All posts tagged: The Debate

Two key figures of Iranian leadership killed: Who’s next? – The Debate

Two key figures of Iranian leadership killed: Who’s next? – The Debate

Published by Sam Flores

Ali Larijani was the head of Iran’s Security Council and a key voice in the ear of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Gholamreza Soleimani was the head of the Basij militia. Both were pillars of Iran’s security apparatus. If they have indeed been taken out, the question is who replaces them, and will they take Iran down an even more hardline path? The death of Iran’s key figure Ali Larijani raises more questions than answers. First, Israel says it has killed him in an air strike, but Tehran has yet to confirm or deny. While Israel and the United States rejoice and call on the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow what is left of their Islamic leadership, the reality on the ground is less certain. The systematic killing of the leaders of Iran since February 28 has created a vacuum in Tehran. The fear among analysts is that the space will be filled by regime insiders who will be hardened and more radical. Larijani was the lead negotiator at the now aborted talks to find a peaceful …

Going for broke? Iran war spirals further after naming of Khamenei’s son – The Debate

Going for broke? Iran war spirals further after naming of Khamenei’s son – The Debate

Published by Sam Flores

Second week of a war seen more than ever as a massive gamble by the US and Israel: strikes on oil installations in Tehran prompting retaliation across the Gulf. Also blown away are claims that disruptions to global energy security would be only a passing blip. As the price of crude shoots past 100 dollars a barrel, Tehran signals it’s staying the course, with Mojtaba Khamenei – the hardline son of the assassinated Supreme Leader – chosen to take the reins of an under-siege Islamic Republic that still has the means to make its neighbours pay a price for Trump and Netanyahu’s war. Take Lebanon, where rocket attacks by Iran proxy Hezbollah have drawn a deluge of fire, a ground incursion by Israel, and the displacement of nearly 700,000 people. We’ll talk about the Lebanese president who wants direct talks with Israel and weigh ten days of destruction of lives and livelihoods. As for the price at the pump, Europe will arguably feel the effects more sharply than a US that is farther away and …

Loosening grip? Trump skirts setbacks in State of the Union speech – The Debate

Loosening grip? Trump skirts setbacks in State of the Union speech – The Debate

Published by Sam Flores

What does a boss who’s built an image as a tough guy from Queens do when naysayers claim he’s reached his limits? To dispel doubts, he can for instance hold the floor for an hour and 47 minutes. In the longest ever State of the Union address, US President Donald Trump proved he can stick to script instead of rambling. Trump was as combative as ever: bashing immigrants, Iran, the opposition Democrats and even the US Supreme Court for last week’s ruling striking down many of his tariffs, the biggest pushback yet for a president who’s wielded historically grand executive powers since returning to office 13 months ago. We ask about his plans to not only double down on tariffs – he’s saying they can replace income taxes – but to do so without congressional approval. Read moreTrump’s marathon State of Union: Big claims and the questions he left unanswered We weigh Trump’s methods, his arguments and ask about blurred lines between public policy and personal interest. As a term-limited president approaches midterm elections that could further corner …

Ukraine allies scramble on anniversary date: Is it Europe’s war now? – The Debate

Ukraine allies scramble on anniversary date: Is it Europe’s war now? – The Debate

Published by Sam Flores

We think about war and peace like a light switch that’s either flicked on or off. But Russia did not suddenly decide to swoop for Kyiv on a February night of 2022. To this day in fact, it still refuses to call it a war, sticking instead to the less definitive ‘special military operation’. And yet the writing had long been on the wall. And the actual war started long before. In 2014. Many through blindness or necessity refused to heed the warning signs. Even Ukraine’s president continued to downplay the intelligence reports. When does rivalry turn to hostility, hostility to war, and are we sometimes at war without knowing it? Fast forward to the present and there’s no doubting what to call this long, brutal slog with its hundreds of thousands killed, its nightly air raids, and freezing homes due to the targeting of the power grid. How long can a war last? Or how long can peace last? Were the last eight decades the exception for a Europe that in that time went …

Justice for all? The Epstein files and the arrest of former prince Andrew – The Debate

Justice for all? The Epstein files and the arrest of former prince Andrew – The Debate

Published by Sam Flores

Justice can be slow… and then, suddenly, swift. Two months to the day after the US Justice Department began releasing the Epstein files comes the arrest of King Charles’s brother, Andrew. He had already been stripped of his titles over allegations of relations with sex-trafficked minors. Now, he stands accused of leaking state secrets to the disgraced financier at a time when his late mother was pushing for his appointment as trade envoy. What are the consequences for Andrew – for the British monarchy – and for institutions already rattled by Peter Mandelson’s appointment as the prime minister’s ambassador to the United States, even though he too stands accused of leaking insider information to Epstein during the financial crisis? Will the arrests restore faith, or further fuel public cynicism? Moreover, will Andrew’s arrest force Donald Trump’s Justice Department to come clean about what remains unreleased – and to pursue wrongdoing impartially? Whether it’s sex trafficking, trading state secrets, or tax evasion, who is above the law – and who is not?   Produced by François Picard, Charles Wente, Théo …

Macron’s India charm offensive: Can defence deals draw Delhi closer to Europe? – The Debate

Macron’s India charm offensive: Can defence deals draw Delhi closer to Europe? – The Debate

Published by Sam Flores

There’s trade deals, there’s partnerships and then there’s fighter jets. French President Emmanuel Macron is in Mumbai to put the finishing touches on a €30 billion sale of 114 Rafale jets. This third batch comes as France struggles to convince European neighbours to either buy its warplanes, build one together or – at the very least – get NATO allies to de-risk from relying on US-made F-35s.  On the Indian side, there’s scrutiny over how Rafale sales have gone so far, both with cost and in combat. Then there’s the question of how much Delhi weens itself off historic supplier Russia. And what goes for military hardware goes for oil imports, what with US pressure to stop buying discounted crude from Moscow. On that score, what to make of fast-tracked trade deals with Washington and the European Union? How much strategic autonomy can both India and France afford in a realigning world? Produced by Charles Wente, Aline Bottin, Daniel Whittington and Ilayda Habip Source link

Whatever it takes? EU in race to shore up sovereignty – The Debate

Whatever it takes? EU in race to shore up sovereignty – The Debate

Published by Sam Flores

Can Europe man the ramparts on its own? As the US war secretary snubbed a NATO defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels, EU leaders converged on the 16th-century Alden Biesen castle in Belgium’s Limburg province to answer former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi’s call for a “big bazooka” approach to reform and competitiveness.  But behind the walls of the one-time headquarters of the Knights of the Teutonic Order lies a rift: between France, which is pushing a “Buy European” approach to strategic autonomy; and a converging German-Italian couple, which is more focused on lightening regulation and striking new trade deals.  Read moreEU leaders back major economic overhaul to counter pressure from US, China and Russia How much of a sense of urgency is there when it comes to safeguarding strategic industries, energy, defence and financing of the 27-member EU’s needs? This Old Continent feels caught in a superpower squeeze: between China, with its flood of cheap goods; the US, with its adversarial trade policy and its full-throttled support for Eurosceptic far-right parties; and Russia, which continues to pound Ukraine just as Washington signals the end of its historic role as Europe’s …

Epstein-proof? US Justice Department so far spares Trump

Epstein-proof? US Justice Department so far spares Trump

Published by Sam Flores

Here in Europe, the heads have started to roll. As journalists and prosecutors continue to speed read their way through the more than three million documents dumped a week ago Friday in the Epstein Files, the revelations have already led to resignations, sackings and criminal probes in Norway, France, the UK and beyond. British prime minister Keir Starmer’s hanging by a thread and he never even met Epstein. Source link

The mother of all deals? EU and India sign trade deal two decades in the making – The Debate

The mother of all deals? EU and India sign trade deal two decades in the making – The Debate

Published by Sam Flores

It’s being described as the mother of all deals. But will the trade agreement struck between the EU and India lead to a wider sense of a happy family? The signing took place with predictable and – some might say – justifiable fanfare. The headline says it’s a free trade festival, 20 years in the planning, with clear and present opportunities for business to go back and forth. We discuss the plan, analyse the opportunities and shine a light on the possible threats. In a world where local production is often bragged about by politicians, does a multilateral accord represent a threat to local businesses? The scenes of French farmers protesting over the European Union deal with South America’s Mercosur are still very fresh in our minds. Produced by Mark Owen, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Piera Rocco, Charles Wente. Source link

No going back? Europeans seek unity as transatlantic ties hit new low – The Debate

No going back? Europeans seek unity as transatlantic ties hit new low – The Debate

Published by Sam Flores

While the world waited on what Donald Trump would utter on Greenland on Wednesday, what if we missed the bigger picture? For 73 minutes, the US president, before an audience of traditional transatlantic allies in Davos, hurled invectives and insults while doubling down on what’s now official US policy: the assessment that Europe is a continent in civilisational decline; implying that it’s overrun by non-Christians and non-Whites. How do Europeans respond? Even far-right aficionados of MAGA have a hard time with the Greenland grab. Trump’s imminent threat has passed for now, but can European leaders establish a common framework for what lies ahead? How do what the Canadian prime minister called “middle powers” coalesce?  And if the time for flattery and calling Trump “Daddy” truly has passed, then what’s the next step for Europe, for NATO and for nations the world over that still believe in the rules-based order of old? Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Piera Rocco. Source link