United States

Taiwan

Economics

Politics

The United States and Taiwan signed the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade in Washington on Feb. 12, solidifying U.S. tariffs on Taiwanese goods at 15% and offering most favored nation-level tariffs for 2,072 Taiwanese goods, the Taipei Times reported the next day. 

Taiwan, U.S.: Trade Deal Signed, Must Pass Taipei's Skeptical Legislature

Switzerland

Ukraine

Russia

Military & Security

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia, Ukraine and the United States would hold the next round of peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland, on Feb. 17-18, with presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky leading the Russian delegation, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Feb. 13.

Russia, Ukraine, U.S: Geneva Talks To Resume Feb. 17-18

Venezuela

Energy

Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez said Venezuela will hold free and fair elections by the end of U.S. President Donald Trump's term in 2028, NBC News reported on Feb. 12. 

Venezuela: Free and Fair Elections Remain Unlikely, Despite President's Statements

The U.S. Trump administration is reviewing the list of products affected by steel and aluminum tariffs and is planning to exempt some items and halt further additions to the list, the Financial Times reported on Feb. 12.

U.S.: Trump Administration May Exempt Some Steel and Aluminum Products From Tariffs

Europe

Germany

The 62nd Munich Security Conference opened on Feb. 13 in Munich, Germany, with an address by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Germany: Munich Security Conference Kicks Off With Speech by Friedrich Merz

South Korea

Police raided South Korea's National Assembly, the National Intelligence Service and the National Counterterrorism Center in a bid to find evidence linking a right-wing YouTuber to a knife attack against President Lee Jae Myung in 2024, a case that would support Lee's bid for anti-extremism bills, Yonhap News Agency reported on Feb. 12.

South Korea: Lee Seeks To Silence Political Opponents, Risking U.S. Ties

China

U.S.-China Relations

U.S. President Donald Trump is shelving numerous tech restrictions on China to facilitate his April summit with President Xi Jinping in Beijing, according to Reuters sources on Feb. 12.

China, U.S.: Trump Curbing Tech Restrictions as Both Sides Seek Year-Long Deal

Bangladesh

India

According to Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, India's textile exports will enter the United States duty-free if manufacturers use U.S. cotton yarn, the same tariff benefit granted to Bangladesh, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 12.

India: U.S. Tariffs on Select Indian Textile Exports Set To Ease

Assessments

Israel

Palestinian Territories

Indonesia

Vietnam

Slovakia

Hungary

U.S. President Donald Trump (C) holds up his signature on the founding charter of the Board of Peace among other world leaders at the World Economic Forum on Jan. 22 in Davos, Switzerland.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: The Board of Peace Convenes, Russia-Ukraine-U.S. Talks in Geneva

The U.S. and the EU flags are seen side by side on Nov. 21, 2025, in Brussels, Belgium. 

By replacing Russian gas with U.S. LNG, the EU risks becoming reliant on another systemically central external supplier at a time of growing geopolitical instability and transatlantic tension.

The Strategic Risks of Europe's Pivot to U.S. LNG

Cuba

Mexico

American Airlines planes sit on the tarmac at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana on Feb. 9, 2026. 

Facing imminent economic collapse and the loss of key allies, the Cuban government will likely yield to U.S. demands for market liberalization to avoid a total breakdown of state authority while attempting to preserve political control.

Economic Concessions to U.S. Offer Path for Regime Survival in Cuba

Iran

Japan

Thailand

Campaign posters Feb. 6 of candidates running in the upcoming Japanese House of Representatives election, in Inagi, Tokyo prefecture.

U.S.-Iran Relations

The Weekly Rundown: Japan Holds Snap Elections, U.S. Weighs Options After Iran Talks

Snapshots

United Arab Emirates

Emirati flags on Feb. 4 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. On Feb. 4-5, delegations from Russia, Ukraine and the United States held a second round of trilateral talks in the United Arab Emirates.

The talks are unlikely to produce a near-term settlement, as Russia will continue to press its territorial demands while using diplomacy to manage sanctions pressure and build leverage ahead of a spring-summer offensive.

The Limits of Russia-Ukraine-U.S. Talks

Russian soldiers wear chemical protection suits as they stand next to a military fueler on the base of a prime mover of Russian Topol intercontinental ballistic missile during a training session at the Serpukhov's military missile forces research institute some 100km outside Moscow on April 6, 2010.

Over time, this will intensify an ongoing buildup of nuclear capabilities across the globe and make crises involving nuclear powers more unpredictable and prone to miscalculations. 


Implications of the Last Major U.S.-Russian Nuclear Arms Control Agreement's Expiration

This map shows the approximate locations of U.S. Carrier Strike Groups and Amphibious Ready Groups.

U.S. Naval Update Map: Feb. 5, 2026

A freight train on Aug. 26, 2025, in Ajmer India.

A U.S.-India trade deal will bring some relief to Indian exporters, but ambiguities over its scope, implementation timeline and myriad other flashpoints will risk undermining it.

An India-U.S. Trade Deal Will Face Ongoing Hurdles

A man walks past a mural painted on the outer walls of the former U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 1, 2026.

Despite recent momentum toward restarting talks, a deal will likely remain elusive due to the U.S.'s maximalist demands and Iran's red lines, sustaining the risk of U.S. (and likely Israeli) military action in the coming weeks. 

Can New U.S.-Iran Talks Avert a Greater Conflict?

Colombia

Iranian newspapers one of them (R) with a headline in Persian reading "Iran is ready for a big response," Jan. 27 in Tehran in Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a range of military options against Iran.

The Weekly Rundown: The U.S. and Colombian Presidents Meet, The Threat of U.S. Strikes on Iran

Syria

A fighter of the Syrian Democratic Forces stands on a road between the Syrian villages of Safa and Tell Brak on Jan. 24, 2026.

The government's deal with the Kurdish-led SDF will reduce sectarian tensions, accelerate a U.S. withdrawal and open space for a Syria-Israel security pact, though risks from local violence and the Islamic State remain.

What a Kurdish Integration Deal Means for Syria's Stability

U.S. Naval Update Map: Jan. 29, 2026

The United States encompasses territory spanning from the Arctic Circle and Central Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico and the North Atlantic.    The Greater Mississippi Basin is the United States' core and serves as the underpinning of its role as a global superpower.    The basin hosts an extensive network of navigable rivers that overlay the world's largest contiguous piece of arable land. This naturally interconnected river system facilitated integration among settlers and allowed for cheap transport of goods, providing the United States with the ability to feed itself efficiently and rapidly build up industry and capital to expand west. The Midwestern core gave early America strategic depth, while an expanding U.S. coastline, naturally indented with deep harbors, provided its opening to the world.    After reaching the Pacific coast in the mid-19th century, the United States found itself insulated by two oceans. On the continent itself, geography again has worked in the country's favor: lakes to the north and deserts to the south insulate the United States' population centers, with both Canada and Mexico facing too many natural constraints of their own to seriously rival it.    This unparalleled level of wealth and protection gives the United States options that few to no countries can claim. For one, the United States has used its wealth and security to build up the world's largest navy. Control of the world's major sea-lanes gives the United States the power to facilitate or deny trade to allies or rivals of the day. The onus therefore is on the United States to carefully manage its engagements abroad and build up strategic allies to protect its overseas interests and preserve its strength at home. 

SITUATION REPORTS

Taiwan, U.S.: Trade Deal Signed, Must Pass Taipei's Skeptical Legislature

Russia, Ukraine, U.S: Geneva Talks To Resume Feb. 17-18

Venezuela: Free and Fair Elections Remain Unlikely, Despite President's Statements

U.S.: Trump Administration May Exempt Some Steel and Aluminum Products From Tariffs

Germany: Munich Security Conference Kicks Off With Speech by Friedrich Merz

South Korea: Lee Seeks To Silence Political Opponents, Risking U.S. Ties

China, U.S.: Trump Curbing Tech Restrictions as Both Sides Seek Year-Long Deal

India: U.S. Tariffs on Select Indian Textile Exports Set To Ease

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