Politics

Thursday, January 22nd 2026 - 21:51 UTC
US appoints career diplomat Laura Dogu as new mission chief for Venezuela amid thaw signals

The United States has named veteran Foreign Service officer Laura Dogu as its new mission chief for Venezuela, a step that aligns with broader signs of a tentative diplomatic reset — including discussions about reopening embassies and plans for Venezuelan acting president Delcy Rodríguez to travel to Washington, though no dates or agenda have been disclosed.
Thursday, January 22nd 2026 - 09:38 UTC
Trump says “framework” deal with NATO on Greenland is taking shape and drops tariff threat

US President Donald Trump said his administration has agreed with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on a “framework” for a potential understanding covering Greenland and the wider Arctic region, and announced he would pull back a tariff threat aimed at several European allies. Trump offered no operational detail, but framed the talks as a solution that would benefit the United States and NATO as a whole.
Thursday, January 22nd 2026 - 01:55 UTC
Falklands, Minister Doughty reaffirms support for the Islands and the Great British family

”We remain strong defenders of the Falkland Islands as part of our Great British family globally and we continue to work very closely with them on a range of trade and tariff issues, said Foreign Office minister for Overseas Territories, Stephen Doughty during a question time in Parliament.
Thursday, January 22nd 2026 - 00:24 UTC
Trump is buying eleven icebreakers from Finland for Arctic Ocean patrolling

“We are buying the best icebreakers in the world, and Finland is known for producing them,” US president Donald Trump said, as part of his campaign to take over Greenland and his concern as the Arctic Ocean becomes more navigable and with more trade routes.
Thursday, January 22nd 2026 - 00:01 UTC
Why Trump is obsessed with Greenland and why Canada's staying out of it

By Gwynne Dyer - After the Danish and Greenland foreign ministers came out of a meeting in Washington on last week convinced that Donald Trump really intended to seize Greenland, things moved very fast.
Wednesday, January 21st 2026 - 21:26 UTC
European Parliament puts EU-Mercosur trade deal on hold, seeks top court legal opinion

The European Parliament voted on Wednesday to freeze its approval track for the EU-Mercosur trade agreement and request a legal opinion from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on whether the deal is compatible with EU treaties. The motion passed by a razor-thin margin —334 in favour, 324 against, with 11 abstentions— injecting new uncertainty into a pact that the two blocs had only just signed in Asunción after a quarter-century of negotiations.
Wednesday, January 21st 2026 - 19:58 UTC
Falklands: Legislative Assembly sets out early priorities after December election

The Falkland Islands’ Legislative Assembly said it has begun its “early work” for the new term and will focus in coming weeks on finalising the 2026/27 budget, reviewing the capital programme and addressing stalled projects, according to an official statement issued on January 21.
Wednesday, January 21st 2026 - 19:22 UTC
White House confirms upcoming Washington visit by Venezuela’s Delcy Rodríguez

Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez is expected to travel to Washington “soon,” a White House official told EFE on Wednesday, without providing dates or an agenda. The planned trip comes as the administration of US President Donald Trump seeks to entrench a transition framework in Caracas following the US operation that captured and removed Nicolás Maduro in early January.
Wednesday, January 21st 2026 - 13:16 UTC
UK investment in Antarctica underlines role as a leading polar research nation

A major new British Antarctic Survey (BAS) facility at Rothera Research Station is being presented as evidence of the UK’s standing in polar research. The £100 million Discovery Building—together with a new services network at Rothera—has been formally opened by BAS Director Professor Dame Jane Francis, completing what BAS describes as the largest UK construction project ever carried out in Antarctica.
Wednesday, January 21st 2026 - 11:21 UTC
Why the Chagos Islands are strategically vital to US and UK military operations

The Chagos Archipelago is of major military significance as it hosts the strategically located Diego Garcia base.