Talking Points
- An unconvincing email raised interest in Peng Shuai's whereabouts
- India reopened its borders to travellers after nearly two years
- English cricket was rocked by claims of ubiquitous racism
- A delay in approving Nord Stream 2 sent gas prices soaring
- Energy giant Shell lost the 'Royal Dutch'
- Two men were exonerated for the assassination of Malcolm X
- Oklahoma's governor granted Julius Jones clemency
- Apple finally conceded on the right to repair (some) devices
- Quentin Tarantino sued those issuing 'Pulp Fiction' NFTs
- New research raised hopes of a vaccine for Alzheimer's
Dive deeper
Europe's flagging vaccination rates have prompted a substantial rethink as the northern winter approaches. Infections are at an all-time high in several countries and lockdowns have returned. But not for everybody.
The winter of discontent
Alexander Schallenberg has only been in his job a month but he's already managed to rile up a sizeable swathe of his country. Austria's freshly-minted chancellor announced a targeted lockdown to raise his country's "shamefully low vaccination rate" of 65%. His 'targets' are the 2 million constituents who have not yet gotten a jab: they will not be permitted to leave home unless travelling to work or shopping for essentials . The threat of a €500 fine now hangs over any unvaccinated Austrian who frequents a bar, cafe, ski field, or cinema. Some critics have said the move constitutes illegal discrimination. It doesn't. Austria's anti-discrimination laws do not list antibodies as a "protected characteristic" .
Governments across central Europe are reaching for the stick to bolster vaccination rates that are lagging behind the likes of Spain, Portugal, and Italy. To the north, outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel described Germany's predicament as "dramatic". And she's right. Europe's largest economy is now recording 303 infections per 100,000 – more than triple its last peak. Less than 70% of the country has been fully vaccinated, and progress has been sluggish for weeks. Like the Austrians, unvaccinated Germans too will see their leisure activities restricted. But that's not all. Only those who have produced a negative test, have recovered from the virus, or been inoculated against it will be allowed on public transport and into work .
Even with this curtailment – rushed through the Bundestag on Thursday – one health official conceded, "the outlook is bleak. Extremely bleak." The issue is becoming fodder for Germany's bubbling culture war: those who are proudly unvaccinated have resisted all arguments to date – it's difficult to see how strong-arming them will improve the attitude.
Lessons from across the pond
The other end of the spectrum can be found on the other side of the Atlantic. In the self-styled 'free state' of Florida, Republican Governor (and presidential aspirant) Ron DeSantis has banned schools and businesses from making vaccination an entry requirement. Florida, like many other states in the continental USA, has bumped up against the seemingly impassable barrier of a 60% vaccination rate. A firm belief in the primacy of individual liberty makes any attempt to coerce or cajole people to be inoculated highly polarising. See: Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene — "I'm not vaccinated. I believe it's up to every single American to make that choice on their own, and the government has no business to tell Americans that they should take the Covid vaccine or not."
It should be apparent by now that a substantial minority on both sides of the Atlantic are helping stress test the precepts that underpin the modern state. The social contract gets blurrier the closer you look, and two years of public health crisis have rendered it near illegible. Are these targeted lockdowns tearing strips off it like a Groucho Marx skit, or are we actually arriving closer to an explicit understanding of what we owe each other?
As winter approaches, and Americans for the most part return indoors, cases will spike yet again. Vaccine protections are waning and a mad scramble for boosters is afoot. But amid the daily roil of America's politicised pandemic, a study of the July 4 Provincetown outbreak has produced some curious findings. If you recall, at the time the thousand-odd cases that had sprung up in the Cape Cod holiday destination were seen as a mark against vaccine efficacy. Three-quarters of those who tested positive had been fully inoculated. But now a professor from Harvard Medical School has highlighted a strong anamnestic response in the vaccinated Provincetown kids who tested positive. That is, they demonstrated a swift antibody and T cell response, which not only led to a milder infection but also reduced transmissibility. In other words, the infections stuck a rocket under the body's immune system, leading the author of the study to conclude, "It is likely that those individuals will have high levels of immunity for a prolonged period of time."
Worldlywise
A planetary warning sign
A primary focus at the COP26 climate summit was the push to phase out coal, language which was weakened to “phase down” to the dismay of many. This was a result of an ultimatum from India and China: change the wording, or we won’t join. COP26 President Alok Sharma – shamed by the lacklustre commitment – was left on the brink of tears. “May I just say to all delegates I apologise for the way this process has unfolded,” he said. “I also understand the deep disappointment but I think, as you have noted, it’s also vital that we protect this package.” Sweden was one of the countries quick to condemn the change, expressing “profound disappointment as a result of intransparent process”.
In what looks like a dim warning sign from the planet, India’s capital Delhi was wreathed in smog that same day. Schools and workplaces have shut, and the country is considering a weekend lockdown . One of the causes of Delhi’s poor air quality is its coal-fired power plants. India’s net zero target is set for 2070, despite a push at COP26 for all countries to adopt the 2050 target. New Delhi argues that because so many of its people are in poverty , the country should be allowed to burn coal to develop. It’s an argument that developed nations should consider, given their own wealth was generated by burning fossil fuels when no one cared about climate change. Western nations (with the ignominious exception of Australia) now take the moral high-ground, publicising their tree-planting missions and net zero targets. But what would they be prioritising if the roles were reversed? Will they deign to share their riches powered by centuries of coal-power so that India doesn’t have to do the same?
