How tanks can survive against cheap, shoulder-fired missiles
The war in Ukraine will boost the development of anti-anti-tank weaponsRUSSIAN TANKS have been having a torrid time during the invasion of Ukraine. According to Oryx, an open-source intelligence blog, at least 153 of them have been destroyed so far, along with 312 armoured vehicles. (The figures for the Ukrainian side are 26 and 57…
Alzheimer’s researchers are studying the brain’s plumbing
IN MOST BODILY organs waste matter is cleared out by the lymphatic system. Unnecessary proteins, superfluous fluids and so on are carried away by special vessels to lymph nodes, where they are filtered out and destroyed. The more active the organ, the more of these vessels there are. The exception is the brain, which has…
Will dollar dominance give way to a multipolar system of currencies?
IN THE WAKE of an invasion that drew international condemnation, Russian officials panicked that their dollar-denominated assets within America’s reach were at risk of abrupt confiscation, sending them scrambling for alternatives. The invasion in question did not take place in 2022, or even 2014, but in 1956, when Soviet tanks rolled into Hungary. The event…
Surging food prices take a toll on poor economies
In places like Sri Lanka and Egypt, they add to existing strainsTHE SRI LANKAN economy was in danger well before Russian tanks began rolling into Ukraine. Burdened by foreign debts and squeezed by the effects of the pandemic on its tourist receipts, Sri Lanka’s government dithered over approaching the IMF for help as the year…
Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer, has a palm-oil crisis
Ukraine, the pandemic and local profiteers get the blameIN MID-MARCH Izawati Dewi, a mother of one, began queuing at 4am at her local shop to buy cooking oil. By the time it opened, the line snaked 2km through her town in central Java. She was lucky enough to secure a pack. The shortage was nationwide.…
China makes inroads in the Solomon Islands
Australia and New Zealand are alarmedTO THE ALARM of Australia and New Zealand, the Solomon Islands has reached a security agreement with China. The prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, confirmed this on March 29th, furious that a draft of the agreement had been leaked a few days earlier. It envisaged the arrival of Chinese military personnel…
Kidnappers brazenly attack a train in Nigeria
Parts of Africa’s most populous country are becoming ungovernableRAILWAY DELAYS are the bane of travellers the world over. Occasionally, though, they may be a lifesaver. In October your correspondent boarded a train from Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, to the northern city of Kaduna. A fault held up its departure for 30 minutes. This was just long…
Kenyan voters face an invidious choice in August
THE PROMISES politicians make often sound similar: more jobs, more roads, few details. To understand their worldview better, it can be illuminating to ask them whom they admire.William Ruto, Kenya’s deputy president and a marginal favourite to win a presidential election in August, tells The Economist that he is inspired by Julius Nyerere, the first…
KAL’s cartoon
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The yields on short-term American bonds rose significantly, an indicator that markets are expecting hefty interest-rate rises from the Federal Reserve. Pressure on bond yields was felt globally. Japan’s central bank offered to buy an unlimited amount of government bonds, an intervention designed to protect its 0.25% cap on Japan’s ten-year yield. Yields on two-year…