On the face of things, there's a lot of good news in Bangladesh. Japan is helping build an elevated metro system and new expressways are being put up. The infrastructure is badly needed as growth has been fast over recent years. But foreign diplomats say they have doubts about the direction the country is going in.
Shifts in the garment industry, which powered development in the country, represent one risk; meagre currency reserves are another. Yet nothing so imperils Bangladesh’s economic miracle as graft and patronage at the highest levels. How does North Korea afford its flashy weapons programme? Crypto scams of eye-watering scope. And the newsmaking history of BBC Monitoring’s radio translators.
For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer