Captain Raman Kapoor was loading oil at an Iraqi port when word reached him that the United States and Iran were at war. Within hours, his tanker was trapped north of the Strait of Hormuz with 24 crew members aboard, as missiles began arcing across the sky overhead. “We were stuck inside the war zone and everyone was so scared and clueless about what to do,” Kapoor, 48, recalled. “We all felt so trapped. We were helpless, totally helpless.” He and his crew would stay that way for 75 days. The...

Nisa Mohd did not send her daughter to boarding school unprepared. Before the now 17-year-old left for Melaka, her mother enrolled her in silat, the Malay martial art, and made one instruction clear: report any trouble immediately. She still watches for shifts in her daughter’s mood each time they speak. Millions of parents across Malaysia recognise her vigilance, with the country still following the inquest into the death last year of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir and a steady succession of...