In December 2013, the Nobel laureate physicist Peter Higgs told The Guardian that if he were seeking a job in academia today, “I don’t think I would be regarded as productive enough.

In his final address to the European Parliament in 1995, then-French President Francois Mitterrand, whose failing health was evident to all, found the following indelible words to characterise Europe’s great scourge: “Le nationalisme, c’est la guerre!”

The Iraqi security forces’ seemingly inexorable push toward Mosul saw fighting begin in the city itself this week, but it is work taking place in the skies above that has enabled such dramatic advances.

Toyota in robot technology drive With the ageing baby-boomer generation swelling the already-large ranks of seniors, demand for robots could someday exceed the market for autonomous vehicles, Toyota believes

Anyone with more than a passing interest in psychology has surely heard, by now, of the Dunning-Kruger effect

The right to laziness has traditionally been only for the propertied rich, whereas the poor have had to struggle for decent wages and working conditions, unemployment and disability insurance, universal healthcare, and other accoutrements of a dignified life.

FBI director James Comey’s letter to Congress stating that the bureau had learned of new e-mails that could be related to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s e-mail server has prompted questions over the effect this news will have on the election.

The first one to quit was Burundi. A few days later, South Africa announced it will withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Just as the spurt in global drone technology development is defying the speed of imagination, so also safety risks continue to evolve much faster than efforts to domesticate them.

Governments should levy gradually rising carbon taxes, using the revenues to finance low-carbon energy systems

Think about modern tennis and the images that come to mind are of players sculpted in gyms, booming serves and acrobatic returns. Size and power are of paramount importance while deftness is relegated to an added virtue.

I have seen many US elections since I arrived in the United States four decades ago, but this is the only one that has polarised the country to the point of ending long-time friendships and straining family ties.