World politics

World politics

In October, Hamas and Israel signed a peace deal supposedly intended to stop two years of slaughter in Gaza. Since then, more than 420 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire-an average of about four people a day-in what international mediators continue to describe as a successful de-escalation. The distance between that official narrative and the facts on the ground reveals how the language of ceasefire has been repurposed: It no longer describes a pause in violence but rather a mechanism for managing it, sanitizing ongoing military force under the guise of restraint.

Ex-players and politicians urge the ICC to step in and mend ties amid the ongoing regional cricket crisis. Pakistan's decision to boycott their T20 World Cup game against India has been termed a political move, with cricketers and politicians in both countries and around the world urging the International Cricket Council (ICC) to resolve the dispute. The Pakistani government on Sunday issued a statement saying its men's cricket team will participate in the global tournament but will not take the field in the match against archrivals India on February 15.

"Don't go!" more than one voice could be heard shouting in the packed Teatro Colón on January 24. The plea was in response to Colombian senator María José Pizarro Rodríguez's declaration that Colombia's President Gustavo Petro would be traveling to the White House on February 3 "in an act of courage." While the popular Pacto Histórico senator was mostly met with cheers and chants of the Chilean protest song, " El pueblo unido jamás será vencido,"

What's happening here is very significant, Al Jazeera's Teresa Bo reported just outside of Hasakah, adding that a convoy of 150 personnel from the Syrian military had entered the city. Where I'm standing right now, there used to be a checkpoint run by the Kurdish-led SDF, and it is now being manned by soldiers from the Syrian army. This shows just how significant this territory is: an area that has been under the control of the SDF throughout the Syrian civil war, she said.

The three countries that worked with the Trump administration on the Gaza ceasefire deal want U.S.-Iran negotiations to prevent a regional war. White House officials say Trump hasn't made a final decision on a strike against Iran and remains open to a diplomatic solution. U.S. officials say President Trump's recent comments about negotiations aren't a bluff, but the U.S. doesn't know if Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will authorize his diplomats to cut a deal that will be acceptable to the U.S.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has unveiled its annual budget, aiming for steady growth in an uncertain global economy rocked by recent tariff wars. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the budget for the 2026-2027 financial year in Parliament on Sunday, prioritising infrastructure and domestic manufacturing, with a total expenditure estimated at $583bn. India's economy has so far weathered punitive tariffs of 50 percent imposed by United States President Donald Trump over New Delhi's imports of Russian oil.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro said on Thursday that ASEAN has not endorsed the three phases of the elections that were held in Myanmar, which concluded last weekend. Lazaro was speaking after hosting ASEAN's first major ministerial meetings this year in the central Philippines city of Cebu, where the Myanmar crisis was high on the agenda. Asked in a news conference if the bloc did not recognise the elections, Lazaro said yes, as of now.

Asked by the Guardian in November in Tehran what cost benefit analysis could possibly conclude that the nuclear programme was a worthwhile project, the foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, referred to Iran's sovereign right under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, the medical benefits, and the blood of past assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists. He suggested a compromise whereby a consortium including possibly the US could enrich uranium in Iran, but insisted the principle that uranium would be enriched inside Iran remained sacrosanct.

What we're really talking about is whether it will continue as the same entity as it is now. For instance, the way apartheid South Africa was no longer the same entity after 1994, or that East Germany was the same entity after unification [in 1990]. The argument is that Israel, as it stands now, is unsustainable. And it is not so much about the way Israel treats Palestinians, but about division within Israel.

Fast forward to the present day, and Trump is threatening an even bigger attack, and backing up the threat with a large-scale movement of US military assets, including an aircraft carrier, towards Iranian waters. Trump says that these threats are his way of convincing the Iranians to agree to a deal reported to include demands to effectively end Iran's nuclear programme, limit its ballistic missile programme, and stop support for allies across the Middle East.

I spent nine years on the "wrong" side after being elected in 1984 alongside only thirty-nine other Liberals. I wanted desperately to be in government, but I found my time across the aisle very formative. I participated fully in the parliamentary experience. I was made a critic, served on committees, asked questions, took part in debates, and addressed audiences at functions across the country.

Stability. Consistency. Ever-changing complexity. With language like that, deployed in separate meetings in three Asian capitals this week, government leaders forged closer ties driven in part by a figure halfway around the world: the president of the United States. And much of the time, they didn't even mention Donald Trump's name. IN BEIJING: The U.K. and Chinese leaders called Thursday for a "long-term, stable, and comprehensive strategic partnership" between their two countries. The important words are long-term and stable. The two countries committed a decade ago to building a comprehensive strategic partnership but progress has been halting at best.

China is increasingly not the big, bad wolf in the eyes of young people, who are encountering the country through cultural touch points like the ugly-but-cute Labubu dolls and innovations like TikTok rather than national security threats. They're more focused on kitchen table issues such as a discouraging job market for entry-level workers, inflationary pressures pinching their wallets and the growing sense that America's fractured political system doesn't work for them.

Wadephul said speaking in Latvia that what was seen during the peace talks in UAE is "Russia's stubborn insistence on the crucial territorial issue." "And if there is no flexibility here, I fear that the negotiations may still take a long time or may not be successful at this stage," he said. He added, "Our commitment to diplomacy does not weaken our determination to support Ukraine."

The week at the World Economic Forum in Davos has strengthened the ranks of its opponents, with a shift among numerous European leaders including figures from the far right, theoretically close to Trump who have abandoned their usual conciliatory attitudes and are now opting for firm rejection in the face of his abuses and insults. In this way, albeit without formal coordination, they are joining the group of countries that refuse to yield, such as China, India, Canada, and Brazil.

Understanding the difference in purpose Unlike private businesses, which exist to make a profit, public institutions are designed to create impact - especially social and economic outcomes that benefit everyone, not just paying customers. A public agency doesn't measure its success in revenue or margins, but in how much it improves lives, builds equity and maintains public trust. This doesn't mean budgets and spending don't matter - they absolutely do - but money is not the goal. It's the tool.

October: Palestinian fighters carry out an attack on communities across southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking 251 Israeli and foreign captives, according to Israeli figures. In the following weeks, Hamas releases two Israeli-American captives and two elderly captives, and Israeli forces recover an Israeli soldier taken captive during the attack.

Diplomat Yury Filatov hits out at Helen McEntee and says Ireland is hostile to Russia

Trump said on Thursday that a US armada is heading towards the Gulf region with Iran being its focus. US officials said an aircraft carrier strike group and other assets are to arrive in the Middle East in the coming days. We're watching Iran. We have a big force going towards Iran, Trump said. And maybe we won't have to use it. We have a lot of ships going that direction.

"The harassment by Israeli settlers had become unbearable," said Rashid, a young mother, as she stood leaning on the metal doorframe of her home in Ras Ein el-Auja in the occupied West Bank. Nearby, a few suitcases and other belongings sat in the corner, neatly packed. "There is no safety left. We've been suffering for three years, but now the provocations increased," Rashid told DW, speaking of how settlers entered their home.

The charter for President Donald Trump's newly formed Board of Peace claims the organization aims to secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict. Some of its member states seem less than committed to that goal. The president faced widespread backlash for his highly controversial invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is reportedly still considering accepting a place on the board.

A group of researchers from Berkeley, Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, and Yale warn that the rise of AI bots and AI agents could pose a serious threat to democracy. For example, power-hungry politicians around the world can relatively easily create swarms of AI bots that flood social media and messaging services with propaganda and disinformation. In this way, they can not only influence election results but also persuade parts of the population to replace parliamentary democracy with an authoritarian regime.