Bengelin von breto is our senior germany correspondent. Germany's business model relied, until now, very much on cheap natural gas from russia. Russia's president puten has now weaponized this dependeny by germany. dependence on russian gas and the economic slowdown in china means that german companies are facing a very challenging test.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a leftist former president, looks well-placed to win a third term. But which Lula would Brazil get—the fiscal conservative or the populist spendthrift? Germany has an earned reputation as an industrial powerhouse, but its dependence on Russian gas and Chinese demand are hobbling it. And why the propaganda-spewing loudspeakers in Vietnam’s capital are firing up again.
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