WHEN THE boxer Mike Tyson was asked ahead of a fight whether he was concerned about an opponent’s plan, he was blunt: “Everybody has a plan ‘til they get punched in the mouth.” With NATO it has been the other way around.
AT THE AGE of 29 Gavin Ye decided that she wanted to become a mother, but not a wife. She travelled to America and Russia for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and gave birth to two daughters. Ms Ye—also known by her Chinese name, Ye Haiyang—now has more than 7.3m followers on Douyin (Chinese TikTok).
TO A CASUAL visitor, the basement of the William Eckhardt Research Centre, at the University of Chicago, might appear nothing special. Whereas the upper floors of the building are a postmodern tower of angled glass, underground the walls are bare-white MDF.
AMERICAN AUTHORITIES arrested Masphal Kry, an official in Cambodia’s forestry administration, last November when he was heading to an international meeting about trade regulations for endangered species in Panama.
FEW QUESTIONS in the Middle East evoke such dread as “why aren’t you married?” It signals a judgmental grilling. Anyone can play interrogator: parents, taxi drivers—even an American president.
PUSHED BY THE threat of climate change, rich countries are embarking on a grand electrification project. Britain, France and Norway, among others, plan to ban the sale of new internal-combustion cars. Even where bans are not on the statute books, electric-car sales are growing rapidly.
The British Museum is in hot water after a translator has accused the museum of plagiarizing her translations in its ongoing “China’s Hidden Century” exhibition.
The Federal Reserve decided to leave its key interest rate unchanged at a range of 5% to 5.25%. It was the first time that America’s central bank left the rate on hold following ten consecutive increases, which started in March 2022. However, it indicated that it would probably lift the rate twice again this year.
Elon Musk appointed Linda Yaccarino as chief executive of Twitter, five months after he said he would relinquish the role. Mr Musk took over the company last October. Ms Yaccarino comes from NBCUniversal, where she was in charge of advertising.
Elon Musk said he would launch a new artificial-intelligence platform called TruthGPT as a rival to ChatGPT and other generative-AI bots, somewhat contradicting his recent call for a moratorium on developing such technology.
Oil prices rose sharply after OPEC+ announced a surprise cut to production. The cartel said it wanted to support stability in the market, which is another way of saying it didn’t like the dip in oil prices in mid-March. It also wanted to deter speculators who have been betting on softer oil prices.
For a brief moment on May 23rd, it seemed as if American policy towards Taiwan had undergone a sudden and dramatic change. Asked if America would “get involved militarily” to defend Taiwan in case of an invasion, President Joe Biden replied that it would.
CHRISTINE LEE once mingled easily with members of Britain’s elite. The Hong Kong-born British solicitor frequently visited Parliament, where legislators supported her work helping ethnic Chinese get more involved in politics. She even received an award for her efforts from Theresa May, who was then prime minister.
ON A WINTRY weekend, young couples wander through “ LOVELOVELOVE”, an exhibition at the Today Art Museum in Beijing. Some of the items on display are tenuously related to the theme, but the visitors seem not to mind, intent as they are on snapping a striking selfie amid the mirrors and neon lights.
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