‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (May 22 , 2023) – A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, Henry Kissinger on the new world order, how the fight for digital payments is going global (10:50) and why the Taliban is going big on animal welfare (17:10).
Tag Archives: Afghanistan
Previews: The Economist Magazine – May 6, 2023
Governments are living in a fiscal fantasyland
The world over, they are failing to confront the dire state of their finances
If Turkey sacks its strongman, democrats everywhere should take heart
After 20 years of increasingly autocratic rule, Recep Tayyip Erdogan risks eviction by voters
Time to engage (very carefully) with the Taliban
Isolating the mullahs is not working. The West needs a more constructive approach
News: Japan Unveils $320 Million Military Buildup, Pakistan-Afghanistan
From London, Japan unveils 320 Million military buildup plan, Pakistan and Afghanistan forces clash at disputed border, and other top stories.
News: Biden Meets With Xi At G20 Summit, Kurds In Turkey, Taliban Sharia Law
We report as world leaders meet in Bali for the G20 summit. Plus, Kurdish militants deny involvement in the weekend’s Istanbul attack, the Taliban move to implement sharia law in Afghanistan, Austria’s political scandal and Karen Krizanovich wraps up headlines in film.
News: Russia Launches ‘Reprisal Attacks’, Turkey Slows Sweden NATO Bid
Russia targets Zaporizhzhia with ‘kamikaze drones’. Plus: Turkey suggests Sweden and Finland join Nato separately, Afghanistan faces economic hardship under the Taliban and the latest theatre news.
Previews: History Today Magazine – August 2022
August 2022
Prince Darab’s Lost Treasure
Fleeing his father’s empire, an Afghan prince travelled from Kabul to Sindh via Mecca, becoming a fugitive, courtier and pilgrim in the process.
Law of the Land
What relevance do the Norman Conquest and the events of 1066 have to contemporary British politics? Everything and nothing.
Violent Ends
Early modern methods of execution were carefully calculated to inflict shame upon the condemned.
The Unbreakable City
The Battle of Stalingrad began in August 1942, subjecting its residents to months of living hell. But few doubted that the city was worth defending; its significance to the Soviet project made it too important to abandon.
Morning News: Britain’s Foiled Asylum Policy, Taliban Tax Collectors
The European Court of Human rights foiled Britain’s plans to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda yesterday by holding that British courts must first find the policy legal. The Taliban have proven surprisingly adept tax collectors, though they will spend much of the funds on defence rather than improving the lives of struggling Afghans. And the world is buying too few electric vehicles to meaningfully reduce carbon emissions.
Morning News: Taliban Repression Of Women, Virtual Reality Battles
When the Taliban resumed power, there were hopes that women might not be as excluded, repressed and abused as they were previously. Those hopes have faded.
As smartphone sales plateau, tech giants are furiously searching for new platforms to conquer. Augmented and virtual reality are the new battlefields. And the rise of giga-everything: how the scale of science drives linguistic innovation.
Morning News: Russia-Ukraine Talks, Israel-Arab Summit, Solomon Islands
We give you the latest on the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Plus: Antony Blinken’s role in the Israel-Arab summit, China’s growing influence in the Solomon Islands and a wave of Taliban reforms in Afghanistan.
Morning News: U.S. Voting Reform, Afghanistan Aid Appeal, Djokovic Visa Row
We discuss Joe Biden’s attempts to push through voting reform, which he describes as ‘the biggest test of America’s democracy since the civil war’. Plus: the UN’s aid appeal for Afghanistan and Novak Djokovic’s visa row.
Boomers Daily 