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In 2016, as Hillary Clinton was imploring her supporters to “Pokémon Go to the polls,” America’s spy agencies had a different message for their employees: Your hunt for Pikachu, they warned, might be endangering national security—and Beijing’s prying eyes could be behind that Bulbasaur. That summer, the Pokémon Go craze was in full bloom. Every […]
A powerful city run by capricious rulers who favor bloodsport, deluding the masses, and expanding their influence with brute force through a vast network of empire? Well, enough about Hollywood, let’s talk about ancient Rome! The phrase “he read classics at Oxford” makes someone sound like a proper gentleman—until you realize that tweedy brainiac had […]
The Ukrainian video game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl opens with the main character’s home being destroyed by a sudden blast. That’s happened to millions of Ukrainians since Russia’s full-blown invasion began in 2022—but the culprit in the game isn’t a missile or bomb. It’s a stray “anomaly” from the Zone, the ever-changing psychic fallout […]
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the specifics of a 60-day truce proposal between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the killing of a rabbi in the United Arab Emirates, and an emergency NATO-Ukraine session to address Russian threats. ‘We Think We Have a Deal’ The Israeli cabinet will vote on a cease-fire […]
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at which countries are choosing to defy the ICC arrest warrant for Israel’s top leader, Iran’s new uranium-enriching advanced centrifuges, and upcoming presidential elections in Romania and Uruguay. Flouting the ICC Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban vowed on Friday to defy the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) recent […]
This year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP29, has been overshadowed by Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election—an outcome that almost guarantees that Washington will back out of its international climate commitments. Election aside, an air of unease has loomed over the climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, a country that relies […]
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the upcoming Biden-Xi meeting in Peru, New Zealand’s sweeping protests against a contentious bill, and diplomacy in the Russia–Ukraine war. Last Dance With just months to go before leaving office, U.S. President Joe Biden is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Lima, Peru, […]
There are few circumstances under which inflation can be comforting. But in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the U.S. presidential election, one of them appears to be when it serves as an alibi for an electorate’s sharp turn toward meanness, selfishness, and a hard-edged type of identity-centered nationalism. […]
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s emerging foreign-policy and national security team, China’s megaport project in Peru, and Israel’s strike on a humanitarian zone in Gaza. Trump’s New Team As U.S. President-elect Donald Trump swiftly assembles his next team, some of his picks for top posts have stunned […]
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at two U.S. cases on leaked classified materials, sexual abuse allegations in the Church of England, and Somaliland’s presidential election. Intelligence Leaks U.S. authorities have charged a CIA official with leaking highly classified intelligence that appeared to detail Israeli military plans to retaliate against Iran for its […]