The UN has 193 member states. A growing number of “country counters” are trying to visit them all. Curious as to why? Register for free to continue reading Photo: Panos Pictures

The Economist

Closing tax loopholes is reasonable. Seizing the assets of society’s most productive people is a road to economic ruin. Register for free to read why Illustration: Álvaro Bernis

The Economist

Treasury-market prices are to investors like water to a fish. The assets are so fundamental to global finance that it is tough to imagine a world without them. What happens, then, if Treasuries are no longer deemed riskless?

The Economist

The location of Xavier Becerra’s primary celebration was apt, near where Los Angeles was founded as a Spanish pueblo in 1781. If current trends hold, he could become the first Latino elected governor of California

The Economist

It is too early to say America’s labour market is overheating. The jobless rate has stayed more or less flat. Labour demand is picking up. Yet wage growth remains relatively subdued

The Economist

Where past military leaders treated violence as a tragic necessity, Pete Hegseth celebrates war as righteous and even thrilling. One longs for a return to high standards for America’s most important jobs

The Economist

The US Treasury market is in trouble. Both the executive and the legislature must summon the will to confront the underlying long-term problem and find ways to shrink borrowing

The Economist

Ahead of Xi Jinping’s trip to North Korea, Kim Jong Un has sent a clear signal that his atomic aspirations are not up for debate

The Economist

Technology forges new art forms and destroys them. The printing press galvanised literature and rubbed out illuminated manuscripts. Cinema killed the music hall. Today a popular gizmo is threatening another intricate craft

The Economist

“Frugality wasn’t for the purpose of financial independence. Frugality was for the purpose of conserving the resources of Mother Earth,” Vicki Robin tells “The Weekend Intelligence”. Listen now to discover how retiring early can benefit you and the planet

The Economist

To understand Kafkaesque bureaucracy, it helps to read Kafka. But Jane Austen and H.G. Wells offer lessons for office life, too: Illustration: Paul Blow

The Economist

Christian activists in Nigeria are following American evangelicals in framing the country’s security crisis in religious terms—some even allege that a “genocide” is under way

The Economist

On “Checks and Balance” this week: “83% of their electricity is generated from oil.” @chowardchoward explains why America’s embargo is causing so much damage in Cuba