01 Jan 2024 Foreign Policy Tracker

17th December

– British diplomats hold talks with the leader of the Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), following the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad more than a week ago. The talks with HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa – formerly known as Mohammed al-Golani –  come after Foreign Secretary David Lammy revealed the UK government had established “diplomatic contact” with HTS, which the UK considers to be a terrorist organisation.

– Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, the Russian general in charge of the country’s nuclear protection forces, is killed in by a bomb in Moscow. Ukraine’s SBU security service has taken responsibility, and alleges that Kirillov had carried out war crimes, and was responsible for the mass use of banned chemical weapons. In October, the UK placed sanctions on Kirillov, saying he had overseen the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine and acted as a “significant mouthpiece for Kremlin disinformation”.

– The first deaths of North Korean troops, fighting Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk border region, are announced. The around 10,000 North Korean soldiers are reportedly being used in infantry roles, and their involvement is thought so far to be limited to Kursk, implying that they have not been deployed in Ukraine itself.

– 20 Democratic legislators in the United States urge the Biden administration to halt the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel, noting that the Israeli government has not complied with US demands for more aid to enter Gaza. In a letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday, the lawmakers called on Washington to uphold its own laws that restrict military aid to countries that commit war crimes and block US-backed humanitarian assistance.

16th December

– German Chancellor Olaf Scholz loses a vote of confidence in parliament, paving the way for early elections on 23rd February 2025. Scholz had been expected to lose the vote, and had calculated that triggering an early election was his best chance of reviving his party’s political fortunes. The turmoil comes around two months after the collapse of Scholz’s three-party coalition government, which left the embattled chancellor leading a minority administration.

– South Korea’s constitutional court begins trial proceedings for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was suspended for declaring martial law and plunging his country into political turmoil. MPs voted to impeach Yoon last Saturday, and the court now has six months to decide whether to remove Yoon or reinstate him. Yoon has been suspending, and South Korea’s Prime Minister will be in role as acting President.

15th December

– More than 50 people are killed in Israeli air and ground attacks across the Gaza Strip, including children, a cameraman who worked for the Al Jazeera TV network, and personnel from the Civil Defence agency. Many were in a UN-run school being used as a shelter for displaced families in the southern city of Khan Younis. The Israeli military said it had targeted sites used by Hamas and the allied armed group Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

– UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy announces that the UK government has had “diplomatic contact” with the Syrian rebel group that toppled the Assad regime, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Lammy confirmed that HTS remains a proscribed terrorist organisation, but that the UK “can have diplomatic contact and so we do have diplomatic contact, as you would expect”. His remarks come as the UK government announces a £50m humanitarian aid package for vulnerable Syrians, including refugees in the region.

– Israel announces it will close its embassy in Dublin over “the extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government”, accusing the Republic of Ireland of crossing “every red line”. Israel’s ambassador to Dublin has been recalled in the past, following Ireland’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state. The decision follows Ireland’s announcement of its support for South Africa’s case against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which accuses the country of “genocide”. Israel’s foreign secretary says that “the actions and anti-Semitic rhetoric used by Ireland against Israel are rooted in the de-legitimisation and demonisation of the Jewish state”.

14th December

– South Korean lawmakers vote to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed attempt to impose martial law, which sparked massive protests across the country. The decision still needs be ratified by the constitutional court, but thousands of anti-Yoon protesters celebrated outside the National Assembly. Yoon has now been suspended, with the Prime Minister serving as acting President.

– Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former Manchester City footballer and former MP from the increasingly authoritarian ruling Georgian Dream party, is appointed president by Georgia’s disputed parliament. Georgia has seen 17 days of pro-EU protests, following the new parliament’s decision to suspend EU accession talks. The four main opposition groups have rejected Kavelashvili and have boycotted parliament, insisting that the elections held in October were rigged. Meanwhile Georgia’s outgoing pro-Western president, Salome Zourabichvili, has condemned Kavelashvili’s election as a travesty, insisting she holds Georgia’s only remaining legitimate institution.

13th December

– Centrist François Bayrou is chosen to become France’s latest Prime Minister, nine days his predecessor, Michel Barnier, was ousted in a no-confidence vote. Bayrou was chosen by President Emmanuel Macron as a potential consensus candidate, in a bid to end months of political turmoil in France.

– Russia launches a massive attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, in which ninety-three missiles and more than 200 drones were used. The strikes targeted sites in western Ukraine, damaging energy facilities in several regions. Ukraine reports this attack as the 12th large-scale attack on energy facilities this year.

12th December

– At least 35 Palestinians are killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza, including 12 who were guarding aid lorries carrying flour to warehouses belonging to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), from violent armed theft. In a separate attack, 15 people were killed near Nuseirat refugee camp.

– Neighbouring Ethiopia and Somalia agree to end their bitter dispute over Ethiopia’s plans to build a port in the breakaway republic of Somaliland, following negotiation talks brokered by Turkey. Tensions have been high since January when Ethiopia signed a maritime deal with Somaliland – which Somalia considers as part of its territory – prompting fears of a wider regional conflict, as Egypt has been staunchly backing Somalia, given its poor relations with Ethiopia. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the “historic agreement”, which would grant landlocked Ethiopia’s access to the sea.

11th December

– South Korean police raid the presidential office, one week after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed attempt to impose martial law in the country. Yoon was not in the office at the time, but investigators were tasked to seize records related to cabinet meetings held on the night of the martial law declaration.

– More than 100 people are arrested in Ghana – mostly supporters of President-elect John Mahama – over acts of lawlessness. Supporters of the newly elected President allegedly attacked state institutions and looted properties, due to a delay in announcing the outcome of Saturday’s elections and disagreements over some parliamentary results. Mahama has condemned the vandalism and called on outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo to “act decisively” in addressing the violence.

10th December

– The Prime Minister of Syria’s new transitional government calls for Syria to “enjoy stability and calm” after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad. Mohammed al-Bashir, the former head of the rebel administration in the north-west, called for peace, as he chaired a meeting in Damascus for members of his new government, and those of Assad’s former cabinet, to discuss the transfer of portfolios and institutions.

– Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netenyahu, appears in court in Israel under charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Netanyahu was indicted in 2019, and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He has described the proceedings as a “witch-hunt”.

– The US gives $20bn (£15bn) to Ukraine, funded by the profits of seized Russian assets, largely for reconstruction efforts. The economic support forms a significant part of a $50bn (£39bn) package agreed by G7 member nations announced in June. The US Treasury has transferred the $20bn to a World Bank fund, where it will be available for Ukraine to draw from, but, importantly, money handled by the World Bank cannot be used for military purposes. The EU has committed more than €18bn (£15bn), funded in the same way.

– Israel attacks Syria’s naval fleet in the ports of Al-Bayda and Latakia, in what it describes as an effort to neutralise military assets in the country after the fall of the Assad regime.

9th December 

– UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer begins his  long-planned trip to the Gulf region, meeting with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, before flying to Saudi Arabia to meet with Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. The talks were supposed to be about improving trade relationships, but will now be dominated by the unfolding situation in Syria. Starmer has already declared that Assad’s demise is “a very good thing for the Syrian people”.

– At least 22 Palestinians are killed after Israel launched air and drone attacks across Gaza, including three in the beseiged Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. Overnight, an Israeli attack in the southern city of Rafah also killed 10 people while they had lined up to buy flour.

– UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves arrives in Brussels to address the eurozone finance ministers – the first UK Chancellor to do so since 2020. Reeves is set to promise a “business-like” approach from the UK through an “economic reset” with the EU, offering the goal of driving up trade and growth.

– Israeli warplanes carry out dozens of attacks on military targets across Syria, including in the capital, Damascus. The strikes come as the UN’s chemical watchdog warns authorities in Syria to ensure that suspected stockpiles of chemical weapons are safe.

8th December

– Rebel fighters capture the Syrian capital of Damascus, effectively toppling the Assad regime that has been in power in the country since 1971, and ending the 13-year civil war that killed more than 500,000 people. Forces led by opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – designated a terrorist organisation in the UK in May 2017 – entered the city in the early hours of Sunday morning to celebrations in the street, declaring Syria to now be “free”. The whereabouts of President Bashar al-Assad were unknown, as rebels entered his empty residence, but Russia has since confirmed his asylum in Moscow.

– Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netenyahu, announces the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have temporarily seized control of a demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights. Israel seized the Golan from Syria in the closing stages of the 1967 Six-Day War and unilaterally annexed it in 1981. Netenyahu justified the move, saying the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria had “collapsed” with the rebel takeover of the country, and that Israel would not allow any hostile force to establish itself on its border.

– Former Ghanaian President, John Dramani Mahama, is set to return to the role after his main rival accepted defeat, before the results were announced. Mahama led Ghana from 2012 to 2017 and is one of the West African country’s most experienced politicians. He has served at all levels of office, but his former administration was dogged by economic plight and corruption scandals.

7th December

– South Korean opposition MPs fall a handful of votes short in their bid to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol following his short-lived declaration of martial law on Tuesday. All by three lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the vote, meaning the bill fell short of the two-thirds threshold required to pass it. President Yoon will stay in office for now but faces tens of thousands of people gathering in Seoul, calling for his resignation.

– Burkina Faso’s military ruler, Capt Ibrahim Traoré, sacks Prime Minister Apollinaire Joachim Kyelem de Tambela and dissolves the entire government. Tambela, a civilian, was named Prime Minister in 2022, shortly after Ibrahim Traoré seized power in a coup. The decree did not specify why the prime minister was sacked, but said members of the dissolved government will continue to serve until a new cabinet is appointed. Tambela’s dismissal comes weeks after Malian Prime Minister, Choguel Maïga, was sacked by coup leader Gen Assimi Goïta.

– A military cordon is placed around Syrian capital, Damascus, as rebels continue to advance on the city from the stronghold in the north. The Syrian government continues to dey the rumour that President Assad has fled the city.

– Ghanaians head to the polls for the country’s general election. The West African nation is guaranteed a new President, as Nana Akufo-Addo is set to step down. Vying replacements include former President John Mahama of the NDC party, and Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia, who would become the country’s first Muslim leader if he wins for the governing NPP party.

6th December

– The European Union signs a landmark trade deal with the countries of the Latin American Mercosur trade group, which include Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguary and Uruguay. EU member states will need to ratify the agreement, but if agreed, the deal will create a free trade zone covering 700 million consumers and around 20% of global economic output. The deal has been in talks since 2000, and an original deal was agreed in 2019, but did not come to pass when EU member states failed to ratify it.

– Romania’s constitutional court annuals the result of the first round of voting in the Romania’s Presidential election last month, meaning the process will be restarted from scratch, with the government due to decide a new election date. The first round was won by Calin Georgescu, an almost unknown far-right NATO-sceptic, who reportedly benefitted from a mass influence operation – conducted from abroad – to interfere with the result of the vote.

5th December

– Syrian rebels take full control of a second major city, Hama, after Syrian government forces withdraw, in another setback for President Bashar al-Assad. Rebels continue their advance on the city of Homs, the next city of the rebels’ route of Syrian capital, Damascus.

– Global human rights organisation, Amnesty International, officially accuses Israel of commiting genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, in a new report which details Israeli actions, including “killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction”. Israel labels the accusation as “entirely false and based on lies”.

4th December

– Opposition lawmakers in South Korea move to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol. The Democratic Party condemned Yoon’s martial law declaration as “insurrectionary behaviour”. The South Korean Parliament will have to vote on whether to impeach Yoon by Saturday.

– Syrian government forces and the rebel Islamist militant group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, engage in fierce fighting outside the key city of Hama, south of Aleppo. More than 600 people are reported to have been killed, including 107 civilians, and tens of thousands have been displaced since the start of the rebel offensive last Wednesday.

– Michel Barnier becomes the first Prime Minister of France to be ousted in a no-confidence vote since 1962. Barnier’s leadership was called into question after he used special powers to push through a budget with controversial reforms to social security. Opposition parties on the left and right united to remove him, fuelling the political instability which has gripped France since summer elections produced a divided parliament.

– The United Nations’ Human Rights Committee orders Venezuela not to destroy the voting tallies from July’s highly contested presidential election. The Committee is investigating allegations of electoral fraud, and has demanded that the Venezuelan state preserve the detailed voting data that declared the incumbent, President Nicolás Maduro, the winner.

– Authorities in Romania reveal details of what appears to be a major attempt to interfere in the country’s presidential elections using the social media platform TikTok, with a series of cyber-attacks that look to be “co-ordinated by a state-sponsored actor”. Paid content supporting far-right, NATO-sceptic candidate, Calin Georgescu, was promoted on TikTok, without being marked as election campaigning – in violation of the platform’s own rules and of Romanian electoral law.

3rd December

– South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol unexpectedly declares martial law, to remove “pro-North Korean forces” from South Korea and to “protect the free constitutional order”. The declaration suspends normal civil rights, including political party and parliamentary activities, and the allows the use of military law on the civilian population.

– South Korean lawmakers forcibly make their way into parliament, some breaking through military barricades, to vote to overturn the President’s declaration of martial law. Protestors flock to the streets overnight. 190 lawmakers voted to overturn martial law, prompting discussions of Yoon’s impeachment.

– Fianna Fáil secures 48 seats in the Irish general election, while Fine Gael secures 38 seats, and cross-border republican party Sinn Féin secures 39 seats. With Fianna Fàil and Fine Gael short of a majority on their own, and the Green Party virtually wiped off the board, coalitian talks will no doubt begin with one or two of the small parties on the centre left, namely the Irish Labour Party and the Social Democrats, or the large and disparate contingent of independents.

2nd December

– Romania’s center-left Social Democrats lead in the country’s parliamentary election, securing around 22% of the vote. Nonetheless, far-right and hard-right parties also performed well, miroring the anti-establishment trend from the first round of a presidential vote last Sunday.

– Dozens of protesters in India force their way into the consulate building of Bangladesh in the Indian city of Agartala, vandalising it in protest of the arrest of a Hindu monk in Bangladesh last week. Hours later, hundreds of students and activists protested in Dhaka, Pakistan against the storming of the consulate. Tensions between the two neighbours have continued to rise since August, when former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh to India, after a public uprising.

1st December

– Romanians head to the polls again, this time for the country’s parliamentary elections. Romania and the rest of Europe wait to see if the trending rise of far-right parties across Europe materialises in this election’s vote share.

– Georgia’s pro-Western President, Salome Zourabichvili, announces she will stay in post until new parliamentary elections are held, as protests continue over the government’s decision to put EU accession negotiations on hold. Zourabichvili, who has sided with the opposition, labelled the current parliament as “illegitimate”, and has pledged to retain her role, despite plans to choose her replacement on 14th December. Mass protests in the capital, Tbilisi, continued for a third consecutive night.

– The UNRWA, the UN agency providing aid to Palestinians, suspends deliveries through the Kerem Shalom border, the main crossing between Israel and Gaza, because of security concerns. Two recent convoys had been looted by armed gangs near the crossing, and the UNRWA has called on Israel to maintain law and order amid a series of violent thefts.

– In his first public comments since the start of Syria’s ongoing rebel offensive, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Syria would continue to “defend its stability and its territorial integrity in the face of terrorists and their supporters”. Meanwhile, Russia carried out a further series of air strikes on advancing rebels – 12 people were killed in a strike on a hospital in Aleppo, while a strike inside the north-western city of Idlib killed eight civilians and wounded more than 50.

– Russian President Vladimir Putin signs off the country’s new budget, which includes record spending on military needs. Around 32.5 percent of the 2025 budget — or 13.5 trillion rubles (€119 billion) —  was allocated for national defense, up from a reported 28.3 percent this year.

30th November

– The Syrian military announces a temporary withdrawal of its troops from Aleppo, to prepare for a counteroffensive, after rebel groups launched a surprise attack against the government’s forces. Meanwhile, Russia, a key ally of President Bashar al-Assad’s government, launched aerial strikes against the Syrian opposition forces, claiming to have killed at least 200 militants.

– Thousands of pro-EU protesters demonstrate outside Georgian Dream offices in the cities of Tbilisi and Kutaisi – the winning party in last month’s disputed election. The protests were sparked by the government’s decision to suspend accession talks with the European Union, until the end of 2028. They also follow a resolution by the European Parliament, describing the election as the latest stage in Georgia’s “worsening democratic crisis”, referencing voter intimidation, vote-buying and manipulation, and harassment of observers.

– Namibia’s main opposition candidate, Panduleni Itula, of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), says his party will not recognise the results of this week’s general election, given logistical problems and “glaring and undeniable” electoral malpractices. Wednesday’s election voting is still ongoing, following a lack of ballot papers in some places and malfunctioning equipment. So far, the South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo) candidate, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, has 48% of the vote, to Itula’s 30%.

– The charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) pauses its operations in Gaza after a vehicle carrying three of its staff members was hit by an Israeli air strike, claiming their lives. The Israel Defense Forces claim the target of the strike had taken part in the 7th October attacks on Israel, while the WCK claim “no knowledge” of any employee ties to the 7 October attacks. Separately, British aid agency Save the Children said one of its staff members was also killed on Saturday afternoon in Khan Younis.

29th November

– Rebel forces in Syria enter and take control of parts of Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city. The ongoing offensive is the largest that the Syrian government has faced in years, and is the first time rebels fighting the forces of President Bashar al-Assad have reached Aleppo since 2016. At least 277 people have been killed in fighting since the offensive started on Wednesday.

– Irish citizens head to the polls in their general election. Polls predict a tight three-way race between Prime Minister Simon Harris’ Fine Gael party, Foreign Minister Micheál Martin’s Fianna Fáil party, and Mary Lou McDonald’s Sinn Féin party. Ireland’s next government will be a coalition, because none of the parties are running enough candidates to achieve a majority on their own.

– Chad terminates a key defence cooperation agreement with France, raising questions about the West’s waning influence in Africa’s embattled Sahel region. Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have all ended deals with France and other Western nations in recent years, turning to Russia for support instead. France currently has about 1,000 troops in Chad, providing intelligence and logistical assistance to the Chadian military from their bases.

– Sweden formally asks China to co-operate with an investigation into the damage to two cables in the Baltic Sea earlier in November – one linking Sweden to Lithuania and the other between Finland and Germany. A Chinese ship is believed to have been in the area at the time, but Beijing has denied any involvement in sabotage and has said it was willing to work with Sweden and other countries in the investigation.

28th November

– The UK announces it will provide £1.98 billion over three years to the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for the world’s lowest income countries, to go towards projects promoting economic growth, tackling poverty and addressing the impacts of climate change.

– Romania’s top court orders a recount of the first round of the country’s presidential election, which saw Călin Georgescu, a largely unknown, far-right NATO skeptic with pro-Russia leanings, secure victory. Romania’s top national security officials said Romania had been targeted by cyberattacks intended to influence the first round of voting.

27th November

– Namibians head to the polls for one of the most competitive general elections in the country’s history. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is the candidate of the governing South West Africa’s People’s Organisation (Swapo), and is seeking to become the country’s first female President. But high unemployment, poverty, inequality and corruption allegations have eroded support for the party, and Nandi-Ndaitwah’s faces challenge from Panduleni Itula of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) party, as well as 13 other candidates.

– A prisoner swap between the United States and China results in the release of three Chinese prisoners detained in the US, and three US citizens detained in China. The exchange was reportedly months in the making, and is seen as a diplomatic win for Biden, in his last few weeks in office.

– Syrian opposition forces launch an offensive in north-western Syria, accusing the government and allied Iran-backed militias of escalation and aggression, and capturing territory from President Bashar al-Assad’s forces for the first time in years. The Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions seize control of a number of towns and villages in Aleppo and Idlib provinces. Last month, the UN special envoy for Syria had warned that the wars in Gaza and Lebanon appeared to be “catalysing conflict in north-west Syria in a dangerous manner”.

26th November

– The Israeli security cabinet agrees to a 60-day truce between Israel and the Lebanese militia group, Hezbollah. The deal includes the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and an end to the Hezbollah presence in the area. Any attempts by Hezbollah to rearm will be considered a violation of the deal by Israel. A five-country committee, including France and chaired by the US, will monitor the truce. The deal will take effect from 04:00 local time (02:00 GMT) tomorrow.

– Israel carries out waves of air strikes on Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, just hours before the Israeli security cabinet approves a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah. Seven people were killed, and two dozen strikes in southern suburbs and central areas targeted what the Israeli military said were Hezbollah infrastructure sites and financial facilities.

– Protesters calling for the release of Pakistani former PM, Imran Khan, breach barriers surrounding Islamabad, and make their way to Democracy Square. Protesters were then pushed back by police and met with tear gas. At least six people – four security officers and two civilians – have died in the clashes during these latest protests, which began on Sunday.

25th November

– Yamandú Orsi, a left-wing former history teacher, wins Uruguay’s presidential election, beating Álvaro Delgado, the governing conservative coalition’s candidate. Orsi’s Broad Front coalition will now return to power after five years of conservative rule.

–  Tens of thousands of marching protesters, calling for the release of Pakistani former PM, Imran Khan, approach Islamabad, as security forces attempt to block access to the city, placing it under lockdown. Dozens of protesters have been arrested as they clash with security forces. Meanwhile, the city prepares to receive Belarusian President, Aleksandr Lukashenko, for a three-day visit to Pakistan.

– The bodies of at least eight people, including six children, are recovered after a migrant boat sank off the Greek island of Samos. Around 40 people were rescued from the water by authorities. More than 50,000 migrants have arrived in Greece by boat so far this year, making it the second most used European migrant route – behind only Italy.

– Călin Georgescu, a largely unknown, far-right NATO skeptic with pro-Russia leanings, secures a shock victory in the first round of Romania’s presidential election. The deciding second round of voting is set for December 8th, in which Georgescu will face reformist Elena Lasconi, of the Save Romania Union (USR). Romania’s president has a semi-executive role with significant decision-making powers over national security, foreign policy and judicial appointments.

24th November

– COP29 negotiators agree to a deal that provides at least $300 billion per year by 2035 to help developing nations fight climate change. The figure was bumped up from the $250 billion announced on Friday, but remains far below the trillions of dollars that developing countries have been asking for. The figure will include finance from both nations and international institutions, such as the World Bank, but there remains uncertainty about the final amount that any developed country will pay – especially as climate-sceptic Donald Trump prepares to take office.

– The EU’s Foreign Policy chief, Josep Borrell, arrives in Lebanon at the end of a Middle East tour, calling for more pressure on both Israel and Hezbollah to reach a ceasefire. He announced that the EU is ready to allocate €200 million to assist the Lebanese military deploy additional troops to the country’s south, to pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops.

– Pakistani officials announce a seven-day truce between rival Shia and Sunni Muslim groups, after days of clashes have killed dozens of people in the northwest of the country. The violence began on Thursday after gunmen attacked civilian convoys, killing at least 40 people, who mainly were Shia Muslims. In retaliation, residents in the area of Kurram targeted Sunni Muslims.

– Iran says it will hold nuclear talks with officials from France, Germany, and the UK next Friday, amid escalating tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme. On Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a resolution denouncing Iran for what it called a lack of cooperation.

– Thousands of supporters of Imran Khan, Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister, march towards Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, demanding his release. Protesters have clashed with security forces, as violence breaks out.

23rd November

– French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, says there are no “red lines” when it comes to French support for Ukraine, and that Ukraine could fire French long-range missiles into Russia “in the logics of self defence”. French President Macron has already indicated France’s willingness to allow its missiles to be fired into Russia, but Barrot did not confirm if French weapons had already been used.

– The Cop29 draft deal verges on collapse, as representatives for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) walk out of COP29 climate talks in Baku, after dismissing an offer of $250bn from richer countries to tackle the effects of climate change.

– Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a landslide majority in the regional election of India’s second-largest state, Maharashtra – dramatically regaining the ground it lost just five months ago in a parliamentary election setback.

22nd November

–  COP29 negotiators produce a draft deal. The text “calls on” countries to work together to scale up funding for developing countries to $1.3 trillion by 2035 – via both public and private sources. However, the proposed public finance pledge from developed countries is just $250 billion annually per year by 2035 – just one fifth of what developing nations have been asking for.

– The UK Prime Minister’s spokesperson announces that the UK government would “fulfil its legal obligations” in relation to the ICC arrest warrant issued for Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netenyahu, indicating that Netenyahu would be arrested upon arrival during a visit to the UK.

– The Russian Ambassador to the UK claims that Britain is now ‘directly involved’ in Ukraine war, having provided Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine to strike inside Russian territory.

21st November

– Ukraine’s air force accuses Russia of launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at the city of Dnipro. If confirmed, this would mark the first time that Russia has launched an ICBM towards Ukraine during the conflict. Dnipro was hit by a series of explosions which began early in the morning and lasted for around three hours.

– The Hungarian Defence Minister announces Hungary will install an air defence system near its border with Ukraine, citing a “greater than ever” threat of an escalation in the Ukraine-Russia war. Meanwhile, Poland has deployed its own fighter jets, and NATO aircraft, to protect its airspace during Russian strikes on Ukraine.

– The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netenyahu, and former Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, as well as the military commander of Hamas, Mohammed Deif of Hamas, although he is reported to have been Israel killed in an air strike in July. Both Israel and Hamas have denied the allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The US has rejected the ICC decision, while several European countries have said they respect the decisions of the court.

20th November

– Initial reports emerge that UK Storm Shadow missiles have been used on targets inside Russia for the first time. Meanwhile the governments of Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico make an urgent appeal “to avoid actions that escalate the arms race and aggravate the conflict” between Russia and Ukraine.

– Outgoing US President Joe Biden agrees to provide Ukraine with anti-personnel landmines, which has been met with fierce criticism from campaigners opposed to the use of the weapons, given their indiscriminate risk to civilians. Biden also announces $275m (£217m) in extra supplies of ammunition for Kyiv.

– The United States, Spanish, Italian and Greek embassies close in Kyiv, Ukraine, over fears of a possible major air strike by Russia. The Spanish embassy re-opened in the afternoon, after a temporary evacuation.

– The humanitarian medical organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) suspends its operations in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, following a violent attack on its staff last week, and the alleged killing of two patients they were treating by Haitian police officers.

19th November

– The Ukraine war enters its 1,000th day. Marking the day, Ukraine fires its first US-supplied longer-range missiles at Russian territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin also approved changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, stating that any aggression against Russia by a state which is a member of a coalition like NATO (e.g. the US supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine) would be seen by Moscow as aggression from the whole group.

– Russia vetoes a draft UK-backed UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Sudan. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has called the veto a “disgrace”, while Russia accuses the UK of meddling in Sudanese affairs without involving Sudan itself.

– A Hong Kong court sentences dozens of pro-democracy leaders to years in jail for subversion, due to a plan to pick opposition candidates for local elections. This was the biggest trial held under the national security law (NSL) which China imposed on Hong Kong, shortly after the pro-democracy protests in 2019.

– UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer officially launches the Global Clean Power Alliance, alongside Brazilian President Lula, at the G20 in Rio de Janeiro. 12 countries have signed up, uniting to speed up the clean energy transition globally. The Alliance will work to share expertise with the goal of meeting the COP28 commitments to triple renewable energy and double energy efficiency.  The Alliance will have ‘Missions’ to address the most critical energy transition challenges, the first of which is the Finance Mission, launched today, to harness the political leadership needed to unlock private finance on a huge scale.

– Turkish air strikes in north-east Syria cut off access to electricity and water for more than a million people, in what experts say may be a violation of international law. The attacks have added to the humanitarian crisis in a region, already suffering under the effects of a years-long civil war and four years of extreme drought.

– Police in Georgia clash with demonstrators in the capital, Tbilisi, protesting against last month’s disputed election which they say was stolen by the government via voter intimidation and fraud. The Election Commission’s decision on Saturday to confirm the ruling party’s victory prompted the most recent demonstrations.

– The leader of Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia resigns after days of mass protests over a controversial pro-Russia bill.

– Four Ghanaian peacekeepers are injured after an Israeli rocket strikes a UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) base near the border with Israel.

18th November

– UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets with China’s President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit – the first time a British PM has met the Chinese leader in person in more than six years. Sir Keir said that, going forwards, UK-China relations will be “consistent, durable, respectful, and as we have agreed, avoid surprises where possible”.

– Outgoing US President Biden drops his opposition to Ukraine firing long-range ATACMS missiles inside Russia – a policy the US has been stalling on for months. Use will reportedly be limited to the defence of Ukrainian forces inside Russia’s Kursk region. Kremlin politicians have described it as a serious escalation, and have vowed an “appropriate response”. The UK Government has not confirmed whether they will approve the use of the UK’s Storm Shadow missiles.

– The US, UK and Australian governments announce that under their AUKUS agreement, the nations are working together to develop new hypersonic long-range missiles and vehicles, to bolster the collective security of the three nations.

– A Russian missile attack kills 10 people and wounds 44 in Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa.

– Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is reportedly pushing Hezbollah towards a ceasefire with Israel, with reports emerging that he supports ending the conflict. According to officials, Khamenei told Hezbollah it should agree to terms demanding it move its forces north, in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

– Interim Bangladeshi leader Muhammad Yunus says extradition will be sought against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to face trial on charges of crimes against humanity, corruption and murder. Hasina fled Bangladesh to India after she was toppled in a student-led revolution in August.

17th November

– Russia targets Ukraine’s power grid with over 200 missiles and drones in its largest-scale attack in months, killing seven people and forcing Ukraine to announce nationwide electricity rationing from Monday.

– An Israeli air strike on a five-storey residential block in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza kills at least 34 people. The Israeli military said it had been striking militant targets in the northern Gaza in order to stop Hamas from regrouping. In central Gaza, three separate Israeli attacks on refugee camps have killed 15 people, while five more were killed in a Israeli drone attack on Rafah in the south.

– G20 leaders head to Brazil ahead of the G20 leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro, early next week.

– The UK announces it will provide a £113 million aid package for the more than one million people in Sudan affected by the civil war, and those who have fled to neighbouring countries. The aid package will double the UK’s aid commitment to Sudan and the region this year.

– Venezuelan authorities report that more than 100 people, arrested following July’s contested presidential election, have been freed from detention. More than 1,800 people were arrested for their role in mass protests after the July election.

– The Senegalese government claims victory in Senegal’s parliamentary elections. The ruling party’s victory gives President Bassirou Diomaye Faye a strong mandate to implement his radical agenda of economic and social reform, on which he was elected in March.

16th November

– Outgoing US leader Joe Biden holds his final meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru. Xi confirmed that Beijing’s goal of a stable relationship with Washington would remain unchanged and that he would work with the new Trump administration “to maintain communication, expand cooperation and manage differences”.

– Nearly 100 UN lorries carrying aid into southern Gaza are looted, with many of the Palestinian drivers held at gunpoint and injured. Gaza’s interior ministry said its security staff killed more than 20 “members of gangs” involved in stealing aid trucks.

15th November

– In the first phone call between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Russian President Vladimir Putin in nearly two years, Scholz called on Putin to end the war and pull Russian troops out of Ukraine, and labelled Russia’s deployment of North Korean troops against Ukraine a “grave escalation” of the conflict.

– Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s coalition, the National People’s Power (NPP), secures a landslide victory in the country’s snap parliamentary elections, with a two-thirds majority. The coalition even won the Jaffna Peninsula for the first time since independence from Britain in 1948. In the outgoing assembly, Dissanayake’s party had just three seats, cementing a transformation of the political landscape which for decades was dominated by established political parties of family dynasties.

– Protesters in the breakaway Georgia region of Abkhazia storm parliament and the presidential complex after the government planned to approve a controversial pro-Russia bill, legalising Russian investment and land ownership. The bill is being withdrawn after protesters took control of the government quarter in the capital Sukhumi, and both the President and Prime Minister have reportedly fled the presidential compound. Abkhazia is recognised by most of the world as Georgian territory, but has been under Russian control since Russia’s 2008 war.

14th November

– A new Human Rights Watch report accuses Israel of “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity”. Meanwhile, Israel’s New Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterates that the Israeli Defense Forces will “not take its foot off the pedal” in Lebanon until Hezbollah is destroyed, in an apparent expansion of its war aims in Lebanon. 15 rescue workers are also killed in an Israeli air strike on an emergency response centre in north-eastern Lebanon.

– President-elect Donald Trump names Matt Gaetz, a member of the House of Representatives from Florida, as his pick for Attorney General, but there are many questions around whether he will be confirmed. Allegations against Gaetz surrounding sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, sharing inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misusing state identification records, converting campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepting a bribe, improper gratuity, or an impermissible gift, will all be investigated by the House of Representatives’s Ethics Committee.

– New Zealand’s parliament is brought to a temporary halt by Māori Party MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke leading a haka, amid anger over a controversial bill seeking to reinterpret the country’s founding treaty with Māori people. Supporters of the bill say it will allow the treaty to be interpreted more fairly through parliament, rather than the courts, while opponents say the legislation will divide the country and lead to the unravelling of much-needed support for many Māori. A nine-day hīkoi – a peaceful protest march – is making its way towards the capital, Wellington, to protest the bill.

13th November

– The US Republican party wins full control of the US government, as Republican wins are projected in a handful of close races in the House of Representatives. The Republican party will now have control of the Presidency and both the Senate and House.

– Six Israeli soldiers are killed in combat near the Lebanon-Israel border, in Israel’s deadliest day since the beginning of ground offensive against Hezbollah in September.

– President-elect Donald Trump appoints Elon Musk as joint head of a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which, crucially, is not a full government agency. Musk will lead it with fellow billionaire hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, working externally to give the White House’s budgetary body “advice and guidance”. Donald Trump also overnight officially announced Mike Waltz as his incoming National Security Adviser, Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Chief, John Ratcliffe as the director of the CIA, William McGinley as White House Counsel, Steven Witkoff as his envoy to the Middle East, and Mike Huckabee as America’s new ambassador to Israel.

– Italian judges refer Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s plans to process migrants in Albania to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which typically takes six to 18 months to rule on cases. Judges in Italy have now twice refused to approve the detention of migrants in Meloni’s €670 million centres in northern Albania, disrupting Meloni’s flagship anti-migrant policy.

– Outgoing US President Joe Biden’s administration confirms it will not limit arms transfers to Israel as it threatened to a month ago, because limited progress has been made in increasing the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Meanwhile humanitarian groups describe the situation in Northern Gaza particularly as “dire”.

– At COP29, Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s President, uses a gathering of island leaders to attack France and the Netherlands for maintaining overseas territories, listing examples of how the French and Dutch administrations have caused environmental degradation. The attack caused French Ecological Transition Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher to boycott the talks.

12th November

– UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer arrives in Baku for COP29. He tells the climate conference he is committed to a more “ambitious” climate goal for the UK – an 81% emissions cut by 2035. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev, told the conference that oil, gas and other natural resources are a “gift of god” and countries should not be blamed for having them.

– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announces that Ukraine’s ongoing incursion into Russia’s Kursk region is now holding down 50,000 Russian troops. Zelenskyy said the operation was reducing Moscow’s ability to attack inside Ukraine itself.

– At least 28 people are killed in Israeli air strikes on two houses in the Mount Lebanon region in central Lebanon, where displaced families were living. The Israeli military claims it struck Hezbollah “terror facilities”.

11th November

– Japanese Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, wins a run-off vote in parliament to stay in-post, following the recent election that saw his coalition lose its majority in the lower house. Ishiba defeated Yoshihiko Noda, the leader of the main opposition party Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.

– COP29 begins in Baku, Azerbaijan, running from the 11th – 22nd November. Negotiators are hoping to agree action to help rein in rising global temperatures and secure a new climate finance target.

– Arab and Muslim leaders gather in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman begins the summit by demanding that Israel immediately stop its military aggression in Gaza and Lebanon, condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide”. Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati told the summit that his country was suffering an unprecedented crisis that threatens its existence.

10th November

– The UK’s Chief of the Defence Staff warns that the new era of conflict across the world, as an emerging axis led by Russia and China plunges the world into a new era of “competition and contest”, will last “decades”. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said the “rules-based international system” established after the two world wars is “under immense strain” from the growing threat of authoritarian states hostile to the West.

9th November

– Qatar suspends its work as a mediator in the ceasefire and hostage release talks between Israel and Hamas, until Hamas and Israel “show their willingness” to negotiate. The move comes after the US reportedly said it would no longer accept the presence of Hamas representatives in Qatar, accusing the group of rejecting new proposals for an end to the war in Gaza.

– A suicide bomber kills at least 25 in Pakistan’s south-western Balochistan province, and injures 50 others. The Balochistan Liberation Army, a separatist militant group, has claimed responsibility. The Balochistan province has seen a recent surge in deadly attacks, driven by demands for independence and control over local resources.

8th November

– The Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Simon Harris announces the General Election in the Republic of Ireland will be held on Friday 29th November.

– Analysis from the UN’s Human Rights Office reveals close to 70% of verified victims of Israeli attacks in Gaza between November 2023 and April 2024 were women and children. The report has condemned the high number of civilians killed, and flagged “unprecedented” levels of international law violations, raising concerns about war crimes and other possible atrocity crimes.

7th November

– German Chancellor Olaf Scholz fires Finance Minister and fellow coalition leader, Christian Lindner, and two of Lindner’s three colleagues in cabinet promptly quit, causing Germany’s governing coalition to collapse, following weeks of internal tension. Scholz’ Social Democrats, Lindner’s Free Democrats and the Greens have governed Germany since 2021, and the coalition’s collapse means Scholz’ government no longer has a majority in parliament. Scholz has confirmed he will call a vote of confidence in his government early next year.

– 42 Heads of State and Government take part in the fifth meeting of the European Political Community, hosted by EU Council President Hungary. Leaders discussed Europe’s security challenges, the ongoing escalation in the Middle East, irregular migration and EU-US relations, in light of the US election results.

6th November

– Donald Trump secures victory over Vice President Kamala Harris to become the 47th President of the United States, in a more resounding win than many predicted. The Republican party also retakes the US Senate, strengthening the power Trump will have once in office.

– Myanmar’s military leader, Min Aung Hlaing, visits China for the first time since he ousted Myanmar’s elected government in February 2021. China is an important ally, neighbour and Myanmar’s largest trading partner, but the visit is a long way from a Chinese endorsement of the chaotic coup, which has seen 50,000 people killed since, and more than two million people displaced.

– South Africa closes one of its busiest border crossings with Mozambique, following post-electoral violence in several cities across Mozambique, sparked by the disputed victory by the ruling Frelimo party. At least 18 people have been killed in the protests.

– Cuba suffers a nationwide blackout as Hurricane Rafael hits, bringing winds of up to 185km/h to the Caribbean island. The storm comes just weeks after millions were left without power for four days following a blackout caused by issues with the country’s creaking energy infrastructure. The incident also coincided with Hurricane Oscar, which killed at least six people.

5th November

– Americans head to the polls in what is expected by many pollsters to be a very tight race, with seven ‘swing states’ set to decide the result. Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has had a small lead over former President Trump in the national polling averages since she entered the race at the end of July, and she remains slightly ahead. Trump would be only the second US President to secure a non-consecutive second term.

– Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu fires his Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, over a ‘lack of trust’, amid a row over the direction of the wars in Gaza and Lebanon. Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, replaces Gallant, who had long complained about the lack of a clear end goal to Netanyahu’s military operations.

4th November

– Moldova’s pro-EU President Maia Sandu wins a second term after a tense election run-off against rival Alexandr Stoianoglo, who was backed by the pro-Russian Party of Socialists, and had called for a closer relationship with Moscow. Before the result was called, Sandu’s national security adviser announced that there had been “massive interference” from Russia in Moldova’s electoral process that had “high potential to distort the outcome”, which Russia has denied.

– New UK leader of the opposition, Kemi Badenoch, appoints former Home Secretary Priti Patel as Shadow Foreign Secretary. Patel formerly served as Secretary of State for International Development under Theresa May’s administration. Former Shadow Foreign Secretary, Andrew Mitchell, returns to the backbenches.

3rd November

– Moldovans vote in the second round run-off of a Presidential election that is broadly seen as a choice between a European future or a return to Russian influence. Pro-European President Maia Sandu faces Alexandr Stoianoglo, who has promised to balance foreign policy between the West and Russia, and has the backing of the pro-Russian Party of Socialists.

2nd November

– A new phase of a polio vaccinations for children in northern Gaza resumes, after Israeli attacks last week meant the rollout was postponed. The UN’s agency for children (UNICEF) is running the campaign despite heavy bombardment. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that four children and two adults were injured in a strike on a polio vaccination centre in Gaza City.

– Kemi Badenoch beats Robert Jenrick to become the UK’s leader of the opposition and of the Conservative party. Badenoch is expected to begin appointing her shadow cabinet in the coming days.

1st November

– Kenya’s new Deputy President, Kithure Kindiki, is sworn into office, two weeks after his predecessor was impeached over allegations of corruption and inciting ethnic division. A legal attempt by his predecessor to delay the swearing-in ceremony failed on Thursday.

– A military post holding at least 200 soldiers is held hostage by armed supporters of Bolivia’s former president Evo Morales, near the Bolivian city of Cochabamba. The group has “seized weapons and ammunition”, and is demanding that authorities stop interfering with the blockades which Morales’ supporters have created around the country for the last 19 days, demanding an end to an investigation into the former president for alleged statutory rape and human trafficking, which Morales denies.

31st October

– North Korea launches a test intercontinental ballistic missile in the longest flight recorded yet, lasting 86 minutes. The launch violates UN resolutions and restrictions, and comes at a time of deteriorating relations between North and South Korea. South Korea has said it will impose fresh sanctions on the North in response to the launch.

–  Restrictions to WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram begin in Mozambique, following deadly demonstrations against the general election result that extended the leadership of the Frelimo party. At least 10 people are known to have been shot dead by security forces, and the opposition leader, Venâncio Mondlane, has gone into hiding while imploring his supporters via social media to continue demonstrating.

30th October

– The US envoy to the UN warns that Israel must immediately address the “catastrophic humanitarian situation” in Gaza, as the deadline for Israel to improve the flow of aid or face cuts to American military assistance approaches.

– Naim Qassem gives his first speech as Hezbollah’s new Secretary General, announcing that the militant group would continue with its war plan under his leadership, but that it could agree to a ceasefire deal within certain terms. He said that Israel has not yet presented any proposal that could be discussed, however.

– Spain endures its worst flooding in decades with at least 95 people dead and dozens more missing after huge rains swept the eastern province of Valencia and beyond.

29th October

– Hezbollah announces Naim Qassem, the group’s long-term deputy secretary general, as the next leader. Qassem was one of Hezbollah’s founding members, and replaces long-term leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike in Beirut last month.

28th October

– Israel’s parliament votes to ban the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) from operating within Israel and occupied East Jerusalem, accusing the organisation of colluding with Hamas in Gaza. Contact between UNRWA employees and Israeli officials will be banned within three months, severely limiting the agency’s ability to operate in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. UN chief Antonio Guterres said the move would have “devastating consequences for Palestine refugees”.

– NATO’s Secretary General, Mark Rutte, confirms the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia’s Kursk border region where Ukrainian troops have a foothold. Rutte labelled the deployment as a “significant escalation” and a “dangerous expansion” of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

– Tens of thousands of Georgians gather outside parliament in Tbilisi in response to a call from the pro-Western President to press for the annulment of Saturday’s election, that handed victory to the incumbent Georgian Dream party. Meanwhile, the Georgian Dream party and the election commission are adamant the result, giving the government almost 54% of the vote, was free and fair.

27th October

– Pro-Western opposition groups in Georgia refuse to accept the election results that hand victory to the Georgian Dream ruling party. The Georgian Dream claims outright victory, but opposition groups have accused the incumbent party of voter-fraud.

– Japan’s coalition, led by Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), loses its majority in parliament following a snap election. The LDP and its much smaller coalition partner, Komeito fell short of the 233-seat majority needed to govern, but Japan’s Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, has vowed to continue ruling the country. LDP had its image tarnished last year following a political funding corruption scandal last year, which implicated senior lawmakers and cabinet members.

– Reports of mass-killings of civilians by Sudan’s paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), are labelled as “atrocious crimes” by UN officials. Reports have come through that at least 124 people were killed by the RSF in attacks on villages over the past week.

– At least 40 soldiers in Chad are killed in an overnight attack on a military base. No suspects have been named, but the area is close to the border zones of Nigeria and Niger where Islamist militants are known to operate.

– A comedian at a Donald Trump rally causes significant backlash, having called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” –  sparking fury from Republicans and Democrats and accusations of racism. A Trump adviser has since distanced the former president from the Puerto Rico joke.

26th October

– Israel launches strikes on Tehran, capital of Iran, killing four Iranian soldiers, in an escalation of in the deepening war in the Middle East. Israel says it is responding to months of continuous attacks from Iran, not just the ballistic missiles Iran fired at Israel on 1 October. Meanwhile, the Iranian foreign ministry has condemned Israel’s attack as a “clear violation” of international law.

– Georgians head to the polls in a pivotal election, which will be a choice between Russia or Europe, as opposition parties aim to end 12 years of rule by the governing Georgian Dream party, who they accuse of drifting back into Russia’s orbit.

– Cuba endures its fourth day without power this week, in a nationwide blackout which has left around 10 million Cubans without power. Cuba’s energy and mines minister, Vicente de la O Levy, blames the problems on the “brutal” US economic embargo on Cuba, which makes it impossible to import new parts to overhaul the grid or bring in enough fuel to run the power stations, or to access credit in the international banking system.

25th October

– Negotiations over a potential Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal are set to resume in Doha in the coming days, officials from the US, Israel and Qatar have said. An Israeli delegation has confirmed it will travel to Qatar on Sunday. It is not yet clear whether Hamas has agreed to participate in the talks.

– At least 38 people are killed in Israeli strikes in southern Gaza. The strikes came as Israeli forces reportedly raided one of the last functioning hospitals in the north of the territory.

24th October

– Turkey strikes sites in Iraq and Syria linked to the PKK, the Kurdish militant group that it blames for an attack near Ankara that killed at least five people. The Turkish government announced that the strikes had killed 59 people it described as “terrorists”. A Kurdish-led militia in Syria said 12 civilians had died from the strikes.

– Mozambique’s ruling party, Frelimo, wins the country’s divisive, violence-marred election, extending Frelimo’s 49-year grip on power. Daniel Chapo will replace Filipe Nyusi as President, who has already served two terms. Following the announcement of the result, there have been violent and deadly protests in several towns.

23rd October

– The UK and Germany sign a “landmark defence agreement” aimed at boosting security, investment and jobs. Under the new Trinity House Agreement, both countries will work together to develop drones and a new long-range missile, and agreements include German defence company Rheinmetall opening a new factory in the UK to manufacture barrels for artillery guns – supporting 400 jobs.

– Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Russia, pledging to resume dialogue between their nations, days after the two sides announced they had reached an agreement on “disengagement and resolution of issues” regarding their shared Himalayan border.

– The final phase of the emergency polio vaccination rollout is postponed in northern Gaza, due to intense Israeli bombardments. Almost 120,000 children were expected to receive a second dose.

– US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and senior military officials in a series of meetings in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Blinken told Israeli leaders that “much more needs to be done” to get humanitarian aid to civilians in besieged northern Gaza, raising possible consequences in US law if action isn’t taken.

22nd October

– United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Israel for talks with Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It is the first stop of a wider visit to the Middle East – his 11th since the war in Gaza began – as he seeks to reignite ceasefire talks.

–  The UK government announces it will give an extra £2.26bn to Ukraine, using the profits from Russian assets held in Europe. It forms Britain’s contribution to a £38bn ($50bn) fund announced in June by the G7.

– Republican nominee and former US President Donald Trump makes a formal complaint against Democrat nominee Kamala Harris’ campaign, accusing the UK Labour Party of seeking to interfere with the US presidential election. The complaint cites reports that a number of UK Labour Party staffers have met with Harris officials, and been campaigning for Harris in the United States.

– Austria’s President, Alexander Van der Bellen, asks the leader of the conservative People’s Party (OVP), to form a coalition government with the Social Democrats – despite the fact that the far-right Freedom Party won Austria’s general election last month. All Austrian parties have ruled out forming a coalition with the Freedom Party.

21st October

– Russia welcomes leaders of the BRICS grouping for its annual summit. BRICS originally consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, but the group has since expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. The grouping is often referred to as a counterweight to the Western international order.

– India and China announce they have agreed on disengagement, along with new patrolling arrangements, to de-escalate tensions along a disputed Himalayan border, which has seen deadly hand-to-hand clashes since 2020.

– Moldovans narrowly back enshrining a path to joining the EU into its constitution in a country-wide referendum. The Yes vote received 50.46% of the vote, while No received 49.54%. The close result came as a shock, with the referendum expected to pass comfortably.

20th October

– Former military general Prabowo Subianto is sworn in as Indonesia’s President, marking the end of an era under former leader Joko Widodo, known locally as Jokowi. However, Jokowi’s oldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, was sworn in at Prabowo Subianto’s running mate.

– Tech billionaire Elon Musk announces he will give away $1m per day to a registered voter in key swing states, until the US presidential election on 5th November. The winner will be chosen at random from those who sign a petition by Musk’s pro-Trump campaign group, supporting First and Second Amendment rights.

19th October

– Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu’s office reveals that a drone was “launched towards” his residence in the northern coastal town of Caesarea. Netanyahu and his wife were not at home at the time, and no one was injured. Iran has revealed that Hezbollah was behind the reported attack.

18th October

– Hamas confirms the death of Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, in fighting in Tal as-Sultan, Rafah, on Wednesday. Sinwar was allegedly one of the key architects of the Hamas-led October 7th attacks on Israel, and has led Hamas in Gaza since the deaths of the group’s political leaders, Ismail Haniyeh and senior commander, Mohammed Deif, in July.

– UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy meets his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, and Vice Premier, Ding Xuexiang, on his first visit to China in the role – only the second visit by a Foreign Secretary in six years. Lammy announced that “the UK will pragmatically engage with China where there are clear UK and global interests”, while Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced that “China-Britain relations … now stand at a new starting point”.

– South Korea’s spy agency reports that North Korea is sending troops to fight with Russia in Ukraine. The allegation comes a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he believed 10,000 North Korean soldiers could join the war, based on  intelligence information.

– Russian President Vladimir Putin announces that he will not attend the G20 summit in Brazil next month, “so as not to disrupt” it. Putin downplayed the risk of his arrest if he was planning to attend the Summit, given his International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant, based on the warm relations between Russia and Brazil.

– His Royal Highness King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive in Australia, for their first visit since he became the country’s head of state, in September 2022. Following his visit to Australia, the King will visit Samoa, where he will attend a Commonwealth leaders’ summit.

17th October

– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presents his “victory plan” to leaders of the European Union in Brussels, as he tries to maintain international support for Ukraine.

– NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announces that Ukraine will be a member of NATO “in the future”, but refrains from further comment on the timeline.

– A Bangladeshi court orders an arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India in August after she was ousted by mass protests. The warrant is for her alleged involvement in “crimes against humanity” that took place during the protests, which saw more than 1,000 people killed. 45 others have received arrest warrants, including former government ministers who also fled the country.

16th October

– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presents his long-awaited “victory plan” to Ukrainian MPs. Key elements include a formal invitation to join NATO, the lifting by allies of bans on long-range strikes with Western-supplied weapons deep into Russia, a refusal to trade Ukraine’s territories and sovereignty, and the continuation of the incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region. Zelenskyy also criticised China, Iran and North Korea for their backing of Russia, describing them as a “coalition of criminals”.

– Israeli air strikes on the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh kill the Mayor and 15 other people, at least 5 of whom were municipal staff coordinating aid for civilians in the area.

15th October

–  The United Nations says that its peacekeepers in southern Lebanon will stay in their positions, despite repeated demands by Israel to leave. The head of UN peacekeeping operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, says that the decision to keep the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in place has the full backing of the UN Security Council and all of the member states contributing troops to the force.

– North Korea blows up roads connecting it to South Korea, days after Pyongyang vowed to cut off the roads and railways in a bid to “completely separate” the two countries. North Korea described the move as “a self-defensive measure for inhibiting war”, claiming it was in response to war exercises in South Korea and the frequent presence of American nuclear assets in the region.

14th October

– China launches a series of military war games off the coast of Taiwan, with drills taking place in nine locations around the island to simulate an assault on Taiwan. The drills have been described by China as “punishment” for a speech given by Taiwanese President, William Lai, in which he vowed to “resist annexation” and encroachment upon Taiwanese sovereignty. Taiwan says it has detected 25 aircraft, seven naval vessels, and four other ships taking part in the drills, dubbed ‘Joint Sword 2024B’.

– UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy attends a regular meeting of EU Foreign Ministers, becoming the first Foreign Secretary to do so since Brexit. Lammy attended as a special guest of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, to discuss the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Lammy hailed the meeting as a “historic moment that marks our EU reset”.

– The United States announces that it will deploy a high-altitude anti-missile system, and a military crew, to Israel to help bolster its air defences, following the missile attack from Iran earlier this month. The US said the deployment “underscores the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel”.

– The first aid in two weeks is allowed into northern Gaza, following a letter from the US to Israel, demanding a boost in humanitarian aid access to Gaza, including by enabling a minimum of 350 lorries a day to enter the enclave. Israel meanwhile denies accusations of obstructing humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza.

– India and Canada expel each other’s top envoys, and other diplomats, as the row intensifies over last year’s assassination of Sikh separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, on Canadian soil. Canadian police accused Indian agents of involvement in “homicides, extortion and violent acts” and targeting supporters of the pro-Khalistan movement, which seeks a separate homeland for Sikhs in India. India has rejected the allegations as “preposterous”, accusing Trudeau of pandering to Canada’s large Sikh community for political gain.

13th October

– Four Israeli soldiers are killed, and 58 others injured, in a Hezbollah drone strike targeting an army base in northern Israel. Hezbollah says that the strike was in response to Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and Beirut.

– Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns the United Nations to move its peacekeeping forces from their bases in southern Lebanon, which he says are providing a human shield to Hezbollah fighters.

12th October

– Sudanese army air strikes kill at least 23 people and injure more than 40 others in the south of the capital, Khartoum. The airstrikes target the main camp occupied by paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in southern Khartoum, hitting the central market and a nearby residential area.

– A fifth UN peacekeeper is wounded in southern Lebanon after being hit by Israeli gunfire, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has said, amid “ongoing military activity” near the peacekeeping headquarters in the southern city of Naquora.

– Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announces plans to temporarily suspend the right to asylum as part of a new migration strategy to combat irregular migration. Under international law, countries are obliged to offer people the right to claim asylum.

11th October

–  Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Simon Harris describes Israel’s attack on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon as a breach of international law. The Israel Defence Force has acknowledged that its troops opened fire “in the area” of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) headquarters in Naqoura.

10th October

– Taiwanese President William Lai pledges to uphold Taiwan’s self-governing status and resist annexation, during a speech commemorating Taiwan’s National Day. Lai also commits to maintaining the status quo of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and pledges to cooperate with Beijing on issues such as climate change, combating infectious diseases and maintaining regional security.

– A United Nations commission inquiry says that Israeli attacks on Gaza’s healthcare facilities, and Israel’s treatment of Palestinian detainees, amount to war crimes, as well as the crime against humanity of “extermination”. The commission also accuses Israel of carrying out a “concerted policy to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system” during its ongoing war with Hamas. Hamas and other Palestinian groups are also accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their treatment of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. The report will be presented to the UN General Assembly on 30th October.

9th October

– United States President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak for the first time in seven weeks, amid expectations of an imminent Israeli strike on Iran. It comes as Israel’s Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, announces that Israel’s response to Iran’s attack on the 1st October would be “deadly, precise and above all surprising”.

– Mozambique heads to the polls for a general election, with the ruling Frelimo party, that has been in power for half a century, expected to hold on to power.

8th October

– North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announces that North Korea will speed up steps toward becoming a military superpower with nuclear weapons, and would not rule out using them, if it comes under enemy attack. In the same speech, Kim Jong Un also states that North Korea has “absolutely no intention” of attacking South Korea.

– An air strike on an apartment building in Damascus, Syria, kills seven civilians. Syria’s Foreign Ministry has since accused Israel of launching the attack.

– Kenyan MPs vote in favour of removing the country’s Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua, over accusations of corruption, and of practising ethnically divisive politics and undermining the government. Kenya’s Senate will decide if he should be removed.

– The UK sanctions Russian soldiers whom it accuses of using chemical weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine. Russia’s Radiological Chemical and Biological Defence troops, and their commander Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, will be subject to an assets freeze and travel ban. Two of the Russian defence ministry’s scientific laboratories have also been designated.

7th October

– The world marks the one year anniversary of the October 7th attacks carried out by Hamas, that saw some 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage. Ceremonies are held across Israel, to remember the dead and call for the return of the remaining hostages. Protests and marches across the world also commemorate the nearly 42,000 people subsequently killed in Gaza, and those have died elsewhere in the Middle East during the year long conflict.

– The Israel Defense Forces begin a ground operation against Hezbollah in the western part of south Lebanon. Until now, the operation had been focused on the eastern side of the border. So far, about 1.2 million people have been displaced within the country since Israel increased its air strikes last month and began its official ground invasion on the 30th September.

– Ethiopia’s parliament approves a new President, replacing the country’s first female head of state, Sahle-Work Zewde, who had fallen out with the Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed. Taye Astike Selassie, who has been the foreign minister since February, was sworn into the largely ceremonial role.

6th October

– Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu lands in India for a five day trip, during which he is expected to seek a bailout worth hundreds of millions of dollars, as Mauritius faces an economic crisis with fears of debt default. The trip is Muizzu’s first official bilateral visit, after he was voted to power late last year following a campaign centred on a promise to reduce Delhi’s influence.

– Israel’s military continues its attack on Lebanese capital Beirut, with residents told to evacuate immediately. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, 23 people were killed and 93 wounded in strikes.

– The mayor of a Mexican city is murdered after six days in the post. Alejandro Arcos was found dead in Chilpancingo, a city in the southwestern state of Guerrero, plagued by drug violence. His death came three days after the city government’s new secretary, Francisco Tapia, was shot dead.

5th October

–  UK Muslim and Jewish leaders join the archbishop of Canterbury to release an unprecedented joint statement – the first high-level act of inter-faith solidarity in the year-long conflict – to reject prejudice on the eve of 7th October anniversary.

4th October

– The US military launches strikes on the Iranian-backed Houthi group in Yemen, hitting 15 targets, in order “to protect freedom of navigation”.

– India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar announces he is set to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Pakistan later this month – the first visit by a senior Indian minister to Pakistan in nearly a decade. The trip comes after Pakistan’s Foreign Minister attended a meeting of foreign ministers in India last year – the first senior Pakistani politician to visit since 2011.

3rd October

– UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer visits Brussels for the first time since being elected, in an effort to rebuild ties with the EU. Starmer met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and called for closer co-operation across defence and security, climate change, irregular migration, and on delivering economic growth.

– The UK announces it will give up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, a remote but strategically important cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean, after more than half a century. The deal will see the UK hand over sovereignty to neighbouring Mauritius, and reportedly “address wrongs of the past and demonstrate the commitment of both parties to support the welfare of Chagossians”. Meanwhile many Chagossians have expressed frustration over their exclusion from the negotiations.

– Eight Israeli soldiers are killed in fighting in southern Lebanon – the first Israeli losses since the start of its ground invasion, aimed at the armed group Hezbollah. Meanwhile the Israeli military announces that more infantry and armoured troops had joined the ground operation.

2nd October

– Russian troops take complete control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Vuhledar, which Ukrainian forces have been defending since the beginning of Moscow’s invasion two and a half years ago.

1st October

– Israel launches a ground invasion in southern Lebanon, in what it has described as “limited, localised and targeted” raids against Hezbollah. Residents in around 25 villages are told to evacuate and head north.

– Iran launches more than 180 missiles towards Israel in a large-scale attack that heightens fears of an all-out regional war. The US announces that it had “actively” supported Israel’s defence against the attack.

– China marks the 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, and of Communist Party rule. President Xi Jinping warns of “rough seas” ahead for China’s people, in a speech on the eve of the anniversary. Coverage of the anniversary has been muted compared to past years, a likely signal that the authorities are avoiding ostentatious displays while Chinese people are under financial strain.

– Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau survives his second non-confidence motion in as many weeks. Several other non-confidence motions are expected to be tabled in the coming weeks, as Trudeau faces growing pressure to resign over concerns he is a drag on his party’s fortunes.

30th September

– Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) celebrates an unprecedented election victory in Austria’s parliamentary election, having secured 28.9% of the vote – almost three per cent ahead of the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP), albeit far short of a majority. The party wants firm rules on legal immigration and it has promoted the idea of remigration, which involves sending asylum seekers back to their home countries. The FPÖ will need to seek a coalition or face a minority government, but the second-placed ÖVP has refused to take part in a government led by party leader Herbert Kickl.

– Japanese incoming Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, announces plans for a snap election on 27th October, more than a year before it is due. The election will decide which party controls parliament’s lower house.

– The UK’s EU Relations Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds travels to Brussels to meet Brussels’ European Commission Executive Vice-President, Maroš Šefčovič – a key opportunity to lay the ground before UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s summit with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday.

29th September

– Austrians head to the polls in their national election, with the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) riding a surge in popularity, capitalising on fears around migration, asylum and crime heightened by August’s alleged Islamist terror plot that caused the cancellation of three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna. Inflation and tepid economic growth have also resulted in the 11-point leap in the polls for the FPÖ since the last election in 2019.

28th September

– An Israeli airstrike on Beirut is confirmed to have killed Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, on Friday evening. Nasrallah was one of the most prominent figures in the Iran-led “Axis of Resistance”, and had been head of the militant group since 1992. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, announces five days of mourning in Iran in response to Nasrallah’s death.

27th September

– Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes a speech at the UN General Assembly, promising to keep fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon, and to call for total victory against Hamas in Gaza. Many delegates walk out drawing the speech.

– UK Development Minister Anneliese Dodds announces a further £5 million in aid for Lebanon, to support humanitarian response efforts following Israeli attacks. The funds will be distributed through UNICEF.

– UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy meet with Former US President and Presidential candidate Donald Trump, to discuss the future of the UK-US relationship, just six weeks ahead of the US Presidential election. Trump also met with Ukraine’s Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with the (unlikely) pair agreeing that the invasion must come to an end and that Ukraine must prevail.

– Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) elects former defence chief, Shigeru Ishiba, as its new leader. Since the LDP has a parliamentary majority, Ishiba will become Prime Minister. Ishiba promised he would clean up the scandal-hit LDP, revitalise the economy and address security threats after winning Friday’s party election.

26th September

– UK Defence Secretary John Healey, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles meet in the UK to discuss their joint AUKUS pact. Healey and Marles also announced talks for a bilateral UK-Australia treaty, which will outline how the two countries will cooperate in building AUKUS submarines.

– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with US President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, to discuss a new military package.

– Sudan’s army launches a major offensive against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group it is fighting in the country’s civil war, targeting areas in the capital it lost at the start of the conflict.

25th September

– UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks at the United Nations General Assembly and uses his speech to renew calls for Israel and Hezbollah to stop the violence and step back from the brink of war, as well as overhaul international institutions, including the UN.

– 12 allied nations including the UK and the United States call for a 21-day cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, to provide space for diplomacy ahead of any broader regional escalation.

– Russian President Vladimir Putin announces that his government is considering changing the rules and preconditions around which Russia would use its nuclear arsenal. Russia would reportedly consider an attack from a non-nuclear state that was backed by a nuclear-armed one to be a “joint attack”, in what is expected to be a veiled threat that Russia is willing to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine. His comments come as Kyiv seeks approval to use long-range Western missiles against military sites in Russia.

24th September

– The first day of the high-level UN General Assembly kicks off. US President Joe Biden uses his final UNGA speech to encourage warring sides in the Middle East to pursue diplomatic solutions, and avoid total regional escalation.

– Israeli air strikes in Lebanon continue for a second day, totalling well over a thousand in two days. The death toll is reported to have risen to at least 492 people, and more than 90,000 people are reportedly displaced.

– Sri Lanka’s new President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, dissolves parliament to make way for a snap general election on the 14th November, almost a year ahead of schedule.

23rd September

– Lebanon’s health ministry announces that at least 274 people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded in Israeli strikes, in the deadliest day of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in the past year. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Israel’s actions marked a “war of extermination”, and thousands of people have fled southern Lebanon for the capital, Beirut.

– Clashes break out in Bolivia between pro-government supporters and security forces, and protesters loyal to the former President, Evo Morales, who are participating in a week-long march to the capital La Paz. Morales, who is leading his thousands of supporters, wishes to run as the candidate for the ruling Mas party in the country’s 2025 presidential elections.

– Nigeria’s ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC), wins its first big electoral test since Bola Tinubu became President last year, despite the dire state of the country’s economy. In the southern Edo state, APC Senator Monday Okpebholo defeated the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Asue Ighodalo. However, the PDP has complained of fraud and vowed to challenge the result in court.

22nd September

– Anura Kumara Dissanayake wins Sri Lanka’s presidential election, beating incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe. The left-leaning coalition leader now heads the National People’s Power (NPP) alliance, which includes his own Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party.

– Hezbollah fires over 100 rockets into northern Israel, with some landing near the city of Haifa, as Israel launched hundreds of strikes on Lebanon. A Hezbollah leader has declared an “open-ended battle” is underway, as the region edges closer to an all-out war.

– Kenya pledges to send 600 more police officers to violence-stricken Haiti, to help fight gangs controlling much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and nearby areas, bringing the Kenyan contingent up to 1,000. A handful of other countries have together pledged at least 1,900 more troops to support Haiti’s own police force.

21st September

– Sri Lankans head to the polls for the first election since mass protests ousted the previous President in 2022. Current President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was appointed by parliament following the ousting of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and was charged with the monumental task of leading Sri Lanka out of its economic collapse, is seeking another term. Many view this election as a referendum on the economic reforms Wickremesinghe introduced.

– US President Joe Biden hosts Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, in Wilmington, Delaware, for the fourth Quad Leaders’ Summit.

– French President Emmanuel Macron unveils his new government line-up, almost three months after France’s snap general election delivered a hung parliament. Led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier, the new Government marks a decisive shift to the right, even though a left-wing alliance won the most parliamentary seats. Members of the left-wing alliance, the New Popular Front (NFP) have threatened a no-confidence motion in the new government.

20th September

– Russian Foreign Secretary, Sergey Lavrov, warns that Russia is “fully ready” for a conflict with NATO in the Arctic, in response to NATO’s drills related to possible crises in the Arctic.

19th September

– The leader of armed group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, announces that the pager attacks earlier in the week “crossed all red lines”, accusing Israel of what he said represented a declaration of war.

– UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy dines with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Italy, to discuss the crisis in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine. Blinken called for restraint, but Lammy went further, calling for the first time during the current conflict in southern Lebanon for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

18th September

– UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy visits Norway to meet with his Norwegian counterpart, Espen Barth Eide, to announce enhanced intelligence-sharing and cooperation to counter Russian disinformation networks.  The Ministers will also discuss sub-sea threats to energy, security and critical national infrastructure, as well as tactics to cut the flow of illicit funds to Russia currently evading UK sanctions.

– A second round of explosions of hand-held communications devices begins in the southern suburbs of Beirut, as well as the cities of Nabatieh, Tyre and Saida in southern Lebanon. The death toll of the attacks reaches 37.

17th September

– Thousands of pagers used by members of Hezbollah explode across Dahiyeh, Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Beirut, claiming the lives of at at least 12, including children, and wounding around 3000 people. Israel is widely blamed for instigating the attack. Hezbollah had distributed the devices amid concerns that smartphones were being tracked by the Israeli military and intelligence agencies.

16th September

– Residents of Kashmir head to the polls for the first time in a decade, as elections are held in 47 assembly seats across the region, long marked by violence and unrest. The region, claimed by both India and Pakistan, has been the cause of three wars between the nuclear-armed neighbours. The three-phase polls will also extend to the 43 seats in the neighbouring Hindu-majority Jammu region.

– UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer lands in Italy to meet with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. High on the agenda is migration, and how the UK can learn from Italy, which has recently seen a dramatic fall in migrant numbers.

15th September

– Former US President Donald Trump is the target of a second assassination attempt, just two months after the Republican presidential nominee was shot in the ear at a rally in Butler.

– Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces that Yemen’s Houthi group will pay a “heavy price”, after a missile fired by the group landed in an uninhabited part of central Israel.

– Deadly torrential rain and flooding caused by Storm Boris continues to wreak havoc across Central and Eastern Europe. In Romania, five people have died, while several remain unaccounted for in the Czech Republic. In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk declares a state of natural disaster.

– Prosecutors in Italy seek a six-year jail term for deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini over a decision in August 2019 to stop a migrant boat from docking. Salvini, who was the Interior Minister at the time, denies charges of kidnap and dereliction of duty, claiming he had wanted to stop Italy becoming a “refugee camp for all of Europe”.

14th September

– The government of South Sudan announces it will be delaying national elections by two years. South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, has not held national elections since independence in 2011. The polls were due to take place in December. President Salva Kiir’s office says essential tasks like writing a new constitution, and tackling logistical and security challenges have to happen before an election.

13th September

– US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer meet at the White House, to discuss issues including Ukraine, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific.

