Nick Beake Europe correspondent Anadolu via Getty Images For the protesters waving Palestinian flags outside EU buildings in Brussels, it was the moment that everything might change. An EU report presented to foreign ministers had found there were indications Israel had breached human rights obligations under the EU-Israel Association Agreement, ahead of Thursday’s European Union...
BBC Nato leaders including President Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer are meeting to agree a big increase in defence spending, but nearly a third of the alliance’s members have not reached the existing spending target. The new target will be to spend 5% of the size of their economies, measured by GDP, on “core...
In our last exciting episode of As The World Burns, a twelve-day war between Israel and Iran had ended (?) in a cease-fire brokered by Donald Trump and the Qataris. After putting some finishing touches last night’s Final Word post, I went to bed, unaware that another exciting episode was about to air. Around midnight...
Dmitri Medvedev, former President of Russia and current Deputy Chair of the Security Council of the Russian Federation dropped a bombshell. Without specifying who, he asserts that “a number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads.” 2. The enrichment of nuclear material — and, now we can say it...
I’m not certain that Ilhan Omar is the best messenger for the Democratic Party. She spends most of her time attacking America from within, and now she has escalated her attacks now that Donald Trump is president. Ilhan Omar claims America is worse than her native Somalia, claiming because of Trump we are turning into...
The US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has suggested “Muslim countries” should give up some of their land to create a future Palestinian state. In an interview with the BBC, Huckabee said “Muslim countries have 644 times the amount of land that are controlled by Israel”. “So maybe, if there is such a desire for...
NurPhoto via Getty Image US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation banning travel to the US from nationals of 12 countries, which goes into effect on 9 June. The countries listed are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Nationals from a further seven countries – Burundi,...
Reuters A travel ban issued on Wednesday by US President Donald Trump is set to primarily affect countries in Africa and the Middle East. Twelve countries face full bans, which will come into force on Monday. People from a further seven nations are facing partial restrictions. Trump has depicted it as a matter of national...
Citing the recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, President Trump announced a new travel ban covering 12 countries. Here’s a bit of the announcement from the White House website. In Executive Order 14161 of January 20, 2025 (Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats), I stated that...
A second round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have ended without a major breakthrough, and only an agreement between the warring sides to swap more prisoners of war. The Ukrainian negotiators said Russia again rejected an “unconditional ceasefire” – a key demand by Kyiv and its allies in Europe and the US. The...
Each year, thousands of migrants attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea in the hope of finding refuge in Europe. And each year, European countries use every tool in their arsenal to keep those migrants out of their borders – from bureaucratic processes to militarization, and now, increasingly, through outsourcing the control of the border itself....
EBU Céline Dion filmed a message to mark Eurovision returning to Switzerland for the first time since she won the 1988 contest Céline Dion made a rare appearance during the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest with a brief, pre-recorded message. The star won the contest for Switzerland in 1988, and it had been...
Laura Bicker China Correspondent Watch: US and China are ready to talk tariffs – who will blink first? The US-China trade war could be letting up, with the world’s two largest economies set to begin talks in Switzerland. Top trade officials from both sides will meet on Saturday in the first high-level meeting since US...
The European Union has identified seven countries it considers safe countries of origin, as part of proposals to speed up asylum applications, especially from those countries involved. Citizens from Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco and Tunisia would all have their claims fast-tracked within three months on the assumption that they were likely to fail....
Reuters US President Donald Trump’s advisers defended sweeping tariffs on imports and vowed to stay the course, despite market turmoil and calls to avoid a trade war. In a series of television interviews, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent played down recent stock market falls and Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, insisted “tariffs are coming”. Bessent said...