The United States has welcomed a plan by NATO ally Germany to sail a warship across the disputed South China Sea for the first time after almost two decades, amid tensions with China in the resource-rich waters.

China is expected to tout its strong economic performance during the pandemic and unveil long-term goals for its economy at an annual meeting of its ceremonial legislature beginning Friday in Beijing. Thousands of delegates will attend the National People’s Congress session and a parallel gathering of a political advisory body, …

The papers are full of suggestions on what US President Joe Biden should do about his country’s seemingly perennial involvement in Afghanistan. None are particularly useful, in that they ignore the central premise that a nation state long mauled, molested and savaged should finally be left alone. Nonsense, say the …