The new nuclear threats

The world this week

Politics
Business
KAL’s cartoon
This week’s covers
Leaders


Footloose and fancy degree
America is sabotaging itself in the global battle for talent
Some countries are much more serious about attracting the highly skilled

The new nuclear threat
Reluctantly, America eyes building more nuclear weapons
The superpower faces more adversaries, new technologies and less-confident allies

Fighting back
The rights, wrongs and risks of Ukraine’s Kursk incursion
Ukrainian forces should be careful not to overreach

A coin toss for the White House
Our forecast puts Kamala Harris and Donald Trump neck and neck
We relaunch our presidential-election model for a transformed race

Billions or trillions?
Time to shine a light on the shadowy carry trade
Transparency will help to avoid financial blow-ups

Letters

On Donald Harris, Burberry, sickle-cell disease, Vienna, Katherine Parr, reading books
Letters to the editor
By Invitation


Economic development
Indermit Gill on what China and India must do to join the rich club
American politics
Kamala Harris must define herself before Donald Trump does it for her
Briefing


Economic self-harm
Talent is scarce. Yet many countries spurn it
There is growing competition for the best and the brightest migrants
Asia


Extended uncertainty
What if South Korea got a nuclear bomb?
The need for speed
Bangladesh’s new ruler is in a race against time
Banyan
Taiwan braces for America’s election
Heeding the call
Kishida Fumio, Japan’s prime minister, stands down
Thai politics
Thailand’s prime minister is sacked. What next?
The anniversary of the exit from Kabul
Afghans are suffering. Don’t expect any tears from the Taliban
China


Study hard, be rich, get ahead
China’s wealthy elite rigs its university arms race
Thousands of bodies for sale
A gruesome corpse scandal sparks outrage in China
Chaguan
How China thrives in a world of turmoil
United States


On the eve of escalation
America prepares for a new nuclear-arms race
The Gaza question
Can Kamala Harris win Michigan without Arab-American voters?
Too close to call
Our new forecast for America’s presidential election
God and grades
Pious pupils in America perform better
Solo and the city
Studio flats are now affordable in many more American cities
Trump v Kemp
Donald Trump plays with fire in Atlanta
Lexington
Why the 2024 Chicago convention is not the 1968 convention

Middle East & Africa


Byte the bullet
Iran’s electronic confrontation with Israel
Putting in a time of war
The bunkers on Beirut’s golf course are in the crosshairs
Conscription
Israel’s ultra-Orthodox still won’t fight, invoking scripture
A new age of austerity
The lessons of Africa’s tax revolts
Vroom vroom!
Cheap Asian motorcycles are transforming African cities
The Americas


Law of the jungle
A bold plan to close the deadly Darién Gap unravels
The lawless roads
Peru’s crazy drivers offer a data deluge for self-driving cars
Europe


Into the breach
What next after Ukraine’s shock invasion of Russia?
Freedom on the line
Ukraine’s convicts take the fight inside Russia
Stop the war
Anti-war parties are set to clean up in eastern German elections
The fungus is just starting
How a Spanish province became the world’s truffle leader
Charlemagne
The great cover-up: Europe is losing its penchant for public nudity
Britain


Immigration policy
Britain has many levers for controlling migration. Which ones should it pull?
The morning after
Britain’s justice system has responded forcefully to the riots
Subterranean assets
Britain’s government is mapping underground cable and pipes
A privy counsel
Winston Churchill’s urinal shows Britain’s hang-up with heritage
Crude realities
Britain’s oil and gas industry faces an uncertain future
Say cheese!
NHS dentistry is decaying
International


Star wars: a new hope
Can Donald Trump’s Iron Dome plan keep America safe?
Business


The new stakeholderism
Patriotism is replacing purpose in American business
Hitting the road
The global tourism boom is shifting to Asia
Less plain sailing
From Taylor Swift to Star Trek, niche cruises are on the rise
Aiming high
Hindenburg widens its attack on Adani
Use it or lose it
Startups are finding novel ways to recycle carbon
Bartleby
How to take proper breaks from work
Ground down
Can Chipotle’s boss turn Starbucks around?
Schumpeter
How bosses should play politics: the cautionary tale of Elon Musk
Finance & economics


War finance
Vladimir Putin spends big—and sends Russia’s economy soaring
Don’t push it
How vulnerable is Israel to sanctions?
The danger list
Europe’s economic growth is extremely fragile
Buttonwood
How to invest in chaotic markets
Next-door vigilante
What is behind China’s perplexing bond-market intervention?
Free exchange
Why companies get inflation wrong
Schools brief


Applications for AI
LLMs will transform medicine, media and more
Science & technology


Backprop in the brain
AI scientists are producing new theories of how the brain learns
Rays of hope
Exposure to the sun’s UV radiation may be good for you
Sleeper species
Climate change could reawaken harmful invasive plants
Carbon-based artforms
Why a new art gallery in Bangalore is important for Indian science
Culture


In defence of the “dirty documentary”
Reality TV is irritating but irresistible
Mad, bad and dangerous to know
Two centuries after his death, why is Lord Byron still seductive?
Wanna bet?
A famous forecaster takes on the establishment
Dollar Bill
What Bill Gates reveals about other billionaires
Cables from Kabul
Three years ago this month America withdrew from Afghanistan
Back Story
On some holidays, beauty and bloodshed are entwined
Economic & financial indicators

Indicators
Economic data, commodities and markets
Obituary


Running the peaks
Joss Naylor never let any mountain defeat him