From tech companies to airlines and streaming services, monopolies are becoming more problematic around the world.


Alex Kozul-Wright is a business reporter for Al Jazeera. He is based in London, the United Kingdom.
From tech companies to airlines and streaming services, monopolies are becoming more problematic around the world.

Russia is targeting ports critical for Ukrainian exports.
![Two man stand looking towards the damaged nineteen-story hotel "Odessa", in the port city of Odesa, on the Black Sea in southern Ukraine [File: Oleksandr Gimanov/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AFP__20250319__376Q2B7__v1__HighRes__UkraineRussiaConflictWar-1742915824.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
As a months-long hunger strike persists, calls for immediate government intervention grow louder.
![Police officers detain protesters during the "Lift the Ban" demonstration organized by the civil action and campaign group Defend Our Juries ahead of a judicial review into the decision to designate the Palestine Action group as a terrorist organization at Tavistock Square in London, United Kingdom [File: Raşid Necati Aslım/ Anadolu Agency]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/AA-20251122-39778277-39778264-POLICE_DETAIN_ACTIVISTS_AT_LIFT_THE_BAN_PROTEST_IN_LONDON-1763844083.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Ageing ships flying false flags are used to avoid Western sanctions on Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan oil.
![A ship docks at PSA's Tanjong Pagar container port in Singapore [File: Edgar Su/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2016-04-18T120000Z_2121511105_GF10000386334_RTRMADP_3_SINGAPORE-ECONOMY-EXPORTS-1766139691.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
The US Senate advanced its 2026 National Defense Authorization Act with broad support, but also with caveats.

France wants stronger safeguards for farmers and is urging the EU to delay a vote on Mercosur, threatening imports.

President Zelenskyy’s comments mark a major shift for Ukraine, which has fought hard to join NATO in recent years.
![A security member is reflected in the window of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's car [File: Susana Vera/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2025-11-18T103655Z_276105199_RC2XYHANSTOK_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-SPAIN-PARLIAMENT-1763890337.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Trump says funds will be made available from tariff revenues and promises trade policies will make US farmers ‘strong’.

Donald Trump’s trade tariffs have failed to hold back China’s export dominance, which scaled new heights in November.

Belgium is pushing back against a plan to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine’s economy and war effort.
![Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council in Moscow, Russia, [File: Gavriil Grigorov/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2025-11-05T143544Z_1152145921_RC2EQHAFQ4LB_RTRMADP_3_USA-TRUMP-NUCLEAR-RUSSIA-PUTIN-1762388971.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)