LyrArc Article Gist
Jakarta is sinking with 40% of the city and most of North Jakarta under sea level. By 2030 the city is likely to be under water at the pace with which it is sinking into the Java Sea. Jakarta's problem comes from years of overbuilding, migration from rural areas, with no adequate system for supplying piped water. Many of the wells illegally built by developers, with 97% of the city in concrete preventing resupply of aquifers from heavy rains, have aggravated the sinking. The aquifers acted as a kind of foundation for Jakarta. Climate change is another factor adding to the problem. As a result a city that gets heavy rains and rivers coming in from the mountains with water, is now flooded frequently, unlike an earlier period when the Dutch used canals and dikes to manage the water flow. Efforts to prevent developers from draining the aquifers on which Jakarta rests have failed. North Jakarta is the worst affected and this area has many of the poor slum areas of the city. Evicting the tenants living there to clear the debris and clean up the canals and rivers has failed. The former governor of Jakarta, Mr Purnama known as Ahok, of ethnic Chinese origin, lost the election to Islamic parties and their allies following his efforts to clean up the area and take action to replenish the aquifiers. This NYT report is based on interviews with residents of the kampungs or settlements of people from rural areas within North Jakarta. A Dutch hydrologist Mr Brinkman is a expert on Jakarta's water systems. He says eviction is not the answer by itself but some effort to move people is needed and North Jakarta needs to be restored to its original mangrove situation, which would allow replenishing of underground water. Giving Jakarta a more stable foundation. About 30 million people live in this fast growing city and a lot depends on how Indonesians can prevent the city from sinking further into the Java Sea. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Suryakumar knock of 84 in 49 balls in India vs US in cricket, as India win by 29 runs- T20 World Cup 2026.

LyrArc Article Gist
How one can meet the needs of older people in small rural communities is the subject of this video report in DW.com. Cottbus is 12 kilometres away and the nearest town to a small rural community Neuhausen in Brandenburg state, Germany. Many older people rely on public transport and there are no stores in the small rural areas. Hildegard Blaske in her 90, still goes cycling, and remembers the time before unification in 1990 when older people still counted in a different way and quaint little stores provided their needs in the area.  

Former Day center employees Ulrich and Cindy use a retrofitted Peugeot Boxer vehicle to take groceries to older people where they live. Older people hesitate to go to stores during the pandemic. And they offer a chat and local news. This kind of effort is also a part of life in France today.

LyrArc Article Gist
How Integrative Medicine, changes in lifestyle and diet, yoga and exercize, meditation, no smoking habits, can add up to changes in the nation's health that work more effectively than new drugs to prevent or delay the onset and progression of chronic diseases like diabetes, asthma, heart disease and of obesity, etc that consume 75% of the costs in the $2.1 trillion spent on medical care in the USA. Shockingly 95% of these costs are incurred after the onset of the disease, proving that prevention is simply not an important part of the equation.

LyrArc Article Gist
During the debate on the name of the country in the Constituent Assembly in 1948 the wording was to be changed from "India, that is Bharat, is a Union of States" to "Bharat, that is India, is a Union of States." This was suggested by Kamalapathi Tripathi and Kamath. At some point in history the Union can only be "Bharat." Why? Because for the hundreds of millions that Gandhiji led in the Independence Movement it was for the idea of Bharat and freedom that they were fighting for. Freedom could only be defined in the word Bharat. It can be argued that Gandhiji and Sardar Patel, Nehru left it as "India, that is Bharat" so that at some point it would be changed once the country had taken Gandhiji's movement of "We, the People" to the next step lifting up the hundreds of millions of people from poverty and illiteracy, a process that is Gandhi 2.0 happening today.

LyrArc Article Gist
Patricia Cohen show here that the global economic system (globalization) was a project that benefitted one country: China. President Biden talks repeatedly about reversing these trends at an AFL-CIO campaign rally in Philadelphia- building infrastructure and infrastructure jobs here in the USA. Biden talked about investments, in trillions of dollars, in renewable energy, chips, science, airports, bridges, the I95 repair, that had all one common thread running through it- jobs in America, jobs for union workers and families. And the idea behind it of respect, respect for the dignity of hard work of workers in the US and union workers.

LyrArc Article Gist
The growing risk of coronavirus delta variant from the filled soccer stadiums in places such as Budapest, Hungary, St. Petersburg, Russia, Copenhagen, Denmark. Where many were not wearing masks and social distancing of any sort was not done. Covid researchers say the risk is real and DW.com looks at what is happening at the games in many European cities and stadiums in summer 2021.

