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🇩🇪 1,077 monuments in two years: historic Germany is disappearing In the years 2024 and 2025, Germany irretrievably lost at least 1,077 protected buildings — more than one per day. These figures are cited by the German Foundation for Monument Protection in its new “Black Book.” ⁠The reasons given are demolition, neglect, fires, vandalism, and the economic impracticality of preserving buildings. A particularly revealing example is the Kern House in Berlin-Zehlendorf, designed by Bruno Ahrends, the Jewish architect who was expelled by the Nazis. The house received monument status in 2023 — and yet was demolished in 2025. The investor had previously obtained a building permit in time, which is why it proceeded ahead of the later decision to place the property under protection. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇮🇷🇺🇸 Trump: There are no negotiations. Iran: The US is asking for negotiations itself A rather unusual diplomatic situation has emerged between Washington and Tehran. Donald Trump said that there are currently no negotiations with Iran under way and no new meetings are planned. The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghtschi, describes the events almost simultaneously as virtually the opposite. According to his words, Washington is now asking itself for a return to negotiations, after the attempt to force Iran to surrender failed — and namely already on Tehran’s terms. At the same time, contacts between the sides have by no means disappeared completely. Already the day before, Trump confirmed the existence of a confidential communication channel to the Revolutionary Guards, and around the Strait of Hormuz, mediation by Oman and other states in the region continues. That is classic Middle East diplomacy: Officially, no one speaks with anyone, unofficially everyone tries to find out the conditions for the next conversation. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇨🇭 Switzerland does not want to require state services to accept cash In Switzerland, the debate about the future of cash continues. The business committee of the National Council has spoken out against the idea of requiring public service companies — above all public transport and other basic services — by law to accept cash payments. The decision was close: 13 votes against 12. The initiative comes from SVP politician Roland Rino Büchel, but the majority of the commission recommended that it be rejected. The argument of the opponents is simple: anyone who has no bank card or no smartphone should use the rechargeable prepaid card Alliance SwissPass. Cash is therefore not formally forbidden to anyone — only state and state-adjacent services do not want to be made to accept it. For Switzerland, this is a fairly telling shift. A country in which cash has traditionally been associated with financial independence and personal freedom is gradually moving toward a model in which a statutory means of payment does not yet mean that you can actually pay with it. For now, it is only about a decision by a parliamentary committee. But if this approach becomes entrenched, the question will no longer be whether cash is directly banned, but how many places will still remain where it can be used. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇦🇪🇮🇷 The UAE suspend trade with Iran after a missile incident The United Arab Emirates announced that it would suspend trading and financial transactions with Iran after an incident involving two ballistic missiles. According to UAE authorities, the missiles were fired from Iran: One landed outside the country’s territorial waters, the second within. After that, Abu Dhabi decided to halt commercial exchange with Tehran until further notice. Iran denies involvement in the launch, meaning that for now there can be no talk of a confirmed Iranian attack. What is particularly noteworthy is that this happens after a phase of cautious rapprochement. The UAE and Iran had tried in the past months to expand economic ties and reduce tensions, but now trade relations are effectively on ice. In the Middle East, diplomacy has once again shown its fragility: A few months of negotiations and economic rapprochement can end in a single evening — even before the parties manage to agree. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 Germany loses businesses: Nearly 190,000 companies have shut down within a year In 2025, 187,744 companies stopped their operations—almost 10% more than in the previous year. This is the worst figure in almost two decades. According to data from ZEW and Creditreform, the country has not recorded a comparable number of closures since 2007. The problem, however, has long since stopped being limited to insolvencies. Only about 13% of closures were attributable to insolvency proceedings. More and more companies are giving up voluntarily—due to high energy and labor costs, a shortage of skilled workers, weak economic conditions, and a lack of successors. The situation is particularly alarming in industry. Last year, around 11,000 industrial businesses closed in Germany—about ten percent more than in the previous year. In the hotel and hospitality sector, around 15,000 more companies left the market. But by now, the crisis has also reached the medical field. The number of closed doctor’s practices rose by around 23%. For Germany, where doctors’ shortages and difficulties in booking