The summer of 2026 has raised questions once again among politicians, diplomats, and academics about whether Germany might be about to dither on Russia. Last month, a drone attack on German soil seemed designed to coerce Germany back into business...
Taiwan
Cross-strait tensions, the One-China policy and regional security around Taiwan and China.
The number of tankers traversing the Strait of Hormuz remains below the ten-day average, according to ship-trackers, with Kpler reporting only four tanker crossings for Tuesday. That is below a ten-day average of 13 tankers, Reuters reported earlier today. Windward,...
Australia and the United States have announced a combined $580 million in funding for Pacific Island nations, highlighting growing competition with China for influence across the strategically important region. The funding comes as Pacific states face energy insecurity, organised crime...
Government bond markets across major economies are facing a broad selloff as investors worry about persistent inflation, higher interest rates and growing government debt. Yields in the United States, Japan, Germany, France and Britain have risen to multi year or...
US President Donald Trump’s plan to secure direct access to Venezuela’s oil reserves could undermine the country’s efforts to revive its struggling energy sector. While Washington says the arrangement will accelerate reconstruction and strengthen US energy security, critics warn that...
Study reveals that pesticide poisoning kills 11,000 people each year, with India accounting for nearly 60% of fatalities Almost half of the world’s farmers are poisoned by pesticides every single year, a study has found. Using publicly available data from 2006-2023, the...
South African artist Puleng Mongale explores how her childhood church still connects her to the women of her family, not through religion but shared history and memory This image, called Holy Gang, combines an image of a church in my mother’s...
Venezuela’s crude oil production rate could double in the next few years thanks to new deals set to be signed with U.S. and other foreign energy companies, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said. “The investment in these deals will...
The 65-billion-barrel Venezuela oil deal is not proof that regime change was sold with a resource contract attached as its explicit precondition — the deal was announced eight months after Nicolás Maduro’s capture, not before it. But the actual innovation,...
Asian financial markets came under heavy pressure on Wednesday as renewed US airstrikes on Iran intensified fears of further disruption to the global energy supply. Rising oil prices and a sharp increase in US government bond yields revived concerns over...
Taiwanese companies are planning an additional $20 billion in investment in the United States, driven largely by strong demand for artificial intelligence and semiconductor technologies. The move comes as Washington pressures Taiwan’s technology industry to expand its US presence and...
I was told to keep my diagnosis private but I am determined to show the reality of breast cancer and reject the stigma that prevents women seeking treatment ‘Madam, this looks like breast cancer, and if it is, we will chop...
Last week, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman told parliament that the country would view an invitation to join the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement “positively.” Then he also went on to add that an expanded pact could essentially become a self-defense...
On 28 August, six months to the day after American and Israeli aircraft opened the war on Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted that putting diplomacy back on track was not impossible. He had just held what he called creative...
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned this week, raising a flurry of questions about whether his departure is part of a larger political reordering that has pushed skeptics of President Donald Trump’s war policies to the margins. A long-time friend of Vice...
Israeli settlers attacked an NBC News crew in the village of Jalud over the weekend, injuring the network’s correspondent, Matt Bradley, as well as two other crew members and Aida Ahmed Abdullah, the Palestinian woman they were interviewing. “They jumped out,...
Oil prices climbed once again in early Asian trade on Wednesday as the U.S. and Iran traded strikes in a significant escalation after a month of relative calm. At the time of writing, WTI had climbed to $91.05 per barrel,...
A new University of Massachusetts-Amherst opinion poll, conducted August 21-26, finds profound American disillusionment with President Donald Trump, with his Iran war, and with its economic fallout in their lives. Apparently, the Ellison family’s attempt to drum up support for Donald Trump and his Iran...
I realize everyone is fixated on the renewal of US attacks on Iran. Iran has just completed its second wave of attacks on US military targets in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. I will write about this tomorrow. Today I want...
China’s agricultural funding mainly goes to farm development, fisheries, irrigation, mechanisation, agricultural technology and rural infrastructure. Chinese invest less in agro-processing and storage. Southern African countries (Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique) receive the most in loans. They’re followed by east...
Energy literacy has become a strategic necessity for modern societies. Electrification accelerates across Europe and the United States, natural gas remains the backbone of grid stability, and oil markets continue to shape global economic behavior. In this context, the public...
The annual Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting is underway in Palau, and already there has been controversy. First, it’s a leaders meeting with a distinct lack of leaders. Second, China is reportedly furious that Taiwan is represented at the...
Some people say that being anti-war is to be against “the troops” – the Americans who in the past were drafted to fight and today volunteer to serve. But that is a superficial criticism that distracts from what the criticism...
Albert Einstein is credited with saying, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Whether he actually said it or not, the definition stands. This definition also very well describes the...
