Xi sells sanctuary: a telling Putin meeting

Last night, the populist-right leader announced that she will run in the French presidential election next year. Our correspondent analyses the Le Pen dynasty and explains how this decision will shape the campaign. The world’s first refuge for whales once held in captivity. And o ...  Show more

As NATO leaders gather for the annual summit in Turkey today, the thorniest issue is off the agenda: fractures within the alliance. Our correspondent travels to the Baltics, where a strategic shift is already evident. First there was vibe coding, now vibe lawyering is coming to c ...  Show more

As the presidents of China and Russia <a href="https://www.economist.com/china/2022/09/08/xi-jinping-will-at-last-venture-abroad-again?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&ut ...

Ben and guest host Max Fisher talk about the latest headlines on the Russia/Ukraine war, including Putin’s refusal to sign a new grain deal with Turkey’s Erdogan, a rumored visit by Kim Jong Un, more drones in Russian airspace, and a rise in pro-Russian disinformation in Europ ...

Will China provide lethal aid to Russia for the war in Ukraine? That’s the big question that looms over the meetings this week between Russia and China’s presidents. CNN Political Director David Chalian explains what has come out of the meetings so far, and how the US is respondi ...  Show more

Day 204.Today, we analyse a leaked video of what appears to be the Wagner group recruiting convicts in a Russian penal colony. Plus, we’re on the ground in Samarkand, Uzbekistan ahead of the first meeting because Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping s ...  Show more