Date: 20/04/2026 The 2026 revision codifies a decade of Chinese economic statecraft. Here is what it means for companies that trade with, source from, or invest in China. China’s Foreign Trade Law is the master framework that governs how foreign companies buy from, sell to, and invest in China. It was last rewritten in 2004, in the afterglow of WTO accession, to fit a country that wanted to join the global trading system. The 2026 version, in force since 1 March, is the first

Date: 14/04/2026 Key Takeaways 1. Ireland’s fuel protests have caused nationwide road closures, fuel depot blockades, and airport access disruption. They are the first European case study of how the Strait of Hormuz crisis translates into domestic civil disorder and transport paralysis. 2. The Irish experience will be replicated elsewhere. Several EU countries with high fuel taxation, limited refining capacity, and transport-dependent rural economies are exposed to the same d

Date: 10/04/2026  Where?  The Strait of Hormuz, but bears consequences for global supply chains. Who’s involved?  Iranian authorities, global food and fertilizer supply chain. What happened?  On 28/02/2026 , Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz as  a response to strikes by the US and Israel  on strategic targets in Iran, including military sites, Iran’s missile infrastructure, and the Iranian leadership. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has raised concerns about the global en

Date: 08/04/2026 Executive Summary The Trump administration's pressure campaign against Cuba is entering a crucial phase as the White House views Havana as its next priority to bring Latin America into line with its policies.   An oil blockade engineered through Venezuela's forced realignment with Washington has effectively collapsed the island's energy infrastructure. The situation is critical: hospitals have shut down, schools are suspended, and normal business has grounded

Date: 24/03/2026 Throughout March 2026, Russia has capitalised on a global energy supply shock to generate substantial emergency revenue.  In the first fifteen days of March, the Kremlin extracted  €7.7 billion from fossil fuel exports, averaging €513 million per day, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. This was up from a €472 million daily average in February. The financial surge was made possible due to a confluence of events: the near-complete clo

Date: 21/03/2026 Three weeks into the US-Israeli campaign against Iran, the security environment across the Gulf has continued to deteriorate. The conflict shows no credible signs of resolution. Iran's offensive capacity, while degraded, remains sufficient to sustain daily strikes across the Gulf and even new targets significantly further afield than anticipated.  Energy infrastructure has been systematically targeted and gas fields, oil tankers, and even nuclear sites are no

Date: 12/03/2026 Executive Summary On 7 March 2026, twelve Latin American leaders gathered at Trump National Doral, a golf course in Miami, and signed a document. This document, named the Doral Charter, creates a new US-led regional security framework called the Shield of the Americas. And within this is the Counter-Cartel Coalition, a seventeen-nation military alliance chaired by President Trump and committed to using lethal force against transnational criminal organisations

Date: 06/03/2026 Context At approximately 11:30  on 5 March 2026 , Azerbaijani authorities reported that four drones entered Azerbaijani airspace and struck locations inside the Nakhichevan exclave , damaging parts of the Nakhchivan International Airport  terminal building and a field near a school; two injuries  were reported. Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a formal statement condemning the attacks and demanding an explanation from the Iranian Government, an

Date:   06/03/2026 Executive Summary Ecuador is entering an active phase of US-supported military operations against domestic criminal groups designated as foreign terrorist organisations (FTOSs) by the United States government. On 3 March 2026, US Southern Command announced joint operations with Ecuadorian forces targeting “terrorist groups.” The US has designated Los Choneros and Los Lobos, the two principal armed criminal networks controlling the country's drug trafficking

As governments and airlines fail to come to a consensus about evacuation protocols from countries affected by the Iran conflict, it is Dyami’s strong recommendation that travelers based in Gulf States (UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman) should stay put.  There are three main reasons. 1.  The threat to Gulf residents is lower than it looks. Despite highly visible and disruptive strikes on infrastructure such as Dubai Airport or the Crowne Plaza in Bahrain, Iran’s ability to cause wide

Date: 11/02/2026 Summary The New START Treaty has long been a cornerstone of strategic stability between the United States and Russia, placing firm limits on deployed nuclear weapons while providing verification measures that reduced uncertainty and mistrust. With the treaty now expired after its final extension, the world enters a new phase where legally binding constraints on the two largest nuclear arsenals are no longer in place. This article explores what New START achi

Date: 04/02/2026 Who’s involved : United States, Iran What happened? On 04/02/2026,  an F-35C launched from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian sea shot down an Iranian Shahed-129 drone . The drone "aggressively approached” the aircraft carrier with “unclear intent” according to US Central Command.  The shootdown took place just hours before Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces  attempted to board the US flagged merchant vessel Stena Imperative , but w

Date:   13/01/2026 (12:30 UTC+1) Where?  Iran Who’s involved? Iran, Israel, the United States What happened? Since 28/12/2025  protests have taken place throughout Iran. The protests originated largely due to a continuously deteriorating economic situation in the country, where high inflation and subsequently higher exchange rates have risen to unprecedented levels in recent years. As an example, on 01/10/2022  —during Iran’s last large-scale protests following the death of 2

Date: 05/12/2025 Executive Summary During 2025, reports have been made indicating the presence of uniformed, armed personnel (likely Russian-associated) aboard civilian vessels thought to be part of the vast Russian ‘shadow fleet’ comprising ageing, uninsured oil tankers and cargo vessels registered under flags of convenience and with deliberately confusing ownership structures. These uniformed personnel serve intelligence, surveillance, and command-and-control functions abo