Ransomware's evolution, defeating internet misinformation, and other top stories of the week

How ransomware is evolving and how to protect yourself from it.

Apple tumbles, Google surges. The world’s most valuable brands in 2017.

Why Macron succeeded and Hillary failed. Fighting internet misinformation.

Not Google or Amazon but Volkswagen tops the R&D spending list.

An economic bloc that young people support. Highlights from the World Economic Forum on ASEAN 2017.

Want to boost African industry? Cut red tape at the borders.

Save the elephants. China bans the ivory trade.

Digital blossoming & a humanitarian crisis. A region on the brink of change.

The attractions of Islamic finance. A focus on real assets and certainty.

Religion that fights extremism. Engaging the peace-seeking mainstream.

Big pyramid syndrome. Why SMEs face special challenges in the region.

Putting Syria’s young people back to work. Four ways to create jobs and rebuild.

Cash prizes for the poorest school kids. Fixing China’s education poverty problem.

Math and science teachers are quitting. A skills crisis in UK schools.

Does technology lower inequality? The skill premium's history indicates yes.

Fake news on the left. The rise of an influential, misleading news site.

Ready for 3D printed ovaries? They produce healthy offspring in mice.

The European Union must compromise, even if it hurts, argues Professor Klaus Schwab. (Handelsblatt)

Times to rethink the export-led manufacturing model. Coverage from our ASEAN meeting. (Straits Times)

37 million pieces of plastic waste on a lone Pacific island. Cites Forum report The New Plastics Economy. (Financial Times)

Arab and Israeli start-ups get together. The World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa begins in Jordan. (Newsweek ME)

Forum to take up Belt and Road Initiative. (China Daily)