Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

What We're Watching

What We’re Watching: Israeli forces advance into new Gaza area, DRC to ink peace deal with rebels, Chilean crime wave pushes voters rightward

​Smoke rises during Israeli strikes amid the Israeli military operation in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, July 21, 2025.

Smoke rises during Israeli strikes amid the Israeli military operation in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, July 21, 2025.

REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
Make us preferred on Google

Israel advances for first time into central Gazan refuge city

Israeli ground forces have pushed into Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, an area that the IDF has previously largely avoided because it is believed to be where the remaining Israeli hostages are held. The incursion has raised concern for the safety of the many Gazans who have taken refuge there over the course of the conflict. Israel says it aims to dismantle the remains of Hamas’ infrastructure, but families of the hostages have demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appear before them and the public to clarify the risks to their loved ones.

Democratic Republic of Congo to sign peace pact with rebels

The Democratic Republic of Congo and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group have agreed to sign a peace deal by Aug 18, following months of Qatari mediation. The US, which has facilitated separate talks between the Congo and Rwanda, is pushing for peace in the long-running conflict, partly in order to facilitate greater Western investment in the Congo's critical mineral resources. For more background, see our recent piece here.


Crime pushes Chile to the right ahead of election

Deep political polarization is afflicting every region of the world these days, but the trend is especially pronounced in Chile ahead of its November presidential election. Current leftwinger Gabriel Boric must bow out due to term limits, and while polls put Communist candidate Jeanette Jara in first place for now, just behind her is ultraconservative Catholic José Antonio Kast, an open admirer of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. Given the popularity of several other rightwing candidates, Kast would be the favorite to win a runoff. A key campaign issue: a recent crime wave driven in part by criminal gangs composed of migrants from Venezuela.

More For You

Zhuque-3 rocket by China’s private rocket firm LandSpace, takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

Zhuque-3 rocket by China’s private rocket firm LandSpace, takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China, December 3, 2025

LandSpace/Handout via REUTERS
China wants to reduce, reuse, and recycle — rocketsChinese aerospace company LandSpace successfully recovered the first stage of a rocket on land for the first time on Wednesday, marking a major step toward reusable rockets. Reusability is crucial in the growing space race because it can dramatically reduce the cost of putting satellites into [...]
Ukraine's Minister of Defence Mykhailo Fedorov speaks at a joint press conference with his Swedish counterpart Pal Jonson (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Ukraine's Minister of Defence Mykhailo Fedorov speaks at a joint press conference with his Swedish counterpart Pal Jonson (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 1, 2026.

REUTERS/Alina Smutko
Zelensky faces mounting election pressureUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky finds himself between a rock and a hard place after recently fired Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov publicly called for new elections on Tuesday. Zelensky declared martial law shortly after the war began, which bans elections for security reasons. Critics have said [...]
A banner reading "Buy Canadian", in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on goods from Canada, is held aloft by a pair of hockey sticks in front of a house

A banner reading "Buy Canadian", in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on goods from Canada, is held aloft by a pair of hockey sticks in front of a house in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada March 5, 2025.

REUTERS/Ed White
US and Canada hold last-minute talks to avoid new tariffs Washington and Ottawa are down to the wire with talks to reach an agreement by 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, when President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 50% tariffs on over $20 billion of Canadian goods. The proposed tariffs would hit Canadian exports to the US — everything from hockey [...]
​U.S. Army soldiers take part in a U.S.-South Korea joint river-crossing exercise.

U.S. Army soldiers take part in a U.S.-South Korea joint river-crossing exercise, which is a part of the annual Freedom Shield joint military training, near the demilitarized zone separating South and North Korea, in Yeoncheon, South Korea, March 14, 2026.

REUTERS/Kim Soo-hyeon
Trump puts another dent in US-South Korea relationsPresident Donald Trump announced Sunday that the US would scale back future joint military exercises with South Korea, just as the allies’ annual August drills kicked off today. In a Truth Social post, Trump cited his “good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and said Seoul had [...]