– Russian President Vladimir Putin announces that he would view the West allowing Ukraine to use its long-range missiles to strike Russian territory as direct participation of NATO countries in the war in Ukraine, and as such, would “substantially change the very essence, the nature of the conflict”. Putin went on to describe the consequences of this as those “you have never seen in your entire history.”

– Russia revokes the accreditation of six British diplomats it accuses of spying. The UK Foreign Office describes the claim as baseless.

–  Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil summons Spain’s ambassador in Caracas, in protest of Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles’s description of Venezuela’s government as a dictatorship. Venezuela’s opposition politician Edmundo González is currently requesting asylum in Spain, following the contested victory of President Nicolás Maduro in July .

12th September

– Russia’s defence ministry announces that its forces have begun a counter-offensive, and recaptured 10 settlements seized by Ukrainian forces in the surprise incursion in Russia’s Kursk border region last month.

– The International Committee of the Red Cross announces that three of its workers have been killed, and two others injured, in a strike in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has labelled it “another Russian war crime”.

– The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) announces that six of its employees have been killed in an Israeli air strike on a school it runs in central Gaza.

– The United States announces it is placing sanctions on 16 officials closely aligned with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who are accused of involvement in Maduro’s “fraudulent and illegitimate claims of victory and his brutal crackdown on free expression”.

11th September

– US Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris participate in the pair’s first presidential debate. Regarding foreign affairs, Trump refused to say he wanted Ukraine to win the war against Ukraine, while sounding off about Europe’s contributions to NATO. Harris, meanwhile, maintained her support for NATO and Ukraine, while hinting she would carry on Biden’s growing trade war with China.

– UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken land in Kyiv for a joint visit, reiterating their joint support for Ukraine. Lammy announced that the delivery of Iranian missiles to Russia has changed the debate around Ukraine using Western-provided long-range missiles against targets inside Russia.

– Countries bordering Germany criticise Berlin’s move to temporarily tighten border controls, with fears it is jeopardising the EU’s prized Schengen Agreement. Critics have called it a ‘transparent’ bid to appease far right that breaches free movement rights.

10th September

– German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announces new border controls, which include a scheme allowing more people to be turned back directly at the border. The announcement was the latest in a series of tougher migration measures, following a series of high-profile attacks allegedly perpetrated by people who entered the country as asylum-seekers.

9th September

– At least 21 people have been killed, and more than 70 others wounded, by shelling at a busy market in south-eastern Sudan. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the group which controls most of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, is blamed for the attack in the city of Sennar – the most recent in Sudan’s bloody civil war. The attack happened a day after Sudan’s military rejected a proposal by UN experts to send in an international force to protect civilians.

– The Afghan embassy in London announces its closure, following the dismissal of its staff by the Taliban government. It follows an announcement by the Taliban in July that it was cutting ties with several embassies set up the previous regime.

– Russian military unit, Unit 29155, is accused of carrying out cyber-attacks on Ukrainian allies around the world, designed to disrupt aid efforts, in a joint defence briefing by Western intelligence agencies. The intervention comes as European governments seek to counter what they say is increased Russian espionage in the wake of the Ukraine war.

8th September

– The opposition candidate in Venezuela’s recent, highly contested, presidential election lands in Spain after fleeing his homeland, following the issuance of his arrest warrant by Venezuelan authorities for conspiracy, forging documents, and other “serious crimes”. Edmundo González will be granted political asylum in Spain.

7th September

– In the first-ever joint article between the heads of the UK and US foreign intelligence services, the chiefs of MI6 and the CIA say the international world order is “under threat in a way we haven’t seen since the Cold War”. The article also includes reference to the work being done to “disrupt the reckless campaign of sabotage” across Europe by Russia, a push for de-escalation in the Israel-Gaza war, and counterterrorism to thwart the resurgent Islamic State (IS).

– UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer lands in the Republic of Ireland, the first visit by a British Prime Minister to Ireland in 5 years. Downing Street said the visit marked a “new era of co-operation and friendship” between Britain and Ireland. The two leaders pledged to hold annual summits on trade and cooperation.

– More than 100,000 people take to the streets across France to protest against the appointment of the centre-right politician Michel Barnier as the new Prime Minister. The protests were called by trade unions and members of the NPF, whose own candidate for Prime Minister was rejected by President Emmanuel Macron.

6th September

– A  senior member of Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chadema, is kidnapped, beaten and doused with acid in a brutal murder. Mohamed Ali Kibao’s death comes amid concern by the opposition and human rights groups of a clampdown on political activity in the country.

5th September

– Michel Barnier is named as France’s new Prime Minister by French President Emmanuel Macron, almost two months after France’s snap elections ended in political deadlock. Barnier, a veteran of the right-wing Republicans (LR) party, was the EU’s former chief Brexit negotiator, and led talks with the UK government between 2016 and 2019.

– 27-year-old Ngā Wai hono i te pō is chosen as kuini – the Māori queen – by a council of New Zealand’s indigenous Māori chiefs, officially taking on the role after the passing of her father, Kiingi Tuheitia. Many see the crowning of a queen – only the second in history – as a gesture of renewal and a positive influence on younger Māori members.

4th September

– The US charges and sanctions Russian state media executives and restricts Kremlin-linked broadcasters, accusing Moscow of a widespread campaign to interfere with the presidential election. RT, formerly Russia Today, has been accused of paying a Tennessee firm $10m to “create and distribute content to US audiences with hidden Russian government messaging”.

– The Pope lands in Indonesia, for a 11-day visit to the region – the longest foreign trip of his papacy – to meet with Church leaders across the Asia-Pacific.

3rd September

– An arrest warrant is issued for Venezuela opposition candidate, Edmundo González, in a step that represents a significant ramping up of the political tensions in Venezuela. Since the vote, his opposition alliance has published voting data online which it says shows he won the election by a huge margin, of more than 30%.

– Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, steps down, as part of a wide-ranging reshuffle of the Ukrainian cabinet that will take place this week. Others who handed in their resignations included the Strategic Industries Minister, Justice Minister, and Deputy Prime Ministers Olha Stefanishyna and Iryna Vereshchuk.

– The US justice department indicts Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, and several other prominent figures in connection with Hamas’ attack in Israel on 7th October last year, with charges including the murder of dozens of US citizens, conspiracy to finance terrorism and use of weapons of mass destruction. The step has been seen by analysts as partly symbolic, not least because some of those named in the indictment are already dead.

2nd September

– UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy announces the UK will suspend some of its arms sales to Israel, over concerns the equipment could be used to commit serious violations of international law.

– Russian President Vladimir Putin lands in Mongolia for a state visit. Putin is the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, and Mongolia, a member of the ICC, is thereby supposed to act upon the court’s warrants. There is no indication that Mongolia intends to act, but if it fails to, it will likely face prosecution over its inaction.

1st September

– The first of three localised pauses in fighting begins in central Gaza, as polio vaccines are distributed to children by the World Health Organisation (WHO). To be effective, the WHO says at least 90% of children under 10 must be immunised in a short time frame.

– Tens of thousands of Israelis rally across Israel after the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip were recovered by soldiers. The protestors are accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government of not doing enough to reach a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages taken by Hamas during the 7th October attacks.

– 5 million Germans head to the polls for two state elections, held in the eastern states of Saxony and Thuringia. The results will be seen as a gauge of the federal government’s performance, as fears circulate from the political centre around a surge from the far-right.

31st August

– Russia continues to make sweeping advances into Ukraine, that threaten to outweigh the gains made by Ukraine’s cross-border attack into the Kursk region. Russian forces are just a few kilometres from the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk – a crucial logistics hub used by the Ukrainian military – which some fear has been left exposed following the Kursk incursion.

30th August

– The Pacific Island Forum Leader’s Meeting in Tonga finishes with China’s regional envoy demanding that the reference to support for Taiwan’s participation in PIF events in the communique be “corrected”. China has been pushing to strip Taiwan of its position as a PIF development partner. The communique was later republished without the paragraph.

29th August

– EU Foreign Ministers gather in Brussels for an informal meeting to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, and the political crisis in Venezuela. The discussion was meant to happen in Budapest but was changed due to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s “peace missions” to Moscow and Beijing in July.

–  Chinese leader Xi Jinping meets with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, at the end of Sullivan’s three day visit to China, with the aim of keeping communications open between the nations. The two countries agreed to work toward a phone call between Xi and US President Biden in the coming weeks, and Sullivan indicated the two could meet in person at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation or the G20 summits later this year.

– The Israeli Defence Forces and Hamas agree to three separate, three-day pauses in fighting in Gaza to allow for the first round of polio vaccinations to reach 640,000 children. The vaccination campaign is due to start on Sunday, with three consecutive daily pauses in fighting in central Gaza, and then will move to southern Gaza, and then northern Gaza.

– The United States announce its military forces in Iraq have killed 15 Islamic State (IS) operatives in a joint operation with Iraqi Security Forces that targeted the militant group’s leadership. There remain approximately 2,500 US troops in Iraq, though they remain there in an “advise and assist” capacity, since the US military announced the end of its combat effort in the country in December 2021.

– The death of the Māori King in New Zealand, Kiingi Tuheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII, is announced. King Tuheitia’s successor will be chosen by leaders within the Māori king movement. The largely ceremonial position dates back to 1858, when Māori decided to create a unifying figure similar to that of a European monarch, to try and prevent the widespread loss of land and culture to New Zealand’s British colonisers.

28th August

– UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets German Chanceller Olaf Scholz in Berlin, and announces new UK-Germany treaty consultations, which will aim to herald greater cooperation across trade, science, technology, development, people, business and culture. Both nations hope to sign the cooperation treaty by early next year.

27th August

– The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) rescue a hostage from Gaza, named Kaid Farhan Elkadi, who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7th.

– US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan arrives in Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s senior foreign policy official, Wang Yi, for their fifth meeting in under 18 months. The trip indicates an effort to maintain communication between the two sides, and reportedly aims to discuss how economic competition between the two nations does not develop into conflict. The meeting may also help lay the groundwork for a possible final summit between Xi and US President Joe Biden before the latter leaves office in January.

– Bulgarian President Rumen Radev swears in a new caretaker government, following his refusal to do so last week over a dispute over the proposed candidate for interior minister. Radev announced that a seventh snap election in three years will take place on the 27th October, in another attempt to overcome a political impasse caused by minority governments.

26th August

– Seven people are killed overnight and dozens are wounded as more than half of Ukraine’s regions are attacked by drones and missiles, in one of the biggest Russian air attacks of the war. Long-range air and sea-based precision weaponry are used to strike power stations and related infrastructure across Ukraine, including in Kyiv, Lviv and the Kharkiv and Odesa regions.

– Emmanuel Macron refuses to name a Prime Minister from the New Popular Front (NFP), the left-wing coalition that won the most parliamentary seats in July’s snap election, on the premise that it would lead to an immediate vote of no confidence and a collapse of government. Macron has announced another round of consultations with party leaders will begin tomorrow, but the decision not to choose NPF’s candidate was met with anger and threats of protest and impeachment.

25th August

– Israel launches one of its most serious strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claims the strikes destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels across dozens of preparing launch sites..

– Australia introduces a cap on the number of new international students it accepts, from 2025 onwards, as it tries to reduce overall migration to pre-pandemic levels. The number of new enrolments will be limited to 270,000 for 2025, while Australia is currently host to about 717,500 international students. Australian higher education providers say the industry is taking the hit for housing and migration issues, and that the cap would decimate the sector.

24th August

– Russia and Ukraine exchange 230 prisoners of war, weeks into Ukraine’s cross-border attack into the Kursk region of Russia. Kyiv has said one of the goals of the Kursk offensive is to capture Russian soldiers to trade for Ukrainian prisoners of war. Ukraine claims to still control over 1,000 sqkm of the Kursk region.

– Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announces his government will seek to ban more than half a dozen parties if successful in October’s critical general election. The ban would likely destroy Georgia’s already frozen bid to join the EU, particularly following recent clashes over human rights and the rule of law.

23rd August

– Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Ukraine – the first time an Indian Prime Minister has visited – only weeks after his controversial meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The meeting is set to signal that India will both continue its close relationship with Russia while working closely with the West.

– The Financial Times reveals that Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung visited the US this week for secret talks – the first since Taiwan’s new President took office in May. These “special channel” talks were kept under wraps to avoid Chinese criticism of the sensitive engagement.

– Independent US Presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr announces he will be dropping out of the race. Kennedy Jr, who has been polling at about 5% of the vote, has endorsed Republican nominee, Donald Trump.

22nd August

– US Vice President Kamala Harris officially becomes the Democrat Party’s presidential nominee at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

– Indonesian legislators cancel plans to ratify revisions to a Constitutional Court order on candidate age requirements for upcoming regional polls, that could have further enhanced the political influence of the outgoing president, after thousands of people take to the streets in protest. The law previously made Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s youngest son, 29-year-old Kaesang Pangarep, ineligible to run.

– Venezuela’s highest court, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, upholds the re-election of Nicolás Maduro as President, following accusations of widespread voter fraud in July’s elections, and nation-wide protests. The United Nations has said that the court lacks independence and impartiality.

21st August

– Lebanese militia group Hezbollah launches more than 50 rockets and a swarm of drones towards the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, killing one person and wounding another.

20th August

– US Secretary of State Antony Blinken lands in Egypt to continue his diplomatic tour of the Middle East, with the aim of pushing for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Blinken meets with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt and the Egyptian foreign minister, before heading to Doha, Qatar, to hold talks with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

19th August

– The Democratic National Convention begins in Chicago, while thousands of protestors take to the streets nearby, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to US support for Israel.

– US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announces that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences holding up a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza, and calls on Hamas to do the same. Even if Hamas were to accept, Blinken reiterated that there are still ‘complex issues’ requiring ‘hard decisions’ by the leaders to be agreed.

– Ukrainian authorities order the evacuation of the city of Pokrovsk in the Donbas region, as Russian forces continue to make gains in the east of the country, despite Ukraine’s ongoing offensive into Russia’s Kursk region. The strategically important city is one of Ukraine’s main defensive strongholds and a key logistical hub for Kyiv’s troops on the eastern front.

18th August

– Indonesia celebrates the 79th anniversary of its declaration of independence in its future new capital city, Nusantara, albeit with scaled-back festivities as construction continues. Nusantara, on the island of Borneo, will replace Jakarta as the Indonesia’s capital.

17th August

– More than a million doctors across India strike in protest against the rape and murder of a fellow doctor in the city of Kolkata in West Bengal. Protests have seen tens of thousands taking to the streets, demanding justice and  greater protection for women across India.

16th August

– Thailand’s parliament selects Paetongtarn Shinawatra as Thailand’s new Prime Minister, folllowing the removal of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin from office. The daughter of former deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Paetongtarn Shinawatra will be the country’s youngest Prime Minister at 37, and the second woman to hold the post, after her aunt Yingluck.

– India announces plans to hold regional elections in the disputed territory of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, the first in nearly a decade. Some 8.7 million people will be eligible to vote for the region’s assembly, which will be held in three stages between September 18th and October 1st.

– Mediators at the Doha talks on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal announce that they have a formulated a proposal which ‘narrows the gaps’ between Israel and Hamas. Senior officials will meet again in Cairo before the end of next week with the aim of finalising the agreement.

– Foreign Secretary David Lammy lands in Israel alongside his French counterpart Stéphane Séjourné, to meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer amid fears of deepening conflict in the Middle East.

15th August

– Hamas confirms it will not participate in the ceasefire talks due to resume in Doha on Thursday. Hamas reiterated that it wants a roadmap for implementing an agreement to be based on the proposed deal outlined by US President Biden in May, and would ‘not engage in negotiations for the sake of negotiations’. The talks are still expected to take place, to put together a plan that advances negotiations.

– North Korea announces that it will re-open one city, the mountainous northern city of Samjiyon, to foreign tourists in December, following nearly five years of border closures that were sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic.

14th August

– Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announces that he will not run in the upcoming Liberal Democratic Party leadership vote in September, paving the way a new Prime Minister. Dogged by his party’s corruption scandals, Kishida’s approval ratings currently sit below 20%, and Kishida announced that he hopes the change will unite Japan.

– Thailand’s Constitutional Court removes Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin from office, for appointing a minister with a criminal conviction. The ruling follows a petition submitted by 40 senators that called on the court to remove Srettha from office over the appointment.

– Russia declares a state of emergency in the Russian border region of Belgorod – the second declared following the incursion by Ukrainian troops into the Kursk region that began last week. Mass evacuations have been undertaken.

– Citizens of Kiribati head to the polls, in a general election that has strong geopolitical implications. The South Pacific archipelago is considered strategically valuable to both China and the US, due to its relatively close proximity to Hawaii and its oceanic territory.

– A United Nations panel of experts confirm that Venezuela’s presidential election lacked ‘basic transparency and integrity’, and could not be considered democratic.

13th August

– Iran dismisses calls from Western leaders to refrain from retaliation against Israel for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said retaliation was Iran’s ‘legal right’, following attempts by leaders and diplomats to de-escalate tensions.

– Ukraine’s top commander, Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, announces that Ukrainian forces now control 1,000 square km of Russian territory, one week into the largest incursion of the last two and a half years of war.

– Senior leaders of Tanzania’s main opposition Chadema party are released on bail, having been detained ahead of a youth rally in a crackdown that saw 520 people arrested nationwide. The arrests raised fears that repressive rule is returning Tanzania, despite current President Samia Hassan having lifted a ban on opposition gatherings last year, and promising to restore competitive politics.

– Most national newspapers across Senegal participate in a media blackout, refusing to publish in protest against shrinking media freedoms under the Senegalese government that came into power in March.

12th August

– The leaders of France, Germany and the UK endorse the joint statement from the Amir of the State of Qatar, the President of Egypt, and the US President, calling for the immediate resumption of negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a cease-fire and hostage release.

– UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urges Iran to refrain from attacking Israel during a phone call with Iran’s new President, Masoud Pezeshkian. The phone call is the first between a UK Prime Minister and an Iranian President since March 2021.

– In an interview with X-owner, Elon Musk, former US President and current Presidential candidate, Donald Trump, calls on EU nations to increase their financial aid to Ukraine, claiming that the US paying disproportionately more to defend Europe is unfair. Trump also noted that Europe takes ‘great advantage’ of the US when it comes to trade, referring to the US trade deficit with the EU.

11th August

– The US announces it has sent a guided missile submarine to the Middle East, in response to fears of a wider regional conflict following the recent assassinations of senior Hezbollah and Hamas leaders. A US aircraft carrier’s arrival to the region has also been expedited, carrying F-35C fighter jets, as tensions grow.

10th August

– An Israeli airstrike hits a school sheltering Palestinians, killing at least 80 people and wounding nearly 50 others, in one of the deadliest attacks of the 10-month Israel-Hamas war.

9th August

– Ukraine’s military announces a successful strike on a the Lipetsk military airfield more than 350km inside Russia, destroying a warehouse containing hundreds of glide bombs. This comes as Ukrainian troops enter the fifth day of their offensive into Russia’s Kursk region.

8th August

– Kenyan anti-government protesters gather in Nairobi to demand better governance, as a new cabinet is sworn in. Kenyan President William Ruto has appointed four senior opposition officials to his cabinet – including Ministers of Finance and Energy – in a move designed to quell growing public anger against his government’s economic policy.

– Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus is sworn in as Bangladesh’s interim leader, vowing to “uphold, support and protect the constitution”. The decision to name Yunus as chief adviser of the interim government followed a meeting between President Mohammed Shahabuddin, military leaders, as well as student leaders, who had been clear that they would not accept a military-led government.

– Israel agrees to send negotiators to the latest new round of ceasefire and hostage release negotiations, after a diplomatic push from the United States, Egypt and Qatar. The three nations released a joint statement calling for Israel and Hamas to restart negotiations, and inviting both parties to the talks on the 15th August, in Doha or Cairo. Hamas is yet to respond.

7th August

– Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ military leader in Gaza, is appointed the political leader of Hamas, after Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran last week. Sinwar is reportedly viewed by Israelis as the mastermind behind the October 7th attacks, meaning a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas will likely be harder to reach.

– Iran’s acting foreign minister, Baqeri Ali Bagheri Kani, announces that Iran will respond to the killing of Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in the “appropriate” manner, declaring that its action will not only be in defence of its own sovereignty and national security, but also the  stability and security of the entire region.

– A state of emergency is declared in the Kursk region of Russia, after a rare cross-border attack by Ukrainian troops on Tuesday. Russian officials have announced at least five civilians have been killed and 31 wounded, six of them children, since the start of the incursion.

6th August

– US Vice-President and Democratic Presidential Nominee, Kamala Harris, selects Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her vice-presidential nominee. Walz is viewed as somebody who can win over rural and working-class voters, particularly in crucial Midwestern states. On foreign affairs, Walz has been a strong supporter of Ukraine while in Congress, and has supported a ceasefire and a two-state solution in the Israel-Gaza conflict.

– Up to 1,000 Ukrainian troops, as well as 11 tanks and more than 20 armoured combat vehicles, cross into Russia in a rare incursion, with fighting taking place across a number of villages. Authorities have urged residents to limit their movements and all public events have been cancelled.

– Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel laureate, poverty campaigner, and long-time political rival of Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister, is announced as Bangladesh’s interim leader. Yunus is currently on bail, appealing against a six-month jail term for what he has called a politically-motivated case. Following Sheikh Hasina’s ousting earlier this week, the army has temporarily taken control, but it is unclear what role it will play in an interim government, after protestors have refused to accept a military-led government.

5th August

– Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigns following weeks of deadly antigovernment protests, and flees the country. Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announces the formation of an interim government following talks with political parties. Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, to celebrate Hasina’s resignation.

– Mali announces it is severing diplomatic ties with Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of involvement in an attack back in July by Mali rebels, that resulted in the death of members of the Malian Defence and Security Forces as well as dozens of mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner group.

4th August

– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announces that the first American-made F-16 fighter jets have arrived in Ukraine. The jets’ arrival marks a crucial milestone in boosting the capabilities of Ukraine’s air force, which largely relies on old Soviet-era jets.

– At least 90 people are killed in Bangladesh amid worsening clashes between police and anti-government protesters. July’s student protest demanding that quotas for veterans in civil service jobs be abolished has now turned into a wider anti-government movement. Student leaders have declared a campaign of civil disobedience to demand that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina step down. In total, over 280 people have been killed in the violence.

– Nigerian President Bola Tinubu appeals for nationwide protests to end, following three days of fatal demonstrations over a deepening cost of living crisis. At least thirteen people have died and more than 700 have been arrested. Protesters have been filmed waving Russian flags and calling on Russian President Putin for aid, as regional neighbours including Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger welcome Russian help in dealing with security issues.

3rd August

– The US announces that it will deploy additional warships and fighter jets to Israel to help defend against possible attacks by Iran and its proxies, following escalating tensions in the region. The region remains on high alert following the assassination of Hamas’ leader in Iran, and a key commander of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in Beirut.

– At least 32 lives are claimed in a suicide attack carried out by al-Shabab militants at a beach in the Somali capital Mogadishu. Al-Shabab controls large parts of southern and central Somalia, and is affiliated with al-Qaeda. The insurgency war between Al-Shabab and the UN-backed government in Somalia has raged for nearly 20 years.

2nd August

– US Vice President Kamala Harris passes the threshold to receive the Democratic presidential nomination in a vote of party delegates. Presidential and vice-presidential nominees are typically formally chosen at their party conventions, but the relatively late date of the 2024 Democratic National Convention would mean waiting until the Convention would result in a contravention of state ballot access laws.

