Britain has put an end to coal power. What does it mean for its industry?
In the late 1980s coal produced about 70% of Britain's electricity. It is now the first G7 country to abandon coal generation, which raises hard questions for its industry.
Archive
The British Empire at Its Peak (1922)
By 1922 the British Empire controlled 36,190,000 km² — about a quarter of the world's land — and 480 million people, roughly 24% of the world's population.
Language Map of Asia
A map of the languages and language families of Asia.
On the law issued in France to increase the population
Montesquieu on Louis XIV's pensions for large families and on how a depopulated state can be revived, from "The Spirit of the Laws".
In private life a person needs the support of others, and the rules of support are governed by attachment, friendship and love
Jalal al-Din Davani on friendship as the path to perfection, on the danger of scattering oneself across different crafts, and on the discipline of silence, with an account of the Persian philosopher who served three dynasties.
World population growth to 2100
For a long time the world's population grew very slowly, passing 1 billion only in 1804; two centuries later it reached 8 billion. UN forecasts now expect growth to level off after the 2050s.
Only a handful of thinkers need the truth; the crowd must simply believe
Pope Paul IV on why truth is dangerous and the crowd wants only something to believe in, with an account of the inquisitor Gian Pietro Carafa, who became pope in 1555.
Key points from the BRICS joint declaration at the 17th summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The joint declaration adopted by BRICS at its 17th summit in Rio de Janeiro calls for an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the occupied Palestinian territories, and a global framework for governing artificial intelligence.
What we stubbornly pursue slips away, while what comes more easily is usually not so important
A selection of sayings from Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy", on the elusiveness of what we most desire, the discipline of following one's own road, and the love that moves the sun and the other stars.
Electricity generation per capita in Germany and China
Germany's electricity generation per capita falls year after year, while China's has risen continuously for at least three decades — a sign of where industrial capacity is heading.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you. And then you win…
Gandhi on how movements are met, on finding yourself and on the inner voice, with a short note on his role in India's independence movement and his philosophy of non-violence.
China's strategic depth and the clash of its interests with those of the United States in the Asia-Pacific
This infographic maps the complex operational picture in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility, where the United States confronts China.
Look at the world with the eye of reason; the world is a sea — if you wish to sail, build a ship from good deeds…
Rudaki on reason, knowledge and good deeds, with a short account of the poet born in Panjrud who led the circle of poets at the Samanid court in Bukhara.
Only those worse than us think ill of us; those better than us are simply too busy…
Omar Khayyam on envy, friendship, silence and the true price of kindness, with a short account of his life as a Persian philosopher, mathematician and astronomer.
Reclaim yourself for yourself and guard your time…
Seneca on claiming time for oneself, the many ways it is lost, and keeping the body in service of the soul — with an account of his life and death under Nero.
What a person needs first is not education but upbringing
Al-Farabi on upbringing before instruction, the ruler's pursuit of true happiness, and moderation as the root of virtue.
All warfare is based on deception
Sun Tzu on deception in war, the summit of military skill, and what an enemy's peace overtures really mean.
Be content with whatever life God grants you, and give thanks
Ahmad Donish on contentment, the regimen of eating and drinking, and the price of freedom from earthly burdens.
When you go among the ignorant full of pride, play the model ass
Ibn Sina, known in the West as Avicenna, on dealing with the ignorant, the gifts a physician must have, and justice as the finest ornament of human deeds.
People never lie so much as during a war, after a hunt, or before an election
Otto von Bismarck on lying in wartime and elections, finding a case for war, and what a state's attitude to its teachers reveals.
The North–South Transport Corridor and Iran's pivotal role
The International North–South Transport Corridor is an ambitious 7,200-km multimodal route from St Petersburg to Mumbai. Because every branch of it runs through Iran, the country has become the corridor's pivotal link.
Whoever lies in the language of words gives himself away in the language of gestures, which he does not notice…
Oswald Spengler on the language of lies, the press and war, and culture turning into civilisation.
