Australian voters have had enough of climate inaction
First came fires, which incinerated an area larger than Britain and swallowed cities in a suffocating haze. Then came floods, which inundated towns in Queensland and New South Wales. Climate change has become harder to ignore since Australians last voted in a federal election in 2019. When they returned to the polls on May 21st,…
Songbird competitions are a popular pastime in Indonesia
Some men spend their weekends watching football. Imam Safi’i and his mates spend theirs watching songbirds warble. Hundreds of songbird contests take place across Indonesia every year. On most weekends Mr Imam and his friends attend duels in Jakarta, the capital, rooting for their pet crooners. The birds are assessed by referees who grade the…
14 things your Android can do but your co-worker’s iPhone can’t
The modern world is divided into two clans: those who swear by their iPhone, and other Smartphone users. Are you one of the latter? Us too ! Are you exasperated by your fellow Apple fans who tell you all day long that their iPhone is the best in the world? U.S. too ! That’s why we’ve put…
Finance internship
We invite promising journalists and would-be journalists to apply for the 2022 internships, which are supported by the Marjorie Deane Foundation. Successful candidates will spend three months with The Economist in London writing about finance and economics. Applicants are asked to send a covering letter and an original article of no more than 500 words…
Abe Shinzo in his own words
ABE SHINZO served longer as prime minister than anyone in Japan’s history, holding the office from 2012-2020. He stepped down because of a chronic illness, but quickly returned to his Diet seat. He remains a formidable presence in Japanese politics. He commands the largest faction in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Many of his…
India’s exams are plagued by cheating
As india’s exam season kicked off earlier this year Facebook groups dedicated to helping with preparations were inundated with offers of guaranteed academic success. “Get leaked questions and answers before your upcoming exam, 100% guaranteed and secured,” read one. “Get certificate without sitting exams 100% legal,” promised another. Listen to this story.Enjoy more audio and…
Qatar wants to become a leader in genomics
Researchers at the Qatar Genome Programme, a project paid for by the former emir’s wife, say they want their Gulf state to become, in terms of genetics, “the Iceland of the Middle East”. For a thousand years, Icelanders have kept detailed records of how everyone is related to everyone else. These leafy family trees and…
Inside Eritrea, Africa’s gulag state
In the corner of a quiet bar in Asmara, Eritrea’s capital, Mulugeta (not his real name) hatches a plan to escape. He has made contact with the people-smugglers who say they will arrange the crossing to Sudan. His older siblings in America have paid the fee. From Sudan, he will travel to Libya—and then to…
KAL’s cartoon
May 26th 2022Dig deeper into the subject of this week’s cartoon:What is America’s policy of “strategic ambiguity” over Taiwan?Taiwan is worried about the security of its chip industryJoe Biden vows to deepen America’s ties with South KoreaKAL’s cartoon appears weekly in The Economist. You can see last week’s here.This article appeared in the The world…