Meet the linguists: the new French government is packing some pretty intimidating skills
May 22, 2017 13:52 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics
One of the most striking features of the recent French presidential elections and the subsequent nomination of a new prime minister and his cabinet has been the attention paid by the French media to the linguistic...
How World War I changed the weather for good
May 22, 2017 13:36 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics
Culture has rarely tired of speaking about the weather. Pastoral poems detail the seasonal variations in weather ad nauseam, while the term pathetic fallacy is often taken to refer to a Romantic poets wilful translation of...
Beyond Brexit: ‘Global Britain’ looks to the emerging Anglosphere for new opportunities
May 22, 2017 13:33 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics
What lies beyond Brexit? This is not just a question for the United Kingdom and the European Union, but also one that will reverberate around the world. One answer is the Anglosphere. Often spoken of as an...

Electioneering in the social media age
May 22, 2017 13:26 pm UTC| Insights & Views Technology Politics
Britain is engaged in a General Election contest and once again political parties are investing money, time and energy in their online presence. The Tories are ploughing cash into Instagram adverts and Labour is doing its...
Guilt-free online shopping: can parcel deliveries ever be truly carbon-neutral?
May 22, 2017 13:09 pm UTC| Insights & Views Business
Whether youre a fashion junkie or a reluctant shopper, there is no denying that buying online is hugely convenient a couple of clicks and your order is on its way to your door. But we are all aware that these goods need...
Do Australian banks have double the return on equity of banks in other developed economies?
May 22, 2017 13:03 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy
The banks in Australia have a return on equity which is about twice, if not more than that, what you see particularly in other parts of the advanced developed economies of the world. Treasurer Scott Morrison, ABC Insiders,...
What's at stake in China's plan to blow up islands in the Mekong
May 22, 2017 13:02 pm UTC| Insights & Views
Its the largest freshwater fish in the world and, once upon a time, these fish swam the great lengths of the mighty Mekong River from southern China, through Burma, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia, all the way to the rivers...