Passing mentions: the notable lives lost in 2024
From a legendary baseball slugger to a beloved comic actor, from Scottish politicians to America’s sex therapist to the leader of Russia’s resistance:...
Tomes will tell: books that predict the future
Some people read books to escape. Others turn to them for instruction. As the new year looms, our correspondents – and listeners – consider which titl...
Good moos: cows could help the climate
Cows produce far more milk in rich countries than in poor ones. Our correspondent explains how beefing up bovine productivity could feed more people a...
The club rules? India’s RSS
Is it a community-minded boys’ club, like the Scouts? A breeding ground for seething Hindu nationalism? A paramilitary puppetmaster of India’s governi...
Country of the year: The Economist picks
In the past 12 months, there has been no lack of news. Editors at The Economist have picked their way through the rubble to uncover some optimism: whi...
Between Estonia and a hard place: NATO meets
At the icy border between Russia and Estonia, the anxieties of NATO member states are clear, our correspondent reports. Leaders there have been debati...
Mass graves: revealing Syria’s horror
Ten days after the fall of Syria’s dictator Bashar al-Assad, the full brutality of his rule is being uncovered. Our correspondent travels to a site ne...
Scholz fired: Germany calls snap election
After Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, lost a confidence vote in parliament yesterday, Germany is preparing for a snap election. Urban waste is a gr...
Off-side: Georgians reject new president
This weekend, the ruling Georgian Dream party elected a new president – but only one name was on the ballot. That sparked further street protests, as ...
Minds blown: are we getting dumber?
Many adults perform worse in tests of literacy and numeracy than the average ten year old. And results have worsened in the past decade. Are our brain...