MIDDLE EAST - Conflict between two states sitting at the heart of the world’s energy supply won’t remain parochial for long. Saudi Arabia’s decision to bomb what it claimed was an arms shipment to Yemeni insurgents sent from the United Arab Emirates brought into the open the dangerous tension between the Middle East’s leading oil-rich Sunni Muslim states. China is anxious for peace in the region where it has vast commercial interests and which it needs for safe trade routes to Europe for its exports and back to China for its energy imports. Beijing has its own reasons for pouring oil on troubled waters in the Gulf. But as Mao’s veteran foreign minister, Zhou Enlai, once warned, “Distant waters cannot quench local fires.”

USA - Are we on the brink of a worldwide nightmare? Many have described what we are currently experiencing as a “perfect storm”. We have been getting hit with one crisis after another as global events have greatly accelerated in recent months. But now it feels like the next chapter that we are entering is going to take things to an entirely different level. The following are 10 very important trends to watch as we enter 2026…

EUROPE - Bulgaria’s adoption of the euro may be the spark that ignites a new Greek-style debt disaster. On January 1, Bulgaria became the 21st member of the euro. But the backdrop couldn’t be worse. The country has been plunged into political turmoil, corruption is rife and its debts are rising. In reality, the next crisis for Europe is looming – and ironically, Brussels is welcoming it with open arms. It is not precisely the smooth transition officials at the European Central Bank would have hoped for. As the Bulgarian lev joins the lira, peseta and franc in the history books, it might have been hoped that the zone could welcome a new member with a stable government, enthusiastic public support and a booming industrial base.

IRAN - Six dead in Iran after Tehran launches violent crackdown on protesters. Riot squads open fire on demonstrators and carry out mass arrests on fifth day of unrest. At least six people were confirmed dead on the fifth day of spreading unrest across Iran. Protesters vowed not to back down amid a violent regime crackdown on Thursday in which riot squads opened fire on demonstrators and carried out mass arrests. More cities joined the protests as night fell and clashes intensified in several locations, which forced officials to send in reinforcements. Protesters in more than a dozen cities chanted, “This year is a year of blood, Seyyed Ali will be overthrown” and “death to the dictator,” referring to supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Strikes and protests over the country’s deepening economic crisis, later spread into anti-regime demonstrations. Merchants in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, whose closures have historically signalled serious political trouble for Iranian governments, kept their shops closed for the fifth consecutive day.

USA - 'The United States of America will come to their rescue,' President Donald Trump announced about the protestors on Truth Social. US President Donald Trump declared that the United States was "locked and loaded and ready to go" if Iran killed any more protestors, in a post on Truth Social early Friday morning. An advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ali Larijani, responded to Trump's message, in a post on Twitter/X, stating that "Trump should know that American interference in this internal issue is equivalent to chaos across the entire region and the destruction of American interests." Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi also continued to encourage the Iranian people on day six of the protests in a post on Twitter/X. "You are making history; a history written with the courage, solidarity, and determination of a nation to reclaim its country," Pahlavi said in his post. "Stay united. Stay focused on the goal. Victory is ours."

EUROPE - “War appears to be as old as mankind,” wrote the great Victorian jurist Sir Henry Maine, “but peace is a modern invention”. Events in the New Year 2026 will doubtless prove his wisdom by showing the terrible fragility of that particular invention. Even if they had never heard of Maine, the most complacent Europeans should have learnt from Vladimir Putin’s onslaught against Ukraine that peace is neither a natural state nor the default setting of advanced countries, but rather a historical aberration that can only be preserved through strength and vigilance.

TAIWAN - Taipei risks losing its ‘silicon shield’ of protection against China as firms move production of semiconductors abroad. Behind the nondescript grey buildings that line the streets of Hsinchu lies one of the most important pieces of technology in the world. Whirring away inside are rows of white machines that are so advanced – and so secretive – that a select few are allowed inside. Economists warn that an invasion of Taiwan would cost the world’s economy £7.5 trillion – far more than the cost of the Russian invasion of Ukraine or the Covid-19 pandemic. Analysts argue that this very fact would act as a key deterrence against Beijing following through on its threats, as China knows if it does invade, its economy would take a direct hit from the fallout. Known as the “silicon shield”, the theory argues that Taiwan’s semiconductor industry offers it a de facto security blanket, which would stop China from invading – both because of its own dependency on the chips and the US’s, which could come to Taiwan’s defence.

