Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

In Asia our cover looks at the struggle for Hong Kong, where China has gone back on a promise to introduce full democracy. We argue that the territory's citizens should still push for a proper contest—for their sake and for China's. In the rest of the world we look at Vladimir Putin's long game. The sad reality is that he has won in Ukraine. The West must steel itself for a lengthy struggle John Micklethwait, Editor-in-Chief

The connected car How it will make driving safer, cleaner and more efficient READ MORE » Googlephobia in Germany The opposition to American tech firms is short-sighted and self-defeating READ MORE » The booming intern economy All work and no pay READ MORE » Politics this week A second American journalist was beheaded by Islamic State militants. Steven Sotloff had been kidnapped in Syria and held captive for more than a year. The group threatened to kill a British hostage next SEE ARTICLE » MORE FROM: POLITICS THIS WEEK » Business this week Brazil fell into recession in the first half of the year, according to official data which showed the economy shrinking by 0.6% in the second quarter and 0.2% in the first. The main reason was another big drop in investment. The government had said that it expects GDP to grow by 1.8% this year, but that now seems unlikely SEE ARTICLE » MORE FROM: BUSINESS THIS WEEK »