Venezuelan oil industry: world's largest reserves, decaying infrastructure reut.rs/4pssUrj

The ‘rules‑based international order’ was underwritten—again, with exceptions—by American military restraint and structured power. That era is over. If Europeans want to preserve it, military power is like a dinner jacket: when it’s required, nothing else will do.

Marco Rubio is reportedly saying Maduro will stand trial in US courts. Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.

Ja, gute Frage. Was ist jetzt mit den Oden an die Unverletzlichkeit von Souveränität und territorialer Integrität, die seit dem Februar 2022 wieder stärker in Mode gekommen sind?

Anyway, any Brit wishing to escape all the international news today can settle down with BBC2 at 3.20pm, when "The Eagle Has Landed" is showing. It's a film about a group of soldiers attempting to kidnap another country's head of state. I'm not kidding. It really is on today.

The most immediate and practical consequences of US air strikes on Venezuela for Europe and Ukraine are temporarily shifting media attention away, with the corollary shifting of the White House’s attention span and focus.

Again. www.rbb24.de/content/rbb/...

Naja, die Nachricht „Träger des ‚FIFA-Friedenspreis für herausragende Leistungen für Frieden und Völkerverständigung‘ setzt die letztjährige Friedensnobelpreisträgerin mit Militärgewalt an die Spitze eines Marionettenregimes“ wäre eine konsequente Fortsetzung der aktuellen Weltsgeschichte.

Zelenskyy shakes up Ukraine’s national security leadership. Military Intelligence Head Budanov to be new presidential chief of staff. Mykhailo Fedorov, deputy prime minister and digital transformation minister, to be new defence minister. kyivindependent.com/breaking-ukr...

Wenn die Celebrities ins Exil gehen.

Tja. Da ist man doch froh, dass dem Kanzler von seinem Einkommen wenigstens 2.000 Euro steuerfrei bleiben. (Weil, ein Kanzler ist ja auch nur ein Angestellter, bei Freiberuflern wie mir gibt's nix.)

Die Eltern hier auf der Straße versuchen seit Jahren einen gesicherten Übergang für die Kinder zur Bushaltestelle zu bekommen, aber leider, leider fühlt sich keiner zuständig und da dummerweise noch niemand überfahren wurde, ist es auch nicht so dringend.

Some great news from the last year - Finland restoring streams (i.e. purging old dams and other constructions blocking fish) at a good rate, arctic fox and Saimaa ringed seal had a good year, even China is getting their emissions under control. Always nice to see some good news as well 👍

Die werden schon auch irgendwann merken, was sie davon haben, auf Zukunftstechnologien zu setzen und nicht auf Bewährtes aus dem letzten Jahrhundert....

I see a Tsunami

File under: The year Europe starts thinking about autonomy

Zum Start eines verdammt entscheidenden Jahres für den Klimaschutz. @luisaneubauer.bsky.social über Moral, Zerrissenheit, Frustration und Zuversicht www.deutschlandfunk.de/klimawandel-...

“According to you, could one of these geopolitical actors go to open war with your country in the coming years?” Unsurprisingly, terrorist organisations and Russia top the list, but 10% of Europeans also think there is a serious risk of the US going to war with European countries.

Another cyber attack takes down France's online postal services

Russia restricts Internet access in occupied Crimea and inside Russia #RussiaUkraineWar

A US Navy P-8A Poseidon was tracked today operating over the eastern Black Sea, south of Novorossiysk. The mission once again highlights sustained surveillance of #Russia’s main Black Sea Fleet hub amid ongoing regional tensions. www.itamilradar.com/2025/12/31/u...

Israel entzieht 37 deutschen & internationalen Hilfsorganisationen die Registrierung, darunter auch medico international. Unsere Pressemitteilung:

Bei t-online haben sie einen Idiotenticker 😄

Wichtige Liste, da die Bundesregierung diese öffentliche Rechenschaft nicht mehr legen mag.

Next year should be the one when Europans face the fact that democracy and liberty need to be defended not only against Russia, but also against the United States www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Wenn man denn schon die AfD auf der MSC willkommen zu heißen müssen meint, könnte man ihrem Gründer und seinen Gedanken ein bisschen mehr Gedenken schenken. www.kas.de/de/web/gesch...

