Proliferation

Weapons Go Viral: The Houthis’ X Rated Marketplace

Western weapons flood Yemen’s black markets as arms dealers use social media to sell rifles, pistols, and grenade launchers.

A Ticking Time Bomb Defused: Hotline to the Gulf

The twelve-day war ended with a whimper, but Gulf states emerged holding trump cards that neither Washington nor Tehran anticipated.

EU-UN Failure: The Peculiar Case of the Zone Project 

EU-backed WMD-Free Zone project for the Middle East launched in 2019 with UN support, but failed to engage key actors or deliver results.

Saudi Eyes Up Nuclear, A Delicate Balancing Act

A high-stakes nuclear courtship between the U.S. and Saudi gathers pace, despite Israeli protests and parallel talks with Iran.

Popular

Fairphone Enters the Office, Not the High Street

As Radboud University announced Fairphones for staff on 16 January 2026, effective 1 February, a niche ethical handset gained an ally that ordinary shoppers still rarely offer.

Big Tech Giants Take Over the European Public Square

Invisible code, engineered thousands of miles away, dictates the daily cadence of European voices.

Guilty by Involvement: Britain, Berbera, and Red Sea Tensions

Britain’s state-backed bets on a Red Sea port are now dragging London into a genocidal war in Sudan and a high-stakes diplomatic collision with Saudi Arabia.

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.

Houthi Payroll Politics and Riyadh’s Bet to Secure Yemen Peace

Yemen’s government workers wait for paychecks as Riyadh bets that money will buy the peace that ten years of war was unable to secure.