On a two-day visit to Islamabad this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced plans to invest $46bn in Pakistan to create the “China-Pakistan economic corridor”, a patchwork of major infrastructure projects linking the two countries. For Beijing, the plans are a step in consolidating its influence in the region, while Pakistan hopes the cash injection – which dwarfs the $7.5bn invested by the US in 2010 – will boost its economy. (The Week)

Excellent! Early imperial over-reach? The Western world will breathe a giant sigh of relief if China takes over one of the most corrupt, violent, disfunctional and ungovernable countries in the world and lets the rest of us stop worrying about it. Britain could never tame the wild North West Frontier under the Raj, nor can its current government. Maybe China will be more successful? Whether President Xi is wise, and whether he will get his money back, is another matter. Pakistan is an extreme example of why Epicurus disliked involvement with governments and politics (see current news about the assassination of free speech activist Sabeen Mahmud, a courageous woman who fought for human rights. No one has been arrested for any political assassination for many years).