Historian Walter Scheidel argues in The Great Leveler that pandemics are among the four great horsemen that, through history, have led to greater equality – the others being war, revolution and state failure. Economist Thomas…
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Almost 60 years after British nuclear tests ended, radioactive particles containing plutonium and uranium still contaminate the landscape around Maralinga in outback South Australia. These “hot particles” are not as stable as we once assumed.…
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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 20, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque By Jarrett Renshaw and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters)…
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When Australia and the UK began discussing a free trade agreement in 2020, they issued a joint statement with remarkably similar objectives. It now seems that a meeting of minds is imminent. The countries’ shared…
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2/2 © Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Heavy equipment excavate anthracite coal from a strip mine in New Castle, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 13, 2020. Picture taken July 13, 2020. REUTERS/Dane Rhys/File Photo 2/2 By Markus Wacket and…
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Many African countries still rely heavily on foreign aid. However, several studies have shown that foreign aid has failed to deliver sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. The fact that foreign aid as currently practised…
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Maps can be many things: colourful, or dull; complex, or very simple; helpful, or very difficult to read. They also have the potential to support the public’s knowledge of environmental and social issues, and to…
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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Pumpjacks are seen during sunset at the Daqing oil field in Heilongjiang province, China August 22, 2019. Picture taken August 22, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer By Florence Tan SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Oil prices nudged…
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At the launch of bitcoin in 2009 the size of the potential of the underlying technology, the blockchain, was not fully appreciated. What has not been fully exploited is the unique features of blockchain technology…
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The story of human history is one of migrations over the globe and admixture – the exchange of DNA – between populations. Two of the most dramatic of these migrations were slavery and European colonisation.…
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