Leaders
Around the world, an anti-red-tape revolution is taking hold
Done right, deregulation could kick-start economic growth
Leaders
How to use “maximum pressure” to stop an Iranian bomb
The Islamic Republic is closer than ever to obtaining nukes
United States
Donald Trump revives ideas of a Star Wars-like missile shield
He wants a swarm of missile-toting satellites to take out incoming threats
The world in brief
President Donald Trump said that America was “in mourning” after officials confirmed that there were no survivors of a mid-air collision between a military helicopter and a passenger plane in Washington, DC...
Israel belatedly released 110 Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire deal...
America’s economy grew at an annualised rate of 2.3% in the fourth quarter, slightly below analysts’ expectations...
A political leader of M23, a Rwandan-backed rebel group, vowed to march “all the way to Kinshasa”, the capital of Congo, to “take power, and lead the country”...
No one gains from American tariffs on cars from Mexico and Canada
Donald Trump’s levy will hit his country’s carmakers hardest
Lexington: Donald Trump’s defining decade
Will America’s president overcome the 1970s, or just refight its battles?
Burgernomics
Our Big Mac index shows how burger prices differ across borders
Using patty-power parity to think about exchange rates
Mauro Morandi needed to abandon consumer society
The hermit-guardian of Italy’s loveliest beach died on January 3rd, aged 85
Discover more
Drum Tower
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Donald Trump’s first 100 days
We are tracking his second term. Keep tabs on his executive orders, cabinet and popularity
German election prediction model
See who is ahead in the race for the next parliament
This week
The most important political stories this week
Chaos in Congo, Israel bans UNWRA—and more
The most important stories in the business world this week
DeepSeek rattles America’s tech giants, a supersonic jet test—and more
Letters to the editor
A selection of correspondence
The weekly cartoon
A lighter look at this week’s events
The second Trump presidency
Donald Trump goes to war with his employees
The president wants to shrink and remake the civil service
Kash Patel is a crackpot
Is he also a menace?
1843 magazine | How Tulsi Gabbard became a crusader against the Deep State
Her strange journey from a yoga commune to Trump’s intelligence chief
America’s foreign aid pause puts lives at risk
Donald Trump sought disruption. He hurt America first.
DeepSeek and Chinese AI
The real meaning of the DeepSeek drama
The Chinese model-maker has panicked investors. But it is good for the users of AI
DeepSeek poses a challenge to Beijing as much as to Silicon Valley
The story of Liang Wenfeng, the model-maker’s mysterious founder
DeepSeek sends a shockwave through markets
A cheap Chinese language model has investors in Silicon Valley asking questions
Nvidia is in danger of losing its monopoly-like margins
But don’t count it out yet
World news
Donald Trump turns an angry gaze south
Relations with Central America are likely to worsen
A day of drama in the Bundestag
Friedrich Merz, Germany’s probable next chancellor, takes a huge bet and triggers uproar
Backing Heathrow expansion suggests Labour is serious about boosting growth
It is the surest sign yet that the government is up for the fight
Hamas talks a big game but is in chaos
Look beyond the latest bravado and brutality and it is bitterly split
Business, finance and economics
Will America’s crypto frenzy end in disaster?
Donald Trump’s team is about to bring digital finance into the mainstream
Bartleby: Knowing what your colleagues earn
The pros and cons of greater pay transparency
China’s financial system is under brutal pressure
When will something break?
The Arctic: climate change’s great economic opportunity
An enormous prize is on offer. When might it be grasped?
Russia and Ukraine
Amid talk of a ceasefire, Ukraine’s front line is crumbling
An ominous defeat in the eastern town of Velyka Novosilka
Russian pilots appear to be hunting Ukrainian civilians
Residents of Kherson are dodging murderous drones
Ukrainian scientists are studying downed Russian missiles
And learning a lot about sanctions-busting
What North Korea gains by sending troops to fight for Russia
Resources, technology, experience and a blood-soaked IOU
More highlights
Why “Emilia Pérez” is loved by Hollywood and hated by everyone else
And the Oscar for Worst Picture goes to…
A sophisticated civilisation once flourished in the Amazon basin
How the Casarabe died out remains a mystery
Tofu: never judge a food by its political reputation
Think outside the white plastic box. Here is a carnivore’s guide to tofu
1843 magazine | The warlord, the oligarch and the unravelling of Russia’s Amazon.com
Before the Ukraine war, Wildberries was a giant of e-commerce. Now it’s caught up in a medieval blood feud
The World Ahead 2025
Europe in 2025
Under its new government, Germany will move to the right
Getting the economy going will be the priority
Africa in 2025
Africa will have some of the fastest-growing economies in the world in 2025
Several fast-growing economies show that not everyone is having a lost decade
Business in 2025
Is this the year that Boeing turns itself around?
America’s aerospace giant will hope 2025 is better than 2024
Culture in 2025
China’s ultra-short dramas will enjoy long-term success
Entertaining and innovative, micro-dramas are flourishing both at home and abroad in 2025
Edition: February 1st 2025
The revolt against regulation
Why the AI crash is good news
The Chinese model-maker has panicked investors. But it is good for the users of AI
Welcome to Heathrow’s long haul
It is the surest sign yet that the government is up for the fight
Could Trump and Xi divide up the world?
Washington hawks puzzle over calls for China to help in Ukraine, and hints of a possible TikTok reprieve
How covid boosted America’s murder rate
Explaining the 2020 murder spike
The World Ahead 2025
Future-gazing analysis, predictions and speculation
- The perils of the world’s third nuclear age
- The South China Sea could become a major flashpoint in 2025
- Pressure to migrate is increasing—but so is the backlash
- India’s economy will soon overtake Japan’s
- The year ahead will be perilous for Emmanuel Macron’s government
- How the world lines up, from wars to whales
Special reports: January 11th 2025
The Africa gap
The economic gap between Africa and the rest of the world is getting wider, says John McDermott
- The economic gap between Africa and the rest of the world is growing
- Africa is undergoing social change without economic transformation
- Africa has too many businesses, too little business
- African elites should align themselves with their countries’ needs
- The African investment environment is at its worst in years
- To catch up economically, Africa must think big