The Economist

Talib HQ
The Taliban’s decision to open a “political office” in Qatar to facilitate negotiations suggests a change of tack by Pakistan, whose support is needed for any talks. As the Afghan state continues to gain strength, it makes sense for the insurgents to make a deal sooner rather than later

Bouquets and brickbats
Surprises, shocks and sport as our central and eastern European blog delivers its annual round-up of the region’s winners, losers, stars and bogeymen. Who wins the coveted Golden Swot? Which initiative Crashed and Burned? And who will take the dreaded Mordor Dark Star?

A handbook for tyranny
How does one become a dictator? It’s easy, says Alastair Smith, the author of a new book on the subject. First, reward a coterie of devoted supporters who know they are easily replaced; then tax everyone else highly, so that basic needs must come from the state. Shedding blood also helps

United States: A new year in ethanol
America’s least favourite distilled spirit finally gets its comeuppance

Africa: Music kept me alive
After arriving in South Africa in 1950, Jürgen Schadeberg began photographing the country’s diverse and divided culture

Business: Masters of Management
Our management editor discusses the impact of the internet and the rise of the emerging world on business culture

Finance: Charting the year
An interactive slideshow reviews 2011 in just nine charts

Business education: Joining the executives
The demands of a full-time MBA are nothing compared with those of an executive MBA

Travel: The push for clearer air fares
America’s transport department takes steps to make air fares easier to understand

Technology: Difference engine
The long-term evolution of wireless communications means that the days of the fixed line are finally numbered

Technology: Scan and deliver
The internet’s unofficial archivist presses the American government to digitise and release its documents

Culture: More than Murakami
Japan’s other artists are starting to get some attention

Economics: A layaway to save
Not all sensible purchases make sense from a strictly financial perspective

Business: Baltic green shoots
Animal spirits have long been feeble in the European Union, but they are vibrant in one of its smallest countries. In Estonia more than 14,000 enterprises registered in 2011. That’s 40% more than in 2008, a record in the industrialised world