The battle over state TV in Iran
THE COMEDY series “Payetakht” (Capital) has been one of the most popular shows on Iranian state TV since it began airing in…
Burundi’s rigged election
May 30th 2020AS PEOPLE ELSEWHERE hunkered down at home to avoid covid-19, millions in Burundi crowded into polling stations on…
A border dispute between India and China is getting more serious
China is nibbling away at Indian territory and digging inMay 28th 2020WHEN INDIAN and Chinese soldiers brawled at Pangong lake…
India and China square up on their Himalayan border
May 27th 2020WHEN INDIAN and Chinese soldiers brawled at Pangong lake in Ladakh earlier this month—a punch-up serious enough…
As covid-19 spreads, Indonesia’s president has an unhappy Eid
Citizens pay the price for Joko Widodo’s flip-flops on a holiday travel banIT SHOULD BE a time of bowing, shoulder-to-shoulder,…
India’s economy has suffered even more than most
Editor’s note: Some of our covid-19 coverage is free for readers of The Economist Today, our daily newsletter. For more stories…
Vietnam’s secretive Communist Party embarks on a leadership transition
May 21st 2020IN JANUARY FOUR grey apparatchiks with little name or face recognition inside Vietnam, let alone abroad, will emerge…
Malaysia’s shaky government dodges a no-confidence motion
IT WAS THE shortest session on record. Malaysia’s MPs convened on May 18th to hear a speech from the king (pictured). No sooner…
Egypt chose a looser lockdown. Its economy is still in crisis
THERE WAS never much chance of social distancing in Cairo, a city more populous than most countries. Buses fill to overflowing,…
Friendly Jews, female bosses: Saudi TV promotes a new vision
IN A WORLD flipped on its head, a note of constancy: the Middle East is arguing about Israel. “Exit 7”, a popular series aired…