The Economist | Independent journalism
Guilty as charged | The disgrace of a former American president
But this prosecution of Donald Trump was wrongheaded and counter-productive
Leaders
The pro-choice movement that could help Joe Biden win
A backlash against abortion bans is energising the middle ground in America
Middle East & Africa
The failing ANC is rejected by over half of South Africa
The country now faces its biggest test since the end of apartheid
Britain
Generation K: Keir Starmer’s cohort of Labour candidates
Who are the people who might reshape British politics for years to come?
The world in brief
Donald Trump was convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide hush-money payments to a former porn star before the election in 2016...
Germany approved Ukraine’s use of German weapons to hit targets in Russia...
The euro area’s inflation rate was 2.6% year on year in May, up from 2.4% in April, above analysts’ expectations...
Saudi Arabia announced plans to sell a stake, potentially worth $12bn, in Aramco, its giant state-owned oil company...
What penny-pinching baby-boomers mean for the world economy
They are saving like never before. But even that may not bring interest rates down
Banyan: Want to stop a third world war? Pick up the phone
America’s and China’s defence ministers will meet in Singapore. They need to talk more
America could face its most active hurricane season ever
Coastal states must brace themselves for extreme weather in an election year
June Mendoza captured both the famous and the unknown
Britain’s most prolific portrait-painter died on May 15th, aged 99
This week
The most important political stories this week
An Israeli air strike killed dozens in Rafah, Dick Schoof chosen to be the next Dutch prime minister—and more
The most important business stories this week
ConocoPhillips agreed to buy Marathon Oil, China, Japan and South Korea to restart talks on a free-trade deal—and more
KAL’s cartoon
A lighter look at the week's events
Letters to the editor
On Singapore, Arab armies, China, romantasy, immigration, car names
Business, finance and economics
Can Elon Musk’s xAI take on OpenAI?
It has some advantages. But it is entering a crowded field
ExxonMobil rediscovers its swagger
The bad boy of big oil goes after its shareholders
Baby-boomers are loaded. Why are they so stingy?
The mystery matters for global economic growth
Japanese businesses are trapped between America and China
Could geopolitics kill off an incipient corporate revival?
America’s election year
Why America is vulnerable to a despot
Its democratic system is not as robust as it seems
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
Video
Britain’s election
Incompetence or opacity: the choice facing British voters
The first week of the election campaign points to a failure of political competition
Bagehot: The British election is becoming an episode of mob justice
A punishment beating is on the cards for the Conservatives
UK election 2024
General-election forecast: will Labour destroy the Conservatives?
Our seat-by-seat prediction for Britain’s next Parliament
UK election 2024
Can you build a British voter?
Explore the groups driving Britain’s political shifts using our interactive tool
World news
Chaguan: How China uses Russia as a wrecking ball
As Russia threatens to paralyse the UN Security Council, China stands back
Ukraine’s desperate draft-dodgers drown in the river of death
Thousands of military-age Ukrainians are risking their lives by swimming across treacherous waters
Hordes of cicadas are emerging simultaneously in America
The ancestors of these two neighbouring broods last met in 1803
Hong Kong convicts 14 pro-democracy activists
The ruling acts as a warning: dissent and pay the price
The Israel-Hamas war
How many people have died in Gaza?
The fog of war may be thick, but some figures are solid
The ICJ orders restraint from Israel in Rafah
But the court has no way to enforce its judgment, and there is no chance Israel will heed it
What does it mean to recognise Palestinian statehood?
Ireland, Norway and Spain will be the latest to do so
Powerful states are finding it harder to dodge legal challenges, says Marc Weller
The law professor believes the ICC’s creeping jurisdiction is part of a broader trend
South Africa’s election
How to save South Africa
The rainbow nation needs an alternative to decline under the ANC
South Africa election poll tracker, results and guide to the parties
Who will form the next government?
How a Russia-linked mine may keep the ANC in power
South Africa’s ruling party was broke a few months ago, but its fortunes are changing
How South Africa has changed 30 years after apartheid
Poverty is rife and inequality still starkly racial
Pro-natalist policies
Why paying women to have more babies won’t work
Economies must adapt to baby busts instead
Can the rich world escape its baby crisis?
Governments are splurging on handouts to avert catastrophe
Shrinking populations mean less growth and a more fractious world
Politicians must act now to avert the worst
Some good news about America’s fertility problem
Part of the decline in births should be celebrated
Stories most read by subscribers
Featured read
Is your rent ever going to fall?
Too often politicians tout awful solutions for helping tenants
The war in Ukraine
There is an explosive flaw in the plan to rearm Ukraine
Europe lacks TNT and other propellants for shells and missiles
Ukraine’s desperate struggle to defend Kharkiv
It is holding off Russia’s attack — for now
A Russia-linked network uses AI to rewrite real news stories
CopyCop churned out 19,000 deceptive posts in a month
Russia is ramping up sabotage across Europe
The Kremlin believes it is in a shadow war with NATO
Other highlights
There is more to breasts than meets the eye
A new book offers a cultural history of mammary glands
Footballer, broadcaster, podcast mogul: the career of Gary Lineker
And what it says about modern Britain
How the NFL keeps fans transfixed even when there are no games
The show must go on
Canadians are taking dramatic steps to avoid more ruinous firestorms
The focus is as much on mitigation and preparation as on suppression
Weekly edition: June 1st 2024
Meet America’s most dynamic political movement
Election watch: incompetence or opacity
The choice facing British voters
Will abortion swing America's election?
The pro-choice movement that could help Joe Biden win
Boomers: loaded and stingy
What the penny-pinchers mean for the world economy
Generation rent goes global
Too often politicians tout awful solutions for helping tenants
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