Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio.

I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

In India, there's a growing rumor that Muslims are plotting to convert mass numbers of Hindus

by getting romantically involved with them.

The idea is far-fetched, but it seems to be informing state government policies and a slate of new laws.

And the absence of humans in a lot of tourist hotspots has been great for many animals.

But as hermit crabs flood onto the beaches of Thailand, there aren't enough shells for them to climb into.

We look into a pandemic-driven housing shortage.

First up, though.

There should have been something of a resolution at last to the Brexit drama this morning.

First, Levant de Lyon, the president of the European Commission, and Boris Johnson, Britain's Prime Minister,

had said yesterday as an extended deadline to work out of the fine print on Britain's divorce papers.

But yesterday came and...

Despite the exhaustion after almost one year of negotiations, and despite the fact that deadlines have been missed over and over,

we both think that it is responsible at this point in time to go the extra mile.

Mr. Johnson used similar language to Ms. Von der Lyon's, having repeatedly warned that no deal was a very likely outcome.

Where there's life, there's hope we're going to keep talking to see what we can do.

The UK certainly won't be walking away from the talks I think people will expect us to go the extra mile.

Neither side wants the regulatory and logistical chaos of a no-deal scenario.

But neither side seems willing to make much in the way of concessions.

And now, an immovable deadline looms, December 31st.

...