Alec Hogg: Unlocking Mozambique’s mystery – it’s the drugs

Bitcoin (above) has given up a third of its value in the past month, handing an army of one-eyed punters an expensive trading lesson. But what's behind the volatility? Today's piece from our partners at The Wall Street Journal separates fact from fiction – and providing a signpost for what may be happen next. You'll find it below. It includes useful graphics of the relative size of the crypto market – and how the electricity used to "mine" Bitcoin recently surpassed what's used annually in Sweden, the world's 23rd biggest economy. That stat panicked Elon Musk into reversing his support for the premier crypto, helping spark its recent 30% selloff.

• This week it's exactly five years since we moved to London for a year that turned into three. On our departure former Oxford Don RW Johnson told me I was mad because, for a journalist, there is nowhere on earth like our homeland. Peerless Johnson keeps proving the point with superb contributions to help educate the rest of us. This morning's analysis in Politicsweb is among his very best. Johnson digs deep to understand the seemingly irrational decision of Mozambique's president to refuse assistance in dealing with a problem far beyond domestic capabilities. Turns out it's not irrational after all. Conclusion: The nation's elite, president included, are vassals of global organised crime. A must read. Click here.

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