Here we go again: "Telecommunications cable between Helsinki and Tallinn has been damaged. ... The Border Guard located a vessel suspected of being responsible for the damage to the cable." (Police report in English, despite the Finnish title)

The geopolitical importance of the US siege of Venezuela happening in synchronicity with China’s “exercises” around Taiwan: we’re entering the era post international law, and the West is losing the war of narratives. China has a better (though false) story about Taiwan than the US about Venezuela.

Ein bisschen Ehrenrettung der Hessen, immerhin. Schöner Lesestoff am Silvestermorgen.

Gaza City's landscape was once packed with concrete residential blocks. In the weeks before a ceasefire in October, Israel widely deployed a new weapon: M113 Armoured Personnel Carriers repurposed to carry between 1 and 3 tons of explosives, Reuters found reut.rs/49fw0cd

The question isn’t whether Germany is changing, it’s what it can deliver, and whether it’s fast enough.

"The video appeared part of a choreographed attempt to intimidate Europe and to prepare Russians for a further escalation in the already brutal war against Ukraine. The deployment symbolically reduces the time it would take for a Russian missile to hit an EU capital."

It's hard to prove a negative, but well done to the @moscowtimes.bsky.social for contacting local residents and confirming that they reported no disturbances consistent with a large scale drone attack as claimed by Putin and Lavrov www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/12/30/v...

Ups. #KRITIS #Eurostar

The Barents Observer in 2025: A year of censorship and repression. And victory against the Russian state

MORE: The circumstances of this alleged strike targeting Putin’s residence in Novgorod do not conform to the pattern of observed evidence when Ukrainian forces conduct strikes into Russia. 🧵(1/3) isw.pub/UkrWar122925

Die Praxis der Visa-Vergabe der US-Administration ist ... interessant. (Bin mal gespannt, wer davon dann auch mal in Deutschland auftaucht...)

SITREP 🇺🇦 DAY 1406 1. Trump as Putin's shill. Lavrov asserts 91 🇺🇦 drones targetted Putin dacha near Novgorod; no evidence offerd. Putin says same to Trump. Trump believes him & expresses anger vs Zelensky. No US intel cited 2. ~40 Shaheds launches; 8 hits

Italy’s DDX/DDG destroyer programme is moving from studies to procurement. A key step to renew Italy’s high-end air-defence escorts for Mediterranean/NATO operations. www.itamilradar.com/2025/12/30/i...

Es ist zu vermuten, dass einer der Orte, wo der Konflikt als cage fight auf offener Bühne ausgetragen wird, schon feststeht: die Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz, wo es in diesem Jahr schon mal den Vorlauf gab

Trump is always grateful for a new reason to "be angry" at Ukraine. He gladly repeats Putin's lies. One can easily imagine how things would go if Putin attacked a NATO member. The post-truth US is not a reliable partner. US security guarantees are not worth much.

News Analysis: A new round of peace talks between President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and President Trump on Sunday seems to have produced little tangible progress. But for Zelensky, even a stalemate in the discussions counts as a measure of success.

The U.S.-led plan caps Ukraine's military end-strength at a smaller number than it currently stands, while doing little to check Russian hostilities.

Ich weiß aus eigener Erfahrung, wie wichtig die Spendenbereitschaft von Leser*innen ist. Wer will, dass netzpolitik.org weiter schreiben kann, sollte spenden, ganz schnell noch dieses Jahr (habe ich ich auch gerade gemacht).

Na immerhin...

"Nazitümelei, Kokainkonsum, Vergewaltigungsphantasien: Seit Monaten untersucht die #Bundeswehr Vorfälle bei ihren Fallschirmjägern. Der zuständige General zeigt sich sprachlos." Ist nicht so recht Nachwuchswerbung. Oder für die falschen.

Choose your master.

Donald Trump in his own words – the year in racism and misogyny

Ukraine war live: US has offered 15 years of security guarantees, says Zelenskyy

John Simpson (BBC): 'I've never seen a year quite as worrying as 2025 has been—not just because several major conflicts are raging but because it is becoming clear that one of them has geopolitical implications of unparalleled importance.' www.bbc.com/news/article...