Keep your friends close: Pakistan’s shifting role
As the Taliban’s closest ally, the country bears a big responsibility for Afghanistan’s fate. We examine its diplomatic risks and opportunities. Mastercard is pressing porn purveyors this week; we loo...
13 Okt 202121min
Exit Poles? A bold challenge to the EU
After a court ruling in Poland that is an affront to a core European Union principle, Poles hit the streets—fearing a “Pol-exit” they do not want. Who will back down? Hydrogen has been touted for deca...
12 Okt 202120min
Zero-to-some game: Asia-Pacific covid-19 plans crack
Where governments enacted zero-tolerance coronavirus strategies, numbers indeed stayed low. That was before the Delta variant. We ask how countries can now wind back those policies. A shocking report ...
11 Okt 202121min
Strait of tension: Chinese jets test Taiwan
China has sent more than 100 planes to probe Taiwan’s air-defence zone. We explain why Beijing has chosen this moment to send a message across the strait. The WHO has approved a vaccine against malari...
8 Okt 202122min
How to lose friends and alienate people: Ethiopia’s civil war
Abiy Ahmed is sworn in again as prime minister, even as continuing strife increases the country’s isolation. Our correspondent witnesses the gruesome aftermath of a telling battle. China once encourag...
7 Okt 202120min
Ticker shock: London’s wheezing stockmarket
A global financial centre must move with the times, and—so far—London has not. Our correspondent lays out the causes of the malaise, and how to fix it. For many years compulsory military service was o...
6 Okt 202123min
When it goes dark: Facebook’s terrible week
Yesterday’s global outage is not even the worst of it: today’s congressional testimony will examine a whistleblower’s allegations that the company knows its products cause widespread harm. The modern ...
5 Okt 202121min
Docket launch: a new term for America’s Supreme Court
The court will be tackling just about every judicial and social flashpoint in the country during the term that starts today; our correspondent lays out the considerable stakes. A vast and costly die-o...
4 Okt 202121min
