Zelenskyy plays the long game with Xi Jinping – POLITICO

Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is happy to unleash withering criticism against countries including Hungary and Germany for getting too close to the Russians. But he’s playing a diplomatic long game with Moscow’s No. 1 ally: Chinese President Xi Jinping. There are good reasons … Read more

UN climate report shows world is flying blind into the storm – POLITICO

TL;DR, global warming is bad and getting worse.  But a sprawling assessment of tens of thousands of scientific papers on the state of the planet, released Monday, pointed to another unsettling truth: Scientists still don’t have answers to many of the questions that will define how well the world copes with the worst of climate … Read more

Germany, Japan pledge to boost cooperation on economic security – POLITICO

Germany and Japan agreed on Saturday to strengthen cooperation on economic security in the aftermath of tensions over global supply chains and the economic impact of the war in Ukraine. In the first high-ministerial government consultations held between the two countries, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reached out to Tokyo to seek to reduce Germany’s dependence … Read more

Macron’s defiant show of force in parliament exposes a weakened president – POLITICO

Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to bypass parliament and impose his deeply unpopular pensions reform has revealed an uncompromising and weakened leader who now faces severe backlash from emboldened opposition lawmakers and protesters. Macron had vowed to abandon his top-down approach to politics and … Read more

The crypto ‘contagion’ that helped bring down SVB – POLITICO

As U.S. banking regulators begin their post-mortem of Silicon Valley Bank, some pundits are pointing the finger at crypto markets, whose own collapse over the past year left the tech-focused lender hopelessly exposed. The conventional wisdom about crypto is that it’s “self-referential” — a separate universe to conventional finance — and that its inherent volatility … Read more

France pushes protectionism in Ukraine defense plan – POLITICO

As Russia’s war in Ukraine puts a heavy strain on EU arms, there’s infighting in Brussels over how best to reload. The latest skirmish is focused around a procurement fund intended to ramp up production of arms in Europe. POLITICO has learned that key committees in the European Parliament — namely, the committees for industry, … Read more

The EU and UK have a Northern Ireland deal — so what’s in it? – POLITICO

Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. LONDON — After four months of intense talks (and plenty of squabbling before that), the EU and U.K. have a deal to resolve their long-running post-Brexit trade row over Northern Ireland. But as U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak works to sell the so-called “Windsor … Read more

China talks ‘peace,’ woos Europe and trashes Biden in Munich – POLITICO

Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. MUNICH — China is trying to drive a fresh wedge between Europe and the United States as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine trudges past its one-year mark. Such was the motif of China’s newly promoted foreign policy chief Wang Yi when he broke the news … Read more

Can Putin win? – POLITICO

“I am wicked and scary with claws and teeth,” Vladimir Putin reportedly warned David Cameron when the then-British prime minister pressed him about the use of chemical weapons by Russia’s ally in Syria, Bashar al-Assad, and discussed how far Russia was prepared to go. According to Cameron’s top foreign policy adviser John Casson — cited in … Read more

Heads roll in Ukraine graft purge, but defense chief Reznikov rejects rumors he’s out – POLITICO

KYIV — Heads are rolling in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s expanding purge against corruption in Ukraine, but Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov is denying rumors that he’s destined for the exit — a move that would be viewed as a considerable setback for Kyiv in the middle of its war with Russia. Two weeks ago, Ukraine was … Read more