The hard right has taken Germany into uncharted territory, winning one state election and racking up a large share in another. The far left is on the march too. Is Germany dividing into East and West again? Motorbike taxis are transforming Africa’s cities (11:10). And how farmers in Spain are delivering truffles to your dinner plate (18:11).

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Water scarcity is growing even in parts of the world that used to be drought-free. Since  most countries waste vast quantities of water, charging for it would help. Our correspondent travelled to America’s northern border to report on illegal crossings from Canada (8:57). And the life of biological anthropologist Helen Fisher, who studied the science behind love (16:41).

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While many people fear the risk of a wider war breaking out in the Middle East, a parallel battle is already ongoing – in the digital sphere. Can China challenge a long-standing duopoly in the airline industry (10:16)? And the latest Carrie Bradshaw index tells us where Americans can afford a solo apartment. Just don’t set your heart on New York… (17:22)

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The battles for supremacy in chipmaking and green technology industries are raging on. Re-electing Donald Trump will likely make America’s approach even more anti-China, and a move towards autarky comes with costs. How the landmarked Seaport Tower has pitted preservationists against developers (10:18). And a tribute to the zoologist who really, really loved giraffes (18:18).

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The watchword was unity as Joe Biden took office—he struck a calming tone and got immediately to work. We analyse the gargantuan tasks that lie ahead. Messaging services such as WhatsApp provide a needed online forum; as users flood to new apps we examine questions of privacy and security. And the Parisian street artist depicting brutal protests to unsettling effect.

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The opposition leader was detained as soon as he arrived—but President Vladimir Putin has no good options for dealing with his most vocal opponent. Germany’s ruling CDU party has a new leader; we examine the challenges that lie ahead for him, his party and his country. And the kerfuffle behind an American-made film relegated to the Golden Globes’ foreign-language category. 

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After a violent campaign in which the opposition candidate Bobi Wine was extensively intimidated, authorities imposed an internet blackout. President Yoweri Museveni will almost certainly cling to power—a worry for Uganda and the wider region. Wikipedia turns 20 today; we ask how, against long odds, it has survived and grown. And the video game that’s sparking a moral panic in Afghanistan.

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Some House Republicans broke ranks, joining Democrats to hand President Donald Trump an ignominious distinction. Our deputy editor lays out why the Senate should now convict and remove him. Under South Africa’s ruling ANC party a powerful black middle class bloomed, but the party’s fiscal mismanagement threatens their loyalty. And the boom in “spirits” with no booze but plenty of branding. 

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Moves to shutter the president’s accounts and to crimp corners of the internet given to right-wing extremism raise thorny questions, both about free speech and social-media firms’ business models. Our public-policy editor takes a broad look at girlhood: how women’s adolescence has changed for the better but is challenged mightily by covid-19. And science’s bid to save more snake-bite victims’ lives.

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A national-security law imposed by Beijing had not, until this week, bared its teeth; the arrests of dozens of pro-democracy figures reveals how much it can crimp opposition. At the American Economics Association’s annual shindig, a scholar implores economists to recalibrate just how self-interested they take people to be. And the inspiring life and untimely death of a beloved, goat-herding refugee. 

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Lawrence Wong will only be the city-state’s fourth leader since its independence. Our foreign editor asks him how he hopes to balance diplomatic relationships with America and China, maintain economic success, and strengthen the country’s democracy. The impact of climate change on archaeology (11:31). And, a new biopic takes on one of the most lucrative, distinctive pieces of classical music (17:26).

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Democrats look set to win both the run-off elections that will determine control of the Senate—and how President-elect Joe Biden will be able to govern. Quantum computing is still nascent, its power yet to be truly tapped. But the finance sector is already looking to squeeze it for analytical advantage. And how Confucianism still influences society in South Korea.

