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By Susan Kokinda · Susan Kokinda analyzes President Trump's May 14 post responding to Xi Jinping's remarks about the "Thucydides Trap," arguing media coverage framed the U.S. as declining while Trump asserted America's renewed strength. · She says the summit's real significance was Trump bringing an unprecedented delegation of top U.S. CEOs into the bilateral meeting and including the Defense Secretary, breaking a post-1972 pattern. · Kokinda…

Large crowds have descended upon central London for an anti-immigration rally dubbed ‘Unite the Kingdom’. Videos and photographs circulating on social media on Saturday showed demonstrators with Union Jack flags, crosses, and other Christian symbols marching through the streets of the British capital. Ahead of the event, local media, citing the authorities, reported that an estimated 50,000 people were expected to take part. Another large-scale…

Six people, including three paramedics, are killed in an Israeli attack on Lebanon. It comes as Washington says the two countries have agreed to a 45-day ceasefire extension, but the IDF continues to strike. · Amid the fragile truce with Tehran time appears to be running out, as Donald Trump says he’s prepared to unleash his Department of war once again, and quote - finish the job in Iran. · Russia’s top diplomat takes a swipe at the French…

Rudyard Kipling, a modern classic of the Western literary canon, was both a champion of British imperialism and too honest not to know its very sordid underpinnings of greed, lies, and sheer selfishness. By Tarik Cyril Amar, a historian from Germany working at Koç University, Istanbul, on Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe, the history of World War II, the cultural Cold War, and the politics of memory · That’s why the same man who extolled the…

A heated clash inside Parliament between Resources Minister Shane Jones and Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has escalated into a wider political dispute involving Treaty relationships, seabed mining, ministerial conduct, and the future direction of New Zealand resource policy. The controversy erupted after Jones made remarks targeting Ngāti Ruanui during a parliamentary debate over mining and fast-track legislation. · The comments…

The interesting thing this week is that despite all the noise globally around the Strait of Hormuz situation, tanker schedules into New Zealand are still holding up fairly well. Looking through the current shipping picture, there is nothing immediately standing out that suggests supply stress is building. The ships are still arriving, distribution is still moving, and for now at least, the system appears to be functioning normally. · Marsden…

The government’s proposed social media ban for under-16s appears increasingly uncertain, with coalition tensions, legislative confusion and broader debates over online regulation now complicating National’s flagship child safety proposal. Education Minister Erica Stanford says the government is still aiming to introduce legislation this year, but a promised update has now been delayed until June as wider policy work moves through Cabinet. · The…

So long as the US is willing to accept Iran spinning this as an unprecedented strategic defeat of the “Great Satan”, it’ll arguably be able to advance its actual interests much more robustly as was explained, all while giving Iran the “face-saving” pretext for significant concessions to end the war. By Andrew Korybko | May 15, 2026 · Speculation is swirling about the future of the US’ regional military presence after the Third Gulf War. While…

By Clandestine · I think we are witnessing the dawn of a new world. · Xi speaks highly of Trump and his vision to Make America Great Again, and says that the modernization and rejuvenation of China can be done “hand in hand” with the US, and we can work together to make the world a better place. · What if Trump and Xi agreed it was time to end the hostilities and treat each other as partners instead of adversaries on a collision course for war?…

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence data centers across the United States is triggering growing public backlash, environmental concerns, and wider geopolitical speculation about the future direction of the global economy. By INR · According to independent journalist Greg Reese, the issue extends far beyond artificial intelligence itself. Reese argues that the infrastructure boom may represent the foundation of an entirely new…