Node of Time EN

🇮🇷 Tehran responds to France: First, remember your own history The Iranian Foreign Ministry reacted sharply to the joint statement by France and several Western states on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic. Tehran called it “a hypocritical attempt to evade its own responsibility” and said that states that had been involved for decades in wars, colonial practices, and support for Israel did not have the moral right to give lectures to Iran on international humanitarian law. The Iranian side also separately referenced Western support for American and Israeli attacks on Iran and accused the authors of the statement of having remained silent after the deaths of civilians. Tehran’s wording fits in here with a broader line among the states of the Global South: the Western human rights system is increasingly not seen as a universal standard, but as a political tool that is applied selectively. When Europe speaks of a “rules-based order,” more and more countries answer the same question: Do these rules apply equally to those who write them and to those who are judged by them? 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 The AfD spends for the election campaign almost half as much as the SPD — and is still ahead In the state election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the AfD is running with a budget of a little more than 650,000 euros. For the party itself, this is a record, but Manuela Schwesig (SPD) has earmarked around 1.1 million euros for the campaign, the CDU about 1 million euros, and even the Greens have increased their budget from 350,000 euros to 800,000 euros. So far, the money has not helped to change the balance of power. A current INSA poll puts the AfD at 36 percent, the SPD at 29 percent, and the CDU at only 10 percent. That means the party with the much smaller budget is ahead of the governing SPD by around seven points, and the traditional CDU is far behind altogether. The election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is turning into a fairly illustrative experiment: how much money do the traditional parties still have to spend to persuade voters not to vote for the party they have already decided on. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Trump is more focused on restoring the United States’ arsenal than on sending munitions to other countries. the White House press secretary, Caroline Leavitt, said this, responding to a journalist’s question about Vladimir Zelensky’s requests regarding the supply of missiles for Patriot air defense systems.

The President laid out our position on munitions very clearly. Tragically, [former] President Joe Biden handed over a great deal of munitions to Ukraine and to other countries around the world. President (Donald Trump. — RBC) has been focused on restoring our arsenal since day one,” the White House emphasized.

At the same time, Leavitt stressed that the United States has “more than enough” munitions stockpiled both at home and worldwide to carry out any mission. Our channel: Node of Time EN

