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Trump erhebt schwere Vorwürfe gegen China und spricht von gestohlenen Wählerdaten.

The proposal allows countries to use the ETS to boost greener fertilisers

1673 július 27-én a holland flotta a háború kitörése óta először ismét teljes erejét mozgósítva szállt újra tengerre, a 75 sorhajó és a négy fregatt mellett mintegy 30 kisebb hadihajó, főleg gyújtóhajók tartoztak Ruyter parancsnoksága alá. Az angol–francia flotta ekkor már szintén a tengeren volt, és felderítőik azonnal észlelték a hollandok kifutását. Rupert nagy örömmel fogadta a hírt, úgy gondolta, sikerülhet végre elvonni a hollandokat a sekély vizektől, és nyílttengeri ütközetben tud csapást mérni rájuk. Azonnal az ellenség felé fordult, és dél körül a francia elővéd már majdnem lőtávolságra közelítette meg a hollandokat.

Rupert ekkor jelezte az utóvédnek, váltson csapást, és tartson a szél felé, talán azért, mert hátulról akarta átkarolni az ellenséget. Amikor azonban Spragge északnyugat felé fordult, az addig nyugatról fújó szél hirtelen megfordult, és keleti irányra váltott át. Rupert is kénytelen volt fordulni a széllel, és a főerőkkel szintén északnyugatra fordult, az utóvéd felé. Hogy az utóvéd és a derékhad ne fusson egymásba, Spragge ismét irány váltott, és délkeletre kanyarodott, ám Rupert nem sokkal később visszafordulásra utasította. Az ide-oda kanyargások közben a szövetséges flotta harcrendje kora délutánra teljesen szétesett, a derékhad és az utóvéd hajói összekeveredtek egymással. Rupert még élénken emlékezett rá, nem sokkal korábban, a második schooneveldi csatában milyen bajba sodorta őket a flottában kitört zűrzavar. A herceg nem akart egy újabb, megalázó kudarcot elszenvedni, így délután nyugat felé fordította szétesett flottáját, és harc nélkül megkezdte a visszavonulást, erősen tartva attól, hogy a hollandok üldözőbe veszik, és megtámadják őket.

A hollandok azonban egyszerűen nem hitték el, hogy az angolok ennyire bénák legyenek. Ruyter és tisztjei értetlenül figyelték az angolok szerencsétlenkedését, és hadicselre gyanakodtak, arra, hogy a britek béna kacsát játszva próbálják őket elcsalogatni a hazai partok közeléből, kivonni őket a nyílt vizekre, hogy közben az inváziós flotta a hátuk mögött végre tudja hajtani a partraszállást. Ruyter így a számára kedvező körülmények ellenére sem kezdeményezett ütközetet, s késő délután ő is harc nélkül visszavonult délkeletnek, korábbi horgonyzóhelyére.

[...] Bővebben!

Under discussion for 20 years, the CKU Railway is finally under construction with some hurdles surpassed and other challenges ahead.

The visits extend a string of high-level exchanges as Beijing works to keep pace with Pyongyang’s deepening ties with Moscow.

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Depuis le déclenchement de la guerre le 15 avril 2023 entre les Forces armées soudanaises (Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF) du général Abdel Fattah al-Burhan et les Forces de soutien rapide (Rapid Support Forces, RSF) dirigées par Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, dit « Hemedti », le Soudan est devenu l’épicentre de l’une des crises sécuritaires et humanitaires les plus graves du XXIe siècle. En un peu plus de trois ans, le conflit a provoqué l’effondrement de larges pans de l’appareil étatique, déplacé plus de quatorze millions de personnes, dont près de quatre millions de réfugiés dans les pays voisins, et placé plus de trente millions d’habitants en situation de dépendance à l’aide humanitaire, soit près des deux tiers de la population soudanaise.

Pourtant, réduire cette guerre à une catastrophe humanitaire ou à une lutte de pouvoir entre deux appareils militaires constituerait une lecture incomplète. En raison de sa position géographique, à la jonction de la vallée du Nil, de la Corne de l’Afrique, de la mer Rouge et de l’espace sahélo-saharien, le Soudan occupe une fonction stratégique dont les effets dépassent largement son territoire national. La guerre accélère ainsi des recompositions régionales qui concernent directement la Libye, le Tchad, l’Égypte ainsi que l’ensemble du Sahara central.

Cette note défend l’hypothèse selon laquelle le conflit soudanais agit moins comme une rupture que comme un accélérateur de dynamiques géopolitiques préexistantes. En s’appuyant sur une approche comparative entre les trajectoires soudanaise et libyenne, elle montre comment les espaces reliant le Darfour, Kufra et le Fezzan deviennent progressivement un continuum stratégique marqué par la circulation des groupes armés, l’intensification des économies de guerre, la recomposition des routes migratoires et l’affaiblissement des souverainetés étatiques.

L’analyse met également en évidence que les crises soudanaise et libyenne ne doivent plus être étudiées séparément. Elles participent désormais d’un même système régional où les conflits, les trafics, les ressources naturelles et les acteurs politico-militaires interagissent à l’échelle sahélo-saharienne. Cette évolution conduit à repenser les approches classiques de la sécurité régionale, encore largement centrées sur les frontières nationales, au profit d’une lecture davantage fondée sur les circulations transfrontalières, les économies politiques de la violence et les formes hybrides de gouvernance des périphéries.

L’article Du Nil au Fezzan : le conflit soudanais comme accélérateur des recompositions géopolitiques sahélo-sahariennes est apparu en premier sur IRIS.

Un pompier volontaire de 18 ans, soupçonné d’avoir allumé le feu qui a ravagé plus de 2 000 hectares de la forêt de Fontainebleau, a été mis en examen. Pour Laurent Layet, psychiatre et expert auprès de la Cour de cassation, les pyromanes restent minoritaires parmi les incendiaires. Si leur motivation se limite à une obsession pour les flammes, leur responsabilité pénale reste entière.

Your mission is simple: help Turtle win the Annual Best Pet Competition. The catch? You must create a disinformation campaign to manipulate the votes.

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

The trilateral is more feasible – and more important – than ever before.

A B-2 Spirit, tail number 82-1070, also known as the Spirit of Ohio, returned to operations after completing programmed depot maintenance (PDM) in Palmdale, California on June 23, 2026.

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

An Indigenous community leader, Jackeline Mendoza Díaz, addresses participants during the webinar “Gold’s Dark Web: The Hidden Price of a Booming Market” on June 25, speaking about the devastating impacts of illegal and poorly regulated gold mining on Indigenous lands, forests and local communities. The webinar brought together community leaders, investigators, civil society organisations, financial experts and policymakers to discuss how soaring gold prices are accelerating environmental destruction, organised crime and human rights abuses. Credit: FERN

By Kizito Makoye
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, Jul 17 2026 (IPS)

The sweltering heat inside a London conference hall did not deter Indigenous leader Jackeline Mendoza Díaz from condemning the sheer destruction of the Peruvian Amazon. Her voice occasionally trembled with emotion but delivered a strong message — painting a picture far removed from the glittering gold bars traded in the world’s financial capitals.

Behind the rising price of gold, she said, lie poisoned rivers, razed forests and Indigenous communities jostling to defend their ancestral lands from the rising wave of illegal mining.

In her Asháninka community, she said, rivers that once sustained life no longer provide edible fish. Women trek for hours searching for clean water, while community leaders who speak out against encroachment increasingly do so at personal risk.

“Our rivers are being contaminated with mercury. When the rivers are contaminated, the fish become contaminated as well, and we indigenous people depend on these rivers for our survival,” Díaz told participants during a webinar that brought together Indigenous leaders, environmental advocates, investigators, bankers and policymakers to discuss the growing crisis of illicit gold.

Her testimony offered a glimpse into a global phenomenon that experts say is accelerating, as gold prices fuel environmental destruction, organized crime and corruption across continents

Behind the soaring value of gold lies a darker reality, visible in remote forests, fragile river systems and marginalised communities globally.

A recent report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC) warns that illicit gold has become one of the world’s most consequential criminal markets, functioning as an “accelerant economy” that fuels conflict, corruption, environmental crime and organised criminal networks worldwide.

The report says rising gold prices have enabled criminals to control entire supply chains.

For nearby communities, the consequences are dire.

“We are defenders of the forests and defenders of life. Yet because of this, Indigenous defenders are often attacked, and many of us are even killed for protecting our people, our territories and our way of life,” said Diaz.

Forests Falling, Rivers Dying

In Ghana, where illegal mining has become a national crisis, environmental campaigner Daryl Bosu described a country caught up in a moral dilemma to balance the worth of the precious metal with environmental woes.

“Ghana is Africa’s largest gold producer, and gold remains one of the most important pillars of our economy,” Bosu said. “However, alongside these economic benefits, we have witnessed an alarming increase in illegal and poorly regulated mining activities.”

The environmental consequences, he warned, have been severe.

“Many of our forest reserves have suffered extensive degradation. Rivers and water bodies that serve millions of people have become heavily polluted.”

Across gold-producing regions, forests are rapidly being cleared to dig mining pits, roads and processing kilns. Once mining begins, toxic substances often contaminate rivers and groundwater aquifers.

According to the GI-TOC report, illicit gold mining frequently paves the way for illegal logging, wildlife trafficking and land grabbing. Dirty money is increasingly being invested in cattle ranching that destroys critical forest ecosystems.

Mercury’s Silent Toll

While deforestation often captures public attention, experts say mercury pollution remains one of the most devastating but least visible consequences of artisanal and small-scale gold mining.

Speaking exclusively to IPS during the recent Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Monika Stankiewicz, Executive Secretary of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, warned that mercury contamination continues to threaten millions of people living in mining communities.

“Mercury contamination does not stop at the mining site,” Stankiewicz told IPS.

“It enters rivers and ecosystems, affecting fish, soil and water sources locally.”

For families dependent on fishing and farming, the consequences can be profound.

“Reduced food safety and food security, loss of income from contaminated natural resources, and long-term degradation of ecosystems they depend on,” she explained.

Mercury exposure can trigger neurological damage, memory loss, tremors, respiratory illnesses and reproductive health complications. Children are particularly vulnerable.

The impacts extend far beyond mining sites themselves.

Mercury released into the environment can travel vast distances through atmospheric circulation. Indigenous communities in the Arctic, for example, are experiencing mercury contamination despite having no mercury-intensive mining activities in their territories.

Following the Money

Yet environmental damage represents only one side of the illicit gold equation.

Several participants stressed that illicit gold is fundamentally a financial crime issue.

Julia Yansura, programme director, Environmental Crime & Illicit Finance, FACT Coalition, said billions of dollars earned through environmentally damaging mining activities continue to enter legitimate financial systems without scrutiny.

“What we are discussing today is not merely an environmental issue,” she said. “It is also a financial crime issue.”

Traditional responses have focused heavily on police raids and military operations targeting miners.

But according to Yansura, such interventions often fail because they focus on low-level actors while leaving intact the financial networks that sustain illegal mining.

“A more effective approach would focus on following the money,” she said.

The GI-TOC report supports that assessment, warning that criminals increasingly control entire gold supply chains.

The report also identifies growing use of cryptocurrencies and gold-backed stablecoins as emerging mechanisms for laundering illicit proceeds outside traditional anti-money laundering frameworks.

London’s Hidden Role

Much of the webinar focused on the responsibilities of major financial centres.

A coalition of 35 civil society organisations has urged governments gathering at the UK Illicit Finance Summit to recognise that gold has evolved beyond a commodity into what they describe as a strategic vehicle for organised crime, sanctions evasion and corruption.

The coalition notes that London remains the world’s largest over-the-counter gold trading hub, handling approximately 70 percent of global OTC gold trading volumes.

