Despite the risk of a bubble, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon plan to spend billions more on artificial intelligence than they already do.
The Debate Dividing the Supreme Court’s Liberal Justices
Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson are split over the best approach: investing in diplomacy inside the court or sounding the alarm outside.
President Trump explained the order by saying other, unnamed nations were testing their own nuclear weapons, even though no country has tested since 2017.
Executions and Mass Casualties: Videos Show Horror Unfolding in Sudan
Evidence of atrocities emerging from the city of El Fasher stoked fears that the region of Darfur was plunging, again, into a cycle of genocidal violence.
Donald Trump’s sudden decision last week to sanction Russian oil producers suggested the US president has finally lost patience with Vladimir Putin after a series of fruitless talks over ending the war in Ukraine.
Could it break the deadlock? Oil sanctions have the potential to genuinely damage Moscow’s finances, as the Russian president himself admitted last week. It remains to be seen, though, whether economic pressure alone can bend Putin’s arm over a conflict he views as defining to his legacy.
In this week’s big story, Guardian Russia affairs reporter Pjotr Sauer asks whether sanctions could succeed where diplomacy has failed, while Christopher S Chivvis of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace argues that a negotiated settlement remains the likeliest way to bring nearly four years of fighting to a halt.
In the frontline Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, senior reporter Peter Beaumont finds little hope of a quick resolution, with much of the population having left and the remaining soldiers stuck in a war they believe is “going nowhere for either side”.
Five essential reads in this week’s edition
Spotlight | The populist leaders’ economic playbook From Milei to Meloni,are the economics of populism always doomed to failure? This long read from economics editor Heather Stewart tries to bridge the gaps between populist aspiration and fiscal reality
Environment | The deadly migration routes of elephants Human-wildlife conflict has overtaken poaching as a cause of fatalities among elephants – and is deadly for people too. Now some villages are finding new ways to live alongside the mammals, reports Patrick Greenfield
Interview | Is Jimmy Wales the good guy of the internet? The Wikipedia founder stands out from his contemporaries for being driven by more than money. But can the people’s encyclopedia withstand attacks from AI and Elon Musk? ByDavid Shariatmadari
Opinion | Without genuine truth and justice, the war in Gaza cannot end A fragile ceasefire is in place, but what’s needed is an international tribunal for resolution and reparation.That’s the only route to lasting peace, argues Simon Tisdall
Culture | The electrifying genius of Gerhard Richter He has painted everything from a candle to 9/11, walked his naked wife through photographic mist, and turned Titian into a sacred jumble. A new Paris show reveals the German artist in all his contradictory brilliance, says Adrian Searle
The storm, now a Category 2, passed through the Bahamas this morning. Officials said 23 people have been killed in Haiti, and five in Jamaica.
Syria’s Rocky Transition Brings New Waves of Displacement
More than 400,000 Syrians have been displaced in the year since the civil war ended, the U.N. says, driven by sectarian violence and property disputes.
China’s leader, Xi Jinping, draws on lessons from Lin Zexu, a Qing official whose defiance of Britain led to China’s defeat but made him a national hero.
Netanyahu Orders Strikes on Gaza, Saying Hamas Violated Cease-Fire
Hamas denied involvement in an attack on Israeli forces, saying that it remained committed to the cease-fire and accusing Israel of violating it.
The Category 5 storm is the most powerful in the Atlantic Ocean this year. Jamaica and Cuba have issued evacuation orders for tens of thousands of people.
The act of destruction is precisely the point: a kind of performance piece meant to display Trump’s arbitrary power over the Presidency, including its physical seat. By Adam Gopnik
Trump and the Presidency That Wouldn’t Shut Up
His posts and rants are omnipresent, ugly, and unhinged. Don’t look to history to make it make sense. By Jill Lepore
Inside the Data Centers That Train A.I. and Drain the Electrical Grid
A data center, which can use as much electricity as Philadelphia, is the new American factory, creating the future and propping up the economy. How long can this last? By Stephen Witt
Concern is increasing throughout Southeast Asia as U.S. officials, intent on slowing China, have yet to say how they will define the origin country of imports.
Four thieves broke into the famed Paris museum last week and stole over $100 million in historical jewelry. It is unclear how many people were arrested.
How Venezuela’s Leader Uses Crypto to Fight Trump’s Sanctions
President Nicolás Maduro’s opponents hope a new period of economic pain will finally topple his government. He is using cryptocurrency to hold on.
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious