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February 06, 2024

Pingxiang, a scruffy county in northern China, has become a centre for the children’s bicycle industry. ⁠ ⁠ There are lots of upsides to making bikes for kids, explains Mr Li, a young entrepreneur from the region. But the downside? China is running out of children.⁠ ⁠ Mr Li’s plight reveals a lot about the forces that are battering China’s private sector, and about the solutions being proposed by officials in both the local and central governments.⁠ ⁠ The Communist Party puts great stock in large state-owned enterprises and groundbreaking technology. But China needs its backyard entrepreneurs, too. And these micro-industrialists are struggling to survive. Tap the link in our bio to learn why.⁠ ⁠ Illustration: @chloecushman

February 06, 2024

If America were to hold its presidential election tomorrow, Donald Trump would be picking out curtains for the Oval Office. ⁠ ⁠ Our polling average puts him 2.3 points ahead of Joe Biden nationwide. Betting markets list Mr Trump as a clear favourite. Never in his past two campaigns were his general-election polls this strong. Is it time for the world to brace itself for a second Trump presidency?⁠ ⁠ Perhaps. But not all opinion polls are created equal. If you consider only the highest-quality polls, Mr Trump’s advantage melts away. Tap the link in our bio to learn why.⁠ ⁠ Illustration: The Economist/Getty Images

February 05, 2024

El Salvador’s president reacted to his re-election victory with his usual understatement. Before any official results were announced, Nayib Bukele claimed to have won at least 85% of the vote. He is already hinting at a third term. ⁠ ⁠ While sticklers for the rule of law noted that it was unconstitutional for him to run for a second consecutive term, Mr Bukele has indeed won a landslide victory. With 31% of the votes tallied, he had 83%. ⁠ ⁠ The strongman is popular largely thanks to his crackdown on crime. More than 74,000 people—equivalent to over 8% of the young male population—have been locked up on suspicion of gang ties.⁠ ⁠ But click the link in our bio to read why not all Salvadoreans are cheering his victory.⁠ ⁠ Photo: EPA

February 05, 2024

Building a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust is something Britain might be expected to do quite well. Its cities are endowed with many magnificent monuments, after all. ⁠ ⁠ Yet nearly a decade after the government drew up a plan for a memorial and learning centre in central London, the project is beset by rancour and delay.⁠ ⁠ The main problem is the location. But the design has also attracted opposition. Critics, many of them Jewish, have likened it variously to a toaster and a shoe box.⁠ ⁠ Some are questioning whether Britain needs a new anything. Tap the link in our bio to read why some people believe that the project verges on the jingoistic.⁠ ⁠ Credit: Adjaye Associates

February 05, 2024

Donald Trump savours his grudges and the one against TikTok is no doubt acute. After all, in 2020 he sought to ban it. ⁠ ⁠ Now that he is a coin toss away from the presidency, should TikTok again worry about its future?⁠ ⁠ Whether TikTok can stay above the fray hinges on three things: political expediency, the courts and its efforts to distance itself from China. ⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in our bio to read why none of these is fully within its control.⁠ ⁠ Illustration: @brett.ryder.illustration

February 05, 2024

For millions of people whose lives have been upended by long covid, 2022 will bring good news.⁠ ⁠ Some of the projects set up this year to research the condition will start reporting results.⁠ ⁠ America’s National Institutes of Health has spent more than $1bn on investigating causes and treatments. Britain is running more than 15 studies with thousands of long-covid patients.⁠ ⁠ Discoveries are expected in three main areas. To learn what they are, and to read why it is highly probable that treatments will be found, click on the link in our bio. #WorldAhead⁠ ⁠ Illustration: @cristina.spano

November 23, 2021

Despite glaring and multiple failings, Narendra Modi remains largely unscathed. ⁠ ⁠ His secret weapon? A feeble opposition.⁠ ⁠ Throughout Mr Modi’s term and a half in power, opponents to his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have remained divided, weak and largely ineffectual. ⁠ ⁠ This does not mean they have given the prime minister a free ride. But they have so far failed to shift India’s broader narrative. Compared with the BJP’s simple core message of Hindu pride and nationalism, its scattered and multiple opponents have no shared story to tell. ⁠ ⁠ To read why Mr Modi remains in the eyes of most Indians a success at home and abroad, click on the link in our bio.⁠ ⁠ Credit: Xavier Galiana / AFP via Getty Images

