France and Germany are quietly rebuilding troop numbers, fearful that the United States and Türkiye will not fight Russia when push comes to shove. Others may follow.

To the surprise of many, Syria's interim president has neither removed Assad-era staff nor sought revenge on his key lieutenants. It has helped stop Syria from fragmenting.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks presidential clemency in the face of incarceration and political oblivion

Sudan's army needs a Russian lifeline to avoid collapse in the ongoing civil war. The price is a naval facility in Port Sudan, giving Moscow access to the Red Sea.

The Gulf states are showing that their security is indivisible and that they will pursue their defence from any that offer it, creating a new 'strategic autonomy' borne of the Trump era.

The experienced French envoy had front-row seats as relations between Beijing and Moscow blossomed, but as she recalls from her days studying in China: it wasn't always so.

There are signs that a new Pacific-Atlantic trade corridor financed by Beijing to bypass any US naval blockade of the Panama Canal will reorient Latin America towards Asia.

Gone are the days when Washington could wax lyrical about democracy while toppling governments and supporting authoritarians. With Venezuela and others, it needs a new playbook.

In rainy season, living in a wobbly structure is a step up from a tent that can flood. But while it offers some relief, it could also collapse over the heads of those seeking refuge behind its walls.

There was visible warmth when the US and Syrian presidents met in the Oval Office last month, with some even speculating a Trump visit to Damascus. But there is much to do before that happens.