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It is no surprise that more-transmissible coronavirus variants are cropping up. We ask how worrisome the strains found in Britain and South Africa are. American authorities have lodged a landmark case against Walmart for its role in the country’s worsening opioid crisis—a problem with clearly more than one cause. And dealing with the pile of unused vacation days from 2020.

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Aggressive purchasing, solid logistics and a competitive health-care system have led to a world-beating rate of immunisation—but, as ever, politics is playing a role, too. Big oil had a terrible 2020, but the sector’s troubles pre-date the pandemic; we look at the supermajors’ varying approaches to an uncertain future. And how covid-19 is reshaping China’s clubbing scene.

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After months of deadlock, a covid-19 relief package has passed, but the battles continue. We ask how things got so dire and what President-elect Joe Biden will inherit. A deadly shootout in London more than a century ago still resonates today; we examine one of the world’s first breaking-news stories. And the colour black reaches new depths in art. 

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The first inoculations are happening across the continent as part of a co-ordinated push—but levels of both supply and uptake remain uncertain. Our correspondent explores South Korea’s obsession with hiking and why it means different things to different climbers. And looking back on a troubling year for Britain’s royals.

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For decades, the country has been an almighty consumer of the fizzy drink. But amid a woeful covid-19 situation politicians are highlighting the health concerns it brings. In getting to know a sleepy French village, our correspondent finds a nuanced view of isolation in the pandemic age. And the lavish books providing a never-before-seen perspective on the Sistine Chapel’s frescoes.

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A site that closed more than a quarter-century ago is still slowly poisoning the residents of Kabwe with lead; a class-action lawsuit is at last seeking redress. Our correspondent visits the ancient monastery behind the international Shaolin brand, learning the subtle story of its abbot and chief executive. And flicking through The Economist’s staff picks for books of the year.

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Narendra Modi’s reputation for prosperity is likely to propel him to a third term. But for India’s economic successes to last, the country needs a set of new reforms. Despite a host of sanctions from the West, Russia still has a booming arms industry. Where are all the weapons coming from (09:50)? And, the perils of trying to work on a plane (13:54).

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The country’s refugee camps are packed and squalid, so the government is moving perhaps 100,000 Rohingya Muslims to a tiny island. Will life for them improve? Military tactics can be misleading; sometimes they are outright trickery. Our defence editor looks at the past and future of military deception. And why Christmas dinner involves such different fare around the world.

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Astonishingly, companies have raised more capital this year than ever before. We ask how capital markets shook free amid the pandemic—and what will happen with all that cash now. Our correspondent finds just how dependent the world’s waste-management industry is on informal workers, whose hard jobs have been made far harder this year. And the technology making megaphones much more mega.

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Britain’s divorce from the European Union still hinges on sticky matters of fishing rights and the enforcement of fair competition, and time is rapidly running out to strike a deal. India’s fantastical “love jihad” conspiracy theory is just another Muslim-marginalisation move—one that the government seemingly approves of. And a hermit-crab housing shortage in Thailand.

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President Emmanuel Macron’s draft bill walks a fine line balancing the country’s foundational secularism and worries about Islamist terrorism. Amid slumping economies everywhere, Taiwan’s looks surprisingly buoyant; we ask how that might continue after the pandemic. And how managers can best navigate the holiday-party season in a cheerless year.

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As Britons receive the first doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, authorities in America are meeting this week to authorise its emergency use. We examine the approaches on both sides of the pond. Despite pandemic prescriptions of social distancing, multigenerational living is on the rise. And how Advent calendars became so very extra.

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In a region racked by dodgy polls, the country looks to continue a trend of uncontested handovers of power. That is not to say, however, that there aren’t sticking points. As tortuous Brexit negotiations drag on, we look at how British farming can and should change under a new regulatory regime. And the starving deer of a Japanese tourist hotspot.

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The ceasefire deal, which Hamas has agreed to, prompted celebrations in Gaza. But Binyamin Netanyahu isn’t satisfied and the fighting continues. Video game adaptations are getting better, and becoming a more popular choice with Hollywood’s directors (10:01). And the best-selling literary love-child of romance and fantasy (14:27).

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Numbers of cases, hospitalisations and deaths are rocketing across the country. We examine the situation in the Midwest, as a microcosm of a wider unfolding tragedy. Venezuela’s ruling party will take over the National Assembly after Sunday’s vote, sidelining the self-proclaimed legitimate leader Juan Guaidó and cementing Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorship. And the fruitful life and ignominious death of the Arecibo telescope.

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In the West market forces are squeezing coal—even as its use rises in Asia. We examine how the world can wean itself off the dirtiest fossil fuel. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Belarus’s probable presidential-election winner, never expected to run for office. Our correspondent visits her in exile, asking about the country’s prospects for democracy. And how candy-floss machines may help make better face masks.

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Britain’s High Court has ruled that puberty blockers for children with gender dysphoria have been dispensed too readily, fuelling a debate that will be keenly watched abroad. A vote today on a law tightening accounting rules on American-listed Chinese companies has a political dimension—and implications for investors. And Poland’s populist leaders seize on the resurgence of “disco polo” music.

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The killing of the country’s top nuclear scientist comes at a tricky time: violent retribution may threaten hoped-for diplomacy with the incoming American administration. An artificial-intelligence breakthrough may transform protein science, with implications for everything from industrial processes to tackling disease. And why Europe’s lighter-touch, second round of lockdowns have been so effective.

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Protesters are raging against a proposed bill that would outlaw posting videos of alleged police brutality—just as two videos expose more such violence. High-stakes exams for students have been delayed, modified, even cancelled during the pandemic; we look at how all those varying results stack up. And, South Africa’s growing trend of livestock theft—and rebranding.  

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A long string of pro-democracy protests are railing more and more against the king himself—and the protesters are younger and more fearless than ever before. The arrest of Bobi Wine, Uganda’s popular singer-turned-opposition-hero, has sparked deadly violence. He won’t win January’s election, but his movement isn’t going away. And a Thanksgiving Day look at the globe-trotting history of the turkey. 

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The northern region’s surrounded forces are ignoring Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s deadline to disarm. More regions are being drawn in—and a conflagration across the Horn of Africa looms. Artificial-intelligence pilots have shown serious dogfighting skills, but for reasons both technical and ethical humans are still needed in the cockpit. And the rise of mixed martial arts on both sides of the Atlantic.

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The boom-and-bust of environmental-technology investing has settled out, and money is flooding in—both individual and institutional. We examine the green fields that lie ahead. Many Arab countries have long been suffering an exodus of medical professionals—a problem only magnified by the pandemic. And a reflection on the life of Jonathan Sacks, a tirelessly unifying British rabbi. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

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The tone of America’s president-elect on China changed markedly through the campaign; his policies, at least at the outset, may differ little from those of his predecessor. We examine the stark racial disparities in covid-19 outcomes around the world. And the clever use of a waste product to make a better takeaway coffee cup.

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Thirty years of democracy have not led to uniform prosperity, and nearly everyone disagrees about the equality of opportunity. How will the disenchantment manifest at the polls? How two small Texas towns became the patent-law centre of America (12:16). And a tribute to Eleanor Coppola, mastermind of the award-winning behind-the-scenes look at her husband’s epic, “Apocalypse Now” (19:26).

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Peace talks continue in Doha but on the ground the Taliban are consolidating control. America’s rush to withdraw its forces could undo the good work of getting them to the negotiating table. As DoorDash heads to a public listing, we look at the rapidly shifting fortunes of the food-delivery business. And why golf has a long-shot problem.

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Now that the economic reins have been taken back from the president’s son-in-law, the country is making the right policy noises—and just in time. China’s anti-poverty drive is not disinterested charity; it is about transforming citizens’ thoughts. And chronicling Pepe the Frog’s descent into alt-right memedom.

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