Asia | Gunmen with thermometers

The Taliban are joining Afghanistan’s fight against covid-19

But they refuse to do the most helpful thing, and stop fighting

Wear a mask—or else
|ISLAMABAD

Editor’s note: The Economist is making some of its most important coverage of the covid-19 pandemic freely available to readers of The Economist Today, our daily newsletter. To receive it, register here. For our coronavirus tracker and more coverage, see our hub

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Gunmen with thermometers”

Asia May 9th 2020

A dangerous gap: The markets v the real economy

From the May 9th 2020 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition
Reuse this content

More from Asia

Protesters wear Taiwan People's Party former chairman Ko Wen-je's masks to protest against the perceived judicial injustice

Taiwan’s political drama is paralysing its government

Domestic dysfunction plays right into China’s hands

A man wears a Australian flag and a cork hat on Australia Day

An angry culture war surrounds Australia Day

Conservatives claim that wokeness is destroying the national holiday

Stills from Gayrat Dustov's video tirade on social media

The fate of a ranting driver raises doubts about the “new” Uzbekistan

It seems free speech is not so guaranteed after all

Indian politicians are becoming obsessed with doling out cash

Handouts are transforming the role of the state—perhaps for the worse

How to end the nightmare of Asia’s choked roads

The middle classes love cars but hate traffic

Can Donald Trump maintain Joe Biden’s network of Asian alliances?

Discipline and creativity will help, but so will China’s actions