The Economist | Independent journalism
The British election | Keir Starmer should be Britain’s next prime minister
Why Labour must form the next government
International
The rise of the truly cruel summer
Deadly heat is increasingly the norm, not an exception to it
The Americas
An apparent coup in Bolivia founders, but the country remains in trouble
The sight of armoured vehicles ramming the presidential palace will scare investors away
Graphic detail
The world’s most liveable cities in 2024
Our sister company has rated the best, and worst, cities in which to live
The world in brief
The leader of an apparent coup attempt in Bolivia was arrested...
Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer clashed in the final head-to-head leaders’ debate before Britain’s general election on July 4th...
North Korea said that it had successfully tested a multi-warhead missile, an advanced system that could threaten to overwhelm South Korea’s missile defences...
America’s Supreme Court accidentally posted an opinion on abortion rights online, then took it down...
Is the revival of Paris in peril?
The French election threatens a remarkable commercial renaissance
Is the American-built pier in Gaza useful or a fiasco?
The Economist went to see
Lexington: In New York, the Democratic establishment strikes back
But the defeat of one progressive congressman only shows how deep the party’s divisions run
Willie Mays’s philosophy was simple: They throw the ball, I hit the ball
Possibly the best baseball player ever died on June 18th, aged 93
Britain’s election
Our new “mega-poll” gives Labour an expected majority of 280 seats
It puts the Conservatives on a record-low 76 seats, with the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK making gains
What the remaking of Labour reveals about Sir Keir Starmer
How might Britain’s would-be prime minister approach the job?
Harriet Harman on how Parliament has changed over four decades
It is more in touch with voters, says the longest-serving female MP—but there is more work to do
Bagehot: The Conservatives are losing as they governed. Meekly
UwU Conservativism, and the end of smol government
Solar power
The exponential growth of solar power will change the world
An energy-rich future is within reach
Solar power is going to be huge
An energy source that gets cheaper and cheaper is a wonderful thing
Europe faces an unusual problem: ultra-cheap energy
The continent is failing to adapt to a renewables boom
Private firms are driving a revolution in solar power in Africa
Unreliable grids and falling costs are persuading companies to go off-grid
China’s giant solar industry is in turmoil
Overcapacity has caused prices—and profits—to tumble
What The Economist thought about solar power
A look back through our archives: sometimes prescient, sometimes not
Video
World news
A deadly new strain of mpox is raising alarm
Health officials warn it could soon spread beyond the Democratic Republic of Congo
Why North Korea is sending its rubbish to the South
Trash balloons are a sign of growing tensions on the peninsula
Julian Assange’s plea deal: a suitable end to a grubby saga
America was right to have sought his extradition. But a bit of compassion now does not go amiss
Thailand legalises same-sex marriage
It comes at a time when other freedoms are being curbed
Business, finance and economics
McDonald’s v Burger King: what a price war means for inflation
American consumers will be licking their lips. So will Federal Reserve officials
America’s rich never sell their assets. How should they be taxed?
It is tempting to tax them during their lives. It is wiser to do so after their deaths
Will services make the world rich?
American fried chicken can now be served from the Philippines
Bartleby: Are manufacturing jobs really that good?
The nostalgia of politicians is misplaced
France’s snap election
The alarming foreign policies of France’s hard right and hard left
They could weaken NATO and the West
The economic recklessness of both France’s hard left and hard right
They favour soaking the rich, big spending and business-bashing
Poll tracker: Can Le Pen’s hard right beat Macron’s alliance?
The Economist is tracking the contest for the French parliament
A hard-right 28-year-old could soon be France’s prime minister
Jordan Bardella is poised, social-media savvy and enigmatic
America’s election
Are America’s leading presidential candidates up to it?
Americans are worryingly unconfident in the sanity of the two men
How America’s presidential debates are changing this year
Will the Trump-Biden showdowns be an institution’s last gasp, or a new start?
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
The cautionary tale of Huy Fong’s hot sauce
What went wrong for America’s favourite sriracha brand?
The Israel-Hamas war
Is a Palestinian state a fantasy?
Amid war in Gaza, the prospect is at once more relevant than ever and more distant
Israel’s northern border is ablaze
Can it fight Hamas and Hizbullah simultaneously?
Hamas and Israel are still far apart over a ceasefire deal
For all America’s optimism, the two sides look fundamentally irreconcilable
Who is responsible for feeding Gaza?
Arguments fly over Israel’s duty to maintain aid
The war in Ukraine
Death and destruction in a Russian city
Russians in the border city of Belgorod have become victims too in the war Vladimir Putin launched against Ukraine
Russia’s latest crime in Mariupol: stealing property
It is seizing homes in order to consolidate control
1843 magazine | “Monkeys with a grenade”: inside the nuclear-power station on Ukraine’s front line
Former employees say the plant is being dangerously mismanaged by the Russians
In Crimea, Ukraine is beating Russia
The peninsula is becoming a death trap for the Kremlin’s forces
Other highlights
Why southern Europeans will soon be the longest-lived people in the world
Diet and exercise, but also urban design and social life
The döner kebab has a meaty role in German society
It is a diplomatic tool as well as a tasty, cheap meal
How physics can improve image-generating AI
The laws governing electromagnetism and even the weak nuclear force could be worth mimicking
Los Angeles is the capital of film noir
50 years after “Chinatown”, the city is still inspiring new takes on the genre
Summer reads
Richer societies mean fewer babies. Right?
A guide to the new economics of fertility
Five books about Iraq, a cradle of civilisation and catastrophe
What to read to understand the country’s recent history—and its ancient beginnings
Chinese food is more diverse than Western eaters might think
In “Invitation to a Banquet” Fuchsia Dunlop celebrates the cuisine’s spread and savour
Why Costco is so loved
Keeping customers, employees and investors happy is no mean feat
Edition: June 22nd 2024
Dawn of the solar age
AI and war
The character of warfare is about to be profoundly changed by artificial intelligence
What taxes would Labour raise
Growth alone will not fix Britain’s public finances
Macron’s deepening mess
A snap election in France reveals the flimsiness of his legacy
The champagne boom
Wine collectors are at last taking champagne seriously
Special reports: May 11th 2024
Worlds apart
The American-led financial order is giving way to a more divided one
The global financial system is in danger of fragmenting
How crises reshaped the world financial system
The movement of capital globally is in decline
National payment systems are proliferating
The fight to dethrone the dollar
How the financial system would respond to a superpower war
Sources and acknowledgments
