An attack on the world economy
The world this week
Politics
Business
The weekly cartoon

Leaders

Beyond oil
An attack on the world economy
Whatever happens in the Strait of Hormuz, energy markets have been changed for ever

A new dynasty
China’s hereditary elite is taking shape
The Communist Party is afraid to tax inherited wealth
Smoke and flames rise at the site of airstrikes on an oil depot in Tehran.
Iran’s nuclear programme
There are no good options for Iran’s nuclear programme
If America cannot eliminate the threat, what should it do?
Hispanic lady wearing red cowboay hat, boots, jacket and skirt standing outside an event checking her phone.
America’s midterm elections
How to teach Donald Trump a Latin lesson
By alienating Hispanics, he has given Democrats an open goal
Kenyan police officers are reflected on the glasses of one of their colleagues as they arrive at Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Drones v gangs
Haiti needs order first, then elections
Voters must be able to turn out without risking death

Letters
A selection of correspondence
Is it optimistic to think that Hungary’s election in April will be free but not fair?
By Invitation
A watercolour portrait of Pedro Sánchez
Spain’s leader speaks
Pedro Sánchez: No to war
Briefing
A man smokes a cigar on a yacht at the SO! Dalian yachting event in China in 2014
Communist estate-planning
China is wrestling with a novel phenomenon: inherited wealth
Even as the economy slows and opportunity narrows, a lucky few receive big windfalls
Smoke rises following a strike on the Bapco Oil Refinery in Bahrain
Epic consequences
The damage to the world economy from the Iran war will be severe, but uneven
It has already caused the biggest energy supply shock in history
Aftermath of an attack by Iranian drone, in Seef, Manama
The sick man of the Gulf
America’s war on Iran may bring Bahrain to its knees
The tiny, indebted kingdom is seeing its main sources of revenue dry up
Asia
A solider releases a drone during a military exercise outside a naval base in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on 29 January 2026.
“China-free” drones
Taiwan’s bid to export drones free of Chinese parts is taking off
Landslide in the Himalayas
Nepal’s new prime minister is a 35-year-old former rapper
Don’t mention the war
Islamists woo Bangladesh with everything but Islam
Seoul traders
Seoul’s housing market is a huge political and economic headache
Banyan
Is India the fourth- or fifth-biggest economy? It does not matter
China

The downside of Hong Kong’s upswing
Hong Kong’s property market has turned
Performance anxiety
Some of China’s officials are becoming social-media stars
From China with propaganda
China’s nationalist spy thriller has few girls and lots of government
Chaguan
There are 56 ethnicities in China—and 55 are getting squashed
United States
US President Donald Trump wearing a 'Make America Great Again' cap.
MAGA, c’est moi
Why MAGA backs Donald Trump’s war—for now
Make Iran Great Again
The view from Tehrangeles
Forced removal
Kristi Noem’s ignoble legacy as homeland-security secretary
Deport, lose support
Lost Latino love could cost Republicans the midterms
Treating an ailing market
Two very different states take aim at soaring hospital prices
Lexington
America’s blame-Israel lobby

The Americas
A woman poses for a portrait with her son as they return to their home, destroyed by armed gangs in 2024, in the Solino neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
A sense of security
At last, Haiti has some hope
The new national pride
Brazilian cinema is having its moment
Middle East & Africa
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps armed personnel wear masks and participate in a military rally.
Resilient or ramshackle?
Iran’s praetorian guard may emerge from the war diminished but undefeated
Supreme but mysterious
Who is Iran’s new leader?
Only the mission matters
Could special forces truly obliterate Iran’s nuclear programme?
How to end a conflict
America’s war aims may be diverging from Israel’s
On their guard and on edge
Should the Gulf states join attacks on Iran?
Dire strait
Can America clear the Strait of Hormuz of Iran’s drones and mines?
Conflict data
What data reveal about the war’s progress
Done with sweet deals?
Kenya’s ailing sugar sector is a test case for reform
Europe
Protesters held banners calling for 'freedom' for the former mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu
Trial of strength
As war rages, Turkey‘s strongman puts the opposition on trial
Two wheels v four
In Paris’s mayoral race, it’s drivers against cyclists
Comeback kid
A popular German Green wins a surprise victory
Location, location, location
Ukraine’s housing market is increasingly peculiar
Charlemagne
Viktor Orban’s illiberal intellectual patronage system
Britain
An illustration of a moka pot and an over-filled mug of coffee decorated with the Union flag.
A narrower Channel
Ten years after the EU referendum, Britain has become more European
A Green and unpleasant land
The Green Party’s economic plans are Corbynism on steroids
Ever closer allies
Shared interests are binding Britain and Norway together
Animal spirits
Lions or hedgehogs? The vital choice for England’s banknotes
Springer into action
What Germany’s Springer plans for one of Britain’s oldest dailies
Cleaning up
Britain’s chimney sweeps are as lucky as lucky can be
Not before time
They’re not Swiss, but British watch brands are gaining ground
Bagehot
How Britain became a Compo Nation
International
The US Military launches Operation Epic Fury attacking Iran
War in Iran
How America and Israel built vast military targeting machines
The Telegram
India has much to lose from a world in chaos
Business
collage illustration featuringDario Amodei, Sam Altman and Elon Musk
Caps out, knives out
Altman, Amodei and Musk fight dirty for the biggest prize in business
Festive freebies
China’s AI giants are handing out cash to lure in users
Move fast and heal things
A new wave of disrupters takes on American health care
Retail revival
How Gap is trying to get its cool back
Take cover
In Trump’s world, companies seek insurance against political risk
Bartleby
In praise of grunt work
Schumpeter
Why corporate lawyers always win
Finance & economics
An aerial view as a crude oil tanker is guided to a berth at the oil terminal at the port in Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong province.
After shock
Donald Trump’s options to cool oil prices are sorely limited
Denatured
Liquefied natural gas: the overlooked economic chokepoint
Technomyopia
Why investors won’t know what to make of AI for a while
Buttonwood
Time to buy the most rubbish stocks you can find
Free Exchange
Would America be in recession without the super-rich?
Science & technology
A play on the classic Vitruvian man image, but he's injecting himself, holding out his phone, and holding supplements
Pep tide
Want to hack your body with peptides? If only the science agreed
Collision course
AI is helping expand the frontier of theoretical physics
Well Informed
What is your maximum heart rate?
Culture
Two theater masks showing sadness and distress
Screen tests
What nobody clutching their Oscar this weekend will tell you
Mind over matter?
Solving the mystery of consciousness
That’s how they roll
Adults are on board with life-size board games
From mean streets to Wall Street
Tell-all or tell-nothing? A polite account of high finance
Bookworm food
The best new novels to read this spring
Back Story
An Oscar-nominated documentary goes behind enemy lines
Economic & financial indicators
Indicators
Economic data, commodities and markets
Obituary
Professor Sir Nicholas White
Mosquito versus man
Nick White was a hero of mankind’s oldest war