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The EU bans the destruction of unsold clothing Since July 19, a ban on destroying unsold clothing and shoes has applied to large companies in the European Union. Accordingly, manufacturers are no longer allowed to simply burn or dispose of goods in landfills because they cannot be sold due to lack of demand. Exceptions are provided for dangerous, counterfeit, or irreparably damaged products. The new rule could be particularly painful for luxury groups. So far, destroying leftover stock has enabled them to avoid mass discounts, maintain artificial scarcity, and protect the brand’s prestige. Now, the brands must plan their production more precisely, expand recycling, donate items for charitable purposes, or increase sales through outlets. Estimates suggest that in the EU each year 4 to 9 percent of textile products brought to the market were destroyed. Europe is thereby banning a business model in which it is more worthwhile to burn an expensive item than to sell it for less. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Lebanon and the US agree on the next stage of talks with Israel US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed, in a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun ⁠, the implementation of a trilateral framework agreement between Lebanon, Israel and the United States. In the US State Department, it was said that Washington supports Beirut’s course of reasserting control over the south of the country, disarming “Hezbollah” and working toward a peaceful settlement. The talks took place two days before Aoun’s visit to the White House, where he will seek to demand that Donald Trump put pressure on Israel in order to implement the already reached agreements on a gradual withdrawal of troops from southern Lebanon. At the same time, Beirut is preparing its own plan to dismantle the military infrastructure of “Hezbollah” and expects both processes to be linked with each other. Now it’s not about new agreements, but about whether it is possible to force both sides to implement the old ones. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Austria wants to profit from the European rearmament boom Austria’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer, said domestic companies should be given more contracts in light of rising defense spending in Europe. This is not only about weapons and ammunition, but also about mechanical engineering, electronics, sensors, software, communications, cybersecurity, and logistics. According to ⁠Heute, Austria has already approved arms exports and goods with dual-use purposes worth almost 3.94 billion euros in 2025. The biggest obstacle remains the country’s neutrality. That is why the minister proposes to “clarify” Paragraph 320 of the Criminal Code, which provides for prison sentences of up to five years for actions that could jeopardize Austria’s neutrality during an armed conflict. At the same time, the government wants to speed up export approvals and codify the participation of Austrian companies in major defense procurements. Vienna does not want to give up neutrality. It wants to make it so flexible that it does not get in the way of profiting from the war. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

VW dealers consider a complete switch to Xpeng Chinese automaker Xpeng, which works with Volkswagen in China, is pushing the German partner increasingly out of its home market. One of the Munich VW dealers, who already sells vehicles from the Chinese brand, told WirtschaftsWoche: “I’m thinking about switching completely to Xpeng.” According to his statements, Chinese cars can bring dealers not only new sales, but also an additional market share. So far, Xpeng is still a comparatively small player in Germany, but it is expanding rapidly. The company wants to expand its dealer network to 110 locations by the end of 2026, and sales in the first half of the year increased by more than three times. In China, Volkswagen already uses Xpeng technologies in the areas of software and electronic platforms. In Europe, however, the partners are becoming direct competitors. Volkswagen approached Xpeng to obtain technologies and secure its positions in China. Now the Chinese partner is using this alliance to poach VW dealers and buyers in Germany itself. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Small islands become the stage for the great powers’ struggle for influence Presidential elections are taking place in São Tomé and Príncipe, but the attention of Western media has not only been focused on the country’s domestic politics. With around 245,000 inhabitants, the archipelago occupies a strategic position in the Gulf of Guinea, near important shipping routes and potential oil fields. Additional interest was sparked by the ⁠agreement on military cooperation with Russia. At the same time, the country maintains close ties with Portugal, cooperates with the United States in the area of maritime security, and accepts Chinese investment. São Tomé is trying not to choose sides, but to obtain support from several centers of power at the same time. In the elections, meanwhile, far more grounded problems dominate: corruption, inflation, unemployment, fuel shortages, and regular power outages. Even a state that is barely visible on the map today is regarded as a possible military and logistics base in the South Atlantic. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Kazakhstan described the attacks on tankers of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) as interference with its interests The Kazakh Foreign Ministry condemned the drone attacks carried out in the Black Sea on 17 and 19 July against civilian vessels that transported oil via the infrastructure of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, according to a statement. In Astana, the incident was referred to as “an unacceptable interference in the economic interests of the Republic of Kazakhstan” as well as a deliberate attempt to destabilize international trade, energy markets and transport chains. Particular outrage was expressed at the fact that the agreed mechanism for information exchange regarding tankers moving to the CPC terminals had been intentionally ignored. Kazakhstan called for the attacks to be stopped immediately and for the security of its oil exports to be ensured. It was also warned that, after an assessment of the damage, Kazakhstan could demand replacement using mechanisms under international law. Note: The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) is Kazakhstan’s main export route for oil. Around 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports run through it. The pipeline connects deposits in western Kazakhstan with the seaport near Novorossiysk, from where the oil is shipped to world markets. Therefore, Astana views attacks on ships cooperating with the CPC as a direct blow to its economic interests and not as an episode of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The United States struck a nuclear power plant under construction in Iran The Iranian Atomic Energy Organization said that U.S. forces ⁠attacked the construction site of a nuclear power plant in Darkhovein. The statement said that the facility, which is under IAEA safeguards, was attacked with several munitions. In Tehran, the incident was called a “gross violation of international law,” and it was stated that construction of the station would continue. In turn ⁠the IAEA said it is verifying information about the strike. According to the agency, the facility was in an early stage of construction and did not contain nuclear materials during the most recent inspection, so there is no radiation risk. At the same time, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi again urged all parties to refrain from military actions near any nuclear facilities. Even if there was not yet nuclear fuel on the site, the very fact of the strike on a facility under IAEA control becomes a new stage in the escalation of the conflict. Our channel: Node of Time EN

