Author Archives: admin

WESTERN SAHARA Dec 3.4, 2016 Ask any Moroccan about the status of the Western Sahara and they’ll insist it’s sovereign soil, yet international law is clear that this is still under dispute. For travellers, it’s mainly an empty windswept stretch … Continue reading →

Mauritania Dec 4-9, 2016 Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb region of western North Africa. It is the eleventh largest country in Africa and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Morocco and the remnants of Western … Continue reading →

How to make economic liberalism fairer and more effective Oct 1st 2016 Economist There may be few better advocates of the benefits to America of an open economy than Pin Ni, boss of Wanxiang America Corporation, part of a private … Continue reading →

A dearth of competition among firms helps explain wage inequality and a host of other ills Oct 1st 2016 Economist In “The Fugitive”, a 1960s television drama, David Janssen plays Richard Kimble, a doctor wrongly convicted of murdering his wife … Continue reading →

Foreign direct investment is mostly welcome, but large short-term flows spell trouble Oct 1st 2016 Economist Ireland Shannon Airport on Ireland’s west coast has been a gateway from Europe to America since the 1940s. It was built across the estuary … Continue reading →

Needed but not wanted – Economic migrants are seen as a threat to jobs and the welfare state. The reality is more complex Oct 1st 2016 Economist Stoke-on-Trent in northern England is home to the world’s second-oldest professional football club, … Continue reading →

Truths and myths about the effects of openness to trade Oct 1st 2016 Economist In March 2000, two months before a crucial vote in America’s Congress on whether to make normal trading relations with China permanent, Bill Clinton gave a … Continue reading →

The consensus in favour of open economies is cracking. Is globalisation no longer a good thing? Oct 1st 2016 Economist There is nothing dark, still less satanic, about the Revolution Mill in Greensboro, North Carolina. The tall yellow-brick chimney stack, … Continue reading →

Why they’re wrong – Globalisation’s critics say it benefits only the elite. In fact, a less open world would hurt the poor most of all Oct 1st 2016 Economist In September 1843 the Liverpool Mercury reported on a large free-trade … Continue reading →

LONDON TO GIBRALTAR This winter’s trip promises to be my biggest adventure yet – Morocco to Cape Town overland – 16 countries over 5½ months – most on the dodgy side. I met a young guy in Jakarta 2 years … Continue reading →