OPINION

By Ajay Shah NEW DELHI – US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose new tariffs on a wide range of imports from India, ostensibly a penalty for buying Russian oil, represents another shock to the international trading system – and a sharp reversal of good relations with Indian Prime Minister …

By Binaifer Nowrojee NEW YORK – Starvation is the slow, silent unmaking of the body. Deprived of basic sustenance, the body first burns through sugar stores in the liver. Then it melts muscle and fat, breaking down tissue to keep the brain and other vital organs alive. As these reserves …

By Antara Haldar LOS ANGELES – Although the International Court of Justice turned 80 this year, there is a sense in which it has never felt younger. In a David-versus-Goliath moment, the tiny Pacific Island state of Vanuatu recently changed international law forever by bringing the world’s most important issue before its …

By Angela Huyue Zhang China’s weaponization of rare earths has emerged as a major flash point in US-China trade negotiations. These critical materials, especially the high-performance magnets they make possible, are vital components in electric vehicles (EVs), wind turbines, industrial robotics, and advanced defense systems. In response to China’s strict …

By Rabah Arezki & Rick van der Ploeg PARIS – The world’s superpowers have developed a seemingly insatiable appetite for the critical minerals that are essential to the ongoing energy and digital transitions, including rare-earth metals (for semiconductors), cobalt (for batteries), and uranium (for nuclear reactors). The International Energy Agency …

By Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg NEW HAVEN – Three months after President Donald Trump announced plans to impose sweeping new tariffs on most countries, the US economy appears surprisingly resilient. The stock market has rebounded from its initial slump, inflation remains under control, and fears of a recession have receded – …

By Zhang Jun SHANGHAI – Chinese manufacturing has come a long way – and by some measures, it is stronger than ever. Whereas foreign-invested enterprises were the driving force behind China’s manufacturing exports 20 years ago, most of these firms are now leaving China, having lost their market share to …

By Koichi Hamada NEW HAVEN – Since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, it has been virtually impossible to keep up with all the extreme measures, incendiary rhetoric, personnel changes, policy reversals, and breaches of rules and norms, from intelligence leaks to defiance of court orders. That …

By Elina Noor SINGAPORE – Following OpenAI’s public launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, the underpinnings of AI large language models seemed firmly “WIRED”: Western, industrialized, rich, educated, and democratic. Everyone assumed that if LLMs spoke a particular language and reflected a particular worldview, it would be a Western one. …

By Brahma Chellaney NEW DELHI – Israel and the United States have dealt punishing blows to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. “Operation Rising Lion” and “Operation Midnight Hammer” have been portrayed as precision strikes that will stop the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program in its tracks. But whatever the bombings might have achieved …