Author: The Economist

The outcome remains unclear as vote-counting continues. We look at some of the surprise results, ask what happens next and examine how The Economist’s election forecast has held up. And we tag along with our American correspondents for the thrill of election-night reporting.The latest results are here www.economist.com/us2020results; for full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

Poland already had some of the strictest laws on terminations, but the ruling party’s bid to tighten them further has sparked national outrage. We lay out what to expect on election night in America—the denouement will not be simple, and is unlikely to be quick. And a historical look at the films screened in the White House’s private cinema. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

Prime Minister Boris Johnson all but ruled out a second lockdown, but his hand has been forced by England’s caseload. What are the political costs of his U-turn? Myanmar’s coming election will almost certainly be marred by disinformation on Facebook—principally because so many Burmese people get their only news there. And examining the current glut of political biographies.

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The staggering extent of illegal fishing, and its human and environmental costs, are only just becoming clear. We ask how to put a shadowy industry on a more even keel. The old guard likes to mock millennial investors, but they’re changing finance, possibly for the better. And as Berlin’s shiny new airport opens we ask: why is it nine years late? For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

The party’s Fifth Plenum sets out a five-year vision; we mine the plan for clues about how China views itself in the world—and how long Xi Jinping intends to lead. The pandemic has the rich world thinking and talking about death in a way not seen since the second world war. And an uncertain future for Singapore’s famed street-food hawkers.

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Across the continent, covid-19 cases are rising steeply and containment measures are still divergent. We look at the challenges of finding policies that are efficacious and sustainable. Tanzania’s election today is all but zipped up; President John Magufuli has been trampling the country’s hard-won democratic traditions. And what the florid language of wine experts says about human perception.

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Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation marks the first time since the 1930s the court has leaned so conservative, and has stoked another partisan battle that may further reshape the court. Following the announcement of water on the Moon, we look at a looming, broader battle: who will own the water rights? And why Australia’s aboriginal flag is flying less and less. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

The country has roundly rejected its dictatorship-era charter and mapped out how to fashion a new one. What do Chileans stand to gain—and to lose? Rising populations of the elderly in the world’s prisons are creating deepening problems, both for jailers and the jailed. And we explore a theory that blames political chaos on too many would-be elites.

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America’s final presidential debate had less noise and more substance. But polls seem immovable and nearly 50m Americans have already voted; will the race change? South Korea’s population-boosting efforts have failed, so it is encouraging more women into the workforce—and that will redress some long-standing inequalities. And crunching 70 years’ worth of Formula 1 data to find the sport’s true greatest. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

As it has with so many other trends, the pandemic has hastened the decline of democracy and human rights; covid-19 provides autocrats with perfect cover. The plummeting price for the cobalt that powers electronics has upended lives and driven crime in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And how physicists found an upper bound for the speed of sound. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer