Relations between the United States and the Catholic Church have entered a rare and sharp crisis since January, a fissure exposed by a tense and secretive confrontation between senior Pentagon officials and Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s ambassador to Washington. This clash reveals deeper strains in the diplomatic and ideological ties that have long connected the world’s most powerful military state with one of its oldest spiritual institutions. It began days after Pope Leo XIV...

The fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran, brokered just days ago, now teeters on the edge of collapse. What began as a tentative two-week pause in hostilities has been overshadowed by a dramatic escalation in Lebanon, where Israel unleashed its fiercest wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets since the conflict erupted last month. As hundreds of Lebanese civilians have been killed and entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble, the broader Middle East finds itself...

The University of Botswana (UB) is making a bold leap toward environmental leadership, unveiling an ambitious Green Campus Programme that could redefine sustainability across the African continent. In a sweeping initiative that spans water conservation, waste recycling, and solar energy deployment, UB is positioning itself not just as an academic institution but as a living laboratory for green innovation. This is no mere token effort; it’s poised to save millions in utility costs while drastically...

Global terrorism has fallen to its lowest level in a decade, yet Western nations are witnessing a dramatic surge in terrorism-related deaths, according to the 2026 Global Terrorism Index (GTI) released by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP). While worldwide terrorism fatalities dropped 28 percent to 5,582 in 2025, Western fatalities surged by 280 percent to 57, highlighting a troubling divergence. This paradox reflects a shifting global landscape where old hotspots are stabilizing, but...

The world is grappling with a new economic storm as the US–Israel–Iran war escalates, choking off the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global energy and trade. This narrow waterway, through which roughly a quarter of the world’s maritime oil passes, has become a flashpoint that is shaking markets, unsettling supply chains, and threatening to plunge the global economy into recession. The conflict’s ripple effects extend far beyond the Middle East, touching everything from...

Botswana’s fiscal ambitions for the 2026/27 financial year are as bold as they are necessary. The Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) has been tasked with collecting a staggering P65.1 billion in tax revenue, a figure that is set to cover 70 percent of the government’s expenditure and represent 80 percent of its total revenue. This target, announced by the acting commissioner general of BURS, Phodiso Valashia at the Tax Pitso this week, underscores the critical...