How having five friends boosts the adolescent brain – and educational performance

Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock As most parents of teenagers are acutely aware, there comes a time when children start prioritising their friends over their parents. While young children rely on their parents for social interactions and influences, there’s a notable switch during adolescence, where the influence from peers and friends becomesContinue Reading

During the colonial period, when Africa was almost entirely divided up by European powers, “the camera became something of an imperial device”, said Sarah Cascone on Artnet. Western photographers’ images told stories “about the history, culture and identity of the African continent” – often portraying it and its inhabitants as exoticContinue Reading

It does what it says on the tin, but this novel about a romance between Sally, a comedy writer, and Noah, a pop star, “feels not only deliciously bingeable, but fresh”, said The Observer. Curtis Sittenfeld “explores the worlds of celebrity, modern dating, lockdown and Covid-19 with wit, humour and often profundity”, said The Independent. “A light-heartedContinue Reading

The blockbuster musical “Miss Saigon” ran for ten years in London and New York following its launch in 1989, but it was always controversial, said Paul Szabo on What’s On Stage. A spin on Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” transposed to wartorn Vietnam, written by “Les Misérables” creators Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, it was accused of misogyny, racism, and of perpetuating racist stereotypes – andContinue Reading

Nearly three decades after the murder of hip-hop superstar Tupac Shakur, Las Vegas police have reopened their investigation into the unsolved case.  Police issued a search warrant on Tuesday in connection with Shakur’s death. They raided a house in Henderson, 15 miles southeast of Las Vegas. There is no statute of limitationsContinue Reading

Polls open in triple by-election contest

T he polls have opened in three by-elections where defeats would heighten Conservative fears that Rishi Sunak will struggle to lead them to another Commons majority. The seats of Uxbridge and South Ruislip in west London, Selby and Ainsty in North Yorkshire, and Somerton and Frome in Somerset, are allContinue Reading