In this news round-up of the week, China stuns the West and infuriates Trump by expanding its tight control over more of its rare earth minerals - with particular implications for Western militaries. Trump's many court cases are starting to get more and more pushback from judges exasperated with the administration's arrogance and incompetence, just as another vengeance indictment is brought against Letitia James. The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, which for some reason gets a lot more attention this year than usual. Also, I answer a Patreon question on Europe and Trump if Russia loses the war. Let's dive in.

It may only be the first part that will be implemented, but even so the Trump peace deal for Gaza represents - against all the odds - a real breakthrough. Both parties have swallowed a starting position that crosses their previous red lines. But while families are anxiously awaiting the release of hostages, and everyone is celebrating as though peace has finally been delivered, the truth is that there is a lot more hard work to be done. And there's nothing in the somewhat juvenile posturing right now that suggests that here is an administration equal to the task. Let's discuss.

The US / EU trade deal was always tricky - within hours of it being signed the two sides were giving radically different interpretations of what it covered. Well, now - unsurprisingly - President Trump is back and he has the EU's regulations in his sights. Specifically, any regulations that get applied to American companies, such as the tech giants. He has environmental rules in his sights, as well as privacy and anti-trust laws. He's doing it because the EU demonstrated weakness in negotiating the deal. The question is - will they now push back against the demands, at the risk of losing the deal they thought was already in the bag? Let's discuss.

French President Emmanuel Macron's fifth prime minister Sebastien Lecornu resigned after just a couple of weeks in post, as it became obvious that the task was simply impossible. This leaves France in a political mess, largely because of its ongoing economic mess. However, this goes way beyond France. Arguably, Macron's France is just the advance guard for the political upheavals that are coming to all Western democratic countries - and soon. Sounds like something we should discuss!

Judge Diane Goodstein ruled against the Trump administration recently, and got numerous death threats for her pains. Two days ago, her house burned down. At this point, there is no evidence whatsoever that this was a deliberately caused event, but it is obvious - at a time when the rhetoric against judges who impede President Trump has been vitriolic - that it could be the latest incident in the run of political violence incidents. Even if it's not, it's highly instructive just how America has been responding during the early hours when not much is known for sure. Let's discuss.

The Trump 20-point peace deal for Gaza has been welcomed by all the people worldwide who routinely flatter Trump at every opportunity - but also by others, such as the Arab states who have significant influence with Hamas. So should we be optimistic then, with everyone talking about how all the hostages will be freed within days, and this could finally be the big shift - Israel will withdraw, Gaza will be at peace, an oversight body will begin reconstruction leading a pathway to future Palestinian self-rule? Well, not so fast. Because amongst all that optimism, there seems to be rather a large pinch of wishful thinking going on. Let's discuss.

In this news round-up of the week, while testing Europe with drones, Russia's President Putin gives a major speech where he makes a substantial pivot in how he treats Trump's United States in relation to Ukraine. The US government is shut down, and both sides are trying to blame the other for what follows. YouTube gives Trump lots of money to spend on his ballroom. And I answer a Patreon supporter's question about Keir Starmer's Digital ID proposal in the United Kingdom. Let's jump in.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had his email read by a cameraman with a zoom lens, and it exposed the fury going on behind the scenes over President Trump's $20 billion support for Argentina's populist leader Javier Milei. At a time when Trump's tariffs and trade war with China has resulted in American soybean farmers being thrown into crisis, they can't help but notice one thing that has really added insult to injury. Let's discuss.

Pete Hegseth insisted on bringing together the very top brass of all the US military into one room so he could ... lecture them on grooming. And the Warrior Ethos. And then President Trump took over, to give a rambling rant about - well, all the things he usually rants about. Plus a few pointers on using the military within the US against American protestors, and giving permission for the use of lethal force. But mostly it was about anti-woke, and insisting that if they didn't like it, they should resign. In exactly the way that authoritarians through time immemorial have done, but just a lot less competently. Let's discuss.

The Ryder Cup made headlines this weekend - because the MAGA crowd barracked the opposing team, hurled abuse at the players, offensive insults at their wives, even threw beer over Erika McIlroy, and tried to put the European team off their stroke by calling out as they were taking their swing. Ugly, despicable behaviour, just hours after Trump had visited to show his support. Maybe it's a one-off, but it feels more like the MAGA movement is making cruelty a feature of America's face to the world. And this event is therefore more symbolic of the change that's happening than it might appear at first glance. Well, let's discuss.