The Week That Shaped the World: 9–16 May 2025

1.The Throne Shifts West: A New Pope, A New World Church

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. Not yet, and certainly not like this. When Robert Francis Prevost emerged from behind the curtain as Pope Leo XIV, many in the European press called it a footnote. But history doesn’t always knock — sometimes it slips in the back door. The first American-Peruvian pontiff didn’t bring fireworks, but he didn’t need to. With a smile and three swift appointments from Latin America, he quietly flipped the compass of global Catholicism.

Rome, of course, remains the stage. But the script now reads like it was ghostwritten in Spanish — and edited in Washington. The symbolism wasn’t lost on anyone watching closely: a pope from the New World, rising at a time when Europe’s spiritual authority feels brittle, performative, and increasingly irrelevant.

Leo XIV isn’t a doctrinal innovator. He’s a manager, a message man, a pragmatic shepherd for a fragmented flock. Gone is the poetic ambiguity of Francis — replaced with the logistics of global influence. Social justice, not mysticism. Representation, not Rome. And perhaps that’s the point. In a world where secularism has replaced saints, the Church isn’t trying to inspire anymore — it’s trying to remain.

For Washington, it’s a comfortable arrangement. Leo XIV won’t challenge American foreign policy the way his predecessor did. He’s not likely to quote Laudato Si’ in front of defense contractors. In fact, if the Holy Father ever falls ill, it’s comforting to know that Donald Trump already has a closet full of white robes and a gift for pageantry.

"It’s not that the Vatican lost power — it simply outsourced the job. And in America, even salvation has a supply chain."

2.The Empire Without a Flag: Trump’s Middle East Tour Redraws the Map of Power

It began as a trade mission and ended as something far more ambitious. Over four days, Donald Trump crisscrossed the Gulf, shaking hands with monarchs, signing contracts with tech lords, and declaring the age of soft-power diplomacy officially closed. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE didn’t just host him — they embraced him. And more importantly, they signed.

The headline figure — $843 billion in deals — tells only part of the story. The real news is in the architecture Trump is quietly building: a post-liberal axis of influence rooted in weapons, semiconductors, and selective silence. Riyadh will police the perimeter. Doha will speak to both sides. Abu Dhabi will code the infrastructure. And in the centre? Not America as a nation, but Trump as a brand.

What emerged was not a coalition of democracies or a shared vision of peace. It was a network of entitlements, traded access, and digitised loyalty. In this world, diplomacy isn’t about shared values — it’s about useful relationships. Forget rules. Think rewards. Forget stability. Think manageability.

Critics called it transactional. They weren’t wrong. But they missed the scale. Trump isn’t just selling America — he’s subcontracting the empire. The irony? It’s working. While Brussels drafts memos and Beijing plays the long game, Trump delivers jets, AI chips, and zero questions.

"The old empires conquered with flags. This one does it with invoices — and a customer loyalty programme."

3.The Quiet Proposal: Turkey Hosts Ghost Talks Between Kyiv and Moscow

Some deals are signed in daylight. Others are whispered in lobbies. This week, Ankara became the unlikely venue for a diplomatic séance — not quite peace talks, not quite theatre, but something that looked like the start of a strategic exhale. Zelensky extended a proposal. Putin didn’t laugh — he sent a delegation.

No summit. No red carpets. But the choreography told its own story. For the first time in months, both sides acknowledged the other’s presence without artillery. That, in itself, was a signal. In war, acknowledgment is a currency. And right now, both Kyiv and Moscow are testing the exchange rate.

Turkey, perched awkwardly between East and West, is playing host like an old spy who knows all the exits. Erdoğan didn’t push — he listened. He gave them rooms, interpreters, and plausible deniability. And in doing so, he became relevant again. Not as a powerbroker, but as a platform.

What came out of the meetings? Nothing, officially. But unofficially — a shift. When war becomes routine, even a pause looks like movement. And right now, any movement that doesn’t involve troop formations is something to watch.

"Some wars end with signatures. Others with shrugs. And sometimes, the shrug is the best anyone can hope for."

