Новости за 24.02.2022

IN 2006 LEROY, a 22-year-old, stole a phone from another man in the street. After being caught and convicted, he was given a minimum sentence of 30 months. Yet 16 years later, Leroy is still in prison with no idea when he may be released. He is one of some 3,000 inmates incarcerated in English and Welsh jails under sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), which were handed out only between 2005 and 2012.

ON FEBRUARY 20TH Buckingham Palace announced that the queen had tested positive for covid-19. She was legally required to self-isolate for at least five days, lest she pass the virus to others. But when she woke up four days later, on February 24th, that rule was gone. She and the 2m-odd other residents of England infected with covid can now do as they please.

IN 1567 ELIZABETH I issued a prospectus for England’s first national lottery. A tight-fisted government was one impetus for the venture, which aimed to raise money for Britain’s ailing ports. Enticements for ticket-holders included freedom from arrest for a week (though only for petty crimes), and prizes worth up to £5,000 paid in cash, plate, tapestries and “good linen cloth”. Yet so few people bought the expensive tickets that the top prize had to be trimmed to a 12th of this offering—and loans had to finance the ports. Читать дальше...

CLICHÉS ARE common in British politics. It is a land where a week is a long time, dear boys are told to worry about events and, more recently, everything is just like “The Thick Of It”. Some clichés count more than others. Wes Streeting, Labour’s shadow health secretary, returns to one when attacking the Conservatives on the NHS. “It’s not just that the Tories didn’t fix the roof while the sun was shining,” Mr Streeting likes to say. “They dismantled the roof and removed the floorboards.” This echoes George Osborne... Читать дальше...

THE NAVAL AND MILITARY CLUB, a haunt for ex-servicemen high above the Thames estuary, is the sort of venue Nigel Farage has worked for 30 years. In the early 1990s, as an unknown in a fringe movement, he would hone his oratory night after night in pubs, church halls and lounges across southern England, denouncing Brussels with a peroration his regulars learned to mouth in unison.

THE DEPARTMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE (DIT) is certainly busy. On January 13th Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the international-trade minister, launched new talks with India. Just over a month later, on February 18th, she announced progress towards her goal of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a trade deal with 11 countries around the Pacific Rim. A digital deal with Singapore is imminent. A cruel observer might dismiss all this as a shallow demonstration of the country’s post-Brexit freedoms. Читать дальше...

THE WORD “robot” was coined in 1920 by the Czech playwright Karel Capek. In “R.U.R.” (“Rossum’s Universal Robots”) Capek imagined artificial, fully functional servants. For most of their history, however, robots have been dumb, inelegant mechanical devices sitting out of sight in factories.

NEARLY A YEAR has passed since Congress approved the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), promising spending of $1.9trn, equivalent to 9% of GDP. Many, including this newspaper, worried that such federal largesse looked excessive. Those fears have been borne out. ARPA helped create a surge of demand that contributed to the inflation that is plaguing America and which is higher than in other advanced economies. It also gave states and local-government agencies over $650bn—more than they knew what to do with. Читать дальше...

WHEN NELSON MANDELA opened South Africa’s Constitutional Court in 1995, he said it would determine “the future of our democracy”. The first president of the democratic era argued that the court was as important to the new constitution as the parliament and presidency. Judges should be “creative and independent” in ensuring that, in contrast to apartheid, no person was above the law, regardless of their race, power or wealth.

Letters are welcome via e-mail to letters@economist.com

Rights and wrongs of protests

You were wrong to criticise Justin Trudeau’s handling of the protests in Canada (“No, Canada”, February 19th). These were not protesters. These were occupiers who said they would not leave until their demands were met. You said the police already had ample powers to quell the disorder, and yet it took two court injunctions to stop the incessant air horns and honking. The police had to deal with... Читать дальше...

The coronavirus mutant widely known as stealth omicron is now causing more than a third of new omicron cases around the world

Motor vehicles and parts are among the largest manufacturing industries in the U.S. As with many other industries, this industry is also recovering from the impact of COVID-19 as companies...

"VIL's association with A5G Networks is in line with its commitment to realise Digital India dreams with the latter's differentiated... 4G, 5G, and Wi-Fi autonomous software for distributed networks," the statement added.

U.S. health officials say women seeking an abortion pill will not be required to visit a doctor’s office or clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic

Atletico Madrid might not have been able to claim a first-leg advantage over Manchester United in the Champions League, but record signing Joao Felix still impressed

THE Brits took a walloping at last year’s Cheltenham Festival as Irish trainers won an incredible 23 out of 28 races. And it could be the same story again next month with a host of superstars in the hands of Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott and Henry De Bromhead. But another British hope has emerged after […]

Russia’s assault on Ukraine is unprovoked and based on falsehoods

Domestic rebar and wire rod prices in Turkey increased in the week ended Thursday February 24 in line with a weakening lira, market participants said.

Spice things up in the bedroom without spending a fortune thanks to Lovehoney's epic up to 50% off sale

As Russian troops moved into Ukraine in the early hours of this morning, international advertising businesses such as WPP, Dentsu and Publicis sounded concerns for their employees and professional partners based within the country. In the build-up to Russia's invasion of its neighbor, world leaders had begun issuing economic sanctions against the aggressor in a...

NATO held an emergency meeting Thursday of the North Atlantic Council to respond to Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked attack on Ukraine.

Panicked Ukrainian citizens are scrambling to take out cash Thursday as the Russian military launches a full-fledged invasion of the Eastern European nation.

What happens when kids see parents work so much more

The crowd chanted, waved Ukrainian flags and carried placards attacking the full-scale invasion launched by Russian president Vladimir Putin.