Spanish high-speed rail safety
Spain's second high-speed crash of the year kills 69, a month before an election
A high-speed train was cleared to run at normal speed towards another stopped ahead, and 69 people died.
The week · Edition 006
Loss of Control
A train is cleared to run into another in Spain; Israel and Brazil vote, then argue over who won; Wall Street asks when AI will pay; and $6.3bn leaves Binance in 20 minutes.
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Stories from this week
2026 Israeli election
Israel votes for a deadlock, and Arab parties hold the balance
Neither side won a majority in Israel's election, Arab-led parties won a record 19 seats, and Likud cried theft.
2026 Brazilian election
Lula wins Brazil's run-off, and the loser leaves the country
Lula won a fourth term, and two days later his defeated rival crossed the border and declared himself president-elect.
Artificial Intelligence
Wall Street starts asking when the Artificial Intelligence boom will pay
Big Tech has doubled its spending on AI in a year, and this week investors wiped $500bn off Alphabet asking when it pays.
North Korea's cryptocurrency thefts
The largest crypto theft ever took about 20 minutes
About $6.3bn left Binance's wallets in roughly 20 minutes, and the FBI says the trail leads to North Korea.
Europe's 2026 protest wave
Europe's protest wave reaches Germany, and turns violent there too
On the protest wave's third weekend, France marched again and Germany's youth rallies ended in looting in Frankfurt.
The history behind this week
All history
If Robots Do All the Work, Who Gets Paid?
If machines do the work, who gets paid? Every economy has been built on whatever made wealth at the time. The record on jobs and pay, the arguments on both sides, and four answers to who owns the machines.
Europe's protest wave: from a school blockade to the streets of seven countries
How a school blockade near Paris became part of a wave of protest across seven European countries, and what history suggests happens next.
What is AI, really?
What actually happens inside an AI when you ask it a question, and how it learned to answer by guessing and being corrected.
In depth
All history →
Trump: Promises vs Reality
Ten of Donald Trump's biggest 2024 campaign promises, set against the latest official figures. Two were kept, two partly kept and six not kept.
Previous editions
All editions
Edition 005
Chain Reactions
France counts the cost of its worst riots in years; oil hits a six-month high as the Gulf war widens; Ukraine's satellite link returns as talks are agreed; a PHP flaw sends governments offline; and Ebola reaches Nigeria.
Edition 004
Fragile Links
The US eases pressure on Moscow as its rift with Kyiv deepens; attacks on Hormuz shipping hit a wartime high; Houthi missiles reach Aramco and Aden's palace; drought pushes Sudan's west closer to famine; and India's voter-roll review becomes a national test.
Edition 003
Pressure Points
The US arms Ukraine while easing restrictions on Russian diesel; a Russian laboratory death remains unexplained; France's students win a concession; Yemen's war reaches Riyadh airport; and OpenAI reports a flood of new maths results.
Edition 002
On Hold
Major AI companies sign a voluntary safety accord as developers build new containment systems; Iran and Russia squeeze different parts of the global diesel market; US–China trade talks remain narrow; the proposed Ukraine energy truce is unsigned; and renewed fighting in Tigray tests the peace framework meant to end the last war.
Edition 001
The Limits of Power
AI reaches the UN Security Council, the US and Iran talk while Hormuz stays restricted, Trump and Xi buy time, Washington tries a narrower route to peace in Ukraine, and Gaza's ceasefire leaves the hardest questions open.