Armenia faces significant challenges to its political stability and geopolitical security as it attempts a high-stakes strategic pivot away from its traditional Russian security patron and toward the West—a reorientation driven not by choice but by necessity, as the country finds itself militarily inferior, diplomatically isolated, and abandoned by unreliable security guarantors.
China's new K visa for overseas STEM graduates sparks backlash;
China restricts exports of precision machine tools to Russia;
China to revitalize Tazara Railway;
China, U.S. strenghten cooperation after record drug seizure;
China's "breathtaking" nuclear buildup
Is the Gaza war truly over? On October 8, President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had come to terms on a deal to cease hostilities and exchange hostages, something that had been largely unthinkable just weeks prior.
Iran's leaders work to co-opt Persian culture;
Iran's regime prioritizes power...;
...And eliminating opponents;
Border security, Iranian style;
A grim energy picture
Fear and loathing in Vilnius;
Another day, another Russian soft power play;
Moldova sides with Europe;
Russia's African footprint falters;
Kremlin seeks highest conscription target in nearly a decade;
Europe eyes Russia's frozen assets anew
China mobilizes to counter Starlink;
Moscow pushes its own messaging app;
North Korea weaponizing AI;
Rebalancing Al-Jazeera;
The scope of Hamas propaganda
Central Asia and the Caucasus have recently attracted American attention. Wabtec and Boeing have announced multibillion-dollar investments in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, respectively, and groups of American investors have descended on every country in the region.
Chinese individuals, corporations, and state actors are increasingly involved in both legal and illegal mineral mining operations across West Africa. The negative impacts of these operations on water resources, forests and biodiversity, livelihoods, health, and food security across West Africa have been profound.
Iran's water crisis and the Taliban;
Washington moves to secure critical mineral supply;
In Syria, a deepening food crisis;
All eyes on Ukraine's lithium sector;
Mining ambitions divide Pacific nations
A polymer that heals on impact;
Navy tests first sea-based hypersonic launch;
Progress toward power beaming;
Sound waves expose hidden seafloor bombs;
Fix the data, fix the AI
As the economic problems grow, Putin’s government has increased its efforts to distract its population from the extent of the financial and political disaster it has brought upon them. This is evident in the holiday atmosphere that fills its capital city, featuring pop-up gardens, light shows, fountains, and theme parks. Street festivals are the most common form of such celebrations, with over 10,000 events held in Moscow this summer alone.
The RSF establishes a parallel government in Sudan;
Kenya courts Trump on trade;
A health emergency in Botswana;
Ethiopia inaugurates controversial grand renaissance dam;
African leaders unveil $100 billion green industrialization plan
Russia wages war on Ukraine’s future;
Moldovan president calls out Russian election interference;
Belarusian spy network discovered in Central Europe;
Navalny: Foul play after all
Robots that walk, no circuits needed;
Army produces cheap drone swarms;
...While Navy directed energy weapon shoots them down;
Quantum sensing for defense;
French interceptor takes aim at orbital debris
President Trump is now talking tougher on Ukraine, but the White House clearly still holds out hope that negotiating a just peace between Moscow and Kyiv might be possible. To do that, however, the United States will need to fully grasp how Russia is targeting Ukraine’s future. And it will need to make a return of these innocents a core demand of its approach toward the Kremlin.
Yemen's real government keeps up the fight;
Pakistan's problematic curriculum;
Beirut pushes for disarmament;
Counterterrorism cooperation of a different sort
China launches national campaign against deflation;
Bejing exports surveillance system to the Solomons;
U.S. business confidence in China hits new lows;
Rents are falling in China's top-tier cities;
China aims to double new energy storage capacity by 2027
A steadily worsening economy;
Blood diamonds of a different sort;
Russia and China deepen their energy partnership;
Russia drones over Germany;
Moscow green lights torture
Without immediate legal and technological reforms, the U.S. will remain vulnerable to adversarial drone incursions that exploit current jurisdictional and strategic gaps in our existing system.
China isn't aiming for the Moon-it is planning for control of space itself. By 2045, Beijing plans to dominate a $10 trillion Cislunar economy, beam power to Earth from orbit, and mine asteroids worth quintillions.
Japan writes a bigger defense check;
The Philippines plant another flag in the Luzon Strait;
Seoul bids on better relations with Beijing;
India joins Russia & Co. in armed exercise;
Australia-PNG defense pact delayed, but not derailed
Iran is a nation ripe for change. Forty-six years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, its radical religious regime is riven by contradictions—incapable of providing basic governance and increasingly rejected by its 92.5 million citizens. The June 2025 “Twelve-Day War” with Israel laid bare Iran’s vulnerabilities, but it did not spark mass uprisings or major opposition activity. Instead, the government doubled down: passing emergency legislation, executing alleged collaborators, and fast-tracking succession planning.
