The Economist - The end of the war in Iran and more ... 16 July 2026

 

The Economist Today Our best journalism, handpicked each day

Lane Greene Senior digital editor

When America and Israel set off to begin the war in Iran, it was hard to know where one country’s aims ended and the other’s began. No longer. The two sides gradually diverged, until Donald Trump left Binyamin Netanyahu out of negotiations with Iran. Israel’s prime minister will struggle to persuade his voters that the latest deal is a victory. Economists can turn their attention to a new topic quickly when they need to, as during the financial crisis and the pandemic. But good research on the impact of AI has been slower to come. We look at some of the few “AI-pilled” economists doing the work—and what they’ve found. Finally, Donald Trump has said “taking Cuba” would be an “honour”. Tonight we will discuss how likely that is with Latin America experts on Insider; tune in at 6pm London time (1pm in New York).

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Editor’s picks A selection of must-read articles

Out in the cold The end of the war in Iran threatens “glorious failure” for Israel Donald Trump’s deal with Iran would leave America’s ally without any strategic gains

→ A deal is only the beginning of the end of the US-Iran war

Moving Kramatorsk Ukraine is transplanting its industrial heart to the west Soviet-built factory towns are in the wrong spot now that Russia is the enemy

The nationalisation dead end Britain’s privatised utilities are a mess But public ownership is a red herring

AI-econ 101 Meet the world’s top AI-pilled economists Most of them are not found in ivory towers

Back Story Steven Spielberg has more to say about aliens Returning to them in “Disclosure Day”, the great director raises the stakes

More of our coverage ▸ The real problem with Narendra Modi’s airport-building frenzy. India’s prime minister has spent 4,399 days building the airports and metro lines the country badly needs. Connecting them would be an even greater achievement. ▸ China’s notorious university-entrance exam is changing. Two things were different about this year’s gaokao. One is the declining number of test-takers. The other is the pervasive use of AI. ▸ New techniques can predict and prevent lung cancer. Prevention has so far been mostly about promoting a healthy lifestyle. But efforts to find preventive drugs and vaccines are starting to bear fruit.

Tracking Donald Trump Our latest numbers The American president’s net approval rating Find out

Podcast The Intelligence Local, an aesthetic: the deglobalisation of fun Listen

Video A maritime mystery Why is China building this artificial island? The country appears to be turning a desolate sandbar in the South China Sea into a large island that could host a military base Watch

Games Mini crossword How quickly can you solve our puzzle? Play

Figure of the day 76%, the share of Brits who backed a social-media ban for kids in a YouGov poll in March. Read about how the policy, introduced on Monday, captures Keir Starmer’s vanilla populism.

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