World politics

World politics

Fifteen years have passed since Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old Tunisian street vendor whose cart was confiscated by the police, set himself on fire to protest against police harassment and the authorities' neglect. His act of desperation triggered nationwide protests by millions facing a crushing reality of increased unemployment, corruption, and a decades-old political system with little room for expression or change.

Israeli authorities are engaged in multiple major efforts, including building settlements and pursuing annexation, to ensure there will be no Palestinian state in the future. Israeli authorities are expected to advance plans to build 9,000 new housing units in an illegal settlement on the site of the abandoned Qalandiya airport in occupied East Jerusalem, in another attempt to cut off Palestinian lands from each other and block any possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state ever emerging.

In a letter announcing her withdrawal from the Hay festival Cartagena, the acclaimed Colombian author Laura Restrepo described Machado as an active supporter of US military intervention in Latin America. The author of Delirium added: No platform should be given or audience facilitated for someone who, like Ms Machado, promotes positions and activities that subject our peoples and undermine the sovereignty of our countries. Imperialist intervention is not something to debate, but something to reject outright.

On December 3, Israel announced that the Rafah border crossing with Egypt would reopen in the coming days, allowing Palestinians to leave Gaza for the first time in months. The statement was, of course, framed as a humanitarian gesture that would allow those in urgent need to travel for medical care, education or family reunification to leave. However, Israel's announcement was met almost immediately with Egypt's denial, followed by a firm rejection from several Arab and Muslim states.

I'm slightly curious and concerned why the leader of the free world who's got so many challenges in the Middle East, in Ukraine, issues around the climate emergency, issues around trade, is spending time talking about me, and giving the impression he's obsessed with me and, for him, it's to explain why.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado opened her eyes and sighed as she relived her secret journey to escape Venezuela. Those were very intense hours, during which I felt a real risk to my life, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate told eight international media outlets, including EL PAIS, at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, less than 48 hours after landing in the Norwegian capital.

Navies across the world contribute to international security by protecting maritime trade routes. A strong navy is capable of projecting national power far beyond a country's borders. Each navy reveals a nation's resources and priorities, and goals. These groups of men and women range from small coastal patrol forces to massive fleets with a variety of technologically advanced vessels like aircraft carriers, submarines, and destroyers. Aside from military purposes, navies also aid in things like disaster relief.

"Russia has brought war back to Europe, and we must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured." Threat level: Rutte said NATO has increased vigilance and strengthened deference along its eastern flank border with Russia. In less than a week this year, Russia launched drone incursions on both Polish and Romanian airspace. Russian fighter jets entered and stayed in Estonian airspace as well.

The United States and the Soviet Union signed numerous arms control treaties to limit the scope, danger, and expense of their competition. Future arms control treaties are possible but unlikely in the present tense geopolitical climate. Check out: 2 Dividend Legends To Hold Forever and Discover "The Next NVIDIA During the Cold War, the superpowers signed a number of arms control agreements that helped build trust and limit the scope of their competition.

Everything is political, and always was - the difference now is the volume RTÉ bowing out of Eurovision this year feels less like a bold political gesture and more like an act of basic self-preservation. Because, really, what sane Irish performer would have put themselves forward anyway?

More than three years have passed which sometimes feel like centuries since Francia Marquez was sworn in as Colombia's vice president on August 7, 2022, in Bogota's Plaza Bolivar. That day, Latin America recorded a key moment in the historical struggle for inclusion. For the first time in more than 500 years since the first ships forcibly brought millions of Africans to the Americas.

Many actors involved in negotiations to end Israel's genocidal war on Gaza and begin its reconstruction breathed a collective sigh of relief when it was announced that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, one of the most polarising figures in international diplomacy, was removed from the proposed board of peace, tasked with overseeing the transitional phase in the Strip.

In the past three or four years, images such as this of soldiers bursting in front of national TV have become commonplace in most of West Africa, a sub-region that for two or three decades had seen considerable progress in terms of democratic governance,

White flowers at makeshift shrines and messages of support posted in a public square. A rainbow of folded paper cranes. Boxes of donated goods for the those in need. Hongkongers' responses to the Tai Po fire disaster in which at least 159 people have died and 31 are still unaccounted for have, on the surface, resembled similar community expressions of solidarity last seen during the 2019 protests.

The voice cloning in local dialects was the most demanded product and a real game changer,

Behind the scenes: White House envoy Steve Witkoff is hosting the meeting. Mossad spy chief David Barnea will represent Israel and a senior Qatari official will also join, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Flashback: On Sep. 9, Israeli jets conducted an unprecedented strike against Hamas leaders in Doha. Hamas' top leaders survived, but a Qatari security guard was killed.

His career is, in itself, a map of both the transformation and the limitations of states in the face of organized crime: he played a key role in the downfall of Colombia's major cartels in the 1990s; led the intelligence services during the moments of greatest threat to his country; spearheaded police reforms that professionalized criminal investigations; and, as vice president, participated in the construction of peace agreements that marked a turning point in Colombia's recent history.

"completely cut off"

If you are reading a lot about these topics lately, you know how China's decades-long strategy to become the top global superpower -and the greatest threat to U.S. world domination-is coming to fruition. What you may not be aware of is the other crucial part of Beijing's plans; its industrial ramp up to dominate the most crucial resource on the planet: the oceans.

Women are the manager of the home, not a servant for you to say, Why didn't you do this? Why didn't you do that? Why isn't the house clean?' A woman is like a flower. A flower must be cared for and protected, and she will enrich you with her color, fragrance, and qualities, he offered in one. Women are the manager of the home,

Presidential pardons are in fashion in the United States, even for people who haven't yet been found guilty of a crime. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a well-known Americanophile. Now he, too, wants a preconviction pardon, a never-go-to-jail card. On Sunday, his lawyers submitted his request, stressing that freeing Netanyahu from his marathon corruption trial would be purely for the public good.

Nasry "Tito" Asfura of the right-wing National Party and Liberal Party contender Salvador Nasralla maintain a "technical tie" in the country's elections, Honduras' electoral body said. Asfura, backed by US President Donald Trump, only held a lead of 515 votes over Nasralla, National Electoral Council head Ana Paola Hall posted on her X account. A manual count of the votes will now take place, Hall said. The winner with a simple majority will govern the Central American country from 2026 to 2030.

A crusading prosecutor in the Balkans comes under pressure to drop a big case. Vietnamese villagers learn they are to be evicted. A convicted crypto kingpin in the Gulf receives a pardon. All have one thing in common: they appear to be connected to the Trump family's campaign to amass riches around the world. Since Donald Trump's re-election a year ago, warnings that his use of presidential power to advance personal interests is corroding American democracy have grown ever louder. What is less understood and perhaps even more dangerous is the damage this is doing everywhere else.