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America’s presidential election

Trump v Biden: who’s ahead in the polls?

Dateline

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Britain's general election

Explore The Economist's forecast for Britain's looming election

Middle East & Africa

The death of Iran’s president would spark a high-stakes power struggle

Amid a regional war, a fight at home between the clerics and military looms

International

Taiwan’s new president faces an upsurge in Chinese coercion

But China’s bullying of Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines risks an explosion


Business

Can Nvidia be dethroned? Meet the startups vying for its crown

A new generation of AI chips is on the way




The world in brief

A search for Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, was under way after his helicopter was forced into a “hard landing” in the country’s mountainous north-west...

Jake Sullivan, America’s national security adviser, travelled to Israel to push once more for a ceasefire agreement...

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, warned that Russia could yet expand its assault on Kharkiv, a north-eastern region where it launched a surprise attack on May 10th, as he called on Western allies to increase supplies of military aid...

Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s former president, launched his manifesto at a splashy show in Johannesburg, promising to tackle crime and unemployment...


The revolt against Binyamin Netanyahu

His war cabinet and generals want a new plan—and a new boss

Bartleby: How to be a good follower

First, realise that it matters

China’s youth are rebelling against long hours

The backlash over a series of viral videos says a lot about shifting attitudes

Some corals are better at handling the heat

Scientists are helping them breed

America’s presidential election

Trump v Biden: who’s ahead in the polls?

Dateline

Try The Economist's history quiz

Britain's general election

Explore The Economist's forecast for Britain's looming election

Strife in the Middle East

The Israeli army is caught in a doom loop in Gaza

And the refusal to plan for the day after the war is fuelling a crisis with America

Israel has seen arms embargoes before

But this time it will struggle without American military support



Why are Arab armed forces so ineffective?

Governments are splashing the cash, but that may do little to burnish their armies’ reputations


World news

Why America is vulnerable to a despot

Its democratic system is not as robust as it seems


Bayer wants legislative help to fight its cancer lawsuits

But the maker of Roundup weedkiller faces opposition from Republican and Democratic hardliners


Facebook turned off the news in Canada. What happened next?

A law intended to help small publishers is harming them


Business, finance and economics

It is dangerously easy to hack the world’s phones

A system at the heart of global telecommunications is woefully insecure

How Jim Simons revolutionised investing

The “quant king” pioneered an approach that has become a pillar of finance


America’s 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs: bad policy, worse leadership

The global trade system is disintegrating as you read this


The property firm that could break China’s back

If Vanke collapses, so might confidence in the state’s management of the economy


The war in Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelensky’s five-year term ends on May 20th

But he has no plans to step down or call an election during wartime

What are the Russian “turtle tanks” seen in Ukraine?

Wrapping vehicles in corrugated metal might protect them from drone attacks


Sergei Shoigu’s sacking points to yet more attrition in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin wants Russia’s armed forces to be better supplied


Tracking the Ukraine war: where is the latest fighting?

Our satellite view of the conflict, updated daily


Stories most read by subscribers

Featured read

Shirley Conran wrote a bonkbuster to teach schoolgirls about sex

The author and campaigner for maths education died on May 9th, aged 91

Video

America’s election year

A mano-a-mano contest between Michael Cohen and Donald Trump

The hush-money trial hinges on the testimony of the former president’s former fixer

In brief

Biden and Trump agree to debate; Cohen’s cross-examination resumes

Our daily political update, featuring stories that matter


Interactive US election 2024

Can you build a Trump voter?

Try our tool—and see which attributes make voters more likely to pick one candidate over the other


Trump v Biden: who’s ahead in the polls?

The Economist is tracking the race to be America’s next president



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India’s election

Who could replace Narendra Modi?

A leadership struggle is brewing in India’s ruling party

Banyan: Narendra Modi ramps up the Muslim-baiting

Is the Indian prime minister confident, or worried?


1843 magazine | Rahul Gandhi is on the march. But where is he heading?

He wants to be the champion of Indian liberalism. First he needs to save his party from irrelevance


Even disillusioned young Indian voters favour Narendra Modi

They worry about their future, but do not blame the BJP


Other highlights

Alice Munro was the English language’s Chekhov

The Nobel prizewinning short-story writer died on May 13th, aged 92

#Tradwives, the real housewives of the internet, have gone viral

Why social-media users are riveted by the domestic toil of homemakers


1843 magazine | Why is Britain hopeless at punishing corruption?

The Serious Fraud Office had a slam-dunk case. This is the inside story of how it fell apart


Venice’s new admission fee cannot curb overtourism

It is too low, and there are too many exemptions


Is America dictator-proof?

Weekly edition: May 18th 2024

Is America dictator-proof?