SCENARIO: MODERN TIMES here tries out an imaginary scenario to compare two irreconcilable conflicts. It is up to the reader to make up their own mind as to what this might mean.
Energy: MODERN TIMES's commentator Ole Seifert will in future regularly cover ecological technology and innovations. Various innovations in energy and power are presented here: ocean current turbines, solar power with ferroelectric crystals, hemp batteries and mechanical storage of excess power – which replaces batteries.
Herat: What does Afghanistan's Herat look like one year after the Taliban took over? Herat is the example of what Afghanistan could look like – as the city has 780 places on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This report gives a look from both the 1970s and today.
WIEGO: The informal economy is often stigmatized as a "shadow economy" and characterized as illegal and unethical. Such generalization is unfair to the vast majority of two billion informal workers trying to earn a decent living.
Conflict: The fact that unemployed urban youth go into drug dealing, street gangs, militias and sectarian political organizations is not surprising. Yet something else may be more important than crime prevention and counter-terrorism.
Globalization: Wilderness disappears; continents become more closely linked; the distinction between town and country becomes more blurred; and urban inequality is increasing.