The World in Brief

The Trump administration imposed tariffs of between 10% and 12.5% on goods from 60 countries, accusing them of failing to police imports of goods made with forced labour. They begin on Friday, when a separate 10% levy expires. Donald Trump has repeatedly adjusted his tariffs since the Supreme Court struck down their main legal justification in February.

Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose above $100 a barrel for the first time since May. Donald Trump told Axios, a news site, that he was mulling a "massive attack" on Iran. Meanwhile the Houthis, Iranian-backed militants, struck two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea; Mr Trump said he would hold Iran responsible for further attacks.

American stocks fell as investors fretted over tech firms’ AI spending. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy NASDAQ declined by around 1.2% and 2.2%, respectively. Shares in Alphabet, Google’s parent company, sank after it revised up AI spending guidance to as much as $205bn this year. So did Tesla’s, which reported its first negative free cash flow in over two years.

After American markets closed, Intel reported unexpectedly strong second-quarter revenues of $16.1bn, up 25% year on year, potentially offering jittery investors some relief. The American chipmaker was boosted by demand for data centres: sales leapt by 59%, to $6.3bn. Intel said it expected revenues between $15.8bn and $16.8bn in the third quarter.

Mr Trump said America’s civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia is "totally subject" to Saudi Arabia recognising the state of Israel by joining the Abraham accords. Mr Trump also said the agreement, which Congress must still review, does not include "enrichment of material". Saudi Arabia has refused to normalise ties with Israel without a serious path to creating a Palestinian state.

The European Commission fined Google €890m ($1bn) for breaching the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which intends to help smaller firms compete with digital giants. Regulators said Google gave greater prominence to its own services in search results, compared with those offered by third parties. Google also penalised developers who sent users outside the company’s own app store.

America’s Justice Department withdrew subpoenas against journalists at the New York Times after a federal judge expressed scepticism over whether the government’s lawyers followed proper procedures. The reporters had been asked to provide phone records and testify before a grand jury after publishing a story about Mr Trump’s new Qatari-donated Air Force One plane. The newspaper accused the Trump administration of intimidation.

Speaking to The Economist in his first extended interview since SpaceX’s blockbuster IPO, Elon Musk made three bold predictions: AI will surpass human intelligence within five years; robots in the workplace will render money meaningless within ten; and Britain will descend into civil war within 20. The world’s richest man insisted that AI will control almost everything eventually.

In Tuesday’s edition we wrote that Tesla expected revenues to rise by 25% year on year. This was an error: it previously reported that electric-vehicle sales were up by that amount. Sorry.

It could stay there for a while. Traffic through Hormuz has petered out since Iran resumed attacking tankers and America reimposed its embargo on the country’s ports. This week Yemeni Houthi rebels declared a blockade of Saudi Arabian ports in the Red Sea; the kingdom had rerouted its oil exports to Asia, about two-thirds of the total, through that waterway. So far the Houthis say they have attacked two ships; more have turned back.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure continue to disrupt its fuel exports, too. The crunch is worst in refined products: prices of petrol, diesel and jet fuel have all reached their highest level since at least the first week of June. The biggest oil-supply shock in history just got bigger.

Young people are outraged over a recent leak of entrance exam papers. But underneath is a deeper anger: the world’s largest youth population endures gruelling challenges to enter too few good universities, only to graduate into a poor job market. Narendra Modi’s government seems to have been taken by surprise at the strength of feeling. The protesters have rallied around a hunger striker, Sonam Wangchuk, whom authorities dragged off to hospital. Rahul Gandhi, the leader of India’s main opposition Congress party, is calling for Mr Modi to step down. India’s cockroaches will not be easily crushed.

On Friday a separate 10% global tariff on most imports reaches its 150-day limit and is set to expire. Replacements are ready. The administration is expected to announce duties of between 10% and 12.5% on 60 countries accused of importing goods made with forced labour. More are expected later this year on big trading partners blamed for slowing America’s manufacturing revival by overproducing goods. Together the measures would recreate Mr Trump’s old tariff schedule, and many trade lawyers expect them to last. It will take more to slay the beast.

Many hope the vote will draw a line under a scandal that has hurt the credibility of the ICC, which is embattled for other reasons. America, which does not belong to the court, has imposed sanctions on ICC officials who are investigating American and Israeli citizens. Many observers may see a vote to remove Mr Khan as capitulation to governments that want to punish him for bringing charges against Israeli leaders.