The Economist | Independent journalism

Indian election of 2024

All our coverage of the contest

The Intelligence

Today: falling standards in American high schools

The US in brief

Biden’s fundraising haul; Trump’s Ohio speech

Finance & economics

How China, Russia and Iran are forging closer ties

Assessing the economic threat posed by the anti-Western axis

Britain

Without realising it, Britain has become a nation of immigrants

Another surprise: it’s very good at assimilating people


Asia

Relations between Japan and South Korea are blossoming

But how long can the good times last?




The world in brief

A global-hunger monitor warned that famine could be “imminent” for 300,000 people in northern Gaza, where 70% of residents are experiencing severe food shortage...

China reported stronger industrial activity than expected, with production rising by 7% year-on-year in January and February, the fastest rate in two years...

America condemned Russia’s sham presidential election as “not free or fair” after early results showed Vladimir Putin won 87% of the vote, allowing him another six-year term...

A Supreme Court justice indefinitely blocked a controversial immigration law in Texas from coming into force while legal challenges play out...


Earthquake fears loom large in Istanbul’s mayoral race

The money involved is staggering

Lexington: Binyamin Netanyahu is alienating Israel’s best friends

The meaning of Senator Chuck Schumer’s landmark speech

How can democracies respond to rigged elections?

A host of Western countries reject the results of Russia’s sham election

Christine Blasey Ford returns

A new memoir looks back at the drama surrounding Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh

Indian election of 2024

All our coverage of the contest

The Intelligence

Today: falling standards in American high schools

The US in brief

Biden’s fundraising haul; Trump’s Ohio speech

Russia’s sham election

Vladimir Putin’s sham re-election is notable only for the protests

The outcome was predetermined, but some Russians honour Navalny’s call

Rogue Russia threatens the world, not just Ukraine

The West must show its enemy is Vladimir Putin, not 143m ordinary Russians


Vladivostok is a window into wartime Russia

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is transforming the far-eastern city


In occupied Mariupol, Russian invaders hold a sham election

The bullet remains stronger than the ballot


The AI boom

Just how rich are businesses getting in the AI gold rush?

Nvidia and Microsoft are not the only winners

How businesses are actually using generative AI

Some experiments with chatbots are more useful than others


Why do Nvidia’s chips dominate the AI market?

The firm has three big advantages


OpenAI’s legal battles are not putting off customers—yet

Elon Musk, the New York Times and trustbusters all want a piece of the startup


The troubles of the young

Making sense of the gulf between young men and women

It’s complicated. But better schooling for boys might help

Why young men and women are drifting apart

Diverging worldviews could affect politics, families and more


How worried should people be about Generation Z?

Two new books fit into a familiar pattern of the old fretting about the young


How the young should invest

Markets have dealt them a bad hand. They could be playing it better


World news

1843 magazine | The one-legged trucker who became a deadly people-smuggler

Transporting undocumented migrants across America can seem like easy money – until everything goes wrong

Amtrak’s ridership is touching record highs

But is the post-pandemic recovery sustainable?


Banyan: Pakistan’s generals look increasingly desperate

A fraudulent election may not keep Imran Khan’s fans at bay


Gulf countries are becoming major players in Africa

African leaders hope the Gulf is the “new China”. Not quite


Business, finance and economics

Charlemagne: Europe’s economy is a cause for concern, not panic

Quick, call another Italian former prime minister to the rescue!

Mexico and Brazil dither as chip supply chains are reforged

American efforts to reduce reliance on Asia for semiconductors present an opportunity


Oil’s endgame could be highly disruptive

The oil shocks of the future will be driven by demand, not supply



Strife in the Middle East

Deposing the King of Israel

America wants Binyamin Netanyahu out. But his exit is fraught with dangers

Hopes for a truce in Gaza give way to fears of a long stalemate

The fighting has continued into Ramadan, but neither Israel nor Hamas can achieve much


A shadowy wartime economy has emerged in Gaza

Clans, gangs and dodgy businessmen prosper while Israel clobbers Gaza


An Israeli scholar explains why he no longer supports the war in Gaza

It is now being run mainly for the benefit of Binyamin Netanyahu, argues David Enoch



More on the conflict in the Middle East

America’s election year

America’s economy has escaped a hard landing

But there are still pitfalls ahead

Three big risks that might tip America’s presidential election

Third parties, the Trump trials and the candidates’ age introduce a high degree of uncertainty



Trump v Biden: who’s ahead in the polls?

The Economist is tracking the race to be America’s next president


India’s election

To see India’s future, go south

The country’s regional division could make it—or break it

India’s government implements a controversial citizenship law

It may be trying to please its base shortly before a general election


What is Hindutva, the ideology of India’s ruling party?

It seeks to equate Indianness with Hinduism


Ten charts reveal Narendra Modi’s actual record in office

India’s prime minister talks the big talk. How successful is he really?


Other highlights

British museums remember the 1984 miners’ strike

Their exhibits suggest the country is tired of division


America’s fentanyl epidemic, explained in six charts

It is among the deadliest scourges the country has ever faced


Maastricht is where museums go on shopping sprees

A fair in a small Dutch city is a window on the art world and collecting trends


Visual storytelling

Open-source intelligence is piercing the fog of war in Ukraine

Social-media posts and satellite imagery provide a torrent of data, but can overwhelm and confuse

Hollywood is losing the battle for China

The rise of domestic cinema counters Western cultural influence


East Asia’s new family portrait

Households across the region look very different from previous generations. Governments are struggling to keep up


Britain’s green belt is choking the economy

The public likes, but badly misunderstands, the green belt. It’s time to rethink it


Stories most read by subscribers

Featured read

The government wants investors to buy British

But protectionism is not the answer to years of underwhelming returns

America’s pumped-up economy

Weekly edition: March 16th 2024

America’s pumped-up economy