Low water levels have led to a traffic jam at one of the world’s busiest maritime passages. The bottleneck demonstrates how accelerating climate change is threatening global supply chains.

President Vladimir Putin appears to be in firm control of Russia today, but in order to maintain it in the years ahead, he will have to manage at least three primary challenges.

Russia’s Wagner Group has intervened in the affairs of several African countries, providing military and security support while expanding Moscow’s influence across the continent.

Ukraine has withstood and repelled the mighty Russian military through Western support, Russian blundering, and its own resourcefulness. However, the circumstances could be changing.

Russia’s moves to mobilize thousands more troops and to annex more of Ukraine’s territory signal a new, potentially more dangerous phase of the war.