Appeal of conspiracies

Will the latest report into the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, ruling out polonium 210 poisoning as the cause, let the controversy finally rest?

Hardly. The nature of conspiracy theories is that advocates will look at the evidence selectively to support their own hunch that some evil scheme was afoot.

Just consider the recent 50-year anniversary of President Kennedy’s death, where the debates about grassy knolls and second shooters rage as vociferously now as ever.

Or how the death of Princess Diana with Dodi Al Fayed, in a Paris tunnel was the work of MI6. Or how 9/11 was an inside job by the CIA. Or that the moon landings actually took place on a Hollywood set. Or ... Well, the list goes on.

Psychologists have sought to explain what in the human psyche leads some to believe preposterous theories in which global events are orchestrated by a shadowy cabal at the highest levels, be it the New World Order or Opus Dei or even shape-shifting aliens living among us.

They simply can’t accept that momentous tragedies can have the most mundane causes.

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Sole survivors

Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.

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Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills