(October 15, 2024)
One rogue nation cannot declare war on the UN itself and continue to get away with it
Daily Archives: 2. März 2025
Foreign Ministry warns of Israeli plans to annex large parts of the west bank under „Greater Jerusalem“ scheme
The ministry called for serious international action to prevent the implementation of this plan, warning of its devastating impact on any chances of resolving the conflict through peaceful means. It also emphasized that it is actively pursuing this issue with the international community and governments worldwide.
Saudi Arabia denounces Israeli government‘s decision to halt humanitarian aid to Gaza
In a statement issued on Sunday by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Kingdom reiterated its call for the international community to put an end to these grave Israeli violations, activate mechanisms for international accountability and ensure the sustainable delivery of humanitarian aid.
Israeli strikes kill four Palestinians in Gaza: Health ministry
The Palestinian Shehab News Agency said an Israeli drone strike killed two Palestinians in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.
The agency added that another Israeli strike killed a woman in the town of Abasan al-Kabira in southern Gaza, with another Palestinian killed in the city of Rafah.
UK expresses concern over Israel blocking Gaza aid
In comments to Middle East Eye on Sunday evening, a Foreign Office spokesperson said: „We are very concerned at reports that Israel has announced it will pause all aid going into Gaza.
„We urge all parties to engage constructively in negotiating the subsequent phases of the deal to help ensure its full implementation and a permanent end to hostilities.“
Outrage as Israel cuts off Gaza aid to pressure Hamas to accept new ceasefire proposal
Israel faced sharp criticism as it stopped the entry of all food and other supplies into Gaza on Sunday and warned of “additional consequences” for Hamas if a fragile ceasefire isn’t extended.
Mediators Egypt and Qatar accused Israel of violating humanitarian law by using starvation as a weapon.
Israel block on Gaza aid coordinated with Trump administration, Israeli source says
„Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided that, as of this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will cease,“ Netanyahu‘s office said, accusing Hamas of refusing to accept the outline for continued talks set out by President Donald Trump‘s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
„Israel will not allow a ceasefire without the release of our hostages,“ the statement said. „If Hamas continues its refusal, there will be further consequences.“
Trump and the end of the geopolitical ‘West’
Trump and Vance may delight in shocking Europe, but their counterparts across the pond are coming to terms with the collapse of a united West. “Trump’s rhetoric melds with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s,” wrote Le Monde columnist Alain Frachon. “In less than two weeks, concessions to Moscow have piled up. Even if they had already been in the pipeline since Joe Biden’s administration: No Ukraine in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); no NATO forces to monitor a possible ceasefire; necessary territorial concessions from Kyiv.”
Merz-Einladung für Netanjahu nach Deutschland: Rechtsbeugung und Eingriff in die Gewaltenteilung?
Auszug aus dem Wortprotokoll der Regierungspressekonferenz vom 26. Februar 2025
Frage Jessen
Ich will ein Thema aufrufen, das vorhin in den Wartesaal verschoben wurde, Stichwort: Haftbefehl gegen Netanjahu.
Herr Kall, sind deutsche Polizeibehörden gehalten, internationale Haftbefehle umzusetzen, wenn die betreffende Person in den Geltungsbereich deutschen Rechts gerät?
Kall (BMI)
Was den IStGH und Haftbefehle des IStGH angeht, ist das eine völkerstrafrechtliche Frage und damit eine Frage an das BMJ oder das AA.
Dr. Strauß (BMJ)
Ich kann gern für das BMJ ergänzen. Die Zusammenarbeit Deutschlands mit dem Internationalen Strafgerichtshof folgt gesetzlichen Regeln. Sie sind im Einzelnen komplex. Sie können sie insbesondere im Gesetz über die Zusammenarbeit mit dem Internationalen Strafgerichtshof nachlesen….
Bürgerschaftswahl: SPD siegt in Hamburg, CDU überholt Grüne
Die SPD bleibt in Hamburg auch bei der Bürgerschaftswahl 2025 die stärkste politische Kraft und kann trotz Verlusten mit den Grünen weiterregieren. Der Bürgermeister will aber auch mit der CDU reden.
Wanderers
„Wanderers“ is my short science fiction film envisioning our humanity‘s future expansion into the Solar System. Although admittedly speculative, the visuals in the film are all based on scientific ideas and concepts of what our future in space might look like, if it ever happens.
All the locations depicted in the film are digital recreations of actual places in the Solar System, built from real photos and map data where available.
The Voyagers Are Still Exploring 40 Years Later
(Oct. 12, 2024)
From their unique vantage points – Voyager 1 in the northern hemisphere and Voyager 2 in the southern hemisphere – the spacecraft have already detected differences and asymmetries in the solar wind termination shock, where the wind abruptly slows as it approaches the heliopause. For example, Voyager 2 crossed the termination shock at a distance of about 83.7 AU in the southern hemisphere. (One AU, or astronomical unit, is equal to 150 (million) kilometers (93 million miles), the distance between Earth and the Sun.) That’s about 10 AU closer to the Sun than where Voyager 1 crossed the shock in the north. As shown in this diagram, Voyager 1 traveled through the compressed “nose” of the termination shock and Voyager 2 is expected to travel through the flank of the termination shock.
Voyager 1 Trajectory through the Solar System
628,218 views Aug 31, 2017
This visualization tracks the trajectory of the Voyager 1 spacecraft through the solar system. Launched on September 5, 1977, it was one of two spacecraft sent to visit the giant planets of the outer solar system. Voyager 1 flew by Jupiter and Saturn before being directed out of the solar system.
To fit the 40 year history of the mission into a short visualization, the pacing of time accelerates through most of the movie, starting at about 5 days per second at the beginning and speeding up to about 11 months per second after the planet flybys are past.
The termination shock and heliopause are the ‚boundaries‘ created when the plasma between the stars interacts with the plasma flowing outward from the Sun.
Our planet is in a space balloon, literally
(June 16, 2024)
But only two human-made objects have crossed the boundary of the solar system and entered interstellar space.
In 1977, NASA launched Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, equipped with tools to measure the magnetic fields and the particles it is directly passing through. After traveling for over three decades in space, they finally exited the outer layer of the heliosphere—heliopause in 2012 and 2018 respectively. They discovered that cosmic rays are about three times more intense outside the heliopause than deep inside the heliosphere.
PUNCH – Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere
Key Questions
The PUNCH mission will use four suitcase-sized satellites to observe the Sun and its environment. Working together, the four PUNCH satellites will create a combined field of view and map the region where the Sun’s corona (or outer atmosphere) transitions to the solar wind (the constant outflow of material from the Sun).
The PUNCH mission will answer questions about:
How the Sun’s atmosphere transitions to the solar wind.
How structures in the solar wind are created.
How these processes affect the solar system.
NASA will soon launch PUNCH to study how the Sun influences the space around us
On March 2, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission into low Earth orbit. From this location, its four satellites will have nearly constant views of the Sun to help researchers answer questions about how activity near our star propagates through the inner solar system, influencing the space weather we experience here on Earth.
Trump Approves $3 Billion Weapons Transfer to Israel
On Friday, the Pentagon announced three arms packages for Israel totaling over $3 billion. The first sale is 35,500 MK 84 and BLU-117 bombs, both munitions with 2,000-pound warheads. Additionally, the US will send 4,000 Predator bombs, 2,000-pound bunker busting munitions. The nearly 40,000 bombs will cost over $2 billion.
Tel Aviv has previously used bunker busting bombs as chemical weapons. The IDF found that if it used multiple warheads, a chemical reaction is created that can cause a suffocating gas in the tunnels below the surface.
The second arms package includes 5,000 1,000-pound bombs and 1,500 JDAM kits to turn the munitions into guided bombs. The 1,000-pound bombs and guidance kits are expected to cost $675 million. A third sale is for Caterpillar D9 Bulldozers with a price tag near $300 million.
Europe makes slow progress on critical minerals as US and China lead the way
(February 28, 2025)
In the last 30 years, Europe has outsourced its mining needs to other regions of the world, and has stopped looking for the resources it had right at home, experts say
UK to provide $2.8 billion loan to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets
The United Kingdom signed an agreement with Kyiv on March 1 to provide Ukraine with a loan worth 2.26 billion pounds ($2.84 billion) backed by frozen Russian assets.
The loan, which is part of the Group of Seven‘s (G7) Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) credit initiative, was signed amid President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s visit to London to meet with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Ukraine President Zelenskyy Gets Emotional During U.K. Meeting 1 Day After Trump Berated Him at White House
Starmer went on to say that the cheering at Zelenskyy’s arrival was “the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you, how much they support Ukraine, and our absolute determination to stand with you, unwavering determination and to achieve what we both want to achieve, which is a lasting peace — a lasting peace based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine.”
Ukraine‘s Zelensky meets with Starmer at Downing Street | AFP
President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Downing Street in London, following the Ukrainian leader‘s clash with US President Donald Trump.
Zelenskyy arrives in Downing Street for meeting with Starmer
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived at Downing Street for a meeting with Keir Starmer.