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The World Today: August & September 2018: Dirty and dangerous, coal clings on

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Kholodnaya Balka mine in Makiivka, Donetsk Region Ukraine

It fired up the industrial age but is now condemned as a toxic pollutant. Most countries are cutting back on coal usage, but not all. Donald Trump wants to buck the trend and create jobs for miners, and Asia’s appetite for the black stuff continues to grow. Siân Bradley asks if there is a future for old King Coal

Skaters enjoy the new ice rink created at the site of the Zollverein mining complex in Essen, Germany

Cristina Belda Font looks at the opportunities Germany is exploring for redundant pits

Differing views: Donald Trump and European leaders attend the opening ceremony of the 2018 Nato summit in Brussels

Amy Pope separates rhetoric from reality after president’s Nato slap-down

The 2017 Womens’ March on Washington was meant to send a bold message to Trump

Chanu Peiris on how human rights defenders are resisting authoritarian repression

Merkel, May and Macron chat at a meeting in Brussels in 2017

Nicholas Westcott outlines the steps towards a secure future for the UK

Joshua Rhodes on why the White House wants to subsidize a fuel that others are phasing out

Viewed from Europe it looks like burning coal to produce electricity is going the way of the steam engine. But as Siân Bradley writes in our cover story, the decline of coal in the West is matched by a rise in use in parts of Asia.

Articles

A facial recognition device at Miami International Airport

Wendell Wallach on the difficulties of regulating facial recognition technology

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond (C), and Minister for Aviation, Lord Tariq Ahmad (R), listen to London City Airport CEO Declan Collier

Kathy Burrell and Matt Badcock look at how Brexit could affect low-cost airlines

Theewaterskloof Dam near Villiersdorp, South Africa in March 2017. It has less than 20 per cent of it's water capacity

Christopher Vandome assesses the causes of South Africa’s water shortage

A medicinal marijuana plant in Smith Falls, Ontario

Celine Cooper on Justin Trudeau’s unprecedented move to legalize marijuana

A plaque commemorating the Prague Spring on the historic building of Czech Radio

August 21, 1968: Bernd Debusmann revisits the day the revolution was crushed

London conference.jpg

Alan Philps takes the mood as speakers weigh risks and opportunities in an uncertain world

Also in this issue

Catherine Fieschi on the need to keep our modern tyrants at bay

Co-founder of the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy

The superyacht Elandess makes its maiden voyage to London in July 2018

Exposé shows the world is awash with money launderers, says Alan Wheatley

Miner classics

Your guide to recent releases, from White House secrets to space age egos

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