Aid pro quo: Trump weaponises foreign help

As the war in Iran progresses, none of the options available to Donald Trump looks good. We examine each of them. Thailand’s Buddhist monks are implicated in lots of lawless and dodgy behaviour—but clearing out the bad apples is more complicated than it seems. And gene-editing co ...  Show more

As attention has focused on war in Iran, Israel sees an opportunity to crush a weakened Hizbullah in Lebanon. Our correspondent says it would be far better for the Lebanese state to do so. As south-east Asia is modernising, Islam is counterintuitively gaining greater primacy in c ...  Show more

After cancelling much of America’s international development funding, President Donald Trump is now using that money to boost friends, allies against China and buy goods and influence. Ukraine is striking Russia’s fuel infrastructure deep inside the country. And why JD Wetherspoo ...  Show more

America feared that letting <a href="https://www.economist.com/topics/ukraine?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_b ...

America’s international intelligence-sharing relationships have been decades in the making and rely not on a treaty but trust. Could <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2025/03/16/trump-v-the-spies-of-five-eyes?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_sou ...

For months, Donald Trump has appeared to back Vladimir Putin. Now, frustrated at the lack of a ceasefire and fed up with Russia, the <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/07/14/fed-up-with-putin-trump-offers-ukraine-arms-and-tariffs?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio. ...