37 articles from SUNDAY 31.10.2021

‘Vax’ chosen as word of the year by Oxford English Dictionary firm

Accolade reflects how use of the short form of ‘vaccine’ rose by 72 times in a year and spread across societyIn a year when talk over the virtual garden fence has focused on whether you have been jabbed, jagged or had both doses yet, and whether it was Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Moderna you were injected with, Oxford Languages has chosen vax as its word of the year.After deciding last year that it...

Saving Us by Katharine Hayhoe review – across the climate crisis divide

A scientist and gifted speaker makes a convincing case for calm, informed discussions in the race to avert catastropheIt’s not an exaggeration to say that Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World is one of the more important books about climate change to have been written. Much of the literature to date feeds the appetite of readers who are already...

One in six New York City workers remain unvaccinated after Friday deadline

Last-minute rush of jabs boost vaccination rate to 83% Fox News host gets death threats for vaccinations pleaOne in six New York City municipal workers remained unvaccinated after a Friday deadline to show proof of at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, the city said.Despite opposition the city’s vaccine mandate fuelled by rightwing politicians and media and leading to a protest at City Hall...

New evidence suggests Vikings – and their mice – beat Portugal to the Azores

Evidence from animal remains shows Norse seafarers settled on the islands centuries before Portuguese explorersThey came from the land of the ice and snow and the midnight sun – but still ended up in some balmy destinations. This is the conclusion of researchers who have discovered evidence to support the idea that the Vikings settled on the clement shores of the Azores several hundred years...