Germany’s economy succumbed to a recession in late 2022 and didn’t grow for the two years that followed, according to revised statistics. While data available before Wednesday have shown annual contractions for 2023 and 2024, the quarterly profile for gross domestic product in Europe’s largest economy hinted at a stop-go …

Bottom Line Up Front Western capitals have been urged to reconsider their approach towards — and in some cases, consider engaging with — groups that are, or have been at one point, labeled as terrorist organizations, given how the process has unfolded in Syria, and to a lesser extent in …

Bottom Line Up Front Iran’s strategic architecture, centered on arming a regional network of non-state actors termed the Axis of Resistance, has eroded significantly over the past year and failed to deter Israel and U.S. military action against Iranian territory. Iran’s non-state allies constitute a force multiplier for Tehran, but …

SPICY SCOOPS There is always a lot of information that we hear and find interesting and newsworthy but don’t publish as part of our investigative reporting — and share instead in this newsletter. “RAFAŁ WASN’T FULLY COMMITTED.” A POLISH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION DEBRIEF WITH A CAMPAIGN INSIDER Yesterday, Polish Prime Minister …

Details of the most dangerous Russian intelligence operation, responsible for explosions in Poland and Europe. Its traces lead to a Soviet nuclear submarine We have identified several people who were involved in transporting the bombs on behalf of the GRU. The saboteurs were coordinated by a man convicted of smuggling …

Since the ousting of Bashar Al-Assad, Syria’s transitional government has been racing to project an image of renewal. Nearly every week brings announcements of investment deals, unveiled at high-profile press conferences and televised ceremonies. From glittering real estate ventures to energy and transport projects, these deals are meant to signal …

Israel’s attempted assassination of the Hamas political leadership in Doha, Qatar, has shaken the Gulf region, which hitherto believed that Qatar’s status as a US ally and official mediator in the Gaza war shielded it from such an attack. Considering this willingness to attack Hamas in Qatar, Israel could conceivably …

The so-called “Gaza Riviera” plan is less a vision of the future than an obituary written in the language of luxury. Wrapped in glossy renderings and marketed as a leap into progress, it is in fact the culmination of years of deliberate devastation – a scheme to erase Palestinians in …

Egypt is pushing for the formation of a NATO-like Arab military alliance in the wake of Israeli airstrikes on Hamas leaders in Qatar last week. For many regional states, Tel Aviv’s unprecedented military action in Doha signalled that no country is off limits to Israeli aggression. The 9 September attacks …

Previously marginal revanchist intellectuals have been producing grandiose ideological theorisations, that are now at the core of state-sanctioned narratives legitimising Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There is however little evidence that the “hawks” can effectively constrain the Kremlin’s policy choices With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a new set of keywords entered …