The World Today

February & March 2015: The cities reshaping our world

Lead articles

Urban islands of prosperity: Global cities are growing in power and influence. But can they survive if they break the bonds with their host countries?

A former chairman of HSBC, lifelong Germanophile and committed Christian, Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint talks about the future of the eurozone, empty cathedrals and what makes Chinese leaders anxious

London is now a magnet for international investors who push up prices, and drive out the middle class and poor.

A Syrian Kurd in a Turkish refugee camp boils a kettle to make tea for her children. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

There are today 50-60 million people displaced from their homes by conflict, disasters and environmental change. The Moving Energy Initiative aims to provide them with safe power

A Pegida member marches through Berlin protesting at the Islamization of Germany Photo: Getty Images

The backlash against multiculturalism in Europe is a bigger threat to France than Germany, despite weekly marches against ‘Islamization’ in Dresden and other cities

Arctic oil rig 'Prirazlomnaya' in the Barents Sea. Photo: Dmitry Korotayev/Kommersant Photo via Getty Images

Vladimir Putin claims to lead an oil and gas superpower. But the West’s concerns about being held hostage by its energy needs are groundless

Tokyo is not just the political capital of Japan. It is home to 13.2 million people - or 10 per cent of the country’s population - and as many as 32 million people if you include the surrounding area.

A mischievous letter in the Financial Times suggested there was no point in the British government promoting growth outside London as the country was too small for more than one major city.

Articles

This ‘Tube tongues’ graphic shows London’s diversity by displaying the second most common languages (after English) spoken by residents, according to the 2011 census.

President Maithripala Sirisena offers prayers during a Buddhist ceremony at the Kelaniya temple. Photo: S.KODIKARA/AFP/Getty Images

President Sirisena offers hope. Now he must deliver

The dangers refugees face from the fuel crisis in their camps

Berlin has so far avoided a cripplingly expensive housing market, but things could be changing

Singapore’s Garden by the Bay. Photo: Getty Images

Lim Eng Hwee, chief planner and deputy chief executive officer of Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, discusses sustainability and green living in a limited space

Boris Johnson, fascinated by cranes on the skyline. Photo: Getty Images

Since the departure of the Romans, London has continually adapted to meet the needs of Londoners, without a formal plan. Over time, the un-identical twin cities of London and Westminster coalesced with a surrounding constellation of hamlets and villages to produce an amorphous metropolitan region housing a cosmopolitan population of close to 9 million.

Also in this issue

British Foreign Secretary William Hague gestures as he arrives at Carthage Palace in Tunis in 2011. Image: FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images

The Arab Spring’s star pupil needs continued British support. But assistance is increasingly steered by fears of jihadism

The bombed-out wreckage of the Krupp steel works outside Essen. Photo: The Life Picture Collection/Getty

In July 1945 Chatham House produced the first issue of The World Today. In this anniversary year we will be looking into the archive to see what was said about the issues of the time, many of which are still live today. See the original piece here

What did The World Today say about the rapid rebuilding necessary in Europe in July 1945?

The author of The French Intifada: The Long War Between France and its Arabs says the government has to redefine what it means to be a citizen of the Republic

A detainee is led back from the bathroom in Guantánamo Bay. Photo: Getty Images

Guantánamo Diary Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Canongate, £16.00

Two books on recent British military interventionism in the Middle East

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of Islamic State. Photo: Getty Images

The new minister has the task of carrying out the Syriza government’s promise to halve its €320 billion debts and scrap budget cuts imposed as a condition for bail-out loans. What makes him tick?