Today, Turkish democracy is stronger, it’s institutions deeper than four years ago after the failed coup of 2016.

At this stressful time, people need the steady hand of a government that bases its decisions on empirical data, objective reports from the ground, compassion, efficiency and good sense. Can we expect this from a government that combusted the economy through devaluation, an unplanned GST and poor leadership?

Satish Jacob was one of the first Indian reporters on the ground in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion of 1979. For over 40 years, Jacob has witnessed history in the making again and again. In this conversation with HNFP, he narrates the story of the 1979 Afghan-Soviet War and how it changed the world. Also below is a brief explainer on the way this war reshaped the world.

In the backdrop of an escalating political crisis and a purge initiated by Maldives’ President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, former speaker of the People’s Majlis, Abdulla Shahid, speaks to Hardnews about the island nation’s growing proximity to China and the plight of its democratic system