Taiwan

The US may be entering a period of significant nuclear reassessment as it confronts a growing mismatch between its predominantly strategic arsenal and adversaries increasingly prepared for limited nuclear use. This month, Breaking Defense reported that the US Department of...

The months-long closure of the Strait of Hormuz has led to severe fuel shortages around the globe, as companies battle to continue operations. Airlines have been hit hard as they struggle to obtain enough jet fuel to maintain their regular...

On August 7, 2026, at Al-Safa Palace in Makkah, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement — a trilateral pact declaring that an armed...

Scientists at UC Davis and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory just made a major breakthrough in the design of nuclear fusion reactors. The team is at the vanguard of a new field of nuclear fusion research known as materials-driven fusion, which...

Iran has effectively rejected expectations of an imminent reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, laying out sweeping conditions that would require the United States to fundamentally change its policy toward Tehran. In a statement issued by Mohammad Baqer Zolghadr, secretary...

The recently signed Saudi Arabia-Pakistan-Turkey Joint Defense Agreement, concluded in Mecca on August 7, 2026, and referred to as the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement, marks a significant development in the evolving strategic architecture of the Middle East. The agreement was...

Europe is deepening its ties with North Africa to develop stronger clean energy connections between the two regions in support of a green transition. The European Union and several European countries have invested in Morocco and Egypt in recent years...

The absence of Iran’s supreme leader, doubts about his condition and internal power divisions are turning the country into a failing state — spreading chaos as far as China. What will Beijing do? Iranian regime media have claimed the emerging...

The Mecca Compact in Brief On 7 August 2026, in the presence of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan signed the Mecca (Makkah) Joint Defense Agreement, a trilateral collective-defense compact declaring that an armed attack on...

Silicon Valley built its reputation by making transistors smaller and smaller. For decades, each shrink delivered a predictable payoff: faster computers, cheaper computing power, new products and new industries. Moore’s Law became a self-reinforcing cycle. Lower costs expanded demand, rising...

Good things are happening! Michiganders blow up an oil pipeline, a state court puts a drugmaker under the microscope, Virginia settles scores with Jim Crow, and Illinois goes grocery shopping. You Love To See It is a benefit of a Lever...

The foundational principles of the balance of power has found its textual footing primarily through the works of Hans Morgenthou and Kenneth Waltz. It was formalised as a core principle of diplomacy and international relations following the Peace of Westphalia...

North Korea officially gave up on its dream of unification with the South in January 2024. Though this may appear relatively insignificant, after all, who believes in such hopes? The news still comes as a big shock to many observers...

Russian attacks against Ukraine on Aug. 7 targeted critical energy sites operated by state oil and gas company Naftogaz, shutting down production at several facilities, the firm reported. The targeted sites were owned by the oil and gas extraction company Ukrnafta...

Islam Times - CNN revealed that over the last few weeks, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine has privately made clear to other top Trump advisers that the US needs to find an off-ramp from the war...

Every time Russia crosses a line NATO said mattered and NATO’s response looks functionally identical to its response to the previous violation, the alliance doesn’t just fail to deter; it actively teaches Moscow where the real ceiling is. The Russian...

Authorities wrestle with fallout from mass border crossing, as tense Spanish enclave fears it will happen again Along the wide avenues and tree-lined plazas of Ceuta’s centre, there were few hints of the recent events that catapulted the Spanish enclave on...

On 23 July, the EU adopted its toughest sanctions package yet against Russian oil and gas revenue — asset freezes on 94 banks, an expanded shadow-fleet tanker list, a squeeze aimed squarely at the money funding Moscow’s war. On 24...

International Rights Groups Raise Alarm Over Freedom of Religion and Expression in South Korea SEOUL, South Korea, 7 August 2026 — Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF), together with CAP Liberté de Conscience (CAP LC), which has accredited ECOSOC status at...

International Human Rights experts call for religious freedom and due process in South Korea By Ray Hanania The prestigious organization Human Rights Without Frontiers joined several human rights scholars and organizations detailed during a webinar on Thursday, August 7, 2026,...

The atomic age began with a lie. Eighty-one years ago this week, a single American airplane, flying almost unnoticed over a Japanese city, dropped a single bomb that destroyed the entire city. Three days later another American plane destroyed a...

​While President Trump says the US is not short of weapons, he has told Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky that the US does not have Patriot interceptors to send to Ukraine because “we need them for ourselves.” The best face to...

Despite continued hostilities in the Middle East and an expansion of the war to the Red Sea, oil traders have remained largely bearish on the commodity, betting on a quick peace deal—and they might get a nasty shock. Earlier this...

Europe desperately needs an energy storage revolution. As the region gets rocked by the third energy crisis in four years, the continent’s insufficient indigenous energy systems, and backups to those systems, has become abundantly and painfully clear. "We swore we’d...

More than 150 years after Karl Marx penned his famous line: “Capital comes dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and dirt”, it remains hauntingly accurate today. Unlike many analyses of U.S. policy in the Middle East...

Move comes in response to Rome imposing similar measures after mass migration rush to Ceuta Spain has announced it will introduce temporary border checks on visitors from Italy in response to Rome imposing similar measures after a mass rush of people...

Global energy grids are under unprecedented stress as energy flows become more complex with the addition of intermittent energy sources and the artificial intelligence boom drives demand to new heights. Managing variable inflows and outflows of electricity while also keeping...

Elevated US gasoline and electricity prices are seeping into the upcoming midterm elections in November. Candidates are prioritizing consumer affordability over the environment, with Democrats linking gas price increases to President Trump’s foreign policy decisions. Meanwhile, a debate over data...

Critically acclaimed writer and award-winning poet, Abigail George sits down with visual artist and entrepreneur Wesley Pepper, and talks about mental health awareness and sanity in the arts, the high risk of suicide and suicide ideation, high risk behaviours such...

For decades, buying a plane ticket hasn’t been a simple process. In the late 2000s, consumers were inundated with ads for special $79 or $99 flights, but were met with sticker shock when they went to buy the tickets and...

Islam Times - Americans may seem increasingly divided on beliefs and values, but in a new survey of more than 30,000 adults from across the country spanning generations and economic classes, a majority of Americans agree there’s a significant barrier...

Can money buy an election? What’s FIFA up to since the World Cup? And who’s spying on you? The answers to these questions and many more can be found in LeverMind , our weekly news quiz testing your knowledge of the...

Decision follows supreme court ruling that allowed US government to strip protections for Haitians and Syrians Temporary protected status (TPS) for hundreds of South Sudanese nationals in the United States is set to end after a federal judge ruled that the...

Citi has raised its third-quarter Brent crude forecast to $80 per barrel from $75 as the U.S.-Iran war drags on and repeated attempts at a deal fail to restore normal oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The bank still...

The world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, Norway’s $2.3-trillion Government Pension Fund Global, does not support the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposal to scrap requirements for climate-related risks and disclosures. The SEC in May requested input from investors about...

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States stayed the same overall this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, with the total rig count in the US staying...

In this episode, we sit down with the brilliant writer and poet Abigail George to talk about storytelling, creativity, and the power of words. Abigail shares insights into her journey as a writer, the inspiration behind her work, and how...

Conflicting signals from Washington and Tehran keep oil markets on edge as Iran weighs a permanent Hormuz shipping ban while Trump insists a deal is within reach. Friday, August 07, 2026 The oil market’s very own schizophrenia – trying to...