Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

In February 2026, the United States and Israel initiated a war in the Middle East against Iran. Since then, the warring sides have oscillated between strikes, a fragile ceasefire, and the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz. Open hostilities resumed in mid-July. More recently, the Houthis in Yemen have threatened Saudi shipping through the Bab al-Mandab, raising the risk to shipping through that critical waterway.For the first webinar of The Atlantic Brief, War on the Rocks and the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) present a dialogue on the Strait of Hormuz and the future of free navigation, exploring the consequences…

Bottom lines up front KATHMANDU—Over the past two years, both Bangladesh and Nepal have undergone intense political upheaval that has ushered in new governments. In Bangladesh, youth-led protests ousted the long-ruling prime minister, paving the way for an interim administration and elections. Nepal experienced its own Gen Z-driven protests and rapid government reshuffling, culminating in the election of Prime Minister Balendra Shah. And there’s another striking parallel. In both cases, the incoming governments quickly made it a priority to revisit a decision their predecessors had repeatedly deferred: whether to graduate from the United Nations’ least developed country (LDC) status as…

Uros Medic had no shortage of criticism for Ian Machado Garry’s views. For context, during a recent appearance on High Performance, Garry praised the influence his wife has had on him and said he believes the world would be a better place if it were run by women. “If the world was run by women, we’d all live in a better world,” Garry said. “It would all be simpler and easier. That’s the fact of the matter—whether you want to agree with it or not. If women ruled the world, and we just listened to them and let them take…

Andrew and Tristan Tate are experiencing some difficulties in jail after being arrested earlier this month outside of a Jon Jones-promoted bare knuckle event in Miami, Florida.In case you missed it, the controversial Tate brothers were raided right before the combat sports event on July 18. They were taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service on a sealed warrant, as U.K. police seek their extradition on a combined total of 59 charges related to allegations of rape, sex trafficking, and indecent images of a child.The unexpected arrest video can be seen HERE.Unfortunately for the Tate brothers, things have not…

Welcome to Midnight Mania!Let’s start the night off by taking a look back over the three biggest stories of Friday, July 31, 2026.Like it or not, Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz in MMA would be the main event of 2027.Get Daniel Rodriguez in the next UFC game … and how about a cameo on an LA episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives too?!?Just leaving these here, surely a coincidence …Dustin Jacoby confirms he broke his arm in his loss at UFC Abu Dhabi (X-Ray images in the final slides).An important update on Ilia Topuria’s face:Undefeated Brazilian debutant Michael Oliveira is…

FORT A.P. Hill, Va. — As the war in Ukraine and ongoing global conflicts demonstrate, the rapid proliferation of agile, armed unmanned aircraft systems has fundamentally transformed modern warfare. In direct alignment with the Secretary of War’s guiding principles of urgency, speed, efficiency, competition and lethality, the U.S. Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Center is taking a leading role in ensuring our forces maintain absolute battlefield overmatch. By driving collaboration with defense technology developers, the center is rapidly delivering next-generation capabilities that will protect warfighters against these evolving lethal threats. In May the Center executed its…

Dutch bodybuilder, Wesley Vissers is hoping to follow up his Arnold Classic victory by winning the Classic Physique title at the 2026 Olympia and has recently shared a straight-forward workout for building his upper body. The plan, which is designed to add mass to his chest, triceps, and shoulders, “isn’t that difficult” to master, shared The Dutch Oak in a recent Instagram post. That’s because for every workout, this competitor makes sure that the exercises “match up with actually building muscle.” Still, if trying this session out for yourself, be prepared to get your sweat on as you dig for…

What’s the difference between a fighter and a martial artist? I want to avoid a frustrating back and forth based on semantics. Instead, I want to explore the difference between these two labels by looking a bit deeper and examining what each might mean for the bigger picture of a person’s life. On the surface, a fighter is someone who fights and a martial artist is someone who practices martial arts. What else is there to it? What else distinguishes these two identities from one another? Also, which one are you – a fighter, or a martial artist? The Main…

Dive Brief: Amazon released its 2025 sustainability report this month, showing that its absolute carbon emissions increased 16% in 2025. The report found that the tech and e-commerce company’s emissions increased across the board in 2025. Amazon’s scope 1 emissions increased 2%, its scope 2 emissions — from purchased electricity — jumped 34% and its scope 3 emissions rose 20% in 2025 from 2024, according to the report. The company also found that its carbon intensity increased slightly, though it remains below a 2019 baseline. The artificial intelligence buildout and its related data center expansion also pushed emissions higher at…

31 July 2026 – Rheinmetall has secured a contract for a key project for the British Armed Forces. Among other items, the company will supply the weapon systems for the British Army’s RCH 155 wheeled howitzers. A corresponding supply contract was awarded to Rheinmetall in the second quarter of 2026. The contract value is in the low three-digit million-euro range.  The RCH 155 wheeled howitzer is a product of ARTEC GmbH, which is procured by both Germany and the United Kingdom. ARTEC is a joint venture between Rheinmetall and KNDS Deutschland, whose shareholders act as subcontractors. In May 2026, the…