Just two days after the start of the European Citizens’ Initiative to call for the suspension of European Union relations with Israel, 150,000 signatures have already been collected out of the million needed to present the initiative to the European Parliament under the established popular consultation mechanism. The signature collection campaign will last one year, and any European citizen can sign online at this address.
Daily Archives: 17. Januar 2026
Demands Met on 73rd Day as Three End Strike
(January 14, 2026)
With this victory it has never been clearer that Elbit’s days in Britain are numbered.
In addition to this key demand being met, we want to take this opportunity to celebrate the various victories achieved across the duration of the hunger strike:
– In the past few weeks alone, hundreds of people have signed up to take action against the genocidal military-industrial complex, more than the amount of people who took action with Palestine Action over its 5 year campaign. During that 5 year campaign, 4 Israeli weapons factories were shut down. Elbit Systems is living on stolen time – we will see it shut down for good, not because of the government, but because of the people.
– Heba Muraisi’s transfer to HMP Bronzefield has been accepted by HMP New Hall, where she is currently held in intentional isolation from her family and friends.
– T. Hoxha has been offered a meeting with the head of JEXU (Joint Extremism Unit) at her prison, the very same organisation that orchestrates the prisoners’ treatment as ‘terrorists’.
– Despite the cruel and constant medical neglect of the hunger strikers; including not logging food refusal, refusal of ambulances in life threatening emergencies, and degrading treatment in hospital; the national heads of prison healthcare have met with us at the behest of the Ministry of Justice.
– During the hunger strike, some of the prisoners started receiving bulk packages of witheld mail, and in one case received an apology from prison staff for a letter that was delayed by 6 months. Books on topics of Gaza and feminism have also been given after months of waiting.
– In pursuit of a fair trial, the hunger strikers demanded disclosure of export licenses for the last 5 years from Elbit Systems. After repeated requests, this information was disclosed to an independent researcher by the Department of Trade during the hunger strike.
Palestine Action Prison Hunger Strike Ends After a Victory in the UK
Three British activists jailed for alleged involvement with the banned anti-genocide group Palestine Action ended their monthslong hunger strike late Wednesday after the UK government rejected a $2.7 billion contract for a subsidiary of Israel’s largest weapons maker, Elbit Systems.
Prisoners for Palestine (P4P), which represents the hunger strikers, said that Hamran Ahmed, Heba Muraisi, and Lewie Chiaramello would accept food again. Muraisi hadn’t eaten in 73 days, while Ahmed refused food for 66 days and Chiaramello, who has Type 1 diabetes, fasted every other day for 44 days.
CIA director John Ratcliffe meets with Venezuela‘s interim president Delcy Rodríguez in Caracas
CIA director John Ratcliffe met with Venezuela‘s interim President Delcy Rodríguez for two hours Thursday in Venezuela‘s capital, Caracas, to „deliver the message that the United States looks forward to an improved working relationship,“ a U.S. official told CBS News Friday.
The official described the trip as historic, noting that Ratcliffe was the first Cabinet-level official to visit Venezuela since the U.S. military operation to remove the country‘s autocratic leader Nicolás Maduro nearly two weeks ago.
Freihandelsabkommen unterzeichnet Was das Mercosur-Abkommen für die Wirtschaft bedeutet
Sechs Staaten sind Mitglied von Mercosur, von denen vier Teil des Abkommens mit der EU sind: Argentinien, Brasilien, Paraguay und Uruguay.
EU and South America’s Mercosur bloc sign landmark free trade agreement
The European Union and the Mercosur bloc of South American countries formally signed a long-sought landmark free trade agreement on Saturday, capping more than a quarter-century of torturous negotiations to strengthen commercial ties in the face of rising protectionism and trade tensions around the world.
The signing ceremony in Paraguay’s humid capital of Asunción marks a major geopolitical victory for the EU in an age of American tariffs and surging Chinese exports, expanding the bloc’s foothold in a resource-rich region increasingly contested by Washington and Beijing.
Trump says 8 European countries will face 10% tariff for opposing US control of Greenland
Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland would face the tariff, Trump said in a social media post while at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. The rate would climb to 25% on June 1 if no deal was in place for “the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland” by the United States, he said.
US congressional delegation visits Denmark amid backlash over Trump‘s push to acquire Greenland
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Murkowski, Tillis, Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., and Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., were among those who traveled to Europe for meetings with Danish and Greenlandic officials. Some members of the delegation are expected to go to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week.
German and European Soldiers Arrive in Greenland as Europe Boosts Arctic Military Presence | AC1B
Military personnel, including German soldiers, have arrived in Greenland at Denmark’s request, reinforcing Arctic security amid rising tensions over the island’s strategic importance.
Danish fighter jets and French tanker in Nato drills over Greenland as Arctic tensions soar
Danish F-35 fighter jets and a French MRTT tanker have been seen conducting drills over south east Greenland.
