The Intelligence from The Economist

The Trump administration’s bid to block the Chinese app has been stymied—for now. The tussle reflects a change in how America does business, and how the internet itself may evolve. Migration in the Mediterranean is picking up again; the pandemic is making it even more perilous and political. And Japan’s canned-coffee obsession steams ahead in foreign markets.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a liberal icon. Her death last week opens a Supreme Court vacancy for Donald Trump to fill, which could tip the court further right ahead of what might be a legally fraught election. And there is nothing that Democrats can do about it. The majority of land in Africa is neither mapped nor documented. People who can’t prove that they own their land, cannot unlock its value. That is holding back the continent’s economies. And Japan may be famous for its slick and speedy bullet trains. But the country’s rural railways have reached the end of the line. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thailand is bracing for a large anti-government protest, with some of the anger directed at the usually-revered monarchy. Some fear that the establishment’s patience will snap, with bloody results. Freemasonry has been one of the most contagious ideas of the modern age, spreading to every corner of the world. But the number of masons is shrinking. And in Britain, social distancing may have shut nightclubs. But many ravers don’t tech-no for an answer. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More than a million former felons in Florida regained the right to vote in 2018. Last week, many of them lost it again. We look at the barriers to voting in America. Colombia’s militarised police force are khaki-klad, poorly paid and heavy-handed. A case of police brutality has now provoked big protests and calls for reform. And in the Netherlands, covid-carrying Minks have been spared the slaughterhouse. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Belarus dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, has travelled to Sochi amid major protests at home to ask Vladimir Putin for help. We examine whether he will get it—and what the price might be. The possible discovery of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus could be a tantalising hint of life beyond Earth. And K-Pop, marred by sexual abuse scandals, is shedding its misogynistic image. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Japan’s new prime minister will be Yoshihide Suga, the son of a strawberry farmer from the country’s rural north. We look at whether he can step into the shoes of Abe Shinzo and revive Japan’s troubled economy. America may be leaving the World Health Organisation, but the institution has handled the pandemic well. And the standing of dogs in Islam is hounding clerics. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The pandemic has been a giant experiment in working from home. We examine whether workers are happier and more productive using Zoom in their pyjamas than commuting in a suit. In the southern hemisphere, the seasonal flu seems to have faded, as a happy byproduct of lockdown and social distancing. And an obituary for one of Pol Pot’s murderous lieutenants. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Relentless climate change will make devastating blazes more likely; urbanisation in woodland areas will make them more costly. Prevention measures could help—if updated and widened. “Anti-vaxxers” may undermine coming covid-vaccination efforts; we examine the history of a baseless and dangerous movement. And things turn nasty among the biker gangs of northern Europe. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two Burmese soldiers have described in harrowing detail what has long been alleged: that the army targeted Muslim-minority Rohingya in a programme of ethnic cleansing. America’s Department of State has been hollowed out and wholly demoralised—and that has dire implications for global diplomacy. And a wildly popular Chinese television show reveals shifting mores for thirty-somethings.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sanctions are tightening around the Chinese province amid suspicions of forced labour. Western firms that are reliant on the region’s cotton and other commodities are in a bind. The pandemic has shown the merits of some governments’ digitised bureaucracies, but rushing the digital shift comes with risks. And how Canada’s border closures threaten a tiny town in remotest Alaska. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.