Yesterday I read the following lines on the Internet – unfortunately without an author’s reference: This has never happened before: a man who has not even been elected chancellor yet negotiates the biggest borrowing in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany with parties that lost the election, in a Bundestag that has long since been dissolved.

If you had described Friedrich Merz’s current behavior to a German 10 years ago, you would have been declared insane and put in a clinic without raising a fuss.

Friedrich Merz, who refuses to form a coalition with the AFD because he accuses them of right-wing extremism, is preparing Germany for war against Russia. The AFD wants peace with Russia, Russia seeks peace, the Americans want peace and Merz opposes all those who seek peace.

Retired Royal Navy Rear Admiral Chris Parry stated that Russia would not be able to defend itself against a massive ICBM strike.

"One Trident submarine has the ability to incinerate 40 Russian cities very quickly. That is a lot of food for thought for Putin and that should make any world leader fearful," he told The Telegraph.

However, concerns have been raised about the state of Britain’s nuclear fleet. The Vanguard-class submarines are more than 25 years old, and two recent missile tests have ended in failure.

The UK possesses four Vanguard-class nuclear submarines:

• HMS Victorious,
• HMS Vanguard,
• HMS Vigilant,
• and HMS Vengeance.

Each is equipped with Trident ICBMs capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

The big news on house insurance this week was the response of the insurance industry’s peak body to a parliamentary committee’s extensive criticisms of its treatment of people claiming on their policies after the massive floods of 2022.

The Insurance Council of Australia accepted some of the committee’s recommendations, announced an “industry action plan” and generally promised to be good boys in future. But the consumer groups were unimpressed.

Former US President Joe Biden has offered to raise funds, campaign, and do whatever is needed to help Democrats regain ground lost to the Republicans during his tenure, NBC News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Biden has reportedly made the offer in private conversations with party leaders, including a meeting last month with new Democratic National Committee chairman Ken Martin. The former president expressed his willingness to support the party amid its declining popularity, according to individuals familiar with the discussions.

Democratic favorability among registered voters polled recently for NBC came in at 27% — the lowest since polling began in 1990.

Broken promises and burned pipelines: Why diplomacy with Kiev is a dead end
Ukraine blew up a Russian gas facility just days after a mutual agreement not to do just that. As if anyone expected something different.

By Nadezhda Romanenko

In a brazen act of duplicity, Ukraine has once again demonstrated that it is not a reliable partner for diplomacy – let alone peace.

Mere days after a US-brokered agreement saw Moscow and Kiev commit to a mutual moratorium on targeting each other’s energy infrastructure, Ukrainian forces reportedly launched a deliberate strike on a gas metering station in Russia’s Kursk region. This was no accident, no miscommunication, and no unfortunate timing—it was a calculated breach of trust and yet another glaring signal that Ukraine cannot be reasoned with.

Russian President Vladimir Putin would breach a peace deal with Ukraine if it is not defended, Sir Keir Starmer has said, after attending a meeting of senior military leaders in London.

The UK prime minister said any agreement to stop the fighting between Russia and Ukraine would "only be lasting" if there were "security arrangements in place".

He was speaking at Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood, London, where more than 20 countries gathered at a closed meeting to discuss proposals for troops in Ukraine to help guarantee the country's security as part of any peace deal.

Sir Keir said security arrangements would make clear to Russia there would be "severe consequences if they are to breach any deal".

I Spent 3 Days at Jordan Peterson’s Anti-Climate ARC Conference. Here’s What I Saw.
The Alliance for Responsible Citizenship is the global far-right Woodstock, with political and thought leaders mingling with the business elite, conservative nobodies — and me.

By Marc Fawcett-Atkinson

It’s easy to dismiss Jordan Peterson, the Canadian bad boy ex-academic, as a sideshow. But when he’s standing six feet away, scowling before an audience of thousands of powerful conservatives from around the world, it clicks: Peterson’s influence has gotten too big to ignore, and his message is a danger to all of us.

America's big tech sector is lobbying the Trump administration to take up a new fight with the Australian government — over its rules governing social media and streaming services. 

Silicon Valley, whose top executives have cultivated close relationships with Donald Trump, is now pushing the new president to pressure Australia to relax its regulations or risk retaliation.

The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), representing the sector, has made a formal submission as part of the White House's review of US trade policy.

A jury in North Dakota has decided that the environmental group Greenpeace must pay hundreds of millions of dollars to the pipeline company Energy Transfer and is liable for defamation and other claims over protests in the state nearly a decade ago.

Let’s start with that phone call. The Kremlin readout is quite sober – but it does reveal a few nuggets. There is no comprehensive deal – yet – between Moscow and Washington. Far from it: we are just in the initial tentative stage of talking and talking about several interconnected dossiers.

A Democratic congressman has become the first to publicly call for Chuck Schumer to step down as Senate minority leader, highlighting growing divisions within the party over how to confront and counter Donald Trump’s administration.

Glenn Ivey of Maryland told constituents on Tuesday that Schumer’s decision to allow a Republican funding bill to pass had surrendered crucial leverage against the administration.

People behind The Simpsons use the animated sitcom to “program” the audience and prepare it for real-life events, a senior Russian mufti has claimed. 

Mufti Aynur Birgalin, the chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims in Russia’s Muslim-majority Bashkortostan Republic, went viral on Wednesday after an excerpt from his sermon was shared online. During a gathering of Muslims in the regional capital of Ufa, Birgalin said that the Simpsons “predicted” actual events, such as pandemics. 

Fans have long joked that during its nearly 40-year run, the animated comedy show predicted many historical events, including the presidency of Donald Trump. 

Birgalin, however, argued that “behind-the-scenes conductors” use the show to influence the public.

Emmanuel Macron announced an increase in military spending on Wednesday evening, specifying that it would not be financed by tax increases and by preparing the French for further budget cuts. Mobilizing savings is reportedly under consideration. For its part, the left is arguing, on the contrary, for the wealthiest to contribute.

Financing Future Military Spending: A New Political Confrontation Ahead

Trump wants US ownership of Ukraine’s energy facilities – White House
The president has told Vladimir Zelensky it would be the best way to protect the country’s power plants

US President Donald Trump has proposed an American takeover of Ukrainian power plants, suggesting it would be the best way to protect the infrastructure, the White House has revealed.

The idea was floated by Trump during a phone conversation with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky on Wednesday, described by the US president as a “very good” call.

Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy agrees to 'partial ceasefire'

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says he is open to a "partial ceasefire" after a "frank" call with US President Trump, who suggested the United States take over Ukrainian power plants as a security guarantee. DW has more.

Ukrainian frontline troops suspicious of Trump and Putin's proposals

Matt Ford with AFP