The Foreign Desk

As the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte awaits trial in The Hague, we consider the difficulties around prosecuting individual leaders. Does it work as a deterrent for governments? And what is it like to defend one?

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Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Despite having a British passport, the UK’s response has been limited. Andrew Mueller explains China’s latest blow to free press. 

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From the 1979 hostage crisis to strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, US-Iran tensions have simmered for decades. But are Trump’s latest threats against the ayatollahs serious? Or will imminent talks in Muscat cool the discord?

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Given Trump’s recent, more combative approach to foreign policy, it was surprising to see the US extend the hand of friendship to West Africa’s military dictators this week. So what’s behind this new alliance?

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One month on from US forces seizing the now former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, its impact still remains unclear. Will Caracas’s new leader bring any real change? Is Trump’s aversion to foreign entanglements over?

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This week, General Johnson Olony, deputy chief of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces, ordered troops to “spare no one”. Andrew Mueller unpacks the two-man power struggle at the top and how it continues to fuel civil war.

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‘The Foreign Desk’ reports from Nuuk as Trump’s threat of force grips Greenland. Is Nuuk closer now to Copenhagen or is independence more important than ever? Can the damage done to Nato be repaired?

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Are Donald Trump’s designs on Greenland in any way explainable? Andrew Mueller does his best to try. 

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As President Trump completes the first year of his second term, we take stock. Is there a plan underpinning the chaos – or is chaos the plan? And what will the next three years hold?

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Only Malaysia and Indonesia have threatened a ban on X unless its AI assistant, Grok, stops producing sexually explicit content. Why is the rest of the world staying silent?

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Andrew Mueller and our expert panel discuss the key issues to keep an eye on in 2026.

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Trump has pledged to ‘run’ Venezuela after US forces captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro. Is this the beginning of a tripolar world between the US, China and Russia? And should Greenland, Cuba and Colombia be on edge?

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The most notable world events that we explained in 2025.

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Andrew Mueller reflects on some of his favourite, and most impactful, conversations from the year on 'The Foreign Desk'

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Andrew Mueller and our expert panel look back at the world events that shaped 2025.

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Lithuania has been beleaguered by balloons drifting into its airspace from neighbouring Belarus. What are the military advantages of this seemingly whimsical mode of transportation? And how severe is the threat? Andrew Mueller explains. 

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Japan prime minister Sanae Takaichi’s assertion that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be a threat to her nation’s survival has spurred a crisis between Tokyo and Beijing. Can de-escalation be achieved?

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Benin has become the latest West African state to face a coup. Andrew Mueller explains how the region’s history of upheavals gave president Patrice Talon the tools to stop the attempt. 

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One year on from the spectacular toppling of the Assad regime, has the Syrian revolution achieved its aims? How well is President al-Sharaa governing and remaking his image? Will global intervention help or hurt the state?

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