Tehran-based media portray Donald Trump’s two-day visit to Beijing as a noisy, high-visibility trip that delivered little concrete progress on Iran or the crisis around the Strait of Hormuz, despite fanfare over trade understandings and political symbolism. According to Nournews, which reflects an Iranian establishment perspective, China stuck to its familiar script of calling for de-escalation, dialogue and an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East, while carefully avoiding any binding commitment to use its leverage on Tehran or to join a U.S.-led plan to reopen Hormuz. From Tehran’s vantage point, the visit confirmed that Washington cannot easily marshal Beijing into a pressure front against Iran, even when the Strait of Hormuz is closed and more than 1,500 vessels are waiting for passage, roiling global energy markets. The Iranian reading underscores that for all Trump’s claims of “important” industrial and trade deals, nothing on paper indicates a Chinese pledge to “act on Iran,” a...
Turkey’s education authorities have rolled out sweeping changes to state‑approved school textbooks ahead of the 2026–2027 academic year, replacing long‑standing historical and geographical terms with language that officials describe as more “national” and ideologically aligned with the country’s conservative‑nationalist outlook. The revisions, introduced under the “Türkiye Yüzyılı Maarif Modeli” (Turkey‑Century Education Model), are among the most extensive in recent years and have already drawn regional attention and criticism. One of the most discussed changes is the replacement of the term “Bizans” (Byzantium) with “Doğu Roma İmparatorluğu” (Eastern Roman Empire) across history courses. The move effectively reframes the medieval Christian empire centered on Constantinople as a continuation of the Roman world rather than a discrete “Byzantine” entity, a shift that also resonates with nationalist narratives emphasizing Anatolia’s layered but predominantly “Turkish” historical identity...