4.Kargil Echoes: Indo-Pak Clashes Spark Fears of the Unthinkable

The subcontinent has a way of reminding the world that history doesn’t repeat — it just loads the same weapons. This week, India struck a Pakistani airbase in response to a bombing in Pahalgam. Pakistan mobilised. Missiles were moved. Airspace narrowed.

Officially, both sides insisted on restraint. Unofficially, they rehearsed something else entirely. Satellite images caught mobilisations not seen since the Kargil conflict. Open-source analysts tracked the repositioning of nuclear-capable assets. And still, the international community nodded politely and looked away.

Kashmir has always been the unfinished sentence in South Asia’s geopolitical grammar. This week, someone added a comma — not yet a full stop, but enough to shift the tone. For India’s Modi, it was a moment to project control. For Pakistan’s generals, a chance to remind their public they still matter.

What’s dangerous isn’t just the weapons. It’s the familiarity. Both countries have done this dance before. And like any old waltz, it gets riskier when no one’s paying attention. Because when everyone assumes it’s all performance, someone eventually slips.

"If you keep playing brinkmanship long enough, the brink forgets it’s supposed to hold."

5.Countdown to Tehran: Will Israel Strike Before the Leaves Fall?

It’s the question that’s haunted every intelligence briefing this week: are we days, weeks, or hours away from an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities? The signs are there. Drone flights, coded statements, strategic leaks — and a sudden quietness from Washington, which is often the loudest signal of all.

Netanyahu doesn’t need permission. But he likes a nod. And if Biden’s White House is nodding now, it’s behind two sets of curtains and a plausible alibi. Meanwhile, the IDF rehearses the same operations it’s pretended not to have rehearsed for a decade. The warheads may still be underground — but the choreography is visible from space.

Iran, for its part, issues the usual bluster. But their moves betray concern. Some enrichment has slowed. Defensive installations have shifted. The Revolutionary Guard is on edge — not because it fears a full war, but because it knows Israel prefers the kind that doesn’t get declared.

What follows such a strike is never linear. Retaliation isn’t guaranteed — but reprisals are almost always improvisational. Hezbollah? Cyber attacks? Oil infrastructure? The options are many, and the point is unpredictability.

"Some wars are announced. Others are curated. And the deadliest ones come with no trailer — just the credits."

6.Tariff Truce Ignites Market Rally, but Caution Remains

Markets love a good pause, even if it’s only a breath between punches. This week, the U.S. and China agreed to a 90-day reduction in tariffs — a temporary ceasefire in their economic chess match. Stocks responded like a student after final exams: euphoric, overconfident, and already making holiday plans.

The Dow spiked more than 1,100 points. The S&P 500 gained over 3%. Even the Nasdaq — the most jittery of the lot — found a spring in its step. But beneath the green arrows was something more fragile: disbelief wrapped in momentum. Because the issues that caused the tariffs? Still there. The structural rift? Still yawning. But money, as ever, prefers a good story to a complicated one.

Wall Street cheered. Beijing smiled politely. And in Washington, officials spoke of "progress" with the kind of tone usually reserved for dental work. But insiders know: this isn’t détente. It’s delay. The U.S. economy may have needed the boost, but the world’s two largest economies haven’t suddenly found common ground — just a common lull.

As earnings roll in and global supply chains rewire themselves, the smart money isn’t celebrating — it’s hedging. Betting not on harmony, but on volatility managed with expensive software and selective memory.

"Call it a ceasefire if you like — just don’t forget which side still keeps its hand on the lever."

7.Walmart Hikes Prices Despite Record Profits

It’s the kind of sentence that writes itself, and yet still manages to land like a punch: Walmart made billions — and raised prices anyway. The world’s largest retailer reported blowout earnings this week, then promptly warned that consumer prices would climb due to “ongoing tariff pressures.”

Investors frowned. Consumers winced. But executives? They shrugged. Because in the age of perpetual inflation, price hikes aren’t sins — they’re strategy. And strategy, when cloaked in economic jargon, has a remarkable way of sounding inevitable.

To be fair, Walmart didn’t invent the game — they’ve just perfected it. Costs rise, forecasts stay vague, margins widen, and somehow the customer ends up paying both for the problem and the solution. The company didn’t issue profit guidance either, choosing instead to let the numbers speak. And they did — in a language only shareholders truly understand.

