The Economist - World News, Politics, Economics, Business & Finance

The Economist todayThursday, July 9th 2020

News analysis

Science & technology

This year’s AIDS conference has brought snippets of good news

But the HIV pandemic is nowhere near over yet

Britain

Rishi Sunak’s summer statement fails to impress

Britain’s giveaway budget, vast in normal times, leaves much to be desired

Highlights

1843

The United Nations of Uniqlo

Can a Japanese label famous for its simplicity take over the fashion world?

The Economist explains

Will antibody therapies help control covid-19?

By mimicking the body’s response, they could provide an effective treatment against the coronavirus

From our columnists

China

Chaguan: The West cannot force China to read its interests differently

But democracies can work together to build defences against China’s predatory behaviour

Daily chart

Face-off over face-masks: Europe’s latest north-south split

Southerners cover up in public; northerners don’t

Moreover

Books & arts

Choral singing has been hit hard by the pandemic

Its social aspect—the main appeal for many singers—now makes it seem risky

Weekly edition

The Economist cover image for the July 4th 2020 edition

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Readers’ favourites

United States

It’s messing with Texas

Leaders

Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan must learn how to share the Nile river

Science & technology

After many false starts, hydrogen power might now bear fruit

Graphic detail

How speedy lockdowns save lives

Early stay-at-home orders contained covid-19 the best

In context: The World If

The World If

What if water shortages destabilise China?

The painfully unequal distribution of water in China reawakens intra-regional resentments not seen in decades. An imagined scenario from 2050

The World If

What if nuclear power had taken off in the 1970s?

How would the world look today if more countries had adopted nuclear power after the 1973 oil crisis? A look back on an alternative history from a rather different 2020

The World If

What if technology tracked all carbon emissions?

The World If

What if mammoths are brought back from extinction?

Special report: The new world disorder

Global leadership is missing in action

Seventy-five years ago the world’s leaders designed the peace even as they fought the war. Today’s leaders need to do something similar, says Daniel Franklin