The European Union is urging a “diplomatic solution” on Iran as top EU diplomats are set to meet with the director of US President Donald Trump’s newly-created Board of Peace, and Trump continues to threaten strikes on Iran. “We don’t need another war in this region. We already have a lot,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Monday. “It is true that Iran is at its weakest point that they have been. We should be really using this time to find a diplomatic solution.” Working with the Board of…
Posts published in “World”
Greenland’s prime minister has asked US President Donald Trump to talk to him instead of making “random outbursts on social media”, after Trump said he was sending a US hospital boat to “take care” of people on the island. Trump wrote on Truth Social that he was going to send a boat filled with medical supplies, alleging “many people” on the island are sick and “not being taken care of”. Jens-Frederik Nielsen responded “it’s going to be a no thanks from us,” and said that Greenland provides free healthcare for…
Wielding a golden gavel and a playlist featuring the Beach Boys, Donald Trump ushered in a new era of international humiliation at the inaugural meeting of the U.S.-led Board of Peace. The new body, while established by Trump, has been tasked by a UN Security Council resolution to administer Gaza’s reconstruction efforts. But Trump has also suggested his ambitions for the board go far beyond Gaza, saying it would “almost be looking over the United Nations and making sure it runs properly.” Trump has demanded that world leaders pony up…
Japanese companies will finance investments valued at $36 billion in energy and minerals projects in Ohio, Texas and Georgia as part of a trade agreement that will cut U.S. tariffs on Japanese imports to 15%, according to the Trump administration. The announcement is part of Japan’s 2025 agreement to invest $550 billion over the next four years at the direction of the U.S., with the funds aimed at rebuilding and expanding core American industries. In October, the Trump administration provided details on Japanese investments of up to $332 billion to…
Valentine’s Day: The Politics and Psychology of Hating Love. Each year Hindu nationalist groups carry out violent crackdowns on couples in public spaces during Valentine’s Day in India. These incidents show how moral policing, group identity politics and anxiety about social change combine to justify control over private emotion and public behaviour. On Feb. 14, activists linked to Hindu nationalist organisations entered NMIMS University in Indore and allegedly vandalised property after claiming that an obscene Valentine’s Day related program was being organized on campus, according to The Telegraph. The university…
Japan is preparing to lift long-standing restrictions on lethal weapons exports, marking another step in the erosion of its post-war arms export taboo. While the reform creates new diplomatic and commercial opportunities and allows deeper security cooperation with regional partners, Japan’s defence industrial base remains small, costly and capacity-constrained. Domestic procurement demands and labour shortages mean exports will likely remain modest, limiting the policy’s practical and strategic impact on regional military balances. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government is looking to loosen Japan’s long-standing restrictions on weapons exports, marking another step…
The search for rare earths for energy transition is often regarded as a form of neo-colonialism, and today it is the area in which this phenomenon manifests itself most clearly, especially due to its geopolitical and economic effects. However, there are other neo-colonial practices that are less visible but with equally negative consequences at the local level. One of these is the export of waste to Africa and Asia by Western countries, particularly the export of plastic, clothing, and electronic waste. The export of waste to the Global South is…
The cocaine market exploded between 2014 and 2023. Production in Colombia increased more than sevenfold to nearly 2,700 tonnes, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Behind the scenes, drug traffickers find equally illicit ways to pay their suppliers and foot soldiers, or to spend the proceeds of their criminal trade. Their solution? Money laundering. It is estimated that 25% of the funds collected is laundered. Criminals generally launder money in three stages: firstly, they inject it into the financial system; secondly, they layer it with…
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu faces two new no-confidence motions on Monday, after he forced the 2026 budget through parliament without a vote for the third and final time on Friday. Lecornu’s decision to use the constitutional tool known as article 49.3 has marked an about-face for the prime minister, who pledged last year to seek parliament’s approval, in a bid to avoid the fate of his two predecessors who were ousted over budget negotiations. But after months of negotiations reached an impasse, Lecornu announced he would use the power to…
Few ideas in global finance generate as much anxiety as de-dollarization. To some Western observers, any attempt to reduce reliance on the US dollar is automatically framed as a political challenge to American power. Yet for much of the developing world, the conversation is far less ideological and far more practical. The push to diversify global payment systems and promote the use of local currencies is not about confrontation; it is a response to economic realities that many countries have lived with for decades. The dominance of the dollar has…