Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio. I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

Across Asia, life as a migrant worker was tough even before the pandemic. Low status, crowded

dormitories, extortion-minded employers. As COVID-19 crushed the industries that employed

them, things got even worse and only now seem to be improving. And there's a perplexing

preponderance of pop stars in the charts who are ethnic Albanians. We take a look at why the

tiny Balkan region has given rise to so many huge celebrities.

But first, President Donald Trump is still in the hospital with questions about the seriousness

of his illness. Yesterday he released his third video since announcing on Friday morning that he had

been diagnosed with COVID-19. That surprise visit involved Mr. Trump briefly leaving the hospital

for a drive past for the benefit of supporters gathered outside. Doctors caring for the president

have suggested he may be discharged today. Though information about his condition, given out

over the weekend, has been conflicting to say the least. Mr. Trump's oxygen level dipped twice,

and he received a steroid treatment that's normally reserved for severe cases of COVID-19.

His physician, Dr. Sean Conley, was initially reluctant to disclose that the president

had been given oxygen. I didn't want to give any information that might steer the course of

illness in another direction. And in doing so, you know, it came off that we were trying to hide

something, which wasn't necessarily true. An admission that came after Chief of Staff Mark Meadows

briefed reporters that the president's vital science had been concerning. A number of senior

government officials and aides have themselves tested positive, some of whom had attended a largely

maskless event in the White House Rose Garden the previous Saturday to mark the nomination of Amy

Connie Barrett to the Supreme Court. Last week, Mr. Trump attended a rally on Wednesday and a fundraiser

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