The Intelligence from The Economist

The second impeachment trial of Donald Trump will make history , but its outcome is assured. We ask what the proceedings say about the Republican Party. China’s youth are making their own way, even as the Communist regime tries to win greater loyalty from them; we examine the country’s future leaders . And another, overlooked pandemic: that of loneliness at work . For full access to print, digital...

Ecuador’s elections on Sunday kick off a packed year of polls in the region. Democracy’s foothold in South America looks assured; in Central America, less so. Engineers are vastly improving the core technologies in televisions. We preview the viewing pleasure to come. And remembering Nikolai Antoshkin , a Soviet general who faced unknowable danger to save untold lives. For full access to print, di...

Congress is on the cusp of pushing through a $1.9trn stimulus bill. But would it be money well spent? We examine the economics. Nearly half of India’s students attend cheap, efficient private schools that have been hit harder by the pandemic than the state-run kind. And the latest bid to clean up Earth’s celestial neighbourhood—and how to finance it. For full access to print, digital and audio edi...

Jeff Bezos is relinquishing the reins—partly—of the firm he founded. We take a look at Andy Jassy, who will replace him as chief executive at a profitable but tricky time . Our annual Democracy Index isn’t brimming with great news; we examine how democratic norms are faring worldwide. And the capture of the biggest drug lord you’ve probably never heard of.  For full access to print, digital a...

The army already had plenty of political power, but following a landslide election loss it dramatically seized more . After five years of democracy, will the country abide a return to military rule? The wind-power boom has driven a scramble for balsa wood— harming the Ecuadoreans who live where it grows. And a better way to test the language skills of would-be citizens. For full access to pri...

That a coronavirus vaccine could be developed in a year is astonishing—and promising candidates just keep coming . How will the virus’s variants change the dynamic? Palestine may at last hold elections, after 15 years of promises. But Mahmoud Abbas, the incumbent president, may end up as the only viable candidate. And the probable first big market for lab-grown meat. For full access to print, digi...

Successful arms-control diplomacy has kept proliferation at bay for decades. But many states now have nuclear ambitions; we look at an increasingly worrying shift . Rapid development in sub-Saharan Africa has led to a “double burden” of malnutrition: obesity is skyrocketing even as undernourishment continues. And the riches and the tensions to be found at a Greenland rare-earth-minerals mine. For...

The president is scrambling to pull together a workable government following Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s resignation —and the instability has big implications for Europe’s post-pandemic plans. We examine the staggering rise of shares in GameStop and the day traders trying to stick it to the hedge-funders. And the sport of back-country skiing gets a lift in America. For full access to print, di...

The European Union’s vaccine rollout was slow and fragmented even before pharma companies warned of supply shortfalls; we ask what’s gone wrong. Australia’s proposed law that would force tech titans to pay news providers is just one front in a battle that might upend a foundational principle of the internet. And the bawdy baked goods that have captured Egyptians’ attention. For full access to prin...

At this week’s five-yearly congress there will be pride in the handling of the pandemic—but broader discontent and mounting protests should worry party bigwigs. We ask our education correspondent why so many American schools remain empty and what the long-run costs will be. And differentiating the difficult character of Patricia Highsmith from the litany of difficult characters she conjured. For f...

The arrest of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny—and an exposé he released alleging deep corruption—fuelled vast weekend protests , chipping away at President Vladimir Putin’s legitimacy. Having left the European Union Britain must find a new foreign-policy foothold in the world; we examine its options and its moves so far . And a shocking revelation about haggis ahead of Scotland’s Burns Night celebra...

There are signs that the federal government is obstructing humanitarian aid to the war-torn region of Tigray, putting millions of civilians at risk of famine. We draw lessons from Israel’s vaccine rollout to predict what still lies ahead for many countries. And what can be learned by striking a deal with Bali’s larcenous monkeys. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economis...

The watchword was unity as Joe Biden took office—he struck a calming tone and got immediately to work. We analyse the gargantuan tasks that lie ahead. Messaging services such as WhatsApp provide a needed online forum; as users flood to new apps we examine questions of privacy and security. And the Parisian street artist depicting brutal protests to unsettling effect. For full access to print, digi...

