Geopolitics
OECD Quantifies China’s Subsidy Edge at 8:1, Exposing WTO’s Structural Failure
New data reveals Chinese firms received up to eight times more state support than Western competitors across two decades, with subsidies reaching 10% of revenue in strategic sectors.
EU Sovereign Cloud Rules Set to Bar AWS, Google, Microsoft from Strategic Government Contracts
Draft legislation would mandate European-developed infrastructure for defense, energy, and healthcare tenders—escalating digital sovereignty from voluntary frameworks to binding procurement restrictions.
Iran Fires Ballistic Missiles at U.S. Forces in Kuwait, Shattering Ceasefire and Spiking Oil Toward $90
Tehran's first direct strike on American assets since 2020 exposes fragile diplomacy and puts 20% of global crude transit at immediate risk.
Israel orders evacuation of 17% of Lebanon as Beirut strikes resume, threatening US-Iran ceasefire
Mass displacement orders covering 2,170 square kilometres and renewed strikes on the Lebanese capital signal a shift from containment to territorial control, compounding a fragile energy market already pricing $118 Brent crude.
Ardian’s €10bn AI Gigafactory Bet Turns European Digital Sovereignty Into Infrastructure Play
Europe's largest PE firms now see decoupling from US cloud providers as a generational infrastructure trade—with France's nuclear advantage as the hook.
Netanyahu Orders Beirut Strikes Hours After Vance Claims Ceasefire ‘Very Close’
Israeli attack on Hezbollah stronghold Dahieh threatens fragile US-Iran negotiations as oil markets price renewed Strait of Hormuz risk.
US-Iran Strikes Push Gulf Ceasefire to Breaking Point
Tit-for-tat attacks on Iranian installations and Kuwaiti air base mark collapse of fragile truce as nuclear talks deadlock over Strait of Hormuz control.
Iran Strikes US Base as Ceasefire Collapses, Oil Jumps 2.7%
Direct kinetic escalation shatters two-month diplomatic framework as Brent crude hits $93 and Trump's nuclear demands stall.
US-Iran Ceasefire Stalls on Nuclear Demands as Strait of Hormuz Closure Reshapes Global Supply Chains
Trump withholds approval of 60-day framework pending uranium transfer and shipping guarantees, locking crude volatility and semiconductor bottlenecks into structural timeline through 2029.
China’s Deadliest Mine Disaster in 15 Years Exposes Fragility Behind Green Transition
The Liushenyu explosion killed 82 workers in illegal tunnels, triggering commodity shocks and revealing enforcement collapse beneath Beijing's renewable energy rhetoric.
France breaks with US at UN over Israel’s Lebanon expansion
Paris calls emergency Security Council session with Russian backing, exposing fractures in Western strategic coordination as alliance cohesion crumbles under Middle East stress.
China Orders State Firms to Ignore US Iran Sanctions in Historic Defiance
Beijing's first invocation of blocking statute marks shift from covert evasion to open challenge of dollar-based sanctions enforcement