World leaders are gathering for the first day of the Munich Security Conference, one of the year's most important geopolitical events, where they will focus on the future of the endangered transatlantic alliance and efforts to bring Russia's war in Ukraine to an end.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was the first European leader to take to the stage where he delivered a stark assessment of global politics, saying the rules-based order "no longer exists", with the world entering an era of "great power politics" in which the US has possibly lost its leadership position.
