In this week’s newsletter: how mass exodus is bringing Cuba closer to collapse, Iran protests, and the new motorway dividing Mumbai

In a world where geopolitical flashpoints push global media to focus on a narrow group of countries, turning vast regions into virtual news deserts, Cuba is a remarkable exception. For decades, it was scrutinised intensively; now it has slipped into obscurity as an undercovered Caribbean island.

Rather than adopting the ideological biases that shaped 20th-century debates about Cuba under Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, I recently sought to show the Guardian’s global audience the challenging circumstances faced by the Cuban people, which were evident when I visited Havana.