Day: June 17, 2026

We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2018: They fought for the Iranian revolution – and then for Saddam Hussein. The US and UK once condemned them. But now their opposition ...

Global EV sales are expected to hit 23 million this year, an 11% jump from 2025, as the Iran war drives demand for cheaper electric mileage. Thanks to falling lithium-ion prices, EVs are becoming more affordable just as gas prices have risen, prompting more drivers to make the switch even ...

France’s spy agency ended its contract with US-based software giant Palantir and replaced it with a domestic rival. Europe’s tech sovereignty concerns have risen after the US government blocked foreign nationals’ access to Anthropic’s frontier models. Palantir in particular has faced scrutiny, the Financial Times noted: Its deal with the ...

The European Parliament approved its trade deal with the US, agreeing to reduce tariffs on industrial and agricultural goods. Washington agreed to cap its own tariffs. The deal was agreed last year, but votes were postponed after US President Donald Trump threatened to annex Greenland, leading parliamentarians to demand extra ...

DeepSeek became China’s most valuable AI startup after raising $7.4 billion, but its $50 billion valuation is eclipsed by the astronomical market values of its US rivals. The upstart upended Silicon Valley with its cost-effective open-source model last year, and is seen as leading Beijing’s race against the US. While ...

SpaceX shares jumped further Tuesday, making the company more valuable than Amazon but further raising concerns of a bubble. The space giant’s IPO last week broke records and investors have only piled in since. But the numbers are startling: Its price-to-sales ratio is almost 150, compared to less than four ...