Archive for the ‘World current affairs’ Category
A review of “Ten Lessons For a Post-Pandemic World” by Fareed Zakaria
December 3rd, 2020 by Roger Darlington
Zakaria is an Indian-American political scientist who hosts CNN’s flagship international affairs show. His book – published in October 2020 with information as recent as July 2020 – is immensely topical, informative and thought-provoking, even if there is nothing terribly original or radical in it and too few proposals for practical change. My effort at […]
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Why are coronavirus infection rates and deaths so much lower in Africa than in the rest of the world?
November 17th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
According to an article in the “Independent” newspaper, it was a year ago today that the first coronavirus case was recorded in China. Since then, the global pandemic has infected 55.1 million and killed 1.33 million. Every nation on earth and every part of the globe has been impacted by the virus, but surprisingly the […]
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What is the most important relationship in global politics?
October 30th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
In my last posting, I wrote about a talk hosted online by the London School of Economics. The talk was delivered by Fareed Zakaria who is an Indian-American journalist, political scientist, and author. He was introducing ideas from his new book “Ten Lessons For a Post-Pandemic World”, The session was chaired by Andrés Velasco, formerly finance […]
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“The next crisis could be the last crisis.”
October 29th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
Before the global pandemic, I would regularly attend free evening lectures at the London School of Economics. Now such events are all online and this week I attended a particularly fascinating talk by Fareed Zakaria who is an Indian-American journalist, political scientist, and author. He was introducing ideas from his new book “Ten Lessons For a […]
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Let’s hear it for friendship – and then let’s tackle inequality
August 27th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
“Relationships matter so much because other people can be our best sources of security, comfort and cooperation or our worst rivals. Just as bad relationships are highly stressful, friendship is relaxing and restorative. We have evolved an extraordinary sensitivity to relationships, because getting them right has always been crucial to our survival.” This is an […]
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How to make £10 billion in two days by doing nothing
August 20th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
Does this sound impossible and crazy? Well, it is possible but it is crazy. For most people around the world, the coronavirus global pandemic has been a terrible experience. Even if you stayed alive, even if you didn’t actually catch the virus, there’s a good chance that your business has gone bust or your job […]
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Could China become a democracy?
August 18th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
“China is bound to go through political transformation, toward democracy, political freedom, rule of law and constitutionalism. This is the inevitable trend of modern human political civilisation. China will enter this stage sooner or later. Because the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] has been in power since 1949, they have made many mistakes and even crimes. […]
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How did Lebanon get into this state?
August 11th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
The Prime Minister of Lebanon has offered his resignation stating: “I said that corruption is rooted in every part of the state, but I found out that corruption is greater than the state.” This situation has come about because of the history of the state and the meddling of so many external players. It may […]
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Today my heart is with the people of Beirut
August 5th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
Like so many others around the world, I was horrified to hear the news about, and see the pictures of, the huge explosion in Beirut. This is a country, and especially a city, that has already suffered so much in recent decades. Fortunately the people I know in Beirut are safe but shocked. In 2011, […]
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What happens when the world’s population stops growing?
July 15th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
Most adults around the globe – me included – have contributed to the relentless rise in the world’s population which has devastated the planet. Today the world population stands at 7.8 billion and it is still growing – but this will not always be the case with huge consequences. You can find a good estimate […]
Posted in Environment, World current affairs | Comments (0)