The Debate

Making Ukrainians freeze in winter wasn't enough. A Russian strike hit a moving train on Tuesday in the northeastern Kharkiv region, killing six people. As the casualty toll on both sides approaches two million according to an independent study, we weigh the grinding effect of nearly four years of all-out war. 

Read moreAt least six killed in Russian drone attack on passenger train

And what it will take to end it? Ahead of more talks in Abu Dhabi, the United States is adopting a neutral tone in the face of Russia's demand that Ukraine give up the entirety of the eastern region of Donbas. What are Kyiv's options?

And what are Europe’s options? NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is telling allies to "keep on dreaming" if they think they can go it alone without a US-led NATO. With the French president due to speak in the coming weeks on an eventual expansion of France's nuclear umbrella to neighbours, and public opinion across the continent rallying against Donald Trump's hostile takeover bid for Greenland, what does 2026 have in store?

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Daniel Whittington, Piera Rocco, Charles Wente.

Now that Iran's internet blackout is over, how many are dead during those 20 days? Nationwide New Year's protests were met with a new measure of ruthlessness. We ask about a death toll that could run into the tens of thousands and what this scale of loss will mean for Iranians both at home and abroad. 

Read more‘As in wartime’: Iranian doctors recount deadly crackdown on protesters

We also revisit Donald Trump's promise at the height of the defiance that help was on the way. What to make of US warships only now arriving in the region? For what aim? Is Washington engaging or disengaging?

Allies like Saudi Arabia want no part of a new bombing campaign and the is US pressuring Iran, while easing away from a presence to support the Kurds in neighbouring Syria. 

More importantly, the regime this time proved its ability to shut down the internet for as long as it takes. Despite the inflation that triggered the protests, has the Islamic Republic – weakened after US-Israeli strikes on its nuclear facilities last summer – emerged stronger?

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Daniel Whittington, Piera Rocco, Charles Wente.

It's being described as the mother of all deals. But will the trade agreement struck between the EU and India lead to a wider sense of a happy family? The signing took place with predictable and – some might say – justifiable fanfare. The headline says it's a free trade festival, 20 years in the planning, with clear and present opportunities for business to go back and forth.

We discuss the plan, analyse the opportunities and shine a light on the possible threats. In a world where local production is often bragged about by politicians, does a multilateral accord represent a threat to local businesses? The scenes of French farmers protesting over the European Union deal with South America's Mercosur are still very fresh in our minds.

Produced by Mark Owen, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Piera Rocco, Charles Wente.

Just 17 days after the shooting death of Renée Good, masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis have again shot dead a US citizen, this time 37-year-old Alex Pretti. Again, there's video evidence to contradict official narrative that the victims were acting as domestic terrorists, along with a race to gather evidence before it can be tainted or destroyed, media echo chambers and a US president who watches from on high.

Why these shows of force? Will they discourage dissent or trigger a backlash? Do these hurriedly recruited federal agents armed with military-grade weapons answer to courts and lawmakers, or solely to the US president?

And while passions reach boiling point in specific opposition strongholds, will the rest of the United States continue to go about its business? At what point is the rest of the population affected by the breaking of norms and the pushing of boundaries?

More broadly, has the veneer come off a superpower that claimed a certain exceptionalism in its values; values on which it arguably won the Cold War? What's changed? Is that change permanent?

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Piera Rocco, Charles Wente.

While the world waited on what Donald Trump would utter on Greenland on Wednesday, what if we missed the bigger picture? For 73 minutes, the US president, before an audience of traditional transatlantic allies in Davos, hurled invectives and insults while doubling down on what's now official US policy: the assessment that Europe is a continent in civilisational decline; implying that it's overrun by non-Christians and non-Whites. How do Europeans respond?

Even far-right aficionados of MAGA have a hard time with the Greenland grab. Trump's imminent threat has passed for now, but can European leaders establish a common framework for what lies ahead? How do what the Canadian prime minister called "middle powers" coalesce? 

And if the time for flattery and calling Trump "Daddy" truly has passed, then what’s the next step for Europe, for NATO and for nations the world over that still believe in the rules-based order of old?

Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Piera Rocco.

