There is no U.S. law that explicitly authorizes the U.S. Navy to attack or sink ships at sea outside of a congressionally authorized war or valid self-defense situation, legal experts and Democratic lawmakers say.
The strikes began in September, but Trump administration discussions about them began soon after Trump moved back into the White House in January
Amid a buildup of U.S. military forces near Venezuela and strikes on alleged drug boats, President Donald Trump told U.S. troops on Thanksgiving that the military operation will soon include strikes on land.
“In recent weeks, you’ve been working to deter Venezuelan drug traffickers,“ Trump said during a call with military service members that alluded to the boat strikes, adding: „We’ll be starting to stop them by land also. The land is easier, but that’s going to start very soon.“
Venezuela‘s communications ministry, which handles all press inquiries for the government, did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Trump‘s post.
The U.S. Defense Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In an interview with our Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Awad said: „We defeated him three times in court when he ignored the rights of Texas citizens in the right to boycott against Israel.
We believe this is retaliation against the institution, and US courts do not allow any official in power to take revenge on an institution or place that defeated them in the judiciary.“
Founded in 1994, CAIR is the largest civil-rights and Muslim advocacy organisation in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, DC, it operates more than 35 regional offices nationwide.
(November 18, 2025)
The Texas chapter and national headquarters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today announced that it would carry on its civil rights work in Texas and vigorously defend its right to do so in response to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s “defamatory and lawless” proclamation smearing the organization.
In its response to Abbott’s proclamation, CAIR’s legal team is preparing to take appropriate action to address it. CAIR has also sent a letter to Abbott debunking his claims and detailing the Muslim civil rights organization’s three-decade record of both defending civil rights and condemning all forms of unjust violence, including terrorism. The letter also cites numerous rulings and independent reports debunking efforts to smear CAIR or link it to any foreign entities.
(November 18, 2025)
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has formally labeled the Council on American-Islamic Relations, one of largest Muslim civil rights groups in the nation, a foreign terrorist organization.
In his Tuesday declaration, Abbott vowed to go after the Washington-based group, accusing them of having direct ties with Hamas and vowing to have the state attorney general “sue to shut them down” in Texas.
Die sächsische Polizei soll Menschen, die beim Autofahren ihr Handy bedienen, mit Drohnen jagen. Doch das ist nur ein Hammer im Polizeigesetz-Entwurf: Die Polizei soll in Zukunft auch Verhaltensscanner, Palantir-Datenanalyse, Live-Gesichtserkennung, Gesichter-Suchmaschinen und Staatstrojaner nutzen dürfen
(26.4.2018)
As Barbara Lee presciently warned her colleagues before she cast her lone dissenting vote in 2001, we have “become the evil we deplore.” But these wars have not been accompanied by fearsome military parades (not yet) or speeches about conquering the world. Instead they have been politically justified by “information warfare” to demonize enemies and fabricate crises, and then waged in a “disguised, quiet, media free” way, to hide their cost in human blood from the American public and the world.
After 16 years of war, about 6 million violent deaths, 6 countries utterly destroyed and many more destabilized, it is urgent that the American public come to terms with the true human cost of our country’s wars and how we have been manipulated and misled into turning a blind eye to them – before they go on even longer, destroy more countries, further undermine the rule of international law and kill millions more of our fellow human beings.
(November 8, 2025)
As Bush‘s vice president, Cheney became a key architect of the US „war on terror“, which included the 2002 invasion of Afghanistan, the 2003 war on Iraq, and sweeping intelligence, surveillance and torture programmes.
Most notoriously, Cheney helped the Bush administration construct an elaborate double lie as a pretext for the invasion of Iraq.
(…)
Cheney‘s true legacy, then, lies not only in the „war on terror“ he helped engineer, but in the political and moral infrastructure he left behind.
More than two decades later, his post-9/11 world order – defined by endless wars, government overreach and impunity – endures, and today‘s war criminals, following in his path, roam free.
A polarizing and powerful figure, Cheney worked for four decades in Washington. He served in Congress, was secretary of defense under President George H.W. Bush and then vice president under President George W. Bush.
He played a leading role in the response to the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, including the war on terror and invasion of Iraq.
Cheney and Bush took office under a cloud of controversy after the Supreme Court ended Florida‘s recount during the 2000 presidential election. They left the White House eight years later with the economy collapsing into the Great Recession and two unpopular wars raging.
It was that political landscape that Trump found so amendable to his own outsider campaign in 2016 that helped catapult him from New York real estate and reality TV star into the White House. Along the way, Trump would accuse Bush and Cheney of leading the U.S. into „endless wars.“
Reporting Highlights
– Americans Detained: The government doesn’t track how many citizens are held by immigration agents. We found more than 170 cases this year where citizens were detained at raids and protests.
– Held Incommunicado: More than 20 citizens have reported being held for over a day without being able to call their loved ones or a lawyer. In some cases their families couldn’t find them.
– Cases Wilted: Agents have arrested about 130 Americans, including a dozen elected officials, for allegedly interfering with or assaulting officers, yet those cases were often dropped.
(Nov 3, 2025)
Warning: Graphic language. Video shows the vehicle collision between federal agents and Dayanne Figueroa in Chicago‘s West Town neighborhood on Oct. 10, 2025. (Provided by Fernando Figueroa)
Dayanne Figueroa was on her way to work in Chicago last month when she drove onto a street where an immigration enforcement action was in progress. As she attempted to drive around the chaos, an unmarked vehicle collided with her car. Masked men jumped out of the vehicle, guns drawn and dragged Figueroa from her car by her legs. She was thrown into a minivan, taken away and held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for hours. Dayanne Figueroa is an American citizen.
Figueroa’s arrest, captured in a now-viral video, illustrates the growing number of U.S. citizens caught up in federal immigration actions. These arrests and detentions violate ICE guidelines as well as the Constitution.
Shortly after midnight on June 20, activists from Palestine Action cut through the outer fence of Brize Norton and sped across the tarmac on electric scooters.
Undetected by guards, they proceeded to spray red paint into the turbines of two Voyager aircraft, used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) for air-to-air refueling and strategic air transport missions. Crowbars were also reportedly used.
Three days later, Britain’s home secretary Yvette Cooper told parliament that she had decided to proscribe Palestine Action under Section 3 of the Terrorism Act.
Nov 13, 2025 Novara Live – NEW episodes every weekday 6pm UK
We speak to absconded Palestine Action prisoner Sean “Shibby” Middlebrough.
I. BACKGROUND/INTRODUCTION
1. On 11 May 2022, the Commission submitted to the Council and the European Parliament a proposal for a Regulation laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse 1 , which aims to oblige online service providers, such as providers of hosting services and interpersonal communications services, to prevent the dissemination of, to detect, report and remove child sexual abuse material (‘CSAM’), to prevent, detect and report the solicitation of children (‘grooming’), and to set up a new decentralised EU agency (the ‘EU Centre’) to support the implementation of the proposed Regulation, together with a network of national Coordinating Authorities and other competent authorities.
(…)
II. MAIN ELEMENTS OF THE PRESIDENCY COMPROMISE TEXT
(…)
f) EU Centre to prevent and combat child sexual abuse (Articles 40-82, Recitals 58-74a):
– The EU Centre keeps its core functions by assessing, processing and forwarding reports from the providers, advising and otherwise supporting national authorities, facilitating the cooperation with stakeholders and establishing the databases of indicators to support the voluntary activities of providers using the derogation under Regulation (EU) 2021/1232 and the issuance of blocking and delisting orders.
– The tasks of the EU Centre are expanded to assist more strongly in the risk assessment and mitigation process, and to develop or facilitate the development of technologies;
– The strengthening of aspects of prevention is introduced, including the preparation of dedicated national strategies by the Member States and a comprehensive communication and outreach strategy by the EU Centre;
– Clarifications about the cooperation between the EU Centre and Europol are
included;
– The possibility for the cooperation of the EU Centre with other EU agencies and bodies, third countries and international organisations is introduced;
– The Executive Board should not be established. Its tasks are conferred on the Management Board of the EU Centre;
(i) ) Entry into force and application (Article 89, Recital 78a)
– The Presidency text foresees that this Regulation will apply 24 months after its entry into force, some provisions related to reporting, the EU Centre, data collection and transparency reporting after 48 months and the amendment to Regulation (EU) 2021/1232 immediately.
Die Mehrheit der Staaten „unterstützten den Kompromissvorschlag“. Mindestens 15 sprachen sich dafür aus, darunter Deutschland und Frankreich.
Deutschland „begrüßte sowohl die Streichung der verpflichtenden Maßnahmen als auch die dauerhafte Verankerung freiwilliger Maßnahmen“.
Our latest report reveals that over the past two years, up to August 2025, at least 94 Palestinians have died in Israeli detention facilities. Yet, the report stresses that this unprecedented figure likely represents only a portion of the full death toll. Given the Israeli military’s practice of enforced disappearances since October 2023, the actual number of deaths may be considerably higher. Moreover, since the report was completed, four more Palestinians have died in the past month alone, pushing the total close to triple digits – deaths caused by the systemic denial of medical care and the torture of Palestinians in Israeli custody. These policies persist even now, despite the ceasefire in Gaza.
The report is based on 94 documented cases between October 7, 2023, and August 2025. This unprecedented toll, together with extensive findings and evidence of deaths caused by torture and medical neglect, points to a deliberate Israeli policy of killing Palestinians in custody.
At least 46 Palestinians died in Israel Prison Service (IPS) facilities, and 52 more died in military custody.
(Juni 15, 2017)
Mit seinen Beschlüssen 2 BvE 5/15 (verkündet am 14.10.2016, aber schon vom 20.09.2016) und 2 BvE 2/15 (verkündet am 15.11.2016, aber schon vom 13.10.2016) gab das Bundesverfassungsgericht das unauffällige Startsignal für den Beschluss des neuen B.N.D.-Gesetzes am 21.10.2016 im Bundestag.
Die Absegnung des B.N.D.-Gesetzes durch ihre Über-Dreiviertel-Mehrheit im Parlament, gegen die es laut Karlsruhe nun keine Opposition mehr im Sinne von Artikel 44 des Grundgesetzes gab, hatte die Regierung bis zu den Freifahrtscheinen der Verfassungsrichter taktisch verzögert.
Am 12. Dezember 1970 hatte das „Abhörteil“ (BVerfGE 30, 1) vom Verfassungsgericht Westdeutschlands die Aufhebung der Gewaltenteilung beim Brief-, Post- und Fernmeldegeheimnis durch die Verfassungsänderungen der „Notstandsgesetze“ als verfassungsgemäß beurteilt. Das damalige Urteil war gegen schwerste Bedenken und vorausschauende Warnungen der Verfassungsrichter Geller, Dr. v.Schlabrendorff und Dr. Rupp mit 5 zu 3 Stimmen entschieden worden.
Im Jahre 2016 nun übertrugen Andreas Voßkuhle, Peter M. Huber, Monika Hermanns, Sibylle Kessal-Wulf, Peter Müller, Doris König und Ulrich Maidowski die Machtfülle der in 1968 unter Besatzungsrecht geschaffenen „Notstandsgesetze“ der damaligen „großen Koalition“ auf deren heutige Nachfolger.
Und in Deutschland, wie es heute ist, eskalierten die Verfassungsrichter selbst die damalige antidemokratische und antiparlamentarische Auslegung des Grundgesetzes ein weiteres Mal.
Die durch die Verfassungsänderungen der „Notstandsgesetze“ und das nachfolgende erste Artikel 10-Gesetz vom 13. August 1968 geschaffene G 10-Kommission, als einziges parlamentarisches Gremium bevollmächtigt Inlandsspionage der Behörden zu verbieten, hatte dies siebenundvierzig Jahre effektiv nicht getan und lediglich als Feigenblatt der Regierungsmacht gedient.
Als die G 10-Kommission schließlich Mitte 2015 zum ersten Mal in ihrer Geschichte gegen die Regierung revoltierte und Einblick in die sogenannte „N.S.A.-Selektorenliste“ verlangte – eine Liste mit Spionagezielen, die der Bundesnachrichtendienst abgelehnt hatte, nicht etwa einer Liste mit tatsächlich anvisierten Zielen – verweigerte die Regierung selbst diesem Gremium die Einsichtnahme. Als die G 10-Kommission dann im Dezember 2015 endlich Verfassungsklage einreichte, stellte sie keinen Eilantrag.
Am 14. Oktober 2016 weigerte sich dann das Bundesverfassungsgericht im (wie erwähnt bereits am 20. September 2016 getroffenen) Beschluss 2 BvE 5/15, die Verfassungsklage der G 10-Kommission auch nur anzunehmen.
Begründung der Karlsruher Richter: Ihrer Interpretation des Grundgesetzes nach, sei die vom Parlamentarischen Kontrollgremium des Bundestages gewählte G 10-Kommission kein „Hilfsorgan“ (Wortlaut Artikel 10 Grundgesetz) des Bundestages, weil sie in dessen Geschäftsordnung (!) nicht „mit eigenen Rechten ausgestattet“ sei.
Abseits dieser bizarr anmutenden Begründung hatte das Urteil einen verheerenden, tatsächlichen Kern: eben den Bezug auf die Legitimierung der „Notstandsgesetze“ Westdeutschlands durch das „Abhörurteil“ BVerfGE 30, 1, von 1970. In einem in der Tat historischen Schritt bestätigten die Verfassungsrichter nicht nur die seitdem als verfassungsgemäß geltende selektive Außerkraftsetzung der Gewaltenteilung, sondern vollzogen in deren letzter Konsequenz selbst die Erniedrigung der parlamentarischen G 10-Kommission und entblößten diese als Placebo, als jahrzehntelanges, lediglich im Falle von Folgsamkeit geduldetes Feigenblatt exekutiver Willkürmacht.
(November 13, 2025)
Nun scheint klar: Das neue BND-Gesetz wird einen gewaltigen Umfang haben. Seit dieser Woche gibt es nach WDR-Informationen einen Referentenentwurf, der 139 Paragraphen enthalten soll.
(…)
Die Entscheidungen des Bundesverfassungsgerichts der vergangenen Jahre, die bei der Überarbeitung des neuen Gesetzes berücksichtigt werden, haben die Arbeit des BND nicht einfacher gemacht. Die Vorschriften zur Datenübermittlung etwa sind bereits jetzt sehr streng.
(…)
Der BND hackte sich vor einigen Jahren in die Chatkommunikation der russischen Wagner-Söldner und las dort mit. Aber das Programm aktiv stören oder abschalten, das ist bislang ebenso wenig erlaubt wie IT-Strukturen anzugreifen und unschädlich zu machen, von denen gegnerische Hackerangriffe ausgehen.
The Kingdom also warns that the international community’s silence regarding these practices, and the absence of accountability mechanisms amid ongoing Israeli violations and assaults, weakens the foundations of the international order and undermines the principles of international legitimacy.
The Kingdom reiterates its firm position in supporting the Palestinian people and in continuing its efforts toward establishing an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant international resolutions.
„The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s strong condemnation and denunciation of the continued violations perpetrated by the Israeli occupation authorities and extremist settlers against the Palestinian people, most recently the storming of the courtyards of al-Aqsa Mosque and the provocation of worshippers there, and the reprehensible attack on the Hajja Hamida Mosque in the Palestinian village of Kafr Haris,“ the statement said.
