Category: Dispatches

How the world fell out of love with French debt

By Charles Lichfield

French debt was supposed to be Europe’s “safe asset.” Not anymore.

A French-German non-paper could be a turning point in EU trade defense

By L. Daniel Mullaney

What to know about the proposal for a quicker European trade-retaliation tool.

With US backing, a democratic breakthrough in Venezuela may be within reach

By Geoff Ramsey

Venezuela is showing cautious signs of political opening, but democratic transition is still far from guaranteed.

South Asian governments should look east for opportunities for young workers

By Imran Shauket

As Japan, South Korea, and increasingly Thailand slide toward super-aged societies, Pakistan and Bangladesh have something they need: young people.

Three years after October 7, Israel is facing inward

By Daniel B. Shapiro

A foiled flydubai attack has revived the sense of abandonment many Israelis felt almost exactly three years earlier.

Five things to know about the death at Russia’s anti-plague laboratory

By John T. O’Brien and Isobel Sowells

In light of Russia’s record on biological weapons and lab accidents, the death of an anti-plague researcher raises questions to consider.

It’s not just misuse: AI-enabled biological research also runs the risk of accidents

By Isobel Sowells and John “J.T.” O’Brien

Accidental releases are already a serious vulnerability at a time when AI is accelerating biological research.

What the US gains by keeping a military presence in Kosovo

A US withdrawal would be read as disengagement from the Western Balkans and, with it, from the regional security architecture that it helped shape.

What could make AI self-regulation work?

By Trisha Ray

For the new AI accord to work, industry self-regulation will need to be buttressed by binding enforcement or federal oversight.

Ports, power, and presence: How to defend Batanes from China

By Alvin Camba, Kevin M. Wheeler

Manila and Washington should be proactive in preventing Chinese coercion or encroachment in the Philippines’ northern-most province.