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The US in brief today
Biden tries to win over black voters
Dateline
Try The Economist's history quiz
Britain's general election
Explore The Economist's forecast for Britain's looming election
Middle East & Africa
The ICC’s threat to arrest Binyamin Netanyahu has shocked Israel
America and Israel have reacted with outrage at the implied equivalence between Israel and Hamas
International
Iran’s new leaders stand at a nuclear precipice
The world’s atomic watchdog fears a terrifying regional arms race
The world in brief
President Joe Biden issued an unambiguous rebuke of the International Criminal Court’s application seeking arrest warrants for Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, and Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader...
Iran’s state media confirmed the death of Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s president...
The price of copper extended its dramatic rally, rising to a record high of $11,105 per ton at the London Metal Exchange...
South Africa’s Constitutional Court barred Jacob Zuma from running in the general election on May 29th...
Ukraine’s desperate struggle to defend Kharkiv
It is holding off Russia’s attack — for now
Banyan: Lai Ching-te aims to strengthen Taiwan but maintain the status quo
The new president won’t find it easy
“A day of shame” for the British state
The biggest scandal in the history of the NHS is at last properly acknowledged
The hit series “Bridgerton” has set off a string-quartet boom
It is a surprising example of how popular culture can shape consumer habits
The US in brief today
Biden tries to win over black voters
Dateline
Try The Economist's history quiz
Britain's general election
Explore The Economist's forecast for Britain's looming election
Strife in the Middle East
The revolt against Binyamin Netanyahu
His war cabinet and generals want a new plan—and a new boss
The Israeli army is caught in a doom loop in Gaza
And the refusal to plan for the day after the war is fuelling a crisis with America
Israel has seen arms embargoes before
But this time it will struggle without American military support
On Independence Day Israel is ripping itself apart
Anger, tears and recriminations
World news
Taiwan’s new president faces an upsurge in Chinese coercion
But China’s bullying of Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines risks an explosion
Is America dictator-proof?
The many vulnerabilities, and enduring strengths, of America’s republic
Why Julian Assange’s extradition case is taking so long
The WikiLeaks co-founder is granted a new appeal against being sent to America
How a Russia-linked mine may keep the ANC in power
South Africa’s ruling party was broke a few months ago, but its fortunes are changing
Business, finance and economics
It is dangerously easy to hack the world’s phones
A system at the heart of global telecommunications is woefully insecure
How Jim Simons revolutionised investing
The “quant king” pioneered an approach that has become a pillar of finance
America’s 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs: bad policy, worse leadership
The global trade system is disintegrating as you read this
The property firm that could break China’s back
If Vanke collapses, so might confidence in the state’s management of the economy
The war in Ukraine
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
Tracking the Ukraine war: where is the latest fighting?
Our satellite view of the conflict, updated daily
Stories most read by subscribers
Featured read
Shirley Conran wrote a bonkbuster to teach schoolgirls about sex
The author and campaigner for maths education died on May 9th, aged 91
Video
America’s election year
A mano-a-mano contest between Michael Cohen and Donald Trump
The hush-money trial hinges on the testimony of the former president’s former fixer
In brief
Biden tries to win over black voters; Trump hints at third term
Our daily political update, featuring 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
India’s election
Who could replace Narendra Modi?
A leadership struggle is brewing in India’s ruling party
Banyan: Narendra Modi ramps up the Muslim-baiting
Is the Indian prime minister confident, or worried?
1843 magazine | Rahul Gandhi is on the march. But where is he heading?
He wants to be the champion of Indian liberalism. First he needs to save his party from irrelevance
Even disillusioned young Indian voters favour Narendra Modi
They worry about their future, but do not blame the BJP
Other highlights
God™: an ageing product outperforms expectations
An economist tries to explain religion
How not to name a new car
Companies that get it wrong risk both derision and outrage
The Great Barrier Reef is seeing unprecedented coral bleaching
Continued global warming will mean its obliteration
The world’s slowest bullet train trundles ahead in California
An extra $3bn of federal funding is nice; as for the other $80bn, dream on
Weekly edition: May 18th 2024
Is America dictator-proof?
An American startup boom
How the country revived its go-getting spirit
China, Russia and the grey zone
Xi Jinping is subtler than Vladimir Putin—yet equally disruptive
The BJP’s power vacuum
A leadership struggle is brewing in India’s ruling party
Economists and God
An ageing product outperforms expectations
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
