Author: staff
When German historian Rainer Zitelmann reposted a photo of Adolf Hitler to warn against appeasing Russian President Vladimir Putin, he didn’t expect it to trigger a police probe. According to police, the problem was the image itself: Hitler was shown wearing a swastika armband — a banned symbol under Germany’s criminal code, which prohibits the public display of Nazi and other extremist insignia. Zitelmann was informed in February that authorities were examining the case. Zitelmann’s is just one of several recent investigations into online speech, which have raised questions about how far German authorities are going in enforcing strict speech…
Astrotourism has been among the biggest travel trends of the past five years and it shows no signs of slowing down, particularly with a solar eclipse on the horizon later this year. While the 2026 total solar eclipse on 12 August will be pretty special as the first, and only, one to be visible in Iceland in the 21st century, long-time eclipse chasers are already looking ahead to next year. That’s because 2 August 2027 will see the “eclipse of the century”, aka the longest total solar eclipse on easily accessible land. Major cities in the path of totality include…
Permanent membership requires a $1 billion contribution. Many key democracies such as the U.K., Canada, France and Germany have stayed away while Russia and China have so far declined to join, leaving membership to a motley group of member states including Belarus and Azerbaijan. In January Trump withdrew an invitation to Canada to join after a spat with America’s northern neighbor. Guterres said that beyond the Gaza reconstruction plan, he saw no need for Trump’s board. “Everything else now is a personal project of President Trump, in which he has full control of everything,” he noted. “This is not the effective way to address the dramatic problems that…
In the 1990s, following the Mani Pulite (“Clean Hands”)corruption scandal that broke the Christian Democrats’ decades-long hold on power, politicians were discredited, while prosecutors were hailed as heroes and gained moral authority. This triggered lasting grievances on the right and a conviction that the judiciary has become a political force. Things have not always been so binary. The idea of separating the career paths of judges and prosecutors was also previously supported by the left: Massimo D’Alema, who was secretary of the left-wing Partito Democratico di Sinistra and would soon become prime minister, proposed the reform as chair of a…
The Press Association has reported that the man arrested is Iranian. Faslane is one of the U.K.’s largest and most sensitive military sites, and is not open to the public. While it is not known what the pair’s motive was, the incident comes amid heightened concerns about hostile activity from Iran in Britain. Faslane is home to all of the Navy’s nuclear submarines, including the Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarines which carry Trident nuclear missiles. The site is protected by Ministry of Defence Police and Royal Marine Commandos, which were scrambled to their highest alert yesterday, according to the Sun.
Russia has made various proposals about Iran to the U.S., which has rejected them all, another person familiar with the discussions said. This person said the U.S. also rejected a proposal to move Iran’s enriched uranium to Russia, which was first reported by Axios. Russia has expanded intelligence-sharing and military cooperation with Iran since the war started, a person briefed on the intelligence said. The Wall Street Journal first reported the increase and wrote that Moscow is providing satellite imagery and drone technology to help Tehran target U.S. forces in the region. The Kremlin called that report “fake news.” Trump…
The outburst came following Thursday’s European Council, where national leaders struck a cautious tone in emphasizing de-escalation and resisting involvement in a conflict with no apparent end in sight. Spain’s PM Pedro Sánchez even described the war as illegal — underscoring the size of the breach with Washington. Since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Tehran on Feb. 28, France, Germany, Italy and the U.K. have resisted sending warships to the Gulf. On Thursday they backed a joint statement with partners Japan and Canada supporting “appropriate efforts” to ensure safe passage through Hormuz — but only once the fighting…
TOULOUSE, France — The prospect of the hard-left France Unbowed party taking control of Toulouse, France’s fourth-largest city and home to Europe’s best-known airplane maker, is putting industry on edge. It’s not just that a win in the second round of local elections Sunday could give the party’s anticapitalist leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a major boost ahead of next year’s presidential election. That’s a concern for later. The immediate fear is that if France Unbowed makes history here — the party has never come close to controlling such a big metropolis — it will heap taxes on local icons like Airbus…
The spokesperson said the U.K. is still working with partners to develop “a viable plan” to safeguard shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Details on any proposals have been scant so far. Since the beginning of the Iran conflict, Starmer has been keen to stress the U.K. is on its own path, one not dictated by the U.S. This is the first time the U.K. has confirmed that U.S. bombers can use two British bases to hit Iranian missile sites that are targeting commercial shipping in the Strait. Previously Britain had said the U.S. could use its bases to target…
The Slovenian government has decided against joining South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, despite having previously expressed desire to participate in the proceedings. Several countries, including the Netherlands, Iceland, Hungary, the US, Fiji and Namibia, have filed interventions in recent days to submit their observations on the interpretation of the treaty. Slovenia decided against participating due to “security risks”. While Prime Minister Robert Golob had initially been inclined to give the proposal the green light, he was ultimately swayed against doing so by national security officials, local media reported. They reportedly cautioned that joining…