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Hard Numbers: China's High-Speed Splurge

74 million: As of last weekend, a UN funding drive to help Mozambique recover from Cyclone Idai, which struck in March, had raised $74 million. That's well below an initial $282 million target and less than one-tenth of the estimated $773 million of direct economic losses caused by the storm, which hit the country's food supply hard.

3,200: China plans to build 3,200 kilometers of high-speed rail lines this year. While that is down from the average of 3,600 kilometers of new track it's built each year for the past five years, it's still nearly the equivalent of Spain's entire high-speed rail network.


64: Sixty-four percent of Americans believe that Jews face at least some discrimination in the US today, up 20 percentage points since 2016, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll.

17: More than half of India's 1.3 billion people depend on farming for their livelihood, even though the sector only makes up about 17 percent of the country's economic output. That makes farmers an unusually powerful constituency in India's ongoing national elections.

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​US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks at the Munich Security Conference on February 13, 2026.

US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks during the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany, on February 13, 2026.

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For decades, the Munich Security Conference has functioned as the annual “family reunion” of the transatlantic alliance – a place where American and European leaders and diplomats come together to discuss international security. Since 1963, it’s revolved around a core assumption: the relationship between the United States and Europe is durable [...]
The French President Emmanuel Macron (R) welcomes the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) at the Elysee Presidential Palace.

The French President Emmanuel Macron (R) welcomes the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) at the Elysee Presidential Palace.

SOPA images
In a bid to de-risk, Europe turns inwardEuropean Union leaders agreed to move ahead with “Buy European” policies as part of a broader push to de-risk from the US and boost competitiveness amid China’s industrial prowess. Meeting in Belgium on Thursday, the bloc’s 27 leaders discussed protecting strategic sectors such as defense, clean tech, AI, [...]