Conflicts & Crises

Conflicts & Crises

Faster Than the Tracing

The Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo has roughly doubled in a week. There is still no vaccine for this strain, and contact tracing is running at half of what it needs to be.

13 June 2026  ·  2 min read

Two Days of Open Fire

Two days of open US–Iran strikes gave way to a memorandum the two capitals already describe differently: Washington calls it a settlement to end the war; Tehran says nothing is final — and the Strait of Hormuz stays closed.

13 June 2026  ·  4 min read

Where the Fuel Stops

When the Iran war pushed global oil markets, the consequences reached Tuvalu — a country of 10,000 people, twenty-six square kilometres of land, and an ocean territory the size of Texas. Two weeks of emergency. Three sets of consequences. And a country preparing to host the world.

5 June 2026  ·  6 min read

Two Americas, One Drug War

Colombia voted on Sunday in a first round that will send a Trump-aligned candidate against a leftist senator to a runoff later this month. Meanwhile, a nine-month U.S. military campaign of strikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats off the South American coast has now killed over 200 people.

5 June 2026  ·  10 min read

The Horn of Africa Under Strain

Sudan's civil war has produced the world's largest humanitarian catastrophe and continues. Next door, Ethiopia voted on Monday in an election expected to consolidate one-party rule. Two of Africa's most populous countries are pulling in opposite political directions while their region holds.

5 June 2026  ·  7 min read

The Ceasefire That Is and Is Not

Three months after U.S. and Israeli strikes began the war with Iran, the April ceasefires technically remain in force. On the ground, in three countries, the fighting has not stopped — and this week the war widened again.

5 June 2026  ·  8 min read

Ebola Spreads in Eastern DRC and Uganda

Three weeks after the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency, the Bundibugyo-strain Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda has surpassed 360 confirmed cases and continues to grow. There is no approved vaccine for this strain of the virus.

5 June 2026  ·  5 min read

The Walls Never Came Down

How the world banned the "walls of death" — and let a bigger problem take their place, out of sight, on the high seas

5 June 2026  ·  21 min read

Iran Ceasefire: Six Weeks On, Still Fragile

The Pakistan-mediated ceasefire announced 8 April holds, but barely. President Trump has accused Iran of bad faith on Hormuz; Israel continues operations against Hezbollah; the underlying enrichment dispute is untouched.

23 May 2026  ·  1 min read

Sudan: Famine Deepens in the World’s Largest Displacement Crisis

Nearly 19.5 million people across Sudan face acute food insecurity. 825,000 children are at risk of severe acute malnutrition this year. The war is in its fourth year. The world’s largest humanitarian crisis remains the world’s least reported.

23 May 2026  ·  1 min read

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