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Oct 21st 2023
The world this week
- Politics
- Business
- KAL’s cartoon
- This week’s covers
Leaders
The Middle East
Only America can save Israel and Gaza from greater catastrophe
Iran, Russia and China are profiting from the mayhem
Speaking of goat rodeos
America’s Republicans cannot agree on a speaker. Good
How the GOP could yet, inadvertently, further the national interest
At last, good news
Poland shows that populists can be beaten
A victory for the rule of law in the heart of Europe
A brush with Basel
Why America’s banks need more capital
Though imperfect, regulators’ plans are necessary to keep the system safe
Polishing the crown jewels
How to make Britain’s health service AI-ready
The NHS should clean up and open up its data. Patients will benefit
Letters
On life sciences, motorists, invisible spouses, wealth management, longevity, Nobel prizes, brevity
Letters to the editor
By Invitation
The Israel-Hamas conflict
Naftali Bennett argues that Israel’s future depends on striking fear into its enemies’ hearts
How wars are fought
David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts on Ukraine and the future of warfare
Prosecuting war crimes
Amal Clooney and Rupert Skilbeck on why Britain fails to hold war criminals to account
Briefing
No place for a war
As Israel’s invasion of Gaza nears, the obstacles get more daunting
It must avoid a second front, protect civilians and save hostages while fighting at close quarters
Israel’s war on Hamas
Mapping the destruction in Gaza
At least 4.3% of the enclave’s buildings appear to have been destroyed
When the shooting stops
Israel’s four unpalatable options for Gaza’s long-term future
The path to Israel’s preferred outcome is littered with obstacles
The coming ground invasion
Is Israel acting within the laws of war?
Even lawful evacuations and attacks on Hamas will exact a heavy civilian toll in Gaza
Maelstrom in the Middle East
The Arab world thinks differently about this war
But Israel’s evidence about a hospital strike still carries little weight
Tunnel vision
Hamas tunnels under Gaza will be a key battlefield for Israel
Underground warfare is terrifying, claustrophobic and slow
United States
From tents to hospitals
American states wrestle with how to treat severe mental illness
Hail McHenry
How the Republican civil war in the House could end
End times
Part of Donald Trump’s base thinks he is fighting a spiritual war
Roe, your own way
Anti-abortion campaigners try to break their losing streak
The empire strikes back
Americans are discovering the joy of a true pint of beer
Algebra and pistols
One response to school shootings in America: arm the teachers
Lexington
Joe Biden has shown a steady hand in the Gaza crisis
The Americas
The radical option
Can Argentina’s next president fix the economy? Don’t count on it
Democratic display
Bernardo Arévalo is still battling to become Guatemala’s president
Blowout
Joe Biden lifts sanctions on Venezuela, but not without conditions
Asia
Japanese geography
How remote islands underpin Japan’s maritime power
India and free love
Social-media influencers are battling to educate young Indians about sex
Don’t rely on the courts
India’s Supreme Court refuses to recognise same-sex marriage
No special measures
Has Australasia lurched right on race?
Lucky but sooty
Australia’s energy transition is in trouble
Chipping away
South Korean chipmakers get a reprieve
Banyan
India-Pakistan relations are becoming more marginal and worse
China
Women’s rights
Chinese feminists are rebuilding their movement abroad
Training days
China is educating engineers around the world
Property in Hong Kong
A landslip in Hong Kong fuels resentment of the rich
Chaguan
Xi Jinping wants to be loved by the global south
Middle East & Africa
From bullets to ballots
How Liberia and Sierra Leone ended their cycles of violence
Sudan’s agony
After six months of civil war, little remains of Khartoum
No miracles required
How to save the lives of 200,000 women a year
Europe
Tusk’s triumph
Poland gives pro-European liberals a big win
From corruption to production
How a 31-year-old hopes to fix Ukraine’s state-owned defence giant
Legal vacuum
Alexei Navalny’s lawyers are arrested
Europe’s populists
Marine Le Pen poses a greater threat than Giorgia Meloni
High tension
Paris and Berlin compromise on reform of the electricity market
Charlemagne
The EU’s response to the crisis in Israel exposes its limits
Britain
Sickness service to health service
The world’s largest health-research study is under way in Britain
Joining up the bots
England’s NHS is trying once again to collate patients’ data
Nevereverendum
Scottish independence has become a long game
Food for thought
Despite Brexit and the government, British manufacturing is doing well
Garden of England
The rise of English viticulture
Park life
Britain’s national parks are not protecting nature
Bagehot
How rationing became the fashion under the Tories
Business
Control shift
Are America’s allies the holes in its export-control fence?
Bartleby
How big is the role of luck in career success?
Thrivers in India
Meet India’s mega-wealthy
Lithography lessons
Canon tries to break ASML’s grip on chipmaking tools
Spread bets
Why big oil is beefing up its trading arms
Schumpeter
Are America’s CEOs overpaid?
Finance & economics
War by other means
Israel turns to financial weapons as well as military ones
Peak disappointment
China’s economy may be growing faster, but big problems remain
Nasty headache
China’s banks may be loaded up with hidden bad loans
Crypto’s future
Will Binance come over to the light side?
Buttonwood
Why it is time to retire Dr Copper
Not so civil anymore
How free-market economics reshaped legal systems the world over
Free exchange
Do Amazon and Google lock out competition?
Science & technology
Unrolled at last
AI could help unearth a trove of lost classical texts
The weather underground
What a Serbian cave tells you about the weather 2,500 years ago
Sleep tight!
It’s not just Paris. Bedbugs are resurgent everywhere
News you can use
How to predict the outcome of a coin toss
Culture
Ill liberals
How to cancel “cancel culture”
Movie marathons
Why films have become so ridiculously long
Back Story
David Beckham’s guide to celebrity
Spirituality
Where to look to find enlightenment
When the music stops
“Here We Are” and the question of what to do with unfinished art
War in the Middle East
The Israel-Palestine conflict: a reading list
Economic & financial indicators
Indicators
Economic data, commodities and markets
The Economist explains
The Economist explains
What is Palestinian Islamic Jihad?
The Economist explains
How China’s Belt and Road Initiative is changing
Obituary
Life on the edge
