World
AI Summary
- The widespread fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein files continues to expand, implicating global elites, sparking new criminal investigations, and leading to high-profile resignations and apologies.
- Geopolitical tensions remain elevated with active conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, delicate US-Iran nuclear negotiations, the expiration of a key US-Russia arms control treaty, and continued violence in African and Asian regions.
- The Trump administration is pursuing an assertive foreign policy aimed at restoring US unipolarity, concurrently managing a partial government shutdown, intensifying domestic immigration enforcement, and advancing economic strategies like a critical minerals stockpile.
- Major transformations are underway in the global economy and technology sector, highlighted by China's dominant investment in green energy, significant mergers in the AI and space industries, and shifts in international trade dynamics.
- Regulatory and bureaucratic challenges are increasingly prominent, with the EU facing criticism for over-bureaucratization and new tax proposals, while France intensifies its scrutiny and enforcement against major social media platforms.
ZeroHedge
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What Goes Around: The EU's Extralegal Sanctions Regime
22 minutes ago
by Tyler Durden
What Goes Around: The EU's Extralegal Sanctions Regime Submitted by Pascal Lottaz It has come as a shock to many of us in the alternative media sphere when, on December 15, the EU put the esteemed analyst, political commentator, and former Swiss Army colonel Jacques Baud, on its Russia-Sanctions list. He was one of several newly sanctioned individuals (alongside, for instance, the popular French journalist, Xavier Moreau). Baud is already the second Swiss to be sanctioned. In June 2025, the EU announced that Nathalie Yamb, a Swiss-Cameroonian activist against neocolonialism, would be sanctioned. Being on the EU sanctions list is a devastating event
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These Are America's Healthiest States
an hour ago
by Tyler Durden
These Are America's Healthiest States “Blue Zones” are regions of the world where people live longer and healthier lives, supported by habits that boost longevity. Loma Linda, California is one of the few recognized Blue Zones, alongside Okinawa, Japan and Ikaria, Greece. Just as place can have a powerful influence on health outcomes, differences vary meaningfully across America. This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, shows the healthiest U.S. states, based on data from America’s Health Rankings Report by the UnitedHealth Foundation. THE NORTHEAST PRODUCES AMERICA’S HEALTHIEST STATES For the analysis, states were measured on 99 indicators such as economic hardship, smoking rates, and mortality rates. Overall values
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Dutch Government Refuses To Probe UK Travel Ban On Eva Vlaardingerbroek
an hour ago
by Tyler Durden
Dutch Government Refuses To Probe UK Travel Ban On Eva Vlaardingerbroek Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News, The Dutch government has refused to investigate or seek clarification from the United Kingdom after Dutch commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek had her permission to travel to Britain revoked, confirming it has not even asked London for an explanation over the decision. The position was set out in formal parliamentary responses from Foreign Affairs Minister Caspar Veldkamp’s ministry, delivered on Jan. 30 by Minister Van Weel, after questions were submitted by Lidewij de Vos, a Member of Parliament for the right-wing Forum for Democracy (FvD). De Vos questioned the government
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UBS: SpaceX-xAI Merger Signals Rise Of "Orbital AI"
2 hours ago
by Tyler Durden
UBS: SpaceX-xAI Merger Signals Rise Of "Orbital AI" In September 2024, we penned a note that Elon Musk was on track to become the world's first trillionaire by 2027, driven by what we described as "space race bets." That call looks increasingly correct following the merger of Musk's SpaceX and xAI earlier this week, a transaction that has lifted his net worth to $850 billion. By contrast, former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann, who once famously said in 2019 that he wanted to live forever and be the first trillionaire, must be watching Musk's empire soar to new heights in disgust. Musk's decision
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EU Inc: Can Brussels' Latest Corporate Reform Escape Bureaucracy's Grip
3 hours ago
by Tyler Durden
EU Inc: Can Brussels' Latest Corporate Reform Escape Bureaucracy's Grip Submitted by Thomas Kolbe The European Commission is responding to mounting criticism of over-bureaucratization with the introduction of a new corporate legal form. “EU Inc” is intended to create a uniform legal structure that applies across the entire European Union economic area. A charming idea—but one that quickly sinks in the general bureaucratic madness. The European Union has reached a point where it is considered lucky if a handful of days pass without new regulatory initiatives from the Brussels central apparatus. To ease some pressure and deflect growing criticism of the EU’s bureaucratic jungle,
The Guardian
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Gunmen kill more than 160 people in attacks on two west Nigeria villages
19 hours ago
by Carlos Mureithi in Nairobi, Eromo Egbejule in Katsina, Nigeria, and agencies
Nigeria, Africa, World newsLocal politician says armed men rounded up residents, bound their hands behind their backs and shot them More than 160 people have been killed in two villages in western Nigeria in the country’s deadliest armed assaults this year, as communities reel from repeated and widespread acts of violence perpetrated by jihadists and other armed groups. The death toll from Tuesday’s attacks in Woro and Nuku in Kwara state stood at 162 on Wednesday afternoon, according to Mohammed Omar Bio, a member of parliament representing the area. Continue reading...
