Asia
Taiwan Has a New President. China Answered With War Games. The Real Contest Is Over Whether Pressure Changes Political Identity or Hardens It.
Taiwan inaugurated Lai Ching-te as president on 20 May after his victory in January’s election, extending the Democratic Progressive Party’s control of the presidency into a third consecutive term. Four days later, China concluded two…
Iran’s President Has Died. The More Important Question Is Why the Political System Can Continue Without Him.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and several other officials were aboard a helicopter that crashed today in mountainous northwestern Iran while returning from a visit to the border with Azerbaijan. As of…
Georgia Says Its New Law Is About Transparency. Protesters Think It Is About Controlling Who Gets to Challenge the Government.
Georgia is experiencing one of the largest political confrontations in its recent history over a proposed “foreign influence” law that would require media organisations and non-commercial groups receiving more than 20% of their funding from…
American Universities Are Being Tested by Gaza Protests. The Hardest Question Is Not Whether Protest Should Be Allowed, but When Institutions Should Stop It.
American universities have become one of the most visible political arenas of the Gaza war. During the past two weeks, pro-Palestinian encampments have spread across campuses demanding ceasefires, divestment from companies linked to Israel and…
China Built Electric Cars the West Wants. Now the Argument Is Whether Being Too Competitive Has Become a Trade Problem.
China’s rise in electric vehicles is becoming one of the clearest tests of whether the global economy is moving away from the free-trade consensus that shaped much of the last three decades. Chinese manufacturers such…
Nearly One Billion Indians Can Vote. The More Important Question Is Whether the World’s Largest Election Is Also Becoming a Fairer One.
India began voting this week in what is, by scale, the largest democratic exercise in human history. Nearly 970 million people are eligible to vote across a seven-phase election running from 19 April to 1…
Iran Just Attacked Israel Directly for the First Time. The Most Dangerous Part Is That Both Sides May Believe They Can Control What Happens Next.
Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles towards Israel overnight on 13–14 April, marking an extraordinary escalation from the decades-long shadow conflict between the two states into direct military confrontation. Israel…
Seven Aid Workers Were Killed in Gaza. The Larger Failure Is That Humanitarian Work Has Become This Dangerous.
Seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen were killed in Gaza on 1 April after their convoy was struck by Israeli forces while travelling in vehicles marked with the organisation’s logo. The group included citizens…
Erdoğan Won Turkey’s Presidency Less Than a Year Ago. His Party Just Suffered Its Worst Local-Election Defeat in Two Decades.
Turkey voted in local elections today, and the emerging result is striking. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party, the AKP, appears to have suffered its worst nationwide local-election result since it came to…
People in Gaza Are Not Going Hungry Simply Because There Is No Food. The System That Moves Food to People Is Breaking Down.
More than one hundred Palestinians were reported killed on Thursday around an aid convoy entering northern Gaza, after thousands of people gathered around trucks carrying desperately needed food. Palestinian authorities have accused Israeli forces of…
India’s Economy Is Growing Rapidly. The Harder Question Is Who Gets to Participate in That Growth.
India enters its approaching general election with an economic record that would be politically valuable to almost any incumbent government. The country has remained one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies, infrastructure investment has expanded…
Indonesia Just Voted for Continuity. The Question Is Whether Continuity Is Becoming a Dynasty.
Indonesia held one of the world’s largest elections on Wednesday, with more than 200 million registered voters choosing a president, national legislators and thousands of regional representatives across an archipelago containing more than 17,000 islands.
