The World
Embargo /əmˈbärɡō/
Asia /
(Apr) U.S. Secretary of Defense visits Japan, while revealing schedule of joint War games to be run in Pacific.
(Apr) India and Pakistan halt trade, as each blames the other for a terrorist attack in Kashmir killing 26 Hindu’s.
(May) Pakistani tensions with Afghani Taliban, forces 100,000 civilians to be returned to Afghanistan.
Africa and Middle East /
(Apr) Gabon elects President Brice Oligui Nguema, following 2023’s coup to ousting the Bongo Family Dynasty
(Apr) Military junta leaders of Burkina Faso thwart coup attempt from former soldiers based in Ivory Coast.
(May) America signs a landmark $1.2T deal with Qatar, establishes a cessation of all sanctions on Syria.
Europe /
(Apr) Germany considers withdrawing 1,200-ton gold stockpile from NYC, due to unpredictable Trump policies.
(Apr) Anonymous’ #OpRussia drops 10TB on U.S. businesses operating in Russia, and Kremlin assets in the West.
(May) Russia moves 2,000 soldiers near Finnish border, while heavily invested in Romanian elections outcome.
Sport & Combat
Lord Stanley’s Mug
May 13th 2025 (Toronto, Canada)
The Stanley Cup (Le Coupe Stanley) is the annually celebrated award for the National Hockey League (NHL) Playoff winner.
The Cup was commissioned in 1892, and named after Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor General of Canada. Each year the winning team, and its selected members, are engraved onto the five-band barrel. The Cup will remain in the team’s possession, until the next winners are determined, which has resulted in many misadventures for the Cup over the years with many young hockey players.
As the NHL season comes to an end each March, the winners and drawers are stacked up. The President’s Trophy winner is the highest points earner in the season, and is faced up against the lowest challenger in the first round. Ironically, the seasonal winners often end up cursed, ladened with playoff pressure, they rarely end up as the playoff champions.
Playoff hockey is a different game from the games played during the season. As the NHL teams enter the four round, best-of-seven series tournament, they fight to earn entry to the Stanley Cup finals. Each round two teams, backed by their city fanbase, battle it out over 2 weeks, wearing one another down and exposing each other’s weaknesses.
To many folks, Hockey is considered Canada’s sport, especially with more than 50% of the players in the NHL coming from leagues out of Canada. However, all of the Stanley Cup winners in the 21st century are American teams, with Champions spread across the original 6 teams and newer franchises in Sunbelt and the West Coast.
Only in mid-May, it is still too early to tell if 2025 is Canada’s year?
Canada entered the Playoffs with a few strong teams, led by big names on the Edmonton Oilers, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Winnipeg Jets. The weeks of May and June will see the results play-out.
With tensions between Canada and the USA brewing over tariffs and changing political alignments, Hockey has become a point of national pride. In February 2025, when the brand-new 4 Nations Face Off series kicked off by pitting the highest rank teams in the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) the viewership was uniquely high for a new tournament. The Championship game between Canada and the USA telecast ranked in the top 5 of hockey games of all time.