1st August

– The biggest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the Cold War takes place, with 24 people released in total. 16 prisoners from the US and Europe were released by Russia, while 8 Russian prisoners were released from prisons across the US, Norway, Germany, Poland and Slovenia. The deal had been more than 18 months in the making.

– Italy opens the first of two planned refugee centres in neighbouring Albania. Italy receives the most migrant arrivals in the European Union, and is partially outsourcing the challenge as part of Europe’s first ‘offshoring’ scheme. The centres will be entirely managed by the Italian government, and will be used to house and process migrants picked up in international waters, excluding women, children, and those deemed too vulnerable.

– Hassan Nasrallah, the long-time Hezbollah leader, announces that its conflict with Israel has entered a ‘new phase’. Nasrallah claims that Israel crossed ‘red lines’ in its assassination of Fuad Shukr, senior adviser to Nasrallah, and that the ‘inevitable response’ will be proportionate to Israel’s targeting of a civilian building.

– Nigerians take to the streets in the first of 10 “days of rage”, protesting against a deepening cost of living crisis. The demonstrations were inspired by the recent success of protests in Kenya, which forced the government to scrap its plans to increase taxes. Police across Nigeria have used live bullets and tear gas to try and disperse thousands of demonstrators.

31st July

– Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, is killed by an Israeli raid in Tehran, Iran, while on a visit to attend the inauguration of new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Haniyeh had long led Hamas’s political operations while living in exile in Qatar. Iran threatens ‘harsh punishment’ for Israel, while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warns against a “dangerous escalation” of hostilities in the region.

– Ukrainian air defence systems shoot down 89 Iranian-designed explosive drones and a missile overnight, in one of the largest attacks launched by Russia since the start of the conflict. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy repeated calls for allies to speed up deliveries of the air defence systems that Ukraine relies on, particularly US-made Patriots.

30th July

– UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, urges Britons to leave Lebanon immediately and avoid travel to the country, as tensions soar in the Middle East. This comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed heavy retaliation against Hezbollah militants based in Lebanon, in response to the fatal aerial strike in the Israel-occupied Golan Heights. Hezbollah denies responsibility for the attack.

– Fuad Shukr, senior adviser to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, is killed in an Israeli attack that hit a densely populated area of Beirut’s southern suburbs. Four others were killed, including two children.

29th July

– President Nicolás Maduro wins Venezuela’s presidential election, in a result which the Venezuelan opposition has dismissed as fraudulent, and promised to challenge. According to the opposition, Edmundo González won with 70% of the votes and is the rightful president-elect. Thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets of Caracas, protesting against the result and the country’s spiralling economic crisis.

– Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni meet in Beijing to discuss the war in Ukraine, the crisis in the Middle East, and growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific. Meloni, whose country currently holds the rotating G7 presidency, reportedly stressed the importance of China as a partner in dealing with growing global insecurity.

– The United States announces additional military aid for Ukraine valued at around $1.7 billion, including $200 million in equipment, and air defense munitions and artillery rounds that Kyiv has requested.

– South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma is officially expelled from the African National Congress (ANC), the party he once led, after establishing and campaigning for rival party, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK). Zuma was suspended by the ANC in January after creating MK, which now sits in opposition to the ANC-led government in parliament, but has been formerly expelled on the grounds of “prejudicing the integrity” of his former party.

28th July

– The latest round of Israel-Gaza ceasefire talks begin in Rome, attended by senior officials from Israel, Egypt, Qatar and the United States. Despite progress in recent weeks, the months long negotiations remain stalled over several critical issues, particularly the permanency of a truce, and the extent to which Israeli forces would remain in Gaza.

27th July

– A rocket from Lebanon strikes a football field in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, killing 12 children. The US and Israel blame the attack on Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, although Hezbollah strongly denies the accusations.

26th July

– Former US President Barack Obama endorses Vice President Kamala Harris as the presidential candidate for the Democrats.

– The 2024 Summer Olympic Games formally begin in Paris, with more than 10,500 athletes from more than 200 countries set to participate. Russia and Belarus remain banned, as a result of their involvement in the ongoing Ukraine war, with their respective athletes set to compete as “Individual Neutral Athletes”.

25th July

– US Vice President and probable Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris departs from US President Biden’s friendlier tone towards Israel, stating that she will “not be silent” over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, during a meeting with Netanyahu. She reiterated that ‘Israel has a right to defend itself’ but insisted that the situation in Gaza has been ‘devastating’, and called for a ceasefire deal to end the war, release the hostages, and establish a peaceful two-state solution.

– Australia imposes sanctions and travel bans on Israeli settlers that it accuses of violent crimes against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

– The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meets in Vientiane, Laos, to kick off a three-day summit focused on resolving Myanmar’s civil war, and cooling tensions in the South China Sea. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are also in attendance, to represent their own interests in the protracted regional issues.

24th July

– Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses US Congress with the aim of garnering support for Israel’s war in Gaza. His comments were applauded by largely Republican supporters within Congress, while many Democrats boycotted the speech, and protests amassed outside condemning Netanyahu’s visit.

– Over 89 Palestinians are killed and 250 are injured during an Israeli offensive in Khan Younis in Gaza. Israel had issued orders for residents to immediately evacuate their homes in the city’s eastern neighbourhoods, which was previously designated as a “safe zone” for displaced Palestinians amid the conflict.

– New UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, arrives in India for a trip designed to ‘reset UK-India ties’.  The trip is focused around re-starting trade talks in order to agree a new free trade deal “in the coming months”, after negotiations stalled for much of the year as both countries held elections.

23rd July

– United States Vice President Kamala Harris secures enough support from top Democrats and other potential party candidates to become the Democrat’s nominee for the presidential election, although she still requires formal confirmation.

– China brokers a deal between 14 different Palestinian factions, including rivals Hamas and nationalist party, Fatah, to form an interim “national reconciliation government” for the occupied West Bank and Gaza, following the war with Israel. The agreement includes a commitment to ‘national unity’, to give stronger, unified leadership ahead of future elections, the free election of a new Palestinian National Council, and a general declaration of unity in the face of ongoing Israeli attacks. The agreement is the most comprehensive of the several past reconciliation bids between the Palestinian factions, which have previously all failed.

– EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borell, revokes Hungary’s role as host of the next meeting of EU members’ foreign and defence ministers, following Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s recent visit to Moscow. Hungary currently holds the rotating EU presidency, and as such was expected to host the annual late August gathering, which will now be held in Brussels in September.

22nd July

– China and the Philippines reach a temporary agreement to reduce the chance of escalation over the Sierra Madre ship from the Philippines, that is currently grounded on the territorially-disputed Second Thomas Shoal.

21st July

– United States President Biden steps down as the Democrat candidate in the US presidential election and endorses his Vice President, Kamala Harris.

– The Supreme Court of Bangladesh repeals the reintroduction of veteran quotas for all civil service occupations, that led to mass student protests. The supreme court ruling now stipulates that only 5% of jobs will be reserved for descendants of freedom fighters, compared to the 30% stipulated in the original ruling.

– Turkish President Erdogan announces that Turkey is ready to construct a naval base in Cyprus ‘if necessary’, as he accuses Greece of planning to create its own naval base in Southern Cyprus. 

20th July

– Israeli airstrikes hit oil and electricity infrastructure in Yemen, killing 3 people and wounding 87. The attack comes a day after Houthi rebels hit Tel Aviv in a drone attack, killing 1 person and harming 10. 

– Cyrpus marks the 50th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and the subsequent ethnic division between Turkish-Cypriots and Greek-Cypriots on either side of the UN-patrolled border. In the Turkish-occupied North, the anniversary was celebrated with a military parade and flyover, with Turkish President Erdogan attending to commemorate the anniversary of the ‘peace operation’ that divided the country. Meanwhile, Cypriot President Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the ‘tragic’ anniversary as a somber occasion for reflection and remembering the dead, and reflected that reunification is the only way forward for Cyprus.

– Donald Trump appears at his first rally since surviving an assassination attempt, alongside his new running mate JD Vance. Trump tells the crowd in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that he “took a bullet for democracy.” 

19th July

– The UK announces it will resume funding to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Foreign Secretary David Lammy claims he has received assurances about the agency’s neutrality, after Britain suspended funding in January amid allegations from Israel that some staff were involved in the October 7th attacks.

– A high security alert is issued for the whole of Bangladesh, as a nationwide communications blackout is imposed to block internet access and shut down news broadcasts, after at least 64 people were killed during protests.

– The International Court of Justice rules that Israel’s settlement in occupied Palestinian territories breaches international law, and violates Palestinians’ right to self-determination. The ICJ orders Israel to end the construction of settlements immediately and make reparations.

18th July

– European leaders arrive at Blenheim Palace in the UK, for the fourth European Political Community summit, hosted by new UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Starmer announces that Britain is “back on the world stage” announcing plans for closer working with the Europol and Frontex policing and border teams on the continent, and the diversion of tens of millions of pounds in aid to boost opportunities and healthcare abroad, both in the hope of reducing migration.

– Ursula von der Leyen wins a second term as European Commission president, as mainstream lawmakers unite to surpass the majority hurdle by 41 votes. Von der Leyen will remain head of the EU’s lawmaking and enforcement body until 2029.

– Israel’s parliament approves a resolution rejecting the creation of a Palestinian state, arguing it would pose an ‘existential danger’ to Israel.

17th July

– The European Parliament votes to condemn Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month by 495 votes to 137, describing his visit as a “blatant violation of the EU’s Treaties and common foreign policy”.

– Fatal clashes between students and police on the streets of Bangladesh spiral, amid opposition to a reinstated policy of a third of public sector jobs being reserved for relatives of veterans from its war of independence from Pakistan in 1971. The protests erupted two weeks ago, and the Bangladeshi Government has closed all public and private universities as violence continues.

16th July 

– French President Emmanuel Macron accepts the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s government, following their centrist party’s defeat in parliamentary elections, but Mr Attal and his ministers will continue to deal with day-to-day business as a caretaker government, until after the Olympics.

15th July

– Former US President Donald Trump names Ohio Senator JD Vance as his Vice-presidential nominee, at the Republican National Convention. Vance was formerly among Trump’s conservative critics, but has since aligned himself with the populist right, becoming a close ally of the former President.

– Rwandans head to the polls in an election that is predicted to re-elect President Paul Kagame by a landslide, with just two opponents permitted to run against Kagame this year.

– Syrians head to the polls to vote for members of a new parliament, in a largely predetermined election expected to pave the way for a constitutional amendment to extend the term of long-term President Bashar Assad. The poll takes place as Syria’s economy continues to deteriorate after years of conflict, massive displacement, Western-led sanctions, and repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic.

14th July

– The new UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa on his first trip to the region since assuming the role. He calls for a immediate ceasefire, with the inclusion of clauses to release all hostages and massively boost the unrestricted flow of aid into Gaza. He also affirmed British support for a two-state solution in which Palestine and Israel are separate sovereign states, and condemned illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.

– Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas formally resigns, to take up her new role as the European Union’s foreign policy chief. Kallas’ resignation automatically triggers the resignation of Kallas’ three-party cabinet, comprised of her centre-right Reform Party, the Social Democratic Party and the liberal Estonia 200 party.

13th July

– Former US President Donald Trump survives an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The shooter, who was killed on site, injured Trump’s ear as well as killing an audience member and injuring two others.

– Imran Khan, former Pakistani Prime Minister, and wife Bushra Bibi have their charges of unlawful marriage acquitted by a Pakistani court, which should enable their release from prison. However, minutes after the acquittal order, an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan issued written orders for the arrest and questioning of Khan in cases related to widespread violence following his arrest last year. Khan’s supporters have blamed the events on a military establishment that wants to keep Khan in prison.

12th July

– Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal loses a no-confidence vote, and a new left-wing coalition of the two largest parties, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist and the Nepali Congress party, strikes a deal for a power-sharing agreement.

11th July

– NATO allies part ways as the 75th anniversary summit in Washington concludes. The summit heralded new financial and military support for Ukraine, including a $225 million US package of military aid, a NOK 1bn Norweigian financial package delivered alongside 6 F-16 fighter jets, and a £40 million pledge from the UK to NATO’s Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine, as well as an agreement between Germany, Italy, Poland and France to create longer-range cruise missiles to provide a new form of deterrence. 

– Pressure on US President Joe Biden to step down as the Democrat candidate intensifies, after Biden mistakenly refers to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy as President Putin, and calls his own Vice President Kamala Harris ‘Vice-President Trump’. 

10th July

– Nikki Haley, former potential Republican presidential candidate encourages her delegates to support Trump at the Republican National Convention. The Republican Convention begins on the 15th of July, and is expected to deliver Trump the official presidential nomination. 

9th July

– The 75th anniversary NATO Summit kicks off in Washington DC. A number of Indo-Pacific nations are also invited to attend the summit, including Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, as NATO’s concerns about the Indo-Pacific grow.

– The Ariane-6 rocket launches from French Guiana, in its mission to place satellites in orbit. Ariane-6 is a project of 13 member nations of the European Space Agency, with the majority of the funding coming from France and Germany. 

8th July

– Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Russia for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine. 

– Current French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal offers his resignation, having failed to lead French President Macron’s Ensemble alliance to victory in yesterday’s legislative election, but Macron asks him to stay on temporarily, amid political deadlock following the results.

– Hungarian President Viktor Orban lands in Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. Discussions focus on promoting peaceful negotiations to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

– The United States, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Romania commit to supplying new air defences to Ukraine.

– China and Belarus begin a joint military exercise to strengthen their relations and defence, along the Polish (and NATO) border with Belarus. This happens on the eve of NATO summit in Washington, which will focus on aid to Ukraine, defence production and defence budget targets, as well as the security threats coming from China.

7th July

– The left wing coalition, New Popular Front (NFP), takes the most seats in the French legislative election, beating both Marine Le Pen’s right-wing National Rally and French President Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance. This comes as a surprise after last Sunday’s first-round vote gave National Rally the largest vote share. 

6th July

– The reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian wins the Iranian presidential election over the conservative candidate Saeed Jalili. Pezeshkian’s win signals the potential for less hardline conservative policies in Iran, having committed to relaxing social restrictions such as online censorship and harsh treatment of women who refuse to wear the hijab. During the campaign, Pezeshkian also vowed to re-engage with the West, in order to reduce sanctions on the Iranian economy.

– The newly elected UK government announces a £500,000 aid package for those affected by Hurricane Beryl in the Caribbean, including emergency shelters for up to 4,000 people. 

5th July

– The Labour Party wins the 2024 UK general election with a large majority, with Keir Starmer become the UK’s 7th Labour Prime Minister. Rishi Sunak conceded defeat and stepped down as party leader, after the Conservative Party secured just 121 seats, compared to Labour’s 412. Liberal Democrats secured 71 seats, the SNP secured 38 seats while Reform UK and the Green party secured 4 seats each.

4th July

– Britain heads to the polls with the Labour party expected to receive a landslide majority, securing the first Labour government in 14 years. 

– Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet in Astana, Kazakhstan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. 

3rd July

– Turkey closes its borders, including the Bab al Hawa and Bab al Salam crossings, into northwest Syria, after tensions reach a boiling point, with violence reportedly claiming at least 7 lives. Turkish troops were recently attacked by Syrian nationals who were angered by Turkish violence against Syrian refugees across several Turkish cities. 

– French government spokesperson and member of President Macron’s party, Prisca Thevenot, and her staff are attacked whilst setting up election posters in Paris, with one staff member hospitalised with a broken jaw. Four people have been arrested in connection to the attacks.

2nd July

– Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visits Kyiv in his first visit to Ukraine. He calls for a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire and expresses his desire to improve relations with Ukraine, particularly through guidance on economic modernisation.

– Former US President Donald Trump is granted a degree of immunity from criminal prosecution by the Supreme Court over his actions during the January 6th Capitol riots. The court ruled that Trump could not be charged over “official acts” while he was in office, although unofficial acts can still be prosecuted, including his fraud case. 

1st July

– Hungary takes over the presidency of the Council of the European Union, raising concerns among many European leaders and experts about how the EU-sceptic leader of Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, may use this role. 

– The first round of the French election gives the far-right National Rally a big advantage, receiving 33.4% of the vote. This is ahead of the New Popular Front’s coalition of left wing groups at 27.9% and Macron’s party at 20.7%. Both New Popular Front and Macron are encouraging tactical voting to hinder the National Rally from achieving a majority. 

30th June

– Hungary’s Fidesz party, under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the Czech Republic’s ANO party, and Austria’s right-wing Freedom Party  announce a new faction of the European Parliament, labelled ‘Patriots for Europe’. The alliance needs the support from right-wing parties in at least four other EU nations to be an officially acknowledged faction in the European Parliament. 

– North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns the joint military exercises of South Korea, Japan and the United States, labelling the relationship between the three countries ‘the Asian version of NATO’ . These extensive military exercises began on Thursday as part of the ‘Freedom Edge’ initiative to bolster air and naval defence in the region.

– Pakistan begins the second stage of its controversial programme to transport undocumented Afghan refugees back to Afghanistan. The first stage of the programme involved 541,000 refugees being forced to return last November, as a way to handle the migration crisis that the Pakistani government cites as threatening the Pakistani economy and security.

29th June

– Israeli forces attack military and infrastructure sites in southern Lebanon as tensions continue to escalate between the two nations.

28th June

– Biden and Trump go head-to-head in their first presidential debate, ahead of November’s US election. The debate was hostile, with Biden attacking Trump over his criminal conviction for his action in the 2020 Capitol riots, and Trump critiquing Biden’s economic and foreign policy, particularly in regards to the Middle East. 

– Iranians vote to elect their new President, following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi who died last month in a helicopter crash. The candidate list is made up of three hard-liners – Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Saeed Jalili, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi – and reformist Masoud Pezeshkian, with Jalili and Pezeshkian topping two recent polls. Turnout is expected to be low, amid widespread opposition to the government.

27th June

– EU leaders appoint Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission President for her second term, Portugal’s António Costa as the most senior position at the European Council, and Estonia’s Kaja Kallas as the EU’s foreign policy chief.

– The Bolivian military attempt a coup, looking to overthrow President Luis Arce’s democratically-elected government. Heavily armed troops storm the government palace, but are quickly diffused. 

26th June

– Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, is declared a free man, having been freed from imprisonment in the UK following a plea deal. Assange returns straight to his home nation of Australia. Assange was imprisoned for 5 years, for releasing thousands of confidential documents, many of which exposed US military information. 

– Kenyan President William Ruto withdraws the controversial finance legislation that sparked yesterday’s protests in Kenya. 

25th June

– EU accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova begin, laying the foundation for potential EU membership. 

– A controversial Kenyan tax bill, that adds additional taxes on everyday items like bread and vehicles, ignites protests, with dozens injured and part of the Kenyan parliament set alight.

– The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues arrest warrants for Russia’s former Defence Minister, Sergei Shogu, and Military Chief of Staff, Valery Gerasimov, for war crimes over attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets.

24th June

– Russia blames violence in synagogues and churches in Dagestan on Ukraine and NATO forces, despite no evidence of any external interference from the West.

23rd June

.– Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces that the “intense phase” of fighting is ending in his war in Gaza, but that the war would not end until Hamas is no longer in control of Gaza. 

– Gunmen in Russia’s North Caucasus region of Dagestan open fire at a synagogue, an Orthodox church, and a police post, killing more than twenty. 

22nd June

– Russia bombards Ukrainian energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia and western Lviv regions with missiles and drones. Most are shot down by air defence systems. 

21st June

– New Chinese guidelines caution hardcore independence ‘separatists’ in Taiwan with imprisonment and even the death penalty.

– Former comedian Dr Micheal Usi is installed as Malawi’s vice president, following the death of his predecessor, Saulos Chilima, earlier in the month.

20th June

– Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, announces his withdrawal from the race to be Secretary General of NATO, making way for Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to claim the role. While Rutte is the only remaining candidate in the race, he is yet to be officially confirmed by member states.

– The US shifts its policy, allowing Ukraine to use American-supplied weapons to hit any Russian forces, not just those in the region near Kharkiv.

19th June

– Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un sign a mutual defence pact, pledging that Russia and North Korea will help each other in the event of “aggression” against either country, during Putin’s state visit to North Korea.

– Canada lists Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation. The move means that thousands of senior Iranian government officials are now barred from entering Canada.

18th June

– Russian President Vladimir Putin lands in North Korea for the first time in 24 years, for a state visit hosted by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Putin’s visit is widely thought to be aimed at procuring ammunition from North Korea for his war in Ukraine.

– Israel announces that plans have been approved for an offensive targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon, following Hezbollah’s release of threatening drone footage over the Israeli port city of Haifa. The growing tension comes amid months of low-level hostilities across the Israel-Lebanon border, which has so far caused the displacement of some 60,000 Israelis and 90,000 Southern Lebanon citizens.

17th June

– Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolves his emergency war cabinet, following the departure of centrist opposition leader Benny Gantz, and his moderate ally Gadi Eisenkot. The pre-existing security cabinet and the larger full cabinet will make decisions about the war in Gaza going forwards.

16th June

– A draft declaration is issued at the Ukrainian peace summit, reaffirming Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s terms for a ceasefire in Ukraine, laid out ahead of the summit, were rejected, as leaders refuse to compromise on Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

15th June

– South Africa’s parliament re-elects Cyril Ramaphosa as President, following the formation of a Government of National Unity (GNU).

– Representatives from over 90 nations and global institutions gather in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, for the Ukraine peace summit – the biggest gathering centred on the war in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion. The focus at the summit centred on three points of Zelenskyy 10-point peace proposal – nuclear safety, food security, and the return of prisoners of war and abducted Ukrainian civilians.

14th June

– Vladimir Putin sets out terms for a ceasefire in Ukraine. The terms include a full withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from territories Russia claims to have annexed (Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya) and for Ukraine to abandon its efforts to join NATO.

– The G7 agree a $50bn loan from frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine in fighting Russian forces. Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Joe Biden also sign a 10-year bilateral security deal at the Summit which includes US military and training aid for Ukraine. 

– In South Africa, the ANC and DA agree to form a Government of National Unity (GNU). The alliance between the centre-right DA and the ANC is unprecedented, as the two parties have traditionally been rivals.

13th June

– The G7 begins their annual 3-day summit in Puglia, Italy which will focus this year on the Ukraine and the Middle East but also includes migration, economic security, and AI safety. 

– The European Court of Justice fines Hungary €200 million for failing to follow the EU’s asylum policies. Hungary forced asylum seekers to travel to Kyiv or Belgrade to apply for a travel permit to enter the country. The ECHR says it will continue to issue a penalty of €1 million a day until Hungary changes its policy.

– The UNRWA accuses Israel of failing to grant requests for access permits to deliver aid in Gaza, saying it is hampering its operations in the area.

12th June 

–  A UN inquiry finds that Israel and Hamas have committed war crimes and grave violations of international law since the October 7th attacks, including murder or wilful killing, torture, directing attacks against civilians, and taking hostages.  The UN inquiry also finds Israel guilty of committing crimes against humanity including extermination and gender persecution targeting Palestinian men and boys. The UN adds Hamas, Israel’s military, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s armed wing to its list of violators of children’s rights for their role in the killing and maiming of children.

– A group of Russian Navy ships, including a nuclear-powered submarine, arrive in Cuba as the Cold War allies strengthen their ties. 

–  Haiti forms a new government under Garry Conille in an attempt to restore political stability. Conille’s Cabinet replaces all ministers from the previous government under former Prime Minister Ariel Henry who was forced to step down earlier this year by the gangs who run large areas of Haiti.

11th June

– The Vice-President of Malawi, Dr Saulos Chilima, and nine others are announced dead following a plane crash yesterday in bad weather. Dr Chilima had been Vice-President of Malawi since 2014.

10th June

– The United Nations Security Council votes to support a US-drafted resolution setting out conditions for a “full and complete ceasefire”, the release of hostages held by Hamas, the return of dead hostages, and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners. 14 out of 15 Security Council members voted in favour of the resolution, while Russia abstained. The Security Council now joins those backing the three-part peace proposal presented by US President Joe Biden at the end of last month.

9th June

– Centre-right parties strengthen their majority in the European Parliament, with election victories in Germany, Greece, Poland and Spain, and significant advances in Hungary. Meanwhile, Ursula von der Leyen’s  centre-right European People’s Party retains the largest share of the 720-seat European Parliament. Liberals and especially greens take heavy losses in the election.

– French President Emmanuel Macron calls a surprise snap parliamentary election, following Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party’s victory in the European Parliamentary elections. It is announced that two rounds of voting will take place on the 30th June and 7th July.

– The New-Flemish Alliance wins Belgium’s general election, bringing an end to the rule of liberal Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.

– Israeli war cabinet minister and former chief of staff of the Israeli Defence Forces, Benny Gantz, quits Israel’s emergency government, over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s post-conflict plans for Gaza. Last month, Gantz set the deadline of the 8th of June for Netanyahu to lay out how Israel would achieve its six “strategic goals” for the conflict, including installing a civilian administration in Gaza. Gadi Eisenkot, another former general and the most moderate of the five members of the war cabinet, also resigns.

– Narednra Modi is sworn in as Prime Minister of India, for a historic third term.

8th June

– Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, is struck by a man and left with whiplash while walking in the centre of Copenhagen. The attack comes less than a month after Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot while greeting supporters.

– Four Israeli hostages are rescued from Hamas-held territory in the the Nuseirat area of Gaza, in a raid that killed a number of Palestinians. Hamas says at least 210 people were been killed during the raid in and around the al-Nuseirat refugee camp, while Israel estimates there were fewer than 100 casualties.

7th June

– Leaders of India’s National Democratic Alliance (NDA) – a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition – unanimously back Nardendra Modi as their prime ministerial candidate, putting an end to days of uncertainty. While the BJP fell short of the 272 seats required to secure a majority in the election, two key BJP allies – the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) – were able to push the NDA over the half-way mark.

– An estimated 40 people are killed in by paramilitary forces in Omdurman, as fighting and displacement intensify across war-ravaged Sudan. War has been raging in Sudan in April 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary RSF, and has displaced 9.9 million people and killed at least 15,500 people.

6th June

– World leaders including Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron, gather in Normandy, France, to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings – a turning point in World War II. Biden used his address to reiterate support for Ukraine, and send a message to Russia that the US and its allies “will not bow down” and will continue to “stand for freedom”.

– Voters across EU member states head to the polls as the European Parliament elections begin.

– Spain announces it will join South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide.

– Somalia, Denmark, Greece, Pakistan and Panama are elected to serve as non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council for two years, beginning in January next year. To win a seat, a country needs the support of at least two thirds of the UN General Assembly delegations that are voting. This will be the first time Somalia has held the position since the 1970s.

5th June

– US President Joe Biden lands in France, for a five day visit focused on deepening ties with transatlantic allies.

4th June

– Narendra Modi wins a third consecutive term as India’s Prime Minister, albeit in a much tighter general election than anticipated. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to fall short of a majority for the first time in ten years, forcing him to negotiate with coalition partners in order to return to power, while the opposition coalition, INDIA, performed far better than expected.

– The United States’ House of Representatives votes to pass legislation that would sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC), after its prosecutor said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant should be arrested on charges relating to war crimes in Gaza. Though the bill has passed in the House, it is not expected to become law.

– The parliament of Slovenia approves Slovenian recognition of an independent Palestinian state, following in the steps of Spain, Ireland and Norway, as part of a wider effort in recent weeks to coordinate pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza.

3rd June

– Claudia Sheinbaum is elected as Mexico’s first female president, in a landslide win for the ruling progressive Morena party. The former Mayor of Mexico City and energy scientist will replace close ally and mentor, outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, on the 1st of October.

2nd June

– South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) party loses its parliamentary majority for the first time in 30 years. While still the largest party (receiving 40.2% of the vote), high unemployment, power cuts, violence and crumbling infrastructure have contributed to a hemorrhaging of support for the ANC. The ANC is now tasked with coalition building, as the third largest party – former President Jacob Zuma’s MK party – announced it will not work with the ANC while it is led by Cyril Ramaphosa.

– Mexico heads to the polls in its biggest election ever, with over 20,000 roles up for grabs, including the Presidency.

1st June

– Two leading forces in Israel’s government express their opposition to US President Biden’s peace proposal. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir say they are opposed to striking any deal before Hamas is defeated, and have threatened to resign if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu accepts the deal. Meanwhile, thousands of Israelis gather in Tel Aviv, demanding that the Israeli Government accepts US President Biden’s peace deal.

31st May

– The United States gives Ukraine permission to strike inside Russia – only near the area of Kharkiv – using US-provided weapons (e.g. rockets and rocket launchers).

– US President Joe Biden reveals a new proposal to end the war in Gaza, which includes a three-phase roadmap, involving a six-week ceasefire that would become permanent, a hostage release deal, and the rebuilding of Gaza with international assistance. The proposal has been backed by Israeli opposition, and Hamas has announced it will agree to the deal if the Israelis do.

– US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, and China’s new defense minister, Adm. Dong Jun, meet face-to-face for the first time, and reaffirm plans to re-open direct lines of communication between their militaries, indicating an effort by both sides to reduce tensions and support the current fragile rapprochement.

30th May

– Former United States President Donald Trump is convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in his trial –  the first time a former or serving US president has been found guilty of a crime. Sentencing is set for the 11th July, and Trump could be sent to prison, although legal experts say a fine is more likely.

– Houthi militants announce the US and UK have killed at least 16 people via airstrikes on Yemen, in the deadliest assault on the group since the joint campaign began in January, aiming to prevent its attacks on ships around the Red Sea.

– Alfredo Cabrera, a mayoral candidate in the Mexican state of Guerrero, is shot dead ahead of this weekend’s elections, in the latest attack on aspiring politicians. More than 20 candidates have been killed in the run up to Mexico’s mass vote, which will select a new president, members of the legislature, governors and local officials.

– Israel takes control of the strategically important buffer zone along the Gaza-Egypt border, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, meaning it now controls Gaza’s entire land border.

– Hong Kong finds 14 pro-democracy activists guilty of subversion in the largest use yet of the China-imposed National Security Law. The activists were among the 47 who were charged with trying to “overthrow” the government and cause a constitutional crisis, by organising an unofficial primary back in 2020.

29th May

– South Africans head to the polls in their general election. The ruling African National Congress party could potentially lose its majority for first time since apartheid ended 30 years ago, as the country faces some of the world’s highest rates of unemployment and inequality, power cuts, water shortages and violent crime.

28th May

– Spain, Ireland and Norway formally recognise a Palestinian state, in the hope of encouraging other European countries to follow suit. This means 146 out of 193 UN members now recognise a Palestinian state.

– Dick Schoof, a former domestic intelligence chief, is nominated as Dutch Prime Minister, by the four parties in coalition talks. Schoof has spent his entire career in the civil service, and is currently the most senior official in the justice ministry. Schoof will now need to assemble a ministerial team, which will not include the four leaders in the coalition, who have agreed they will stay in parliament but out of the cabinet.

– Ukraine and Belgium sign a ten-year bilateral security agreement. The deal stipulates at least €977 million in Belgian military aid will be delivered to Ukraine this year, as well as 30 F-16 fighter jets.

– Georgia’s MPs vote to overturn the Prresidential veto on the contentious “foreign agents law”, which has sparked several weeks of protests. The law is now expected to come into force in 60 days.

27th May

– Spain and Ukraine sign a decade-long defence and security deal. The precise details of the agreement have not been made public but Spain will provide Ukraine with €1bn in military aid this year.

– An Egyptian soldier is killed in an incident involving Egyptian and Israeli troops in the border area near Rafah. Tensions between Egypt and Israel have heightened since the outbreak of conflict, and since Israeli forces took control of the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing point three weeks ago. Both the Egyptian and Israeli militaries are investigating the incident.

– Israeli forces attack the Tel al-Sultan camp area of Rafah once more, killing at least 21 people.

26th May

– Israeli rockets strike an area in Rafah where displaced people were sheltering, killing at least 45 and causing widespread destruction. Most of the casualties were refugees, sheltering in tents at the Tal al-Sultan camp. The strike came hours after Hamas fired rockets at Tel Aviv. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claims that the strike took out Hamas’s chief of staff for the West Bank, and another senior Hamas official.

– Eight rockets are fired from the Rafah area towards Tel Aviv, in the first time in nearly four months that Hamas has attacked central Israel. Most were intercepted by air defence systems.

– Thousands of Israelis protest in Tel Aviv, and more widely across Israel, demanding an end to the military offensive in Gaza, and the return of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. Another protest calling for the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also held nearby.

25th May

– Burkina Faso’s military government announces it will extend its junta rule for another five years. The country has been under military rule since Lt Col Paul-Henri Damiba seized power nearly two years ago. The country’s current ruler, Capt Ibrahim Traoré, had pledged to restore the civilian government by July 1st, but has since said that elections will not take place until territory is recaptured from jihadist forces, who have waged an insurgency that has so far claimed the lives of thousands.

24th May

– The International Court of Justice orders that Israel must halt its military offensive in Rafah, and that the Rafah border crossing, shared with Egypt, must be opened for the entry of humanitarian aid “at scale”. The request comes as part of a larger South African case against Israel’s actions in Gaza.

23rd May

– China begins two days of military exercises around Taiwan as ‘strong punishment’ for ‘separatist acts’, three days after the inauguration of Taiwanese President William Lai – labelled a ‘troublemaker’ by Beijing. Taiwan’s defence ministry has condemns the drills as “irrational provocations”.

– At least seven people are pronounced dead, and more than a dozen are injured, in a Russian missile attack on Kharkiv in north-eastern Ukraine. This month has seen a renewed offensive by Russian forces in the region, in an attempt to break through a weakened Ukrainian front line.

22nd May

– UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calls an early UK general election, set for Thursday 4th July.

– Ireland, Spain and Norway announce they will officially recognize Palestine as a state from the 28th May. In response, Israel announces it will recall its ambassadors from Norway and Ireland immediately.

– Food distribution in the southern Gaza city of Rafah is suspended due to a lack of supplies and insecurity. This comes as the US announces that it doesn’t believe the aid delivered to northern Gaza via a floating pier has been distributed by humanitarian organisations.

– Maximilian Krah, the lead candidate in the EU elections for the far-right Alternative for Germany party, steps down from AfD’s leadership board, after claiming during an interview that he would “never say that anyone who wore an SS uniform was automatically a criminal”.

21st May

– French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in New Caledonia amid escalating unrest over France’s new electoral roll legislation. Macron promised that the contentious reforms, that would give voting rights to tens of thousands of non-Indigenous residents, would be reviewed again within a month and not be pushed through by force.

– Meanwhile, Australia and New Zealand begin evacuating stranded citizens in New Caledonia after unrest over new electoral roll legislation shut down the island’s international airport.

20th May

– Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, alongside the country’s foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, and other government officials are pronounced dead, following a fatal helicopter crash on the 19th May. Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, names First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber as acting president.

– The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court files applications for warrants of arrest of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Minister of Defence of Israel, Yoav Gallant, Hamas’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, and two other Hamas leaders, for committing war crimes.

19th May

– Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister, and other officials are involved in a helicopter crash, near Azerbaijan’s border.

– Taiwanese President William Lai is officially sworn in, following his win in January’s election. Shortly after being inaugurated, Lai called on China to ‘stop threatening Taiwan’, and accept the existence of its democracy.

– The US and Niger agree that US troops will leave the country “no later” than 15th September, following the announcement in March that ended the military agreement between the nations. Niger’s military junta seized power last year, and has been moving closer to Russia.

18th May

– Benny Gantz, a prominent member of Israel’s war cabinet, announces that he will quit government if a plan for installing a civilian administration in Gaza is not agreed by June 8, in a rare challenge to Netanyahu, and exhibition of disunity. These comments echo Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant’s recent calls for a proper post-war plan for Gaza.

– Georgia’s president vetoes Georgia’s divisive ‘foreign agent’ law, that has sparked weeks of mass street protests. The veto is mainly symbolic however, as the Georgian prime minister has enough members in parliament to override it.

17th May

– Nearly 100 tonnes of UK aid, worth £2 million, is delivered to the Gaza shore, in the first delivery of UK aid through the Cyprus maritime corridor, using the US-built temporary pier.

– The Kremlin expels the UK’s defence attaché in Moscow, in retaliation for London expelling Russia’s defence attaché, Colonel Maxim Elovik, earlier this month, on the grounds of being an undeclared military intelligence officer.

– Hundreds of French police reinforcements arrive in New Caledonia, amid rioting. The unrest erupted following the passing of electoral roll legislation in Paris, which will allow more French residents to vote in the Pacific territory, and, according to Indigenous leaders, dilute the political influence of the native people.

16th May

– Slovakian police charge 71-year-old former security guard, Juraj Cintula, with attempted murder of Prime Minister Robert Fico. While the motive behind the attempted assassination is unclear, the Slovakian Interior Minister has called it “politically motivated”.

– Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in Beijing, for two days of meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, aimed at shoring up Russian-Chinese relations, and bolstering China’s support for Russia’s wartime economy. The leaders have announced plans to strengthen ties between their militaries, and an expansion of their combined exercises.

– The European Union condemns the Georgian parliament for passing its controversial ‘foreign agent’ law, but refuses to threaten sanctions, despite growing calls from the European Parliament.

– The International Court of Justice begins two days of hearings, as South Africa attempts to get the UN’s top court to force Israel to stop its military campaign in the town of Rafah, and to force Israel to allow “unimpeded access” to Gaza for aid workers, journalists and investigators. The court is already considering a case brought by South Africa in January, which accuses Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.

15th May

– Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico is gravely injured after being shot in an assassination attempt, in the Slovakian town of Handlova.

– Dutch negotiating parties reach a provisional agreement to form a right-wing government, almost six months after the election won by Dutch populist Geert Wilders. The agreement – negotiated by Wilders’ Freedom Party, the conservative-liberal VVD, the centrist New Social Contract and the Farmer Citizens Movement (BBB) – does not stipulate who the next Dutch prime minister will be, but it will not be Mr Wilders, who gave up the chance during negotiations. The agreement will now be put to party backbenchers.

14th May

– United States Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, lands in Ukraine, seeking to reassure Ukrainian President Zelenskyy of America’s support, and that military aid is  “on its way”.

– Georgia passes a controversial ‘foreign agent’ law, branding hundreds of NGOs and media outlets as foreign agents. Critics see the law as a potential tool for the government to suppress its opponents. Thousands protest the bill’s passage outside the country’s parliament in Tbilisi, with at least 20 arrested.

– United States President Joe Biden announces a 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles, as part of a package of policies designed to protect US manufacturing from cheap imports.

13th May

– UK Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey land in Ukraine to meet with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, on a surprise trip to Kyiv, and reiterate Labour’s support for the government’s multi-year financial aid settlement for Ukraine.

– United Nations worker, Colonel Waibhav Kale, is killed after a UN vehicle was struck near the city of Rafah in Gaza.

12th May

– Hundred of thousands of Palestinians flee Rafah, as Israel urges those sheltering to relocate to Al-Mawasi, a narrow coastal area which Israel calls an “expanded humanitarian zone.”

– Russian President Vladimir Putin sacks a number of defence and security officials, including top defence minister and long-time ally Sergei Shoigu, and Intelligence Chief and confident, Nikolai Patrushev. Shoigu is being replaced by an economist with no military experience, Andrei Belousov.

– Clashes between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) intensify in the western Sudanese city of El Fasher, as a bomb claims the lives of two children in a nearby pediatric hospital. Sudan’s brutal civil war began in April last year, and has killed thousands and forced millions from their homes.

– The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) wins Catalonia’s regional election, as pro-independence parties lose ground and control of the regional parliament. Support for Catalan independence has dropped to 42%, from 49% in 2017.

11th May

– The Brazilian government announces it is allocating more than $2 billion in emergency funding to deal with the devastating floods affecting the Rio Grande do Sul state, which have claimed 143 lives, with another 125 people unaccounted for.

10th May

– Russia launches an incursion across the border into the Kharkiv area of Ukraine, forcing almost 1,800 people to evacuate.

– A UN General Assembly resolution calls for additional rights for Palestine at the UN, allowing it to take part fully in debates, propose agenda items and have its representatives elected to committees. 9 nations opposed the resolution. The UK was one of 25 nations to abstain.

9th May

– Chad’s electoral commission declares military ruler, Mahamat Déby, as the official winner of the presidential elections, legitimising his grip on power and ensuring the continuation of the Déby family’s 34-year-rule. The results of Monday’s election were announced two weeks earlier than expected, and still have to be confirmed by the Constitutional Council.

8th May

– Shadow Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, lands in Washington D.C to begin two days of meetings with both senior Democrats and Donald Trump allies, in an effort to forge closer ties with the Republicans ahead of the upcoming US election.

– North Macedonia elects its first female president, nationalist Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, amid unprecedented losses for the centre-left in both presidential and parliamentary polls. Siljanovska-Davkova is supported by the nationalist conservatives – the VMRO-DPNE party.

7th May

– Ukraine’s security service announces that it has foiled a plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, security service chief, Vasyl Malyuk, and Military Intelligence boss, Kyrylo Budanov, by Ukrainian security officials who were working undercover for Russia. The officials have been arrested.

– The US pauses a shipment of weapons that could be used in Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than a million Palestinians are sheltering, amid international outrage over the Israeli operation.

– Vladimir Putin is sworn in for his fifth term as Russian president in the Grand Kremlin Palace, announcing to the audience, “together we will win.”

– Former Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, becomes leader of the Scottish National Party, and Scottish first-minister-in-waiting. As the only person to put himself forward, Mr Swinney will face a confirmation vote at Holyrood.

6th May

– Hamas accepts the Qatari and Egyptian proposal for a new ceasefire in Gaza and hostage release deal with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the proposal is “far from Israel’s basic requirements”.

– Israel carries out air strikes on Rafah, having warned sheltering Palestinians to evacuate parts of the city.

– Chinese president, Xi Jinping, begins his three-country tour of Europe – his first state visit to the continent in five years. Xi begins in Paris, meeting French president, Emmanuel Macron and head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. He then heads to Serbia and Hungary – both pro-Russia nations, and recipients of large Chinese investment.

– Russia announces it will hold tactical nuclear weapons drills near Ukraine, in a response to “threats” by Western officials – namely French President Emmanuel Macron refusing to rule out potentially deploying French troops to Ukraine, and UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron saying that Ukraine had the right to use British weapons for strikes within Russia.

5th May

– Panama elects former conservative security minister, José Raúl Mulino, as its President. The pro-business winner said he will attract investment, address rising crime rates and access to drinking water, and close ‘the Darién Gap’ – the expanse of jungle on the Colombian border, which saw more than half a million migrants cross on their way to the US last year.

4th May

– Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks intensify in Cairo. The long-running talks – brokered by Egypt and Qatar – would temporarily pause Israel’s offensive in Gaza, in return for Hamas freeing hostages.

– Eurovision’s programme of festivities begins in Sweden, amid large demonstrations over Israel’s participation. Forces are drafted in from across Sweden, Denmark and Norway in response to the protests, and Sweden adjusts its terror threat level to four out of five.

3rd May

– United States congressman, Henry Cuellar, and his wife are charged with accepting around $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijani government-owned oil company, and a Mexican bank. Both are also charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud, money laundering and violating a ban on acting as agents of a foreign organisation. The Texan democrat denies the charges.

2nd May

– Turkey suspends all trade with Israel over ‘humanitarian tragedy’ in Gaza. Israel was Turkey’s 13th biggest export market in 2023, and trade between the nations was worth almost $7bn (£5.6bn).

– Lawmakers in the Solomon Islands select the pro-China candidate, Jeremiah Manele, as Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands. Mr Manele was foreign minister in 2019, when the Solomon Islands chose to switch its longstanding diplomatic recognition of Taiwan to China. Manele succeeds Manasseh Sogavare – a vocal critic of the West.

1st May

– The United States accuses Russia of violating the international chemical weapons ban, by using chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops.

30th April

– Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, insists Israel will launch an invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, regardless of truce talks with Hamas. This follows warnings from the United States and the UN , and comes amid ongoing attempts to reach agreements around a ceasefire and hostage releases.

– United States President, Joe Biden, accuses pro-Palestine protestors at Columbia University of hate speech and antisemitism, as they occupy a campus building and fly pro-Palestine banners from its windows. The protests, raging for almost two weeks, have spread across the US, and sparked similar encampments in the UK, France and Canada.

29th April

– Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf’s steps down as first minister and SNP leader, after ending a coalition with the Green Party. The move has boosted hopes among the UK’s Labour Party that it can regain Scottish seats in the upcoming general election.

– Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, announces that he will not resign after a court opened an initial inquiry into his wife over corruption claims. Sánchez denounced the claims as a harassment campaign by right-wing media.

– The Duchess of Edinburgh visits Ukraine, as the first member of the Royal Family to visit since the Russian invasion. The visit was designed to “demonstrate solidarity with the women, men and children impacted by the war”, and included a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

– A United Nations sanctions monitor reveals in its 32-page report that debris from a North Korean Hwasong-11 series missile was found in Kharkiv earlier this year, putting North Korea in breach of its arms embargo.

28th April

– Rallies take place across Australia, as thousands call for violence against women to be classified as a national emergency, in response to a recent wave of violence against women. In Australia, a woman has been killed, on average, every four days this year. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the issue was a national crisis.

– United States President Joe Biden “reiterates his clear position” to Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that it cannot support a large-scale Israeli military operation in Rafah – which currently holds more than half of Gaza’s population  – without seeing a credible plan to keep civilians out of harm’s way.

27th April

– Iraq passes a law criminalising same-sex relationships, with jail terms of between 10 – 15 years. The legislation also outlines other offences punishable by imprisonment, including those who promote homosexuality or prostitution, and doctors who perform gender reassignment surgery.

26th April

– Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf’s position looks perilous as the Scottish Green Party confirms it will back a no-confidence vote against him.

25th April

– Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns, and a new council is sworn in to lead the country gripped by deadly gang violence. The transitional council made up of nine members – seven of which have voting powers – and Henry’s finance minister, Michel Patrick Boisvert, will serve as the interim prime minister.

