Sunday 8 March 2026 International Women’s Day, observed each year on 8 March, carries a particular resonance in Ukraine during wartime. The day has long existed in the cultural memory of the post-Soviet world as a hybrid holiday—part political commemoration, part social ritual. In peacetime it has often been marked by flowers, greetings, and gestures of respect toward mothers, daughters, colleagues and friends. Yet under the pressures of Russia’s full-scale invasion the meani

Sunday 8 March 2026 The forced liquidation of Lukoil’s international assets represents one of the most striking geoeconomic consequences yet of Western sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. For three decades Lukoil embodied a particular vision of Russia’s place in the global economy: a hybrid corporate structure in which a nominally private oil company expanded across continents while remaining closely intertwined with the Russian state. That model is

Taras and his daughter hand in hand on the Portuguese coast By Kathrin Franziska Beck Sunday 8 March 2026 For war-separated families, moments of togetherness are precious, with even small journeys or familiar traditions carrying profound emotional significance. Escaping the cold at home after a long, dark winter by travelling to Portugal; spending your birthday abroad; and showing your daughter the place where you got engaged. These are ordinary things for many families. For

Saturday 7 March 2026 The global price of oil has once again become a barometer of geopolitical tension. The escalation of war in the Middle East has pushed Brent crude above $90 per barrel, with some analysts warning that prolonged disruption could drive prices to $120 or even $150 if the conflict interferes with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz or reduces production across the Gulf.  Such movements remind us that the economics of oil are inseparable from the politics o

Saturday 7 March 2026 Iran’s contemporary foreign policy and defence posture cannot be understood solely through conventional frameworks of international relations. The Islamic Republic has constructed a strategic worldview shaped by revolution, ideological identity, perceived encirclement, and the experience of war. Her policies combine traditional statecraft with unconventional instruments of influence: proxy warfare, ideological mobilisation, and forms of coercion that oft