The Economist | Independent journalism
Cash for kids | Why paying women to have more babies won’t work
Economies must adapt to baby busts instead
Leaders
The war-crimes case against the leaders of Israel and Hamas is flawed
Politics and diplomacy, not courts, are the key to ending violence and starting two-state talks
By Invitation
Olaf Scholz on why Vladimir Putin’s brutal imperialism will fail
Germany’s chancellor says Europe needs more military muscle
Britain
Could the Labour Party blow its big opportunity?
Sir Keir Starmer’s party is terrified of letting victory slip through its fingers
The world in brief
In Washington, DC, President Joe Biden greeted William Ruto, Kenya’s president, the first African leader to make a state visit to America in 16 years...
Identity and Democracy, a group of far-right parties in the European Parliament, expelled Alternative for Germany after one of its MEPs said that the SS, a Nazi paramilitary force, were “not all criminals”...
America’s Department of Justice and 30 state and district attorneys-general launched an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation-Ticketmaster...
Writing for The Economist, Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, says that defending Ukraine from Russian aggression is “an indispensable investment” in Europe’s security...
India’s YouTubers take on Narendra Modi
In one corner of India’s internet, dissent survives. For now
Lexington: Politics is the law in Texas
A governor’s pardon implies that courts cannot be trusted, just as Donald Trump says
Geopolitics helps reignite New Caledonia’s anti-colonial unrest
Emmanuel Macron makes an emergency dash to the troubled Pacific island
Americans are fretting over their body odour
They are covering themselves in new types of deodorant
Video
This week
The most important political stories this week
Ebrahim Raisi dies in a helicopter crash, Rishi Sunak calls a general election in Britain—and more
The most important business stories this week
Nvidia’s revenues hit $26bn in the latest quarter, a Russian court freezes assets belonging to Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank and UniCredit—and more
KAL’s cartoon
A lighter look at the week's events
Letters to the editor
On disinformation, digital payments, South-East Asia, Italy, Ravel’s “Boléro”, Tesla cars
World news
Rishi Sunak’s election call makes no sense, but is good news
Whether an act of political genius or lunacy, Britons should welcome it
Le Pen’s hard right looks set to crush Macron’s centrists
The vote in France spells trouble for the president
What does it mean to recognise Palestinian statehood?
Ireland, Norway and Spain will be the latest to do so
Even Xi Jinping is struggling to fix regional inequality
Will China’s vast hinterland ever catch up with its wealthy coast?
Business, finance and economics
Can anyone save the world’s most important diamond company?
De Beers is in peril
Can Nvidia be dethroned? Meet the startups vying for its crown
A new generation of AI chips is on the way
At long last, Europe’s economy is starting to grow
Now for the hard part
Free exchange: Diego Maradona offers central bankers enduring lessons
Recent years ought to have reduced the importance of a skilful feint. They have not
Iran after Raisi’s death
A president’s death gives Iran’s regime a choice
It will probably choose to keep alienating voters and antagonising the West
Iran’s new leaders stand at a nuclear precipice
The world’s atomic watchdog fears a terrifying regional arms race
The death of the president changes the power dynamic in Iran
The supreme leader’s son may be the beneficiary
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
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
In brief
Nikki Haley will vote for Trump; Biden confirms 200th judge
Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter
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
Stories most read by subscribers
Featured read
What’s behind Britain’s earthworm cataclysm?
Their numbers may have declined by a third
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
Mexico’s election
Criminal gangs are showing their muscle as Mexico’s elections loom
The next president must make the country safer
The probable next president outlines her plan to make Mexicans safer
The country needs reforms like those in the capital, says Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo
The main opposition candidate on how to fight organised crime in Mexico
New leadership and outside help are needed, says Xóchitl Gálvez
Could there be a US-Mexico trade war?
The bilateral trade deficit has exploded since Donald Trump was president
Other highlights
A new age of sail begins
By harnessing wind power, high-tech sails can help cut marine pollution
The controversial cult of the host club in Japan
Why women pay men in make-up to flatter them
The hit series “Bridgerton” has set off a string-quartet boom
It is a surprising example of how popular culture can shape consumer habits
What if calling someone stupid was a crime?
Lionel Shriver imagines cancel culture going to even greater extremes
Weekly edition: May 25th 2024
Cash for kids: Why policies to boost birth rates don’t work
Where next for Iran?
The death of the president changes the power dynamic
Meet Nvidia’s challengers
A new generation of AI chips is on the way
How to save South Africa
The rainbow nation needs an alternative to decline under the ANC
Britain’s election surprise
Rishi Sunak’s election call makes no sense, but is good news
Special reports: May 11th 2024
Worlds apart
The American-led financial order is giving way to a more divided one
The global financial system is in danger of fragmenting
How crises reshaped the world financial system
The movement of capital globally is in decline
National payment systems are proliferating
The fight to dethrone the dollar
How the financial system would respond to a superpower war
Sources and acknowledgments
