Latest News from Economist
Economist
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Economist
There is an 'imminent' threat to Taiwan, America warns
UNTIL RECENTLY America reassured nervous Asian friends that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan was 'neither imminent nor inevitable'. But in a dramatic shift on May 31st Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary, said the Chinese threat 'could be imminent'; and he implied any assault would lead to war with America. China sought 'hegemonic power' in Asia but America 'will not be pushed out of this critical region, and we will not let our allies and partners be subordinated and intimidated'. Mr Hegseth's tough talk appears designed to deter China and reassure allies worried about President Donald Trump's 'America First' foreign policy. Yet it raises two questions. The first is whether his assessment of Chinese intentions is correct. The second is whether his tough talk and effort to rally America's friends in Asia is credible, given the Trump administration's record of erratic behaviour and contempt for its allies.
Economist
10 hours ago
- General
- Economist
They had names
10 years ago a migrant ship sank off the coast of Libya, killing over a thousand people from forty countries. Countless such ships have been lost to the sea over the last decade of the migrant crisis but only one – 'Il Barcone', has been lifted from the seafloor, full of the dead, and given a second life. On the Weekend Intelligence senior producer Barclay Bram tells the story of the boat, its resurrection, and the ten year long investigation to name the people who died the day 'Il Barcone' sank.
Economist
a day ago
- Science
- Economist
Can AI be trusted in schools?
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE has become a school troublemaker. Not every child will go home and write 800 words on 'Macbeth'when ChatGPT can do it for them. In Turkey and the Netherlands, experiments using large language models (LLMs) to teach coding and maths ended with mixed results: some pupils became so dependent on the LLM that, when it was removed, they performed worse than classmates who had never used it. Teachers, too, have learned to cheat. Students complain that some educators are using bots to churn out generic feedback on their work.
Economist
a day ago
- Business
- Economist
Crypto's rise in Washington
President Donald Trump's crypto assets may rival the value of his properties, and his financial regulators have halted investigations into crypto firms. All the while, the crypto sector is spending big money in Washington. What will President Trump's second term mean for the exploding, shadowy crypto industry? John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Adam O'Neal.
Economist
a day ago
- Business
- Economist
Cover Story newsletter: How we chose the cover image
Peer into The Economist's decision-making processes with Edward Carr, our deputy editor, who explains how we select and design our front cover. Cover Story shares preliminary sketches and documents the—often spirited—debates that lead each week to a design seen by millions of people.
