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Our latest newsletter covers a complex and consequential region
The US in brief
Aid bills clear Senate; the end of TikTok?
The Intelligence
Today’s podcast: Is generative AI built on theft?
Business
Congress tells China: sell TikTok or we’ll ban it
Only America’s courts can save the video app now
Finance & economics
Why a stronger dollar is dangerous
It sets the stage for a nasty new Trump-China clash, among other things
Asia
Without fanfare, the Philippines is getting richer
And its economy is unusually well-defended against American politics
The world in brief
America’s Senate passed a bill delivering aid worth $95bn to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan...
As part of the foreign-aid bill’s passage, the Senate approved a measure that could ban TikTok from American app stores...
The European Commission launched an anti-subsidy probe into Chinese medical devices...
Germany’s Ifo Business Climate Index rose to 89.4 in April, up from 87.9 in March, and the highest level since May 2023...
Efforts to tackle student protests in America have backfired badly
Police intervention at Columbia has provoked protests at other universities
Buttonwood: Why the stockmarket is disappearing
Large companies such as ByteDance, OpenAI and Stripe are staying private
Blighty newsletter: Rwanda and the paradox of the House of Lords
Why a weak upper house suits the executive
India’s financial system has improved dramatically in the past decade
There is much more change to come
Sign up to Middle East Dispatch
Our latest newsletter covers a complex and consequential region
The US in brief
Aid bills clear Senate; the end of TikTok?
The Intelligence
Today’s podcast: Is generative AI built on theft?
The war in Ukraine
Finally, America’s Congress does right by Ukraine
Disaster has been dodged. But the political malaise that delayed the Ukraine funding bill remains
The House of Representatives gives Ukraine its best news in a year
$61bn of aid is on the way. It should have an almost instant effect
Two years of war have impoverished many Ukrainians
The elderly, the displaced and the disabled are the worst affected
Ukraine is ignoring US warnings to end drone operations inside Russia
Its superdrones can reach targets as far away as Siberia
Generation Z
Reasons to be cheerful about Generation Z
They are not doomed to be poor and anxious
Generation Z is unprecedentedly rich
Millennials were poorer at this stage in their lives. So were baby-boomers
How worried should people be about Generation Z?
Two new books fit into a familiar pattern of the old fretting about the young
What is screen time doing to children?
Demands grow to restrict young people’s access to phones and social media
India’s election
India’s democracy needs a stronger opposition
The Congress party is set for a drubbing in the world’s biggest election
Radio Modi: How India’s prime minister sweet-talks the nation
We analysed hundreds of Narendra Modi’s broadcasts. They reveal a meticulously cultivated image
Gandhi v Modi: crunch time for Congress as India prepares to vote
The Economist joins the most prominent opposition politician on the campaign trail
Five charts that show why the BJP expects to win India’s election
Narendra Modi’s party is eyeing another big victory
Strife in the Middle East
Israel responds to Iran’s barrage with a symbolic strike
Both sides have a chance to de-escalate their conflict, at least for now
Iranians fear their brittle regime will drag them into war
Ultra-religious hardliners are gaining power and yearn for confrontation
A trauma surgeon on why Gaza is the worst of war zones
It is like stepping back into the 19th century, says David Nott
Israel’s use of AI in Gaza is coming under closer scrutiny
Do the humans in Israel’s army have sufficient control over its technology?
America’s election year
1843 magazine | Robert F. Kennedy junior doesn’t care if he condemns America to Trump
He’s a tree-hugging conspiracy theorist – and he’s running for president
In brief
Arrests at pro-Palestine protests; Trump’s gag order
Our daily political update, featuring the 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
Stories most read by subscribers
Featured read
Why South Korean pop culture rocks and North Korea’s does not
Dictatorship stifles creativity and joy
Business, finance and economics
How to fix Britain’s barmy VAT regime
Britain’s second-most important tax is riddled with holes
How American politics has infected investing
Beware: taking a stand can be expensive
Schumpeter: What is weighing on CEOs’ minds this earnings season?
Shareholder letters are proving to be bleakly prophetic
Citigroup, Wall Street’s biggest loser, is at last on the up
Jane Fraser’s unexpected success
World news
How Chinese networks clean dirty money on a vast scale
These shadowy “banks” are becoming the financiers of choice for transnational criminal gangs
The push to decriminalise abortion in Britain heats up
But campaigners should be careful what they wish for
After a year of war, Sudan is a failing state
Half a million may starve without urgent help
Chaguan: The dark side of growing old
A coming wave of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia will test China to its limits
Other highlights
1843 magazine | Inside the Kenyan cult that starved itself to death
During covid-19 a preacher lured thousands of people into a remote forest. Then he told them to stop eating
Locust-busting is getting an upgrade
From pesticides to drones, new technologies are helping win an age-old battle
America is uniquely ill-suited to handle a falling population
Which is a worry, because much of it is already shrinking
Online dating spells the end of Britain’s lonely-hearts ads
A 300-year-old genre is losing its GSOH
Weekly edition: April 20th 2024
Reasons to be cheerful about Generation Z
Is generative AI built on theft?
The wonder-technology faces accusations of copyright infringement
How to counter Iran
Israel should try a novel response to Iran’s missile attack: restraint
Musk v Brazil’s supreme court
The court has become the de facto regulator of social media in the country
Shrinking America
America is uniquely ill-suited to handle a falling population
Special reports: April 27th 2024
The India express
With the right changes, it can become an engine of global growth, say Arjun Ramani and Thomas Easton
For its next phase of growth, India needs a new reform agenda
India’s financial system has improved dramatically in the past decade
India’s difficult business environment is improving
India’s leaders must deal with three economic weaknesses
Going green could bring huge benefits for India’s economy
India must make much deeper changes if it is to sustain its growth