Israel has committed hundreds of human rights violations in the Gaza War. That is one of the conclusions of a classified report from the US State Department, reports the Washington Post.
The report expresses doubts about whether Israel will be held accountable for the crimes. Partly because of the number of cases involved, and partly because the Israeli military is the only investigating body.
Despite the suspicions, the US has continued to export weapons and provide support to Israel without interruption. Normally, it is enough for an American official to raise the alarm about suspected human rights violations for the State Department to pause arms deliveries. When it comes to Israel, the process is considerably more extensive.
– To date, the US has not withheld any support from Israel despite overwhelming evidence, former official John Paul tells the newspaper.
IDF suspends chief legal officer after leaked abuse video
The Israeli military IDF has suspended its chief legal officer, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi. She has been ordered on leave while an investigation into a leaked video of suspected abuse at an Israeli military base is underway.
The video shows several Israeli soldiers forming a wall around a Palestinian who was being held in Gaza. Other soldiers are then said to have beaten, stomped on and sexually assaulted the prisoner.
Tomer-Yerushalmi is not suspected of the leak herself, but according to Haaretz, employees in her department are believed to have sent the video to the media. An investigation is now underway to determine how much she knew about the leak.
Rob Jetten hopes to form the Netherlands' next government. Photo: Peter Dejong/AP/TT
The left-liberal D66, led by Rob Jetten, won the extremely close election in the Netherlands, reports the ANP news agency.
It was a long time before D66 and Geert Wilders' far-right PVV party weighed in after the election on Wednesday, but on Friday the ANP stated that the PVV can no longer catch up.
Both Jetten and Wilders have said that whoever ends up with the most votes will get the first chance to form a government. Regardless, Jetten has been considered to have the clear best chance of putting together a coalition, as several major parties have rejected a collaboration with the PVV.
.........................................
Left-liberal Rob Jetten wins the election in the Netherlands
Rob Jetten and left-liberal D66 win the election in the Netherlands, according to Dutch media. The election has been extremely close and it was a long time between D66 and Geert Wilders' far-right party PVV.
Although not all the votes have been counted yet, the ANP news agency writes that no party can overtake D66, writes Dutch NOS.
The 38-year-old former climate and energy minister can now become the country's youngest prime minister ever, according to Bloomberg.
Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the summit. Photo: Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Although President Donald Trump declares victory after the summit with China's Xi Jinping, it appears rather that Xi has pulled the longest straw.
China can still use the rare earth metals as a bargaining chip against the United States.
The big question now is what Trump meant by his worrying statement that the United States will resume nuclear weapons tests. Quick version
On one level, the world can temporarily breathe a sigh of relief. The trade war between the US and China is about to be de-escalated. A temporary ceasefire has been agreed.
The US is lowering trade tariffs against China in exchange for a promise that China will continue to export the important rare earth metals to the US without restrictions for at least a year. China is also promising to resume imports of soybeans from the US.
But there is no doubt that it is China that will have the strongest bargaining chip in the future. China has something that the US and the rest of the world are completely dependent on. The rare earth metals are used in all electronics produced in the West. They are essential in car manufacturing and the development of wind and solar energy.
After Trump aggressively pushed for increased tariffs against China, he threw in the towel during the summit in South Korea. There will be no 100 percent tariffs. Instead, tariffs will be reduced to 47 percent.
It was almost comical to see how much Trump was keen to emphasize the incredibly good personal relationship he has with Xi at the same time as Trump has made constant threats against China.
Trump patted Xi on the back while China's leader remained relatively neutral to Trump's honorifics.
The world leaders met in Busan, South Korea. Photo: Mark Schiefelbein/AP
He also gave Trump lesson by saying that the two countries should focus on having a good relationship in the long term instead of falling into a pattern of constant retaliation.
A clear pass to Trump that it is his way of conducting politics that led to a serious crisis between the two countries in the first place.
In many ways, we are now back to square one, the situation that prevailed before Trump shocked the tariffs against China and China responded with the same coin.
Trump gambled big but his gamble did not pay off. China can import its soybeans from other countries. The United States, like no other Western country, has any alternative to China when it comes to importing the vital rare earth metals.
It is not just about the metals per se but mainly about the fact that China is one of the few countries that is prepared to produce them despite severe environmental problems.
Sweden is one of the few countries in the West that can break the Chinese monopoly. The so-called Per Geijer deposit in Kiruna can help Europe break its dependence on China. But it is about extracting the rare earth metals in processes that meet strong environmental requirements. Something China does not need to worry about in the same way.
Therefore, it will take time before any production can start in Sweden.
Trump was, as usual, not slow to declare victory after the meeting with Xi, even though all he really did was create a crisis that did not exist and then claim that he solved it.
– On a ten-point scale where ten is the best, I would say this was a twelve, Trump said before boarding the plane home.
He can certainly boast that the tariffs against China are now higher than when he started the tariff war, but in many ways it is the American consumers who have to pay for them. So the question is whether voters see it as a victory.
Just an hour before the meeting with Xi, Trump made a worrying but also strange statement when he announced that the United States was resuming its nuclear weapons tests. He justified this by saying that other countries had begun testing nuclear weapons.
At best, Trump has misunderstood things.
Russia recently tested a new missile capable of carrying nuclear weapons. North Korea's Kim Jong-un conducted a missile test shortly before President Trump arrived in South Korea to meet with Xi Jinping. But none of these countries have recently conducted any nuclear weapons tests. North Korea conducted its most recent test in 2017.
The US president boards Air Force One in Busan. Photo: Mark Schiefelbein/AP
If Trump is serious about his statement, it is a very dangerous development. Then the world could be heading towards a race to develop new nuclear weapons, increasing the risk that these terrible weapons will one day be used.
Neither the US, Russia nor China have conducted any test explosions since the early 1990s. There is also a test ban treaty from 1996 that all three major powers signed, which prohibits test explosions.
Today, the US, China and Russia instead use computer-simulated tests to develop their nuclear weapons.
Starting test explosions again would be an enormous step backwards for the ambitions of getting the great powers to disarm in the nuclear weapons area.
Trump gave no details except that he had given the Pentagon the order to start immediately.
Only when we learn more will it be possible to assess the seriousness of the US president's statement.
Prince Andrew with daughters Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice. Photo: TT
King Charles is stripping his brother of both his princely titel and royal status. From now on, the scandalous prince will go by the name Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
It is a surname that was constructed by Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, and it is intended to be used by royals who are far from the throne and who lack prince or princess titles.
There is probably no distance that is far enough from the throne in Andrew's case. He is accused of rape, he has had a close friendship with a pedophile and he is said to have been good friends with an arms smuggler. He is also said to have had connections to a Chinese spy in Britain.
He has also been caught lying in a controversial interview with the BBC in 2019 in which he tried to clear his name. The lies and the fact that he defended his friendship with Epstein became his first major fall from the royal pedestal.
His mother, Queen Elizabeth, banned him from representing the royal family and the United Kingdom.
In 2022, the next major fall came. The prince settled with Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of rape. She claimed that she was forced to have sex with him on three occasions when she was 17 years old.
Prince Andrew, or if it was his mother, paid several million to Giuffre so that the prince would avoid trial.
From that day on, Andrew was no longer allowed to use the title of His Royal Highness and he was forced to renounce all his royal patronages to various organizations.
Prince Andrew with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who also lost her duchess title. Photo: TT
The shame was total for Andrew, who is describid by many as pompous, proud and with a von oben attitude. He believes that he is entitled to everything that life has to offer. Whether it is about women, money or power.
The nail in the coffin was the previously secret documents about Epstein that were published by the US Congressional Oversight Committee. Andrew appears there several times. Virginia Giuffre's memoirs, which were published posthumously the other week, revealed extremely embarrassing and terrible details about the prince.
In the aftermath, Andrew renounced his princely title and dukely title. But that meant in practice that he kept them, it was just that he did not use them.
That was not enough for the British. All the accusations and revelations have led to the very unique and spectacular decision that King Charles is now taking. The titles are to be removed.
It is not a coincidence. Since royals today have no political power, they must rely on the support and trust of the people. That is the only currency they can trade with.
King Charles does not want to be the king who lost the love of the British people and ruined the monarchy because of a shameless, possibly criminal, younger brother.
He also does not want his son, Prince William, to be forced to tackle the scandal as his first act as new regent when that day comes.
In this royal soup we have the classic tabloid ingredients: sex, lies and crime. Also tragic death. Virginia Giuffre took her own life earlier this year. According to her relatives, because of the many sexual crimes she was subjected to.
In the royal press release, it is clear that they stand on the side of the victims.
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor will now forever be written in the history books as the first prince to lose his titles and status.
Formerly known as Prince Andrew, now he will be Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. Photo: Aaron Chown/AP
Prince Andrew loses his title, Buckingham Palace says.
From now on, he will be called Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
– It is a very surprising decision from King Charles, says Aftonbladet's court expert Jenny Alexandersson.
"His Majesty has today begun a formal process to remove Prince Andrew's titles and honors," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
Andrew recently announced that he is giving up his royal titles after reports of his association with convicted pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
Last week, Virginia Giuffre's memoir was published, in which she shared her horrific experiences with Epstein and the British prince. Giuffre, who was a major plaintiff in the Epstein case, was found dead this spring on her farm in Australia.
"She lost her life by suicide after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking," her family said in a statement.
King Charles takes the reins. Photo: Cecilia Fabiano/AP
"Drastic decision"
It is the first time in over 100 years that a senior member of the royal family has stopped using a ducal title. The last time this happened was when Queen Victoria's grandson, the Duke of Albany, was stripped of his title in 1917 for fighting on the side of the Germans during World War I.
- It is a very surprising decision by King Charles. Today, a prince or princess title is considered a birthright. It takes a lot before a regent makes such a drastic decision and removes a title. Prince Andrew has been dogged by big headlines surrounding Epstein and allegations of sexual misconduct. It was the nail in the coffin for the scandalous prince, says court expert Jenny Alexandersson.
The ex-prince will now move from the royal cottage to a property in Sandringham in Norfolk that will be privately financed by the British king, writes the BBC.
The Royal Lodge (the royal cottage) is located in Windsor and has 30 rooms and a large park. Photo: TT
