Global Pulse

分类： politics

  • US to cut troop levels in Germany by 5,000 amid Trump spat with Merz

    US to cut troop levels in Germany by 5,000 amid Trump spat with Merz

    A sharp public diplomatic clash between U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the ongoing Iran conflict has triggered a formal Pentagon plan to withdraw 5,000 American military personnel from Germany, with the drawdown scheduled to unfold over the next 6 to 12 months. The announcement of the troop withdrawal came just 24 hours after Merz delivered critical remarks that stung the White House: speaking to university students earlier this week, the German leader argued that the U.S. lacked a coherent strategy for the Iran war, claiming Iranian negotiators had effectively humiliated Washington by drawing out talks and leaving American officials empty-handed after high-profile meetings in Islamabad.

    Merz’s comments quickly drew a fiery retaliation from Trump on his social platform Truth Social. The U.S. president accused Merz of supporting Iran’s nuclear ambitions, dismissed his commentary as uninformed, and lambasted Germany’s overall economic performance. Beyond his attack on the German chancellor, Trump also broadened his criticism of NATO allies who have declined to join U.S. efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran conflict, a longstanding point of friction for the president, who has been an open critic of the alliance for decades. When asked Thursday if he would also consider pulling American troops from other NATO members Italy and Spain, Trump did not rule out the move, saying “I probably will” and accusing both countries of refusing to assist the U.S. in the Iran conflict, calling their inaction unacceptable.

    Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed in an official statement that the order for the German drawdown originated with Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth. Parnell framed the decision as the outcome of a comprehensive review of U.S. military force posture across Europe, saying the adjustment aligns with current theater requirements and on-the-ground conditions. As of last December, the U.S. maintains more than 36,000 active-duty troops deployed across bases in Germany, making it the largest American military footprint in Europe and the second-largest globally, only trailing the U.S. troop presence in Japan. Germany’s Ramstein Air Base, located outside Kaiserslautern in southwestern Germany, serves as a critical logistics and command hub for U.S. operations across the continent.

    This is not the first time Trump has pushed for U.S. troop reductions in Germany. During his first term in 2020, he proposed relocating 12,000 troops out of Germany to other NATO nations or back to the U.S., but the plan was ultimately blocked by Congress and later reversed entirely by his successor, President Joe Biden. At that time, Trump justified the proposed cuts by accusing Germany of failing to meet NATO’s military spending target of 2% of GDP, calling the country delinquent in its alliance obligations. That dynamic has shifted significantly under Merz’s government: Germany is on track to hit 3.1% of GDP in total defense spending by 2027, hitting 2027 levels of €105.8 billion (£91 billion), far exceeding the alliance’s requirement. Currently, the U.S. also stations roughly 12,000 troops in Italy and 10,000 more in the United Kingdom.

  • Who shot a Secret Service officer at the Trump press dinner?

    Who shot a Secret Service officer at the Trump press dinner?

    It has been nearly seven days since a suspect was accused of attempting to assassinate former President and current U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, and critical information surrounding the shooting incident at the Washington Hilton remains unresolved amid an ongoing investigation. As authorities continue to piece together the events of that Saturday night, official statements from prosecutors have shifted dramatically around one central question: did the accused gunman actually shoot the U.S. Secret Service officer that multiple senior officials, including the president, say was hit during the attack.

    President Trump and other top administration officials have publicly stated that as the attacker charged the hotel’s security checkpoint, a Secret Service officer was struck by gunfire, and survived the incident only because he was wearing a bulletproof ballistic vest. Trump initially told reporters that the agent was shot “from very close distance with a very powerful gun.” But court documents submitted by federal government attorneys have not explicitly made the claim that the suspect fired the shot that hit the officer on the night of the high-profile gala.

    Authorities have confirmed that the responding Secret Service officer fired five shots at the suspect as he advanced through the checkpoint, but none of those rounds struck the suspect, identified by the Department of Justice as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen. The incident, which unfolded steps away from the event attended by dozens of top government officials and journalists, was captured by closed-circuit security cameras that recorded the moment of gunfire.

    Mark Lesko, a former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, explained the tension facing investigators in this high-stakes case in an interview with the BBC. “There’s this insatiable public interest in the case, pressure to get information out to the public,” Lesko said. “But on the other hand, you want to conduct a thorough investigation, which could take weeks in a case like this.” He noted that conflicting public statements from law enforcement are understandable in the chaotic early hours of a high-profile investigation, but warned that early inaccuracies could give defense attorneys room to undermine the prosecution’s case down the line.

    The BBC reached out to the Department of Justice for additional comment on the shifting narratives, while the Secret Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia declined to provide any further clarification.

