Search

Five charts that show the rise of global militarisation

2025, reflecting its ongoing conflict with Russia. The chart below shows the 10 highest increases in spending over the past 20 years. ![INTERACTIVE-Global military

Nuclear risks rise as powers expand and modernise arsenals: SIPRI study

2025, SIPRI said the countries’ “extensive” modernisation programmes “seem likely to increase the size and diversity of their arsenals in the future”. The institute also said it expected the steady drop in the global nuclear

Iran war’s big winners: Wall Street, weapons firms, AI and green energy

2025. The returns are so high that US federal regulators have pledged to crack down on insider trading in prediction markets following suspiciously well-timed bets on Iran war outcomes. ## Aerospace and defence Unsurprisingly

US-China head-to-head: Explained in 11 maps and charts

2025, while China spent $336bn or 1.7 percent according to estimated figures. Together, the US and China make up more than half of the world’s total military spending. The US holds a clear advantage

‘Iron brothers’: How China and Pakistan built an unlikely 75-year bond

2025 and another $3.4bn in June that year. For every dollar Pakistan earns from selling to China, it spends more than seven dollars buying Chinese goods. Zhou Rong, director of the Global South Studies

‘A stress test’: US-Germany rift widens as Iran-war drags on

military independence. Berlin has announced its intention to field the strongest conventional army on the continent by 2039. Defence spending has risen from 47 billion euros ($55bn) – approximately 1.3 percent

Saudi Arabia posts $33.5bn budget deficit amid drop in oil sales

Spending on general items rose 46 percent, while the military, infrastructure and transport each saw a 26 percent gain in expenditures. Non-oil revenues rose by 2 percent, partly offsetting the drop in commodities sales

K-pop’s BTS comeback tour rallies South Korea’s global ‘soft power’ drive

spend the night at a South Korean jjimjilbang, a 24-hour bathhouse, after every hotel near central Seoul sold out in late March. But sleep was secondary for the 32-year-old Filipino

‘Turbulent and dangerous’: How shipping is the new global battleground

military – there is nothing new there, but what has changed is the scale, the volume of containers, the size of the global fleet,” said Jean-Paul Rodrigue, professor at the maritime business administration department

Trump’s threat: Why cutting US troops in Europe won’t be easy

military personnel have been stationed in Italy since the end of World War II and comprise Army, Navy and Air Force divisions. DMDC data shows that Italy hosted 12,662 active-duty soldiers

Can Japan’s arms industry gain from Trump trust loss?

spending to 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Under the new budget, more than 970 billion yen ($6.2bn) is earmarked to enhance Japan’s “standoff” missile capabilities. This includes 177 billion

Why Europe’s car industry is at the centre of a new US trade war

spend an extra $750bn on US energy products, invest $600bn in the US and buy military equipment worth “hundreds of billions of dollars”. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had said the agreement would

Australian military plane to join efforts to reopen strait of Hormuz, as Marles leaves door open to sending more assets

2025–26 to provide the Amraams to the UAE “for use in self‑defence”. The Wall Street Journal reported the UAE had [secretly launched a major attack on Iran during the conflict](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/12/uae-secret-attack-iran-risks-gulf-states-regional-conflict),

First Thing: US indicts former Cuban president Raúl Castro as it seeks to oust regime

military aggression against Cuba”. ## **Israeli security minister stirs diplomatic outrage with flotilla activist abuse video** Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has sparked a diplomatic crisis by publishing footage of [Israeli

Trump says pilots are fine after U.S. helicopter crashes near Strait of Hormuz

global economy, driven up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive. Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict. Trump

Lebanon and Syria reshape ties amid Israeli attacks and regional shifts

military offensive that toppled his predecessor. The complicated relationship between Lebanon and Syria dates back to their foundation as modern nations. While Mount Lebanon as a region had a degree of local autonomy under

China’s BYD aims to be world’s biggest car firm within five years

globally in terms of ​scale in five years,” he said at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in Shenzhen. Overnight the company announced plans to spend nearly £1.8bn in Europe to develop infrastructure

Turkiye unveils its first intercontinental ballistic missile: What we know

global security scenario. “These conflicts and wars have provided very critical data for security doctrine while also increasing our responsibilities,” Guler said. German Marshall Fund’s Unluhisarcikli said the volatility in the region

European countries emerge as NATO leaders as U.S. role recedes

spending, procurement decisions and the future structure of the alliance itself. With that in mind, here are four signs that NATO's future is entering its most uncertain period since the Cold War. Loading

First Thing: Trump warns ‘clock is ticking’ for Iran to secure peace deal

spending cuts bill, helping to force the justice department to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, and insisting on congressional oversight over the military actions in Venezuela and Iran. Now he faces a bruising primary against