The Economist Magazine (December 20, 2023): The latest issue features the ‘Holiday double issue’; On safari in south Sudan – The planet’s biggest conservation project is in its least developed nation; Global warming and wine – New vineyards are popping up in surprising places; old ones are enduring; Penguins and prejudice in America – When two male penguins hatched an egg in Central Park, they set off an enduring controversy; China’s new love of the beach – China’s beach culture is a microcosm of society…

The US Navy confronts a new Suez crisis

Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping threaten global trade

For the world to prosper, ships must reach their ports. They are most vulnerable when passing through narrow passages, such as the Strait of Malacca or the Panama Canal. So a recent surge of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, the only southern conduit into the Suez Canal, poses a grave threat to global trade. The Houthis, militants in Yemen backed by Iran, have fired over 100 drones and missiles at ships linked to more than 35 countries, ostensibly in support of the Palestinians. Their campaign is an affront to the principle of freedom of navigation, which is already at risk from the Black Sea to the South China Sea. America and its allies must deal firmly with it—without escalating the conflict in the Middle East.

Economists had a dreadful 2023

Mistaken recession calls were just part of it

Spare a thought for economists. Last Christmas they were an unusually pessimistic lot: the growth they expected in America over the next calendar year was the fourth-lowest in 55 years of fourth-quarter surveys. Many expected recession; The Economist added to the prognostications of doom and gloom. This year economists must swap figgy pudding for humble pie, because America has probably grown by an above-trend 3%—about the same as in boomy 2005. Adding to the impression of befuddlement, most analysts were caught out on December 13th by a doveish turn by the Federal Reserve, which sent them scrambling to rewrite their outlooks for the new year.