Sunlight pours into the cavernous building. A towering ceiling and polished floor give the look of a railway station or airplane hangar. But the air is still and intensely claustrophobic. Down the long sides of the hall are large built-in cages, each containing dozens of men staring out. This is Cecot — El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center — and the men are known as the “worst of the worst.”

Mass murderers, drug dealers and gangsters, they are accused of once holding El Salvador hostage, gripping the nation with fear as they ruled cities and streets. Today, they are stripped of freedom, influence, and individuality. And they may never get them back.

Each wears a simple white T-shirt and shorts. Some have white socks and sandals. Their heads have been shaved and some have tattoos covering their faces. Many stand confidently, even defiantly, arms crossed within a few feet of the floor-to-ceiling bars, trying to get a better look at us. Others sit cross-legged and motionless on four-tiered metal bunks that line the cells. And still others are at the back, looking down or away from us, wearing face masks, as if they want to avoid being seen on camera or to catch our eyes, almost ashamed.

We are the only outsiders here, granted exclusive access and a private tour as the first major US news organization allowed inside Cecot late last month. Opened less than two years ago, it is already an iconic feature of the “new El Salvador” of President Nayib Bukele. Under his strongman rule, the Central American nation has been transformed. Once the “murder capital” of the world, it is now far safer and family life and businesses have returned to the streets. But the ruthless cleaning up of those streets and merciless treatment of gang members have triggered outrage and concern among human rights organizations, which have condemned Cecot as inhumane and unacceptable.

The hard-hearted treatment of men is on full display throughout Cecot. Each of the more than two dozen group cells we see in Sector 4 are built to hold 80 or so inmates. The only furniture is tiered metal bunks, with no sheets, pillows or mattresses. There’s an open toilet, a cement basin and plastic bucket for washing and a large jug for drinking water. The cells are meticulously clean — an intentional and stark contrast to the dingy and squalid prisons of El Salvador’s past.

The men are inside these cells for 23½ hours a day. They do not work. They are not allowed books or a deck of cards or letters from home. Plates of food are stacked outside the cells at mealtimes and pulled through the bars. No meat is ever served. The 30-minute daily respite is merely to leave the cell for the central hallway for group exercise or Bible readings.

There is no privacy here, no trace of comfort. Armed masked guards provide constant surveillance and prison officials say the lights are on 24/7. There is a haunting stillness as the prisoners’ hollow stares meet our curious gaze. There’s an emptiness in some of their eyes, an unnerving vacancy that suggests their souls have departed, leaving mere shells behind.

The deprivation is deliberate, a departure from pre-Bukele times when inmates were said to eat better than civilians. “Now, here, what they get for breakfast is beans, cheese or a mix of rice and beans, maybe plantain and a cup of coffee or atole (a corn-based drink),” says the director of Cecot, Belarmino García, as he shows us around. “For lunch, it’s rice, pasta, and a beverage. Dinner is the same as breakfast. Meat doesn’t exist here, chicken doesn’t exist here, special menus don’t exist for anyone.”

Outside of war, there is no death penalty in El Salvador but there is also no intention that these men will ever be released. Gustavo Villatoro, El Salvador’s public security minister, offers a blunt assessment of the government’s approach to gang members. “We believe in rehab, but just for common criminals,” he says, differentiating between so-called gang “collaborators” and gang members.

“Someone who every day killed people, every day raped our girls, how can you change their minds? We are not stupid,” he adds. “In the US, imagine a serial killer in your state, in your community being released by a judge … how would you feel as a citizen? We don’t have facts that someone can change a mind from a serial killer … and we have more than 40,000 serial killers in El Salvador — the members of these gang organizations,” he says.

‘I wanted to be a gangbanger’

We ask to speak with an inmate, and prison officials remove 41-year-old Marvin Vásquez from a group cell. The self-admitted MS-13 clique leader says he’s willing to talk to us, if only to discourage young people from following his ways. We meet him already seated on a chair in a concrete-walled side corridor, out of sight from the other prisoners. His hands and ankles are shackled as two guards — in head-to-toe combat gear — stand over him, facing each other.

Vásquez says he was raised in Los Angeles and speaks in perfect English with a calm confidence. He recounts the life that led him here with an ease that belies the brutality of his words. “Some people wanted to be lawyers, cops, soldiers,” he tells us. “I wanted to be a gangbanger. And I wanted to accomplish everything I put my mind to. And until this time, I think I accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish.” Vásquez, who was imprisoned pre-Bukele, says he joined MS-13 as a boy, rising through the ranks. He even created his own clique, “Crazy Criminals,” now tattooed across his back, after he returned to El Salvador.

When we ask about his crimes, he is chillingly matter of fact. “Rob, murder, do what you got to do to survive,” he says with a slight shrug. “You killed people?” we press him, to which he replies without hesitation, “Yeah. That’s the gang-banging life.” While expressing regret for ever joining a gang, his estimate of his victims is as casual as his tone. “I don’t even know how to tell you how many,” he says. “We don’t be thinking about how many we got to kill. We just do what we got to do to survive.” He concedes it could be “at least 20 to 30,” though he’s not certain of the exact number.

He recalls “blasting up” a car full of people in the US, admitting it’s “possible” they didn’t survive. Reflecting on life in Cecot, he says with a detached acceptance, “It’s probably not a hotel (with) 5-stars, but this is what is for us. They give you the three times a (day) food. They give you some programs. You get to do exercise. Some church or religion programs too. But you know, that’s how it is. We got to get used to what we got to get used to right here. There’s no option for us. We did bad things. We pay it the rough way, doing time.”

As the conversation with Vásquez ends, guards move in swiftly to take him away. Prison chief García wants to hammer home the point. “As you just observed, how they so cynically say, ‘Yes, I have killed, I did this, I did that’,” he says. “What we have here is the worst of the worst.”

Watchtowers, electrified fences and armed guards

Members of different gangs are deliberately housed together. In front of one cell, an officer orders the inmates to remove their shirts. They do so meekly and immediately, revealing tattoos for MS-13 and Barrio 18 — sworn enemies outside this place, forced bedfellows inside.

For anyone who does commit “grave offenses” against other prisoners or staff, solitary confinement awaits — cement cells that hold inmates for up to 15 days. The rooms are pitch-black save for a small hole in the ceiling, two stories above, that allows in a sliver of light. A cement basin, a toilet, and a concrete slab for a bed are the only furnishings. Meals are passed through a door slot.

Inmates never leave their sectors. Concrete side rooms can be used for legal consultations and court hearings via video. We see medical staff who provide any treatment needed, again, on-site.

No visits from family or friends are allowed under the rules. Anyone arriving at the prison gives up all personal items and is physically searched and electronically scanned for any contraband. A thousand armed security personnel — guards, police and soldiers — are ready to respond to any threat from outside or inside.

The prison itself is ringed by multiple electrified fences with 19 watchtowers surrounding the facility, built in isolation in a rural area away from any town. Checkpoints start before you see the buildings, with vehicles searched and identities verified. Cell signals vanished as we approached the prison’s towering steel gate — the only way in, or out.

Cecot was built in just seven months and opened in January 2023 to hold up to 40,000 inmates. For security reasons García does not disclose the exact population, but he concedes that between 10,000 and 20,000 inmates are currently housed here.

‘It’s too extreme’

Bukele’s state of emergency, declared in March 2022, has led to the arrest of at least 81,000 individuals — more than 1% of the Salvadoran population — a sweeping effort to root out gang influence. Bukele has admitted that some innocent people have been caught up in the net, with 7,000 of them already released, according to the government. He and his many supporters argue that such collateral damage is part of the difficult process of transforming a nation gripped by decades of corruption and violence.

“Why do we have the biggest incarceration (rate) in the world?” Bukele asked in June. “Because we turned the world’s murder capital into the safest country in the Western Hemisphere. The only way to achieve that is to arrest the murderers … we don’t have a death penalty, so we have to imprison them all.” In early 2016, there was an average of a murder every hour in this country of just six million people. Now government statistics indicate there are more days without a homicide than with one, with a total of 104 killings reported in the first nine months of this year, a third of which were family violence.

Critics inside and outside El Salvador question the veracity of the government’s crime data and claimed success over the gangs. And even if true, they argue that Cecot’s strict control and isolation of prisoners crosses the line into human right abuses.

“The abuse starts with how they enter the prison and how they are kept inside … it’s too extreme,” says Juan Carlos Sánchez, program officer for the Due Process of Law Foundation, which campaigns for human rights and the rule of law across Latin America.

“For example, the food of a person in state custody — like in Cecot — is a human right that cannot be deprived … it must be an adequate diet for them, not just to survive.”

Sánchez adds there are concerns about due process — with Cecot used for both convicted men and those still going through the court system — and what he called “oppressive control.”

“What worries us the most, is these prisoners enter a penitentiary system, and they lose all contact with the outside world, including contact with their families … this impacts others, not just the prisoners,” he says.

“Under these conditions, if they are ever out, they will not be rehabilitated … they will become a burden for the state, they will come out sick physically, mentally, they will come out with rage.”

Before we could even ask about those allegations, Cecot’s García offers: “Much has been said about Cecot and human rights violations, but you are seeing everything we do — medical assistance, ensuring they follow due process … the whole operation is based on strict respect for human rights.” To him, Cecot’s harsh restrictions are both justified and necessary, a “last barrier” between these criminals and civil society.

A government officer traveling with us is on her first visit to Cecot. A woman in her 20s, she reflects on her own past in El Salvador and a time — only a few years back — when carrying a cell phone in public or staying out after dark was unthinkable, inviting robbery or worse. “I can breathe easier now,” she tells us quietly as she surveys the caged men.

As we climb one of the watchtowers overlooking Cecot, the sun dips low, casting the vast complex in shadow. The facility stretches beneath us, with rows of barbed wire, concrete walls, and looming guard towers fading into the hilly and lush terrain. Built to hold the darkest echoes of El Salvador’s past, it feels like an isolated city, a world apart, where prisoners are erased from society.

Renewed life outside the prison walls

More convicts could be on the way to Cecot for the crackdown is not yet over. The Supreme Court overturned a constitutional ban on consecutive presidential terms in favor of Bukele and the president stood for and won an unprecedented second term earlier this year. The so-called temporary state of emergency is now more than two years old.

After leaving the sterile and muted interior of Cecot, we join a force of approximately 2,500 police and soldiers patrolling a neighborhood in San Salvador flagged for potential remnants of gang activity. Heavily armed troops navigate the narrow, dimly lit alleys as families inside their homes sit seemingly unfazed, eating dinner or watching TV.

We ask a man in his mid-50s how it feels to have such an imposing military presence right outside his door. Throwing on a t-shirt, Salvador Molinas tells us he, in fact, feels reassured by the soldiers, noting that this visible force was why he now felt it was safe enough to let his teenage sons go to school and social outings on their own.

“I see the men (soldiers) here with us and honestly this is good, we feel safe, this was missing before,” says Molina, who lives with his boys and his mother.

“I have a son in college and another in the 7th grade and thanks to God, I let them go (to class) with confidence. I used to have to take the youngest to class and now he goes on his own by bus, and I don’t have the fear that something will happen to him,” he adds.

“Since the president took office, thank God, we’ve lived calmly, something we didn’t have with prior presidents.”

Bukele’s crackdown on gang violence has garnered widespread support among Salvadorans, even as his methods remain divisive. Since taking office, he has consolidated control over the judiciary, silenced critics, and sidelined political opponents. Yet, most people we meet see these measures as vital for restoring safety — and Cecot has become a powerful symbol of this tough-on-crime approach.

You cannot see the prison from the capital city, and the boisterous night streets are a jarring contrast to the gleaming but soulless interior of Cecot where silence and surveillance reign.

But for so many Salvadorans, they go together. The prison where gang members lose all their power and autonomy has given them their freedom to live.

If his first term in the White House is any indication, President-elect Donald Trump is likely to keep the Middle East high on his agenda.

During his first four years, Trump made history by selecting Saudi Arabia for his first foreign trip, attempted to broker a “deal of the century” between Israelis and Palestinians, strengthened the Jewish state’s regional integration, and significantly intensified pressure on Iran.

But the Middle East has changed significantly since he left office in 2021, and all regional actors are keenly watching how the new president will navigate these shifts.

“Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America. This is a huge victory!” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on X on Wednesday.

Gulf Arab states also welcomed the president-elect’s victory. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman congratulated Trump, and the United Arab Emirates said: “the UAE and US are united by our enduring partnership based on shared ambitions for progress.”

Iran downplayed the significance of the election, saying there is “no significant difference” in who becomes president in the US, state media reported. Fatemeh Mohajerani, spokesperson for the government, was cited by Iranian media as saying that the “general policies of the US and Iran are unchanged” after Wednesday’s ballot.

Here’s how Trump’s election could affect key players in the Middle East:

Israel and the Palestinians

Ending the wars in Gaza and Lebanon and integrating Israel in the Middle East are likely to be at the top of the president-elect’s Middle East agenda, analysts said.

“Netanyahu will face a much tougher president than he is used to in the sense that I don’t think that Trump would tolerate the wars in the manner that they are happening,” said Mustafa Barghouti, leader of the Palestinian National Initiative, adding that for Palestinians, it won’t make a major difference “because both administrations were totally biased” toward Israel.

“He will say: wrap it up; I don’t need this,” Pinkas said, adding that Trump will likely ask the Israeli prime minister to “announce victory” and then strike a deal through mediators.

Throughout his campaign, Trump has not specified how he would approach the Israel-Hamas war if reelected, or how his policies would differ from predecessor Joe Biden’s. In April, Trump did say that Israel needs to “finish what they started” and “get it over with fast,” noting that it was “losing the PR war” because of the images coming out of Gaza.

Trump, Pinkas said, “couldn’t care less about the Palestinian issue.” During his first term, he didn’t throw his weight behind the US’ longstanding support for an independent Palestinian state, saying he would like the solution “that both parties like.”

There is fear, said Barghouti, that Trump may allow Israel to annex parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which would spell “the end of the two-state solution.”

During his first term, Trump took several steps in Israel’s favor. In 2017, he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, upending decades of US policy and international consensus. He also recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria during the 1967 war.

But while Trump has often claimed to be most pro-Israel president in modern history, and even touted his close and personal relationship with Netanyahu, ties between the two leaders haven’t always been friendly.

In 2021, when both were out of office, Trump accused Netanyahu of betrayal when the Israeli leader congratulated Biden on winning the presidency in 2020.

Shortly after Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel last year, Trump criticized Netanyahu and Israeli intelligence services for being unprepared, claiming the attack would not have occurred if he was president.

The accords, a set of agreements facilitated by Trump’s first administration that saw Israel normalize relations with four Arab nations, put prospects of an independent Palestinian state on the back burner, he said.

“When the war will be over, you’ll need a real restart in the Middle East,” and Trump will be the best person to bring about a “new Middle East,” Bismuth added.

