Explainer

Explainer

A satellite imagery shows Bab el Mandeb Strait, a key shipping waterway and the gateway to the Red Sea, in this handout picture dated 12 July, 2026.

What would a closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait mean for the global economy?

The strait is an important route for trade between Asia, the Middle East and Europe, including shipments of crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit. Photo: DW

What is at stake as BRICS leaders meet in New Delhi?

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni looks on as she waits for the arrival of President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides, at Chigi Palace, in Rome, Italy, February 26, 2026. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo

Italy's revolving-door governments: The numbers behind the instability

US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office as he signs the Secure America Act, at the White House in Washington, DC, US, 10 June 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci/File Photo

What territories and places has Trump sought to claim or rename?

Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Los Angeles International Airport before leaving for Las Vegas. Photo: Reuters

What would a US claim over the Strait of Hormuz mean?

Two F/A-18 Super Hornets launch from the flight deck of the US Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location March 3, 2026. Photo: US Navy/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

How long can the US keep its blockade of Iran in place?

Migrants return back to Morocco, as seen from Ceuta, Spain, after tens of thousands of migrants surged into the Spanish enclave by land and sea, July 31. Photo: REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer

EU faces pressure after mass migrant crossing into Spain's Ceuta enclave

Photo: Bloomberg

Can J&J finally put the talc litigation behind it?

Oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz in 2018. Photo: Reuters

Why is Oman proposing a new plan to manage the Strait of Hormuz?

United States of America forward Folarin Balogun (20) before a Round of 32 match of the 2026 Fifa World Cup against Bosnia and Herzegovina at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara, California, USA on 1 July 2026. Photo: Reuters

What is Article 27 of Fifa's Disciplinary Code that allows red-carded Balogun to play?

Ibrahim Hilmi arrived in the US on board a private plane, photographed in light blue detention clothing, hands shackled and flanked by FBI agents, on June 19, 2026. Photo: X@FBIDirectorKash

Who is Ibrahim Khaldoon Hilmi and what is the alleged $3.7b Medicare fraud case?

G7 logos are pictured on the pier ahead of the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 12, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Denis Baliboouse/File Photo

What is the G7 and what's on the agenda at the Evian-les-Bains summit?

Representational Image. Photo: Collected

Why is gold falling despite the US-Israel-Iran conflict?