What will it cost to end the pandemic?
ON MAY 2ND thousands of masked nurses, doctors and others who have battled against covid-19 watched Jennifer Lopez and other stars perform in the flesh at the “VAX live” concert in Los Angeles. Outside the venue, visitors could get their jab from the comfort of their own vehicles, while watching H.E.R., a singer-songwriter, perform the…
When does transitory inflation become sustained?
May 29th 2021AT NEARLY 43 years old, the median American worker has never in her career experienced an annual rate of “core” inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, above 3%. That will soon change. Core consumer prices in America rose by 0.9% month-on-month in April, the highest jump since 1982, practically guaranteeing that…
The Philippines is repairing its relationship with America
May 29th 2021THE DISCOVERY in March of 200-odd Chinese vessels around a reef in the “exclusive economic zone” that extends 200 nautical miles from the Philippines’ shores has brought near-daily protests from its foreign and defence ministries. Whitsun Reef, which the government calls the Julian Felipe Reef, is one of many that make up the…
Bangladesh’s government cracks down on a big Islamist group
May 29th 2021THE MOOD was supposed to be jubilant when Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, visited Dhaka at the end of March to celebrate Bangladesh’s 50th birthday. Instead 13 people died in clashes with police after thousands took to the streets to denounce Mr Modi, whose treatment of Muslims at home is unsurprisingly unpopular among…
Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram’s vicious leader, is said to be dead
ONE CAN understand why Nigeria’s government has been slow to confirm the death of Abubakar Shekau. It has announced it five times before, between 2009 and 2016. Each time Mr Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram, a jihadist group, turned up very much alive and ready to continue terrorising his compatriots. The war between Boko…
Gay people are reclaiming an Islamic heritage
May 27th 2021FOR DECADES regimes in the Middle East have alleged that homosexuality is both morally unacceptable and a Western import. Many gay activists disagree on both counts. Homophobia is the Western import, they claim, introduced by puritanical Europeans. “Ban the colonial law,” cried campaigners in Tunisia in December, referring to a law criminalising gay…
A better fog-trap
A clever upgrade of a humble but useful technologyMay 26th 2021EVERY NIGHT, air cooled and moistened by the Humboldt current blows over Chile’s northern coast and across the Atacama desert. The billowing banks of fog thus created might look insubstantial, but there is water here to be captured—and in this, the driest place on Earth,…
The fog of war may confound weapons that think for themselves
Some states want a ban. But would it be respected?May 26th 2021THE SKIES of Israel have lit up in recent weeks with the sinuous trails of interceptors colliding with thick volleys of rockets fired from Gaza. These spectacular aerial duels show autonomous weapons at work. For, while each launcher of Iron Dome, Israel’s missile-defence system,…
High school students crash a vehicle into a home’s roof
A family remains in total shock still after a vehicle crashed through their roof which was operated by high school kids.The homeowner from Eureka, who chose not to be identified, said she, her daughter, and her spouse were catching z’s when, about 1:30 a.m., they heard a mammoth crash. The owner stated she and her…
10 Times the Texas Abortion Ban Received Hate on the Internet
Published on May 26, 2021 by AnneJust last week, the government of Texas has approved the six-week fetal heartbeat abortion ban. This means that as early as six weeks, any pregnant woman in Texas is not allowed to abort their offspring. Governor Greg Abbott has announced that Texas shall be a ‘sanctuary city for the…