Demos in mehreren Städten: Tausende Dänen protestieren gegen Trumps Grönland-Pläne
Tausende Dänen haben in Kopenhagen gegen die von US-Präsident Donald Trump erhobenen Besitzansprüche auf Grönland protestiert. Sie versammelten sich vor dem Rathaus der dänischen Hauptstadt, schwenkten dänische und grönländische Fahnen und riefen „Kalaallit Nunaat!“ – den Namen Grönlands in der Muttersprache.
Auch in anderen dänischen Städten sowie in der grönländischen Hauptstadt Nuuk finden Proteste statt.
Protesters rally in Denmark and Greenland against Trump annexation threat
In Greenland‘s capital Nuuk, thousands led by Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen carried flags and similar banners as they headed for the U.S. consulate chanting „Kalaallit Nunaat“ – the island‘s name in Greenlandic.
“I’ve come here today because I think it’s important to show that Greenland is not for sale. It is not a toy. This is our home,” said Naja Holm, a civil servant.
BREAKING NEWS: Protestors Hold ‚Hands Off Greenland‘ Demonstration In Copenhagen, Denmark
During a protest on Saturday, Danish Politician Julie Rademacher, who is also a Greenlander, spoke about President Trump‘s attempts to take over Greenland.
Archiv: Democracy First !
(archive entries)
Europe must now tell Trump that enough is enough – and cut all ties with the US
So what can Europe do, as this mad historic fantasy comes closer to reality? How do you maintain a space of democracy and the rule of law in a world that is rapidly reverting to imperialism, oligarchy and the rule of power alone? Only by building a protective moat of federalism around it.
If the US actually attacks Denmark by invading Greenland, and declares war on the EU, a treaty-bound defensive alliance, the hand of history will be forced. Europe would need to both expand and restructure to become a defence and intelligence union that absorbs Nato’s non-EU members.
(…)
And if the US doesn’t attack Denmark, Europe’s best chance of surviving as a free and open continent in an imperial world is still to force the rupture with the US, force the consequences, and force the federalism anyway.
France says US action against Greenland could endanger EU trade, FT reports
(January 16, 2026)
France‘s Finance Minister Roland Lescure has warned U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that any move to seize Greenland would amount to a „crossed line“ endangering Europe‘s economic relationship with Washington, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
„Greenland is a sovereign part of a sovereign country that is part of the EU. That shouldn’t be messed around [with],“, Lescure told FT.
EU Parliament eyes freezing US trade deal over Trump’s Greenland threats
(January 9, 2026)
“I cannot imagine that in the current situation MEPs would vote for any trade measures benefiting the U.S.,” the Greens’ top trade lawmaker and chair of the Internal Market Committee Anna Cavazzini told POLITICO.
“We should have such a discussion, it’s inevitable,” added Brando Benifei, the Socialist lawmaker who chairs Parliament’s delegation for relations with the U.S.
Under the deal, most EU exports are subject to a 15 percent U.S. tariff. To complete its side of the bargain, the EU also needs to pass legislation to abolish all tariffs on U.S. industrial goods, including the 10 percent it currently slaps on U.S. cars, and ease market access for some farm produce and seafood.
Judge Restricts Immigration Agents’ Actions Toward Minnesota Protesters
Judge Kate M. Menendez ordered agents not to retaliate against people “engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity,” and not to use pepper spray or other “crowd dispersal tools” in retaliation for protected speech. The judge also said agents could not stop or detain protesters in vehicles who were not “forcibly obstructing or interfering with” agents.
The ruling, which granted a preliminary injunction, stems from a lawsuit brought by activists who said agents had violated their rights. The suit was filed before an immigration agent shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.
Governor Walz Statement on Reports of Alleged Department of Justice Investigation
January 17, 2026
[ST. PAUL, MN] – Governor Tim Walz today released the following statement after reports of an alleged investigation by the Department of Justice.
“Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is a dangerous, authoritarian tactic.
“The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.”
The office of the Governor has not received any notice of the investigation.
The Governor has repeatedly, unequivocally, called for peace and a lowering of the temperature. He has made that appeal directly to the President.
Federal forces have stormed the state, shooting two people and killing Renee Good. The Department of Justice drove six federal prosecutors – including the longtime career prosecutor leading the charge to investigate and eliminate fraud in our state’s programs – to quit their jobs rather than go along with this assault on the United States Constitution. Leaders of the Republican Party have called for impeachment, for the Governor to be put in cuffs, for a day of retribution.
We trust Minnesotans to see past this projection.
Justice Department opens investigation into Minnesota governor and Minneapolis mayor
Walz, in a post on X, did not explicitly address the news reports, but said: „Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic. The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.“
The killing of Renee Macklin Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer last week became a flashpoint for the simmering opposition to federal agents operating within the state.