    Within hours of the incident, the Department of Justice released an affidavit naming Allen as the suspect and bringing initial charges that included discharge of a firearm. Authorities confirmed Allen, who remains in federal custody, was armed with three weapons: a semi-automatic handgun, a pump-action shotgun, and three knives when he was detained at the scene.

    The day after the attack, Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche told CBS News that the suspect had shot the Secret Service agent, saying “That’s what we understand as of now.” But just 24 hours later, at a public press conference, Blanche walked back that claim. When pressed again by a reporter to confirm who shot the officer, Blanche said, “We wanna get that right, so we’re still looking at that.” He confirmed investigators have recorded that five total shots were fired during the incident, and that “the suspect fired out of a shotgun, and we know that happened.” He added that full ballistics testing is still ongoing and has not been finalized.

    The same day as Blanche’s revised press statement, the government released its full criminal complaint against Allen. The document states that the accused “approached and ran through the magnetometer holding a long gun.” It adds that “As he did so, US Secret Service personnel assigned to the checkpoint heard a loud gunshot. US Secret Service Officer V.G. was shot once in the chest; Officer V.G. was wearing a ballistic vest at the time.” Despite that accounting of the officer’s injury, prosecutors do not explicitly name Allen as the person who fired the shot that hit him.

    “That is interesting and noteworthy because what it shows is the government does not yet have conclusive proof that the suspect did shoot the agent,” Lesko explained of the omission. He also pointed out that prosecutors have not yet added a charge of assaulting a federal officer to Allen’s case, though Blanche has confirmed additional charges could be filed as the investigation progresses. Even a Wednesday detention hearing filing submitted by the government made no reference to the officer being shot, only stating that a Secret Service officer had “observed the defendant fire the shotgun in the direction of the stairs leading down to the ballroom” without confirming that any of Allen’s shots hit a person.

    This omission did not go unnoticed by Allen’s defense team. In a court filing arguing for Allen’s release from custody, defense attorneys wrote, “Moreover, the government, after essentially asserting that Mr. Allen shot a Secret Service Officer in the criminal complaint, has apparently retreated from the theory by not mentioning the alleged officer at all in its memorandum.” Allen’s legal team did not respond to the BBC’s request for additional comment.

    Four days after the attack, Jeanine Pirro, the former Fox News host who now serves as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, released new security camera footage of the incident on the social platform X. The video shows the man identified by authorities as Allen running through the hotel’s security checkpoint, and at one point he appears to raise his shotgun, though it is impossible to confirm from the footage whether he fired. The clip also clearly shows the responding Secret Service officer raising his weapon, with multiple visible muzzle flashes confirming he fired his gun. Pirro wrote in her post that “There is no evidence the shooting was the result of friendly fire,” but stopped short of claiming the video proved Allen fired the shot that hit the officer.

    The same day that footage was released, Secret Service Director Sean Curran told Fox News that “All the evidence that I’ve seen, the suspect shot our officer point-blank range with a shotgun.”

    Forensic reviews of ballistics and other physical evidence often take weeks, and in some cases months, to complete, and authorities are expected to release additional details as the investigation moves forward. Legal experts note that regardless of who fired the shot that hit the officer, prosecutors already have enough charges to secure a lengthy prison sentence if Allen is convicted. “They have enough charges here to put Allen away for a very long time” if a jury finds him guilty, Lesko said.

  • Trump tells Congress ceasefire means he does not need their approval for Iran war

    Trump tells Congress ceasefire means he does not need their approval for Iran war

    A sharp constitutional and political standoff has erupted in Washington over US military action against Iran, after President Donald Trump informed congressional leaders that all active hostilities between American forces and Tehran have formally ended following a weeks-long ceasefire — while asserting he never required legislative authorization for the conflict in the first place.

    In a formal letter sent to top congressional leaders Friday, Trump confirmed that “There has been no exchange of fire between the United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026,” adding that “The hostilities that began on February 26, 2026 have terminated.”

    The notification lands precisely on the 60th day after Trump formally informed Congress of the launch of strikes against Iran, a timeline that carries critical legal weight under the decades-old War Powers Resolution of 1973. Enacted in the wake of the Vietnam War to curtail unilateral presidential war-making authority, the law requires a sitting president to end all military engagement within 60 days of formal notification unless Congress grants explicit approval to continue hostilities, or issues a formal declaration of war. The legislation only allows a 30-day extension to facilitate safe withdrawal of forces if authorization is not granted.

    Trump pushed back firmly against the law’s requirements in his letter, arguing that his constitutional authority as Commander-in-Chief and chief architect of US foreign policy grants him independent power to order military action regardless of congressional approval. “I have and will continue to direct United States Armed Forces consistent with my responsibilities and pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct United States foreign relations as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive,” he wrote.