The irony is, even as consumers feel squeezed, they keep shopping. Brand loyalty? Not really. It’s proximity and price-per-ounce. And in a market built on fatigue and familiarity, Walmart remains the supermarket of last resort.

"Inflation used to be a thief. Now it’s an employee — paid hourly and trained in customer service."

8.UnitedHealth Under Fire: DOJ Investigates Medicare Fraud

One of the most powerful players in American healthcare woke up this week to a very unwelcome knock. The Department of Justice opened a formal investigation into UnitedHealth Group over alleged Medicare fraud. The company’s stock dipped. Its forecasts were suspended. And somewhere in Washington, a whiteboard was filled with arrows and acronyms.

The probe centers on the company’s Medicare Advantage division — a program meant to help retirees but often criticised for its opacity and profit margins. UnitedHealth denies wrongdoing. Analysts, however, have seen this movie before.

What makes this moment different isn’t just the investigation. It’s the atmosphere. After years of pandemic-era scrutiny and post-COVID realignment, the healthcare industry finds itself less revered and more audited. Public trust is brittle. Political patience is shorter. And when regulators arrive, they’re no longer guests — they’re coroners.

To be clear, nothing has been proven. But perception is its own courtroom. And the sight of a medical giant stumbling is enough to shift investor sentiment, policy debates, and maybe even campaign trail soundbites.

"The Hippocratic Oath says do no harm. It doesn’t mention quarterly targets."

9.$2.4 Billion Shake-Up: Dick’s to Acquire Foot Locker

It was the kind of deal that made Wall Street blink, then calculate, then blink again. Dick’s Sporting Goods announced it would acquire Foot Locker for $2.4 billion — a surprise marriage of two bruised giants in the age of Amazon and athleisure.

On the surface, the logic works. Both companies face falling foot traffic, rising online competition, and the creeping suspicion that Gen Z prefers brands that exist solely on TikTok. Together, they’ll try to carve out a consolidated identity — part nostalgia, part logistics play, part Hail Mary.

Investors weren’t fully sold. Dick’s shares dropped 10% on the news, while Foot Locker soared more than 80%. Mergers may be strategic, but markets remain romantic — and they hate desperation. Still, analysts see a path forward if the new entity can pivot fast, integrate cleanly, and deliver the one thing customers still care about: stuff that fits, ships, and doesn’t fall apart.

This isn’t just a business story. It’s a retail parable. Two titans once built on malls and marketing now hoping to survive in a world run by algorithms, influencers, and overnight delivery.

"If reinvention is the brand, then failure is the beta test — and someone still has to pay for shipping."

10.Oil Prices Dip as Iran Deal Speculations Swell

Markets are emotional creatures — and this week, they caught a scent of diplomacy. Oil prices dropped over $2 per barrel amid speculation that Washington and Tehran may be inching closer to a new nuclear agreement. Nothing confirmed. Nothing denied. Just the kind of rumour that moves billions.

The logic is simple: fewer sanctions mean more Iranian oil. More oil means lower prices. Lower prices mean smiling economists and grumbling petro-states. But beneath the math is a deeper tension: the geopolitics of hope. Because every time a camera pans across Vienna or Geneva, traders dare to believe in handshakes — if only for a quarter.

This week’s dip reflected more than barrels — it measured belief. That diplomacy, even the rumoured kind, can shift markets faster than supply chains or military exercises. And it’s true. Perception is power. Futures are feelings with spreadsheets.

Still, no deal has been announced. And officials from both sides are playing coy. Tehran insists it won’t accept “conditions of humiliation,” while U.S. spokespeople continue to speak in that peculiar dialect of optimism that means everything and nothing. Meanwhile, OPEC watches nervously from the wings, aware that too much peace can be as disruptive as too little.

Traders, naturally, remain alert. Any tweet, misquote, or diplomatic detour could push prices back up. For now, the market is floating — not on fundamentals, but on potential. Which, as any oil analyst will tell you, is the slipperiest substance of all.

"Oil doesn’t fear war. It fears peace — because peace floods the market."