sOMe tRenDs nEvEr dIe – ThEy jUsT reTuRn iN dIffErEnt fOrM. Case in point: Delia's (stylized on its catalog cover as dELiA*s.) More than once, the internet has mourned the loss of the teen girl clothing store with the erratically capitalized name and its incredible catalog.  SEE ALSO: This country needs Jimmy Carter's impeccable cardigan collection now more than ever Every few years or so, someone announces the brand’s death, only for the brand to reemerge in some diminished form online. Its slow death began in 2014, and extended to 2015.  Even now, the brand continues to hang on with a simple site. And yet the nostalgia keeps flowing. The eulogies are extensive and exhausting. Still, Delia’s – as an aesthetic and as a YA worldview, not as a company – has reemerged, on our clothing racks and throughout our digital spaces. tHe bEst pArT of tHE '90s iS aLiVe. To be fair, '90s fashion has been back since 2016, the height of the mom jeans renaissance. In the years since, the trend's proliferated and gathered hurricane-level energy.  To see the trend at work, look no further than the Urban Outfitters fall 2018 collection, which looks ripped from the pages of a late 90s Delia's catalog. The styles are pretty much carbon copies of its Clinton-era ancestor. Frankly, I'm thrilled. Here's where to spot the trend in action: A stripe success story Evidence A: Compare how Delia's did a multicolor, oversized horizontal stripe with how Urban does it today: Delia's, 1996: if anyone can help me acquire this look from the winter 1996 delia's catalog, i'd be forever grateful pic.twitter.com/tmROC06bNr — Alexis Molnar (@alexiskaymolnar) March 6, 2017 Urban Outfitters, 2018 That '90s version of a '70s stoners lewkImage: screenshot/urban outfitters Denim skirts are cross-generational skirtsImage: screenshot/urban outfitters Just ordered my 13 shirt! Alone the shirt looks like it came from @delias in 1998. I actually still have a pair of their cords so I'll wear it with a choker and BAM! 90's gurrl. I'll travel through time with fashion. @HerUniverse @bbcdoctorwho #doctorwho pic.twitter.com/BELfu4KURT — Vicki Brenner Scruggs (@Vickiinmyhead) August 23, 2018 I, for one, am thrilled to see stripes in full force, having suffered through the soporific Stripeless Tee Era, lasting 2014-2015. The great American overall revival The Delia's trend transcends retro stripes. Take a look at evidence B: Overalls. Overalls took a nose-dive sometime in the early '00s. Now, try walking through Brooklyn without running into a 30-year-old dressed like a Nick Jr. character. If there's one good thing to come out of the Trump era, it's the Great Overall Revival. Late '90s Delia's and 2018 Urban Outfitters have been at the forefront of overall-positivity, but so have dozens of celebrity influencers and regular humans on Instagram. Attribute its renaissance to whatever variable you want, whether it's simple cultural nostalgia, youthful reminiscing, or a renewed appreciation for the slight-masc-of-center, gender-bending-lite look. Here's how Delia's did it back in the day: just fell down a dELiA*s tumblr hole and realized how much i miss this sweater. i long for the dELiA*s days of yore. https://t.co/IW8qNHEYWr pic.twitter.com/KXl5Hq4CGg — meg alles (@meggg_a) August 24, 2018 Urban Outfitters, today:  I dream of the day I look 10 again.Image: screenshot/Urban outfittersZooey Deschanel, 2016: sHe gEts iT sO rIgHtImage: gotpap/star max/GC ImagesDelia's just intuitively understood what people like about overalls: It makes them look like they're five. As a 35-year-old currently rocking a pair of shorteralls, I'm into it. Plaid on plaid on plaid on Doc Martens It wouldn't be Delia's/Urban/2018 if it didn't include plaid in every plausible material manifestation. Think: plaid flared pants, plaid vests, plaid mini-skirts, plaid mini-backpacks, and plaid mini-thongs. It's a retro aesthetic that many of us in the reasonably dressed community don't want to see return. Here's the Delia's take on the form: 90’s grunge style is making a huge comeback and I’m...excited about it? #delias #alloy pic.twitter.com/Cz5mBujo0H — Wendy Olson (@wendiminations) August 27, 2018 And here's Urban Outfitters: We welcome you back to sixth grade.Image: screenshot/urban outfitters For women who loves listening to Hole and 'N Sync.Image: Screenshot/urban OutfittersIt's more than just Urban Outfitters Multiple Instagram accounts now feature not just '90s fashion, but a specifically Delia's vision of the '90s: loud, retro, a tiny bit shapeless, a little tomboy-ish, animated, nostalgic, and sometimes even feminist-lite. Frankly, it's just fun. Take, for example, this skirt from Amazon highlighted on fashionsecrets93. If this isn't Delia's 2018, I don't know what is. A post shared by best of the best (@fashionsecrets93) on Aug 27, 2018 at 3:50pm PDT Then there's Instagram account lost.and.layers, which has a more serious '90s feel, but also includes some lewks that look straight out of a Delia's fall catalogue: Checks please ?????? A post shared by SARAH (@lost.and.layers) on Apr 18, 2018 at 9:10am PDT Instagram account 90s.gals is a little more melancholic than Delia's was, where the models always looked like they were having funfunfun (and according to reports from the time, actually were.) Still, the account gets some of the '90s Delia's girl-power-lite energy just right: via @brandymelvilleusa A post shared by 90s gals (@90s.gals) on Jun 9, 2018 at 5:56pm PDT #90sbabes #90slove #90sgal #90sbabe #inspo #90sinspo #90sphotography #90sgals #90s #90skids #90sgrunge #90sfeels #90sfeed #icon #iconic #dark #darkfeed ???????????? A post shared by 90s gals (@90s.gals) on Sep 2, 2017 at 9:39am PDT Babemania's store and Instagram account also tracks heavily in '90s street style and even includes some Delia's-like looks available for purchase: A post shared by @babemania (@shopbabemania) on Jul 20, 2016 at 12:26pm PDT Etsy.com/shop/Babemania ???????????? A post shared by @babemania (@shopbabemania) on Jul 23, 2016 at 2:55pm PDT The store's main Instagram account has been known to share pages from the Delia's catalogue as well: "hE's So GoofY DiSneY iS sUinG HiM" - dELiA*s #delias #90s #deliascatalog A post shared by @ babemania on Aug 9, 2016 at 2:51pm PDT What's to account for this heavy dose of '90s teen girl nostalgia? Who knows. If anything, it's probably a mix of the usual sartorial and cultural factors, including nostalgia for an earlier, less evil, gender-bendingish time. We were younger then. Life seemed less Donald Trump. Either way, I'm glad the spirit of Delia's is back with us — on our racks and in my favorite Instagram accounts. WATCH: That 'Titanic' flying scene sinks when you remove the epic music

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday pledged $60 billion in financing for projects in Africa in the form of assistance, investment and loans, as China furthers efforts to link the continent's economic prospects to its own. Speaking to a gathering of African leaders in Beijing, Mr Xi said the figure includes $15 billion in grants, interest-free loans and concessional loans, $20 billion in credit lines, $10 billion for "development financing" and $5 billion to buy imports from Africa. In addition, he said China will encourage companies to invest at least $10 billion in Africa over the next three years. China's outreach to Africa aims to build trade, investment and political ties with a continent often seen as overlooked by the US and other Western nations. That has provided lucrative opportunities for Chinese businesses, while African nations are often happy to accept China's offers that come without demands for safeguards against corruption, waste and environmental damage. President Xi told African leaders that China's investments on the continent have "no political strings attached" Credit: AFP China has denied engaging in "debt trap" diplomacy, and Mr Xi's offer of more money comes after a pledge of another $60 billion at the previous summit in South Africa three years ago. Mr Xi earlier said the money came with "no political strings attached".  No details were given on specific projects, although Mr Xi said China was planning initiatives in eight areas, including providing $147 million in emergency food aid, sending 500 agricultural experts to Africa, and providing scholarships, vocational training and trade promotion opportunities. During a speech at the summit South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday delivered a stinging rebuttal to criticism of China's development aid in Africa. Mr Ramaphosa said the meeting "refutes the view that a new colonialism is taking hold in Africa, as our detractors would have us believe". China's latest pledge comes on top of a 2015 promise to provide African countries with $60 billion in funding that Mr Xi said had either been delivered or arranged. Also Monday, Mr Xi promoted Beijing's initiative to build ports and other infrastructure as a tool for "common prosperity" in a world facing challenges from trade protectionism. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa rejected charges of a "new colonialism" Credit: Getty Addressing businesspeople prior to the formal opening of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Mr Xi said the "Belt and Road" initiative will expand markets. He tried to mollify concern that Beijing wants to build strategic influence, promising Chinese investment comes with "no political strings attached." "Unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise. Economic growth lacks robust drive," Mr Xi said in a speech. "China-Africa cooperation under the BRI is a way to common prosperity that brings benefits to both our peoples." African and other Asian leaders have welcomed "Belt and Road" but some projects have prompted complaints about debt and other problems. The initiative involves hundreds of projects, most of them built by Chinese contractors and financed by loans from Chinese state-owned banks, across an arc of 65 countries from the South Pacific through Asia to Africa and the Middle East. In a major blow to China's ambitions, Malaysia recently canceled Chinese-financed projects worth more than $20 billion, saying they were unnecessary and would create an unsustainable debt burden. Deeply indebted Pakistan is also reportedly reconsidering some projects in the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that is a key link in the BRI. The Beijing forum brings together leaders from China and more than 50 African countries. Dozens of African leaders met with Mr Xi ahead of the conference. Mr Xi made no mention of the political and debt concerns that overshadow some BRI projects. But Chinese officials previously have rejected accusations that projects leave host countries too deeply indebted to Chinese lenders. "China's investment in Africa comes with no political strings attached," Mr Xi said. "China does not interfere in Africa's internal affairs and does not impose its own will on Africa." 

