Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged a “significant” response to “Europe’s militarisation” and says the hysteria around his country potentially attacking NATO is “nonsense”.

• October 3, 2025

Moscow has called France’s detention of the ship, and arrest of the captain, an act of piracy.

• October 3, 2025

In 2021, Russia supplied the EU with 45 percent of its gas and 27 percent of its oil. By 2024, these values dropped to 19 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

• October 3, 2025

By Shanthie Mariet D’SOUZA, PhD, founder & president, Mantraya Institute for Strategic Studies (MISS)

The dominant narrative on women in Afghanistan, one that appears fairly regularly in international media, is a story of restrictions, denial, and loss of rights. Under the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate, the rights of women are under siege. It is arguably one of the key reasons why the regime’s yearning for broad international recognition is yet to actualize. However, what is often missed are the stories of courage, adaptation, and resilience by Afghan women who, while living within those structural constraints, are trying to make a difference. And to an extent, even the de facto Taliban authorities acknowledge this reality. Any hope that things would change for the better in the future must take note of these windows of opportunities and build on the agency exhibited by women inside Afghanistan who are navigating a complex terrain. READ MORE

• October 1, 2025

By Benyamin POGHOSYAN, PhD, Senior Research Fellow at the APRI Armenia

Armenia and China established a strategic partnership on August 31, 2025, in the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit held in Tianjin, China. The establishment of a strategic partnership with China can be seen as another step within the Armenian Government’s “balanced and balancing foreign policy” or “pivot to the world,” as first articulated by the Armenia’s Secretary of the Security Council during the 2024 Applied Policy Research Institute (APRI) Armenia Forum. As part of its “pivot to the world,” a few weeks prior to the SCO summit Armenia applied for full membership of the organization (currently Yerevan is a dialogue partner) and in spring 2025, the Armenian Parliament adopted a law on launching the process of accession of the Republic of Armenia to the European Union. READ MORE

• October 1, 2025

Microsoft said the Israeli military’s use of Azure to store data obtained through mass surveillance of Palestinians violated its terms of service.

• September 26, 2025

South Korean military fired dozens of warning shots at a North Korean vessel that crossed the contested Northern Limit Line sea boundary.

• September 26, 2025

UNSC resolution to delay action likely to fail; Iran warns deal with IAEA will be “terminated” if sanctions, due at midnight GMT, are reinstated.

• September 26, 2025