The human strain: can mpox be contained?
Mpox is spreading fast across Africa, yet public information campaigns are scant and vaccines in short supply. Is a new pandemic in the offing? Strategists are pondering a new potential threat from Ru...
21 Aug 202425min
Byte by byte: Iran and Israel’s escalating cyberwar
While many people fear the risk of a wider war breaking out in the Middle East, a parallel battle is already ongoing – in the digital sphere. Can China challenge a long-standing duopoly in the airline...
20 Aug 202422min
Hail Harris: the Democratic convention begins
As Democrats convene in Chicago, polls suggest Kamala Harris is ahead by a whisker in the US presidential race. Can the party sustain the momentum? In hospital, your recovery may depend not just on di...
19 Aug 202423min
Landing padded: the global-recession risk
Inflation, interest rates and jobless numbers are on healthy trends; markets are gaining back ground. As the spectre of global recession fades we ask why fear has persisted. In the second instalment o...
16 Aug 202426min
One peace at a time: Gaza, Israel and Iran
Peace talks in Doha have a chance at progress even in Hamas’s absence. The outcome could determine the scope of Iran’s promised retaliations against Israel. New research suggests Mars may have an ocea...
15 Aug 202423min
Bait the hook! Fishing in the global talent pool
Skilled immigrants bring more than just their expertise to job markets. But governments miss opportunities to attract them—or make them feel entirely unwelcome. In America it seems like the standard t...
14 Aug 202425min
AIOU: what if the AI boom busts?
Corporate investment in artificial-intelligence infrastructure reaches $1.4trn by some estimates. We ask what might threaten the expected windfalls that justify the spending. A Japanese mine’s bid to ...
13 Aug 202424min
The boot is on the other foot: Ukraine’s surprise incursion
Part of Russia is under foreign control for the first time since the second world war. We ask about the strategy behind the surprise raid—which may not be the last. The Paris Olympics were, all told, ...
12 Aug 202425min