The administration of Donald Trump called on Apple to stop buying Chinese memory chips, The Wall Street Journal reports. According to its information, the memory chip crisis forces the American company to consider options to purchase these components from Chinese manufacturers. On June 18, former CEO Tim Cook, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, said that Apple will raise the prices of its products due to a shortage of memory chips. Earlier, in August, WSJ reported that Apple was testing chips from the Chinese company CXMT for use in devices sold in the Chinese market amid a shortage of memory chips. ❗️ On August 14, the White House accused more than 40 countries of helping China circumvent U.S. tariffs. The United States seeks to strengthen local production with the help of tariffs and overcome dependence on other countries, including China. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 Five business trips in one year for a total of €88,000. The CDU suspects the minister of traveling at taxpayers’ expense The Minister of Justice of Lower Saxony, Kathrin Wahlmann (SPD), is at the center of a debate over foreign business trips. Within a year, she took five trips with total costs of more than €88,000: to Singapore, to the Baltic states, to Belgium, Austria, and France. The CDU was particularly interested in the eight-day trip to Estonia and Latvia. The ministry explains that 22 working meetings took place during those eight days. The opposition drew attention to another part of the program: a walk through Tallinn, a museum, a café, a restaurant, and sports activities on a free day. The CDU calls this a “tourism weekend” and suggests that the minister pay for the one and a half days of the trip herself. The ministry rejects the allegations and emphasizes that the costs were recognized as official. €88,000 alone do not destroy the state budget. But it is precisely with such small things that it is especially interesting to watch politicians, while the rest of the country is told every day about the need to save. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 The Bundeswehr will have 1,200 satellites. Now there’s still something to learn about how to get them into space Germany is considering setting up its own launch platform for Bundeswehr rockets. At present, the armed forces have fewer than two dozen satellites in low Earth orbit, but in the coming years up to 1,200 new devices are expected to be launched, and Boris Pistorius is reallocating around €35 billion for the space program. So far, the German military has been relying primarily on the US company SpaceX and has to join the general launch queue. There is only a small technical problem: the German rocket Spectrum by the company Isar Aerospace has not reached orbit even once so far. The first real launch in March 2025 ended after 30 seconds with the rocket crashing into the sea. The second flight in 2026 was already attempted several times to organize: one launch was canceled due to a defective valve, another failed due to a Norwegian fisherman who was in the safety zone, the next due to a leak in the tank, and the June launch was canceled again due to a malfunction in the fuel system. By mid-June, the second test flight had already been postponed for the fourth time. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇺🇸 RAND: The era of major wars is being replaced by the era of proxy conflicts The American corporation RAND published back in 2023 a study on the great-power struggle outside Europe and the Indo-Pacific region. Noteworthy is that the main part of the work on the report had already been completed in September 2021—i.e., still before the start of Russia’s special military operation. The authors concluded that after Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States will increasingly achieve its foreign-policy goals not through direct military intervention, but via allies, local forces, sanctions, intelligence, information campaigns, and proxy conflicts. The document discusses the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America in detail. A possible escalation involving Iran is analyzed separately, which, according to RAND could seriously impact China’s energy interests. The authors also focus their attention on the “New Silk Road” initiative (“One Belt, One Road”) and point out that political instability, internal conflicts, and information confrontation can make it difficult to implement Chinese infrastructure projects in various regions around the world. It is interesting that today many events from recent years—from the Middle East to Ukraine—are increasingly being discussed as individual crises. The RAND report, by contrast, suggests looking at them differently: as elements of a long-term global competition between the biggest powers, in which there is less and less room for classic wars and more and more for fighting through proxies, economic pressure, and regional conflicts. When one reads this document today, it becomes clear that many processes that are currently perceived as a chain of unrelated crises are already being regarded by American analysts, even a few years ago, as parts of a unified geopolitical strategy. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇨🇳 China’s C919 takes international scheduled service for the first time China has taken another step toward creating independent civil aviation. The C919 aircraft completed the first regular international commercial scheduled flight: Air China sent it from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar. The route is now served daily. Previously, the C919 was used only on domestic routes within China and on flights to Hong Kong. For Beijing, this event has far greater significance than the opening of another international connection. The C919 was developed as an alternative to the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737, and in operation it has already carried more than 7.5 million passengers on 57 routes. The aircraft still uses some Western components, but China is steadily reducing this dependence and expanding its own production base. After 2022, the importance of such programs changed. The West has shown that civil aviation can become an instrument of political pressure: the supply of spare parts, technical support, and maintenance can be halted with a single sanctions decision. That is exactly why Russia is rebuilding a fully independent cycle of civil aircraft production today with the MS-21, the SJ-100, and the Il-114-300—and China is creating its own alternative to the Western duopoly. Airbus and Boeing themselves made the best advertising spot for the MS-21 and the C919: They showed the whole world that an aircraft you buy with your own money can be turned into an instrument of foreign foreign policy at any time. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇦🇹 Austria had promised farmers money after the drought. Now it turns out that there is no money there So far, the Austrian government has been unable to agree on ⁠help for agriculture after the historic drought. Agriculture minister Norbert Totschnig has publicly promised a special aid package, but the coalition partners from the SPÖ and NEOS point out that: In the budget, there is practically no free money available. Damage in agriculture is estimated at around €1 billion; insurance payments will only cover part of the losses. The SPÖ and NEOS are calling for a long-term climate policy and investments in water supply, soil protection, and adapting agriculture instead of further emergency checks. First, the farmers were reassured with the promise of help. Now the coalition begins finding out among themselves who exactly is supposed to pay for this promise. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 Diesel again above €2.20—and the price is rising faster than that of petrol At German petrol stations, prices have risen again noticeably. According to ADAC, diesel now costs about €2.20 to €2.24 per liter, while Super E10 costs about €2.12 to €2.21 €. Diesel is becoming more expensive particularly quickly: on some days, the increase was several cents within just one day. ADAC says the current price level is too high even when taking into account the fact that crude oil has become more expensive. Current data on fuel prices shows that Germany still has not reached the level seen before the start of the Iran crisis. Now, drought has added another factor. Due to record low water levels on the Rhine, tank ships can load less mineral oil product, which increases transport costs. This is particularly noticeable in North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. This results in a rather unpleasant combination: oil, geopolitics, taxes—and now also the water level in Germany’s rivers—are simultaneously affecting the price at the filling station. Petrol and diesel have long stopped being just commodities. Their price is reflecting more and more of what is currently not working properly—from foreign policy to internal infrastructure. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 Inflation rises again: 2.8% in July The Federal Statistical Office confirms: ⁠In Germany, inflation in July was 2.8% compared with the same month of the previous year. Compared with the previous month, consumer prices rose by 0.8%. The harmonised European index also shows 2.8%. For Germany, this is an unpleasant combination: the economy remains weak, industry is cutting jobs, and price pressure continues to increase. So there is no classic sigh of relief after several years of crisis yet—the growth is virtually nonexistent, but life is not getting cheaper. Stagnation without low inflation is probably one of the most uncomfortable scenarios for any economic policy. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

