Explainer

Explainer

Flags of China and Russia are displayed in this illustration picture taken March 24, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/ File Photo

Why Russia and China are getting closer amid global tensions

The alignment has developed against a strained global backdrop, including the war in Ukraine, tensions in the Middle East, and shifting US foreign policy positions under successive administrations

AI-powered surveillance cameras have been installed at the Bijoy Sarani intersection in Dhaka. The camaras will monitor traffic violations under a new e-prosecution system, detect offences including signal violations, wrong-way driving, riding without helmets and mobile phone use while driving. The photo was taken on 7 May 2026. PHOTO: SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN/TBS

Why AI cameras cannot fix Dhaka's traffic chaos on their own

Thermometers are pictured at the entrance of an Ebola Treatment Centre in the Eastern Congolese town of Butembo in the Democratic Republic of Congo, October 4, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo

The Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus: What do we know?

The Epaminondas ship is seen during seizure by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran, in this image obtained by Reuters on April 24, 2026. Photo: Meysam Mirzadeh/Tasnim/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo

What happens if the Strait of Hormuz crisis never ends?

Photo: Reuters

Trade, tech and power: US and China at a turning point in relations

SWAT members stand outside the Philippine Senate, which holds Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, the chief enforcer of former President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war, in protective custody amid an International Criminal Court warrant, Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines, May 13, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Noel Celis

How a Philippine war crimes suspect thwarted arrest (for now)

A man holds the flags of Taiwan and the United States during Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's stopover after her visit to Latin America, in Burlingame, California, US, January 14, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo

What is 'Taiwan independence' and is Taiwan already independent?

Britain's Houses of Parliament is pictured in London, Britain, September 4, 2019. Photo: Reuters

Why are Britons so fed up?

A US passenger from the cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, is instructed by personnel after disembarking a boat, at the port of Granadilla de Abona, in Tenerife, Spain, May 10, 2026. Photo: Reuters

Why the hantavirus outbreak is different from Covid-19

A bird's eye view of the Chattogram Port. Photo: Mohammad Minhaj Uddin/TBS

How ports are managed globally

A Hezbollah fighter prepares an FPV drone fitted with a PG-7 warhead at an undisclosed location, in this undated image released via the group’s media outlets. Photo: Collected

Fibre optic FPV drones: Hezbollah's 'unjammable' weapon

Representational image. Photo: Collected

Why is loan rescheduling becoming unsustainable for banks?

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Reuters

How real is a coup threat against Russia's president?