Ġgantija
Għajnsielem author Revel Barker will be signing copies of his latest book at the Harbour Craft studio, 8th September Street, Xagħra tomorrow at 7pm. The book is entitled The First Gozitans (and Ġgantija) because, according to the author, the...
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Mindfulness meditation: 10 minutes a day improves cognitive function
fizkes/Shutterstock.com Practising mindfulness meditation for 10 minutes a day improves concentration and the ability to keep information active in one’s mind, a function known as “working memory”. The brain achieves this by becoming more...
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Indonesian islanders fight developer with snorkels and homestays
S yahrul Hidayat's family has lived on the Indonesian island of Pulau Pari for four generations, fishing in its clear blue waters and selling seaweed to supplement their incomes. But their lives and livelihoods have come under threat in recent...
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Obesity: hamsters may hold the clue to beating it
The global obesity crisis shows no signs of abating, and we urgently need new ways to tackle it. Consuming fewer calories and burning more energy through physical activity is a proven way to lose weight, but it’s clearly easier said than done. The...
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The best foods to eat for a good night's sleep
Sleep has become widely recognised as playing a really important role in our overall health and wellness – alongside diet, stress management and exercise. Recently, researchers have been learning more about how poor sleep influences our dietary...
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A taste of Italian bread
A true Italian speciality – bread – is the theme of this month’s Magic Box presentation to be held tomorrow at the Italian Cultural Institute, Valletta at 6.30pm. The guest speaker, Cristiano Bagnaschi, is owner and manager of Lo Spuntino...
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