    The Trump administration’s top defense official doubled down on this legal interpretation one day earlier, during a congressional hearing. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers that the 60-day legal clock mandated by the War Powers Resolution had been paused by the current ceasefire. “We are in a ceasefire right now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire,” Hegseth said. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who questioned Hegseth on the issue, rejected this reading outright: “I do not believe the statute would support that.”

    For weeks, Capitol Hill has been roiled by growing pressure to hold a formal vote on whether to authorize the ongoing conflict with Iran. Democratic lawmakers, who hold slim majority control of both chambers, have repeatedly introduced measures to constrain Trump’s ability to continue military action against Iran, but all such attempts have failed so far due to united opposition from most Republican lawmakers. That opposition may be shifting, however: a small number of Republican legislators have signaled they may rethink their positions now that the 60-day legal deadline has passed. According to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, Trump administration officials have already held behind-the-scenes discussions with congressional members about securing formal authorization for the conflict.

    While active fighting has halted under the ceasefire, the two sides have yet to reach a durable long-term peace agreement through negotiations. On Friday, Iranian state media reported that Tehran had sent a new negotiation proposal to intermediaries in Pakistan, but the details of the proposal have not been released, and it remains unclear whether the proposal has been shared with US negotiators.

    Speaking to reporters Friday afternoon, Trump acknowledged that ongoing diplomatic talks had not yet yielded a breakthrough, and expressed frustration with the pace of negotiations. “We just had a conversation with Iran. Let’s see what happens. But, I would say that I am not happy,” the president said. He blamed the slow progress on disarray within Iran’s leadership, arguing that the decimation of top Iranian military commanders in early strikes has left the country’s ruling circle “very confused” and unable to make key concessions.

    Trump also confirmed that he had received a full range of military and diplomatic options from US Central Command on Thursday, with proposals spanning from a full-scale resumption of offensive operations to “finish them forever” to continuing diplomatic efforts to reach a negotiated settlement.

  • Jury convicts former Florida congressman in Venezuela lobbying case

    Jury convicts former Florida congressman in Venezuela lobbying case

    In a high-profile federal corruption trial that wrapped up Friday, a jury found ex-U.S. Representative David Rivera of Florida guilty on multiple felony counts, including conspiracy and failure to register as a foreign agent, for his role in a covert lobbying campaign on behalf of the Venezuelan government. The conviction marks a major conclusion to a six-week proceeding that drew testimony from high-profile political figures and laid bare a secret influence campaign worth tens of millions of dollars. Prosecutors laid out that the former lawmaker’s consulting firm secured a $50 million contract from PDVSA, Venezuela’s state-owned oil giant, to lobby sitting U.S. officials to soften Washington’s stance on Caracas during a period of extreme bilateral tension. The work was carried out in 2017 and 2018, when the Trump administration first imposed harsh economic sanctions on the Maduro regime, and was funneled through PDVSA’s U.S. subsidiary Citgo, according to court documents. Joining Rivera in conviction was his long-time associate Esther Nuhfer, a veteran political consultant who partnered with him on the scheme. Federal prosecutors from the Southern District of Florida argued that the pair intentionally hid the true source of their funding and the ultimate backer of their lobbying: Nicolás Maduro’s Venezuelan government. “As long as the money kept coming in, they didn’t care from where,” lead prosecutor Roger Cruz told jurors during closing arguments. The trial featured unexpected testimony from sitting U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a long-time friend and former housemate of Rivera’s, who was one of the targets of the lobbying effort. Rubio repeatedly stated he had no knowledge of Rivera’s work for the Venezuelan-linked firm, a claim confirmed by Texas Congressman Pete Sessions, who also testified during the proceedings. Neither Rubio nor Sessions have been accused of any wrongdoing in the case. Defense teams for both Rivera and Nuhfer mounted a two-pronged defense throughout the trial. First, they argued that the pair were under no legal obligation to register as foreign agents because their contract was directly with the U.S.-based Citgo, not the Venezuelan central government. Second, Rivera’s lead attorney Ed Shohat told jurors that his client was actually working to remove Maduro from power, not normalize relations between the two countries. “He was working every possible angle to get Nicolás Maduro out,” Shohat said, according to court transcripts from the Associated Press. “There was not a word in the chats about normalizing relations.” The case unfolded against a dramatic shifting backdrop for Venezuelan politics: earlier this year, in January, former President Donald Trump authorized a military strike in Venezuela that resulted in Maduro’s capture. The former Venezuelan leader is currently being held in New York City, awaiting trial on federal drug trafficking charges alongside his wife. Following the verdict reading, during which Rivera showed no visible emotion according to U.S. media reports, the judge ordered the former congressman into immediate detention. Prosecutors successfully argued that Rivera poses a significant flight risk given his ties and possible assets abroad. The conviction caps a decades-long political career for Rivera, who represented a South Florida congressional district for one term from 2011 to 2013, and closes a major chapter in a federal investigation into unregistered foreign lobbying in Washington. Rivera and Nuhfer now face sentencing at a later date, with potential penalties including decades of federal prison time.

