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Special Counsel Jack Smith.
What’s in the report? The two-volume report contains Smith’s findings from the two criminal cases he brought against Trump: That Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 election results, and that he took classified documents with him to Mar-a-Lago after leaving office. Smith dropped the cases after Trump was elected, and he has since resigned.
Not so fast. The judge who oversaw the case accusing Trump of taking classified documents after leaving office, Aileen Cannon, has blocked that half of report from being made public – and she is calling for the prosecutors and defense lawyers to appear before her on Friday to state their cases as to why it should or should not be released.
Alice Weidel, AfD national chairman, waits on the sidelines of her party's national convention for a TV interview to begin. The AfD wants to adopt its election program in Riesa.
European media is abuzz with a new term embraced by Alternative for Germany, or AfD, party chair Alice Weidel during her disturbing speech at the far-right party’s leadership conference on Saturday: “remigration.” AfD has surged to second place in national polls ahead of Germany’s Feb. 23 election – following four years of anemic growth and ineffective government. The party has also enjoyed support from American right-wingers like Elon Musk, who streamed Weidel’s speech on his social media.
What is “remigration”? A term popularized in the German-speaking world by Austrian neo-Nazi Martin Sellner, it refers to forcibly removing immigrants who refuse to integrate with German culture, regardless of their citizenship status. In other words, a German of Turkish or Syrian descent, born and raised in the country, could be expelled, though just how the scheme would work is not clear.
Eagle-eyed readers will recognize this as ethnic cleansing in a fancy dress, and given Weidel’s attempts to portray herself as electable, her embrace of the term is striking. She may have felt emboldened by the AfD’s state-level victories in September in Thuringia, where reactionary Björn Höcke ran the show. Notably, Weidel’s crowds have taken to chanting “Alice für Deutschland!” — a deliberate homophone of the banned Nazi slogan “Alles für Deutschland!”
Will AfD take power? Probably not — they’re 10 percentage points behind the center-right Christian Democratic Union, and they are reviled by all other parties. But given how strongly the far right is performing in Europe, the party’s agenda can push political discourse further to the right. In addition to remigration, Weidel wants to close Germany’s borders, quit using the Euro, and start buying Russian gas.
Even if the AfD loses, it will have its largest-ever voice in the Bundestag. The CDU will need a coalition, but negotiations with the next largest parties are likely to be fraught. We’re watching for extended gridlock in Berlin.
Hard Numbers: Yoon gets a raise, China sets record trade surplus, California Dems are ready for Trump, Ryanair wants drink limits
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks on the government budget at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, 25 October 2022.
3: Despite being impeached and having a warrant out for his arrest, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol received his scheduled 3% pay raise on Monday, raising his annual salary to 262.6 million won, or $178,888.
1 trillion: China’s trade surplus reached nearly $1 trillion last year, far outpacing any trade surpluses recorded globally over the past century. But while it’s flooding the world with its products, it’s hardly importing thanks to its lagging domestic economy.
$50 million: California Democrats have reached a $50 million deal to lead a resistance against Donald Trump. The deal will provide funds for the state to challenge the administration in court, to fend off Trump’s mass deportation agenda, and to support legal and immigration nonprofits. Meanwhile, Republicans are criticizing state leaders for focusing on the deal as the state battles devastating wildfires.
2: Ryanair wants European airports to enforce a limit of two drinks per passenger as the budget airline pursues legal action to recover nearly $16,000 in costs related to a plane that had to be redirected mid-flight because of the disruptions of an overly intoxicated passenger last year.
Former (and incoming) President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meet at Trump Tower in New York City, on Sept. 27, 2024.
President-elect Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail to end the war in Ukraine “on Day One” of his administration. His supporters have long argued Trump should be taken seriously but not literally, and his team has since rolled back that expectation and insists on a 100-day ceasefire timeline instead.
That goal is still plenty ambitious, and the incoming president is already laying the groundwork for a halt to fighting. Trump will likely speak directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming days, and he’s already beginning to detail what he’ll ask of Ukraine.
In April 2024, Ukraine, under Biden administration pressure, lowered its conscription age from 27 to 25 to bring more soldiers to the frontlines. Incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told ABC News on Sunday, that Trump wants the age lowered to 18. “If Ukrainians have asked the whole world to be all in for democracy, we need them to be all in for democracy,” said Waltz.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has resisted pressure from Washington by insisting that if his country is to remain economically viable, it can’t sacrifice so many of its young men. He also warns there aren’t enough weapons for the Ukrainian troops already in the field.