Because illicit gold frequently passes through multiple countries and refineries before reaching financial markets, campaigners argue that financial centres can no longer treat illegal mining as a problem confined to producer countries.

“The solution cannot come only from mining countries,” Yansura said. “It must also come from the financial centres where profits are ultimately laundered and legitimated.”

The coalition is calling for mandatory due diligence requirements, stronger beneficial ownership transparency, enhanced scrutiny of gold traders and robust anti-money laundering obligations across the entire gold supply chain.

A Crisis Outpacing Regulation

Sophia Pickles of the GI-TOC warned that existing international frameworks have failed to contain the evolving nature of illicit gold markets.

“There has undoubtedly been progress,” she acknowledged. “However, our recent research shows that criminal activity linked to gold mining is expanding.”

According to the GI-TOC report, voluntary responsible sourcing standards are insufficient against increasingly sophisticated criminal networks. Information gaps, weak customs oversight and opaque financial transactions continue to provide opportunities for illicit gold to enter legitimate markets.

Researchers argue that current approaches remain too narrowly focused on artisanal mining and conflict zones while overlooking broader vulnerabilities embedded throughout global supply chains.

Among the report’s key recommendations are legally binding due diligence requirements, stronger oversight of international bullion centres, mandatory transparency measures and enhanced scrutiny of financial institutions.

Searching for Solutions

Despite the scale of the challenge, Stankiewicz believes progress is possible.

Under the Minamata Convention, countries with significant artisanal and small-scale gold mining sectors are required to develop national action plans aimed at reducing mercury use and protecting communities.

The results, she says, are encouraging.

Countries are increasingly adopting mercury-free technologies, strengthening regulations and formalising parts of the mining sector.

Beyond the Gold Rush

As the webinar drew to an end, panellists emphasised that illicit gold is not just a mining issue but an environmental, health, governance, human rights and financial crime crisis.

For Mendoza Díaz and communities living on the edge of gold extraction, the message was crystal clear.

“We are not just defending our land and our territories; we are defending life itself and our ecosystem.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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MEPs and Members of Parliament from across the European Union, Norway and Ukraine, discussed "The role of the EU and its Member States in supporting global accountability mechanisms, including universal jurisdiction, international courts and special tribunals" during an Interparliamentary Committee meeting held on 6 May 2026 in the European Parliament.

Following this meeting, MEPs of the DROI Subcommittee and MPs from national parliaments signed a statement on Protecting the International Criminal Court and defending the rule of law, calling for the activation of the EU Blocking Statute.

Joint statement
Video with excerpts from the meeting (06-05-2026)
Interparliamentary Committee meeting page (06-05-2026)
Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

On Saturday Wales face South Africa - a nation who never seem to run out of international-class players. Are there lessons the tourists can learn?

The Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) hosted an interparliamentary committee meeting on 6 May 2026 in Brussels on the Member States and EU’s role in supporting global accountability mechanisms, the International Criminal Court, universal jurisdiction and special tribunals.

Organised in cooperation with the Committees on Legal Affairs and Civil Liberties, the meeting gathered MEPs and national parliamentarians to address pressing challenges and coercive measure to the international justice architecture.

A key highlight was the participation of Nicolas Guillou, judge of the International Criminal Court as well as civil society and the EEAS. Discussions covered threats to the ICC, including sanctions targeting officials and NGOs, as well as potential EU responses such as the Blocking Statute.

Participants also exchanged views on the Special Tribunal for aggression against Ukraine and universal jurisdiction.

Agenda
Live streaming
ICM on Directorate's for Relations with National Parliaments website
Nicolas Guillou, Judge of the ICC, on the role of the EU and its Member States in supporting global accountability mechanisms, including universal jurisdiction, international courts and special tribunals.
Photos (1)
Photos (2)
Joint statement (17-07-2026)
Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Clock is ticking for Commission to wrap major DMA case after preliminarily breach finding last year

The headline goal means roughly doubling the share of electricity in final energy use