At the same time, dangerous air pollution in India shows that the country has a lot to lose by continuing to burn coal. The government seems aware of this truth, making the call to temporarily shut down several coal plants to improve air quality. Prior to this, the country’s Supreme Court rebuked the government for its lack of action on pollution, with India’s top judge, NV Ramana, asking the pertinent question: “How will people live?"
Inflation is all around
In case you hadn’t noticed, living is expensive at the moment. Energy bills across Europe and the UK are soaring ahead of winter. In Turkey, the cost of some imported foods has doubled. Even our cereal boxes are shrinking. Higher-than-normal inflation is sticking around a lot longer than everyone expected and will probably ruin Christmas. And so the feeling grows.
Barring the odd elderly relative who keeps reminding you that Coca Cola cost 5c back in the day, most of us expect the price of goods and services to increase over time. It's on everyone's lips right now because prices are rising higher than expected — and driving up the cost-of-living for those whose incomes are not keeping pace. This is down to a couple of economic factors you may have already experienced firsthand. The first is ongoing supply chain woes which are making it more expensive to manufacture, move, and purchase stuff. The second is that energy and fuel prices have been soaring, especially in the UK, where the inflation rate has risen to its highest level in 10 years . In the US, even Democrats are blaming high inflation on Joe Biden's big spending. Not to mention interest rates are at historic lows, meaning people are leaving less in the bank and borrowing more. It might not be 1970s-style inflation just yet (at least according to the BoE chief ), but everyone just seems to be spending loadsamoney right now.
How long each of these factors will stick around is unclear. Some supply chain woes will persist while others will ease — though not before they threaten Christmas. Concurrent energy crises across the globe are partly down to geopolitical factors but do raise questions about the green energy transition. In an effort to curb inflation, reserve banks are winding down pandemic-fighting monetary policies: the Fed is tapering its stimulus programme, Iceland hiked its interest rate this week, and the Bank of England may yet steal Christmas by raising the cost of borrowing money. This will likely hit low-income Brits the hardest with high inflation, higher taxes, and higher borrowing costs an unwanted ‘triple whammy’. Hate, hate … loathe entirely.
The best of times
Covid's beneficiaries
No, it’s not just PPP manufacturers and food delivery apps. On the sand dunes near the Senegalese beachside town of Guereo green turtles are flourishing . Overfishing and the constant encroachment of humans onto hatching grounds had severely impacted breeding patterns over the years. But the economic slowdown has cleared the decks for the green turtles to return in droves. 140 of the little beauties hatched in the dunes and returned to the sea this year.
A home fit for a monsoon
Lauded Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum has designed a low-cost bamboo and rammed earth home for the tide-sensitive char-dwellers. Hers is a gorgeous story: give it your time .
The worst of times
The other pandemic
In the year to April 100,306 Americans died of a fatal drug overdose – one every five minutes. That’s a 28.5% increase on the year before – a shocking rise attributed to the pandemic and its corrosive effect on social bonds. Opioids were involved in three-quarters of those deaths and fentanyl remains the chief driver among them. Of particular concern to authorities is the rise of fake prescription medication like Xanax or Adderall that is laced with far stronger drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Genetics or eugenics?
Science does not exist in a vacuum. For decades the Roma have been the most-marginalised and most-studied ethnic group in Europe. Under the guise of cold reason they’ve been prodded, poked, and harvested for DNA. The scientific academy – particularly in Hungary – has just been another institution that misused or misappropriated that of the Roma.
Weekend Reading
The image
The quote
" In this city of 11 million people, half of the early cases are linked to a place that's the size of a soccer field. It becomes very difficult to explain that pattern if the outbreak didn't start at the market. "
– University of Arizona infectious disease expert Michael Worobey weighed in authoritatively on the Covid patient zero debate. His new analysis, published in the journal Science, argues that a vendor at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market was the first known person to be struck down with the coronavirus . It's a refreshing piece of research at a time when those with a vivid imagination (or an axe to grind) are still trying to make a buck out of the lab-leak theory.
The numbers
750,000 – 1,100,000 bitcoins
- There is a lot of Bitcoin up for grabs at the moment. The pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, one of the inventors of the world's largest cryptocurrency, is sitting on $73bn of it. That makes them the 15th richest person on the planet. It's believed that Satoshi Nakamoto was a fiction created by Craig Wright and the late David Kleiman. The latter's estate are testing that in a Florida court to make sure Kleiman receives that recognition – and they a fortune.
200mm of rain
- An atmospheric river dumped 8 inches of rain in Fraser Valley, British Colombia, this week. The deluge knocked out road and rail, effectively cutting Vancouver off from the rest of the country.
The headlines
"'They Love Crypto. They're Trying to Buy the Constitution." – The New York Times .
"Plague of deadly scorpions unleashed in Egypt by seasonal storms"
– The New Zealand Herald . Stop us if you've heard this one before.
The special mention
These clever birds use a beakful of carefully plucked feathers to make their nests look like a murder scene and deter image-conscious rivals.
A few choice long-reads
- We're not sure who needed to hear this but The Atlantic has a suggestion: Maybe Don't Blow Up Satellites in Space.
- This headline from Businessweek lays it all out: Boeing Built an Unsafe Plane, and Blamed the Pilots When It Crashed.
- The Economist ponders what to do in a world which has welcomed back Big Government.
Tom Wharton @trwinwriting