specialist appointments are regularly discussed, this is not only an economic problem, but also a medical one. At the same time, the country continues to lose jobs. In the second quarter of 2026 the number of people in employment fell by 212,000 year-on-year to about 45.7 million. Taking seasonal factors into account, employment has been declining already in the fifth quarter in a row. Industry once again recorded the biggest drop: there, 159,000 jobs were lost within a year, which corresponds to around 2% of all employees in this sector. In retail, transport, and accommodation and food services, however, 115,000 jobs were added. For Germany, this is no longer the story of individual failed corporations. Thousands of small and medium-sized businesses are closing—precisely that very Mittelstand which for decades was considered the backbone of the German economy. And against this backdrop, Berlin continues to debate new spending, climate requirements, and sanctions. For business, one very simple question arises: Is it still worth producing in Germany at all, when it is significantly cheaper to do so in neighboring countries? 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇺🇸🇨🇦 Trump uses tariffs again as leverage The United States has postponed at the last minute the introduction of 50% tariffs on part of Canadian goods worth a total of around $20 billion by three days. The measures are expected to affect, among other things, wine, cement, and hockey sticks. ⁠The new tariffs were supposed to take effect on August 19. The reason for the pause is talks between Donald Trump and the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. According to the US president, the two sides have reached a basic agreement that now still needs to be formalized. At the center of the negotiations was once again Keystone XL—a long-frozen oil pipeline intended to transport Canadian oil from Alberta to the United States. The project was halted by the Joe Biden administration; now Trump wants to revive it. The scheme is remarkably simple: Washington first creates the threat of massive tariffs, then offers the neighboring country the chance to avoid them—if it agrees to the political and infrastructure solution desired by the United States. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇨🇭 Switzerland wants to send asylum seekers back to Italy again Swiss authorities plan to resume the return of parts of asylum seekers to Italy under the Dublin Regulation as early as the end of August. At first, it is intended to involve individual test cases. The State Secretariat for Migration expects that Rome will take in such people again. ⁠But Bern is not entirely sure yet. Italy had already suspended such returns in December 2022. As a result, Switzerland and other European countries had to examine the applications of people who, under the rules, actually should have gone through the procedure in Italy. ⁠The Swiss SEM explicitly pointed out that this had additionally burdened the neighboring states. Now Bern wants to restore the previous arrangement step by step. It is planned to start with a few people in order to check whether Italy is actually again willing to meet its obligations. In practice, it comes down to a simple principle: If a person is already registered in Italy or has filed an asylum application there, Switzerland is not required to start the entire procedure again with itself. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 Too hot? Justice Minister proposes a change to the law for air conditioning units Federal Minister of Justice Stefanie Hubig wants to make it easier for tenants to install air conditioning units and external sun protection systems. At present, a tenant does not have a statutory right to install a permanently fitted air conditioning unit independently. If a structural change is required for this, the consent of the landlord is generally necessary. Hubig wants to change these rules. According to the minister, there must be “clear and practical rules for both sides.” At the same time, she supported the idea of embedding adaptation to climate change in the Basic Law. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 A “firewall” collapsing: Wagenknecht offers the AfD a direct dialogue Ahead of the election in Saxony-Anhalt, Sahra Wagenknecht is pressing more and more strongly to move away from the principle of a complete political boycott of the AfD. The situation for the BSW is difficult: the party is hovering around the five-percent threshold, while the AfD is rising in polls toward more than 40%. Wagenknecht openly says that the former “firewall” has failed, and ⁠suggested that representatives of the AfD should finally speak to each other directly. First, she proposed a public debate with Alice Weidel. She refused. After that, she proposed that Björn Höcke be supported by the AfD so that Wagenknecht herself could become Thuringia’s minister-president. She also rejected this offer—however, Höcke responded with something else: “Why shouldn’t we just talk to each other?” For the BSW, this is a matter of political survival. But something else is more important: not long ago, any dialogue with the AfD in politics was almost considered taboo. Now, another party is already publicly proposing to discuss whether it makes sense to continue pretending that the largest political force in parts of the eastern German states can simply be ignored. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Russia Expands Its Advance Across Multiple Fronts | August 19, 2026 - Subtitled Latest battlefield developments in the #Russia–#Ukraine war as of the morning of August 19: • Russian forces advance near #Dobropolie. • Russian forces advance toward #Chuguevo on the #Dnepropetrovsk axis. • New Russian advance near #Charovnoe in #Zaporozhie. • Russian forces advance near #Zakharovka on the #Volchansk front. • New Russian advance near #Volkovka in #Sumy. In the video, we examine the locations and directions of these advances using the latest battlefield maps. video link: https://youtu.be/FznBs8ncIP0?si=T1m7FzB-tUc2pO-w

