Stars and strikes: was America's ship-bomb illegal?

星辰与打击:美国的舰船轰炸是否非法?

The Intelligence from The Economist

2025-12-03

25 分钟
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America's attacks on possible drug boats in the Caribbean is already controversial. Now critics are questioning the legality of one particular strike in September. What does this mean for the US secretary of war, Pete Hegseth? Why American firms are raising funding to explore gene-editing babies. And women in Japan face a long fight to play the national sport: sumo.  In “Babbage” earlier this year we interviewed Chinese scientist He Jiankui, whose use of gene-editing technology on babies landed him a three-year prison sentence. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+
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  • The Economist.

  • Hello and welcome to The Intelligence from The Economist.

  • I'm Jason Palmer.

  • And I'm Rosie Bloor.

  • Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the event shaping your world.

  • Big biotech firms are looking to get into the ethically sticky business of gene editing on embryos.

  • The promise is clear for easily tackling horrible diseases.

  • Problem is, it's still illegal in most places and presents a slippery slope toward designer babies.

  • And the biggest hit to Japan's patriarchal reputation this year was the appointment of its first female prime minister.

  • But even that involved less change than one women are still wrestling for,

  • to be part of the national sport of sumo.

  • First up, though.

  • For the past two months, America has been raining missiles on boats in the Caribbean,

  • which the Trump administration claims are carrying illegal drugs.

  • After each strike, grainy footage has shown the vessels going up in flames.

  • More than 80 people have been killed in the attack so far.

  • Bombing ships was already controversial.

  • Now one particular hit is attracting condemnation on all sides.

  • On September 2nd, the US struck a boat off the coast of Venezuela.

  • Shashank Joshi is our defence editor.