Where they are clear, the summit’s commitments do not add much to existing targets; mostly, though, they are woefully short on detail. We pick through the pledges. Germany is facing up to a colonial-era atrocity in modern-day Namibia, but a hard-won reparations deal will not quell controversy. And how Persian-music artists are upending the audio-streaming model. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Ac...
Jun 14, 2021•22 min
For the seven world leaders meeting in Britain the immediate crises are clear. But a broader question hangs over them : how can the G7 maintain its relevance? A ruling in Britain excites a debate that takes in free speech, trans rights and workplace policy . And “van life” keeps spreading but, as ever, not everything is as it seems on Instagram. Additional audio by Bryher's Boys, courtesy of Bryher’s Boys Publishing. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscri...
Jun 11, 2021•23 min
Air bases have been handed over; America’s remaining troops are shipping out and NATO forces are following suit. Can Afghanistan’s government forces hold off the Taliban? In parts of China, a playful wedding tradition goes a bit too far for Communist Party authorities’ taste. And a look at just how bad people are at coming up with accurate alibis. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast....
Jun 10, 2021•21 min
As governments across South-East Asia crimp online freedoms, the region’s healthiest democracy might have been expected to resist the trend. Not so . President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua is using a new law to detain more of his potential adversaries in November’s election—and is coming under international pressure. And how Jordan’s gas-delivery-truck jingles jangle nerves. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer H...
Jun 09, 2021•18 min
Piecemeal criminal-justice reforms following last year’s protests are coming up against hard numbers: violent crime is up. We ask what can, and should, be done . The man who led a coup in Mali last year has done it again; our correspondent considers how the tumult affects the wider, regional fight against jihadism. And the global spread of Japan’s beloved anime. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Ac...
Jun 08, 2021•23 min
The run-up to the country’s largest-ever election has been bloody; the aftermath will set the tone for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, whose record so far is woeful. Our analysis of listed green-technology firms reveals striking growth—but as with any tech-stock spike, it is worth asking whether it is all a bubble. And a look at two missions heading to Venus. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted o...
Jun 07, 2021•22 min
The Saudi-backed government is hobbled; separatism is spreading; a humanitarian crisis grows by the day. A rebel advance on a once-safe city will only prolong a grinding war. We look at the scourge of doping in horse racing ahead of this weekend’s Belmont Stakes. And the last surviving foreign fighter in Spain’s civil war was a revolutionary to the end . For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See...
Jun 04, 2021•24 min
The bloc seems at last to have a firm hand on inoculation and recovery—but efforts to engineer even progress among member states are not quite panning out. In recent years Bangladesh’s government has been cosy with a puritanical Islamist group; we ask why the relationship has grown complicated . And a genetic-engineering solution to the problem of mosquito-borne disease. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hos...
Jun 03, 2021•20 min
A walkout in the Texas legislature is just the most dramatic of broad efforts to restrict voting rights—in particular of minority voters. We examine the risks to America’s democracy. Changes in climate and populations are driving nomadic Nigerian herders into increasing conflict ; how to preserve their way of life? And a new kind of space race aims for the silver screen. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hos...
Jun 02, 2021•19 min
The only thing that unites the parties of a would-be government is the will to oust Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. What chance their coalition can secure political stability? A new report reveals where the gangsters of the Balkans are stashing their loot: in an increasingly distorted property market . And a look at the mysterious case of Canada’s hardened butter. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted ...
Jun 01, 2021•21 min
Jacob Zuma, a former president, at last answers to decades-old corruption allegations. But graft still permeates his ANC party and government at every level. The pandemic’s hit to parents—particularly women—is becoming clear , from mental-health matters to career progression to progress toward gender equality. And the super-slippery surface that ensures you get the most from your toothpaste tube. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist...
May 31, 2021•22 min
Activist investors installed green-minded board members at ExxonMobil; Chevron’s shareholders pushed a carbon-cutting plan; a Dutch court ruled Shell must cut emissions. We examine a tumultuous week for the supermajors. After years of scant attention, Scotland’s drug-death problem is at last being acknowledged and tackled . And the Peruvian pop star boosting the fortunes of a long-derided indigenous language. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here ...
May 28, 2021•20 min
The suggestion that the virus first emerged from a Chinese laboratory has proved stubbornly persistent; as calls mount for more investigation, it has become a potent epidemiological and political idea. Latin America’s strict lockdowns have had the expected calamitous economic effects . We look at the region’s prospects for recovery. And the tricky business of artificially inseminating a shark . For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.c...
May 27, 2021•21 min
The regime got its quarry—a widely read, dissident blogger and his girlfriend—but faces international condemnation for its piratical means . How to pressure what is increasingly a pariah state? Our correspondent in the Democratic Republic of Congo surveys the damage from a sudden volcanic eruption ; another could come at any time. And why more music-copyright disputes are ending up in court. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/...
May 26, 2021•22 min
Protests have followed police killings in America with saddening regularity, but the scope of demonstrations following George Floyd’s murder may mark a turning point in how policing is monitored and regulated. We speak to Lee Merritt, an attorney for Mr Floyd’s family, and to our United States editor—asking how likely cultural and structural changes are to take hold. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted ...
May 25, 2021•20 min
Protests that began last month show no sign of abating; our correspondent speaks with Iván Duque, the country’s increasingly beleaguered president. Revelations about a blockbuster 1995 interview with Princess Diana cast a shadow over the BBC—when it already has plenty of fires to fight. And why it’s so hard to find an address in Costa Rica: there aren’t any . For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast...
