Friedrich Merz wants to be a foreign-policy chancellor. One might not have known it from Germany’s parochial federal election campaign, or the business-as-usual foreign-policy passages of the coalition deal between his Christian Democratic Union (CDU, along with its Bavarian partner the Christian Social Union, CSU) and the Social Democratic Party …

In the Damascus suburb of Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, the sounds of prayer bells and muezzins used to blend peacefully into the rhythm of daily life. Here, families from Syria’s diverse communities — Sunni, Druze, Christian, and Alawite — shared neighbors’ bread and exchanged Eid and Christmas greetings with equal sincerity. But …

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during his visit to the White House in February 2025, was expected to sign a critical minerals agreement with US President Donald Trump. The televised meeting between Trump and his deputy JD Vance with Zelensky, though, took an unexpectedly hostile turn. During the meeting, Trump accused …