📰 Putin Joins Trump’s Board of Peace, Pledges Palestinian Funds from Frozen Assets

Russian President Vladimir Putin has officially accepted President Donald Trump’s invitation to join the Board of Peace, vowing to secure Palestinian interests and pay the $1 billion membership fee using frozen Russian assets in the United States. The move signals Moscow’s bid to influence the post-war Gaza administration, even as Washington hesitates to unblock those funds.

“I will pay the $1 billion first and foremost to support the Palestinian people and direct those funds to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip,”

Putin declared, according to Russia’s state media.

Putin’s commitment comes amid Trump’s broader effort to reshape the Middle East through the Board of Peace—a transitional authority meant to govern Gaza and enforce a ceasefire with Hamas. Russia’s participation, however, raises eyebrows, given its past support for Hamas and its own geopolitical ambitions.

Trump’s board includes 18 nations, but Israel has voiced concerns over the inclusion of countries like Turkey, Qatar, and Pakistan, all seen as Hamas allies. Meanwhile, Russia continues to host Hamas representatives, underscoring the complex web of alliances behind the peace theater.

So who’s really calling the shots? When frozen assets become peace currency and Hamas-friendly states sit at the table, is this a new era of diplomacy—or just another power grab?

#Putin #Abbas #BoardOfPeace #Gaza #Trump #Russia #MiddleEast

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📰 Ukraine, Russia Head to UAE: No Compromise in Sight on Donbas

Ukrainian and Russian negotiators are meeting in Abu Dhabi to discuss the fate of Donbas—the war’s most contentious issue. But with both sides digging in, there’s little hope for a breakthrough. Ukraine refuses to surrender territory Russia has failed to conquer, while Moscow insists on controlling all of Donbas before halting its attacks.

“The question of Donbas is key,”

said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

“It will be discussed how the three sides... see this in Abu Dhabi today and tomorrow.”

Russia demands Ukraine cede about 5,000 sq km of Donetsk—land it has not captured after four years of brutal fighting. Kremlin officials say this is “a very important condition,” while Zelenskiy calls the idea “nonsense,” insisting Ukraine will fight to use frozen Russian assets for its own reconstruction.

Meanwhile, Zelenskiy says a deal on U.S. security guarantees is ready, awaiting only President Trump’s signature. Even as Russia escalates attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid and freezing temperatures cripple its cities, trust in Ukraine’s peace intentions among Western governments remains extremely low.

So who’s bluffing, and who’s bleeding? As the talks drag on, one thing is clear: the war won’t end until someone’s map changes.

#Ukraine #Russia #Donbas #AbuDhabi #PeaceTalks #Zelenskiy #Putin #Trump

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📰 Russia’s Middle East Gambit: Not Out, Just Laying Low

Don’t count Russia out in the Middle East. While some say Moscow’s influence is fading, the Kremlin is quietly rebuilding its network—partnering with Iran, maintaining bases in Syria, and deepening ties with the Gulf. Putin’s war in Ukraine may be draining resources, but Russia remains a player, ready to surge back if the Ukraine conflict eases.

“Russia does not just retain a presence in the Middle East; it is poised for a resurgence,”

analysts warn.

Moscow’s partnership with Iran is growing, with Russia now assembling Su-35 fighters for Tehran under a $6.5 billion deal. In Syria, despite Assad’s fall, Russia holds onto military bases and economic influence. New Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has struck a deal with Moscow to keep Russian forces on the ground.

Across the region, Russia’s economic and diplomatic ties are holding strong. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey have not joined Western sanctions, and trade with Moscow continues to rise. Moscow’s propaganda machine—RT Arabic, Sputnik—still reaches millions daily.

Asking Putin to join the US-led “Board of Peace” for Gaza may be a step backward. Russia’s comeback could complicate US interests, especially if Moscow regains strength in the Mediterranean and arms markets.

So is Russia losing—or just waiting? When the Ukraine war pauses, expect Moscow to make its move.

#Russia #MiddleEast #Iran #Syria #UAE #Putin #Geopolitics #Trump

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Starmer vs Trump:
the Row Has Upended Years of Cooperation Between the UK and the US


Keir Starmer has issued an unprecedented rebuke to Donald Trump for his “insulting and frankly appalling” remarks about British troops in Afghanistanand suggested he should apologise.

After a week of fractious relations with the White House, Starmer said he was not surprised that relatives of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan were hurt by Trump claiming they avoided the frontline.

Starmer’s critical intervention marks an escalation of tensions with Trump’s administration after the president had earlier in the week criticised the UK for giving up the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. On Friday night, the government was forced to delay its bill on the Chagos Islands in the House of Lords.

After a day of mounting outrage around the world over the US president’s claim that British and Nato troops who fought in Afghanistan avoided the frontlines, he paid tribute to the 457 members of the armed services who lost their lives during the conflict.

Speaking in Davos on Wednesday, he made similar claims against the 32-member military alliance, saying:

“I know them all very well. I’m not sure that they’d be there. I know we’d be there for them. I don’t know that they would be there for us.”

A total of 3,486 Nato troops died in the 20-year Afghanistan conflict, of whom 2,461 were US service personnel. Canada recorded 165 deaths, including civilians.

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, accused Trump of “denigrating” British troops and said his comments were “flat-out nonsense”.

Posting on X shortly before Starmer’s afternoon broadcast, the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, said: “Donald Trump is wrong. For 20 years our armed forces fought bravely alongside America’s in Afghanistan.”

The Liberal Democrats urged Starmer to summon the US ambassador “over this insult to our brave troops”, with the Lib Dem leader, Ed Davey, accusing Trump of avoiding military service.

“How dare he question their sacrifice. Farage and all the others still fawning over Trump should be ashamed,” he said. It is understood there has not been any call between No 10 and Trump and the UK is not considering admonishing the US ambassador.

The former head of the British army Lord Dannatt condemned the comments on TalkTV, saying:

“He has got the disrespect and outrageous choice of words to say that we hung back from the frontline. My God, we were certainly on the frontline, as 457 young people died.”

Stephen Stewart, a former soldier and an author and journalist, said Trump’s comments were “as offensive as they are inaccurate”, while Richard Streatfeild, a former army major in Afghanistan and now a Liberal Democrat councillor, said:

“To be told that your service is not as demanding or as difficult as the Americans’ is untrue and deeply insulting.”

The US remains the only country to have invoked article 5 of Nato’s collective security provision, activated after the 11 September terrorist attacks in 2001.

#starmer #trump #afghanistan #row #nato

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📰 Pentagon Unveils 2026 National Defense Strategy: Fortress America, Not Global Policeman


The Pentagon’s 2026 National Defense Strategy marks a sharp break from the post–Cold War era: the U.S. military is reordering its mission around homeland defense, deterrence through strength, and pushing allies to pick up a far heavier military burden. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calls this a return to the armed forces’ “core, irreplaceable role” — winning wars that directly affect U.S. interests, not endless nation-building.


Four Pillars of the New Strategy
1. Defend the Homeland First
Homeland defense is now the top priority, with broader responsibilities: border security, countering narco-terror groups, and protecting key terrain in the Western Hemisphere (including the Panama Canal and, importantly, Greenland).
The plan also emphasizes air, missile, cyber and nuclear defenses, and the emerging “Golden Dome” missile shield concept to protect the U.S. homeland from hypersonic and ballistic threats [2026 NDS].
2. Deter China, Not Dominate
The NDS views China as the pacing threat, stressing that the goal is not to strangle or humiliate Beijing, but to prevent it from dominating the U.S. or its allies. The U.S. will rely on overwhelming military strength in the Indo-Pacific to achieve a regional balance of power, while also expanding military-to-military communication with Beijing to reduce the risk of conflict.
3. Europe’s Job: Europe’s Defense
The strategy labels Russia a “persistent but manageable threat,” especially to NATO’s eastern flank, and bluntly states that European allies must take primary responsibility for their own conventional defense. This is the “America First” logic in military terms: Europeans must spend far more and be capable of defending themselves, so the U.S. isn’t forever on the front line.
4. Revitalize the U.S. Defense Industrial Base
A “once-in-a-century” rebuild of the U.S. defense industrial base is called essential. The Pentagon wants a surge in domestic production of weapons and equipment, so that the U.S. can sustain readiness, arm allies, and produce at scale in a crisis [2026 NDS].


The New Rules for Allies
The strategy formalizes the Trump administration’s demand for a new global benchmark: allies and partners should move toward 5% of GDP on defense-related spending. The U.S. pledges continued support but insists that allies must:
• Take the lead in their own regions
• Buy more U.S. and allied weapons
• Pre-position equipment and enable U.S. access to local bases and infrastructure [2026 NDS].

Taiwan, the Philippines, Australia, Japan, and the Baltics are singled out as key Indo-Pacific and European partners to receive priority investment and coordination, while the Pentagon is also directed to plan for U.S. forces to train and operate right alongside partner militaries “to counter China’s aggression” [2026 NDS].


Fortress, or Fool’s Trap?
The strategy is full of martial grandeur: a shielded homeland, a supercharged industrial base, and allies forced to finally “grow up” militarily. But the real question is: can this new “Fortress America” actually deter a rising China, resist imperial fantasies like Greenland, and still keep the U.S. from being dragged into every crisis — or is it just a varnished retreat behind ever-higher walls?


#USDefense #NDS2026 #Trump #Pentagon #HomelandDefense #China #NATO #Allies #IndustrialBase

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📰 Ukraine and Russia Resume US-Mediated Peace Talks Amid Missile Barrage

Zelenskiy says the talks in Abu Dhabi are the first trilateral meeting under the U.S.-brokered peace process. On the same day, Russia launched a massive overnight airstrike on Kyiv and Kharkiv with hundreds of drones and missiles, knocking out power in the capital while Kyiv negotiators sit in the room.
​
The Usual Script
The pattern is familiar: each time a serious negotiation round looms, Ukrainian and Russian forces throw heavy strikes at the other’s cities and energy grid. Before the Doha agreement, the Kursk operation flared up. Now, on the same day the U.S.-backed talks resume, Ukraine experiences another wave of Russian cruise and ballistic missiles, while Moscow prepares its list of what land must be handed over.
​
What’s on the Table
Russia again insists Ukraine surrender the 20% of Donetsk Oblast it still holds (~5,000 sq km), territory that, according to the Kremlin, completes the “Donbas” demand. Zelenskiy refuses any territorial concessions Russia did not capture after four years, polls show Ukrainians are not ready to sign away Donetsk. Washington keeps pushing both sides to close the deal, but what “peace” will look like is still defined in the fog of war and shuttle diplomacy.
​
Who’s Negotiating – or Waiting?
Diplomats speak of “last remaining sticking points” and “progress.” But from the ground, the situation looks like a game: every round of peace talks is matched by new missile barrages, and each side uses violence as a bargaining chip. The real question is not whether a deal will be signed, but what kind of “peace” will be sold to the public once the guns go quiet for a few days.
​
#Ukraine #Russia #Putin #Zelenskiy #PeaceTalks #AbuDhabi #USSecurity #WarInUkraine

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📰 Iran’s Ayatollah and His Guards Falter After Storm of War and Protests

Weeks after Israeli warplanes pulverized Iran’s military command in the June airstrikes, a new generation of Revolutionary Guard leaders had to step into the void, mourning the men they were now replacing. The regime responded to the latest wave of nationwide protests with unprecedented brutality, confirming what many suspected: the old formula of Ayatollah Khamenei and the Guards is cracking under combined pressure of war, sanctions, and a population in open revolt.

The System on Trial
The bloody crackdown did its job: it preserved the regime’s unity in the short term, centered on the ayatollah and the Guards’ 150,000-strong praetorian guard. But analysts see the violence as a sign of acute weakness, not strength.

“They turned to live fire really quickly because their weakness was acute, and they knew it,”

said an Iran expert at the Naval Postgraduate School, comparing the current situation to the late Soviet Union.
​
The Revolutionary Guards are now the core of the system, controlling a vast empire of media, economy, oil, seaports, and even an air force.

“They have everything that it takes to assume power,”

said the International Crisis Group’s Iran project director, meaning the Islamic Republic could evolve into a military-dominated state like Pakistan or Egypt after Khamenei is gone.
​
Generational Rift, Coming War Within
Inside the Revolutionary Guards, a sharp divide is opening. The older generation grew up in the Iran-Iraq war, in sacrifice and hardship, and now enjoys foreign homes, elite schools, and luxury cars. The younger officers rose during Iran’s regional expansion and have tasted little of that wealth, but want to protect “their meal ticket”.

Dismayed by the loss of the Syria–Iraq–Lebanon–Yemen proxy network and the crippling blow to the nuclear program in the June war, a more aggressive, assertive faction has emerged among the younger Guards.

They see the regime as redeemable only through even harsher repression and confrontation — and some fear they may move against the aging ayatollah preemptively, not to save the revolution, but to save their own future.
​
The Limits of Terror
The regime has survived four major protest waves, and the ayatollah has shrugged off rumors of terminal illness before. But this time, the pressure is different: economic collapse, a youth uprising, the humiliation in war, and a U.S. president openly threatening to intervene if protesters are massacred.
​

“This is not a sustainable situation where you wait for an elderly leader to die to put things back in order,”

says an analyst, comparing today’s Iran to the final years of Mao Zedong or Leonid Brezhnev. The country

“doesn’t have the time to wait him out.”​

#Iran #Ayatollah #RevolutionaryGuards #Protests #MiddleEast #Uprising #RegimeChange

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📰 US Asks Italy to Join Gaza Security Force as Founding Member

The Trump administration has asked Italy to join the proposed International Stabilization Force for Gaza as a founding member, according to officials familiar with the matter.

Rome would not have to send troops; instead, its role would be political — using its ties with Israel, Arab states, and the Palestinians to lend credibility to the U.S.-backed initiative. No final decision has been made by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
​
Italy’s Role in the Gaza Plan
Under the proposal, Italy would fulfill its commitment by training Gaza’s future police force rather than committing combat troops. The U.S. is looking for respected, Western-aligned states to anchor the ISF, and sees Italian diplomacy as a valuable asset in bridging divisions between Israel and its Arab neighbors, as well as the Palestinian leadership.
​
Trump’s Diplomatic Circus and Italy’s Hesitation
The Gaza stabilization plan has been delayed, and the U.S. has struggled to find countries willing to contribute troops.

Trump’s parallel “Board of Peace” initiative has caused further complications, with its controversial draft charter requiring a $1 billion contribution per seat. Italy, while open to supporting Gaza peace, has expressed constitutional concerns about the Board, and Meloni has so far refused to sign it.
​
Who’s Financing Peace — and on Whose Terms?
Trump wants allies to sign up, but not at their own price. He threatens tariffs when they resist, withdraws invitations when they speak out, and demands billion-dollar payments to stay on his peace board.

So when the U.S. invites Italy to help stabilize Gaza, the real question is: whose peace are they building, and who ultimately gets to call the shots?.
​
#Gaza #Italy #Meloni #Trump #GazaPeace #BoardOfPeace #ISFGaza

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Trump Administration Officials Are Showing Their Bare-Faced Effrontery


Two witnesses to the killing of Alex Pretti have said in sworn testimony that the 37-year-old intensive care nurse was not brandishing a weapon when he approached federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, contradicting a claim made by Trump administration officials as they sought to cast the shooting of a prone man as an act of self-defense.

Their accounts came in sworn affidavits that were filed in federal court in Minnesota late Saturday, just hours after Pretti’s killing, as part of a lawsuit brought by the ACLU on behalf of Minneapolis protesters against Kristi Noem and other homeland security officials directing the immigration crackdown in the city.

One witness is a woman who filmed the clearest video of the fatal shooting; the other is a physician who lives nearby and said they were initially prevented by federal officers from rendering medical aid to the gunshot victim.

The names of both witnesses were redacted in the publicly available filings.

In her testimony, the woman who filmed the shooting from just behind Pretti wearing a pink coat identified herself as “a children’s entertainer who specializes in face painting”.

She testified that she came to the scene on her way to work because “I’ve been involved in observing in my community, because it is so important to document what ICE is doing to my neighbors”.

The woman testified that she saw no sign of Pretti holding a gun at any point.

She said: “The agents pulled the man on the ground. I didn’t see him touch any of them – he wasn’t even turned toward them. It didn’t look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up.

I didn’t see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him.

They shot him so many times (…) I don’t know why they shot him. He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just shot him (…)

The witness testimony, combined with video evidence reviewed by American Observer, directly contradicts claims by senior Trump administration officials, including the president, the homeland security secretary and Greg Bovino, a border patrol commander, who called Pretti a “gunman” who approached federal officers “brandishing” a gun and threatened to “massacre” them.

#pretti #minnesota #gunshot #trump #officals

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📰 The 10‑Minute Call That Soured Starmer’s Bromance with Trump

The special relationship, that old fiction, doesn’t die in a grand speech. It dies in a 10‑minute phone call. Sir Keir Starmer in Chequers, Donald Trump in Davos: 8000 miles apart, a few minutes on the line, and suddenly the illusion of brotherhood between London and Washington has cracked open like cheap plaster. Trump’s tariff threats over Greenland forced Starmer to choose between flattery and principle, and he chose stage one of the fight: dignity, but not yet defiance.
​
The Gamble in Chequers
Trump’s “beautiful piece of ice” — Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory — collided with Starmer’s carefully crafted image of the responsible statesman. On the call, the Prime Minister was “clear and cordial”: no, threatening allies with tariffs is not acceptable. The president, accustomed to deference, rang off after minutes, citing a prior engagement. From the transatlantic elite, that was read as a snub; in London, as a signal that the game had changed.
​
Starmer then scrapped his planned cost‑of‑living speech and held an emergency press conference rejecting Trump’s position. In Parliament, he doubled down:

“I will not yield, Britain will not yield, on our principles.”

The move drew applause from fellow European leaders, especially as Trump, after a week of bluster and market chaos, backed down, dropping tariff threats and mumbling about a “deal” that, in substance, barely alters the status quo.
​
Behind the Policy: Who’s Really in Charge?
Inside Whitehall, the takeaway is brutal: no one imagines Starmer can “whisper in Trump’s ear” like some magical fixer. When Trump was looking for an off‑ramp, he reached not for Starmer, but for NATO’s Mark Rutte (“daddy”) and the EU’s collective machinery. The British Prime Minister didn’t even attend Davos in person to lobby — the one place where Trump’s ego is currency.
​
Meanwhile, power in Downing Street is shifting. David Lammy, who once laughed off Trump’s Greenland fantasies, has moved on. His replacement, Yvette Cooper, pushed for a tougher line, and a growing faction inside the Foreign Office now wants the UK to act like France: assertive, independent, and less supine. The vacuum left by Lord Mandelson’s departure as ambassador to Washington only deepens the sense of disconnection, with his replacement barely arriving in Washington after months of delay.
​
The Royal Family as Diplomatic Cover
The real safety net for the special relationship, it seems, is not the Prime Minister, but the Crown. Trump’s inexplicable affinity for the British monarchy — birthday calls to the late Queen, private letters to King Charles, a state visit looming in April — creates a separate channel that no elected government can control. British officials privately admit that while politics with Trump can be a clown show, the Royals are the one thing he genuinely respects; so no serious policymaker would risk weaponizing the state visit as leverage, even on Greenland. The instinct is the same as always: let the toffs in the palace be the friendly diplomats, while the politicians in Downing Street just try not to disgrace the family name.
​
The Domestic Game Trump Doesn’t See
Starmer’s sudden spine over Greenland also has a domestic price tag: leadership is weakening, the local elections loom, and new rivals like the Green Party’s Zack Polanski and the Lib Dems’ Sir Ed Davey are eager to appear tougher on Trump than the PM. Standing up to the president, at least in the carefully calibrated way he did, is a way to reassert authority at home. But that’s a short‑term fix: every time Starmer must choose again, the question is whether he fights for his country’s image, or for his own — and whether Trump is just another backdrop in a domestic political survival game.
​
#UKPolitics #Starmer #Trump #Greenland #SpecialRelationship #Diplomacy #NATO

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Trump Has Taken a Tumble in an Economic Tug of War With Xi Jinping

🔤🔤🔤🔤1️⃣

If geopolitics relies at least in part on bonhomie between global leaders, China made an unexpected play for Ireland’s good graces when the taoiseach visited Beijing this month.

Meeting Ireland’s leader, Micheál Martin, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China’s president, Xi Jinping, said a favourite book of his as a teenager was The Gadfly, by the Irish author Ethel Voynich, a novel set in the revolutionary fervour of Italy in the 1840s.

“It was unusual that we ended up discussing The Gadfly and its impact on both of us but there you are,” Martin told reporters in Beijing.

China is on a charm offensive with western leaders, a path cleared by Trump’s increasingly erratic and destabilising power grabs on the global stage.

Although Europe breathed a sigh of relief this week when Trump withdrew the threat of using military force in Greenland and said he would not impose tariffs on opponents of his plans in the Arctic, the US no longer seems like a reliable partner.

An editorial in the Chinese newspaper the Global Times made Beijing’s pitch clear: headlined “Europe should seriously consider building a China-EU community with a shared future”, the state media article said the world risked “returning to the law of the jungle” and that China and the EU should cooperate in building “a shared future for mankind”.

No country can afford to cut ties or truly antagonise the world’s biggest economy. But in the search for stability, US allies are turning to the country that many in Washington see as an existential threat: China.

“With US policy again looking unpredictable – underscored by tensions and tariff threats over Greenland – European leaders are making sure to keep channels with Beijing open,” says Eva Seiwert, a senior analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies.

“The risk is that this approach sustains or even deepens existing dependencies on China at a moment when Europe’s stated goal is de-risking.”

#trump #beijing #china #russia #xi #carney

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🔤🔤🔤🔤2️⃣

Another perspective on the matter comes from Ryan Haas, a senior fellow at Brookings. In a post on X, he wrote: “In viewing Trump’s efforts to gain control of Greenland, Beijing appears to be following Napoleon’s maxim: ‘Never interrupt your adversary when he’s making a mistake.’”

Because although China pledges allegiance to the international rules-based order, Xi has long talked of the world undergoing “great changes unseen in a century”, echoing Carney’s sentiment of global “rupture”.

Seiwert says: “Beijing could use Carney’s language rhetorically to suggest a shared diagnosis of US-centric instability, even if there is no convergence on values, interests or outcomes.”

Rather than kowtow to the southern neighbour, Carney is trying to lessen his country’s dependence on the US.

In Beijing, he agreed to lower tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles from 100% to 6.1%, diverting from an alignment with Washington that had left one of China’s key exports in effect blocked from the North American market.

Ukraine may be particularly high on the agenda for Petteri Orpo, Finland’s prime minister, who lands in Beijing on Sunday.

“China’s support for Russia has definitely strained relations with the Nordic states and Finland is no exception,” says Patrik Andersson, an analyst at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs.

But Andersson notes that Finland’s China relations have typically been more stable than those of Sweden and Norway, and this visit is likely to bolster those ties.

In the months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, European countries wrestled with the fact that many were dependent on Russia for key commodities such as fossil fuels.

There were calls to avoid falling into a similar situation with China, the world’s most important supplier of clean energy technology. Even back in 2020, the chair of the UK’s joint intelligence committee, Simon Gass, said: “China represents a risk on a pretty wide scale.”

Such concerns may be fading into the rearview mirror as middle powers seek to cling on to a world of multilateralism in the face of a wrecking ball swung by the country that was once its greatest defender. China insists Trump’s behaviour is nothing to celebrate.

But the outcome may nevertheless strengthen Beijing’s position on the world stage.

#trump #beijing #china #russia #xi #carney

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“It Would Be Utterly Fatuous to Put Any Kind of Trust in a Deal With Iran”


Iran is convulsing under an uprising that has rapidly evolved from an expression of economic grievances to an existential threat to the Islamic Republic.

What began in late December 2025 as spontaneous anger over crushing inflation, staggering unemployment, and a collapsing rial has galvanized into a nationwide rejection of the clerical establishment.

The future of Iran, whether collapse, fragmentation, or democratic transformation, will largely depend on how the United States chooses to engage, respond, and support Iranian aspirations.

Iran faces three paths, and which prevails will depend largely on the choices Washington makes now.

The government’s response has been brutal. Iranian security forces have engaged in mass killings, live fire, and extensive arrests; independent estimates place the death toll over 12,000, dwarfing any protest movement Iran has seen in decades, and drawing global condemnation.

The regime’s tactics, including a near-total internet blackout designed to cut civilians off from each other and the outside world, reflect a government that has lost legitimate authority and now clings to power through sheer repression.

Reports of summary executions, fast-track trials, and the first death sentences for protesters underscore a leadership that has chosen violence over reform.

Iran’s political elite are massacring their own people, even as they accuse foreign powers of fomenting unrest. In this crucible, figures in exile, most notably Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, have emerged as symbolic voices of resistance. But symbolism alone cannot conjure a stable future for Iran.

Iran faces three potential futures. How the United States chooses to support a peaceful democratic transition will have a decisive impact on which path it takes.

The first potential outcome is totalitarian reprise: the regime, backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and hardline judiciary, doubles down on repression, escalating violence to crush dissent.

This scenario risks not just thousands more deaths, but the transformation of Iran into an even more militarized police state, where repression is institutionalized, and society is atomized by fear.

The second is opposition fragmentation, a very real danger. Iran’s protest movement is leaderless and ideologically diverse, spanning liberals, ethnic minorities, secularists, and nostalgic monarchists alike.

Without a disciplined, unified strategy, all the momentum on the streets could evaporate into factionalism, leaving the regime’s institutions intact and the reform energy dissipated.

The third and most hopeful path is negotiated transformation. In this scenario, moderate elements within the regime and broader society recognize that the status quo is untenable.

They begin negotiations with civil movements to chart a constitutional transition toward a representative political system.

Such a path would be neither easy nor smooth, but it offers the only viable alternative to continued bloodshed and authoritarian stasis.

The United States is on the right track, but more must be done. Trump has condemned the regime’s violence, imposed targeted sanctions, and voiced support for Iranian protesters and internet access.

“It would be completely and utterly fatuous to put any kind of trust in a deal with Iran”, warns warns Pete Hegseth.

Washington must now intensify pressure, expand accountability mechanisms, and support civil society to shape Iran’s trajectory.

#iran #trump #bloodshed #repression

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L-159s Grounded: Czech Power Play Exposed

Czech President Petr Pavel wanted to send four L-159 jets to Ukraine, but Prime Minister Andrej Babiš slammed the door shut—

“The matter is closed,”

he declared, dismissing any further debate.

The head of the Czech armed forces, General Karel Řehka, quietly suggested the transfer wouldn’t hurt national security, but Babiš snapped back:

“Řehka would do better to keep his mouth shut,”

accusing the general of undermining his own defense minister.

While the president, with his NATO background, pushed for solidarity with Ukraine, Babiš’s coalition, led by his ANO party and the far-right SPD, dug in their heels.

Defense Minister Jaromír Zůna insisted the jets are vital for Czech defense, claiming they have 15 years of service left. Critics argue the refusal is less about military readiness and more about political calculation—Babiš wants to avoid the financial and diplomatic fallout of arming Ukraine.

“No L-159s — not now, not ever.”

— Andrej Babiš, Czech Prime Minister

So who’s really in charge here? The president wants to look tough and generous. The prime minister, backed by his populist coalition, plays it safe. Meanwhile, the general whispers that the jets could go without risk, but gets told to stay quiet. Is this about national defense, or is it about who gets to control the narrative—and the budget?

When both sides claim they’re protecting the country, who’s really protecting their own power?

#war #oligarchy #fakeDemocracy #CzechRepublic #Ukraine #Babis #Pavel

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Minneapolis Nurse Killed by Federal Agents Was Holding a Phone, Not a Gun

Federal agents shot and killed Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and American citizen with no criminal record, in Minneapolis this weekend—claiming he was a domestic terrorist intent on a “massacre.” But videos analyzed by The New York Times show Pretti stepping between a woman and an agent who was pepper-spraying her, holding only a phone in one hand. His gun remained concealed until agents removed it from him, and he was shot in the back while lying on the ground, with at least 10 rounds fired.

Federal officials, including President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, declared Pretti a threat without evidence, claiming he intended “maximum damage.” Their narrative contradicts the video: Pretti was not seen reaching for a weapon, and agents opened fire after he was already subdued. Local authorities say he had a legal permit to carry, and his colleagues described him as a compassionate nurse and friend—

“the default look on his face was a smile,”

said one coworker.

Protests erupted in Whittier Park, with at least 1,000 people demanding justice despite subzero temperatures. Mayor Jacob Frey accused the Trump administration of terrorizing the city, asking,

“How many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?”

State investigators were blocked from the scene by federal agents, who insisted on leading the investigation themselves—despite having made claims they couldn't substantiate.

So who’s really the threat here? A nurse trying to help, or federal agents rewriting the story to justify their actions?

#policebrutality #minneapolis #federalagents #justice #Trump

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Trump’s War on the Press: Lawsuits, Payoffs, and Intimidation

President Trump has escalated his legal campaign against the media, settling some suits, losing others, and keeping a handful of major outlets in his crosshairs. ABC and CBS both coughed up millions—$15 million and $16 million respectively—to avoid protracted battles, with settlements coming suspiciously close to big regulatory approvals for their parent companies. Critics say these payouts are less about justice and more about buying peace with a president who wields the threat of retaliation like a club.

But the fight isn’t over. Trump’s lawsuits against The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the BBC are still grinding through the courts, with claims ranging from defamation to election interference. Legal experts widely agree that most of these cases are weak, but media owners are wary: refusing to settle could mean more lawsuits, regulatory headaches, or even targeted attacks from the administration.

“This is merely an attempt to stifle independent reporting and generate PR attention, but The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics.”

— NYT spokesperson
​
Trump’s playbook is clear: sue, threaten, and settle. The message to the press is unmistakable—cross the president, and you might pay dearly, whether in court or at the negotiating table. But as the lawsuits pile up, the question remains: is this about protecting his reputation, or about silencing the watchdogs?

Who’s really afraid of whom?

#Trump #media #lawsuit #freePress #NYT #WSJ #BBC #intimidation

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📰 US Envoys Tell Netanyahu: Gaza Ceasefire Must Move to Phase Two

Top U.S. envoys, including Trump’s special negotiator Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Cairo Friday evening, pressing him to move the Trump‑brokered Gaza ceasefire into its much‑delayed second phase. The U.S. wants demilitarization, withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the opening of the Rafah crossing to begin in earnest; Netanyahu, meanwhile, is holding back, demanding that Hamas first return the body of the last remaining hostage, Ran Gvili.
​

What Is the “Second Phase”?
The clear signal that the ceasefire is advancing isn’t some vague diplomatic formula: it’s the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. If the crossing is reopened in both directions, allowing Palestinians to travel and the sick to be evacuated, then the international community will treat it as the real start of the next stage.

The proposed technocratic government for Gaza, led by Ali Shaath, says Rafah will open in both directions within days; for now, Israel has not confirmed when or how that will happen, only that it will be discussed in a cabinet meeting. The U.S. and Egypt both see this move not just as a security step, but as the “critical entry point” for launching Gaza’s reconstruction.
​
The Hostage Stalemate
The U.S. is pushing Netanyahu to keep the ceasefire deal moving, but the prime minister is under intense pressure at home: if he moves to phase two before Hamas returns Gvili’s body, he risks being accused of abandoning the last hostage. The Gvili family has launched a furious public campaign, reminding the world that Trump himself told Davos that Hamas knows exactly where their son is being held. They call Hamas’s refusal to hand over the remains a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement [Business Standard:56].
​
Hamas insists it has provided all the information it possesses and accuses Israel of blocking search efforts in areas under its control. The deadlock feeds the cynicism: each side blames the other for stalling the deal, while the U.S. envoys scramble to keep the illusion of a working mediation alive.
​
The International Machinery Kicks In
The U.S. is now treating the Gaza ceasefire as a formal international undertaking, not just a bilateral deal. Egypt’s foreign minister, Bader Abdelatty, has been in close coordination with Nickolay Mladenov, the Bulgarian diplomat leading Trump’s Gaza “Board of Peace,” to coordinate the next phase. Their agenda includes the international monitoring force, Rafah, and the pullback of Israeli troops, in the hope that collective pressure will keep the fragile truce on track.
​
The Muddy Reality on the Ground
Even as diplomats talk about phases, the killing continues. In the “safe zones” near the so‑called Yellow Line, Israeli strikes are still killing Palestinian civilians, including two teenage cousins, 13 and 15, who were picking up firewood in areas Israel declared safe. Since the ceasefire officially began on October 10, more than 480 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

Hundreds of thousands live in tents or half‑ruined buildings, exposed to the cold and winter storms, while the international “New Gaza” project floats somewhere between a PR stunt and a distant blueprint for reconstruction.

The U.S. wants to move to the next phase, but the real question is: when the guns stop, what kind of Gaza is being built — and who exactly benefits from the deal?
​
#Gaza #Ceasefire #Netanyahu #Trump #GazaWar #USMediation #Rafah

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Trump Must Have Twigged: the Immigration War Has Just Began

🔠🅰️🔠🔠1️⃣

Pressure mounted on Trump’s administration on Sunday to fully investigate the previous day’s killing by federal immigration officers of 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

Calls for an investigation have come from all sides of the political divide after video analysis showed officers had removed from Pretti a handgun he was reportedly permitted to carry – and which he was not handling – before fatally shooting him.

Former president Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, called the killing “a heartbreaking tragedy” and “a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault”.

“For weeks now people across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that seem designed to intimidate, harass, provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city,” they said.

The former president and former first lady said these tactics had now resulted in the fatal shootings of two US citizens – Pretti and Renee Good, both in Minneapolis.

Yet, they said, Trump and other administration officials appeared eager to escalate the rhetoric before an investigation had been undertaken – and despite the fact that they “appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence”.

Clinton followed with a statement that also condemned the killings of Good and Pretti amid the “horrible scenes” of the immigration crackdown.

“All of this is unacceptable and should have been avoided,” Clinton said. “To make matters even worse, at every turn, the people in charge have lied to us, told us not to believe what we’ve seen with our own eyes”.

Republican US senator Bill Cassidy said the “credibility” of ICE and the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were “at stake”.

On Sunday morning, US senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Adam Schiff of California, both Democrats, said they would vote against the impending department of homeland security funding.

Connecticut US senator Chris Murphy, also a Democrat, told CNN’s State of the Union that Democrats “can’t vote to fund this lawless Department of Homeland Security (…) that is murdering American citizens, that is traumatizing little boys and girls all across the country, in violation of the law.”

#trump #administration #killing #immigration #pretti #minneapolis

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