The United States suffered a significant blow this Friday in its war against Iran, when a fighter jet was shot down in the southwest of the country. Iranian state television first reported it, and later several North American media confirmed it, citing government sources. President Donald Trump reacted by saying that this will not affect the negotiations to end the war. "No, not at all; it's war. We are at war," he declared on a call with NBC.

There are still five months until the elections in Sweden, but the electoral machinery has already started to get underway. And this week there has been a relevant announcement that definitively breaks a historical taboo in the country. The leader of the conservative party (Moderate Party) and current prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, has made it even clearer that the far-right party Sweden Democrats is now considered as legitimate a partner as any other and will be part of the next government if the right-wing bloc wins. He announced this at a press conference accompanied by the leader of the Sweden Democrats, Jimmie Åkesson, who for the first time sees a real option for his party to have responsibilities at the highest level.

Péter Magyar burst onto the Hungarian political scene two years ago. He was an unknown, but in a very short time he rose up in a kind of messianic figureHe was the politician on whom all the hopes of those who dream of a Hungary without Viktor Orbán in power were pinned. Just two months after his party, Tisza, was registered as a political organization, it finished ahead of Fidesz, the prime minister's party, in the European elections. But back then, the big event, the Hungarian parliamentary elections, still seemed too far off, and there was an inevitable wariness of the newcomer among citizens and analysts. Now, less than a month before the elections, Péter Magyar has consolidated his position as a competitor on par with Viktor Orbán, who for the first time since 2010 faces a real possibility of losing the elections.

Most European allies are standing firm against Donald Trump and refusing to send a military mission to the Strait of Hormuz to keep it open. Following threats from the US president, who predicted a "very bad" future for NATO if European countries do not contribute, the majority of leaders of Europe's partners have spoken out against participation and are avoiding become more involved in the Iran war"This is not Europe's war," said the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, at the press conference following Monday's European Union Foreign Affairs Council meeting. At the entrance to the ministerial meeting, Kallas herself had proposed creating a European Union mission or the United Nations to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. One of the options the EU leader had proposed is modifying and expanding an existing mission, known as Operation Aspides, which aims to protect vessels in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks. The former Estonian prime minister even claimed to have already spoken with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Vladimir Putin appears to be, for the moment, one of the biggest beneficiaries of the US and Israeli war against Iran. The US Treasury Department has announced that it will temporarily authorize the purchase of Russian oil currently in transit. In other words, Washington has issued a 30-day exemption from the sanctions that prevented the purchase of Russian hydrocarbons as punishment for the war in Ukraine. The measure aims to curb the surge in crude oil prices, which jumped more than 9% on Thursday after several days of increases. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued that allowing the tankers currently stuck at sea, unable to transport their crude, to move will help stabilize global energy markets. In a statement to X published hours after benchmark oil prices surpassed $100 per barrel, Bessent said the measure was "very tight" and "short-term" and would not provide a significant financial benefit to the Russian government.

The Strait of Hormuz has become one of the most volatile areas in the Middle East since the start of the Iran-Iraq War, but the events of the last few hours, with four cargo ships attacked, threaten a further escalation of hostilities at a strategic point for global hydrocarbon trade. Tehran warned that the bombing in this area will increase, while the United States also intensified its attacks on Iranian warships and threatened to use more force. On Wednesday, four ships were reported to have been hit by projectiles while in or near the Strait of Hormuz. They are Greek, Japanese, Thai, and Israeli-owned. These attacks bring the total number of commercial vessels targeted in the region since the United States and Israel launched their joint military operation against Iran on February 28 to 17, according to the UK Maritime Commercial Operations Agency (UKMTO), which oversees the safety of ships and seafarers worldwide.

