Ambassadors of the European Union member states preliminarily agreed this Wednesday to unblock the €90 billion macro-loan for Ukraine, which had been frozen for months due to Hungary’s veto. The Prime Minister of this country, Viktor Orbán, had conditioned financial support for Kyiv on the repair of the Druzhba pipeline, which is now operational.
Among all the tech giants in Silicon Valley, there is one that inspires particular fear: Palantir.
The great wars of history have always led to a restructuring of the international order. Let’s think about the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the two world wars and the Cold War, which led to the liberal order, the rise of the
At least three container ships were attacked by gunfire this Wednesday in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the British agency UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and maritime security sources.
Cuba wants to end what it calls an “energy siege” and the United States wants the adoption of far-reaching reforms. Havana maintains that there is no ultimatum, but U.S. officials assure that Washington gave a two-week deadline to release relevant political prisoners as a sign of goodwill. The two countries, separated by less than one hundred kilometers of sea and ideological enemies, speak different languages and seem far from any agreement, but they are dialoguing.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance’s trip to Islamabad (Pakistan) for his second round of dialogue with Iran has been suspended, though not canceled, as the two-week ceasefire between the two warring countries is about to expire. President Donald Trump lied on Monday when announcing that Vance was already flying and would arrive in the early hours. The White House later said that the expectation was for him to depart this morning, but he remains in Washington and, according to U.S. media reports, will stay in the capital until Trump sees honest negotiating will from Tehran.
The European Union resists breaking with Israel and has again ruled out suspending the Association Agreement. Not even partially. The issue, which had been formally requested by the Spanish Government, was the focus of Tuesday’s meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg, but the Council refused to make any decision on the matter due to the persistent division among the Twenty-Seven on an issue that remains too delicate for some capitals.
More than four hundred years ago, in 1602, the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci, together with the Chinese cartographer Li Zhizao, created the “Map of the Ten Thousand Countries of the Earth” or Kunyu Wanguo Quantu. On that map, the Ming Dynasty empire was located at the center of all known land. That map was on the verge of opening China’s doors to Christianity.
Without demonstrations in the streets, avoiding direct criticism of the leader and without questioning the policies of the Kremlin or the military intervention in Ukraine. Russians have let Vladimir Putin know that they are not at all happy with the blocking of the internet and social media, making a video recorded for the Russian president by a popular blogger and TV presenter, Victoria Bonya, who currently lives outside Russia, tremendously viral.
It’s a scenario no one wants to talk about with too much impetus, but one that seems increasingly real: the possibility that the EU may have to defend itself without the US security umbrella. EU heads of state and government will discuss this week at the Cyprus summit the implications of Article 42.7 of the EU treaty, the clause that obliges member states to provide assistance if another country in the bloc is attacked on its territory. To all intents and purposes, the European equivalent of NATO’s Article 5.