Editor’s Picks: January 17th 2022

Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, is a huge video-game fan. Now his hobby is becoming a multi-billion-dollar industry for the kingdom, which is acquiring some of the world’s biggest gaming firms. How Finnish icebreakers became a focus for polar power politics. And ... Show More

Donald Trump has brokered an agreement between Israel’s government and Hamas. It’s a momentous breakthrough. Our correspondent analyses what comes next. We launch “The Economist Insider”, our new TV show for subscribers, where senior editors debate the news. And, do red-light mas ... Show More

France’s newly-appointed prime minister has resigned only weeks into the job. Now President Emmanual Macron has given him 48 hours to come up with a plan for next year’s budget. Can Macron survive the turmoil? As driverless taxis take over San Francisco, what will happen to the h ... Show More

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, why the British monarchy matters, Vladimir Putin’s war is failing (10:31), and China’s property crisis hasn’t gone away (17:59). Please subscribe to The Economist for full access ... Show More

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, why only America can save Israel and Gaza from a greater catastrophe. Also, the recent election in Poland offers a lesson in how to push back on populism (10:30) and the resurgen ... Show More

Taiwan’s election of William Lai Ching-te of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party is sure to annoy leaders in Beijing; we ask what to expect next. Britain’s post-office scandal simmered for two decades before a television series made it boil over (10:14). And what ha ... Show More

Divisions within the ruling party are on full display this week, and the provocative policies Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced are unlikely to help the Conservatives’ woeful polling numbers. Early results suggest that new drugs initially prescribed for weight loss may be a po ... Show More

The case for assisted dying is essentially one of individual freedom—and plenty of Britons support a change in the law to permit it. Japan’s Noto peninsula is still reeling from a New Year’s Day earthquake. It could well have been worse, but geography and demography may ultimatel ... Show More

Melting ski slopes, floods and droughts are enraging the continent’s citizens, but not quite enough for them to consider voting differently. Our correspondent explains what the electorate is weighing up. The world’s largest maker of glasses is branching out into tech (10:41). And ... Show More

Hardened war-zone doctors say the situation in Gaza is the worst they have witnessed—and that will cost lives long after the current conflict is resolved. Numbers from America’s tight labour market suggest that long-standing gaps between black and white workers are narrowing (09: ... Show More

In recent years the US has facilitated a warming in relations between Israel and its Arab neighbours but, after Hamas attacked Israel, that is under threat. What should America’s Middle East strategy be now? John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon. They’re jo ... Show More

After a 20-point primary walloping in South Carolina, the state she governed for eight years, Nikki Haley vowed to fight on against Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination. But why? Seasonal opportunities for natural-gas arbitrage have been juicier during the war ... Show More