National front-runner: who can beat Le Pen?

An illicit shadow economy, rampant extortion and the capture of the criminal justice system: mafia members and tactics are eating away at the state. Oura seems to have captured the market for smart rings; we ask whether it can keep its lead finger-tight. And our correspondent fin ...  Show more

Two more state-election results reveal surging support for both the far-right AfD and the populist-left Die Linke parties. Chancellor Friedrich Merz himself described the outcome as a disaster; what will it mean for him? Our correspondent looks into why there is so much enthusias ...  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 ...