Thursday, July 10, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Von der Leyen remains EU chief

Published today 17:48
– By Editorial Staff
Von der Leyen can be pleased to keep her job for a while longer.
1 minute read

Improper influence on the election in Romania and suspicious procurement processes worth billions via text messages with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. This was part of the criticism in connection with the vote of no confidence against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday.

Behind the no-confidence initiative is Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea from the ECR (European Conservatives and Reformists), who cited “lack of leadership and transparency” partly following von der Leyen’s concealed text message conversations with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla regarding billion-euro purchases of the pharmaceutical giant’s criticized COVID vaccine Comirnaty.

She has also been accused of improper attempts to influence Romania’s presidential election, where liberal NATO advocate Nicusor Dan ultimately defeated nationalist George Simion in May. Dan’s electoral victory came only after a previously nationalist and EU-critical candidate, Calin Georgescu, was disqualified and accused of crimes without evidence after winning the first round of voting.

The vote ended with just under a quarter, 175 votes, in favor of no confidence. 360 voted against and 18 members abstained, according to the European Parliament’s press release. For von der Leyen to have been removed, a two-thirds majority would have been required. Von der Leyen herself dismissed the no-confidence motion as primarily driven by conspiracy theories promoted by “anti-vaxxers” and “Putin apologists”.

Covid vaccines, weapons and control

Ursula von der Leyen has led the European Commission since 2019 and during her time in EU leadership has not only managed to profile the union as a major customer to pharmaceutical giants but also to the weapons industry, where one of her key priorities has been procurement of weapons for the war in Ukraine while simultaneously minimizing diplomatic exchange with Russia. Her politics have otherwise been totalitarian in nature and focused on increased supranational control over the union's member states and surveillance of EU citizens, as well as with a strong focus on continuing to enable non-European mass migration to all of the union's countries.

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Israel’s latest attack: Ground troops in Lebanon

The escalation in the Middle East

Published today 14:44
– By Editorial Staff
2 minute read

Israel has conducted almost daily attacks against targets in southern Lebanon and also against the capital Beirut since the ceasefire was concluded in November 2024 between Israel and Hezbollah. During the night, they have also deployed ground troops in the neighboring country.

As recently as Tuesday, Israel fired on a vehicle in the Lebanese city of Tripoli in an attack that killed three people and injured 13 according to Lebanon’s health ministry. According to Israel, a Hamas officer was killed in the attack.

During last night, Israel also deployed ground troops in the neighboring country in what is described as a “special operation”. The Israeli military IDF communicates this in a press release and a statement on Telegram as reported by, among others, the Qatari channel Al-Jazeera. They also show a video of soldiers in the operation.

 

 

Despite the agreed ceasefire, Israel has justified continued attacks in Lebanon by claiming that the paramilitary Shia Muslim political party Hezbollah, which is part of the country’s complex coalition government together with Christian, Druze and socialist politicians, continues to pose a threat and that the Lebanese state has not fulfilled its commitments under the agreement.

Lebanon has for its part condemned the attacks as flagrant violations of the ceasefire and has also requested help from the UN Security Council to get Israel to cease the attacks. Lebanese President Nawaf Salam has repeatedly also addressed the US and Israel directly to get the Netanyahu government to refrain from further attacks.

US issues sanctions against UN investigator who criticized Israel

The situation in Gaza

Published today 13:41
– By Editorial Staff
Francesca Albanese is the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories since 2022.
4 minute read

The Trump administration has decided to sanction Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, as part of the American campaign to silence critics of Israel’s actions in the ongoing war. This is reported by The Guardian.

In a text message to Al Jazeera, Albanese accuses the US of “mafia style intimidation techniques”.

The US State Department announced on Wednesday that the country is issuing sanctions against the independent official who is tasked with investigating human rights violations in the Palestinian territories. The decision comes after American pressure on the UN to remove Albanese from her position previously failed.

Francesca Albanese, who is a human rights lawyer, has been open with her criticism of what she describes as the “genocide” that Israel is carrying out against Palestinians in Gaza. Both Israel and the US, which provides Israel with military support, have firmly denied these allegations.

