Eurasia

Battlefield Assessment Major parties to the war in Ukraine are preparing for possible ceasefire talks in Istanbul, offering some reason for optimism. But in the meantime, Russia’s military is gearing up for a large-scale summer offensive. Russia is likely to target Sumy, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia in its push. With ceasefire …

As of the writing of this article, American efforts to end the Russo-Ukrainian War remain stalemated like the fighting itself. None of the parties involved, Russia, Ukraine, or the United States, have the power to force their will upon the other(s) to make peace. At the same time, neither of …

An Iranian vessel may have harassed a commercial vessel in the Persian Gulf on May 10. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that a small craft collided with a merchant vessel and attempted to collide with other vessels about 80 nautical miles northwest of Jebel Ali, the United …

The president of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa (Abu Muhammad al-Julani), confirmed that indirectcontacts were being held by Syria and Israel to achieve calm and prevent escalation, and heexpressed commitment to the 1974 disengagement agreement. IDF forces continued operatingin the buffer zone in the Golan Heights and supporting the Druze in southern …

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei re-emphasized the importance of the Palestinian issuefor the Muslim world and called for not ignoring the “crimes of the Zionist regime.” The Iranianforeign minister emphasized in discussions with his Arab counterparts the need forcooperation between regional countries to stop Israel’s attacks in the Gaza Strip. …

Israel targeted Houthi-controlled al Salif and Hudaydah ports on May 16 as part of an Israeli campaign to disrupt the Houthi ability to enable attacks targeting Israel.[i] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated after the airstrikes on May 16 that Israel will continue to strike Houthi targets “including [Houthi] leadership …

The new aid plan bypasses the UN and uses private charities and security firms to deliver aid in Gaza, with fears it is a fig leaf to advance mass displacement The US is establishing a new system relying on private firms to coordinate humanitarian aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip, …

Municipal elections in the city may be a harbinger of developments in the Sunni community. In a Lebanon teetering between old patterns and new possibilities, a local election in one of the country’s most marginalized cities might seem like a footnote. It isn’t. The May 11, 2025, municipal elections in …

The future of warfare may be decided by AI, but will humans have a role to play? In the 1983 film War Games, a supercomputer known as WOPR (for War Operation Plan Response) is about to provoke a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union, but because …

In the May 11 parliamentary elections, Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama secured another decisive victory, reinforcing a dominance built over three consecutive terms. His machinery of consensus is stronger than ever, but the lines between the state and the party appear increasingly blurred After three consecutive terms in power, Albanian …