Features

From a poor agricultural nation to the second-largest economy in the world: the rapid rise of China is one of the most remarkable facts of this era, as Yohann Koshy finds out. But how did it happen? And what comes next?

Blake Morrison grew up in Yorkshire – and made his escape from his traditional conservative background via literature. As he discovered writers from other cultures, borders between cultures and nations seemed to fall away, leaving him as a citizen of the world. But since the Brexit referendum he has often felt like a stranger in his own country.

Will shaming employers on social media finally bring justice for Lebanon’s domestic workers? Roshan De Stone and David Suber report from Beirut.

Jeremy Seabrook surveys a political landscape riven with virulent nostalgias which obscure an essential conflict – how to reconcile the needs of the planet with the necessities of economics?

Personal efforts are definitely worthwhile, but the scale of the problem requires action at a national and international political level, too.

Human rights at sea by Vanessa Baird.

This area is a simmering cauldron for conflict between China and its neighbours – and the US. Mark J Valencia makes sense of the situation.

For Epeli Hau’ofa, by Karlo Mila.

The race is on to patent all marine life – and some have got a head start. Marine scientist Robert Blasiak explains to Vanessa Baird what it means.

Can fishers, coastguards and marine activists see off the thieves from powerful nations plundering the seas of West Africa? Aïda Grovestins reports.

Living sea; Fewer fish in the sea than ever before; Acid sea; Sea of plastic; Blue economy; Future prospects?; Marine protection.

Sea-bed mining promises many riches, but at great risk. Should we pause for thought? asks marine biologist Diva Amon.

Without the ocean, climate change would be happening much faster.

The coming months are critical if we are going to stop the damaging free-for-all that is the current status quo and save the world’s oceans for our common future. Vanessa Baird examines the prospects.

The world has never been better. From global poverty to inequality between nations, all the indicators are showing progress. This is a comforting narrative – popularized by the likes of Bill Gates and Steven Pinker. But is it true? Jason Hickel examines the rise of this so-called ‘New Optimism’, with its ‘battle cry for the status quo’.

Veronique Mistiaen speaks to environmental lawyer Alfred Brownell about the grave threat palm-oil corporations pose to the people of Sinoe County, Liberia, and the rich rainforests they depend upon.

In the refugee camps of Iraqi Kurdistan, Yazidi women are using boxing to overcome the traumas of war. Report by Monir Ghaedi, photos by Giacomo Sini.

The city can provide cover and anonymity to those who seek it, explains David Nnanna Ikpo.

Anne-Marie Broudehoux punctures the bombastic narrative of civic pride and prosperity that accompanies sporting mega-events to reveal how they actually remake the city upon the backs of the poor.

Architecture is never neutral, explains Laith Kharus Whitwham. But can it be made to truly serve the public?