Nadav Shtrauchler, a political strategist who has worked closely with Netanyahu, said Trump’s election sends a message to Israel’s enemies in Iran.

The Israeli prime minister is also likely emboldened domestically, a day after he fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after months of clashes over domestic politics and Israel’s war efforts.

“He’ll calculate his next moves maybe different from he would if Harris was elected,” Shtrauchler said, adding that Trump’s unpredictability could mean that there will be more pressure on Israel to end the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, potentially to refocus efforts at confronting Iran.

Iran

The next four years could be the Islamic Republic’s biggest test since its founding in 1979, with Tehran under Trump’s scrutiny that would most likely lead to a return of the “maximum pressure” campaign he imposed during his last presidency, which increased Iran’s isolation and crippled its economy, experts say.

Trump, who prides himself as a master dealmaker, failed to contain Tehran’s influence in the Middle East despite withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear agreement to curtail Iran’s nuclear program, reimposing sanctions on it, and even ordering the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the military commander who oversaw ties with Iran’s proxies in the region.

Since Trump left office in 2020, Iran has ramped up enrichment of uranium, increased its oil exports, stepped up support for regional militant groups, and has set a precedent by striking Israel in a direct attack twice.

But as Israel continues to degrade Tehran’s regional capabilities by striking its proxies, Iran finds itself losing its deterring powers as it faces economic turmoil and widespread internal discontent.

“The Islamic Republic appears as fragile as the threats against it are formidable,” said Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project and senior adviser at the International Crisis Group, adding that 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has limited bandwidth to be dealing with all the crises happening at the same time.

As the Middle East teeters on the brink of a wider war, with Iran threatening to respond to an Israeli attack on its territory this month, there are concerns that Trump’s election may empower Netanyahu to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, something the Biden administration warned against.

“There is one scenario that Trump will tell Netanyahu to finish the job before he formally takes over, that means we might see a sharp escalation in tensions in November and December – Israel trying to push its advantage to weaken Iran and its Axis of Resistance (of militant groups) before Trump comes to office… then Trump comes in and takes credit on being a peacemaker,” Vaez said.

That could change if the Biden administration decides to “pull the plug” on Israel’s ability to escalate tensions in its final months in office, he said. The US has already laid the ground for that by sending a letter to Israel last month warning of repercussions if Israel does not improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

An important factor in Iran’s relationship with the next US president will be how Trump responds to recent US intelligence reports suggesting that Tehran attempted to assassinate him – allegations Iran dismissed as “unsubstantiated and malicious.”

But there must be a clear distinction between Trump and the Trump administration, said Vaez.

“Trump might be attracted by the allure of outwitting the Iranians at the negotiation table because that for him would be the ultimate test of his mastery in the art of the deal,” he said, adding that during his first term, he was attracted to the prospect of dealmaking with Iran.

“Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation!” Trump wrote in a tweet in 2020.

Vaez noted that a revival of Trump’s “maximum pressure” approach might be paired with a policy of “maximum support” for Iranian people – a potential regime changing policy. This, he argued, would make it unlikely for the two countries to return to the negotiating table.

“I don’t think anyone in (Trump’s) national security team would share the objective of reaching a mutually beneficial deal with the Iranian regime,” he added.

Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states

Anticipating his possible comeback, Gulf Arab states continued to engage with Trump after he left office. Analysts say that could prove fruitful for them.

Relations between Saudi Arabia and the US under Trump’s first term flourished. He made history by choosing Riyadh for his first foreign visit as president in 2017 and stood by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the crisis surrounding the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi agents in 2018, when the Saudi heir faced global isolation.

“Gulf states place a lot of premium on the ability to work with a likeminded leader and conduct relations through interpersonal contact… It reflects the way they do business with other countries as well,” said Hasan Alhasan, senior fellow for Middle East policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Bahrain.

During his first term, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were engaged in wars in Yemen, and both countries’ ties with Iran were at their worst in decades.

But Gulf states have significantly modified their foreign policies since, opting to limit their military interventions and reach out to former foes like Iran, while diversifying alliances in an increasingly multipolar world amid skepticism over the US’ role in the Middle East.

“With Iran, there is a chance that Trump reverts to a maximum pressure stance and given the improved relations with Iran (Gulf states) could be subjected to greater pressure from the US to abide by the maximum pressure,” Alhasan said.

One challenge that emerging middle-powers like Saudi Arabia and the UAE could face under Trump will be managing their closer relationship with China. Over the past years, the oil-producing states have expanded trade and technology ties with China despite competition between Washington and Beijing.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE were invited to join the BRICS group of developing nations, and Saudi Arabia was granted dialogue partner status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – a China-led Asian security and economic bloc.

Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have used Chinese technology for key infrastructure, and despite pledges to limit Beijing’s influence on their emerging artificial intelligence sectors, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have increasingly relied on Chinese expertise.

“It’s a question of whether the Trump administration will exert greater pressure on Gulf states to decouple from China in certain areas, not to mention the tariff and trade wars that are likely to be exacerbated under a Trump administration which could have an impact on (Gulf) exports as well,” Alhasan said.

Trump also hopes to expand Israel’s integration in the Middle East but may face a challenge in Saudi Arabia’s refusal to normalize relations with the Jewish state until it sees a pathway for Palestinian statehood, which Israel has refused.

Qatar, one of the first nations to congratulate Trump, has become indispensable to US efforts in reaching a ceasefire in Gaza due to its relations with Hamas. Those relations may however prove to be a liability under Trump, according to Alhasan.

“They’re probably quite worried about what a Trump 2.0 might be,” he said.

When the United States votes for a new president, the outcome reverberates far beyond its borders.

Russia: Uncertainty over Ukraine policy tempers optimism over Trump return

When Trump was first elected in 2016, Russian politicians literally popped champagne corks.

Those were simpler times. Russia had been accused of hacking into the Democratic National Committee several months earlier. Trump was busy dismissing those allegations and resolutely refusing to criticize Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin also had serious historical beef with Trump’s rival, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for what he saw as her role in fomenting protests in Russia in 2011. For Russia it was Trump: good, Clinton: bad.

This time, the fog of an almost three-year-old war has somewhat clouded the picture.

In February, Putin wryly claimed he would prefer Joe Biden to win because he was more “predictable.” There may have been more than just trolling here. Despite Trump’s toughening rhetoric towards Ukraine, and his running mate’s JD Vance’s open opposition to sending more US military aid to Kyiv as it battles Russia’s invasion, it’s not yet clear if Trump would, or could, cut the purse strings for Ukraine.

“Trump has one useful quality for us: as a businessman through and through he is dead against spending money on various hangers-on and lackeys, on dumb little allies, bad charitable projects and gluttonous international organizations,” wrote former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now a senior security official, on his Telegram channel Wednesday, adding that Ukraine is “one of those.”

“The question is, how much will they force Trump to give to the war. He is stubborn, but the system is stronger,” he said, a clear reference to the vital role the US Congress plays in funding Ukraine. Down-ballot races also matter in Moscow.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of RT and now top Kremlin propagandist, wrote simply: “Trump won. Go to sleep, team.” Eight years ago, she was posting about driving through Moscow with an American flag in her car window.

The Kremlin also kept it professional, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov noting only that Trump had “expressed his peaceful intentions on the international stage and his desire to end the ongoing policies of extending old wars,” but that in terms of next steps, “we will see after January,” when he takes office.

Middle East: Israel welcomes Trump return but elsewhere there’s trepidation

Just minutes after Trump had himself declared victory, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued gushing congratulations, calling the US election result “history’s greatest comeback.”

“Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America,” Netanyahu said on X.

Ahead of the vote, opinion polls indicated Israelis overwhelmingly favored another Trump presidency.

The Biden administration – including Vice President Kamala Harris – is seen here as having sought to restrain Israel’s tough military response in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran in the aftermath of the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel in October last year.

Trump’s presidency, on the other hand, is remembered for a series of pro-Israel moves, like relocating the US embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and taking a tough stance on Iran.

From a second Trump term in the White House, Israel may be hoping for even more full-throated US support for its military plans.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, Trump’s election victory has been greeted with trepidation.

A spokesman for the Iranian state said a Trump presidency will make “no significant difference” to them. But amid a spiraling confrontation with Israel, which said it had carried out unprecedented airstrikes on Iranian missile production facilities and air defenses last month, the possibility of even firmer US support for Israel is likely to be a major concern for Tehran.

Hamas, the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group still holding a large number of Israeli citizens hostage in Gaza, has called for an immediate end to America’s “blind support for Israel and its fascist government.”

Europe: Wary leaders face prospect of higher security costs and NATO funding questions

In Ukraine, where the rubber meets the road in the coming friction between Europe and President-elect Trump, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock tried to strike a conciliatory tone, saying: “Germany will also be a close and reliable ally for the future American government. That is our offer.”

But like all the statements of support coming from European leaders early Wednesday, the offer belies deep concerns that Trump doesn’t care what his allies think.

On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to end the war in Ukraine “in a day,” raising fears among NATO allies he’ll reward Putin’s illegal invasion and rampant aggression with territorial gains that will whet the Russian dictator’s appetite for further military conquests, potentially inside NATO’s borders.

The European pitch to Trump not to throw Ukraine under Putin’s nationalist drive to steamroller former Soviet states into submission is undoubtedly going to be heated. As Baerbock says: “As in any good partnership: where there are unquestionable political differences, an honest and, above all, intensive exchange is more important than ever.”

That exchange, in part, will likely focus around Trump’s not unreasonable fixation that Europe should pay for its own security, rather than expect the United States to bail it out.

There will undoubtedly be reminders that of the $190 billion in economic and military aid the European Union and United Kingdom give to Ukraine, $29 billion is spent on buying American weapons for the Ukrainians. In short, the US gains too.

