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.

Science has done much to improve the humble seed,

making for hardier and more nutritious crops in much of the world.

It's a different story in parts of Africa, though,

where there's a dearth of seed knowledge, seed availability, and seed capital.

And the Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar was a bit of an animal lover.

He surrounded himself with exotic beasts in his own private zoo.

After his death, many were simply released,

and now Colombia is developing a problem with hippos. But first...

In fact...

In the past few days, protests in Hong Kong have revealed shocking levels of violence, both on the parts of pro-democracy demonstrators and the police.

What started months ago, as peaceful weekend demonstrations on Hong Kong Island, have spread into the working week and throughout the territory.

Where once there were just chants and marches, now there are Molotov cocktails, water cannon,

and tear gas.

The core five demands of the demonstrators have been the same since large-scale protests began

in June.

Only one of them has been met, the withdrawal of a bill that would have allowed extradition of alleged criminals to mainland China.

But opposition to the extradition bill was emblematic of a desire by many Hong Kongers for greater independence from the mainland, for more democracy.

The police force, which in the early days of the unrest seemed remarkably calm,

now appears willing to match the escalating violence of the protesters.

...