The arguments put forward by the United States and Israel to justify the war against Iran since launching the joint operation on Saturday have been confusing and shifting. The main argument seemed to be the imperative need to prevent the Iranian regime from developing a nuclear bomb. But the announcement of the assassination of the supreme leader, Ali KhameneiOn Saturday, he already hinted that the objectives went further and that the goal was also—or perhaps primarily—regime change, something hardly surprising after the recent precedent of Venezuela. In the last few hours, Donald Trump has made this perfectly clear: he has argued that he himself must be "involved" in the selection of Iran's new supreme leader, "like with Delcy (Rodriguez) in Venezuela," and has said that "there will be no deal with Iran other than surrender."

The decisive joint military operation by the United States and Israel against Iran, which has once again plunged the Middle East into extreme uncertainty, has been met with a response from the ayatollahs' regime in the form of dozens of missiles fired at Israeli territory and US bases in the region. The world is watching the unfolding events closely. From a diplomatic standpoint, the degree of forcefulness of the reactions varies, although there is widespread concern about the danger of the situation worsening throughout this part of the world.

Of all the possibilities, Donald Trump has opted for the highest and riskiest gamble: launching a joint attack against Iran in the early hours of Saturday. Fifteen hours after the first missiles were fired at Tehran, the US president is already claiming the prize: "Khamenei, one of the worst people in history, is dead." The US president announced this in a post on Truth Social after his close ally, Benjamin Netanyahu, had already declared the supreme leader of the ayatollahs dead among the hundreds of victims of the bombings. Meanwhile, the official version from the ayatollahs is that the leader is still alive.

The threat of war in Iran has not disappeared, despite the seemingly reassuring messages Sent on Thursday from Geneva, where the United States and Iran held a third round of indirect negotiations to try to reach an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program. Hours later, the US embassy in Israel authorized the departure of non-essential personnel, citing "security risks," and sent an email warning them that if they wished to leave, "they should do so today." In addition, the United Kingdom evacuated all staff from its embassy in Tehran, and China also called on its citizens to leave Iran.

Thursday's negotiations in Geneva between the United States and Iran had the feel of one of the last chances to avert war. And the messages released at the end seemed hopeful. This was the third meeting since the start of the talks. Talks resumed on the development of Iran's nuclear capabilities February 6th. Three weeks ago, but Donald Trump has made it clear he's in a hurry. Last Thursday, the US president doubled down on the pressure, saying Iran had between ten and fifteen days to accept a deal. Otherwise, he warned, "very bad things" would happen—a threat accompanied by an unprecedented military deployment in the region, the largest in the last thirty years.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has commemorated the fourth anniversary of the start of the war President Zelenskyy addressed the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine with a video recorded from the bunker where he and his entourage took refuge in the early days of the invasion. "Today marks exactly four years since Putin began his three-day offensive to take Kyiv. And that speaks volumes about our resilience, about how Ukraine has fought all this time," he emphasized.

Swedish prosecutors are investigating a man for allegedly prostituting his wife for years and selling her sexual services to more than 120 men, according to public broadcaster SVT. The accused, a former high-ranking member of the Hells Angels organized crime group, has been in custody since October after his wife filed a complaint. The man, being investigated for aggravated pimping, advertised the services on various websites and received payment in return. "We are talking about large-scale pimping, and it involved the callous exploitation of the complainant," prosecutor Ida Annerstedt told the public broadcaster. The formal indictment against the man, who is in his sixties, will be filed on March 13, and the trial is scheduled to begin the following week at the Ångermanland District Court in northern Sweden, where the couple lived. According to Swedish media, the clients came from various parts of Sweden.

"We will regain control of the welfare state." This is one of the promises highlighted by the Swedish Social Democratic Party in its political program. (Six months) In the lead-up to the elections, the debate on the management of public services promises to be one of the key issues shaping the agenda. Sweden in the 1980s, under Olof Palme, became one of the pioneering countries in implementing a comprehensive welfare state and solidified its place in the global imagination as a model society to emulate. The myth, to a greater or lesser degree, persists, especially in Southern Europe, but the reality is that in Sweden much of the management of public services has been privatized, and that supposed welfare paradise no longer exists.

