The Tug of War at the Top of the World | Israel Is Still Demolishing Gaza, Building by Building | The Saudi Arabia-UAE Dispute Is About More Than Just Yemen, and more

Russia’s Fearsome Arsenal Fizzled in Venezuela. Here’s Why.  (Maria Abi-Habib, Eric Schmitt, Christiaan Triebert, and Julian E. Barnes, New York Times)
The Venezuelan regime had high-powered air defense systems from its allies in the Kremlin, but failed to set much of it up.

Israel Hopes for Regime Change in Iran  (Economist)
But its main concern remains Iran’s ballistic missiles and nuclear program.

Iranians Want Their Own Deng Xiaoping  (Vali Nasr, Economist)
A rattled, divided leadership is having to heed calls for change.

The Tug of War at the Top of the World  (Jeffrey Gettleman, Sarah Hurtes, and Louise Krüger, New York Times)
A great power competition is intensifying in the Arctic, and not only for Greenland.

Israel Is Still Demolishing Gaza, Building by Building  (Samuel Granados, Adam Rasgon, Iyad Abuheweila, and Sanjana Varghese, New York Times)
More than 2,500 structures have been destroyed since the start of the cease-fire,

The Saudi Arabia-UAE Dispute Is About More Than Just Yemen  (Marc Lynch, Foreign Policy)
The divide is forcing countries across the region to take sides.

South Korea’s Nuclear Latency May Be Washington’s Least Bad Option  (Lami Kim,Foreign Policy)
With U.S. extended deterrence under strain, managing Seoul’s nuclear hedging may be safer than trying to stop it.

What If There Is No Domino Effect?  (Vivian Salama, The Atlantic)
Predictions of Cuba’s demise after Maduro’s capture may be greatly exaggerated.

Russia Forces African Recruits to Become Suicide Bombers  (Ben Farmer, The Telegraph)
Thousands from the continent being press-ganged by Moscow before being sent on ‘meat grinder’ attacks.

Jihadist Violence Beyond the West: Trends in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East to 2026  (Mahmut Cengiz, HSToday)
Terrorist activity across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East in 2025 underscored the persistence and geographic expansion of jihadist violence beyond Western countries. Despite sustained counterterrorism pressure, groups affiliated with ISIS and al-Qaeda continued to exploit protracted conflicts, weak governance, and security vacuums to conduct attacks against civilians, religious minorities, and security forces. As the international system moves into 2026, nearly a quarter-century after the September 11 attacks, these regions remain central to the global terrorism landscape, serving both as primary theaters of violence and as sources of transnational inspiration and operational spillover. This article examines key terrorist incidents and regional trends in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East during 2025 and assesses their implications for the evolving threat environment in 2026.