Archive for September, 2025


Which countries have more than one capital?

September 26th, 2025 by Roger Darlington

Eswatini (formally known as Swaziland) has its administrative capital in Mbabane and its legislative and royal capital in Lobamba. Bolivia has its constitutional capital and seat of judiciary in Sucre and seat of government, executive and legislature in La Paz. South Africa has Pretoria as its government capital, Cape Town as it legislative capital and […]

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Which countries have no capital?

September 25th, 2025 by Roger Darlington

Switzerland has no official capital in its constitution. Instead Bern is the federal city and the site of the government. Nauru has no official capital. The government offices are located in the district of Yaren which functions as the seat of government.

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Ever heard of Gobekli Tepe?

September 24th, 2025 by Roger Darlington

I’d always thought that Stonehenge in the United Kingdom was about the oldest surviving structure on the earth made by humankind. But, when I watched the BBC series “Human”, I learned about a site that I’d never heard of before and it is around 6,000 years older than Stonehenge. It’s located in Turkey and is […]

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I’ve never been to Beringia – and I never will

September 23rd, 2025 by Roger Darlington

So far, I’ve visited 90 countries and I’d like to visit a few more if I can. But I’ve never been to Beringia and, to be honest, I’d never heard of it until I watched the BBC series “Human”. I won’t be visiting it because it doesn’t exist any more. This edited extract from Wikipedia […]

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How millions will be able to live longer

September 22nd, 2025 by Roger Darlington

In a world awash with depressing news, it is wonderful to learn that we have an AI tool that can predict the chances of any particular individual developing a whole range of diseases which will enable lifestyle changes and medical interventions to extend the lives of millions. One of the two health databases on which […]

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A review of the new film “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey”

September 21st, 2025 by Roger Darlington

This romantic fantasy is worth seeing for the cast. Good-looking, talented and eminently watchable Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie play David and Sarah, strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and there are cameos from Kevin Kline and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Unfortunately, aside from the cast, there is too little to commend this work from […]

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A review of the novel “You Are Here” by David Nicholls

September 18th, 2025 by Roger Darlington

The author of the outstandingly successful “One Day” has done it again, crafting an immensely readable and thoroughly enjoyable romantic novel. In the case of “One Day”, the stylistic device was a series of chapters set exactly one year after another. This time, the device is alternating chapters – each very short – from the […]

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Populism is gaining traction even in Japan

September 12th, 2025 by Roger Darlington

A disturbing new phenomenon in Japan is the rising popularity of a populist party called Sanseito which loosely translates as “Do It Yourself Party”. In the 2025 upper house election, Sanseito made a significant breakthrough, winning 14 new seats to bring their total in that chamber to 15. They also hold a few seats in […]

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A narrative account of a fascinating trip to Japan

September 4th, 2025 by Roger Darlington

It was April when I went to Japan for a two-week trip, but only now have I pulled together and edited all my blog postings of that time into a continuous narrative. Reading over my account now, I’m reminded of how much we visited, how much we saw, and how much we learned about this […]

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