International news digest #5
The Left Lane’s latest international news digest includes a news of a primary defeat for a Republican critic of Donald Trump, an analysis of the ‘China threat’ narrative in the US, the heatwave in India, an assessment of the US national security strategy and the conflict in Mali.
Thomas Massey primary
On 19 May 2026, after the most expensive primary election contest in US history, Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie lost to Trump-endorsed Ed Gallrein. Massie has been a vocal critic of the war against Iran, funding for Israel and the lack of transparency around the release of the Epstein files. In this article for the Institute of Statecraft, Blaise Malley recounts the decisive influence of the AIPAC and the Zionist/Israel lobby.
The US ‘China threat’ narrative
The US and China are the largest trading blocs in the world. China is often referred to as a peer competitor of the United States and is catching up rapidly in economic terms. Competition between the two revolves around the AI/tech sector, which figured in the talks between Trump and Xi Jinping on 14-15 May. In this article for CODEPINK, Megan Russell deconstructs the forces driving the ‘China threat’ narrative in the US.
The heatwave in India
The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is on record as being a climate change sceptic. Over the last 40 days, temperatures in India have consistently exceeded 40C as global warming becomes increasingly evident. In this Al Jazeera article, Vidya Krishnan recounts how developers are still cutting down trees and the Modi government uses the heatwave as a political promotion opportunity.
An assessment of the Trump administration’s national security strategy
The US national security strategy (NSS) is a mandatory report which congress requires presidential administrations to produce shortly after taking office. In this article for the New Left Review, Richard Beck assesses the Trump administration’s NSS published last December and concludes that it’s in disarray, signalling the end of US hegemony.
The Mali conflict
The conflict in Mali has entered its 14th year and involves a number of groups opposed to the military government in Bamako. The conflict has at various times involved French, US, UN and Russian troops and has spilled over into neighbouring states such as Burkina Faso and Niger. In an informative analysis, Reuters assesses where the conflict is going and who the key groups in the conflict are.
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International editors
This article was compiled by The Left Lane's international editorial team.