The World Next Week: May 14, 2015

The UN World Health Assembly meets in Geneva; the UN Security Council debates Yemen; and Prince Charles visits Ireland.

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Hosts
  • James M. Lindsay
    Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy and Director of Fellowship Affairs
  • Robert McMahon
    Managing Editor

Show Notes

The UN World Health Assembly meets in Geneva; the UN Security Council debates Yemen; and Prince Charles visits Ireland.

United States

In this live series finale, Bob and Carla discuss the most pressing international news stories with special guest Deborah Amos. President Donald Trump virtually attends the annual Davos summit where he will address corporate and government leaders just three days after his inauguration; the next phase of hostage and prisoner swaps is due as part of the Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal; a tightly controlled presidential election in Belarus kicks off a new year of consequential elections around the globe; and TikTok is revived in the United States—for now— after President Trump forestalled the app’s initial ban.   This episode was originally produced live on January 21, 2025.

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Israel and Hamas reach a cease-fire deal aimed at exchanging hostages and prisoners while seeking a longer-term pause in fighting; the incoming Donald Trump administration weighs ambitious moves on immigration; Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Russian President Vladimir Putin sign off on a twenty-year partnership agreement; and students in Serbia protest violations of civil rights.

United States

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, will appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee; the Supreme Court hears arguments over the Joe Biden administration’s imminent banning of TikTok; Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation prompts questions on the future of U.S.-Canada trade relations; and Europe’s eastern states confront energy issues after Ukraine stops the flow of Russian gas through its territory.

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Palestinian Territories

The leading UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees faces severe funding cuts and suspended services, with huge consequences for millions of Palestinians. It remains enmeshed in controversy over accusations that some of its employees were involved in Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel.

Taiwan

TSMC’s $100 billion will significantly boost America’s semiconductor manufacturing industry but how it will shape US-Taiwan relations is an open question.

Drug Policy

President Trump has imposed steep tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico in the name of curbing fentanyl flows into the United States. In reality, supplies of the drug—and related deaths—have sharply declined in the past year, though they are still at worrying levels.