Explainer

Explainer

The United Nations headquarters building is pictured with a UN logo in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, March 1, 2022. File Photo: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

United Nations: History, structure and efforts to reform global body

The United Nations officially came into existence on October 24, 1945, after the Charter was ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States, along with a...

A Taiwanese flag flutters near a Land-Based TC-2 surface-to-air missile launch vehicle during a short-range air defense drill as part of the annual Han Kuang military exercise, in Taoyuan, Taiwan, August 8, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Cheng-Chia Huang/File Photo

Why is Taiwan such an important issue for China?

An Israeli tank takes position near the ceasefire line between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria, on the Israeli side. Photo: Reuters

What is behind Israel's reported military shortages?

An aerial view of the Virgo Transport 8 passenger ship that capsized in Indonesia's Java sea, September 13, 2026, in this still image taken from video. Photo: BASARNAS/Handout via REUTERS

Ferry and passenger boat accidents in Southeast Asia

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?

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?