First, pass the post: Ohio’s vote-by-mail experiment
The state’s all-postal primaries vote could be seen as a trial run for November’s presidential election. Might voting by mail be the least-bad option? The BBC’s canny response to covid-19 has quietene...
28 Apr 202022min
End transmission: covid-19 in New Zealand
The country is aiming for complete elimination of the coronavirus; so far, so good. But renewed freedom within its borders requires that virtually no one cross them. Restrictions in Europe on movement...
27 Apr 202020min
Unsteady states: America’s piecemeal reopening
Some governors are co-ordinating mutual lockdown plans, others are already reopening their states. That haphazardness bodes ill in the absence of widespread testing and tracing. The pandemic is kickin...
24 Apr 202022min
Rakhine and ruin: insurgency in Myanmar
The Rohingya genocide was just one of many sectarian flashpoints in Rakhine state; now a slick separatist insurgency is getting the better of Myanmar’s army. America is floundering in its bid to win t...
23 Apr 202022min
Held in cheque: corporate payouts and covid-19
Even before the pandemic, companies were accused of returning too much money to shareholders. As a recession looms, dividends and share buy-backs should be cut—but not everywhere. Coral bleaching on t...
22 Apr 202020min
Symbols’ status: arrests in Hong Kong
Authorities have re-ignited tensions by arresting some of the democracy movement’s most prominent figures—and Beijing seems to be piling more pressure on. Shortages of protective equipment are not jus...
21 Apr 202021min
Restarting Europe’s engine: Germany’s lockdown lightens
Non-essential businesses are opening; schools soon will be, too. The country’s fortunes are down to a mix of science-minded leadership, functional federalism and a bit of luck. Saudi Arabia has halted...
20 Apr 202021min
Gross domestic plummet: China’s historic contraction
The covid-19 pandemic has caused the country’s first GDP dip in more than four decades. What struggles still lie ahead for the world’s second-largest economy? Decisive action to help the homeless amid...
17 Apr 202023min
