Chevron and partners prioritized profits, enabling runaway costs and ballooning budgets worth billions as Russia deployed strong-arm tactics and steered contracts to cronies. On a late August afternoon in 2021 the mooring master made a frantic call to a dispatcher at Russia’s largest port, Novorossiysk. “Stop! Stop! Stop loading tanker …

A photo of Slovak PM Robert Fico shaking hands with Russian President Putin in the Kremlin caused uproar and concern in Slovakia, sparking a debate about the country’s place in Europe.“We are ashamed of Fico!” chanted the 15,000-strong crowd of protesters on a cold evening on January 10 in Bratislava, …

Elsewhere in the region, Orban sells half a Budapest district to Arab investors; Czech public support for Ukraine drops; and Poland lobbies to remove restrictions on buying advanced chips from the US. Adebate on a vote of no confidence in Slovakia’s fourth government under Robert Fico ended abruptly on Tuesday, …

Research security isn’t only about defending against external threats; it also requires ensuring that the United States remains a leader in global innovation by supporting the people and infrastructure that fuel it. The United States’ global leadership in research was built on the foundation of substantial government investments in science …

President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Egypt and Jordan take in Palestinians from the war-ravaged Gaza Strip was met with a hard “no” Sunday from the two U.S. allies along with the Palestinians themselves, who fear Israel would never allow them to return. Trump floated the idea on Saturday, saying he …

The Critical Threats Project (CTP) at the American Enterprise Institute and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) publish the Iran Update, which provides insights into Iranian and Iranian-sponsored activities that undermine regional stability and threaten US forces and interests. We do not report in detail on war crimes …

Iran presented the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas as an Israeli defeat and a victory for Hamas and the “Palestinian resistance.” According to senior Iranian officials, Israel was forced to agree to the ceasefire after failing to realize its goals in the war even after 15 months. The Houthis …

While Syria celebrates the fall of the Assad regime, the mood in the north of the country is very different: taking advantage of the chaos, Turkey and its proxy, the Syrian National Army, have launched an offensive against the Kurds. In a matter of days, the autonomous region lost two …

For the first time in 50 years, Syrians celebrated the New Year without the Assads. A month after the overthrow of one of the most authoritarian regimes in the Middle East, the country has largely returned to normal life. Immigrants have already begun to return to Syria, but it is …

Iraq is a developing democracy, but its location — between Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Syria — means that it always faces pressure from outside its borders. The list of challenges it faced in 2024 ranged from ongoing security threats, including attacks on U.S. military bases by armed groups, political …