The long way home
Briefing: A winner Washington would rather not deal with. Tehran leaves the table. + What do Middle Eastern states want with European football clubs?
Front lines
Feature: Why would football supporters cheer on dictators buying their clubs? David Goldblatt on identity, loyalty, and what all this money really pays for.
Saturday, in Budapest
Briefing: The Champions League final, brought to you from 3,000 kilometers away. Talks and strikes over the strait. + Why did the Gulf states pour billions into global sports?
Total ownership
Feature: What do Middle Eastern states want with European football clubs? Sarath K. Ganji on autocratic governments’ ambitious move into the global game.
‘The culture of power’
Briefing: A tech leader’s mission to the Vatican. A new strike on Iran as the U.S. president says “time is on our side.” + What would it take to build AI that serves human beings?
The color of law
The weekend despatch: An unusual disturbance in the U.S. Senate. Sparta’s founding myth, undone. + What was the Neue Slowenische Kunst?
Their man in Tehran
Briefing: A failed plan to install the next supreme leader in Iran. A court picks the opposition leader in Turkey. + Why have Americans lost faith in higher education?
Mission drift
Feature: Why have Americans lost faith in higher education? Julia Adams and Sarath Sanga on what’s gone wrong—and what universities can do about it.
Three kings, one call
Briefing: How to delay a massive American airstrike. The U.S. Justice Department takes care of the Trump family. + How have governments become some of the biggest investors in the global economy?
The state’s return
Feature: How have governments become some of the biggest investors in the global economy? Adam Dixon on a new era of state capitalism.
