It could happen

OnthecoverThere are no good options tocurb North Korea's missile-building. But blunderinginto war would be the worst:leader, page 7. Kim Jong Undoes notyet have a missilethat can strike America. Buthe' s dose, page 13. How awar on the Korean peninsulacould start-and howitmight end, page 14

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••Volume 424 Number 9052

Published since September1843totakepartin -aseverecontestbetweenintel/igence, which pressesforword, ondan unworthy, timid ignorance obstructingourprogress. n

Editorial offices in London and also:Atlanta, Beijing, Berlin, BrusseLs, Cairo, Chicago.Lima, Mexico City, Moscow, Mumbai, Nairobi,New Delhi, NewYork, Paris, San Francisco,S'o Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo,Washington DC

5 The world this week

Leaders7 War with North Korea

It could happen8 America's president and

the RepublicansNo deal

8 French reformsKeep your nerve

9 Politics in PakistanThird time unlucky

10 Housing in BritainRooms for improvement

Letters11 On Qatar, travel, English,

France, Ronald Reagan,the young old

Briefing13 North Korea's missiles

Testing, testìnq.;14 Warin Korea

Red lines and bad choices

Europe17 Sanctions on Russia

The punishment continues18 Russian relations with

AmericaArming Ukraine

18 The migrants Poland likesPlugging the gap

19 Urban planning in FranceWe'll always have Vald'Europe

20 CharlemagneDeutschland is dozing

Britain21 Housing

A nation of homebodies22 Tories and construction

March oftheYIMBYs23 Brexit planning

The sucking sound23 London investment

Reach for the skyscraper24 Bagehot

A history lesson

Middle East and Africa25 Kenya's election

The rematch26 South Africa

Hijacked buildings27 Nigerian verbosity

Get the gist?27 Israeli entertainment

Carrie on watching28 Climate and the Nile

Flood and famine

United States29 The White House

Though Mooch is taken,Mooch abides

30 TaxcutsDon't hold your breath

31 College admissionsPOTUSv Harvard

31 Maternal deathsA painful puzzle

32 Media mattersFox populi

33 Gangs and immigrationA horrible MS

34 LexingtonJeff Flake

The Americas35 Venezuela

Democracy done in36 Brazil

Temer survives36 Latin American media

English patients37 Bello

Venezuela's fantasy voting

Asia38 Politics in Pakistan

A Nawaz-shaped hole39 Papua New Guinea votes

Continuity, not stability39 Politics in India

BJP on a roll40 The Philippines' drugs war

Narco-consternation

3

Germany Aplacid electioncampaign has failed toacknowledgethe hard choicesfacing Europe's leadingeconomy: Charlemagne,page 20

Russian sanctions Dotheychange Vladimir Putin'sbehaviour? Page 17. Americamay at last bewilling to offerUkraine weapons, page 18

Kenya Another tumultuouselection, with a renewed fearofviolence, page 25

~~Contents continues overleaf

4 Contents The Economist August 5th 2017

PLAAsthe armed wing ofChina's Communist Partycelebrates its 90th anniversary,one ofXi Jinping's biggestreforms enters a new phase,paqe ai

Road-pridng lt has longbeen a good idea. Todayitisbecoming an urgentone,page43

France The poor performanceofthe country's state-ownedcompanies grows ever morestark, page 45. EmmanuelMacron has promised tonationalise France's biggestshipyard. Heis enteringdangerous waters: leader,page8

China41 The armed forces

Shrinking and flexing42 Waste management

Anti-dumping

International43 Transport

The price ofjam

Business45 Privatisation in France

National treasures46 Discovery and Scripps

Fuzzy signal47 Drug firms

Pharma frenemies47 Profiting from the Belt

and RoadWhere the twain shall meet

48 European productivityLe lon9 layoff

50 SchumpeterKing Kong

Economics brief51 Human capital

The people's champion

Finance and economies53 Phoenix economies

Turnaround stories54 Buttonwood

National balance-sheets55 Private equity

Secondaryeducation56 Interest rates

UBORpains56 Bitcoin splits

Knives and forks57 DNAand insurance

The gene is out of thebottle

Sdence and technology59 Genetic engineering

DNAand howtoadjustit60 Holograms

Winging the blues61 Paying for conservation

Awild idea

Books and arts62 Extinction

Not what it used to be64 Fiona Mozley's fiction

Call ofthe wild64 The aspirational class

Howto spend it65 Johnson

Game oftongues

68 Economie and finandalindieatorsStatistics on 42 economies,plus a closer look atpurchasing managers'indexes

Obituary70 Or G.Yunupingu

Singing the land

Spedes and extinctionThe world is in the grip ofthesixth mass extinction. ltisalso aboutto see a riot of newspecies, page 62

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Orecycle<O2017 The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. Neitherthis publication nor any partofit may be reproduced. stored in a retrievalsystem. ortransmitted in anyform or by any means. etectronic. mechanical. photocopyinq. recording orother-wtse, withoutthe prior permission ofThe Economist Newspaper Limited. Published everyweek. exceptfor a year-end doubleissue, byThe Economist Newspaper Limited. The Economistis a registered trademarkofThe EconomistNewspaper Limited. Printed byVogel Druck und Medienservice GmbH, Leibnizstrafse 5, 97204 Hochberq. Deutschland. France, Numéro Commission Paritaire: 68832 GB. Encartd'abonnementde deux pages sìtuéentre les folios 10 et 130. Rapp. Italia: IMDsrl Via Guido da Velate 1120162Milano Aut. Trib. MI272 del 13/04/8B Poste Italiane SpA - Sped Abb Post DL353/2003 (conv, L. 27/2/2004 n.46) art 1comma 1 DCBMilano, Dir. Resp. Domenico Tassinari