Grief can become a garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open to everything, your pain…
Rumi on grief as a garden of compassion, on finding God in one's own heart, and on the calling placed in every heart.
Muhammad Shaybani Khan, one of the outstanding Uzbek commanders and statesmen in history
The founder of the Shaybanid dynasty and khan of the Bukhara Khanate was one of the outstanding commanders and statesmen of his age. Part 1 traces his education in Bukhara and the ambition he carried back to the steppes; part 2 follows his conquest of Transoxiana, Khorezm and Khorasan.
There is a pattern: civilisations rise when they are able to respond creatively to the challenges around them…
Arnold J. Toynbee on the pattern behind the rise and fall of civilisations, the components of culture and the surest way to reach a goal.
When you are inspired by a great purpose or an extraordinary project, your thoughts break their bonds…
Patanjali, the ancient Indian philosopher and founder of yoga, on inspiration, the power of the mind, and how love and hatred alike return to their source.
Why I consider Amir Temur the greatest commander
In my view, though I may be mistaken, the Great Temur ranks first among the greatest commanders in all history, followed by Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great and Hannibal Barca.
Two centuries of US budget deficits as a share of GDP
The chart traces the US budget deficit as a share of GDP over more than 200 years of American statehood, from the years before the world wars to the 9% average of the past five years.
The lifespan of a dynasty rarely exceeds three generations…
Ibn Khaldun on the three-generation life of a dynasty, asabiyyah, the paradox of taxation, and how prejudice blinds the soul to the truth.
The better you are yourself, the more kindly disposed you are to everything around you and to people
Plotinus on inner beauty — how self-knowledge and the cultivation of virtue make a person beautiful, and why happiness lies in the fullest life of the Spirit.
Why Chinese manufacturers dominate the solar panel and battery industries
The author's case for why Chinese manufacturers dominate the global solar panel and battery sectors: long-term state industrial strategy, subsidies, self-sufficiency in minerals, scale, automation and cheap electricity.
Battery cell production costs: China, South Korea, the EU and the US
The chart compares the average cost of producing battery cells in China, South Korea, the European Union and the United States, and shows why the US and the EU lag behind China.
China's monthly solar panel exports to the rest of the world, in megawatts
China's monthly exports of solar panels to the rest of the world, measured in megawatts (MW). Chinese panels are far cheaper than those made elsewhere, and China also produces three-quarters of the world's batteries.
The art of putting the right men in the right places is the beginning of the science of government
Talleyrand on the craft of government, the uses of flattery and the truth that in politics belief matters more than fact.
While you live, keep learning; do not wait for old age to bring wisdom
The Athenian lawgiver Solon on lifelong learning, the wise use of power, and laws that hold the weak but let the strong break through.
Sir Winston Churchill on Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin:
Churchill's famous tribute to Stalin as an extraordinary, ruthless and uniquely capable leader who took Russia with a wooden plough and left it with atomic weapons.
Success is the ability to move from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm
Winston Churchill on perseverance, the speed of a lie, the value of having enemies, and why history holds the secrets of political foresight.
The attempt to create paradise on earth inevitably leads to the creation of hell
Karl Popper on the danger of utopian designs, the fashion that rules philosophy, and the lessons Plato still offers sociology.
The main principles of war propaganda
The British diplomat Lord Ponsonby set out the main principles of war propaganda in his 1928 book Falsehood in War-Time.
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need
Cicero on the good life — a garden, a library, true friendship — and on the republic he defended to the end.
Know that a limit is set to the time of your life, and if you do not use it…
Marcus Aurelius on the limits of a human life, on living according to nature, and on the Stoic path to peace of mind.
Almost all people are defenders of their own mistakes, and accusers of others'
Apollonius of Tyana on self-serving judgement, the nature of divinity, and why medicine must care for both soul and body.
A child must be brought up from the first day of his birth…
Abdulla Avloniy on raising a child from the first day of life, and on the Jadid movement that set out to modernise education in the Muslim world.
Ukraine, a new and important space on the Eurasian chessboard…
Zbigniew Brzezinski on Ukraine as the geopolitical pivot of Eurasia, and on how the West should deal with China.
The lifespan of a dynasty rarely exceeds three generations…
Ibn Khaldun on why dynasties seldom outlast three generations, and on asabiyyah as the force behind the rise and fall of civilisations.
To become just, one need only want it
Plutarch on justice and greatness of soul, from his Parallel Lives — Diogenes before Alexander, the peace offer of Darius III and the king who would not drink alone.
Never humble yourself before another person
Abdullah ibn al-Muqaffa on self-respect, generosity and the discipline of silence, with an account of the Persian writer who gave Arabic its Kalila and Dimna.
When I had money I bought books
Erasmus of Rotterdam on books, friendship and self-love, with an account of the humanist scholar the Northern Renaissance called its prince.
When we are right, we often doubt
Benjamin Disraeli on doubt and certainty, the power of great thoughts, and the kind of information that decides who succeeds.
The Oath of Hannibal
Benjamin West's 1770 painting "The Oath of Hannibal", commissioned by King George III, shows the boy Hannibal swearing eternal enmity towards Rome before a statue of Baal.
Nothing is impossible for the one who tries
Alexander the Great on fortune, victory and ambition, followed by a short account of his life, his conquests and the empire that broke apart after his death.
R. Kjellén's doctrine of the 'anatomy of state power' and the 'great powers'
Rudolf Kjellén (1864–1922) was a Swedish geographer and political figure who considered himself a pupil of Friedrich Ratzel. His doctrine treated the state as a living organism and defined the great powers by three spatial factors.
Mind precedes all phenomena
Mind precedes all phenomena. When the mind is known, all phenomena are known.
Say to your trouble: "I have the Great Almighty"
Rumi's counsel for hard times is not to tell the Almighty how great your trouble is, but to tell your trouble how great the Almighty is.
Those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them
Winston Churchill's warning that nations which ignore the lessons of history are condemned to live through them again.
Karl Haushofer's theory of pan-regions and the continental bloc (for those interested in geopolitics and the geopolitical processes unfolding in the world)
Karl Haushofer (1869–1946) was born in Munich, Germany, into a professor's family. He served in the army for more than 20 years and became the author of an original theory of the continental bloc and of pan-regions.
Donald Trump on Germany's green energy transition
US President Donald Trump says Germany went so green that it nearly went bankrupt.
Territories held by countries in the Arctic zone
This map shows the territories countries hold in the Arctic, a region now at the centre of economic and geopolitical competition between the United States, Russia and China.
The Global Gateway strategy of the European Union
The European Union's Global Gateway strategy aims to speed up digital, energy and environmental transformation in emerging and developing economies, mobilising €300 billion of investment by 2027.
Deafened by the voice of desire, you do not know that the Beloved lives in the middle of your heart
Rumi's call to fall silent and listen, so that the voice of the Beloved can be heard within the heart.
I am firmly convinced that madmen rule the world
Leo Tolstoy's blunt verdict on the people who hold power, and on the irrationality that drives them.
Will you who are always full ever understand what need does to people
Rumi on the gulf between the comfortable and the poor, and on how hard it is for the well-fed to grasp what want drives people to.
Choose a job you love and you will never work a day in your life
A saying attributed to Confucius on finding work that does not feel like work.
Education without upbringing is a sword in the hands of a madman
Dmitri Mendeleev's warning that instruction without moral formation puts a dangerous weapon into the hands of those who lack judgement.
Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth
A saying attributed to the Buddha on the truth that always comes to light.
Among the ancient Greeks, the ability to think was a high gift…
Erich Maria Remarque on how the ability to think has been recast, over the centuries, as happiness, then illness, and finally crime.
Global gold market capitalisation exceeds $20 trillion
The capitalisation of the global gold market has passed $20.8 trillion, as uncertainty and inflation drive investors towards the metal.
Unlike Freud, I do not believe that sex is the determining factor…
Charlie Chaplin on why he disagreed with Freud about what really shapes human behaviour.
China controls 62% of the global electric vehicle market
China controls 62% of the global electric vehicle market and holds on to its lead in electric transport.
