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Renaissance art without the crowds in Italy

Ferrara in Emilia-Romagna won me over precisely because it feels like Italy with the volume turned down. I stayed in a small family-run hotel near Via delle Volte, where mornings began with quiet cobbled streets and the smell of fresh pastries. The Palazzo dei Diamanti was almost empty when I visited, giving me space to enjoy its Renaissance art without crowds. Evenings meant cycling past terracotta walls to tiny trattorias serving pumpkin cappellacci, a traditional pasta dish. It’s a city that lets you slow down, breathe and enjoy its beauty.
John

One of Germany’s greenest cities

Next to flashy Munich or cool Berlin, Hanover in northern Germany has a reputation of being boring. It is totally undeserved: there are world-class museums, such as the modern art gallery Sprengel, one of the best-preserved baroque gardens in Europe – the Great Garden at Herrenhausen – impressive Victorian era architecture, 640 hectares (1,680 acres) of city forest (the Eilenriede, nearly double the size of New York’s Central Park) and a large artificial lake just south of the centre that you can travel on with a bus ticket (or hire a boat). Explore the city and its surroundings on more than 600 miles of cycle paths, find independent shops in the well-heeled art nouveau district of List or the multicultural Linden, and relax in a deck chair on Ballhofplatz with tea and cake at the Teestübchen.
Ulrike

The Algarve’s city of crafts

Bursting with Portuguese charm, Loulé is 10 miles inland from Faro, capital of the Algarve. The small city has a rich history of preserving traditional crafts, supported by Loulé Criativo, a network of community-driven artisans that keeps alive and celebrates the identity of Loulé and the Algarve. It includes the House of Weaving (Casa da Empreita) and the Watchmakers (Oficina do Relojoeiro) and Stringed Instrument Workshop (Oficina de Cordofones). In these vibrant spaces – where visitors can interact with artisans – the city’s heritage is preserved and passed down through generations.
Sue

Unesco sites in northern France

Arras, 35 minutes on the train from Lille, has two Unesco world heritage sites: the belfry of the Hotel de Ville and the Vauban Citadel. Exploring the Boves, a 10th-century network of tunnels which played roles in the first and second world wars, is an amazing experience. Above are two magnificent large squares in the Flemish style with a wide variety of alfresco cafes, restaurants and indie shops. Arras also holds one of the biggest Christmas markets north of Paris, noted for its amazing range of international gourmet foods.
Bryan Boese

Artistry and cake in Sweden’s beautiful south

Malmö is easily accessible (being connected by bridge to Copenhagen) and very walkable. We enjoyed the free Malmö Konsthall arts centre with contemporary exhibitions and also the skateboard artistry in the square outside. The Western Harbour contains architectural gems, such as the twisted skyscraper Turning Turso, restaurants and swimming piers in a former industrial area. The cafe Hollandia offered classic Swedish cakes and a lovely atmosphere. The Disgusting Food Museum next door was an interesting cultural experience showing food considered to be delicacies in some countries, not so much in others. A sign shows the number of people who have thrown up (visit Hollandia first)!
Elisabeth

Brilliant beach and seafood in Sardinia

If you can tear yourself away from Poetto – surely one of the prettiest city beaches in Europe – you’ll find a lot more to love in Cagliari, capital of Sardinia. The huge indoor produce market is a riot of glistening seafood, local pecorino and sweet, nutty Sardinian treats. The town centre strides uphill from the port, with the elegant bulwark of Bastione St Remy delineating the ancient Castello district and serving up epic rooftop and coastal views. We missed the renowned archaeological museum, but that just gives us the perfect excuse to go back. Cagliari’s affordable seafood was a definite highlight, and Trattoria Lillicu’s chargrilled bream and calamari is another tempting reason to hurry back.
Martha

Stained glass wonder in north-west Spain

In León, colours grab your attention and take away words. León cathedral completely wrongfooted me. This city seems to be under the British tourist radar. I thought I’d already seen stained glass that was worthy of heaven – this was another level. Coupled with this was how visitors were reacting. Everyone was using the free audio guide. No one was just marching round and ticking off the sights. People were learning and savouring the experience. The humble ninth-century San Isidoro church, one of the most important romanesque buildings in Spain, is a refreshing contrast.
Deborah

Norway’s art nouveau gem

Ålesund is one of Norway’s most beautiful stops on an already spectacular western coast, despite having been devastated by fire in 1904. We reached the small, rebuilt art nouveau city via the breathtaking winding roads of the Trollstigen (the “Troll’s Path”) and had our first sighting from the top of the panoramic Aksla mountain viewpoint. Exactly 418 steps lead down to the historic centre where museums, cafes, restaurants and shops cluster around the Brosundet Canal in renovated warehouses and ornate buildings. Kayaking, a rib boat ride or a trip to the stunning Geirangerfjord? We couldn’t choose so did them all!
Teresa Stansby

The French city with a bit of everything

I spent five days in Saint-Malo this August. It has everything: a beautiful walled city with lots of history, a variety of beaches offering shifts in light and character throughout the day, a modernist tidal pool with a high diving platform. The city has so much pride, and the art inspired by its famous landmarks make for great souvenirs. My favourite thing, though? The wonderful cider at La Passage (on Instagram) with my sister. And despite the heat everywhere else, the temperature never got above 25C.
Sophie Amos

Winning tip: a watery Dutch master of a city

Leiden starts badly. The walk from the station is grim. Scruffy bars and vape shops. And then, suddenly, this watery Dutch gem reveals itself. Canals shoot off from a boat-filled basin, each one lined with grand brick mansions tapering to elegant finials under the sort of blue lowland skies that typify every good (and bad) Flemish painting. Dig deeper into its narrow traffic-free courtyards and squares with cafes spilling out light and chatter, much as they did when Rembrandt trudged to the school that still stands here, just round the corner from his first tutor’s studio. He’d find it mostly unchanged if he walked back. At Christmas, an ice rink spreads across the main canal, and the smell of warm wine, cloves and crepes hovers over the market stalls.
Bill Jones

The number of job vacancies has fallen to its lowest level in more than five years as smaller businesses cut back on recruitment, the latest official figures indicate.

Vacancy numbers dipped slightly over the May-to-July period to 707,000, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which said small firms were citing labour and operating costs as reasons for scaling back hiring.

The ONS said the labour market was “little changed overall”, with the unemployment rate remaining at 4.9%.

Growth in regular earnings – which excludes bonuses – picked up slightly, rising at an annual pace of 3.5% in the three months to June.

“The UK labour market remains stuck in a low-churn limbo, with employers reluctant to hire, fire or offer bigger pay rises as they grapple with rising costs, intensifying global headwinds and heightened policy uncertainty,” said Suren Thiru, chief economist at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

“The persistent slide in vacancies is a red flag for the jobs market, suggesting labour demand is shrinking amid soaring employment and energy costs, while greater automation is also squeezing some entry-level roles.”

Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG, noted that while pay growth picked up, this was “driven by a rise in public sector wages”.

Private sector pay growth, which she said gave more accurate picture of underlying conditions in the labour market, slowed to 2.8%.

Evidence has emerged indicating that China’s YJ-20 hypersonic anti-ship missile is now also being fielded aboard the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) Type 052D class destroyers. These warships are far more numerous than the Type 055 ‘super destroyers,’ from which the missile was previously seen being fired, as we reported at the time. The new development suggests that the PLAN intends to distribute the weapon across a much broader portion of its surface fleet rather than reserving it exclusively for its largest combatants.

A new video apparently originating from the PLAN shows the launch of a YJ-20 from the cold-launch vertical launch system (VLS) on the foredeck of an unidentified Type 052D destroyer, known in the West as the Luyang III class. After being ejected from the launcher, the missile’s solid rocket motor ignites before it accelerates rapidly away. No target engagement is shown.

Typically, the Type 052D’s VLS would be loaded with variants of the HHQ-9 surface-to-air missile, YJ-18 subsonic anti-ship cruise missile, CJ-10 land-attack cruise missile, and CY-5 anti-submarine missile.

The 7,500-ton Type 052D has 64 VLS cells, 32 forward and 32 aft. It’s unclear whether each of these is able to accommodate the big YJ-20 missile.

This compares to the Type 055’s 112-cell VLS system, which makes it the PLAN’s premier surface strike platform. However, only 10 of these ships are currently in operational service, with additional vessels still under construction. By contrast, approximately 35 Type 052D destroyers have entered PLAN service, with production continuing.

Putting the YJ-20 on the Type 052Ds would significantly expand the number of Chinese warships capable of launching hypersonic anti-ship strikes, further strengthening Beijing’s growing anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) posture across the western Pacific. On the other hand, it remains possible — although less likely — that the launch depicted is some kind of trial or experimental effort that might not lead to large-scale fielding on these hulls.

The new video follows the release of official Chinese military footage showing what the PLAN described as a “finalization test” of the YJ-20 launched from the Type 055 destroyer Wuxi, late last year. That video appeared to confirm the missile’s integration with China’s largest surface combatant, a warship design that you can read more about here.

That test from the Wuxi provided the first official acknowledgement of the ship-launched YJ-20. The missile itself had previously been unveiled publicly during China’s military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan in World War II, although speculation surrounding the weapon stretches back several years before that.

A missile first observed during what appeared to be a Type 055 launch in 2022 was widely referred to as the YJ-21. Subsequent official Chinese designations now strongly suggest that weapon was actually the YJ-20, or an earlier developmental version of it.

The YJ-20 is understood to be a hypersonic anti-ship weapon employing either an aero-ballistic flight profile or potentially a boost-glide vehicle: different Chinese sources have described both concepts at various times. In either case, the missile is optimized for extremely high terminal speed combined with unpredictable maneuvering designed to defeat modern naval air defenses.

Unlike a traditional ballistic missile that follows a predictable parabolic arc, an aero-ballistic missile can execute quasi-ballistic maneuvers — including skip-glide or ‘porpoising’ trajectories — as it descends toward its target. These abrupt changes in altitude and direction make interception significantly more challenging.

Chinese state media have also described the missile as employing a conical boost-glide vehicle, which would use a rocket booster to accelerate to high altitude before gliding toward its target while conducting sustained maneuvering throughout the terminal phase.

Although many details remain murky, it is generally considered that the missile achieves speeds well above Mach 6 during cruise and may approach Mach 9 during its terminal attack. Estimated range is generally assessed at more than 620 miles.

Guidance is believed to combine satellite navigation and mid-course updates before transitioning to an active radar and/or infrared seeker during the final approach.

Weapons with these characteristics are particularly well suited to engaging high-value naval targets including aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, cruisers, and other major surface combatants. The missile likely also possesses a secondary land-attack capability against fixed targets.

With their combination of extreme speed and maneuverability, hypersonic weapons can dramatically compress an opponent’s decision-making timeline while reducing opportunities for interception, making them especially valuable against time-sensitive targets. They also require very high-end interceptors, if they can be intercepted at all.

The apparent expansion of the missile to the Type 052D is arguably an even more significant milestone than the Type 055 test itself.

For China, fielding the YJ-20 aboard both the Type 055 and the much more numerous Type 052D dramatically increases the number of PLAN hulls capable of conducting long-range hypersonic anti-ship attacks. Such a move represents another step in expanding the reach of its layered A2/AD strategy. Rather than concentrating hypersonic capability in a small number of flagship destroyers, the PLAN appears to be distributing it across a much larger force capable of operating throughout the First Island Chain and increasingly beyond it.

Clearly, a larger force of PLAN destroyers armed with hypersonic anti-ship missiles would complicate U.S. and allied naval operations across the western Pacific by increasing the number of launch platforms capable of threatening high-value warships from long stand-off ranges.

At the same time, it is unclear if the YJ-20 has formally entered full operational service. However, official test footage, public appearances during military parades, and, above all, launches from two separate destroyer classes all point toward the missile transitioning from a developmental program to a broader capability.

The development underscores two major issues for the U.S. military as it gears up to face the prospect of a potential conflict with China in the Indo-Pacific. On the one hand, the PLAN is growing at an alarming rate, and Chinese shipyards are churning out increasingly capable warship designs, not to mention submarines and other naval weapons.

The latest annual Pentagon report to Congress on China’s military, released at the end of 2025, stated that “China has the world’s leading hypersonic missile arsenal and continued to advance the development of conventional and nuclear-armed hypersonic missile technologies during the past year.”

With that in mind, the case study of the YJ-20 further underscores the fact that China is investing heavily in the development of hypersonic missiles and is now apparently scaling that capability across a larger proportion of its surface fleet, something that will have a significant effect on the regional naval balance.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Harare, Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe wants to move beyond being a supplier of raw minerals and build industries that process and manufacture from its own resources. But as the government tightens restrictions on unprocessed mineral exports, smaller miners are asking whether they will share in that transformation or be left behind.

The government has restricted exports of unprocessed strategic minerals, including lithium, as part of a broader drive to increase domestic beneficiation. Authorities argue that Zimbabwe should capture more value from its mineral wealth instead of exporting raw materials and allowing other countries to profit from refining and manufacturing.

The policy has attracted more than $1bn in investment into Zimbabwe’s lithium value chain, according to government officials and industry representatives. But smaller miners warn that the cost of building processing facilities, unreliable electricity supplies and limited access to finance could make it difficult for them to participate in the country’s industrial ambitions.

