Leaders
Should the West Engage the Taliban? Readers Respond
Five years after the US withdrawal, readers respond to our call for democracies to work with the Taliban — on aid, accountability, and the opium ban.
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Leaders
Read arguments, commentary and analysis on economics, politics and global affairs. Views should be read with their article-specific author or source credit; an opinion is not a statement of settled fact or a claim of consensus.
Leaders
Revealing Job Interview Questions to Ask Candidates
Our Bartleby columnist asked readers for the one interview question that says most about a candidate. Here is a selection of their most revealing replies.
Leaders
Russia’s economy has entered a death-zone equilibrium
Russia will not collapse — but it will not recover either. Its militarised economy is holding together while consuming its own future capacity.
Leaders
China’s AI drive threatens the world’s largest workforce
From microdramas to lorries and humanoid robots, AI is displacing Chinese workers faster than new roles appear, testing Beijing’s jobs strategy.
Leaders
The Ideal Age Gap for Marriage, in One Formula
A correspondent proposes B = G/2 + 7 as the optimal age gap between bride and groom at marriage.
Leaders
Taliban’s Afghanistan: Calm Streets, Repression and Poverty
After five years back in power, the Taliban have ended Afghanistan’s war but offer 45m people repression, isolation and deepening poverty.
Leaders
China’s exorbitant surplus calls for a much stronger yuan
A stronger yuan, not domestic demand alone, is needed to curb China’s vast trade surplus and its reliance on exports for growth, writes Brad Setser.
Leaders
Don’t blame global imbalances on the undervalued yuan
Demanding that China revalue the yuan misdiagnoses global imbalances. The authors say domestic saving and spending policies, not the exchange rate, must adjust.
Leaders
America’s backlash against data centres is a mistake
Voters across left and right oppose new data centres, making them a midterm issue. The water and power fears are overstated — and blocking them would harm America.
Leaders
How to make football more exciting: readers’ best ideas
After our leader on making football more exciting, readers wrote in with their own rule changes — from bigger goals to pre-match shoot-outs. Here is a selection, edited…