Mr Biden also has a solid record on healthcare, having witnessed the smallest ever proportion of Americans without health insurance, and a doubling of citizens holding affordable policies. Having managed the US response to the Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, he cites his support for Kyiv and $175 billion (£143 billion) in American support as one of his greatest achievements.

However, his critics point to two issues that dominated the election cycle – inflation and illegal migration – as examples of domestic mismanagement that worsened quality of life for Americans in the four years of his term. He also faces accusations that he sold out Afghanistan, leaving the country undefended by US troops in August 2021. The US withdrawal led almost immediately to the rise of the Taliban.

With several of these apps offering paid-for extras such as romantic compatibility reports, spending on astrology-related products is projected to grow to $22.8 billion by 2031, up from $12.8 billion in 2021, according to consulting firm, Allied Market Research.

Olliver added, however, that modern technology had also affected Gen Z’s search for philosophical answers. “A very common question I come across in astrology is 'why am I here?'” he said. “Bear in mind, we live in a very strange era now, we have our jobs, we have our ambitions, but we’ve got something else looming: artificial intelligence. A lot of them don’t work, they don’t understand any more what their role is, what their purpose is. It’s a very strong trend, and I tell you that trend will grow, more and more people will wonder what they’re for.”

It's not just in the English-speaking world, then. The rise of figures like Argentina's Javier Milei, Italy's Giorgia Meloni, and the German Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany) speak eloquently to the intent of voters in South America and Europe. Things are moving to the right, and while everything in politics is temporary, we may be able to look forward to a generation of this rightward shift.

Why is this happening? Because globally, as well as in the United States, the left has, in recent years, engaged in some historic overstepping.

They advocate for:

• Unlimited illegal immigration and open borders.


• Support for Islamic radicals and condemnation of Israel, the only democratic country in the Middle East.


• Boys and men on girls and women's sports teams - and in their showers and locker rooms.


• DEI hiring and promotion practices in law enforcement, education, and even the military.

We could go on, but you get the idea. The oversteps mentioned above would have been unthinkable to even the most leftist politicians only a generation ago. These oversteps, these idiotic policy proposals, may have doomed the political left to a prolonged time in the political wilderness.

Speaking to journalists on Friday, the chancellor called Musk’s actions a threat to the EU. “This is something that is completely unacceptable, it endangers the democratic development of Europe, it endangers our community and it is to be criticized,” he said following a meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

Scholz stated that while Musk – who has emerged as a close adviser to US President-elect Donald Trump – has every right to express his political opinions, he is concerned that the tech billionaire “supports the extreme right throughout Europe, in Britain, in Germany, in many, many other countries, and that is something that is completely unacceptable.”

The strike and protests are planned in Berlin and other German cities on January 29, the media outlet reported, citing the leaders of several business associations. Nearly 50 business groups, representing around 20 million workers, are expected to participate.

Major organizations joining the action include the Association of Family Entrepreneurs, the metal industry group Gesamtmetall, the German Hotel and Restaurant Association, the German Wholesale and Foreign Trade Association, and the Small and Medium Business Association. Several fashion industry enterprises have also said they will take part.

The ceasefire deal remains fragile. On Sunday morning, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, said the pause in hostilities was suspended because Hamas had failed to provide the names of the first three hostages to be released. In a statement, he told the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) not to stop fighting until Hamas holds up its end of the bargain. For the hostage families, the agony and uncertainty is almost too much to bear.

At this point, 470 wretched days since October 7, every remaining hostage has become famous in Israel. Their stories are known, their faces stare down from every street corner, silently pleading to be set free. But it is the Bibas family’s fate, the particular horror of a smiling baby kidnapped from his home, that has pierced the nation’s heart most deeply.

To many Israelis it feels as though they are trapped in a depraved reality show. “They won’t even tell us who is alive and who is not,” said Michal Mayo, whose cousin Doron Steinbrecher is on the list of 33. “It’s part of Hamas’s weapon, to cause pain.”

In a statement on Saturday evening, however, Netanyahu claimed that Hamas had reneged on a promise to provide the Israeli authorities with the names of the hostages to be released the following day.

