A benefits scandal sinks the Dutch government

Jan 23rd 2021AMSTERDAMEVERY COUNTRY’S welfare state is a reflection of its soul. Take the Netherlands, an egalitarian country but also a deeply Calvinist and bureaucratic one. Dutch benefits are generous. Income inequality is among the lowest in the EU. But benefits are subject to complicated rules meant to exclude the undeserving. These can run amok....

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The EU should stop ignoring the vaccine race and try and win it

Jan 23rd 2021“COPIUM” IS THE most useful recent addition to the political lexicon. The portmanteau of “cope” and “opium” is a metaphorical opiate that dulls the pain of defeat, according to Urban Dictionary, a useful guide to slang. In Europe a slow vaccine roll-out across the EU has left its leaders huffing gallons of the stuff. So far the EU, a club...

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Brexit ends “free” mobile roaming in Europe—and that’s a good thing

Jan 23rd 2021FOREIGN HOLIDAYS are on hold for now, as pandemic restrictions tighten. But when Britons are allowed to travel again they could be in for a nasty surprise. Since 2017 they, like other citizens of the European Union, have enjoyed the right to use their mobile phones anywhere in Europe at no additional cost. Brexit means that, starting this...

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Second time round, schools are better at lockdown learning

Jan 23rd 2021AT ELEVEN O’CLOCK in the morning, a class of 15- and 16-year-olds at Harris Boys’ Academy East Dulwich in south London is grappling with one of the most confusing periods in British history. Their teacher has explained the plots that swirled around Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots, and is creating impromptu quizzes on Microsoft Teams...

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Before leaving office, Mike Pompeo accused China of genocide

Jan 23rd 2021IN ONE OF his last acts as Donald Trump’s secretary of state, Mike Pompeo declared that China’s repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang was an act of “genocide”. Antony Blinken, President Joe’s Biden nominee to succeed Mr Pompeo, said he agreed. In the fog of a presidential transition, America thereby adopted the harshest language of any country...

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Asian governments are needlessly hampering vaccination drives

Jan 23rd 2021DELHI, SEOUL AND SINGAPOREINDONESIA’S PRESIDENT took the first shot. A doctor with trembling hands jabbed Joko Widodo on live television on January 13th, just two days after the national regulator approved the vaccine. India followed soon after, poking nearly 200,000 people on January 16th, starting with Manish Kumar, a cleaner at a hospital...

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America’s vaccination roll-out will improve with practice

Jan 23rd 2021BOSTONONLY EIGHT medical centres in the entire state of New York have managed to administer all the covid-19 vaccines they received. Cayuga Medical Centre, in upstate New York, is one such facility. It has used 100% of its vaccines—7,700 so far, about 700 each operational day—whereas the rest of the state has managed to administer only...

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The MBA class of covid-19

Jan 23rd 2021FONTAINEBLEAU, HONG KONG AND NEW YORKEDIEAL PINKER, deputy dean of the Yale School of Management, bristles at the suggestion that the MBA, long seen as a stepping stone to corporate success, has been made less relevant by the covid-19 crisis. The traditional two-year degree remains vital, he insists. “Do you think the problems the pandemic...

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How clams help keep Polish water clean

Jan 23rd 2021A WATER PUMP known as Gruba Kaska (Fat Kathy) is a local landmark in Warsaw. To get there, you must walk 300 metres through a slimy tunnel under the Vistula river. There you will find eight clams hooked up to computers. They are monitoring the city’s drinking water.The system is nifty. When the molluscs encounter heavy metals, pesticides...

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A Tesla bull debates a Tesla bear

Jan 23rd 2021Electric aweTESLA’S SHARE price will travel in only one direction—up. Despite accelerating in “ludicrous” mode, by more than 700% in 2020, Tesla has plenty left in the tank, to borrow a phrase that the firm is consigning to history. Its impact on the car industry cannot be overstated. But it is a mistake to judge it by the standards of...

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