Trouble at the border: Belarus and the EU

<p>Around 2,000 people from the Middle East are at the European Union’s <a href="https://www.economist.com/news/2021/11/09/what-is-happening-on-the-poland-belarus-border" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">eastern frontier</a>. Alexander Lukashenko, the autocratic Belarusian president, promised them passage to the EU. They are pawns in a long dispute and their plight is bleak. Tension is mounting in <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2021/11/06/things-are-heating-up-in-western-sahara" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">north Africa</a>, between Algeria and Morocco. And who said words were cheap? The cost of <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2021/11/06/soaring-newsprint-costs-make-life-even-harder-for-newspapers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">newsprint</a> is soaring.&nbsp;</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></p> &#10;&nbsp;<br /><hr><p style='color: grey; font - size: 0.75em; '>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>