Node of Time EN

"A Crisis Worse Than COVID": business in the US is in the deepest slump in its memory, CNN Business reports. Business owners describe the current situation as more difficult than the pandemic of the early 2020s: it is impossible to plan operations, while consumers exhausted by inflation are not prepared for further price spikes.

"Because of disruptions to shipping, a shortage of containers, high costs due to what is happening in the Red Sea, and higher fertilizer prices, we are experiencing a period of disruptions that we have never encountered before," said the head of a coffee-producing company.

The White House calls the consequences of the war with Iran "a temporary economic disruption." But, as CNN notes, even its end will not reverse Russia’s ban on diesel exports, which deprived the global maritime market of 12% of its supply. Fuel prices are also rising rapidly and disrupting industrial shipments. The WSJ notes that in the US, diesel fuel has risen by approximately 14% in a month and by more than 60% over the past year. Small businesses are suffering particularly badly.

"They say things were better during COVID," the publication writes.

Our channel: Node of Time EN

🚀 China launched four rockets within 45 hours China carried out an unusual series of space launches: Four different orbital rockets lifted off from three spaceports within just 45 hours. All four launches ended with the successful deployment of their payloads into orbit. Details of the series were published on September 21. What is particularly interesting is that this was not a demonstration of a single state-run rocket program. Government agencies and private companies—in particular LandSpace and Orienspace—participated in the series. China is simultaneously building satellite constellations, expanding its commercial space sector, and testing technologies for reusable rockets. Four rockets in 45 hours are therefore no longer so much a record for the sake of an impressive number, but evidence of the pace. China is gradually transforming satellite launches from individual major events into a serial industrial operation. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇨🇳 The US and China are negotiating again — this time, the law on Russian oil is also on the table A new round of US-China economic consultations is continuing in New York. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The Chinese side described the talks as an ⁠“open, in-depth and constructive exchange” on trade, investment and even issues related to artificial intelligence. However, the talks are taking place after Trump signed the Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. The law allows the US to impose secondary tariffs of up to 100% on countries that buy Russian oil and gas. Beijing has officially ⁠rejected such secondary sanctions and warned that it reserves the right to take “all necessary measures”. However, there has been no confirmation that Russian oil has already become a separate item in the ongoing talks between He and Bessent. Washington has gained a new lever immediately before the key talks with Beijing. The question now is not only whether Trump will decide to use this leverage, but also what China will demand in return for any concessions in energy trade. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇰🇵 The USA, South Korea and Japan once again want the complete denuclearization of North Korea. The only question left is—how At their meeting in New York, the foreign ministers of the USA, South Korea and Japan once again reaffirmed “the firm commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”. At the same time, the three countries called for cutting off the sources of revenue that Pyongyang uses to finance its nuclear and missile programs, and called on North Korea to return to dialogue. The statement was published by Yonhap on the morning of September 22; South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also published the results of the meeting. But the practical question is becoming increasingly interesting. Pyongyang declares its nuclear status irreversible, while South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is now proposing a completely different sequence: first, easing some of the sanctions in exchange for freezing the development of the nuclear program, and only afterward moving toward denuclearization. The goal remains the same—“complete denuclearization.” However, the instruments are gradually becoming noticeably more pragmatic: even Seoul is no longer speaking of immediate disarmament, but initially of trying to at least halt the further expansion of the arsenal. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 The AfD won, but the SPD wants to govern. CDU already changes its leadership after the election Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has produced a rather unusual political constellation. The AfD won the election with 38.2%, while the SPD received 35.5%, but Manuela Schwesig wants to ⁠enter into negotiations with the Left and the Greens. Together, the three parties have a majority, whereas the votes are no longer sufficient for the previous coalition of the SPD and the Left. The AfD, meanwhile, has effectively admitted that its election victory will not lead to it joining the government. Leif-Erik Holm said that the party was ⁠preparing for the role of the opposition, since the other parties had rejected any negotiations with it. Following its historic 4.9% result, the CDU is beginning a personnel reshuffle: State chairman Daniel Peters and Secretary-General Katy Hoffmeister announced their resignations, and party leadership will provisionally ⁠pass to Philipp Amthor. The election result and the composition of the government in Germany are once again proving to be two entirely different things. The AfD becomes the strongest force and remains in opposition, the SPD comes second and retains the de facto path to leading the state, while the CDU is beginning a change in leadership after its worst result in Mecklenburg. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇮🇷 Aragchi begins his visit to New York with a conversation with Guterres Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi arrived in New York on the evening of September 21 to attend the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. Immediately after his arrival, he held a telephone conversation with UN Secretary-General António Guterres. They discussed the agenda of the General Assembly and the UN’s efforts in the area of international peace and security. (Press TV) Aragchi himself stated that the main task of the Iranian delegation in New York would be to defend Iran’s position following the war with the United States and Israel. IRNA confirmed his arrival and the composition of the high-level delegation; President Masoud Pezeshkian is also scheduled to travel to New York today. (IRNA) After weeks of military escalation, the center of the confrontation is shifting to New York, at least for a few days. Iran has not come merely to speak from the podium—the General Assembly is opening up a rare opportunity for direct and indirect contacts with all the parties to the crisis at once. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇮🇷 Iran: We are prepared both for a new strike and for a protracted war The commander of the Iranian army, Major General Amir Hatami, stated that the armed forces were fully prepared for a possible new attack by the United States and Israel. In doing so, he is continuing the line of the General Staff, which had previously announced that the forces had been placed on the highest state of alert. At the same time, representatives of the IRGC made clear that Tehran is preparing not only to repel a single strike but also for a longer confrontation. Iranian military officials claim that, following the previous phase of the war, the plans, the geography of possible counterstrikes, and the range of weapons deployed had been revised. However, no specific new systems or scenarios have been disclosed publicly. The signal is directed primarily at Washington and Israel: Tehran wants to show that they should not expect a short campaign that will quickly force Iran to make concessions. The extent to which the actual capabilities match this rhetoric cannot be publicly verified. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇮🇷 IRGC: The US and Israel must leave the region The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated on the morning of September 22 that the US and Israel would have to come to terms with “withdrawal from the region”. The statement came against the backdrop of a significant escalation in Tehran’s military rhetoric and warnings about the consequences of a possible new attack on Iran. The wording goes significantly beyond Tehran’s previous demands for an end to American and Israeli attacks. In doing so, Iran is effectively once again putting forward a long-term regional concept according to which the security of the Middle East should be guaranteed by the regional states without a permanent American military presence. Tehran’s negotiating position is thus extremely clear: For Iran, it is no longer only about ending the current war. Iran is seeking to put the security architecture of the Middle East itself on the agenda. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

⚡️ Saxony-Anhalt: AfD and BSW have apparently reached an agreement on leadership posts in the new state parliament After several rounds of negotiations between the AfD and BSW, there has been a first concrete success. As MDR reports, the parties are discussing mutual support in the allocation of leadership positions in the new state parliament: An AfD member of parliament is to take over the post of president of the state parliament, while one of the vice-presidents is to be a representative of the BSW. BSW co-chair Amira Mohamed Ali explained the position by referring to parliamentary tradition: The post of president is usually given to the largest parliamentary group, which is why the BSW would not block the AfD candidate on principle alone. Tino Chrupalla, for his part, said that mutual support in the election of the state parliament presidents could contribute to building “trusting relations” between the parties. Together, the AfD and BSW have 44 of the 83 seats—a simple majority. There is, however, a legal detail: Under the current rules of procedure, the BSW is not one of the three largest parliamentary groups and therefore has no independent right to nominate a vice-president. A mechanism that would make it possible to get the candidate elected has not yet been established. In addition, the vote will be secret. There is still no coalition between the AfD and BSW. But for the first time since the election, cooperation between the two parties could materialize not only in statements, but also in the concrete allocation of key parliamentary posts. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

“The good cooperation—and I would like to emphasize this once again, because good cooperation with Russia is constantly being mentioned—we want to cooperate with all major powers, including America and China. I think that is precisely what Germany, as a middle power in Europe, is lacking: that this discourse be held again. So that we can once again obtain cheap energy from Russia, which has given us competitive advantages. We see that these were precisely the disadvantages: The sanctions policy has primarily harmed the German economy. <…> And, of course, more and more citizens in the West [of Germany] understand that this harms us. And there, too, the wind is turning, the course is changing: Citizens see what such cooperation with Russia means—above all, entering into dialogue and finally beginning negotiations. Because the “firewall” is more likely to cause the economic downturn in this country to continue.” Of all possible languages, AfD co-chairman Tino Chrupalla [see the YouTube video from 45:31] chose the language of facts. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇪🇺 Interference in elections — depending on whose elections The European Union regularly accuses Russia of “interference in the democratic and electoral processes” of European states and has even created a separate sanctions mechanism for such actions. Yet after the State Duma elections, Brussels itself moved directly from the issue of the Ukrainian territories to assessing the domestic political situation in Russia: The EU Council criticized Russia’s political system, the composition of the parties allowed to participate in the election, and the absence of OSCE observers, and announced its readiness to impose sanctions on individuals whom the EU considers responsible for “undermining the possibility of free and fair elections in Russia.” All of this is stated verbatim in the official statement by the EU Council of September 21. Legally, the EU can of course neither annul Russian elections nor dictate electoral law to Moscow — its instrument remains its own sanctions. Politically, however, the arrangement is remarkable: Brussels regards Russia’s interference in European democratic processes as grounds for sanctions, while at the same time reserving the right to assess Russia’s internal electoral process and punish Russian citizens for actions within their own country. And EU sanctions over events inside Russia already exist: A separate mechanism explicitly applies to those whom Brussels considers responsible for “undermining democracy and the rule of law” in the Russian Federation. Interference in domestic politics is therefore apparently also a matter of perspective: If EU elections are influenced, it is considered outside interference. If the EU attempts to influence political processes in Russia through sanctions, then it is “protecting democracy.” 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Latest developments in the war between #Russia and #Ukraine as of the morning of September 22 The Russian army captures #Danilovka in #Dnepropetrovsk The Russian army captures #Zolotoi_Kolodiaz on the #Druzhkovka front The Russian army advances toward #Novodian on the #Dobropolie front The Ukrainian army captures #Vasyutinskoe on the #Kramatorsk front The Ukrainian army advances toward #Novolyubovka in #Lugansk The Russian army advances in #Blagodatnoe in #Kharkov video link: https://youtu.be/XEwAW_KJJrI?si=H_Pytn44ImN5MTpF

🇩🇪 Merz threatens a possible AfD government with federal coercion Following the AfD’s election victory in Saxony-Anhalt, Friedrich Merz indicated that federal coercion could be used against a future state government—that is, the federal coercion enshrined in Article 37 of the Basic Law. The chancellor said that if “boundaries were crossed,” the federal government would do everything to correct the situation, specifically mentioning migration policy. Berlin requires the consent of the Bundesrat to use this measure. Federal coercion has never been applied in the history of the Federal Republic. So far, this concerns only a hypothetical violation of federal or constitutional law: the AfD’s election victory alone is not yet grounds for federal coercion. Possible measures range from binding instructions to the state government to, in the extreme case, the deployment of the Federal Police or the police forces of other states. At the same time, the SPD, the Greens, and the Left also declared their willingness to consider using this mechanism against an AfD government. One interesting detail should be mentioned here: The measures named by Ulrich Siegmund for housing migrants and deporting offenders who are required to leave the country are, in themselves, within the framework of federal law. This creates a rather unusual precedent: An instrument that has never been used in the entire history of the Federal Republic was publicly discussed almost immediately after an opposition party’s victory in a state election—before it had even been able to form a government. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The Polish professor and political scientist Adam Wilomski comments on the statement by the chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Cavo Dragone, regarding thousands of pages of secret war plans against Russia:

If NATO has 4,000 pages of plans for a conflict with Russia, it will certainly lose. It will be impossible to find the right page in time.

NATO has prepared around 4,000 pages of military plans to defend its eastern flank. Dragone made this statement at a meeting of the alliance’s Military Committee in Copenhagen. According to him, these are three plans designed for different levels of escalation—from crisis and hybrid scenarios to an armed attack in which Article 5 is activated. “The alliance is ready. The structure is ready. The soldiers, systems and weapons are ready,” Dragone said. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The son of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Nicky, is chairman and co-founder of Skyral, one of the companies in the consortium that has received a £2 billion contract from the British Ministry of Defence. In addition to modelling defence strategies for the military, Skyral creates digital versions of complex systems by combining data from the real world, infrastructure, and modelling of human behaviour. Skyral told Parliament that its digital twins could include “comprehensive modelling of human behaviour,” take patterns of life and mood into account, and predict how human actions might respond to changes in their environment. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇭🇺 Hungary rejects the “Carpathian Eight” and blocks oil storage facilities for Ukraine In parliament, Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar stated that Budapest would not join the “Carpathian Eight” initiated by Kyiv. The country had been invited, but did not accept the invitation. The Hungarian Foreign Ministry also confirmed that although a representative of the country was present at the forum, the country did not join the final declaration. Earlier, Zelenskyy had presented Hungary as a participant in the new regional format. The dispute over energy supplies is even more interesting. On September 20, the Ukrainian company Naftogaz announced a memorandum with the Hungarian MOL Group: fuel storage facilities for the Ukrainian market were to be established in Hungary near the Ukrainian border. Kyiv explicitly justified the project by citing attacks on its fuel infrastructure. One day later, however, Magyar stated that the talks had been held without the government’s approval and made it clear: “There will be no Ukrainian oil storage facility in Hungary.” MOL stressed that so far this was merely a preliminary draft, whose technical, financial, and regulatory review could take several years. Kyiv had already counted Hungary among the members of the new alliance and announced a strategic storage project in the country. Within one day, Budapest rejected both. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to a record low of 32%, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. The decline is being driven by discontent over the cost of essential goods amid the war with Iran. Only 34% of respondents approve of the strikes on Tehran. The conflict threatens to spur inflation in the United States and other countries, as businesses pass higher fuel costs on to consumers. Nevertheless, Trump remains popular among Republicans on the issue of migration—79% of party members support him, but only 36% of Americans overall support his approach to the issue, while 55% disapprove. Our channel: Node of Time EN

New York under Mamdani smells wonderful: homeless tent cities are spreading through the streets of the metropolis. Across from New York University, a “slum settlement,” as the New York Post called it, has sprung up. The homeless people living there claim that with Mayor Zohran Mamdani taking office, life on the streets has become “more comfortable.” The “street residents” note that in the past, police officers would approach them and forcibly take away their belongings and shelter. Now, social workers are sent to the homeless, offering assistance and sometimes tactfully moving them to another location. Many remain on the streets because of negative experiences with shelters. Our channel: Node of Time EN

“Friedrich Merz’s time is over”. By now, only the laziest person still isn’t saying it. The Spectator is discussing it here. “Friedrich Merz is the most tragic chancellor in the short history of reunified Germany. It is time for him to resign,” the author claims. How diplomatic of him to replace the word “stupidest”! The author writes: “Merz himself sincerely believes that he is acting in Germany’s interests. The Germans themselves, however, do not see it that way. On his first day in office as chancellor, he promised to halve support for the AfD during his term. Instead, support for his own party fell by half, while the AfD’s popularity doubled.” Accordingly, the magazine warns: If Merz does not leave immediately, the “wave from the East” will overwhelm both his party and his country. There is one thing it does not say, however: who is supposed to replace Merz? If the entire political class there has become corrupt—just think of Baerbock!—then the next chancellor will be even more “Merz-like”! 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇪🇺 “You have ruined us”: Greek MEP attacks von der Leyen in the European Parliament Greek MEP Afroditi Latinopoulou of the “Patriots for Europe” group directly called Ursula von der Leyen, in her presence, “the biggest racist against Europeans.” In her roughly 75-second speech, she accused the head of the European Commission of responsibility for migration policy, the growing tax and bureaucratic burden, farmers’ problems, and the closure of European companies. “You are imposing a woke agenda, green madness, and the Islamization of Europe on us,” the German Bild reports of her speech. Latinopoulou then addressed von der Leyen directly: She called her “Merkel’s best student,” mentioned Pfizergate, disappeared messages, and allegations of a lack of transparency in the work of the European Commission. She ended her speech with the words: “Ms. von der Leyen, you have ruined us!” Rarely does the European Parliament’s customary diplomatic language end so directly: “You have ruined us.” 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN