‘Childcare puzzle’: Which countries in Europe have the highest and lowest childcare costs?
Sarah Ronan once had to resign from a job because she couldn’t afford childcare. Far from being a rare example, it’s a story that’s all-too-familiar in the UK, which has some of the highest childcare costs in Europe, and where…
This app uses AR, ‘3D sound’ and a camera to guide blind people around big cities
When people who are blind or visually impaired try to move around a city like Paris, they can easily get lost the minute they exit a subway station. A pair of young French engineering students are working to tackle this…
Exercise in Europe: Which countries do the most and least physical activity?
We all know that regular physical activity in the form of exercise or sports is essential for improving physical and mental health. Among other benefits, it supports cognitive functioning and well-being. However, the prevalence of insufficient physical activity remains high…
Is Ukraine tricking Russia on the battlefield with inflatable decoy tanks and weapons?
Russia’s war in Ukraine has sparked a surge in demand for weapons and vehicles, with many allies sending supplies to Ukraine to help the country defend itself. But the war has also seen a surge in demand for inflatable decoy…
Estonia election: i-voting comes of age in the world’s ‘digital republic’ with record ballots
For the first time since Internet voting was introduced in Estonia, more digital votes have been cast in this month’s general election than physical paper ballots. The Baltic nation introduced i-voting in 2005 as part of a drive to push…
Elon Musk backtracks after publicly mocking Twitter employee who asked if he still had a job
Twitter CEO Elon Musk has backtracked after publicly mocking a fired Twitter employee who asked for clarification about the status of his employment at the company. Amid the chaos of the tech billionaire’s takeover of the social media platform, thousands…
Money is putting off under-35s in the UK from having kids. How do child benefits compare in Europe?
Money is the biggest concern preventing young adults in the UK from starting a family, according to a new survey. More than half (59 per cent) of respondents cited financial worries as the number one reason why they would consider…
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried facing up to 155 years in jail after new fraud charges announced
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried faced new fraud charges on Thursday, as prosecutors accused him of cheating thousands of investors out of billions of dollars while casting himself as a trustworthy “saviour of the cryptocurrency industry”. New charges, including securities fraud…
Cashless society? Not in Switzerland where people will vote on keeping banknotes and coins forever
Swiss citizens will get the chance to try to ensure their economy never becomes cashless, a pressure group said, after collecting enough signatures on Monday to trigger a popular vote on the issue. The Free Switzerland Movement (FBS) says cash…
What is quantum computing and how will quantum computers change the world?
Depending on who you ask, some say that quantum computers could either break the Internet, rendering pretty much every data security protocol obsolete, or allow us to compute our way out of the climate crisis. These hyper-powerful devices, an emerging…