Date: 13/05/2026 Tankers cruising the Panama Canal. What happened: China has detained more than 90 Panama-flagged vessels at its ports since early March 2026, in what the US and a six-country Latin American coalition describe as targeted economic retaliation against Panama. The pattern has held for two months. Of the 123 vessels detained at Chinese ports in March alone, 91 were Panama-flagged, and similar ratios have continued into April and the first week of May. Speaking

Date: 28/04/2026 Venezuela’s former Defence Minister, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, alongside President Delcy Rodriguez. Executive Summary Venezuela is undergoing its most significant political and economic shift in over a decade. Since January 2026, the country has been governed by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed power after US forces captured former President Nicolás Maduro in a military operation in Caracas on 3 January. Rodríguez, previously Maduro’s vice presiden

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