CATEGORIES

'Bad' Apple? Smartphone ban may signal wider backlash against US tech

China's government last week reportedly expanded its ban of iPhones to local government workers and state-owned companies, soon after it had emerged central government employees were forbidden from bringing the devices to work.

Red alert Too few jobs, not enough tax receipts and a weak safety net

When finding a job feels as unlikely as winning the lottery, playing the actual lottery may seem like a more productive use of time. In the first half of 2023, faced with a struggling economy, Chinese consumers spent 273.9bn yuan ($37bn ) on lottery tickets, an increase of more than 50% on the same period in 2022.

Have we reached Peak China?

The world's second-biggest economy has long seemed set on an everupwards path. But amid a slowing economy and jobs market, the outlook may be changing for the country's people-and its leaders

The graduate

She was a TV child star - then became a pop phenomenon. With her new second album, the singer is trying to make sense of her young life

Politicians, not curators, are to blame for the British Museum's woes Charlotte Higgins

I can't help thinking of the title of that old David Lodge novel, The British Museum is Falling Down

Alabama under fire for 'human experiment' on death row

Kenneth Smith is one of two living Americans who can describe what it is like to survive an execution, having endured an aborted lethal injection during which he was subjected to excruciating pain tantamount, his lawyers claim, to torture

Quake fear A century on, Tokyo braces for the next Great Kantō

The earthquake that struck the Tokyo region two minutes before noon on 1 September 1923 was so powerful that it destroyed the Central Weather Bureau's seismometers

The battle to staunch the deadly rise in youth crime rates

In the small Swedish city of Örebro, guns are so easy to come by that social services say most of the high-risk young people they work with in relation to youth crime could get hold of one in a day

An'extinct' prehistoric bird returns to the wild

Tà Tipene O'Regan, 84 years old, leaned into his carved walking stick and reached down to a large wooden box

Is it time to stop using polar bears as climate icons?

The warming planet is causing steep declines among some of the world's 26,000 wild polar bears, but the picture is complex, say experts

The oil catastrophe averted by crowdfunding

When civil war broke out in 2014, a leaky tanker in the Red Sea became a crisis point-prompting a remarkable UN-led international public rescue effort

Sunak under pressure over failing concrete in schools

A school buildings crisis was threatening to engulf Downing Street this week, with Rishi Sunak accused of slashing the budget for repairs while his education secretary was caught claiming colleagues had done nothing to stop it

Group therapy Modi's G20 call to arms can't halt retreat of globalisation

India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, will have the unenviable task of forging agreement between the world’s biggest developed and developing countries when G20 leaders gather in Delhi for their annual summit on  9 September

How Russia cherishes its propaganda friends in Italian media

Whenever Nello Scavo returns from Ukraine, he is overcome with frustration

War gains Military breaches Russian line of defence

Ukrainian forces have decisively breached Russia’s first defensive line near Zaporizhzhia after weeks of pain staking mine clearance, and expect faster gains as they press the weaker second line, the general leading the southern counteroff ensive has said

The evacuees who can't take Russian shelling any more

Antonina Sanina's last two nights in Kupiansk were spent hiding in the base. ment of her apartment block. She survived six and a half months of Russian occupation last year, but the renewed shelling of the Ukrainian town finally prompted her to abandon home. \"I couldn't take it any more,\" she explained simply after volunteers drove her to safety

For the ages The question everyone is avoiding: how old is too old for power?

THE QUESTION WAS SIMPLE: what are your thoughts about running for re-election in 2026? \"Oh,\" said Mitch McConnell with a half chuckle, a mumble and then: silence

In 2018, Alexandria OcasioCortez became America's youngest-ever congresswoman and part of the celebrated 'Squad' of House progressives.Now an established Democratic force, she talks about the climate crisis, Trump and misogyny in the US

'We are in a moment of generational change'

Bloomsbury threads

A new book about London's most famous literary set explores its lesser-known role in sparking a sartorial revolution

With five PMs in seven years, the Tories are all at sea with no ideas

Late one night in 1867, Benjamin Disraeli, chancellor of the exchequer in Lord Derby's Tory government, cunningly thwarted a Liberal wrecking amendment in the Commons to his second reform bill. Having written to Queen Victoria at 2am, he went to the Carlton Club in London, where he was cheered and toasted as \"the man who rode the race, who took the time, who kept the time, and who did the trick\". The following year, he became prime minister.

'I get in trouble when I talk about the state of the nation'

After 17 years abroad, Zadie Smith has returned to her literary stomping ground of north London. She talks about fame, therapy and finding inspiration for her latest novel on her doorstep

Don't mention the war

On the International Space Station, astronauts from Russia and the west share a craft the size of a large family home. So what happened when Moscow started a conflict 400km below on Earth?

Far-right populist who is a 'shoo-in' for president aims at pope

In one corner of the ring stands Javier Milei, 52, self-described former tantric sex coach, outsider anarcho-capitalist and frontrunner in Argentina's upcoming presidential elections; in the other, his compatriot Pope Francis, 86, champion of the poor, repeatedly derided by Argentina's likely next president as \"a fucking communist\" and \"the representative of the evil one on Earth\" for promoting the doctrine of \"social justice\" to aid the underprivileged.

Not'appy The problem with digital societies

Increasingly, the world seems to run on smartphones-often to the exclusion of those who struggle with tech. What can be done?

Son of Soros under fire as foundations retreat from Europe

He survived the Nazis, made a fortune on Wall Street and became one of the most steadfast backers of democracy and human rights in the eastern bloc. But there are now fears about the commitment of the billionaire philanthropist George Soros, 93, to his homelands, as his donor network announced it will curb its activities across the EU from 2024.

The Russian minister who became a US truck driver

The former minister drove his big white truck north until he reached Michigan. The Great Lakes provided a welcome relief from the scorching Texas heat.

Fukushima fish traders fear effects of water release

Awa-jinja is a place of pilgrimage for the more superstitious fishing crews of Shinchi-machi, a coastal town in Fukushima, who come here to lower their heads and ask the Shinto gods to look kindly on them as they prepare to steer their boats into the Pacific Ocean.

Bombed out The island idyll where atomic tests reverberate

Oppenheimer has reminded the world of the impact of nuclear weapons testing. One Pacific archipelago never forgot

Monster, Inc Loch Ness's most famous local keeps head down

Around Loch Ness last Saturday, the hope was for sunshine. Would-be champions prepared for the Glenurquhart Highland Games, dedicated runners warmed up for the Loch Ness 24 endurance race - and volunteers readied their binoculars and notepads for the biggest search for the Loch Ness monster in 50 years.

How football president's kiss led to a #MeToo moment

When Jenni Hermoso arrived in the stands, the standing ovation was thundering. On the field below, Atlético de Madrid and AC Milan were battling it out for the Women's Cup, but the message - scrawled on posters, temporary tattoos and a metres-long banner unfurled by the players - was unanimous at the stadium in Madrid last Saturday night: \"We're with you, Jenni Hermoso.\"