May 24, 2021•21 min
After 11 days of fierce fighting, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire beginning in the early hours of Friday morning. But will the quiet last? In July, China’s Communist Party will celebrate its centenary . But that requires airbrushing much of its history. And, we look back at the life of Asfaw Yemiru , an Ethiopian educator who transformed the lives of more than 120,000 children. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelli...
May 21, 2021•24 min
The Tokyo Olympics are due to begin in just over two months. But with coronavirus cases climbing in recent months, 80% of Japanese people want the games to be cancelled. The navigation signals sent by satellites like America’s GPS constellation are surprisingly weak. What happens when they’re jammed—or tricked? And in America cicadas have emerged from their underground redoubts for the first time in 17 years, for a frenzied few weeks of mating. How do you study a species that emerges fewer than ...
May 20, 2021•19 min
Italy’s prime minister, Mario Draghi, has been cheered by the markets since taking on the job in February. But a coalition of right-wing populists are waiting in the wings should he falter. Mexico’s army hasn’t ruled the country since the 1940s. But the generals are now running everything from building sites to the border. And even during a pandemic, British medical students are struggling to get their hands on suitable corpses . For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Econom...
May 19, 2021•21 min
The International Energy Agency has published a report explaining what needs to happen if the world is to get to net zero emissions by 2050. It points to a transition away from fossil fuels on an epic scale. Today Somaliland celebrates its 30th anniversary. It has been a quiet success story in a sea of instability. But what it craves is international recognition as a state. And soaring share prices are normally cause for cheer—unless your computers can’t keep up. For full access to print, digita...
May 18, 2021•22 min
Though over 10bn doses of covid-19 vaccine may be produced this year, much of the poor world will see little of them. The supply of vaccines is much tighter than it ought to be. Our correspondent in New Delhi offers a personal reflection on India’s spiraling epidemic. And even as British museums re-open today, their future is looking shaky . For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pr...
May 17, 2021•20 min
As Israel's war with Hamas has intensified, mob violence between Arabs and Jews within the country has made a tricky situation even more difficult. Is the rising price of everything from airline tickets to used cars in America a transitory phenomenon or a sign of overheating? And is pineapple and ham on pizza an inspired combination —or a culinary war crime? For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast....
May 14, 2021•23 min
Liz Cheney had been a rising Republican star. Now the staunch conservative has been purged by her own party. Her removal shows that, even in defeat, Donald Trump retains an iron grip on the Republicans. Denmark has taken in thousands of Syrian refugees over the past decade, but its welcome has waned . The Danish government says that Damascus is safe enough for many to return. And, we explain why companies are paying more attention to the curves and curls of their fonts . For full access to print...
May 13, 2021•21 min
China just unveiled the results of its first census in over a decade. The results are striking, if not surprising: the world’s largest country will soon stop growing. Yet if a greying population causes economic headwinds, Chinese officials also have reason for cheer. With digital currencies in vogue, central banks want to get in on the action. The rise of “ govcoins ” could transform monetary policy and expand access to bank accounts. But it could also destabilise private banking. And roadkill i...
May 12, 2021•22 min
Tension in the holy city of Jerusalem has been rising for weeks, amid the attempted eviction of Palestinians and a march by Jewish nationalists. Yesterday it erupted into the worst violence in years, as Hamas rockets fired at Israel from Gaza prompted retaliatory air strikes. A cyber-attack that shut down one of America’s largest fuel pipelines reflects the growing problem of ransomware . And in China, authorities are clamping down on a spurt of grave robbing. For full access to print, digital a...
May 11, 2021•22 min
Boris Johnson, Britain’s prime minister, is celebrating a wave of election victories for his Conservative Party in the north of England. But in Scotland, pro-independence parties continue to dominate. Judges in Germany have demanded that the government take a more radical approach to climate change; their ruling could shake up climate policy around the world. And if you’re bored of cardigans, why not knit yourself a road ? For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , s...
May 10, 2021•21 min
Demonstrations initially against tax reform have bloomed—and turned violent. The reforms have been shelved , but the protests now threaten President Iván Duque’s rule. The emissions contributions of the world’s armed forces are rarely reported and largely overlooked; we examine the efforts to make armies a bit greener. And an audio tour through popular music’s accidental innovators . For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intellig...
May 07, 2021•20 min
The social-media giant’s external-review body upheld a ban on former president Donald Trump—for now. We ask how a narrow ruling reflects on far broader questions of free speech and regulation. America’s young offenders are often handed long sentences and face disproportionate harms; we examine reforms that are slowly taking hold. And the Broadway mental-health musical that is a surprise hit in China. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.econo...
May 06, 2021•22 min
Today another state will enact a “permitless carry” law—no licence, checks or training required. We ask why states’ loosening of safeguards fails to reflect public sentiment. Brexit has supercharged Scottish nationalism , and this week’s elections may pave the way to another independence referendum. And a long-forgotten coffee species may weather the climate-change era. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Host...
May 05, 2021•21 min
A decades-old policy of “strategic ambiguity” is breaking down; we ask about the risks and the stakes of a potential Chinese bid to take Taiwan by force. The number of diseases jumping from animals to humans is set to keep rising; we look at why, and how to make the jump rarer. And the misguided mission to understand canine communication. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva...
May 04, 2021•22 min