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Ugandan opposition leader still in hiding as feud with president’s son escalates
a day ago
by Carlos Mureithi in Nairobi
Uganda, Africa, World newsBobi Wine’s whereabouts unknown since he fled what he said was night raid on his home by police and military Bobi Wine, Uganda’s most prominent opposition figure, remains in hiding nearly three weeks after a disputed election, as a high-stakes social media feud with the east African country’s military chief escalates. Wine’s whereabouts have been unknown since 16 January, when he fled what he said was a night raid by the police and military on his home, leaving his family behind. Continue reading...
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Death of Nigerian singer after snakebite highlights crisis of ‘preventable’ fatalities
a day ago
by Kat Lay Global health correspondent
Global development, Snakes, Health, Nigeria, Africa, Animals, World news, Global health, SocietyIfunanya Nwangene died in hospital after being bitten in her Abuja home, raising questions about the availability of effective antivenoms In a last message to her friends, Ifunanya Nwangene wrote: “Please come.” The 26-year-old singer and former contestant on The Voice Nigeria had been bitten by a snake while asleep in her flat in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, and was in hospital, anxiously awaiting treatment. Continue reading...
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Trump-led abuses amid ‘democratic recession’ put human rights in peril, HRW report says
2 days ago
by Karen McVeigh
Human rights, Global development, Governance, Trump administration, US news, US politics, World news, China, Russia, International law, Asia Pacific, Europe, European Union, Canada, Press freedom, Americas, Morocco, Iran, Protest, Protest (US), Africa, Middle East and north AfricaRights group says growing authoritarianism and abuses in US, Russia and China threaten global rules-based order The world is in a “democratic recession” with almost three-quarters of the global population now living under autocratic rulers – levels not seen since the 1980s, according to a new report. The system underpinning human rights was “in peril”, said Philippe Bolopion, executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), with a growing authoritarian wave becoming “the challenge of a generation”, he said. Continue reading...
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Handful of sick and wounded Palestinians allowed through Rafah crossing on first day
3 days ago
by Lorenzo Tondo
Gaza, Egypt, Israel, Middle East and north Africa, Palestine, World news, AfricaNumbers Israel permitted to enter Egypt after reopening border were far lower than expected following delays A small number of sick and wounded Palestinians have begun crossing into Egypt to seek medical treatment after Israel permitted a limited reopening of the Palestinian territory’s Rafah border post as fragile diplomatic efforts to stabilise the conflict inch forward. About 150 people were due to leave the territory on Monday, and 50 to enter it, according to Egyptian officials, more than 20 months after Israeli forces closed the crossing. However, by nightfall, Reuters reported that Israel had permitted 12 Palestinians to re-enter the territory, according
South China Morning Post
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How ‘America first’, in many respects, puts America behind
11 minutes ago
by Richard Harris
US President Donald Trump’s trip to Europe to speak at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss alpine town of Davos was possibly one he wished he had never made; such was its failure to impress. First, his plane had to turn back due to a technical problem. Second, he gave a typically hostile speech, but then he lived up to his nickname “Taco” (Trump always chickens out) over threats to invade Greenland that would have imperilled about a third of global trade. Third, he said disingenuously that if...
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Xi holds Trump, Putin calls as Iran tensions mount
4 hours ago
by Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma
Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed Iran in wide-ranging calls with both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, as the US president steps up pressure on the Islamic Republic following the bloody quashing of anti-government protests. The US president said on social media that the “excellent” phone call with Xi covered topics including Iran, the Chinese purchase of US oil and gas, and Taiwan. Earlier, Xi and Putin “checked their approaches” on Iran, Venezuela and Cuba among other...
