In India 81 of the 500 satellite-TV channels that have sprung up in the past 20 years are news channels, most of them catering to specific political, religious, regional, linguistic or ethnic groups.

ECONOMIST: Impartiality

Before Soviet rule, identity and solidarity in Central Asia were largely based on tribe, clan, geography and even profession rather than on ethnic groups, which did not readily fit with geographical or linguistic divisions.

ECONOMIST: The heavy costs of non-co-operation