Uzbekistan replaces one strongman with another

The best of The Economist online View in browser | E-mail a friend         THE BEST OF THE ECONOMIST ONLINE         Daily Dispatch | Tuesday | December 6th 2016       Election in Uzbekistan: Cloning Karimov Shavkat Mirziyoyev was elected president on Sunday in a vote marred by irregularities. Although 20 years younger than his predecessor, Islam Karimov, who died in September, Mr Mirziyoyev will not bring change. He was Mr Karimov’s prime minister for the past 13 years, and is considered as repressive as his former boss, if not more so. The corruption, rent-seeking and asset-grabbing for which Uzbekistan is known are unlikely to disappear     Global education: PISA topping Today the OECD published the results of the sixth Programme for International Student Assessment, a test of the science, maths and reading skills of 15-year-olds from across the world. As usual, Singapore tops the list: in maths, teens are roughly three years ahead of their American peers. PISA has limits. But it shows that success in education is not a cultural destiny. Good policy matters, too, writes our public-policy correspondent       Advertisement         Gerrymandering: Not all black and white America’s Supreme Court has never taken a stand against gerrymandering. The constitution forbids slicing up electoral districts to weaken the voting power of minorities, but not doing so for party-political reasons. So when is gerrymandering motivated by race, not partisanship? In looking at cases yesterday from North Carolina and Virginia, the justices’ line seems to be “don’t overdo it”, writes our American courts correspondent     Iran’s economy: A jobless recovery Boosted by sanctions relief, Iran’s economy is set to grow by about 4.5% this year, up from 0.4% in 2015. Yet few ordinary Iranians have felt the benefits. Unemployment is at 12.2% overall and at 25.2% and 19.7% respectively for young people and women. An oil boom has done little to create jobs. The Revolutionary Guards’ grip on the economy does not help. President Hassan Rohani has started on reforms, but he has more to do       ~6.40pm London                                                                   Keep updated     This e-mail has been sent to: pramod.srivastav.2000.ambikapur@blogger.com if you'd like to update your details please click here (you may need to log in). Questions? Comments? Please contact us. Replies to this email will not reach us.   If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, unsubscribe here.   Copyright © The Economist Group 2016. All rights reserved. Advertising Info | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Help   Registered in England and Wales. No.236383 Registered office: 25 St James's Street. London, SW1A 1HG