As some of Donald Trump’s most controversial choices for top jobs are questioned this week, our correspondent analyses how supine Republicans may be in his second term. Has the luxury business passed its peak (09:57)? And why scientists are finding new ways to deal with an invasive pest in Australia: the cane toad (16:55).

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Rebels linked to Rwanda have occupied the city of Goma in eastern Congo. Our correspondent reports on the horrific scenes there, and warns that Rwanda’s belligerence may be part of a bigger plan to redraw the map of Africa. How microplastics may be affecting our health (10:43). And why Gen Z loves astrology apps (16:33).

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Silicon Valley firms have poured billions of dollars into artificial intelligence. But a new cheap AI model from DeepSeek, a Chinese start-up, has sent shockwaves through the stockmarket. Our correspondent explains why investors are rattled. Canada’s remote indigenous communities are struggling to install solar power (9:37). And why you should lift weights (18:25).

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A sophisticated, predatory, multi-billion dollar industry is emerging from the shadows. It is already more lucrative than the illicit drug trade. And it’s about to get bigger and much more powerful.

The Economist’s Sue-Lin Wong follows a trail that starts with the collapse of a bank in rural Kansas to uncover a global, underground scam economy built around human trafficking, corruption and money laundering. Can it be stopped?

Coming soon.

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Though thousands of Palestinians are going back to northern Gaza, rebuilding their lives and homes will take years. Just a week into the ceasefire, our correspondent says peace already looks fragile. Why Russian drones are being targeted at civilians in Kherson (9:44). And would game theory help you win “The Traitors” (15:28)?

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Rachel Reeves has had a rocky start as chancellor of the exchequer. Our editor-in-chief meets her at Davos to dissect her plans for growth. Australia Day is coming up, but do not expect universal merriment: its date has become mired in a culture war (10:31). And our “Archive 1945” project revisits the second world war through The Economist’s contemporaneous coverage (17:11).

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After the collapse of the governing “traffic light” coalition in December, the hard-right AfD has a renewed swagger. How long can other parties keep it from power? We speak with Syrian refugees heading home at last, following the defenestration of Bashar al-Assad (10:30). And remembering David Lynch, a bright-eyed director of unsettlingly dark films and television (19:34).

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The procedure is simple—genial, even. Contact Houthi rebels in Yemen and pay up, and your freight can pass into the Red Sea unmolested. We examine how this extortion affects world trade. China is fast closing its gap with America on AI innovation, and doing so far more cheaply (7:22). And a trip to a Ghanaian rum distillery reveals a regional trend (15:44).

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