Global Events Unfold Amidst Domestic Tensions and Trade Agreements

Several significant events unfolded on January 27, 2026, ranging from international trade agreements and domestic tensions in the United States to Holocaust remembrance in Europe.

India and the European Union (EU) announced a free trade agreement after nearly two decades of negotiations, according to the Associated Press (NPR). The EU chief described the accord as the "mother of all deals," potentially affecting as many as 2 billion people. The agreement aims to deepen economic and strategic ties between two of the world's biggest markets, as Washington targets both India and the EU with its own trade policies.

In the United States, tensions arose between Minnesota and the federal government following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday morning (The Verge, Fortune). Video of the shooting quickly spread online. Minnesota launched a website to counter what officials called federal misinformation coming from the Department of Homeland Security (Fortune). The state also went to court to preserve evidence from the shooting after its own investigators were allegedly blocked from the scene by federal authorities. Experts noted that this divide goes against years of cooperation between local and federal agencies on law enforcement missions, but that the state's hand was forced by the Trump administration's actions.

Also in the U.S., activists expressed concerns that new U.S. visa restrictions for Palestinians would hurt diplomacy (NPR). Palestinians can no longer apply for a U.S. visa with documents issued by the Palestinian Authority, which activists say is another sign that the Trump administration is sidelining Palestinians.

In Berlin, Germany, memorial "stumbling stone" plaques were installed to honor the Levi family on Holocaust Remembrance Day (Euronews). The four brass plaques were placed in Berlin-Johannisthal to commemorate Frieda and Mor Levi, who fled Nazi Germany for what is now Israel between 1934 and 1935. The stolpersteine, small brass plaques embedded in pavements at victims' last addresses, mark the former home of the Levi family. This commemoration comes as antisemitic offenses in Germany have more than quadrupled in recent years, according to Euronews.