The Donald Trump's threats to invade Greenland They have put other countries with a presence in the Arctic on alert. Not because they fear an invasion by the US military, but because the entire January spectacle surrounding the Arctic island has strained NATO's unity and strength and added instability to a region increasingly coveted by the major powers. Another strategic territory in the region is the Svalbard archipelago, which belongs to Norway, although Oslo also sees its sovereignty threatened, as does Denmark with Greenland, even though it is also a member of the Atlantic Alliance.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is on track for a historic return to power after securing an absolute majority in Thursday's elections, according to provisional results. The elections mark the end of the era of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a political transition triggered by the August 2014 protests. They left more than 1,400 deadIn addition to electing members of Parliament, Bangladeshis have approved in a referendum the package of constitutional reforms born from the student uprising, which aims to prevent a future prime minister from accumulating absolute power. With the vote count still underway, preliminary results released by local media on Friday give the BNP at least 151 of the 299 seats at stake, the exact threshold needed to govern alone. If confirmed, this victory would end a 15-year period of ostracism and persecution for the party led by Tarique Rahman, who recently returned to the country after 17 years of exile in London. "The people of Bangladesh have been waiting for this day for a long time. Today, the people have regained their rights," he proclaimed. Rahman, 60, belongs to the influential Zia family: he is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and Ziaur Rahman, who was assassinated while serving as president in 1981. Rahman has pledged to rebuild democratic institutions, restore the rule of law, and revive the struggling economy.

Criminal gangs in Sweden have found children and teenagers to be an easy and cheap way to carry out their dirtiest work. In recent years, news reports about shootings, murders, and explosions have largely featured teenagers as the perpetrators. Boys aged 15 or younger killing other young people on commission. The phenomenon has spread to the point that the existence of... child soldiers in SwedenTo try to combat this, the Swedish government has pushed through a legal amendment to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13, from the current 15, despite widespread opposition, including from organizations such as the police and prison services.

"Greenland for Greenlanders." "Greenland is not for sale." "Land of the Greenlanders." "Neither Americans nor Danes, we arekalaal cama"In recent months, but especially in the last three weeks, cries like these have been repeated, probably more insistently than ever. Polls confirm that the vast majority of the population of the Arctic island don't even want to hear about becoming part of the United States, and a similar majority states that the goal is independence for the region. ~BK_SLT_L Denmark achieved a high level of autonomy in 2009. The self-government law passed in the Danish Parliament established a guide for Greenland's independence, stipulating that if the Greenlandic people decide to opt for independence, negotiations must begin between the governments of Copenhagen. Regarding defense, security, and foreign policy

After weeks of maximalist threats about annexing Greenland, Donald Trump surprised everyone on Wednesday with the announcement of a "framework for a future agreement" on the Arctic island. What was surprising was that this announcement didn't come after he met with representatives from Greenland or Denmark, but rather with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who has no jurisdiction over the Arctic island. Greenland's Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, made this clear: "No one, apart from Greenland and Denmark, has the mandate to make agreements on Greenland without us. This is not going to happen." He also emphasized that no one had informed them of the terms of the supposed preliminary agreement: "I don't know what's in the agreement regarding my country." In a press conference from Nuuk, the head of the island's autonomous government reiterated that he had no details about the supposed preliminary agreement announced by Trump. He also recalled that, in a meeting in Washington last week at the level of foreign ministersIt was agreed to create a high-level working group to find a viable solution. "We have red lines that cannot be crossed," he insisted: respect for territorial integrity, international law, sovereignty, and Greenland's right to self-determination.

French President Emmanuel Macron, He raised his voice yesterday against Donald Trump From the podium in Davos, where he labeled the US president—without referring to him directly—a "bully," the Élysée Palace formally requested a NATO mission in Greenland this Wednesday and stated its willingness to contribute. In doing so, France further emphasizes its support for Denmark, which last week He already called for an exercise by the Atlantic Alliance. on the Arctic island. The proposal for a joint military exercise within the framework of NATO would allow the United States to participate alongside its allies in strengthening security in Greenland, the factor that supposedly most worries Trump and for which he argues Washington must take control at all costs.