Author: The Economist

ONE-THIRD of the world’s population lives in countries backing neither Russia nor Ukraine. The Biden administration has tried to persuade them off the fence, without much success. In Egypt, social mores make it tricky for women to live alone—so they have devised clever tactics to avoid unwelcome attention. And why residents of New Jersey are banned from pumping their own petrol—for now.

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The war in Ukraine has created the greatest flux of refugees in Europe since the second world war. We visit Poland, where the response has been remarkably smooth, and a New York neighbourhood that is no stranger to émigrés from the region. And we consider the displaced who are largely overlooked: why are so many Russians exiling themselves in Turkey?

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When the Taliban resumed power, there were hopes that women might not be as excluded, repressed and abused as they were previously. Those hopes have faded. As smartphone sales plateau, tech giants are furiously searching for new platforms to conquer. Augmented and virtual reality are the new battlefields. And the rise of giga-everything: how the scale of science drives linguistic innovation. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

A ceasefire agreed weeks ago should have mitigated the suffering of starving Ethiopians caught up in war; we ask why so little aid has got through. Rebuilding Ukraine’s infrastructure and economy will require staggering sums—and a vast, international plan of action. And South Africa’s lockdown-era alcohol bans had a curious knock-on effect: crippling shortages of a beloved yeasty goo.

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Police have served Britain’s prime minister, among others, with a fine for breaching the lockdown rules he instituted. He may yet again emerge unscathed, but Britain’s politics is damaged nonetheless. Florida’s natural environment has made it one of America’s fastest-growing states, yet environmental challenges represent its biggest long-term challenge. And Ukraine’s most famous rock star joins the war effort.

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Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva left office with a sky-high approval rating, having raised millions from poverty—but was then convicted of corruption. Now he wants his old job back. Forced labour in Uzbekistan’s cotton fields, once widespread, is swiftly vanishing. And an old hypothesis confirmed: birds get more colourful the closer they live to the equator.

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President Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen of the nationalist-populist National Rally party will advance to a run-off; in the continuation of our series, we ask what to expect in an unexpectedly tight race. Russian military communications have proven easy to intercept, leading to poor co-ordination and heavy battlefield losses. And South Korea’s millennials are frantically hunting for Pokémon-themed snacks.

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The first round of the presidential election is on Sunday and our first-ever series has been following the race closely. This compendium of the first six dispatches looks at the candidates, their platforms and the sharply shifting political landscape in France. 

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Through ineptitude and bad timing, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa—known as Gota—has driven his country toward ruin. Its people want him out. Russian forces have occupied Kherson since early March. We hear a report from the ground about life under foreign occupation. And tasting awamori, a Japanese spirit that distillers may lift from the doldrums simply by watering it down. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

Russian troops have withdrawn from suburban Kyiv to focus on the eastern Donbas region. With Western weapons for Ukraine flowing in, a grinding war of attrition looms. For our French-election series we meet members of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, which has found success by shifting the focus away from its extremist image. And why a bid to rename Turkey will be so fraught. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer