The Strait of Hormuz has long been the world’s most combustible oil tap. One-fifth of global petroleum and a hefty share of liquefied natural gas normally squeeze through its narrow waters. Since the outbreak of hostilities between America, Israel and…
As fragile truces flicker across the Middle East in early June 2026, Egypt finds itself once again at the centre of a high-stakes diplomatic tightrope. With indirect US-Iran talks suspended and a partial Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire holding only tenuously in Lebanon,…
On a recent Saturday in Ankara, tens of thousands of people marched through the city centre in support of Ozgur Ozel, the deposed leader of Turkiye’s main opposition party. They chanted against his predecessor, waved flags and ended their rally…
In the shadowed corners of detention facilities and occupied territories, sexual violence has long served as a weapon of war and domination. On May 29th, 2026, the United Nations placed two more state actors on its annual list of parties…
The World Health Organization’s declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 17 May 2026 has thrust a familiar enemy back into the spotlight — but on markedly different and more difficult terms. For the first time in…
When President Donald Trump landed in Beijing on May 14, 2026, the choreography felt deliberately familiar: the honor guard at the Great Hall of the People, the state banquet, and warm personal tributes, with Trump once again calling Xi Jinping…
On May 1st, in the balmy southern Chinese city of Sanya, President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan watched officials from both countries sign a joint-venture agreement and two memorandums of understanding. The pacts cover construction machinery, animal vaccines and medical…
The Hajj is meant to be a profoundly spiritual affair: a once-in-a-lifetime submission to the divine, stripped of worldly vanities. This year, however, the path to Mecca has acquired an unwelcome material edge. A sharp surge in aviation fuel prices,…
