The World in Brief from The Economist

SpaceX unveiled plans to raise $75bn in an initial public offering. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 4 June 2026

Donald Trump picked Bill Pulte, a loyalist and head of a federal housing agency, to become the acting Director of National Intelligence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 3 June 2026

Anthropic, maker of the chatbot Claude, confidentially filed for an initial public offering. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 2 June 2026

Israeli troops made their most significant incursion into Lebanon for decades on Sunday, advancing near one of the country’s largest southern cities. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 1 June 2026

A flurry of defence tie-ups were also announced at Shangri-La Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 31 May 2026

Dell’s share price soared by 35%, reaching a record high on Friday after it reported that demand for its AI servers increased more than eightfold in its first quarter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 30 May 2026

America and Iran have “the makings of a deal” to extend their truce, according to Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 29 May 2026

America launched new air strikes on Iran. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 26 May 2026

Donald Trump said a deal with Iran “isn’t even fully negotiated yet”, rowing back his claim that one had been “largely negotiated”, and dismissed those “critical about something they know nothing about”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 25 May 2026

SpaceX completed a largely successful test of its next-generation Starship rocket, which blasted off from southern Texas two days after the company filed to go public Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 24 May 2026

A federal judge dismissed the Trump administration’s criminal case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an undocumented immigrant who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador last year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 23 May 2026

Donald Trump delayed signing an executive order that reportedly would have given his government more oversight of new AI models. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 22 May 2026

SpaceX, a rocket-maker and AI lab owned by Elon Musk, filed for an initial public offering. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 21 May 2026

Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing to meet with Xi Jinping. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 20 May 2026

The Trump administration announced a $1.8bn fund to compensate people claiming they were wrongly targeted by the Justice Department. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 19 May 2026

The World Health Organisation declared an Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda a “public-health emergency of international concern”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 18 May 2026

Taiwan pushed for continued access to American military supplies in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping; Tens of thousands of people gathered in London for two rival marches: one led by Tommy Robinson, a far-right activist, the other marking the anniversary of the displacement of Palestinians when Israel was created in 1948. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 17 May 2026

Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, a senior leader of Islamic State, was killed in a joint Nigerian-American operation in north-east Nigeria Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 17 May 2026

Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend their ceasefire for 45 days, America’s State Department said Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 16 May 2026

Donald Trump touted his “very successful” two-day summit with Xi Jinping in Beijing; China’s leader described it as “historic”. Also, Britain’s borrowing costs rose after Andy Burnham, Manchester’s mayor, secured a path to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for leadership of the Labour Party. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 15 May 2026

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping exchanged warm words as the first of their summit’s two days concluded. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 15 May 2026

America’s Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 14 May 2026

Four ministers resigned from Sir Keir Starmer’s government as pressure mounts on him to stand down as Britain’s prime minister. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 13 May 2026

Donald Trump warned that the ceasefire with Iran was “on massive life support”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 12 May 2026

Donald Trump called Iran’s response to America’s proposal to end the war “totally unacceptable”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 11 May 2026

At least seven people were killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, according to health officials Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 10 May 2026

Britain’s ruling Labour Party conceded defeat in parliamentary elections in Wales Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 9 May 2026

Iran accused America of violating the ceasefire, claiming that America attacked one of its tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and struck “civilian areas” elsewhere. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 8 May 2026

Donald Trump insisted that America was close to striking a deal with Iran, although he threatened to renew bombings without one. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 7 May 2026

Marco Rubio, America’s secretary of state, accused Iran of leaving sailors stranded on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz “for dead” and urged negotiations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 6 May 2026

Donald Trump said America sunk Iranian boats in the Strait of Hormuz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 5 May 2026

Donald Trump said that, starting Monday, America would “guide” the ships of neutral countries out of the Strait of Hormuz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 4 May 2026

The Pentagon announced that it would remove 5,000 troops from Germany after a spat between Mr Trump and Friedrich Merz Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 3 May 2026

Mr Trump said he would increase tariffs on cars from the EU to 25%, from 15% currently, and accused the bloc of “not complying” with a trade deal struck last year Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 2 May 2026

Motjaba Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, vowed in a statement to maintain control of the Strait of Hormuz and put an end to “the enemies’ abuses of the waterway”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 1 May 2026

Meta reported revenues of $56.3bn in the first quarter, up 33% year on year and ahead of expectations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 30 April 2026

The United Arab Emirates said it would leave the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries on May 1st, after six decades of membership. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 29 April 2026

China blocked Meta’s $2bn acquisition of Manus, an artificial-intelligence startup, ordering both firms to cancel the transaction. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 28 April 2026

Buckingham Palace said a state visit by King Charles and Queen Camilla to America will go ahead on Monday, despite security worries after a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 27 April 2026

Russia fired 47 missiles and more than 600 drones at Ukraine overnight. Ukraine said it had intercepted most of these, though at least seven people were killed, including five in the city of Dnipro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 26 April 2026

Fighting between Israel and Hizbullah intensified a day after Mr Trump announced that a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon would be extended for three weeks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 25 April 2026

Donald Trump said he had ordered America’s navy to “shoot and kill” boats putting mines in the Strait of Hormuz, and to increase its minesweeping efforts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 24 April 2026

Tesla’s shares rose about 4% after the electric-vehicle maker reported first-quarter profit of $477m, up about 17% from a year earlier. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 23 April 2026

Donald Trump said he would extend the ceasefire in Iran until its leaders present a “unified proposal”, following a request from Pakistan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 22 April 2026

Apple said John Ternus, its hardware chief, will become chief executive on September 1st. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 21 April 2026

Donald Trump said in a social-media post that America had taken custody of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 20 April 2026

Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, said that a French member of a UN peacekeeping force had been killed in Lebanon, the day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hizbullah began Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 19 April 2026

Mr Trump appears to be taking a direct role in the Lebanese ceasefire, writing on social media that Israel is “PROHIBITED” from bombing Lebanon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 18 April 2026

Donald Trump announced a ten-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, to begin on Thursday evening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 17 April 2026

Donald Trump said the war in Iran was “close to over” as Pakistan’s army chief arrived in Tehran to try to advance peace talks between Iran and America. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 16 April 2026