It’s as if, before our very eyes, the president of the United States were reading a script written by the Kremlin. French political analyst Dominique Moïsi, says the reversal on Ukraine is an ally’s betrayal of historical proportions.
country: United Kingdom
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U.S. President Donald Trump’s vile proposal to take over Gaza has led to a shift in discourse Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. This moment could mark a new beginning, with Arab regimes aligning their politics with those of their peoples. That is the only safeguard against Trump’s blackmail and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ambitions.
Vladimir Putin says he is “ready” to talk with Volodymyr Zelensky. But it’s a feigned openness to dupe Trump, since he continues to question the legitimacy of the Ukrainian president and does not alter one iota his demands for a kind of capitulation by Kyiv and a reversal of Baltic entry into the Atlantic Alliance.
Europe’s back is against the wall — Putin’s wall. The meeting in Paris of European leaders who are ready to defend Ukraine in the face of U.S. withdrawal was an opportunity for Europe to rebuild itself to preserve its interests and its honor.
The United States did not sign the Paris AI Summit Declaration, with Vice President JD Vance taking a stand against what he called the EU’s “excessive regulation.” It’s yet another sign of the Trump administration’s rejection of multilateralism — Washington now seems to believe in the survival of the fittest.
In economics, disruption describes an ordinary process: innovations replace outdated technologies. But in politics? It takes on a far darker meaning, writes German weekly Die Zeit.
Iranian officials have been unnerved by the Assad regime’s collapse, with one top general admitting the country was “defeated very badly” in Syria. A shaky ceasefire in Gaza follows 15 month of war in which Tehran’s proxy Hamas was decimated. Will unrest in the region spill over to Iran, where problems — both foreign and domestic — are piling up for the regime?
Europeans expected to deal with the return of Donald Trump, but now face both Trump and Elon Musk, who continue to make provocative statements. Yet the EU is divided, with Italy’s Giorgia Meloni going her own way and positioning herself as Trump’s main interlocutor in Europe.
Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, and Olaf Scholz have all responded in the past few days to Elon Musk statements siding with Europe’s far right. Among top European leaders, U.S. tech billionaire seems to only have eyes for Italy’s Giorgia Meloni.
Amid the chaos of the collapsing Assad regime, the businessmen who were close to power know they are at risk.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s choice of new prime minister isn’t without irony. Michel Barnier negotiated Brexit’s terms with the British, who were as divided at the time as the French are today.
Funeral undertakers belong to one of the oldest professions in the world. But now, startups want to disrupt old-fashioned funeral homes. Unafraid to tackle taboos, new services offer ways to live on digitally after death.
Those hoping that Labour unseating the Tories could change the diplomatic dynamic in the Middle East will be duly disappointed. Keir Starmer, the new British prime minister, appears as just an updated version of Tony Blair.
The landslide victory of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom is first and foremost a stinging defeat for the Conservatives, who are paying for their Brexit lies over the past eight years. An estimated 65% of Britons now believe that Brexit was a mistake. This offers lessons for other European countries.
The left-leaning Labour party in the UK appears to be headed for a big win next week, while far-right forces may take control of the French Parliament in their coinciding national elections. But it may be that France is just eight years behind Britain, which voted for Brexit in 2015, and now regrets that populist choice.
Is 15 minutes enough time to reflect during a prayer?
Hong Kongers who moved to the UK following the 2019 pro-democracy protests to seek political asylum face many social, mental and administrative challenges. Yet the organizations that have been building a safety net for them are now facing funding changes.
In countries and communities where sexuality is often kept under wraps, more and more women are taking up their microphones, pens and keyboards to talk about intimate issues without filters.
Women experiencing menopause make up an ever-larger section of the workforce. But employers are not responding to their needs, or even talking about it.
Climate change has prompted some French champagne houses to take up planting in the southern English countryside.
Just like ideas about racial theory, the notion of seeking purebred dogs is a relatively recent human invention. This animal eugenics project came from a fantasy of recreating a glorious past and has done irreparable harm to canines.
Even as Ukraine’s Western allies are sending much needed military hardware, there is an unofficial market for used equipment — from armored vehicles to drones and satellites — that has been vital for Kyiv. But how do these second-hand goods make it from Britain to the front?
AUKUS, the security pact between the US, the UK, and Australia, is beginning to take shape. Its aim is to deter China, but it risks drawing the Indo-Pacific region into a military conflict.
Volodymyr Zelensky’s visits this week to London, Paris and Brussels reinforce the intertwined fates of Europe and Ukraine. And for Kyiv that will ultimately mean more weapons support.
Many lives have been lost, rights trampled and dreams crushed. But through the haze, the world took the right turn on many fronts this past year, from Ukraine to Iran to China. Trying to take stock amid the suffering.
In the last few weeks, the Just Stop Oil protests have been catapulted to global attention by soiling art masterpieces in the name of environmental protection. But their choice of target says just as much about their view of art as their view of oil.
Liz Truss’ record-setting short time in office showed that the UK cannot do whatever it pleases — even now that it’s left the EU.
In the face of Russia’s stranglehold over supplies, the European Commission has proposed support packages and price caps. But across Europe, fears about the cost of living are spreading — and with it, doubts about support for Ukraine.
Britain’s new prime minister has not hidden the fact that she is focused on the domestic economic crisis gripping her country. That could sway her from the hardline anti-Russia stance of outgoing prime minister, Boris Johnson. Also, Truss has flip-flopped before.
Boris Johnson’s resignation is another example of the political crises in the democratic world. But that does not necessarily mean that dictators and despots will win.
The United Kingdom is seen by migrants as the promised land. Many are prepared to embark on a perilous journey to get there. But on arrival, they often find that life is not what they expected. Some even discover working conditions resembling slavery.
Ai-Da is touted as the first bonafide robot artist. But should we consider her paintings and poetry original or creative? Is this even art at all?
The Russian leader’s invasion is a both a pursuit of his Hitlerian obsession to rectify his nation’s humiliation, and a bet that the West’s decline is permanent.
Imagine self-organized forms of building, from remodeling existing structures to building entirely new spaces to accommodate individual liberty and radical change in social organization. It’s a movement whose time may be coming.
New research, which included 80 in-depth interviews with older people, found that a surprising number look down on their fellow seniors.
Novelists from Africa have been receiving some of the most prestigious literary prizes. But there are still questions around who are the world’s literary gatekeepers and what role writers from the Global South can play, writes Mauritian poet and photographer Umar Timol.
Startups that offer to deliver groceries in less than 15 minutes have learned from the past and are hiring full-time employees, even if they need temporary workers to meet demand.
For an Indian growing up in the UK in the 1960s, racism was an everyday experience ranging from schoolyard taunts to threats of violence and persecution. And with the recent revelations of abuse suffered by Pakistan-born cricket star Azeem Rafiq, overt racism is still very much alive. in British society.
The deaths of 27 migrants off the French coast of Calais is one more tragedy on a long list in the European Union. After the initial shock, however, we tend to forget, get used to it and in the end, become indifferent.
Lockdowns can be justified on an ethical basis to achieve an important public health benefit, even though they restrict individual freedoms. Whether selective lockdowns are justified, though, depends on what they are intended to achieve.