The-Economist

Competitive punning: game of groans

Fire and fury over North Korea

The Fed's runners and riders

Was Google right to sack him?

AUGUST 12TH-18TH 2017

•I

Fì8.1 The Inl.er nal Combustion Engine

Albania All900 Croatia HRK48 FranCfh.H.H €6.50 Ireland €6.50 latvia._ ..__€6.50 Netherlands €6.50 Romania RON29 Spain H •••••• €6.50Austria €6.50 Cyprus €6.50 Germany._ €6.50 Israel NIS43.00 lebanon lE13,OOO Nigeria Naira 1,700 Saudi Arabia Rials45 Sweden SKR66Bahrain_.Dinar4.50 (zech Rep (ZK199 Gibraltar GIP4.70 Italy €6.50 lithuania H ••• €6.50 Norway NKr66 Serbia RSD720 Switzerland CHFlO8elgium €7.50 Denmark DKr53 Greece €6.50 Kazakhstan ..KZT1,285 luxembourg €6.50 Poland PlN29 Slovakia €6.50 Turkey Tl188osnia 8AM16 Estonia €6.50 Hungary HUF2,170 Kenya KShs680 Malta €6.50 Portugal CONT.. ..• €6.50 Slovenia €6.50 UAE Dirhams 458ulgaria 8GN13 Finland €6.50 Iceland .IKr860 Kuwait... Dinar3.60 Montenegro €6.50 Oatar Rials45 South Africa R70.00 UK..... .. E5.00

OnthecoverThe internal combustionengine had a good run. Butthe end is in sight forthemachine that changed theworld: leader, page 7. Thebatteryindustry has vaultingambitions. Can it achievethem? Page 13. Atomicpower stations that float onthe ocean, or are anchoredbeneath it, may haveadvantages overthose builton land, page 59

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••Volume 424 Number 90S3

Published since September1843to take part in "a severe contest betweenintelligence, which pressesforward, andan unworthy, timid ignorance obstructingourprogress. "

Editori_l olftees in London and atsoeBeijing. Berlin. Brussels, Cairo, Chicago, Madrid,Mexico City, Moscow, Mumbai, Nairobi, New Delhi,NewYork, Paris, San Francisco, Sào Pauto, Seoul,5hanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Washington OC

5 The world this week

Leaders7 The death of the internal

combustion engineRoadkill

8 South AfricaLong walk to cronyism

9 Google and genderNot evi l, just wrong

9 Russia and NATODangerous games

10 University financesThe English solution

Letters12 On Brexit, America,

edtech, carbon emissions,virtual reality, the BigMacindex

Briefing13 Batteries

Electrifying everything

Europe17 War games in Europe

Mr Putin flexes his muscles18 A Croatian firm's collapse

Supermarket chain reaction18 Mediterranean drought

Nor any drop to drink19 Freedom for the Faroes

Fishing for liberty20 Charlemagne

France v Italy

Britain21 Higher education

University challenge23 Bagehot

Has Corbyn peaked?

Middle East and Africa24 Kenya's disputed election

A country on edge25 Scions behaving badly

Despots' brats on Instagram25 Iraqi Kurdistan

Inching towards Kexit26 Hizbullah

When the guns come home27 Israeli politics

Prime suspect

United States28 Attitudes to immigration

Stillyearning29 College admissions

After affirmative action30 Labour unions

One and done31 Prisons

Companytown31 Health care

European lessons33 Lexington

The Democrats

The Americas34 Charter cities in

HondurasA shadowy experiment

36 ChileLifting the abortion ban

36 EcuadorMoreno asserts himself

Asia37 America and North Korea

Tone Defcon38 Tokyo's vanishing

bath-housesTroubled waters

38 Singapore's first familyBad blood

39 Muslim minorities (1)Trampled in Thailand

40 Muslim minorities (2)Myanmar's scapegoats

41 BanyanPhones v state in NorthKorea

China42 Rural Hong Kong

Housing ding-dong43 Tourism

Love yurts

American health care Ifyouwant to fix a system that isbuckling under pressure, lookto Europe, page 31

Russia By refusing to allowobservers at next month'sZapad 2017 military exercise,Vladimir Putin is stoking fearand suspicion: leader, page 9.WhyNATOis so alarmed, page 17

Kenya As the oppositioncontests the count, a peacefulvote is threatened by violence,page 24

~~Contents continues overleaf

3

Contents The Econom}st August 12th 20174

North Korea Donald Trump'sbluster may thwart efforts togetthe nuclear dictatorshiptonegotiate, page 37.Smartphones help NorthKoreans keep track of what'sgoing ono Unfortunately, theyalso help the regime keeptrack ofits people: Banyan,page 41

Google There were better waysofdealing with an outspokenemployee than immediatelysacking him: leader, page 9.An internal memo inflames thedebate about sexism and freespeech at work, page 46. Evenas big tech firms thrive, theyare facing more governmentscrutinythan ever, page 44

t:'f~,J.,.. -.,-""

The Federal Reserve WhenJanetYellen's term ends, whowillbethe Fed's nextchair?Page 54. Investors rarely makethe best political analysts:Buttonwood, page 55

International44 The global techlash

Chaining giants

Business46 Silicon Valley's culture

You're fired47 Israeli business

Startup and leave nation48 Fox's bid for Sky

What the Fox said48 Helen Alexander

The best of bosses49 The business of airports

Ready to depart50 Schumpeter

Suspicious minds

Economics brief51 Say's law

Glutology

Finance and economics54 The Fed's next chair

Rate race55 Buttonwood

Not as smart as they think56 Banking in Australia

Cuckoo in the nest56 Dutch disease

The Nigerian complaint57 American infrastructure

Idle shovels57 Risky sovereign bonds

Still crazy58 Football finance

Shooting stars

Sdence and technology59 Nuclear energy

Putting to sea60 Genetic engineering

Cracking down on PERVs61 Hypersonic travel

Hot stuff

Books and arts62 Puns and punning

Away with words63 Henry DavidThoreau

Wild American63 "Jane Eyre"

The secret history64 Bernardo Atxaga's fiction

Nevada days64 Autism

The rise of theautie-biography

65 Beit BeirutMuseum of memory

68 Economic and finandalindicatorsStatistics on 42 economies,plus our monthly poll offorecasters

Obituary70 Jeanne Moreau

Life as defiance

Language Why English is thetongue ofword champuns,page 62

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