| Hi, everyone, and welcome back to the Daily Review. | Today at WPR, columnist Mary Gallagher looks at China’s efforts to de-risk its economy from the U.S., and why that effort could backfire. And Marisa Lourenço analyzes what U.S. efforts to reach an aid-for-minerals deal with Zambia mean for Trump’s transactional approach to diplomacy. | Scroll down for more on those items. But first, here’s our take on today’s top story: |  | Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, U.S. President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the 2026 World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Dec. 5, 2025 (AP photo by Jacquelyn Martin) |
| With the FIFA World Cup set to open Thursday across the U.S., Mexico and Canada, President Donald Trump’s administration has refused an entry visa to Omar Artan, a soccer referee from Somalia who was scheduled to officiate matches in the tournament. | U.S. immigration officials blamed the refusal on “vetting concerns.” But it’s hard to escape the suspicion that Artan’s nationality played a role, given how often President Donald Trump and other administration officials have publicly expressed racist views of Somali immigrants in Minnesota as well as of the country and its inhabitants. | Artan himself shares that suspicion. He told The New York Times that border officials at the Miami airport interviewed him for 11 hours before turning him away. “I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa,” he said. “I think that they have a problem with my country.” | The move comes days after the U.S. belatedly … |
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| | China is taking a few pages from Washington’s playbook as the two rivals race to limit each other’s access to critical technologies and supply chains. Beijing has tightened export controls on rare earth elements, moved to block Meta’s acquisition of a Chinese AI startup, and imposed travel restrictions on AI engineers—mimicking tools that the U.S. has long used against Chinese firms. But as Mary Gallagher writes, the strategy is not without risk: China’s bid for economic self-reliance may undermine the very global ambitions it is meant to serve. | | | The stalled U.S.-Zambia bilateral deal has laid bare a powerful truth: The Trump administration's attempt to use health funding as leverage to secure favorable deals with African countries has exposed the limits of purely transactional diplomacy. Zambia’s reluctance to sign also reveals how leverage alone cannot dissolve domestic political pressures or wash away decades of Chinese economic entrenchment, writes Marisa Lourenço. | | | Germany, France: Germany and France have agreed to abandon the Future Combat Air System, a 100-billion-euro next-generation fighter jet program, after months of deadlock between industrial partners Airbus and Dassault Aviation. The collapse comes at a precarious moment, as Western officials warn of a growing Russian threat and Washington presses Europe to rearm. | For more on why it may be advisable for Europeans to become less ambitious with regard to what Europe’s defense industry can do collectively, read Ulrike Franke’s column for WPR. | | Bolivia: Protests demanding the resignation of Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz have entered their fifth week, with fresh … Purchase your premium subscription now to make sure you don’t miss important news and analysis. | | Israel: Israeli authorities and security forces have enabled attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank with financial and military … Purchase your premium subscription now to make sure you don’t miss important news and analysis. | | United States, Iran: President Trump told reporters in New York on Tuesday that a deal to end the Iran war could be reached … Purchase your premium subscription now to make sure you don’t miss important news and analysis. | | More from WPR | | Read all of our latest coverage here. |
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Welcome to my geopolitics blog site. This is a Hawaii Island news site focusing on geopolitical news, analysis, information, and commentary. I will cite a variety of sources, ranging from all sides of the political spectrum.