CATEGORIES

Justin time?

Trudeau faces up to a pivotal moment

BRASS TAX

Boris Johnson’s £12bn tax hike to pay for social care has outflanked Labour and confounded his own Conservative party. But with public spending at its highest level in peacetime, will it solve a dilemma that has defeated his predecessors – and even if it does, will the Tories ever forgive him?

Algebra delivers the goods

The calculations behind fi lling our supermarket shelves are dizzyingly complex – but it all starts with the x and y problems you remember from school

Death In The Desert How Dubai Let A Million Trees Perish

A vaunted tree planting project has failed after developers thwarted attempts to halt desertification

Power Cut Why China Is Reining In Its Tech Billionaires

Getting rich was once seen as glorious, but Beijing is now squeezing its plutocrats in a quest for 'common prosperity'

I feel like it's quite shaky acceptance

Trans kids and the fight for inclusion

‘The world has a way of intruding'

Sally Rooney’s first novels were huge hits. Her third book includes a writer who resents her sudden fame – just don’t suggest it’s autobiographical

Shoeless and shivering, refugees step off the planes from Kabul

Red Cross workers describe ‘shocking’ scenes in arrivals halls but praise stoicism of those who had been airlifted

Merkel's legacy The force that drove the head of Europe's greatest power

As Maren Heinzerling crossed hands with the most powerful woman in the world, leaned backwards and started to spin her dance partner in a circle, she began to worry.

THE NEW GUYS

TALIBAN The US has left, and the Taliban must switch from fighting an insurgency to administering an entire country again. How will the group respond – and what now lies in store for Afghanistan’s beleaguered people?

BY A WHISKER

Keen-eyed judges, obsessive owners and three-hour blow dries: inside the strange, enduring world of competitive cat shows

One giant leap for clean energy

Scientists have long dreamed of nuclear fusion, a way to power the planet without risk or emissions. Breakthroughs have been scarce - until now

Changing times A question for the west: who is an enemy, and who is a friend?

After the bloodshed at Kabul airport, the grim reality for those who want to prevent Islamic State’s affiliate causing further murder and mayhem in Afghanistan is that, in practice, their best partner for this complex and difficult battle would be the Taliban.

As trust in authorities falls, Ardern keeps faith

The PM has emphasised collective action rather than top-down rules. Studies show the tactic is – so far – paying off

Locked out Life on hold for thousands without ID

At 45, Philimon Mashava has never had a bank account or a phone in his name. He has never had a birth certificate and, without documents, his stateless existence has meant missing out on school and countless job opportunities.

‘Many people are fearful for their lives and safety'

Opening of community space in Accra, which was quickly closed, has been the trigger for new anti-LGBT+ action

Revealed Data leak uncovers global abuse of cyber-surveillance weapon

Spyware sold as means of tracking criminals and terrorists has been used to thwart opposing voices by authoritarian regimes

Leaders fear Zuma loyalists lay behind wave of violence

South African authorities this week feared a new wave of attacks aimed at undermining the economy, investment, and the rule of law as networks loyal to former president Jacob Zuma seeks to force his return to power.

Tory jitters mount at Johnson's political drift

Thin substance in PM’s ‘levelling up’ speech adds to discontent about government’s lack of direction as parliament breaks for the summer

‘Like a bomb went off ' Deluge that has changed lives for ever

‘It looks like a bomb went off. Everything’s destroyed. There’s nothing left of the city centre,” said Michaela Wolff, a winemaker from one of the German towns worst hit by last week’s catastrophic flooding.

Unease as ‘ghost town' rises in Erdoğan power play

‘Do you want to ride or walk?” asks Seyki Mindik. The municipal employee points under the fierce July sun towards the bicycles stacked within view of the police barrier at the entrance to Varosha. “There is so much to see. Tourists love it here.”

Revelations shatter lie that the innocent need not fear surveillance

`Billions of people are inseparable from their phones. Their devices are within reach – and earshot – for almost every daily experience, from the most mundane to the most intimate.

Leak points to lawyers and activists globally being at risk

Records show how dissidents and those who help them are among those under threat from NSO spyware

Cubans find anger in their souls

Thousands took to the streets last week in rare protests and the government is scrambling to crush signs of dissent