Unsteady state: Somalia in disarray

When America seized Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro in January, it left the rest of his regime intact. Three months on, our correspondent finds optimism and some loosening of repression. Venezuela’s opposition leader María Corina Machado fled to America, now she explains her ...  Show more

After six weeks of Israel’s offensive against Hizbullah, Lebanon’s president and Israel’s prime minister are due to talk today. What can they achieve? Britain’s “triple lock” pensions are unsustainable. And Uzbekistan’s footballers prepare for the World Cup.Vote for The Economist ...  Show more

The country had been on the rise: beating back jihadists, strengthening its federal structure and gaining international stature. That has all <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/07/24/somalias-state-building-project-is-in-tatters?utm_campaign=a.io&ut ...

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

As Syrians awoke to a new era, thousands rushed to fling open the <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2024/12/09/inside-bashar-al-assads-dungeons?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonym ...

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