A spate of plane crashes over the past couple of months have shaken the public's faith in the safety of air travel. The crash of a small medical plane in Philadelphia on Sunday, which killed seven people and injured at least 19 more, followed the mid-air collision of a plane and helicopter in Washington DC, which claimed the lives of 67, just four days before. Beyond America, there were a couple of alarming, high-profile crashes in December in Kazakhstan and South Korea.

Are there more air accidents now?
Despite recent high-profile incidents, commercial planes are still one of the safest modes of travel. Between 2018 and 2022, the fatality rate on commercial aircraft was just one per 13.7 million passengers, according to data from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Plane deaths are, in fact, rarer now than they were between 2008 and 2017, when there was roughly one death for every 7.9 million boardings. In 2024, despite several notable crashes, the overall global accident rate remained low, at approximately 1.3 per one million flights.

What are the main causes of air accidents?
Human error accounts for up to 80% of all aviation accidents, according to research from the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Academy in Florida, with pilot mistakes contributing to 53% of cases. Mechanical failures are responsible for about 21% of accidents. Take-off and landing are the most dangerous moments of any flight, according to a study by plane manufacturer Airbus.

How risky is flying?
Flying is far safer than driving. "When you arrive at the airport and step aboard the pressurised tube, that's the safest part of your trip. You were more at risk driving to the airport," aviation-safety expert Anthony Brickhouse told CNN.

Technological advancements, strict regulations and thorough accident investigations have much improved aviation safety over the years. But some believe there now is a risk of "overconfidence" in the system. "We continue to try to downplay everything and talk about how safe the system is," Ed Pierson, the director of the Foundation for Aviation Safety, told CNN. "That's not the right mindset. That's the mindset that gets people killed."

The return of Bridget Jones to our cinema screens this week has provoked a nostalgic "surge" in demand for "classic" 1990s food, said The Times – with sales of chardonnay well on the up, and a 200% increase in searches for turkey-curry recipes.

"Nostalgia food trends" are already "winning hearts and wallets", with "retro" dishes from the 1950s and 1960s, such as trifle, roulade, prawn cocktail and meatloaf, also "back in vogue", said FoodNavigator. Whether it's the "smell of potato waffles under the grill" or the "gloop of a drop of golden syrup", food can be gateway to a happy trip down memory lane, said The Drum.

'Strangely comforting'
A "bittersweet, sentimental longing for the past" is nothing new, said psychologists Megan Lee, Doug Angus and Kate Simpson from Bond University on The Conversation. It is "experienced universally" and stretches across "different cultures and lifespans".

But food-related nostalgia is especially "powerful", given it "engages multiple senses: taste, smell, texture, sight and sound". Smell, in particular, "is closely linked" to the area of the brain "responsible for emotion", making food memories "vivid and emotionally charged".

Indulging in childhood foods can also be a protective response, a way to "make ourselves feel safe when faced with uncertainty or fear", said The Drum. And this feeling is "strangely comforting" when it is tied to "aspects of older media", such as film or television, Emily Contois, co-editor of "Food Instagram", told the Financial Times.

'Tap into memories'
Capitalising on nostalgia today can really "leverage" a company's brand, said The Drum, but it "doesn't always translate into present-day sales". While consumers look "fondly" on brands of the past, companies must invest in "staying current" if they hope to achieve "timelessness".

It's the science behind "food-evoked nostalgia" that may prove most useful in the future, said the psychologists on The Conversation. Understanding its effect could help dementia sufferers "tap into lost memories" or help others "reframe negative experiences" in psychological therapy. Even for people "feeling a little down", using "favourite comfort foods" to transport them back to happier times "could help turn things around".

From rugged mountains and powdery white beaches to roaring waterfalls, Croatia's landscape is incredibly diverse. Situated along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, the Balkan country is home to more than 1,000 islands and islets, of which just 47 are inhabited. A record 21.3 million tourists flocked to Croatia last year, with many heading straight for the bustling hubs of Dubrovnik or Split. But hop on a ferry and there is so much more to discover. 

Hvar
Hvar is the sunniest island in Croatia and also the "trendiest", said Condé Nast Traveller. Hvar Town "sprawls around a sheltered harbour packed with yachts" and a "vast paved piazza" with a beautiful baroque cathedral. Days are easy to while away wandering along the "palm-lined seafront promenade and up to the hilltop castle".

Zlarin
The tiny island of Zlarin (pictured above) is "three square miles of laid-back loveliness", said The Times. You'll need to take a 30-minute ferry from Šibenik to get there, as there are no cars allowed: "just two feet and two wheels". Fill your days with lazy walks through "olive groves, orchards of figs and almonds, and cypress-studded slopes" or hike to the island's highest point, Klepac.

Pag
Its stark, rocky landscape means "taking a trip to Pag is like taking a trip to the moon", said Travel + Leisure. Croatia's fifth-largest island is known for "raucous" summer parties that "take over the beaches of Zrće". But it's also home to one of the country's "loveliest family-run hotels", Boškinac, where you can enjoy Michelin-starred meals on a terrace overlooking olive groves and vineyards.

Targeting smuggling gangs alone won't reduce deaths in the Channel
Alf Dubs in The Mirror
"Dismantling" people smuggling gangs is necessary, writes refugee campaigner Alf Dubs, but it's "not enough, and leads to smugglers taking greater risks" with refugees' lives. "Safe, accessible and legal pathways" for those "fleeing war and persecution" are "the missing piece of the puzzle". The Channel deaths are "preventable" because, when people are offered "a safe and legal option", they will "choose it over dangerous routes".

Threatened by populist superpowers, Europe too needs a dose of patriotism
Lorenzo Marsili in The Guardian
"Squeezed" between oligarchy in the US and autocracy in Russia and China, "Europe's democracies stand out like a relic from a bygone age", writes Lorenzo Marsili, director of the Berggruen Institute Europe think-tank. Our continent is "mired in pessimism, despondency and self-doubt". We need "to recuperate audacity and hunger for the future", and let go of "our polite manners in a world that truly isn't polite". Our "apparently insurmountable problems" can be "solved with one step: greater unity".

Rory Stewart is no match for J.D. Vance
Julie Burchill in The Spectator
"I was highly amused" to see the US vice president give a "right old 'fagging'" to "the ghastly Rory Stewart" on X, writes Julie Burchill. Stewart is a "dyed-in-the-wool member of the establishment", and he was "typically cloth-eared" to take on self-described "hillybilly" J.D. Vance. If "you reach the top" without "family money" or a "famous name", you are an "exceptional person" and "far cleverer than those", like Stewart, "who had a head start".