– The first minister of Scotland ends his Scottish National Party’s power-sharing deal with the Scottish Green Party,  following the government’s decision to scrap the target of cutting carbon emissions by 75% by 2030 . The SNP now stands as a minority government.

– Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, suspends public duties to consider whether to remain in the role, after a court opened a preliminary inquiry into corruption claims against his wife.

24th April

– United States Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, arrives in China to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart, and most likely with President Xi Jinping, amid a worsening rift in US-China relations, over China’s sale of dual-use products to Russia.

– Ukraine receives a €1.5bn (£1.29bn) package of financial support from the EU, with promises of another €10bn later this year.

– NATO troops head to Finland to begin the “biggest NATO exercise since Cold War” on Friday, near the border with Russia. Moscow labelled the exercise “provocative” and warned it risks “possible military incidents”.

23rd April

– The UK pledges to increase Britain’s defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by the end of the decade — pledging an extra £75 billion over the next six years.

– The UK’s parliament passes Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda bill after months of wrangling. Rwanda announces it is “pleased” with the result.

22nd April

– Evacuation toll reaches 110,000 people in Guangdong, China, amid heavy flooding beginning on Thursday.

21st April

– Provisional results show the People’s National Congress (PNC) party has won a landslide victory in the Maldives election. Governing Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu’s party is seen as broadly pro-China, and wanting to move away India’s longstanding influence. The formal ratification of the election results is expected to take a week.

– Ecuadoreans voting in a referendum approve tough new security measures designed to fight gang-related crime – including loosening obstacles to the extradition of accused criminals, and lengthening prison sentences for convicted drug traffickers.

20th April

– The US House of Representatives approves a series of measures, including providing $60.8 billion in delayed aid to Ukraine, and $26.3 billion of assistance to Israel. The Senate will now receive these bills in a single package – encompassing aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, new sanctions, a TikTok ban and US power to freeze Russian assets.

19th April

– Israel reportedly launches a retaliatory strike on Iran – understood to be limited in nature so as to avoid all-out regional war.

– The first voters in India head to the polls in India’s general election, the largest democratic exercise in the world – involving more than 969 million voters – which will last until June 1st.

– The UK declines the European Commission’s surprise proposal of a youth mobility scheme for people aged between 18 and 30 to work in the EU for up to four years, and vice versa. The Government claims there are no plans to reintroduce free movement within the EU, instead, choosing to look at deals with individual member states.

– NATO holds a crisis NATO-Ukraine summit, at which defence ministers agree to “step up and provide further military support, including more air defence”, according to NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.

18th April

– The Foreign Ministers of the G7 nations gather in Capri, Italy for a ministerial meeting, with the agenda topped by calls for targeted new sanctions against Iran over its attack against Israel, and more aid to Ukraine to fight Russia’s war.

– The United States vetoes a draft resolution at the UN Security Council, recommending that Palestine be admitted to the UN. In effect, preventing the UN from recognising a Palestinian state. Britain and Switzerland abstained on the vote.

17th April

– Foreign Secretary David Cameron meets Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to urge him not to retaliate against Iran’s own retailiatory strikes last week, but leaves conceding that “it’s clear the Israelis are making a decision to act”.

– The EU agrees to expand sanctions on Iranian producers of drones and missiles, during an EU summit in Brussels.

– Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf drops Scotland’s pledge to reduce greenhouse gases by 75 percent by 2030, after the Climate Change Committee said the 2030 goal was “no longer credible.” Scotland will keep its goal of reaching net zero by 2045.

– Croatia’s Social Democratic Party (SDP), home party to Croatia’s EU-, US- and NATO-sceptic President Zoran Milanović, receives record support in Croatia’s parliamentary elections, albeit falling well short of a majority. The SDP and the governing center-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) will have to enter coalitions with either right-wing or left-wing entities to form a government.

16th April

– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signs into law an army mobilization law that toughens penalties on draft dodgers, incentivises conscription and obliges men to keep their military registration details with the authorities up to date.

15th April

– Donald Trump becomes the first former US president to stand trial in a criminal case, accused of falsifying his business records to disguise a hush-money payment made to former adult film star Stormy Daniels over an alleged affair. Trump faces a maximum of four years in jail if convicted.

– Israel’s UN envoy, Gilad Erdan, calls for fresh sanctions on Iran “before it’s too late”, in the wake of Iran’s attacks on Israel, while Iran’s UN envoy, Amir Saeid Iravani, declares that the Islamic Republic was exercising its “inherent right to self-defence” and had “no choice” but to act.

14th April

– Nations including the UK, the US, France and Jordan reportedly take part in shooting down “nearly all” of Iran’s drones and missiles, during an overnight attack on Israel.

13th April

– Iran launches more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel, in a widely anticipated retaliatory attack. The attack is Iran’s first ever direct strike on Israeli soil.

12th April

– Russian troops arrive in Niger to train Niger’s army on its new state-of-the-art air defence system. Niger’s democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown last year by a military junta, which has since cut military and diplomatic ties with Western nations and is moving closer to countries including Russia, China and Iran.

11th April

– Russian strikes destroy the key Trypillya powerplant in Ukraine, the largest provider of electricity for three regions, including Kyiv.

– Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, tells US defence secretary Lloyd Austin that Israel will respond directly to any attack by Iran, as concerns mount of Iranian retaliation following a deadly Israeli strike on the Iranian embassy in Syria.

– Myanmar’s military-government soldiers withdraw from Myawaddy, a border town near Thailand, amid escalating violence between government forces and ethnic minority armed groups. This week roughly 4,000 refugees have crossed into Thailand every day. Myanmar’s military-government has suffered a string of battlefield losses in recent months, that has prompted rare criticism from its supporters.

– Mexico appeals to the International Court of Justice to remove Ecuador from the United Nations, following its police raid on Mexico’s embassy in Quito.

10th April

– A coalition of the Democratic Party (DPK) and smaller opposition parties jointly win a landslide majority in South Korea’s general election, ousting the ruling People Power Party (PPP). This vote was widely viewed as a mid-term referendum on President Yoon Suk Yeol and the PPP.

9th April

– Simon Harris is elected by the Dáil as the taoiseach (Irish prime minister).

– The European Parliament approves the EU Asylum and Migration Pact, designed to speed up the asylum process and increase the return of irregular migrants to their home countries. The reform will come into force in two years, and requires EU member states to share responsibility for asylum seekers.

– Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, and US President, Joe Biden, kick off a summit at the White House by agreeing to a number of both defence and economic security deals – including an expanded air defence network incorporating Australia.

8th April

– Iceland appoints Bjarni Benediktsson as Prime Minister, after Katrín Jakobsdóttir resigns to run in the country’s upcoming presidential election.

– Celebrations in France and the UK mark 120 years since the Entente Cordiale was signed – a series of four agreements, aimed to end acrimony, improve diplomatic links between the UK and France and settle colonial disputes.

– Former South African President, Jacob Zuma’s ban on running as a parliamentary candidate in May’s general election is overturned by the country’s electoral court.

7th April

– The world marks and reflects on sixth months of war between Israel and Hamas, commemorating the almost-1200 lives lost in the 7th October massacre, the more-than-33,000 lives lost in Gaza during Israel’s retaliatory offensive, and the 120+ hostages that remain unaccounted for.

– Israel pulls all of its ground troops out of southern Gaza for “tactical reasons”. These are expected to be the relief of reservists after nearly four months of intense fighting in the city of Khan Younis, rather than any significant shift in strategy.

– Thousands of people once more rally in the streets of Tel Aviv as Israel enters its seventh month of war in Gaza, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a deal with Hamas to release Israelis still held hostage in Gaza after the 7 October attack.

– Peter Pellegrini is elected President of Slovakia, beating the pro-Western Ivan Korčok. Moscow-friendly Pellegrini is an ally of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, sharing his anti-Ukrainian skepticism.

6th April

– World leaders commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, in which an estimated 800,000 people, predominantly of the minority Tutsi ethnic grouping, were killed in just 100 days by Hutu extremists.

– An estimated over ten thousand Hungarians rally in downtown Budapest, protesting against the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

5th April

– Ecuadorian policy storm the Mexican embassy in Quito, to arrest former Ecuadorian Vice-President Jorge Glas, who has been sheltering there since December.

4th April

– NATO Foreign Ministers gather in Brussels to commemorate NATO’s 75th anniversary  and agree to greater coordination in their aid support for Ukraine.

– World Central Kitchen calls for an independent investigation into the death of seven of its aid workers, including three British nationals, in Gaza earlier in the week. US President Joe Biden said he was “heartbroken” by the deaths, while UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron called the deaths “unacceptable”, calling for a full and thorough investigation and explanation by Israel.

–  US President Joe Biden calls for an “immediate cease-fire” between Israel and Hamas, during a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his sharpest rebuke to Israel since the war began.

– Myanmar’s National Unity Government, opponents of the ruling military junta, reportedly carry out drone attacks against military holds in the capital, in what appears to be a rare incursion against the embattled junta’s centre of power.

3rd April

– Over 600 lawyers, legal academics and retired senior judges sign a 17-page letter to UK Prime Minister Sunak saying the UK is legally bound to act over the “catastrophic” situation in Gaza, and that ministers are falling “significantly short” of their obligations under international law over the sale of weapons to Israel and the suspension of aid to UNRWA (the UN agency for Palestinian refugees).

– Taiwan’s worst earthquake in 25 years claims the lives of nine and injures more than 1,000.

2nd April

– Opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye is sworn in as Senegal’s president in capital Dakar, making him Africa’s youngest elected leader at 44.

– Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas – herself an unofficial candidate for the new Secretary-General of NATO – officially lends her support to Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte, for the Secretary-General post. Rutte has so far struggled to rally support beyond Western Europe and North America.

1st April

– The deaths of seven World Central Kitchen workers by the Israeli Defence Force push the number of aid employees killed in Gaza to at least 196, according to the UN Secretary General.

– Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), wins significant local government election victories, including in the main cities of Istanbul and Ankara. The results mark a significant blow for Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, less than a year after he claimed a third term as President.

– Iran vows to respond to an alleged Israeli strike on an Iranian consulate building in Syria’s capital, Damascus, on March 31st, that claimed the lives of seven Revolutionary Guards.

31st March

– At least seven people are killed in a car bombing at a busy market in Azaz, northern Syria. The attack remains unclaimed.

– Thousands of protestors in Israel gather around the Israeli parliament, calling for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s resignation and early elections, as well as for an immediate deal to free the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. While Israelis remain supportive of the IDF’s aim to destroy Hamas, Netanyahu’s failure to rescue the remaining hostages is considerably damaging the Prime Minister’s support.

30th March

– One of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders, Gang leader Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Chérizier, says “weapons could be lowered” if armed groups are allowed to take part in talks to establish a new government. Haiti has been without a Prime Minister since the 12th March and faces spiraling violence.

29th March

– The International Court of Justice (ICJ) orders Israel to act “without delay” to allow “urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance” into Gaza. While orders issued by the ICJ are legally binding, the court lacks the power to enforce them.

– At least 42 people are killed in alleged Israeli air strikes in north-west Syria.

– Israel’s military announces it has killed a senior Hezbollah figure in an air strike in Lebanon – Ali Abed Akhsan Naim, a deputy commander of the group’s missiles and rockets unit.

28th March

– Former South African President Jacob Zuma is barred from running in South Africa’s general election in May. The country’s electoral commission has not given a reason, however his 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court is the presumed cause.

– Russia uses its veto power in the UN Security Council to block the renewal of a panel of UN experts that have monitored sanctions against North Korea for 14 years. This follows the announcement that the panel was probing reports that Russia has violated rules by buying North Korean weapons, like ballistic missiles, for use in Ukraine.

27th March

– Hezbollah fires rockets into northern Israel, killing one person, in response to deadly Israeli strikes, claiming the lives of sixteen people, including Hezbollah fighters and other militants. Israel and Hezbollah are trading almost daily strikes across the border, which began following the 7th October Hamas attack on Israel and subsequent outbreak of war.

– Venezuela’s main opposition coalition, The Unitary Platform (PUD), manages to register ex-diplomat Edmundo González for July’s presidential election, after its first two nominees were blocked. This follows President Maduro, who has been in power since 2013,  announcing that his party will win “by hook or by crook”.

26th March

– South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), fails in its legal bid to stop the newly formed uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, backed by ex-President Jacob Zuma, from running in May’s general election. ANC announced that it is not opposed to the MK’s presence on the ballot, provided the registration is in accordance with the law. However, it is thought that the presence of MK will affect the ANC’s support.

25th March

– Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden tells the UK’s Parliament that China was responsible for the cyber attacks on the Electoral Commission back in August 2021. He announces that two people and a company linked to the Chinese state have been sanctioned by the UK government, and China’s Ambassador will be summoned. Prime Minister Sunak names China as “the greatest state-based threat to our economic security”.

24th March

– Simon Harris is confirmed as the new leader of Irish political party, Fine Gael, following former Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s  resignation as party leader, paving the way for the 37-year-old to become Ireland’s youngest taoiseach (prime minister).

– Senagalese opposition candidate, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, wins Senegal’s presidential election. The election follows political turmoil, after outgoing President Macky Sall tried to postpone the election until December.

23rd March

– The Islamic State (IS) claims responsibility for the attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow, which the US states is credible.

– Pro-EU former Slovak foreign minister, Ivan Korco, wins a surprise victory in the first round of the Slovakian presidential election against Peter Pellegrini, parliament speaker and key ally of the populist prime minister, Robert Fico. A runoff vote will be held on 6 April.

– The US Senate agrees a $1.2 trillion spending package at the last minute, avoiding a partial shutdown of the government.

22nd March

– The United States’ resolution to the United Nations Security Council, supporting calls (not directly calling for) for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and the release of hostages held by Hamas, fails to reach consensus. 11 voted in favour, three against (Russia, China and Algeria) and one abstained (Guyana).

– At least 133 people are killed and more than 140 injured in an attack by gunmen at a packed concert venue on the outskirts of Moscow. Moscow claims that the attackers were planning to cross the border with Ukraine to contacts there, but Ukraine has denied the allegation.

21st March

–  The United States drafts a UN Security Council resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” and hostage deal in Gaza, having blocked previous attempts to pass a ceasefire resolution.

– EU leaders approve the beginning of talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina on EU membership negotiations.

– Portugal’s President invites centre-right politician, Luís Montenegro, to form a minority government, after his Democratic Alliance (AD) party won snap elections earlier this month, but fell short of winning a majority in parliament.

– Vietnamese President, Vo Van Thuong, resigns after only one year in office, with the ruling Communist Party announcing that he had “violated party rules” and negatively affected the party’s and his own reputation – likely due to fraud and bribery allegations against the leader.

20th March

– Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announces his resignation. Varadkar will resign as head of the ruling Fine Gael party immediately, but will remain as Taoiseach (PM) until mid-April, to give time for a successor to be chosen.

– US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken lands in the Middle East for his sixth trip since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, beginning his tour in Saudi Arabia, in an effort to normalise relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

19th March

– Hong Kong’s staunchly pro-China legislature unanimously passes a tough new security law – ‘Article 23’ – in the latest crackdown on dissent, following the 2019 pro-democracy protests. The law threatens stringent penalties for a wide range of actions, including life imprisonment for activities that authorities deem a threat to national security.

– The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) issues a ‘red alert’ to the world after every major global climate record was broken in 2023, warning that 2024 could be worse.

18th March

– Moldovan President Maia Sandu announces that a referendum on European Union membership will be held in October. Moldova has received agreement from the European Commission’ to launch EU accession negotiations, and reportedly aims to complete the process by 2030.

17th March

– Russian President Vladimir Putin secures another six years in power, as he wins the Russian general ‘election’ by a landslide, receiving 87% of the vote. The election has been described as a ‘farce’ by European officials, with the elections far from free or fair, but congratulations flooded in from Kremlin allies, including China, North Korea, Azerbaijan and Venezuela.

– Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu restates his goal to launch an offensive in Rafah, defying intensifying international criticism, and stating that “no international pressure will stop Israel” from achieving its war aims. 1.5 million Palestinians are currently seeking refuge in the city.

– United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announces that over 13,000 children have been killed in Gaza since October 7th 2023.

16th March

– The first maritime humanitarian aid shipment reaches the Gazan shore. The shipment, organised by US charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) in co-operation with the United Arab Emirates, contains 200 tonnes of food.

15th March

– French President, Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, gather in Berlin in an effort show strength and unity over support for Ukraine. While the individual leaders disagree on the means and methods of offering support, they announced a list of new  agreements, suggesting minor concessions on all sides. These include using the interest accrued from some €300bn of frozen Russian deposits in Europe, to support Ukraine.

14th March

– Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appoints economic adviser, Mohammad Mustafa, as Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA). Mustafa now faces the task of forming a new government for the PA, which holds limited powers in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

– NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, calls on NATO allies to urgently send more ammunition to Ukraine, warning that the ‘”U.S, Canada and Europe have to do more”, and that the current lack of support is having “consequences on the battlefield every day”.

13th March

– Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, announces that Denmark aims to boost its defence budget by nearly £4.6bn over the next five years to meet NATO targets, as well as extend military conscription to women for the first time, in a re-arming effort which aims to ‘avoid war’.

– EU leaders agree to back a new €5 billion “Ukraine Assistance Fund” for military aid to Ukraine. However, a considerable proportion of the contributions will not be in the form of new cash, instead EU countries will be able to count discounting bilateral weapons shipments as contributions.

– Far-right Dutch PVV leader, Geert Wilders, renounces his claim to become the next prime minister of the Netherlands, as he fails to get all partners in a potential coalition onboard. Four parties have reportedly agreed to pursue an ‘extra-parliamentary’ cabinet.

– The Paris Club, a collection of some of the world’s wealthiest creditor nations, announces the cancellation of 99% of Somalia’s debt, in a major effort to support the nation’s fragile economic recovery from the ongoing three-decade conflict.

12th March

– US President Biden officially secures enough delegates to be the Democrats’ presumptive presidential candidate, following victory in the Georgia primary. Formal nomination happens in August at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

– US President Joe Biden announces that the United States will send a new military aid package for Ukraine worth $300 million, as additional funds for Kyiv remain blocked by Republican leaders in Congress.

– European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, recommends opening European Union membership talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina, saying the nation has made progress on reforms. This decision would require the unanimous approval of the bloc’s 27 member countries,

– The first barge loaded with 200 tonnes of food supplies for Palestinians in Gaza sets sail from Cyprus, as part of a maritime corridor initiative initiated by Cyprus, with the support of the EU, the UK and the US. The journey could take as long as two days and will end at a jetty off Gaza’s coast.

11th March

– Haiti’s Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, agrees to resign upon the installation of a transition council, following weeks of mounting pressure and growing violence. Henry has not been allowed back into Haiti since late January, prevented from returning by armed gangs after leaving for overseas visits.

10th March

– United States, German and European Union representatives depart Haiti, after dozens of heavily armed gang fighters try to seize the political quarter of its capital, Port-au-Prince.

9th March

– Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announces that he intends to press on with an invasion Rafah, in defiance of US President Joe Biden who has warned that this would be crossing a “red line.”

– Portugal’s center-right Democratic Alliance coalition claims victory in a snap election, that ends the Socialist Party’s 8 year rule. The election saw a surge in popularity of the far-right party, Chega, but no party managed to secure a governing majority of seats in parliament.

8th March

– The ex-president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, is found guilty of conspiring to import drugs into the US, and possessing “destructive devices” including machine guns.

7th March

– Sweden becomes a fully-fledged member of NATO, bringing its formidable military-industrial complex to the alliance.

– US President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union speech, pushing for Congress to approve aid for Ukraine, and announcing that the US military will construct a port off the coast of Gaza, to get more humanitarian aid into the territory via the sea.

6th March

– Nikki Haley drops out of the 2024 United States Presidential race, after winning just two Republican primaries, leaving Donald Trump as as the only remaining Republican candidate.

– Three sailors on a Barbados-flagged vessel are killed in a Houthi missile attack in the Red Sea – the first deaths directly caused by the group’s attacks in the region.

5th March

– Sixteen US states and one territory hold primary votes ahead of the US election, on the day unofficially known as ‘Super Tuesday’. More than a third of the total delegates available will be allotted on Super Tuesday (thepeople chosen to represent their community at their political party’s presidential nominating convention).

4th March

– France becomes the first country in the world to explicitly enshrine women’s ‘guaranteed freedom’ to have an abortion. It is the 25th amendment to modern France’s founding document, and the first since 2008.

– China sets an ambitious growth target of around 5% for this year, as Premier, Li Qiang, outlines a series of measures aimed at reinvigorating its once-booming economy. Along with measures to boost the economy, defence spending will be increased by 7.2% this year.

– Iranian hard-line politicians maintain their hold on the Iranian legislature in the country’s parliamentary elections, in a vote that saw a record-low turnout.

3rd March

– Pakistan’s newly formed parliament elects Shehbaz Sharif as Prime Minister for a second term, defeating Omar Ayub who was supported by imprisoned former Prime Minister, Imran Khan. The move comes after an inconclusive general election that was marred by allegations of intimidation and vote-rigging.

2nd March

– The US begins humanitarian air drops in Gaza, with military aircrafts dropping 38,000 meals along the coastline of the war-torn region.

1st March

– Iranians head to the polls to vote for a new parliament and the country’s Assembly of Experts, in an election marred by frustration over economic hardships and the crackdown on the antigovernment protests seen in 2022-2023.

– Putin critic, Alexei Navalny, is buried as thousands of his supporters gather, chanting ‘free Russia’, in defiance of repressive measures.

29 February

– Russian President Vladimir Putin gives his annual state of the nation address, warning that any deployment of Western troops in Ukraine would have ‘tragic’ consequences, seemingly in response to French President Macron’s comments earlier this week that he refuses to rule out sending ground troops to Ukraine. Several Nato countries, including the UK, Germany and the US, have since ruled out deploying ground troops.

– At least 112 people are killed and more than 750 wounded in an attack at the Nabulsi roundabout in Gaza City, in which Israeli forces opened fire on Gazans collecting food aid in northern Gaza. France has called for an independent inquiry into the incident.

– Haiti gangs begin an offensive to topple the government, storming and ransacking police stations, prisons and hospitals and laying siege to strategic locations, including the port and airport.

28 February

– The UN World Food Programme announces that Cuba has, for the first time, asked for help with food shortages, in a serious sign that its economic and food insecurity crisis is worsening, which the Cuban government blames on ongoing US sanctions.

– Yaya Dillo, a leading critic of Chad’s military leader, is killed in a shootout with security forces ahead of the presidential election scheduled to be held on 6 May, in which Mr Dillo was widely predicted to be President Déby’s main opponent.

27 February

– Former Guinean opposition leader, Mamadou Oury Bah, is appointed Prime Minister by the country’s military junta, according to a decree read on national television, just one week after the military junta dissolved the government. Bah faces the challenge of setting up a new government amid an indefinite general strike launched this week, over deep economic hardships facing Guinea.

26 February

– Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister, Mohammed Shtayyeh, resigns along with his government, which runs parts of the occupied West Bank, claiming that new governmental and political arrangements are needed for the territory, that take into account the emerging reality in Gaza, the national unity talks, and the urgent need for an inter-Palestinian consensus.

– Hungary’s parliament passes Sweden’s NATO accession bid, having previously delayed on accusations of Sweden being hostile to Hungary. Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, labels it a “historic day” and a “big step” for Sweden as it moves away from 200 years of neutrality.

