The Economist on Desk (7-September-2017)
The Economist on Desk (7-September-2017)
Daily Dispatch | Thursday | September 7th 2017 | |
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| Brexit: The withdrawal method | The debate on the EU withdrawal bill, which seeks to translate into British law 12,000-odd EU regulations, has centred on claims that the executive is usurping parliamentary powers. The bill seems sure to be weakened, in the upper house if not the lower, because of concerns that laws are being amended without scrutiny. A government struggling to negotiate in Brussels is finding little relief at home, says our Brexit editor |
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| African housing: Constructive criticism | Ethiopia’s flagship social-housing programme is probably the most ambitious in Africa. But for most locals the houses are barely affordable. Ethiopia is not alone in this respect. Throughout Africa uncompetitive construction industries, inappropriate regulations and thin land markets serve to drive up costs. For many Africans struggling to get onto the property ladder, “affordable housing” can be something of a misnomer |
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| John le Carré: The writer comes in from the cold | George Smiley returns. “A Legacy of Spies”, Mr le Carré’s 24th novel, published today, brings the old spymaster back to the public stage. In what may turn out to be the author’s last book, the moral ambiguities in the conduct of the cold war and the blurry nature of treachery—the leitmotifs of his earlier novels—have given way to a bristling anger, even rage, over what Mr le Carré sees as the turpitude of the West |
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