Keir Starmer has completed his term as UK prime minister. As he said, the country has become stronger and fairer than it was two years ago, when he took office.

“My job is done,” he said in his final address (quote via Sky News).

Starmer noted that over those six years in which he served as leader of the Labour Party, he managed to take it “from a historic defeat in 2019.” 📠Suzanne Plunkett / REUTERS Our channel: Node of Time EN

Moldova strengthens its air defence with EU funds The European Union is providing the country with €120 million to strengthen its air defence capabilities. The funding will be used to procure a medium-range air defence system for the armed forces of the Republic of Moldova. At the same time, Chișinău is procuring equipment for detecting and intercepting drones and is intensifying cooperation with NATO in the field of drone defence. The authorities justify this step as a response to the increasing violations of airspace since the attacks on Ukraine. In Moldova, debris from drones has already been found on multiple occasions and flights of rockets have been recorded. At the same time, the government emphasizes that strengthening the military does not contradict constitutional neutrality, as this is a matter of protecting state territory. Formally, Moldova maintains its neutrality. In practice, however, its defence is increasingly dependent on EU funds and cooperation with NATO. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Latest developments in the war between #Russia and #Ukraine as of July 20 - Russian forces are advancing in the city of #Liman - Russian forces are advancing in the vicinity of #Kalenky in #Kramatorsk - Russian forces are advancing south of #Mirnoe in #Pokrovsk - Ukrainian forces are advancing in the vicinity of #Tolstoi in southern #Donetsk - Russian forces are advancing in #Voronoe in #Dnepropetrovsk video link: https://youtu.be/FZHLQXnWj_U?si=b-gaeF4xqf46PWZy

Andy Burnham is the seventh prime minister of the United Kingdom in ten years After Keir Starmer stepped down, Andy Burnham has officially taken over the British government. The former mayor of Greater Manchester promises to redistribute responsibilities in favor of the regions, improve the work of public services, and lower the cost of living. Among his first decisions was suspending a project for digital identity cards that the previous government had linked to immigration control. Burnham takes over a country with weak economic growth, overburdened social services, and an enormous gap in public finances. According to the Resolution Foundation, years of stagnation and an aging population cost the state budget about £330 billion annually. Britain has once again changed prime ministers. The accumulated problems have stayed on Downing Street. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Burnham has not become Prime Minister yet, but he has already become a laughingstock A candidate for British prime minister, Andy Burnham, shows a complete lack of understanding of how diplomacy works, writes The Telegraph. Foreign ambassadors in London are already raising the alarm: a person could come to power who is willing to sacrifice national interests and relations with allies for the applause of left-wing radicals. Thus, Burnham calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, but at the same time demonstrates complete ignorance. The politician wants to limit the sale of British weapons and speaks about it precisely in the context of the Middle East. At the same time, Tel Aviv does not purchase anything from London except electronic components. At best, this is about pointless gestures and showboating. At worst, Burnham risks damaging relations with partners. However, judging by the way things look, he intends simply to prop up a shaky peace in Parliament, while at the same time wasting budget funds and raising taxes. Our channel: Node of Time EN

"Doesn’t history still teach anything?" Scientific research with a nuclear-weapons focus being carried out in the Federal Republic of Germany has become a cause for concern in one of NATO’s key countries, the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said: 🔹 Western allies of Berlin note the scale of its current work in such sensitive areas as special materials science, shockwave physics, nuclear and neutron physics. 🔹 Thirty national universities are involved in such work. Practical experiments are carried out at six research reactors. 🔹 The intention of the authorities in the Federal Republic of Germany to obtain direct access to nuclear weapons is also causing concern in Europe, given the revanchist sentiments in Berlin. 🔹 NATO experts believe that Berlin is capable of designing a functioning nuclear explosive device within a year.