  • Starmer accused of ‘weaponising’ Golders Green attack to target pro-Palestine protests

    Starmer accused of ‘weaponising’ Golders Green attack to target pro-Palestine protests

    A violent stabbing incident targeting two Jewish men in a majority-Jewish northwest London neighborhood has ignited a fierce national debate in the United Kingdom over the intersection of pro-Palestine protest rights, rising antisemitism, and political opportunism. The attack, which left a 34-year-old and a 76-year-old injured, prompted Prime Minister Keir Starmer to deliver a nationally televised address that immediately drew sharp criticism from civil liberties campaigners, opposition politicians, and pro-Palestine organizers.

    Following the attack, a 45-year-old Somali-born British national named Essa Suleiman was taken into custody just hours after the stabbing. Channel 4 News later confirmed that Suleiman had been discharged from a psychiatric facility only days before the incident. On Friday, London’s Metropolitan Police formalized charges against him: two counts of attempted murder and one count of illegal public possession of a bladed weapon. Notably, no terrorism-related charges have been filed, despite widespread early speculation. Additional court documents seen by the BBC also reveal Suleiman is accused of attempting to murder a third man, Ishmail Hussein, an acquaintance of 20 years, on the same morning as the Golders Green attack. Records also show Suleiman was referred to the UK’s controversial Prevent counter-extremism programme back in 2020.

    An obscure little-known online faction calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (Hayi) quickly issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack. The unsubstantiated claim has not been verified by any British law enforcement body, and no evidence has emerged to connect Suleiman to the group, or to explain how a mentally ill man recently discharged from hospital could have received operational direction from the faction. Hayi has issued a string of similar uncorroborated claims for attacks across Europe over the past two months. While the Israeli government has alleged the group has ties to Iran, British investigators have not confirmed any such link, though they confirm the connection is being probed.

    In his national address, Starmer drew direct connections between widespread pro-Palestine marches across the UK and the recent surge in antisemitic violence, arguing that any protester who participates in a march where the slogan “globalise the intifada” is used is effectively endorsing terrorism against Jewish people, and that anyone using the phrase should face prosecution. He doubled down on the claim, adding that protesters who march alongside people displaying paraglider images—an reference to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel—without speaking out are glorifying the murder of Jewish people. Three women were convicted of a terror offense earlier this year for displaying paraglider images at an early October protest, though officials confirm such displays are extremely rare at pro-Palestine gatherings. To date, there are no recorded instances of an antisemitic attack in the UK linked to the “globalise the intifada” slogan. Even so, UK police forces moved in December to authorize arrests for anyone chanting or displaying the phrase, and three pro-Palestine protesters were charged on counts related to the slogan in January.

    As of this week, the Metropolitan Police confirmed it is reviewing a proposed full ban on upcoming pro-Palestine demonstrations, including a major rally planned in London for May 16, organized by the Stop the War Coalition to mark Nakba Day—the annual commemoration of the 1948 displacement of over 750,000 Palestinians from their ancestral lands. Jonathan Hall, the UK’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, further escalated the conversation this week by calling for a full moratorium on all ongoing pro-Palestine marches, arguing that such events inevitably incubate antisemitic and anti-Jewish rhetoric.

    Political and activist leaders have pushed back fiercely against these moves, condemning what they describe as the cynical weaponization of a violent attack to erode fundamental civil liberties and target the pro-Palestine movement. Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales and the only Jewish leader of a major UK political party, accused Starmer’s government of exploiting the pain of the Jewish community for political gain. “I suffer antisemitic abuse every single day. For other politicians to use antisemitism as a political football, especially after these appalling attacks, is utterly appalling and should be beneath them,” Polanski said, adding that any response to the stabbings that cuts away at civil rights is inherently wrong.

    Pro-Palestine organizers have repeatedly rejected claims that the slogan “globalise the intifada” is antisemitic or a call for violence, noting that the Arabic term “intifada” translates directly to “uprising” or “shaking off occupation,” not a targeted campaign against Jewish people. They also point out that British Jews have been among the most visible and consistent participants in pro-Palestine marches across the country. The Stop the War Coalition, which is organizing the upcoming Nakba Day rally, issued a statement unequivocally condemning the Golders Green stabbing and all forms of antisemitism, but rejected any attempt to tie the attack to peaceful pro-Palestine protest. “These marches are supported by many Jewish people who attend. They are not the ‘hate marches’ described by right-wing politicians but expressions of solidarity and support for those under attack,” the coalition said. Jeremy Corbyn’s left-wing group Your Party echoed the criticism, saying politicians are “weaponising the abhorrent stabbings to take away our civil liberties and baselessly attack the Palestine movement.”

    UK officials confirm there has been a major, documented surge in antisemitic hate crimes across the country in recent months, including multiple arson attacks and dozens of antisemitic incidents investigated by the Metropolitan Police in just the past 30 days. The ongoing controversy comes as the UK government struggles to balance growing concerns over antisemitic violence with long-standing protections for freedom of speech and peaceful protest, a balance that has become increasingly fraught amid the Israel-Gaza war.

  • How Turkey’s new ‘kamikaze’ drones may outclass Iran’s Shahed

    How Turkey’s new ‘kamikaze’ drones may outclass Iran’s Shahed

    Against the backdrop of two consecutive 2025 U.S.-Israeli conflicts with Iran, battlefield performance of Tehran’s Shahed suicide drones has triggered a major shift in Turkish military drone development. With regional tensions rising sharply between Ankara and Tel Aviv — two competing powers vying for Middle Eastern dominance since 2024 — Turkish defense analysts and industry leaders have closely studied Iranian drone tactics, spurring homegrown innovation that aims to outperform Tehran’s existing designs.

    Iran’s Shahed drones have already seen widespread combat use, from Russian operations in Ukraine to Iranian retaliatory strikes against U.S. regional partners and Israeli targets during 2025 conflicts. These deployments have proven the platform’s effectiveness against long-range targets, cementing kamikaze drones as a transformative force reshaping the landscape of modern warfare. In response, multiple Turkish defense contractors, including Skydagger and Turkish Aerospace Industries, launched programs to develop locally produced equivalents. Leading Turkish aerospace firm Baykar has beaten all competitors to market, rolling out three distinct purpose-built kamikaze drone models designed to operate as a coordinated layered attack force.

    Each of Baykar’s new platforms fills a unique niche in the coordinated attack strategy, starting with the largest model, the K2. Capable of carrying a 200-kilogram munition payload, the K2 boasts a 13-hour flight endurance and a 2,000-kilometer operational range, even without reliance on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). The drone maps terrain visually to autonomously calculate its position, uses a satellite datalink for precision targeting, and offers a rare flexible design: it can either complete a suicide attack on its target or return to base for future reuse.

    The second platform, the Sivrisinek (meaning “mosquito” in Turkish), made its official public debut just last week. Comparable in payload to Iran’s Shahed-131 — which carries a similar warhead and has a 700 to 900-kilometer range — the Sivrisinek offers a 1,000-kilometer range and carries a warhead weighing just over 20 kilograms. With an extremely low per-unit cost estimated between $25,000 and $30,000, the drone is designed for mass deployment as an expendable battlefield asset. Defense industry sources confirm the Sivrisinek is an updated variant of the YIHA-3, a platform co-developed with Pakistan in 2023 that has already amassed real-world combat experience across Syria, Ukraine, Sudan, and the 2025 Pakistan-India border clashes, giving the new model invaluable battlefield-tested technical refinements.

    Baykar’s newest addition, the Mizrak, unveiled just this Thursday, shares functional similarities with Iran’s widely deployed Shahed-136. Where the Shahed-136 reached a 2,000-kilometer range and 50-kilogram warhead capacity after years of iterative development, the Mizrak enters the field with a 1,000-kilometer range and 40-kilogram payload. Industry analysts note the Mizrak leverages existing technology from Roketsan, Turkey’s leading missile developer, drawing design elements from the company’s proven UMTAS air-to-surface anti-tank missile system.

    All three platforms share key advanced capabilities: they are hardened against electronic warfare interference, can visually identify and lock onto targets without GNSS connectivity, and execute strikes using a combination of on-board artificial intelligence (AI) autonomy and satellite communications. Turkish defense experts argue this sets Baykar’s new fleet apart from Iran’s existing Shahed program, which suffers from key technological limitations.

    “The Iranian UAV programme lacks proven capabilities in AI-based autonomous and network-centric swarm attack skills,” explained Hursit Dingil, an expert on Iranian military capabilities at the Ankara-based Centre for Area Studies. “Furthermore, the Iranian platforms have problems and limitations regarding communication ranges and satellite communication.”

    Dingil noted that Turkey has spent a decade refining its domestic drone industry, building well-established expertise in the very areas where Iran lags behind. “Similarly, the Iranian UAV programme has disadvantages and limitations in terms of precision strike capabilities, advanced electro-optical imaging, and self-location and navigation capabilities,” he added, confirming Turkish defense firms have already mastered these core technologies.

    Baykar’s core innovation does not lie in the individual drones themselves, but in the integrated layered combat strategy the company has designed for the fleet. Early joint flight demonstrations already showed the K2 flying lead patrol missions while Sivrisinek drones operated in coordinated swarms beneath the larger platform. Independent defense industry expert Yusuf Akbaba confirmed all three Baykar kamikaze platforms are designed to share data and coordinate attacks seamlessly, and can even be commanded remotely by Baykar’s already well-known Bayraktar TB2 armed drone.

    A defense source familiar with the program outlined the step-by-step layered tactic for MEE: low-cost Sivrisinek drones would first be deployed in large numbers to saturate enemy airspace and overwhelm critical air defense systems, softening enemy defenses ahead of follow-on strikes. Next, Mizrak drones would eliminate any remaining anti-drone and air defense infrastructure. Finally, the K2, with its large payload capacity, would destroy high-value critical targets left undefended, completing the mission. All phases of the attack can be commanded by a Bayraktar TB2 or other aerial command platform operating well outside the range of enemy defenses.

    Dingil argues that with this new integrated system, Turkey has emerged as a far more competitive actor in the global kamikaze drone market than Iran, noting that the existing Shahed-136 cannot match the capabilities of Turkey’s new hybrid class of autonomous networked drones. Even so, he cautioned that the platform still faces an unproven hurdle: “An important challenge for Turkey is whether the fusion of AI-based autonomous solutions with simple missile-based drones would provide a functional and efficient output in combat conditions or not.”

  • French PM fuels row with trip to buy baguettes

    French PM fuels row with trip to buy baguettes

    On France’s annual Labour Day public holiday, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu stepped into a small village bakery in the central French community of Saint-Julien-Chapteuil, smiled for assembled press cameras, and completed a purchase of at least four baguettes, before stopping at a neighboring florist to pick up a bouquet of flowers. What was intended as a show of support for small independent food and flower businesses quickly escalated into a fresh public dispute with major French labor unions, which have fiercely opposed the government’s push to carve out a permanent exception to the country’s mandatory Labour Day rest rule for bakeries and florists.

    Current French labor law strictly limits which businesses can operate on the 1 May public holiday, with only core essential services such as hospitals and hotels granted legal permission to open, requiring any working staff to receive double their standard daily wages. The regulatory status of small-scale bakeries and flower shops has long remained ambiguous in this framework, creating confusion for business owners that the Macron administration is seeking to resolve through new legislation.

    The controversial proposal, introduced to parliament earlier this month, would formally exempt independent bakeries and florists from the mandatory rest requirement, on the condition that any employee working on the holiday provides written confirmation of voluntary participation and receives double pay for their shift. Government officials have framed the change as a common-sense adjustment, arguing that these local small businesses are “indispensable to the continuity of social life” and that the exemption would support independent operators who rely on the holiday foot traffic for revenue.

    Unions have pushed back hard against the plan, warning that the policy creates a dangerous opening for employers to pressure vulnerable workers into agreeing to work on a holiday that is legally protected for rest. Marylise Léon, General Secretary of France’s largest union, dismissed Lecornu’s public bakery visit as an unnecessary political stunt. “Politicians going to a bakery, I think that’s part of a political spectacle that we don’t need today,” Léon said. “We need to show what the reality of a bakery worker is like.” Unions argue that the formalization of this exemption sets a worrying precedent, pointing to a pattern where incremental carve-outs to protected labor rights eventually erode core rules entirely. In a joint statement released in April, unions warned: “social history shows us that each time a principle is undermined, exemptions gradually increase until they become the rule”, with many leaders fearing the change could eventually lead to widespread rollbacks of mandatory rest for all public holidays across France.

    The dispute deepened after it emerged that Lecornu had personally intervened to waive a heavy fine issued to a baker who opened his shop on Labour Day earlier this year. According to reports from BFMTV and Europe1, the prime minister spoke by phone with the baker, identified only as Eric, who had been cited by labor inspectors for operating on the holiday and faced a total fine of €5,250 — €750 for each of his seven employees working that day. Lecornu reportedly reassured Eric that he would not be required to pay the penalty, a move that unions have decried as a politically motivated bypassing of existing labor regulations.

    The government’s bill now moves to parliamentary debate for approval, with the outcome likely to shape both future labor policy and the already tense relationship between the Macron administration and France’s powerful labor movement in the coming months.

  • Trump says he will hike tariffs on EU cars to 25%

    Trump says he will hike tariffs on EU cars to 25%

    In a sudden and provocative move that threatens to upend already fragile trade relations between the United States and the European Union, former and current U.S. President Donald Trump revealed Friday plans to raise import tariffs on European-manufactured passenger cars and commercial trucks to 25 percent, up from the 15 percent rate set by a 2025 bilateral agreement.

    Sharing the announcement via his Truth Social platform, Trump accused Brussels of failing to uphold its end of the 2025 trade deal negotiated at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland last July, but offered no specific evidence or details to back up the claim of non-compliance. “I am pleased to announce that… next week I will be increasing Tariffs charged to the European Union for Cars and Trucks,” Trump wrote in the post.

    The planned tariff increase marks a dramatic escalation of simmering trade tensions between Washington and Brussels. Negotiations to solidify last summer’s framework agreement have been deadlocked for months over disagreements on U.S. tariff adjustments for steel and aluminum imports, with leading EU economies Germany and France repeatedly rejecting Washington’s proposals to widen tariff changes across dozens of product categories.

    For the European bloc, the automotive sector is one of its most economically critical export industries, making Trump’s target a particularly calculated and sensitive choice. The 2025 framework agreement, which capped most European industrial goods tariffs at 15 percent, originally served as a compromise that spared the EU from the far harsher 30 percent tariffs Trump threatened to impose during his April “Liberation Day” tariff wave. In exchange for the lower rate, the bloc agreed to increase direct investment in the U.S. and implement regulatory changes designed to boost American exports to European markets.

    Transatlantic relations faced additional disruption earlier this year after Trump made public threats to annex Greenland, an autonomous self-governing territory of Denmark. In response, the European Parliament suspended its formal approval of the trade deal in January, eventually adding a new clause that allows for full suspension of the agreement if the Trump administration is found to have undermined deal objectives, discriminated against EU businesses, threatened member state territorial integrity, or engaged in economic coercion. The deal ultimately won parliamentary approval in March after the initial dispute cooled.

    Alongside announcing the tariff hike, Trump used the post to pressure European automakers to relocate their production facilities to the United States, noting that any vehicles built at U.S. factories would face no import tariffs. He claimed the U.S. is currently seeing record-breaking levels of new investment in domestic automotive manufacturing, saying billions of dollars are flowing into new and expanded plants across the country. “There has never been anything like what is happening in America today,” he added.

    Notably, the “Liberation Day” broad tariffs Trump imposed earlier this year under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were later ruled illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court. However, legal experts confirm that the automotive tariffs in question follow a separate statutory process, so they are not affected by the high court’s ruling, leaving the planned 25 percent increase on solid legal footing for the administration.

    The announcement has already sent ripples through global automotive and financial markets, with analysts warning that higher tariffs could raise vehicle prices for U.S. consumers, disrupt cross-border supply chains, and trigger retaliatory trade measures from Brussels that would further harm transatlantic economic cooperation.

  • Pope names former undocumented migrant as US bishop

    Pope names former undocumented migrant as US bishop

    In a move that underscores the Vatican’s long-running stance on compassionate immigration policy, Pope Leo XIV announced Friday the nomination of Evelio Menjivar-Ayala — a former undocumented migrant who fled civil conflict in El Salvador — to lead the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia. The appointment comes just weeks after a high-profile public dispute between the U.S.-born pontiff and former President Donald Trump, deepening a rift over immigration and global conflict that has defined their tense relationship.

    Menjivar-Ayala, 56, currently serves as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Washington, and his life story tracks closely with the migration issues that have placed the Vatican at odds with hardline U.S. immigration policy. Born into poverty in El Salvador amid the country’s brutal 1980s civil war, he first attempted to cross into the United States in 1990, only to be detained by authorities in Mexico. In a 2023 interview, he recalled paying a bribe to secure his release before successfully crossing the border through Tijuana, entering the U.S. as an undocumented refugee fleeing violence. After decades of religious service, he was ordained as a priest in 2004 and elevated to auxiliary bishop in 2023.

    The Vatican officially confirmed the nomination in a public statement earlier this week, marking a historic milestone for a U.S. diocese: Menjivar-Ayala is believed to be one of the first former undocumented migrants to be appointed a U.S. diocesan bishop. For Pope Leo, who leads the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, the appointment aligns with his repeated calls for humane treatment of migrants, a stance that has put him directly in conflict with Trump.

