Hunger strikes: North Korea’s food shortages
An admission that the country’s food situation is “tense” is a rare glimpse into the compounding effects of pandemic policies and crop failures. Adherents of wild conspiracy theories in America tend t...
23 Jun 202119min
Drop it when it’s hot: the Fed’s consequential hint
The merest mention of future interest-rate rises from America’s central bank sent markets into a tizzy. We consider the merits and the effects of signalling early and often. Europe’s drug use dipped w...
22 Jun 202122min
A vote with no confidence: Ethiopia’s untimely election
The northern region of Tigray, consumed by war and facing famine, will not vote today. It is all a far cry from what Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed once promised. Italy has piles of cash and a new ministry...
21 Jun 202121min
Press to exit: Hong Kong’s media arrests
The raid of an outspoken pro-democracy newspaper, carried out under the city’s newish security law, has further spooked its media outlets. We ask what remains of press freedom. Our correspondent visit...
18 Jun 202122min
A hardline act to follow: Iran’s presidential election
The supreme leader is consolidating theocratic power and ensuring a hardline legacy. Voters know they have little meaningful choice; many will simply stay home. A trial shows the life-saving power of ...
17 Jun 202121min
Present, tense: Biden and Putin meet
Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin have much to hammer out today—but don’t expect it to be genial. We examine what is on the table, and how each president will be judged. Competition in the cryptocurrency w...
16 Jun 202123min
Patrons’ taint: Brazil’s pork-barrel politics
President Jair Bolsonaro campaigned on a promise to overturn the country’s political patronage, but as his popularity has slipped he has come to need it. The latest bids to return to commercial supers...
15 Jun 202121min
Promises, promises: the G7’s fuzzy climate pledges
Where they are clear, the summit’s commitments do not add much to existing targets; mostly, though, they are woefully short on detail. We pick through the pledges. Germany is facing up to a colonial-e...
14 Jun 202122min
