USA - Donald Trump’s impromptu declaration that America will acquire Greenland, the Panama Canal and possibly Canada during his second presidential term have set the hares running in embassies across the world. France, Germany and Denmark have all warned Mr Trump not to pursue Greenland, which has been in Danish hands since the early 19th century, and expressed alarm over his refusal to rule out a military invasion to secure it. In his press conference on Tuesday, Mr Trump said his main motivation for acquiring Greenland was “national security”. The Pentagon’s latest Arctic strategy, published late last year, showed China’s increased interest in the region. As the ice cap melts, the Arctic will become a major shipping route, and Chinese ships have been spotted in drills with Russia off the coast of Alaska.

USA - Following Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement that Facebook and Instagram will no longer defer to ‘fact checkers’ because they are too politically partisan, the International Fact-Checking Network has convened an emergency meeting, presumably to discuss their impending obsolescence. Zuckerberg put out a video noting that Meta will be switching to a ‘Community notes’ type system much like X has. He also announced that Meta intend to “restore free expression” on its platforms.

USA - ‘Fact checking’ is too often an excuse for censoring dissenting voices. Even Facebook has woken up to it. Well, well, this is a turn up for the books. All of a sudden, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg seems to be worried about free speech. As Joe Biden’s ill-fated presidency takes its final gasp and Donald Trump prepares to re-enter the White House, curly haired “Zuck” – who once berated employees for crossing out the words “Black Lives Matter” and replacing them with “All Lives Matter” on signature walls – appears to have developed a new enthusiasm for the First Amendment. In a surprise intervention, the billionaire tech supremo has casually announced that his company Meta, which also owns Instagram, is dispensing with the services of (discredited) external “fact checkers” on its social media platforms.

USA - Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg among residents of Pacific Palisades neighbourhood subject to evacuation warnings as ‘extreme’ 100 mph gusts feared. Residents of one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in Los Angeles have fled their homes after “extreme” wind conditions rapidly spread a wildfire. The fire broke out on Tuesday morning in the Pacific Palisades, an affluent area that is home to celebrities, including Tom Hanks, his wife Rita Wilson and Steven Spielberg. Firefighters faced a gruelling night as they battled to control the Palisades fire that had spread to almost 3,000 acres, while the fierce winds fueled another blaze in Los Angeles County. Residents abandoned their cars on Palisades Drive, a main road through the neighbourhood, after getting stuck in traffic while fleeing the fire.

USA - I am increasingly concerned about the scale and nature of the violence on our TV screens – even the Christmas viewing didn’t provide respite. As I flicked through multiple channels, I was shocked at the levels of murders and deaths, whether real-life crime, crime series or films, and how much of the violence depicted was sadistic and gratuitous. And it’s not just TV: video games and social media are pumping this violence out too.

UK - Another great institution has just fallen into the ‘inclusivity’ trap. For 200 years the Royal Society of Literature (RSL) existed to “reward literary merit and excite literary talent”. Then one day, it seemingly concluded that “diversity” ought to supersede excellence. Now, the body is in crisis. Fellows have quit. Its leaders have resigned. It is facing criticism that it has “dumbed down” following a series of reforms designed to enhance “diversity”.

UKRAINE - In just under two weeks Donald Trump will become the 47th President of the United States. Much of the world holds its breath in anticipation of what he will do once he has the reins of power, and he has dropped quite a few hints. Those hints should not be taken as statements of fact rather than rhetoric from a robust businessman to indicate a desired direction of travel, but the one we can take seriously is his pledge to end the fighting in Ukraine.

CHINA - Last month, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army staged a surprise war game – the third of 2024 and the largest ever – simulating an invasion of Taiwan. The war game played out in the air and on and presumably under the sea. Taiwanese forces detected 134 Chinese warplanes around Taiwan. Sixty-one of those planes entered Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone, which extends hundreds of miles from the Taiwanese coast. Chinese planes in this zone are close enough to attack Taiwan. The simulated aerial onslaught continued. One Chinese military drone flew all the way around Taiwan, demonstrating China’s ability to surveil the entire country.

