Isabella Collins

In February 2025, Taiwan’s coast guard noticed something unusual in the Taiwan Strait. A Togolese-flagged cargo ship, the Hong Tai 58, had slowed near a submarine cable route connecting Taiwan to the Penghu Islands. Officers repeatedly attempted to contact the vessel over radio, but it did not respond. Shortly after the ship dropped anchor, engineers at Chunghwa Telecom detected a break in the No. 3 submarine communications cable.

Most democracies treat government shutdowns as a crisis. The United States watches with anxiety as congressional budget deadlines approach, fearful of a shutdown. The EU sighed in relief in 2020 when Belgium re-established a coalition after more than 650 days without a functioning government. However, in Northern Ireland, government collapse is routine.

There are pages upon pages of pregnancy advice out there, all designed to help women feel better and to help prepare us for the biggest mental and physical transformation of our lives, motherhood. As a new mum-to-be (currently 35 weeks pregnant with my first child) I feel as though I’ve read everything about what I should and shouldn’t do for the next 9 months and beyond.