Huge protests following a rigged election reveal that the people have had enough of “Europe’s last dictator”, Alexander Lukashenko. How long can he hang on? Indonesia’s leaders risk repeating an environmental disaster on Borneo, allegedly in the name of food security. And checking the writing chops of the world’s best-read artificial intelligence. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

For 15 years, the truck-bomb killing of a former prime minister went unpunished. But an even more devastating recent blast overshadowed a court’s ruling on the culprits. Chinese students hoping to study in America have been caught in the middle of the countries’ rising animus—not for the first time. And the origins of all the hair in Nigeria’s wildly popular wigs.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

Mexico’s new top cartel, led by a kingpin called El Mencho, has taken the country’s shocking violence to a terrifyingly brazen new level. In Tunisia, ten years after a self-immolation sparked the Arab Spring, voters are disillusioned with democracy and even nostalgic for the old days. And reflecting on the pianist who lost the use of his right hand, and reinvented his playing around his left. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

The US Postal Service is one of America’s most popular and necessary public institutions. Now it is at the centre of a battle over November’s election. The growth of microfinance in Cambodia has been for the most part positive, but the pandemic is posing challenges to its sustainability. And if you want to buy a used Airbus A380, it’s a buyer’s market. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

Recent reports paint a dark picture, from heatwaves to hurricanes to high-water marks. But some promising trends—and pandemic-era economics—provide reasons for hope. We examine the night-time economy of the very swankiest parties, discovering a kind of beauty brokerage at work behind the scenes. And what baseball season reveals for other sports that yearn for a return. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

Joe Biden’s choice of running mate is simultaneously groundbreaking and conventional, and reveals much about the state of the Democratic party. In China, a surprise court ruling draws attention to the plight of oft-overlooked LGBT people in the workplace. And Japan’s broad push for self-driving ships. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

The dramatic arrest of Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy newspaper owner, reveals just how enthusiastically Beijing’s new security law will be deployed to quash any dissent. A reservoir is filling behind an enormous new dam in Ethiopia—and that has soured relations with Egypt downriver. And why Britain’s “urban explorers” may soon have far fewer derelict buildings to conquer.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

As clinical trials progress, policymakers must determine how heavily to fund the pre-emptive manufacture of candidate vaccines, and how to distribute the successful ones. Given Britain’s bungled pandemic response, the separatist mood in Scotland has surged to record levels. And travel tips from the vloggers of illegal migration.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

First it was Bytedance’s app TikTok, now it’s Tencent’s WeChat: the Trump administration’s fervour to ban or dismantle wildly popular Chinese apps is increasing. In these straitened times, employees naturally worry that robots and software are coming for jobs—but the pandemic may actually slow that transition. And Britain’s government suggests slimming down even as it subsidises meals out.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

Survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings are now in their eighties. A new generation is learning to tell their tales, in hopes of preventing more atomic tragedies. Belarus’s president of 26 years will probably win in Sunday’s election, but an invigorated—and unexpected—opposition has him on the back foot. And the horror movie that will make you nervous to use Zoom. Additional archive courtesy of Soka Gakkai Women’s Peace Committee. Additional sounds by InspectorJ at Freesound.org. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer