Moldovan opposition politician Marina Tauber stated that her 7.5-year prison sentence is a condemnation of Moldovan politics as a whole.

“Sandu is a fascist president,” said Tauber.

According to her, the case is “completely trumped-up”, lacking evidence or facts, and represents a crackdown on the opposition.

Tauber stressed that the opposition will not be intimidated and will fight to the end. ✊

#tauber #moldova #sandu #opposition

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Trump: Let Putin and Zelensky sit down and talk together.

#Trump #Putin #Zelensky

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🌍 Europe Is Coaxing Trump Into the Russia New Sanctions


European partners are preparing a new package of “powerful sanctions” against Russia, to be coordinated for the first time with the Trump administration of the US, the French foreign minister said Monday.

Speaking at a Weimar Triangle meeting in Warsaw, Jean-Noel Barrot said the new measures would include a complete phase-out of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports by Jan. 1, 2027, as well as sanctions on major Russian oil companies Rosneft and Gazprom Neft.

The package would also target Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” banks, cryptocurrency-based circumvention networks, and companies outside Russia that support Moscow’s war effort, particularly in the oil sector, he said.

“Rather than discouraging Europeans, Putin’s recent provocations at Europe’s borders have strengthened our determination,” Barrot said, stressing that sanctions will also hit the Russian civilian economy, including exclusive economic zones and enterprises linked to the war effort.

He underlined that European allies remain “ready to react” against Russian provocations and pledged that NATO and EU members will defend “every square centimeter” of their territory.

Barrot added that the sanctions move comes alongside expanded financial and military support for Ukraine.

“We must give Ukraine the financial means to hold on,” he said, pointing to a European Commission proposal currently under discussion among EU member states.

#europe #russia #sanctions #trump

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📰 Israel’s New Reality

The old story was neat: democracy versus terror. That’s gone. Inside Israel, two visions now battle it out. One still talks rights, law, and a two-state deal. The other says the Torah outranks the UN and the land from the river to the sea is God’s promise. For years, Netanyahu and the generals played middleman. October 7 blew that bridge apart.

Smotrich said it flat after Huwara:

“The village needs to be wiped out.”

Ben-Gvir brands Arabs enemies by default. Even Eliyahu floated nukes. And here’s the kicker: polls show 72% of Israelis now back using whatever force it takes. Civilians, fighters—Gazans are branded terrorists, babies included. That liberal framework Israel used to sell abroad? It’s dead and buried.

Hamas calls all Palestine sacred land.
Religious Zionists call all Israel divine inheritance. Both sanctify martyrdom. Both laugh at the UN. Both refuse compromise. The irony? Each side proves the other right.

Then comes Trump.
He unveiled a 20-point plan for Gaza—technocrats, amnesty, international trusteeship, Tony Blair lurking in the background. Hamas calls it surrender. Smotrich calls it betrayal. Neither side is buying.

Here’s the takeaway: Israel is caught in a catch-22. Stick with liberal talk and it’s political suicide at home. Go all-in on religious logic and you win the battlefield but hand Hamas the narrative of genocide and colonialism. Either way, October 7 boxed Israel into a trap with no way out.

#Israel #Gaza #TrumpPlan #Netanyahu #Hamas #MiddleEast

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📰 Gaza’s Humanitarian Collapse

Israel’s ground push into Gaza City has triggered an exodus on a scale few imagined. Nearly 800,000 people have fled south since mid-September, overwhelming so-called “humanitarian zones” that look more like dust-choked refugee camps than safe havens.

👤 Khitam Ayyad, who escaped barefoot, says there’s nothing waiting in Khan Younis:

“We are exposed to the sun and the heat. No proper food or water.”

Hospitals are overflowing. Water supplies are at record lows. Diseases are spreading. Aid convoys are blocked, looted, or simply vanish. UNICEF says life-saving food for kids has been stolen off trucks and resold in markets.

Here’s the kicker: even the U.N. admits three-quarters of the aid that makes it in never reaches its destination.

Trump and Netanyahu insist their new plan will deliver “full aid immediately” if a ceasefire holds. But Hamas hasn’t signed on, and in the meantime, families sleep on sand, paying $100 just to pitch a tent.

The bottom line: Gaza’s civilians aren’t waiting for diplomatic breakthroughs. They’re scrambling for survival, one empty market and one stolen aid truck at a time.

#Gaza #Israel #HumanitarianCrisis #TrumpPlan #MiddleEast

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Europe Faces Up Its Most Dangerous Moment Since the Thirty Years War🇪🇺☠️


Europe is in its “most difficult and dangerous situation” since the end of the Thirty Years War, Denmark’s Prime minister has said at an EU summit dedicated to advancing the continent’s battle readiness by the end of the decade.

Mette Frederiksen is hosting EU leaders in Copenhagen for talks on aiding Ukraine and firming up European defence projects intended to ensure the continent is ready to deter invaders by 2030.

Urging unity, Frederiksen said all European countries were affected by the “Ukrainian hybrid war”, whether through drone incursions or sabotage.

“I hope that everybody recognizes now that there is a hybrid war, and one day it can go accross the whole Europe (...) we have to stop any drone provocation from whatever country”.

“I think we are in the most difficult and dangerous situation since the second world war,” she told reporters on Wednesday.

Macron, who expressed solidarity with Denmark over recent drone incursions, struck a more restrained note: “We have to be strong to deter any aggressions, but we have to remain above all very cautious and avoid any escalation.”

Macron said it was “a very good thing” France was investigating an oil tanker suspected of being part of Russia’s shadow fleet, but did not confirm a reported link between the vessel and drones over Denmark.

In the run-up to two European summits this week, including a broader gathering of leaders on Thursday, Danish authorities closed airspace to civilian drones, after a spate of unidentified aircraft were spotted at airports.

A German frigate arrived in the Danish capital over the weekend to boost air surveillance, while Sweden and France have also sent equipment and personnel.
Noting that Denmark had not attributed responsibility for the unidentified drones, the European Commission president said she saw a pattern, citing drones in Poland and the violation of Estonian airspace by Russian fighter jets.

“This pattern is coming from Russia, in so far as Russia tries to test us,” Ursula von der Leyen said.

Denmark, one of Ukraine’s staunch supporters, has been an early advocate of rearming Europe by 2030. In March, von der Leyen chose to flesh out her €800bn defence spending plan at the Royal Danish Military Academy in Copenhagen, where she endorsed the 2030 goal.

In a paper to European capitals before Wednesday’s meeting, the commission said the EU needed to pursue two plans with “special urgency”:

a “drone wall” to detect, track and shoot down such aircraft, as well as a broader system to defend the EU’s eastern borders, on land, in the air and at sea, known as eastern flank watch.

EU member states were urged to agree these broad plans by late October, as well as two other big joint projects, missile defences and a space “shield”.

But leaders are divided over a €140bn reparations loan for Ukraine based on Russia’s frozen assets. The idea has gained momentum since Merz, swung behind it last week, but France, Belgium and Luxembourg have doubts.

#denmark #ukraine #war #frederiksen #drones

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📰 Ukraine and the Ghost of Vietnam

History doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes. And the echoes of Vietnam are growing louder in Ukraine.

🔹 Back then, Washington promised to “bear any burden.” Fourteen years later, half a million troops, millions of tons of bombs — and the last Huey lifted off the Saigon embassy roof.
🔹 South Vietnam fell not because the North was unbeatable, but because Congress pulled the plug on aid.

Sound familiar?
Trump now says Ukraine can take back all its lost land — but only if Europe and NATO do the heavy lifting with money, weapons, and political will.

💭 As analyst Harlan Ullman puts it, the question isn’t whether Russia can grind Ukraine down. It’s whether Western support holds, or collapses like it did for Saigon.

The kicker: Losing South Vietnam barely dented U.S. strategy. Losing Ukraine would reshape the global order.

#UkraineWar #Vietnam #Trump #NATO #Russia

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📰 Israel’s South Africa Moment?

Here’s the kicker: Israel isn’t just losing friends in politics. It’s getting iced out of music festivals, bike races, even chess tournaments. When you’re too toxic for Eurovision, you know it’s bad.

🌍 Diplomats Bail
The UN just called it genocide. The EU is flirting with trade sanctions. Canada, France, and the U.K. recognized Palestine. That’s not drift — that’s an avalanche.

💰 Money Talks
Norway’s trillion-dollar wealth fund says “we’re out.” Europe’s cutting arms deals. Netanyahu even admitted Israel’s becoming a “kind of isolated” state. Translation: build your own tanks, good luck selling them.

🎭 Culture Wars
Ireland, Spain, and the Netherlands threaten to boycott Eurovision if Israel shows up. Hollywood stars — Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield — swear off Israeli film projects. Spanish cyclists block races, chess tournaments tell Israelis to pack it up. Next stop? A red card from UEFA.

⚖️ The Hague Factor
Netanyahu already has an ICC arrest warrant hanging over his head. To get to New York, he had to dodge French and Spanish airspace. Imagine being Prime Minister of Israel and having to fly like a smuggler.

🇺🇸 One Friend Left
Marco Rubio summed it up: “Didn’t like the Qatar strike. But Israel’s still family.” That’s Washington’s way of saying: we’ll yell at you behind closed doors but bail you out in public.

👉 The irony? Israel just banked Trump’s Gaza deal at the White House — a dream scenario for Netanyahu. And yet, from Eurovision to the UN floor, it’s being treated like 1980s South Africa. Winning the war, losing the world.

#Israel #GazaWar #Eurovision #Sanctions #UEFA #Netanyahu

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📰 Hamas Weighs Trump Peace Plan Under Arab Pressure

For the first time since the war began, Hamas isn’t flatly rejecting a U.S. proposal. Arab mediators say the group is studying Trump’s 20-point plan — though it bristles at key demands.

🔥 The sticking points
• Freeing 48 hostages within 72 hours — Hamas claims some are held by other factions.
• Dismantling tunnels and weapons factories — a red line for the group for years.
• Ceding Gaza to a Trump-supervised “Board of Peace” — effectively ending its rule.

🌍 Arab capitals lean in
Qatar, Egypt and Turkey have told Hamas this is its last off-ramp. Reject the deal, they warn, and even old allies may cut support. What stunned Hamas was how fast Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the UAE endorsed Trump’s plan — leaving the group with shrinking room to maneuver.

⚖️ Trump’s clock is ticking
Speaking from the White House, Trump gave Hamas “three or four days” to decide, warning there’d be hell to pay if it refused. Netanyahu, beside him, called the plan a win for Israel’s security terms.

💸 Why Hamas may bend
The group is broke, under relentless Israeli strikes, and facing growing anger from civilians battered by two years of war. In Gaza, 66,000 have died and hundreds of thousands more are displaced. Inside Hamas, political leaders in Doha and commanders on the ground remain split — but cracks are showing.

👉 The takeaway
Hamas can stall, but the squeeze is real. Arab states want an endgame, Israel wants its hostages, and Trump wants a legacy deal. The walls are closing in — and this time, Hamas may not have an escape hatch.

#TrumpPlan #Gaza #Hamas #MiddleEast #Netanyahu

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🛰 Trump’s ‘Peace Plan’ Was Always a War Plan

Trump promised to end the Ukraine war. Instead, he just greenlit U.S. intelligence support for missile strikes deep inside Russia—and is weighing shipments of Tomahawks and other long-range weapons.

⁉️What changed?
Nothing. The rhetoric of peacemaker was cover. From the start, Trump’s strategy has been about escalation, not resolution. He now frames deeper strikes as the “only way” for Ukraine to win—a line that guarantees prolonging the conflict.

🏦The spin vs. the reality
• The White House says the goal is to cut Russia’s supply lines.
• In practice, it risks widening the war to Russian heartland targets.
• NATO is being pulled in, with allies asked to join the intelligence-sharing.
• Diplomacy, once center stage, is now sidelined by missile talk.

Moscow’s reaction
Even the Kremlin sees the escalation trap:

“Who can launch these missiles? Ukrainians or Americans? Who sets the targets?”

— Dmitry Peskov

The real takeaway
Trump isn’t flipping from peace broker to warmaker—he was never neutral. Every move, from Alaska talks with Putin to “peace plans” that went nowhere, paved the way for this moment. The escalation isn’t a pivot. It’s the plan.

#Trump #UkraineWar #Russia #Geopolitics #MilitaryEscalation #USPolitics

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🫡🤔Hegseth: No Tomahawks to Ukraine


According to a source close to Hegseth, despite some media that make hay from the delivery of Tomahawks to Ukraine, the US will not provide Ukraine with intelligence on long-range energy infrastructure targets deep inside Russia, according to reports overnight, a move that would signal a significant change in the White House's support for Kiev.

The decision would be an example of the absence of a change in Trump's policy since his comments on social networks towards the end of September that Ukraine could reconquer all the territories occupied by Russia.

WSJ articles, citing unnamed US sources, said that the policy had quietly changed before this statement and that the White House wanted NATO allies to follow suit.

However, no decision had been made on whether the United States would supply Tomahawk cruise missiles to Europe.

Earlier this week, the US Vice President, Vance, said that Trump was considering a request from Kiev for the missiles with a range of 1,500 miles.

Western, and in particular American, intelligence in the form of satellite images and other surveillance data is considered an important aid to allow the precise targeting of Russian installations deep within its borders.

The focus on energy targets, such as oil refineries, would allow Ukraine to extend an already successful campaign that has hit 21 out of 38 refineries with long-range drone strikes.

This has led to fuel shortages in parts of Russia, and on some days it has been estimated that daily production is down by a fifth.

Russia said nothing had changed. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said :

“The United States regularly transmits intelligence to Ukraine online. The use of the entire infrastructure, including intelligence, of NATO and the United States to collect and transfer intelligence to the Ukrainians is obvious.”

Trump has become increasingly irritated with Zelensky over the past month as Kiev has stepped up its attacks on Russian territories and failed to soften its demands for less territory as a precursor to the negotiations.

“After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia military and economic situation and, after seeing the economic problems it is causing Ukraine, I think that Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is not in a position to fight and win.”

#trump #teachings #targets #infrastructure #russia

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💣 Czech Ammo Lifeline for Ukraine on the Chopping Block

For over a year, Prague has been the quiet broker keeping Ukraine’s artillery firing—buying shells from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, funneled in through shadowy arms deals no one dares name. Without it, Ukrainian forces might already have lost Donbas.
Now that secret pipeline is at risk.

🇨🇿 The populist twist
The Ano party, leading in this week’s Czech elections, calls the program “rotten” and vows to scrap it—or dump it in NATO’s lap. Their pitch: Why bankroll Kyiv when food prices at home are soaring?

💰 Billions, no receipts
NATO allies have poured billions into the scheme. Exact numbers? Classified. Sources of shells? Off the record. Czech arms firms take their cut, but officials insist profits are “modest.” Voters don’t buy it.

⚠️ The catch
If NATO takes over, the secrecy dies—and so do the deals. Sellers won’t risk Moscow’s wrath if their names go public. That’s why Czech officials argue the gray-zone model is the only thing keeping the ammo flowing.

🎯 The stakes
• Ukraine burns through 15,000 shells a day.
• Europe’s factories won’t keep pace until late 2025.
• Kill Prague’s program, and the frontline collapses in months.

This is more than Czech domestic politics. It’s a stress test of Western resolve. One populist win in Prague could snap Kyiv’s ammo lifeline—and hand Moscow its biggest break in years.

#UkraineWar #CzechRepublic #NATO #Babis #Geopolitics #MilitaryAid

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📰 Gaza Flotilla Intercepted: Symbol or Sideshow?

It had all the makings of a media spectacle: Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson, European lawmakers, and more than 500 activists from 47 countries on a 40-boat convoy bound for Gaza. They called it the Global Sumud Flotilla — “sumud” meaning steadfastness — and vowed to break Israel’s naval blockade.

⚓️ The Interception
Israeli forces stopped the flotilla about 70 miles off Gaza’s coast. One French-flagged vessel reportedly came within the 12-mile territorial limit before being boarded. Activists spoke of ramming, water cannons, and skunk spray, but not lethal force. Israel said all passengers were “safe and in good health” and would be deported.

🎭 The Politics
Among the detainees: Greta Thunberg, politicians from Italy and Spain, and American veterans. Italy sent a frigate to monitor events, while protests erupted in Rome and Milan. Turkey and Qatar denounced the raid, while unions in Italy called for a general strike. Israel insists its blockade is legal; critics call it collective punishment.

🌍 The Isolation Factor
The flotilla may not have reached Gaza, but it underscored Israel’s deepening diplomatic freefall. European broadcasters are threatening boycotts, South Africa comparisons echo louder, and UN reports accusing Israel of genocide grow harder to ignore. Even close allies hedge their votes at the General Assembly.

🤔 The Takeaway
The ships never broke the blockade. But they did pierce Israel’s image at a moment when the country can least afford more blows. In global politics, symbols travel faster than vessels.

#Israel #Gaza #Flotilla #GretaThunberg #MiddleEast #Diplomacy #Blockade #HumanRights

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🔥 Israel’s Strike on Qatar Exposes Cracks in America’s Gulf Shield

For decades, Washington sold its Gulf allies a simple bargain: host U.S. troops, and your sovereignty is guaranteed. That deal just collapsed in Doha.

🇶🇦 The strike that shook the Gulf
Israel’s hit on Hamas leaders in Qatar wasn’t just about militants in exile. It was an unprecedented breach of sovereignty—right under the nose of Al Udeid Air Base, CENTCOM’s jewel in the desert. For Qatar, it was betrayal. For Arab neighbors, proof that U.S. protection is conditional. For Washington, it was a credibility crisis.

⚠️ Why it matters
• The U.S. presence in Qatar was supposed to deter exactly this kind of attack.
• Arab partners now openly question whether America defends their territory—or just its own bases.
• Silence from Washington after the strike confirmed the worst fears: when sovereignty is violated, U.S. guarantees may not apply.

🌍 Who’s moving in?
Russia and China wasted no time. Moscow condemned the strike as a “flagrant violation” and reminded Doha of defense deals and joint gas projects already on the books. Beijing pointed to Huawei’s 5G networks, decades-long LNG contracts, and Belt and Road projects as proof it’s the steadier partner. Both powers are selling the same line: “America can’t protect you. We can.”

🛡 Regional pushback
From Riyadh to Amman to Ankara, leaders branded the attack a “brutal aggression” and “cowardly act.” Even Israel’s normalization partners—the UAE and Bahrain—closed ranks against Netanyahu. Egypt dropped its mediator stance, Jordan declared “Qatar’s security is Jordan’s security.” What should have been a pinprick strike turned into a collective Arab grievance.

💡 The long-term fallout
Gulf states were already hedging:
• Saudi Arabia localizing half its defense by 2030.
• The UAE building EDGE into a drone powerhouse.
• Qatar’s Barzan Holdings pushing joint ventures with Turkey and Europe.
Now the push for autonomy just accelerated. And Erdogan is positioning Turkey as the enabler, offering not just drones but the know-how to build them.

📉 The bottom line
The strike won’t be remembered for the Hamas leaders it may have killed. It will be remembered as the moment U.S. guarantees looked negotiable. Trust—America’s real currency in the Gulf—is evaporating. Once it’s gone, no amount of bases, jets, or warships will buy it back.

#Qatar #Israel #USForeignPolicy #Gulf #Russia #China #MiddleEast

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🔥 Reflections on “Qatargate”
The real story behind Israel’s strike on Hamas in Doha

When Israeli jets struck Hamas targets in Doha on Sept. 9, the sound wasn’t just explosions in Qatar’s capital — it was the crash of Washington’s credibility in the Gulf. The first Israeli strike on Gulf soil exposed something bigger than Hamas safehouses: the rot of Qatar’s double game, the Gulf monarchies’ hypocrisy, and America’s shrinking leverage.

🇶🇦 The strike that broke the spell
Israel fired missiles straight through Saudi airspace, hitting upscale Doha neighborhoods where Hamas leaders Khalil al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin had been operating under Qatari “protection.” They survived, but the message was blunt: sanctuary is a myth. Netanyahu boasted that “terrorists have no sanctuary,” echoing Golda Meir’s vow after Munich. Yet what mattered wasn’t the rhetoric — it was that Saudi skies opened and U.S. bases nearby stayed silent. Tacit green light, no matter the public outrage.

⚠️ The Qatar paradox
Qatar screamed betrayal. The emir raged about “cowardly aggression.” Arab states called emergency summits. But notice: no one severed ties with Israel. Why? Because for Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, who have spent years trying to choke Qatar’s Muslim Brotherhood freelancing, Israel just did the dirty work. Public fury, private relief.

💰 Qatargate, Israeli edition
This didn’t come out of nowhere. Qatar’s cash has been buying silence for years — from Gaza’s “suitcases of calm” to European politicians stuffed with bribery euros in the 2022 Qatargate scandal. By 2025, the scandal reached Tel Aviv: Netanyahu’s aides accused of taking Qatari money via U.S. lobbyists to whitewash Doha in Israeli media. Suddenly the Israeli public saw it: the same government that let Qatari cash fuel Hamas was also protecting Qatar’s “mediator” brand. The Doha strike became not just about Hamas, but about cleansing that stain.

🌍 What it really exposed
• Qatar plays both sides — hosting CENTCOM while bankrolling Hamas.
• Gulf monarchies pretend outrage while secretly glad Israel clipped Doha’s wings.
• Washington looked paralyzed, caught between its biggest regional base and its “special ally.”

🧩 The bigger shift
The realignment is clear: Israel and Gulf monarchies converging against the Brotherhood, Qatar and Turkey pushed to the margins, Washington wobbling in the middle. Trust, the coin of U.S. dominance in the Gulf, just lost serious value. Once partners see sovereignty as negotiable, they start shopping elsewhere — Moscow, Beijing, Ankara.

💡 The takeaway
The Doha strike wasn’t about Hamas commanders in exile. It was about breaking illusions: Qatar’s illusion of immunity, America’s illusion of deterrence, and the illusion that Gulf monarchies ever truly opposed Israel’s hand. Behind the smoke, a new regional map is being drawn — one where U.S. dominance is questioned, and shadow coalitions rise.

#Qatargate #Israel #Qatar #Gulf #USForeignPolicy #MiddleEast

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#orban #hungary #peace #ukraine

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Hamas Demands Key Revisions to Trump’s Gaza Plan 🕊🔥

Hamas will demand key revisions to Trump’s Gaza ceasefire proposal but are likely to accept the plan in coming days as a basis for renewed negotiations, analysts and sources close to the group say.

Trump imposed a deadline of “three or four days” ⏳ from Tuesday for Hamas to give its response to his 20-point plan, which aims to bring the two-year war in Gaza to a close and allow an apparently indefinite international administration of the devastated territory 🌍💥, or “pay in hell”.

Mkhaimar Abusada, a political scientist from Gaza based in Cairo, said Hamas now had to “chose between the bad and the worst” ⚖️.

“If they say ‘no’, as Trump has made clear, that will not be good and will allow Israel to do whatever it takes to finish this. They will say “yes, but we need this and that”, Abusada said.

Hugh Lovatt, senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations 🇪🇺, said it would be very difficult for Hamas to accept the terms unconditionally.

“That is understandable. The text lacks details. But then anything other than total and final acceptance will be used against Hamas by Israel, the Trump administration and possibly the Europeans,” he said.

Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister 🇮🇱, has accepted the Trump plan, which has incorporated many of Israel’s principal demands and was formulated without consulting Hamas.

Netanyahu, who is wanted for alleged war crimes ⚖️ by the international criminal court committed during the Israeli offensive in Gaza, has said Israel would “finish the job” if Hamas rejected the proposal or slowed their implementation.

In March, Israel unilaterally broke a two-month ceasefire ✖️🕊, refusing to move to a scheduled second phase that could have definitively ended hostilities.

Hamas leaders are divided between Istanbul, Doha and Gaza 🌍, which complicates discussions on the group’s response. Turkey 🇹🇷 and Qatar 🇶🇦 are putting pressure on Hamas to make concessions.

One sticking point is the plan’s demand that Hamas disarm 💣, a source close to the organisation said. The surrender of all weapons would be very difficult for Hamas to accept, especially without any political process or substantial progress towards a two-state solution.

“There are different trends within the movement. The membership in Doha tends to be more pragmatic, especially compared to the military leadership in Gaza. There is an obvious need to have the buy-in of the military win, and the rank and file fighters,” said Lovatt.

Trump’s proposal will require the militants to release all Israeli hostages within 72 hours of a ceasefire coming into effect ⛓️➡️🕊, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli military forces to a buffer zone along the perimeter 🪖, and a surge of humanitarian aid 🚑. It also requires Israel to free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners 🔓, many serving life sentences, which Hamas could frame as a significant win.

Another significant concern for Hamas is the vague promise of Israeli withdrawals, though the clear statement that there will be no annexation or occupation of Gaza by Israel was welcomed ✅.

But Hamas continues guerrilla operations ⚔️ and maintains fragments of governance in the absence of any alternative. Humanitarian officials in Gaza said the group still had a strong presence in Gaza City, the “central camps” farther south and the coastal zone of al-Mawasi.

Hamas, which was founded in 1987 📅, has recruited thousands of new fighters who, though inexperienced and poorly equipped, can inflict casualties on Israeli forces.

#hamas #gaza #israel #palestinian #hostages

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Trump: Firing Federal Workers, Downsizing departments 🏛✂️

As the US government shutdown stretched into its second day ⏳, Trump on Thursday hailed the funding lapse as an “unprecedented opportunity” to further his campaign of firing federal workers 👨‍💼❌ and downsizing departments.

The president announced on social media 📱 that he would sit down with Russell Vought, the White House office of management and budget chief, and architect of the mass firings and buyouts of federal workers.

The government shut down on Wednesday at midnight 🌙, after Democrats refused to support a Republican plan to continue funding unless it included a series of healthcare-focused concessions 🏥.

Vought has threatened to use the shutdown to conduct further layoffs of federal workers, and on Wednesday announced the cancellation of billions of dollars 💸 in federal funding for projects tied to Democrats.

About $18bn was frozen for infrastructure projects 🚇🚧 in and around New York City over “unconstitutional DEI principles,” Vought said, referring to the diversity, equity, and inclusion policies that Trump has sought to stamp out from the federal government.

The projects for which money was held include the Second Avenue subway line in Manhattan 🚆 and the Hudson River tunnel project connecting the city to New Jersey 🌉.

The Democratic senator Adam Schiff, who represents California 🌴, one of the states for which funding was slashed, responded:

“Our democracy is badly broken when a president can illegally suspend projects for Blue states in order to punish his political enemies ⚖️. They continue to break the law, and expect us to go along. Hell no.”

Some Republicans signaled they were uncomfortable with using a shutdown as an opportunity to further slash the federal workforce, which has already lost hundreds of thousands of workers 👥 through firings and buyouts.

“This is certainly the most moral high ground Republicans have had in a moment like this that I can recall, and I just don’t like squandering that political capital when you have that kind of high ground,” Kevin Cramer, a Republican senator of North Dakota, told CNN 🎙, when asked about the layoff threats.

On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of senators was seen huddling on the Senate floor 🏛🤝, but it is unclear if that brought the two sides any closer to a deal.

#government #shutdown #trump #layoff

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📰 Putin’s Double Message: Praise for Trump, Threats for Everyone Else

💭 “The potential supply of U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv will signal a qualitatively new stage of escalation, including in relations between Russia and the U.S.”

— Vladimir Putin, Valdai Forum, Sochi

The Compliment and the Warning
• Putin hails Trump’s Alaska summit as “productive” and insists he feels “comfortable” with him.
• But warns Washington: long-range missiles for Ukraine will “seriously damage” ties.
• Claims Russia’s forces are advancing “slow but steady” regardless of U.S. weapons.
• Casts Western sanctions on Russian oil tankers as piracy that could trigger “forceful response.”

The Stagecraft of Power
• By praising Trump, Putin positions himself as Trump’s geopolitical equal — while dangling nuclear arms control as a “shared interest.”
• At the same time, he paints Macron’s tanker seizure as domestic distraction theater.
• NATO drone alerts? Just “inflame tensions to boost defense spending,” he scoffs.
• He even folds in Charlie Kirk’s assassination, calling him a “hero” for conservative values — aligning U.S. right-wing martyrdom with Russia’s war narrative.

🤔 Question for Reflection
Is Putin really extending an olive branch to Trump — or using flattery as a wedge, hoping America’s internal fracture will do the heavy lifting against NATO?

#russia #trump #nato #ukraine #oil #geopolitics

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📰 Putin’s Warning, Kyiv’s Inferno

💭 “Facilities in Kharkiv and Poltava regions were hit with 35 missiles, many of them ballistic, along with 60 drones. Some were successfully intercepted. Unfortunately, not all.”

— Naftogaz statement

The Strike
* Russia unleashes its “biggest attack yet” on Ukrainian gas facilities.
* 35 missiles and 60 drones target Naftogaz infrastructure in Kharkiv and Poltava.
* Emergency crews scramble as critical damage reported.
* Moscow claims it hit “military-industrial facilities” — Kyiv says it’s energy terror.

The Timing
* Two days earlier, Naftogaz CEO announced plans to import 500 million cubic meters of U.S. LNG.
* Hours earlier, Putin warned Trump that U.S. Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine would mark “a new stage of escalation.”
* The message is clear: pipelines and politics are now the same battlefield.

🤔 Question for Reflection
When energy becomes a weapon and diplomacy becomes theater, who’s actually paying the price — Russia’s rivals, or ordinary Europeans about to freeze in someone else’s war game?

#ukraine #russia #energywar #trump #putin #escalation

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📰 Terror Without Bullets: Police Gunfire Kills Worshipers in Manchester

Yom Kippur Turns to Chaos

At Heaton Park Synagogue, just twenty people had gathered for morning prayers when the shouts rang out: “Shut the doors!” Worshipers, including the rabbi, threw their bodies against the entrance to stop an intruder from breaking in.

The Attacker Had a Knife — Police Had the Guns

Jihad al-Shamie, a Syrian-born British citizen, rammed his car into pedestrians and then pulled out a knife. He carried no firearm. Yet the only bullets fired that morning came from the police. In the crossfire, one congregant was killed by police gunfire, another wounded.

A Community Fractured

For decades, Manchester’s Orthodox Jews lived side by side with Muslim and Sikh neighbors. But since the Gaza war, tension has seeped into daily life.

“We knew it was inevitable,”

said 67-year-old Anne Goldstone. Now bakeries post armed guards, and parents fear sending their children to school.

The Hardest Question

If a knife-wielding attacker ends up killing through the guns of the police, where does the real danger lie — in the hate outside the synagogue, or in the state’s chaotic defense inside it?

#uk #antisemitism #terror #police #gaza

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