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Jan 29, 2026 - World

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday signed a law that will open the nation's oil sector to privatization, reversing a tenet of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has ruled the country for more than two decades.

Jan 29, 2026 - World

‘Any organisation that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise,’ says Kaja Kallas The EU has listed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, ending years of division over the issue in response to the regime’s brutal repression of protesters.“Repression cannot go unanswered,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, on Thursday. The paramilitary organisation has played a significant role in suppressing demonstrations in Iran. “Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise,” she wrote on X. Continue reading...

Jan 29, 2026 - World

Downing Street gives no date for when the agreement of 30 days of visa-free travel will come into forceFor more context on today’s Starmer-Xi meeting, China is the world’s second-biggest economy and Britain’s third-largest trading partner – to which it exports £45bn of goods and services a year – so it is no surprise the UK has turned to Beijing in its search for economic reliability.As the Guardian’s political editor Pippa Crerar reported earlier today, the UK does not rank among the top 10 of China’s trading partners but the Beijing leadership has spied a political opportunity to improve links with one of Washington’s closest allies at a time of deep uncertainty in the transatlantic alliance. Continue reading...

Jan 29, 2026 - World

The EU has just designated Iran’s revolutionary guard as terrorist organisation, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas confirmed.EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos also strongly criticised Russia for its continuing attacks on Ukraine.Arriving for the EU foreign affairs council this morning, she said:“The news we are getting from Ukraine nearly every morning are horrific. What Russia is doing. There is a state terror. It’s far beyond the war [as] they are bombing people while they are at home, freezing to death, [and] bombing passenger trains …”“I can’t speak about the years; [as] I was saying there is some level of fundamentals which have to be fulfilled. But of course, we also have to consider the very important historical moments. So we will discuss with the member states how to bridge the time we need for the accession process, and of course, to react to this situation.”“We will work until the end to get the unanimity we need for this process. This is the only way we have to keep going, working also with the Hungary, and this is what we are doing.”“After more than a decade of hostilities and almost four years of full-scale war, the people of Ukraine continue to endure immense suffering. Daily civilian casualties, widespread infrastructure destruction, and mass displacement are further exacerbating the massive humanitarian needs.With Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, millions in the country are exposed to freezing temperatures.” Continue reading...

Jan 29, 2026 - World

Donald Trump says ‘time is running out’ for Iran as the threat of war appears to loom closer. A huge US armada is being moved towards Iran and is seen as the starkest indication yet that Trump intends to strike.The US president had called on the Iranian regime to negotiate a deal on the future of its nuclear programme, only weeks after he promised Iranian protesters ‘help was on the way’ then backtracked days later.Nosheen Iqbal talks to the Guardian’s deputy head of international news, Devika Bhat, about what Trump could do next – watch on YouTube Continue reading...