WorldBriefly

#geopolitics

17 articles tagged with #geopolitics

Britain's supply chains are apparently held together with vibes and optimism, report findsPolitics

Britain's supply chains are apparently held together with vibes and optimism, report finds

A new report from the National Preparedness Commission warns that Britain's supply chains are dangerously unprepared for major shocks like war, and that shifting US reliability under Trump makes the problem even more urgent.

·2 min read
Germany charges Ukrainian suspect over Nord Stream blasts, and oh boy, this is awkwardPolitics

Germany charges Ukrainian suspect over Nord Stream blasts, and oh boy, this is awkward

German prosecutors have formally charged a Ukrainian national over the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions. Ukraine denies involvement, but the case could seriously strain its crucial relationship with Germany.

·2 min read
Armenia is about to vote its way out of Russia's friend zone (or not)Politics

Armenia is about to vote its way out of Russia's friend zone (or not)

Armenia votes on June 7 in parliamentary elections that double as a public opinion test on whether the country continues its drift away from Russia and toward the European Union.

·2 min read
China's air force is quietly building an army of weird, specialized planes and nobody's sleeping on thatConflict

China's air force is quietly building an army of weird, specialized planes and nobody's sleeping on that

China's military has spent a decade quietly expanding its fleet of 'special mission' aircraft, and analysts say the growth in both quantity and quality is a serious strategic development worth watching.

·2 min read
Armenia tells Russia 'thanks but no thanks' and votes pro-West anywayPolitics

Armenia tells Russia 'thanks but no thanks' and votes pro-West anyway

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has won a commanding election victory with nearly 50% of the vote, delivering a clear mandate for his pro-Western pivot despite sustained pressure from Russia.

·2 min read
China built the world's biggest economy but forgot to unplug it from one tiny straitEconomics

China built the world's biggest economy but forgot to unplug it from one tiny strait

China has spent years diversifying its energy suppliers and building overland pipelines, but analysis from The Diplomat reveals its oil supply still depends dangerously on the Strait of Hormuz - a chokepoint it cannot control.

·2 min read
Iran and the US are basically arguing over who owns the world's most important bathtub drainPolitics

Iran and the US are basically arguing over who owns the world's most important bathtub drain

The US and Iran are publicly clashing over who controls the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway carrying 20% of global oil. Rubio says no nation owns it - Iran's Revolutionary Guard says unauthorized crossings are not welcome.

·2 min read
China wants Middle East oil but not Middle East drama - good luck with thatPolitics

China wants Middle East oil but not Middle East drama - good luck with that

China wants open oil lanes and regional influence in the Middle East - without getting dragged into any actual conflicts. Professor Astrid Nordin of King's College London explains why that balancing act is harder than Beijing makes it look.

·2 min read
Trump said the Iran war was over so many times that markets developed PTSDEconomics

Trump said the Iran war was over so many times that markets developed PTSD

Every time Trump declared the Iran war over, markets lost their minds - and then found them again, briefly. The Independent tracked the full chaotic loop.

·2 min read
Bolivia's bromance with China is officially on the rocksPolitics

Bolivia's bromance with China is officially on the rocks

Bolivia's once-cozy relationship with China has fallen apart since the heyday of the Morales and Arce governments, raising questions about Chinese investment across Latin America.

·2 min read
China's state think tank drops a 'how to not blow up the world' guide for Beijing and WashingtonPolitics

China's state think tank drops a 'how to not blow up the world' guide for Beijing and Washington

A Chinese state-linked think tank published a detailed coexistence roadmap for the US and China on the exact day Trump arrived in Beijing - because subtlety is apparently optional in superpower diplomacy.

·2 min read
Kim Jong-un just pulled off the diplomatic heist of the year and nobody's talking about itPolitics

Kim Jong-un just pulled off the diplomatic heist of the year and nobody's talking about it

Xi Jinping's first foreign trip of 2025 took him to Pyongyang - but analysts say Kim Jong-un may have walked away with the bigger diplomatic victory, gaining international credibility at a critical moment.

·2 min read
Taiwan's KMT politician visits Beijing and everyone is reading between the linesPolitics

Taiwan's KMT politician visits Beijing and everyone is reading between the lines

KMT politician Cheng Li-wun's visit to Beijing is being read as another chapter in China's long-running strategy of using Taiwan's opposition to influence the island's political direction, according to analysis by The Diplomat.

·2 min read
Iran is apparently trying to crash the Trump-Xi sleepover like an uninvited plus-onePolitics

Iran is apparently trying to crash the Trump-Xi sleepover like an uninvited plus-one

Iran is reportedly trying to use the Trump-Xi summit as a backdoor to advance its interests, leveraging its relationship with Beijing to wage influence on the global stage, according to analysis from The Hill.

·3 min read
China's 'rare earth card' might be the geopolitical equivalent of a one-trick ponyEconomics

China's 'rare earth card' might be the geopolitical equivalent of a one-trick pony

China's rare earth dominance gets hyped as a geopolitical superweapon, but analysis from The Diplomat suggests that threatening to use it mostly accelerates the world's efforts to not need it anymore.

·2 min read
The ocean floor is the new battlefield and both the US and China are losing their minds over itPolitics

The ocean floor is the new battlefield and both the US and China are losing their minds over it

The US and China are racing to dominate the ocean floor - militarily and economically - as deep-sea minerals and underwater military infrastructure become the newest flashpoints in their intensifying rivalry.

·2 min read
China and Brazil agree to 'jointly repel external challenges', which is totally not about the USPolitics

China and Brazil agree to 'jointly repel external challenges', which is totally not about the US

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Brazil to 'jointly repel external challenges' as the two nations held high-level strategic talks in Beijing, signaling a deepening partnership amid rising global trade tensions.

·2 min read