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Gaza’s violent reality: hundreds have been killed since October ceasefire
6 hours ago
by Associated Press
As the bodies of two dozen Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes arrived at hospitals in Gaza on Wednesday, the director of one asked a question that has echoed across the war-ravaged territory for months. “Where is the ceasefire? Where are the mediators?” Shifa Hospital’s Mohamed Abu Selmiya wrote on Facebook. At least 556 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since a US-brokered truce came into effect in October, including 24 on Wednesday and 30 on Saturday, according to Gaza’s...
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Church angel resembling Italy’s prime minister painted over after outcry
7 hours ago
by Associated Press
Call it divine intervention, or maybe just a hasty fix-it job to put an end to days of speculation and scandal. But the end result is that the Angel Meloni is no more. A painting of a cherub with a face bearing a remarkable resemblance to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had attracted large crowds to the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina, one of the oldest basilicas in Rome. That angel’s face was gone when the church opened its doors on Wednesday: the cherub’s body remains, but the face was...
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Historian on Trump’s new world order, Ukraine war and a Europe in crisis
8 hours ago
by Finbarr Bermingham
Luuk van Middelaar is the director of the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics, a think tank he co-founded in 2022. A political theorist and historian by trade, he has written several books and was in the cabinet of the first European Council president, Herman Van Rompuy. Van Middelaar is widely read and cited across Europe for his analysis of the EU’s political evolution, with his books translated into many languages and awarded major European literary prizes. He writes regularly for leading...
New York Times
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Surge in Immigration Cases in Minnesota Pushes Prosecutors and Judges to Brink
3 hours ago
by Alan Feuer, Mattathias Schwartz and Zach Montague
Courts and the Judiciary, live-detached, United States Politics and Government, Federal Actions in US Cities, Immigration and Emigration, United States Attorneys, Homeland Security Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (US), Justice Department, Biery, Fred S, Blackwell, Jerry W, Le, Julie T, Ramos, Liam Conejo, Schiltz, Patrick J, Trump, Donald J, Tunheim, John R, Minnesota, Minneapolis (Minn), St Paul (Minn)Remarks by a prosecutor opened a revealing window onto how the courts in the state are buckling under the weight of a deluge of cases arising from the Trump administration’s campaign.
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Major Nuclear Arms Treaty Expires, and Federal Prosecutor in Minnesota Says ‘This Job Sucks’
2 hours ago
by Tracy Mumford, Will Jarvis and Ian Stewart
Nuclear Weapons, United States Attorneys, Guthrie, Savannah, MinnesotaPlus, Savannah Guthrie makes a plea to her mother’s abductor.
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Brad Karp Resigns as Paul Weiss Chairman Amid Epstein Fallout
9 hours ago
by Matthew Goldstein, Michael S. Schmidt and Jessica Silver-Greenberg
Karp, Brad S, Epstein, Jeffrey E (1953- ), Black, Leon D, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, Appointments and Executive Changes, Legal Profession, Trump, Donald J, Human Trafficking, Sex Crimes, Child Abuse and Neglect, Prostitution, United States Politics and GovernmentThe decision followed the release of a series of embarrassing emails between Mr. Karp and Jeffrey Epstein.
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‘My Crazy Friend’: The Royals Who Stayed Close to Epstein
8 hours ago
by Michael D. Shear
Royal Families, Sex Crimes, High Net Worth Individuals, Andrew, Duke of York, Epstein, Jeffrey E (1953- ), Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway, Sarah, Duchess of York, Mohammed bin Salman (1985- ), Great Britain, Norway, Saudi Arabia, United StatesEmails, texts, photos and videos show how Jeffrey Epstein, even after becoming a convicted sex offender, burnished his ties to royal family members from several countries and their advisers.
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Files Reveal Epstein’s Money Mingled with Silicon Valley’s Tech Start-Ups
8 hours ago
by Ryan Mac, Erin Griffith and Matthew Goldstein
Epstein, Jeffrey E (1953- ), Thiel, Peter A, Palantir Technologies, Computers and the Internet, Venture Capital, Space Exploration Technologies Corp, Coinbase Inc, Deutsche Bank AG, Jawbone, Calacanis, JasonThe disgraced financier regularly courted tech industry figures not just for their prestige but also for access to promising companies.