Catch a falling star
Astronomers appealed to anyone who might have found a small, polished piece of rock: the remains of a meteor spotted as it streaked across Britain. Being hit by a meteorite has become a byword for an unlikely event, but just how unlikely is it?
— One of the last cases of reported damage to property from a meteorite strike was in Park Forest, Chicago in 2003, when a meteorite shower caused damage to roofs, windows and cars.
— The last death reported from a meteor strike was a cow in Venezuela in 1972.
— The last credible report of a direct hit on a human was a woman injured in Alabama, in 1954.
— But there is the potential for a catastrophe. In 1908, a large asteroid exploded in Siberia, burning 2,000 square metres of forest. If such an event occurred over modern Manhattan, the US actuaries Risk Management Solutions calculate it could cause 3.2 million deaths, and cost $1.19 trillion in damage to property.
The reparations question
Jamaica’s new prime minister, Portia Simpson Miller, suggested that Britain should pay reparations for slavery. While slaves suffered deeply, and a fifth perished, how well-off are their descendants — who would receive the money — compared with how they would be if they were living in the countries whence their ancestors were shipped?
| GDP per head | Life expectancy | |
| £6370 | Jamaica | 73 |
| £1060 | Benin | 60 |
| £1880 | Nigeria | 52 |
| £2260 | Ghana | 61 |
Top taxes
A survey of 96 countries by KPMG reveals that since 2003 the upper rate of income tax has risen in 13 countries and fallen in 38. Here are some of them:
| Top rate in 2003 | Top rate in 2011 | |
| RAISED |
25 Ecuador 3540 Greece 4542 Ireland 4840 Portugal 46.525 Venezuela 3440 UK 50
LOWERED
32 Czech Republic 1548.1
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