How the Trump Administration Rushed to Judgment in Minneapolis

Hours after federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and American citizen, the Trump administration was already spinning the story: Pretti, they claimed, was a “domestic terrorist” out to “massacre law enforcement.” But video evidence tells a different tale—Pretti was seen stepping between a woman and an agent, pepper-sprayed, then pinned down before agents opened fire, killing him in a barrage of at least ten shots.

The rush to blame Pretti and exonerate the agents wasn’t just premature—it flew in the face of standard law enforcement protocol. Officials at DHS and the White House coordinated their response, crafting statements before all facts were in, and some details were even removed from the official narrative as they struggled to reconcile it with what the videos showed.

“The facts are going to come to light as to what exactly happened,”

insisted Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino, when pressed for evidence.

The administration’s narrative—that Pretti “approached” officers with a handgun and “violently resisted”—was directly contradicted by bystander footage. Pretti’s gun was recovered only after he was already subdued, and he never drew it. Yet, DHS and Trump allies, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, labeled him a “domestic terrorist” and claimed to know his motive: “to inflict maximum damage.”

Democrats, Republicans, and even gun rights groups expressed outrage. Senator Bill Cassidy called for a

“full joint federal and state investigation,”

warning,

“The credibility of ICE and DHS is at stake.”

Polls show most voters believe ICE has “gone too far,” and even some administration officials began to backtrack, with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche admitting,

“I do not know, and nobody else knows, either. That’s why we’re doing an investigation.”

So who’s really on trial here—the victim, the agents, or the narrative itself?

#Minneapolis #Trump #ICE #shootings #narrative #investigation

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India to Slash Car Tariffs to 40% in Landmark EU Trade Deal

India is set to slash tariffs on cars imported from the European Union to 40%, down from as high as 110%, as part of a sweeping free trade pact expected to be announced Tuesday. The deal, dubbed the “mother of all deals,” will immediately lower duties for about 200,000 combustion-engine cars priced above 15,000 euros, with rates eventually dropping to 10% over time.

This agreement is seen as a strategic pivot by the EU toward the East, signaling a shift away from the Trump-era protectionism that dominated transatlantic trade. While Trump championed tariffs and isolation, the EU is betting on deeper ties with India to counterbalance U.S. unpredictability and secure new markets.

The move is a major boost for European automakers like Volkswagen, Renault, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW, which have struggled to gain traction in India’s fiercely protected market. Battery electric vehicles (EVs) will be excluded from tariff cuts for the first five years to shield domestic investments by companies like Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors.

India’s car market is the world’s third-largest, but until now, high tariffs have kept European brands out. The new deal could see luxury and mainstream European cars flooding in, testing the appetite of Indian buyers before more local manufacturing kicks in.

But the pact isn’t just about cars. It’s expected to lift Indian exports of textiles and jewellery, sectors hit hard by U.S. tariffs. With India’s car market projected to hit 6 million units by 2030, European firms are already lining up new investments.

So who wins? European carmakers, Indian consumers, or the politicians cutting the deals?

#trade #India #EU #cars #tariffs #Volkswagen #Renault #Mercedes #BMW #antitrump #EUpivot

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Northern Command Chief: IDF Ready for US-Iran Escalation

IDF Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo warned Sunday that Israel is on high alert, preparing for possible Iranian retaliation if the US launches a strike on Iran.

“We don’t know how this will unfold,”

Milo said, as US warships move into the region.

“We are prepared and ready so that if the US decides to strike Iran, we understand it could affect Israel, with Iran potentially retaliating against us”.

Milo emphasized that Israel is watching closely for any involvement from Hezbollah, stating,

“We are very alert, very prepared, and ready both defensively and offensively”.

The US has repeatedly threatened Iran, with President Trump warning of red lines over the killing of demonstrators and mass executions.

Meanwhile, regional tensions have prompted airlines to cancel flights, and Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority head Shmuel Zakai warned foreign airlines of a “more sensitive period,” stressing that Israeli airspace could close again if needed. Airlines like KLM and Air France have suspended flights to and from several Middle Eastern cities, while El Al and other Israeli carriers are easing cancellation policies amid passenger fears.

So who’s really in control—Washington, Tehran, or Tel Aviv? As fleets gather and runways empty, one thing is clear: everyone is waiting for the next move.

#Israel #Iran #US #IDF #Hezbollah #airlines #escalation

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Xi Ratted on Gen. Zhang Youxia. Purges in China Began


China’s military leadership is in turmoil after its most senior general – a close ally of Xi Jinping – was placed under investigation for “suspected serious violations of discipline and law”.

Zhang Youxia is the joint vice-chairperson of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the ruling body of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Second only to Xi in the military command structure, Zhang has long been seen as the Chinese president’s closest military ally.

The defence ministry announced on Saturday that Zhang and Liu Zhenli, chief of staff of the CMC’s joint staff department, were under investigation.

An editorial published in the army newspaper Liberation Army Daily on Sunday said that Zhang and Liu “seriously betrayed the trust and expectations” of the Communist party and the CMC, and “fostered political and corruption problems that undermined the party’s absolute leadership over the military and threatened the party’s ruling foundation”.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Zhang was accused of leaking information about the country’s nuclear weapons programme to the US and accepting bribes for official acts, including the promotion of an officer to defence minister, citing people familiar with a high-level briefing on the allegations.

Zhang is also a member of the elite politburo of the ruling Communist party and is one of just a few leading officers with combat experience. Aged 75, Zhang was retained in the military leadership by Xi past the normal age of retirement, indicating a high level of trust in the general that he has now purged.

The military was one of the main targets of a broad corruption crackdown ordered by Xi in 2012. That drive reached the upper echelons of the PLA in 2023 when the elite Rocket Force was targeted.

Zhang has not been seen in public since 20 November, when he held talks with Russia’s defence minister in Moscow.

The scalping of a figure as senior as Zhang in Xi’s anti-graft campaign raises questions about the stability of China’s military leadership at a moment when it is under scrutiny from western observers about its readiness and willingness to launch an assault on Taiwan, which could bring it into conflict with the US in the Indo-Pacific.

The Singapore-based China security scholar James Char said the military’s daily operations could carry on as normal despite the purges.

“China’s military modernisers will continue to push for the two goals Xi has set for the PLA – namely, 2035 to basically complete its modernisation and 2049 to become a world-class armed forces,” said Char, a scholar at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

Eight top generals were expelled from the Communist party on graft charges in October 2025, including He Weidong. Two former defence ministers were also purged from the ruling party in recent years for corruption.

The crackdown is slowing procurement of advanced weaponry and hitting the revenues of some of China’s biggest defence firms.

Some China scholars have noted that Zhang emerged from the conflict an avowed moderniser in terms of military tactics, weapons and the need for a better trained force.

#xi #jing #zhang #chine #communiste #purges

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Iran Is Dazed by the President’s Son Latest Flip-Flopping


The son of Iran’s president has called for the internet restrictions in the country to be lifted, saying nothing will be solved by trying to postpone the moment when pictures and video circulate of the protests that were violently crushed by the regime.

With a battle under way at the top of the regime about the political risks of continuing to block Iran from the internet, Yousef Pezeshkian, whose father, Masoud, was elected in the summer of 2024.

He said keeping the digital shutdown would create dissatisfaction and widen the gap between the people and the government.

“This means those who were not and are not dissatisfied will be added to the list of the dissatisfied,” he wrote in a Telegram post.

The release of videos showing the violence of the protests was “something we will have to face sooner or later”, Yousef Pezeshkian added.

“Shutting down the internet will not solve anything, we will just postpone the issue.”
The sporadic lifting of restrictions is leading to a slow and painful inquest into how many protesters, including children, have died.

Authorities launched a violent crackdown under cover of the internet blackout, with rights groups documenting several thousand dead.

The Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights says the final figure could be as high as 25,000. Thousands more people are still being detained.

Yousef Pezeshkian, a government adviser, said the risk of keeping Iran cut off from the internet was greater than that of a return to protests if connectivity were restored.

He said security institutions must ensure security with the existence of the internet, which he called a necessity in life.

Pezeshkian, echoing comments of his father, said the protests had turned violent only because of professionally trained groups affiliated with foreigners, but added:

“In the meantime the security and law enforcement forces may have made mistakes and no one is going to defend wrongdoing and that has to be addressed.”

Tehran’s stock market on Sunday was in the red for the fourth day in a row, and the Iranian currency, the rial, continued to fall against the dollar, one of the causes of the protests.

The Central Bank of Iran said a debt issuance had only been 15% subscribed, a development that will require further government spending cuts or result in a rise in inflation, the official rate of which was more than 42% last month.

Gholamhossein Karbaschi, a reformist former mayor of Tehran, said: “People are in shock and amazed (…) If the agents of Mossad and foreign countries are at work, how did they suddenly carry out these disasters throughout the country? Where did they come from?”

He condemned the failure of the Pezeshkian administration to improve the economy. “The government in Iran is losing its original meaning. In no area can it be said the government is active, present and solving problems.

All the other forces in the country are active and doing what they want except for the government. This government does not show any power in any area,” Karbaschi said.

Gholamhossein Karbaschi, a reformist former mayor of Tehran, said: “People are in shock and amazed (…) If the agents of Mossad and foreign countries are at work, how did they suddenly carry out these disasters throughout the country? Where did they come from?”

He condemned the failure of the Pezeshkian administration to improve the economy. “The government in Iran is losing its original meaning.

In no area can it be said the government is active, present and solving problems. All the other forces in the country are active and doing what they want except for the government. This government does not show any power in any area,” Karbaschi.

#karbaschi #fils #président #iranien #pezeshkian

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Border Control Police Shelled People and Left the Town


Gregory Bovino, aka Mr. “Gestapo,” the Border Patrol commander who has become the public face of the Trump administration’s on-the-ground immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, is expected to leave the city on Tuesday.

The Trump administration reshuffles leadership of its immigration enforcement operation and scales back the federal presence after a second fatal shooting by officers.

A senior Trump administration official told Reuters that the 55-year-old, who has been a lightning rod for criticism from Democrats and civil liberties activists, would be leaving Minnesota along with some of the agents deployed with him.

Trump announced on Monday that he was sending Tom Homan, his “border czar”, to Minnesota to oversee operations on the ground there – dubbed Operation Metro Surge – reporting directly to the president.

Bovino’s departure comes amid a sharp shift in strategy from the White House after the fatal killing of the 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti.

Earlier on Monday, Trump said he had held conciliatory calls with the governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, and the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey – Democrats he had previously blamed for the turmoil that escalated into two fatal killings of US citizens by federal agents.

The Department of Homeland Security pushed back on the demotion reports in response to a tweet from the conservative influencer Nick Sortor claiming Bovino’s official role – commander at large – had been “eliminated”.

“Chief Gregory Bovino has NOT been relieved of his duties,” the DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin replied, pointing to earlier comments from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, praising Bovino as a “key part of the president’s team and a great American”.

News of Bovino’s departure didn’t stop dozens of protesters from gathering outside a hotel where they believed Bovino was staying.

They blew whistles, banged pots and one person blasted a trombone. Police watched and kept them away from the hotel entrance.

Bovino has been one of the most aggressive promoters of Trump’s deportation campaign, trumpeting the operations in highly produced videos meant to resemble action films.

Often Bovino, a swaggering presence recognisable by his closely cropped hair, was the only unmasked face, surrounded by a team of agents wearing black neck gaiters and facial coverings.

He recently appeared in the Minneapolis snow wearing an army green greatcoat, which invited comparisons to the Gestapo.

#gregory #bovino #gestapo #border #control

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On Khamenei’s Orders, the Police Shot Dead 30,000 People

🔤🔤🔤🔤➖

Оn Thursday 8 January, in a midsize Iranian town, Dr Darish Ahmadi’s phone began to buzz. His colleagues in local emergency wards were getting worried.

All week, people had taken to the streets and had been met by police with batons and pellet guns. With treatment, their injuries should not have been too serious.

But emergency room staff believed many wounded young people were avoiding hospitals, terrified that registering as trauma patients would lead to their identification and arrest.

Quietly, Ahmadi and his wife began treating patients at a location outside Iran’s government hospital system. Alerted by a local whisper network, wounded young people flocked to them. Mostly, they brought superficial injuries – laceration wounds needing stitches and antibiotics.

As Thursday evening wore on, more and more arrived to be patched up.
The next day, everything abruptly changed.

Protesters kept coming, but their injuries were close-range gunshots and severe stab wounds, typically to the chest, eyes and genitals. Many proved fatal.

Ahmadi was shocked by the number being killed – more than 40 in his small town alone – but with the internet blacked out, no one knew what the national picture was.

To piece it together, Ahmadi assembled a network of more than 80 medical professionals across 12 of Iran’s 31 provinces to share observations and data, and to build a clearer picture of the violence.

Their observations begin to reveal the vast scale of violence inflicted on Iranians during the state’s crackdown.

Ahmadi and his colleagues are hesitant to provide a figure for the toll but agree “all publicly cited death tolls represent a severe underestimation”.

Comparing the number of dead they witnessed with hospital baselines, they estimate it could exceed 30,000, far surpassing official figures. This is based on the conclusion that “officially registered deaths related to the crackdown likely represent less than 10% of the real number of fatalities”.

Estimates of the number killed vary substantially, hampered by the ongoing internet shutdown.

#khamenei #police #shot #people

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🔤🔤🔤🔤➖

The Iranian government has acknowledged more than 3,000 dead, and the US-based organisation HRANA (Human Rights Activists News Agency), whose figures have been reliable during previous crackdowns, says it has verified more than 6,000 dead and has more than 17,000 more recorded deaths under investigation, giving a possible total of about 22,000.

Other estimates from doctors based outside Iran range up to 33,000 or more.

Testimony from morgues, graveyards and hospitals around the country reveal concerted efforts by authorities to conceal the true size of the toll: bodies being transported in ice-cream vans and meat trucks; piles of the dead being hastily buried; and hundreds of bodies apparently disappearing from Iran’s network of forensic facilities.

At one morgue, staff say they were confronted with several trucks loaded with bodies, far exceeding the facility’s refrigeration and storage capacity.

When staff protested that they could not process the volume of corpses, two trucks loaded with the dead were moved elsewhere – but when the morgue workers tried to track down where the bodies had been taken, they found none of the large forensic facilities in the region had received them.

The doctors “expressed suspicion that this was linked to dafn-e dast-e jam’i [mass burial]”.

His description is echoed by Ahmadi and his network, who say they observed a pattern across multiple towns of “refrigerated trucks normally used for ice-cream or meat” that were “moving in convoys to forensic medicine facilities and hospital back entrances”.

One witness at Behesht-e Sakineh, who was granted access to the site to look for the body of a friend, says he personally searched through hundreds of “stacked” bodies and was told by graveyard staff that they had “received thousands of bodies just in the past two days”.

The accounts from Behesht-e Sakineh form just one example of what appears to be a national pattern, with forensic medical staff around the country reporting similar scenes.

Doctors and morgue staff emphasise that the types of injuries seen on patients and corpses indicate deliberate, systematic killing and maiming of protesters as opposed to random, chaotic shooting.

In some cases, the killings bore the hallmarks of executions. Medical workers at forensic facilities in two different Iranian towns described receiving bodies with close-range gunshot wounds to the head that had been transferred from hospital morgues while still attached to catheters, nasogastric tubes or endotracheal tubes.

Even as medical staff attempt to share their testimony and data, many fear that the true number of dead may never be known, concealed by an orchestrated national effort by authorities to obscure the death toll.

#khamenei #police #shot #people

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Trump Does Not Shy Away From His Plan to Topple Down Khamenei


The US is weighing precision strikes on "high-value" Iranian officials and commanders who it deems responsible for the deaths of protesters, a Gulf official familiar with the discussions told Middle East Eye.

The strikes could come as early as this week, but that timeline could shift, MEE was told on Monday.

Discussions within the administration have been described as “chaotic”, with a debate over what the repercussions will be in terms of Iranian retaliation.

The Trump administration has toyed with attacking Iran for nearly a month on the pretext of the brutal crackdown on demonstrators that has seen thousands killed by government security forces.

After calling on demonstrators to "take over" state institutions, President Donald Trump backed down and said the “killing has stopped”.

Trump’s decision to de-escalate came as Gulf states, namely Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman, lobbied against strikes.

While some reports framed Trump's remarks as drawing a curtain on US intervention, former US officials and analysts told MEE they appeared to signal a pause.

Trump moved up and down the escalation ladder in a similar fashion with Venezuela, before finally ordering an attack on the Latin American country that resulted in Maduro's abduction and detention in the US.