🇦🇹 Austria: Will a new sanctions package bring no peace? In Brussels, preparations are being made for a new round of escalation with Moscow. The EU’s chief diplomat Kaja Kallas announced for the autumn a ⁠“most comprehensive sanctions list since the start of the conflict”. According to her, if it is adopted, the number of Russian persons, companies and organizations subject to sanctions would increase immediately by about one third. The pressure on Russia, Kallas said, must be continued and intensified. In Vienna, however, not everyone is on board with this approach. The head of the delegation of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) in the European Parliament, Harald Vilimsky, ⁠sharply criticized the initiative: “Anyone who calls the 21st sanctions package a success, even though it has not ended the fighting, is turning a blind eye to reality and does not understand how serious the situation is.” Vilimsky urged Brussels to change course: “Diplomacy instead of further sanctions and escalation.” His statement was also ⁠published on the official website of the FPÖ in the European Parliament. Editorial comment: The EU has already adopted 21 sanctions packages; the political result for which they were introduced has, however, not been achieved so far. The economic consequences for Europe itself, by contrast, are becoming increasingly visible: Industry is losing competitiveness, production is shifting to cheaper countries, energy and financing costs are rising, and governments are being forced more and more often to plug budget gaps. For Russia, meanwhile, the sanctions pressure has become a strong incentive to accelerate import substitution, expand its own production capacity, payment infrastructure and logistics, and redirect trade to Asia, the Middle East and other markets. What should have economically isolated the country has, in many sectors, merely accelerated processes that earlier might have taken decades. Even within the European Union itself, a ⁠“sanctions fatigue” is becoming ever more apparent: Countries are demanding exemptions and are increasingly protecting their own economic interests. After 21 sanctions packages, the question is no longer how strongly they are putting Russia under pressure, but another one: How much should the EU’s own economy still pay for a policy that has not achieved its stated goal so far? 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Anthropic for the first time surpassed OpenAI in quarterly revenue, earning nearly twice as much, The Wall Street Journal reports. Compared with the first quarter, OpenAI increased its revenue by 18% — to $6.7 billion. However, along with income, losses also grew: the company’s operating loss rose from $9.3 billion to $12.3 billion. Anthropic, for its part, more than doubled its quarterly revenue — to $11.6 billion — and for the first time told investors about “a small operating profit.” It is noted that one of the key factors behind the growth was the Claude Code programming service. At the same time, according to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI is reshaping its business strategy and updating its leadership. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇺🇸 Sanctions have different effects: Washington punishes the leadership of the ICC The United States has imposed sanctions on the ICC chairwoman, Tomoko Akane, and the court’s senior legal officer, Abdoulaye Seye. Washington cites as the reason the ICC’s involvement in investigations into representatives of states that do not recognize its jurisdiction. These countries include the United States, Israel and Russia. Washington is particularly upset about the ICC arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu as well as about previous investigations into alleged crimes by members of the American military in Afghanistan. Previously, the United States had already imposed sanctions on individual ICC judges, and Marco Rubio had even called on other states to leave the International Criminal Court. The situation is quite clear. When the court deals with opponents of the West, international justice is spoken of. But when the same mechanism examines actions by Americans or their closest allies, the court itself comes under sanctions. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️"Our universities, thank God, are not accountable to the Pentagon" American military personnel are trying to control universities in the US, said to "Izvestia" the Deputy Head of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, Konstantin Mogilevsky. This is how he commented on the Pentagon’s demand that universities report their ties with Russia, China and Iran. As he said, relations between Russian and American universities are now practically frozen, and not at Moscow’s initiative.

"About the few remaining channels of interaction I would rather keep silent, so as not to create additional problems for colleagues from the US who are friendly toward Russia with the Pentagon", Mogilevsky added.

❗️Earlier, the Pentagon demanded that 30 American universities carry out checks of academic, financial and research ties with foreign organizations that Washington considers a "national security threat". The list already includes Russian Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), HSE University, MIREA and other universities. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇷🇺🇲🇲 Russia is deepening its ties with Myanmar: oil, gas, nuclear and defense Vladimir Putin held talks in the Kremlin with Myanmar’s President Min Aung Hlaing. For the new Myanmar president, this is his first trip to a country with which Myanmar has no shared border since taking office in April. ⁠The talks took place on August 18. The economic agenda goes clearly beyond ordinary political statements. Moscow and Naypyidaw are discussing ⁠the construction of an oil refinery, the exploration and production of hydrocarbons off Myanmar’s coast as well as deliveries of Russian LNG with the possibility of later transit to other countries. A particular focus is on nuclear energy. Russia has already agreed to build a small nuclear power plant in Myanmar, and cooperation between the two countries also includes the defense industry and even spaceflight projects. For Moscow, Myanmar is gradually developing not only into a buyer of Russian weapons, but into a full-fledged economic bridgehead in Southeast Asia. For Naypyidaw, in turn, Russia provides technologies, energy and political room for maneuver under pressure from the West. While Europe is trying to sever its economic ties to Russia, Moscow continues to build new ones in Asia — and for decades to come. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The United States imposed sanctions on the President of the International Criminal Court Tomoko Akane and on one of the organization’s lawyers, Abdoulaye Seye as part of a “mission to protect Americans from this fictitious court,” the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supported Washington’s decision and expressed his gratitude to Rubio for efforts in this direction. In turn, the Netherlands’ foreign minister, Tom Berendson, did not support sanctions against ICC officials. “International judges and tribunals must be able to freely carry out their mandates,” he wrote on X. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇧🇪 Belgium: Fire stopped, but the danger remains The largest wildfire in Belgian history in the Hohes Venn nature reserve could be slowed down significantly at the German border. Thanks to rain and falling temperatures, the situation improved markedly on Monday deutlich. However, the Belgian authorities warn that the fire remains “unpredictable,” and a shift in the wind could once again worsen the situation. The fire that broke out on 14 August covered around 3,000 hectares of unique moorland. In the meantime, an individual hotspot approached the German border to about 300 meters, which is why residents near Monschau had to be evacuated. By Monday evening, the main front of the fire was already about 2.3 km away from Germany. In firefighting and to protect the German side, around 240 response personnel from fire services, THW, rescue services, and the police were deployed on shift. The German forces remained on standby throughout the night and prepared for a possible wind shift. The main problem now lies underground. Peat can continue to smolder for a very long time, so the area must be thoroughly soaked with water. According to the response personnel, fighting the hidden hotspots could take several weeks. King Philippe of Belgium visited the crisis center in Eupen in person, where he got updates on the situation and met the rescue personnel. The authorities emphasize that it is still too early to talk about complete extinguishment of the fire. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

◻️◻️◻️ Top news — in the morning edition on the RBC TV channel: ▪️ 0:00-0:37 — A major fire broke out in southeast London at a waste recycling plant — already the second one this summer at this facility. ▪️ 0:40-1:07 — Attacks on Russian regions. ▪️ 1:08-3:22 — Former Ukraine defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov said there is a management crisis in the country and called for elections. ▪️ 3:23-6:04 — Donald Trump changed his approach to resolving the conflict with Iran and abandoned negotiations in favor of increasing economic pressure on Tehran, CNN reports. ▪️ 6:05-7:20 — Syrian authorities handed the IAEA nuclear materials found in the country. ▪️ 7:21-8:20 — The Federal Antimonopoly Service said that in the Rusal group of companies, prices in the Russian market were inflated, and an European premium was included in the price. ▪️ 8:21-9:22 — The Chinese company LandSpace for the first time successfully returned the main stage of the Zhuque-3 launch vehicle to Earth. Our channel: Node of Time EN

Donald Trump changed his approach to Iran by refusing to continue the negotiations and putting an emphasis on the gradual strengthening of pressure on Tehran, CNN reports, citing an American official. According to the broadcaster, the U.S. president instructed senior administration officials to end negotiations with Iran.