LyrArc Article Gist
This article in the WSJ remembers Prince Philip for his remarkable service during World War II, coming from a generation that sees the British struggle against Germany in World War II in almost mythological terms. Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth navigated both that period and the transition of the British Empire into free nations in Asia and Africa. The significance of this achievement is understated in America. It can only be fully appreciated in the nations of the British Commonwealth, for no other colonial nation has been able to make that kind of transition, not the Dutch in Indonesia, not the French in Algeria without war. Another significant achievement of that period was the sense of duty that pervaded Britain not only for this generation in Britain, but the generations that preceded it going back to the conflict with Napoleonic France and the British Navy under Admiral Horatio Nelson. It is forgotten that much of the sense of duty to country and the people, and one's fellow citizens, helped Britain prevail against Napoleonic France in the period around 1800. This shaped Britain and Prince Philip, and is also part of what India and other free nations in Asia and Africa can learn from. It is also what makes Global Britain not just a slogan but a way to bring together a partnership with UK, US, Australia, and India, the largest democracies with a common history. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
No longer can Canada and Mexico skew things in their favor with cooperative elites/economists with faulty failed theory in the US, and then say everything is OK. DJT calls for a 50% U.S. content requirement for automobiles for lower tariffs under the USMCA.

LyrArc Article Gist
How the grandiose visions of Saudi new cities in the desert are being reset after the war, and the people in the poorest countries are being faced with higher prices for food, fuel and fertilizer when they can least afford it in 2026. The media focus has been on the Hormuz without saying, A. -that now with the Omani route added to the Iranian route in Hormuz a new defacto 2 route Hormuz is setup by the US Iran agreement. B.- that China has already reset its energy policy to do without the 3 million barrels a day it got through Hormuz, India has already setup new oil supplies from Venezuela, Japan is working out new arrangements, US is creating incentives for oil companies to produce in other regions of the world. And C.- the renewable energy policies, how much energy to use per unit of GDP under effcient use, is being accelerated in EU, India, China and Japan, and indirectly also in the US as cost of renewables comes down compared to fossil fuels. These will be constructive aspects of the situation. The world also shifts away from the Middle East a source of decades of wars that brought down the Soviet Union, destroyed some economies in South Asia (Afghanistan, Pakistan), created the distraction for the US that led to letting its infrastructure and economy to weaken, and destroyed the economic and social fabric in many parts of the Arab world and North Africa (Libya, Iran, Iraq, Syria). It closes a chapter of the Middle East from which lessons can be drawn for a focus on economic development and using science and technology to improve living standards of the people of the world, to tackle climate change, and for peaceful cooperation of major nations. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Longer hours spent on math training and wrestling with problems in small groups is one of the changes made at this elementary school in Connecticut, US. Math in lower grade levels took a hit during Covid pandemic.

LyrArc Article Gist
Labor party in UK gets 35% of the vote with Conservatives at 26% and Liberals at 20%, in Britain's local council elections. Other parties including the Greens gained 19% of the vote. There isn't much the Conservatives have done to help the British people meet the cost of living crisis. The economy is in worse shape and the country is not prepared to take on the climate change crisis. Britain gets closer to a general election.

LyrArc Article Gist
The EU moves to support Egypt's precarious economy with 7.4 billion in euros of aid and help for its economy. This comes at a crucial time for a country with 106 million people facing economic difficulties. 5 billion euros of concessional loans, 1.8 billion euros of investment, 600 million euros of grants including 200 million euros to manage migration. This is a positive proactive step taken by Leyen and EU. Leyen visited Cairo. Lessons have been learned. Joining Leyen in Cairo were leaders of Austria, Belgium, Greece and Italy in a new strategic partnership of European Union nations with Egypt. Pandemic and war in Ukraine affecting food supplies, higher energy costs, have hit Egypt hardest . No matter which government was running Egypt the problems simply were too big for a fragile economy in a difficult region. For the first time the EU has learned from the migration crisis and its own eurozone crisis, to work and cooperate with regions outside to ensure a better future for all. And not to be deflected with wars and other crises in making the right decisions ahead of time not reacting to crises but staying ahead of them. How many years have been lost- because the ideas for better lives of all was what president Kennedy's New Frontier was all about when he talked about it in the years 1956-1963. EU needs a new vision for Africa and Arab North Africa. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Without good governance India would fail to meet the aspirations of its youthful population of 1.2 billion people. The prevailing sense of impunity brought the country to an impasse 10 years ago and development of the country to a standstill, says prime minister Modi. Only 15 paise out every rupee reached the final beneficiary of government programs leading to a loss of confidence in government, said one prime minister. At this rate 16 lakh crores rupees out of 27 lakh crores transferred to final beneficiaries and the poor would have been lost, says pm Modi. During the struggle for independence of the 1940's, the drafting of the new constitution, early period after independence with distractions of partition, Mohandas Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Nehru, did not realize that for a period that would stretch from the 1950's for about 70 years almost as long as half of the period of British rule India's institutions would struggle to operate. India's institutions so carefully set up would struggle to operate effectively as political parties turned to state and local funds meant for development to finance their election campaigns. A new culture got entrenched that considered this to be an acceptable way of operating- destroying the chances of development in the world's largest nation and keeping 1.2 billion people in a permanent state of underdeveloped economy.    ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Joao Fonseca of Brazil in a 5 set win at Roland Garros French Open over Djokovic. The victory, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5, after 4hr 53min almost 5 hours got to the point where Djokovic was utterly exhausted. Fonseca is 19 years old Djokovic 39 years and this showed as Fonseca took the last 3 sets to win. Fonseca's self-belief helped him and he said in a post match interview; “I just played. I just enjoyed being on court. What a pleasure it was.”

