World news

World news

Donald Trump has presented NATO with an existential dilemma. The U.S. president has long been attacking the military organization. He has even gone so far as to question its very core, its fundamental principle: the mutual defense clause. Now, the White House's threats against Greenland, an autonomous territory that is part of Denmark a NATO member like the United States without ruling out military action, could shatter the transatlantic alliance on which Europe has relied for its security since the end of World War II.

The North Korean military tracked the drone "moving northwards" over South Korea's Ganghwa county, one of the closest territories to the North, Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) cited a spokesman for the Korean People's Army as saying. The drone was shot down inside the North Korean airspace near the city of Kaesong after flying for 8 kilometers, the spokesperson added.

He said that the recognition was in keeping with the spirit of the Abraham Accords, referring to the United States-led initiative encouraging a number of Arab countries to normalise relations with Israel in return for diplomatic and financial concessions from the US. But Israel's recognition of Somaliland has prompted protests within Somalia and complaints from dozens of countries and organisations, including Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and the African Union.

There are more signs that the United States is disengaging from the global order established after World War II. President Donald Trump has ordered his administration to pull out of more than 60 agencies, half of them part of the United Nations. Trump argues that being a member of these organisations is contrary to his country's interests. The secretary of state went as far as saying they're useless or wasteful.

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro has stressed the importance of having open lines of communication with the United States despite President Donald Trump's recent threats of military action against the South American country. In an interview with Al Jazeera's Teresa Bo in Colombia's capital, Bogota which aired on Friday Petro said his government is seeking to maintain cooperation on combating narcotics with Washington, striking a softer tone following days of escalating rhetoric.

Gustavo Petro thought this past week that at any moment an assault force could land on the roof of the Casa de Narino, the Colombian presidential residence, and burst into his office. He doesn't have a bunker to run to, as Nicolas Maduro tried to do a week ago before he was captured and placed on a helicopter bound for the United States. The 65-year-old Colombian president felt threatened by Donald Trump's insinuations that something similar could happen to him.

Coromoto Escalona, a 35-year-old woman, was preparing her baby's feeding bottle when she heard some strange noises in the house. It was two o'clock in the morning. She wondered whether the fridge had broken down, since it sometimes made strange noises when it was damaged. Her eldest daughter, who was scrolling on WhatsApp, shouted from her room: Mum, they're bombing us.

Markets are operating in a fragmented geopolitical environment where security concerns increasingly shape trade, investment, and technology policy. Geopolitical tensions, supply chains disruptions, and intense competition in areas such as artificial intelligence are influencing where capital flows and how risks are priced. Although US growth remains relatively strong, it exists alongside ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, stubborn services inflation, and uneven global policy direction.

Two meetings, held almost simultaneously towards the end of December, offered a stark illustration of the competing strategic visions now shaping the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. In Damascus, Turkiye's foreign, defence and intelligence chiefs met Syrian officials on December 22 as Ankara continued to prioritise the consolidation of state authority and stabilisation after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria.

On Saturday, United States military forces carried out a dramatic strike in Venezuela that resulted in the capture and forcible removal of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. They were flown to New York and are now in federal custody. Maduro appeared in federal court on drug and weapons charges and pleaded not guilty. Several governments, international legal experts and United Nations officials have described the military operation as an illegal kidnapping and a breach of international law.

US Southern Command said in a statement that Marines and sailors, working in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and captured the tanker, Olina, "without incident." It appears to be the first time that the US has directly acknowledged the Ford's involvement in the five boarding and seizure operations that began in early December. However, the government has indicated that the carrier was used for at least one of the other missions.

A coalition of Bay Area environmental groups are planning to protest at Chevron's Richmond refinery and a Berkeley Chevron station this weekend to oppose the Trump administration's actions in Venezuela and the company's role in contributing to pollution in Richmond. The corporate giant is the only U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela and is poised to benefit from the U.S. intervention there.

A few hours later, the first group of wounded people from Malekshahi those who could not be treated at home were rushed to the hospital where Shirin works. "More than 40 injured people, covered in blood, were brought to us," the 38-year-old recalled. "Most had been shot in the upper body neck, chest, shoulders. Two of them died on the way here. Two young men."

Dozens of authors, journalists, media personalities and a sponsor are boycotting the Adelaide festival after it dumped Palestinian Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah from its annual writers' week lineup, citing concerns over cultural sensitivity in the wake of the Bondi terror attack. More speakers were expected to withdraw from the festival, with speculation that other high-profile figures were coordinating their exit announcements.

Even more influencers than usual are flocking to Dubai this weekend for the 1 Billion Followers Summit that will take over the city's financial district, the Museum of the Future, and government hub Emirates Towers. Touted as the world's largest gathering for content creators, the three-day event kicked off Friday with 30,000 attendees expected - including YouTuber MrBeast, Republican figurehead Lara Trump, and Dubai resident and former soccer star Rio Ferdinand.

Living with cancer for six years, Naim had been approved for treatment abroad. But like thousands of others, he remains trapped in Gaza, barred from leaving by tightening Israeli restrictions. I used to receive treatment in the West Bank and Jerusalem, Naim told Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum. Today, I cannot access any treatment at all. I need radiotherapy, and it no longer exists in Gaza.

Argentina has repaid the funds it drew from a $20 billion credit line with the Trump administration, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Friday, in a crucial step for Argentine President Javier Milei to restore confidence in his chronically distressed economy. In addition to making payments to bondholders, Milei's radical libertarian administration had "quickly and fully repaid its limited draw," Bessent said, without specifying the amount.

In an interview with the Guardian, Richard Hermer, the government's most senior law officer and a close ally of Keir Starmer, said that in a complicated and dangerous world, leaders should be able to use statecraft to consider other factors when establishing whether to hold allies to account. In his first public comments since Britain's reaction to the US attack on Venezuela and threats toward Greenland, Hermer refrained from singling out the Trump administration,

After acknowledging that maintaining this link currently requires great patience and diplomatic courage, in an implicit reference to the unpredictable and arbitrary behavior of U.S. President Donald Trump, Felipe VI stressed that it is an indispensable framework [] that emerged from the ashes of the Second World War and has fostered the flourishing of democracies, stability, growth, and the development of multilateralism.