The political disappearance of the garden gnomes and other news and views for Monday 25 August

• Soon, Europe Might Not Need Any Power Plants –  “Within a few decades, large-scale, centralized electricity generation from fossil fuels could be a thing of the past in Europe. That’s the word from investment bank UBS, which just released a new report anticipating a three pronged assault from solar power, battery technology, and electric vehicles that will render obsolete traditional power generation by large utilities that rely on coal or natural gas.”
• TV Habits? Medical History? Tests for Jury Duty Get Personal – “Jury questionnaires have become a familiar presence in courtrooms across the United States, with some lawyers routinely requesting them in major cases — transforming the standard voir dire procedure into a written test.”
• Inside Clive Palmer’s inner circle – “Palmer does have a string of close associates who he uses as sounding boards for his ­political and business strategies. Of course, whether he takes their advice on board is an entirely ­different matter.”
• The Irish Redhead Convention takes place in County Cork

• Austrian party rues disappearance of 400 garden gnomes – “Four hundred garden gnomes have gone missing in Vorarlberg in west Austria. The gnomes, known as “Coolmen”, are the property of the left wing Social Democrat Party. They were being used as political campaign advertisements in the run up to provincial elections in Vorarlberg on 21 September.”
• Andrew Forrest, the founder of Fortescue Metals Group - The Financial Times’ Monday interview – “No one can accuse Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest of lacking big ideas or being slow to bring them to fruition.”