The Development Road international transport corridor (ITC)
The Development Road international transport corridor (ITC) is intended to link the Persian Gulf with Europe through Iraq and Türkiye.
The impact of artificial intelligence on the future labour market: which jobs may disappear and which may remain
According to an IMF report, artificial intelligence affects occupations differently: some face a high risk of replacement, others are safe.
After Germany abandoned its nuclear programme and shut down its plants
After Germany abandoned its nuclear programme and closed its plants, German imports of nuclear-generated electricity hit a record in 2024.
In response to the 10% US tariffs on imports from China
In response to the 10% tariffs the United States imposed on imports from China, Beijing introduced additional duties of 15% on US coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG), and 10% on American oil, agricultural machinery, large-engine cars and pickups.
China graduates eight times as many STEM specialists as the US
This chart shows that China produces eight times as many STEM graduates each year as the United States, according to 2016 data from Statista.
How fast things change in the world of technological competition
In the 1990s Europe, the United States and Japan made all of the world's semiconductors. Their combined share has since collapsed, while China has gone from 0% to 24%.
The Panama Canal's importance to the United States
The Panama Canal is a lock-type waterway owned by Panama that links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It carries 2.5% of world maritime trade a year and 40% of US container traffic.
China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)
The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a flagship of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, linking Pakistan's Gwadar and Karachi ports to China's Xinjiang region. Its cost has risen from an initial $46 billion to $65 billion.
Pakistan seeks closer economic ties with Central Asia
Pakistan's location makes it a natural bridge between landlocked Central Asia and the Arabian Sea, according to The News on Sunday. Regional trade integration could add up to 1.7% to Pakistan's GDP.
International transport corridor (ITC) Belarus–Russia–Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–Indian Ocean ports
Work on the multimodal Belarus–Russia–Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan corridor to Indian Ocean ports began in August 2022. Pakistan signed up in September 2024, and the route is meant to give landlocked Central Asia access to the sea.
Eastern sea corridor between Chennai and Vladivostok
The eastern sea corridor linking the Indian port city of Chennai with Vladivostok, Russia's largest Pacific port, is back in service. It cuts cargo delivery times from 40 to 24 days compared with the Suez Canal route.
Record-low birth rates in the West and Japan
Birth rates have fallen to record lows across the West and Japan. In 2023 the EU recorded 3.665 million births, the fewest since records began in 1961, and the figure was down 5.5% on the year before.
US military spending reached $860 billion in 2023
In 2023 US military spending came to $860 billion, or 68% of NATO's total military spending of $1.3 trillion.
Diego Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago as a US–UK strategic foothold in the Indian Ocean
The Chagos Archipelago, some 500 km south of the Maldives, hosts the Diego Garcia base, which lets the United States and Britain control sea lanes between South-East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. In October 2024 Britain agreed to hand sovereignty over the islands to Mauritius while keeping the base for 99 years.
Kazakhstan's strategic choice
Kazakhstan declined full membership of BRICS at the bloc's October summit in Kazan, choosing instead to watch how the group develops while diversifying its foreign-policy ties and keeping close engagement with the West, The Diplomat reports.
A cheap way to remove micro- and nanoplastics from water
Researchers at the University of São Paulo in Brazil have developed an inexpensive but effective method for stripping micro- and nanoplastics from water, using magnetic nanoparticles that cling to the waste and break it down.
ITC India–Middle East–Europe
In September 2023, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, the United States, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the EU announced plans for the India–Middle East–Europe Corridor (IMEC). It is meant to speed up trade and deepen economic integration between Asia, the Gulf and Europe — but war in the Middle East now threatens it.
Iran deepens ties with Central Asian countries
The Jerusalem Post, citing Iranian state media, reports that Iran's foreign minister has held talks with Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as part of a drive to deepen trade and transport ties across Central Asia and offset its losses from severed ties with the West.
Coal consumption in the Asia-Pacific region
According to the IEA, 83% of the coal mined worldwide is consumed in the Asia-Pacific region, with China alone accounting for more than half of global consumption. India and Indonesia are also increasing their use of coal year after year.
