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…
How to improve the search for aliens
May 25th 2022 (Updated May 26th 2022)For decades, astronomers searching for life beyond humanity’s home planet have had a simple strategy: follow the water. Water is the sine qua non of terrestrial life and as thousands of new planets have been discovered orbiting faraway stars, the greatest levels of excitement have usually been reserved for those…
Carbon markets are going global
Carbon markets, for years short of puff, have at last become one of the most widespread tools in the fight against climate change. By the end of 2021 more than 21% of the world’s emissions were covered by some form of carbon pricing, up from 15% in 2020. Ever more businesses have to pay regulators…
The credit market hasn’t cracked yet
At their best, capital markets hold up a mirror to the real economy. They rise and fall in tandem with companies’ fortunes, encouraging investors to direct money towards the firms most likely to make a return on it. But the arrow of causality can also fly the other way. A dysfunctional market can choke off…
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…