INTRIGUE’S LATEST
The global affairs briefing you’ll actually look forward to reading.
Water is the new oil
When it comes to liquids and geopolitics, oil is like Alec Baldwin getting all the glory for 30 Rock, while poor lil’ brother Stephen (water) cranks out under-loved hits like Bio-Dome. So let’s right that wrong via three intriguing water tales you should know: With rainfall 85% below average and key reservoirs now circling the […]
Ukraine’s fighting a war on two fronts
We’ve kept you in the loop as Ukraine still barely holds on to key towns like Pokrovsk, despite Putin burning staggering numbers of casualties there. But Ukraine’s Zelensky is also grappling with two threats a little closer to home. One is the White House’s periodic flirting with the idea of imposing a direct Kremlin deal […]
The UN backs Trump’s Gaza plan – will it work?
After weeks of haggling, the UN Security Council (UNSC) has approved the US-led plan for post-war Gaza, with 13 in favour, two abstentions (Russia/China), and none against. In short, Resolution 2803 (2025) endorses: The Security Council authorised it all at least through the end of 2027, with the US now hustling to get the ISF […]
Latest Articles
The race for jet supremacy
There’s still time to get your gift requests to Santa’s workshop. And if this week’s Dubai Air Show is any indication, lots of governments now have the same thing high up on their wish list: not Labubus, nor K-pop merch, but 🔥 jets🔥. Here’s what’s happening: The Dubai Air Show is one of the few […]
Why China is freaking out over one Japanese phrase
It was a mild and uneventful Friday back on November 7th: the onsens were steaming, the maples were blazing, and the salarymen were scurrying. Japan was Japaning, until… New prime minister Sanae Takaichi took the Diet floor and answered a question with this: “If there is a Taiwan contingency where the Chinese side uses warships […]
The week’s five wildest spy stories
It’s Friday and we burnt all our brainpower on the week’s briefings, so you don’t get a witty intro. But you do get a wrap of the most intriguing intelligence stories, starting with… What do you buy the woman who’s already got it all: a medical degree, seven kids, competitive horse-riding cred, years as defence minister […]
Two big energy surprises
With the world now gathered for the COP climate talks in Brazil, prices for Brent (the oil, not some guy) dropped ~4% Wednesday as traders reacted to two surprising signals from: First, OPEC wound back its 2026 projections, from sounding the oil deficit alarm to seeing calmer “balanced” markets for the year ahead. And balance […]
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Geopolitics
Water is the new oil
When it comes to liquids and geopolitics, oil is like Alec Baldwin getting all the glory for 30 Rock, while poor lil’ brother Stephen (water) cranks out under-loved hits like Bio-Dome. So let’s right that wrong via three intriguing water tales you should know: With rainfall 85% below average and key reservoirs now circling the […]
More Articles
Diplomacy when disaster strikes
Folks across Jamaica are just starting to emerge from shelter after the Cat-5 Hurricane Melissa barrelled into the island with winds of up to 282km/h (175mph). It’s the third-worst hurricane to hit the Caribbean after Wilma (2005) and Gilbert (1988), and it’s now ploughing into Cuba as a Category-4. So as details become clearer (including […]
Could this $8.5B deal change the world?
Australia’s Anthony Albanese doesn’t have too much in common with Donald Trump: a social housing upbringing vs a billionaire; decades in politics versus a recent outsider; and a centre-left leader versus more of a MAGA populist. But ‘Albo’ (his nickname) and Trump just seemed to hit it off in DC, so here are their top […]
Venezuelan opposition leader awarded 2025 Nobel Peace Prize
Moments ago, the Nobel Committee awarded Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to “keep the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness”. She’s currently in hiding as she continues to campaign against Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. We’ve shared some initial thoughts on her remarkable win below. […]
Gen Z protests are sweeping over the globe
What — and we cannot stress this enough — is going on with Gen Z lately? We’re not talking about the layered streetwear, tiny sunglasses, or quirky bucket hats (though these are valid concerns we might explore in a future special edition). Rather, we’re talking about all the toppling of governments (or attempts therein). Gen-Zers […]
ECONOMICS
Why the IMF might be done and dusted… or not
It was a week ago that International Monetary Fund (IMF) head Kristalina Georgieva kicked off the Fund’s DC ‘spring meetings’ with an ominous note — “trade policy uncertainty is off the charts”. You could feel it in the DC air, with Intrigue sources confirming delegations from every corner of the globe were scrambling for meetings with […]
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The central bank war for independence
US stocks and the US dollar plunged again on Monday after the president colourfully called on Jerome Powell, the Fed Chair, to cut rates. Anyway, while this monetary soap opera plays out on the world stage, it’s reignited a debate that everyone thought was resolved decades ago: the notion that central banks must be independent from politics. Why? The […]
A moron premium in the US?
We’ve been writing about bonds before they were the flavour of the week. And events now dictate that we revisit bonds again. Who are we to argue with events, dear Intriguer? Typically if US stocks tank, spooked investors will shift their cash over into bonds — the ultimate safe-haven. Why? When you buy bonds (loan the US government money), […]
Did Trump just blink?
Just after our last edition hit your inbox, Donald Trump decided to: Of course, markets breathed a semi-sigh of relief. But… did Trump blink? Here are the three main arguments you need to know: Treasury Secretary Bessent argues this was all part of Trump’s successful strategy, with 75 countries now reportedly lining up to negotiate […]
Trump and Xi play chicken
We’ve already explored Trump’s tariffs, but it’s worth a quick recap of his rationale before we tour today’s wild ripple effects: And while he’s now slapped tariffs on everyone (otherwise he says China just reroutes via third countries), the big kahuna tariffs are now really on China. Building on earlier tariff rounds during Trump 1.0 and Biden… The […]
Technology
Are we in an AI bubble?
America’s Nvidia just became the world’s first firm to break the $5T valuation barrier, three months after it became the first to pass $4T. So the AI chipmaker is now worth… Why? Markets were responding to some spicy remarks, first from Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, who told a pack of nerds at Nvidia’s DC conference that […]
More Articles
Could this $8.5B deal change the world?
Australia’s Anthony Albanese doesn’t have too much in common with Donald Trump: a social housing upbringing vs a billionaire; decades in politics versus a recent outsider; and a centre-left leader versus more of a MAGA populist. But ‘Albo’ (his nickname) and Trump just seemed to hit it off in DC, so here are their top […]
IS China winning the AI talent race?
There’s no worse feeling than getting dumped in favour of your rival. Aidan Shaw knows it. Jennifer Anniston knows it. Catherine of Aragon knows it. But does the US know it? We ask because there’s been a steady but quiet stream of top AI experts opting to leave the US for China lately, seemingly reversing […]
We’re going nuclear (to the moon)
What better way to relax you into the weekend than with a quick update on moon nukes. We’re talking reactors rather than weapons, and there’s a joke in there about the nuclear industry finally getting so tired of earthly NIMBYs it had to relocate to the Moon. But seriously the US is rushing plans to […]
Trump demands 15% of Nvidia’s China revenue
When the Trump administration pulled a 180° on its Nvidia-China chip ban last month, we wondered if there’d been a deal. But we didn’t expect this: Nvidia (and AMD) can now sell certain slower chips in China in return for a cool 15% of revenues payable to Uncle Sam. So with those early rumours now […]