Desperate scenes in the city of Manaus may foretell a dire wave throughout the country. A misguided sense of “herd immunity” has worsened matters, as has the president’s persistent scepticism. We examine history to see how lasers progressed from practical impossibility to utter ubiquity—and the scientific frontiers they are still illuminating. And how clams are protecting lives in Poland. For full...

Hundreds of thousands of farmers have participated in protests around Delhi , demonstrating against laws that they say threaten their livelihoods. We ask how the standoff will end. Today America will designate Yemen’s Houthi militants as terrorists , but that is likely only to harm a population already facing starvation. And what’s behind a boom in African comics. For full access to print, digital...

The opposition leader was detained as soon as he arrived—but President Vladimir Putin has no good options for dealing with his most vocal opponent . Germany’s ruling CDU party has a new leader; we examine the challenges that lie ahead for him, his party and his country. And the kerfuffle behind an American-made film relegated to the Golden Globes’ foreign-language category.  For full access t...

After a violent campaign in which the opposition candidate Bobi Wine was extensively intimidated, authorities imposed an internet blackout. President Yoweri Museveni will almost certainly cling to power—a worry for Uganda and the wider region. Wikipedia turns 20 today; we ask how, against long odds, it has survived and grown . And the video game that’s sparking a moral panic in Afghanistan. For fu...

Some House Republicans broke ranks, joining Democrats to hand President Donald Trump an ignominious distinction . Our deputy editor lays out why the Senate should now convict and remove him . Under South Africa’s ruling ANC party a powerful black middle class bloomed, but the party’s fiscal mismanagement threatens their loyalty . And the boom in “spirits” with no booze but plenty of branding.&nbsp...

War criminals and their ilk often evade justice solely because of squabbling over who can be tried where. But a rise in “ universal jurisdiction ” trials is tightening the net. Recent lockdowns’ hits to global economies are not nearly as deep as they were the first time around; we explore why. And Cambodian rat-catchers reckon with boom and bust . For full access to print, digital and audio editio...

Moves to shutter the president’s accounts and to crimp corners of the internet given to right-wing extremism raise thorny questions , both about free speech and social-media firms’ business models. Our public-policy editor takes a broad look at girlhood: how women’s adolescence has changed for the better but is challenged mightily by covid-19. And science’s bid to save more snake-bite victims’ liv...

Today Democratic lawmakers will begin attempts to remove President Donald Trump. It could fail , or be delayed—or Republicans could see a political opportunity. Even amid a global vaccination drive, the hunt for covid-19 treatments continues; we examine two existing arthritis drugs that appear to save lives . And the synthesiser that conquered music in the 1980s and then stuck around. Additional a...

A national-security law imposed by Beijing had not, until this week, bared its teeth; the arrests of dozens of pro-democracy figures reveals how much it can crimp opposition. At the American Economics Association’s annual shindig, a scholar implores economists to recalibrate just how self-interested they take people to be. And the inspiring life and untimely death of a beloved, goat-herding refuge...

After previously unthinkable scenes played out in Washington’s legislature, we ask what the violence will mean for the president, Republican lawmakers and American democracy. Argentina’s move to liberalise its abortion laws reflects slowly changing attitudes across Latin America, and may spur wider change. And examining the history of Ethio-jazz, a unique musical melting pot . For full access to p...

Democrats look set to win both the run-off elections that will determine control of the Senate—and how President-elect Joe Biden will be able to govern. Quantum computing is still nascent, its power yet to be truly tapped. But the finance sector is already looking to squeeze it for analytical advantage. And how Confucianism still influences society in South Korea. For full access to print, digital...

It is no surprise that more-transmissible coronavirus variants are cropping up . We ask how worrisome the strains found in Britain and South Africa are. American authorities have lodged a landmark case against Walmart for its role in the country’s worsening opioid crisis—a problem with clearly more than one cause. And dealing with the pile of unused vacation days from 2020. For full access to prin...