Development

cars on streets

90% of the cars on Ghana's roads are imported used cars. Many are polluting or unsafe.

US consumers have plenty of reasons to snap up electric vehicles. They are helping the US meet its climate goals, and new owners may qualify for a tax credit. But some of their old cars end up on roads across Africa. These vehicles provide vital transportation in poor countries, but they also cause pollution and are unsafe.

90% of the cars on Ghana's roads are imported used cars. Many are polluting or unsafe.
man on rooftop

Ukraine's air defense adapts with more sophisticated technology, equipment

Ukraine's air defense adapts with more sophisticated technology, equipment
boy at chalkboard

Ukrainian refugees create their own school in Romania

Ukrainian refugees create their own school in Romania
A person standing on a pyramid of dried salt, while the rest of the salt flat looks like the surface of a lake

Raw materials, or sacred beings? Lithium extraction puts two worldviews into tension.

Raw materials, or sacred beings? Lithium extraction puts two worldviews into tension.
protest

Energy workers in France threaten power cuts over retirement age

Energy workers in France threaten power cuts over retirement age
Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani attends the "Invest Karnataka 2016 Global Investors Meet" in Bangalore, India, Feb. 3, 2016. 

Indian billionaire businessman Gautam Adani faces scrutiny

Indian businessman Gautam Adani is one of the world's wealthiest people. Now, his methods for acquiring the enormous wealth and close ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi are being investigated by India's Supreme Court.

Indian billionaire businessman Gautam Adani faces scrutiny
canal

Archaeologists uncover ancient Moorish waterways to irrigate Granada 

The Moors, who ruled in Spain, had a network of canals 800 years ago that moved water from the Sierra Nevada down into cities and farms. Archaeologists today are trying to uncover those canals, and put the ancient wisdom about irrigation to use today.

Archaeologists uncover ancient Moorish waterways to irrigate Granada 
Syed Sajjad Ali inspects tomatoes planted inside a Kheyti greenhouse.

This greenhouse innovation helps farmers in India cope with climate change

The “greenhouse-in-a-box” is part of a solution designed to help smallholder farmers cope with the vagaries of a changing climate. The design, essentially a low-cost, scaled-down version of a standard greenhouse, is the brainchild of an Indian startup called Kheyti.

This greenhouse innovation helps farmers in India cope with climate change
building that was destroyed

Life returns to Antakya, a city nearly leveled by earthquakes in southern Turkey

​​​​​​​Two months after devastating earthquakes killed more than 57,000 people in Turkey and Syria, survivors are living in tent camps and shipping containers outside the ruins of their former homes. As mobile businesses and streetside kebab shops return to the city of Antakya, some people are determined to stay in their hometown to grieve and rebuild. 

Life returns to Antakya, a city nearly leveled by earthquakes in southern Turkey
Elephants in the Chobe National Park in Botswana on March 3, 2013. 

An elephant never forgets, sometimes sheds insight

Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive this week into what the socialization patterns of elephants can teach us about human evolution.

An elephant never forgets, sometimes sheds insight
book on surface

'Can we reject these labels?': A new book questions how patriarchy became the norm.

How did patriarchy become common around the world, and can we change the dominance of men in societies? Science journalist Angela Saini explores these questions in her new book, "The Patriarchs; The Origins of Inequality."

'Can we reject these labels?': A new book questions how patriarchy became the norm.
Vicky sits in a park in Madrid. She’s smiling because her hospice caretakers have arranged for her to fly home to the Dominican Republic to visit her mom and family one last time.

'What I really needed was a hug': Madrid hospice workers make sure the unhoused won't die alone

Dozens of people who are homeless die every year in Spain, often on the streets — and usually alone. But one small hospice program is trying to make a difference by connecting with homeless people and spending time with them, even at the very end of life.

'What I really needed was a hug': Madrid hospice workers make sure the unhoused won't die alone
scientists on lake

Geologists edge closer to defining the Anthropocene

The Anthropocene Working Group is voting on a so-called Golden Spike, a sedimentary layer somewhere on Earth that best exemplifies the global impact of humans on planet Earth. It's the last, big task in formally defining the Anthropocene, which is being proposed as a new age in geologic time.

Geologists edge closer to defining the Anthropocene
In Argentina, annual inflation tops 100%, a 30-year high, with the cost of meat and fruit skyrocketing.

Argentines wage ‘mental war’ against inflation as prices double in a year

As annual inflation tops 100%, a 30-year high, with the cost of meat and fruit skyrocketing, many Argentines are keeping their savings in dollars to resist devaluation of the peso.

Argentines wage ‘mental war’ against inflation as prices double in a year
woman by flag

Young Africans seek to leverage Vice President Harris’ trip to Africa 

US Vice President Kamala Harris began her weeklong visit to the African continent this week in Ghana. She plans to focus on youth entrepreneurship, and to make a claim for supporting some African countries, as China and Russia have made diplomatic and financial inroads. 

Young Africans seek to leverage Vice President Harris’ trip to Africa