Germany Gets Serious, Israel Breaks Ceasefire, Trump Threatens Iran

VIDEO SERIES World Review with Ivo Daalder
Bobby Ghosh, Stefan Kornelius, and Catherine Philp join Ivo Daalder to discuss the week's top news stories.
German opposition leader and Christian Democratic Union party chairman Friedrich Merz speaks in the German Parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany on March 18, 2025. Play Video
Ebrahim Noroozi / AP

About This Episode

This week, Germany bets big on its future as parliament approves Friedrich Merz’s bold €1 trillion push for defense and infrastructure, shattering borrowing limits to counter Russia and cut reliance on the US. Is the debt gamble worth it? In the Middle East, Israel’s renewed assault on Gaza shatters a fragile ceasefire, killing more than 400 and igniting protests in Jerusalem. Political maneuver or military necessity? And Iran is back in President Trump’s crosshairs, having been warned over Houthi attacks and given a two-month deadline to strike a nuclear deal. Will tensions explode? Bobby Ghosh, Stefan Kornelius, Catherine Philp join Ivo Daalder on World Review to weigh the risks, motivations, and consequences of this week’s geopolitical power plays. 

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About the Panelists
Bobby Ghosh
Senior Editor:Digital Weekend, Bloomberg
Headshot of Bobby Ghosh
Bobby Ghosh is a senior editor in the digital weekend team. Previously, he was a columnist at Bloomberg Opinion, where he wrote mostly about international affairs and culture. In a journalism career spanning more than three decades, Ghosh has worked in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States for publications like Time Magazine, the Far Eastern Economic Review, and now Bloomberg. 
Headshot of Bobby Ghosh
Stefan Kornelius
Head of Foreign Policy Department, Süddeutsche Zeitung
Headshot of Stefan Kornelius
Stefan Kornelius has spent over 20 years at Süddeutsche Zeitung. Throughout his career, he has covered Germany's Christian Democratic Party, the chancellorship of Helmut Kohl, and defense issues in Europe. His biography of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, entitled “Angela Merkel, the Chancellor and her World,” has been translated into 13 languages.
Headshot of Stefan Kornelius
Catherine Philp
Diplomatic Correspondent, The London Times
Catherine Philp
Catherine Philp is one of Britain’s most experienced foreign correspondents, having covered five continents in nearly 20 years at The Times. She has been based in overseas bureaus and reported on conflicts from Afghanistan to Colombia, winning several international press awards.
Catherine Philp
Ivo H. Daalder
CEO, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Headshot of Ivo H. Daalder
Ivo H. Daalder served as the US ambassador to NATO from 2009 to 2013. He joined the Council as president in 2013 and took on the new role of CEO in 2023. Previously, he was a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution and served as director for European affairs on President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council. He is the author or editor of 10 books.
Headshot of Ivo H. Daalder
Issues Global Politics
Regions Europe Middle East and North Africa
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