Lawmakers are also perplexed by the timing of the briefing. After an unsteady first 16 months in office left Starmer one of the most unpopular British prime ministers on record, Labour MPs had previously signaled that the prime minister would not face a serious leadership contest until after local elections in May 2026, giving his government time to reverse its decline in the polls.
Archiv: chatter / Geschnatter
Netanyahu to address UN as Trump vows to block West Bank annexation
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the UN today will be broadcast in Gaza, according to two Israeli officials. Ahead of the address, Israel launched a campaign in New York featuring signs on the October 7 attacks, which a source said is a central theme of the speech.
Netanyahu will meet Monday with US President Donald Trump, who has vowed to block any attempt by Israel to annex the West Bank — a message that comes on the heels of a US-proposed peace plan recently discussed with Arab leaders.
Trump, Musk feud explodes with threats of cutting contracts, backing impeachment
The trouble between the two started brewing days ago, when Musk denounced Trump‘s sweeping tax-cut and spending bill. The president initially held his tongue while Musk campaigned to torpedo the bill, saying it would add too much to the nation‘s $36.2 trillion in debt.
Trump broke his silence on Thursday, telling reporters in the Oval Office he was „very disappointed“ in Musk.
„Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don‘t know if we will anymore,“ Trump said.
As Trump spoke, Musk responded in real time with increasingly acerbic posts on X.
Netanyahu to High Court: ‚Intervention in Ronen Bar‘s dismissal would harm state security‘
The High Court of Justice‘s intervention in the dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar would harm the security of the state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued on Sunday in his response to a High Court petition to cancel the dismissal. The response came two days prior to a consequential court hearing on Tuesday on the legality of Bar’s removal.
Netanyahu Expected to Fire Shin Bet Chief Despite Protests
The Shin Bet is deeply involved in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, providing intelligence and targets. By law, the agency is also tasked with protecting Israeli democracy.
The discord between Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Bar goes to the heart of a broader battle playing out over the nature and future of Israel’s democracy and the rule of law. Critics of Mr. Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, the most right-wing and religiously conservative in Israel’s history, accuse it of working to reduce the authority of independent state watchdogs and to remove checks and balances on the powers of the government, which holds a narrow majority in Parliament.
Kremlin says phone conversation between Putin and Trump possible
(today)
The Kremlin does not exclude that the issue of a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump may come up in the wake of the US-Ukrainian negotiations and could be organized quickly, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
„We also do not rule out that the topic of a call at the highest level may arise. If such a need emerges, it will be organized very quickly. The existing channels of dialogue with the Americans make it possible to do this in a relatively short time,“ he said.
Stimmung vor der Bundestagswahl: Unsicher und pessimistisch an die Wahlurne
Ein Novum bei dieser Bundestagswahl ist auch, dass gleich drei Parteien in der Nähe der Fünf-Prozent-Hürde sind. Während die Linke von oben auf die Marke schaut, konnten FDP und BSW die magische Fünf im ARD-DeutschlandTrend der vergangenen Wochen nicht erreichen. Allerdings sind beide Parteien so nah an der Marke, dass ein Einzug ins Parlament durchaus möglich ist. Ein Bundestag mit fünf, sechs oder sieben Fraktionen – das wird eine entscheidende Rolle bei der Bildung von Mehrheiten und Koalitionen spielen.
World reactions to Trump‘s proposal for US to ‚take over‘ Gaza Strip
„The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,“ Trump said. „We‘ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs.“
Actually, We Absolutely Do Need to Escalate in Iran
…a theological explanation for why Israel had come into existence..
…“The Jews will gather from all parts of the world…
…the Antichrist and the end of the world but rather that Allah… final and decisive battle,,,“
…for killing all Jews…
…What if one of those missiles had been tipped with a nuclear warhead…
…Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that Iran was within a week or two of being able to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear bomb…
Egypt stresses rejection to Israeli presence in Rafah Border Crossing, Philadelphi Corridor
Egypt stressed to all concerned parties its rejection to any Israeli presence in Rafah Border Crossing or Philadelphi Corridor, a high-profile source told Egyptian media Monday.
COP29 Climate Summit Countdown Starts With Finance at Forefront
At the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, Germany’s foreign affairs minister Annalena Baerbock said developing nations would need $2 trillion annually, with half of that coming from foreign sources. The event in Berlin this week is an important point in the climate diplomacy calendar leading up to the annual United Nations climate summit, which will take place in Baku in November.
Dow drops by more than 500 points after a surprisingly bad inflation report
The blue-chip Dow was lower by 519 points, or 1.3%. The S&P 500 lost 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 1%.
US officials grilled over lack of congressional approval for Houthi strikes
Since 11 January, the US and UK have hit over 230 Houthi targets in Yemen – including attack boats, helicopters, air defence systems, and missile storage facilities. The US is also leading Operation Prosperity Guardian, a naval task force designed to step up policing in the Red Sea.
President Biden himself has said the strikes have failed to deter the Houthis and that he expects them to continue targeting vessels in the Red Sea. He has vowed to press ahead with the military campaign without providing an end date.
Experts react: What the International Court of Justice said (and didn’t say) in the genocide case against Israel
Click to jump to an expert analysis:
Celeste Kmiotek: The ICJ puts the countries supporting Israel on notice
Thomas S. Warrick: A blow to the argument that death and destruction are sufficient to establish genocide
Tuqa Nusairat: The ruling shows how isolated the US is in its support of Israel
Shalom Lipner: The ruling is unlikely to change Israel’s warfighting or narrative
Elise Baker: Israel’s continued failure to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza risks genocide
Gissou Nia: The ICJ’s decision pushes talk about ‘genocide’ from the rhetorical to the factual and legal
Lisandra Novo: The ICJ’s order to preserve evidence could impact war crimes cases elsewhere
Alexander Tripp: South Africa is putting its ideals on the world stage
Alyssa T. Yamamoto: The ICJ embraces another case brought by a state not directly affected by violations
Akila Radhakrishnan: It didn’t call for a cease-fire, but the ICJ did rule that Israel must drastically curtail its operations
Rayhan Asat: This case could have implications for a future genocide case against China
Saudi Arabia still interested in Israel normalisation after war on Gaza ends
Prince Khalid bin Bandar, the Saudi ambassador in London, told the BBC on Tuesday that a normalisation deal was „close“ but the kingdom paused US-brokered talks after the attack on Israel on 7 October by Hamas-led fighters.
„For us, the final end point definitely included nothing less than an independent state of Palestine,“ he said.
Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Al ‘Ula
The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:
Full Text | Rewriting Constitution Means Breaking India Apart, Says Fali Nariman
Generally, there are preambles to the constitution and this preamble has been called by our Supreme Court the “conscience of the constitution”. Preamble’s Part 3 Fundamental Rights, Part 4 Directive Principles of State Policy, which are not enforceable by the court but are nonetheless binding, they are all part of the conscience of the constitution (…)
You believe that there is the duty to interpret the constitution in the context of the time and in the context of the issues of the day.
Oh absolutely, absolutely! There has to be! (…)
In fact, interpretations keep changing, people keep adding to existing questions and revising new meanings.
Absolutely! Courts as you know go by precedent, so what five judges say today, seven judges can say tomorrow or have nine judges say the contrary to that, two years later.
This is what makes the constitution a living, dynamic object.
Absolutely!
Saudi Uranium Enrichment Floated Under Possible Israel Deal
(21.09.2023)
“The question is whether the U.S. sitting on the sidelines, crossing its arms and scolding countries in the region for pursuing civilian nuclear energy is a more effective strategy than starting a discussion that aims to build trust and confidence among key actors in the region like Israel and Saudi Arabia.”
Katulis said, “The risk of some hostile leader getting these capacities is one we’ve seen and managed in a number of places around the world, including Pakistan.”
“It’s not an ideal situation in those instances,” he said, “but the risks can be managed.”
Why Is the Biden Administration Working So Hard on a Saudi-Israel Deal?
(Sept. 11, 2023)
The Biden administration is working overtime to consolidate what is arguably Washington’s most significant advantage over its great power rivals, especially China. (…)
It’s easy to see what the Saudis and Israelis, facing security threats in the region, particularly from Iran, would gain. (…)
For Israel, establishing formal ties with Saudi Arabia would bolster its position against Iran….
Netanyahu‘s Ministers Are Lashing Out Against Biden. This Isn‘t the First Time
After New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote that a „reassessment“ of U.S.-Israel relations is inevitable and „a necessity before [Israel] truly does go off the rails,“ in light of the judicial overhaul on Wednesday, Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu joined the chorus of detractors on Wednesday.
Eliyahu told the Ynet news site that he believed Biden was being „fed by the radical left in the United States.”
