International

Trump Declares 'Economic Warfare' on Iran as Diplomacy Collapses and the UAE Cuts Trade With Tehran

Background

The confrontation between the United States and Iran has, by August 2026, been running for roughly six months. Open war broke out in February, triggered by a series of strikes that killed Iran's longtime supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in the conflict's opening days; his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was subsequently…

South Sudan's Oil Rebound Collides With a Widening Hunger Crisis

JUBA

Fifteen years after independence, South Sudan's economy is once again being defined by a single commodity and a single pipeline. New data from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank show a country whose headline growth numbers are turning sharply positive even as the everyday reality for most…

Russia Threatens Britain With “Consequences” as UK-Made Drones Strike Deep Inside Russian Territory

World Politics  

Russia's embassy in London warned Britain on August 18, 2026 that it would face unspecified “consequences” after reports confirmed that Ukraine has begun using British-made attack drones, including a jet-powered model built by BAE Systems subsidiary Callen-Lenz, to strike targets deep…

Guinea-Bissau Sets Aug. 30 Referendum as Junta Moves to Reshape Presidency Before December Vote

BISSAU 

Nine months after soldiers overthrew Guinea-Bissau's elected government, the military-led transitional authorities are pressing ahead with a rapid, tightly choreographed return to constitutional rule that critics say is being engineered to entrench a stronger presidency before voters get a real say…

Five Years After Tunisia's 'Constitutional Coup,' Saied Faces Economic Collapse and Rising Dissent

Tunis, Tunisia  

Five years to the week after President Kais Saied suspended parliament and began concentrating power in his own hands, Tunisia is marking the anniversary not with reflection but with renewed confrontation. Thousands of demonstrators filled Habib Bourguiba Avenue in the capital on July 25,…

Tshisekedi's 'Fourth Republic' Gambit Tests Congo's Constitutional Limits

KINSHASA

President Félix Tshisekedi is pursuing a constitutional overhaul that critics say is designed to keep him in power past the end of his final term in 2028, advancing the plan even as security forces clash with opposition demonstrators in the capital and the country's east remains gripped by war.

A…