Geopolitics

Geopolitics: wars, alliances, sanctions, trade and the decisions between governments that shape the world.

1266 articles · page 9 of 27

Geopolitics

Ministers must be honest with public over Russian hybrid threat, former UK security adviser warns

A former UK national security adviser has urged ministers to be honest with the British public about the growing risk of Russian "hybrid attacks", warning that they are becoming more reckless and that people could eventually be killed. Lord Ricketts also said Britain should stop trying to act as a bridge between Kyiv and Washington, saying there was no influence Britain could have on President Donald Trump "in the short term".

·3 min·4 sources
Geopolitics

Zelenskyy accuses Washington of throttling Starlink and promising Moscow new concessions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Washington of continuing to restrict Ukraine's access to Starlink services and of promising Russia new concessions, according to an Al Jazeera assessment published on Saturday. The accusation escalates a week of friction over a US-Russia diesel deal and a reported disruption of Starlink/Starshield services on October 13-14 that wrongfooted Ukraine's military.

·3 min
Geopolitics

Israeli raids and arrests in southern Syria push population to the brink, detainees allege torture

Syrian civilians in southern Syria are living under constant fear of Israeli military raids, arrests and shelling, with released detainees describing torture and prolonged detention. Al Jazeera has confirmed at least 51 Syrians remain held in Israeli detention facilities, many transferred from the notorious Sde Teiman military prison. Daily artillery fire into fields has prevented farming and killed livestock, while UN peacekeepers appear unable to restrain Israeli activity.

·2 min
Geopolitics

Australia raises Saudi travel warning to 'do not travel' after deadly airport strikes

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has raised its travel advisory for Saudi Arabia to the highest level, warning Australians to postpone all travel including religious pilgrimages, as Houthi rebels intensify attacks on civilian infrastructure. King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh has been shut since a deadly strike on October 10 that killed 13 people, with the airport remaining closed until at least Sunday morning Australian time.

·2 min·2 sources
Geopolitics

Musk approached Trump to slow Starlink in Ukraine, sources say, as both deny responsibility

Elon Musk approached US President Donald Trump with a proposal to slow down Starlink in Ukraine, and Trump agreed, according to four sources familiar with the discussions reported by The Telegraph. The speed restrictions, imposed this week on the military-grade Starshield system, capped drone connectivity at around 160km/h, hampering Ukraine's ability to intercept Russian jet-powered drones. Both Trump and Musk have publicly denied ordering the slowdown, with the president saying Friday he did not know who was responsible, while a US official insisted no request was made by the White House.

·4 min·9 sources
Geopolitics

Ukraine's Operation Vivaldi recaptures territory as Starlink restrictions raise new concerns

The BBC has reported from inside Ukraine's Operation Vivaldi, a counter-offensive in the eastern Donbas region that Kyiv says has liberated 277 square kilometres in recent months, even as restrictions on the Starlink satellite system - a critical battlefield tool - have this week sparked alarm. The successful assault blunted an attempted Russian pincer movement that threatened to encircle key Fortress Belt cities still under Ukrainian control.

·2 min·2 sources
Geopolitics

Trump says Musk restored Ukraine's Starlink access as blame game over restrictions continues

US President Donald Trump has said tech mogul Elon Musk restored Ukraine's access to Starlink, the satellite internet service critical to Kyiv's air defences, declining to comment on a Wall Street Journal report that he personally called Musk to order the restoration. The statement comes after weeks of conflicting accounts over who was responsible for throttling the Starshield military-grade network, with new revelations that Musk himself approached Trump with the idea of slowing the system, and that Trump agreed.

·4 min·3 sources
Geopolitics

US senators send letter demanding investigation into Ukraine Starlink restrictions, Zelensky says services still being restored

A bipartisan group of US senators has sent a letter to the Pentagon inspector general demanding an urgent investigation into restrictions on SpaceX's Starlink internet service in Ukraine that slowed drone operations, while President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that services were still being restored and a US official denied American involvement.

·2 min·2 sources
Geopolitics

Ukrainian drone strikes on Yandex data centers disrupt Russian digital services

Ukraine has struck several of Yandex's largest data centers in recent days, disrupting key Russian digital services including shopping and taxi applications in major cities. The attacks come as Russia has itself targeted Ukrainian data centers in an escalating campaign against civilian infrastructure. Cloudflare reported that malicious bot traffic associated with Russian disinformation briefly dropped before migrating to other hosts.

·2 min
Geopolitics

Poland scrambles fighter jets as Russian strikes hit western Ukraine near border

Poland scrambled fighter jets during Russian air attacks that struck western Ukraine close to its border early Friday, as strikes across the country killed at least three people in Kharkiv and left hundreds of thousands without power in the Volyn region. The Polish armed forces said no violation of Polish airspace was recorded, but the incident is the latest in a series of tests of NATO's eastern defences.

·2 min·2 sources
Geopolitics

Trump calls Zelensky 'more difficult than Putin' as EU leaders reaffirm support for Ukraine

US President Donald Trump has renewed his sharp criticism of Volodymyr Zelensky, saying the Ukrainian leader is 'more difficult to deal with than Putin', and calling Ukraine's resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries a 'disgrace'. The comments came as Zelensky arrived in Brussels for a summit with EU leaders, who rallied behind Kyiv and vowed to increase sanctions on Russia.

·2 min·2 sources
Geopolitics

Min Aung Hlaing Promises Navy Repatriations as Malaysia Backs Myanmar's ASEAN Return

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has pledged to work toward Myanmar's reintegration into ASEAN after hosting President Min Aung Hlaing, who promised to send navy ships to repatriate Myanmar nationals at his government's own cost. The October 8 visit to Putrajaya, the first since the 2021 coup, drew criticism that Malaysia is rewarding impunity even as Kuala Lumpur insists the trip was about migration, not recognition.

·3 min·2 sources
Geopolitics

Ukraine hands StarGate medical evacuation drone to combat brigade for front-line trials

This week, Ukraine's StarGate aerial medical evacuation drone was handed over to a combat brigade for evaluation under front-line conditions, moving the aircraft a step closer to real combat use after a year of development. The six-propeller drone, built by Ukrainian defence technology company SkyFall, is designed to fly into areas where enemy drones and artillery can leave wounded troops stranded, and carry them out without an evacuation crew.

·2 min·4 sources
Geopolitics

Houthi missile attack hits Saudi-led coalition headquarters at Aden presidential palace

Iran-backed Houthi rebels struck the presidential palace complex in the Yemeni port city of Aden on Thursday, hitting a command centre used by the Saudi-led coalition and killing at least four people, according to government military sources. It was the first attack on the palace area since Yemen's civil war flared back to life in July, and marked an escalation in the rebels' campaign against Saudi targets.

·2 min·4 sources
Geopolitics

France drops opposition to UK inclusion in 'Made in Europe' legislation, conditional on alignment on Chinese EV tariffs

France has dropped its opposition to the UK being included in the EU's 'Made in Europe' legislation, provided the British government aligns with the bloc's tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, according to a joint Franco-German paper seen by The Guardian. The development marks a significant shift in EU-UK trade relations and could safeguard billions of pounds in automotive supply chains.

·3 min