Olivia O'Sullivan

@arabnews Well, it’s a start and for the hostages, families and all in Gaza it might be fair for those of us outside the region to recognise what the ceasefire means to them tonight.But an end of conflict is not the same as peace, and the long evaded decisions must now be faced.

While greater UK engagement with China can be valuable, it must be underpinned by strategic thinking that encompasses the challenge Beijing poses, writes @LivJOSullivan and @WMatthewsChina. chathamhouse.org/2025/01/uk-gov…

🇬🇧🇪🇺Brexit reset just got bigger… Reeves signals move for UK to join multi-billion EU weapons-buying programme inews.co.uk/news/politics/…

Podcast🎙️| What will UK foreign policy look like in 2025? @BBCJLandale, @anandMenon1 and @LivJOSullivan join @bronwenmaddox on the podcast this week to discuss Keir Starmer's foreign policy. 🟣apple.co/4gmM8dW 🟢spoti.fi/4gnoRsg chathamhouse.org/2024/12/indepe…

Romania’s constitutional court just cancelled the elections for president - ordered the whole process to be restarted Big deal - with big implications #bucharest

The government will publish a strategic defence review in 2025, considering threats to the UK and how to meet them. What do we know about it so far? My latest briefing for the @commonslibrary. I'll be updating it periodically. commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-brief…

Administration finally takes decision - Biden allows Ukraine to strike Russia with US-supplied long-range missiles via @FT on.ft.com/3CupL7J

Lighthizer and his allies lay the groundwork for Trump’s massive new tariffs ow.ly/xECr105OJOS

"Azerbaijan is in some ways a contentious host but it is very well placed to understand the dilemmas of climate action" @ruthtownend (@CH_Environment) on the COP29 summit in Azerbaijan starting this week, via @CNN.

AOC asked her followers who split their ballots either for Trump/her or Trump/downballot Dem to explain why and posted the replies:

Maybe the final question for the UK is what there is to learn for domestic politics - while Biden delivered strong economic outcomes by some measures, high prices and kitchen table worries meant it just wasn’t enough to reduce the appeal of a right-populist offer

Save some kind of US-UK deal coming back on the table, escalating US-China trade tensions and Trump’s promised 20% across the board tariffs mean the UK will have to work its way through a more protectionist and transactional world

A Trump victory means Europe will need to get serious about collective defence yes - and also that any UK-EU ‘reset’ will have to refocus on shared investment in this, as might the current UK Strategic Defence Review

EXCLUSIVE: British officials arrived in Taipei on Monday to negotiate the next round of trade talks under an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) Arrangement signed last year. Britain is the first European nation to sign a trade deal with #Taiwan. 1/4 asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Trade/…

The thing about "the UK’s tax burden is now at a record high", is that this is also true for almost all countries 📈

The UK 🇬🇧 has joined our partners 🇨🇦 🇦🇺 🇫🇷 🇩🇪 🇯🇵 🇰🇷 to express our grave concern over legislation in the Israeli knesset that would restrict UNRWA’s operations. Their life-saving work must be allowed to continue. Full statement here: gov.uk/government/new…

The treasury is preparing to slash spending on UK aid in the Budget after refusing to match Tory-era top ups to compensate for increased in-donor refugee costs. New from @FT featuring stats and comment from @bondngo. ft.com/content/c7d9a3…

Uk/German defence treaty just announced: defence industry cooperation, helping Ukraine as well as stepping up plans to defend eastern NATO members bbc.in/3BUcZit

SCOOP - EU countries call on Britain to take part in Brussels-led peacekeeping missions, as tangible sign of desire for closer security cooperation Pitch made to Lammy at EU meeting in Luxembourg today ft.com/content/352a76… @ft w @LOS_Fisher