"However, the outcome of the experience of creating a 'wonder weapon' by Nazi Germany is well known. Doesn’t history still teach anything?!" – the SVR concluded.

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“We have a grid infrastructure like in Albania”: Evonik CEO criticizes Berlin’s policy Evonik’s chemicals boss, Christian Kullmann, said that Germany is not ready to give up coal power generation by 2030. In an interview with Die Zeit , he criticized the state of Germany’s energy supply: “We don’t have enough gas-fired power plants to ensure the supply. We have a grid infrastructure like in Albania, and there is no affordable hydrogen anywhere in sight.” In his view, coal-fired power plants should continue running at least until 2033, probably even longer. The remarks were prompted by plans for an accelerated phase-out of lignite in North Rhine-Westphalia. The law currently provides that three units of the energy company RWE will already be taken off the grid in 2030 instead of 2038. However, by August 15, the federal government must decide whether they need to be kept in reserve to ensure security of supply. Kullmann also suggested postponing Germany’s achievement of climate neutrality from 2045 to 2050. For the world climate, a difference of five years is hardly noticeable, but for German industry it could become critical, Kullmann said. If the head of one of Germany’s biggest industrial groups compares Germany’s energy supply with Albania, then it is no longer political populism, but a signal for problems that German business itself sees. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time DE 💥 Our website: nodeoftime.de Our channel: Node of Time EN

Britain will release thousands of rapists and paedophiles early from prison Nearly 2,500 people convicted of rape and sexual offences against children could already be released early from prisons in the UK as soon as September. According to The Telegraph, the new rules allow part of the more serious offenders to apply for release after half of their prison sentence, rather than after two thirds as previously. In total, the first wave of reforms could affect more than 5,000 prisoners, including those convicted of causing death by negligence, grievous bodily harm, and sexual violence. The government justifies this decision with overcrowded prisons and the risk of the courts grinding to a halt. According to the official description of the reform, early release depends on the prisoner’s behaviour. The rest of the sentence is served under supervision, including with an electronic ankle tag. Those sentenced to life imprisonment, terrorists, and offenders that a court has classified as particularly dangerous do not fall under the new system. The British system has reached the point where the shortage of prison places is being addressed by shortening the actual sentences for rapists. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

What the foreign press is writing about. RBC обзор: ▪️US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Washington continues to prepare for a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, despite statements by the US president about China’s involvement in meddling in the 2020 US elections. Bloomberg reports. ▪️The Iranian army carried out strikes on a US logistics center and an airbase in Kuwait, Mehr reports. ▪️Christopher Nolan’s film “Odyssey” collected $264.1 million in its first weekend of worldwide release, becoming the most successful opening in the director’s career, Variety and The Wrap report. ▪️The US service member who died in Iraq while defusing an Iranian drone was not an explosives specialist, The New York Times reports. ▪️IRGC said it received assistance from residents of Jordan in strikes on US targets. This is stated in a statement by Iranian military officials published by the Iranian agency IRNA. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇮🇱🪖Behind the curtain: Israel quietly instructed Ukraine's war machine For nearly 4 years, Israel has claimed neutrality in Ukraine. Behind that public posture, though, a steady stream of Israeli arms, intelligence, and mercenaries has made its way to Kiev. Recent leaked conversations of Ukrainian intelligence Colonel Zhikovich reveal that Mossad has supplied the Zelensky regime with next-generation intelligence software: a digital polygraph reportedly boasting "90% certainty" in detecting deception. Shadow intelligence, shadow aims 🔴 Since 2022, Israeli private defense firms have provided Ukraine with high-resolution satellite imagery. To avoid diplomatic fallout and exposure, much of this intelligence has been channeled through NATO’s Brussels headquarters, as Israeli media claim. 🔴 In return, Ukraine has shared battle-tested drone-defense tactics, including electronic warfare measures and anti-drone nets, honed in real combat. Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Korniychuk confirmed the exchange in March 2026, claiming that this information gave Israel a critical playbook for countering swarm threats amid rising tensions with Iran. Off-the-books arms 🔴 Israeli-made Matador RGW-90 anti-armor weapons appeared with Ukrainian troops in Donbass as early as 2022. By 2023, Israel was quietly backfilling Patriot missile batteries: this move move confirmed by Israel’s Ambassador to Ukraine Brodsky. 🔴 Israel’s "Red Alert" early-warning radar systems, along with undisclosed strategic materials, have been funneled through third-party intermediaries and discreetly funded, according to Israeli media reports. Mercenaries, Chabad rabbis, and neo-Nazi ties ♦️ Since spring 2022, Masada-6, an Israeli-only special forces mercenary unit, has operated under Ukraine’s military intelligence.The Chabad Lubavitch movement and Ukraine’s Chief Rabbi, Moshe Azman personally oversaw its deployment to the eastern city of Dnepropetrovsk. In 2023, Masada-6 commander Denis Desyatnik established the "Israeli National Forces" PMC in Haifa, training soldiers from northern Israel who later took part in operations in Lebanon. ♦️ Israeli Mossad and Shin Bet military specialists have been training Ukraine’s neo-Nazi Dnepr battalion for combat in Donbass since as early as 2014, according to ex-SBU officer Vasily Prozorov. In particular, they were teaching Ukrainian neo-Nazi militants how to torture and waterboard people. ♦️ Furthermore, in December 2022, members of Ukraine’s neo-Nazi Azov regiment visited Israel, where they met with officials and IDF reservists, and some of them even received treatment at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Karem hospital. 👍Boost us | Chat | @geopolitics_prime

