Editor's note

Learning a language can be difficult, learning several even more so. All those verb endings, complex rules and alphabets. Like so many problems, science fiction provided a solution – Douglas Adams’ Babel fish in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy slipped in your ear and allowed you to seamlessly travel through the universe communicating with others. Now Google is set to launch its own version – earbuds capable of translating 40 different tongues. And Ian McLoughlin explains how they work, in language that even the biggest technophobe can understand.

During the Cold War, the Soviets spent ten years fighting a gruelling war in Afghanistan only to leave in humiliating defeat. Now Russia has returned – but under very different circumstances. With grand designs in Central Asia and a hankering to challenge the US wherever it can, Moscow is now covertly supporting the Taliban. David Lewis maps out another treacherous front in Russia’s geopolitical strategy.

Most of us spend a surprising amount of time trying to influence the people around us. But are there any proven ways to successfully persuade and manipulate others? Harriet Dempsey-Jones suggests five tricks, inspired by the last 30 years of psychological research.

Luke Salkeld

Commissioning Editor

Top story

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Explainer: how the latest earphones translate languages

Ian McLoughlin, University of Kent

Time to chuck out the phrase books?

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