The economist April 20, 2019

84 Pages·2017·23.02 MB·English

The Spirit of Travel
louisvuitton.com
Out of the ashes of Notre Dame
Buttigieg: unpronounceable. Electable?
What causes coups
See the blight: crops and climate change
APRIL 20TH–26TH 2019
The trouble with
tech unicorns
World-Leading Cyber AI
The Economist April 20th 2019 5
Contents
The world this week United States
8 A summary of political 27 Democratic fault lines
and business news 28 Writers v agents
29 Primary polling
Leaders
29 Freeing Washington
13 Tech stars
30 Measles in New York
The trouble with unicorns
31 Overturning referendums
14 Notre Dame
The human spark 31 The Stratolaunch
14 Crops and climate 32 Lexington Pete Buttigieg
Time to see the blight
15 Hacking and the law The Americas
Justice for Julian Assange 33 Quebec’s hijab ban
On the cover 16 Spain 34 Jamaica’s ganja gamble
Heading nowhere? 35 Bello The wisdom of José
Millions of users, cool brands
Carlos Mariátegui
and charismatic bosses. Tech’s Letters
latest stars have everything—
20 On Kazakhstan, workers,
except a path to high profits:
Oregon, Britain, cannabis,
leader, page 13. The wave of
very highly valued startups ethics, Parkinson’s Asia
disease, cherry trees,
heading to market suggests 36 Japan’s military posture
Facebook
that Silicon Valley needs to 37 Pakistan’s avian diplomacy
rethink its focus: briefing,
page 23 Briefing 38 Banyan Democracy in
Kyrgyzstan
23 Unicorns going to market
• Out of the ashes of Notre
Herd instincts 39 Coalition-building in India
Dame It is not wrong to care 39 Elections in Indonesia
more about a building than
40 Cambodia’s economy
about people: leader, page 14.
The fire has devastated the
world’s most famous cathedral. China
But not destroyed it, page 47 41 Immigration reform
• Buttigieg: unpronounceable. 42 Angry tech workers
Electable? Pete Buttigieg’s 43 Chaguan Western
canny fusing of liberalism and solidarity
tradition is a natural extension
of his marriage: Lexington,
page 32
• What causes coups Trying to Middle East & Africa
spot the next despot to be 44 China and the Arab world
toppled, page 56. Why coups
45 A first for women
tend to make a bad situation
worse, page 54 46 South African energy
• See the blight: crops and
climate change More needs to
be done to protect crops from Bagehot Everybody
the havoc that warmer suffers when controversial
temperatures might wreak, even thinkers are driven from
in temperate regions: leader, public life, page 53
page 14. Understanding how
pathogens and climate change
interact is vital. But it remains
obscure, page 69
1 Contents continues overleaf
6 Contents The Economist April 20th 2019
Europe Finance & economics
47 Notre Dame 63 Goldman Sachs
48 Spain’s tricky election 64 American banks’ earnings
49 Finland’s populists 65 Buttonwood Bond
maturities
50 Charlemagne Diplomatic
baggage 66 China’s GDP
66 Sales tax in Japan
67 Measuring slowbalisation
Britain
68 Free exchange
51 The race to succeed
Population and growth
Theresa May
52 Julian Assange is arrested
Science & technology
53 Bagehot Sir Roger Scruton
69 Crop disease and climate
and the public square
70 Remembering disasters
71 Tapir hygiene
71 Prospecting for minerals
International
72 The joys of muck diving
54 Coups: what next?
56 Coups: who’s next?
Books & arts
73 Leonardo’s genius
74 An Uzbek film-maker
75 A master Soviet spy
76 Murder most sensational
Business
76 Ian McEwan’s new novel
57 Big carmakers go electric
58 Bartleby Discrimination
59 Shale’s Permian explosion Economic & financial indicators
60 Online vocational training 80 Statistics on 42 economies
60 Apple and Qualcomm
Graphic detail
61 Bankruptcy in India
81 China’s propaganda strategy on Facebook
62 Schumpeter Aramco
looks east
Obituary
82 Sydney Brenner, molecular biologist
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8 The Economist April 20th 2019
The world this week Politics
The Finns Party, an anti-im- of cancelling Brexit, received group that has displaced more
migrant outfit, won 17% of the approval from the Electoral than 2m people in
vote in Finland’s election. Commission to form a party. neighbouring Nigeria.
