Washington reportedly mulls expanding Trump’s Board of Peace beyond Gaza to Ukraine and Venezuela;
Archiv: surprise surprise.. oh... really..? never thought of that! / Überraschung.. ach wirklich? sagen Sie bloß.. wären wir NIE drauf gekommen!
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.
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.“
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.
Israel asked Qatar to increase amount of funds it gave to Hamas month before October 7
Israel asked Qatar to increase the amount of funds it gave to Hamas around a month before the October 7 attacks, Yedioth Ahronoth reported early on Friday.
Israel sought Qatar cash increase for Hamas weeks before October 7
Until now, it had been reported, including in a New York Times investigation published in December 2023, that Israel asked Doha to continue transferring funds to Hamas. It now emerges that Israel went further and actively sought to increase those transfers in response to Hamas threats of escalation in Gaza.
(…)
At this point, it is important to explain the circular arrangement. Beginning in late 2021, in an effort to prevent direct cash transfers to Hamas, Israel, Qatar and Sinwar agreed that Qatar would purchase fuel in Egypt and transfer it as a donation to Hamas authorities. Hamas then sold the fuel to gas stations in Gaza. The sums appeared modest, between $3 million and $10 million, but Hamas profited far more.
Qatargate resurfaces: What was really happening inside Netanyahu‘s office?
(December 26, 2025)
Because what Feldstein portrayed was an office where Chief of Staff Tzachi Braverman allegedly said he could block an IDF investigation, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu winked at circumventing the censor by releasing sensitive information to a foreign newspaper, and where officials close to Netanyahu were in the pay of Qatar and pushing favorable messages about that Hamas-supporting state during a time of war.
It wasn’t an accounting of a single bad decision, but of an environment where lines were blurred and manipulation of the public, via the press, ruled the day.
US launches widespread airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria after deadly Palmyra attack
The Syrian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement extending “its condolences to the families of the Syrian and American security personnel who were killed in the terrorist attacks that took place in Palmyra and northern Syria.” The statement reiterated Syria’s “firm commitment to fighting the Islamic State.” A US official told CNN that since the December 13 attack, US forces and partner forces have carried out 10 operations that resulted in the killing or arrest of approximately 23 individuals. On December 14, Syria’s Ministry of Interior said that its units carried out an operation in Palmyra to arrest five suspects accused of involvement in the killing of US service members in “coordination with the General Intelligence Directorate and the International Coalition forces.”
US launches retaliatory strikes in Syria on dozens of ISIS targets
Hegseth said „Operation Hawkeye Strike“ was carried out in Syria „to eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites in direct response to the attack on U.S. forces that occurred on Dec. 13 in Palmyra, Syria.
U.S. Central Command also confirmed in a statement that Jordanian fighter aircraft also participated in Friday’s strikes.
„This is not the beginning of a war — It is a declaration of vengeance,“ said Hegseth.
Netanyahu formally asks for pardon from Israeli president
„Faced with the security challenges and political opportunities currently facing the State of Israel, I am committed to doing everything in my power to heal the rifts, achieve unity among the people, and restore trust in the state‘s systems, and I expect all heads of state agencies to do the same.“
Netanyahu faces charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust, to which he has entered a plea of „not guilty“
Venezuelan boat strikes lack legal justification, Democrats say
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
Mysterious link between Earth’s magnetism and oxygen levels baffles scientists
(June 13, 2025)
The strength of Earth’s magnetic field seems to rise and fall in line with the abundance of oxygen in the planet’s atmosphere, a study of geological records spanning the past half a billion years has found.
Strong link between Earth’s oxygen level and geomagnetic dipole revealed since the last 540 million years
(June 13, 2025)
We search for possible observational evidence for such a relationship by examining evolutions of the virtual geomagnetic axial dipole moment and the atmospheric oxygen level over the past 540 million years. We find that both exhibit strong linearly increasing trends, coupled with a large surge in magnitude between 330 and 220 million years ago.
Trump urges Israel to pardon Netanyahu, sparking concerns over US influence
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”.
Israel‘s Knesset to vote today on bill to annex the occupied West Bank
TEL AVIV, October 22, 2025 (WAFA) – The Israeli Knesset (parliament) will vote on Wednesday on a bill to annex the occupied West Bank to Israel by imposing „Israeli sovereignty“ over areas there.
