American submariners once talked of roaming the Pacific almost as if it were an American lake. They joked that Chinese submarines were so noisy they could be heard from California’s coast. But America’s undersea dominance is now under threat.
Elsewhere, the Iran war has pushed up petrol prices. That much is well known. But the conflict is also driving up the cost of many other goods, from aluminium to pistachio nuts. We’ve put together maps and charts showing the scale of the disruption.
How Israeli terror begets Palestinian terror. Ignoring warnings about settler violence against Palestinians “has helped create a Wild West Bank of terror, pogroms, looting and murder”, argues a former Israeli political adviser in a guest essay.
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Many celebrities now have book clubs. A hobby that was once dull, domestic and faintly frumpy has had a glow-up. Alas, many of these endeavours are irritating.
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China wants more robots but not fewer workers. Autonomous cars and drones are being deployed at a dizzying pace. This puts Chinese leaders in a bind: they want to lead the world in AI and automation but not to destroy jobs.
15%, the share of global tantalum supplied by Rubaya, a town northwest of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Read why M23, a Congolese militia, wants to sell critical minerals to Donald Trump.