April 27th 2026

The Economist Today Our best journalism, handpicked each day

Lane Greene Senior digital editor

She’s not a pro-democracy activist, just a Russian influencer on Instagram, living abroad. But Victoria Bonya’s message to Vladimir Putin on her channel has racked up more than 30m views, and led to replies from seemingly everyone in Russia. Some of them are predictably abusive, but she certainly seems to have hit a nerve with a stark message: “Vladimir Vladimirovich, the people are afraid of you.” The special relationship may be more special to the British than to my fellow Americans. King Charles visits this week, amid hopes he will mend fences battered by Donald Trump. But it will probably take more than the royal touch: today just 34% of Britons hold a positive view of America.

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Editor’s picks A selection of must-read articles

How to avoid a revolution The fashion influencer speaking truth to Putin A viral Instagram video brings Russians’ wider grumbling into the open

→ Seven maps that illustrate Vladimir Putin’s distortion of history

Special loathing Britain rethinks its “special relationship” with America Seventy years after the Suez crisis, the Middle East brings a new reckoning

→ Pomp and pageantry won’t save Britain’s alliance with America → The Insider: a not-so-special relationship?

Havoc at the Hilton A gunman storms Donald Trump’s dinner with the press The incident revives questions about the competence of the Secret Service

Chaguan Xi Jinping wants China to read more—as long as it’s the right books A new campaign to put down phones and pick up classics

A donkey’s years Celebrating one of literature’s greatest pessimists Why Texans throw a birthday party for Eeyore—and everyone else should, too

More of our coverage ▸ Will Kevin Warsh Trumpify the Federal Reserve? The incoming chair comes across as more pliable than his steadfast predecessor. But a closer look at what Mr Warsh wants to do—and what he can realistically achieve—hints at a much more modest project. ▸ San Francisco is an economic laggard. It is home to OpenAI and Anthropic, the two leading artificial-intelligence labs together worth nearly $2trn. So why is the city’s own economy so weak? ▸ The rhetoric of war, then and now. War in the West has changed. Militarily, of course—stealth bombers have replaced Spitfires—but it has changed oratorically too. Fitting literary allusions are out; jarring clips from Hollywood movies are in.

Podcast The Intelligence Security banquet: queries over Trump protection Listen