FRANCE - Britain and her allies need to accept that Trump cannot be depended on to defend Ukraine. The Prime Minister is in Paris to co-host a meeting of the coalition of the willing alongside Emmanuel Macron, attended by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and his other allies. Donald Trump has deigned to send special envoy Steve Witkoff and his own son-in-law Jared Kushner to lead the US delegation – incidentally, Witkoff has met with Putin at least twice as many times in the last 12 months as he has with Zelensky.

GREENLAND - For the past eight decades, NATO has survived the plots of its enemies and the disputes of its allies. But the only storm the alliance could not weather would be the spectacle of one ally invading another. If Donald Trump acts on his public threat – or even promise – to seize Greenland from Denmark, that would make a nonsense of NATO’s core function, which is to convince an aggressor that every ally would defend any member which came under attack. Mr Trump surely knows this. He must also grasp that wrecking NATO would hand the greatest possible victory to Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. But that only raises the question: does Mr Trump care?

CUBA - As Nicolás Maduro was flown blindfolded and handcuffed in a special forces helicopter to a New York jail, Cuban-Americans took to the streets to celebrate. This was a moment they had been waiting on for decades, with many seeing it as a catalyst for change in Cuba – one that could free their nation from communist rule. But 90 miles away in the beleaguered Caribbean island, the celebrations were more muted – especially after Donald Trump declared: “Cuba is ready to fall.” Cubans told The Telegraph they wanted their own regime change – but not one that is forced on them by Washington. They fear a Trump-led takeover of the island after United States forces decapitated the Venezuelan regime in mere hours.

UK - Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe: "For those who identify as transgender, personally," he says, “I think that there are a very small number of people who suffer from gender dysphoria. You have to welcome them. I don’t think anybody can simply say ‘I have the right to say I’m a woman’, because our biology is fundamental. If people genuinely have ambiguity in their gender identity, accompany them [on their journey] – but you discover who you are in the adventure of living. You don’t stand up and say, ‘I’ve decided that I’m going to be this’. That’s a false illusory idea of freedom.”

UK - From loony Greenism to anti-Israel hatred, the fairer sex are embracing extremism. We have all been very worried about young men. And for good reason: white, working-class boys are amongst the groups that perform worst in school. Young men are responsible for the vast majority of violent crime. But there is a new, arguably greater threat: the extremism of young women. If young men have trended Rightwards and downwards, young women have gone to the dark Left. Haven’t you noticed that the most passionate disrupters, yelling till puce in the face, are women?

ISRAEL - The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been ordered to prepare for a possible simultaneous war against Iran, Lebanon, and the West Bank, according to Israeli Channel 12. One scenario reportedly includes an “explosive operation” against Tehran, which is currently facing widespread Israeli-backed cost-of-living protests. The preparations are part of a four-year long-term plan led by IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, the broadcaster revealed on Wednesday. On top of war readiness, they also reportedly include plans to develop capabilities to attack both satellites and ground targets from space. Officials in West Jerusalem expect Iran to attack Israel to “prevent the dissolution” of the Iranian government under the pressure of the protests, Channel 12 said.

ISRAEL - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved a new attack plan on Iran, while the Israeli army has entered a state of maximum alert. Israeli sources reported today that Netanyahu approved the new attack plan, dubbed the “Iron Strike.” According to the Israeli channel i24news, the Israeli army has gone on high alert amid fears that Iran might redirect its fire toward Israel. The Israeli intelligence branch is also conducting military exercises. The channel reported that “Netanyahu presented during the meeting the results of his discussions with US President Donald Trump during their recent meeting in Florida,” noting that “Netanyahu outlined priorities for action against Iran and the timing of operations.”

USA - America’s artificial intelligence (AI) boom is colliding with an older, slower-moving entity: the nation’s ageing electrical grid. From Virginia’s data-center corridor to multi-state electricity markets, analysts, government agencies, and AI insiders say the scramble to handle technology’s expanding power demands will be an uphill battle. At the same time, big tech companies and data centers are working to reduce the impact of AI’s expansion on the United States’ grid infrastructure. Some experts believe changes and significant investment are needed to reduce grid stress and possible energy shortages. A primary driver of this concern is the explosion in data centers being built across the United States to support rapid AI buildout.

MIDDLE EAST - The Islamic State is becoming more dangerous again. The West should be terrified. Britain and its allies must try to do what it can with what little it has to fight the Hydra’s many heads. Over the weekend, while the United States was capturing the Venezuelan president, Britain and France struck targets linked to the Islamic State (IS) in Syria. Britain hit a suspected cache of arms, and MoD press releases talked with suppressed excitement of the Typhoon jets and the Paveway munitions used. “Target engaged” satisfactorily. We’re in a new era of the war against the Islamic State. The new Syrian government of Ahmed al-Sharaa has formally signed up to the Global Coalition against the Islamic State.

USA - Maduro’s capture proves the US president has ripped up the international rulebook. The ignominious capture of Nicolás Maduro proves, if nothing else, that America no longer bothers with pretences. Trump was never going to take his case to the UN or rally his allies behind the cause of defenestrating Maduro. American interests, he decided, required the removal of Venezuela’s dictator, so Trump sent the US Delta Force, an elite military unit renowned for involvement in high-stakes rescue and capture missions, to accomplish exactly that. Nothing else mattered. Britain and its neighbours will need to rebuild their own military strength and turn Trump’s unconstrained power and sheer unpredictability to their advantage. If the assault on Caracas blows away the last delusions, forcing us to deal with the world as it really is, rather than the one we might wish for, it might yet do some good.

USA - Trump’s Venezuela gamble could redraw the global balance of power. Two days on from Donald Trump’s extraordinary capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, the dust has barely begun to settle. Maduro is appearing today in a New York court where he will be charged with “narco-terrorism” and conspiracy to import cocaine, which can carry life sentences under US law. But Maduro is not the only loser in all of this. Iran, Russia and China have all lost a valuable client - one who sold them oil, bought their weapons, and provided them with a beachhead on America’s doorstep.

EUROPE - Once you are reliant on a foreign force for safety and a foreign power for prosperity, you are no longer completely sovereign. “The rest of the world”, Tony Blair’s foreign policy advisor Robert Cooper wrote two decades ago, “reacts to America, fears America, lives under American protection, envies, resents, plots against, depends on America. Every other country defines its strategy in relation to the United States”; and in turn, the United States defines its foreign policy aims as effective “invulnerability”.

VENEZUELA - Heavy gunfire in Caracas, anti-aircraft artillery firing non-stop – armed groups moving through the city, clashing with government troops. Monday night erupted in heavy firefights in Caracas, more specifically in areas of Miraflores, where the presidential palace is located. This comes mere hours after the interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, was formally sworn in. Rumors have been circulating that Maduro’s right-hand man, Diosdado Cabello, was planning a coup d’état against Rodríguez. Apparently, her first decisions were not to the liking of the generals of the highly ideological Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela. Diosdado controls many of the ‘colectivos of Venezuela’, far-left, heavily armed paramilitary groups operating independently of the Government.

(This is a breaking story – watch for developments.)

GREENLAND - Donald Trump has set his sights on a US takeover of Greenland after capturing Nicolas Maduro and saying he would run Venezuela. “We do need Greenland, absolutely,” the US president told The Atlantic magazine, adding that the Danish territory was “surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships”. He said officials in his administration would decide what happened to Greenland, which Mr Trump has claimed the US must annex for its security. “We need it for defence,” he said of Greenland. Responding to the latest threat from Mr Trump, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenland’s prime minister, said: “That’s enough now.” “No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation,” he wrote on Facebook late on Sunday. “We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussions. But this must happen through the proper channels and with respect for international law.”

COLOMBIA - Donald Trump has issued a stark warning against the President of Colombia after he spoke out against US strikes on Venezuela, which saw President Nicolas Maduro captured and taken to the States. Speaking at a press conference in his Mar-a-lago residence in Florida, the President announced that the United States would "run" Venezuela until a "proper transition" could take place. He also declared that US oil companies would "start making money" for the country, and warned detractors that the US was poised to stage a "much larger" second attack if it was needed. The attack, which took place in the early hours of January 3, has drawn condemnation from allies of Venezuela, including Iran and Russia, as well as nearby Colombia. In an official statement, the Government of Colombia said that they had "deep concern" about the "escalation of tension" in South America.