America’s ugly election: How bad could it get?
The world this week
Leaders
A reformer bids farewell
Abe Shinzo’s legacy is more impressive than his muted exit suggests
He not only reshaped the economy and foreign relations—he also paved the way for future reforms
The exception
Why is Wall Street expanding in China?
It may be a step on the way to China becoming a financial superpower
Time for proof
Covid-19 strengthens the case for digital ID cards
With safeguards for privacy and security, they make government work better
Nowhere to hide
What the arrest of a hero of the genocide says about Paul Kagame’s rule
Paul Rusesabagina, whose story inspired “Hotel Rwanda”, faces charges of terrorism
Letters
On coming out, competition, the Midwest, Turkey, John Snow, York
Letters to the editor
Briefing
A house divided
Covid-19 and an atmosphere of distrust pose grave risks to America’s election
New burdens mean the country may not see the sort of clean election result it has come to expect on election night
Europe
The man with le Plan
Emmanuel Macron revives a post-war institution for a post-covid era
A distorted Muscovite picture
The information war over Belarus hots up
Not much of a welcome
A low point in German-Polish relations
Not fur sale
Covid-19 ends Dutch mink farming
Britain
Boris Johnson
Competence matters, and Johnson hasn’t got it
Dog-walking
Why Britons walk their dogs so much
The housing market
Demand for apartments is flatlining in Britain
So-so networks
Britain’s 5G rollout faces myriad obstacles
Nightlife
Why raves are enjoying a revival
Middle East & Africa
All helmet and no mettle
The UN’s peacekeepers are under pressure to quit Congo
The hero of “Hotel Rwanda”
Rwanda arrests the man who shielded people from genocide
Sacking the voters
Burkina Faso says its poll will be valid, whatever the turnout
The sultan et le président
Old colonial powers are bidding for influence in Lebanon
Defendant number 54,000,000
Egypt looks to prosecute millions of non-voters
United States
The suburban strategy
Donald Trump tries out law-and-order talk on suburban voters
Shorting volatility
How much do polls move after Labor Day?
Victrix ludorum
The battle over trans athletes in American schools heats up
Lexington
It’s the covid-economy, stupid
The Americas
A prickly partnership
Brazil’s president and his economy minister start to disagree
Frontier friendship
The closure of Canada’s border with Alaska has split twin towns
Asia
Japan’s longest serving prime minister
Abe Shinzo’s important place in Japanese politics
No shrinking violets
A TV series about female vigilantes breaks taboos in Pakistan
Breaking the wrong sort of record
India’s economy shrinks by a quarter as covid-19 gathers pace
When unambiguity is ambiguous
To China’s alarm, America modestly upgrades ties with Taiwan
International
Paper travails
Covid-19 is spurring the digitisation of government
Business
Winner’s curse
What is Prosus, Europe’s consumer-internet star, for?
Rising in the east
Can Wizz Air soar amid the pandemic?
Rebalancing act
Can Japan Inc navigate the rift between China and America?
Over-Reliance
Can India’s biggest company keep getting bigger?
Doing the limbo
Will Beijing derail the TikTok deal?
Schumpeter
Could you build a better TikTok?
Finance & economics
Present tense, future market
Is Wall Street winning in China?
New job description
Will the Fed’s policy shift start a trend?
Silent no more
Two damning portrayals of Indian finance
Campaign finance
Who does Wall Street back for president?
Global red tape
The World Bank’s business-rankings mess
Buttonwood
Can private equity’s numbers be trusted?
Free exchange
Did Abenomics work?
Schools brief
Hard work and black swans
Economists are turning to culture to explain wealth and poverty
Science & technology
Predicting pugnacity
How to forecast armies’ will to fight
Brain-computer interfaces
Elon Musk’s vision of the future takes another step forward
Forensic botany
Finding bodies in forests
Psychology
Do dreams reflect reality?
Culture
Home Entertainment
Discover the taut political thrillers of Jean-Patrick Manchette
Economic & financial indicators
Graphic detail
Blue skies turn grey
Air pollution is returning to pre-covid levels
Obituary
To be a king