The United States and Iran have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that aims to end the war the US and Israel launched on Iran on Feb. 28. The 14-point agreement, signed by Donald Trump at a June 17 gathering hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in the Palace of Versailles—where the treaty to end World War I was signed in 1919—opens up the Strait of Hormuz for a 60-day ceasefire window, during which the two sides have vowed to negotiate a long-term resolution to the Iranian nuclear standoff. The US will also terminate all sanctions against Iran, provide $300 billion for post-war reconstruction, and unlock all frozen Iranian funds and assets.

US President Donald Trump suggested June 16 that Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa could wipe out Hezbollah if Israel was unable to do so without causing heavy civilian casualties. The comment came in spite of repeated statements from Damascus ruling out any military intervention in neighboring Lebanon.

In a landslide victory in the April 12 elections, Hungarian opposition candidate Péter Magyar defeated long-entrenched incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a global icon for the ascendant authoritarian right. In his 16 years in power, Orbán had become a quasi-dictator. He turned the state media into a mouthpiece for his Hungarian Civic Alliance (Fidesz), redrew electoral districts to favor Fidesz, and stacked the judiciary with loyalists—leading the EuroParliament in an official report in 2022 to declare that his government was no longer a democracy but a "hybrid regime of electoral autocracy." He was defeated despite visits to Hungary to campaign for him by such prominent figures from the international far right as Italy's Matteo Salvini, Marine Le Pen of France, and US Vice President JD Vance. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the electoral result as a "victory for fundamental freedoms."

Police and prosecutors from Brazil, Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname announced Jan. 22 the arrest of nearly 200 individuals in a transnational operation to combat illegal gold mining in the Amazon.

UN experts on Jan. 26 cautioned against the escalating use of arrests and criminal proceedings against agricultural trade union activity in France, after authorities detained 52 farmers during peaceful protests in Paris earlier this month.

European troops have landed in Greenland amid tense talks between the country's autonomous government, officials from Denmark, and the United States. President Trump has continued to insist the two-million-square-kilometer Arctic island should belong to the United States—despite pre-existing security agreements and a (previously) strong relationship with Denmark that grants the US significant military access to the territory. Beyond Trump's ego, there are reasons related to climate change that explain why Greenland is becoming of political interest. The territory's strategic location has become even more so in recent years as the Greenland ice sheet and surrounding sea ice have retreated significantly: The ice sheet lost 105 billion tonnes in 2024-25, according to scientists. This has disastrous implications—ice helps cool the planet, and its melt will lead to rising seas. But it also allows ships and submarines more freedom of movement, making military planners nervous.

Greenland party leaders issued a joint statement Jan. 9 asserting that the autonomous territory rejects the US calls for acquisition. Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and four other party leaders stated: "We don't want to be Americans, we don't want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders."

The Pentagon said US and allied forces carried out a wave of air-strikes against ISIS targets across Syria on Jan. 10, although accounts were unclear as to which other countries were involved or what casualties resulted. The raids came as part of a campaign dubbed Operation Hawkeye Strike, launched in response to the deadly ISIS attack on US and Syrian forces in Palmyra last month. Jordan was named as participating in the sorties. (CentCom, BBC News) Jordan also carried out a series of air-strikes supposedly targeting drug traffickers in the closing days of December—the latest in ongoing intermittent Jordanian strikes aimed at breaking up the Captagon smuggling newtorks in Syria. (LWJ) The past week also saw joint British and French strikes on supposed ISIS targets near Palmyra. (BBC News)