23 stories you might have missed this week

1. “There is no planet B.” From Ghana to the Bahamas, find out how young leaders are fighting climate change.

2. Holidays should be care-free. But travel often isn’t, and visas take a toll on economies as well as tempers.

3. Competitiveness World Cup: the results. We did slightly better than a tossed coin.

4. Are the BRICS beginning to crumble? Inequality casts a shadow over the summit in Fortaleza, writes Leo Schlesinger. Also: Why Brazil should open up to the world.

5. House prices are rising as fast as before 2008.  Are we heading for another economic crisis, asks Robert Shiller.

6. What do the Incas and Moses teach us about economics? Coen Teulings on why the past is surprisingly consistent.

7. The number of Polish websites has leapt tenfold in a decade. And we’ve only just begun, says the country’s Minister of Digitization.

8. “Food isn’t just a commodity.” Without it, we die. And future supplies are not assured, warns Charles Godfray. (video) 

9. The recipe of Angela Merkel’s success. As Germany’s Federal Chancellor turns 60, Philipp Rösler reflects on her political longevity. (Handelsblatt)

10. Women won’t get equal pay until 2075. Forum data on the gender gap features in this report on skewed UK salaries. (CityAM)

11. Faith in the multistakeholder community.  A report on Philipp Rösler’s visit to the Vatican highlights some common goals. (Radio Vatikan)

12. Germany’s triumph, on and off the pitch. Competitiveness World Cup analysis on why nurturing talent matters. (Daily News Egypt) 

13. Forum leaders take to the streets.  Global Leadership Fellows learn about public health challenges in Harlem. (New York Daily News)

14. Movements in the circular economy. William McDonough’s appointment as Chair of the Global Agenda Meta-Council on the Circular Economy is noted. (Environmental Leader)

15. Five economic takeaways from the BRICS summit. And will China’s role cause tensions in the group’s new development bank?

16. TV anchor detained as China cracks down on graft. The FT explains the arrest of Rui Chenggang, “the media face of Chinese capitalism.” And why we took down his profile page.

17. Four-minute Hegel. “We long for progress, yet we are continually confronted by conflict and setbacks.” Alain de Botton digests the philosopher’s message for modern times.

18. A world without water. The FT investigates what a looming water crisis means for companies.

19. The power of making amends. “Conciliatory gestures promote forgiveness and reduce anger.”

20. How to flawlessly predict anything. From World Cups to elections – a worrying hoax for the Twitter age.

21. The Viking Facebook. What happens if you map the connections in an Icelandic saga? This.

22. People, not places. That’s what’s behind the rebranding of Forum Technology Pioneer Airbnb. Stop sniggering at the back.

23. What’s so funny?

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

Image: Images representing China and Brazil are projected onto the outer walls of Brasilia’s national museum, July 17, 2014. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino