Jakarta is sinking, struggling to keep the sea from invading the streets and neighbourhoods.

When Juscelino Kubitschek was elected 21st president of Brazil in 1955 he immediately fulfilled his promise to build a brand new centrally located capital city.

The modern office is evolving.

700 square kilometres of desert east of Cairo have been transformed into a huge construction site.

‘Astana is no more, long live Nur-Sultan’ An artificial city in the steppe, to the glory of the eponymous president, where futuristic bling clashes with sleepy Soviet decay.

On 29 August 1949, four years after the Americans dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, the Soviets launched ‘Operation First Lightning’ at a secret location in the steppes of eastern Kazakhstan.

Corona Virus Diary by Nick Hannes A strange calm has descended upon the land.

Today’s cruise ships resemble small towns, complete with shops, restaurants, cafes, discotheques, fitness rooms, casinos, swimming pools and even mini golf courses.

"The Pacific may have the most changeless, ageless aspect of any ocean but the Mediterranean Sea celebrates the continuity of man.

Nick Hannes travelled the length and breadth of the former Soviet Union – all fifteen former republics – to document the reality of post-communist societies in the fragments of the once all-powerful empire.

"Dubai has developed into a vast theme park, where you can ski in the desert and swim with dolphins.