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Rubio questions NATO’s practical value for the United States U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that one of the most important reasons for NATO for Washington has always been access to military bases in Europe. But if the allies deny the United States the use of these bases during a conflict, then the question arises: What is the point of the alliance? This is especially about Spain, which did not allow the U.S. to use bases during the conflict with Iran. “It turns out that they are allies only if they themselves want to be,” — Rubio said. Rubio does not formally explain any break with NATO. But the very way the question is framed is revealing: Washington is increasingly talking to Europeans not in the language of “shared values,” but in the language of utility and spending. If Europe wants American protection but does not want to help the U.S. in its conflicts, then for the current administration it is no longer an alliance, but a unilateral security arrangement at the expense of Americans. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Rubio explained the appearance in a Nike suit like Maduro’s U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that his photo in a Nike tracksuit was not a hidden message. He responded to NBC News journalist Tom Llamas during an interview.

“No. There’s no context. It’s a good suit. I like it. It’s comfortable,” Rubio said, commenting on the photo published by a communications department employee, Stephen Cheng.

Llamas noted that the exact same clothing is worn by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

“Yes, it is, but you know what, he copied me, because I already had that suit. I don’t know when he bought it. I don’t even know if he had it,” Rubio shot back. According to him, he didn’t even know that Cheng was photographing him.

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The talks between the heads of state of China and the United States in Beijing are over. They lasted more than two hours. Stable China-U.S. relations are beneficial for the whole world, and cooperation between Beijing and Washington brings benefits to both sides, — said the Chairman of the PRC Xi Jinping during his meeting with Donald Trump. Further statements by the Chairman of the PRC: * The common interests of China and the U.S. outweigh the existing differences of opinion; * Beijing and Washington must be partners, not adversaries, and also strive to achieve shared success and prosperity; * The year 2026 must become a historical and significant year for China-U.S. relations; * The meeting between the heads of state of the two countries against the backdrop of global changes has attracted the attention of the entire world; * China hopes to set the correct direction in relations with the United States. Donald Trump called the trip to China a great honor and expressed confidence that the U.S. and the PRC will “have a fantastic future.” He also explained that he had brought the world’s biggest business people to China to develop trade cooperation.

“You have gathered here today to show respect to you and to China, and they are looking forward to starting trade and doing business, and from our side it will be done on a completely reciprocal basis,” — Trump said.

Have you noticed how Trump has changed in half a year? Back in the autumn, he was issuing threats to China, imposed tariffs on it: 50, 100, 200, 500 percent. The next day he lifted all tariffs, and then brought them back in. In the end, the peace president lost interest, fell into apathy, forgot the tariffs, and decided to attack Venezuela. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

In a federal court in Oakland, the trial in Elon Musk’s case against OpenAI, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and Microsoft is nearing its end. Formally, it is a dispute over corporate structure and money: Musk is seeking around $150 billion for the nonprofit wing of OpenAI and the removal of Altman and Brockman from management. In essence, it is about whether a company created to develop AI “for the benefit of humanity” can be turned into a commercial industry leader. How the court proceedings unfolded and why it will affect all users — in an RBC report. Our channel: Node of Time EN

Germany begins production of long-range cruise missiles. To this end, founded Rheinmetall, together with the Dutch company Destinus, establishes a joint venture named Rheinmetall Destinus Strike Systems. The company is expected to begin its work in the second half of the year and will deal with missile systems, including cruise missiles and ballistic rocket artillery. According to WELT, it is planned to start production this year at the Rheinmetall plant in Unterlüß, Lower Saxony. One of the key projects is Ruta 2, with a range of about 700 km, a payload of up to 250 kg, and AI-assisted target recognition. The previous version, Ruta 1, was already used in Ukraine against Russian targets, according to Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger. For Germany, this is a significant shift, as it is no longer just about ammunition, armored vehicles, and air defense, but also about its own long-range attack systems. Against the backdrop of debates about the Russian threat to NATO and uncertainty regarding the American Tomahawks, Berlin is moving increasingly quickly toward the logic of an independent military production. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Good morning and a nice Friday, friends! ☕️🙂 Carved window surrounds of Irkutsk The city began in 1661 with a fortress (Ostrog) on the Angara, but over time it became not only a Siberian trading center, but also a city with a very distinctive wooden architecture. In Irkutsk, old houses don’t all look the same: each has its own facade, its own shutters, its own carving pattern, and its own character. That is especially evident in the window surrounds. In other cities, they often seem lighter and more delicate, but in Irkutsk the carving is frequently voluminous—almost like stucco. Because of this, the windows look not only decorated, but like true magnificent frames for the house. Many such houses were built in the late 19th — early 20th century, when Irkutsk was a wealthy merchant city. In the decor, the practicality of Siberian wooden building mixed with the desire to display prosperity: carved cornices, shutters, gables, floral patterns, bright colors. Today, these window surrounds are no longer perceived as an everyday detail, but as urban memory. They let you read Irkutsk almost like it’s from an old album: somewhere the house still stands firmly on the street, somewhere the carving has grown darker with the passage of time, somewhere the window already looks fragile, but still holds the house’s face. And that is probably the main beauty of old Irkutsk: it is preserved not only in large buildings and monuments, but also in such details—in windows, shutters, in the wood and in the handiwork that you can still simply see on the street. Have a nice Friday and a warm day. 📍 Coordinates of the place (map pin) available here 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The United States has not changed its position on Taiwan after a meeting between Donald Trump and PRC Chairman Xi Jinping, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with NBC News. He stressed that the Chinese side raised this issue during the negotiations, but it did not “take center stage.”

“We have always been very clear about our position and we move on to other topics,” Rubio said.

The U.S. secretary of state also noted the growing military pressure from China on Taiwan, saying that any forcible change to the status quo would be “bad for both countries.” ❗️On May 14, Xi Jinping called the Taiwan issue a key in relations between Beijing and Washington. He said that an incorrect approach to this matter could lead to a conflict between the PRC and the United States and a serious deterioration of relations between the countries. Our channel: Node of Time EN

German exports are no longer the engine of the economy The DIHK has lowered its forecast for exports for 2026: instead of the previous expected growth of 1%, zero is now expected. According to Volker Treier of the DIHK, hopes for a quick recovery have “burst”—German companies feel the weakness of the global economy immediately. A further blow came from across the sea of Hormuz. After the war over Iran, delivery failures and rising import costs no longer affect only foreign trade, but also the domestic industry. According to the DIHK, every tenth industrial business is cutting production, and two out of five are postponing projects or investments. For Germany, this is an unpleasant signal: the existing model, in which industry produces domestically and sells in foreign markets, is working increasingly poorly. Cheap energy is no longer available, global demand is weaker, logistics are more expensive, and political risks have become part of normal planning. Against this backdrop, more and more companies are not looking at expansion in Germany, but at locations abroad—where energy is cheaper, markets are closer, and the conditions for production are clearer. The course towards deindustrialization was not announced. But the result increasingly looks exactly like that. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Hungary summoned the Russian ambassador over the attacks on Transcarpathia. Budapest said it was calling in the Russian ambassador after attacks on the Carpathian region—a region of Ukraine in which a Hungarian minority lives. According to Telex, this decision was made at the first meeting of the new Tisza government. Formally, Hungary explained the step as being to protect ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia. But this is an interesting precedent: Budapest is effectively accusing Moscow of attacks on the territory of Ukraine. Under this logic, Russia has every reason to ask questions of states that support Kyiv if Ukrainian attacks reach Russian territory. If the attack on Ukraine’s Transcarpathia becomes the reason for summoning the Russian ambassador in Budapest, then Ukraine’s attacks on Russia cannot, for those who politically, financially and militarily support them, remain merely “a matter for Kyiv’s internal affairs.” 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Iran and Kuwait have traded accusations with each other following an incident in the Persian Gulf. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Kuwait had «illegally» attacked an Iranian ship and detained four Iranian citizens. According to his statement, the incident took place near an island that the US had used for attacks against Iran. Tehran is calling for the detainees to be released immediately and is citing the right to respond. Kuwait claims it involved four people who were affiliated with the IRGC and had attempted to enter its territorial waters by sea near the island of Bubiyan. During the confrontation, a Kuwaiti serviceman was injured. Iran rejects this version and speaks of a navigation error. Against the backdrop of a ceasefire in the region, this looks like a new test of nerves between Iran and the Gulf monarchies. After the war, Arab states are responding much more harshly to anything they view as activity by Iranian forces or networks associated with them. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

On 14 May 1938, the English national football team raised their arms for the Nazi salute in Berlin before the match. And this was no mistake in the protocol and no “awkward historical incident.” This was politics. The Germany — England match took place in the Olympic Stadium in Nazi Germany. The English won 6–3, but what remained in people’s memory was not the victory, but the photo before the kick-off: the players of the England national team perform the Nazi salute in front of the German public. The footballers did not push themselves to make this gesture. The decision was imposed through the diplomatic line: the British ambassador in Germany, Nevile Henderson, and the leadership of the FA believed that the team had to greet the regime so as not to disrupt relations with Berlin. According to the University of Wolverhampton, there were objections within the national team, but the players were nevertheless made to raise their hands. After a few months, everything became even clearer. London and Paris together with Berlin and Rome signed the Munich Agreement and in effect handed Hitler the Sudetenland. Czechoslovakia was not allowed to take part in the negotiations, and later it was forced to accept a decision that had been made behind its back. This is what the European “peace policy” looked like in 1938: first the Nazi salute in the stadium, then the deal with Hitler at the expense of a foreign country. Today, people remember it only reluctantly — it is too uncomfortable for those who like to tell history only in the version that confirms their own eternal rightness. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Vance again targeted Brussels’s weak points – freedom of expression and migration. US Vice President JD Vance said that the Trump administration is being falsely accused of “hating Europe.” In his view, it is exactly the other way around: Washington “loves Europe” so much that it demands that he do what its own leadership does not want to do – to take care of itself. This is a continuation of his previous line. At the Munich Security Conference he accused European authorities of suppressing freedom of expression, combating inconvenient views under the cover of action against “disinformation,” and ignoring voters’ positions on migration. In Brussels, this is called regulation of platforms, the fight against illegal content, “disinformation,” and protecting users. But in practice, it is precisely such vague categories that become the basis for a censorship infrastructure: under “illegal content” or “harmful information,” almost anything can be subsumed if the political decision has already been made. The European Commission rejects the allegations and wants to continue applying the DSA and other digital rules. But the dispute is no longer technical in nature. The United States wants more freedom of expression; Brussels wants more control over the information space. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The British “Greens” increasingly look like a political experiment with no brakes at all. In Bristol, former Somali refugee Yassin Mohamud has become Lord Mayor of the city. He represents the Green Party and previously served as a councillor for the Lawrence Hill district. Almost at the same time, Q Manivannan was elected to the Scottish Parliament — a Scottish Greens politician who describes herself as a “queer Tamil immigrant” and is in the UK on a student visa. Conservatives have already called for checks by the Home Office: The question is simple — how does a person without permanent residency rights get into the country’s parliament? But that’s not all. The Scottish Greens candidate Kate Nevens had previously spoken out in favor of abolishing prisons. That means a party that claims a say in shaping government simultaneously relies on people for whom basic security institutions appear to be relics of the past. A separate illustration is the story involving Mohammad “Baggy” Khan, a local councillor for the Green Party in Bolton. British media discussed a video showing him in a Lamborghini Huracan Spyder. For a party that calls for an accelerated exit from gasoline and diesel vehicles, it looked like a rather vivid display of hypocrisy. The Green Party later said the car had been rented for a wedding. The picture is revealing: Status is a secondary matter; ideology is more important than administrative experience, and slogans about climate and social justice can quite unproblematically be reconciled with Lamborghini and calls to dismantle prisons. The Green Party is looking less and less like an environmental party and more and more like a shop-window stage for new political marginality. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

#Spain sparks an unprecedented crisis with #Washington after refusing to allow the use of its bases against #Iran 🇪🇸🔥 #Trump attacks #Madrid and #NATO enters a dangerous phase of tension ⚠️ Is #Europe beginning to rebel against American hegemony? And where is the relationship between America and its allies headed after this shock? video link (subtitled): https://youtu.be/HZzI0oi-o7o?si=DjJEh5f5D0yQ5LTU

