The remote, coral-fringed North Sentinel Island made headlines late last year, after an American Christian missionary’s covert expedition to convert its residents – the world’s last known pre-Neolithic tribal group – ended in his death.

Secrets may be among the most valuable assets that governments have: the Trojan Horse, the Enigma code, the Manhattan Project, and surprise attacks such as Pearl Harbor, the Six-Day War, and the Yom Kippur War are just a few of the best-known examples.

During a recent commute to work, as my car inched along in rush-hour traffic, I watched a heron stalk the banks of the Potomac River. The majestic bird was a timely reminder that nature and beauty can be found in the unlikeliest of circumstances.

When it comes to fighting infectious diseases, progress cannot be gauged by the availability of resources; the most important metric is the number of lives saved. By this measure, the world is on the verge of losing its battle with malaria.

Let us hope that 2019 is the year when the historical tide turns. In 2018, divisions within and between countries continued to deepen.

In November 2017, scientists working in Sumatra, Indonesia, made an exciting announcement: they had discovered a new species of orangutan, bringing to seven the number of great ape species globally.

China’s economic performance in 2018 was rather disappointing. According to official statistics, the country’s growth rate up to the end of the third quarter was 6.7 percent, the lowest since the global financial crisis.

In 1950, the Canadian-born Princeton University economist Jacob Viner explained a customs union produces a “trade creation” effect, as lower tariffs and non-tariff barriers spur increased flows of goods among member countries.

When resources are limited, it is human capital that defines the sustainable development of a community, especially in the case of costly misallocation and underutilisation, as is often the case in developing countries.

Financial digitalisation – the digital revolution’s system-level transformation of the entire financial ecosystem – could catalyse global efforts to finance sustainable development.