Penulis: Agus S

THE UNITED NATIONSheadquarters towers majestically over Manhattan’s East River. Yet its escalators are often out of order, casualties of sweeping cost cuts by the secretary-general, António Guterres. He must hope that by forcing country representatives to climb up on foot he will save on maintenance and perhaps remind their governments to pay their bills.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Deadbeats united ”

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After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief

FORA SELF-STYLEDAmerica Firster, President Donald Trump is strikingly keen on solving other countries’ problems. Even as Mr Trump began a business-focused tour of Arab states on May 13th, geopolitical disputes on several continents had a claim on his attention. In the few days before he flew to the Middle East, Mr Trump suggested that he is just the man to end conflicts in Ukraine and in Gaza, halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions and broker a solution to India and Pakistan’s decades-old contest over Kashmir. For good measure, he hailed a 90-day pause of the highestUS-China tariffs as great for “unification and peace”. Alas, that promptly set nerves a-jangling in Taiwan, since “peaceful reunification” is China’s euphemism for conquering that democratic island.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Donald Trump is a globalist”

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief

SIXTY LUCKYstudents got the chance to train as journalists last year at African Initiative, a new press agency in Bamako, Mali’s capital. Trainees were given online and in-person lessons in reporting, with the promise that three of them would eventually be hired as full-time staff at the agency. The catch, as reported by Forbidden Stories, a network of investigative journalists, was that African Initiative is run by Russian intelligence.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “The growing battle over the narrative”

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief

Correcting thegigabytes of digital gibberish that circulate at high speed online is a never-ending task. YouTube removed more than half a million channels last year for broadcasting misinformation. Facebook and Instagram deleted 27m falsehoods about covid-19 at the height of the pandemic. The doughty fact-checking organisations that try to keep the internet honest face more claims than they can handle. How should they prioritise?

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “The lie-detectors”

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief

This is the introduction to The War Room, a weekly, subscriber-only newsletter bringing exclusive insights into defence and security.

After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief

HEARTFELT APPLAUSEgreeted the adoption on May 20th of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Pandemic Agreement, a treaty that commits governments to be more responsible and less selfish when future pandemics emerge. There was doubtless an edge of relief to the clapping. After three years of fierce argument, an overwhelming majority of health ministers and officials from over 130 countries—but not America, which isleaving theWHOand boycotting the treaty—voted to approve the text.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Fighting the next pandemic”

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief

“RONALD REAGANwanted it many years ago,” declared Donald Trump, “but they didn’t have the technology.” Now, he said, America could finally build a “cutting-edge missile-defence shield”. Mr Trump’s Golden Dome—an allusion to Israel’s more modest Iron Dome—is intended to protect America from attack using, among other things, hundreds or thousands of satellites that can both track and attack enemy missiles as they take off.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Star wars returns ”

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief

IN MARCH, WHENPresident Donald Trump briefly withheld intelligence support from Ukraine, the shock waves buffeted America’s allies, who worried they could no longer take for granted access to the superpower’s vast space-based resources. This uncertainty extends beyond defence to equally crucial tools, such as theGlobal Positioning System(GPS).

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Lost signals”

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief

FOR AN ECONOMICand military giant, China is strangely drawn to pint-size diplomacy. Though it is a bully in its backyard, China is cautious farther from home. In such hotspots as the Middle East, it is transactional, self-interested and focused on business deals. Bluntly, China acts like a middle power, as if competing in the same league as Turkey or the United Arab Emirates.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Stealing China’s favourite foreign policy”

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young

Its plan was to hold off a Chinese attack until America turned up. What now?

MAGA-world flirts with forces that once tore Europe apart

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief