Culture
LIFESTYLE
Qatar’s Art Storage Signals Cultural Maturity
In November 2025, Qatar announced the Gulf's largest museum-grade art storage facility, marking a shift from spectacle to stewardship.
Exhibitions
Timbuktu Manuscripts Return as Museums Raise Prices
As 28,000 manuscripts arrived back at the Timbuktu Ahmed Baba Institute in August 2025 after 13 years in Bamako, Paris's Louvre raised standard admission to €22, marking the latest divergence in how access to Africa's written past is being rearranged.
EUROPE
Nova Gorica–Gorizia 2025: Europe’s First Cross-Border Capital of Culture
Nova Gorica and Gorizia become Europe’s first cross-border Capital of Culture in 2025, turning a former hard border into shared daily life.
EUROPE
Britain Rejoins Erasmus: Student Exchange Faces the Screen Generation
The UK's decision to rejoin Erasmus+ in 2027 turns an old symbol of mobility into a test of what learning abroad still means in a hyper-connected age.
LIFESTYLE
Italy’s UNESCO Victory: Shared Mediterranean Food Gets a National Label
UNESCO has crowned Italian cooking an intangible treasure, but in a shared Mediterranean kitchen it raises a question: how far can one country claim what ends up on the plate?
Popular
Gulf War Dismantles the West’s Russia Sanctions Regime
The Iran war gave Moscow oil revenues, diplomatic standing, and the quiet satisfaction of watching Washington undo four years of sanctions.
Three Forgotten Islands Could Decide the Strait of Hormuz
Iran warned this week that any attack on its Hormuz islands would turn the Gulf bloody, as the UAE signalled it now sees a chance to reclaim them.
Stuttgart Voters Punish Merz as Energy Prices Surge
In the industrial heart of Germany, rising energy costs and a sudden war have triggered a surprise election win that hints voters are reaching a breaking point.
Trump Doubles Down on Regime Change in CubaÂ
The White House is placing a risky bet on toppling the regime in Cuba as an expensive war in Iran and a restless electorate threaten GOP 2028.
Great Again: Europe’s Place in the Global Order
Europe’s gas shock reveals cost of hesitation as the US, Russia and China reshape power while the EU struggles to act decisively.
