ESSAY

WOKE: The crime community is pushing people over to the right, which is growing because people feel alienated by woke and identity politics. Moreover, the left has become more interested in monitoring each other than forming a common front against the right. Is solidarity and compassion for the suffering of others a limited resource?

UNITED NATIONS: MODERN TIMES prints here Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's speech to the UN Security Council in New York on 20 September 2023. He emphasizes that the UN Charter is the cornerstone of today's international legislation – which has not been followed in terms of peace and security in Ukraine. Lavrov also points out that the Ukrainian constitution states that the state is obliged to respect the Russians and other ethnic minorities. In Lavrov's view, it is the Western countries that do not want to overcome the deep crisis that has arisen in international relations. Here you have the opportunity to (and with ORIENTERINGs several articles) to read and evaluate yourself.

RESILIENCE: Photographer Eduardo Moreno – who has allowed us to use several photos in this appendix – asks if it is possible to think anew. He calls for us to learn to build new maps of closeness, density and cohesion.

CAPE TOWN: South Africa is in a housing crisis, and with failing infrastructure and widespread political corruption, the poorest are hit hardest. The local humanitarian organization The Shackbuilder builds shacks, temporary housing made of wood and corrugated metal sheets for people in need. We tried to contribute.

NEOM: The biggest and most controversial 'new city' project in the world? In order to complete the enormous construction works in Saudi Arabia with the NEOM city project over the next 25 years, it is estimated that 100 workers will be needed – mainly migrants. At the same time, NEOM has been criticized for a lack of sustainable development and violations of human rights.

URBANIZATION: China has chosen urbanization as its main strategy. In China, 11 million housing units are built every year, and 10–15 districts are completed every day. The country is now offering standardized turnkey city models to other countries at a loan cost of $4 billion – Ukraine next?