The Economist | Independent journalism

The US in brief

Trump's rally in the Bronx

Dateline

Try The Economist's history quiz

Subscriber event

India’s election, economy and future. May 23rd, 4pm BST, 11am EST

Finance & economics

Baby-boomers are loaded. Why are they so stingy?

The mystery matters for global economic growth

United States

Fewer migrants are crossing America’s southern border

Joe Biden has Mexico to thank—for now


Britain

Sir Keir Starmer meets the public. Sort of

The Labour leader is better than he was at campaigning but that is not saying a lot




The world in brief

Hamas launched eight rockets from Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, towards Tel Aviv, Israel's largest city...

Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, arrived in Taiwan with a group of American lawmakers two days after China conducted military exercises around the island...

Russian aircraft bombed a home-improvement store in Kharkiv, a city north-eastern Ukraine, killing 16 people, according to Ukrainian officials...

Rishi Sunak, Britain’s prime minister, promised to bring back national service if the Conservative Party wins the election on July 4th...


Global firms are tapping India’s workers like never before

They want their brains more than their brawn

AI firms mustn’t govern themselves, say ex-members of OpenAI’s board

For humanity’s sake, regulation is needed to tame market forces, argue Helen Toner and Tasha McCauley

There is an explosive flaw in the plan to rearm Ukraine

Europe lacks TNT and other propellants for shells and missiles

“Anora”, a tale of strippers and oligarchs, wins at Cannes

Sean Baker’s film is timely and thoughtful. It is also a great deal of fun

The US in brief

Trump's rally in the Bronx

Dateline

Try The Economist's history quiz

Subscriber event

India’s election, economy and future. May 23rd, 4pm BST, 11am EST

Video

World news

How to save South Africa

The rainbow nation needs an alternative to decline under the ANC

1843 magazine | Georgians fear their country is becoming like Russia

Critics of the government face targeted thuggery


NATO’s boss wants to free Ukraine to strike hard inside Russia

Jens Stoltenberg says the rules on using Western weapons should be eased


The number of American students in China is going up again

But it pales in comparison to the number of Chinese students in America


Britain’s election

Interactive UK election 2024

General-election forecast: will Labour destroy the Conservatives?

Our seat-by-seat prediction for Britain’s next Parliament

Rishi Sunak’s election call makes no sense, but is good news

Whether an act of political genius or lunacy, Britons should welcome it


Bagehot: Rishi Sunak’s snap election is odd and illogical—much like him

For a man who says he has a plan, the prime minister acts in an impulsive way


How will Britain vote on July 4th?

Spoiler: it is not looking good for Rishi Sunak


Business, finance and economics

Walmart’s latest product? Its customers

The retail giant is selling advertisers access to its shoppers


The Israel-Hamas war

How many people have died in Gaza?

The fog of war may be thick, but some figures are solid

The ICJ orders restraint from Israel in Rafah

But the court has no way to enforce its judgment, and there is no chance Israel will heed it


What does it mean to recognise Palestinian statehood?

Ireland, Norway and Spain will be the latest to do so


Powerful states are finding it harder to dodge legal challenges, says Marc Weller

The law professor believes the ICC’s creeping jurisdiction is part of a broader trend


America’s election year

Rural white voters in Wisconsin could decide America’s election

They are less enthusiastic about Donald Trump than their counterparts elsewhere

Fewer migrants are crossing America’s southern border

Joe Biden has Mexico to thank—for now


Interactive US election 2024

Can you build a Trump voter?

Try our tool—and see which attributes make voters more likely to pick one candidate over the other


Trump v Biden: who’s ahead in the polls?

The Economist is tracking the race to be America’s next president



Sign up for our US in brief newsletter

Pro-natalist policies

Why paying women to have more babies won’t work

Economies must adapt to baby busts instead

Can the rich world escape its baby crisis?

Governments are splurging on handouts to avert catastrophe



Some good news about America’s fertility problem

Part of the decline in births should be celebrated


Stories most read by subscribers

Featured read

Ebrahim Raisi was obsessed with the security of the people

The hardline president of Iran died in a helicopter crash on May 19th, aged 63

The war in Ukraine

Ukraine’s desperate struggle to defend Kharkiv

It is holding off Russia’s attack — for now

Volodymyr Zelensky’s five-year term ends on May 20th

But he has no plans to step down or call an election during wartime


What are the Russian “turtle tanks” seen in Ukraine?

Wrapping vehicles in corrugated metal might protect them from drone attacks


Sergei Shoigu’s sacking points to yet more attrition in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin wants Russia’s armed forces to be better supplied


Other highlights

Meet the man causing cracks in the antiquities trade

Matthew Bogdanos employs unorthodox tactics to repatriate stolen art and antiquities

From Zidane to Vinícius: the reinvention of Real Madrid

The galácticos have become the pragmáticos


Americans are fretting over their body odour

They are covering themselves in new types of deodorant


Spices have their own riveting, piquant history

How spycraft and cartography flourished in their wake


Cash for kids: Why policies to boost birth rates don’t work