From windmills to NATO, Donald Trump let the world have it from the podium of the World Economic Forum. For more than an hour, the president of the United States took on all-comers in his first return to Davos in six years. We ask about the latest threatening language on tariffs and grabbing Greenland, and how an audience of corporate executives feels about a showdown with Europe that's rekindled the threat of a trade war.

How much of it is really about Greenland and, as the US frames it, the broader scramble for the raw materials that will power artificial intelligence?

Flying into the Swiss Alps, Trump is harder on Europeans than on the Chinese and the Russians, whom he again blamed in equal measure with the Ukrainians for so far failing to agree to a settlement.

Ultimately, after a year when they paid even less tax and netted yet more profits, do the corporate titans in the room at Davos care if the US is turning its back on free trade, international law and the independence of its own central bank?

Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Juliette Brown.

He's back with a vengeance. On the first anniversary of his second inauguration, Donald Trump is using all the levers at his disposal to enact retribution on his adversaries at home and the guardians of the old liberal order abroad. 

Read moreThousands rally across US against Trump policies on inauguration anniversary

One year on, why did voters in the US decide to overlook the attempt by his supporters to overturn by force the result of the 2020 elections and return to office the twice-impeached Donald Trump? This time, it's different, very different.

The 79-year-old president wields so much power that he can send masked federal agents into the streets and even raise doubts for some over the fair conduct of midterm elections in opposition strongholds. Inside the Oval Office, boomers raised during the Cold War have been replaced by Gen Zers enthralled by the "move fast and break things" mantra of Silicon Valley tech titans. 

As Europeans scramble in the face of hostile tariffs, calls to grab Greenland and official policy that states the US must "cultivate resistance" within the continent to "Europe’s current trajectory", its leaders face many of the same post-pandemic issues: an ageing population, a head-swimmingly fast digital transformation, a loneliness epidemic among young and old alike, and echo chambers that monetise shock and outrage. 

So much for appeasement. The same Europeans who held their nose and swallowed their pride when the EU agreed to Donald Trump's tariffs last summer can no longer ignore the obvious – that there are limits with a president of the United States who tends to treat them as vassals, not allies, or even as adversaries for pushing back on its White nationalist brand of nativism.

We ask how much pain citizens are willing to bear in the name of safeguarding the continent's security and sovereignty, and how far countermeasures can go in the face of Trump's grab for Greenland, the tariffs slapped on Denmark's allies and official US policy that views liberal values as a threat.

Read moreWhat is the EU anti-coercion 'bazooka' it could use against the US over Greenland?

And then there’s Ukraine. A lot of the carefully-worded "diplospeak" from European capitals this past year has been about keeping the US president on board. But from Greenland to the Baltics, is Europe ready for what lies ahead?

US President Donald Trump had started his Wednesday pondering military strikes against Iran before pouring cold water on the concept, even expressing doubts that Iranians would accept as leader the late shah's son. In a sign of how fast a news cycle can flip, Iran's foreign minister expressed his assurances in English on Trump-friendly Fox News. After a ruthless response to nationwide protests, has the Islamic Republic once again seen off an existential challenge? 

Read moreIranian foreign minister says there is 'no plan' to hang people during crackdown

After a third night of reported quiet in the capital Tehran, the internet is still restricted and the death toll is still mounting, while the same economic woes weigh heavier than ever on citizens.

Read moreTrump says Iran executions ‘stopping’ as Tehran signals fast trials and hangings

What lessons do Iranians draw? What comes of this latest show of defiance?

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

There was no Oval Office made-for-TV drama as US Vice President JD Vance joined Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of Greenland and Denmark this Wednesday. We ask about renewed pressure by the Trump administration on Copenhagen to hand over that Arctic dependency.

How intent is the US on seizing Greenland? Even if it means the end the Atlantic Alliance that's safeguarded Europe's defence under US tutelage since the end of World War II? It's hard to see how NATO could survive coercive action against a faithful ally by its dominant member.

Read moreTaking over Greenland, a long-standing US obsession

Donald Trump stated his intentions on Inauguration Day nearly one year ago, yet still the question begs: why Greenland? Is it about securing maritime passages, untapped raw materials, muscle flexing or simply the fun of keeping everyone guessing? But as Denmark's prime minister says, it's not fun. It's serious. 

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.