The trial by the Congregation moved to its conclusion. Several of the ten cardinals apparently pushed for Galileo‘s incarceration in prison, while those more supportive of Galileo argued that–with changes–the Dialogue ought to continue to be allowed to circulate. In the end, a majority of the cardinals–rejecting much of the Commissary‘s agreement with Galileo–demanded Galileo „even with the threat of torture…abjure in a plenary assembly of the Congregation of the Holy Office…[and] then be condemned to imprisonment at the pleasure of the Holy Congregation.“ Moreover, the cardinals declared, the Dialogue „is to be prohibited.“
The grand play ran its course, with the Pope insisting upon a formal sentence, a tough examination of Galileo, public abjuration, and „formal prison.“ Galileo was forced to appear once again for formal questioning about his true feelings concerning the Copernican system. Galileo obliged, so as not to risk being branded a heretic, testifying that „I held, as I still hold, as most true and indisputable, the opinion of Ptolemy, that is to say, the stability of the Earth and the motion of the Sun.“ Galileo‘s renunciation of Copernicanism ended with the words, „I affirm, therefore, on my conscience, that I do not now hold the condemned opinion and have not held it since the decision of authorities….I am here in your hands–do with me what you please.“
Trump also called for a pardon for Netanyahu during a speech to Israel’s parliament last month, when he made a brief visit to promote his ceasefire plan for the war in Gaza.
In Wednesday’s letter to President Isaac Herzog, Trump called the corruption case “political, unjustified prosecution”.
India frequently accuses Pakistan of being behind attacks on its soil, saying that they are orchestrated by groups operating from sanctuaries across the border. A deadly terrorist attack this spring that killed 26 people in the Indian-administered region of Kashmir led to days of military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
At the time, Mr. Modi’s government issued a warning that it would treat any future terrorist attack on its soil as an “act of war.”
(August 20, 2025)
The three bills sparked a massive uproar in Lok Sabha with Opposition MPs tearing the copies of the draft legislation and throwing them at Home Minister Amit Shah. Following the uproar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah referred the bills to a Joint Parliamentary Committee, comprising 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha.
The Committee has been mandated to submit its report to the House by the last day of the first week of the next session. The next session (Winter session) of the Parliament is likely to be convened in the third week of November.
(February 17, 2025)
At the end of the last legislative session, his government introduced a constitutional amendment that would mandate that all elections—federal, state, and local—be held simultaneously every five years. To move forward, the amendment needs approval from two-thirds of parliament, more than the government currently commands.
The 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill, tabled by Pakistan‘s federal government and passed by the Senate on November 10, is far from a routine procedural adjustment. It represents a structural reconfiguration of the Pakistani state. The provisions, now awaiting final approval from the National Assembly, will effectively formalise Pakistan‘s foundational transition from a de facto hybrid military system to a constitutional framework in which the military establishment holds a legally codified and dominant position.
(today)
The country’s president Asif Ali Zardari “strongly condemned the suicide blast” near the city’s High Court on Tuesday afternoon.
Islamabad requires a high level of security to enter and exit the city with specific security zones throughout the capital.
(November 10, 2025)
Army chief Asim Munir, described by U.S. President Donald Trump as his „favourite Field Marshal“, would take overall command of the military – including air and naval forces – with the new position of Chief of Defence Forces under the proposed amendment. After completion of his term, he would retain his rank and have legal immunity for life.
(…)
Constitutional cases would no longer be heard by the Supreme Court but by a new Federal Constitutional Court, with judges appointed by the government.
(October 25, 2025)
Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi’s appeals against their conviction in the Al-Qadir Trust case have not yet been scheduled for hearing by the Islamabad High Court (IHC). Before that, the IHC must hear their plea seeking the suspension of their conviction, and there is no indication of when that will be taken up.
Under the policy announced by the IHC, such appeals are heard strictly in the order of filing. The IHC’s “Fixation Policy,” framed under the directions of the National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC), gives priority to older and more serious criminal cases, particularly those involving death sentences and life imprisonment.
Imran Khan’s appeal in the Al-Qadir Trust case, in which he and his wife were sentenced to 14 years, was filed on January 31, 2024 has not been fixed for hearing as yet.
(November 6, 2025)
After a decade and a half of making little headway in politics, Khan aligned himself and his PTI with the military in the early 2010s, and eventually rose to power as prime minister in 2018. After some years of power-sharing, Khan fell out of favor with the military establishment and was ousted from office after a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022.
Khan blamed the army and the United States for engineering his ouster, and led energetic protests demanding immediate, fresh elections. After he was briefly arrested in May 2023, his followers attacked Pakistan’s military headquarters in Rawalpindi and the home of a senior military official in Lahore. Khan stands accused of instigating those attacks.