May 25th 2026

The Economist Today Our best journalism, handpicked each day

Lane Greene Senior digital editor

Where is the conflict with Iran headed? Nobody seems to know, much less Donald Trump. The president touted a deal on Saturday, seemed to walk it back on Sunday, and has been bashing critics (including Republicans who have cavilled) as “losers”. Iran, meanwhile, wants a deal but still seems to think time is on its side. At this point, an agreement to keep talking—a deal to make a deal—is the best-case scenario. Birmingham used to be one of the most admired cities anywhere. Today it is a wreck: politically fragmented—like the rest of Britain—plus shabby finances, striking refuse collectors, parks in disarray and ethnic tension on the rise. It is hard to see a coalition of sensible politicians joining forces to turn things round, but the city direly needs it.

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Editor’s picks A selection of must-read articles

Let’s get this strait Donald Trump says a deal with Iran is close. But he also says he is in no rush Iran’s leaders are betting he needs an agreement more than they do

→ Gulf states fear irreversible fallout from the Iran crisis

Politics in Birmingham Britain’s second-biggest city goes from dysfunctional to worse Once the best-governed city in the world

The millionaire machine Franchising has quietly made countless Americans rich In the age of AI, running a McDonald’s may soon look a lot more appealing

Survivor of rough seas A central banker’s lessons from a fragmented decade With multilateralism in crisis, new ways must be found to co-operate, argues the departing head of the Banque de France, François Villeroy de Galhau

Basqueing in it Europe’s first known language is alive in America’s West A corner of Idaho will forever be north-east Spain

More of our coverage ▸ Colombia’s pivotal, polarised election could not be tighter. The country will soon be choosing between radically different visions, both for improving the economy and for stopping drug-traffickers in the country that supplies two-thirds of the world’s cocaine. ▸ Narendra Modi gives India’s elite a taste of the bad old days. Work from home. Use less fuel. Avoid foreign trips. Buy Indian goods and defer gold purchases. Mr Modi’s call for austerity is bad economics—but it is worse politics. ▸ Not all Jews believed their future lay in Israel. Jews in the diaspora who want to celebrate their heritage without tying themselves to Israel might look to the Bundist concept of “hereness”, which a new book celebrates.

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