Sander van Hoorn Veronika Dorman Anastasia Taylor-Lind Emmanuelle Chaze De Balie Can Europe speak the language of Power? What kind of geopolitical actor does Europe want to be? Join us for a discussion between Frans Timmermans, Nathalie Tocci, Tom Middendorp, Rym Momtaz ريم ممتاز & Yoeri Albrecht at De Balie on May 14. debalie.nl/programma/euro…

Prosecutors from the International Criminal Court have interviewed staff from Gaza's two biggest hospitals, per Reuters, 'the first confirmation that ICC investigators were speaking to medics about possible crimes in the Gaza Strip.'

'gross violations of human rights' **before** October 7.

It's not a problem of fog of war...

More than plausible that these continued (and were magnified) after Oct 7.

EU and US banks operating in Russia paid nearly $1 billion in taxes to the Russian government in 2023, with Austria’s Raiffeisen the top contributor. How many thousands of Ukrainians were killed or maimed with this revenue? There is a deep unseriousness with European politicians…

'🇩🇪 fears that seizing the funds could create a precedent and inspire new claims against them for WWII-era crimes.
🇫🇷, 🇮🇹and ECB also are hesitant, in case taking hold of the reserves hits intl confidence in € and single-currency assets' laurence norman
wsj.com/world/europe/w…

Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrsky says the battlefield situation has 'worsened,' and Russia is 'trying to seize the strategic initiative and break through the frontline.' It has 'a significant advantage in forces and means' and is 'actively…

Hanna Siegel, niece of US hostage Keith Siegel calls on WH to consider a hostage deal without the Netanyahu government in order to bring the American hostages home.

'We're at 205 days. There have been deals on the table. And they've proven elusive. And I worry that that is…

'If I cld buy one building in DC it wld be the Library of Congress; I wld close it to the public and install a pool table and whisky bar in place of the research desks.'

🤯🤯
Apparently he wrote a book.

The LoC is a public treasure w/39 million books.

ft.com/content/3fae7c…

“This is the highest-risk pt in terms of the Hezbollah-Israel front since the initial weeks after Oct. 7,” said Rym Momtaz, 'There is a lot of reconnaissance-by-fire happening, which is each side testing the limits of the other through live fire attacks.”

wsj.com/world/middle-e…

'y a un petit truc sur l'hygiène... on passe derrière' 😂😂
Très vrai.

“He calmly looked at me and he said, ‘I am the storm.’” The renowned photographer Platon tells me about his ominous photo shoot with Donald Trump, before he became president.

This.

“Putin turns to me and in perfect English he says, ‘I love the Beatles.’”
Acclaimed photographer Platon reveals the stories behind his images of the most influential and polarizing figures of our era. #TheAmanpourHour airs 11aET Saturdays on CNN

How terrible that some of the staunchest supporters of war criminal Assad are allowed to lead pro-Palestine protests.

I cannot overstate what a mind-blowing development this is.

This Gaza war is a watershed moment in so many ways we haven’t even started unpacking.

⬇️⬇️

This is a great round-up of concise analysis of Macron’s speech from real experts who have a wide variety of views.

Y a-t-il des équilibres quand le système international est traversé par de fortes dynamiques de puissance? Le monde de 2024 n’est même plus celui de 2014.

Alors, devons-nous penser les équilibres ou au contraire anticiper, influencer et nous adapter aux déséquilibres permanents?