How far will he go?

Donald Trump: the would-be king

America is fated to wage a titanic struggle over the power of the president


A science flask with a belt tightening around the neck

Science & technology

How the Trump administration wants to reshape American science

The consequences will be felt around the world

Customers at a counter inside a mobile phone screen repair kiosk at the Ikeja computer village market in Lagos, Nigeria

Leaders

How to help young Africans thrive

As the rest of the world ages, young Africans are becoming more important


Asia

The US-Russia dogfight to sell India fighter jets

The Economist witnessed the first face-off between the world’s top stealth fighters





The world in brief

In an interview with Fox News Donald Trump dismissed Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, as powerless, saying he has “no cards” in negotiations...

Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, vowed to make Hamas “pay the full price” for the “cruel and evil” violation of the ceasefire agreement after one of the bodies Hamas returned on Thursday was not that of Shiri Bibas...

Apple will stop offering secure encryption to users of its cloud storage in Britain, after the government sought access to the data...

Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange, said the Securities and Exchange Commission will drop its lawsuit over whether crypto assets should be regulated as securities...


A minimal illustration with red and blue patterns in place on someone's head

Why so many children in America have ADHD

Not for the reasons espoused by Robert F. Kennedy junior

illustration of a red shipping container suspended in midair by cables, as seen through a circular scope or targeting reticle. The blue background suggests a clear sky. The crosshairs imply a perspective as if someone is viewing the container through a sco

Free exchange: Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs are absurd

At first glance, they are a bureaucratic nightmare. On a closer look, they are even worse

A running shoe braking through finish line tape

Do better shoes help you run faster? 

Yes, but the benefits won’t last

The toothy grin scene from the movie “I’m Still Here”

An Oscar-nominated film sparks a reckoning with Brazil’s dictatorship

“I’m Still Here” is as much about the country’s present as its past


Latest videos


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  • The Intelligence

    Europe has no choice but to step up as America steps elsewhere


Europe’s worst nightmare

How Europe must respond as Trump and Putin smash the post-war order

The region has had its bleakest week since the fall of the Iron Curtain. The implications have yet to sink in

Russian President Vladimir Putin

How Vladimir Putin plans to play Donald Trump

The Russian president thinks he is the better poker player 


Portrait of President Volodymyr Zelensky with his arms crossed

Team Trump wants to get rid of Volodymyr Zelensky

America’s president calls Ukraine’s president “a dictator”


Now is the time for Europe to show strength, not division, argues Sanna Marin

Finland’s former leader makes the case for stumping up tens of billions more for Ukraine



Trump’s world order

An illustration of a kangaroo straffling a Chinese cargo ship on the right and an American submarine on the left and being forced in to splits.

The Telegram: Australia prepares for a lonelier, harsher world

The country has long relied on America for security and China for its prosperity. Those two pillars are wobbling


United States President Donald Trump peers over two Executive Orders signed in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington DC, USA.

Reciprocal tariffs really mean chaos for global trade

America has tried reciprocity before, and discovered its flaws


Will it be Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow?

How Donald Trump’s about-turn in Europe will affect Asia



Germany’s election

Election campaign posters

Germany’s mind-bending electoral maths

The more parties qualify for parliament, the harder for Friedrich Merz to form a coalition

A photo collage showcasing German election candidates: Olaf Scholz, Sahra Wagenknecht, Friedrich Merz, Christian Lindner, Robert Habeck, and Alice Weidel.

Who is ahead in the race for Germany’s next parliament?

Follow the polls and our prediction model in the run-up to February’s election


Can Friedrich Merz save Germany—and Europe?

He is on track to win the election, but to fix Europe he will have to fix his country first


Alice Weidel, Germany’s most vilified—and powerful—female politician

The hard-right AfD co-leader’s popularity (and that of her party) increased as she became more radical



The second Trump presidency

This illustration shows the U.S. Capitol building with various speech bubbles around it. The bubbles contain symbols like a checkmark, dollar sign, question mark, graphs, and charts. The colors are bold, with red, yellow, white, and black

Elon Musk spells danger for Accenture, McKinsey and their rivals

Why the American government could turn against consultants

Protesters gather for a demonstration outside of a Tesla dealership to protest businessman Elon Musk's current role in US President Donald Trump's administration in New York.

Is Elon Musk’s war on fraud just cover for a power grab?

America’s government has a big problem, but DOGE’s approach is unlikely to fix it


US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in coordination with the US Customs and Border Protection assisting with the deportation of illegal aliens at Biggs Army Airfield, Fort Bliss, Texas.

So far, mass deportation has been more rhetoric than reality

A raid in New Jersey highlights the barriers Donald Trump faces


Donald Trump’s foreign-aid cuts threaten his rural voters

The teardown of USAID threatens a programme that benefits farmers



World news

Newspapers are displayed for sale carrying headlines on the cryptocurrency scandal involving President Javier Milei.

Javier Milei’s crypto misadventure

The Argentine’s first serious embarrassment as president

Women hold a placard that reads 'Texans Call The Shots' at a rally inside the Captiol building in Austin.

In Texas, vaccine-choice activists are ascendant

Amid a measles outbreak they are lobbying for more “medical freedom”


Members of M23 sit on a pick up truck while on patrol in Bukavu, Congo

Rwanda tightens its grip over eastern Congo

The Congolese government has lost control of the region


Behind DeepSeek lies a dazzling Chinese university

It models itself on Stanford, and is in the tech hotspot of Hangzhou



Business, finance and economics

Founder of Alibaba Group Jack Ma.

Why Xi Jinping is making nice with China’s tech billionaires

Jack Ma’s return may be the most lucrative of all time

an illustration of a U.S. dollar bill, likely depicting Benjamin Franklin, but with a humorous twist—his face is sweating. The sweating effect suggests financial stress, inflation, or economic concerns, possibly symbolizing a weakening currency or financ

American inflation looks increasingly worrying

Trump’s tariffs are fuelling consumer concerns, which may prove self-fulfilling


This illustration features the Chinese flag in the background, with an upward-trending arrow symbolizing growth. Below the arrow, there are many colorful pills and capsules, suggesting the rise of China's pharmaceutical or healthcare industry. The image co

It’s not just AI. China’s medicines are surprising the world, too

Its firms are at the forefront of cheaper, faster drug discovery


Argentina’s Javier Milei is betting big on an oil gusher

The country’s shale fields are on track to yield 1m barrels of oil per day by 2030



Other highlights

This photograph shows a dress created by Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen from the Haute Couture 2018-2019 collection displayed at the exhibition "Louvre Couture, Art and fashion: statement pieces" at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.

The Louvre is hosting its first fashion exhibition

There is more to it than meets the eye

1843 magazine | Ukraine’s arteries: trains are the country’s lifeblood

Railways play a critical role in defending the country and bolstering morale


Patrick Schwarzenegger in Season 3 of "The White Lotus"

Escapism and fear made “The White Lotus” a pandemic-era hit

Now the show about obnoxious American tourists has become a drag


What explains the enduring appeal of Bridget Jones?

From spawning “chick lit” to becoming a Gen Z icon



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Edition: February 22nd 2025

The would-be king


Read full edition

Technology Quarterly: March 1st 2025

The age of CRISPR

Ida Emilie Steinmark explores whether it can deliver on its promise


Read full report
  • Matt Gaetz withdraws from consideration as America’s attorney-general