Falling oil prices and the easing of a commodities crunch have pushed countries — wary of being left exposed by another global crisis akin to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz — to shore up their stockpiles. India, which relies on the Gulf for the vast majority of its ...
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How Trump became the president of Washington, DCHow Trump became the president of Washington, DC
The Scene On August 3, 2023, Donald Trump was seated in the back seat of a Chevrolet Suburban, on his way from the airport to the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse on Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC. Facing arraignment on four charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, ...
Prediction market fraud fears grow on suspicious wagersPrediction market fraud fears grow on suspicious wagers
Spotify asked Kalshi and Polymarket to remove its logo from their sites after users allegedly manipulated data on the streaming platform to cash out on prediction markets. The music giant deleted half a million streams from Malcolm Todd’s song after discovering that the surge in listens coincided with suspicious wagers ...
India, Japan deepen business tiesIndia, Japan deepen business ties
The leaders of India and Japan pledged Thursday to strengthen economic ties, as cross-border dealmaking picks up between the two Asian nations. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the two sides have reached nearly 120 business agreements over the past year, bringing more than $10 billion in Japanese investment to ...
US heat wave strains gridUS heat wave strains grid
A heat wave gripping the US this week is putting pressure on an already-strained energy grid. As Americans crank up their air conditioners, the country’s largest grid operator forecast that electricity demand could break records, raising the risk of blackouts. The situation is a “five-alarm fire,” said the head of ...
Spanish immigration amnesty drew 1.2M applicantsSpanish immigration amnesty drew 1.2M applicants
A Spanish immigration amnesty drew 1.2 million applicants, double the expected number. Madrid is unusual in Europe in maintaining an open immigration policy; elsewhere, governments, under pressure from populist anti-migrant parties, are closing borders. Spain’s incumbent socialist government is facing challenges, but Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez argues that migration is ...
Pope cuts off conservative groupPope cuts off conservative group
Pope Leo XIV excommunicated at least 750 priests belonging to the ultraconservative Society of St. Pius X on Thursday, a rare measure that produced the church’s largest schism in 150 years. Formed in opposition to 20th-century reforms, SSPX has long maintained ties to Europe’s far right, and has grown its ...
US jobs data changes Warsh’s gameUS jobs data changes Warsh’s game
The US snapped its hiring hot streak in June, a weakening that will complicate the Federal Reserve’s path forward on interest rates. Employers added 57,000 jobs last month, about half of what economists had expected. That puts more pressure on new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh and his colleagues, a dissent-happy ...
Africa’s aid dependency was never Washington’s to fixAfrica’s aid dependency was never Washington’s to fix
The dismantling of USAID has sparked an increasingly polarized debate, particularly among Africa watchers. In Washington, supporters argue that decades of foreign assistance fostered dependency and failed to advance American interests. Critics counter that the abrupt withdrawal of aid is already having devastating humanitarian consequences. Reports linking the dismantling of ...
A dystopian rave satireA dystopian rave satire
, by Graeme Armstrong. When an ultranationalist British party sweeps to power in this dystopian Scottish political satire, the ensuing crackdown targets drug use, youth culture, and electronic music — the last of which prompts veteran raver William Patterson (or “DJ Turbo”) to plunge into a drug-fueled paramilitary underground. With ...