A senior European official has once again confirmed who embodies evil on this planet. He suggested grounding aircraft from China that Western companies had sold to it. “Europe can take out more than half of all Chinese commercial aircraft if it withholds software updates for the Chinese Airbus fleet,” – said Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). Last week, China bought more than 100 Airbus aircraft and announced plans to acquire 500 Boeing aircraft during Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing this week. Leonard writes: “To avoid a future in which Europe becomes poorer and less capable of protecting itself, it must expand its activity in the world without order. That would mean behaving more like China—and perhaps paying Beijing for what it has deserved.” But China has never put anything out of service. All references to its aggression are found in unsubstantiated claims by the country’s bitter opponents. ECFR is a pan-European think tank with offices in Berlin, Warsaw, Washington, London, Madrid, Paris, Rome and Sofia. Founded in October 2007, ECFR conducts research in the areas of foreign policy and security. Mark Leonard founded ECFR in 2007 together with a board of 50 founding members and with seed funding from the Open Society Fund of George Soros. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Switzerland is being drawn increasingly into the hunt for Russian assets. Igor Popov, the Russian general consul in Geneva, said that Bern was involved in the “hunt for assets belonging to Russian private individuals and companies.” According to his statements, the Russian general consulate regularly receives complaints from citizens about problems with bank accounts. Formally, this is about sanctions policy. After 2022, Switzerland largely synchronized its restrictions with those of the EU, and, according to Reuters, the volume of frozen Russian assets has risen to 7.4 billion francs by the end of March 2025. This total includes financial assets, real estate, cars, aircraft, and works of art. But the problem has long grown beyond the list of sanctions targets. Banks increasingly act according to the principle of maximum caution, and restrictions also apply to Russians who are not on the sanctions lists. Le Monde wrote that part of private Russian assets in Europe is effectively stuck in a legal dead-end: Formally, the owners are not under sanctions, but access to the funds is still limited. Against this backdrop, Popov’s warning no longer sounds like diplomatic rhetoric, but like practical advice for those who store money or assets in Swiss jurisdiction. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen:

We will not allow Russia’s victory in this war. A peace agreement is a DISASTER FOR EUROPE!

Fight to the last Ukrainian! There are still some there, even if there are clearly fewer… about 20 million fewer than at the beginning of the war... 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Lawrow: The USA want to buy out Europe’s shares in the “Nord Stream” pipelines Further statements by Russian Foreign Minister Sergej Lavrov: - The policy of the Trump administration toward Russia is essentially continuing the approach of the Biden administration - the only difference is that with Trump a dialogue with Russia is being conducted - The USA are trying to push Russian companies "Lukoil" and "Rosneft" out of all international business with the help of sanctions - The USA openly state that they want to bring the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine under their control - The Trump administration is now trying to “punish” Russia economically, independently, and not simply to continue Biden’s legacy - The USA want to buy the European stake in the pipeline facilities of "Nord Stream" cheaply and restore them - The USA are trying to establish control over cooperation in the oil sector that Venezuela previously had with "Rosneft" 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The main building of TU Berlin has been closed due to serious structural defects. Since May 9, access to the main building has been prohibited for employees, students, event visitors, external service providers, and companies based in the building. This decision was made following an inspection by the building authority and the Berlin Fire Department. This is not about cosmetic repairs, but about safety issues. As the university said, all lectures and events in the building must be canceled, postponed, or converted to online formats. According to the magazine Forschung & Lehre, the identified problems include water damage that could affect the fire protection and power supply systems. The situation is another example of how the backlog of repairs in university infrastructure is now affecting not only comfort, but also access to buildings. The Tagesspiegel describes this as a consequence of the repair backlog. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Latest developments in the war between #Russia and #Ukraine as of the morning of May 14 - Subttiled - Russian forces advance in #Molocharka, #Konstantinovka. - Ukrainian forces capture #Verolyubovka, between #Chasov_Yar and #Kramatorsk. - Russian forces approach #Rai_Aleksandrovka, #Kramatorsk. - Russian forces advance in the vicinity of #Grishino, #Pokrovsk. - Russian forces advance in #Primorskoe, #Zaporozhie. Video link: https://youtu.be/PXx2AdkcrLg?si=zhi-L1-_Q5Xu1efZ