Tue 28 July 2026: “Good weekend?” “Bit hot today, isn’t it!” “Back in the office again…” We rely on small talk like this, and being good at it is even seen as a mark of conversational competence. Yet its content can feel superficial. Once you notice formulaic expressions such as “how are you” aren’t asking the question genuinely, this sort […]

Tue 28 July 2026: A documentary about a primary school in the West Bank follows children under occupation and the couple who run it even as Israel’s war persists. At one point in the documentary, House of Hope, the protagonist, Manar Wahhab, breaks down in a classroom corner in the school she founded with her […]

Tue 28 July 2026: A documentary about a primary school in the West Bank follows children under occupation and the couple who run it even as Israel’s war persists. At one point in the documentary, House of Hope, the protagonist, Manar Wahhab, breaks down in a classroom corner in the school she founded with her […]

Tue 28 July 2026: South Korean authorities issued an emergency alert on Tuesday following reports of a suspected white phosphorus leak at the K-55 Osan Air Base, a US military installation in Pyeongtaek, Yonhap News Agency reported. Police received an emergency call at around 5:07 p.m. local time reporting a possible leak at the base, […]

Tue 28 July 2026: Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemeti, has ordered his troops to change their military strategy in his first public appearance since the Sudanese army announced it had captured several areas in North Kordofan state. In a recorded video released on Monday, Hemeti urged his forces to […]

Tue 28 July 2026: Amazon has applied to US regulators for approval to deploy up to 5,105 satellites to power a direct-to-device communications network, according to a filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The proposed system would integrate Amazon’s existing infrastructure with the satellites and wireless spectrum of Globalstar. Amazon announced in April that […]

Thu 10 October 2024: One in eight girls, women raped or sexually assaulted before age 18, UNICEF says More than 370 million girls and women alive today, or one in every eight worldwide, experienced rape or sexual assault before the age of 18, the United Nations children’s agency said yesterday, Reuters reported. The number rises to 650 […]

Tue 28 July 2026: “Good weekend?” “Bit hot today, isn’t it!” “Back in the office again…” We rely on small talk like this, and being good at it is even seen as a mark of conversational competence. Yet its content can feel superficial. Once you notice formulaic expressions such as “how are you” aren’t asking the question genuinely, this sort […]

Thu 14 May 2026: Amid an oil blockade against the island, the US blames Cuba’s communist leadership for ‘standing in the way’ of aid. The United States has offered $100m in humanitarian assistance to Cuba on the condition that the island’s communist government agrees to “meaningful reforms”. The sum was made public in a statement from […]

Fri 12 June 2026: My mother loves butter. It is the primary fat I ate growing up. She smeared it on any kind of bread, potatoes, nut rolls or coffeecake. She baked with it exclusively. When I was studying nutrition in college, I had a teaching assistant who recommended margarine over butter. I was shocked […]

Fri 12 April 2024: JALEBIS INGREDIENTS 140 g cake flour 2 T cornflour 1/2 t baking powder 2 T clarified butter 1/4 t saffron threads 190 ml thick plain yoghurt Water (optional) Canola oil, for deep-frying Gold leaf, to garnish For the sugar syrup: 140 g sugar 250 ml water 1/4 t saffron threads, toasted […]