The Debate FRANCE 24 English

Is it a spiraling superpower showdown or a glorified trade negotiation?

The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken kicking off a three-day visit in China’s economic capital Shanghai. Unlike during the Cold War when exchanges between the blocs were anecdotal, today, it’s the world’s two biggest powers at the table, powers whose biggest trading partners happen to be each other. 

Ecuador's new president is on a winning streak, with the recapture of the alleged leader of the Los Lobos gang coming hot on the heels of a referendum giving Daniel Noboa a mandate to get tougher on drug cartels. 

Will it be enough to dissipate doubt over Ukraine's ability to hold out in a war of attrition with Russia? After months of delay, the US House of Representatives has finally approved a $60 billion military aid package for Kyiv. Overruling the objections of Republican hardliners, Speaker Mike Johnson praised lawmakers who came together to "answer history's call". That said, he also conferred first with Donald Trump.

A world record of 969 million citizens are called to the polls for what some see as a referendum on one man. India is about to embark on the world's biggest election, staggered over seven weeks, with Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP expected to extend its solid lead in parliament. Modi has been pointing to a decade of unprecedented growth and power for a nation courted by the West and beyond.

Ukrainians wonder if there's a double standard. An international community that comes together to fend off Iran's attack on Israel can't increase its air defence commitments in time to defend against Russian air strikes, such as the one that took out the Trypilska thermal power station last week. We ask if Volodymyr Zelensky is right, and whether EU leaders gathered at a summit in Brussels need to treat Iran and Russia as one common foe, particularly given how close the pair have drawn in the past two years.

Did it finish with Saturday night, or will it spiral further out of control? Iran's first-ever direct attack against Israel has already sent the whole region into uncharted territory. We ask about the measure of its response to Israel's targeting of Tehran's embassy compound in Syria. We also ask whether the proportionality shows Iran's strength or weakness, and whether Israel's prime minister will heed the call of G7 allies to leave it there and move towards an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.