A new form of sea defence is part natural, part artificial
Sep 8th 2021IF THE CORAL reef pictured looks odd, that’s because it is. It is artificial, but co-opts the local ecology to help out. Fully grown, it will be a defence against erosion and wave damage—and a tourist attraction for divers. Such “hybrid” reefs have been around for a while. But they are now being…
A new AIDS vaccine heads to clinical trials
Sep 8th 2021ONE SILVER lining to the covid-19 pandemic has been the speed with which effective vaccines have been developed. Victims of other pandemics have not been so lucky. Three decades of attempts to create a vaccine against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, have proved fruitless. The latest setback came on August 31st, when…
In much of the world, economic policy is becoming tighter
Sep 8th 2021WASHINGTON, DCINFLATION, IT IS often said, is a matter of too much money chasing too few goods. In many places that has been 2021 in a nutshell. Resurgent demand collided with insufficient supply, yielding inflation of 3% in the euro area, more than 4% in America and over 9% in Brazil. Such price…
Labour shortages threaten housing supply
Sep 2nd 2021DON HORTON, founder of America’s largest housebuilder, never thought he would have to turn away business in Texas. Until recently he could not build homes in the state fast enough. Now his firm is restricting sales as industry-wide shortages of labour and building materials such as timber slow construction and inflate costs. The…
Foreign powers ponder how and whether to engage with the Taliban
“AMERICA WAS defeated,” Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s spokesman, declared at Kabul airport on August 31st. Hours earlier the last American soldiers in Afghanistan had trudged onto a cargo plane and flown home, leaving their client state in ruins and their enemies in charge. Celebratory gunfire echoed around the city. But Mr Mujahid was circumspect in…
Suga Yoshihide steps down as Japan’s prime minister
Sep 3rd 2021JUST UNDER one year has passed since Suga Yoshihide became Japan’s prime minister. It was enough time for him to lose the confidence of both the public and his colleagues in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). On September 3rd he bowed out of the LDP leadership race that will take place later…
Madagascar is on the brink of famine
MASY, A LISTLESS three-year-old, has just sucked up a packet of Plumpy’Nut, a peanut-butter paste that donors give to malnourished children. It may save her life. Yet her grandmother, Zemele, is still gloomy. Sitting on the ground outside a clinic in Maroalopoty, a village in southern Madagascar, she describes how hard life has become. Her…
Why Afghan officials have washed up in the United Arab Emirates
Aug 28th 2021FOR DAYS the world wondered where President Ashraf Ghani had gone as the Taliban advanced on Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. It was little surprise when he surfaced in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on August 18th. Mr Ghani joins a long list of former leaders who have sought shelter in the sunny…
10 Heartwarming and Inspiring Stories In The Olympics
As the world is battling a pandemic and everyone is going through the roughest time of their lives, the Olympics is a great place to be inspired and to get our hearts warmed up. There are many firsts in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and inspiring stories in the Olympics are numerous. We don’t just need to…
Horrifying Scenes in Afghanistan’s Kabul Airport Trend on Social Media, What is Happening?
Published on Aug 16, 2021 by AnneIn the last couple of hours, the hashtag #Afghanistan trended on various social media platforms. The reason – citizens are crowding the ports by the thousands in hopes to flee their country and take refuge elsewhere.While the story is developing, would it be too late for people all over…