The World Today

Malaria is hitting the headlines again, with positive stories of a drop in malaria deaths and the promise of a potential first vaccine appearing alongside warnings of drug and insecticide resistance growing internationally.

Which spreads faster, the deadly virus, or the panic that surrounds it?

In seemingly yet another attempt to emphasise the benign nature of China’s rise, the Information Office of the State Council released a white paper entitled ‘China’s Peaceful Development’ in September this year, six years after a similar paper entitled ‘China’s Peaceful Development Road’ was published in 2005.

Piracy is big business, and will be crushed by economic means.

‘Restoration’ appears to be the leitmotiv of the administration under former deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), now president of Côte d’Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara.

The year is 2024. The world’s economic prospects have perked up a bit since the collapse of the euro. The Germans are happily spending deutschmarks again; the Greeks are back with the drachma. Almost all of the leaders in power from a decade earlier have been swept away - Angela Merkel, David Cameron, and Nick Clegg (remember him?). Even Silvio Berlusconi has reluctantly accepted retirement. Italy’s former premier now spends his days in his Sardinian villa with a group of showgirls.