Red moon rising: Will China dominate science?
The world this week
Leaders
Trump’s cards
How the shutdown in Washington ends
America is heading for an almighty fight over presidential authority
Still having cake
Labour’s Brexit cop-out betrays its members
Corbyn promised to empower party members. He is sidestepping them
Peak smartphone? Good
The maturing of the smartphone industry is cause for celebration
It’s bad news for Apple shareholders, but good news for humanity
Praetorian penury
Pakistan’s army is to blame for the poverty of the country’s 208m citizens
It has fostered the paranoia and extremism that hold the country back
Letters
On animal rights, genocide, working, Foucault, Brexit, Santa Claus
Letters
Briefing
Tales of self-harm
Why Imran Khan is unlikely to make life much better for Pakistanis
The army sets the agenda
Europe
He had a friend in Minsk
Belarus’s leader upsets Vladimir Putin by cosying up to the West
Putin and the patriarchs
Russia’s conflict with Ukraine has caused the Orthodox church to split
More égalité than you might think
How France redistributes more from rich to poor than Sweden
Germany finds “G0d”
A young hacker spooks the German establishment
Britain
A Brexit balancing act
How long can Labour’s Eurosceptic leader keep Europhile members happy?
Britain and the EU
Can a no-deal Brexit be stopped?
No hospital for old men
The NHS falls out of love with the market
Charm defensive
Shinzo Abe visits Britain to firm up security ties
Undying loyalty
Charities try new tactics to be remembered in wills
Good cop, mad cop
Mike Barton runs England’s best police force. What sets him apart?
Middle East & Africa
“We are all Darfur”
Sudan’s genocidal regime is under siege
The Kinshasa surprise
Congo declares Félix Tshisekedi president. Voters suspect a stitch-up
Till death do us part
A failed coup in Gabon highlights the staying power of Africa’s ageing leaders
Agricultural technology
How silicon makes Israel’s desert bloom
Crude deals over oil
America is trying to get more out of its relationship with Iraq
United States
This town, shut down
Before 1980 the federal government did not shut down
Mischief and policing
Swatting could become a federal crime
Shopping for a splenectomy
Hospital prices are now public
Sister sledging
What group of people is most hostile to #MeToo?
On the make by the lake
Chicago’s political system is set up to produce corruption
Lexington
John Kasich: conservative orphan
The Americas
Failure in Venezuela
Nicolás Maduro digs in for another six-year term
Guarding guaras
Protecting Honduras’s national bird
Asia
Monarchical merry-go-round
Malaysia’s sultans must pick a new king
Immigrants in the outback
Unlikely new residents are reviving Australian country towns
China
Oh, for an assembly-line job
Worries about unemployment mount as China’s economy slows
Testing times
Reported cases of HIV in China are rising rapidly
International
Camel, meet needle
Missionaries from the global south try to save the godless West
Business
Cracks in the glass
Apple succumbs to the smartphone malaise
Keynote speaker
Voice-enabled gadgets star at the Consumer Electronics Show
Feeling the heat
California’s biggest utility is in deep trouble
Wheels of justice
Carlos Ghosn gets a chance to plead his innocence
Island shopping
Indonesia binges on e-commerce
Finance & economics
The bears’ clause
For emerging markets, a more fearful Fed is a less frightful one
Study thyself
How economics is trying to fix its gender problem
Crashing the party
Wall Street firms take aim at America’s stock-exchange oligopoly
Science & technology
The great experiment
Can China become a scientific superpower?
Culture
Prophecies and revelations
The beginning and fraying of Vladimir Putin’s reign
Tales of a suitcase
Who owns Kafka?
Teeth and claws
A debut collection from the author of “Cat Person”
The price of peace
A searing reflection on the Troubles and their aftermath
Economic & financial indicators
Graphic detail
Obituary
The high priest of ha ha