WORLD ROUNDUP – 2-8 JUNE 2025Xi Jinping’s Plan to Overtake America in AI | Syria’s Islamic State Is Surging | The West Is Rethinking How to Fight Wars | Is Civil War Coming to Europe?, and more
CHINA WATCH
· Secret Russian Intelligence Document Shows Deep Suspicion of China
· Buyer With Ties to Chinese Communist Party Got V.I.P. Treatment at Trump Crypto Dinner
· Chinese Students Want an American Education Less Than They Used To
· China Allows Limited Exports of Rare Earths as Shortages Continue
· Xi Jinping’s Plan to Overtake America in AI
MIDDLE EAST
· Parents in Gaza Are Running Out of Ways to Feed Their Children: ‘All We Want Is a Loaf of Bread’
· Boston Consulting Group CEO Apologizes for Israeli-Backed Gaza Aid Project
· Kurdish Armed Groups Are Laying Down Their Weapons
· Deadly Aid Chaos in Gaza
· Syria’s Islamic State Is Surging
THE LONG VIEW
· How the Houthis Rattled the U.S. Navy—and Transformed Maritime War
· The West Is Rethinking How to Fight Wars
· Learning the Right Lessons from Afghanistan
· Germany Is Building a Big Scary Army
· Is Civil War Coming to Europe?
· Germany Steps Up to Replace ‘Unreliable’ U.S. as Guarantor of European Security
MORE PICKS
· U.K. Faces ‘Extraordinary’ Threat from Russian and Iranian Plots, Official Warns
· Why the Trump Administration Should Engage on Burma Now – and How
· Walking Into Spiderwebs: Unpacking the Ukraine Drone Attack
· Untangling Ukraine’s “Operation Spiderweb”
· Africa’s Most Admired Dictator Rolls the Dice
· Pro-Trump Candidate Wins Poland’s Presidential Election – a Bad Omen for the EU, Ukraine and Women
· U.S. Proposes Interim Step in Iran Nuclear Talks Allowing Some Enrichment
· A New Era of Trade Warfare Has Begun for the U.S. and China
· Troop Casualties in Ukraine War Near 1.4 Million, Study Finds
· Anti-immigrant Leader Quits Dutch Cabinet, Toppling Government
· Asia’s Forgotten Hellscape
· Nayib Bukele Is Devolving from Tech-savvy Reformer to Autocrat
· Migrant Return Hubs Could Be Hijacked by Russian Spies
CHINA WATCH
Secret Russian Intelligence Document Shows Deep Suspicion of China (Jacob JudahPaul Sonne and Anton Troianovski, New York Times)
Russia’s spy hunters are increasingly worried about China’s espionage, even as the two countries grow closer.
Buyer With Ties to Chinese Communist Party Got V.I.P. Treatment at Trump Crypto Dinner (Eric LiptonDavid Yaffe-BellanyMichael ForsytheDevon Lum and Jiawei Wang, New York Times)
The warm welcome for a technology executive whose purchases of the president’s digital coin won him a White House tour illustrates inconsistencies in the administration’s views toward visitors from China.
Chinese Students Want an American Education Less Than They Used To (Economist)
Many are staying at home or studying elsewhere in Asia.
China Allows Limited Exports of Rare Earths as Shortages Continue (Keith Bradsher, New York Times)
Beijing has approved more export licenses for the critical minerals and magnets in recent days, but supplies remain scarce and factories in the West are running out.
Xi Jinping’s Plan to Overtake America in AI (Economist)
China’s leaders believe they can outwit American cash and utopianism.
MIDDLE EAST
Parents in Gaza Are Running Out of Ways to Feed Their Children: ‘All We Want Is a Loaf of Bread’ (Vivian Yee and Bilal Shbair, New York Times)
A New York Times article last year described two families struggling to keep their malnourished children alive in Gaza. Now, as Israeli restrictions keep out most aid, that’s even harder.
Boston Consulting Group CEO Apologizes for Israeli-Backed Gaza Aid Project (John Hudson and Cate Brown, Washington Post)
Top consulting firm fires two partners over involvement in aid initiative beset by violence and controversy.
Kurdish Armed Groups Are Laying Down Their Weapons (Economist)
In a changing Middle East, for some talking seems more promising than fighting.
Deadly Aid Chaos in Gaza (John Haltiwanger and Rishi Iyengar, Foreign Policy)
Critics say the new aid system in Gaza is designed to displace Palestinians.
Syria’s Islamic State Is Surging (Charles Lister, Foreign Policy)
As a new regime gets settled in Damascus, it faces a rising threat from an old foe.
