Since he assumed office in June 2025, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has faced political turbulence on both domestic and international fronts. He came to power in the middle of the national turmoil instigated by his predecessor’s declaration of martial law and consequent impeachment. Only six months before Lee took office, Donald Trump had begun
By:Paul Myers It was a thunderbolt of a strike that left the Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou a bemused spectator. The goal came a few minutes after Brahim Diaz botched a penalty that could have delivered the trophy to his country for only the second time since the inception of the competition in 1957. His panenka
By RFE/RL’s Radio Farda US-Iranian tensions remained high as Tehran’s hard-line rulers renewed their hostile rhetoric and threatened to hand out the “severest punishments” — including potentially executions — against anti-government protesters. Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian — previously considered by many to be a relative moderate among Iran’s rulers — on January 18 warned that an
By RFE/RL Kyiv concluded a fresh round of talks with US officials without announcing an agreement but said discussions on a plan to end Russia’s war on Ukraine would resume at the upcoming World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We are working with our American partners to further advance the peace process,” Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s chief
By Jane Kelsey On January 14, Donald Trump issued a proclamation threatening yet more tariffs if “trading partners” fail to sign agreements on critical minerals and their derivative products within 180 days of his announcement. There is no list of target countries, but it would be surprising if Aotearoa New Zealand is not one of them. Trump’s