“We will be unable to move forward with the framework until we receive the list of the hostages who will be released, as was agreed,” he said. “Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement. Hamas is solely responsible.”

Foreign investors have persuaded themselves that Friedrich Merz, the Christian Democrat leader, is going to win a landslide on a manifesto of free-market reform, fiscal stimulus and a blitz of investment. Germany is more likely to end up with the immobilism of another grand coalition, unable to rid itself of a social democrat dinosaur wedded to rust bowl industries and the obsolete model of the last century.

The AfD is the beneficiary of an economy that has shrunk for the last two years in a row and has seen no net growth since 2018. Above all, it is surfing the Kulturkampf sweeping Germany, Europe and Christendom. The AfD dropped its explicit call for German withdrawal from the EU and the euro at the party’s pre-electoral conference last weekend. It instead designed a covert “Dexit” that is less unsettling to voters but ultimately poses a greater threat to the EU project.

Leaving aside the fact that the UK has not lost net jobs since Brexit, the British experience has zero relevance for Dexit. The UK never joined the euro. Germany is the anchor of the euro, the EU debt market and the EU’s spending machinery. The European project would collapse overnight if it pulled out.

It has been Israel’s longest war – the longest single conventional war of the entire Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In intensity and concentration of violence in the 25-mile-long Gaza Strip, it may have been the most destructive aerial and artillery bombardment of the 21st century.

Above all, the war changed Gaza. The level of physical destruction has been compared to the firebombing of Hamburg in the Second World War. In any war, the dead are often the lucky ones: the numbers of the maimed and crippled often dwarfs those of the dead.

However, history offers numerous examples where ceasefire agreements have failed to bring lasting peace and stability. A recent case was the agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, signed on November 27, 2024. This ceasefire, which included Lebanon and several mediating countries like the United States, came after more than a year of intense fighting.

The previous ceasefire between the IDF and Hamas lasted only seven days – from November 24 to December 1, 2023. During that period, the truce was extended twice, surpassing the originally agreed four days. Palestinian militants released 105 Israeli and foreign hostages during this time. In the year that followed, negotiations continued with active mediation by the US, Qatar, and Egypt. Despite repeated statements from both sides and international mediators claiming they were “closer than ever” to a new agreement, talks repeatedly broke down.

Thus, one can only hope that the bloodshed will truly come to an end, but only time will tell, as the root causes of the conflict remain unresolved. It is possible that this ceasefire is merely a pause before an even greater catastrophe. Furthermore, there are no guarantees that subsequent phases of the ceasefire will be implemented. On the sixteenth day after the agreement takes effect, indirect negotiations are scheduled to begin between the parties to define the terms of the next stage. This new phase is expected to involve the release of additional hostages and prisoners, as well as an extension of the ceasefire.

However, there are no written assurances that the truce will continue beyond the first stage if an agreement on future actions is not reached.The conclusion of active hostilities in Gaza and Lebanon is likely to trigger complex internal processes within Israel, where political and societal tensions remain extremely high. The position of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet appears increasingly precarious. The opposition is already poised to accuse him of dragging the country into prolonged and costly conflicts that have resulted in substantial civilian and military casualties.

Israel now finds itself in a difficult position, where the end of military operations has not brought the long-awaited stability, and both domestic and international challenges continue to mount. Against this backdrop, the opposition is ready to hold Netanyahu accountable, pointing out that despite the losses and destruction, the influence of Hezbollah and Hamas remains significant, and peace in the region has not been achieved.

Despite the changing circumstances that enabled the ceasefire agreement, many key issues remain unresolved. While the influence of Hamas and Hezbollah has been weakened, it has not been eradicated. Israel’s domestic political climate remains deeply unstable, and realistic prospects for addressing the Palestinian issue have yet to be developed. Moreover, for Prime Minister Netanyahu, the resumption of conflict may be his only opportunity to strengthen his position and salvage his political career. All of this creates conditions for renewed tension in Gaza to escalate into open conflict once again, turning the current ceasefire into nothing more than a temporary reprieve.