Sprachmodelle: KI schreibt überzeugende Falschmeldungen
Im Mittelpunkt der Debatte über künstliche Intelligenz (KI) steht auch die Sorge vor automatisch generierter Falschinformation. Wie berechtigt diese ist, untermauert eine aktuelle Studie, wonach KI-generierte Texte in sozialen Netzwerken oft glaubwürdiger erscheinen als jene von Menschen.
Machtkampf mit CDU-Chef Merz: Was Hendrik Wüst bei der Kanzlerkandidatur wirklich vorhat
Laumann, Chef des Arbeitnehmerflügels in der CDU, konnte mit Wüsts raubeinigen Auftreten in der Zeit als Generalsekretär von Jürgen Rüttgers (regierte zwischen 2005 und 2010) wenig anfangen. Wüst kam vom anderen Pol der NRW-CDU. Gemeinsam mit einer Gruppe um den damaligen CSU-General Markus Söder hatte er ein von den Medien viel beachtetes Thesenpapier für einen „modernen Konservatismus“ vorgelegt. Die Gruppe nannte sich selbst scherzhaft „Schwarze Jedi-Ritter“.
China, Brazil share positive roles in peace, development
Xi and Lula also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis and both agreed that dialogue and negotiations are the only feasible way for settling it. They appealed to more countries to play a constructive role for a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.
Xi Jinping: China will chinesisch-brasilianischen Beziehungen in der neuen Ära eine neue Zukunft eröffnen
Die beiden Staatschefs tauschten sich auch über die Ukraine-Krise aus. Beide Seiten waren sich einig, dass Dialog und Verhandlungen der einzig gangbare Weg aus der Krise in der Ukraine seien und dass alle Bemühungen, die zu einer friedlichen Lösung der Krise beitragen, gefördert und unterstützt werden sollten. Sie riefen mehr Länder dazu auf, eine konstruktive Rolle bei der Förderung einer politischen Lösung der Krise in der Ukraine zu spielen, und beschlossen, die Kommunikation in dieser Hinsicht fortzusetzen.
Does Netanyahu Hate Israel? It Seems So
In 2020, in an interview with Haaretz’s Yossi Melman, Kimhi said that his findings stand. He said that Netanyahu is a “narcissist” and an “alarmist … whose management style ignores predetermined managers and policies, and this creates noticeable flaws that are manifested in contradictory messages from those who work for him.”
Similar profiles are said to have been written by both the CIA and German intelligence years ago.
Russia, China contribute to strengthening multipolar world, says Putin
Putin and Xi Jinping will hold their basic talks on March 21 with the participation of delegations from both countries.
Iran dedicated to multilateral nuclear talks, diplomacy: Foreign Ministry
(06.03.2023)
Kanaani was referring to the nuclear negotiations that started in April 2021 to revive the 2015 nuclear deal but the talks came to a standstill in the summer of 2022 as the Biden administration is refusing to lift the sanctions imposed during Donald Trump’s presidency.
IAEA chief holds ‘constructive’ talks in Iran after uranium enrichment findings
(04.03.2023)
The two-day visit by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, comes as the Vienna-based organisation seeks greater cooperation with Iran over its nuclear activities.
“By having a constructive discussion … and having good agreements, like I am sure we are going to have, we are going to be paving the way for important agreements,” Grossi told a news conference on Saturday alongside the head of Iran’s atomic energy organisation, Mohammad Eslami.
Warning Situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory ‘at Its Most Combustible’ in Years, Secretary-General Urges Action to Ease Tensions, as Rights Committee Begins Session
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the opening of the 2023 session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, in New York today:
It is my privilege to join this meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. I congratulate the Chair, Ambassador Cheikh Niang, and other members of the Bureau on your election. And I commend all of you for your tireless commitment.
We meet as the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is at its most combustible in years. Just this morning, we had more deeply concerning news. An operation by Israeli security forces and ensuing clash in Nablus left 10 Palestinians dead and over 80 injured.
„Ich habe immer gesagt, ich rechne damit, dass in Kürze eine Entscheidung fällt und davon gehe ich nach wie vor aus.“ – Verteidigungsminister Boris Pistorius (SPD) zu möglichen Leopard-Lieferungen an die Ukraine.
Lawmakers call for sending Abrams tanks to Ukraine as Russia warns of ‚global catastrophe‘
Lawmakers upped the pressure on the Biden administration to send M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine on Sunday as Russian officials warned of a „global catastrophe“ if more powerful weapons are supplied to Kyiv.
Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., visited Kyiv and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the weekend.