A year after the election of Friedrich Meritz as the tenth chancellor of Germany, he suddenly turned from an expected ally Trump into his key opponent and one of the leaders of the European confrontation of the United States. German-American and U.S.-European relations have found themselves at the lowest point …

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz and flaring tensions in other nearby maritime chokepoints are reconfiguring global shipping. Amid the disruption, shipping companies have diverted their vessels to other, safer trade routes—or to other destinations entirely. At the same time, countries have raced to find sources of oil outside …

The continued use of shadow fleet and transshipment networks allow sanctioned countries to bypass energy sanctions, underscoring the need for stronger and more unified enforcement.Intensifying competition among sanctioned oil exporters for a shrinking pool of buyers drove steep discounts in 2025, enabling China to save up to $28.8 million per …

With earlier tensions over the status of Greenland behind them, the US and the Kingdom of Denmark have an opportunity to chart a productive path forward.The United States’ long collaboration with Greenland and Denmark gives it multiple policy options for homeland defense, resource development, and more.A “defend, deny, deepen, and …

Despite Iranian intransigence, the U.S. blockade of the Islamic Republic’s ports, which began on April 13, is already generating real pain — and real results — for the Islamic Republic. Iran exported a total of 29.45 million barrels of oil in April, down from a reported 35.7 million the previous …

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope of progress on ending the war with Iran, as he looked to Pakistani mediators to help advance efforts to strike an agreement. Previous comments by President Donald Trump had suggested weeks of stop-start negotiations to strike a permanent end to the war …

Sazan Island served as a naval base under Albania’s communist regime and remains under the control of the Ministry of Defence. To pave the way to granting it strategic investor status, Albania’s President Bajram Begaj earlier signed an urgent decree removing a military training zone from the Armed Forces deployment …

As Christian Schmidt readies to quit as High Representative, Europe and its allies must resolutely push for a powerful successor – and forget ‘compromising’ with a United States that has radically shifted position in the region. The succession of High Representative Christian Schmidt, who on May 10 announced his aim …

In North Macedonia, an enduring ethnic divide extends to conflicting interpretations of what actually happened during World War II. In villages above Tetovo and Gostivar, in the hills near North Macedonia’s northwestern border with Kosovo and Albania, scattered monuments reflect starkly differing interpretations of what went on in World War …

China’s “Century of Humiliation” began in 1839 with the First Opium War. The Qing Dynasty was in decline, and foreign powers began stealing territories and extorting trade concessions through wars and military expeditions. It was a long century that only really ended in 1949 with the establishment of the People’s …