Also: Seven maps that illustrate Putin’s distortion of history Read in browser February 1st 2024 The Economist this week Highlights from the latest issue Zanny Minton Beddoes Editor-in-chief In the months since Hamas’s attack on Israel, conflict has spread across the Middle East. Our cover leader this week is based on reporting that Anton La Guardia, our diplomatic editor, and I did in Washington in recent days, with input from our colleagues in Dubai and Jerusalem. From our conversations, we learned much about the intense diplomacy going on behind the scenes to turn catastrophe into opportunity. Peace and stability in the Middle East will always be hard-won. But the world must seize this chance, because the pull towards war is unrelenting. Our cover in Asia and Europe examines the state of social media as Facebook turns 20. When I joined The Economist we focused on paper: these days we have more than 60m followers across multiple digital platforms. But, although social media are more popular than ever, social networks are dying. Our Briefing explains that, after two decades of evolution, the digital “town square” is being dug up and rebuilt. Politics is out; impersonal video feeds are in. Finally, if you are a subscriber to The Economist, you should know about our new daily newsletter, The US in brief. Expect a smart daily round-up of the most important news as America heads towards elections in November. You can sign up here. Your free trial to The Economist Get digital access to independent global analysis Start trial   Editor’s picks Must-reads this week The war between Israel and Hamas How to end the Middle East’s agony War is spreading across the region. There is an alternative Related Did an Israeli hospital raid breach the laws of war? Is China a winner from the Red Sea attacks? Egypt doesn’t deserve a bail-out, but should get one America’s shuttle diplomacy to wind down the war in Gaza Online media The end of the social network As Facebook turns 20, social apps are being transformed Related On today’s social media, politics is out; impersonal video feeds are in The war on the waves Russia is losing the battle for the Black Sea Ukraine wants to keep trade flowing and destroy Russia’s fleet Related The feud between Ukraine’s president and army chief boils over Meet Boris Nadezhdin, Vladimir Putin’s brave challenger The cost of love and labour How motherhood hurts careers A new study measures its impact on women’s employment worldwide Taking back control. Slowly Brexit finally becomes real for imports of EU goods into Britain Exporters to the EU know what that means The octogenarian radical What four more years of Joe Biden would mean for America’s economy Bigger government, for a start Drum Tower Could China’s demographic crisis create better opportunities for migrant workers? Our weekly podcast on China Economist Films Film Is AI the future of movie-making? Soon you may watch a blockbuster entirely generated by AI Also from The Economist Free to receive Sign up for our daily newsletter The Economist today, which includes a Sunday edition, brings you the best of our journalism, handpicked by editors. We’d like to hear from you Share your feedback via the email address below. Email [email protected]   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here. This email has been sent to: couponkirk. If you'd like to update your details please click here. Replies to this email will not reach us. If you don't want to receive these updates anymore, please unsubscribe here. Join the conversation Advertising Info Terms & Conditions Help Privacy Policy Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2024. All rights reserved. Registered in England and Wales. No.236383   Registered office: The Adelphi, 1–11 John Adam Street, London, WC2N 6HT This email was sent to: 0033z000035ghg5aae This email was sent by: The Economist Newspaper Ltd., The Adelphi, 1-11 John Adam Street, London, London, WC2N 6HT, GB