Washington reportedly mulls expanding Trump’s Board of Peace beyond Gaza to Ukraine and Venezuela;
Archiv: Rogue State Department (defined by actions of the state in relation to international law) / Abteilung Schurkenstaaten (definiert durch Handlungen des Staates gegenüber dem Völkerrecht)
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.
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.
150,000 signatures collected calling for the suspension of European relations with Israel
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.
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.
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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.
To survive Trump, Starmer must think the unthinkable
Britain can no longer avoid the costs of appeasing America’s predatory president
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The word “crisis” is rooted in the Greek New Testament, referring to a decision, or judgement, in an unstable moment that forces a new clarity into being. While Trump’s exact motives for his aggression in our hemisphere remain opaque, our own predicament is now clearer. It is this: such is the new emerging order around us that we can no longer muddle through, finessing Trump’s instincts, hoping for the best so governments can focus on domestic political problems. Britain must choose.
“Peace for our Time” (1938)
(September 30, 1938)
This morning I had another talk with the German Chancellor, Herr Hitler. And here is the paper which bears his name upon it as well as mine. [cheers]
Some of you perhaps have already heard what it contains. But I would just like to read it to you.
“We, the German Führer and Chancellor, and the British Prime Minister, have had a further meeting today and are agreed in recognizing that the question of Anglo-German relations is of the fist importance for the two countries and for Europe. We regard the agreement signed last night and the Anglo-German Naval Agreement as symbolic of the desire of our two peoples never to go to war with one another again. [cheers] We are resolved that the method of consultation shall be the method adopted to deal with any other questions that may concern our two countries, and we are determined to continue our efforts to remove possible sources of difference and thus to contribute to assure the peace of Europe.” [cheers]
Greenland takes pleas to UK parliament
(January 13, 2026)
Greenland’s energy minister asked British lawmakers for help in the face of “bewildering” U.S. aggression.
LONDON — The U.K. government must “dare to have principles” and help Greenland repel threats from Donald Trump, a senior minister in Greenland’s government told lawmakers in London.
Scoop: Trump‘s envoy secretly met Iran‘s exiled crown prince
White House envoy Steve Witkoff met secretly over the weekend with the exiled former crown prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, to discuss the protests raging in Iran, according to a senior U.S. official.
„Hilfe ist auf dem Weg“: Trump ruft indirekt zu Umsturz im Iran auf
Trump schrieb in Großbuchstaben auch, dass Hilfe „auf dem Weg“ sei. Was er damit meinte, blieb unbeantwortet. Wegen der schweren Gewalt gegen Demonstrierende hatte Trump der iranischen Führung bereits zuvor mit militärischen Mitteln gedroht. Die USA nähmen die Lage im Iran sehr ernst, so Trump am Sonntag. „Das Militär befasst sich damit, und wir prüfen einige sehr drastische Optionen. Wir werden eine Entscheidung treffen.“
Coalition moves to kill charge central to Netanyahu corruption trial
In their statement, the bill’s sponsors described the offense as a vague legal tool that has long enabled prosecutors to target elected officials for behavior that is ethically questionable but not clearly criminal. They called for a “rapid legislative process,” framing the move as an overdue correction to what they labeled an overreach by law enforcement.
Critics say the bill appears tailor-made to benefit Netanyahu, who is accused of exploiting his public position for personal gain
Coalition advances bill to repeal criminal charge that Netanyahu is on trial for
Coalition lawmakers are advancing a bill to repeal the crime of fraud and breach of trust – one of the charges that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently on trial for.
Iran’s FM says protests became ‘bloody’ to give Trump intervention excuse
He said Trump’s warning of military action against Tehran should protests turn violent motivated “terrorists” to target protesters and security forces to invite foreign intervention. “We are ready for war but also for dialogue,” he added.
Araghchi also said Iran has footage of weapons being distributed to protesters, adding authorities will soon release confessions of detainees.
Cuba’s president says no current talks with the US following Trump’s threats
Díaz-Canel wrote that for “relations between the U.S. and Cuba to progress, they must be based on international law rather than hostility, threats, and economic coercion.”
He added: “We have always been willing to hold a serious and responsible dialogue with the various US governments, including the current one, on the basis of sovereign equality, mutual respect, principles of International Law, and mutual benefit without interference in internal affairs and with full respect for our independence.”
Cuban leader says ‘no one dictates what we do’ as Trump tells regime to make a deal
Díaz-Canel was quick to reject external interference in Cuba’s affairs.
“Cuba does not aggress; it is aggressed upon by the United States for 66 years, and it does not threaten; it prepares, ready to defend the Homeland to the last drop of blood,” said Díaz-Canel.
In an apparent reference to Trump, he said those who turn everything into a business, “even human lives,” have no moral authority to point fingers at his country.
Trump weighs potential military intervention in Iran
A number of different agencies have been involved in helping prepare options for the president, officials said. More formal briefings are expected in the coming week, including on Tuesday, when Trump is expected to convene senior national security officials to discuss how to proceed.
Tehran will treat US military and commercial bases as targets for retaliation if Washington intervenes militarily in unrest-hit Iran, its hardline parliamentary speaker has warned.
“If the US takes military action towards Iran or the occupied territories, the US military and shipping centers will be considered legitimate targets,” Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said.
With Cuban ally Maduro ousted, Trump warns Havana to make a ‘deal’ before it’s too late
Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return, “BUT NOT ANYMORE!”
“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!” Trump said in the post as he spent the weekend at his home in southern Florida. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He did not explain what kind of deal.
ICE‘s killing in Minneapolis shows American empire has come home
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was created in the shadow of the so-called Global War on Terror that followed the attacks of 11 September 2001.
It became a key pillar of the architecture of repressive surveillance and militarised tactics that emerged during the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
ICE itself was specifically designed to pursue „national security threats“ within the United States, granting agents sweeping discretion over who could be deemed to „pose a threat to public safety or national security“.
Since then, it has come to represent a rogue operation, its reputation clouded by harrowing stories of abuse, impunity and a near total lack of oversight.
Its close association with Palantir, a surveillance firm accused of helping generate kill lists for Israel, has also further embedded it within the US military-industrial complex.
Scalawag Magazine described Palantir‘s partnership with ICE as „one of the many links comprising the military-industrial surveillance connections between ICE and Israel Defense Forces“.
These links, it wrote, illustrate the ideological and practical ties between the two bodies, as they work to advance the militarisation of policing through the weaponisation of surveillance technology.
ICE has also participated in several exchanges with the Israeli military, and during the student protests for Gaza, it lifted names from the blacklisting website Canary Mission to identify and arrest protesters.
Why Arab rulers remained silent over US seizure of Maduro
(January 8, 2026)
Egypt’s quiet is easy to explain. Cairo receives roughly $1.3bn a year in US military financing. Its hardware, maintenance chain and spare parts depend on American gatekeepers. Public outrage is a cost it cannot afford.
The UAE sits in a different position, but it faces another version of the same risk. It is a financial hub built on access, compliance and credibility. In a world where Washington can turn political conflict into legal exposure, the safest posture is often silence.
Algeria was supposed to be the outlier: despite a diplomatic relationship dating back to its 1795 treaty with George Washington, it has long defined itself through deep ties with Moscow and a fierce anti-imperial vocabulary.
If any Arab state had the ideological space to speak about sovereignty as a principle, it was Algeria. It stayed quiet anyway. That is the lesson: the distance non-aligned regimes claim is thinner than it looks when your trade, energy and finance run through chokepoints Washington can pressure.
US Troop Presence by Country 2026
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Germany 35,989
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Greenland 142
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Denmark 18
Experte warnt: „USA könnten Grönland an einem Nachmittag übernehmen“
Besonders beunruhigend sei aus Sicht Grönlands und Dänemarks die Bereitschaft der Trump-Regierung, offen zu handeln, ohne sich erkennbar auf internationales Recht zu berufen. Die Aktion in Venezuela habe zudem die außergewöhnlichen Fähigkeiten der USA demonstriert, einschließlich erheblicher Geheimdienst- und Militärmacht.
Das Verhältnis zwischen den USA und Dänemark gleiche derzeit einer Katze, die mit einer Maus spiele, so Bertelsen. Die Machtverhältnisse seien extrem unausgeglichen. Die Vereinigten Staaten könnten Dänemark und Europa nach Belieben bedrohen und demütigen.
US-Griff nach Grönland: Die Scheu der Europäer vor einer starken Antwort
Der NATO-Chef ist bekannt dafür, im Umgang mit Trump auf eine Umarmungsstrategie zu setzen. Kritische Worte Richtung Washington werden von ihm nicht zu hören sein.
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Während Dänemark und Spanien die Übernahmefantasien des US-Präsidenten verurteilen und der spanische Regierungschef Pedro Sanchez sogar von einem „Verbrechen“ sprach, schlägt Kommissionspräsidentin Ursula von der Leyen bei der Übergabe der Ratspräsidentschaft diese Woche an Zypern leisere Töne an.
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Es sei keinesfalls so, dass die Europäer keine Hebel hätten, um den USA deutlich zu machen: „Damit ist jetzt Schluss.“
Doch von solchen Maßnahmen gegen die USA ist in Brüssel nichts zu hören.
US will take Greenland the ‘hard way’ if it can’t do it the ‘easy way,’ Trump says
Trump said that if he is unable to make a deal to acquire the territory “the easy way,” then he will have to “do it the hard way.”
“We are going to do something in Greenland, whether they like it or not, because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Trump spoke to oil companies before Venezuela attack but didn‘t brief lawmakers, he says
Oil executives are set to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday to discuss investments in Venezuela, a White House official confirmed to ABC News.
Trump previously said he spoke to U.S. oil companies prior to the raid on Venezuela, even as he said he opted to forego disclosure to members of Congress ahead of time due to concerns about possible leaks. The attack resulted in the removal of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro.
Trump Team Works Up Sweeping Plan to Control Venezuelan Oil for Years to Come
President Trump and his advisers are planning a sweeping initiative to dominate the Venezuelan oil industry for years to come, and the president has told aides he believes his efforts could help lower oil prices to his favored level of $50 a barrel, according to people familiar with the matter.