Economics

Global currency markets remained broadly stable on Monday despite escalating geopolitical tensions linked to the ongoing conflict involving the United States and Iran. The limited movement in the US dollar came after President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s response to a United States peace proposal, reinforcing concerns that the …

Sana Kan The continued clashes and drone strikes reported by Ukraine despite a United States brokered ceasefire reveal the deep structural difficulties facing diplomatic efforts to end the Russia Ukraine war. Although both Moscow and Kyiv formally agreed to a temporary ceasefire between May 9 and May 11, …

Hemant Adlakha Just a few days before President Trump was to arrive in Beijing as per Trump’s previous itinerary (March 31-April 2), the mood in China—as reflected on social media and in the media commentaries—was not at all in favor of a visit by Trump to the Chinese …

Lisdey Espinoza Pedraza By the time the results boards cleared in the early hours of 8 May 2026, the verdict was impossible to soften. Reform UK had seized over 1,400 council seats across England, taken control of 13 local authorities, and planted its flag in places that had …

Lama Al-Rakad In the age of social media, “behind the scenes” no longer refers merely to smoke-filled rooms, intelligence briefings, or closed political meetings. Today, the real backstage is digital. It is hidden inside algorithms, engagement metrics, media war rooms, and coordinated influence networks that quietly manufacture what …

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Russia immediately agreed to a proposal from US President Donald Trump to extend the ceasefire with Ukraineand carry out a prisoner-of-war exchange. “We immediately agreed to this. Moreover, in my view, it is a justified proposal, motivated by considerations of …

Rameen Siddigi Trump arrives in Beijing on May 14. The summit was originally scheduled for March, then postponed because the US got embroiled in a war in the Middle East that nobody fully planned for and nobody has yet fully ended. That delay, accidental as it was, turned …

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer plans to continue as leader, despite heavy losses in local elections raising doubts about his ability to govern. Critics within the Labour Party have suggested he should resign, but currently, there is no leadership contest. Starmer’s personal approval ratings are among the lowest …

Dr. Dan Steinbok Israeli military aggression has “reshaped both the physical and ecological landscape” of southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese report (which does not consider the impacts of Israel’s latest barrage of attacks this spring). In her foreword, Lebanon’s minister for the environment Tamara el Zein notes: …