Leaders
France votes
Why Macron matters
France’s president presents a cautionary tale for centrists everywhere
Atrocities in Ukraine
Russian war criminals may never be brought to justice
Investigate and charge them all the same
Recession roulette
A toxic mix of recession risks hangs over the world economy
American inflation, Europe’s energy crisis and China’s Omicron outbreak threaten the world economy with a downturn
Imaginary hobgoblins
Fearmongering works. Fans of the truth should fear it
In Hungary, Russia, Pakistan and France, leaders lie to scare people into supporting them
After the smartphone
Silicon Valley’s search for the next big tech platform
The smartphone era is fading. What next?
Letters
On gay people in Florida, Hollywood, oligarchs, the Falklands war, school closures, exchange rates, Europe
Letters to the editor
By Invitation
Russia and Ukraine
Semyon Bychkov speaks out for creative freedom amid conflict
Russia and Ukraine
Ivo Daalder says NATO enlargement didn’t go far enough
Russia and Ukraine
Kaja Kallas on the atrocities in Ukraine
Briefing
Beating the hard right
France looks likely to re-elect Emmanuel Macron
But his race against Marine Le Pen is a lot closer than it was last time
Europe
After the battle
As Russian soldiers retreat, they leave evidence of war crimes
The turning tide
Ukraine sees a window of opportunity to push Russia back
From battleground to playground
How Polish schools are coping with an influx of Ukrainian children
Having it both ways
How Turkey is courting Russia’s oligarchs
Hungary likes the wolf
Viktor Orban’s victory is a triumph for illiberal nationalism
Charlemagne
Europe is learning to cope with Viktor Orban
Britain
Immigration patterns
Britain has entered a third phase of post-war immigration
Bluer, greener
Making deliveries via the Thames
Buy now, pray later
Britons’ use of consumer credit is rising with the cost of living
The attorney-general
Suella Braverman, a Johnsonian lawyer
A great British sell-off?
Who might buy Britain’s Channel 4?
Putting asunder
No-fault divorce begins this week in England and Wales
Middle East & Africa
After the tyrant
Sudan faces collapse three years after the fall of its dictator
Wine and punishment
Lawyers debate the secret debts that bankrupted Mozambique
Of keys and patriarchy
Why single women in Egypt find it hard to rent a flat
Smashed and forgotten
The tragedy of Benghazi, Libya’s second city
Squeezing the wrong people
Arab governments are putting more taxes on the poor
United States
Fields of gold
Why an agricultural boom does not help rural America
The 116th justice
Ketanji Brown Jackson is confirmed to America’s Supreme Court
Trade unions in America
Amazon has its first union, but lots more are unlikely to follow
The opioid epidemic
Black Americans have overtaken white victims in opioid death rates
Lexington
Bill Burns and the bear
The Americas
Villain or victim?
Hailed as a saviour, derided as a thief, Lula is back
Asia
Meanwhile in the Indo-Pacific
AUKUS, a strategic submarine pact, turns to missiles
Bursting into Hwasong
North Korea is testing ICBMs again. Nuclear weapons may be next
China
A new sheriff in town
John Lee, a tough former policeman, looks set to lead Hong Kong
A big appetite
When China worries about food, the world pays
International
Business
Seeing and believing
From Apple to Google, big tech is building VR and AR headsets
Degrees of unconcern
How MBA-wielding bosses boost profits
Another Musk-have
Is investing in Twitter a meme too far for Elon Musk?
In search of an ending
Bain Capital buying Toshiba could be a big deal for Japan
Double-entry book-keeping
China’s regulators warm to American listings
Schumpeter
Save globalisation! Buy a Chinese EV
Finance & economics
Too much of a good thing
Are labour markets in the rich world too tight?
Balance-sheet manoeuvres
The Federal Reserve prepares for quantitative tightening
Looking in the side-mirror
Omicron is dealing a big blow to China’s economy
A house united
HDFC Bank’s merger marks a milestone for India
Not so sterling
Has the pound become emerging-market money?
Free exchange
China has a celebrated history of policy experiments
Science & technology
Universal smells
Around the world, people like (and dislike) the same scents
Culture
Time v the machine
When Albert Einstein and Henri Bergson rowed about time
New American fiction
Like Faulkner’s, Susan Straight’s fiction creates its own universe
Authoritarian leaders
The rise and risks of “The Age of the Strongman”
Children’s news
How do you explain war to a six-year-old?
Home Entertainment
Glenn Gould’s radio documentaries are still mesmerising
Economic & financial indicators
Indicators
Economic data, commodities and markets
Graphic detail
A tale of two surges
Asia’s outbreaks show that Omicron is deadly in unvaccinated people
Obituary
Man and myth