Hi Global Recap readers,
Today, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced the Doomsday Clock’s new setting: 85 seconds to midnight.
Why does that matter? It’s the closest the clock has come in its nearly 80-year history—a metaphorical measure of how near humanity is to self-destruction through its own technologies and decisions.
🇪🇸 SPAIN
Spain Regularizes
500,000 “Irregular”
Immigrants
In 2024, most Venezuelan, Colombian, Malian, and Senegalese asylum applicants applied in Spain (according to funcas)
Spain's government just approved a royal decree to "regularize" about 500,000 illegal immigrants and asylum seekers, betting on their eventual integration.
However, not everyone's happy about it.
Decision. Spain's socialist-led coalition signed off on the plan after its weekly cabinet meeting, framing it as a "rights-based" shift against the anti-migration posture spreading across Europe.
It grants legal residency and work authorization in Spain.
Additionally, regularized immigrants are given access to related services and rights.
Rules. To qualify, applicants must show no criminal record and prove they lived in Spain for at least five months or sought international protection before December 31, 2025. The measure is expected to take effect in April.
Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz.
Pitch. Elma Saiz, the minister for inclusion, social security and migration, called it a "historic day" and said the goal is to "break the bureaucratic barriers of the past," arguing regular status strengthens both growth and social cohesion.
Left-wing party Podemos has long campaigned for “irregular” immigrants, under the slogan "regularization is rights"
Backlash. Here are a few of many criticisms:
Conservative leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo said the move would create a "pull effect" and strain public services.
Regarding illegal immigrants, many online commenters argue that this insults law-abiding people who have gone through a long, arduous legal process to obtain European citizenship.
💬 Opinions: Critics’ central question is why people who have helped sustain EU systems and benefits should now be asked to subsidize illegal immigrants and asylum seekers—particularly when integration has so far remained an elusive goal, with limited evidence of real progress.
🇫🇷 FRANCE
Under-15
Social Media Ban
France's National Assembly just voted to ban under-15s from social media, and it is being sold as a "public health" move, not a culture-war action.
Vote. In Paris, lawmakers approved the bill 116 to 23 after a debate framed around bullying and mental health risks for minors. The text now goes to the Senate, then back for a final vote in the lower house.
Mechanism. The bill would require platforms to block under-15 access using age-verification methods that comply with European Union law, and it also targets "social networking functionalities" inside broader platforms, not just standalone apps.
President Macron presents the move as overwhelmingly popular, but the responses to the post suggest otherwise.
Click for post
Politics. President Macron has been pushing for a fast timeline, aiming to have the ban in place by the start of the next school year in September, while centrist lawmaker Laure Miller argued the point is to draw "a clear boundary" and treat social media as a real developmental risk.
Reality. Even supporters admit enforcement is hard.
France is also extending an existing smartphone ban in junior and middle schools to high schools.
However, critics argue that this represents an overreach, with the government tightening control over digital life both at home and in schools.
📌 Context. France is taking cues from Australia, where a ban on under-16s using major social platforms came into force in December, and the European Parliament has urged EU-wide minimum ages, though member states still set their own limits.
🇪🇺🇮🇳 EU & INDIA
Mother of All Deals
European Council President Antonio Costa (left), Indian PM Narendra Modi (center), and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (right).
On Jan. 27, 2026, the European Union and India announced a sweeping free-trade agreement, a blunt hedge against an unpredictable US and its tariff threats.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen dubbed it the "mother of all deals."
Announcement. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, alongside European Council President Antonio Costa and Indian PM Narendra Modi, unveiled the deal after EU leaders traveled to New Delhi for India’s Republic Day events.
Scale. EU and Indian officials said the agreement wraps up nearly two decades of negotiations and creates what von der Leyen described as a free-trade zone of 2 billion people.
Note: the deal still needs legal and political approval in both the EU and India.
Tariffs. Here are the details:
It aims to slash Indian tariffs on European exports like cars and pharmaceuticals while lowering European tariffs on Indian goods including chemicals and textiles.
EU officials said India would reduce or cut tariffs on more than 90% of EU exported goods and lower tariffs on up to 250,000 cars per year from the bloc.
Pressure. The timing is important to note.
The announcement lands amid President Trump’s recent tariff threats regarding Greenland.
As noted previously, the effectiveness of tariff threats inevitably diminishes with each successive threat as US allies diversify trade relationships away from the US.
That said, this "effectiveness" refers to the psychological impact on EU politicians; the economic reality for EU exporters may differ substantially.
📌 Context. EU-India trade talks have dragged on for years and repeatedly stalled on market access and political friction, but both sides now see strategic value in locking in partners as the US turns more protectionist.
Even after the announcement, the agreement has to clear domestic approval processes before it can take effect.
🇮🇱 ISRAEL
Hostage Clock
Finally Stops
After 843 days, Tel Aviv's hostage stopwatch stopped for good after Israel received the last hostage back on its soil, alive or dead.
Symbol. For more than two years, a digital stopwatch in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv counted every minute since Hamas abducted 251 hostages on October 7, 2023, turning raw time into a daily public accusation.
Finale. On Tuesday, January 27, 2026, the clock was stopped a day after Israel received the body of Ran Gvili, described as the last Israeli hostage held in Gaza. The tally ended at 843 days, 12 hours, and 6 minutes.
Politics. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it mission accomplished, telling reporters, "We finished the mission."