Speaking during a technical media tour of Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe (PLZ) in Goromonzi, Mashonaland East, on 17 July, Minister of Mines and Mining Development Polite Kambamura said Zimbabwe’s 2022 ban on exports of unbeneficiated lithium ore had encouraged companies to invest in domestic beneficiation.

“The construction of the first lithium sulphate plant in Africa is behind me, and this was done in Zimbabwe,” Kambamura said.

He said Zimbabwe’s ambitions extended beyond lithium sulphate and lithium carbonate production, with a long-term goal of developing industries capable of manufacturing lithium batteries and solar panels locally.

Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, owned by China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, said its lithium carbonate plant was about 90 percent complete.

PLZ public relations officer Patience Mushore said Huayou’s investments had generated more than $1.1bn in foreign exchange for Zimbabwe while expanding the country’s lithium value chain.

Policy shift

Supporters of Zimbabwe’s export restrictions argue that the country can no longer remain a supplier of raw minerals while other nations capture greater profits through refining and manufacturing.

Public policy expert Tedious Ncube said Zimbabwe’s lithium sector demonstrated why the government had prioritised beneficiation.

He pointed to investments at Arcadia Mine and Bikita Minerals as examples of companies expanding Zimbabwe’s lithium sector.

Ncube said domestic processing could create skilled jobs, strengthen local suppliers and allow Zimbabwe to retain a greater share of the income generated from its mineral resources.

“The success of Zimbabwe’s lithium industry shows that the right policy can attract investment that builds industries, creates jobs and leaves a bigger share of mineral wealth in Zimbabwe,” he said.

Mining concerns

For smaller producers, the debate is not whether Zimbabwe should process its minerals locally, but whether they will have the infrastructure, finance, and market access needed to participate.

Shelton Lucas, business development director at Naivo Mining, said the company operates chrome, antimony and tungsten projects in Mashava, Ngezi and Kadoma but faces challenges accessing affordable processing options.

Lucas said smaller producers were struggling to access processing capacity, particularly in the chrome sector.

“For our raw chrome, we are now forced to sell to local Chinese smelters where they underpay us. For antimony, I have the resources to build the value-addition plant, but for chrome I cannot because the plant is very expensive,” he said.

He said he supported domestic processing but warned that smaller miners could be excluded if new requirements were introduced without support mechanisms.

Lucas proposed a toll-smelting system, where public institutions or industry bodies invest in shared processing facilities that miners can access at transparent rates while retaining ownership of their minerals.

“The challenge is not only building processing plants, but also ensuring smaller producers can access capacity on fair terms,” he said.

Without such measures, he warned that a small number of companies could end up controlling processing capacity and market access.

“If these companies also hold export rights, they could dictate prices to small-scale miners, creating what could become a predatory market that undermines the very people the mining sector is meant to empower,” he said.

Economic constraints

Economists say Zimbabwe’s processing ambitions will depend on whether the country can overcome longstanding challenges affecting mining and manufacturing.

United Kingdom-based Zimbabwean economist Chenayi Mutambasere told Al Jazeera that the policy faced obstacles including power shortages, expensive financing, weak transport infrastructure, foreign exchange constraints and limited access to processing technology.

“The ban should be more than a political slogan; it should be an industrial practical strategy,” she said.

Mutambasere said the government needed to support the policy with reliable electricity, investor incentives, skills development and clear implementation timelines.

She warned that restrictions introduced before the necessary support systems were in place could create unintended consequences.

“An abrupt ban where companies have invested in the sector may push the mining sector further underground, which could increase mineral leakage,” she said.

Government vision

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Nick Mangwana told Al Jazeera that the policy was intended to ensure Zimbabwe gains more from its finite mineral resources.

“The government is implementing this beneficiation policy in our minerals for the growth of our economy and to create a lasting legacy that will be witnessed by future generations,” Mangwana said.

He said the policy applied not only to lithium but also to other strategic minerals, including platinum group metals such as palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium.

Zimbabwe’s push reflects a wider debate among resource-rich countries: whether restricting raw exports can build domestic industries without concentrating opportunities among a few large companies.

For smaller miners, the success of the strategy will depend not only on how much mineral processing takes place inside the country, but whether beneficiation creates broader participation or leaves only the biggest players able to compete.

Lucas said the goal should be to ensure that local processing expands opportunities across the mining sector rather than creating new barriers for smaller producers.

“Beneficiation should not become a barrier to participation. It should be an enabler of inclusive growth, industrial development and sustainable economic transformation,” Lucas said.