Berfrois

Port-au-Prince’s Territories

Port-au-Prince’s Territories

In effect the state is missing in action, as the people suffer overlapping crises...

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China’s Contract

China’s Contract

You stay quiet and we will set the course for growth, success and China's path to the top. It's a tough, unambiguous contract...

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‘There were always more books than the small shelves could contain’

‘There were always more books than the small shelves could contain’

I grew up in the aftermath of Nasser’s Egypt, where public education was made free for all. For me, learning has always been remote…

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Sikkim’s Integration/Annexation/Merger

Sikkim’s Integration/Annexation/Merger

How the change came about is a story with multiple plots involving India’s greatest spymaster, a defiant king, his ambitious political rival, and two enigmatic foreign women...

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Where’s Ultima Thule?

Where’s Ultima Thule?

To approach Smøla by boat is potentially treacherous—much of the island’s coastline is studded by thousands of rocky islets, some as small as huts, that jut from the sea like mini icebergs...

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Soaring Above the Skylark

Soaring Above the Skylark

At the summit stood a stone Shinto gate framed by chestnut trees. I climbed the worn stone steps to find an overgrown shrine filled with moss-coated sculptures—images of Buddhist deities and elderly sages in flowing robes...

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Cabo Verdeans

Cabo Verdeans

We shared a Creole language and the open, relaxed customs, known as morabeza, that are unique to Cabo Verde; only we knew how to compose and sing morna music...

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Rainbow Drive-Ins

Rainbow Drive-Ins

To visit Hana, a small, remote town on the island of Maui, most people wake at the crack of dawn, hop in convertible Mustangs, and drive the 45 miles from the regional airport...

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A winsome anime North Korean leader?

A winsome anime North Korean leader?

The outpouring of prurient interest in Kim represents an intersection of these erotic fantasies with the potent force of Orientalism

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Kenya’s Indebted Class

Kenya’s Indebted Class

So worrying are the trends in Kenya that even proponents of digital lending are calling for caution. The Central Bank of Kenya has demanded borrowers are made aware of the apps’ terms and conditions...

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In Russia, death becomes you

In Russia, death becomes you

Aleksandr Bogdanov, a prominent early Bolshevik and science fiction writer, investigated the rejuvenating properties of blood transfusions in the 1920s...

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Remembering SARS

Remembering SARS

The experience of SARS traumatized Hong Kong, and the memories have endured in the territory’s collective consciousness....

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Mumbai Diary by Medha Singh

Mumbai Diary by Medha Singh

It is November. I'm on a train through India. North to South. Delhi to Mumbai. 26 hours. I'm with a friend, Esther. She is falling in love.

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Protesting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act

Protesting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act

The BJP has long believed that its anti-Muslim project has two enemies: Muslims, and those non-Muslims who see Muslims as equal citizens under the constitution.

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