Old coal-fired power plants and new technologies
The United States has the world's oldest coal-fired power plants, with an average age set to pass 50 next year, and its 92 nuclear reactors are the third oldest globally. Yet while others build ultra-supercritical coal units, the US is closing its coal plants and switching to gas.
Russia and Iran prepare to sign a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty
Russia and Iran are preparing to sign a Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the Iranian president's visit to Moscow within one or two months, Iran's foreign ministry says. The treaty would cover energy, transport, industry, agriculture, science, technology and defence.
Iran and Russia will soon sign a comprehensive cooperation agreement
Iran's foreign minister says Tehran and Moscow will sign a comprehensive cooperation agreement within one or two months, during the Iranian president's visit to Moscow. A deal planned for the BRICS summit in Kazan in October 2024 was not signed.
Success bestows much, but never friends
Four maxims from Vauvenargues on success, servitude, habit, and the gulf between small minds and great souls.
Friedrich Naumann's concept of Central (Middle) Europe
A further instalment on the thinkers of the German school of geopolitics, this time Friedrich Naumann's wartime vision of a German-led Mitteleuropa.
You will leave a memory through a kind word and a good deed
Lines from Kutadgu Bilig by the 11th-century Turkic poet Yusuf Khass Hajib Balasaguni on the memory a person leaves behind, and on the value of brief, weighty speech.
The gas revolution in the United States
A genuine gas revolution is under way in US energy, marking a shift to a new technological order in the economy — one in which natural gas is becoming America's main primary energy source.
Middle East: the consequences of closing the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal
The Middle East is not only the world's larder, with its vast oil, gas and uranium wealth, but also the most important intersection of global transport corridors. What happens if war closes the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal?
A good blacksmith piles up mountains of unworked iron
A Chinese proverb on how true skill shows itself in abundance, and on why kindness and mistakes alike call for careful thought.
Global energy demand will double as the Global South develops
World energy demand will double, driven by the growth of the Global South, the transformation of energy sources and the exponential rise of artificial intelligence.
Rudolf Kjellén's doctrine of the anatomy of state power and the great powers
Rudolf Kjellén (1864–1922) was a Swedish geographer and political figure who coined the term geopolitics. His doctrine treated the state as a living organism and ranked the great powers by space, cohesion and freedom of movement.
The global market for industrial robots
According to the International Federation of Robotics, 545,000 industrial robots were installed at factories worldwide in 2022. Asia took 74% of them and China alone 53%.
The Draghi report on EU competitiveness
On 9 September this year former ECB president Mario Draghi presented the European Commission with a report on the future of the European economy, arguing that the EU must mobilise €750–800 billion a year to stay competitive.
Scientists develop cleaner hydrogen combustion engines
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have found a low-cost way to cut NOx pollution from hydrogen-burning internal combustion engines by making the catalytic converter work better.
Friedrich Ratzel's concept of Lebensraum and the world power
Friedrich Ratzel is regarded as the founder of geopolitics as a scientific discipline. His doctrine of the state as a living organism that must expand its living space justified German territorial expansion.
Some key takeaways from the BRICS summit in Kazan
The 16th BRICS summit ran in Kazan from 22 to 24 October this year under Russia's chairmanship. No new members were admitted, and the group ruled out a single currency.
Countries with aircraft carriers in their navies
An aircraft carrier is a floating airbase that projects a country's military and economic power at sea. Eleven countries operate carriers today, and NATO members together with Japan have 20 between them.
IMF forecasts the end of the conflict in Ukraine in 2026
The IMF's updated review of the Ukrainian economy suggests the conflict could end in mid-2026, with the debt-to-GDP ratio possibly approaching 300% by 2029 under its negative scenario.
China, South Korea and Japan dominate commercial shipbuilding
This chart shows the countries that dominated shipbuilding by gross tonnage of merchant ships built in 2023, led by China, South Korea and Japan, which together account for 94% of the industry.
