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NATO's future
Despite the row – US officer gets high post in German army

As the gap between Friedrich Merz and Donald Trump grows, Germany is strengthening its military ties with the US, reports Politico.

Starting in October, an American officer will serve as head of the German army's operational division, the Pentagon and the German army confirm – a uniquely high position for a foreigner.

The aim is to "strengthen German-American cooperation and optimize joint operational capabilities in NATO," says a German army spokesman.

- It is also an expression of our deep, mutual trust, adds German army chief Christian Freuding.

This comes at a time when Merz and Trump have been locked in a war of words over the war in Iran. Merz has said that Iran's leadership is "humiliating the entire American people," and Trump counters by saying that the chancellor "doesn't know what he's talking about."

Putin's Russia
EU chief: Putin puts Russians behind digital iron curtain

The Kremlin is restricting the internet to hide from the population how badly the Russian economy is doing, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday. According to her, Russians are living behind a "digital iron curtain," writes AFP.

- When inflation rises and interest rates skyrocket, the Russian people themselves have to pay the price for the consequences of Russia's war of aggression. It has gone so far that the Kremlin is responding by restricting the internet and free communication, says von der Leyen.

The iron curtain refers to the political and ideological border that during the Cold War divided Europe into two parts: West and East.

Trump's USA Climate policy
Trump's fight against green energy is going badly

Donald Trump has promised to put an end to the green transition, which he calls "scam" and "a scam" - but that's how it is going, reports The Guardian.

In March, a greater share of the US's electricity came from renewable sources than from fossil fuels. This is the first time this has happened in the country.

In 2026, 93 percent of the US's new energy capacity is also expected to come from renewable electricity. Wind power, solar power and batteries are now much cheaper to manufacture than gas and coal power plants, says Peter Davidson, CEO of the venture capital firm Aligned Climate Capital.

- (The Trump administration) cannot stop development. They can try to delay it, but the battle for next-generation electricity is over and renewable electricity and batteries have won, he says. 

Climate threat  Extreme weather in Europe
Greenland is melting – lost 139 billion tons of ice last year

The world's glaciers continue to shrink – most of all in Greenland, according to the climate report from the EU's weather service Copernicus and WMO. Last year, 139 billion tons of ice melted from the Greenland glaciers. That's 1.5 times more ice than there is in the European Alps, writes SVT Nyheter.

- All our studies indicate that we will lose more mass from the Greenland Ice Sheet, geology professor Martin Jakobsson tells the channel.

According to the report, northern Scandinavia survived glacier losses as large in 2025 as many other parts of Europe. At the same time, new measurements from the Kebnekai Mountains indicate that developments in the north are also worrying, with continued decreasing ice volumes.

Huge Viking Age treasure found in Norway: “Absolutely unbelievable”

A Viking Age treasure consisting of over 3,000 silver coins has been found in Rena in Norway, reports VG. The coins are considered to be in very good condition and the treasure is described as without a doubt the largest of its kind ever found in Norway.

“It is absolutely incredible. A once in a lifetime find,” says archaeologist May-Tove Smiseth.

The find was made in April by private individuals with metal detectors and has now been made public. The coins are estimated to have been found in the ground between 1040 and 1050. They are believed to come from England, Germany, Denmark and Norway.

Because they are so well preserved, it can be seen that some of them are marked by well-known historical Viking kings, including Harald Hardrada.