Checking their privilege: Beijing’s threat to Hong Kong
China’s parliament voted today to draft legislation that would utterly undermine the territory’s independence. What now for protesters, for Western powers, for the region’s foreign firms? The pandemic...
28 Touko 202021min
Leading nowhere: assessing Trump’s covid-19 response
President Donald Trump’s failures of leadership have compounded the crisis. But America’s health-care and preparedness systems have problems that predate him. South Korea marks the 40th anniversary of...
27 Touko 202022min
Shot chasers: big pharma’s covid-19 boost
The pandemic has caused a shift in how drug firms are viewed: their capacity for big-money innovation will give them immunity in the crisis. Widespread homeworking will have broad consequences, from c...
26 Touko 202020min
Clear skies with a chance: covid-19’s green opportunity
Emissions have plummeted as the pandemic slowed the world. It could be a mere blip—but it is an unprecedented opportunity for a greener, more sustainable economy. Serving in America’s armed forces is ...
25 Touko 202022min
Systemic concerns: China’s party congress
Legislation signalled at the annual meeting undermines the “one country, two systems” approach to Hong Kong’s rule—and may inflame rather than quell protests. Argentina finds itself at the doorstep of...
22 Touko 202023min
Swimming against the currency: Turkey
A central bank struggling for independence, dwindling foreign reserves to prop up the currency and a president who just hates rates: Turkey’s economy looked shaky even before covid-19. Online dating c...
21 Touko 202018min
Politics trumps co-operation: the WHO’s annual meeting
Rhetoric and posturing at the World Health Organisation’s annual assembly reveal an agency under geopolitical stresses just when global co-operation is needed most. Illegal logging has become an exist...
20 Touko 202022min
Extreme measures: America’s far right
Extremists are cropping up at protests and expanding their reach online. They see the pandemic as proof of their worldview, and as an opportunity to spread their messages. After systematically ignorin...
19 Touko 202021min
