World Bank says globe seeing 'tragic reversals in development' due to World Bank Group President David Malpass said Monday the Earth is seeing "tragic reversals in development" due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Joseph Choi TheHill

World Bank Group President David Malpass said Monday the Earth is seeing "tragic reversals in development" due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

G20 leaders vow to supply vaccine to needy countries, despite funding shortfall Leaders approve final declaration with no objection from Donald Trump to climate language. POLITICO

The world’s 20 most powerful economies pledged Sunday to lead a global battle against the coronavirus health and economic crisis — even as their own virtual gathering revealed the risks of national competition for the quickest access to vaccines and other therapeutics.

IMAGE: A boom in telecommunications businesses – including the arrival of e-commerce giant Alibaba – has transformed once-sleepy Guiyang. Photograph: Alamy

theguardian.com - March 20th 2017 - Benjamin Haas

China now has more than 100 cities of over 1 million residents, a number that is likely to double in the next decade.

According to the Demographia research group, the world’s most populous country boasts 102 cities bigger than 1 million people, many of which are little known outside the country – or even within its borders.

Quanzhou, for example, on the south-east coast of China, was one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world a millennium ago, when it served as a hub for traders from across Asia and the Middle East. 

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