Headlines

Child sex case a diplomatic reckoning for UK-Pakistan ties

The debate over whether convicted child sex offender Shabir Ahmed should be deported from the United Kingdom to Pakistan is about far more than one offender. It has evolved into a test of how modern states balance domestic political pressures, immigration policy and

Asia

Why autocracies get more repressive when opening their economies

The current state of democracy in the world is fragile. According to the V-Dem Project, which measures global democracy, 41% of the world’s population live in autocratizing countries — that is, those becoming more authoritarian. In fact, a “third wave of autocratization” has

Asia

Second Democrat drops out of Maine primary

Maine’s former CDC Director Nirav Shah dropped out of the Democratic primary for Senate on Sunday, a day after pleading his case to delegates in Augusta. “A few weeks ago, I entered this race because I could not accept the idea of Susan Collins gliding to a sixth term at the

An unwinnable standoff at Hormuz

Five months after Israel and the United States launched strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader and ignited a wider war, the Strait of Hormuz has become the conflict’s most stubborn front, a 21-wide chokepoint where military power and diplomatic paralysis meet. The pattern by

Asia

Bangladesh’s Hasina death penalty: when courts become weapons

A death sentence is supposed to be the moment a legal system proves it can be trusted with its gravest power. In November, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal handed down exactly that verdict against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, for crimes tied to the killings of

Asia