The Intelligence from The Economist

A policy of ambiguity is swiftly shifting; the country is falling into a Sino-Russian orbit at just the time it needs the most help from Western allies. How learning to debate can improve the lives of those inside and released from New York City’s biggest prison. And meeting a street artist who decorates the wreckage of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city.

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A slump in tech is driving investors to rediscover old ways. Out are the cash-splashing long bets; in are smaller, profitable, strategic firms. Nigeria’s election was pitched as the most transparent ever. It was not. We ask what is likely to happen now. And chilli crisp, a Chinese condiment with a deep history, is a study in how foods become fads.

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Shifts in the garment industry, which powered development in the country, represent one risk; meagre currency reserves are another. Yet nothing so imperils Bangladesh’s economic miracle as graft and patronage at the highest levels. How does North Korea afford its flashy weapons programme? Crypto scams of eye-watering scope. And the newsmaking history of BBC Monitoring’s radio translators.

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The Belt and Road initiative to encircle much of the world with Chinese-funded, Chinese-built infrastructure is growing leaner and more penny-wise. But its ambitions are undimmed. Energy-market turmoil has given a boost to the green transition—a boost that has come with hard truths about the shift’s costs. And a television show about Jesus Christ becomes an unlikely hit.

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Since Brexit’s earliest days, the trade status of Northern Ireland and its border with the Republic of Ireland have been a perilous sticking point. We examine a deal that might—and should—resolve matters at last. Our correspondent looks at all the plush office space being converted into family homes. And an obituary for the ruined city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.

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Excitement still surrounds the spoiler candidate Peter Obi, whose down-to-earth ways appeal to a large constituency of fed-up youths. We look at the early returns. A year ago Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, announced a tremendous shift in defence policy and funding; we ask how far the warship has turned since then. And remembering Queen Elizabeth I’s favourite composer.

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After a year of a conflict that was predicted to last just days, we examine the battle lines—seeing an opportunity for Ukraine that may not come around again. We look at the strains on Russian civil society by speaking with self-exiled citizens. And one Ukrainian woman who returned to Kharkiv tells us how the war has changed her.

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Markets seem to think the worst is over; central bankers are not so sure. We ask why determining the trajectory of inflation is so difficult. Millions of refugees have poured out of Ukraine since the war began; their uncertain futures make setting up home tricky—for them and their host countries’ governments. And how technology is transforming the sport of ice fishing.

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President Joe Biden’s riposte to the bellicose speech of his counterpart Vladimir Putin was a study in contrast. We examine their views on Ukraine and ask how a lasting peace could be secured. We speak with an exiled Chinese blogger trying to get the truth about that conflict into his homeland. And why the young are leaving Japan to seek greater fortunes abroad.

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Particulate matter is shortening lives and hobbling economies in the region. We ask how policy changes and international collaboration could mitigate the suffering as the pollution spreads. Our correspondent meets with two Russian men who, fearing being drafted, made a hair-raising journey by dinghy from their homeland’s far east. And why Seventh Day Adventists seem to live longer lives. 

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