Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio.

I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

Deserts have a way of expanding, eating up fertile land at their margins.

In China, which is about a quarter desert by area, officials are fighting that sandy push

with a reforestation project, they call a green-great wall.

But those measures could be making the problem worse.

And no nation provides more crew for the global shipping industry than the Philippines.

There are about a quarter million Filipinos at sea right now.

They're renowned for being well-trained

and willing to work for low pay.

But on a visit to where many of them find work,

it seems that all that could be changing.

First up, though,

Mexico's president held a rally on Saturday, what he called a celebration.

In the town of Tijuana, near America's southern border, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

told the crowd they were celebrating an agreement reached with President Donald Trump,

which a threatened round of tariffs.

In the defense of the dignity of our country been defended, and with a great political

he said the dignity of Mexico had been defended, and with great political maturity,

friendship with the American people was preserved.

Mexico avoided the 5% across the board levy, due to be imposed today by announcing it would do more

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