Asia
Takaichi Wins Historic Supermajority in Japan Snap Election
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has converted personal popularity into one of the largest parliamentary victories in modern Japanese history. In today’s snap election, her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won 316 of the 465 seats…
Myanmar Military-Backed Party Sweeps Election Held Amid Civil War
Myanmar’s first general election since the 2021 military coup has ended almost exactly as expected. The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has won an overwhelming parliamentary majority after voting was conducted in three…
Iran Protest Crackdown Deepens as Government Shuts Down Internet
Iran’s economic protests have developed into something much more serious than the demonstrations I wrote about two weeks ago. What began in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar over the collapse of the rial and rising living costs…
US Forces Capture Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela Raid
The United States has crossed a threshold in Latin America that would have seemed almost unimaginable a year ago. On 3 January, American special forces entered Caracas in Operation Absolute Resolve, captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás…
Iran Protests Spread as Currency Collapse Turns Into a Crisis of Political Legitimacy
Iran has entered 2026 facing another serious wave of anti-government protests, but this one began somewhere politically significant: Tehran’s Grand Bazaar. Shopkeepers began closing businesses and demonstrating in late December after the Iranian rial collapsed…
Israel Becomes First Country to Recognise Somaliland as Independent State
Israel has become the first country in the world formally to recognise Somaliland as an independent sovereign state, breaking a diplomatic isolation that has lasted more than three decades. Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in…
Trump Tightens Immigration Restrictions After Washington National Guard Shooting
Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has entered a new phase after the 26 November shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, D.C., which authorities are investigating as a targeted attack. One Guard member,…
Trump and Xi Reach One-Year Trade Truce After South Korea Summit
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met in Busan, South Korea, on 30 October, producing the most significant easing of the US-China trade confrontation since Trump’s return to office. The two governments have agreed to step…
Japan Has Chosen Sanae Takaichi to Lead Its Governing Party. If She Becomes Prime Minister, Japan Will Have Its First Female Leader and One of Its Most Conservative Governments in Years. Why a Country Defined for Decades by Pacifism Is Becoming Much More Comfortable With Power.
Japan is entering a potentially historic political transition. Sanae Takaichi has won the leadership of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, placing her in position to become Japan’s first female prime minister and giving the country…
Georgia’s Ruling Party Says It Won Every Municipality. The Opposition Tried to Force Its Way Into the Presidential Palace. A Country That Once Seemed Almost Certain to Join Europe Is Now Fighting Over What “Europe” Even Means.
Georgia’s political crisis has entered a substantially more dangerous phase. In yesterday’s local elections, the governing Georgian Dream party claimed victory in every municipality across the country after the two largest opposition blocs boycotted the…
Britain, Canada, Australia and Others Are Preparing to Recognise Palestine. Recognition Matters, but a State Cannot Survive on Diplomatic Recognition Alone.
The international diplomatic balance around Palestinian statehood is undergoing one of its largest changes in decades. Ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, several Western governments have moved towards formally recognising the…
Nepal’s Government Tried to Ban Social Media. Days Later, the Prime Minister Was Gone. The Protests Were Never Really Just About Social Media.
Nepal has just experienced one of the most dramatic political upheavals in South Asia in years. What began with anger over the government’s decision to block major social-media platforms rapidly developed into a much broader…
