The military operation staged by the United States under the government of Donald Trump against Venezuela on 3 January 2026 is not only a warning for international law and multilateral institutions. It is a litmus test for journalism, revealing whether the press acts as an objective witness in moments of escalation or becomes part of…
Qatar is a tiny state with a population of around three million, in which foreign nationals make up approximately 76 percent of the population, while migrant workers account for nearly 90 percent of the labour force. And yet it plays an outsized role in global and regional politics, ranging from major investments in Africa and…
Symbolic as the upcoming change of calendar year may be, as a human construct, it does encourage a fresh look at past events and the making of resolutions, or at least wishes, for the new year ahead. 2025 has been packed with turbulence, thanks to the new/old US President’s “transactional politics” at home and abroad…
As special correspondents for two different Brazilian TV networks, Cultura and Gazeta, we covered four Conferences of the Parties (COPs) between 2015 and 2018 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In Paris, Marrakesh, Bonn, and Katowice, we observed how each opening speech served as a compass for environmental diplomacy during those…
In October 2024, the European Commission announced additional tariffs of up to 35% on the existing 10% duties for Chinese electric vehicles, following a months-long anti-subsidy investigation into manufacturers such as BYD and Geely. The move came amid rising tensions in EU–China trade relations, with Brussels accusing Beijing of distorting global competition through heavy state…
China’s Global Governance Initiative isn’t defiance — it’s a response to paralysis When President Xi Jinping unveiled the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) earlier this year, Western capitals reacted as though the world had just tilted on its axis. The headlines were predictable: China challenges the world order. Beijing builds a parallel system. The liberal rules-based…
On 1 September 85 years ago, Adolf Hitler’s German Reich invaded Poland, igniting theSecond World War and unleashing indescribable misery and suffering across Europe and the world. In its aftermath, the UN Charter emerged, carrying the promise of a world order free from war. Yet, almost simultaneously, humanity developed its most destructive weapon: the nuclear…
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women. To commemorate this, China will soon host the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women in Beijing, where the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted—still the global benchmark for gender equality. Thirty years on, the key question is not only how far…
The 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit was held in Tianjin, China from August 31 to September 1, 2025. Coming at a major historical juncture, this summit arguably grabbed the global limelight more than ever before, bringing together the main non-Western powers and emphasizing their commitment to establishing a “more just, equitable and representative multipolar…
The WTO’s decline and Its limits The global trading system, as we know it, has lost its central referee. On April 2, 2025, the United States announced sweeping new reciprocal tariffs on imports ranging from steel to semiconductors, with duties reaching as high as 50% on some goods. The move was met with predictable disappointment…