LyrArc Article Gist
The demand for electricity in US electricity power markets shows the demand growth for electricity doubled in 2024 forecasts compared to 2023 forecasts. Increased electricity demand was shown for Texas and the western US. The outlook for carbon emissions in 2024 is for higher energy demand and meeting of the extra demand by keeping coal plants running for longer and not retiring as many coal plants as predicted in 2023 outlook for carbon emissions. This is a major concern from the point of view of climate change action. According to the Department of energy since beginning of 2022 547 fossil fuel powered generators were predicted to be retiring. 36% of these had their retirement dates pushed back to keep the grid's reliability. 

LyrArc Article Gist
China's efforts to control air pollution by increasing supply of wind power, hydroelectric power and nuclear power. Efforts to control air pollution and the problems China faces. Proposal for a carbon tax on polluting plants.

LyrArc Article Gist
The U.S. commander in Europe, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, says Russia respects strength, and the U.S. must add capability in this situation where Russia is no longer a partner with the U.S. and Europe as it appeared to be previously. He sees the U.S. as ready to meet all its commitments and protecting democracy. He also says Twitter is not the best way to communicate policy as president Trump does, and that he receives his instructions through the chain of command.

LyrArc Article Gist
Guy Scott, a Britisher from Livingston on the Zambezi river in what was then Northern Rhodesia, was a leading white member of Zambia's government. He served in Zambia as Agriculture Minister under Kaunda and Vice President under Sata. Guy Scott helped tackle a drought in Zambia to prevent famine. He died at 82 in Lusaka where he has a farm for strawberries. Guy Scott studied Economics at Cambridge in 1965. In 1986 he studied for doctorate in cognitive sciences at the University of Sussex. His father was a Scottish born physician, lawmaker and newspaper publisher, his mother a English nurse. For a 90 day period in 2024 after the death of Sata he was president of Zambia. Guy Scott is one of a long line of Britishers who helped people in Asia and Africa during the transition to home rule that started with the British agent in Rajkot, Gujarat, Sir Frederic Lely, who helped Mohandas Gandhi get accepted to study law in London. When India emerges as a modern industrialized economy by 2040-2047, the largest democracy in the world, and with Indonesia by far the largest country in the world given their shared heritage and modernization, it is important not to forget the role played by well meaning and good British people. Britishers who understood and respected the country and culture, that were both part of and separate in their aspirations for an independent India from the colonial establishment. Guy Scott will be one of these well regarded Britishers in the modern history of the world. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Pictures in NYT of the long life of Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth.

LyrArc Article Gist
Cost to reduce global warming to 1.5 degree centigrade goal set for climate change is estimated to cost $131 trillion. $116 trillion would be for electrification, new technologies, rebuilding electricity networks, efficiency. $24 trillion needs to be redirected quickly from fossil fuel investment to investment in reducing climate change by investing in other energy sources. 

The danger lies in 2.7 degree centigrade warming of the planet by the end of the century.

LyrArc Article Gist
The crew of 3 Americans and one Canadian on the Artemis II Moon Mission will be the first human beings to reach the moon in 50 years.

LyrArc Article Gist
Humor from The Times on girl's schools, pricey law firm jobs, and father's day during the pandemic when what matters most is health and wellness, inner spiritual wellbeing.