The world this week

Politics
Business
KAL’s cartoon
Leaders

China and Russia
The alternative world order
The war in Ukraine will determine how China sees the West—and how threatening it becomes

The world economy
Trading with the enemy
Confrontation with Russia highlights a growing tension between free trade and freedom

Energy markets
Tilting at windfalls
Governments should not seize energy companies’ profits

Germany
Pacifist no more
The giant at the heart of Europe has woken up at last

Trans women in sport
Facing the facts
Biology must sometimes trump identity. Sport offers the clearest example

Letters

Letters to the editor
On the war in Ukraine, bald eagles, leadership
By Invitation


Russia and Ukraine
Mikhail Khodorkovsky on how to deal with the “bandit” in the Kremlin
Russia and Ukraine
John Mearsheimer on why the West is principally responsible for the Ukrainian crisis
Russia and Ukraine
Daniel Yergin on Russia losing its status as an “energy superpower”
Briefing

The war in Ukraine
No end in sight
The war is not at an impasse, but it may be moving that way

The risks of escalation
Herman’s ladder
How things get worse

Asia


Malaysian politics
The resurrection of Najib Razak
Climate change
Heat island
Sri Lanka’s economy
Into the ground
Vaccine scepticism in Japan
Side-effects
Banyan
Behind the shoji screen
China


China and Russia
Testing the “limitless”
Chaguan
China tweaks its covid strategy
United States


Life locked up
Rotten porridge
Air conditioning in prisons
Cruel and unusual punishment
Women’s sport
Swimming in controversy
Reproductive rights
Abort mission
Schools and bad weather
Say it ain’t snow
Puerto Rico
You lovely island
Lexington
Courting trouble
The Americas


Mexico’s economy
Can’t grow, won’t grow
Mexico’s megaprojects
Planes, a train and automobile fuel
Bello
The heart and head of Gabriel Boric
Middle East & Africa


Trade and diplomacy in the Gulf
The dhow usually wins
Iran v Iraqi Kurds
Message by missile
Covid-19 vaccination
Behind by a country vial
Paying for sex in Tunisia
Game over
Cash crops and global warming
Hot coffee
Europe


Germany
Ploughshares to swords
The French election
Unassailable
Russia
The Z factor
Ukraine
The cats and dogs of war
Britain


The Joint Expeditionary Force
NATO-lite
Ukrainian refugees
Put-up job
Equity markets
Order Floww
Hostage release
A high price
Energy prices
Life in a cold climate
Bagehot
An unappetising menu
Business


Business and war
Value-chain reaction
Television
Good news and bad news
Navigating sanctions
Read and follow
Business in Russia
Should I stay or should I go?
Chinese big tech
Tonal language
Business on screen
WeBinged
Bartleby
Loafing can be work
Schumpeter
The silicon state of mind
Finance & economics


Globalisation
Economic freedom v political freedom
Covid-19 in China
A deep ditch
Buttonwood
With reservations
Consumer prices
A Russian phenomenon
The commodities crunch
When China met the free market
Windfall taxes
Power grab
Crypto and sanctions
False promise
Free exchange
War games
Science & technology


The war in Ukraine
Magic armour?
The Chernobyl Research Initiative Lab
A casualty of war
AI and chemical warfare
Yikes!
3D printing
A Gutenberg moment
Culture


Cultural heritage
In the line of fire
A reading list
The testaments
Back Story
Crime and punishments
World in a dish
Makers and shapers
British fiction
A smuggler’s tale
The Sandy Hook massacre
From the fringes
Economic & financial indicators

Indicators
Economic data, commodities and markets
Graphic detail


Malaria
Another vaccine victory?
Obituary


Pasha Lee
The star in a bulletproof vest