The new NATO Secretary General, former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, appears to be taking a leaf from his predecessor Jens Stoltenberg’s book on managing Trump, playing to his ego as he congratulated the soon-to-be-leader of the most powerful partner in the now 32-nation alliance by saying “his leadership will again be key to keeping our alliance stronger.”

Careful supplication might help keep the alliance alive; it worked for Stoltenberg. But Zelensky’s chances of keeping Ukraine whole and not losing any territory in a Trump-hastened deal with Putin to end the war may be receding, leaving him clutching at straws.

Zelensky, like the others playing to Trump’s vanity through praise, said: “I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs. This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into action together.”

Baerbock, whose own government is at risk of breaking apart under huge economic pressure, is already pragmatic about the political, diplomatic, and economic uncertainties a Trump victory brings, saying: “Europeans will now have to assume even more responsibility for security policy.”

China: Fears over unpredictability of another Trump term

In 2020, Chinese leader Xi Jinping didn’t congratulate Biden until more than two weeks after the Democratic candidate was projected the winner of the US presidential election. Xi likely won’t wait that long this time around – and many of his underlings had been mentally prepared for a Trump victory for months as they watched the race with a mixture of bewilderment and growing anxiety.

Publicly, throughout the campaign, Chinese officials and state media had been flooding the public with a narrative of Washington’s “bipartisan consensus” to contain and suppress China’s rise – in other words, “both candidates are equally bad.” In a country known for its ever-tighter media control, this messaging sinks deep in many people’s minds – weighed down by a sluggish economy – along with a picture painted for them highlighting political polarization and violence in the US, in stark contrast to that of unity and stability under Xi’s iron grip.

For those whose life or work is more intertwined with the US, though, a second Trump term appears to be a lot more unsettling. One of the oft-heard talking points from Beijing is that Trump’s “America First” approach benefits China strategically – on issues ranging from Taiwan to the South China Sea – compared to a united front with US allies and partners targeting China advocated by Biden and Harris.

However, Trump’s trademark unpredictability is the one trait that kept many Chinese officials awake at night and still haunts them, especially in a place where certainty in government and policy is almost a given under one-party rule. Some officials, in private, had been fretting over the prospect of disruption or even total halt to just-resumed US-China talks – and its consequences for both sides and the world – on subjects that include economic and military affairs, fentanyl crackdown and climate change.

Trump’s campaign rhetoric on new tariffs and the dark cloud over immigration have jolted Chinese exporters and students. And his pending White House return has even hit home for China-based foreign journalists, who still remember Trump’s decision to kick out numerous Chinese state media journalists in the US, ushering in a round of tit-for-tat that has now left only two dozen or so American reporters in China to cover this superpower of 1.4 billion people.

Taiwan: Defense and economic concerns dominate

Election observers in Asia view Trump’s apparent win as a source of significant uncertainty and a potential double-edged sword for the self-governing island of Taiwan.

Trump has previously indicated that Taiwan should contribute more financially for US defense support, potentially reshaping the partnership between the two sides, and increasing pressures on the democracy of 23 million.

China’s ruling Communist Party views Taiwan as part of its territory, despite never having controlled it, and has vowed to take the island by force if necessary. Under the Taiwan Relations Act, Washington is legally required to provide the island with the means to defend itself, and it supplies Taipei with defensive weaponry. But the arms sales have drawn angry rebukes from Beijing.

In a statement, Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te congratulated Trump and Vance on their electoral victory, and thanked Biden and Harris for their resolute support for Taiwan during their term. Lai stressed the importance of Taiwan’s friendship with the US and said Taipei would “continue to cooperate closely with the new US government and Congress to create a new chapter in Taiwan-US relations.”

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), which favors warmer ties with Beijing, voiced a hopeful outlook, expressing confidence that Trump’s experience could pave the way for “steadier bilateral relations” and foster closer cooperation between the US and Taiwan.

Aside from defense, economic concerns add another layer of potential tension. Trump has repeatedly accused Taiwan of “stealing” US chip business and has even threatened tariffs on Taiwan’s critical chip exports – used to power an array of modern technologies, from smartphones to satellites.

However, analysts say, far from stealing, Taiwan grew its own semiconductor industry organically through a combination of foresight, hard work and investment.

Taiwan now faces the challenge of navigating Trump’s shifting priorities, balancing both opportunities and uncertainties. Ultimately, the full impact on US-Taiwan relations remains to be seen, and hinge on who will be advising Trump on foreign policy.

Korean Peninsula: Big questions loom for South and North

Could President-Elect Trump reduce the number of American troops on the Korean Peninsula, or ask South Korea to pay more for its US security guarantee, once in office?

Those are the central questions now facing Seoul, as Trump has openly considered downsizing the approximately 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea.

During an interview last month with the Economic Club of Chicago and Bloomberg News, Trump said if he served a second term, South Korea would pay $10 billion for US troops.

Seoul currently pays $1.13 billion annually for American military forces within its territory, a figure which under an agreement signed Monday is expected to rise to $1.26 billion annually in 2026.

“If I were there (in the White House) now, they’d be paying us $10 billion a year. And you know what? They’d be happy to do it,” Trump said. “It’s a money machine, South Korea.”

South Korea currently hosts the largest US overseas military base, Camp Humphreys, an Army garrison about 60 miles from North Korea. The South Korean government financed 90% of Camp Humphreys’ expansion costs within the past decade.

The American presence on the Korean Peninsula serves as a counterweight to North Korean and Chinese military forces, with joint military drills between the US and South Korea launching frequently from the American installations.

Would the drills cease or be reduced once Trump returns to office? Some of the exercises have also included Japan, after the Biden administration forged a new security partnership between Tokyo, Seoul, and Washington. Will that security pact continue with the same force into the next Trump administration?

Another question looming large in Seoul and Pyongyang: Will Trump seek another high-profile summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un? The cautious answer, according to Trump’s last national security adviser, Robert C. O’Brien: “I think we’d resume talks with North Korea.”

But if another summit were to happen, Trump would face an emboldened North Korea. Kim has since forged a new military partnership with Putin, sending munitions and North Korean special forces troops to fight in the Ukraine war.

In exchange, observers note, Putin may help Kim with advanced military technology, and send the isolated nation badly needed cash. North Korea is in desperate need of income after years of crippling sanctions over its nuclear program.

North Korea now has less of a reason to negotiate with Washington, since it’s the beneficiary of diplomatic cover, economic, and military resources from Moscow.

Trump, meanwhile, will likely demand change from both sides of the DMZ.

Africa: Cautious optimism over Trump win

Trump has many fans in Africa, despite the declining influence of the US on the continent and widespread anti-Western sentiment. Africa’s population is overwhelmingly Christian or Muslim in faith so Trump’s “family values” positions, especially on abortion and LGBTQ issues, resonate deeply here. Colonial-era anti-homosexuality laws remain in place in large parts of the continent and the American right’s messaging on culture war issues has spread like wildfire on African social media.

Even though Harris travelled to Africa as vice president – visiting Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia – many here believed misinformation that falsely claimed that she had not accepted her Black identity before the campaign and that her Jamaican ancestors owned slaves. That is why some prefer Trump, who reportedly referred to African nations as “shithole countries” in 2018, over Harris who they grumbled was not proud of her African roots and identified as Indian.

The myth of Trump as a successful businessman remains strong in Africa, partly because “The Apprentice” TV show was widely distributed. Many on the continent have also embraced the Republican narrative of a strong US economy during the first Trump presidency. Their hope is that a stronger global economy bodes well for African trade with the rest of the world.

Africans who want an end to what they see as US meddling support Trump, hoping that his “America First” policy means he will leave the continent alone. Many analysts say Africa has fared better under Republican administrations, and view Trump’s win with cautious optimism. One example is the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) which was launched by George W. Bush 21 years ago and has saved many lives.

The Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to counter China’s influence in Africa will likely suffer with Trump’s win. It’s not clear if Biden will still visit Angola early next month to highlight one of those initiatives – the Lobito Corridor.

Latin America: Bracing for Trump

Trump’s victory holds enormous impact for Latin America.

Conservative leaders such as Argentinian President Javier Milei and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, as well as Jair Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian president, were among the first to congratulate Trump and will feel emboldened by such a conclusive win.

Progressives like Colombia’s Gustavo Petro and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum are instead bracing for a bumpy relationship with the new White House.

Mexico will probably bear the brunt of the next four years because, as the US’ largest trading partner, its exports could be hit hard by the protectionist tariffs Trump has promised: on Wednesday morning the Mexican peso tumbled to its weakest level in two years before partially recovering in later trading.

Sheinbaum told reporters Wednesday that “there is no reason for concern” and that the US and Mexico “don’t compete with each other,” but her administration will be pressed to get on good terms with Trump quickly and sign a deal before the new economic policy is drawn.

Much of that deal will rest on migration, with Mexico required to play a more active role in limiting arrivals at the US’ southern border.

Trump’s pledge to forcibly deport millions of undocumented migrants, if enacted, could wreak havoc across the region, where many countries depend on remittances from the US to boost their economies.

That said, restraining migration towards the US will remain a formidable challenge in the next four years, especially if Trump’s plans boost domestic production at the expense of economies in the rest of the Americas.

Lastly, authoritarian regimes such as those in Venezuela and Nicaragua could see the benefit of a more transactional approach to foreign policy, the new White House happy to overlook their anti-democratic abuses as long as migration trends are reverted.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired his finance minister on Wednesday, leaving the government teetering on the brink of collapse.

In a televised address, Scholz said he had dismissed Finance Minister Christian Lindner saying it “was necessary to prevent harm to our country.”

The firing came after days of political negotiation between the key members of Germany’s ruling “traffic light” coalition government – Scholz of the Social Democratic Party, Lindner of the Free Democratic Party, and Robert Habeck of the Green Party.

Following the announcement, which comes amid fears that an incoming Trump administration could spell bad news for an already ailing German economy, Lindner’s Free Democratic Party said it had left the coalition but Habeck said the Greens would remain.

