Footloose and fancy degree: How countries compete for talent
The world this week
Leaders
Footloose and fancy degree
America is sabotaging itself in the global battle for talent
Some countries are much more serious about attracting the highly skilled
The new nuclear threat
Reluctantly, America eyes building more nuclear weapons
The superpower faces more adversaries, new technologies and less-confident allies
Fighting back
The rights, wrongs and risks of Ukraine’s Kursk incursion
Ukrainian forces should be careful not to overreach
A coin toss for the White House
Our forecast puts Kamala Harris and Donald Trump neck and neck
We relaunch our presidential-election model for a transformed race
Billions or trillions?
Time to shine a light on the shadowy carry trade
Transparency will help to avoid financial blow-ups
Letters
On Donald Harris, Burberry, sickle-cell disease, Vienna, Katherine Parr, reading books
Letters to the editor
By Invitation
Economic development
Indermit Gill on what China and India must do to join the rich club
Briefing
Economic self-harm
Talent is scarce. Yet many countries spurn it
There is growing competition for the best and the brightest migrants
Europe
Into the breach
What next after Ukraine’s shock invasion of Russia?
Freedom on the line
Ukraine’s convicts take the fight inside Russia
The fungus is just starting
How a Spanish province became the world’s truffle leader
Britain
The morning after
Britain’s justice system has responded forcefully to the riots
Subterranean assets
Britain’s government is mapping underground cable and pipes
Crude realities
Britain’s oil and gas industry faces an uncertain future
Say cheese!
NHS dentistry is decaying
Middle East & Africa
Byte the bullet
Iran’s electronic confrontation with Israel
Putting in a time of war
The bunkers on Beirut’s golf course are in the crosshairs
A new age of austerity
The lessons of Africa’s tax revolts
United States
On the eve of escalation
America prepares for a new nuclear-arms race
The Gaza question
Can Kamala Harris win Michigan without Arab-American voters?
Too close to call
Our new forecast for America’s presidential election
God and grades
Pious pupils in America perform better
Solo and the city
Studio flats are now affordable in many more American cities
Trump v Kemp
Donald Trump plays with fire in Atlanta
The Americas
Law of the jungle
A bold plan to close the deadly Darién Gap unravels
The lawless roads
Peru’s crazy drivers offer a data deluge for self-driving cars
Asia
Extended uncertainty
What if South Korea got a nuclear bomb?
The need for speed
Bangladesh’s new ruler is in a race against time
Heeding the call
Kishida Fumio, Japan’s prime minister, stands down
Thai politics
Thailand’s prime minister is sacked. What next?
The anniversary of the exit from Kabul
Afghans are suffering. Don’t expect any tears from the Taliban
China
Study hard, be rich, get ahead
China’s wealthy elite rigs its university arms race
Thousands of bodies for sale
A gruesome corpse scandal sparks outrage in China
International
Star wars: a new hope
Can Donald Trump’s Iron Dome plan keep America safe?
Business
The new stakeholderism
Patriotism is replacing purpose in American business
Hitting the road
The global tourism boom is shifting to Asia
Less plain sailing
From Taylor Swift to Star Trek, niche cruises are on the rise
Aiming high
Hindenburg widens its attack on Adani
Use it or lose it
Startups are finding novel ways to recycle carbon
Ground down
Can Chipotle’s boss turn Starbucks around?
Finance & economics
Don’t push it
How vulnerable is Israel to sanctions?
The danger list
Europe’s economic growth is extremely fragile
Buttonwood
How to invest in chaotic markets
Next-door vigilante
What is behind China’s perplexing bond-market intervention?
Free exchange
Why companies get inflation wrong
Schools brief
Applications for AI
LLMs will transform medicine, media and more
Science & technology
Backprop in the brain
AI scientists are producing new theories of how the brain learns
Sleeper species
Climate change could reawaken harmful invasive plants
Carbon-based artforms
Why a new art gallery in Bangalore is important for Indian science
Culture
In defence of the “dirty documentary”
Reality TV is irritating but irresistible
Mad, bad and dangerous to know
Two centuries after his death, why is Lord Byron still seductive?
Cables from Kabul
Three years ago this month America withdrew from Afghanistan
Economic & financial indicators
Indicators
Economic data, commodities and markets
Obituary
Running the peaks