Новости за 08.05.2017

At first glance the SNP scored another remarkable success in the Scottish local elections on May 4. The party won 431 seats, 155 more than their nearest rivals, the Conservatives. Meanwhile, Labour, who once dominated local government in Scotland, were even further behind.

At first glance the SNP scored another remarkable success in the Scottish local elections on May 4. The party won 431 seats, 155 more than their nearest rivals, the Conservatives. Meanwhile, Labour, who once dominated local government in Scotland, were even further behind.

China’s remarkable growth over the past three decades has elevated it to global superpower status. But its economic miracle has also attracted attention for the wrong reasons: the country is now the world’s largest energy consumer, oil importer, and CO₂ emitter. It led to the line that China builds a new coal-fired power station each week being faithfully and unquestioningly repeated. However, this is no longer a fair reflection of the country’s energy situation.

Every time a British election rolls around, it elicits a wave of hand-wringing editorials about young voters’ poor turnout at the polls relative to older people. But this year, there are signs things could be different.

Voters in Latin America appear to be tiring of its left wing leaders. In Argentina, the left-of-centre Victory Front coalition lost in 2015 against Let’s Change, a right-leaning alliance led by Mauricio Macri. In Brazil, the Workers’ Party was ousted from power in 2016 after 13 years following the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. In Bolivia, also in 2016, voters delivered a stinging defeat to President Evo Morales’ attempt to reform the constitution to run for a straight fourth term. In Venezuela... Читать дальше...

You don't have to be overweight or obese to have type 2 diabetes. Igor Chus/Shutterstock

The World Health Organisation estimates that the number of people with diabetes is 422m, globally. And between 1980 and 2014 the number of people with the condition almost doubled. Despite the high prevalence of the disease, it is often misunderstood. Here are some common misconceptions about diabetes.

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Local newspapers are contradictory things. They are dismissed as “rags” and yet their familiar names are are part of the glue which holds communities together.

The campaign for the French presidency revealed a stark fault line on Europe. The openly pro-European Emmanuel Macron called for the EU to be strengthened while the staunchly anti-EU Marine Le Pen promised a referendum on Frexit. Victory for the former therefore raises interesting questions about what his stance will be on negotiating the UK’s exit from the union.

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In a globalised and dynamic economic system, there is a powerful and controversial organisation that has the economic firepower to bail out entire countries: the International Monetary Fund. The IMF plays an important role in the world but recent events have divided its members and weakened its potential to fulfil its role, threatening its very existence.

When George Osborne announced in November 2014 that Greater Manchester was to get its own directly elected “metro mayor”, he lauded the potential for dynamic civic leadership to develop the city-region’s economy and transport infrastructure. Then in a speech in May 2015, the former chancellor said a directly elected mayor would mean “a stronger democracy” as it would provide a single point of accountability – a leader “who takes the decisions and carries the can”.

When it comes to Westminster elections, Scotland usually stages a one-horse race. This time, however, second place is attracting more attention than usual. Having already achieved the unthinkable and edged ahead of Labour to become the official opposition after the 2016 Scottish election, the Conservatives are on the march.

Courtesy the artist, Hollybush Gardens and National Museums Liverpool: International Slavery Museum. Photograph by Stuart Whipps

In these tumultuous times where the rules of order are currently being rewritten, a good question to ask artists might be: where on earth are we up to? More than three decades on from its inception, this year’s Turner Prize is once again asking the same question. It’s just that in divided Brexit Britain, it now comes with a few more added angles.

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In his wonderful collection of correspondence, Letters of Note, editor Shaun Usher includes one from Robert Pirosh, a New York copywriter.

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The world’s most popular drink (after water) is under threat. We already know much about the threat of climate change to staple crops such as wheat, maize and rice, but the impact on tea is just coming into focus. Early research indicates that tea grown in some parts of Asia could see yields decline by up to 55% thanks to drought or excessive heat, and the quality of the tea is also falling.

It’s often said that there are no prizes for coming second. Yet in many ways coming in as the runner up in France’s 2017 presidential election is an opportunity for the Le Pens and the Front National.

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Recent media reports of an avocado shortage have hipsters and foodies horrified the world over. Prices are at a record high as a result of a classic supply and demand situation. Harvests from major producers in Mexico, Peru and California, have been poor, which has reduced supply. Meanwhile, demand has surged. And not just in the affluent West, Chinese consumers are developing an insatiable taste for them too.

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We wanted to see more competition. We wanted to see more people able to switch between energy users [sic], that, over the last three or four years has not happened. This is a market that is not working perfectly and therefore we are intervening to make markets work better.

After a tense and often antagonistic election campaign, Emmanuel Macron is to become the next president of France. The result is, of course, in all sorts of ways extraordinary. In a little over a year, the 39-year-old former finance minister has gone from being a wannabe to the future tenant of the Elysée Palace. He struck out alone to form his own political movement and while much of the froth surrounding the election has focused on his opponent, the enormity of his achievement needs to be acknowledged and cannot be underestimated. Читать дальше...