Mackinder's geographical pivot of history
Halford John Mackinder (1861–1947) was one of the great figures in the history of geopolitics, whose 1904 paper set out the Heartland theory that would shape the field for a century.
Rocket launches into space worldwide over the past three years
According to the American analytics and engineering firm BryceTech, SpaceX has tripled its rocket launches over the past two years and leads the world, while China, Russia and India are all stepping up their programmes.
Economic growth in the Global South
The fastest-growing economies now lie in Latin America, Africa and Asia, the regions known together as the Global South. Guyana's GDP doubled between 2021 and 2022, and African countries are set for average growth of 6–8% through 2028.
The Global North and the Global South
The Cold War divided the planet into three worlds; after the Soviet bloc collapsed, the concepts of the Global North and the Global South took shape.
The Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan
The Wakhan Corridor is a narrow strip of land in the Wakhan region of Badakhshan Province in eastern Afghanistan.
Growth in China's electricity consumption
According to the International Energy Agency, electricity demand in China's economy will grow to 10,498 TWh by 2025, more than double US demand of 4,475 TWh.
Global lithium reserves
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), identified lithium resources worldwide grew significantly in 2023, to about 98 million tonnes.
Two brothers
A fable by the Georgian writer Sulhan-Saba Orbeliani in which two brothers live side by side, each secretly pouring his own grain into the other's pit.
International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC)
On 12 September 2000, at the second Euro-Asian Transport Conference in St Petersburg, Russia, India and Iran signed an intergovernmental agreement to create the International North–South Transport Corridor.
Nuclear power in Uzbekistan
On 27 May 2024 Russia and Uzbekistan signed a contract for a six-unit small nuclear power plant in the Jizzakh region. The first reactor is due to start up within five years, with full commissioning no earlier than 2033.
Ibn Miskawayh, the Third Teacher
The author closes his account of Ibn Miskawayh, the remarkable and profound thinker of the East whom the Muslim world counts as the "Third Teacher" after Aristotle and Al-Farabi.
The economy and energy of Texas
According to the US Department of Energy, the United States is the world's largest crude oil producer, pumping almost 13 million barrels a day. This article looks at Texas, the country's energy heartland and second most populous state.
World GDP growth over 2,000 years
A World Bank chart tracing the growth of the world economy over the past two thousand years. World GDP grew by just 20% in the first millennium but has doubled every 20–25 years in recent decades.
Russia raises its key policy rate
On 13 September 2024 the Bank of Russia raised its key rate to 19%, even as other major central banks were cutting. The increase is feeding through to mortgage rates, which have climbed above 21%.
India's vast industrial development prospects
India has enormous long-term potential for industrial development. Nearly half its working population is still employed in agriculture, and mechanisation will push that labour into the cities and into industry.
Comparing the G7 and BRICS
According to the IMF, the combined GDP of the G7 reached $45.9 trillion in 2023, one and a half times the size of the BRICS economies.
The rise in global military spending in 2023
Defence spending rose at its fastest rate in a decade in 2023, reaching $2.443 trillion worldwide, with NATO accounting for 55% of the total.
How Latvia's population grew under the USSR and shrank after EU accession
The chart shows how Latvia's population grew while it was part of the USSR, and how it declined after leaving the Union and joining the EU.
A kind word will make even a sword return to its sheath
A kind word will make even a sword return to its sheath, said Amir Temur the Great.
Those who betray a friendship cannot escape the wrath of the Almighty
The fable shows that those who betray a friendship may escape the vengeance of the wronged, but they cannot escape the wrath of the Almighty.
The world's largest economies by 2050: Saudi Arabia's nuclear programme
Saudi Arabia's decision not to renew its era-defining security agreement with the United States, the sale of oil for dollars, reflects both America's declining global influence and where most Saudi oil is now sold.
Bloomberg and IMF forecast: China leads global growth, 2024–2029
Bloomberg and IMF forecasts put China first for contributions to global growth in 2024–2029, ahead of the G7 combined, with India second and Indonesia third.
