Leaders
What Putin fears
Russians and Belarusians are tired of backwards-looking autocrats
The old tools of truncheon and syringe may keep them in power. But for how long?
The memory hole
The rising prevalence of dementia is a global emergency
It requires more research, better provision for long-term care and changes in individual behaviour
Integrity theatre
Mexico’s president shows how not to handle a scandal
Rather than strengthening institutions to fight graft, Andrés Manuel López Obrador is grandstanding
Un-American activities
How Hollywood should deal with Chinese censors
Upholding freedom of speech means leaving the studios alone
A pandemic of psychological pain
How to reduce the mental trauma of covid-19
A few cheap steps can make a big difference
Letters
On Kamala Harris, vaccines, fishing rights, postmen, IPOs, Boris Johnson, TikTok
Letters to the editor
Briefing
A cold coming together
The uprising in Belarus and the poisoning of Alexei Navalny
Together they reveal the weakness of Russian autocracy
Europe
Did they handle it?
Five years after arrival, Germany’s refugees are integrating
International plotters
Bulgarians have been Europe’s gardeners longer than you think
Not very Christian
Serbian Orthodox priests say Montenegro’s government backs satanists
Saclay sacré
How France created a university to rival MIT
Britain
Housing
Generation rent grows up
Learning languages
Why studying Chinese is in decline
The Labour Party
Keir Starmer, middle-class hero
Last fight of the Proms
Britons never, never, never shall be free of the culture wars
Turning the tables
The worst is yet to come for Britain’s food-and-drink industry
Schoolwear and politics
Bringing down the cost of school uniforms
Middle East & Africa
More misery, few answers
The conflict in Mozambique is getting worse
Cheques don’t check treks
The idea that aid and development slow migration is wrong
A glimpse of the seaside
Israel lets the Palestinians go to the beach
Nollywood blues
Nigeria’s film industry has taken a viral knock
Bone of contention
Are dogs acceptable pets, Muslim scholars ask?
United States
Natural disasters
Why California is experiencing its worst fires on record
Political rabbit holes
QAnon conspiracy theorists could prove awkward for Republicans
Guo Wengui and Steve Bannon
Meet Guo Wengui, Steve Bannon's Chinese-exile friend
Violence in Kenosha
Wisconsin’s summer of fury
Covid-19 in schools
Other countries show that schools need not be pandemic hotspots
Lexington
Hail to the king
The Americas
Bombshells on board
A former official fires a legal missile at Mexico’s political class
Sibling storms
Storms Marco and Laura strike the Caribbean
Asia
Dignity in the face of depravity
The murderer of 51 Muslims in New Zealand last year is sentenced
Self-strangulation
As natural disasters strike, North Korea cuts itself off
China
International
The common tragedy
Worldwide covid-19 is causing a new form of collective trauma
Special report
Business
Red carpet
Hollywood’s Chinese conundrums
Ascend and deliver
Delivery Hero is Germany’s newest blue chip
Left to their own devices
Covid-19 has been a mixed blessing for makers of medical equipment
A closer look at greasy palms
Bribery pays—if you don’t get caught
A prickly patriot
Palantir’s stockmarket prospectus reveals both losses and promise
Finance & economics
Exit bruiser
Phil Hogan, Europe’s trade commissioner, resigns
King of the hill
Ant Group IPO filing shows its might
An expensive dream
Nicolai Tangen pays a big price for his new gig
The high-rise life
Efforts to rein in house prices are fuelling discontent in Seoul
Schools brief
Science & technology
The coronavirus pandemic
Anti-covid-19 medicines are being approved too easily
Culture
The new ink masters
China makes its mark on the world of tattoos
New Italian fiction
Elena Ferrante returns to Naples, and to familiar themes
Inside the Grand Lodge
A global history of the Freemasons
Home Entertainment
The therapeutic properties of “Help!”
Economic & financial indicators
Graphic detail
A first-world problem
Conspiracy theories about covid-19 vaccines may prevent herd immunity
Obituary
Wind, sea and stars