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Late Power: China’s Slow-Drip UN Dues and the Politics of Payment
Beijing’s 10‑month lag in 2024 spotlights a cash‑strapped United Nations even as China bids to lead a world beyond U.S. primacy China has been settling its mandatory dues to the United Nations later and later each year, even as it…
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Exclusive: SMIC Trials China’s First Home‑Built Advanced Lithography Tool
Early tests of a domestic deep‑ultraviolet scanner point to a path around U.S. export curbs — but yields and timelines remain the biggest hurdles China’s top chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) has begun running limited production trials on the…
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Trump Administration Opens USMCA Review, Setting Up a 2026 Showdown
USTR launches a 45‑day comment window and a November hearing as tariffs rattle North American supply chains WASHINGTON – The Trump administration on Wednesday opened the first formal step toward possible changes to the United States‑Mexico‑Canada Agreement, inviting businesses, unions…
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Beyond Sentiment: Rethinking the ‘Special Relationship’ in Trump’s Transactional Age
With tariffs up, NATO targets reset and Ukraine aid tied to allied cash, former UK ambassador Peter Westmacott asks whether London should bargain as hard as Washington does — and what that would look like. Lede As U.S. President Donald…
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After Charlie Kirk’s Killing, Campuses Race to Rebuild the ‘Safe Space’ for Debate
Universities tighten security while vowing to widen the range of viewpoints — testing whether safety and free speech can coexist. OREM, Utah — The fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a Sept. 10 outdoor event at Utah Valley…
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France at an Impasse: Lecornu’s First Tests After a Whiplash Year in Politics
A hung parliament, fresh credit downgrade, and street protests leave Macron’s new prime minister searching for a path to pass a 2026 budget PARIS — France has a new prime minister again. Five days after centrist François Bayrou was toppled…
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Starmer to Unveil UK–US Nuclear Deal Ahead of Trump’s State Visit
Labour bets on atomic power and American capital to turn diplomacy into jobs, investment and energy security Prime Minister Keir Starmer will today unveil a UK–US civil nuclear energy agreement designed to accelerate the roll‑out of advanced reactors in Britain,…
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AfD’s Surge in North Rhine‑Westphalia Signals a Western Shift
Early tallies put the far-right party near 14.5% in municipal races — almost triple its 2020 showing — as Germany’s industrial heartland registers protest and fatigue DÜSSELDORF – Alternative for Germany (AfD) is poised to post its strongest local result…
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Italy’s Quiet Front Line: How NATO’s East Is Redrawing Our Idea of Peace
From the Baltic skies to the Sicilian narrows, Rome confronts a new security bill — and a fading illusion that peace can be outsourced. Italy did not hear the sirens. There was no general mobilization, no blackout drills, no columns…
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“Hands Off the Two Holidays”: Lecornu’s First U‑Turn Courts the Left as Business Bristles
France’s new prime minister drops a plan to scrap two public holidays, opening talks with the left while employers threaten mass mobilization if taxes rise. Paris Sébastien Lecornu has not been in the Hôtel Matignon a week, and already his…
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