World politics

World politics

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday he had agreed to a meeting with US President Donald Trump in the "near future." "A lot can be decided before the New Year," he posted on social media. The announcement follows weeks of stepped-up diplomatic efforts to end Ukraine's war with Russia. On Thursday, Zelenskyy gave a positive assessment of his conversation with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about ending the war.

The old world is dying, Antonio Gramsci once wrote. And the new world struggles to be born. In such interregnums, the Italian Marxist philosopher suggested, every act, even the smallest, may acquire decisive weight. In 2025, western leaders appeared convinced they and we were living through one such transitional period, as the world of international relations established after the second world war crashed to a halt.

In a season of peace we speak to those who have been denied peace. Using these billboards, we: Reclaim the truth, honoring the Palestinian refugee born in Bethlehem; challenge the ongoing erasure of Palestinian identity, culture and rootedness to the land; highlight the reverence for Jesus in Islam, fostering interfaith understanding against forces that seek to divide us; and proudly assert our truth in the most visible public space, refusing silence.

Good morning, and happy whatever-you're-celebrating today. There may come a moment later perhaps shortly after someone has eaten their body weight in roast dinner when the family begins to drift into nap mode. That is your cue. Produce this quiz from your pocket. Read the questions aloud in your best posh BBC continuity announcer voice. Watch as the room divides over how much ice has been lost in the Antarctic, exactly when Donald Trump and Elon Musk fell out,

Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Wednesday, Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, said Tehran would not permit inspections of facilities struck by the US until the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) establishes a clear framework for such visits, according to Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency. If there are established procedures for the post-war situation, the agency should announce them so that we can act accordingly, Eslami said.

China's rising economic influence in the Middle East Money Works China's economic influence is growing, reaching into regions that were long dominated by the West.

There are people who argue that Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine is not motivated by fears or imperial ambitions, but by other countries' disrespect. Russia once commanded authority as one of the world's two superpowers, but it has since forfeited that status. It knows it has lost the respect of other countries (Barack Obama famously dismissed Russia as just a regional power), and the Ukraine war is its way of winning it back.

China wants to have a number of UN staff that they feel is representative of their population and the amount of money they contribute,

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.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared total victory. "Without a doubt, the Iranian nation defeated the Americans and the Zionists in the 12-day war," he said triumphantly on November 26. "They failed to achieve any of their goals." Speaking a day earlier, Hassan Rouhani, a former president and a rival of Khamenei, recommended instead that Iran stop underestimating its adversaries and focus on using diplomacy to deter another war.

Over the past two months, Israel has violated the ceasefire almost daily, killing and injuring hundreds of Gazans. What is the risk that the ceasefire might collapse? The ceasefire has indeed been violated by both sides and on many occasions. Over 350 Palestinians have been killed and several Israeli soldiers wounded. There are also reports of Palestinians dying of cold due to exposure in and around Rafah.

The dowry, which is negotiated before marriage and legally treated as debt, can be claimed by the wife at any time during a marriage or when getting divorced. The new, more lenient policy sharply lowers the threshold for the amount a man must pay his wife in the event of divorce to avoid imprisonment from 110 gold coins to just 14.

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.

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.

The Israeli efforts to establish Palestinian rule in Gaza loyal to the occupation are doomed. [The death of Yasser Abu Shabab] marks the end of a dark chapter one that did not reflect our tribe's history and principles The Tarabin tribe stands with the Palestinian resistance in all its factions it refuses to let our tribe's name or members be exploited to form militias that work for the benefit of the occupation.