International legal scrutiny

Israel faces allegations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and war crimes at the International Criminal Court following the country’s devastating military assault on Gaza. Albanese’s position has also received support from leading genocide scholars and human rights organizations.

In a post on X late Wednesday evening, Albanese wrote that she stands “firmly and convincingly on the side of justice, as I have always done,” without directly mentioning the American sanctions. In a text message to Al Jazeera, she was quoted dismissing the US actions as “mafia style intimidation techniques“.

In recent weeks, Albanese has sent out a series of letters urging other countries to pressure Israel, including through sanctions, to end its deadly bombing of the Gaza Strip. The Italian citizen has also been a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court’s prosecution of Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for war crimes.

Harsh American criticism

Most recently, she issued a report that named several American corporations among the companies helping with what she described as Israel’s occupation and war against Gaza.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented on the sanctions on social media:

– Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated. We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense.

Albanese has been targeted for criticism by pro-Israeli officials and groups in the US and Middle East. Last week, the US UN mission issued a sharp statement demanding her removal for “years-long pattern of virulent antisemitism and unrelenting anti-Israel bias”.

The statement claimed that Albanese’s allegations that Israel is committing genocide or apartheid are “false and offensive”.

Part of broader campaign

The sanctions represent the culmination of an extensive campaign over nearly six months by the Trump administration to silence criticism of Israel’s handling of the deadly war in Gaza, which is approaching two years. Earlier this year, the Trump administration began arresting and deporting faculty members and students at American universities who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations and other political activities.

Human rights experts have sharply criticized the US sanctions against Albanese. Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the think tank Center for International Policy, described them as “rogue state behavior”, while Amnesty International said that UN Special Rapporteurs must be supported and not sanctioned.

Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International and former UN Special Rapporteur, stated:

– Governments around the world and all actors who believe in the rule-based order and international law must do everything in their power to mitigate and block the effect of the sanctions against Francesca Albanese and more generally to protect the work and independence of special rapporteurs.

Background to the conflict

Israel’s retaliation campaign after the events of October 7, 2023, has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says women and children make up most of the dead but does not specify how many were combatants or civilians. The figure is generally considered to be a significant underestimate.

Nearly 21 months into the conflict that has displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, it is almost impossible for the critically injured to receive the care they need, say doctors and aid workers.

Albanese said in a recent post on X:

We must stop this genocide, whose short-term goal is completing the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, while also profiteering from the killing machine devised to perform it.

No one is safe until everyone is safe.

Francesca Albanese is an Italian jurist and human rights expert who has served as the UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories since 2022. She has a background in international law and has worked on issues concerning human rights, humanitarian law and conflict resolution. Albanese is known for her critical reports and analyses of the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, where she highlights the consequences of the Israeli occupation for the civilian population. Her work aims to promote justice, accountability and respect for international law in the region.

Russia now allows foreigners in the military

The war in Ukraine

Published today 9:39
– By Editorial Staff
Vladimir Putin with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
1 minute read

Non-Russian citizens will now be allowed to enlist in the military, according to a law signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The state-run Russian news agency Tass reports that the new law enables stateless persons and foreigners to sign contracts and serve in the Russian military until the end of the mobilization period, the lifting of the state of emergency, or the end of martial law in Russia.

The law is said to have been expedited “in order to take urgent additional measures to restaff the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” according to the explanation in the legal document.

After Iran bombing: Netanyahu nominates Trump for peace prize

Published yesterday 14:37
– By Editorial Staff
Trump and Netanyahu during the latest session at the White House.
1 minute read

Israel’s internationally wanted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the opportunity during a dinner at the White House to nominate Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his bombings of Iran.

It’s well deserved, you should get it, Netanyahu said when he announced the nomination.

The statement comes in the context of Trump’s bombing raids against Iran, which were carried out in violation of both international law and the US Constitution.

Coming from you in particular this is very meaningful, Trump responded gratefully.

Netanyahu himself is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and is being investigated for genocide in Gaza, and also faces charges in Israel for corruption.

During the dinner, Donald Trump also announced that the US is resuming and scaling up arms deliveries for the war in Ukraine.

 

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