Flagship

EU-China tensions rising

The European Commission president suggested new tariffs on Chinese-made cars were in the offing. Her remarks at a campaign event in Germany ahead of European Parliament elections are the latest sign of a hardening stance on the continent towards Beijing: European competition regulators this week raided the offices of a Chinese surveillance company, Brussels has opened an investigation into Chinese support for the country’s medical-device manufacturers, and the aide to a far-right German MEP was arrested on allegations of spying for China. That’s on top of an EU investigation into Beijing’s subsidies for Chinese electric-vehicle makers. The timing of the increased tensions is notable: Chinese leader Xi Jinping will next month make his first visit to the bloc in five years.

Macron aims to cement legacy

French President Emmanuel Macron will today outline his vision for a more powerful European Union, part of efforts by Paris to reshape the bloc and cement Macron’s legacy. His remarks come as EU leaders jockey for the bloc’s top jobs, which may see huge turnover after the coming European Parliament elections. Macron reportedly wants his preferred candidate, ex-European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, to replace Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission President — though von der Leyen is pushing for a second term. Politico notes the incumbent is “no longer a shoo-in” and pegs the Romanian president and Croatian prime minister as strong candidates. A Spanish political crisis means that country’s leader is a potential option for an elite EU role, too.

Spain draws migrants

Migrants contributed around 50% of Spain’s economic growth last year, propelling the country to one of the highest growth rates in Europe. Migration to Spain has soared in recent years, notably by Latin American investors and dissidents fleeing oppressive regimes in the region, helping turn Madrid into “the new Miami.” Streamlined work visa rules have also allowed Spanish firms to tap into global talent pools. Some in the country, especially in the biggest cities, are critical of the growth in immigration, which has contributed to a rise in property prices. However experts believe the long-term benefits significantly outweigh the costs: “As Spain’s economy improves, migrants come, and as they come, the economy improves,” an economist in Madrid told Reuters.

Everything is Predictable: How Bayes’ Remarkable Theorem Explains the World, by Flagship’s own Tom Chivers, is published in the UK today. It shows how a single, one-line equation written by an 18th-century clergyman explains everything from why medical testing goes wrong to how the human brain works, and in fact underpins all decision-making and rationality. Flagship’s UK readers can buy it here; those in the US can preorder their copies ahead of its American launch on May 7.

Trump allies indicted in Arizona

Key allies of former US President Donald Trump were indicted by an Arizona grand jury for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election. Rudy Giuliani, once New York City mayor and later Trump’s attorney, was among them, as was Trump’s White House chief of staff. Trump himself was named a co-conspirator but not indicted. They are charged with trying to get Arizona’s electoral college to give its votes to Trump despite the state voting for Joe Biden. Arizona is the fourth state to bring such charges: Michigan’s attorney general also yesterday named Giuliani, Meadows, and Trump himself as unindicted co-conspirators. “Fake electors” allegedly also plotted to falsely award electoral college votes to Trump in Georgia, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Mining mega-merger

BHP made a takeover bid for fellow mining behemoth Anglo American, a deal driven by the demands of the energy transition. The offer, which if completed would create the world’s biggest copper miner, sent Anglo’s share price surging. Mining companies have carried out a number of mergers in recent years as companies and countries have zeroed in on priority minerals needed for batteries and other key technologies required to decarbonize the global economy. Copper in particular is widely used as a conductor for electricity cables, which are in growing demand: Prices for the metal are up 15% this year. “This is all about copper,” one investor told Reuters.

India’s roads are perfect AI test case

Artificial intelligence startups are turning to India to test their self-driving cars. Indian city driving is famously chaotic: A former Uber CEO once said New Delhi would be the last place in the world to get autonomous vehicles. But robot cars trained on predictable grid-like streets of US cities struggle with unforeseen edge cases, while India’s roads, one AI firm chief said, are full of unforeseen edge cases. His firm released a video of its new autonomous SUV “dodging pedestrians, dogs, cows, slow-moving tractors” and scooters on the wrong side of the road, IEEE Spectrum reported. The thinking is that if an autonomous vehicle can manage Indian roads, it can manage anything.

AI taking over major work sectors

Artificial intelligence could kill call-center work within a year, an Indian tech CEO told the Financial Times. Call centers have created millions of jobs in India and other Asian countries. Technological progress is changing other mass employment sectors, too: Warehouses are increasingly staffed by robots, the BBC reported. Ocado, a UK online supermarket delivery service, has hundreds of robots in its warehouses, loading boxes for delivery to customers: 15% of its products are boxed robotically, a figure expected to increase. Walmart in the US, and other UK brands such as Asda, are similarly automating.

Ukraine, Russia agree children’s return

A group of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during Moscow’s full-scale invasion of the country in 2022 were returned. The two countries also held their first in-person talks about returning children: Kyiv alleges that 19,000 children were abducted by Russia since the start of the war, in what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called part of a “genocide.” The International Criminal Court last year issued warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow’s commissioner for children’s rights over the forced transfer. Moscow denies the Ukrainian figure and the ICC allegations, saying that a smaller number of children were transferred away from the front lines for their safety.

Tanzania national park loses funding

The World Bank suspended its funding for a tourism project in Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park over allegations of rape, evictions, and killings of the local Maasai. The park was due to double in size with the grant, but critics say an ongoing expansion led to widespread abuses. As African economies have become more reliant on tourism, cases of forced displacement have become more common, experts say, with some warning that swaths of the continent were becoming over-reliant on tourism, a weakness that was exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. “The government’s plan to expand the park cannot go forward against the will of local communities, who will lose everything from such an expansion,” the head of an Africa-focused NGO told The Guardian.

Plane lovers go to Venezuela

Air travel enthusiasts are flocking to Venezuela, where two of the world’s last four Boeing 737-200s remain in operation. Airlines across the world long ago discontinued the 1960s-era plane, opting instead for more modern models that are far more fuel-efficient. However Caracas’ huge subsidies — fuel sells for $0.03 per liter — mean the planes are still profitable for Venezolana Airlines. Even if Venezuelan carriers wanted to modernize their fleets, US and European sanctions would make that impossible. In any case, Venezolana’s crews are fond of the plane: “It’s like a Volkswagen from the 1960s!” a pilot told The Times of London. “It’s a faithful plane. And very safe.”

• Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the plenary session of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
• China’s biggest car show begins in Beijing.
• The Zurich Classic golf tournament opens in Louisiana.

Proportion of Japan’s sushi-restaurant owners who were female in 2021, out of more than 10,000 eateries. Japan is famous for its master sushi chefs, who carefully craft menus for which customers often pay huge amounts. But efforts by women to make inroads in the profession have resulted in limited success, according to the Financial Times. That’s down in part to bias — many in the industry long claimed, for example, that women’s hands were too warm to make high-quality sushi. Others argue the job’s physical demands are tilted towards men in a society where women often have to balance onerous demands at home: Trainees have punishingly long hours, and usually carry ice-filled boxes filled with fish that weigh upwards of 40 pounds.

A new narrative-adventure video game whose visual aesthetic has been likened to a Wes Anderson film is getting strong reviews. Harold Halibut, the debut game of a Germany-based studio, spent 14 years in the making. The Guardian described it as “so tactile — so texturally convincing — that, at various points playing the game, you may want to reach into the screen and physically touch it.” Multiple reviewers drew comparisons between the game, which uses puppets for its characters, and Anderson’s movies. It “feels as if it was made by Wes Anderson running amok at Aardman Animations,” The Guardian said.

• US approves $60 billion in Ukraine aid.
• Investor Victor Khosla on “toasty” equity.
• Why the new US campus protestors cover their faces.