GERMANY - Elon Musk is boosting the AfD. But why is Germany’s mainstream helping him? When Elon Musk endorsed the far-right Alternative für Deutschland on X as the only party that could “save Germany”, followed by an opinion article in Die Welt promoting the AfD in the forthcoming federal elections the backlash was swift. “Germany must not tolerate Musk’s transgressions,” declared the publisher of the liberal newspaper Tagesspiegel. “How did Elon Musk’s election propaganda for the AfD make it into Welt?” asked another commentator, accusing Welt’s publisher, Axel Springer, of betraying its own principles. The Spiegel columnist Marina Kormbaki labelled Musk’s intervention the “breaking of a taboo”.

USA - The US Navy had the world’s most powerful surface warships. But it hung onto them too long. The US Navy’s Ticonderoga-class missile cruisers were the crown jewels of its surface fleet for three decades. The first warships to deploy the Aegis combat system – a sophisticated combination of sensors, software and missiles – the 27 Ticos were, for a long time, the most powerful surface combatants in the world. But they served too long. The Navy not only failed to replace the Ticos – it also botched a pricey effort to prolong the planned 35-year service lives of the 9,800-ton vessels. Now the cruisers are ageing out fast, and taking billions of wasted dollars with them as they ingloriously leave the fleet at precisely the time the United States needs more warships, not fewer.

RUSSIA - The past year has been a “turning point,” but the next 12 months will bring even more upheaval. The year 2024 has ended, marking a watershed moment in global politics. Half the world’s population cast their votes over 12 tumultuous months, against a backdrop of unprecedented events in Europe and the Middle East. For better or worse, last year redrew the political map. Elections across the West revealed that the old elites – the architects of the first quarter of the 21st century – are losing their grip. For the first time in decades, they failed to sell an inspiring vision of the future. Faced with the risk of losing power, they compromised their own principles, resorting to undemocratic tactics, such as as censoring media outlets and using legal means to stymie opponents.

AUSTRIA - Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen has tasked Herbert Kickl, the leader of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), the country's most popular political force, with holding coalition talks to form a government. The development comes after weeks of negotiations between the centrist Austrian People’s Party (OVP) and the Social Democratic Party (SPO) collapsed. Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who leads the OVP, has admitted the failure and announced his resignation, citing the need for an “orderly transition.” Van der Bellen stated that he had directed Kickl to initiate discussions with the OVP. He also appeared to express concerns that the country might face the possibility of having a hardline right-wing leader for the first time since World War II. “I didn’t take this decision lightly. I will continue to make sure that the principles and rules of our constitution are respected and upheld,” Van der Bellen stated.

TURKEY - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that his country will intervene if necessary to avoid any division of Syria and will be “uncompromising” in its determination. The comments from Erdogan are seen as a veiled warning to the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as well as to the US, which backs the group against Islamic State forces. “We cannot accept under any pretext that Syria be divided and if we notice the slightest risk we will take the necessary measures,” the Turkish leader said in remarks following the first cabinet meeting of 2025. He added that Ankara has “more than enough power, capacity, and talent to do this.”

USA - Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has continued to spar online with the top British leadership, suggesting Washington should become involved and “liberate” the Brits from their supposedly “tyrannical government.” The billionaire conducted a poll on the idea on Monday on his social media platform X, asking users whether “America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government.” The proposal got a positive reception, with nearly 59% of respondents backing it. More than 1.4 million people voted on the issue in less than 12 hours.

INDIA - Covid precautions have been reinstated in a part of India amid rising alarm over the so-called "mystery illness": HMPV, which exhibits symptoms similar to those of COVID-19. The Chinese government is in the midst of managing a surge in cases, while authorities in the Indian state of Karnataka are taking precautionary measures. The local government has issued guidance encouraging individuals to shun public settings if experiencing symptoms related to Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) and has recommended mask-wearing in crowded locales after identifying three cases of the respiratory ailment.