Brazilian President Luiz InĂĄcio Lula da Silva on Tuesday criticised US President Donald Trump‘s proposal to impose a 20 per cent charge on commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, mocking Washington as a „pirate“ state.
His remarks came after Trump announced that the US would reinstate what he called the „Iranian blockade“ and begin charging vessels for securing one of the world‘s busiest shipping lanes.
(June 30, 2026)
The fear that Israel is actually quite close to such a postponement cuts across much of Israeli society. Iâve heard it expressed by secular liberals, military veterans, former intelligence officials, legal scholars, journalists, centrist politicians, and even some conservatives who once supported Netanyahu enthusiastically. What unites them is the growing belief that Netanyahu now considers remaining in power to be an existential necessity â and that his radical base will back him no matter what outrage he attempts.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday evening that he had become „disillusioned“ with the US and Israel over the war on Iran.
„At this point I am disillusioned simply because the US and Israel claimed at the beginning that they could solve this problem within days,“ Merz said in televised remarks. „Now I must recognise: it is not solved.“
Netanyahuâs government âcontinues to undermine international efforts aimed at establishing peace and stabilityâ, Turkiyeâs Foreign Ministry says.
It also condemned Israelâs intensifying attacks in Lebanon, which âare further exacerbating the humanitarian situation in the countryâ.
The international community âmust act without delayâ to bring Israelâs âoccupation of Lebanonâ to an end.
(January 13, 2026)
Coining the term ânear-Earth astrophysics,â Fasel has devoted much of his career to investigating solar-terrestrial interactions between the Sun and Earth, using the aurora borealis to obtain clues regarding the coupling mechanisms between the solar wind and the Earthâs terrestrial magnetic field.
âStars have winds,â says Fasel. âAnd this includes our Sun. While solar wind is a relatively continuous stream of particles that interact with the Earthâs magnetic field, the Sun can also produce powerful solar storms. These storms expel billions of charged particles [plasma] coupled to magnetic fields, called coronal mass ejections, which bang up into the Earthâs magnetic field.â
The Earthâs magnetic field lines, Fasel explains, âact like wiresâ on which these particles travel down into the Earthâs upper atmosphere, specifically the ionosphere. The aurora is an end result of this interaction, where high-energy electrons collide with oxygen to produce green light, while those of lower energy produce a raspberry-red color.
(February 5, 2026)
Among other things, he told us that the Democrats already have 60,000 members registered in the party, and are shooting for 100,000 now, which will make us the second-largest political party in Israel in terms of numbers. In addition, he stressed the need to reach out to the Arab citizens of Israel, who make up 22 percent of our population:
There is no future for Israel without Jewish-Arab cooperation in Israeli politics.
This is a critical issue in the political discourse right now, since it is obvious that a new government will not be able to be formed if the so-called âcentristâ political parties donât agree to welcome Arab political parties into the next coalition. So far, only The Democrats have agreed to do so!
Stanford University political scientist Tom Clark questioned the validity of the memo, which appears to directly conflict with the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution, which requires search warrants as a protection against âunreasonable searches and seizures.â
âSo, hereâs how the law works,â he wrote. âPeople on whom it imposes constraints donât get to just write themselves a memo saying they donât have to follow the law. Maybe Iâll write myself a memo saying that I donât have to pay my taxes this year.â
Ausgerechnet im Namen des Friedens stellt US-PrĂ€sident Trump die internationale Ordnung auf den Kopf. Heute will er in Davos seinen neuen „Friedensrat“ grĂŒnden – und fordert damit die Vereinten Nationen heraus.
(today)
Over the past week, at least four ministers have spoken out about the scandal, in which close Netanyahu aide Jonathan Urich and his former spokesperson, Eli Feldstein, are accused of working as lobbyists for Qatar while simultaneously being employed in the Prime Ministerâs Office. The allegation is particularly explosive because Hamasâs leadership is based in Qatar and the Gulf state has acted as a mediator in the Gaza war and the current ceasefire.
The US vice president, JD Vance, on Monday said that security infrastructure needs to be in place and international peacekeepers need to deploy to Gaza before Hamas disarms.
âBefore we actually can ensure that Hamas is properly disarmed, thatâs going to require⊠some of these Gulf Arab states to get forces in there to actually apply some law and order and some security-keeping on the ground,â Vance told reporters.
âWe donât even have the security infrastructure in place, meaning the Gulf Arab states, our allies, donât have the security infrastructure in place yet to confirm that Hamas is disarmed,â he added.
(September 11, 2025)
In fact, Trump and top aides have come to question whether Netanyahu, who authorized the strike and has threatened more, was trying to sabotage the talks, according to the person close to Trumpâs team.
âEvery time theyâre making progress, it seems like he bombs someone,â the person said. âThatâs why the president and his aides are so frustrated with Netanyahu.â
(August 11, 2025)
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday denounced Israelâs plan to expand military operations in Gaza City as a âdisaster waiting to happenâ. He pushed for a permanent ceasefire and a UN-mandated international coalition to stabilise the Gaza Strip, protect civilians and support Palestinian governance, and urged the Security Council to act quickly.
The remarks come just two days after Luxonâs government announced it was considering formally recognizing the State of Palestine by September.
âNetanyahu has gone way too far. I think heâs lost his mind,â Luxon said, describing the situation in the Palestinian territories as âappalling.â He added that the Israeli prime minister âdoes not listen to the international community,â calling this stance âunacceptable.â
In 2021, the court outlined very narrow circumstances under which a Basic Law can be annulled. A number of petitions were filed challenging the constitutionality of the Nation State Law. While the court did not strike down the law, Supreme Court President Esther Hayut said that âthere is one restriction, exceedingly narrow, which is incumbent on the Knesset in its function as the constituent authority, that it is unable to revoke Israelâs essence as a Jewish and democratic state through a Basic Law.â
The court could strike down a Basic Law if it endangers democratic principles such as those that deal âa mortal blow to free and fair elections, core human rights, the separation of powers, the rule of law, and an independent judiciary,â Hayut said.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has reportedly stressed that the Wagner mercenary group will have no role in guarding Russian tactical nuclear weapons that are being transferred to his country.
A state-run news agency in Belarus cited Lukashenko as saying on Tuesday that a substantial amount of Russian nuclear weaponry has been moved into the country.
(…)
The report said Lukashenko denied such views, saying, „It is our job. And I am personally responsible for the security of the weapons.“
(Sep 2, 2022)
Earlier this year, there was an important legal dispute in Germany, about whether electronic voting machines were legal for use in German government elections. The dispute was decided by the German Constitutional Court (similar to the U.S. Supreme Court), and the short answer was „no.“ Now, we have available an official English translation of the ruling. As I had been told before, the ruling really does seem to ban any kind of computing equipment from being used in German elections. The legal reasoning was interesting enough that I thought I‘d share one reflection on it. The basis for the ruling was the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (similar in function to the U.S. Constitution) and the principle that „all essential steps in the elections are subject to public examinability.“
Far from being your typical extremists or âanarchistsâ â as the protesters are often denounced by representatives of Israelâs religious-right government â many of those devoting themselves full-time to the movement have never been involved in a political or social cause before (…)
In explaining the largely unanticipated, fierce pushback against the government by these mainstream Israelis, Ben-Porat likes to cite the famous parable about the frog in the pot of water: When the waterâs temperature is turned up gradually, the frog fatally stays in the pot. But if it is thrown into the boiling water, it jumps out.
Die Covid-19-Pandemie hat die Gesellschaft verĂ€ndert: Die Ăsterreicher und Ăsterreicherinnen werden zunehmend konservativer und angepasster. UnabhĂ€ngigkeit und SolidaritĂ€t sind indes rĂŒcklĂ€ufig, wie die Studie âValues in Crisesâ zeigt.
FĂŒr Söder wird der Kampf um die Kanzlerkandidatur so oder so kein schlechtes Ende nehmen. Schwer vorstellbar, dass das alles ungeplant passierte. Die CDU könnte am Ende vor einem Scherbenhaufen stehen.
m
Der deutsche Ethikrat hat sich gegen staatliche Sonderregeln fĂŒr CoV-Geimpfte ausgesprochen. Der Hauptgrund sei die Unsicherheit, ob Geimpfte weitere Personen anstecken könnten, sagte die Vorsitzende des Ethikrates, Alena Buyx, heute in Berlin.
Woran liegt es, dass gerade in dieser Situation kritische Stimmen von linker Seite fehlen, die die MaĂnahmen hinterfragen?
Das frage ich mich auch den ganzen Tag. Denkfaulheit, Opportunismus und ein Totalausfall fallen mir da bei einigen wirklich wichtigen Akteuren in Politik, Medien und Wissenschaft auf.
âIch bin schockiert, welche BeschrĂ€nkungen der offenen Gesellschaft nach dem Infektionsschutzgesetz möglich sind.â Das sagt der Historiker RenĂ© Schlott im NachDenkSeiten-Interview. Schlott betont im Interview, dass er es als seine staatsbĂŒrgerliche Pflicht erachtet, kritisch auf die EinschrĂ€nkungen der Grundrechte hinzuweisen. Die jetzige Situation, sagt Schlott, ĂŒbertreffe bereits die Dystopie des französischen Philosophen Phillipe Muray, in der die Gesellschaft alles der Gesundheit unterordne und Denunzierung und Kritiklosigkeit als Teil des âguten Reichsâ an der Tagesordnung seien. Der in Berlin lebende Publizist beobachtet zudem eine politische Instrumentalisierung der Corona-MaĂnahmen, âetwa im Rennen um den CDU-Vorsitz und die Unions-Kanzlerkandidatur.â
SPD-Rechtsexperte Florian Post sagte der „Bild“:
Seit fast einem Dreivierteljahr erlĂ€sst die Regierung in Bund, LĂ€ndern und Kommunen Verordnungen, die in einer noch nie dagewesenen Art und Weise im Nachkriegsdeutschland die Freiheiten der Menschen beschrĂ€nken, ohne dass auch nur einmal ein gewĂ€hltes Parlament darĂŒber abgestimmt hat.