    Last month, the pontiff drew fierce pushback from Trump after condemning the former president’s threat to “destroy Iran” as “unacceptable.” Pope Leo urged U.S. voters to pressure congressional representatives to prioritize diplomatic peace over escalation, a comment that sparked a scathing retaliation from Trump. The former president took to social media to slam the pope, labeling him “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”

    Beyond the Middle East conflict, immigration has been the primary flashpoint between the two leaders. Pope Leo has repeatedly decried the treatment of migrants in U.S. detention systems as “extremely disrespectful,” arguing that global governments have a moral obligation to pursue humane, welcoming policies for people fleeing violence and poverty. “We have to look for ways of treating people humanely,” he has said of migration, a message that the appointment of Menjivar-Ayala brings tangible, public form.

    Church observers note that the nomination is far more than a routine personnel change: it is a deliberate reaffirmation of the Catholic Church’s commitment to migrant advocacy at a time when immigration remains one of the most divisive political issues in the United States ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

  • Israel to pour $730m into propaganda as Gaza genocide, Iran war turns it into pariah

    Israel to pour $730m into propaganda as Gaza genocide, Iran war turns it into pariah

    Against a backdrop of mounting international fury over its military campaign in Gaza and expanding hostilities across Western Asia, Israel has greenlit a near three-quarters-of-a-billion-dollar surge in state-funded propaganda spending, a dramatic bid to reverse its rapidly collapsing global standing. The allocation, approved by Israeli lawmakers as part of the 2026 national budget in March, sets aside $730 million for hasbara – the official term for Israel’s state-directed public diplomacy and influence operations. This marks an extraordinary five-fold jump from the previous year’s $150 million allocation, which itself was already 20 times higher than pre-2023 spending levels.

    The scale of the budget increase, first revealed by the *Jerusalem Post* earlier this week, lays bare the urgency of Israel’s push to contain growing global condemnation and its rapid slide toward pariah status in international affairs. The PR overhaul comes as Israel grapples with a cascading series of crises that extend far beyond the Gaza conflict: rising global recognition of its apartheid regime in the occupied West Bank, intensifying scrutiny over long-rumored links between Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and widespread anger over allegations that Israel pushed the United States into a confrontation with Iran that has triggered global economic instability and humanitarian ripple effects far beyond the Middle East.

    Israel currently faces diplomatic and public opinion isolation at depths unmatched since the country’s founding, according to a recent analysis from Tel Aviv’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). This worsening isolation comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from operations in Gaza, while the state of Israel is defending itself against formal genocide accusations at the International Court of Justice.

    A core target of the new propaganda push is shifting public sentiment in the United States, Israel’s most critical long-standing ally, where polling shows support for the country is eroding rapidly across demographic and political lines. A Pew Research Center survey released in April found that 60 percent of Americans now hold unfavorable views of Israel – a sharp uptick over just 12 months – while positive approval has dropped to 37 percent. This shift cuts across every major demographic: a majority of Republicans under 50 now view Israel negatively, while support has fallen among Black Protestants, Catholics, religiously unaffiliated Americans, and even among American Jewish communities, where backing has slipped below two-thirds.

    To implement the expanded influence campaign, Israel’s Foreign Ministry has dramatically expanded its messaging infrastructure. Under Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, a new dedicated unit has been created specifically to shape global narratives about Israel’s actions. The government has earmarked tens of millions of dollars for targeted digital outreach, including a $50 million push for social media advertising across major global platforms, and roughly $40 million to host hundreds of foreign delegations ranging from sitting politicians and religious leaders to social media influencers and university presidents. A centralized “media war room” now monitors coverage from hundreds of international news outlets and tracks thousands of daily mentions of Israel across global media and social platforms.

    The campaign also extends to political consulting and AI-driven targeted outreach: the Foreign Ministry signed a $1.5 million per month contract with a firm linked to former Donald Trump campaign strategist Brad Parscale to deploy artificial intelligence tools to shape online discourse. Additional funds have been directed to evangelical Christian networks and influencer campaigns managed through private public relations firms.

    The surge in hasbara spending aligns with growing alarm within Israel’s national security and policy establishment over the country’s deepening international isolation. The recent INSS paper warns that Israel is facing diplomatic and public opinion isolation “not seen since its establishment”, highlighting the emergence of a “creeping economic boycott” as businesses and academic institutions around the world increasingly cut formal ties with Israeli partners. To counter this trend, INSS researchers have called on the Israeli government to ramp up engagement with diaspora Jewish communities and Christian Zionist networks. Proposals put forward include expanding youth travel programs to bring tens of thousands of young Jews and Christians to Israel annually, and a renewed push to build influence within global higher education. The report also recommends creating a $100 million fund to support Israeli research and launching a program to invite leaders of top global universities to visit Israel, with the goal of shoring up institutional partnerships.