The Economist

The web's most trusted source of global news analysis. First published in September 1843 to take part in "a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress." All covers; All quotes; All video; All audio; All cartoons; All photos; All charts and maps; Visit our website;

[theeconomist]

Our quote of the day is from American politician and showman P. T. Barnum

[theeconomist]

Our quote of the day is from former American president  Ulysses S Grant

[theeconomist]

Martin Sonka of the Czech Republic (dark blue plane) leads Nigel Lamb of Great Britain (yellow) and Yoshihide Muroya of Japan (silver) past Mount Fuji prior to the third stage of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in Chiba, June 1st 2016. Credit: AFP/Predrag Vuckovic

[theeconomist]

A veterinarian holds the head of a sedated tiger at the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua temple in Kanchanaburi province, Thailand on June 1st 2016. Wildlife authorities raided the Buddhist temple where 137 tigers were kept, following accusations that monks were illegally breeding and trafficking endangered animals. For decades the temple has been popular with tourists as it allowed them to pose for photographs with the animals. But its monks have faced controversy over the alleged abuse of the tigers, with activists claiming the temple was a "living hell" for the animals. Of the 137 tigers at the temple, 40 were rescued. Credit: Getty Images/Dario Pignatelli

[theeconomist]

A Heliconius erato demophoon butterfly feeds on a flower in this photo released on June 1st 2016. 
A gene responsible for the colours and colour patterns on the wings of butterflies and moths has been independently identified in two separate studies published in this weeks 'Nature'. This gene, and a mutation associated with it, controlled the darkening of the peppered moth that took place during the Industrial Revolution, and the gene is also responsible for the natural colour pattern variation in certain butterfly species. Credit: AFP/Nature/Dept. of Animal and Plant Sciences/University of Sheffield/Nicola Nadeau

[theeconomist]

The 2016 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest: Bride due to be married on the only day of snow in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. The contest ends on May 27th and the grand prize is a seven-day Polar Bear Photo Safari for two at Churchill Wild–Seal River Heritage Lodge, a National Geographic Unique Lodge of the World. To find out more about the competition search natgeo.com/travelphotocontest. Credit: Stephane Mangin/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest 2016.

[theeconomist]

Krit, a 12-year-old student with disabilities, leads a female elephant at the Thai Elephant Research and Conservation Fund in Pak Chong district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand on May 25th 2016. The Elephant Education Program for Blind and Disabled Children was designed to help children with multiple disabilities adapt themselves better to society, through learning to manage their emotions and developing specific skills for their daily lives. As well as feeding the elephants the children can ride them, which improves their physical movement and balance. Currently the centre has two elephants, both of which were rescued. Credit: EPA/Rungroj Yongrit

[theeconomist]

The deb who sank the Bismarck

A DRAUGHTY wooden hut, in the company of the best brains of Britain, was not quite the billet Jane Fawcett had imagined for herself. At Miss Ironside’s School for Girls in Kensington the drill had been to sit up straight, learn to curtsey and not bother her head about exams, for Mr Right was bound to come along eventually. After that, in 1939, she was a deb, parading en masse in a long white frock and an obvious sulk. A complete waste of time, she thought. Now, aged 19, just a chicken in the Bletchley Park code-breaking team, she was spending hours on a horrid hard chair, bent over a machine on a wobbly trestletable. Lights hung down on strings, and a frightful old stove smoked in the middle of the room. She was also saving the country, and it was terribly exciting. But she could not breathe a word about that.

Jane Fawcett (née Janet Caroline Hughes), codebreaker and saviour of Victorian buildings, died on May 21st, aged 95

Read the full obituary here 

[theeconomist]

Fog covers the top of the Eiffel Tower on June 2nd 2016. President Hollande has declared a state of natural disaster in the worst hit districts of France, after six weeks' worth of rain fell in three days. Credit: Reuters/Jacky Naegelen

[theeconomist]

Hillary's secret weapon: the political calculator. This week's KAL cartoon, June 4th, 2016

[theeconomist]

This week our cover reports on the attack on free speech. More governments are turning repressive, jihadists and criminals are using violence, and pretty much everyone has come to believe that they have a right not to be offended. Yet free speech is the bedrock of all liberties and the best defence against bad government and timid ignorance 

[theeconomist]

All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins 2016' by Yayoi Kusama. A major exhibition by the Japanese artist and writer has opened at Victoria Miro Gallery in London, featuring new paintings, sculptures and three immersive mirror rooms. The exhitibition runs until July 30th 2016
 Credit: Yayoi Kusama

[theeconomist]

Our quote of the day is from Martha Washington

[theeconomist]

Cacti are displayed at the Chelsea Flower Show in London, Britain on May 24th 2016. Credit: Reuters/Stefan Wermuth

[theeconomist]

Our quote of the day is from the English poet John Masefield

[theeconomist]

Barack Obama turns to listen to a question from the audience during the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on May 25th 2016. Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

[theeconomist]

Our quote of the day is from the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn