When the public turns hostile: Political violence against parliamentarians

European leaders divided over how far to accommodate Trump’s ‘wrecking ball’ politics and foreign policy

US Democrats will use a security summit this weekend to urge European leaders to stand up to Donald Trump, with the continent divided over how to keep the unpredictable US president on side.

Democrats at the annual Munich Security Conference will include some of Trump’s most outspoken critics, such as the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, the New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Arizona senator Ruben Gallego and the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer.

Newsom has already urged Europeans to realise that “grovelling to Trump’s needs” makes them “look pathetic on the world stage”, telling reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month he “should have brought a bunch of knee pads”.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/43119723

Feb. 12, 2026
[from weekly newsletter about Cuba from the Belly Of The Beast news/video collective. Their videos can be found at: https://peertube.world/c/cuba_botb_videos/videos]

Donald Trump said on February 1: "We're talking to the people from Cuba, the highest people in Cuba, to see what happens. I think we’re going to make a deal." But according to Drop Site News, no such talks are taking place.

Meanwhile, in Cuba, the U.S.’ de facto oil blockade has already led to a shutdown of some essential services. Belly of the Beast spoke with Cubans about the fuel crisis and their concerns for the future.

Also:

• Interview With Cuban Jazz Legend Arturo O'Farrill
• With Jet Fuel Scarce, Canada and Russia Cancel Flights
• Mexico Sends Food — But Not Oil
• US Offers Cuba “Aid” While Crushing its Economy
• Guatemala Sends Cuban Medical Mission Packing
• UN Warns of Humanitarian Collapse

“We have a master plan … There is no Plan B,” remarked Jared Kushner last month, during a Board of Peace (BoP) presentation about Gaza reconstruction at the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos. What has become apparent is that no coherent Plan A exists either.

Although Kushner’s father-in-law, US President Donald Trump, was granted the legitimacy to build what he calls the BoP on the back of pledges to implement his “20-point peace plan” and Gaza ceasefire, the BoP’s charter is notably absent of any reference to Gaza...

US spy agency’s outreach, depicting a disillusioned mid-level officer, risks unsettling fragile calm before April’s Trump-XI summit

The incident was not the first undersea sabotage in the Baltic, and it won’t be the last. That shallow body of water has become a hotspot for targeting critical undersea infrastructure. Over the course of the past decades, major Western economies have become increasingly dependent on the flow of data and energy along the seafloor. Russia has begun to weaponize that dependency, and China looks set to follow suit. The West is belatedly rebuilding its capacity to patrol and protect its undersea infrastructure but still hasn’t adequately grappled with how to deter the growing risks below the waves.

Air Transat is cancelling its last two flights into Florida as of this spring, suspending all of its business into the United States.

Thailand is consistently ranked among the bottom 10 countries in the world for low birth rates. Its Total Fertility Rate has dropped to between 1.0 and 1.2 children per woman, well below the 2.1 replacement level required to maintain a stable population.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/7204957

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Kulyk legally entered the U.S. in late 2023 along with his wife, 38, and daughter, who’s now 5. The family was sponsored by U.S. citizens as part of the Uniting 4 Ukraine program, a humanitarian program set up in April 2022 to allow Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s war to live and work in the U.S. on “parole.”

Once the initial two-year parole period expires, entrants can file for re-parole to remain in the country longer. That’s exactly what Kulyk says he did. His wife and daughter’s applications were approved. But his remained pending.

He said he was putting groceries in his car on Jan. 1 when he was approached by three ICE agents.

“I explained to the ICE officers that the war was killing people, that my wife had a disability, that it was violence, terrorism which we had escaped from but one of them began to laugh,” Kulyk told The Daily Beast. “I asked why he was laughing and I was told that he was pro-Russian, wanted Russia to win the war.”

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/47379227

Russia has been able to continue its full-scale war against Ukraine largely due to extensive support from a specific country, according to a publication by Clash Report.

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Despite public statements about aid from other countries, it is China’s resources that ... have been the decisive factor for the Kremlin.

Former head of British intelligence MI6, Richard Moore, stated that it was Beijing that provided Moscow with the most significant support during the war.

According to him, China’s contribution far exceeds that of Iran or North Korea, even though these countries are more frequently mentioned in the media due to weapons deliveries and personnel.

"I am absolutely certain that Putin would have already lost without the support from China that he received. Headlines often focus on North Korea providing approximately 12,000 troops for the battle near Kursk, or Iran supplying drone technology," Moore said.

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The report shows that US support in 2025 fell by nearly 99% compared to the average for 2022–2024. Whereas the United States had previously allocated billions annually in military, financial, and humanitarian aid, 2025 saw a 99% drop in assistance.

There was only one "symbolic" military support package worth approximately €0.4 billion, and no new major financial or humanitarian commitments were recorded.

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Against the backdrop of the steep reduction in US aid, European countries significantly expanded their contributions:

• military assistance from Europe increased by 67%.

• Financial and humanitarian support rose by 59%.

As a result, the overall volume of international aid to Ukraine in 2025 remained close to the levels of previous years, despite the sharp decline in support from the United States.

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One of the key tools was the introduction of the PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirement List) mechanism, through which around 75% of missiles for Patriot systems and nearly 90% of ammunition for other air defense systems were funded by European partners in 2025.

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Forecasts for 2026 are optimistic thanks to the new EU Ukraine Support Fund, totaling €90 billion. Of this, €60 billion is earmarked specifically for supporting Ukraine’s defense industry, enabling the country to become more autonomous in weapons production.

Japan intends to join a NATO initiative allowing the supply of ammunition, equipment, and other US-made resources to Ukraine.

Additionally, in mid-January 2026, Albania joined the PURL initiative.

By the end of December 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that more than 20 countries had joined the PURL initiative, specifically, 24.

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Republicans may be willing to stick with Donald Trump through almost anything, but his recent push to seize control of Greenland has turned off many in his own party, according to a new AP-NORC poll.

The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that about 7 in 10 U.S. adults disapprove of how Trump is handling the issue of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark. That’s higher than the share who dislike how he’s handling foreign policy generally, suggesting that Trump’s Greenland approach has created a weak spot for the administration.

Even Republicans aren’t thrilled. About half disapprove of his attempt to turn the icebound landmass into American territory, something that Trump has insisted is critical for national security in the Arctic, while about half approve.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sybiha met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. China has decided to provide Ukraine with an additional package of humanitarian energy aid.

"In Munich, I had a meaningful and productive meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. We focused on ways to develop mutually beneficial trade and bilateral ties based on mutual respect for territorial integrity. I reaffirmed Ukraine's interest in contacts with China at the highest level. We discussed peace efforts and China's important role in promoting an end to the war," Sybiha said on X.

"I am grateful for Beijing's decision to provide Ukraine with an additional package of humanitarian energy aid," Sybiha said.

As a reminder, the two were recently detained by the FSB, stripped to their underwear, as they themselves confessed, and received a 50-year ban on entering Russia.