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Thursday, 07 September 2023 03:39

5 simple ways to be a more commanding speaker

Time- and experience-tested methods of improving your image and drawing more attention in meetings and other public settings. Do you feel people at work aren't always paying attention when you speak, or that your word seems to carry less weight, even if you're right? Due principally to evolutionary factors, humans tend to respect and hold in higher regard those who portray strength, confidence and poise. Here are methods I’ve found that can boost all those qualities in a public speaking setting. 1. Unqualified speech “I feel like, maybe, we should try X instead of Y. Is that ok with you…

Saturday, 02 September 2023 04:23

The simple reason you wake up earlier as you age

There's a reason why older people tend to wake up earlier in the mornings — it's a part of the natural aging process. There are many jokes that center around older adults waking up before the sun, and even more about teenagers’ late-sleeping habits. Turns out there’s truth to them: The time our body naturally goes to sleep and wakes up is not only part of our genetics, but part of the natural aging process, too. As we age, our bodies change both internally and externally, which is a major factor behind the sleep changes that come later in life.…

Tuesday, 29 August 2023 04:47

Why am I online?

Most of us go online multiple times a day. About half of 18–29-year-olds surveyed in a 2021 Pew Research Study said they are “almost constantly” connected. How are we to make sense of this significant digital dimension of modern life? Many questions have rightly been asked about its broader consequences for society and the economy. But there remains a simpler question about what motivates people across a range of ages, occupations and cultures to be so absorbed in digital connection. And we can turn this question on ourselves: why am I online? What are we doing when we go online?…

Sunday, 27 August 2023 04:17

Want to live 20 years longer? A new study of 720k people says follow these 8 habits

There comes a time in most entrepreneurs' lives when they realize a simple truth: Money is valuable, but time is more valuable. And while none of us lives forever, there are some things we can do to live a bit longer. In fact, a massive new study suggests that eight fairly simple health habits can add 20 years to people's predicted lifespan – an extra 21 years of predicted life expectancy for women who follow them, or an extra 24 years for men. As presenting author Xuan-Mai T. Nguyen, a health science specialist at the US Department of Veterans Affairs…

Saturday, 26 August 2023 04:49

The Ghanaian conman who fooled the elite: ‘He gave them excitement’

Lauren Mechlina In her thrilling new book, Yepoka Yeebo tells the jaw-dropping story of a man behind a scam called ‘one of the most fascinating – and lucrative – in modern history’ The ever-proliferating grifter-lit bookshelf is on the verge of collapsing under its own weight. But Yepoka Yeebo’s contribution to the category stands out. Her meticulously researched Anansi’s Gold isn’t set in Silicon Valley or a swishy enclave such as Nantucket or Noto. Anansi’s Gold offers a tangled and mesmerizing history of Ghanaian-born John Ackah Blay-Miezah, architect of an Accra-based scam that American prosecutors called “one of the most…

Saturday, 26 August 2023 04:49

People are sharing habits and hobbies that help them deal with their depression

According to Columbia University, in 2020, 1 in 10 Americans reported feeling depressed. So, since it's Mental Health Awareness Month, I thought it would be important to share the answers from this Reddit thread where Reddit user u/Folded_Towel_ asked: "Depressed people of Reddit, what are your hobbies that keep you balanced?" Here's what they had to say: 1. "Washing dishes on a regular basis [to avoid] sink clutter and blasting my favorite music so I remember how to be a human." —u/ziinoe 2. "One thing that worsens my depression is routine and monotony, so I do one new thing every…

Friday, 25 August 2023 05:04

What next for the Wagner group after Yevgeny Prigozhin’s reported death?

In the aftermath of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s “march on Moscow” two months ago, CIA chief William Burns predicted that Russian president Vladimir Putin would take his time exacting his revenge. “What we are seeing is a very complicated dance,” Burns suggested at the Aspen Security Forum in July. “Putin is the ultimate apostle of payback.” And while details of exactly what occurred remain murky in the immediate aftermath of the mercenary boss’s reported death in a plane crash, what is clear is that Wagner – the mercenary organisation that Prigozhin built – has essentially been first quartered and then dramatically decapitated.…

Friday, 25 August 2023 04:57

Wagner’s empire in Africa will live on after Prigozhin - Bloomberg

The day before his private plane crashed near Moscow, Yevgeny Prigozhin released a recruitment video for the Wagner Group. “The Wagner PMC makes Russia even greater on all continents and Africa more free,” he says, dressed in military fatigues, hoisting an assault rifle and standing in a barren landscape he suggests is on the continent. “Justice and happiness for the African people.” Prigozhin apparently spent his last days in Africa. His death will reverberate across the continent where he built a business empire over the past five years, becoming an iconoclastic celebrity in places like Mali and the Central African…

Tuesday, 22 August 2023 04:03

Nigeria projected to match US population by 2050. Here’s what that means

It was recently World Population Day. The annual United Nations designation is not only a chance to recognize "the dreams of all 8 billion of us on our planet," as UN Secretary-General António Guterres put it in a blog post on Tuesday, it's also a chance to take stock at just how rapidly the world around us is shifting. In just the past 12 months, the world's population topped 8 billion people for the first time, and India overtook China as the most populous country in the world. But even as the global population hits new milestones, one of the…

Saturday, 19 August 2023 05:04

Just how bad is alcohol? Eight experts weigh in on the risks and supposed benefits of drinking

Although it’s common knowledge that drinking too much is unhealthy, research sometimes conflicts about where the dividing line is between permissible and risky alcohol consumption — and whether drinking a small amount could come with any health benefits. In the last few months alone, two large studies have further complicated the picture: A March analysis found that moderate drinkers do not have a lower risk of death than lifetime nondrinkers, while a June study found that heart health benefits associated with moderate alcohol consumption could be linked to the way it can reduce stress activity in the brain. Meanwhile, a…

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Thursday, 17 August 2023 04:55

The deaf ‘hear’ music, dance to the delight of stunned audience in Oyo

Amateur dancer Omowunmi Otunuyi, who is deaf, delighted an audience in the Nigerian city of Ibadan, as she performed with her dance troupe in a show intended to challenge preconceptions about deafness. "I am so glad we were able to show the audience what we could do, I'm excited because we made it happen," said the 20-year-old in sign language. Public performances by deaf artists are rare in Nigeria, where there is little provision for people with disabilities to access cultural and artistic activities. Otunuyi's way into the world of dance came through professional coach Samuel James, who launched the…

Sunday, 13 August 2023 04:23

Eating like it’s the 1970s showed me the madness of our modern diet

As I spoon 75g of cooked pasta into the triangle of my “portion control” plate, I can’t quite believe how modest it looks. Last week, I would have blithely served myself a plateful; then gone back for seconds. Now, my life is divided into a pie-chart of shame. I exercise a lot, but it turns out I am the queen of overserving. Only now do I realise the extent of my “portion distortion”. According to a chart published by the BDA (British Dietetic Association), my daily allowance of pasta should be a meagre 75g, and cheese should be matchbox-size –…

Saturday, 12 August 2023 03:50

The seven social-media commandments

Yair Rosenberg Like any other technology, whether nuclear power or the printing press, social media is only as good as the people who use it—and over the past decade, we haven’t exactly used it well. What began as a promising prospect for connecting communities and amplifying new voices has gradually evolved into an engine for sowing upset, distrust, and conspiracy. As the next generation of social-media sites emerges, one question is: Can we do better? I think so. Rather than holding out for unlikely top-down solutions from Washington or Silicon Valley, users can solve our problems from the bottom up.…

Sunday, 06 August 2023 04:11

The chaos that could come if ECOWAS sends troops to Niger

A West African bloc has given Niger’s military junta until Sunday to step down or face a possible military intervention. If such an operation were to happen, NatSec Daily has been told to expect one of two general outcomes. The first is the “shit show” scenario, as described by former NSC director for African affairs CAMERON HUDSON. He argues that military moves by the Economic Community of West African States would lead to a conflict between inexperienced and relatively weak forces. “ECOWAS has no recent experience undertaking this kind of operation. It’s not something they even train for,” Hudson added,…

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