Other parties do not want to
work with it. The winning
Social Democrats will try to The strongman gets stronger No escape
form a government without it. Egypt’s parliament passed Spain arrested Hugo Carvajal, a
constitutional amendments former head of Venezuela’s
Britain pondered what to do that would allow President military intelligence service,
with Julian Assange, a co- Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to rule after America asked for his
founder of WikiLeaks. America until 2030. Mr Sisi, a former extradition. He had defected
wants him extradited for con- general, was re-elected in 2018 and called on the army to stop
Notre Dame, a medieval spiring to help a soldier hack a with 98% of the vote. Other supporting Venezuela’s dic-
cathedral immortalised by classified computer network, changes would give the presi- tator, Nicolás Maduro. His
Victor Hugo, Hollywood and with the intention of pub- dent control over judges and arrest on drug-trafficking
innumerable tourist selfies, lishing military secrets. Swe- increase the army’s political charges may discourage other
caught fire. More than 400 den may also want him: a power. The amendments will bigwigs from abandoning Mr
firefighters brought the blaze woman who says he raped her now be put to a referendum. Maduro, thus impeding Ameri-
under control, but the roof is has asked prosecutors to ca’s goal of removing him.
gone, and with it the spire. The reopen the case. He also faces The African Union threatened
interior damage is extensive, jail in Britain for jumping bail. to suspend Sudan, following a The natural history museum in
but many artefacts and relics, military coup that deposed New York decided not to pro-
including a supposed part of Nigel Farage, one of the prime Omar al-Bashir, who had ruled vide the venue for a gala hon-
Jesus’s crown of thorns, were movers behind Britain’s refer- for more than three decades. ouring Brazil’s president, Jair
saved. Emmanuel Macron, the endum on leaving the eu in The au gave the generals who Bolsonaro. Environmentalists,
French president, visited the 2016, launched a Brexit Party now run the country 15 days to outraged at his plan to open up
site and vowed that the to fight next month’s European hand power to civilians. Brazil’s rainforest to mining,
cathedral will be rebuilt. Two elections. Change uk, a group had objected.
French billionaires pledged a of Labour and Conservative Seven soldiers were killed in
total of €300m ($340m) defectors who are pushing for a Chad in an attack on an army The United Conservative Party
towards that effort. second referendum in the hope base by Boko Haram, a jihadist won an election in the oil- 1
The Economist April 20th 2019 The world this week 9
2 producing Canadian province war. It was only the second vernor of Massachusetts. Mr North Korea’s promise to
of Alberta. The incoming veto of his presidency. Trump raised $30m for his relinquish nuclear weapons
premier, Jason Kenney, is campaign in the first quarter, and long-range missiles in
expected to abolish the prov- rivalling the combined amount exchange for security guaran-
ince’s tax on carbon emissions of the top two Democrats. tees and aid.
and to challenge the federal
policy of imposing a carbon Malaysia agreed to resume
price on provinces that do not It’s that time of the year construction of a high-speed
have their own. In Afghanistan the Taliban rail line after the Chinese
launched a spring offensive consortium building it cut the
against the government, which price. Malaysia’s new govern-
“A non-starter” recently began its own offen- ment had cancelled the project
Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of sive against the jihadists. This last year, saying the country
America’s House of Repre- came despite the progress in could not afford it.
sentatives, warned the British peace talks between America
government that there would Pete Buttigieg officially and the Taliban. Some 300 people gathered at a
be “no chance whatsoever” of a launched his campaign to be monument in eastern China to
free-trade deal with America the Democrats’ presidential Terry Gou, the boss of Foxconn, mark the death of Hu Yaobang,
if Brexit caused any disruption candidate. Mr Buttigieg has which assembles iPhones for a liberal-minded Communist
to the two-decade-old Anglo- surprised primary watchers by Apple, said he would run for Party chief whose funeral in
Irish peace agreement. The running well against better- president in Taiwan. He is 1989 triggered the Tiananmen
peace deal depends on an open known rivals in the party’s seeking the nomination of the Square protests.
border between Northern crowded field of nominees, Kuomintang party, which is
Ireland and the Republic of quite an achievement for the friendlier to China than the Only three turtles of the Yangzi
Ireland—something eu mem- mayor of South Bend, Indiana. ruling Democratic Progressive giant softshell species are
bership conveniently supplied. Party. Foxconn has many fac- known still to be alive after the
The first challenger to Donald tories in China. death of one in China. The
Donald Trump blocked a bipar- Trump emerged for the Repub- female, aged over 90, died in
tisan resolution in Congress to lican nomination. The long- Both Donald Trump and Kim the city of Suzhou at a zoo
end American military aid to shot bid is from William Weld, Jong Un mused publicly about which still has a male softshell
Saudi Arabia in the Yemen a moderate and former go- another summit to discuss turtle aged over 100.