The Intelligence from The Economist

Our correspondent describes the fraught effort to attend the opening ceremony. It is a pageant highlighting a divided world, with party leaders aiming for zero covid, zero mistakes and zero dissent. An investigation reveals the brutal treatment meted out by Libya’s coast guard dealing with Europe-bound migrants—an outfit bankrolled by the European Union itself. And America’s gun-owners become surprisingly diverse.

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In the first instalment of the series, we unveil our forecast model and visit one of the quiet suburbs where the vote’s outcome will probably be decided. Debt has soared as borrowing costs stayed low; we examine who will foot the enormous interest bills as rates rise. And the one place where marriages increased in the pandemic era. 

You can find all of our ongoing coverage of the French election at https://www.economist.com/french-election-2022

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A long-awaited report confirms rumours that have consumed Boris Johnson’s premiership. He may be weakened, but early signs suggest he will not fall. One year after Myanmar’s military coup, the protest mood has not faded; the murderous junta is failing to rule and the country is falling apart. And the pain of losing one’s native tongue in a foreign land.

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Talk of a presidential run for the governor is growing. We examine the state’s rightward lurch as a bellwether of his intent and his political strength. Our correspondent finds that divorce is getting easier, cheaper and a little less adversarial across the rich world. And the wider ecosystem risks posed by the looming extinction of the Sumatran rhino.

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As the country celebrates its secular constitution, we examine the rising bigotry of Hindu nationalists—at best tolerated and at worst encouraged by the ruling party. China’s propagandists are onto something: after years of dull jingoism, the entertainment they put out now is glossy, big-budget and ever more watchable. And why South-East Asia’s obsession with otters poses a threat to them.

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This week’s secretive votes will determine the next president and the current prime minister looks to be a favourite. But that move would be bad for Italy. Many African countries that are rife with resources remain persistently underdeveloped; we dig into the reasons. And we meet the chefs bringing unsung Native American cuisine to the table.

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The Omicron variant is destined to test the limits of a policy that has already proved costly: consumption, growth and confidence are all flagging. The effects of Russia’s gulag did not stop when the labour camps closed: there appear to be long-term benefits for nearby areas. And why cycling in the Arab world is on the rise.

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Austria is set to enact a bold policy of levying fines on the unvaccinated. We look at what is driving governments to such measures, and whether they will work. Japan’s shift in thinking about its growing elderly population holds lessons for countries set for a similar demographic shift. And why the Mormon church is struggling to retain its foreign converts.

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The queen’s second son has been stripped of his titles—an apparent bid to insulate the crown from his legal troubles. But dangers to the prince and to the monarchy remain. A blockade of Mali, intended to force a return to democratic order, may worsen security and entrench foreign influences. And the genre of “eco-horror” evolves alongside environment-driven anxieties.

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The country’s children have missed more in-person learning than those in most of the rich world—to their cost. We ask why battles about schooling rage on. Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine president, came to power on big promises; few were fulfilled. We ask about the skimpy legacy he leaves behind. And a look at the metaverse’s red-hot property market.

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This week’s flurry of diplomacy aims to address what Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, says he wants. He cannot get it. Does an invasion of Ukraine hang in the balance? At an annual jamboree of economists our correspondent finds an unusual focus on the future—in particular the future of home working. And why Cuba has an enormous trade in grey-market garlic.

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The country has the world’s worst estimated covid-death total—but as another variant takes hold there are reasons for optimism. Mexico’s president has some old-fashioned notions about energy, and his pet legislation would make it both dirtier and costlier. And the Orient Express was itself a murder victim, just one line in a continent-spanning rail network that may yet be revived.

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What started as a fuel-price skirmish has engulfed the entire country; now Russian-led troops have been summoned to help. How did things escalate so quickly? The spike in global house prices has several pandemic-related causes—but do not expect them to fall much when those factors fade. And our obituaries editor reflects on the life of Britain’s first transgender activist. 

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The closure of two independent, Chinese-language media outlets all but completes the push to silence pro-democracy press; we ask what is next for the territory. Sudan’s military seems as uninterested in civilian help with governing as legions of protesters are in military leadership. What could end the standoff? And why sanctions on Iran are affecting the purity of saffron. 

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Elizabeth Holmes has been found guilty of fraud. We ask what lessons her downfall holds for Theranos’s high-profile backers—and for a startup culture of hype before science. As Apple crosses a $3trn valuation we examine the motives for its stop-start forays into the competitive streaming-video business. And what lies behind the curious resurgence of syphilis.

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Trade is down, red tape is up, details of regulatory harmony are still being hammered out. Britain may be less divided about it, but the benefits of the divorce are still to be seized. For the clinically vulnerable, covid restrictions go beyond government mandates; our correspondent shares a personal view. And a visit to mainland Singapore’s last rural village.

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From Prince Philip to Desmond Tutu, from an anti-racism campaigner and member of the Auschwitz Girls’ Orchestra to a war surgeon focused on civilians to an impoverished Ethiopian whose school for the poor educated 120,000 students: our obituaries editor reflects on the famed and the lesser-known figures who died in 2021. 

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Each year The Economist selects its country of the year: a place that has improved the most. Improvement, though, was damnably rare in 2021. We run through our nominations and the shortlist, and take a close look at why the winner won. And we examine what has gone on in South and South-East Asia, which offered no contenders whatsoever.

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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s idea for saving the lira by backing deposits with dollars means the Turkish taxpayer will end up bailing out the Turkish depositor. Our correspondent finds striking insights in 40 years’-worth of humdrum submissions to a unique sociology project. And Saudi Arabia’s multi-billion-dollar push into the cinema industry it outlawed for decades.

