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Concrete is all around you – in the foundation of your home, the bridges you drive over, the sidewalks and buildings of cities. It is often described as the second-most used material by volume on Earth after water.

For the past decade I have volunteered at St. Francis Inn, a soup kitchen in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia.

At the Winter Olympics, skiers, bobsledders, speedskaters and many other athletes all have to master one critical moment: when to start. That split second is paramount during competition because when everyone is strong and skilled, a moment of hesitation can separate gold from silver. A competitor who hesitates too much…

When the UK’s offensive chemical and biological weapons programmes were terminated in the 1950s, work at the high-security military research centre in Porton Down, Wiltshire switched to defensive strategies. These included developing chemicals for use in riot control and countermeasures to the evolving threat of chemical and biological weapons.

The deaths of at least 31 people in the Channel on November 24 2021 were “avoidable”, an independent inquiry has found. The final report of the Cranston inquiry highlights known problems at HM Coastguard that were not resolved, calling them a “significant, systemic failure on the part of government”, which…

Let’s begin with a story from the beginnings of western philosophy that doesn’t sit well with existentialist thought.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, restaurant bookings fill up and couples exchange cards, flowers and carefully chosen gifts. For some, it’s a day of closeness and connection. For others, it can bring anxiety, disappointment or emotional distance.

Nigel Farage has announced Reform UK’s first policy pledge of the Welsh election campaign in May: to scrap the default urban speed limit of 20mph introduced by the Labour Welsh government in 2023.

Water covers over 70% of our planet, so it’s no wonder that it flows through our storytelling. Biblical rain offered divine judgement either in the form of a blessing and rewards, or retribution and vengeance. In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Feste the fool issued the melancholic refrain: “For the rain it…