Leaders
Factory fever
The world must escape the manufacturing delusion
Governments’ obsession with factories is built on myths—and will be self-defeating
Strike it lucky
Israel has taken an audacious but terrifying gamble
The world would be safer if Iran abandoned its nuclear dreams, but that outcome may prove unattainable
American disorder
When a radical performance artist has command of an army
Donald Trump’s troop deployment in LA could yet backfire
Latin America’s new drugs hub
How to curb organised crime without shredding civil rights
Ecuador is a test case in the fight against global gangs
Perestroika in Cupertino
In the age of AI, Apple needs to open up
Tight control over its products, once an asset, has turned into a liability
Shoestring statism
Rachel Reeves’s big-government rhetoric is a worrying sign for Britain
The country needs defence spending and nuclear power, but not more social housing
Letters
A selection of correspondence
America’s tax on foreign investors
By Invitation
Welfare that doesn’t work
Britain’s ex-chancellor on how to fix a welfare crisis that’s partly of his own making
Briefing
Delivery drones and flying cars!
China’s “low-altitude economy” is taking off
The authorities have found a new industry they want Chinese firms to dominate
Asia
Indian tech
Can India really innovate?
Indic intelligence
Can India be an AI winner?
Horns of a dilemma
If China invaded Taiwan, who would enter the war?
Banyan
Fading Modi-momentum
China
Adapt or dry
China’s booze business looks smashed
Can’t buy me love
Bride prices are surging in China
Great rejuvenation, grim departure
Would you want to know if you were terminally ill?
United States
California screamin’
The meaning of the protests in Los Angeles
National guardians
Donald Trump can call in the troops
Give us your wealthy, from stable countries
Donald Trump’s new travel ban is coming into effect
Political neologisms
Does America now have a woke right?
Reading, writing, Jesus
How a Christian group is changing education in America
The Americas
Crime and justice
A Harvard man turned narco-gang-buster
Chaos in Colombia
Political violence has returned to Colombia
Controlling coca
Bolivia wants the world to stop treating coca leaves like drugs
Middle East & Africa
A shadowy aid group in Gaza
Conspiracy, cock-up or solution? The Gaza aid foundation
Enemy of my enemy
The gangster Israel is arming to fight Hamas
A report from the strip
A surprising power shift inside Hamas
The kernel of an idea
Globalisation is nuts
Putting the lux in Lagos
Luxury property’s final frontier
Europe
Bombshell boomtowns
The cities winning from war
Dodging bullets
Five opposition-backed referendums fail in Italy
Sunshine in the Valley
Picasso’s home town is thriving
Britain
Picking winners
Rachel Reeves has decided where Britain’s cash will go
The geography of public spending
For once, London is short-changed by the government
Inverted snobbery
Inverted commas are falling out of fashion
To B61 or not to B61?
Might the Royal Air Force go nuclear again?
International
Secular stagnation
The West has stopped losing its religion
Business
Falling from the sky
Can Tim Cook stop Apple going the same way as Nokia?
Very demure, very mindful
Muslim “modest-wear” is a hit with fashionistas of all faiths
Taxi for Mr Musk
Can robotaxis put Tesla on the right road?
Bartleby
A checklist for decision-making
Schumpeter
Make America French Again
Finance & economics
Blue-collar blues
Factory work is overrated. Here are the jobs of the future
Neither up nor down
America and China have spooked each other
Out and about
The rise of the loner consumer
Heiry questions
How to invest your enormous inheritance
Science & technology
Battle of the beams
How to stop swarms of drones? Blast them with microwaves
Hidden in plain sight
A routine test for fetal abnormalities could improve a mother’s health
Well informed
How much protein do you really need?
Culture
The small v the mighty
The Club World Cup will be the most global football tournament ever
Death of a plotter
Frederick Forsyth’s bestsellers drew on his work as a spy
In your streams
The 15 best films and TV shows released so far in 2025
Economic & financial indicators
Indicators
Economic data, commodities and markets
Obituary
Burning bright