Scholz said he would now call a confidence vote for January 15, which could allow elections to be held by the end of March next year. He said he would remain in office until January 15 and attempt to get the most important legislation done, suggesting he would talk to opposition leader Friedrich Merz’ of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to pass legislation relating to the economy and defense. “The economy cannot wait until after the elections,” Scholz said.

The so-called “traffic light crisis,” as it is known locally in reference to the the colors of the governing coalition, was triggered by competing views on the future of Germany’s economy among the three partners.

Prior to his firing, Lindner had triggered days of wrangling with the publication of an 18-page economic paper published last week, entitled “Germany’s economic turnaround.” It had been described in German media as the coalition’s divorce papers, as its tone and contents appear distinctly at odds with the positions of his government partners.

In the detailed document, which advocates for tax cuts, Lindner said “an economic turnaround with a partly fundamental revision of key political decisions is necessary in order to avert damage to Germany as a business location.”

Aside from the divides it reveals with his coalition partners, cynics are also suggesting that Lindner’s paper looks like a campaign manifesto. Before Wednesday’s developments, Germany’s next scheduled elections were due to take place in September 2025.

The last time Germany had snap elections was in 2005, when they were called by Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, who subsequently lost to Angela Merkel.

Scholz told the press conference Wednesday that “Lindner showed no willingness to implement any of our proposals” and, therefore, “there is no trust basis for any future cooperation” with the outgoing finance minister.

The Chancellor also accused the finance minister of being “not about serving the common good but about serving his own clientele and party.”

According to Scholz, Lindner will also be dismissed by the country’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Speaking to reporters later Wednesday, Lindner said he had “recommended early elections as a solution to the budget impasse” – a proposal he said Scholz rejected.

Lindner also accused Scholz of having asked him to pause the “debt brake” – a constitutional article that prevents the government from borrowing excessively and amassing debt – something Lindner said he was not willing to do.

“After the US elections we need to show we can be relied on,” Scholz said, adding that “great financial room for maneuver” is needed given the challenges that Germany faces.

The news has been welcomed by far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

“The end of the traffic light coalition is a liberation for our country. The end of the self-proclaimed ‘progressive coalition’ that took Germany to the brink of economic ruin was more than overdue,” its leader Alice Weidel posted on X.

This is a breaking news story. More to come.

Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday the government would legislate for a ban on social media for children under 16, a policy the government says is world-leading.

“Social media is doing harm to our kids and I’m calling time on it,” Albanese told a news conference.

Legislation will be introduced into parliament this year, with the laws coming into effect 12 months after it is ratified by lawmakers, he added.

There will be no exemptions for users who have parental consent.

“The onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access,” Albanese said. “The onus won’t be on parents or young people.”

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said platforms impacted would include Meta Platforms’ Instagram and Facebook, as well as ByteDance’s TikTok and Elon Musk’s X. Alphabet’s YouTube would likely also fall within the scope of the legislation, she added.

All four companies impacted were not immediately reachable for comment.

A number of countries have already vowed to curb social media use by children through legislation, though Australia’s policy is one of the most stringent.

France last year proposed a ban on social media for those under 15, though users were able to avoid the ban with parental consent.

The United States has for decades required technology companies to seek parental consent to access the data of children under 13, leading to most social media platforms banning those under that age from accessing their services.

The mystery of the black balls that washed up on some of Sydney’s most iconic beaches last month has now been solved – and it’s more disgusting than you could ever imagine.

Australian beachgoers were turned away from seven beaches last month after lifeguards spotted thousands of black spheres, prompting closures and clean-up efforts.

Initially thought to be made of tar, a team of scientists at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has revealed the black balls were actually mini “fatbergs,” made up of human feces, methamphetamine, human hair, fatty acids, and food waste, among hundreds of other vile and befuddling substances.

The New South Wales Environment and Protection Authority (EPA) first warned Sydney residents to avoid swimming or touching the balls on October 17, after they were spotted at seven beaches including Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach.

At that stage their contents were “a mystery” and local officials ordered a series of tests to find out what they were and where they came from.

Initial testing suggested they were made from unrefined oil, potentially from an oil spill, Beves and UNSW professor William Alexander Donald wrote in the Conversation.

“However, further testing indicated a different, more disgusting, composition.”

The balls were consistent with fatbergs, congealed masses of fats, oils and greasy molecules that can accumulate in sewage, the scientists wrote, noting their presence highlights the issue of pollution along Sydney’s coastline.

“I wouldn’t want to be swimming with them,” Donald told 9news.

Fatbergs come in all shapes and sizes. In 2021, a massive, 330-ton fatberg wreaked havoc in Birmingham, UK when it clogged a city sewer for weeks.

These Sydney fatbergs were no ordinary fatbergs, however. The blobs contained everything from fecal matter to medication and recreational drugs, the scientists wrote.

Where these gross balls came from still remains a mystery.

The balls likely originated from “a source that releases mixed waste,” according to a media release from the EPA Wednesday.

“Authorities have considered several possible causes, such as a shipping spill or wastewater outflow,” the statement said.

“However, due to the complex composition of the balls and the time they have spent in the water, testing has not been able to confirm their exact origin.”