Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

What We're Watching

What We’re Watching: Davos speeches show strain US-Canada relationship, EU Mercosur deal delayed again, Friendly fire in Ethiopia

​Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 20, 2026.

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 20, 2026.

REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Make us preferred on Google

Canada, US relations get frosty in Davos

Did Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney deal a major blow to his country’s relationship with the US? During his speech at Davos yesterday, Carney underscored how deeply the US-Canada relationship is fraying. Without naming President Donald Trump, he framed US behavior as part of a broader rupture in the rules-based order (welcome to the G-Zero World, to reference our founder Ian Bremmer). Trump responded during his speech today, chastising Carney and calling Canada “ungrateful.” The public breakup with America’s closest ally comes as once-frigid relations between Canada and China thaw. During a landmark visit to Beijing last week, Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to reduce tariffs on some Chinese electric vehicles and Canadian canola products. One thing to watch: As tensions rise between the US and Europe over Greenland, could we see Europe follow Canada’s lead?


In bid to halt insurgents, Ethiopian military commits friendly fire

The Tigray war in Ethiopia ended in 2022, but the East African nation of nearly 112 million people has faced another issue since then: multiple insurgencies in the Amhara and Oromia regions. In a bid to stamp out one of these groups, the Fano, the military launched drone strikes in the Waghemira area last Thursday, but they reportedly ended up hitting and killing 40 fighters on their own side. The Fano had fought alongside government soldiers during the Tigray war, but that alliance faded once the war came to a close. Exacerbating the situation is a long-running border dispute between Ethiopia and Sudan over the Al-Fashaga district, which sits across from Amhara.

EU-Mercosur deal blocked

After 26 years in the works, what’s one last hurdle to the European Union’s largest ever trade deal? The recently approved pact between the Union and Mercosur, a South American trade bloc anchored by Brazil and Argentina, is now headed to the European Court of Justice for a ruling on its legality. The deal, which would integrate markets that are home to nearly 700 million people, was narrowly approved by the EU’s parliament this month, after strong objections from European farmers, particularly in France, who worry about stiff competition from South American producers. The court ruling could take months. In the meantime, lawmakers have voted to hold up the deal.

More For You

​UAE's Oil Minister Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei arrives at the OPEC headquarters in Vienna, Austria, on June 4, 2023.

UAE's Oil Minister Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei arrives at the OPEC headquarters for a meeting in Vienna, Austria, on June 4, 2023.

REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
It’s official: the UAE splits from OPECThe United Arab Emirates announced Tuesday that it will leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the 12-country cartel that coordinates oil production and exports, on May 1. The Gulf state has long been frustrated with the crude quotas that the group imposes. It will also exit [...]
Malian soldiers stand near a truck during a patrol following the attack on Mali's main military base in Kati, Mali, on April 27, 2026.

Malian soldiers stand near a truck during a patrol following the attack on Mali's main military base in Kati, Mali, on April 27, 2026.

REUTERS/Stringer
Killing of Mali’s defense minister exacerbates its security crisisJihadist insurgents and Tuareg secessionists assassinated Mali’s Defense Minister Sadio Camara at his home in Kati during coordinated attacks across the West African country on Saturday, as the junta faces yet another major challenge amid the 14-year-long nationwide security crisis. [...]
​Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez attends a meeting with Colombia's Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez and Colombia's Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, on March 13, 2026.

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez attends a meeting with Colombia's Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez and Colombia's Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio after a planned meeting between Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Rodriguez was postponed, at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, on March 13, 2026.

REUTERS/Gaby Oraa
First Colombia-Venezuela summit since Maduro’s ousterColombian President Gustavo Petro meets in Caracas today with Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez, their first encounter since the US deposed Rodríguez’s former boss, Nicolás Maduro, and effectively installed Rodríguez as a viceroy. Petro, a left-winger who has clashed repeatedly with [...]
​A view of Iranian-flagged cargo ship Touska from USS Spruance (DDG 111) in a location given as the north Arabian Sea, in this screen capture from a video released on April 19, 2026.

A view of Iranian-flagged cargo ship Touska as USS Spruance (DDG 111) conducts its interception in a location given as the north Arabian Sea, in this screen capture from a video released on April 19, 2026.

CENTCOM/Handout via REUTERS
Washington’s blockade expands to AsiaThe US Navy isn’t just intercepting Iranian-linked ships outside the Strait of Hormuz. In recent days, it redirected a trio of ships that were passing in Asian waters, per Reuters. One of the ships was reportedly carrying 2 million barrels of Iranian oil, and had been scheduled to discharge the crude in India. [...]