World politics

World politics

At their disposal are mainly three options: The use of the so-called "trade bazooka" a never-before-used instrument that could even go as far as restricting market access for US companies in the EU. The implementation of retaliatory tariffs. The suspension of the EU-US trade deal, which has yet to come into effect. EU heads of state and government will meet for a summit on Thursday a dinner cobbled together in haste to coordinate which of those options the bloc will use in response to Trump's threats.

The abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by the United States military and the subsequent threats by Washington to intervene in Iran during its recent upheaval have generated a tide of enthusiasm in hawkish pro-Ukraine circles in the West. If Moscow's allies are weakened, then Russia also gets weaker, the simplistic logic goes. Although he criticised US interventionism in the past, US President Donald Trump is newly infected with the regime change fever once spread by his Democratic predecessors.

A Spirit of Dialogue: the theme for this year's World Economic Forum, the gathering of the global elite in the sparkling Alpine air of Davos, seems a heroic stretch, when star guest Donald Trump has spent the past year smashing up the world order. The president will touch down alongside the snowcapped Swiss mountains with the largest US delegation ever seen at the WEF.

Myanmar's military-backed political party has extended its lead after the second round of voting, according to official figures from the country's election body, and the country now heads into the final phase of its three-stage general election amid widespread conflict. The latest data published on Friday indicates that the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is on track to win 182 seats from the combined first and second phases of voting, more than half of the seats in the country's 330-member lower house.

Yemen's Saudi-backed presidential leadership council has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Salem bin Breik and appointed Foreign Minister Shaya Mohsin al-Zindani as the country's new prime minister, the state news agency Saba has reported. Bin Breik formally submitted the resignation, which was approved by the council, before Zindani was named to form the next cabinet, Saba said on Thursday.

Naef was clear as to the reason for the government's failure a lack of unity and clear command structure. For years, government soldiers and other anti-Houthi fighters have adhered to conflicting agendas across the country, with many of the fighters in the south supporting the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC). A solution to that division, Naef thought, was far-fetched. However, more recently, things have changed.

A flag is certain the wind admires it -the breeze flaunting it so its crowns, leaves, crosses, bands of colour, or stars float in air, ready to be honoured, deferred to. In turn the flag at times pats the wind streaming past, confirming they stand together, believing the wind thinks of itself as Tunisian wind orAmerican wind. To people who live under the flag open in its glory, or relaxed against

The National Congress approved a legislative decree ordering the National Electoral Council to count the votes and tally sheets from the November 30 elections. The measure was passed with the participation of only 69 pro-government lawmakers and their allies. Castro supported the initiative and argued that electoral authorities had unjustifiably refused to scrutinize 4,774 tally sheets, representing the votes of 1,558,689 citizens.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Oman urged Donald Trump not to launch airstrikes against Iran in a last-minute lobbying campaign prompted by fears that an attack by Washington would lead to a major and intractable conflict across the Middle East. The warnings of chaos from the longstanding US allies appear to have helped persuade Trump late on Wednesday to hold off for the moment on a military assault.

Donald Trump is threatening to take over Greenland, the territory of a Nato ally, possibly by military force, as Vladimir Putin is trying to take over Ukraine. Even if he doesn't actually do it, this is a new era: a post-western world of illiberal international disorder. The task now for liberal democracies in general, and Europe in particular, is twofold: to see this world as it is and to work out what the hell we're going to do about it.

A year after Donald Trump's return to the White House, a global survey suggests much of the world believes his nation-first, Make America Great Again approach is instead helping to make China great again. The 21-country survey for the influential European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) thinktank also found that under Trump, the US is less feared by its traditional adversaries, while its allies particularly in Europe feel ever more distant.

Transcendent moments in geopolitics that reverberate around the world are no longer just forged in the streets or inside situation rooms. They are increasingly engineered in the digital sphere, where actors, often with a self-serving agenda, compete to control the narrative, define its meaning and decide who speaks for whom. In recent weeks as protests erupted in Iranian cities, the hashtag #FreeThePersianPeople trended on X.

On Sunday, the Syrian government declared it had taken control over the areas Aleppo previously under the control of the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF. And the Kurdish forces announced they were pulling back. During the fighting, buildings were destroyed, at least two dozen people were killed and reports say that more than 140,000 people were displaced. But then on Tuesday this week, the Syrian government accused the Kurdish paramilitary of regrouping

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on Palestine, has accused Israel of treating Palestinian lives as expendable, linking the hellish impact of a deadly winter storm in Gaza directly to the deliberate destruction of the enclave's infrastructure. Speaking to Al Jazeera Arabic on Tuesday as a deep weather depression pummelled the Gaza Strip, killing at least seven children, Albanese said the weather disaster had exposed the depth of Israel's disregard for civilian survival.

The new body is part of the White House's 20-point plan to end the war between Israel and Hamas. It is expected to temporarily oversee the running of Gaza, manage its reconstruction, and be made up of world leaders. UK diplomats are seeking more clarity from the US State Department on the role of the board and its members. Government sources told the BBC "a formal invitation has not been received and the decision has not been made".

The new year is still young, yet Donald Trump's fixation on expanding his homeland signals a troubling geopolitical shift. From Venezuela to Greenland, the world is unmistakably moving away from the relative stability of the post-cold war era not least also because of Russia's war against Ukraine. This erosion of long-established norms has severe implications for Europe, a continent whose core political philosophy is built on limiting (national) power.

The operation, illegal according to international law, marks the latest in a long history of US interventions in Latin America, often justified by Washington with claims of regional security. Many of these interventions can be traced back to the Monroe Doctrine, a foreign policy principle which despite its 19th century origins has continued to influence US foreign policy over the past 200 years.

Archaeological evidence shows that early humans, particularly hunter-gatherers, lived in small, mobile groups. These groups roamed vast landscapes in search of food and resources. Mobility was essential for survival, allowing early humans to adapt to changing environments. According to research from Our World in Data, a respected platform led by economist Max Roser, most of human history was spent in this nomadic state. This lifestyle fostered flexible social structures. Leadership was temporary, and decisions were made collectively.

The Washington Roundtable discusses Donald Trump's use of force in Venezuela, his desire to take over Greenland, and the historical echoes of the Administration's new imperialist projects. The panel also considers Trump's brand of "narcissistic unilateralism" and the increased risks of global conflict when foreign policy is based on one man's whims.

Chinese, Russian and Iranian ships were seen moving into and out of the harbour that serves South Africa's top naval base in Simon's Town, south of Cape Town, where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. It was not immediately clear if other countries from the BRICS group which also includes Brazil, India and the United Arab Emirates, among others would take part in the drills.