The Intelligence from The Economist

The boom-and-bust of environmental-technology investing has settled out, and money is flooding in —both individual and institutional. We examine the green fields that lie ahead. Many Arab countries have long been suffering an exodus of medical professionals—a problem only magnified by the pandemic. And a reflection on the life of Jonathan Sacks, a tirelessly unifying British rabbi. For full access...

The tone of America’s president-elect on China changed markedly through the campaign; his policies, at least at the outset, may differ little from those of his predecessor. We examine the stark racial disparities in covid-19 outcomes around the world. And the clever use of a waste product to make a better takeaway coffee cup . For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist ,...

Peace talks continue in Doha but on the ground the Taliban are consolidating control. America’s rush to withdraw its forces could undo the good work of getting them to the negotiating table. As DoorDash heads to a public listing, we look at the rapidly shifting fortunes of the food-delivery business. And why golf has a long-shot problem . For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The...

Now that the economic reins have been taken back from the president’s son-in-law, the country is making the right policy noises —and just in time. China’s anti-poverty drive is not disinterested charity; it is about transforming citizens’ thoughts . And chronicling Pepe the Frog’s descent into alt-right memedom. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here...

America’s outgoing president is sticking with an insidious fiction , lashing out at those who deny it. That frustrates a stable handover of power—and will cost lives. Egypt has a long-standing problem with sexual harassment and abuse. A reckoning has begun this year, revealing some deeply conservative views among both men and women. And why streaming-era television programmes have got so long . Fo...

Following a purge based on a harsh new security law, the territory’s Legislative Council lacks a single opposition voice. That will make the work of pro-Beijing lawmakers easier. As promising vaccines start to emerge, we examine the role of so-called T-cells in granting long-lasting immunity to the coronavirus. And why employers are relying more and more on psychometric tests . For full access to...

The chief aide to the prime minister had been a driving force in policy but a dividing force in government. What will happen now that he has stood down ? We examine how Canada’s response to the pandemic has shielded its economy —so far. And lockdowns bring the market for pasta to a rolling boil.  For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.econom...

The longest-running conflict in the Caucasus could well be over. We examine a peace deal that benefits outside powers and chips away at regional identities. The hipster aesthetic long ago permeated rich countries; our correspondent finds it creeping even into impoverished and war-torn corners of the world. And reflecting on the life of James Randi, a tireless debunker of charlatans. For full acces...

Jihadism is growing in a continent-wide strip of Africa, and the riskiest operations to contain it fall to French troops. Our correspondent witnesses a fraught and seemingly endless mission. Peru has ousted yet another president, at a woeful time: the pandemic is raging, the economy cratering and politics fracturing. And the movement to water down Sweden’s state monopoly on booze. For full access...

President-elect Joe Biden’s campaign had the environment front and centre. We analyse his pledges —and his prospects for implementing them. As the video-gaming industry releases its next round of consoles , it is eyeing a far larger prize: high-end gaming with no console at all. And the red poppy of Remembrance Day turns into something of an armistice race in Britain. For full access to print, dig...

A vaccine claimed to be 90% effective represents an enormous achievement . We discuss what questions remain and the regulatory and distribution challenges ahead. A string of recent African elections reveals strongmen bending democracy to stay in office; will upcoming polls break it altogether? And a moral crusade in India doesn’t fit the country’s chill relationship with weed. For full access to p...

President Donald Trump will go, but Trumpism will remain. Our editor-in-chief considers how President-elect Biden can repair the divided country he will inherit. Denmark aims to cull 17m mink that could represent a reservoir of a mutated coronavirus—why didn’t it do so when other countries did ? And the old-timey Korean music that might just challenge K-pop.   For full access to print, d...

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has taken drastic steps to quieten a state stacked with trained militias. The conflict could draw in more states—or the whole of the Horn of Africa. China’s increasing push for self-reliance in a globalised economy has its complications—made clear by a vast influx of precision-bred super-chickens . And the macabre tale of books bound with human skin . For full access to p...

As President Donald Trump’s re-election path slims , his pledges to fight the results in court are multiplying. We look at the cases that may eventually decide the election. Global crises tend to affect birth rates, and covid-19 is no different—but the effects are not evenly spread. And a suite alternative for business types tired of working from home. For full access to print, digital and audio e...

The outcome remains unclear as vote-counting continues. We look at some of the surprise results , ask what happens next and examine how The Economist ’s election forecast has held up. And we tag along with our American correspondents for the thrill of election-night reporting. The latest results are here www.economist.com/us2020results ; for full access to print, digital and audio editions of The...

Poland already had some of the strictest laws on terminations, but the ruling party’s bid to tighten them further has sparked national outrage . We lay out what to expect on election night in America—the denouement will not be simple, and is unlikely to be quick . And a historical look at the films screened in the White House’s private cinema. For full access to print, digital and audio editions o...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson all but ruled out a second lockdown, but his hand has been forced by England’s caseload. What are the political costs of his U-turn? Myanmar’s coming election will almost certainly be marred by disinformation on Facebook —principally because so many Burmese people get their only news there. And examining the current glut of political biographies . For full access to pr...

The staggering extent of illegal fishing, and its human and environmental costs, are only just becoming clear. We ask how to put a shadowy industry on a more even keel . The old guard likes to mock millennial investors, but they’re changing finance , possibly for the better. And as Berlin’s shiny new airport opens we ask: why is it nine years late ? For full access to print, digital and audio edit...

The party’s Fifth Plenum sets out a five-year vision; we mine the plan for clues about how China views itself in the world—and how long Xi Jinping intends to lead . The pandemic has the rich world thinking and talking about death in a way not seen since the second world war. And an uncertain future for Singapore’s famed street-food hawkers. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of T...

Across the continent, covid-19 cases are rising steeply and containment measures are still divergent . We look at the challenges of finding policies that are efficacious and sustainable. Tanzania’s election today is all but zipped up; President John Magufuli has been trampling the country’s hard-won democratic traditions. And what the florid language of wine experts says about human perception. Fo...

Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation marks the first time since the 1930s the court has leaned so conservative, and has stoked another partisan battle that may further reshape the court. Following the announcement of water on the Moon , we look at a looming, broader battle: who will own the water rights? And why Australia’s aboriginal flag is flying less and less . For full access to print, digital an...

The country has roundly rejected its dictatorship-era charter and mapped out how to fashion a new one. What do Chileans stand to gain —and to lose? Rising populations of the elderly in the world’s prisons are creating deepening problems , both for jailers and the jailed. And we explore a theory that blames political chaos on too many would-be elites. For full access to print, digital and audio edi...

America’s final presidential debate had less noise and more substance . But polls seem immovable and nearly 50m Americans have already voted; will the race change? South Korea’s population-boosting efforts have failed, so it is encouraging more women into the workforce—and that will redress some long-standing inequalities. And crunching 70 years’ worth of Formula 1 data to find the sport’s true gr...

As it has with so many other trends, the pandemic has hastened the decline of democracy and human rights; covid-19 provides autocrats with perfect cover. The plummeting price for the cobalt that powers electronics has upended lives and driven crime in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And how physicists found an upper bound for the speed of sound. For full access to print, digital and audio editio...

The brutal murder of a schoolteacher comes amid warnings of mounting Islamism in the country. The attack will only harden resolve for a secular society. Alexei Navalny, Russia’s opposition leader, speaks with our correspondent about the attempt on his life; it signals, he says, a regime in decline. And data reveal how the arrival of mobile internet erodes faith in governments. For full access to p...