The Economist | Independent journalism
A region in mortal danger | Emmanuel Macron’s urgent message for Europe
The French president issues a dark and prophetic warning
Middle East & Africa
How South Africa has changed 30 years after apartheid
Poverty is rife and inequality still starkly racial
Finance & economics
Russia’s gas business will never recover from the war in Ukraine
Hopes of a Chinese rescue look increasingly vain
Britain
A growing number of Britons are on disability benefits
The government’s attempts to cut the welfare bill miss the bigger picture
The world in brief
Antony Blinken, America’s secretary of state, said that his country would not support Israel’s planned ground invasion of Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, without there being a plan to protect civilians...
President Joe Biden condemned the protests that have swept university campuses all over America. “There’s the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos,” he said...
John Swinney, a Scottish National Party veteran, announced his intention to run in an upcoming party leadership contest, the winner of which will become Scotland’s first minister...
Novo Nordisk, a Danish drugmaker, reported bumper results during the first quarter, driven by the success of Ozempic and Wegovy, its blockbuster medicines that treat diabetes and obesity...
University protests about Gaza spread to the Middle East
But Arab students are looking to America for inspiration
Lexington: Joe Biden is practising some Clintonian politics
But he needs to do more than crack down on “junk fees” to woo swing voters
European elections 2024
European Parliament elections tracker: who’s leading the polls?
Will the hard right make gains in June? The Economist is following the contest
Eleanor Coppola recorded how a cinematic triumph almost came unstuck
The documentary-maker and wife of Francis Ford Coppola died on April 12th, aged 87
This week
The most important political stories this week
Student protests spread to more American colleges, police crack down on protests in Georgia—and more
The most important stories in the business world this week
The Fed suggests it will not cut interest rates, the yen rebouns sharply—and more
KAL’s cartoon
A lighter look at the week's events
Letters to the editor
On assisted dying, poor fishermen, military conscription, children and smartphones, RFK junior
World news
Beware, global jihadists are back on the march
They are using the war in Gaza to radicalise a new generation
Paul Auster was the bard of Brooklyn
A recurring theme of his novels was life’s coincidences
The wider lessons of Scotland’s political turmoil
Humza Yousaf’s resignation is the latest in a string of setbacks
Business, finance and economics
Immigration is surging, with big economic consequences
The West faces an unprecedented number of new arrivals
Can biotech startups upstage Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk?
Smaller drugmakers are enjoying a revival
Japan is wrong to try to prop up the yen
Supporting the currency is expensive and futile
Free exchange: Is inflation morally wrong?
Workers think so. Economists disagree
The war in Ukraine
Who is supplying Russia’s arms industry?
New research traces the origin of crucial imports
Ukraine’s draft dodgers are living in fear
Ever more conscripts are needed against Russia’s offensive
America’s $61bn aid package buys Ukraine time
It must use it wisely
The growing role of fighting robots on the ground in Ukraine
Drones already fill the skies. Now uncrewed vehicles are heading to the front lines
Video
India’s election
Even disillusioned young Indian voters favour Narendra Modi
They worry about their future, but do not blame the BJP
How strong is India’s economy?
It isn’t the next China, but it could still transform itself and the world
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
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
How much do Palestinians pay to get out of Gaza?
Middlemen are profiting from Gazans’ desperation
How Iran covered up the damage from Israel’s strikes
New images shared with The Economist show how a swap helped calm a crisis
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
Stories most read by subscribers
Featured read
Is there more or less sex on screen?
Data show that the amount of sexual content in top films has sharply declined since 2000
America’s election year
Will Joe Biden benefit from falling murder rates across America?
Violence seems to be returning to pre-pandemic levels
In brief
Police enter UCLA encampment; Arizona Senate repeals abortion bill
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
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
Other highlights
Back Story: Fed up with Biden v Trump II? Some succour from fictional rematches
From “Moby Dick”, “Star Wars” and “Rocky” to the presidential election
Many mental-health conditions have bodily triggers
Psychiatrists are at long last starting to connect the dots
1843 magazine | It began as a rewilding experiment. Now a bear is on trial for murder
The death of a jogger in the Italian Alps has sparked a furious debate about the relationship between humans and nature
Climate change is slowing Earth’s rotation
This simplifies things for the world’s timekeepers
Weekly edition: May 4th 2024
Europe in mortal danger: An interview with Emmanuel Macron
The new science of disinformation
More co-ordination and better access to data are needed to fight lies
Uncle Sam's fiscal profligacy
America’s reckless borrowing is a danger to its economy—and the world’s
Conflicts on campus
Should American universities call the cops on protesting students?
Feeling horny: dragons meet erotic fiction
Novels starring hot fairies are selling millions of copies
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
Sources and acknowledgments
