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Hello again
How was your summer? Did you get away? Returning back from a short break in Stockholm earlier this week, I reflected on how travel is already changing across Europe. With soaring temperatures across the continent, heading North is increasingly the smart way to avoid the heatwaves
Stockholm puts sustainability front and center. From the moment you step on the excellent Arlanda express airport train (complete with Scandi-chic wood panelling), to my hotel which boasted glass carafes embossed with a simple message: “Sweden has some of the best water in the world. Fill me from the tap and taste the difference”.
Sweden’s capital is eerily quiet. Noisy cars and trucks have given way to bikes, e-scooters and world-class public transport so clean and reliable that driving simply doesn’t make sense.
If you’re as excited about this vision of a sustainable future as I am, I urge you to join our upcoming Forbes Sustainability Leaders Summiton 20th September. You can join in person in New York or virtually and hear from business leaders, entrepreneurs and policy leaders who are taking action to address climate change.
Five Things We Learned
Finland is testing the world’s first digital passport. Finnish citizens travelling between the UK and Helsinki can pass through the airport’s border using the European Union’s new smartphone-based digital ID. The $2.5m dollar pilot is expected to be rolled out across much of the bloc by 2030.
India might be changing its name. Eyebrows were raised across India when a state dinner invite to G20 leaders was signed off with “the President of ‘Bharat” instead of the usual India. The news sparked rumors that the ruling BJP party may make moves to formally change the country’s name in the next parliamentary session.
China has reportedly banned government officials from using iPhones. The move mirrors similar bans against Chinese tech in the United States. This is potentially bad news for Apple, which now counts China as its largest market.
Rental E-Scooters are now banned in Paris. The much-loathed site of scooters scattered across the sidewalks of Paris has become history, after Parisians overwhelmingly voted to ban them earlier this year. Rental companies are expected to switch to e-bikes, taking advantage of the city’s extensive cycle lanes.
There’s a robot mop that looks after itself. For the ultimate in convenience, look no further than SwitchBot’s new floor cleaning robot, which unlike the competition does away with the burdensome task of refilling its water tanks and emptying its own bins. Another first world problem solved…
The Good
90-minute flights from New York to Paris could become a reality. American startup Hermeus is hatching an audacious plan to build a passenger plane that could fly five times faster than the speed of sound, or 3,850 miles per hour. With backing from the Pentagon to test the technology on military drones, passenger flights could be coming sooner than you’d think.
The Bad
Cancer is on the rise amongst younger people, but scientists don’t know why. New cancer diagnoses in under 50s rose by 79%between 1990 and 2019. Researchers note the rate of new cases were highest in developed countries, while lower income countries suffered disproportionately high death rates.
Watch
Carlos Ghosn on his $1.1 billion lawsuit against Nissan. The auto executive’s escape from Japan stunned the world in 2019, now the fugitive wants to settle the score with a blockbuster legal action against his former employer, and colleagues.
Listen
The city that sold itself to Wall Street. When Morgan Stanley offered to lease Chicago’s parking meters for $1 billion, the city thought it had stuck gold. They soon learned they hadn’t just lost parking revenue, they’d traded away the streets themselves. Cautionary Tales,free to listen worldwide.
Read
Stories from my life as a vet. TV vet Dr James Greenwood’s memoir offers a raw and honest account of life as a vet with touching personal stories of life, death and the unpredictable lives of pets. Seven Dials, from $12.
Taste
Cher launcher her own ice cream brand. Showing no signs of slowing down at 77, pop icon Cher revealed ‘Cherlato’, to her ecstatic fans on Instagram. For the more adventurous foodie, look out for “SoCal’s Coldest Avocado on Toast” flavor, made from creamy avocado topped with breadcrumbs.
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