Global Voices

By Dr. Sabina Kuprėnaitė Deep-ultraviolet optics used in semiconductor lithography may be exposed to billions of pulses over their service life. That creates a qualification challenge that initial reflectance specifications or laser-induced damage thresholds alone cannot answer. A mirror may meet its...

One day after veteran commodities strategist Jeff Currie told investors to "get long and buckle up" for the next leg of the commodities rally, UBS strategist Sagar Khandelwal issued a similarly bullish call, urging clients to "position for a commodity upcycle." Khandelwal said...

Stephen Strausser was recently appointed CEO of VON ARDENNE North America, Inc. where he will lead the company’s regional strategy, operations, customer engagement and growth initiatives across the US, Canada, Mexico and South America. Stephen has a powerful blend of business acumen,...

The expansion of data centers to power the artificial intelligence boom is causing a natural gas revival in the United States. Planned gas-fired power capacity tied to data centers nearly doubled in the first half of 2026 alone, as Big...

Chinese intelligence, military, and political agencies view Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s strategy of integrating foreign fighters into the institutions of the new Syrian state (by transforming them into regular military units such as the 84th or 88th Divisions and granting...

Turkey and Saudi Arabia have announced ambitious plans to cooperate on renewable energy, as both countries aim to deploy vast amounts of clean power. Saudi Arabia has already invested heavily in Turkey’s solar power sector and aims to deepen its...

Project in Zambia shows how teaching young women to negotiate better can have a long-term impact on their prospects Women making their way in patriarchal societies down the ages have always had to wield their meagre economic power deftly. New evidence...

Ukraine’s new defence minister, Yevhenii Khmara, has promised to provide a clear plan to international partners on how Ukraine intends to fight Russia amid a significant military budget deficit of $27 billion. The Ukrainian government relies on foreign support, with...

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney supports a new global defense bank called the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), which aims to help allied countries rearm. The bank is looking to raise around €100 billion ($116 billion) to provide low-cost...

A few years ago, France was the dominant foreign security partner across much of the Sahel. Today, its troops are gone from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, and Burkina Faso has severed diplomatic relations with Paris altogether (Reuters, 2026a). In its...

Five ships a day where a hundred used to sail. Six months after the US-Israel strikes on Iran, the world’s most critical energy chokepoint has not merely slowed, it has effectively stopped. The numbers describe a disruption without modern precedent....

The G20 was cartographed because the world economy had become too interconnected to be managed by a handful of powerful states. In 2026, that principle faces an unusual test. Under the United States presidency, Washington has narrowed the forum’s agenda,...

While Bishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, was holding a press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, another Catholic official landed in Moscow: CIA Director John Ratcliffe – who reportedly went to Moscow...

The Turkish leader may find himself in more trouble just because of his diplomatic successes. Egypt, Israel and the ideal of the Arab Risorgimento (resurgence) are in his path. If there is one thing that cannot be downplayed, it is...

Taiwan has proposed an 18% increase in its defense budget for 2027, pushing military spending above 3% of GDP as Chinese military and political pressure grows. The move comes as the United States remains engaged in its six-month war with...

The war between the United States, Israel, and Iran has caused the oil and gas import bill of the world to swell by as much as $330 billion over the six months between March and August. That’s despite a smaller-than-feared...

The Confederation of Sahel States (Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger) increasingly use a security-for-resources barter model for fighting against growing terrorism in West Africa. They trade vital natural assets like gold, uranium, and lithium in exchange for military protection, weapons,...

For years, the economic case for solar came with an awkward qualification. Yes, it had no fuel bill. Yes, its operating costs were low. And yes, over the life of a project it could already produce cheaper electricity than a...

After a delayed start under the previous government, Mexico is now well on its way to undergoing a green transition. President Claudia Sheinbaum has launched an energy reform that opens Mexico’s energy sector to greater private investment and focuses on...

The United States’ energy grid is under extreme duress as rapid electrification and energy demand place increasing and unprecedented demand on transmission infrastructure. The artificial intelligence boom is sending energy demand rates into the stratosphere as hyperscalers race to develop...

Mette-Marit was 25 years old and a single mother when she met Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon in 1999. They began their relationship secretly, but the news eventually came out. Mette-Marit pushed back against media portrayals of her as a Cinderella...

The US government is exploring an unusual legal route for dealing with Iranian oil and ships captured as part of its blockade: bringing back a wartime maritime system that has barely been used for generations, according to Bloomberg. The Justice Department,...

Italian opposition parties have criticized an attack on press freedom after RAI, the state broadcaster, removed veteran journalist Sigfrido Ranucci from hosting its main investigative show, “Report.” Government allies support the decision, reflecting a debate over RAI’s independence, as its...

Icelanders voted on Saturday on whether to reopen membership talks with the European Union. The public is divided on this issue, with a recent poll showing a slight majority against the government’s proposal for renewed negotiations, though previous surveys indicated...

The upcoming official visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Egypt, scheduled for August 30 to September 3, 2026, coincides with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. The visit will address economic and technological cooperation, as well as regional and...

Azerbaijan is one of the world’s oldest oil producers and exporters, having pumped crude since the mid-19th century, and remains a major global oil producer. It has long relied on oil and gas to meet its energy needs and as...

Good things are happening! Meta gets a very expensive timeout, regulators kill a killer weedkiller, big money gets the cold shoulder, and Trump’s trans-care crackdown gets blocked. You Love To See It is a benefit of a Lever paid subscription. If...

On 11 February, NATO launched Arctic Sentry — Swedish Gripen jets patrolling Greenlandic airspace, German Eurofighters overhead, nine flags behind a single new command. Officially, it answers Russian submarines in the GIUK gap. Unofficially, it arrived three weeks after Donald...

US President Donald Trump’s abrupt directive on August 16, 2026, to drastically scale back the joint “Ulchi Freedom Shield” (UFS) military exercises sent shockwaves across the Asia-Pacific geostrategic landscape. The unilateral announcement, posted to social media mere hours before the...

Central Claim The diplomatic traffic through Tehran this week, Qatar, Pakistan and Oman all visiting in seven days, has generated the appearance of momentum toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The substance tells a different story. Iran is not negotiating...

“Theory is a net. Only those who cast, can catch.”- Karl Popper, The Logic of Scientific Discovery (1959) In assessing Israel’s nuclear deterrence and escalation doctrine, one element remains consistently overlooked. This element concerns US-Russian differences regarding “nuclear firebreak theory.”...

In the race to secure the Democratic ticket for Massachusetts’ upcoming Senate race, Rep. Seth Moulton has put out a not-so-subtle call for ads targeting “voters under 40” highlighting that he’s “one of Massachusetts’ rising progressive stars” and a “next...

Over the last two years, the EU and UK have emerged as leading actors in imposing sanctions on Russia. But people like Maria Demertzis, Professor at the European University Institute in Italy, have raised questions around the effectiveness of the...