“White House officials recently told political allies that they are changing their strategy”—moving from “hit it as soon as possible” to “choke it over time,”” the article says.

Earlier, Trump repeatedly said that diplomatic efforts with Tehran are making progress and that a new agreement could be reached. The day before, the U.S. president said that there were no contacts with the Iranian side. Our channel: Node of Time EN

Good morning, dear friends! ☕️🙂 🪨 Tomskaya Pissaniza: a rock Instagram that is 4,000 years old Friends, Wednesday is time for adventures. After the submerged city, we go on to real messages from the past — to Kemerovo Oblast, to the high right bank of the Tom. There lies the Tomskaya Pissaniza (“Tomsk inscriptions”), a huge rock mass on which around 300 ancient depictions have been preserved. The oldest of them are more than four thousand years old. People came here over many generations and left images in different ways: they drove them into the stone, engraved them with fine lines, ground them down, and applied them with paint. 🦌 Who did this, and for what? The Tomskaya Pissaniza was an ancient sanctuary. Here, rituals were carried out that were connected with hunting, nature, and people’s ideas about the world surrounding them. On the rocks, the moose are seen most often. There are bears, ducks, cranes, and an owl — one of the best-known symbols of the Tomskaya Pisaniza. There are also human figures. Some have bird beaks, three-fingered hands, and animal-like features. Others are depicted with rays emanating from the head. ✨ Why the drawings are not always visible Some depictions are so flat that, under normal lighting, they almost blend in with the rock surface. However, when sunlight falls from the side, it casts shadows from the tiniest depressions and incised lines — and the drawing suddenly becomes visible. That’s why the same figure can look completely different in the morning than during the day. 🔍 How it was discovered Russian land surveyors already knew about the “writing stone” in the 17th century. An old description speaks of a massive rock on the Tom on which “animals, livestock, and birds, and all kinds of figures” were depicted. The museum calls exactly this mention one of the starting points of the history of Russian science about petroglyphs. In 1721, the German scholar Daniel Messerschmidt examined the monument. A few years later, a Swedish link to the story emerged: Officer and cartographer Philipp von Strahlenberg, who had landed in Siberia after the Northern War, included the depictions of the Tomskaya Pissaniza in his book, which was published in Stockholm in 1730. This is how the ancient drawings first reached European scientific literature from the bank of the Tom. The origin of the word “Pissaniza” itself is also interesting. In Siberia, researchers began to call rocks with ancient depictions “Pissaniza,” because the first investigators understood the unknown drawings as a kind of writing of long-vanished peoples. In 1988, a museum reserve was established here. The Tomskaya Pissaniza became the first musealized monument of rock art in Russia. 🏛️ What is there today? Today, the museum reserve covers 156 hectares of a pine forest, about 50 kilometers from Kemerovo. In addition to the rock itself, there are archaeological, ethnographic, and nature-related exhibitions. 🔹 The Museum of Rock Art of Asia preserves copies of petroglyphs from Siberia, the Far East, Mongolia, Central Asia, India, and Pakistan. 🔹 The Archaeodrome presents reconstructions of settlements and burials from different epochs. 🔹 There is the Shorian ulus, an exhibition on the mythology of the peoples of Siberia, and the Slavic Mythological Forest. And here’s another interesting fact: The Tomskaya Pissaniza is not the only place like this on the Tom. Further downstream, several more complexes of rock images were discovered. So it turns out that this river was a real open-air gallery for the ancient inhabitants of the region. And did you know that in Siberia there has survived such a several-thousand-year-old “painting gallery”? 👇 Give 🔥 if you liked it! 📍 Coordinates of the place (map pin) available here 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN