Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

What We're Watching

What We’re Watching: Greenlanders & Danes comes to DC, Somalia cuts ties with the UAE, Japan is heading for an election

​A shop owner David Rogilds holds a shirt that he sells in Nuuk, Greenland, January 14, 2026.

A shop owner David Rogilds holds a shirt that he sells in Nuuk, Greenland, January 14, 2026.

REUTERS/Marko Djurica
Make us preferred on Google

Greenland officials come to Washington, after PM rejects joining US

Rock, meet hard place: officials from Denmark and Greenland are meeting with members of the Trump administration to discuss the future of the semi-autonomous island. The various players have discussed the matter before, but this is the first time since US President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric about taking over Greenland. Yesterday, Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen rejected the idea of joining the United States, saying, “We choose Denmark.” Meanwhile, Europe is keen to strike a deal that keeps the NATO alliance intact and avoids a military encounter. The US Senate may have a similar view: a bipartisan group will reportedly propose a bill that would bar the State Department from using congressional funds to annex Greenland. This move could hamstring Trump’s negotiating position.


Somalia abruptly cuts ties with the UAE

The East African nation says the UAE violated its sovereignty. Although Somalia didn’t provide additional details, the move comes amid allegations by Saudi Arabia that the UAE helped a fugitive rebel from Yemen flee to Abu Dhabi via Somali territory. Cutting ties with the UAE is a big deal: the Emirates have invested lots of money in Somalia’s ports and military over the years. But there are other recent irritants — including when Israel recognized the independence of Somaliland, a secessionist region of the country, there were whispers that the UAE had supported the move. Not coincidentally, they would continue to recognize the UAE. Zoom out and this looks like yet another example of the growing UAE vs Saudi rivalry in the region? See more on that here.

Japan’s prime minister expected to take a general election gamble

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to call a snap general election in February according to coalition partners – her first major political gamble since taking office last year. Takaichi is hoping her high approval ratings will propel her Liberal Democratic Party – which by contrast, is quite unpopular – to an outright majority in both houses of parliament. However, the LDP, which has ruled Japan almost continuously since 1955, is no longer in coalition with the Komeito Party for the first time in 26 years, which could hurt their voter turnout. Takaichi is betting the election strengthens her mandate before passing a budget that is likely to take aim at the country’s mountain of debt, but she is also opening herself up to the risk that her party loses even more seats.

More For You

US President Donald Trump holds a red penalty card that was presented to him by FIFA President Gianni Infantino in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, D.C., USA, on August 28, 2018.

US President Donald Trump holds a red penalty card that was presented to him by FIFA President Gianni Infantino during a meeting to discuss the 2026 World Cup games in North America in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, D.C., USA, on August 28, 2018.

Ron Sachs/CNP via ZUMA Wire
Trump makes a phone call…Last Wednesday, the US’s star striker Folarin Balogun, who is incidentally American only by birthright, was sent off for serious foul play in the opening World Cup knockout round against Bosnia and Herzegovina. As is typical in soccer, he was suspended from the following fixture. Then US President Donald Trump stepped in: [...]
​Smoke rises from an oil refinery following a Ukrainian drone attack, in Moscow, Russia, on June 18, 2026.

Smoke rises from an oil refinery following a Ukrainian drone attack in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Moscow, Russia, on June 18, 2026.

SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS
With refiners ablaze, Russia is now importing fuel from IndiaYes, you read that correctly: Russia, one of the world’s largest oil exporters and a huge supplier of crude to India, is now buying fuel from its Soviet-era ally. The reason? Ukraine’s widening barrage of drone and missile strikes on Russian petrochemicals facilities has knocked out [...]
Protesters hold flamingo-shaped placards and a large representation of a flamingo as they demonstrate against the government, in Tirana, Albania, on June 22, 2026.​

Protesters hold flamingo-shaped placards and a large representation of a flamingo as they demonstrate against the government, following weeks of protests against a planned luxury resort backed by a company linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, on an environmentally sensitive part of the Adriatic coast, in Tirana, Albania, on June 22, 2026.

REUTERS/Valdrin Xhemaj
Flamingo protests take flight in AlbaniaOver the past month, Albania has seen its largest street demonstrations since the fall of communism nearly four decades ago. The protests in the small Balkan country were touched off by the start of construction on a seaside luxury resort linked to US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The [...]
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in Belgrade, Serbia, on June 27, 2026.​

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić gestures during a rally in Belgrade, Serbia, on June 27, 2026.

REUTERS/Djordje Kojadinovic
Serbia’s Vučić resigns from presidency, but not the political stageIn a surprise announcement, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said over the weekend that he will resign within the next couple of weeks. Vučić has dominated Serbian politics since his party, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), took power in 2012, serving first as prime minister [...]