(May 14, 2026)
Twice this week, U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed interest in turning Venezuela into his country’s 51st state. The latest came via a Truth Social post Tuesday with a map showing the South American country filled with the U.S. flag.
Previous statements doubting Venezuela’s sovereignty over the past 25 years have been met with immediate derision from senior government officials, including the president.
(January 16, 2026)
CIA director John Ratcliffe met with Venezuela‘s interim President Delcy Rodríguez for two hours Thursday in Venezuela‘s capital, Caracas, to „deliver the message that the United States looks forward to an improved working relationship,“ a U.S. official told CBS News Friday.
The official described the trip as historic, noting that Ratcliffe was the first Cabinet-level official to visit Venezuela since the U.S. military operation to remove the country‘s autocratic leader Nicolás Maduro nearly two weeks ago.
A U.S. delegation led by CIA director John Ratcliffe met with his counterpart at Cuba‘s Interior Ministry in Havana on Thursday, the Cuban government said in a statement, as tensions worsen over a U.S. fuel blockade that has starved the island of fuel and power generation.
(March 3, 2026)
With more than three days since Israel killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as well as more than 550 others – including at least 165 children – the bloc, touted as a leader of the Global South, is nowhere to be found.
(April 17, 2026)
Great powers emerge in crises, and BRICS may have just missed their moment. While the war involving Iran could have marked a turning point, the bloc remained silent, unable to display a common position. This silence questions its real credibility in the face of its global ambitions. Behind the image of a counter-power to the West, this sequence above all exposes deep divisions and structural fragilities that rhetoric is no longer enough to mask.
(June 18, 2025)
While Israeli strikes target sensitive Iranian sites and Tehran responds with missiles on Tel Aviv, the military escalation is redefining balances in the Middle East. However, a strategic absence intrigues: that of the BRICS. As a new member of the bloc, Iran was counting on solid support against its arch-enemy. Yet neither Moscow, Beijing, nor New Delhi are committing. This silence exposes the limits of an alliance that Tehran viewed as a counterweight to Western hegemony.
(December 16, 2023)
Israeli leaders believed that Hamas was more interested in governing than fighting. By the time the agents discovered the ledgers in 2018, the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was encouraging the government of Qatar to deliver millions of dollars to the Gaza Strip. He gambled that the money would buy stability and peace.
Mr. Levy recalled briefing Mr. Netanyahu personally in 2015 about the Hamas portfolio.
(January 16, 2018)
Im Falle eines Zusammenbruchs der „S.P.D.“ würde sich sofort eine sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands gründen.
Zur Zeit steht die im Kaiserreich gegründete und in den letzten sechzehn Jahren Krieg und Euro-Kapitalismus zwölf Jahre an der Regierung befindliche Partei „S.P.D.“ bei 18,5 Prozent. Mancher wird sich nun fragen, wie das ohne die „S.P.D.“ weitergehen soll. Genau das ist ja der Punkt: gar nicht. Das ist ein Grund zur Freude, nicht zur Sorge.
Die „S.P.D.“ ist eine Fantompartei. Ihre einzige Aufgabe ist es die Berliner Republik abzuwickeln, die sie nie gewollt hat und die ihrem Auftrag „Vereinigte Staaten von Europa“ genauso im Weg steht wie alle anderen Demokratien auf dem Kontinent. Diese machen den Deutschen wieder einmal vor, wie einfach es sein kann neue Parteien zu gründen, wenn einen die alten verraten.
Das müssen die Deutschen offensichtlich einfach noch lernen. Denn Demokratie ist wie Autofahren. Wer sie nicht kann, der will sie nicht, der will sie auch nicht lernen, sondern lieber einen Verkehrsunfall.
Consistent with UNSC Resolution 2817, we emphasise that such interference with international shipping and the disruption of global energy supply chains constitute a threat to international peace and security.
Yes, but: France, Germany, Italy and Japan have previously all publicly ruled out sending naval vessels to the strait during the war.
(March 3, 2026)
Iranian air defence sites have been subjected to aggressive electromagnetic spectrum operations but in tandem, its defences have also been targeted kinetically.
(…)
For long-range defence, Iran has developed the Bavar-373 which has comparable capabilities to the Russian S-300. For short range air defence, the country has reverse engineered the Chinese HQ-7 as the Ya Zahr, and in 2021 the Zoubin system was unveiled.
Besides these copy cat systems, the country also leans on ageing Russian air defences, most notably the S-300PMU-2 battery.
(March 3, 2026)
Trump, speaking in the Oval Office alongside Merz, told reporters that Germany had been „helping out“ by allowing US forces to access certain bases, and drew a sharp contrast to the actions of two other European countries: Britain and Spain.
Merz said Germany and the United States shared a desire to get rid of Iran‘s current regime and said he would discuss with Trump what happened once the military operation ended.
„We are on the same page in terms of getting this terrible regime in Iran away, and we will talk about the day after,“ Merz said, adding he would also speak with Trump about Russia‘s war in Ukraine and the US-European Union trade agreement.
(March 3, 2026)
Trump, speaking in the Oval Office alongside Merz, told reporters that Germany had been „helping out“ by allowing U.S. forces to access certain bases, and drew a sharp contrast to the actions of two other European countries: Britain and Spain.
„Ich nehme zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt keine abschließende völkerrechtliche Beurteilung vor“, sagt Wadephul. Man müsse aber sehen, dass das iranische Regime auch Russland mit Drohnen versorge, die dann im Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine eingesetzt würden.
Zudem unterstütze das Regime in Teheran Terrororganisationen wie die Hisbollah und die Hamas. Eine Lösung könne nur darin bestehe, dass die iranische Führung auf den Besitz von Nuklearwaffen verzichte.
Neither Schumer nor Jeffries backed legislation last year aimed at forestalling US military intervention in Iran.
The top Democrats’ responses to Saturday’s US-Israeli attacks on Iran, which Trump said would continue “uninterrupted” even after the killing of the nation’s supreme leader, contrasted sharply with statements of rank-and-file congressional Democrats—and even some members of leadership—who condemned the president for shredding the Constitution and driving the US into another deadly war that the American public opposes.
The strikes, which began early Saturday, were launched without congressional authorization. Article 1 of the Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to declare war. Top Congressional Democrats and Republicans that make up a group known as the Gang of Eight — party leaders from both chambers, as well as the Intelligence committees‘ leadership — were notified by the White House shortly before the attack.
(October 20, 2025)
Summary
The ongoing genocide in Gaza is a collective crime, sustained by the complicity of influential Third States that have enabled longstanding systemic violations of international law by Israel. Framed by colonial narratives that dehumanize the Palestinians, this live-streamed atrocity has been facilitated through Third States’ direct support, material aid, diplomatic protection and, in some cases, active participation. It has exposed an unprecedented chasm between peoples and their governments, betraying the trust on which global peace and security rest. The world now stands on a knife-edge between the collapse of the international rule of law and hope for renewal. Renewal is only possible if complicity is confronted, responsibilities are met and justice is upheld.
(…)
25. Certain non-Western States have turned to international courts to seek accountability and pressurize Israel to cease its actions. While only 13 States have supported South Africa before the ICJ, most Western States have persistently denied genocide. None have joined Nicaragua against Germany at the ICJ, or invoked domestic laws against complicit corporations or individuals. Only seven referred the situation to the ICC, many sought to undermine its arrest warrants, and at least 37 States were non-committal or critical, signalling intent to evade arrest obligations.
(…)
. Military Ties: providing the means of destruction
32. While UN resolutions have called for arms embargoes on Israel since 1976, many States have continued supplying it with military support and arms transfers. Israel is disproportionately dependent on weapons imports, with the proportion of their total trade more than double the OECD average, and over four times greater than that of the United States. This international supply has continued, even as the evidence of genocide has mounted, with the United States, Germany and Italy among the largest suppliers. Only a few Western States, notably Spain and Slovenia, have cancelled contracts and imposed embargoes.
Trump’s return to power is ushering in a new world order in which multilateralism and international organizations, starting with the United Nations, are in retreat.
(February 12, 2026)
Cuba’s current pain may not be enough to topple its Communist government, despite the desires of many Cuban exiles. Nor is the current crisis all Trump’s work. Cuba is a victim of the breakdown of the old international rules-based order.
The last speech of prime minister and minister of defense Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated by right-wing Israeli radical on November 4th 1995 in Tel Aviv.
CIA director John Ratcliffe met with Venezuela‘s interim President Delcy Rodríguez for two hours Thursday in Venezuela‘s capital, Caracas, to „deliver the message that the United States looks forward to an improved working relationship,“ a U.S. official told CBS News Friday.
The official described the trip as historic, noting that Ratcliffe was the first Cabinet-level official to visit Venezuela since the U.S. military operation to remove the country‘s autocratic leader Nicolás Maduro nearly two weeks ago.
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.
(…)
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.
(…)
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.
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.
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.
(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 Minister’s Office. The allegation is particularly explosive because Hamas’s leadership is based in Qatar and the Gulf state has acted as a mediator in the Gaza war and the current ceasefire.
“Americans do not want another Iraq. If we intensify hostilities in Venezuela, we have no idea what we’re walking into,” McGovern said. “At least George Bush had the decency to come to Congress for approval in 2002. Don’t the American people deserve that respect today?”
Bush in 2002 sought and received a formal authorization for his attack on Iraq. Without taking any similar steps, Trump has massed thousands of American service members in the Caribbean without formal approval.
The resolution was defeated 210-216, with seven lawmakers not voting. Two Republicans—Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Thomas Massie of Kentucky—voted in favor of the measure. Democratic Texas Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez joined their GOP colleagues in voting down the proposal.
The second resolution, introduced by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), would have directed Trump to “remove the use of United States armed forces from hostilities within or against Venezuela, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization for use of military force.”
The resolution failed by a vote of 211-213, with nine members not voting. Republicans Bacon, Massie, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia voted “yes” on the legislation, while Cuellar voted against the proposal.