Saudi Arabia’s power stations, desalination plants, factories and farms consume more than 1 million barrels per day of liquid fuel that the kingdom aims to displace by 2030. Natural gas and renewables will provide most of the replacement energy. Nuclear...
The port of Corpus Christi has become one of two ports selected for a project aimed at integrating small modular reactors in a bid to expand the use of nuclear power in more industries—and propel SMR technology forward. Small modular...
When Washington on August 19 unveiled its economic “D-Day” – the latest tightening of the financial siege and the blockade around Iran’s ports – it believed it was applying decisive leverage. But in Tehran the move was read as something...
While condemning President Donald Trump ’s “record level of lawbreaking,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told The Lever today that Democrats shouldn’t be afraid to use the newly expanded powers of the Oval Office to deliver their agenda should they win...
In this issue: - Xi at the SCO - China’s global strategy - Li Qiang meets US business delegation - Tax changes for foreigners - Auto industry overseas conduct guidelines - Latest issue of Qiushi The Feed: Business, Economy and Trade - Politics and Law - Foreign...
Xi, Modi and Putin in the same room is easy to read as a rival bloc assembling against Washington. The more accurate reading is harder for the US to counter: this is a gathering of countries that have decided American...
In recent years, the European Union has replaced one critical energy and security vulnerability with another heavy dependence for its green energy ambitions. As the EU has moved to phase out Russian energy imports and reduce the overall dependence on...
Solar energy is going gangbusters. The world is adding photovoltaic solar panels at a blistering rate, shattering its own records year after year, buoyed by a flood of ever-cheaper solar panels out of China. “We have a plentiful and cheap...
A federal judge has allowed antitrust lawsuits accusing some of the biggest U.S. shale producers of coordinating production cuts to keep oil and fuel prices higher to proceed. U.S. District Judge Matthew Garcia in New Mexico rejected efforts by Diamondback...
After years of volatile markets, lithium prices are soaring, and everyone wants a piece. As the battery storage sector goes gangbusters on a global scale, lithium spot prices are seeing a major windfall, with mining companies posting massive profits. As...
Michael Roberts – AI and the profits boom
Full ArticleCorporate profits are skyrocketing as the AI boom continues, while workers continue to lose out. Michael Roberts is an Economist in the City of London and a prolific blogger . Cross-posted from Micha el Roberts’ blog As the central bankers of the world...
Burnham promised to end neoliberalism, but he has already U-turned on his most ambitious policies. Joe Gill has worked as a journalist in London, Venezuela and Oman, for newspapers including Financial Times, Morning Star and Middle East Eye. His focus is...
Walter Benjamin’s view of revolution, as an emergency break on a runaway train, is increasingly relevant in an era of war and climate breakdown. Chris Bambery is an author, political activist and commentator. His books include A People’s History of Scotland and...
Date: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026Time: 12:00-1:00 PM ETThe second joint webinar by RUSI and War on the Rocks: Two leading defense publications from both sides of the Atlantic present their expert panel. OverviewFor this edition of The Atlantic Brief, the Royal...
President Xi Jinping pointed out that both China and Egypt are at a critical stage of development and rejuvenation. China has made a good start to the implementation of its 15th Five-Year Plan, while Egypt is advancing the building of...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was briefed by US President Donald Trump’s special envoys following their latest trip to Moscow and said the two Americans were working on plans for a follow-up visit to Kyiv in the near future....
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In 1967, a Maasai herder called Jumanne Mhero Ngoma stumbled across a clump of unusual violet crystals in the Mereli Hills near the Tanzanian city of Arusha. For his discovery, Ngoma was awarded 50,000 shillings – about $22 in today’s...
Before this week’s Grand Canyon flash floods left at least two people dead and stranded 80 in the national park, President Donald Trump’s Interior Department moved 300 specialized emergency response personnel from across the country to the capital — not...
Shop price inflation has hit a two-year high and is set to climb through the autumn as a surge in energy and commodity costs filters through to consumers, a top business group has found. The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which...
The Biggest Issue in the Midterm Elections
Full ArticleThe earnings of America’s largest corporations — the S&P 500 — surged by an astounding 53% over the past year. But most Americans are losing ground . Wages have barely risen — yet a tomato today costs 40% more than it did...
Back to School — Without Food
Full ArticleCuts to the nation’s largest food assistance program will likely spill over into schools, causing students to lose access to free breakfast and lunch. More than 1 million American children have lost access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP,...
This story was originally published by Grist . Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here . This fall , 54 million K-12 students are headed back to the classroom for another year of lessons in all the classic subjects: math, English,...
Photo by McCarthy Beckan on Unsplash It’s funny how, without USAID to funnel money in different places and with ActBlue under investigation, we’re just not seeing the riots this year we normally see. It’s sort of odd, don’t you think? Maybe not. Celebrate...
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