The Intelligence from The Economist

Aggressive purchasing, solid logistics and a competitive health-care system have led to a world-beating rate of immunisation—but, as ever, politics is playing a role , too. Big oil had a terrible 2020, but the sector’s troubles pre-date the pandemic; we look at the supermajors’ varying approaches to an uncertain future. And how covid-19 is reshaping China’s clubbing scene. For full access to print...

Britain’s parliament will vote today on its last-gasp agreement with the European Union. But that will only mark the start of more negotiations for years to come. And we examine the shortlist from The Economist ’s annual “ country of the year ” debate—New Zealand, Malawi and Taiwan—and unveil the winner. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.eco...

After months of deadlock, a covid-19 relief package has passed , but the battles continue. We ask how things got so dire and what President-elect Joe Biden will inherit. A deadly shootout in London more than a century ago still resonates today; we examine one of the world’s first breaking-news stories. And the colour black reaches new depths in art.  For full access to print, digital and audi...

The first inoculations are happening across the continent as part of a co-ordinated push—but levels of both supply and uptake remain uncertain . Our correspondent explores South Korea’s obsession with hiking and why it means different things to different climbers. And looking back on a troubling year for Britain’s royals . For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , sub...

In a year marked by more than a million and a half deaths, mortality has rarely been so front of mind. Our obituary editor looks back through the notable figures she has memorialised, from George Floyd to Vera Lynn . For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For decades, the country has been an almighty consumer of the fizzy drink. But amid a woeful covid-19 situation politicians are highlighting the health concerns it brings. In getting to know a sleepy French village, our correspondent finds a nuanced view of isolation in the pandemic age. And the lavish books providing a never-before-seen perspective on the Sistine Chapel’s frescoes. For full acces...

A site that closed more than a quarter-century ago is still slowly poisoning the residents of Kabwe with lead; a class-action lawsuit is at last seeking redress. Our correspondent visits the ancient monastery behind the international Shaolin brand, learning the subtle story of its abbot and chief executive. And flicking through The Economist ’s staff picks for books of the year. For full access to...

The country’s refugee camps are packed and squalid, so the government is moving perhaps 100,000 Rohingya Muslims to a tiny island . Will life for them improve? Military tactics can be misleading; sometimes they are outright trickery. Our defence editor looks at the past and future of military deception . And why Christmas dinner involves such different fare around the world. For full access to pri...

A revolutionary conflagration a decade ago has almost entirely flickered out . We ask what happened to all the optimism and why real change has been so hard to achieve. A widely watched lawsuit reveals the slow march of feminism in China , one case at a time. And a look back at Ludwig van Beethoven’s life and work, 250 years on. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist...

Astonishingly, companies have raised more capital this year than ever before . We ask how capital markets shook free amid the pandemic—and what will happen with all that cash now. Our correspondent finds just how dependent the world’s waste-management industry is on informal workers, whose hard jobs have been made far harder this year. And the technology making megaphones much more mega. For full...

America’s by-the-book electoral-college vote calmed concerns about another Trump-camp bid to overturn the election —but that is not to say the ructions are over. On an unannounced visit to a suspected forced-labour camp in China’s Xinjiang province, our correspondent runs into trouble when witnessing evidence of a far wider social-engineering effort. And Cuba’s beloved sweet, milky treat gets a fr...

Britain’s divorce from the European Union still hinges on sticky matters of fishing rights and the enforcement of fair competition, and time is rapidly running out to strike a deal. India’s fantastical “love jihad ” conspiracy theory is just another Muslim-marginalisation move—one that the government seemingly approves of. And a hermit-crab housing shortage in Thailand. For full access to print, d...

Ahead of a weekend meeting to assess and bolster the Paris Agreement, our correspondent speaks with Antonio Guterres about his reasons for cautious optimism . The founder of an upstart far-right Dutch party has been consumed by scandals; we discuss a disastrous downfall . And following AirBnB’s stonking stockmarket debut, we examine the revealed preferences of pandemic-era bookers. For full access...

American regulators have put mergers that they approved years ago at the heart of antitrust lawsuits—a tricky bid to curb the social-media giant’s market power. We examine the surge of an artist-led protest movement in Cuba, where dissent on any scale is a dangerous proposition. And what a cross-border, ski-slope spat reveals about European co-operation. For full access to print, digital and audio...

President Emmanuel Macron’s draft bill walks a fine line balancing the country’s foundational secularism and worries about Islamist terrorism. Amid slumping economies everywhere, Taiwan’s looks surprisingly buoyant ; we ask how that might continue after the pandemic. And how managers can best navigate the holiday-party season in a cheerless year. For full access to print, digital and audio edition...

As Britons receive the first doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, authorities in America are meeting this week to authorise its emergency use. We examine the approaches on both sides of the pond. Despite pandemic prescriptions of social distancing, multigenerational living is on the rise. And how Advent calendars became so very extra. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The E...

In a region racked by dodgy polls, the country looks to continue a trend of uncontested handovers of power. That is not to say, however, that there aren’t sticking points. As tortuous Brexit negotiations drag on, we look at how British farming can and should change under a new regulatory regime. And the starving deer of a Japanese tourist hotspot. For full access to print, digital and audio editio...

Numbers of cases, hospitalisations and deaths are rocketing across the country. We examine the situation in the Midwest , as a microcosm of a wider unfolding tragedy. Venezuela’s ruling party will take over the National Assembly after Sunday’s vote , sidelining the self-proclaimed legitimate leader Juan Guaidó and cementing Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorship. And the fruitful life and ignominious death...

In the West market forces are squeezing coal—even as its use rises in Asia. We examine how the world can wean itself off the dirtiest fossil fuel. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Belarus’s probable presidential-election winner, never expected to run for office. Our correspondent visits her in exile, asking about the country’s prospects for democracy. And how candy-floss machines may help make better face...

Britain’s High Court has ruled that puberty blockers for children with gender dysphoria have been dispensed too readily, fuelling a debate that will be keenly watched abroad. A vote today on a law tightening accounting rules on American-listed Chinese companies has a political dimension—and implications for investors. And Poland’s populist leaders seize on the resurgence of “disco polo” music. For...

The killing of the country’s top nuclear scientist comes at a tricky time: violent retribution may threaten hoped-for diplomacy with the incoming American administration. An artificial-intelligence breakthrough may transform protein science, with implications for everything from industrial processes to tackling disease. And why Europe’s lighter-touch, second round of lockdowns have been so effecti...

Protesters are raging against a proposed bill that would outlaw posting videos of alleged police brutality—just as two videos expose more such violence. High-stakes exams for students have been delayed, modified, even cancelled during the pandemic; we look at how all those varying results stack up . And, South Africa’s growing trend of livestock theft —and rebranding.   For full access t...

Many of the country’s institutions are being slowly hobbled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government; we ask whether the world’s largest democracy is in peril. Sweden has a surprisingly entrenched problem with gang violence , revealing the social costs of its segregated populations. And how Black Friday is playing out in the pandemic era. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of...

A long string of pro-democracy protests are railing more and more against the king himself—and the protesters are younger and more fearless than ever before. The arrest of Bobi Wine, Uganda’s popular singer-turned-opposition-hero, has sparked deadly violence. He won’t win January’s election, but his movement isn’t going away . And a Thanksgiving Day look at the globe-trotting history of the turkey...

The northern region’s surrounded forces are ignoring Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s deadline to disarm. More regions are being drawn in —and a conflagration across the Horn of Africa looms. Artificial-intelligence pilots have shown serious dogfighting skills, but for reasons both technical and ethical humans are still needed in the cockpit. And the rise of mixed martial arts on both sides of the Atla...