Around the World in 5 – 1
“It is your fate to be Heracles the hero, burdened with labours, yet it is also your choice. You choose to submit to it. Such is the paradox of living.”
Today, like most days, the world’s leaders appear to be standing at crossroads — but imagine a fragile-as-ever, knife-edge sort of crossroad.
Tuesday 13th May has seen Trump continue his litany of unpredictable actions, beginning with the lifting of sanctions on Syria following his meeting with President al-Sharaa during his current trip to the Gulf. He has signed a $300 billion deal with Saudi Arabia, aiming to double this figure within four years. Trump has also renewed his push to curb Iran’s nuclear programme, seeking to engage American allies on the issue during his address at the Gulf Cooperation Council tomorrow.
Over in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Starmer seems to have succumbed to pressure from Reform UK on immigration matters, introducing his administration’s Immigration White Papers. These set out plans to tighten restrictions on all visa categories for non-UK citizens and to extend the UK citizenship qualification period from five to ten years. Alongside introducing baseline English language tests, the Home Office states that it hopes to protect national identity, while also mandating that multinational corporations train the domestic labour market to meet their operational needs.
It seems Trump isn’t the only one leveraging immigration policy to shore up domestic electoral support.
In Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is heading to Istanbul in the hopes of reaching a peace deal with the Kremlin. The last time both nations negotiated ceasefire terms in Istanbul was on 29th March 2022. Three years on, it is safe to say that little progress has been made.
In South Africa, white citizens have been granted refugee status by the Trump administration following claims of systemic oppression, harassment, and violence. This comes after Trump froze all foreign aid as part of his sweeping and indiscriminate tariff measures upon taking office earlier this year. Right-wing Afrikaner lobby groups such as AfriForum have been pushing narratives of existential threat — even making claims of genocide.
In South-East Asia, after days of inflammatory rhetoric from both sides of the border, India and Pakistan have agreed to a ‘cessation of hostilities’ following intervention by Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The pair reportedly urged Pakistan’s Army Chief, General Asim Munir, and India’s Foreign Minister, S. Jaishankar, to de-escalate the situation.
Hercules at the Crossroads, Sebastiano Ricci, c. 1706.
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