At first blush, the world seems universally outraged over Israel’s strike against Hamas leaders in Qatar – with Washington expressing unhappiness, Western leaders threatening retaliation, Arab nations convening in Doha, and the UN’s Human Rights Commission holding an “urgent debate.” But looks may be deceiving.
An attempted coup in Mali;
A solar surge across Africa;
Israel, South Sudan in Gaza resettlement talks;
A push to recognize Somaliland;
An M23 massacre in Eastern DRC
Russia banks on its Indian oil trade;
Russia tests "traditional values";
Russia imports Iranian weapons;
Reinforcements from Central Asia
Many wealthy Chinese cherish the elegance and artistry of rosewood (hongmu) furniture. Famous for its rich burgundy color, its intricate Ming and Qing dynasty-style carvings, and its shockingly high price tag—a single bed can fetch $1 million—hongmu is distinctly Chinese.
Beijing is gradually linking South America together with its massive investments in infrastructure—right under Washington’s nose.
Expanded ties with the Emirates
Assessing Russia's hybrid war on the West
Eavesdropping on NATO
Russia's own "Golden Dome"
The Woe's of Russia's War Economy
Just a few months ago, U.S.-India relations were on an upswing. But that was then, and this is now. Ties between Washington and New Delhi have deteriorated dramatically since, for both political and economic reasons.
Xi Jinping makes rare visit to Tibet;
China’s icebreaker fleet arrives in the Arctic;
Chinese refiners gobble up Russian oil as India cuts imports;
As Chinese financing stalls, ADB backs Pakistan rail upgrade;
Chinese “redacted” embassy plans raise concerns in London
Tracking foreign students for classroom conformity;
Russia works to divide Poland and Ukraine;
Informational blackouts across Russia;
A shameful catalog
Cairo prepares for the "day after" in Gaza;
Hezbollah's German network;
From foreign fighters to citizens?
In Russia’s view, the Western world has a big problem: It doesn’t like Russians. The reason, in the Kremlin’s telling, is not Russia’s devastation of Ukraine or its nuclear threats. Instead, the culprit is “the propaganda of Russophobia, unleashed by the West.”
Moscow drops missile ban;
Growing inroads into Africa;
Russia drills for Pacific defense;
Hybrid war, and the hijacking of a Norwegian dam
Iran’s political opposition is in no position to challenge the regime. That doesn’t mean popular dissent has gone away.
PRC nationals charged with exporting AI chips to China;
U.S. Navy sailor convicted for spying for China;
PRC national convicted of sending weapons to North Korea;
Nigeria deports Chinese nationals in cybercrime crackdown;
Chinese university students spy on classmates in the UK
A tug-of-war over anti-corruption;
A defense consolidation;
Ukraine's drone surge
PRC nationals charged with exporting AI chips to China
U.S. navy sailor convicted for spying for China
PRC national convicted of sending weapons to North Korea
Nigeria deports Chinese nationals in cybercrime crackdown
Chinese university students spy on classmates in the UK
With an eye on Washington, Beijing and Delhi improve ties;
PLA warship rams Chinese ship while chasing Philippine vessel;
U.S. Navy denies China chased warship away;
China cuts ties with Czech President for Dalai Lama meeting;
Under pressure from Beijing, Thai gallery removes artworks
A push for year-round conscription;
Destabilizing Moldova... via the Balkans;
Russia's new enforcers;
The war and HIV
When the international community descends on Manhattan next month for the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly, one issue will loom exceedingly large on the collective agenda: the intention of France, Britain and Canada to imminently recognize Palestine as a state, absent significant changes in Israeli policy.
Pyongyang deploys to Russia's frontlines;
Pacific power shifts toward Beijing;
Chinese ships collide in Scarborough Shoal;
Tokyo diversifies its defense portfolio;
South Korea's population problem
Messaging target: MAGA;
An assault on Russian filmmaking;
The mind battle with China;
The cost of Iranian connectivity
Ahead of last week's summit in Alaska between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, many feared the meeting would result in some sort of grand bargain that abandoned Ukraine to the Kremlin's predations. That, however, didn't happen.
The United States risks misunderstanding India not by underestimating its capabilities, but by misreading its strategic trajectory.
Russia faces growing financial hardship;
Moscow will respond if America makes a move on Greenland;
Soldiers by other means;
Setting the stage for a new crime wave;
Russian propaganda houses persist
Water treaty suspension escalates Kashmir conflict;
China's global mining surge;
Kabul's deepening water crisis;
Tehran heatwave sparks emergency closure;
China, EU clash over trade
Since this summer’s humiliating Twelve-Day War, Iran’s regime has shown no signs of collapse.
A new analysis reveals a critical vulnerability in Russia’s war machine: its heavy reliance on imported cotton byproducts to manufacture gunpowder and explosives.A new analysis reveals a critical vulnerability in Russia’s war machine: its heavy reliance on imported cotton byproducts to manufacture gunpowder and explosives.