(archive entries)
Daily Archives: 18. Januar 2026
‚Trump United Nations‘: Netanyahu invited to join Board of Peace
Washington reportedly mulls expanding Trump’s Board of Peace beyond Gaza to Ukraine and Venezuela;
Trump wants nations to pay $1bn to join Gaza ‚Board of Peace‘: report
A draft charter for the group, seen by Bloomberg, establishes Trump as its inaugural chairman, who would have a veto over membership.
The document stipulates that states‘ membership will be limited to three years, unless they “contribute more than USD $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the Charter’s entry into force“, guaranteeing them permanent membership.
The charter opens by stressing the need for „a more nimble and effective international peace-building body“, adding that lasting peace requires „the courage to depart from … institutions that have too often failed“.
The language has prompted concerns that Trump is seeking to build a rival to the United Nations.
Syrian government announces ceasefire with SDF: State media
The Syrian government and SDF have agreed to an immediate ceasefire on all fronts, with SDF forces to withdraw to east of Euphrates, state media outlet SANA is reporting.
Syrian army gains ground as Kurdish forces withdraw from key oil field
Government troops drove Kurdish forces from two Aleppo neighbourhoods following clashes last week, and on Saturday announced they had captured an area east of the city, as well as Tabqa, in Raqqa province, on the southwestern bank of the Euphrates.
At dawn on Sunday, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew „from all areas under its control in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside, including the al-Omar and Tanak oil fields“, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
Al-Omar is the country‘s largest oil field, and was home to the biggest US base in Syria.
France is committed to the sovereignty and independence of nations, in Europe and elsewhere. This guides our choices. It underpins our commitment to the United Nations and to its Charter.
It is on this basis that we support, and will continue to support Ukraine and that we have built a coalition of the willing for a robust and lasting peace, to defend these principles and our security.
It is also on this basis that we decided to take part in the exercise organized by Denmark in Greenland. We fully assume this decision, because security in the Arctic and at the outer edges of our Europe is at stake.
No intimidation or threat will influence us—neither in Ukraine, nor in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world when we are confronted with such situations.
Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context. Europeans will respond in a united and coordinated manner should they be confirmed. We will ensure that European sovereignty is upheld.
It is in this spirit that I will engage with our European partners.
A stunned Europe finally wakes up to Trump’s Greenland threat
It’s not often that Europe speaks with one voice – or responds with such urgency.
But US President Donald Trump’s announcement Saturday of sanctions against several European countries that reject any US claim to Greenland, a Danish territory, was one of those moments.
An emergency meeting of EU ambassadors will take place in Brussels on Sunday in response to Trump’s threat, which he made after an estimate quarter of the population of Greenland’s capital Nuuk joined protests against any potential annexation.
Demand the full suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement in view of Israel’s violations of human rights
According to the European Commission, the State of Israel is responsible for an unprecedented level of killing and injury of civilians, a large-scale displacement of population and the systematic destruction of hospitals and medical facilities in Gaza. [1] Israel also implemented a blockade of humanitarian aid that could amount to starvation as a method of war. Israel is in breach of multiple rules and obligations under international law and fails to prevent the crime of genocide as ordered by the International Court of Justice.[2]
Yet the European Union has still not suspended its association agreement with Israel, which is the cornerstone of EU-Israel bilateral trade, economic, and political cooperation.
EU citizens cannot tolerate that the EU maintains an agreement that contributes to legitimize and finance a State that commits crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Therefore, we call on the Commission to put forward the proposal to the Council for the full suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.