Shoal searching: the South China sea simmers

Within the space of a week Chinese president Xi Jinping has welcomed both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to Beijing. Our correspondent explains the significance of these consecutive meetings. How the Premier League got its kick – and became one of Britain’s most successful busin ...  Show more

Is Binyamin Netanyahu’s time up as Israel’s prime minister? As a vote in parliament triggers the election campaign, our correspondent – and Netanyahu’s biographer – analyses what comes next. We join a US-backed counter-terrorism training exercise in Africa and question whether su ...  Show more

A constellation of islands, reefs and rock-piles has been the source of disputes for decades. As a <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/09/12/more-storms-are-brewing-in-the-south-china-sea?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_ ...

Russia’s dark-fleet maritime operations and brazen incursions into NATO airspace appear to be precision-engineered to test Western resolve. We ask how this new phase of aggression may end. Our correspondent reports from Madagascar, where young people are leading unprecedented ant ...  Show more

The United Arab Emirates projects an image of level-headed calm in the Gulf. Its actions abroad, however, betray a <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/04/16/the-uae-preaches-unity-at-home-but-pursues-division-abroad?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio ...

For the past week in Indonesia, protesters have taken to the streets and cities have burned. President Prabowo is still popular – now he faces a big test. Climate change threatens the collapse of an Atlantic current that helps make Europe habitable. And facekinis become a fashion ...  Show more