EUROPE - The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has warned bloc member states against prioritizing social welfare over defense and urged them to increase weapons production to address what she termed a Russian “threat” to which, she warned, Europeans “need to wake up.” Russia is spending 9% of its GDP on defense whereas the Brussels-based bloc’s member states collectively spend an average of 1.9% of GDP, Kallas told the annual conference of the European Defenсe Agency on Wednesday. “We spent billions on our schools, welfare, healthcare, but if we do not invest more in defense, all of this is at risk,” she said. "Russia’s defense industry is churning out tanks, glide bombs, artillery shells in vast quantities. In three months, they can produce more weapons and more ammunition than we can in twelve,” the senior EU diplomat warned.

GERMANY - Vladimir Putin is ‘clearly creating the conditions’ for an assault, says German army chief. Russia is rearming faster than first thought for a potential attack on Nato, Germany’s military pointman on Ukraine has warned. On the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president, Major General Christian Freuding said that Russia had already replaced missiles and tanks lost in its invasion of Ukraine. “The Russian armed forces are not just able to compensate for their enormous personnel and material losses… they are successfully rearming,” he told Die Welt newspaper. He warned that although it was not clear that Putin had plans to attack Nato, he was “clearly creating the conditions for it”.

USA - The US president has said he wants to “get that war ended” in order to stop “so many young people being killed”. US President Donald Trump has said he would “very much like” to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “soon” in order to end the ongoing Ukraine conflict. It is not just important from the standpoint of the global economy, but also to prevent further human suffering, he told the World Economic Forum in Davos via teleconference on Thursday. “Millions of lives are being wasted,” Trump claimed, referring to the ongoing hostilities and calling the conflict “horrible.” “I am not talking economy, I am not talking economics, I am not talking about natural resources, I’m just talking about so many young people being killed in this war,” he added.

UKRAINE - Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has said he could engage in direct peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin if US President Donald Trump provides Kiev with enough security guarantees, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. In an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday in Davos, Zelensky appeared to have changed his stance on the issue. According to the agency, the Ukrainian leader now says he wants to secure a commitment from Trump to support and secure Ukraine before engaging with Putin. “The only question is what security guarantees and honestly I want to have understanding before the talks. If he can guarantee this strong and irreversible security for Ukraine, we will move along this diplomatic path,” he said.

USA - “The Golden Age of America begins right now”, Donald Trump opened his second inaugural address on Monday. The cadence of his introductory sentence recalled a line from his first inaugural address in 2017, but the message was far more optimistic than the defiant tenor of that earlier speech, in which he said: “The American carnage stops right here, right now”.

USA - Donald Trump told Vladimir Putin to “stop this ridiculous war” or face a fresh round of tariffs and sanctions. The US president said he was “doing a favour” for Putin by offering him the chance to negotiate over peace, but would punish Russia if it did not come to the table. Mr Trump, who was inaugurated on Monday, has repeatedly promised to bring a swift end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, has publicly backed his American counterpart to broker a ceasefire, but Putin has yet to signal his willingness to entertain peace talks. However, the Ukrainian president said for the first time on Wednesday that he would demand US troops join a Western peacekeeping force as part of any settlement, in a blow to Mr Trump’s attempts to end the war.

USA - Trump has stumbled onto righteous ground with his war on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Following the death of George Floyd in 2020, America’s DEI quotient rocketed, seeping into every nook and cranny of the country’s workplaces, schools, and hospitals. No longer. Trump has taken drastic, seismic action within two days of taking office. As a starter, every single federal employee working in DEI has been placed on administrative leave.

USA - The Trump State Department implemented a landmark “One Flag Policy” policy on Monday, barring US outposts at home and abroad from flying any other flag but the Stars and Stripes. The newly issued order, a copy of which was obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, effectively bans American facilities from displaying flags affiliated with left-wing movements, including the pride and Black Lives Matter flags that flew over US government buildings under Biden.

USA - None of the president’s policies put gay or trans lives at risk, so let’s call this toe-curling lecture what it was: liberal grandstanding. On Monday, Donald Trump informed the world that he’d been “saved by God” in order to “Make America Great Again”. Now, I’m no theologian, so I can’t say for certain whether this was indeed God’s plan. Frankly, though, I think it makes a lot more sense than the risible twaddle that was subsequently spouted at Trump by an actual bishop. On Tuesday, the president attended a service at the Washington National Cathedral. And astonishingly, one of the speakers – a female bishop named Mariann Edgar Budde – decided that this was the perfect opportunity to lecture Trump about his policies on trans rights and immigration.

SLOVAKIA - The prime minister of the central European country Slovakia has threatened to pull the country out of alliances like the European Union and NATO, arguing that world events could consign them to the “history books”. “It is true that the EU and NATO are our vital space, but no one will prevent us from warning Slovakia about various risks,” pro-Russia Robert Fico wrote in a statement. The opposition leader, Michal Simecka — one of several other parties to condemn the statement — launched an attempt to dismiss the Leftist-nationalist government in a no-confidence vote on Tuesday (January 21).

USA - A new wildfire has erupted close to Los Angeles sparking thousands of evacuation orders. Ferocious flames were devouring hillsides near Castaic Lake, spreading rapidly to cover 9,400 acres in only a few hours. The blaze, named the Hughes fire, was being fanned by strong, dry Santa Ana winds that were racing through the area, pushing a vast pall of smoke and embers ahead of the flames. Evacuations were ordered for more then 30,000 people all around the lake, which sits about 35 miles north of Los Angeles, and close to the city of Santa Clarita. “I’m just praying that our house doesn’t burn down,” one man told broadcaster KTLA as he packed his car. Another 23,000 people are under evacuation warnings. The greater Los Angeles area is still suffering after two enormous fires which killed more than 24 people and destroyed thousands of structures.

UK - Petrol and diesel vehicles are set to face a significant ban in the UK in five years. Andy Wolff, commercial director at independent leasing firm Zenith, said the UK is likely to enforce a 2030 deadline for the ending of the sale of new combustion vehicles. Labour has consistently advocated for the reintroduction of a 2030 cut-off, as per its manifesto commitment, and the party recently initiated a consultation asking industry experts to support achieving that target. The new regulations will mean businesses can no longer manufacture brand-new petrol and diesel vehicles, shifting focus to cleaner alternatives. However owners of second-hand cars will still be permitted to use them on UK roads after this date.

USA - President Donald Trump wasted no time on his first day back in office, signing a series of executive actions aimed at restoring national sovereignty, economic prosperity, and public safety. These bold initiatives mark a stark departure from the Biden regime’s globalist policies and signal a return to the principles that put the American people first. Here is the list of presidential actions Trump signed on Monday following his inauguration:

USA - President Donald Trump rescinded 78 of former President Joe Biden’s executive actions with the stroke of a pen on Monday night. Trump’s executive order covers an array of actions Biden took throughout his term, ranging from nixing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies to the southern border and the climate. “I can undo almost everything Biden did, he through executive order. And on day one, much of that will be undone,” Trump said in a statement shared in a White House fact sheet obtained by Breitbart News.

USA - As President Trump works feverishly to undo the damage the Biden-Harris regime unleashed across the globe, he announced the immediate suspension of funding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) as part of a decision to suspend any foreign assistance for 90 days pending reviews. UNRWA, a UN agency tasked with providing aid to Palestinian refugees, has long been embroiled in controversy due to repeated allegations of links to Hamas, the Gaza-based terrorist group. In fact, the UN recently acknowledged that nine of its staff members may have been involved in the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel, further intensifying criticism of the agency.