Which comes first: the soldiers or the weapons? This debate will continue once Trump is inaugurated next Monday, but Zelensky knows that the new US president will have the leverage to get most of what he wants.
Buildings lie in ruin in North Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from Israel, January 13, 2025.
It’s been three months since Israeli forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in a Gaza raid. Since then, his younger brother Mohammed has taken the reins.
What is known about him? He is believed to be about 50 and to have been a member of Hamas since his youth. According to reports, he isn’t nearly as familiar to the Israelis as Yahya, who spent decades in Israeli prisons before his 2011 release as part of a hostage swap deal with Hamas. Israeli security officials refer to Mohammed as “the Shadow.”
Why it matters: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to destroy Hamas as a prerequisite for ending the military campaign and allowing the formation of a new Gaza government. Hamas, for obvious reasons, rejects these conditions.
But after 15 months of war – which has reduced Gaza to rubble, displaced some 2 million people, and killed tens of thousands – that goal is elusive. A crippled Hamas remains active, especially in Northern Gaza, which Israel claimed earlier to have rid of the group.
Ceasefire, you say? The waning days of the Biden administration have seen a whirlwind of diplomacy to secure a deal that releases the remaining hostages held by Hamas, but key differences remain over the phasing of a ceasefire and conditions for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza. Incoming president Donald Trumphas warned that unless a deal is reached ahead of his inauguration, “all hell will break loose.”
Hard Numbers: Croatia’s populist prez, Sweden sails forth, Mayotte hunkers down again, Hindus commence world’s largest religious ceremony
Re-elected Croatian President Zoran Milanovic with wife Sanja Music Milanovic celebrate after winning Croatia's presidential election ON January 12, 2025 in Zagreb, Croatia.
74: Populist Croatian President Zoran Milanovic won an impressive landslide reelection on Sunday, taking 74% of the vote. His office is largely ceremonial, but the overwhelming margin of victory should send a message to Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic – in power since 2016 – about the changing mood of the country.
3: Sweden, NATO’s newest member state, announced its Navy would contribute up to three warships to the alliance’s efforts to secure the Baltic Sea from Russia. The Swedish coast guard will also contribute a further four ships, with seven on standby. With increased resources, NATO aims to prevent possible provocations like severing undersea communication cables, 10 of which have been damaged since 2023.
1: Nearly one month to the day since the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte was devastated by Cyclone Chido, Tropical Storm Dikeledi brought more inundating rains and strong winds to the island. Over 200 people were still missing from the first storm, which killed at least 39 and injured over 5,000 while destroying entire neighborhoods, and the French government has deployed over 4,000 emergency personnel and security forces to the island.
400 million: At least 400 million pilgrims are expected to kick off the Maha Kumbh Mela festival on Monday in the Indian city of Prayagraj, where pilgrims will immerse themselves at the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna Rivers over six weeks. Hindus believe the mystical Saraswati River will intermingle in the mundane waters and cleanse worshippers’ souls — but the government faces a big logistical challenge: This will be the world’s largest-ever religious gathering, and officials have assembled 150,000 tents, 3,000 kitchens, 145,000 lavatories, all served by 450,000 new electric connections, protected by 40,000 policemen, and transported by 98 special trains making over 3,300 trips.FILE PHOTO: Children eat bread on a street near a flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 24, 2024.
Diplomats and foreign ministers from17 Arab and EU states convened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday to discuss the lifting of economic sanctions on Syria, originally imposed during the rule of ousted president Bashar al-Assad. Removing the sanctionsis key to reconstruction efforts for Damascus but will hinge on the new government’s ability to guarantee human rights in the country.
After the meeting, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbockadvocated maintaining sanctions against Assad’s allies but alleviating restrictions that affect the general population. Baerbock alsopledged an additional $51.2 million in aid for essential services. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also announceda meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels on Jan. 27 to discuss further relief measures.
As for the US, while it has not lifted sanctions, last week it issueda six-month exemption for certain transactions with Syrian governing institutions to expedite humanitarian assistance.
We’re watching whether those measures will be extended under the new administration of US President-elect Donald Trump, who in December said that Syria’s change of regime is “not our fight.” Trump also remarked that“Turkey is going to hold the key to Syria” – something thatSaudi Arabia may take issue with as it positions itself as a key regional player in Syria’s rebuilding.