Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

The Economist @economist.com · 1m

Governments can help big businesses mitigate the risk of cybercrime by enforcing tighter disclosure standards and prohibiting ransom payments

Cybercrime is afflicting big business. How to lessen the pain

Banning the payment of ransoms would be a start

econ.st

The Economist @economist.com · 42m

Africa’s “leaders for life” are easy to mock. But at a time when authoritarianism is on the rise, there is much to learn from sub-Saharan Africa, where the average leader has been in office for over nine years, 50% more than the global equivalent

The new age of the African Big Man

Ageing autocrats are not a relic of a bygone age. They are a template for the future

econ.st

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The Economist @economist.com · 1h

Her naming of chimpanzees annoyed some scientists. But her sojourns with the animals were so intense, over more than 25 years, that she became the leading expert on them. Read our obituary

Jane Goodall spent her life telling humans to honour animals

The naturalist and activist died on October 1st, aged 91

econ.st

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The Economist @economist.com · 1h

Our polling with YouGov has tracked whether Americans blame Democrats or Republicans for the government shutdown. Here’s what they said

Who do Americans blame for the government shutdown?

Our polling of 1,600 people with YouGov suggests which party might blink first

econ.st

6 2 8

The Economist @economist.com · 1h

Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, is a huge fan of video games. Now he’s turning his kingdom into a gaming superpower, Tom Wainwright tells “The Intelligence”

Dune raider: Saudi is a video-game superpower

Also on the daily podcast: the politics of Finnish icebreakers and the NBA returns to China

econ.st

3 3 5

The Economist @economist.com · 1h

Over time justices have waved through gradual increases in presidential authority, steadily rewriting an unwritten constitution as they went. How far will they go?

The new SCOTUS term will reshape America’s constitution

If the justices do not check an overmighty president, the country will suffer

econ.st

5 7

The Economist @economist.com · 1h

Our six recommendations blur fact and fiction

What to watch this weekend

Our six recommendations blur fact and fiction

econ.st

The Economist @economist.com · 2h

Many drivers have come to dislike touchscreens, finding them fiddly and annoying to use. Research shows they can be dangerous, too

Are touchscreens in cars dangerous?

Probably—and safety organisations are beginning to take note

econ.st

3 12

The Economist @economist.com · 2h

In recent years the American presidency has accumulated power as other branches of government stood aside. Donald Trump is exploiting this indulgent attitude

The new SCOTUS term will reshape America’s constitution

If the justices do not check an overmighty president, the country will suffer

econ.st

2 7 18

The Economist @economist.com · 3h

In the battle against city rats, New York is in the unfamiliar position of being a model for the rest of America to imitate

Rats and charts

A data-rich look at New York’s battle against rodents

econ.st

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The Economist @economist.com · 3h

The winners show that the consequences of research are unpredictable, and that what appears abstruse may sometimes lead to unexpected, concrete outcomes

This year’s Nobel laureates have now been announced

There are prizes for chemical cages, new immune cells and the roots of quantum computing

econ.st

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The Economist @economist.com · 3h

A ceasefire will bring great relief and optimism, but the dire conditions in Gaza will be hard to rectify. The challenge now is to make sure the end of one round of fighting doesn’t sow seeds for the next

Israel and Hamas agree to the first phase of Donald Trump’s peace plan

But neither side is fully reconciled to what is supposed to come next

econ.st

3 3 11

The Economist @economist.com · 3h

Republicans are three times as likely as Democrats to say they are “not sure” how they feel about elements of the revenge agenda, our polling with YouGov shows

What American voters really think of the revenge agenda

A third of Republicans support deporting citizens who disagree with Donald Trump

econ.st

6 8 16

The Economist @economist.com · 3h

Also on the daily podcast: the politics of Finnish icebreakers and the NBA returns to China

Dune raider: Saudi is a video-game superpower

Also on the daily podcast: the politics of Finnish icebreakers and the NBA returns to China

econ.st

1 2

The Economist @economist.com · 4h

Republicans are looking for new ways to cudgel Democrats into backing a bill that would reopen the government. But a strategy of maximum pain alone may not break the impasse econ.st/472Dpuo

Photo: AP

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The Economist @economist.com · 4h

Metal-organic frameworks are a bit like hotels for chemicals, said Heiner Linke, who chairs the Nobel Committee for Chemistry. It is the empty space in their molecular scaffolding which makes the substances so interesting

A chemistry Nobel for crystals that absorb other chemicals

MOFs can carry drugs, decontaminate oil spills, and conjure water from thin air

econ.st

3 12

The Economist @economist.com · 4h

In Uganda the French supermajor is building the world’s longest heated pipeline. In Namibia it hopes to drill in waters 3km deep. And in Mozambique it is invested in a $20bn gas project.

What will these developments mean for Africa?

TotalEnergies leads the dash for Africa’s new oil and gas

It is about to restart a controversial gas project

econ.st

2 3

The Economist @economist.com · 5h

Military types are familiar with the idea of gradually ratcheting up the intensity of a conflict. Escalation in the office follows a similar logic

A short guide to white-collar warfare

How office rows escalate

econ.st

3

The Economist @economist.com · 5h

The discovery of regulatory T-cells may seem an obscure bit of biology to win such an esteemed prize. It is not. It is an excellent example of physiology leading to medicine in the way the prize’s double name alludes to

A Nobel prize in physiology for immune tolerance

The search to understand how the body keeps immunity in check

econ.st

10 17

The Economist @economist.com · 5h

Tigrayans continue to suffer. The vast majority of those who were forced to leave Ethiopia’s Western Tigray region remain in squalid camps beyond its borders. For those still in the area, the situation is arguably worse

The forgotten horror of Western Tigray

Three years after the end of Ethiopia’s civil war, abuses in the region continue

econ.st

7 14

The Economist @economist.com · 6h

Since Finland closed its border with Russia, it is hoping to eke out growth in icy conditions. Nearby countries face similar problems—yet their fortunes are diverging

Front-line economics: lessons from Russia’s neighbours

How to survive on the border of war

econ.st

1 3 11

The Economist @economist.com · 6h

Many of the recent cyber attacks on businesses have a common feature: hackers are mostly using “ransomware”, malign programs that encrypt or exfiltrate data from a compromised system and demand payment for its return

Businesses are grappling with a wave of cybercrime

Blame sharper and more ruthless criminals, and digital currencies

econ.st

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The Economist @economist.com · 6h

With the vague indication that “a path is possible” Sébastien Lecornu has left it up to his successor to work out how to re-stabilise France. Any new prime minister will have to act fast

Macron seeks to buy time with a new prime minister

Chaos and confusion after Lecornu quits

econ.st

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The Economist @economist.com · 6h

Historically, the housing “wealth effect” had a strong impact on America’s economy. Now the action is in the stockmarket

The stockmarket is fuelling America’s economy

What happens in the event of a slump?

econ.st

1 1 3

The Economist @economist.com · 7h

Dame Jilly Cooper begun as a national scandal. But her death was felt as a national tragedy. We remember the chronicler of sex and horses whose books inspired generations

Britain mourns its bonkbuster queen

Jilly Cooper, the author who gave the world sex, horses—and joy—has died

econ.st

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