According to the Israeli public radio, „Kan,“ the head of the far-right „Noam“ party, Avi Maoz, will be the one who will submit the bill for a vote.
Vance says Gaza needs peacekeepers, security setup before Hamas disarms
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.
“Before we actually can ensure that Hamas is properly disarmed, that’s 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,” Vance told reporters.
“We don’t even have the security infrastructure in place, meaning the Gulf Arab states, our allies, don’t have the security infrastructure in place yet to confirm that Hamas is disarmed,” he added.
Must watch: Netanyahu reveals to Hebrew audiences after the press event where Trump revealed the 20-point plan to end the war on Gaza, that he has no intention of withdrawing Israeli troops from Gaza – “No way, that’s not happening.”
(September 30, 2025)
He said:
“This is a historic visit. Instead of Hamas isolating us, we turned the tables and isolated Hamas. Now the entire world, including the Arab and Muslim world, is pressuring Hamas to accept the terms we set together with President Trump: to release all our hostages, both living and deceased, while the IDF remains in most of the Strip. Who would have believed this? After all, people constantly say, the IDF should withdraw… No way, that’s not happening.”
Translations by @ireallyhateyou
.
Video shared by PM of Israel’s official Hebrew account on X.
Netanyahu says Israeli forces will not be leaving Gaza amid domestic backlash
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised Israeli forces will not be leaving Gaza, despite references to their withdrawal in the Donald Trump-approved „peace plan“.
LIVE: Trump and Netanyahu hold a press conference
Streamed live 7 hours ago #netanyahu #trump #live
Netanyahu accepts Trump proposal to end war in Gaza
An „International Stabilization Force“ (ISF) would be set up in tandem with „Arab and international partners“ that is in charge of establishing control and stability in the enclave, similar to earlier plans discussed of an Arab or regional „peacekeeping“ force.
The plan categorically states that „Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza“, but it leaves the window open for a lot of interpretation and puts the ball in Israel‘s court to withdraw from the strip. It says that Israel will withdraw troops based on „standards, milestones and timeframes linked to demilitarisation“ that Israeli forces, the ISF, guarantors and the US agree to.
It adds that Israeli forces would „progressively hand over the territory it occupies“ to the ISF according to an agreement with the transitional government, „save for a security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat“.
Saudi Arabia: His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud Minister for Foreign Affairs
Statement summary
Not yet available.
Saudi Arabia warns Israeli aggression could escalate ‘acts of genocide’
Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud has urged the global community to act decisively to stop “Israeli aggression”, which could have “grave consequences”.
“The failure of international community to take firm actions to end the Israeli aggression and violation will only cause further instability and insecurity regionally and globally,” he told the UN General Assembly.
“Such an action will have grave consequences and will escalate war crimes and acts of genocide.”
Gaza: Top independent rights probe alleges Israel committed genocide
In a new report published against the backdrop of intensifying Israeli military operations in Gaza City, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, urged Israel and all countries to fulfil their obligations under international law “to end the genocide” and punish those responsible.
“The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza,” insisted Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission. “It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention.”
At a press conference in Geneva, the panel’s members – who are not UN staff but instead appointed by the Human Rights Council’s 47 Member States – explained that their investigations into the war in Gaza beginning with Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023 had led to the conclusion that Israeli authorities and security forces “committed four of the five genocidal acts defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide”.
Palestinian Authority must disappear from the map: Smotrich
(September 8, 2025)
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for the PA to be wiped from the map, and the villages of those behind the attack in occupied East Jerusalem to be reduced to ruins in retribution, Al Jazeera reports.
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation does not specify action following Israeli hospital bombing
At an extraordinary meeting to discuss Israel‘s Gaza genocide in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Monday, the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) outlined no specific diplomatic, economic, or military action beyond issuing a statement condemning Israel for its actions over the past 22 months.
Israel may no longer accept ceasefire proposal after push for release of all captives
(4 hours ago)
Commenting on the ceasefire proposal agreed to by Hamas, the former Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister Hussein Haridy said Israel may not back a deal – even though the current proposal agreed to by the Palestinian group is “almost identical” to one Israel agreed to a few weeks ago.