The people’s panopticon: Open-source intelligence comes of age
The world this week
Leaders
Chipmaking
The chip shortage is a self-solving problem
Government subsidies will lead to overcapacity and waste
The people’s panopticon
The promise of open-source intelligence
It is a welcome threat to malefactors and governments with something to hide
Democracy in Africa
Zambia’s election is crucial, but it’s not a fair fight
Hakainde Hichilema deserves to be elected, but the world should prepare for a rigged vote
Unstablecoins
Why regulators should treat stablecoins like banks
Cryptocurrencies are not yet a threat to the financial system, but the dangers are growing
Vaccine development
Scientists’ pandemic response could be even faster next time
New research suggests mass vaccination can be scaled up more quickly
Letters
On life sentences, Syria, germs, eggcorns
Letters to the editor
Europe
Forget the border
Belarus is making the rest of Europe nervous
The wolf’s return
A martial-arts star’s comeback is a boost for Chechnya’s dictator
Charlemagne
The black-cod theory of European integration
Briefing
Trainspotting, but with nukes
Open-source intelligence challenges state monopolies on information
Academics, activists and amateurs are making imaginative use of powerful tools
Britain
Britain’s boat people
A country with few asylum-seekers wants even fewer
Britain’s Olympic success
How Britain became an Olympic power
Farms and cybersecurity
Farmers are being targeted by cyber-criminals
Farewell to furlough
Paying workers to stay home during the pandemic protected jobs
Guid money after bad
Scotland counts the cost of industrial bail-outs
Middle East & Africa
Victory by default
Zambia heads towards a pivotal election
Off to an interesting start
Ebrahim Raisi takes office, as Iran and the West face off
United States
Shontel Brown’s victory
A primary in Ohio shows the strength of mainstream, moderate Democrats
Phantom firearms
Taking aim at ghost guns
Lexington
The great American carnival
Fall from grace
Findings of sexual harassment put Andrew Cuomo in jeopardy
The Americas
Bolivia’s woes continue
Is Evo Morales staging a comeback in Bolivia?
You say pirozhki, I say empanada
In Uruguay few descendants of Russian émigrés want to leave
Asia
The urban jungle
Snake sightings are becoming increasingly common in Mumbai
The second horseman
The Burmese army is making a bad pandemic worse
China
Controlled growth
China’s efforts to lift Xinjiang’s economy may smother it
International
Well-founded fears
At 70, the global convention on refugees is needed more than ever
Business
Pinned by chips
Semiconductors pose an unwelcome roadblock for carmakers
A green and level field
The EU’s proposed carbon tariff gets a mixed reaction from industry
Schumpeter
The many sides to Gautam Adani
Veni, Nvidia, vici
Will Nvidia’s huge bet on artificial-intelligence chips pay off?
Finance & economics
The disaster scenario
What if bitcoin went to zero?
Here comes the sheriff
The SEC sets its sights on the crypto “Wild West”
Temporary income hypothesis
Does perishable e-money represent the future of fiscal stimulus?
Schools brief
Defined by their boundaries
Cells and how to run them
Science & technology
Combating future viruses
Predicting viral evolution may let vaccines be prepared in advance
A non-binary burial
An intriguing reinterpretation of an ancient grave
Ancient geometry
The Babylonians used Pythagorean ideas long before Pythagoras
Automatic goods handling
Robots are poised to start unloading lorries
Culture
An underground operation
The remarkable tale of the tunnel under the Berlin Wall
Horological history
Throughout history, clocks have rarely been just a matter of time
Star-crossed lovers
Elif Shafak’s new novel captures Cyprus’s tumultuous history
Economic & financial indicators
Graphic detail
Obituary
The weed of paradise