Politics, the economy, and the stories shaping the West.
A US-brokered memorandum has paused the most intense Middle East conflict in years and reopened the world's most vital oil chokepoint — but continued strikes in Lebanon keep the truce on a knife's edge.
In Kevin Warsh's first meeting as chair, the Federal Reserve kept rates steady but dropped its easing bias and signaled a possible hike — a sharp pivot driven by an energy-price shock.
A year after allies agreed at The Hague to spend 5% of GDP on defense, the alliance is grappling with how 32 members actually deliver on the most ambitious target in its history.
