- — May: the longer view
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at 5/13/26 10:24am‘After the first world war, France was the first country to establish strategic oil reserves,' Eva Thiébaud writes in our May edition. ‘A few years after the Suez crisis (1956), European Community states likewise committed to maintaining a minimum stock.' In October 1973, Arab oil-exporting nations raised prices and imposed oil embargoes in response to the Yom Kippur/Ramadan war. The US was affected, as its oil production was in decline, and began building an emergency stockpile. Since the (…) - 2026/05 / perspective- — Afghanistan-Pakistan border tensions
- at 4/27/26 3:03pm- Asia / Map, 2026/05 afghanistan pakistan
- — Afghanistan-Pakistan border tensions
- at 4/27/26 3:03pm- Asia / Map, 2026/05 afghanistan pakistan
- — Strategic and commercial oil reserves
- at 4/27/26 3:02pm- Energy / Map, 2026/05 energy
- — Lebanon: where civilisations met and merged
- at 4/27/26 3:02pmThe gnarled, monumental olive trees leading to Nabil Nahas's studio in the mountains north of Beirut, portrayed by the renowned Lebanese-American artist in semi-abstract paintings, are silent witnesses to more than a thousand years of history. ‘They date from the Roman period,' and come from lands mentioned in the bible, Nahas told me at his studio in the Lebanese village of Ain Aar in February. ‘What's fascinating is that they're still alive.' - 2026/05 / article
- — At Palmyra, heritage comes before people
- at 4/27/26 3:02pmThe ancient city of Palmyra in the Syrian desert has frequently been ravaged by war. As new reconstruction plans take shape, the drive to rebuild it risks sidelining the needs of local people. - 2026/05 / article
- — Anthropic, Silicon Valley's conscience?
- at 4/27/26 3:02pmAnthropic's recent clash with the White House over the use of AI in military and surveillance technology signalled lofty principles. Yet it's already embedded in the defence systems it claims to resist. - 2026/05 / article
- — Vatican weighs in on AI
- at 4/27/26 3:02pmAI's advocates talk up the technology as a force that could transform humanity. The Vatican does not see progress, but a troubling new creed. - 2026/05 / article, 2026/05 vatican
- — Is Irish reunification back?
- at 4/27/26 3:02pmNorthern Ireland voted to remain in the EU. Brexit has strained ties with Britain and renewed talk of a united Ireland. - 2026/05 / article
- — Is Irish reunification back?
- at 4/27/26 3:02pmNorthern Ireland voted to remain in the EU. Brexit has strained ties with Britain and renewed talk of a united Ireland. - 2026/05 / article
- — Tensions rise between Islamabad and Kabul
- at 4/27/26 3:02pmIn the porous borderlands between Pakistan and Afghanistan, sporadic clashes have escalated into sustained, low-intensity conflict over security interests. It's not all-out war, but it's highly volatile. - 2026/05 / article, 2025/06 india pakistan
- — Made in China means made in Yiwu
- at 4/27/26 3:02pmPlace an order at Yiwu International Trade Market and a vast network of Chinese manufacturing springs into action. The goods may not be high-end, but this market has an extraordinary global reach. - 2026/05 / article
- — Is Lebanon at risk of tearing itself apart?
- at 4/27/26 3:02pmThe bombardment of Lebanon is part of a long-term strategy through which Israel seeks to weaken its adversaries. But Hizbullah also bears responsibility for the country's ongoing fragility. - 2026/05 / article
- — Israel: from eviction to ethnic cleansing
- at 4/27/26 3:02pmZionist leaders long debated whether Palestinians might be induced to leave voluntarily or only by force. From the mid-1920s, as they bought up land and tensions grew, these ideas would harden. - 2026/05 / article
- — France called to account
- at 4/27/26 3:02pmStates are subject to what are known as peremptory norms of international law; these are fundamental rules accepted by the international community to which states subscribe by ratifying treaties. Breaches of these obligations may be sanctioned by national or international courts. One of the most significant is the duty to prevent genocidal acts, set out in the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. In a ruling of 30 April 2024, the International Court of (…) - 2026/05 / article
- — ‘Adapt, shrink or die'
- at 4/27/26 3:02pmWith the US withholding funding, the UN is cutting back operations and rethinking priorities. - 2026/05 / article
- — The Iran war exposes a fragile energy system
- at 4/27/26 3:02pmGlobal energy markets were already under strain before the war in Iran: ever-rising demand for fossil fuels and a sluggish transition to renewables mean the whole system must now be rethought. - 2026/05 / article
- — Global energy shock tests limits of oil reserves
- at 4/27/26 3:02pmEven the drawdown of 400 million barrels of oil has barely contained price rises. For gas, there is as yet no globally coordinated system for emergencies. - 2026/05 / article, 2026/05 energy
- — Just another day
- at 4/27/26 3:02pmTuesday 7 April. It was an evening much like any other. At 9pm French TV channels were airing a game show, a repeat of Kitchen Nightmares and, on the Franco-German channel Arte, a documentary soberly titled Europe in Putin's Grip? (since tracking the Russian threat is its favourite occupation). The day itself, however, had been far from ordinary. A few hours earlier, Donald Trump had posted an exceptionally violent warning on Truth Social: ‘A whole civilisation will die tonight, never to (…) - 2026/05 / editorial
- — Justice: under pressure
- at 4/21/26 3:34amJustice systems in many countries are under pressure as a result of the high (and contradictory) expectations of societies, authoritarian impulses of governments and chronic under-resourcing. These factors have caused a profound democratic and social crisis. Contrary to the accusations of conservatives, the justice system is not ‘lenient'; it often zealously implements the security policies devised by successive governments over the past decades. For some politicians, this is still not (…) - Ebooks / ebook
- — April: the longer view
- at 4/15/26 2:52amThe month's archives. - 2026/04 / perspective
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