During the reign of Al-Walid I, Muslim armies led by Tariq bin Ziyad (Spain) and Muhammad bin Qasim (Sindh) expanded the empire significantly.

It is claimed by China (Zhongsha) and Taiwan, and parts are contested by the Philippines.

The transfer sparked protests in Egypt, as many considered the islands Egyptian, though the government argued they were Saudi territory under Egyptian administration.

Russia attempted to build a dam to the island in the Kerch Strait, sparking a crisis with Ukraine long before the 2014 annexation.

Russian-backed separatists declared independence in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, leading to the war in Donbas starting in 2014.

Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 following a disputed referendum, a move condemned by the UN.

It provides the shortest maritime route between Europe and the lands lying around the Indian and western Pacific oceans.

Narendra Modi has been the Prime Minister of India since 2014.

Fukuyama argued that the end of the Cold War marked the endpoint of mankind's ideological evolution, a thesis largely contested by the rise of authoritarian powers in a multipolar world.

Russia's suspension turned the G8 back into the G7, isolating Russia from the bloc of industrialized Western democracies.