Scott Moore

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Antony plays in the remains of a house as rising sea levels are destroying homes built on the shoreline and forcing villagers to relocate, in El Bosque, Mexico November 2022. Gustavo Graf / Reuters

InternacionalEconomía,

The World Bank, the world’s largest international development organization, has long faced criticism for a host of perceived shortcomings, including imposing coercive conditions on its loans to developing countries, instituting insufficient environmental safeguards in its projects, and failing to properly consult civil society in the countries where it operates. Lately, however, it has also come under fire for not mobilizing the necessary funds to help developing countries tackle climate change. In February, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called for “the evolution of the World Bank” in response to global challenges such as climate change. The Maldives environment minister, meanwhile, was especially blunt when he insisted last year that “the World Bank needs a fundamental shift” to fight climate change.…  Seguir leyendo »

An employee gives out hand sanitizer to a girl in Zhongshan Park on Tuesday in Wuhan, China. (Getty Images)

MundoAsia, , , ,

The H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in 1996, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003-2004 and now covid-19 were all first detected in China. Some accounts even claim that a precursor to the 1918 influenza pandemic, the worst in modern history, first appeared in China.

Why do so many highly infectious diseases appear to start their deadly spread in China?

Many recent articles have honed in on the policy errors of China’s authoritarian political system. As the novel coronavirus began to sweep across the United States, President Trump sought to directly implicate Beijing by referring to “the Chinese virus,” instead of its technical designation, SARS-COV-2.…  Seguir leyendo »

People line up for water at a natural spring in Cape Town, South Africa, on Jan. 23 after the drought-stricken city tightened water restrictions in a bid to avoid what it calls “Day Zero,” the day in mid-April when it might have to turn off most taps. (Associated Press)

MundoÁfricaReflexionesNaturaleza, ,

Officials in Cape Town, South Africa, recently announced that the city will run out of water, perhaps as soon as April. On “Day Zero,” Cape Town will turn off the taps, leaving some 4 million people without basic access to water. Residents are bracing for the worst, with many fearing a breakdown in public order amid rising social tensions.

But Cape Town isn’t the first or only major city to face the risk of running dry. In 2015, Sao Paulo, Brazil, faced a similar drought-driven disaster, with officials warning residents they might need to leave the city limits to find enough water to bathe.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAsia

Last week, China’s two primary legislative bodies, the National People’s Congress and the People’s Political Consultative Congress, convened their annual meetings in Beijing. Although the delegates’ primary function is to ratify decisions made by Communist Party leaders, the occasion of the two assemblies often stokes debate on policy reforms.

The delegates had much to discuss, including a recent murderous rampage on civilians at a train station in the south, linked by the government to a separatist movement in the west. Yet the most promising path for long-term political reform in China was not on the agenda: federalism.

China is by far the world’s largest and most populous country not to use a federal system of government.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAsia, ,

This month, a hundred years after the completion of the Panama Canal, China is expected to finish the first phase of its gigantic South-North Water Transfer Project, known in Chinese as Nanshui beidiao gongcheng — literally, “to divert southern water north.” The phrase evokes the suggestion, attributed to Mao, that “since the south has a great deal of water, and the north very little, we should borrow some of it.”

In realizing Mao’s dream of moving huge quantities of water from areas of plenty to those of want, Beijing is building a modern marvel, this century’s equivalent of the Panama Canal.…  Seguir leyendo »