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◆On the cover

Western armies are good at destroying things. Can they be made better at building them too?


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◆The world this week
Politics this week
Business this week
KAL's cartoon

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◆Leaders
Armies of the future
Brains, not bullets
The European Treaty
Give Europe a say
Poland
Sighs and relief
World economy
More trick than treat
South Africa
Pick only the best

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◆Letters
On Che Guevara, internet bidding, Clarence Thomas, newspapers, Myanmar, Gordon Brown, Washington, DC

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◆Special Report
Irregular warfare
After smart weapons, smart soldiers

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◆United States
California's fires
The fires of October
Drought
The parched country
Louisiana
Bucking a trend
Jenna Bush
A compassionate conservative
Spooky business
The Nightmare before Christmas
Immigration
Let them drive
Buses
The Chinatown express
The rustbelt
Back from the dead
Lexington
Of horses' teeth and liberty

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◆The Americas
Mexico and the United States
Just don't call it Plan Mexico
Violence in Mexico
A dangerous trade
Cuba's economy
Raúl's talking cure
Colombia
Defying the gun
Chile
Let them eat Kafka

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◆Asia
Pakistan's political turmoil
After the blasts
Afghanistan's Taliban
War without end
India's nuclear co-operation agreement
On the blink
Singapore's economy
High-flyer
Kazakhstan
Breadline blues
China's space programme
Ni hao, Moon
Chinese historiography
Textbook case

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◆Middle East & Africa
Sudan
Pity the people of Darfur, pity the peacemakers too
Congo
Alarm drums
South Africa
Rugby and the rainbow nation
Africa
A politicians' Oscar
Iran
Who's the boss?
Iraq
They say the Mahdi is coming back

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◆Europe
Poland
Common sense victorious
Europe's “blue card” plan
Not the ace in the pack
The EU treaty
What Lisbon contains
Turkey and the Kurds
When patience snaps
Switzerland's election
Colours of intolerance
The French presidency and the press
The perils of open windows
Russia's food prices
The big fix
Bosnian politics
Cracking up
Charlemagne
Congratulations! It's triplets!

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◆Britain
Bangladeshis in Britain
From Brick Lane to the fast lane
Demographics
On a tear
Northern Ireland
Crime scene revisited
Political-party funding
Good intentions meet the bottom line

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◆International
Minorities and legislatures
Must the rainbow turn monochrome in parliament?
The pope and labour law
Supererogation stops here
International justice
Closing in
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◆Business
Telecoms-equipment makers
Toughing it out
Business and human rights
Doing the wrong thing
American food companies
War and apple pie
Alibaba
Magic-carpet ride
Internet firms
Friend accepted
The pharmaceutical industry
Beyond the pill
Face value
That's not all, folks

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◆Special Report
Financial markets
Spooking investors

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◆Finance & Economics
EU securities regulation
Big headache or Big Bang?
Investment banking
Stir-fry finance
Buttonwood
Heart of darkness
Brazilian markets
The view from cloud nine
Peer-to-peer lending
Crunchless credit
Economics focus
The case for death duties

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◆Science & Technology
Biology
All systems go
Cosmology
The lesser spotted universe
Cancer and allergies
Win some, lose some
An auction of meteorites
Nature imitating art

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◆Books & Arts
Twentieth-century music
Music, war and politics intertwined
Libraries
Nasty, dangerous things
George Bush's presidency
A sceptic tackles a true believer
Britain between the wars
Two worlds
Iran and America
Missed chance?
Eve Arnold
She came, she saw, she conquered

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◆Obituary
Lucky Dube

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◆Economic and Financial Indicators
Overview
Output, prices and jobs
The Economist commodity-price index
GDP forecasts
Trade, exchange rates, budget balances and interest rates
Markets
Tax revenue