Spotlight
Schrödinger’s Jihadists
In its former Syrian stronghold of Palmyra, an Islamic State group attack underscored the diffuse — and largely unseen — threat the group continues to pose. “They exist, but they don’t exist,” said one resident. “You don’t see them.”
The Age of the Clown
From Jake Paul’s bout with Anthony Joshua to Andrew Tate’s foray into the ring, celebrity boxing has become a stage where spectacle is increasingly displacing mastery.
Syria’s Circassian Community Is Finding Its Voice
For decades, the Syrian Circassians’ story of exile was suppressed by the Assad regime. Now, as the country remakes itself, that silence has begun to lift, with generations of Circassians embracing their Syrian identity — while continuing to preserve their culture and traditions.
What Jude Bellingham Reveals About England
The outrage over a display of frustration by England soccer star Jude Bellingham on the pitch continues a long-standing British discomfort with Black brilliance, exposing how soccer remains a battleground for national anxieties about race and belonging.
Renewal Is Not the Whole Story of Medellin’s Comuna 13
In Colombia’s second-largest city, the Comuna 13 neighborhood has become one of the country’s most visited tourist destinations. Once synonymous with poverty and street violence, it is now marketed as a symbol of resilience and urban transformation. But many locals claim that the feel-good narrative masks ongoing problems.
The Iranian Journalist Who Dialed Nobel Laureates
For years, an Iranian science journalist interviewed Nobel Prize winners across the world, hoping that dialogue through science could mend the divide between Iran and the United States, before politics made the project impossible.
Europe Rolls Up the Welcome Mat for Russian Nationals
Middle-class Russians are angry that the EU’s new visa restrictions punish them for a war they have no power to stop. But the inconveniences they face pale in comparison to Ukrainian suffering, which the new entry policy makes it more difficult for them to ignore.