Europe News & Analysis: Politics, Conflicts, International Relations, & Policy

President-elect Donald Trump said he would block the proposed acquisition of U.S. President Biden is yet to decide on the sale that has faced bipartisan pushback since the $15 billion deal was announced. U.S. forces are working to prevent a reemergence of ISIS in Syria after rebels toppled the Assad family’s regime. Our must-read articles on the state of the conflict, its impact on the global order, and the chance for peace. Green transition infrastructure threatens the Sami people’s way of life in Europe’s far north. As Trump returns to office, the question is whether change will come at the negotiating table or on the battlefield.

Russia, Ukraine, China, and nukes: Here are the biggest foreign-policy challenges facing the U.S. next year.

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as his secretary of state. He also reportedly tapped South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee for key administrative roles. CBS News political director Fin Gomez explains the reasoning behind his picks. The U.S.-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch released a 154-page report accusing Israel of atrocities against Palestinians. CBS News’ Elizabeth Palmer reports on that and Merissa Khurma, the Middle East program director at the Wilson Center, joins “The Daily Report” to break down how President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks could impact Middle East policy.

Powers, Russia and China, diplomats aren’t holding out much hope for those efforts to go that far. For now, prospects for peace look slim as Russian troops entrench their positions in the Donbas. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned in December that the war “might be a long process.” For their part, Ukrainian officials have vowed to fight on until the country is restored to its pre-2014 borders, including Crimea, which would likely be a bloody and difficult battle. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has defined the U.S. goal as helping Ukraine to oust Russia from territories seized since the invasion began in February, which notably would exclude the Crimean Peninsula. Nevertheless, if openings for meaningful talks do emerge next year, expect the United States to play a significant role.

Within weeks of taking office, Carter wrote a letter of support to Andrei Sakharov, the leading Soviet dissident. While this angered the Soviet regime, it helped to International Policy news sustain the dissident movement in the Soviet Union, knowing that they had the US president firmly in their corner. In September 2021, the Pacific island of Vanuatu announced its intention to seek an advisory opinion from the ICJ on climate change.

Trump 2.0 Could Give China a Headache in Southeast Asia

CBS News senior foreign correspondent Elizabeth Palmer has more details. There is fresh optimism in the Middle East that a ceasefire deal in the Israel-Hamas war is closer than ever. Then, Jon Alterman, senior vice president and director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, joins “The Daily Report” to analyze why. President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration members are set to meet with a pair of top Canadian officials in Florida as Trump continues to mock the country’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Chinese dragons, lions light up London’s New Year’s Parade

Ironically, Carter had initially fiercely opposed letting the Shah into the US, but he was persuaded by Kissinger and other supporters of the Shah that the Iranian monarch was close to death from cancer and urgently needed medical treatment that only the US could provide. (The Shah’s medical prognosis was, in fact, better than was presented at the time). Instead of leveraging Moscow’s faltering prospects by upping aid to Ukraine, Western leaders are paralyzed by fright. The region’s diverse governments may get along better with the new administration.