For years, China has purported to be a new type of great power: one that rises peacefully and respects the rights of other states rather than chasing the foreign domination of empires past. “China will never seek hegemony, expansion or a sphere of influence,” President Xi Jinping said in April. Yet many of Beijing’s policies have a distinctly imperial feel. ...

In the days before Covid, the response that doctors would give: “It’s just a virus”. As someone who’s long been fascinated by the detective work that goes into tracing the origins and history of infections, the answer always seemed too perfunctory. Which virus was it? Where and when did this strain emerge? How many other people were getting infected with ...

Russia is struggling to boost its oil production, even as its allowance under the latest Opec+ agreement is rising. At least that’s what the current data show. If it’s true, we ought to be worried. The country is the largest of the allies that joined with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last year to agree to a record cut ...