The Economist is the premier source for the analysis of world business and current affairs, providing authoritative insight and opinion on international news, world politics, business, finance, science and technology, as well as overviews of cultural trends and regular Special reports on industries and countries.

Coronavirus briefs • To 6am GMT January 7th 2021

The world this week

Trump’s legacy • The invasion of the Capitol and the Democrats’ victory in Georgia will change the course of the Biden presidency

Who gets the jab? • Answering that question will decide not only who survives, but also the sort of world they inherit

If you can’t beat them • Bitcoin might yet justify a high price. But it will not up-end global finance

Diderot’s dream • In praise of Wikipedia

Advantage, Beijing • Arrests in Hong Kong and Europe’s dubious trade deal show that the West is on the defensive

Time out • Many African countries are letting presidential term limits slip. That’s a shame

Letters

The great task • BEIJING, LONDON, PARIS AND SÃO PAULO

Permanently excluded • The schools that educate almost half of pupils are in dire straits

Five different ways to applaud • ALMATY

Cosmic wobbles • Is North Korea’s dictator losing his touch?

Hiji hajis • BEPPU

Cut down in the primary • HONG KONG

A woman walks into a bar • BEIJING

Chaguan Winners and losers • Weary cynicism, not naivety, explains a flawed new EU-China commercial pact

After the insurrection • WASHINGTON, DC

So sweet and clear • ATLANTA

Working on the chain gang • NEW YORK

Green wave, blue breakwater • MEXICO CITY

Rum punch and the pandemic • LITTLE GOOD HARBOUR

Bourgeois blues • CENTURION

Monkey business • How baboon-worship contributed to early globalisation

A shot at peace • JUBA

The Arabs get back in line • BEIRUT

Here to stay, however miserable • BEIRUT

Putting it back together again • BERLIN

Frenemies on the left • MADRID

Between a rock and a softer place • MADRID

Laptops at the ready • ATHENS

Bruised Oranges • AMSTERDAM

The clown ceiling • Why the European Union is lucky in its enemies

Racing the virus • A new, more transmissible variant leaves one Londoner in 30 with covid-19, placing perilously high stakes on the delivery of the vaccine

Chlorinated Facebook • Why tech giants are transferring legal responsibility for British data to America

Remainers • CORBY AND KENSINGTON

Patience wins • The Scots have learned that the biggest prizes go to those who wait

The other tech giant • On its 20th anniversary, Wikipedia’s reputation has never been higher

Riding high • BERLIN

NYSE knowing you • A pall of uncertainty hangs over Chinese shares in America

A Stellantis is born • A long-awaited mega-merger may give rise to an industry star

Rekindling corporate nuptials

Thanks, but no thanks • NEW YORK

Giving and taking • The unintended consequences of forcing firms to back good causes

Network effects • The modern economy depends on how well people connect with others

The game goes on • A leaked memo to Tex A. Voyda, a tech boss, from his firm’s tax consultant

Melting up • Why the crazy upward march in stock prices might just continue

The lion sleeps tonight • Stocks are still cheap relative to bonds

Crypto-conversion • Is the financial establishment coming round to bitcoin?

An expanding pool • Whizzy methods help...