18 must-read stories for the weekend

1. When is sustainability good for profit as well as people? Michael Posner, professor at NYU Stern School of Business, on how doing the right thing can make commercial sense.

2. By 2025, a quarter of us will live in 600 cities. What makes a city a global success? Find out in our new report.

3. Six megatrends that will shape the future of cities. Discover the most significant factors driving growth, poverty reduction and prosperity in the decades to come.

4. The economic threat of weak global governance. Turkey’s former Economic Affairs minister Kemal Derviş argues that weakening global governance is fast becoming the biggest risk facing the world economy.

5. Why Africa needs a data revolution. Most African countries have likely experienced economic growth, but how good are the statistics backing this up? The numbers don’t quite add up, says Amanda Glassman.

6. How bikes and buses helped Bogotá breathe. Konrad Otto-Zimmermann on how the Colombian city that beat kidnapping and crime is conquering its “staggering” air pollution problems.

7. The new nuclear insecurity. Nuclear risks become far more acute in a combat zone, where nuclear materials and weapons are at risk of theft, and reactors can become battlefield targets, writes Bennett Ramberg.

8. Europe needs a talent offensive. Forum research backs up this analysis the challenges facing Europe in attracting and keeping top talent to secure future growth. (Policy Network)

9. What does Nigeria need to be more competitive? Nigeria ranks 120th out of 148 countries ranked in the Forum’s Competitiveness index – watch this discussion on the measures being taken to turn its performance around. (CNBC Africa)

10. How people consume conspiracy theories on Facebook. Interesting discussion on how conspiracy theories spread on social media, including the Forum’s warning of the dangers of online misinformation. (MIT Technology Review)

11. Ending tariffs on green goods will show free trade can fight climate change. James Bacchus, chair of the Global Agenda Council on Governance for Sustainability, on why trade and the environment can be served together. (Guardian)

12. India and world trade negotiations. An in-depth look at India’s decision on the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement, citing Forum research. (Wall Street Journal)

13. Is Japan’s GDP sacrifice a price well paid? The recent plunge in the country’s GDP might be the price for much-needed fiscal correction. Meanwhile, has Italy really “gone back Into recession”? By US standards, it may never have left.

14. A border born in literature. Elias Muhanna on Iraq and Syria – the intricate process of nation forming and why national borders can be much more than simply lines on a map.

15. What empowers girls and young women? New evidence from the World Bank on development interventions that work.

16. Are we there yet? The Federal Reserve has made significant progress in achieving its objectives – but there’s more still to do.

17. Why stealing cars went out of fashion. How technology helped reduce the rate of car theft by 96 percent.

18. Is sunscreen a lifesaver or a poison?

Author: Adrian Monck is Managing Director of Public Engagement at the World Economic Forum, and Professor of Journalism at City University London.

Image: A wind turbine is pictured at a wind power farm in Beganne, western France, July 9, 2014. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe