The Economist Special Report: ‘The Africa Gap’

Special reports: The Africa gap

THE ECONOMIST SPECIAL REPORT (January 11, 2025): The Africa gap – The economic gap between Africa and the rest of the world is getting wider, says John McDermott

The economic gap between Africa and the rest of the world is growing

Africa is undergoing social change without economic transformation

Africa has too many businesses, too little business

African elites should align themselves with their countries’ needs

The African investment environment is at its worst in years

To catch up economically, Africa must think big

Country Life Magazine – January 15, 2025 Preview

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE (January 14, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Totally Tropical’ – The gardens of Tresco, where anything grows…

Totally tropical taste

Tiffany Daneff savours the exotic surroundings of Tresco Abbey Garden, where the temperate climate of the Isles of Scilly has created a colourful paradise

Box of tricks

The devastation of box blight is well documented, but what can we do to save our hedges?  Charles Quest-Ritson investigates

Now that’s what I call pulling power

The ox may have disappeared from the fields of Britain, but that mighty beast of burden still plays a huge role in agriculture across the globe, finds Laura Parker

 ‘Make way for Her Majesty’s gloves!’

You’ve got to hand it to Cornelia James, suggests Katy Birchall, as she recounts the incredible rise to prominence of our late Queen’s favourite glove-maker

Amie Atkinson’s favourite painting

The actress selects a heavenly landscape that has fired her imagination since childhood

The legacy

Tiffany Daneff pays tribute to Beth Chatto, whose ‘right plant, right place’ philosophy inspired her Essex dry garden

Top seats

The best chairs and benches for the garden, with Amelia Thorpe

Cool schools

Non Morris taps into the expert knowledge of Troy Scott-Smith, Charles Dowding and Tom Stuart-Smith as she digs into some of Britain’s best garden courses

Town versus Earl

John Goodall charts the history of The Lord Leycester and its outstanding medieval buildings in Warwickshire that have been given a whole new lease of life

See you on the top deck

To celebrate the centenary of London’s covered double-decker bus, Rob Crossan hops aboard for a whistle-stop tour of our capital’s public transport

The good stuff

Hetty Lintell keeps her cool with a sparkling selection of jewellery inspired by ice

Interiors

Arabella Youens admires a sitting room in London and Amelia Thorpe answers the call of the wild with animal accessories

Kitchen garden cook

Earthy leeks take centre stage in winter for Melanie Johnson

Be still, my beating art

An obsession with Emma, Lady Hamilton led painter George Romney to produce his finest pieces, reveals Carla Passino

Culture: The New Atlantis Journal – Winter 2025

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THE NEW ATLANTIS JOURNAL (January 14, 2025): The latest issue features…

The New Control Society

The gatekeepers are dying. Why is everything so mid?

We Live Like Royalty and Don’t Know It

Introducing “How the System Works,” a series on the hidden mechanisms that support modern life

The Tyranny of Now

There’s no time like the present to revisit the warning of forgotten media theorist Harold Innis: “Enormous improvements in communication have made understanding more difficult.”

The Nation Magazine – February 2025 Preview

Cover of February 2025 Issue

THE NATION MAGAZINE (January 14, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Jazz Off The Record’ – In the late 1960s, the recording industry lost interest in America’s greatest art form. But in a small, dark club on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, jazz legends were playing the …

A Tale of Two Presidents

Remembering Carter as we steel ourselves for Trump’s second inauguration.

The Political Economy of Trumpism

Though he started by threatening Mexico, Canada, and China, Trump’s tariffs mean the US will drain Europe as Ukraine fades.

The Media Is Giving Away Its Rights Even Before Trump Tries to Take Them

Recent events have shown that Trump does not have to impose a new regime of censorship if the press censors itself first.

The Nation’s Early Experiments in Jazz

When the magazine began covering jazz in the 1920s, it often struggled to catch the beat.

News: Ceasefire Deal In Gaza, Impeachment Trial Begins In South Korea

MONOCLE RADIO (January 14, 2025): The impeachment trial for South Korea’s embattled president, Yoon Suk Yeol, gets under way with the first hearings in Seoul. Also on the programme: Pope Francis’s biography is published and leaders of Nato’s Baltic nations talk defence.

Then: has there been a “breakthrough” in a deal between Israel and Hamas? Plus: the life and legacy of Italy’s Oliviero Toscani, the photographer behind shock Benetton ads.

The New York Times – Tuesday, January 14, 2025

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Once the Fires Are Out, California Must Remove Tons of Dangerous Debris

Clearing the toxic remnants of burned buildings around Los Angeles will require a complex and expensive mobilization. California has been there before.

This Is Where the Palisades Fire Started

In the hills above Pacific Palisades, there is crime scene tape and scattered debris, clues to what may have caused the initial fire that eventually raged through thousands of structures.

Biden Aides Warned Putin as Russia’s Shadow War Threatened Air Disaster

The White House scrambled to get a message to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last year after U.S. intelligence agencies said a Russian military unit was preparing to send explosive packages on cargo planes.

Battles Rage Inside Russia, With Waves of Tanks, Drones and North Koreans

Ukrainian soldiers are describing fierce clashes as Russian forces try to retake territory in the Kursk region that could be key in eventual cease-fire talks.