How ugly will it get?

The world this week

Politics
Business
The weekly cartoon
This week’s cover
Leaders


How ugly will it get?
America’s election is mired in conflict
Donald Trump’s conspiracy machine is already gearing up for election night

Mixed message
Mario Draghi’s best ideas are those Europe finds least comfortable
The danger is that it picks the easy ones

The dangers of rock claiming
More storms are brewing in the South China Sea
A dangerous new stage in the conflict is beginning

Corporate crusade
How to finish Japan’s business revolution
Tokyo-listed companies have become more friendly to shareholders, but the job is only half-done

Subsidise people, not petrol
Nigeria’s catastrophic fuel crisis has a straightforward solution
How to scrap a popular yet ruinous subsidy

Letters

On Iranian hostages, handwriting, underground cables, love, Kamala Harris, artificial intelligence, gobbledygook
Letters to the editor
By Invitation


Euro-vision
Mario Draghi outlines his plan to make Europe more competitive
Landmines in Ukraine
Clearing Ukraine’s mines is crucial for global food security, say Howard Buffett and Tony Blair
Briefing


A foregone confusion
What will happen if America’s election result is contested?
The system is now stronger, but so is public mistrust of it
Asia


Superpower tensions in Asia
The scary new map of the South China Sea
India v Bangladesh
Can India’s garments industry benefit from Bangladesh’s turmoil?
Machh ado about nothing
What ilish, a fish, says about India-Bangladesh relations
Of scams and syndicates
The downfall of a Philippine mayor may be linked to Chinese gangs
Corporate dynasties
Kim Beom-su, the billionaire founder of Kakao, faces trial
Banyan
Youngsters are fleeing Japan’s once-mighty civil service
China


Stability, now what?
Can Xi Jinping take Hong Kong “from stability to prosperity”?
Leading the way
China is beating America in the nuclear-energy race
We’re keeping them
Why China banned international adoptions
United States


Wicked safe
How Boston became the safest big city in America
TikTok, tarot and Trump
Astrologers are predicting the result of America’s election
Trouble in Paradise Valley
Democratic control of the Senate depends on a seven-fingered farmer
Campaign calculus
The systemic bias Kamala Harris must overcome in order to win
New term, same balancing act
America’s college heads revise rules for handling campus protests
Lexington
Kamala Harris makes Donald Trump look out of his depth

Middle East & Africa


Falling apart
Is Syria’s drug-dealing dictator coming in from the cold?
Not wanted here
Turkey is trying to deport Syrian refugees back to a war zone
The Philadelphi story
A narrow corridor in Gaza has become an obstacle to a ceasefire
No petrol, no peace
If Nigeria cannot end fuel shortages, disaster beckons
Markets amid madness
How trading in war-torn Sudan survives—just
The Americas


Dark days
Venezuela’s opposition is getting smashed
No quick fix
Antony Blinken swoops into a violent hotspot close to home
Blue gold
The sweet story of Peru’s blueberry boom
Europe


Dirty sponges
Squeaky-clean Europe is more corrupt than you think
French politics
Michel Barnier’s burden
A bloody trade
Danger in Donbas as Ukraine’s front line falters
Choice v life
Poland’s ruling coalition divides over women’s rights
No ball
A northern Italian town bans cricket
Charlemagne
Nice ideas, Mr Draghi—now who will pay for them?
Britain


Brotherly love
The harmony between Labour and Britain’s trade unions
In deep trouble
Britain’s submarines are at sea for too long—or not at all
Driven up the wall
Finding a driving test in Britain is painful, slow and expensive
Laundry list
Will Labour be better at tackling dirty money than the Tories?
Keeping the juices flowing
Volunteering has big benefits for the elderly
Urban planning
Why have Britain’s new towns become fashionable again?
Bagehot
Loons and the Tory leadership battle in Britain
International


The toil, tears and sweat of competition
Sport is getting hotter, harder and deadlier
Business


Mergers and inquisitions
Is the era of the mega-deal over?
Job half done
Japan’s sleepy companies still need more reform
Not edgy enough
AI will not fix Apple’s sluggish iPhone sales any time soon
Snapped up
Demand for high-end cameras is soaring
Raining cats and dogs
People are splurging like never before on their pets
Falling behind
European firms are smaller and less profitable than American ones
The ties that bind
Why family empires dominate business in India
Bartleby
Physical proximity has big effects in the workplace
Schumpeter
Intel is on life support. Can anything save it?
Finance & economics


The 72-year-old patient
Can anything spark Europe’s economy back to life?
Foreign-exchange markets
Norway’s weak currency presents a mystery
Delayed reaction
Strangely, America’s companies will soon face higher interest rates
Buttonwood
Can bonds keep beating stocks?
Xi, the generous
China’s government is surprisingly redistributive
Long, hot summer
The IMF has a protest problem
The big squeeze
Why orange juice has never been more expensive
Free exchange
An American sovereign-wealth fund is a risky idea
Science & technology


The motherlode
Breast milk’s benefits are not limited to babies
White gold
Baby formulas now share some ingredients with breast milk
Tests of time
The world’s first nuclear clock is on the horizon
Radiation-belt remediation
Particles that damage satellites can be flushed out of orbit
Culture


Can you tell the truth?
The information wars are about to get worse, Yuval Noah Harari argues
A secret love affair
Why many French have come to like “Emily in Paris”
Off colour?
Paul Gauguin is an artist ripe for cancellation
The CIA’s Rip van Winkle
The riveting story of the longest-held American prisoner-of-war
Back Story
“The Perfect Couple” and the new map of Moneyland
It’s an ink-stained world
Tabloids are about more than trashy headlines
The Economist reads


The Economist reads
How Christianity shapes politics in America
Economic & financial indicators

Indicators
Economic data, commodities and markets
Obituary


Samba plus sunshine
Sérgio Mendes sent Brazil’s party spirit out into the world