Alex Trevely, The Economist's India correspondent, shares insightful details about India's alarming COVID-19 surge, as the country grapples with balancing health and economic recovery. He discusses the limited testing and the rise in cases amid reopening. Olivia Ackland, covering the Congo, highlights the ongoing challenges of the UN peacekeeping mission, reflecting on community distrust and violence in Eastern Congo. The conversation also lightens up with a playful exploration of the cultural differences between British and American baked beans.
A hurried lockdown early in the pandemic has cratered the country’s economy, and infection rates are now shooting up. More suffering lies ahead, on both counts. The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has failed for 20 years running, and now there is pressure for it to decamp. And the transatlantic tale of the baked bean.