For decades, many Chinese viewed the United States with a mix of admiration, envy and resentment. President Trump’s volatile second term shattered that image. Li Yuan When President Trump visited China in late 2017, Xi Jinping welcomed him with a grand display of Chinese history and culture: a four-hour private tour of the Forbidden City culminating in… Read More China Increasingly Views Trump’s America as an Empire in Decline
Environmentalists hail decline but warn weakened laws could reverse gains Tiago Rogero in Rio de Janeiro Brazil’s Atlantic forest, the country’s most threatened biome, last year recorded its lowest level of deforestation since monitoring began 40 years ago, a new report shows. The forest is Brazil’s most populous biome, and home to 80% of the population… Read More Brazil’s Atlantic forest records lowest deforestation in 40 years
Nothing can stop Germany’s moral panic over antisemitism It would be hard to surpass the absurd spectacle of a Jewish philosopher being blocked from speaking at a German Holocaust memorial because he intended to say that the lessons of “never again” should be applied universally. And yet such perverse distortions of Germany’s ‘memory culture’ have… Read More Bad memories
Photographers search for dark skies in the most remote landscapes to find places where the galaxy shines with extraordinary clarity. They share not only their breathtaking results but also their methods, trials and adventures Night at the Remarkables The galactic centre of the Milky Way, composed of billions of stars, gas and dust, rises above… Read More Look up: Milky Way photographer of the year 2026 – in pictures
Families turn to dirty fuels such as firewood, bringing fears over air pollution and fragility of energy transition…“When prices rise, it’s the poorest who are forced to switch back to biomass,” said Harjeet Singh, the director of the Satat Sampada Climate Foundation. “Biomass burning is a major source of fine particulate pollution. In dense urban areas,… Read More Public health at risk across Asia as price of gas for cooking soars
Source: Adam Tooze, Chartbook Source: Krishn Kaushik and Chris Kay in Mumbai and William Sandlund in Hong Kong from FT +++++++++++++++
Albert Camus has long been misunderstood, but a new translation of his complete notebooks offers a corrective By Matthew Lamb The Complete Notebooks by Albert Camus. Translated by Ryan Bloom Source: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1957/camus/biographical/ EACH NEW TRANSLATION of a work from a major author should spark a reevaluation of that author’s critical reception and public reputation. Since his death in 1960, a… Read More Fame! A Misunderstanding
Germany was the world’s largest exporter of plastic waste in 2025 and sent more than 810,000 tonnes abroad, according to analysis of trade data carried out for the Guardian. Leana Hosea The UK followed close behind, according to the analysis by Watershed Investigations and the Basel Action Network. It exported more than 675,000 tonnes, its highest level… Read More Germany was largest exporter of plastic waste in 2025, sending 810,000 tonnes overseas
A Tribute to India’s Military Children By Brig Advitya Madan (retd) Spice of Life: Military children bloom everywhere. They are hardy and upright. Their roots are strong. They are ready to fly in the breezes that take them to new adventures, new lands and new friends https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/a-salute-to-resilience-of-the-military-child-101650194056954.html ++++++++++++++++ Of Bagpipes, Horses and Golden Orioles (2008) Lt… Read More Like a Dandelion in the Wind
The lesson to be learnt, however, is that when parties offload their institutional memory and political judgement to an outsourced consultant, they can come to grief Bharat Bhushan The resounding defeats of parties advised by political consultants in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu may not spell their end, but their role will now be more… Read More West Bengal, Tamil Nadu show limits of political consulting
After the truth-shower 