There’s been a surge in China’s wedding industry, fed by a new generation of Chinese brides and grooms who are brand-conscious and brand-reliant. Brides can sometimes wear up to five dresses on their big day. Sara Sterling explains that this might sound over the top and wasteful but it also offers lessons of sustainability.
Almost 50 million people in Nigeria defecate in open areas because they do not have access to safe, private sanitation. This comes with huge risks to public health, and compromises people’s dignity. Juan Pablo Rud, Britta Augsburg, Francisco Oteiza, Laura Abramovsky and Melanie Lührmann examine the country’s approach to solving the problem and suggest how some elements could be changed for the better.
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Sara Sterling, Xi'an Jiaotong Liverpool University
This might sound over the top and rather wasteful. But rental wedding dresses are not uncommon.
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Billions of people globally don’t have access to safe, clean toilets.
Clive Chilvers/Shutterstock
Juan Pablo Rud, Royal Holloway; Britta Augsburg, Institute for Fiscal Studies; Francisco Oteiza, UCL; Laura Abramovsky, Institute for Fiscal Studies; Melanie Lührmann, Royal Holloway
Research shows that targeting poor communities will go a long way in solving the country's open defecation issues.
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Business + Economy
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Laetitia Mimoun, City, University of London
How sperm bank marketing meets the growing demand for donations.
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Frank Mattheis, University of Pretoria; Ueli Staeger, Graduate Institute – Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement (IHEID)
Africa's new continental free trade area, the AfCFTA, is a remarkable achievement. However, decisive diplomatic, technical and social action is needed for it to succeed.
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Politics + Society
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Reuben Loffman, Queen Mary University of London
Felix Tshisekedi must come out from under former premier Joseph Kabila's thumb.
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Fabio Andres Diaz, International Institute of Social Studies
Colombia's new president opposes the 2016 peace deal with the FARC guerrillas. As trust between the government and militants erodes, at least 1,700 former insurgents have returned to armed struggle.
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Science + Technology
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Peifeng Ma, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Population growth is creating a huge demand for infrastructure, even as environmental risks grow. To detect problems early, satellites can provide rich data to help assess infrastructure "health".
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Scarlett Howard, Université de Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier; Adrian Dyer, RMIT University; Andrew Greentree, RMIT University
We're left wondering whether we as humans are so very special after all – that perhaps the ability to learn mathematics could be universal.
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