An election in Sri Lanka will boost the Rajapaksa family
Aug 1st 2020COLOMBO AND DELHION THE EVE of an election, what might a political party wish for? A strong brand, an effective party machine, plenty of money, a sympathetic press and a charismatic leader? How about a rival that is tired and discredited after a lacklustre term in office, and has split into factions that…
How land disputes erupt in Ethiopia
Aug 1st 2020ADDIS ABABA AND SHASHAMENE“WE WERE BORN here, we grew up here, but now we live like beggars,” fumes Tsige Bule, gazing from a rain-splattered porch towards the grey and unfinished apartment block that looms over what remains of her family’s farmland. Several years ago the Ethiopian authorities confiscated almost all of it to…
What it’s like to go on holiday in Dubai during a pandemic
THE LIFEGUARDS sweating in masks and latex gloves sometimes looked in need of rescue themselves. For much of the week it was 42°C in the midday sun, with the palpable humidity making it seem hotter. One afternoon’s sunbathing was interrupted by a sandstorm that turned the sky grey. “It’s like a dream,” grins a Dutch…
Police discovered severed human testicles and penis in electrician’s freezer
Police have reportedly unearthed severed human testicles and a penis in a tradie’s freezer while probing the removal of another person’s testicle. Cops went to 27-year-old Ryan Andrew King’s the West End flat last weekend while investigating a freakish mutilation. Paramedics and police were phoned to a city backpacker inn where they allegedly discovered a…
Life During COVID When You’re 18
It is no secret that teenagers and young adults are being negatively affected by the pandemic. Hundreds of thousands of young people had big plans for this time-graduating high school, traveling the world, getting a job, spending time with friends. Unfortunately, the pandemic put a screeching halt on all of that. Instead, we are often…
Researchers revive bacteria from the era of the dinosaurs
Aug 1st 2020FAR FROM the life-sustaining light of the sun, the deep sea floor appears barren and desolate. Its appearance, however, belies a thriving bacterial ecosystem that may contain as much as 45% of the world’s biomass of microbes. This ecosystem is fuelled by what is known as marine snow—a steady shower of small, nutrient-rich…
A strange material may make protective helmets more so
Aug 1st 2020ANYONE WHO has experimented as a child with maize starch and water knows about shear-thickening. A mixture of these substances is easy to stir slowly, but solidifies when you speed the stirring up, only to liquefy again when you stop. It’s fun. But it may also be important. For years, people have been…
The EU’s recovery fund revives a debate on common taxes
NOTHING IN THIS world is certain, mused Benjamin Franklin, except death and taxes. He never had to contend with the European Union’s unanimity rule. Eurocrats have long sought to bolster the EU’s budget with “own resources”—ie, revenues that accrue to it, rather than cash handed over by member countries on the basis of national income.…
Bridgewater faces losses and a lawsuit
“WE’VE MADE more money for our clients than any other hedge fund in existence,” declared Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge-fund manager, in 2017. In early 2020 Bridgewater was head and shoulders above the rest, having made $58.5bn, net of fees, for its clients since the firm’s inception in 1975.…
How to Cope When a Loved One Gets the Coronavirus
The coronavirus has dramatically reshaped human society in under six months. It emanated from unknown sources in China’s Wuhan province and spread across the world, forcing lockdowns, quarantines, and other public health measures as doctors struggled to isolate and understand this new disease. With over 13,400,000 cases in the world as I write this and…