Nature, or nurtured? A politicised virus-origin hunt
Scientists may soon understand how the new coronavirus got its start; that could help head off future outbreaks. In the meantime, politicians are clouding the discussion. America and Europe are taking...
1 Maj 202022min
Submerging markets: developing economies and covid-19
The pandemic is hitting emerging markets particularly hard, and the crisis is likely to widen the gap between the strongest and the weakest among them. Physical distancing is making life even harder f...
30 Apr 202020min
Those who can, teach! The case for reopening schools
The world’s students are falling behind and lockdown is only exacerbating prior disparities in their progress; we examine a compelling back-to-school argument. America’s Environmental Protection Agenc...
29 Apr 202020min
First, pass the post: Ohio’s vote-by-mail experiment
The state’s all-postal primaries vote could be seen as a trial run for November’s presidential election. Might voting by mail be the least-bad option? The BBC’s canny response to covid-19 has quietene...
28 Apr 202022min
End transmission: covid-19 in New Zealand
The country is aiming for complete elimination of the coronavirus; so far, so good. But renewed freedom within its borders requires that virtually no one cross them. Restrictions in Europe on movement...
27 Apr 202020min
Unsteady states: America’s piecemeal reopening
Some governors are co-ordinating mutual lockdown plans, others are already reopening their states. That haphazardness bodes ill in the absence of widespread testing and tracing. The pandemic is kickin...
24 Apr 202022min
Rakhine and ruin: insurgency in Myanmar
The Rohingya genocide was just one of many sectarian flashpoints in Rakhine state; now a slick separatist insurgency is getting the better of Myanmar’s army. America is floundering in its bid to win t...
23 Apr 202022min
Held in cheque: corporate payouts and covid-19
Even before the pandemic, companies were accused of returning too much money to shareholders. As a recession looms, dividends and share buy-backs should be cut—but not everywhere. Coral bleaching on t...
22 Apr 202020min
