Rubber-stamping ground: China’s parliament meets
The National People’s Congress kicked off with two big signals of Beijing’s intentions: a return to economic-growth targets and a plan to eradicate Hong Kong’s vestiges of democracy. On the first-ever...
5 Mar 202121min
Exit stages left: America and the Middle East
The Biden administration would like to pull back from the region; America’s strategic interests have changed, as have regional dynamics. We examine the careful exit that is possible. To evade censors ...
4 Mar 202121min
Owing to the pandemic: Britain’s budget
The finance minister has a plan that will keep many safeguards in place—for now. We ask how the country will then dig itself out of a financial hole. As countries aim for net-zero emissions, how to pi...
3 Mar 202122min
A dark picture emerges: atrocities in Ethiopia
It is becoming more certain that war crimes are being committed in the northern region of Tigray. Yet, despite increasing international pressure, there is little hope the suffering will soon end. In C...
2 Mar 202122min
Coup fighters: Myanmar’s persistent protesters
The temperature keeps rising: as demonstrations continue to grow, the army is becoming more brutal. We ask how the country can escape the cycle of violence. In a pandemic, laws against misinformation ...
1 Mar 202120min
Mutual-appreciation anxiety: Putin and Erdogan
The presidents of Turkey and Russia make an odd couple; their former empires have clashed over centuries. We look at the fragile—but nonetheless worrisome—alliance between Vladimir Putin and Recep Tay...
26 Feb 202120min
Hell for Tether: a cryptocurrency crimped
The notionally dollar-pegged “stablecoin” quietly underpins many crypto-market moves. We ask what the currency issuer’s clash with New York authorities means for the wider crypto craze. In many Africa...
25 Feb 202122min
Let the games be thin: Tokyo’s Olympic tussles
Planners are in a corner. Delaying or cancelling the summer tournament looks like defeat; pressing ahead looks like a danger. We take a look at the sporting chances. Britain has decarbonised faster th...
24 Feb 202121min