Our path is known: life is but a dream
A passage from Kutadgu Bilig by the 11th-century Turkic poet Yusuf Khass Hajib Balasaguni on the brevity of life and the duty to do good.
China's foreign direct investment by country
China's outward foreign direct investment by country: the distribution based on fDi Markets data.
Constant association with the wicked fosters bad habits
Sayings of Democritus on bad company, education, friendship and the care of the soul.
Once, when the Samian envoys spoke too long
Plutarch recounts how the Spartans answered the Samian envoys and a long-winded orator, in his Table Talk.
The world's largest economies by 2050: who will build Saudi Arabia's reactors
Saudi Arabia has yet to pick a builder for its planned reactors, with Rosatom, Westinghouse, KEPCO and CNNC in contention — and it has let the 1974 petrodollar pact with Washington lapse.
The world's largest economies by 2050: Saudi Arabia's nuclear programme
Saudi Arabia plans up to 16 nuclear reactors worth more than $100 billion under Vision 2030, following the example of Türkiye, Egypt, Iran and the UAE.
A good merchant hides his wealth and appears poor
A Chinese proverb on why a skilled trader conceals his riches and makes no show of them.
The world's largest economies by 2050: Saudi Arabia
Saudi Vision 2030 aims to wean the kingdom off oil by building up finance, industry, tourism and electronics. Non-oil sectors, including the public sector, now make up half of GDP.
The world's largest economies by 2050: Saudi Arabia, continued
In January 2024 the IMF said Saudi Arabia had joined Argentina at the bottom of the G20 growth table. Non-oil sectors, however, are gaining ground under Vision 2030.
The world's largest economies by 2050: Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia ranks 16th by GDP (PPP), and its oil wealth is managed by the state giant Saudi Aramco. The non-oil economy is now growing fast, even as hydrocarbons stay central to modern manufacturing.
The world's largest economies by 2050: Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is OPEC's most important member and a top-three crude producer. Together, OPEC and OPEC+ pump some 46% of the world's oil, which gives them real power over prices.
He who commands others is strong, but he who commands himself is stronger still
Laozi on self-mastery as a greater strength than power over other people.
The world's largest economies by 2050: Saudi Arabia
Ibn Khaldun's theory of asabiya explains the rise and fall of elites, and it still reads true today. The piece then turns to Saudi Arabia's demography and the mounting pressure of Yemen's population growth.
Whoever does not answer anger with anger saves both: himself and the other
A Buddhist saying on the saving power of refusing to meet anger with anger.
The world's largest economies by 2050: Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is the largest regional power on the Arabian Peninsula and the birthplace of Islam, which arose in Mecca and Medina in the 7th century.
The world's largest economies by 2050, continued: Egypt
Egypt's population passed 110.5 million at the end of 2023, growing by more than 2% a year, with fertility of 3.53 births per woman.
Allah gathered people and began to mete out punishments for breaking the laws of the Universe
A parable from S. N. Lazarev's book Diagnostics of Karma, in which a doctor is punished most harshly for easing suffering that illness was meant to teach.
People have always been and always will be the foolish victims of deception and self-deception in politics
Lenin's warning that people remain the foolish victims of deception and self-deception in politics until they learn to look behind fine phrases and promises for class interests.
Do not make success your goal
Viktor Frankl on why success cannot be chased and must come as the by-product of devotion to a cause.
NATO
Poland spends the most on defence of any NATO member, at 3.9% of GDP, while the US is the main beneficiary of rising allied defence budgets.
Japan's electricity generation
Japan's Sixth Energy Plan targets 38% renewables and 20% nuclear by 2030, while coal and gas lose ground. Yet total power generation has been falling since 2010.
The key to all mysteries lies in man himself
A passage from Helena Roerich on the key to every mystery, which lies within each person.
Aluminium production in the United States
This chart tracks aluminium production in the United States and its share of world output. In the late 1940s and early 1950s the US made more than half of the world's aluminium; today it produces almost none.
India's electricity generation by energy source
India is the world's most populous country and its third-largest economy, yet coal still provides more than 80% of its electricity. This chart breaks down Indian power generation by source.