The Quake That Shook Europe

The “destiny” of Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis was—so Voltaire gushed—“to determine the shape of the world.” When Maupertuis set out to take measurements amid Arctic ice in 1736, he thought every truth was quantifiable and every fact could be tested. By the time of his death in 1759, he suspected that the world is illusory and that “perhaps only God exists.” His mental…

Beijing declares red alert amid prolonged smog

Beijing has issued its first-ever red alert for smog, invoking restrictions that will keep half of the city’s vehicles off the road. The highest-level warning was issued because the smog is expected to linger for days…

Storm Desmond: Lancaster’s small businesses face ‘zombie apocalypse’

Warned to expect at least two more days without electricity following the weekend’s floods, Lancaster’s hardy residents faced the darkness with sunny stoicism. “I was telling my kids, this is what it must have been like in the war,” said Rohina Caterina, surveying the muddy floor of her pub, the Stonewell Tavern, which closed on Saturday night when the cellars flooded. “We’ll get through it.” Friends popped by to offer help with the clear-up on Sunday, as her neighbour, James Howard, recalled the chaos of the previous evening. He had to close his takeaway business, Go Burrito, after water from the river Lune flooded the kitchen…