How to win the peace
The world this week
Politics
Business
The weekly cartoon

Leaders

Trump has gambled
How to win peace in the Middle East
After the bombs should come a plan to reset the region
A protester with a sign saying "Vaccines save lives" is removed as Robert F. Kennedy junior testifies during a confirmation hearing in January.
Jabbers and nuts
RFK’s loopy approach to vaccines endangers Americans
Donald Trump’s health secretary undermines global public health, too
This illustration shows two robotic arms handling small camouflage drones, stacking them in a tall pile against an orange background.
The economic consequences of war
How the defence bonanza will reshape the global economy
As they spend big, politicians must resist using one pot of money to achieve many goals
Muhammad Yunus sits in a gilded chair in Dhaka, Bangladesh
The wrong proscription
Banning the opposition is no way to revive Bangladesh’s democracy
The Awami League has a dire record. But voters should have a free choice
The Snow King mascot on a cup at a Mixue store in Beijing, China
The new ambassadors
Chinese brands are sweeping the world. Good
From fast food to video games, new marques are making their mark

Letters
A selection of correspondence
A closer look at American finance
By Invitation
Ban Ki-Moon and Helen Clark
Big powers and the United Nations
The UN’s dysfunction undermines global security, argue Ban Ki-moon and Helen Clark
Briefing
An Iranian woman sits close to a destroyed vehicle in Tehran
Settling dust, swirling questions
Israel’s war with Iran is over
But its impact is uncertain
People walk past a mural depicting Iranian missiles in Tehran
Obliterated or simply obscured?
How much did America’s bombs damage Iran’s nuclear programme?
Assessments vary wildly and it is impossible to know for sure
A conceptual illustration showing the link between defense and the economy: at the center, a ticking clock symbolizes urgency, while behind it, costly weapons spin like gears, emphasizing rising demands and accelerating military spending.
Complex post-industrial military
The war in Ukraine shows the West can re-arm without re-industrialising
Industrial capacity in peacetime is no longer necessary for success during war
Asia
An aerial view shows Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) activists demanding justice for those injured during the 2024 mass uprising in Bangladesh, marching through the streets of Dhaka
After the revolution
A big mistake by Bangladesh
The art of no deal
India gets no favours from Trump
A tarnished legacy
Asia’s disgraced saint
Love hurts
Japan’s civil war over surnames
Banyan
A surprise East Asian love-in
China
The Dalai Lama prays at an event in Dharamshala, India.
Who will be chosen?
The Dalai Lama faces a horrible dilemma
Write and wrong
Chinese cops are cuffing erotica
The illiberal arts
China’s new army of engineers
United States
Collage featuring President Donald Trump at the centre
I came, I bombed, Iran
The fallout from Trump’s Iran strikes is political, too
Socialism for thee
The meaning of Zohran Mamdani’s win in New York
One Big Beautiful Bill
Why America’s hospitals don’t want their taxes cut
Showtime buttons up
Even for $10bn, the Los Angeles Lakers may look like a bargain
Hoop dreamers
Oklahoma City has been reborn, 30 years after the bombing
MAHA not funny
Robert F. Kennedy looks set to mess with vaccines
Lexington
Has Donald Trump solved Iran from the air?

The Americas
Dredges at an illegal gold mining area in Peru.
All that glitters
The gold bull-market has a dirty secret
Petro and the pueblo
Colombia’s dire president gets desperate
Pitch perfect
Dutch football has a secret team
Middle East & Africa
A call centre worker going from one cublicle to another with their headset. The Cubicle their leaving is orange while the one they are goign to is red, signifying the move of BPOs from India to Kenya.
The world’s new back office
Call centres could be a gold mine for Africa
Deaths in the night
Farmers in central Nigeria are being killed with impunity
Charting the horror
As all eyes are on Iran, the horror in Gaza persists
Europe
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte attending a NATO meeting
Yes, daddy
At a tricky NATO summit, a Trumpian meltdown is averted
The jobs of war
A defence splurge will slow Europe’s deindustrialisation
Austerians no more
Germany is embarking on an almighty borrowing binge
Rise of the robots
Ukraine is inching towards robot-on-robot fighting
Bitcoin, Babis and automobiles
A bitcoin scandal is good news for the Czech Donald Trump
Charlemagne
How strongmen mastered the art of dividing Europe
Britain
A collage of Keir Starmer with the industries mentioned in the Industrial strategy report.
Sector selector
Britain’s industrial strategy is unlikely to boost its economy
In the driving seat
The “motorsport mindset” behind Britain’s success in Formula One
Non-doms
Britain has bungled its taxes on the super-rich
Relative values
The culture wars are coming for cousin marriage in Britain
Turf wars
Why many British gardens are giving up on lawns
Bagehot
Feral Labour: why Sir Keir Starmer’s MPs have had enough
International
Sex workers coming out of a phone. This is linked to the Sweden ban on OnlyFans and sex work online.
Red lights, green lights
Sex work in the gig economy
The Telegram
Feckless Europe accepts Trump’s Lone Ranger diplomacy
Business
Labubu dolls on display at a toy exhibition in China.
Soft-toy power
It’s not just Labubu dolls. Chinese brands are booming
Part company
How to tell the West’s car industry really is in trouble
Vibe valuing
AI valuations are verging on the unhinged
Getting paid
How OnlyFans transformed porn
Big Smell
Behind the world’s fragrances sits a shadowy oligopoly
Profile
Wendell Weeks, the small-town boss at the big-tech table
Bartleby
The three rules of conference panels
Schumpeter
Who needs Accenture in the age of AI?
Finance & economics
Businessman in a suit rappelling down a giant tax bill as if it's a rope.
Minimising, maximised
How to escape taxes on your stocks
A large hump
Jane Street’s sneaky retention tactic
Can’t live with them…
Politicians slashed migration. Now they face the consequences
Buttonwood
The dream scenario for prediction markets
Free exchange
Why commodities are on a rollercoaster ride
Science & technology
This image combines 678 separate images taken by NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in just over seven hours of observing time.
Rising star
A new telescope will find billions of asteroids, galaxies and stars
Beyond doubt
Distrust in public-health institutions is not just an American problem
Well informed
Do longevity drugs work?
Culture
William Buckley in his office surrounded by piles of books
Standing athwart history, yelling stop
William F. Buckley, the man who put the charm into conservatism
Infectious storytelling
How zombies explain Brexit: the satire of “28 Years Later”
The Economist reads
The best novels published in the second quarter of 2025
Frame of mind
A new Dutch museum tackles migration through art
Back Story
How to hear a Hollywood star sing, for free
Pitt stop
“F1 The Movie” is a very expensive promotional film
Economic & financial indicators
Indicators
Economic data, commodities and markets
Obituary
After her inauguration as president of the country, Violeta Chamorro is celebrated in Managua
The woman in white
Violeta Chamorro was a mother first, a ruler second