Syria’s condition: Bashar al-Assad

The rise of generative AI has put new urgency into ancient questions. What is consciousness, and can machines ever have it? We dive into the data that reveal a surge in sexually transmitted infections in Europe. And our obituaries editor considers the life of Mary de Rachewiltz, ...  Show more

From anti-corruption probes to a disgruntled ex-minister calling for elections to disrupted grain shipments, headaches are mounting for Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. China has until now coped with a patchy, pricey system for mental-health treatment. The government is no ...  Show more

The country’s dictator has spent nearly half his time in power waging war on his own people. His patchwork support network is fading, but he will not go easily. America’s racial unrest has put reparations back in the national conversation—but how best to pay slaves’ descendants, ...  Show more

As Syrians continue to suffer under Bashir al-Asaad, Christiane asks a Syrian journalist and a former US ambassador why world leaders are welcoming him back into the fold … The story behind the emotional reunion of a US Army vet who refused to leave his Afghan counterpart behind ...  Show more

As the country marks ten years of civil war, the economy is crippled; it has broken up into statelets and ethnic encl ...  Show more

Widespread looting and the worst violence since apartheid continue, exposing ethnic divisions and the persistent influence of Jacob Zuma, a former president. <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/07/14/south-africas-war-for-the-rule-of-law?utm_campaign=the-intelligen ...