Abbie Fielding-Smith
@AbbieFS
Deputy editor of @theeconomist’s features section, 1843. Previously international investigations at @tbij & Beirut for @ft. Mostly here for puns.
My NYT op-ed this morning I’m a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It. nytimes.com/2025/07/15/opi… via @NYTOpinion
Congratulations to @charlie_mccann! She won this week's audience award for "The Two Lives of William Woods" at @1843mag economist.com/interactive/18…
"The gangs force miners to pay exorbitant prices for food, equipment & sometimes even entry to the mine. In some cases the gangs refuse to hoist a miner to the surface until he has found enough gold to pay off his debts." A horrific story: economist.com/interactive/18…
Would you pass the world’s toughest exam? Thirty million Indians want a job on the railways, but a fiendish general-knowledge test stands in their way.
The craziness that are the Indian railways exams. The Economist calls it the toughest exam in the world. "About half a million students are currently preparing for government exams in Musallahpur. The intensity of cramming is the same as you might find among those preparing…
Previous posts are from the Economist's summer double issue which is on stands today and which contains four fantastic pieces of reportage from 1843, including this absolutely wild tale of identity theft economist.com/interactive/18…
Every few years around 30m Indians compete for 90K jobs on the railways. To be eg a ticket inspector you must do an insane exam on things like algebra, & the WTO. A town has sprung up where ppl do nothing but cram for it. Amazing story (incl sample test) economist.com/interactive/18…
Last year the South African government blockaded an abandoned mine where hundreds of illegal miners, mainly immigrants, were scouting for gold. This is the story of what went on in the darkness during those months, and it is haunting. economist.com/interactive/18…
‘Shame! Shame!’ chant young Ukrainians protesting a new law which brings the previously independent anti-corruption bureau and special prosecutor under the executive. ‘This is not what we’re fighting for. This is like Russia,’ one woman told me.
I thought that Thomas Pynchon invented Meggezones for The Disgusting English Candy Drill in Gravity's Rainbow until I saw this sign in Tooting: bella.media.mit.edu/people/foner/F……… #GravitysRainbow #southlondon
A "concentration camp" The Israeli proposal to relocate hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to a non-existent facility from where they may be encouraged to emigrate has sparked a backlash. "No matter how they try in Israel to wrap this move with laundered epithets, they are…
So many extraordinary details in this unforgettable in-depth account of being a hostage in Gaza - the first of our summer issue pieces. Omer became the chef of the Hamas cell that was holding him economist.com/1843/2025/07/1…
"It is the financial equivalent of being able to turn up at the airport, open a secret door & go straight on to the plane, without any X-rays, passport inspections, customs controls or intrusive questions" @OliverBullough on Tether and the shadow economy economist.com/1843/2025/07/0…
Having tweeted about smoots (small gaps left in drystone walls for rabbits), someone asked if gaps were left for larger animals. Not really, but there are tunnels under roads for sheep and cattle. They are known as 'creeps'. I don't know why. You find them marked on maps. 1/2
I think there is a word for this. “The idea of the zone, according to Katz, is to accommodate … 600,000 Palestinians who have been living in the Mawasi area on the coast… after screening them…Palestinians will not be allowed to leave the zone, he said.” timesofisrael.com/katz-calls-for…
"Team leaders referred to Gazans as 'zombie hordes', the former contractor said, 'insinuating that these people have no value.'" bbc.com/news/articles/…
Tonight after being held up for months by another broadcaster you can finally get to see the documentary Gaza : Doctors Under Fire by @Basement_Films @bendepear @ramitanavai @karimtl at 10pm on @Channel4 It’s meticulous, compelling and very powerful - don’t miss it…
🏆 Arts and Culture Reporting - Award for Excellence - Global group goes to @1843mag! Stunning tale of captivity, art, and shifting power dynamics under the Taliban. Congratulations! #SOPAwards2025 📰 economist.com/1843/2024/08/0…
EXCLUSIVE: senior #Iran officials cannot reach Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to urge direct negotiations with the US following strikes on the country’s nuclear facilities, sources told IranWire. 1/ iranwire.com/en/news/142494… #factchecking #IranIsraelConflict #IranUnderAttack