Flags of convenience
A second freighter in a week sinks mysteriously off Bulgaria. Navies are struggling to keep merchant ships safe. & What happened inside a Siberian plague lab?
Applause in Nuremberg
American sanctions on the world’s war-crimes court, hours after a former judge wins the Nobel. The fight over who answers to international law. & What happened inside a Siberian plague lab?
No undo button
A youth movement called Cockroach, in the streets of India after 130 million names disappear from its rolls. The world’s biggest democracy, with a voter database that can delete but not restore. & Is the West cracking up?
Secrets by subscription
A former spymaster, arrested over 2,000 classified files from inside his old service. The second careers of retired officials, and who hires them. & What do Middle Eastern states want with European football clubs?
Dead air in Rio
A shambles over Brazil’s last TV debate before Sunday’s presidential election. Candidates who’d rather not be questioned. & What’s in the weekend despatch?
Barricades at the gate
France’s teenage revolt over packed, overheated classrooms. The prime minister’s crisis cell, and the hard-left party he’s blaming. & Why does Europe run on American tech?
The tank on the dock
Canadian whisky turned back at the border at midnight. Whey, molasses, and two models of Can-Am motorcycle barred with it. & Why did Beijing break its promise to Hong Kong so early?
Public enemy
Who cares about Jimmy Lai? The last time a Chinese state visit ended with a political prisoner going free. & Is China as strong as it looks?
Orwell’s list
London’s new center against foreign disinformation. A national gloom, and where it starts. & Why does nothing in the United Kingdom seem to work?
The guest list
Washington’s call for the members of the international war-crimes court to quit it. The UN General Assembly’s vote for a barred head of state to speak remotely. & An anti-war party banned from Russia’s elections for copyright infringement?
