Subterms
Amid the debate surrounding COVID-19, the rhetoric around hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in the United States and India is the best example of the populism of our times. Earlier on in the pandemic, anecdotal evidence from France led US President Donald Trump to proclaim that all the patients should try HCQ against the coronavirus. In a matter […] More
The novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 spread to North Africa more than two months ago. Since then, there has been speculation among observers that the effects on society, the economy and political life may be changed in both the short term with people’s habits and the long term as governments take measures to contain the […] More
While the extraordinary crash of the WTI price of crude into negative territory — the first in history — can be viewed as something of an anomaly, the 25% drop in the price of Brent to $20 a barrel today (April 27) is a stark statement about the vulnerability of the Saudi economy and of Crown Prince […] More
The Guardian view on the EU and Covid-19: better late than never Editorial Europe is in the pandemic frontline but unity among the nations has been rare. That may be changing – not before time Ursula von der Leyen and the European commission have been tasked with creating a recovery fund alongside the EU’s next […] More
Some people in the US seem surprised that a form of cultural chaos is spreading far more rapidly than the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19. It’s the predictable consequence of three convergent phenomena: American individualism, the confrontational forms of expression it takes through social media, and the belief that the freedoms listed in the Bill […] More
In India, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government has a tendency for doing things like a “surgical strike.” In 2016, at just a few hours’ notice, Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed the 500 ($6.50) and 1,000 rupee notes from circulation. The move, known as demonetization, sent shockwaves throughout India and hit everyday citizens hard, particularly […] More
The current pandemic has led to the postponement of elections around the world. Over 75 countries have declared some kind of state of emergency. Several illiberal leaders, like Viktor Orban, have used the crisis to seize virtually unlimited powers. The Chinese model of full-spectrum clampdown has elicited praise across the political spectrum for its apparent effectiveness […] More
In more halcyon days, back in 1964, at a time when most popular music in America was still about idealized romantic love, radio stations across the US broadcast the sonorous voice of Dean Martin intoning the lyrics of a song composed 20 years earlier: “You’re nobody till somebody loves you, So find yourself somebody to […] More