What the foreign press is writing about. RBC review: ▪️Deputy National Security Adviser to the White House Andy Baker will leave Donald Trump’s administration in the coming weeks, Axios has learned. The outlet calls Baker one of the key figures in foreign policy: he took part in negotiations with Iran and in efforts to secure peace in Ukraine. ▪️Politico describes how political crises and natural disasters regularly prevent European leaders from taking their summer holidays. ▪️Israeli security officials are surprised by the pace at which Iran’s military potential has been restored four months after the main phase of the war ended, The Jerusalem Post reports. ▪️US Vice President JD Vance said in an interview with Fox News that ensuring Americans have access to cheap oil is Washington’s top priority in its war with Iran. ▪️Donald Trump ordered that the US Navy stop using electromagnetic catapults on aircraft carriers of the USS Gerald R. Ford type — they will be replaced with steam ones, The Wall Street Journal reports. Until now, the fleet command had opposed it due to the high costs of dismantling. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 CDU poster shows miracle healer The CDU’s election campaign in Saxony-Anhalt has unexpectedly turned into a meme. On one poster, a woman is shown next to Sven Schulze in a wheelchair, and on another—already standing next to him. On social media, the candidate was immediately declared a “miracle worker.” The CDU responds that it is simply about different motifs from the same photo shoot, and that it cannot understand the fuss. Of course, the problem does not lie with the wheelchair and not with the model. Political advertising is simply put together from universal images with such care—pensioners, family, disability, workers, youth—that the montage sometimes tells a completely different story than the campaign team had planned. If you believe the CDU’s campaign posters, Sven Schulze’s election program is already capable of what medicine has so far failed at. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇮🇷📂 For 24/7 updates on the Iran war, explore our exclusive catalog of English-speaking channels! 📢 Interested in all the Middle East frenzy? We've curated a special catalog of English-speaking channels just for you! Whether you're seeking in-depth analysis, breaking news, or expert insights, our catalog has got you covered. 👉 ADD CHANNELS If you are interested in becoming part of this catalog, please contact us via Direct Messages @geopolitics_prime 🤖

