Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist.

I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

Given Chancellor Angela Merkel's long, steady leadership both at home and abroad,

many outside the country worry more than those inside about who will replace her.

We examine the domestic and the international challenges she leaves behind.

And these days, Baclava can be found all over the world,

though in its region of origin, its inventors and its recipe are not at all agreed.

We look into why the Middle East has such a sweet tooth

and such a soft spot for the syrupy treat.

But first... America's diplomacy in Asia is revving up. Today, American leaders will join counterparts from Australia, India, and Japan in Washington for the first in-person meeting of the coalition known as the

Quad. They'll talk about a range of issues, including the pandemic and the climate crisis,

but at its core, one issue drives the alliance, ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific, in other words,

China. Today's meeting follows the formation of another union that caused a kerfuffle.

The Ocus Security Pact between America, Australia and Britain

left French officials feeling left out, leading Prime Minister Boris Johnson to, in his way, mend fences.

I just think it's time for some of our dearest friends around the world to, you know,

pronging a grip about all this, and don't in one and break, because this is fundamentally

a great step forward for global security.

With all this diplomatic hollowballoo, China has remained relatively quiet,

even as more and more countries clubbed together against it. Well, the quad is a group of big countries

in the Asia Pacific, which actually was first formed to talk about things like joint disaster relief.

...