Tourists are getting decidedly less-warm welcomes in popular spots, but blunt anti-tourism policies are self-defeating. We look at how to maintain benefits for both the visitors and the visited. As Russia tries to avoid another military draft, a slick recruitment drive seems to be bringing in new troops (09:22). And fatigue with smartphones is leading to a fashion for dumb ones (15:22).

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Artificial intelligence could help terrorists develop new dangerous pathogens. Our correspondent asks how humanity can protect itself from machine-assisted biological weapons. Stock markets are soaring, despite the oil shock. What does this tell us about investor confidence in tr ... Show More

After catastrophic local-election results, Britain’s prime minister Sir Keir Starmer is fighting for his political life. One airline has folded and others may follow: jet-fuel prices are crimping carriers the world over, but the pain is not spread evenly. And could San Andrés, a ... Show More

The Kremlin planned to provide Iran with unjammable drones, plus training in how to use them, according to leaked documents seen exclusively by The Economist. Meanwhile there are nearly 20,000 merchant seamen stranded in the Gulf. And a tribute to Craig Venter, dark horse of the ... Show More

Tourists are getting decidedly less-warm welcomes in popular spots, but blunt anti-tourism policies are self-defeating. We look at <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/08/01/how-to-make-tourism-work-for-locals-and-visitors-alike?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.po ... Show More

The country’s civil war never ended—it became a fragile stalemate that fell out of the news. A <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2024/11/30/syrian-rebels-sweep-into-aleppo-in-an-embarrassing-rout-for-bashar-al-assad?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.po ... Show More

In an effort to bring Ukraine to the negotiating table, America has <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/03/03/as-trump-suspends-military-aid-what-are-the-brutal-chokeholds-on-ukraine?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_conten ... Show More

Russia’s dark-fleet maritime operations and brazen incursions into NATO airspace appear to be precision-engineered to test Western resolve. We ask how this new phase of aggression may end. Our correspondent reports from Madagascar, where young people are leading unprecedented ant ... Show More

We take a look at the grim conditions in and prospects for the frontlines in the country’s east and north. But not all of the fighting is military in nature. We examine a far wider cultural revival going on (10:59), in music and fashion and long-forgotten ingredients and metho ... Show More

A snapshot of the country reveals deepening military and economic problems—and, perhaps above all, political ones. America’s efforts to clamp down on skilled-worker visas will have far-reaching unintended consequences. And globally, more children today are obese than underweight. ... Show More

Coffers running low and an increasingly absent principal member: the United Nations has never looked so precarious. We discuss its future amid uncertain geopolitics. The generative-AI explosion has mostly been driven by so-called large language models—but small ones look ever mor ... Show More

It is a Nobel-winning idea with untold promise in health care, agriculture and more. We examine <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/02/26/crispr-technologies-hold-enormous-promise-for-farming-and-medicine?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=the ... Show More

Some of the most frenetic innovation of Ukraine’s war happens in the electromagnetic spectrum: detecting and denying signals to and from materiel. This <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/02/05/fighting-the-war-in-ukraine-on-the-electromagnetic-spect ... Show More

From media-studies dropout to international jihadist to Syria’s ruler, Ahmed al-Sharaa has an unlikely résumé. He speaks with our editor-in-chief, sharing <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/02/03/syrias-new-president-ahmed-al-sharaa-gives-his-first- ... Show More

Arrivals haul: anti-tourism’s folly