"Whatever happens now is only a starting point,” said a Western diplomat previously involved in nuclear talks. "That’s why the 2015 JCPOA [Iran nuclear deal] ran to 160 pages." www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

Maybe I missed it, but did #Maduro turn himself in because of the US naval blockade?

This is a bit painful, surely www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Now watch #Greenland creep back to the top of Trump's agenda...

Nederland produceert als een van de weinige Europese landen behoorlijk wat #diesel en #kerosine. Toch best handig zo'n petro-chemisch cluster.

Gulf states are (finally) discovering the importance of diversification... Gulf states consider new pipelines to avoid Strait of Hormuz - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT

Good, frustrating piece + this quote made me chuckle: “I have spent the past 5 years telling people not to worry about Trump and NATO,” says a European diplomat in DC. “Now I am genuinely quite worried about Trump and NATO” Perhaps he/she isnt a very good diplo www.economist.com/europe/2026/...

US support for the war split along partisan lines Maga stands by Trump on Iran — for now - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT

I empathise for the 'Prioritisers' in the US administration The ones that wanted to refocus US military attention away from Europe and the Middle East So the US could concentrate on China And who now see US military stocks depleted, costs soar, and assets deployed from the W-Pacific to Iran

Happy Pharma Tariff Day! www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

🚨 New publication! 🚨 'Coercive Extractivism' describes US foreign policy towards Europe: Washington leverages European dependencies (security, economic, support for UKR) to extract regulatory & econ. concessions and (geopolitical) benefits 📚 Read it here ⬇️ www.clingendael.org/publication/...

Who would have thought! 🤷🏻‍♂️ Trump threatened to stop weapons for Ukraine unless Europe joined Hormuz coalition - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT

Guess what I found? I love historical artefacts. This one resonates on so many levels...

Best handig, zo'n gasvoorraad www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/...

''De tragiek van Europa momenteel is dat het 't liefst zo min mogelijk doet omdat het zo weinig kan.'' @remkorteweg.bsky.social in de Jortcast van Jort Kelder over de oorlog in het Midden-Oosten en wat die betekent voor de wereldhandel en economie. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt_E...

"Greater North America"...I guess we should've seen that coming

www.reuters.com/business/ene... As the Houthis enter the Iran war, keep a close watch on #Yanbu

"I want us to get to frictionless trade [with the EU]" Sir Chris Bryant, UK trade minister tells #CHGlobalTrade conference Are we back to unicorns and 'magical thinking', or is there a real willingness to revisit UK red lines? Who knows 🤷🏻‍♂️

Good suggestion. If Trump is transactional, let's transact. The glitch however, is that the US is mission-critical to Ukraine's success, whereas Europe may not be mission-critical to opening the Strait of Hormuz (or is it?) www.politico.eu/article/euro...

Watching the very troubling events in the Middle East made me remember this Economist cover from 2022 The Gulf as we know it is changing: for years, economic opportunities defied the region's obvious geopolitical risks. That calculus may be shifting. And the effects are global.

My sympathies for all those people that foolishly thought 2026 would not lead to any #tariff turbulence

It's almost like something changed over the past year in the global trade environment, that makes deals like this make more sense 🤷🏻‍♂️ www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Zijn ze al nos.nl/artikel/2600...

This is going to happen to other countries as well that negotiated a deal with Trump last year. I'm particularly looking at the EU and Japan. www.cnn.com/2026/01/26/e...

Happy EU-India Trade Deal Day! 🇪🇺🇮🇳🇪🇺🇮🇳🇪🇺🇮🇳🇪🇺🇮🇳 The trade talks started in a very different geopolitical context, which feels like aeons ago: 'W' was in the White House The UK firmly in the EU Putin still out of Georgia and Lehman Bros solvent But now, the time is ripe! www.politico.eu/article/eu-i...

''Die permanente focus op Trumps dagkoersen weerhoudt ons van nadenken over onze ingrijpend veranderde relatie met de VS en hoe we daarmee om moeten gaan'', zegt @remkorteweg.bsky.social in een interview met @fd.nl. fd.nl/politiek/158...

'Groenland' lijkt afgewend, maar het is wachten op de volgende crisis, als de aandacht verslapt en we ons niet strategischer opstellen We moeten het lot van China tijdens de negentiende eeuw (willen) voorkomen fd.nl/politiek/158...

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j... I expect calls for similar steps to pick up across other European capitals

Absolutely, Rutte's "speak softly" diplomacy helped save the NATO alliance yesterday, but it could only have succeeded in combination with European leaders drawing firm red lines, displaying solidarity and rattling "big (economic) sticks" (plus signs of concern on the markets and among the GOP)

So Trump said he won't take #Greenland by force... ...but he still very much wants to acquire it The Danes, supported by the EU, don't want to sell So, we're still where we were I expect him to start raising costs by imposing tariffs and upping the ante through NATO No force. Still coercion

Alternatieve kop: Klap voor een strategisch bekwaam Europa (Alsof we dit handelsverdrag alleen maar doen om VDL een plezier te doen 🤦‍♂️) nos.nl/artikel/2599...

A year ago, President Trump gave his inauguration speech in the US Capitol rotunda. This is a part of that speech. It's almost like he was already telling the world what he wanted to do But, as so so often, when we hear uncomfortable things, we choose not to listen

''Europa is het afgelopen jaar alleen maar reactief bezig geweest tegenover Trump. Europese landen hebben verzaakt een strategisch gesprek te hebben over hoe we de nieuwe relatie met de VS gaan vormgeven'', zegt @remkorteweg.bsky.social. www.nporadio1.nl/fragmenten/n...

www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/... . @nrc.nl heeft het in dit stuk over het 'Anti-Coercion Initiative'. Dat bestaat niet. Het Anti-Coercion Instrument wel. Lieve mensen van de redactie, als je niet bekend bent met een term, check het even...

More of this, please www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

So predictable apnews.com/article/denm...

Vanmiddag mocht ik aanschuiven bij @bureaubuitenland.bsky.social om te praten over #Groenland en wat Europa kan doen om een mogelijke annexatie door Trump te stoppen... www.nporadio1.nl/podcasts/bur...

"Hope is uncharted territory" Not sure the producers could've timed the release any better #Greenland

My big concern is that the #Greenland and #Ukraine files are merging Europe needs Trump to solidify security guarantees for Ukraine to be able to make any peace deal work It's why Europeans daren't call him out over his Greenland ambitions But what happens to NATO & EU if he does take Greenland?

Waarom we ons zorgen moeten maken over Trump's uitspraken over #Groenland? De VS zitten vol bravoure na de actie tegen #Maduro "Our Hemisphere" klinkt nu luid Trump zegt al ruim een jaar dat hij Groenland "nodig heeft" En wij zijn te afhankelijk om iets te doen nos.nl/nieuwsuur/ar...

www.cnn.com/2026/01/05/w... Ok, well that's clear then...

Dynamic alignment or Customs Union? #Brexit was and will remain a key issue for: a) the future of Labour (and Starmer) b) the future of the Right, and c) the future of UK politics www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Monroe Doctrine Nine-dash line Russky Mir Anything else?

Roll out the Armchair Venezuela Specialists!

"Reinvigorated by my Trump Corollary, the Monroe Doctrine is alive and well - and American leadership is coming roaring back stronger than ever before" -December 2, 2025 www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...

Klinkt aardig, maar helaas - als je de Brit Gardiner kent - weet je dat het niet om 'techgiganten en Amerikaanse monopoliehouders' gaat. Het gaat veel verder dan dat.