– US airman, Aaron Bushnell, fatally sets himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC in an ‘extreme act of protest’, announcing he would ‘no longer be complicit in genocide’.

25 February

– Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, announces that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed during Russia’s full-scale invasion, in a rare announcement of casualty figures.

– France’s President Emmanuel Macron says he refuses to rule out sending ground troops to Ukraine, but clarified that no consensus exists on this step, at a meeting of 20 mainly European leaders in Paris, designed to speed up the supply of weapons and financial aid to Ukraine.

– Citizens of Belarus head to the polls for parliamentary elections, in the first ‘elections’ since the contentious 2020 election which triggered unprecedented protest and more than 35,000 arrests. The only candidates running in the election belong to the four officially registered parties that are loyal to President Alexander Lukashenko.

– The ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) claims victory in Cambodia’s Senate elections.

– Tens of thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro rally in Sao Paolo, against legal challenges that could put him in jail. Many of Bolsonaro’s supporters believe he is being persecuted by Brazil’s supreme court, and that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva unfairly won his narrow victory in the 2022 general election.

24 February

– Ukraine marks the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is joined by the prime ministers of Canada, Italy and Belgium, and the president of the European Commission, to lay wreaths at the Wall of Remembrance, commemorating those who have lost their lives in the war.

– The US and UK carry out fresh strikes on 18 Houthi targets in Yemen – the fourth joint operation by the allies in an effort to degrade Houthi capabilities.

23 February

– The UK signs a deal with Frontex, the EU’s border agency, to work more closely together to stop small boats crossing the English Channel. The agreement aims to lead to more sharing of information and expertise, and includes training for both border agencies to learn from successful tactics overseas, collaboration on the development of new technologies, and the deployment of more staff on both sides to help coordinate efforts.

22 February

– Gustavo Melella, an Argentinian governor of Antarctica and the Southern Atlantic Islands, labels Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron’s trip to the Falkland Islands earlier this week “a new British provocation” that “seeks to diminish our legitimate sovereignty claims over our territories and maintain colonialism in the 21st century”.

21 February

– Brazil kicks off its presidency of the G20 with a meeting of Foreign Secretaries. Brazil’s Foreign Minister called for reforms of the UN and other multilateral institutions, criticising their inability to prevent global conflicts, while Foreign Secretary David Cameron insisted in his address that Russia will face the consequences for its invasion of Ukraine.

20 February

– The World Food Programme pauses food deliveries to northern Gaza, saying aid convoys are enduring “complete chaos and violence” as crews face crowds, gunfire and looting amid “the collapse of civil order”. The WFP says Gaza is “hanging by a thread” and that it will seek to resume deliveries as soon as possible.

– Taiwan chases Chinese coastguard boat from waters near frontline islands, one day after China’s coastguard boarded a Taiwanese tourist boat, amid an escalating dispute sparked by a fatal capsizing last week.

19 February

– Polish farmers dump grain from a freight train to blockade Ukrainian imports, as part of nationwide protests against cheap agricultural goods allegedly undermining business. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the blockade “absurd”.

18 February

– At least 90,000 people rally in Mexico City, against proposed changes to Mexico’s autonomous electoral authority body, ahead of June’s presidential elections. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been accused of trying to weaken the body with reforms, which he argues are designed to root out bias and corruption.

– Israeli war cabinet minister, Benny Gantz, says Israel will launch its threatened ground offensive against Rafah if Hamas does not release the remaining Israeli hostages by the beginning of Ramadan, on the 10th March.

17 February

– Russia’s most significant opposition leader for the past decade, Alexei Navalny, dies in jail in the Arctic. Navalny was serving a 19 year sentence on charges of extremism, that were widely seen as politically motivated.

– Thousands of demonstrators march in Dakar, Senegal, demanding swift presidential elections following President Macky Sall’s attempt to postpone the election, which was struck down by Senegal’s top court on Thursday.

– The Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) begins. The chair of the African Union Commission (AUC), Moussa Faki Mahamat, begins by calling on leaders to tackle conflicts in the continent, and condemns a series of coups across a number of nations.

– Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, meets China’s minister of public security, Wang Xiaohong, in an effort to deepen security ties (including across counter-terrorism, transnational crimes, and law enforcement capacity building under the Belt and Road Initiative).

16 February 2024

– World leaders gather for the Munich Security Conference, against the backdrop of concerns about war and instability in the Middle East, Russia’s war in Ukraine and the future of the transatlantic alliance.

15 February 2024

– Venezuela’s government suspends its technical advisory office of the UN high commissioner for human rights, accusing the office of promoting the Venezuelan opposition and holding a “colonialist, abusive and violating attitude”. The Government has pledged to carry out a holistic revision of the technical cooperation terms.

14 February 2024

– Indonesia, the world’s third largest democracy, heads to the polls in the world’s largest single-day democratic vote. Indonesian Defence Minister, Prabowo Subianto, looks set to win the Presidential vote, although official results are not confirmed until March.

– Israeli air strikes into Lebanon claim the lives of at least 13 people, including 10 civilians, in a retaliation against Hezbollah rocket strikes that killed a soldier in Israel on Wednesday.

– Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, announces that a record 18 member countries are set to meet the defence alliance’s target of spending 2% of their economic output on defence this year – including Germany, for the first time in decades.

13 February 2024

– The US Senate passes a $95bn bill with aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, after delays of months by Republican hardliners. The legislation will now go to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where it faces strong opposition.

– A coalition including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s party (PPP) agree to form the next government of Pakistan, shutting out the party of former prime minister Imran Khan, despite Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) receiving the most votes in the election.

12 February 2024

– Thousands of Moroccans take to the streets of the city of Rabat, calling for an end to ties with Israel over the war in Gaza. Morocco established diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020, under the US-brokered Abraham Accords.

11 February 2024

– Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Israeli Defence Force will go ahead with its planned ground offensive into Rafah, despite international warnings, insisting an evacuation plan for civilians is being prepared.

10 February 2024

– At a campaign rally in South Caroline, former President Donald Trump says he would “encourage” Russia to attack any NATO member that fails to meet the spending commitments of the Western military alliance. US President Joe Biden calls Trump’s comments “appalling and dangerous”.

– Airstrikes by the Israeli Defence Force on the Gaza Strip’s southernmost town of Rafah, the territory’s last place of relative safety where more than a million civilians are sheltering, reportedly claim over 100 lives.

9 February 2024

– Violent protests in Haiti claim five lives, as citizens demand that Prime Minister Ariel Henry resign. An agreement reached in December 2022 stipulated that the Prime Minister would hold elections and then cede power to newly elected officials on February 7, 2024, but Henry has remained in power. No elections have taken place since 2016, and the Presidency remains vacant.

– Politicians in Pakistan, allied with the imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), defy a military-led crackdown and alleged widespread election rigging to win the most seats in Pakistan’s lower house of parliament, but fall short of a majority. The two other main parties, PML-N and Pakistan People’s party (PPP), have met to discuss forming a coalition to keep PTI out of power.

8 February 2024

– Two explosions claim the lives of at least 28 individuals in the Pakistani province of Balochistan, just a day ahead of Pakistan’s general election.

– A senior commander of an Iran-backed militia, Abu Baqir al-Saadi, is killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad. The US says the commander was responsible for directing attacks on US forces in the region.

– Sudan enters an internet blackout, amid the country’s 10-month civil war. Many blame the paramilitary group, The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which denies responsibility.

– The Government of Nicaragua warns the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Canada of its intention to take them to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), for supplying weapons to Israel and thus contributing to – or directly committing – violations of the Genocide Convention against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

6 February 2024

– Negotiations to form the next Dutch government collapse after Pieter Omtzigt, leader of the New Social Contract (NSC) party, quits talks. Far-right leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), Geert Wilders, has been struggling to form a coalition, with migration issues initially emerging as the key stumbling block in negotiations.

– A US Senate bipartisan bill set to deliver billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, along with stricter border enforcement measures, collapses as Republicans withdraw support.

– President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announces plans to scrap a proposal halving pesticide use across the EU, in a concession to the farmers who have been protesting in many EU countries against tightening regulations.

5 February 2024

– President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador is re-elected in a landslide victory. Bukele has been largely credited for transforming one of the most violent countries in the world to one of the safest in Latin America, following a crackdown on crime.

– US Secretary of State Antony Blinken lands in Saudi Arabia to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, on his fifth trip to the Middle East since the October 7 attacks on Israel.

– Lawmakers in Senegal agree to postpone the presidential election until December. Most opposition MPs are forcibly removed from the chamber amid heated debates, and three opposition MPs are arrested in the fallout.

4 February 2024

– Hundreds of people protest in Dakar, Senegal, at the news that lawmakers are due to debate a proposal to postpone the presidential election, scheduled for later in February, following a dispute about the eligibility of candidates. The proposal moves to hold the vote on 25 August and keep President Macky Sall in power until then.

3 February 2024

– The US and the UK launch a fresh wave of strikes against 36 Houthi targets in Yemen – the third time the US and the UK have carried out a joint operation to strike Houthi targets.

– Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill becomes the new First Minister of Northern Ireland, with the DUP’s Emma Little-Pengelly as Deputy First Minister. O’Neill is the first-ever republican first minister of Northern Ireland.

2 February 2024

– The US strikes more than 85 targets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, and affiliated militias, in Iraq and Syria, responding to the deaths of three US soldiers killed in Jordan on the 28th January.

1 February 2024

– European leaders agree a €50 billion aid package for Ukraine, after breaking a deadlock with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

– New Zealand Defence Minister steps up interest in joining the non-nuclear pillar of AUKUS, saying “we really want to look at what the opportunities are and whether or not its something we could be part of”, and adding that New Zealand could offer space and technology expertise.

– Over a thousand tractors block the streets around the European quarter in Brussels, as farmers protesting high taxes, rising costs, cheap imports, and the bloc’s decision to lift quotas on Ukrainian grain exports, throw eggs at the European Parliament.

31 January 2024

– Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife are sentenced to jail for 14 years over allegations of illegal profiteering from state gifts, in addition to the 10 year sentence he had already received.

– Armenia formally joins the international criminal court (ICC). Armenia, a traditional Moscow ally and part of the Moscow-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, is now obliged to arrest the Vladimir Putin if he sets foot on its territory.

30 January 2024

– Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is sentenced to 10 years in prison, accused of leaking state secrets. His legal team are planning on appealing the ruling.

– Following changes to the post-Brexit agreement between the UK and EU, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) drops its opposition to an executive being formed in Northern Ireland. The new deal agreed between the UK government and the DUP – called “Safeguarding the Union” – will reduce checks and paperwork on goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. The decision paves the way for power-sharing to be re-established in Northern Ireland.

– Lord Cameron makes his fourth visit to the Middle East as Foreign Secretary, beginning in Oman. Cameron will use the visit to focus on de-escalating regional tensions, and move forward work to establish a Contact Group between the UK, the US, key EU, Gulf and Arab countries and Turkey, to build momentum towards a lasting peaceful solution.

29 January 2024

– 48 civil society organisations in Nigeria call on President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency as violence continues to sweep across the country. Last week, 43 people were killed in fighting in Nigeria’s central Plateau state, while nearly 2,500 people have been killed, and over 1,800 have been abducted, since May 2023.

– UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron says the UK could consider recognising a Palestinian state, as part of concerted efforts to bring about “irreversible progress” on a peaceful two-state solution.

28 January 2024

– North Korea fires several cruise missiles in waters off its east coast, in the latest of a string of missile tests in recent months. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has become increasingly aggressive in his policymaking and rhetoric, leading to concerns that North Korea is preparing for potential conflict.

– Three US Army soldiers are killed and more than 30 service members are injured, during a drone attack on a US outpost in Jordan.

– Climate activists throw soup over the Mona Lisa in Paris.

27 January 2024

– The UK, and a number of other countries, pause funding for UNRWA, the primary UN Agency providing aid to Palestinian refugees over allegations some of its staff were involved in the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel.

– A drone strike claims the lives of three US troops at a base in Jordan. The attack was claimed by the Iranian-backed umbrella group Islamic Resistance. US President Joe Biden has sworn to hold all responsible to account.

26 January 2024

– The International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivers its ruling on the emergency measures requested by South Africa in its genocide case against Israel over the Israel-Hamas war. The court ruled, among other things, that Israel must take steps to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, but it stopped short of ordering a ceasefire.

– UK-Canada trade deal negotiations break down after nearly two years, over disagreements about cheese, cars and beef.

25 January 2024

– Violence in central Nigeria claims over 40 lives. The fighting was sparked by a row over cattle, in Nigeria’s Plateau state, which is fraught with ethnic and religious tensions between Muslim Fulani and Christian Mwagaful ethnic groups.

24 January 2024

– A Russian military plane crashes in Russia’s Belgorod region, killing 74 people onboard, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war. Moscow has accused Ukraine’s military of shooting down the plane, which Kyiv has not ruled out.

– Potential challenger to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Boris Nadezhdin, announces that he would end the war in Ukraine on day one of his presidency. Nadezhdin, a local councillor for over 30 years, is seen as a former insider of the regime, and so far his criticism of Putin and the Kremlin has been tolerated.

23 January 2024

– Former President Trump wins the New Hampshire primary, beating Nikki Haley, and taking 54% of the vote.

– Turkish MPs ratify Sweden’s bid to join NATO, removing the last major hurdle to Sweden joining the military grouping.

– Prime Minister Rishi Sunk announces that, while the UK is not seeking confrontation with Houthi forces, the UK will not hesitate to take further military action if the group continues its attacks in the Red Sea.

22 January 2024

– US and UK forces launch a fresh series of military strikes, targeting eight Houthi positions in Yemen, including an underground storage site and Houthi missile and surveillance capability. This is the eighth set of strikes by the US against Houthi targets in Yemen, and the second joint operation with the UK.

– House of Lords vote to delay the Government’s Rwanda policy over safety concerns.

– Ron DeSantis ends his bid for the Republican Presidential nomination, endorsing Donald Trump ahead of the New Hampshire primary.

– Cameroon rolls out the world’s first Malaria vaccine, using a vaccine developed by UK drugmaker GSK.

21 January 2024

– The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza announces that more than 25,000 people have now been killed in Gaza, in the more than three months since Israel’s air and ground operation began.

20 January 2024

– Air strikes hit Damascus, Syria, claiming the lives of a number of Syrian forces, and five senior members of Iran’s security forces. Iran has accused Israel of launching the attack.

– Sudan suspends its membership of north-east African bloc, The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), over efforts to end the brutal nine month-long civil war between Sudan’s army and a rival paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Igad had reiterated its call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, and said Sudan’s army and the RSF must have a face-to-face meeting within two weeks.

19 January 2024

– A top NATO official warns that civilians of NATO states must prepare for all-out war with Russia in the next 20 years, urging civilians as well as governments to prepare for life-changing conflict and potential conscription.

– The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says over half a million people from Sudan have crossed the border to South Sudan since fighting broke out in Sudan on 15 April 2023.

– Pakistan and Iran restore diplomatic ties, with both Ambassadors set to return to their respective posts. This restoration rounds out a week in which both countries exchanged reciprocal strikes on militant bases in each other’s territory.

18 January 2024

– Pakistan launches airstrikes into Iran, targeting alleged terrorists in retaliation for Iranian strikes against Pakistan on January 16th.

– Air strikes in Syria claim the lives of at least 10 people. The attack is suspected to have come from Jordan, which has reportedly carried out a number of air strikes over the past year, targeting suspected drug smugglers in Syria.

17 January 2024

– UK Parliament approves the Rwanda Asylum Bill by a majority of 44.

– Israel and Hamas reach a deal to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, amid the devastating Israel-Hamas war. Brokered by Qatar and France, the deal agrees that medicine will be provided to 45 hostages held by Hamas, in return for humanitarian supplies entering Gaza via Egypt.

– The United States launches a fourth round of strikes at Houthi targets in Yemen, following further attacks on commercial shipping.

16 January 2024

– North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calls for a constitutional amendment to change the status of South Korea to a separate state, designating South Korea as the “principal enemy”, and warning that while North Korea doesn’t seek war, it also doesn’t intend to avoid it.

– Iran launches airstrikes into Pakistan, reportedly aimed at Sunni militant group, Jaish al-Adl, claiming the lives of two children. This attack follows retaliatory strikes this week into Syria and Iraq following the bombing in Kernan earlier this month, and is the latest flashpoint of violence unfolding across the regional neighbourhood.

15 January 2024

– Former President Donald Trump wins the first contest in the Republican race for presidential nominee, the Iowa caucus, by a landslide, as expectations grow that he will secure the Republican nomination.

– Nauru cuts ties with Taiwan in favour of Beijing, just days after the DPP’s Lai Ching-te was elected President of Taiwan. Taiwan has accused China of buying Nauru’s switch in diplomatic relations with financial aid.

– The 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum begins in Davos, Switzerland. The focus for this year’s meeting is on ‘Rebuilding Trust’, amid a global landscape of increasing division, heightened hostility and a surge in conflicts. 

14 January 2024

– King Frederik X ascends to the throne in Denmark following the abdication of his mother, Queen Margrethe II.

– The death toll in Gaza passes 24,000, on the 100-day anniversary of the October 7th Hamas attack into southern Israel, that killed at least 1,200 people and triggered the devastating Israel-Hamas war. The 100-day anniversary was marked by a commemorative event in Israel, in support of the Israeli hostages that remain in Gaza.

13 January 2024

– In Taiwan, the incumbent Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wins its third straight presidency, with president-elect Lai Ching-te defeating opponents from the Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan’s People’s Party (TPP). China had views the DPP as seperatists and criticised the result.

– John Kerry announces he will step down as US Climate Envoy after three years.

12 January 2024

– UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visits Kyiv, Ukraine to sign a new bilateral security pact. Sunak  announced that UK military funding to Ukraine will increase to £2.5 billion in the coming financial year, and that the UK will provide an extra £18 million in aid.

– Houthi leadership reports that five of their fighters have been killed in the US and UK’s military strikes, and warn that the militant group will retaliate and continue their attacks on Red Sea shipping vessels.

11 January 2024

– Two days of public hearings begin at the International Court of Justice, as South Africa presents its case accusing Israel of genocide.

– US and UK forces launch military strikes overnight, targeting 16 Houthi positions, including command centres. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the strikes were a “limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defence”.

10 January 2024

– US and UK naval forces report an uptick in drone attacks on commercial shipping by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, with the two nations repelling 21 drones and missiles in one night. Since the 19th November, the Iran-backed Houthi’s have reportedly carried out 26 attacks, claiming to be targeting ships ‘linked to Tel Aviv’ in protest at Israeli actions in its war against Hamas.

– The UN Security Council vote to demand an immediate end to the Houthi attacks, and warned of collective action if they continue (Russia and China both abstained).

– A UN helicopter crew is seized in Somalia by al-Shabab, the Somali armed Islamist group that controls large parts of the nation’s centre and south. The insurgency group is affiliated to al-Qaeda and is a powerful player involved in Somalia’s civil war.

– Masked gunmen break into an Ecuadorian broadcaster’s live studio, following days of violence stemming from the President of Ecuador’s order that criminal gangs be “neutralised”.

9 January 2024

– Gabriel Attal is named as France’s next Prime Minister by President Emmanuel Macron, at just age 34, making him the youngest and first-ever openly gay French Prime Minister. 

– The People’s Democratic Party secures the most seats in Bhutan’s parliamentary elections. Former Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay is expected to lead the new liberal government.

– Polish police arrest two MPs in the country’s presidential palace, who were hiding under the protection of President Andrzej Duda after being sentenced to jail for abuse of power when running an anti-corruption office. This unravels amid tensions between President Duda and new Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who is seeking to dismantle and reform the past eight years of rule by the conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS).

8 January 2024

– Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, wins office for a fifth term, in an election overshadowed by a crackdown on opposition, including through intimidation and violence. The opposition – the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) – boycotted the vote and labelled it a ‘sham election’.

– Israel launches strikes against Hezbollah into southern Lebanon, reportedly killing one of its senior commanders and fuelling concerns of contagion to a regional war.

– Australia abandons plans to hold a referendum on replacing King Charles III as its Head of State, stating that it is ‘not a priority’.

– China’s Ministry of State Security announces that it has detained an individual on allegations of spying for Britain’s MI6.

7 January 2024

– Charles Michel announces he will step down as European Council President early, in order to stand in the election for the European Parliament, which will be held in June. The next President must be elected by a majority of the EU’s 27 leaders, and if no successor is found before 1 July, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, would temporarily hold the presidency.

– Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani announces he wants to form a European Union army to manage peacekeeping across the continent. 

6 January 2024

– US President Biden marks the third anniversary of the January 6th 2021 attack on the US Capitol, calling Trump’s incitement of the violent mob “among the worst derelictions of duty by a president in American history”.

– French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna calls Iranian Minister Abdollahian to demand that Iran and its affiliates immediately cease destabilising actions – in reference to the attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels, based in Yemen and backed by Iran, in what has been termed a revenge campaign against Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. 

5 January 2024

– United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrives in the Middle East for the fourth time since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, hoping to curtail attacks against Palestinian civilians. Blinken will be visiting Israel, in addition to Turkey, Greece, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, amid heightening regional tensions.

4 January 2024

– Former President Donald Trump asks the United States Supreme Court to invalidate the ruling by Colorado’s Supreme Court that stated he was ineligible to be on Colorado’s Presidential Primary ballot. Maine’s Secretary of State has also barred Trump from appearing on Maine’s ballot, and a number of other states are considering following suit. 

3 January 2024

– Saleh al-Arouri, a senior leader of Hamas, is killed in a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, by an explosion that Lebanon and the United States blamed on Israel. Mr al-Arouri is the most senior Hamas figure to have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war so far, and played a key role in Hamas’ relationships with its regional allies, and in increasing Hamas’ military capabilities.

– Over 90 lives are lost after two bombs are detonated in Kerman, Iran, at the grave of militant leader Qasem Soleimani, on the fourth anniversary of his assassination. Iranian officials initially accused Israel and the United States of being behind the attack, which has since been claimed by the Islamic State.

– Russia and Ukraine exchange hundreds of prisoners of war, in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates. It is the biggest prisoner swap since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, with Ukraine receiving 230 prisoners, and releasing 248 Russian soldiers.

2 January 2024

– Israel’s Supreme Court strikes down a controversial judicial reform that would have limited the power of the Israel Supreme Court in overturning laws it deemed unconstitutional. The reform triggered nationwide protests last year, over concerns it would consolidate Prime Minister Netanyahu’s power.

– Lee Jae-myung, the leader of South Korea’s main opposition party, is stabbed in the port city of Busan. South Koreans are sharply divided over the politician, who is widely expected to run for the presidency again at the next general election, having narrowly lost to President Yoon in 2022. Among supporters he is considered a progressive champion, on the side of minorities and lower-income citizens, but his detractors, as well as state prosecutors, have accused him of corruption.

1 January 2024

– BRICS membership is officially extended from 5 to 10 members, with Russia assuming the Presidency for 2024. Russia hopes to use the Presidency to encourage greater foreign policy coordination between members and to strengthen BRICS relations with new partners.

– A string of strong earthquakes are recorded off the north coast of Japan, claiming the lives of 161 people.