The lightning-fast spread of a seemingly milder coronavirus variant may represent a shift from pandemic to endemic; we ask how that would change global responses. Concern about video-game addictiveness is as old as video games themselves—but the business models of modern gaming may be magnifying the problem. And newly publicised photographs shed light on Bangladesh’s brutal war for independence.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

The security situation is hopeless, following violent unrest and a presidential assassination—as one family’s epic and ultimately failed attempt to leave reveals. The sum total of the missing banknotes in the world is staggering, but what is worrying is that no one seems interested in finding it all. And meeting the man who unwittingly became Sherlock Holmes’s secretary.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

The flood of people out of cities is unlike anything since the suburbanisation of the 1950s; we examine the inevitable economic and political consequences. After years of reporting our correspondent concludes that the mutual disdain of a country’s northern and southern halves is a curious human universal. And a sojourn to fact-check Julius Caesar’s accounts of his triumphs in France.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

In recent years the country has found itself in a sharply different geopolitical environment, responding by building bases and security-partner ties as never before. Our correspondent meets perhaps the last living offspring of an American slave, whose stories paint a picture of the civil-rights movement right up to today. And Thailand’s changing cannabis policy, best seen through its restaurants’ menus.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

As border tensions continue to build, our Russia editor looks back to the fall of the Soviet Union to explain why Russia has never accepted Ukraine’s independence. Eating out has only become more expensive through the decades, yet the diners keep coming; we examine the long history and economics of restaurants. And our staff picks for 2021’s best books.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

As the vote’s second round has neared, the candidates have shifted, a bit, from their positions at opposite ends of the political spectrum. Which radical vision for the country will win out? The transition to electric vehicles may well stall, unless the chicken-and-egg problem of public chargers can be cracked. And a soaring history of “birdmen”, successful and otherwise.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

America’s central bank plans to pinch off its massive bond-buying programme much faster in a bid to stall inflation; our correspondent says it is perhaps a late-arriving signal—but a promising one. Loneliness is a growing problem in the rich world but seems particularly acute among American men. And why aged artists are increasingly taking over the December music charts.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

More than a year after a rebellion Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed promised to put down in weeks, the balance of power keeps swinging—and neighbouring states may soon be drawn in. To the chagrin of libertarian crypto types, regulators are weighing in on an industry now worth trillions. And the fed-up North Korean wives earning more than their husbands.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

Many have been quick to link the tornado catastrophe in America’s Upland South to climate change; we ask why that is a tricky connection to draw. Citizenship of Gulf states has long been difficult to acquire, even for lifelong residents. That is slowly changing—for a slice of the elite. And the kerfuffle surrounding the repurposing of Britain’s red phone boxes.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

The latest “variant of concern” has spread far—and fast. We examine what has been learned about it at equally striking speed, and ask what to look out for next. South-East Asia has long had a methamphetamine problem; so-called compulsory treatment centres are only making matters worse. And the effort to make a minuscule lemur science’s next super-model. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer