Asia
Imran Khan Has Been Sent to Prison. The Question Is Not Whether Politicians Should Face the Law, but Whether Pakistan’s Law Applies Politically.
Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison and arrested after a court convicted him in a case concerning state gifts received while he was prime minister. The case…
Modi’s Washington Visit Was Not Really About Friendship. It Was About Who Builds the Technologies That Will Define the Next Twenty Years.
Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington this week produced all the symbolism expected from one of America’s highest forms of diplomatic recognition. President Joe Biden hosted him at the White House, Modi addressed a joint…
India and America Are Getting Closer. That Does Not Mean India Is Becoming an American Ally.
Narendra Modi will travel to Washington this week for a state visit hosted by President Joe Biden, including a state dinner and an address to a joint meeting of the US Congress. The ceremony will…
India Has Built a New Parliament. The More Important Question Is What Parliament Is Supposed to Represent.
India inaugurated a new Parliament building last Sunday. The triangular complex stands beside the old circular Parliament House constructed during British rule and will eventually become the principal physical home of the world’s largest representative…
Turkey Has Inflation, a Weakened Currency and an Earthquake Recovery Crisis. Erdoğan Could Still Win Again.
Turkey is voting again today after neither Recep Tayyip Erdoğan nor Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu secured an outright majority in the first round of the presidential election two weeks ago. Erdoğan entered the runoff with the advantage…
The G7 Does Not Want to Stop Trading With China. It Wants to Stop Being Unable to Function Without It.
The leaders of the G7 met in Hiroshima this weekend with Ukraine dominating much of the summit. Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Japan, the G7 reaffirmed military, financial and diplomatic support for Ukraine and announced further…
Turkey Is Holding a Real Election. That Does Not Mean the Playing Field Is Level.
Tens of millions of Turks voted today in an election that may determine whether Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s two decades at the centre of Turkish politics continue. Erdoğan first became prime minister in 2003 and later…
India Is Becoming the World’s Most Populous Country. That Is Neither Good News nor Bad News Yet.
India is becoming the world’s most populous country. The United Nations Population Fund estimates India’s population at roughly 1.429 billion in 2023, marginally ahead of China’s 1.426 billion. The symbolic significance is enormous, particularly because…
Tsai Met McCarthy in California Instead of Taipei. China Still Surrounded Taiwan With Military Exercises.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California on Wednesday. Three days later, China’s People’s Liberation Army began major military exercises around Taiwan involving aircraft, warships and simulated operations against the…
Georgia’s Government Says It Wants Transparency Over Foreign Influence. Protesters Think It Is Borrowing Russia’s Method of Silencing Critics.
For several nights this week, thousands of Georgians gathered outside parliament in Tbilisi carrying Georgian and European Union flags. Police responded with tear gas, water cannon and arrests as protesters attempted to prevent parliament from…
Turkey Could Not Prevent the Earthquake. That Does Not Mean Every Death Was Unpreventable.
At 4:17 on Monday morning, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern Turkey near the Syrian border. Hours later, another enormous earthquake measuring 7.5 struck further north. Entire neighbourhoods collapsed across cities including Antakya, Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman…
Pakistan Thought It Had Contained the Taliban Insurgency. Peshawar Suggests the Problem Was Never Really Gone.
On Monday morning, hundreds of people gathered for prayers inside a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Lines compound. The location should have been among the more secure places in the city. Police Lines contains police headquarters…
