Flagship

G20 struggles for consensus

G20 leaders watered down criticism of Russia over its war in Ukraine, but may have given global climate talks a much-needed boost. A statement following the first day of meetings in Rio de Janeiro referenced “human suffering” and “negative added impacts of the war,” but there was reduced focus on the conflict and less definitive language, the Financial Times noted. The document did, however, reiterate the need for the world to transition away from fossil fuels, offering what The Guardian described as “good news for progress” at the parallel COP29 climate conference in Baku, which has been deadlocked on the crucial issue of financing developing countries’ shift to cleaner power sources.

Ukraine’s mounting challenges

Ukraine faces an array of increasing pressures — domestically, diplomatically, and on the battlefield — in fighting Russia. At home, new Gallup research showed that a majority of Ukrainians favored a negotiated end to the war as soon as possible, echoing the recent sentiment of their own leader. Kyiv’s forces have signaled they will keep fighting, particularly after Washington approved the use of long-range missiles on Russian territory, but Ukraine faces a ticking clock with US President-elect Donald Trump’s ascent to office looming: Trump wants a quick, negotiated settlement. On the frontlines, Russia is making progress in the Donbas and loosening Ukraine’s hold on Kursk, while Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a new nuclear doctrine in a thinly veiled warning to the West.

Russia vetoes Sudan ceasefire call

Russia blocked a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Sudan. Tens of thousands of people have died in the African country’s 19-month civil war, which has also displaced millions. On Monday, the UK and Sierra Leone proposed a resolution that both the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces halt hostilities and end attacks on civilians. Britain’s foreign secretary called the veto a “disgrace,” but Russia’s UN representative accused the UK of attempting to “meddle” in Sudan, saying the Security Council was impinging on Khartoum’s sovereignty — a stance backed by the Sudanese foreign ministry.

Trump’s treasury choice

The race to be US President-elect Donald Trump’s treasury secretary is devolving into an increasingly ugly, and personal, battle. Trump swiftly announced much of his top team, though fellow Republicans have said some may struggle to be confirmed because of controversies over their record. The choice of treasury secretary — the country’s top economic position — has, however, languished. Trump is now deciding between the chief executive of the brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald and the head of the Key Square fund, with both sides’ supporters lobbying against each other. For example, cherrypicked returns from the latter’s firm, indicating it lost money in five of the past seven years, are being circulated in group chats, undercutting his case as a savant investor.

What $2T in spending cuts means

US President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed $2 trillion in savings from a “Department of Government Efficiency” could be accomplished — but over a longer timeframe and only with major changes to retirement and health benefits, The Economist argued. Spending cuts are needed: National debt is 100% of GDP, up from 35% in 2007. But most federal spending is mandatory — pensions, health insurance, debt repayments — and there is little room to cut what remains. The Economist said increasing the enrolment age for Medicare and social security by two years would save $1 trillion in a decade. Changes to health insurance could save a further $1.4 trillion. Another good idea would be modernizing the Internal Revenue Service: Reducing tax fraud could bring in $850 billion in new revenue.

China’s tech race against Trump

Beijing is rushing to boost chip manufacturing ahead of expected clampdowns on US exports under President-elect Donald Trump. President Joe Biden imposed restrictions on sales of semiconductors and the equipment to manufacture them, and China has increased its self-sufficiency in response, but the incoming administration is expected to dial up pressure significantly, Nikkei reported. Trump is also expected to unveil stricter rules on US investors backing Chinese artificial intelligence companies, according to WIRED: The Treasury has already finalized limits on what kind of tech companies US venture capitalists can invest in, which will come into force in January, but Trump is expected to expand and toughen them.

HK sentences campaigners

A Hong Kong court jailed 45 pro-democracy figures for up to 10 years, part of efforts by authorities to strangle the movement. The sentence — over the organizing of an unofficial election primary — caps a years-long crackdown by Beijing on the once-autonomous city, which laid claim to a boisterous media and independent judiciary. A widespread 2019 protest movement riled Chinese authorities and led to the imposition of a draconian national-security law. Among those sentenced was the former student leader Joshua Wong, who shouted, “I love Hong Kong” before leaving the dock. In a Facebook post, another defendant wrote: “Today, no democracy is immune to the crisis of legitimacy that results from a deficit of public trust.”

Greece’s economic miracle

Greece, which was in danger of bankruptcy a few years ago, plans to pay off billions of euros in loans early, a sign of its growing economic strength. Athens received huge bailouts to prevent default in the early 2010s, debts which are due between 2033 and 2042. But Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said it would repay $5.3 billion next year, reducing its interest payments and accelerating its remarkable turnaround: Unemployment reached nearly 30% during the crisis, but has since dropped to 10.5%, while Greece’s economy has outperformed the eurozone average for four years and is expected to do so until 2026. Mitsotakis told Bloomberg that the government has “been ruthlessly focused on fiscal discipline.”

UK backs interconnector cables

The UK will build five subsea interconnector cables to boost its clean energy supply. Britain has a strong wind-power sector, and on blustery days can export large amounts of electricity, but on still days it needs imports. Interconnectors allow a smoothing-out of renewable energy’s naturally intermittent supply: The UK has nine operational cables already and two more under construction, and 13% of its power was imported through them in the second quarter of 2024. Cables, though, are vulnerable: Subsea data cables between Denmark and Germany and between Lithuania and Sweden were severed this week, with Copenhagen and Berlin saying they feared “hybrid warfare by malicious actors.”

Hunting for Planet X

Our solar system may have an undiscovered planet, and scientists proposed searching for it using hundreds of small, cheap telescopes. No new planets have been discovered orbiting our sun since Neptune in 1846, dwarf planets such as Pluto notwithstanding. But there are hints from the way asteroids and other objects cluster that there might be some large gravity source on the fringes of the solar system. In a new paper, researchers said that for just $15 million, 200 small foot-wide telescopes, arranged in a 600-mile-long array, could watch for any stars that wink out as they are occluded by the potential “Planet X”: The authors say if there’s a medium-sized planet anywhere in solar orbit, the system should detect it.

• European foreign ministers meet in Warsaw.
• Sweden’s king visits Singapore.
• Monaco celebrates its National Day.

The estimated age in years of the Pando aspen-tree cluster in the US state of Utah. What looks like a forest of 47,000 trees is, in fact, a huge interconnected organism, grown from a single shoot and supported by one vast root system. That makes it one of the biggest living things in the world. Genetic analysis, showing the number of mutations since its split from other living things — mutations happen at a roughly constant rate — now shows that it is also one of the oldest, Nature reported, although there is significant uncertainty over exactly how old.

Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7, performed by Vladimir Jurowski. Gramophone named this one of the best classical music albums of 2024 so far, saying the Russian conductor’s performance is “deeply considered and unusually persuasive… a notable addition to the Bruckner discography.” Listen to Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 on Spotify.

Republicans are waging their own internal fight over the next FBI director, a clash that pits a Donald Trump loyalist against a former congressional intelligence chairman who’s well liked on Capitol Hill, Semafor’s Shelby Talcott and Burgess Everett reported.

The FBI director is a particularly sensitive position for Trump, who fired former Director James Comey and is expected to quickly try to replace Wray, Comey’s successor.