We’re just a couple of weeks into 2026 and already it feels like an eternity has passed. From Venezuela to Greenland, a blitz of revanchist US foreign policy moves by Donald Trump has thrown the world into turmoil. Domestically, it’s little better: in Minneapolis, the killing last week of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent – who was defended aggressively by Trump – prompted shock and fury across America. While some argue that recent events simply represent a more honest, open approach towards US policy goals…
Tag: Nato
Trump’s imperial measures: inside the 16 July edition of Guardian Weekly
We’re just a couple of weeks into 2026 and already it feels like an eternity has passed. From Venezuela to Greenland, a blitz of revanchist US foreign policy moves by Donald Trump has thrown the world into turmoil. Domestically, it’s little better: in Minneapolis, the killing last week of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent – who was defended aggressively by Trump – prompted shock and fury across America. While some argue that recent events simply represent a more honest, open approach towards US policy goals…
Greenland says it cannot accept US takeover ‘under any circumstances’
Greenland’s government has said it “cannot under any circumstances accept” Donald Trump’s desire to take control of Greenland, as Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, said the organisation was working on ways to bolster Arctic security. At the start of a critical week for the vast Arctic island, a largely self-governing part of Denmark, the US president restated his interest in the strategically located, mineral-rich territory, saying the US would take it “one way or the other”. The US president has rocked the EU and Nato by refusing to rule out…
Russia’s war in Ukraine carries a warning for Australia: prepare for possible conflict in the Asia-Pacific
Military experts and diplomats agree new strategies and tactics – drone-based or otherwise – playing out in Ukraine’s theatre of war may be replicated closer to home Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast It’s early morning at the sprawling 32 Tactical air base in Łask, a couple of hours outside the Polish capital of Warsaw, and the late autumn wind is sharp. Nearby, a crew of Australians are wrapping up the deployment of an E-7 Wedgetail surveillance plane, sent to the country to assist Nato’s…
‘China is watching’: Finland warns defeating Russia’s invasion of Ukraine key to stability in Indo-Pacific
Defeating Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is critical to restraining China in the Indo-Pacific, Finland’s defence minister has said, warning Europe and democratic partners, including Australia, face a fight of global consequences. Antti Häkkänen praised Donald Trump’s decision to impose sanctions on two Russian oil companies last week, calling the move a major sign of resolve by the US president against Vladimir Putin’s three-year long war. In an interview with Guardian Australia at the ministry of defence in Helsinki, Häkkänen said the West’s willingness to stay the course in opposing Russia’s…
Trump ‘ready’ to impose sanctions on Russia if Nato nations stop buying its oil
In Truth Social post, US president also suggests members consider imposing tariffs of 50% to 100% on China Donald Trump has said he is ready to impose sanctions on Moscow, but on the condition that all Nato allies agree to completely halt purchases of Russian oil and implement their own sanctions. He also suggested members of the transatlantic alliance consider imposing tariffs of 50% to 100% on China for its purchases of Russian petroleum as a way to help end the war. Continue reading… The Guardian
Former UK civil service chief calls Xi Jinping a ‘dictator’ over plans to reunify Taiwan
The former head of the UK’s civil service has described the Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a “dictator” and said Donald Trump had put “helpful pressure” on Europe to increase defence spending. Simon Case, who served as the cabinet secretary until December, when he stepped down on health grounds, said China had sent a clear message to “prepare for serious conflict” in Taiwan. The UK has committed to spend the equivalent of 2.6% of GDP in 2027, and it and other Nato members have signed up to increasing spending to…
The Guardian view on Donald Trump’s China deal: rare earths pave the green road to militarisation | Editorial
It’s an irony that the minerals needed to save the planet may help destroy it. Rare earth elements, the mineral backbones of wind turbines and electric vehicles, are now the prize in a geopolitical arms race. The trade agreement between Washington and Beijing restores rare earth shipments from China to the US, which had been suspended in retaliation against Donald Trump’s tariffs. Behind the bluster, there has been a realisation in Washington that these are critical inputs for the US. They are needed not just by American icons such as Ford…
Undersea ‘hybrid warfare’ threatens security of 1bn, Nato commander warns
The security of nearly 1 billion people across Europe and North America is under threat from Russian attempts to target the extensive vulnerabilities of underwater infrastructure including windfarms, pipelines and power cables, a Nato commander has warned. V Adm Didier Maleterre, the deputy commander of Nato’s Allied Maritime Command (Marcom), said the network of underwater cables and pipes on which Europe’s power and communications depend were not built to withstand the “hybrid warfare” being pursued by Moscow and other Nato adversaries. “We know the Russians have developed a lot of…
Sweden is joining Nato, but it’s hopelessly unprepared for war | Martin Gelin
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 came as a rude awakening for Sweden. Across the country people suddenly realised that national security vulnerabilities were everywhere. The entire public transit rail network in Stockholm, for example, is operated by MTR, a Hong Kong-based company with ties to the Chinese Communist party. In the event of Stockholm being attacked by foreign forces, most of the detail about critical infrastructure and tunnels running under the city centre – home to the Swedish parliament, the prime minister’s residence, the state department, the…