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The lightning-fast spread of a seemingly milder coronavirus variant may represent a shift from pandemic to endemic; we ask how that would change global responses. Concern about video-game addictiveness is as old as video games themselves—but the business models of modern gaming may be magnifying the problem. And newly publicised photographs shed light on Bangladesh’s brutal war for independence.

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The security situation is hopeless, following violent unrest and a presidential assassination—as one family’s epic and ultimately failed attempt to leave reveals. The sum total of the missing banknotes in the world is staggering, but what is worrying is that no one seems interested in finding it all. And meeting the man who unwittingly became Sherlock Holmes’s secretary.

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The flood of people out of cities is unlike anything since the suburbanisation of the 1950s; we examine the inevitable economic and political consequences. After years of reporting our correspondent concludes that the mutual disdain of a country’s northern and southern halves is a curious human universal. And a sojourn to fact-check Julius Caesar’s accounts of his triumphs in France.

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In recent years the country has found itself in a sharply different geopolitical environment, responding by building bases and security-partner ties as never before. Our correspondent meets perhaps the last living offspring of an American slave, whose stories paint a picture of the civil-rights movement right up to today. And Thailand’s changing cannabis policy, best seen through its restaurants’ menus.

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As border tensions continue to build, our Russia editor looks back to the fall of the Soviet Union to explain why Russia has never accepted Ukraine’s independence. Eating out has only become more expensive through the decades, yet the diners keep coming; we examine the long history and economics of restaurants. And our staff picks for 2021’s best books.

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As the vote’s second round has neared, the candidates have shifted, a bit, from their positions at opposite ends of the political spectrum. Which radical vision for the country will win out? The transition to electric vehicles may well stall, unless the chicken-and-egg problem of public chargers can be cracked. And a soaring history of “birdmen”, successful and otherwise.

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America’s central bank plans to pinch off its massive bond-buying programme much faster in a bid to stall inflation; our correspondent says it is perhaps a late-arriving signal—but a promising one. Loneliness is a growing problem in the rich world but seems particularly acute among American men. And why aged artists are increasingly taking over the December music charts.

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More than a year after a rebellion Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed promised to put down in weeks, the balance of power keeps swinging—and neighbouring states may soon be drawn in. To the chagrin of libertarian crypto types, regulators are weighing in on an industry now worth trillions. And the fed-up North Korean wives earning more than their husbands.

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Many have been quick to link the tornado catastrophe in America’s Upland South to climate change; we ask why that is a tricky connection to draw. Citizenship of Gulf states has long been difficult to acquire, even for lifelong residents. That is slowly changing—for a slice of the elite. And the kerfuffle surrounding the repurposing of Britain’s red phone boxes.

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The latest “variant of concern” has spread far—and fast. We examine what has been learned about it at equally striking speed, and ask what to look out for next. South-East Asia has long had a methamphetamine problem; so-called compulsory treatment centres are only making matters worse. And the effort to make a minuscule lemur science’s next super-model. 

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The wildly indebted property firm has defaulted at last. That poses big risks as China’s leadership works to refashion financial markets and draw in foreign investors. We visit the world’s largest lithium reserves, asking why Bolivia has not yet made the most of them—and whether it still might. And the Chopin concert aimed at calming Poland’s refugee tensions.

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At two years into Boris Johnson’s premiership, yet more scandal ensures attention will still stray from the sweeping agenda of change he promised. An archaeological find in the state of Tamil Nadu rewrites the timeline of civilisation in India—raising questions of identity in a charged political atmosphere. And the man listening intently to the staggering variety of Beijing’s birds.

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Myanmar’s ousted leader has been sentenced to four years in prison; more guilty verdicts are expected soon. That will only fuel unrest that has not ceased since a coup in February. Scrutiny of Interpol’s new president adds to concerns that the supranational agency is in authoritarians’ pockets. And governments start to back the “seasteading” of libertarians’ dreams.

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The archipelago’s diplomatic pivot to China has added an international dimension to the latest flare-up of domestic tensions. We ask how this tiny state figures into far larger geopolitics. British law permits medical cannabis for children with epilepsy—so why are so few able to get it? And a Formula 1 race may mark the end of Saudi Arabia’s alcohol ban.

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Jack Dorsey’s departure from the social-media giant reflects the growing primacy of engineering talent, and the waning mythology of the big-tech founder. Ukraine’s military has become much better at battling Russian-backed separatists since the annexation of Crimea—but now a far graver kind of war looms. And the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest list of the world’s most expensive cities.

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Things were all smiles after negotiations resumed—but it is difficult to see how a middle ground can be reached in Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Apple’s surprise move to permit repairs to its hardware reflects the growing “right to repair” movement, and a shift in the notion of tech ownership. And the “grab lists” that museum curators prefer not to talk about. Have your say about “The Intelligence” in our survey here 

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Governments’ rapid responses to a new coronavirus strain were wise. But much is still to be learned about the Omicron variant before longer-term policies can be prescribed. Vietnam’s government wants to create internationally competitive firms, and a growing new class of billionaires suggests the plan is working. And research suggests that social distancing comes naturally to bees under pathogenic threat.

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As President Recep Tayyip Erdogan keeps pushing his upside-down economic ideas, the currency plummets and an immiserated population grows restless. Sunday’s presidential election in Honduras will be a test of the country’s democracy; fears abound of the deadly protests that marred the last vote. And our obituaries editor reflects on the life of Rossana Banti, a storied, lifelong anti-fascist campaigner.

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