After a long hiatus while we waited for a visa, Chaguan is back: "The pace of change is so rapid in China, it is often said, that the country can seem almost unrecognisable.... Returning visitors find new highways, new trains, new buildings—sometimes entirely new cities.... "Or so it used to be."

"In the nine months to July, 28.6m people took a train ride, a 6% increase on the same period last year. That puts the firm comfortably on track this financial year to record the most journeys in its 54-year history. Its fare revenue grew by 11% in the year to June."

There are a lot of Florida swamp things in Washington these days. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

The core belief of our column is that curious, open and rigorous enquiry about China and its affairs matters more than ever. After a hiatus of more than a year, it is time for Chaguan to return to analysing China

“‘Dinner out is a go’. Hell of a way to speak to your wife.”

"The killing of Mr Kirk is not representative of broader trends." www.economist.com/graphic-deta...

Protests in Jakarta intensified after a motorbike-taxi driver was hit and killed by an armoured police vehicle. The unrest is a crucial test for Prabowo Subianto econ.st/4642rsA Photo: Getty Images

Talkback radio in Brisbane opens with: “Be careful, guys, it is magpie season; in addition, it is also snake season.”

Indonesia is probably the country that I know best after the US, where I grew up. And now when I meet my Indonesian friends who know America well, we can’t stop talking about how similar our countries are becoming.

We write on Tulsi Gabbard's purge of one of the most senior Russia analysts in the US intelligence community, alongside other serving officers who were associated, sometimes only tangentially, with the 2016 Russia report. The most serious purge vs the CIA to date. www.economist.com/united-state...

“Some of the clearest thinking about this swot’s predicament can be heard in Singapore, a paternalist city-state that has risen from poverty to great wealth with the help of hard work, diligence and lots of rules about civilised behaviour—like a giant prep school with its own army and airport.”

Excellent look by colleague @antonlaguardia.bsky.social at the Air Force’s strategy for defending Taiwan from an attack by China—and, one hopes, being prepared enough to do so that China never tries.

Why did war break out over the border between Cambodia and Thailand last week? We are left with theories but no answers in this senseless conflict. www.economist.com/asia/2025/07...

The world’s attention was briefly on Cambodia and Thailand this past week, where border clashes killed 43. But that’s a typical week in Myanmar, where @frontiermyanmar.bsky.social reports that at least 40 have been killed in airstrikes in Mandalay, Sagaing, and Shan since Monday.

"If a Trump-appointed Fed chair could control the votes of the FOMC, he could determine which countries have access to swap lines, and on what terms. Swap lines are the lifeblood of the entire global financial system. It’s hard to imagine a greater source of leverage for the administration."

Penny Wong is the most consequential Australian foreign minister in a generation. The @economist.com sat down with her in Malaysia, the country of her birth, to talk about her first term record and how to deal with Trump’s America. economist.com/asia/2025/07...

My cover story this week is on a fascinating global shift: the diminishing preference for baby boys around the world - and the first inklings of a bias towards girls. I'd love for you to read it. www.economist.com/briefing/202...

Now the only member of that 2012 Nationals team still in the Majors, I think

This sounds like a message for Americans, not most Asians. (Or the subset of Americans who are China hawks).

Last month I boarded a US Air Force C-130 at Clark Air Base outside of Manila and flew to the Batanes. After a low ingress through emerald valleys, we landed on a short, gently sloping runway at Basco, halfway between Luzon and Taiwan. I was there to see US Marines deploy a new missile system.

According to Cambodian Army spokesperson Mao Phalla, one Cambodian soldier was killed in a brief exchange of fire at a disputed border area between #Cambodia and Thailand.

"The night the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) was taken over, March 17th, staffers from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) walked round its headquarters smoking cigars and drinking beers while they dismantled the signage and disabled the computer systems."

Our cover package on Vietnam this week argues that Communist Party boss To Lam has got much right. He is the rare leader in Asia right now with an acute sense of his country’s challenges and his place in history. This is Vietnam's last best chance at getting rich before it gets old.

Sinister & authoritarian. “Kristi Noem…sent a letter to Harvard requesting, among other things, coursework for every international student and information on any student visa holder involved in misconduct or illegal activity.” www.nytimes.com/2025/05/23/u...

New from @katiebryant.bsky.social on the @economist.com visual investigations team: In the past two months the junta in Myanmar has actually launched more airstrikes, including on civilians, than it did prior to declaring a ceasefire in the days following the March 28th earthquake.