🇬🇧 The UK will cut direct economic assistance to a number of African countries, as well as to Syria, by more than 40%, writes Financial Times. The British authorities intend to redirect the freed-up funds, including toward increasing defense spending. ▶️ The sharpest cuts will affect Sierra Leone the most: by the 2028–2029 fiscal year, the volume of bilateral assistance to the country will be reduced by 83% compared with the 2024–2025 level. ▶️ At the same time, funding for international organizations, including the UN, will be largely protected from cuts. As FT notes, London plans to place greater emphasis on relations with China, Europe, and the United States, while maintaining engagement with the Gulf states. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 Berlin again considers closing the “Russian House” In Berlin, pressure on the Russian House on Friedrichstraße has intensified again. The SPD is calling for the building to be effectively seized and points to EU sanctions, allegations of propaganda, and new reports about a possible use of the center by the Russian secret service. The CDU is expressing itself more cautiously but also supports the continuation of legal pressure. There is, however, an unpleasant detail: The center exists on the basis of a German-Russian agreement from 2013 with a term of 99 years, and the federal budget continues to finance it in part— in 2026, it involves around €70,000. The Russian House insists that it is active exclusively in a cultural capacity: with concerts, language courses, and exhibitions. AfD and BSW are opposed to a closure. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Why Trump has allowed business to be opaque The U.S. Treasury has revoked a rule under which American companies were required to report to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) or internal compliance services information about beneficial owners (who directly or indirectly own at least 25% of the company or substantially control internal processes). ▶️The decision by the Trump administration is not an attempt to accelerate economic growth in a broad sense, but a consistent course of deregulation and limiting the state’s control over private capital, says Vadim Kozlov, head of the department of domestic political research at ISKRAN. ▶️In his view, formally the matter is removing excessive reporting requirements from millions of small companies, but for U.S. businesses it becomes easier again to use opaque ownership structures. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution: Russian influence campaigns are already under way against state and municipal politicians Ahead of the elections in September, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution warns of a new wave of Russian information operations against Germany. For the first time, according to the agency, the targets of such campaigns are not only federal parties and well-known politicians, but also candidates at the state and even municipal level. Handelsblatt describes an entire industry made up of fake videos, manipulated websites, and invented stories. The main goal, in the assessment of the German security authorities, is not necessarily to convince voters of a specific fake, but rather to gradually undermine trust in the state, in the elections, and in the media. In particular, the authorities are closely monitoring the elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Berlin. Ahead of the elections, the convenient explanation is already ready in advance: If political reality becomes unpleasant, you can always blame it on Russian influence. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The United States recognizes Japan’s sovereignty over the Kuril Islands, the U.S. ambassador in Tokyo, George Glass, said. The diplomat stressed that Washington remains “unwavering in support of its most important ally.”

“The United States maintains an unwavering position regarding support for Japan — its most important ally — and recognition of its sovereignty over the ‘Northern Territories’,” Glass wrote on the social network X.

📋 Following the Second World War, Russia and Japan never signed a peace treaty. The main sticking point in reaching agreements is Tokyo’s claims to the Southern Kurils. Japan still calls the islands of Kunashir, Iturup, and a number of territories of the Small Kuril Ridge its “Northern Territories,” although, following the Second World War, they were transferred to the USSR. ❗️ On August 13, the Russian ambassador Nikolay Nozdryov was summoned to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the head of the Japanese agency, Toshimitsu Motegi, expressed a protest over Vladimir Putin’s trip to the Kuril island of Iturup. The Russian diplomat explained that the southern Kurils are an integral part of Russia and were included in its territory following the Second World War on lawful international grounds. The official representative of Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova also noted, that Tokyo’s statements are politically irrelevant, offensive, and legally null and void, stressing that Japanese authorities do not have the right to tell Moscow which regions of its own country the Russian president may visit. ❗️What the visit of the President of the Russian Federation to the Kuril Islands indicates — read in an article by “Izvestiya” Our channel: Node of Time EN

📝 UK’s Family Court of England and Wales refused to prohibit businessman Vladimir Potanin from suing his ex-wife, Natalia in Russia, Vedomosti learned from case materials. The ex-spouses have been dividing their property for more than 10 years after their divorce: Potanin was dissatisfied with the decision of the domestic court and went to seek justice in the UK. But at the request of her ex-husband, the Arbitration Court of Moscow banned her from continuing the dispute in the United Kingdom. The English court refused to grant Potanin a similar injunction. 📠Mahosadha Ong / Unsplash Our channel: Node of Time EN