China’s Energy Dependence 2026: Top 10 Oil & Gas Suppliers and Strait of Hormuz

China remains the world’s largest importer of oil and one of the largest importers of natural gas. Its energy vulnerability is shaped not only by the volume of imports, but also by the geography of supply: a significant share of oil and part of LNG shipments pass through Middle Eastern maritime routes, including the Strait of Hormuz. Therefore, any escalation in the Strait of Hormuz directly affects China’s energy security, logistics, prices, refinery margins and Beijing’s foreign-policy negotiations.

In 2024, China imported around 11.1 million barrels of crude oil per day, covering approximately 74% of the country’s apparent oil consumption. The five largest suppliers — Russia, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Iraq and Oman — accounted for roughly two thirds of China’s oil imports.

Russia became China’s largest oil supplier in 2024: deliveries reached 108.5 million tonnes, or about 2.17 million barrels per day. Saudi Arabia supplied around 78.64 million tonnes, or 1.57 million barrels per day, while Malaysia sharply increased deliveries to 70.38 million tonnes. Reuters separately notes that Malaysia acts as an important transit hub for sanctioned oil, including Iranian and Venezuelan crude.

Strategically, it is important that around 90% of China’s crude oil imports arrived by sea, while the remaining share came overland, primarily from Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. This means that China is partly protected by land-based supplies from Russia, but still remains heavily dependent on maritime routes.

Why the Office of British Prime Minister Has Become Almost Impossible

In recent years, the United Kingdom has faced not merely another political crisis, but a deeper institutional problem: the office of prime minister itself appears to have become increasingly difficult to hold effectively. The issue is no longer only the weakness of individual leaders, but the growing inability of the political system to provide stability, time and authority for long-term government.

Since 2016, Britain has passed through a rapid succession of prime ministers: David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer — and potentially another leader after him. Each premiership failed or weakened for specific reasons: Brexit, scandals, economic mistakes, loss of trust, internal party conflict, strategic uncertainty or public fatigue. Yet behind these individual failures lies a larger question: whether the structure of British government has itself become dysfunctional.

Eurovision 2026: A 70-Year Jubilee

The Eurovision Song Contest returned to Vienna in 2026 for one of the most symbolic editions in its history: the 70th Eurovision Song Contest. The official Eurovision page for Vienna 2026 presented the event as a landmark anniversary edition, held at the Wiener Stadthalle on 12, 14 and 16 May 2026. Vienna was a particularly meaningful host city: Austria had hosted Eurovision there before, most famously in 2015, and the city’s musical heritage gave the jubilee edition a strong cultural frame. (Eurovision Song Contest)

The 2026 Grand Final in Vienna was won by Bulgaria’s DARA with “Bangaranga,” giving Bulgaria its first Eurovision victory. According to AP, the song received 516 points, while Israel finished second with 343 points. The 2026 edition also took place under political tension and boycotts linked to Israel’s participation, reminding the world that Eurovision has always been more than a song contest: it is also a mirror of Europe’s social, cultural and political climate. (AP News)

Anne Applebaum: What, actually, is European Civilization?

 

Since 2019, the Institute for Human Sciences and the Erste Foundation have sponsored an annual Speech for Europe. The speech is always timed to coincide with the opening of the Wiener Festwochen, Vienna’s annual cultural festival, and is on or near Europe Day, which is also the anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

The speech is held outdoors, on Judenplatz, the centre of the Viennese Jewish community during the Middle Ages and the site of an important Holocaust memorial today. Entry is free and the audience stands to listen. Hopefully it does not rain.

This year, Anne Applebaum gave the speech. American readers might note that she speaks here as a European and offers advice to Europeans. This is because she has a Polish passport, acquired in 2013, but also because she considers herself to be a patriotic citizen of the transatlantic alliance that America built together with Europe more than eighty years ago. She also believes that the ideas and values behind the American, Polish and British constitutions are the same.

The Triune Brain by Paul MacLean: How the Human Brain Works

The theory of the Triune Brain, proposed by the American neuroscientist Paul MacLean, became one of the most famous models for explaining human behaviour. It describes the brain as a system composed of three evolutionarily different levels: the “reptilian complex”, the “palaeomammalian” or limbic brain, and the “neomammalian” brain, associated primarily with the neocortex. In popular interpretation, these levels are responsible, respectively, for survival, emotions and rational thinking.

Modern neuroscience considers this model overly simplified. However, as an educational metaphor, it remains useful: it helps explain why a human being may simultaneously seek safety, experience strong emotions and make complex rational decisions. This article presents MacLean’s theory in detail, while also adding scientific clarifications and noting its limitations.

The African Origin of Homo sapiens: Genetic History of Human Migration

Modern humans — Homo sapiens — are the only surviving species of the genus Homo. Despite our visible diversity, all living humans share a recent common evolutionary origin in Africa. This conclusion is supported by palaeoanthropology, archaeology, and population genetics.

The study of ancient fossils, archaeological cultures, and genetic markers — including mitochondrial DNA, Y-chromosome lineages, and genome-wide variation — has allowed scientists to reconstruct the major stages of human origins, migrations, and adaptation. 

For readers of Science & Life, this is not only a story about the distant past. It is also a story about the unity of humankind, the movement of ancient populations, the power of scientific evidence and the danger of oversimplified racial myths.

1. The African Origin of Modern Humans