Guatemala might be holding general elections on June 25, but it is rapidly losing its claim to be a democracy. A cohort of predatory factions has been jointly coopting independent institutions and pushing opponents into exile or jail since 2019, leading many Guatemalans to view the election as a pointless farce.
A small but growing group of scientists are beginning to draft the blueprints and build the prototypes of “climate time machines,” in the form of carbon removal and geoengineering. These approaches have the potential to unwind decades of delay and avert climate catastrophe, but they are unproven and come with risks.
The U.K. is the latest country in the Global North to prioritize resettlement schemes over accepting asylum-seekers who arrive at the border. In many ways, these approaches seem to criminalize vulnerable people. States can and should deal with the rising number of asylum-seekers making risky voyages in a more humane way.
Across developed countries, aging populations and slowing economic growth are rendering today’s retirement institutions unsustainable. As a result, working longer as societies age is both natural and necessary, meaning that what future generations may look back on as the “golden age” of retirement is now coming to an end.