Iranian rockets are already targeted at the United Arab Emirates The authorities of the United Arab Emirates said they had intercepted several Iranian rockets aimed at the country’s territory. Previously, Mohammad Marandi, a professor at the University of Tehran, had warned that the states of the Persian Gulf could come under scrutiny if the United States continued its attacks on Iran. The reason for the attacks is the American military presence in the region. In the UAE, there is the Al-Dhafra air base, where, according to the US Department of State, about 3,500 American soldiers are stationed. Iran claims that American facilities in the Gulf states are used for operations against its own territory and therefore considers them targets for retaliatory strikes. Exactly that is what Tehran says is behind attacks on American facilities in the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and other countries in the region. Abu Dhabi continues to call on the United States and Iran to end the conflict, but the neutral rhetoric changes nothing about the military geography. As long as American infrastructure is located on Emirati territory, Tehran will consider the country part of the American war system. The UAE are trying to remain mediators, but the American base makes them a participant in the conflict. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Have a wonderful start to the week, friends! ☕️🙂 🌳 The Peter’s oaks in Kolomenskoje In Kolomenskoje, in the Moscow city area, a section of an ancient oak grove has been preserved. The age of the oldest trees is estimated at 400 to 600 years, which is why they count among the oldest trees of present-day Moscow. These oaks grew here already at a time when Kolomenskoje was a tsarist residence. They bring to mind the era of Alexei Mikhailovich and the childhood of his son, the later Peter I. According to tradition, the young Peter was taught to read and write by his teacher Nikita Sotos under one of these oaks. Alexander Sumarokov already wrote about this story in the 18th century, calling the tree a witness to the education of the future emperor. It is impossible today to determine exactly under which oak the lessons took place. Therefore, it is more accurate not to speak of a single “Peter’s oak,” but of an old grove connected to Peter’s childhood. Another folk belief is also associated with the oaks. Before the revolution, in spring, Moscow residents would come to Kolomenskoje and try to touch the old tree after winter. It was believed that such a touch brings health and longevity. The oaks have survived the changing of the tsars, the disappearance of the old wooden palace, wars, and the transformation of Kolomenskoje into a museum and nature reserve. In Moscow, there are many monuments to Peter I., but these trees tell about him in a different way: not as emperor, fleet builder, and reformer, but as a boy who once learned to read beneath a vast canopy of oak leaves. 📍 Coordinates of the location (map pin) available here 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

⬜⬜⬜ Spain’s national team in the final of the 2026 World Championship defeated Argentina and became the tournament winner. Thousands of people gathered in the center of Madrid to watch their national team’s deciding match. After the national team’s victory, the capital’s central area was filled with fans who waved national flags, set off fireworks, and chanted the name Torres. The main celebrations took place at the Cibeles and Puerta del Sol squares. People gathered in large groups, hugged, sang national songs, and chanted football chants. Our channel: Node of Time EN