Buy the bullet: global defence spending

Stock-trading is shifting to the continent; businesses are bound up in red tape; border issues are still simmering. There is far more than mere “teething problems” as Britain and Europe adjust to their new relationship. Our correspondent looks at the slippery nature of risk by speaking with wing-suited daredevils. And in Kenya the flower-industry bounce-back is blooming great news.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Feb 202122min

A power-grab by the army’s commander, Min Aung Hlaing, is not turning out to be easy: the greatest protest movement in a generation is gathering steam. Debates over trans rights are particularly fraught in criminal-justice systems. We examine the balancing act going on in America. And a historical tour of autocrats’ luxuriant bathrooms reveals there’s a lot to loos. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11 Feb 202122min

The World Health Organisation unveiled preliminary findings, suggesting the coronavirus probably jumped to humans via an intermediary animal and all but ruling out a laboratory leak. We examine the many remaining questions. Nefarious regimes find it ever easier to reach across borders, subjecting dissidents to repression and surveillance abroad. And why it’s so hard to buy a car in Algeria. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer“The Jab from Economist Radio” is our new weekly podcast at the sharp end of the global vaccination race. Listen to the trailer and subscribe now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10 Feb 202120min

So far it seems the continent has weathered the pandemic well. But current numbers mask a future reckoning that is likely to have dire human and economic costs. We look into the “predatory trading” that in part explains recent, frenzied action in stockmarkets. And a surprising discovery about the plastics that sink to the oceans’ depths. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Feb 202121min

The second impeachment trial of Donald Trump will make history, but its outcome is assured. We ask what the proceedings say about the Republican Party. China’s youth are making their own way, even as the Communist regime tries to win greater loyalty from them; we examine the country’s future leaders. And another, overlooked pandemic: that of loneliness at work. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8 Feb 202122min

Ecuador’s elections on Sunday kick off a packed year of polls in the region. Democracy’s foothold in South America looks assured; in Central America, less so. Engineers are vastly improving the core technologies in televisions. We preview the viewing pleasure to come. And remembering Nikolai Antoshkin, a Soviet general who faced unknowable danger to save untold lives.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Feb 202121min

Congress is on the cusp of pushing through a $1.9trn stimulus bill. But would it be money well spent? We examine the economics. Nearly half of India’s students attend cheap, efficient private schools that have been hit harder by the pandemic than the state-run kind. And the latest bid to clean up Earth’s celestial neighbourhood—and how to finance it.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 Feb 202121min

Jeff Bezos is relinquishing the reins—partly—of the firm he founded. We take a look at Andy Jassy, who will replace him as chief executive at a profitable but tricky time. Our annual Democracy Index isn’t brimming with great news; we examine how democratic norms are faring worldwide. And the capture of the biggest drug lord you’ve probably never heard of. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 Feb 202120min