President Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Thursday that they would send armored fighting vehicles to Ukraine, following a similar announcement Wednesday from French President Emmanuel Macron.
Why it matters: As the war has carried on, Ukraine's western backers have slowly crossed new thresholds by agreeing to send heavy artillery, longer-range rockets, advanced air defense systems, and now more lethal armored vehicles, which Kyiv has been requesting for months to aid its counterattacks.
Latin America in 2022 saw the dramatic ouster of former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo and Nicaragua's ongoing descent into autocracy — and 2023 is expected to have no shortage of stories about political instability, major elections, and the first year in office for new leaders.
The big picture: The U.S. has complex and critical relationships with key Latin American countries, several of which are major sources of migration to the U.S.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian armed forces to hold a 36-hour ceasefire along its front line in Ukraine starting on noon Friday to observe the Orthodox Christmas, the Kremlin announced Thursday.
State of play: Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, dismissed the order as "hypocrisy," tweeting that Russia's forces "must leave the occupied territories - only then will it have a 'temporary truce.'"
Thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square Thursday to mourn the loss of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as Pope Francis presided over the funeral proceedings.
The big picture: Benedict became the first pope in six centuries to resign the post atop the Catholic Church. His decision to step down in 2013 marked the start of an unprecedented period with a current and former pope living at the same time, the Associated Press reports.
TAIPEI — The most important way to deter China from attacking Taiwan is to ensure a Ukrainian victory in the war against Russia, former NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Thursday.
Why it matters: It's the first time a former NATO chief has made an official visit to Taiwan, highlighting the growing concern in Europe over China's aggression in the Asia-Pacific.
The U.S. is following the lead of Venezuela's opposition lawmakers and no longer considering Juan Guaidó as the country's legitimate leader after the opposition-controlled National Assembly voted to dissolve the interim government, a senior U.S. State Department official confirmed to Axios on Wednesday.
Why it matters: Guaidó never truly held the levers of power in Caracas, and his support with the public and within the fractured opposition had been slipping for years. But U.S. policy and, crucially, the opposition's claim to billions in Venezuelan assets overseas, were still based around the premise of Guaidó's legitimacy.
Driving the news: Alidoosti, who starred in Asghar Farhadi’s Oscar-winning 2016 film “The Salesman,” was arrested on Dec. 17 following several social media posts expressing solidarity with the protesters and condemning the government's actions, Reuters reported.
Morocco in recent months has started to link the opening of an embassy in Tel Aviv to formal recognition by the Israeli government of its sovereignty in Western Sahara, four current and former Israeli officials directly involved in the issue told Axios.
The big picture: Then-President Trump’s recognition of Western Sahara as part of Morocco two years ago was part of a broader deal that included the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and Morocco.
Jarrett Blanc, the U.S. deputy special envoy for Iran, is leaving the State Department Iran team and returning to the Department of Energy to work on nuclear policy-related issues, according to three U.S. officials.
Why it matters: Blanc's departure is another sign that the Biden administration believes there is currently no path forward for a return to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
Lebanon entered the new year without a president or a fully empowered Cabinet, stalling any progress on the financial reforms needed to bring the country out of an unprecedented economic meltdown.
Why it matters: The "only exit out of the crisis" is a billion-dollar bailout package the International Monetary Fund has offered, conditioned on a host of structural and financial reforms, said Sami Nader, the director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs.
New Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen's inaugural speech and a phone call he had with his Russian counterpart this week drew criticism inside Israel and from Ukraine and the U.S.
Why it matters: Cohen's remarks hinting that Israel would no longer condemn Russia publicly for the war in Ukraine and his call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov — some of his first moves since taking office last week — raised questions about a possible policy shift toward Russia by the incoming Israeli government.
The Russian military said that the use of prohibited cell phones by its soldiers allowed Ukrainian troops to "determine the coordinates of the location of military personnel" to launch a deadly strike.
Driving the news: The death toll from the weekend attack on the Russian military facility is up to 89. It is among the deadliest strikes against Russian forces so far during the war, AP reports.
