National front-runner: who can beat Le Pen?
Marine Le Pen, party leader of France’s populist-right National Rally, starts her fourth presidential bid with a commanding lead. The country’s political centre is broad, fragmented—and flagging. A bu...
23 Sep 19min
The mob rule: criminality consumes South Africa
An illicit shadow economy, rampant extortion and the capture of the criminal justice system: mafia members and tactics are eating away at the state. Oura seems to have captured the market for smart ri...
22 Sep 20min
Centre punch: Germany’s state-election shocker
Two more state-election results reveal surging support for both the far-right AfD and the populist-left Die Linke parties. Chancellor Friedrich Merz himself described the outcome as a disaster; what w...
21 Sep 21min
Drone truth: Russia has the upper hand
After a visit to Ukraine last week, our defence editor reports on a new phase of the war as Kyiv and other civilian targets are bombarded by Russian missiles. He also visits an elite Ukrainian drone u...
18 Sep 25min
Rise and shine: Warsh’s Fed rate test
The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the first time since July 2023. For the central bank’s new chair Kevin Warsh, that decision was a test both of monetary policy and politics. A governo...
17 Sep 21min
The end of the world is AI? An existential threat
Is artificial intelligence becoming uncontrollably powerful? Our correspondent analyses whether a pause to breakneck development is possible or feasible. We have entered the new age of the orator. And...
16 Sep 24min
Islamism in Britain: what is the threat?
Though a growing share of the British population is anxious about Islam, they have no reason to be. Islamism, a fringe ideology that believes government and society should be guided by Islamic princip...
15 Sep 23min
Strait and narrowing: the Houthis’ striking advance
After years of stalemate, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis are taking territory, including on a Red Sea strait. We ask what has changed, and how the shift fits into the wider regional conflict. As America’...
14 Sep 22min