ISRAEL - Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to prepare for the possibility of returning to intense fighting against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, Walla learned on Friday. The security establishment clarified that no instructions have been received from the political echelons to prepare for reopening the Rafah Border Crossing. There is a slim chance that Israel will allow goods to enter the Gaza Strip, as this would mean allowing the rebuilding of the area without the remains of Staff Sergeant Major Ran Gvili, the final hostage, being returned, the strip not being demilitarized, and Hamas not being disarmed, a security source clarified. However, the Trump administration is keen on moving towards Phase II of the plan, despite an impasse with Hamas. Since Israel is opposed at this stage, the US has proposed starting with reconstructing Rafah, free of weapons and terrorists.

ISRAEL - The October 7 massacre – when Hamas murdered 1,200 people in the worst antisemitic atrocity since the Holocaust – exposed the advanced stage of this transformation. Through social media manipulation and MB infrastructure, the Islamist world has taken control of the narrative, transforming mass murder into resistance against what they claim is a “genocidal” oppressor. The political infiltration is undeniable. In the United Kingdom, where 32% of Muslims favor Sharia law, and 48% sympathize more with Hamas than Israel, Muslim mayors now govern London, Oxford, Brighton, and Rotherham. In Canada, Calgary’s former three-term Muslim mayor now leads Alberta’s New Democratic Party, positioning him as the potential premier of Canada’s energy heartland.

UK - As the world prepares to cross the threshold into 2026, the global economic map reveals a series of nations bruised by tariffs, concerns about a possible AI bust and tentative hopes of a turnaround. We look at the prospects for some of the leading economies in the year ahead.

USA - Donald Trump is in talks to deploy US troops to Ukraine as part of security guarantees to end the war, Volodymyr Zelensky has said. The Ukrainian president told reporters that he had discussed the possibility of an American troop presence in the region with Mr Trump during peace talks on Monday. Mr Trump has repeatedly ruled out sending US forces to Ukraine, instead suggesting Washington may provide air support and missiles to prevent Russia from attacking. On Sunday, following a meeting with the Ukrainian president at his Mar-a-Lago home, Mr Trump said the security agreement was “95 per cent done”. A deal to end the conflict was “a lot closer” although a few “thorny issues” remain, he said, seemingly referring to land concessions.

UK - Forty-six million. That’s the estimated number of girls “missing” from India’s population over the last half century, the demographic scar seared by sex-selective abortion rooted in a cultural preference for sons. When Brits encounter such statistics the reaction is often a mix of horror and complacency: it’s a grotesque manifestation of sexism, linked to economic discrimination, but it’s a foreign problem, isn’t it?

CHINA - China's President Xi Jinping has issued a chilling invasion threat to Taiwan in a bombshell New Year's address to his country as fears over a possible World War 3 skyrocket. He said in a speech televised by state broadcaster CCTV: "Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are bound by blood ties thicker than water, and the historical trend toward national reunification is unstoppable." Tensions between the two nations have been heightened in recent weeks, with widespread economic sanctions and increased military drills being carried out after a Donald Trump-agreed $11 billion weapons package with Taipei.

USA - President Donald Trump has thrust the country into a significant new phase in his showdown with Venezuela with a CIA strike on a port facility. But as he approaches grave new decisions on even greater escalations, his team has not yet spelled out a clear consistent public rationale for its actions. Retired Admiral James Stavridis, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, told CNN’s Keilar that he expected Trump to authorize more covert strikes in Venezuela against drug targets but that the CIA attack reinforced perceptions that the Venezuela operation was primarily about regime change. “If that’s the case… President Trump has a pretty distinct choice of elevating these strikes in intensity, scope, scale, and going after Venezuelan military, going after their air defense system and ultimately going after, shall we say, the leadership,” he said. Stavridis, a senior CNN military analyst, added: “Those are hard decisions for any president. I think they’re looming early in the new year.”

ISRAEL - The Jewish state is rapidly evolving into a regional powerhouse. Its economy is booming as high-tech investors pour in; its universities produce a stream of game-changing scientific and medical research; and the country’s diplomacy reaches ever-further around the world as it builds new alliances. Here are six things to watch in 2026.