November 23, 2021

Min Aung Hlaing can cut a lonely figure on the international stage. Since seizing power in Myanmar, he has been persona non grata in many places. ⁠ ⁠ Apart from one country: Russia.⁠ ⁠ It is not just Myanmar, however. Russia’s relations with the entirety of South-East Asia has continued to grow.⁠ ⁠ The region’s governments welcome Russia’s courtship. Its weaponry is more reliable than China’s, and cheaper and less tangled in red tape than America’s.⁠ ⁠ But click the link in our bio to read why some analysts argue that this “pivot to Asia”, as Moscow calls it, could really be a pivot to China.⁠ ⁠ Credit: @call_me_georges

November 22, 2021

Activists are “indispensable” for climate action, argues Heleen de Coninck, an IPCC lead author.⁠ ⁠ “Although the public may believe that scientists are voicing mere opinions on climate policy, they are usually in fact stating scholarly conclusions,” she writes. ⁠ ⁠ Ambitious and transformative societal changes are needed to hit climate targets, the climate scientist says. “It sounds activist, but it is the inescapable truth and the result of research.” ⁠ ⁠ She applaudes climate activists for amplifying such scientific results, but warns against overstating the case: “it is doubtful that preaching doom will spur sustained action.”⁠ ⁠ “Still,” she adds, “as a scientist and an IPCC author who is inside the tent of international policymaking, I am thrilled with activism.” To read how she believes activists can spur policymakers, click on the link in our bio.⁠ ⁠ Illustration: @dan.will

November 22, 2021

Enrolment in Catholic schools in America peaked in the 1960s. Since then, it has been falling. ⁠ ⁠ The pandemic, however, has offered enrolment numbers an unexpected boost.⁠ ⁠ This autumn dioceses all over the country are seeing increases in enrolments. Many public-school systems delayed reopening and did not offer full-time in-class learning. ⁠ ⁠ When Catholic schools reopened, most provided in-person learning. The extra space they had due to their previously decreasing number of students even allowed extra room for social distancing. ⁠ ⁠ Parents who wanted (or needed) their children to be at an in-person school flocked to the religious campuses, regardless of affiliation. In 1970 only 2.7% of the pupil population at Catholic schools was non-Catholic. Last year it was one in five.⁠ ⁠ Despite the high tuition costs, many families are willing to pay for the experience that is now lacking in many public schools. Tap on the link in our bio to read more about how Catholic schools are getting back into the arena of mainstream education.⁠ ⁠ Credit: John Minchillo/AP/Shutterstock

November 22, 2021

China is the last large country in the world with a zero-covid policy. ⁠ ⁠ Its scientists are cautiously questioning how long this can last.⁠ ⁠ The Communist Party has made the goal of eliminating infections a top priority. A single case can lead to city-wide testing and lockdown. Local officials have been fired over just a few cases in their districts.⁠ ⁠ The domestic propaganda machinery has spent months boasting of the superiority of China’s authoritarian system in suppressing the virus. Any change to this message would take time and would also be embarrassing.⁠ ⁠ Read more about why strict quarantine requirements may persist for much, if not all, of 2022, by tapping the link in our bio. #WorldAhead⁠ ⁠ Credit: Shao Ying/Getty Images

November 22, 2021

America’s inflation is now running at its fastest in three decades.⁠ ⁠ But is this part of a global phenomenon—or is it a homegrown headache?⁠ ⁠ The case for the former is straightforward. Most rich countries, from Britain to Australia, face similar pressures. Even Germany, renowned for its aversion to price rises, has seen inflation race to a 28-year high.⁠ ⁠ Yet it is insufficient: inflation is now higher in America than in any other advanced economy, by some distance. Consumer prices in America are up by 7.5% over two years, more than two percentage points higher than anywhere else in the G7.⁠ ⁠ To learn why as time goes on, the downsides of America’s supersized stimulus are becoming more apparent, tap on the link in our bio.⁠ ⁠ Credit: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

November 22, 2021

Attention often focuses on the violent clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. ⁠ ⁠ Overlooked is a growing crime wave afflicting Israeli-Arabs.⁠ ⁠ Israeli-Arabs are 21% of Israel’s population but three-quarters of the country’s murder victims. One of the main problems is a lack of policing.⁠ ⁠ But the question of how best to deal with the crime wave in Arab neighbourhoods goes to the heart of the Arab-Israeli predicament.⁠ ⁠ Click on the link in our bio to find out why. ⁠ ⁠ Credit: Yossi Aloni/Flash90

November 22, 2021