Sunday 31 May 2026 In the modern imagination, few criminals have acquired the notoriety of Pablo Escobar. His life has become the subject of films, television dramas, books and endless speculation. To some he appears as a ruthless murderer responsible for immense suffering. To others, particularly amongst portions of the poor communities of Medellín, he was remembered as a benefactor who built homes and sports facilities. Yet both images obscure a more complex reality. Pablo

Sunday 31 May 2026 The Abraham Accords, signed in 2020, were presented in Washington as a historic transformation of Middle Eastern politics. The agreements normalised relations between Israel and several Arab states, principally the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. American policymakers hoped that the accords would create a new regional architecture in which Arab governments would gradually abandon the traditional linkage between normalisation with Israel an

Saturday 30 May 2026 Pope Leo XIV has chosen an unusual subject for the first encyclical of his pontificate. Whereas many expected a document focused upon ecclesiastical matters, international peace or the condition of the poor, he instead turned his attention to artificial intelligence. In doing so he has recognised a reality that many political leaders, business executives and even technology developers have been reluctant to confront. Artificial intelligence is not merely

Saturday 30 May 2026 The history of Ebola Virus Disease is a history of fear, isolation, scientific improvisation and the uneven development of global medicine. Few pathogens have so vividly illustrated the vulnerability of modern civilisation to microscopic life. Few diseases have generated such a powerful mythology of terror. Yet behind the sensational images of biohazard suits and quarantined villages lies a more complicated story, involving colonial legacies, environmenta

Saturday 30 May 2026 Kaliningrad has long occupied a peculiar place in European strategic thought. Once the German city of Königsberg, capital of East Prussia and home of the philosopher Immanuel Kant, it is now a heavily militarised Russian exclave wedged between Lithuania and Poland on the Baltic coast. For decades after the end of the Cold War, Kaliningrad appeared to be an awkward geographical curiosity. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, however, it h

Saturday 30 May 2026 Wars are often described in terms of armies, weapons and territory. Yet military historians have long observed that campaigns are frequently decided not by what happens at the front line but by what occurs behind it. Soldiers require ammunition, fuel, food, spare parts, medical supplies and reinforcements. Without those necessities, even the most formidable army gradually loses its ability to fight. Throughout history, from Napoleon’s march into Russia to