Thailand's judiciary having a normal one

As I’ve mentioned before, time has rendered anti-Italian discrimination - a serious problem that caused real harm - unfortunately hilarious.

This has always been the upside potential of Trump in the abstract: Only Trump can go to Pyongyang, Tehran, Caracas, etc., and only Trump would. In practice, it's always ad hoc, unstable, bad on substance and, to date, unsuccessful (with the exception of the Afghan withdrawal deal, which got done).

The Dutertes came out on top in the Philippines’ midterms—a proxy battle between powerful political dynasties. I reported on their bitter feud with the Marcos's for today’s episode of The Intelligence

Looking likely that midterms in the Philippines will give Sara Duterte the eight Senate votes that she needs to be acquitted. Makes her a front-runner for 2028, and could bleed President Marcos’ authority over time. A bad result for the Philippines’ alliance with the United States.

17 students killed in junta airstrike on school operated by pro-democracy National Unity Government. (That thumbnail photo is not from the school).

Four years after his coup d’état, Min Aung Hlaing finally gets his first meeting with Xi Jinping. Ironically it’s at Victory Day in Moscow, where six years ago on Russian television MAH first accused China of arming the Arakan Army.

Hearing Jenny Lewis sing With Arms Outstretched live makes me long for the social and aesthetic moment that I associate with that song. (Actually about five years after it was released). That day by the lake / went too fast…

I'll just take this moment to point out that the US Institute of Peace, just a few weeks ago, contained one of the finest concentrations of US expertise on India and Pakistan, and crisis management in South Asia.

Our leader on Gaza this week. Food should not be used as a weapon. Israel must allow it to enter. Beyond that, it is past time for a permanent ceasefire. Trump should demand that Netanyahu agree to one: no other world leader can compel him. www.economist.com/leaders/2025...

A Chicago Pope implies the existence of an MLA Pope and APA Pope

Regime leader Min Aung Hlaing and his wife Kyu Kyu Hla left Naypyidaw International Airport on Wednesday for Moscow, Russia to attend the 80th Victory Day ceremony on May 9. Read more in today's Daily Briefing: english.dvb.no/min-aung-hla... #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar #russia

Fifty years ago, Saigon fell and the Vietnam war ended. America's chaotic evacuation raised doubts about its credibility, The Economist wrote at the time. Sound familiar? My piece this week www.economist.com/interactive/...

With 95.11% counted in Carleton, Poilievre needs to take 70% of the remaining vote to hold his seat. What a mind-bending plot twist for a party leader who appeared to be cruising to a 200-seat majority. enr.elections.ca/ElectoralDis...

My review of @connellyal.bsky.social & Shona Loong's excellent book on #Myanmar is available in the newest issue of Contemporary Southeast Asia. You can read the full review here: muse.jhu.edu/pub/70/artic...

“I’ll hook you up to a f—ing polygraph!” Hegseth shouted at Adm. Christopher Grady, the then-acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to two people familiar with the exchange. @wsj.com www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

NEW: Read the resignation letter of three federal prosecutors who'd worked on the Eric Adams case: "Now, the Department has decided that obedience supersedes all else, requiring us to abdicate our legal and ethical obligations in favor of directions from Washington." static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics...

A good report from one of the EDCA sites in the northern Philippines during last year's Balikatan: '"It’s good for our business," she said of the American presence, but added, "We also like Chinese, especially the investors".'

Talking to people about an Iran nuclear deal I often hear two conflicting views. Either it's going to be harder than the JCPOA, because both sides now have different/higher demands, or it will be easier because of Trump's personality. Both were on display in Rome this weekend. 🧵

It actually clarifies something I’ve always wondered about: courts in old school desegregation cases don’t act like courts anywhere else. They get very entangled in the weeds of remedies, they hold jurisdiction for decades and monitor progress in ways more traditionally reminiscent of other branches

I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.

The six best films about financial turmoil. Margin Call comes tops here, in my view.

No trade deficit with these guys. So I guess the US will just go for the simple 10% baseline tariff?

This is absurd and atrocious. Imagine sending someone to a brutal jail by mistake and officially acknowledging that, and then doing nothing to redress the matter. How cruel is that? How depraved is your soul? How uncaring and mean-spirited must you be? These are broken people who feast on hate.

Trump’s tariffs will be a net gain for China’s influence in SE Asia despite the wariness. All the wasted effort of “pivot to Asia”. www.economist.com/asia/2025/04...