The world this week

Politics
Business
KAL’s cartoon
This week’s covers
Leaders


Cash for kids
Why paying women to have more babies won’t work
Economies must adapt to baby busts instead

July 4th celebration
Rishi Sunak’s election call makes no sense, but is good news
Whether an act of political genius or lunacy, Britons should welcome it

Lawfare v warfare
The war-crimes case against the leaders of Israel and Hamas is flawed
Politics and diplomacy, not courts, are the key to ending violence and starting two-state talks

Security alert
Hacking phones is too easy. Time to make it harder
Regulators have avoided the problem for too long

30 years after apartheid
How to save South Africa
The rainbow nation needs an alternative to decline under the ANC

The new brains trust
What India’s clout in white-collar work means for the world
In time its tech firms could be as formidable as China’s manufacturers

Letters

On disinformation, digital payments, South-East Asia, Italy, Ravel’s “Boléro”, Tesla cars
Letters to the editor
By Invitation


Israel, America and the ICC
Powerful states are finding it harder to dodge legal challenges, says Marc Weller
European security
Olaf Scholz on why Vladimir Putin’s brutal imperialism will fail
Briefing


Dawdling and decay
Next week’s election is South Africa’s most important since 1994
It may force the country’s indecisive leader to make a fateful choice
Asia


New Caledonia, Old Tensions
Geopolitics helps reignite New Caledonia’s anti-colonial unrest
All-consuming fires
Vietnam’s ruling communists rush to fill the country’s top jobs
Bangsamoro’s moment
In the Philippines a decades-long conflict nears its endgame
An unruly corner
India’s YouTubers take on Narendra Modi
Banyan
Lai Ching-te aims to strengthen Taiwan but maintain the status quo
China


A tale of two Chinas
Even Xi Jinping is struggling to fix regional inequality
Study buddies
The number of American students in China is going up again
One way to stay spry
Why Hong Kong is sending its old people to Guangdong
United States


The country road to the White House
Rural white voters in Wisconsin could decide America’s election
Corruption trials
What the cases of Robert Menendez and Henry Cuellar have in common
Off-season offence
How the NFL keeps fans transfixed even when there are no games
The FAFSA foul-up
Time is running out to fix America’s student-aid mess
A migration merry-go-round
Fewer migrants are crossing America’s southern border
U bet
Some would-be American immigrants are paying to get robbed
Lexington
Politics is the law in Texas

Middle East & Africa


The battle for control of Iran
The death of the president changes the power dynamic in Iran
Succession
A death, an illness, and an uncertain Middle East
The Israel-Hamas war
The revolt against Binyamin Netanyahu
Deaths in Gaza
How many people have died in Gaza?
Israel and Hamas in the dock
The ICC’s threat to arrest Binyamin Netanyahu has shocked Israel
The coup will not be televised
A live-streamed attempted coup in Congo shakes the region
Arms for Africa
Chinese weapons are taking over in Africa
The Americas


The villains are thriving
Criminal gangs are showing their muscle as Mexico’s elections loom
Lessons learned after Canada’s Frankenfires
Canadians are taking dramatic steps to avoid more ruinous firestorms
The vote bank in the United States
Mexico’s mighty diaspora punches below its weight in elections
Europe


European Parliament elections
Le Pen’s hard right looks set to crush Macron’s centrists
Pragmatist or pasionaria?
As the Euro-elections loom, Giorgia Meloni guards her right flank
A city under threat
Ukraine’s desperate struggle to defend Kharkiv
Who hates whom?
How the hard right both reflects and creates prejudice
Charlemagne
The fight over meat-free meat pits Europe’s traditionalists against foodie innovators
Britain


Paranoid android
Could the Labour Party blow its big opportunity?
Wiggly wormageddon
What’s behind Britain’s earthworm cataclysm?
Blood, debt and tears
“A day of shame” for the British state
A system under strain
The sorry story of children in care in England
Alcoblocks
When is a non-alcoholic drink alcohol-free?
Bagehot
Rishi Sunak’s snap election is odd and illogical—much like him
A permanent home
The world’s first museum of homelessness
International


An interview with Rafael Grossi
Iran’s new leaders stand at a nuclear precipice
Business


Think different
Can Nvidia be dethroned? Meet the startups vying for its crown
Big game
Africa Inc is ready to roar
The world’s office
Global firms are tapping India’s workers like never before
Pits and bits
Americans are fretting over their body odour
The adman of Arkansas
Walmart’s latest product? Its customers
Bartleby
The Economist’s agony uncle returns
Schumpeter
Can anyone save the world’s most important diamond company?
Finance & economics


The pro-natalist turn
Can the rich world escape its baby crisis?
Trade wars
Brazil, India and Mexico are taking on China’s exports
An aid to digestion
How the Chinese state aims to calm the property market
Soft launch
At long last, Europe’s economy is starting to grow
Buttonwood
Boaz v BlackRock: Whoever wins, closed-end funds lose
Free exchange
Shrinking populations mean less growth and a more fractious world
Science & technology


Easy breezy
A new age of sail begins
Marine technology
The AirFish is a fast ferry that will fly above the waves
Charging ahead
A promising non-invasive technique can help paralysed limbs move
Cyber security
It is dangerously easy to hack the world’s phones
Culture


The art cop
Meet the man causing cracks in the antiquities trade
A modern Orwellian tale
What if calling someone stupid was a crime?
Back Story
Jürgen Klopp’s masterclass in how to win—and lose
The “Bridgerton” effect
The hit series “Bridgerton” has set off a string-quartet boom
The spice of life
Spices have their own riveting, piquant history
Heavenly hosts
The controversial cult of the host club in Japan
Economic & financial indicators

Indicators
Economic data, commodities and markets
The Economist explains


The Economist explains
What does it mean to recognise Palestinian statehood?
Obituary


Morality and butchery
Ebrahim Raisi was obsessed with the security of the people