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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 death of Iran’s president will spark a high-stakes power struggle
Amid a regional war, a fight at home between the clerics and military looms
Business
Can Nvidia be dethroned? Meet the startups vying for its crown
A new generation of AI chips is on the way
International
Taiwan’s new president faces an upsurge in Chinese coercion
But China’s bullying of Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines risks an explosion
The world in brief
The International Criminal Court announced that it would seek 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...
Lai Ching-te was sworn in as Taiwan’s new president, telling China the democratic island would not be swayed by “external forces” and would maintain the status quo with its neighbour...
South Africa’s Constitutional Court barred Jacob Zuma from running in the general election on May 29th...
The revolt against Binyamin Netanyahu
His war cabinet and generals want a new plan—and a new boss
Bartleby: How to be a good follower
First, realise that it matters
China’s youth are rebelling against long hours
The backlash over a series of viral videos says a lot about shifting attitudes
Some corals are better at handling the heat
Scientists are helping them breed
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 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
Why are Arab armed forces so ineffective?
Governments are splashing the cash, but that may do little to burnish their armies’ reputations
World news
Is America dictator-proof?
The many vulnerabilities, and enduring strengths, of America’s republic
Why America is vulnerable to a despot
Its democratic system is not as robust as it seems
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
Facebook turned off the news in Canada. What happened next?
A law intended to help small publishers is harming them
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
Jürgen Klopp’s masterclass in how to win—and lose
Two gestures capture the Liverpool manager’s method: the fist pump and the hug
Turkish women should soon be allowed to keep their maiden names
But the law is still fuzzy
#Tradwives, the real housewives of the internet, have gone viral
Why social-media users are riveted by the domestic toil of homemakers
Alice Munro was the English language’s Chekhov
The Nobel prizewinning short-story writer died on May 13th, aged 92
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