A weekly show glorifying Vladimir Putin's political acumen, physical fitness and love of children has made its debut on Russian state television, raising concerns of a Stalinesque “personality cult”. The hour-long show, titled “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin.,” comes after the president's popularity took a hit over an widely loathed plan to raise the pension age. Hosted by Vladimir Soloviev, a TV and radio personality who previously authored documentary films and books about Mr Putin, the first broadcast began with footage of the leader hiking on a holiday in Siberia, meeting with schoolchildren and paying respects to a well-known singer who died last week. “Putin doesn't just love children, he loves people. He's a very humane human,” the Kremlin spokesman told Mr Soloviev, echoing a famous quote calling Vladimir Lenin the “most humane human”. The programme also showed Mr Putin meeting with talented schoolchildren, but did not mention that one of them was wearing a t-shirt with the name of his main critic Credit: YouTube The show claimed that Mr Putin had travelled more than 5,000 miles across Russia for work in the past week, wondering how he “keeps up with such a marathon”. It later answered its own question with a segment on the president's five-mile hike in mountainous Siberia and details of his daily swimming and weight-lifting routines. The programme also recycled old PR stunts such as footage of him descending into a nickel mine in Norilsk in 2002. But the “main topic” of the week, it said, was a televised address in which Mr Putin softened pension reform that has sparked protests. Nearly nine in 10 Russians oppose the plan. His approval rating tumbled from 79 to 67 per cent after the planned reform was announced, and the communist party rallied some 9,000 demonstrators against the measure in Moscow this weekend. A sign with the words 'pension reform' at a protest in Moscow on Sunday Credit: Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was suddenly jailed last week for previous demonstrations, has been calling for a pension protest across Russia this coming Sunday. In the address, Mr Putin said the retirement age for women would be only be raised five years to 60 rather than to 63. The age for men will still be hiked to 65, however, a year less than their average life expectancy. Russian state television features fawning coverage of the president nearly every day, and Mr Putin is well-known for shirtless photographs and macho exploits like tranquilising tigers, flying in fighter jets and scoring seven goals in a birthday hockey game. But “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin.” has taken the adulation to new heights. Mr Putin is known for his macho stunts and shirtless photographs, such as this picture of him fishing in Siberia in 2017 Credit: Alexey Nikolsky/AFP An article on the independent news site Znak compared it to the Soviet propaganda that trumpeted the achievements of leaders like Mr Lenin, Joseph Stalin and Leonid Brezhnev. “This wasn't surprising, of course, but it should be somehow documented that in September 2018 we've returned to the personality cult,” journalist Ilya Barabanov tweeted about the show, which he described as a “stomach balloon” after the inflatable weight-loss device. Stalin's infamous personality cult was denounced by his successor Nikita Khrushchev, and later leaders have been wary of emulating it. The figure of Mr Putin was removed from a statue ensemble just before it was unveiled in the Kurgan region in May, reportedly on orders from the Kremlin. Mr Putin goes boating with defence minister Sergei Shoigu in footage shown on the new programme Credit: YouTube More laughs at the new show's expense came when it emerged that one of the kids had worn a Navalny shirt during Mr Putin's visit with talented schoolchildren, which was not reflected on television but slipped into a photograph published on the Kremlin website. Although the younger generation tends to get its news from the Internet, television remains the main source of information for a majority of the population.

It's not clear what led to the crash.