India

Pakistan

Military & Security

Politics

India and Pakistan announced May 10 that they had reached a ceasefire deal -- facilitated in part by international pressure from countries including the United States, Saudi Arabia and Turkey -- hours after the two sides' dayslong clashes escalated sharply following kinetic exchanges targeting each other's military assets, AP reported May 10.

India, Pakistan: Ceasefire Announced Following Sharp Escalation

Pakistan's military spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said India targeted three of Pakistan's air force bases: Nur Khan in Rawalpindi, Murid in Murid and Rafiqui in Shorkot, all of which are in Punjab province, DW reported on May 9. 

India, Pakistan: Islamabad Says India's Military Struck Pakistani Air Bases, Including in Rawalpindi

Economics

The International Monetary Fund's executive board will conduct the first review of Pakistan's $7 billion bailout program, Arab News reported on May 9.

Pakistan: IMF Executive Board Review Scheduled for May 9

Germany

France

Poland

Energy

France and Poland signed a wide-ranging bilateral defense, economic and energy cooperation treaty on May 9 in Nancy, France, Reuters reported the same day.

France, Poland: Governments Pledge Defense Cooperation, Nuclear-Sharing Discussions

United States

Ukraine

Russia

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

On May 8, U.S. President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that "the US calls for, ideally, a 30-day unconditional ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine, adding that "if the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions."

U.S., Russia: Trump Insists on Ceasefire, Suggests Sanctions Against Russia

Pakistan said it shot down 25 Indian drones in multiple cities, including Karachi, Lahore and the garrison city of Rawalpindi, while India acknowledged it had "targeted air defense radars and systems" in response to an alleged Pakistani attempt to launch missiles and drones at military targets along the two countries’ border in Kashmir and elsewhere, AP reported on May 8. 

India, Pakistan: Pakistan Claims Downing 25 Drones Day After India's May 7 Strikes

Nigeria

 President of the Nigerian Senate Godswill Akpabio announced that two of President Bola Tinubu's four tax reform bills had been approved and that the two remaining bills would be approved on May 8, Premium Times reported on May 7.

Nigeria: Senate Passes Tax Reform Bills, Ditches VAT Hike

China

Philippines

Two Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN, frigates and one coast guard vessel confronted a Philippine Navy vessel near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, with one PLAN vessel crossing the bow of the Philippine Navy vessel and blocking its path in a high-risk naval maneuver just 11.8 nautical miles from the reef, The South China Morning Post reported May 8. 

China, Philippines: PLAN Frigates Block Philippine Warship in Rare Naval Confrontation

The world is connected, but even the broadest topics deserve an individual look. Below are our latest and most relevant military analyses. 

Below are our latest and most relevant military analyses. 

Sub-Saharan Africa

Americas

Asia-Pacific

Europe

Eurasia

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

The Syrian Civil War

The Yemen Civil War

The Libyan Civil War

The Fight Against the Islamic State

The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

The India-Pakistan Rivalry

Cyber

The Ukraine Conflict

Tracking U.S. Naval Power

The Battle for Mosul

Rebalancing Power in the Middle East

Coping With a Nuclear North Korea

The Jihadist Wars

Echoes of the Cold War

Instability in Central Asia

South Asian Militancy

Pakistan: A Military With a Country

Assessments

A Chinese frigate participates in a naval parade in the sea near Qingdao, in eastern China's Shandong province, on April 23, 2019. 

A shift from coastguard to naval confrontations raises the likelihood of sharp, short direct conflict that would significantly worsen already high maritime tensions.

Chinese-Philippine Naval Confrontations Raise the Stakes in South China Sea Tensions

Columns

On Geopolitics

Iran

Iraq

Syria

Yemen

A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B aircraft over the North Sea having taken off from RAF Fairford on July 1, 2016 in Gloucestershire, England. The tactic designed to allow intervention without deepening withdrawalism will instead do the opposite, and Washington will face more and more calls to retrench from the Middle East.

The tactic designed to allow intervention without deepening withdrawalism will instead do the opposite, and Washington will face more and more calls to retrench from the Middle East.

Washington Bumps up Against the Limits of Airpower in the Middle East

Supporters of the PiS party demonstrate April 12 in Warsaw, Poland. Poland will hold a presidential election May 18 and runoff June 1 if no candidate obtains more than 50% in the first round.

Social Issues

The outcome of Poland's election will determine whether Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centrist government will coexist with a cooperative president or continue to face institutional constraints from an ideologically opposed president.

Poland's Election: Potential Outcomes and Their Implications

Global Elections

Soldiers and onlookers inspect the debris of a mosque damaged by Indian strikes in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, on May 7, 2025. 

While a full-scale conflict remains unlikely, escalating tensions will increase security risks in both countries, including travel and business disruptions, nationalist protests, potential militant attacks, and increased cyber threat activity.

India's Retaliation for Kashmir Attack Will Provoke a Pakistani Response

The allure of implementing a sphere of influence model is more likely to disappoint those who may argue that it would create more stability and security.

The Temptations of a Sphere-of-Influence Model of International Relations

Australia

After winning the general election, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese waves as he arrives onstage at the Labor Party election night event in Sydney on May 3, 2025. 

The Labor Party's sweeping victory in Australia will strengthen Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's ability to increase public spending and bolster ties with foreign partners.

Albanese Returns Stronger Than Ever Following Australia's General Election

Israel

Palestinian Territories

Israeli soldiers conduct a raid in the West Bank on March 19, 2025. 

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Israel's newly approved plan to expand its offensive against Hamas will invite more Houthi attacks on its territory, worsen Gaza's humanitarian crisis, and fuel backlash both at home and abroad. 

To Break Hamas, Israel Prepares to Reoccupy Gaza

Canada

Singapore

Romania

Indian and Pakistani border forces at the Wagah border post separating their countries April 25 near Amritsar, India.

Global Trade

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: A Likely Indian Attack on Pakistan, Romania's Presidential Election Rerun

Turkey

Fighters gather outside a building that was seized by jihadists in Syria's northern Aleppo province on Nov. 29, 2024, amid the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) offensive against government forces.

The two countries will seek to avoid direct conflict amid U.S. pressure to de-escalate tensions, but their competing military presence in Syria and elevated risk tolerances leave the door open to miscalculations and limited clashes.

Can Israel and Turkey Avoid a Conflict in Syria?

Benin

Burkina Faso

Cameroon

Central African Republic

Chad

Comoros

Cote d'Ivoire

Djibouti

Gabon

Guinea

Madagascar

Mali

Mauritania

Niger

Republic of the Congo

Senegal

Togo

Algeria

Morocco

A Gabonese brigade participates in a training exercise as part of a military program linked to the Franco-Gabonese partnership at the French military base Camp de Gaulle in Libreville on March 19, 2025. 

France's reduced influence in Africa will create space for local and foreign actors to take on greater leadership roles, but their inability to fill the security vacuum left by France's withdrawal would threaten to destabilize the region.

France, Africa and the Future, Part 2: The Age of Multi-Alignment 

Drag-line excavator mines rare earth materials on Ukrainian soil on Feb. 25, 2025, in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine. 

A new U.S.-Ukraine economic deal offers Washington a long-term stake in Ukraine's critical resources -- and a potential lever in ceasefire diplomacy.

New Strategic Pact Gives U.S. Stake in Ukraine's Economic Future

A picture released on July 12, 1963, of then-French President Gen. Charles de Gaulle (2L) and Jacques Foccart (L) greeting African, Malagasy and French overseas territories veterans arriving in Paris for French Bastille Day celebrations.

After decades of cultivating tight-knit relationships with francophone African countries, France has effectively ended its forward military presence in West and Central Africa amid shifting political dynamics in both regions, which will weaken its influence on the continent but enable Paris to reallocate resources towards Europe's security.

France, Africa and the Future, Part 1: A New Balance of Power 

Military & Security

SITUATION REPORTS

India, Pakistan: Ceasefire Announced Following Sharp Escalation

India, Pakistan: Islamabad Says India's Military Struck Pakistani Air Bases, Including in Rawalpindi

Pakistan: IMF Executive Board Review Scheduled for May 9

France, Poland: Governments Pledge Defense Cooperation, Nuclear-Sharing Discussions

U.S., Russia: Trump Insists on Ceasefire, Suggests Sanctions Against Russia

India, Pakistan: Pakistan Claims Downing 25 Drones Day After India's May 7 Strikes

Nigeria: Senate Passes Tax Reform Bills, Ditches VAT Hike

China, Philippines: PLAN Frigates Block Philippine Warship in Rare Naval Confrontation

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