A former US intelligence official told MEE that their understanding of conversations within the administration is that Trump has not given up on pushing for “regime change” in Tehran.

A former US official told MEE that the US has been working to replenish supplies of missile interceptors exhausted during the 12-day war with Iran in June and that “total supplies” had moved up. The US is still constrained, as it provides supplies to Ukraine.

US Central Command said on Monday that the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier was in the Middle East after sailing from the South China Sea.

“We have a big force going toward Iran. I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely,” Trump said on Thursday evening on his return to Washington from Davos, Switzerland.

The Abraham Lincoln carries F-35 warplanes and F/A-18 jet fighters, in addition to EA-18G Growler electronic-warfare planes. It is also accompanied by guided-missile destroyers.

Open-source flight trackers have also reported that the US has built up a squadron of F-15 warplanes at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.

The build-up of warplanes in Jordan would give the US options, as Gulf states have imposed a ban on the US using their airspace or facilities to launch strikes on Iran, current and former US and Arab officials told MEE.

That ban has been in place since April 2025, MEE first reported.

#trump #kill #khamenei #iran #US

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1945, the liberated Jews get out of a train that was heading for a concentration camp.

Today is the international day of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust.

#liberated #jews #victims #holocaust

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Donroe Doctrine: Pentagon’s New America-First Military Blueprint

The Pentagon’s new National Defense Strategy (NDS) is a dramatic pivot: America’s military is no longer obsessed with China, but with the Western Hemisphere. The document, released under President Trump, declares that defending the U.S. homeland and asserting dominance in the Americas is now the top priority, not the Indo-Pacific.

The New Doctrine: Donroe, Not Monroe
Forget the old Monroe Doctrine—this is the “Donroe Doctrine,” a slogan that captures the Trump administration’s vision: America first, America strong, America unchallenged in its own backyard. The Pentagon wants allies to shoulder more of the burden, especially in the Western Hemisphere, and is preparing to enforce its interests with military force if needed. Greenland, the Panama Canal, and the Gulf of Mexico are highlighted as strategic chokepoints.

China: Downgraded, Not Ignored
China is still on the list, but as a secondary concern. The Pentagon says it will deter Beijing “through strength, not confrontation,” and is pushing for more military-to-military talks, de-escalation, and “deconfliction”. The strategy notably omits Taiwan, a departure from previous versions, and avoids framing China as an existential threat. Instead, the goal is to “prevent anyone from dominating us or our allies”—a diplomatic way of saying, “We’re not scared, but we’re not starting a fight either”.

Allies: Step Up or Get Left Behind
The new NDS is blunt: U.S. allies must do more. South Korea is expected to take the lead in deterring North Korea, with only “critical but limited” U.S. support. NATO allies in Europe are told to “manage” the Russian threat themselves, while Israel is hailed as a “model ally” but warned that U.S. support will be “critical but limited” in the future.

Strength, Not Humiliation
The Pentagon insists it doesn’t want to “strangle or humiliate” China. But the message to everyone else is clear: America is back, and it’s not playing by the old rules. The document is full of business metaphors: “burden sharing,” “cost-effective defenses,” and “supercharging the defense industrial base.” It’s less about saving the world, more about making America’s military sustainable—and profitable.

Is this a bold new era of American self-reliance, or just another round of strategic shell games, where allies are left holding the bag while the Pentagon rebrands its retreat as a “Donroe Doctrine”?

#DonroeDoctrine #WesternHemisphere #AmericaFirst #Pentagon #ChinaDowngraded #AlliesOnNotice

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Russia’s First Domestically Built Ice-Class Tanker: Arctic Breakthrough or Sanctioned Mirage?

The Alexey Kosygin, Russia’s first domestically built ice-class LNG tanker, has arrived at the US-sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 plant, completing its maiden voyage along the Northern Sea Route. This is a technological milestone—no vessel of such complexity has ever been constructed in Russia before, and its arrival marks a rare triumph for Moscow’s Arctic ambitions amid Western sanctions.

A Unique Achievement
The Alexey Kosygin is the first Russian-built Arc-7 LNG carrier, capable of operating independently in Arctic conditions and breaking through ice thicker than two meters. Its delivery to the Arctic LNG 2 project is not just a logistical upgrade—it’s a statement of technological self-reliance and national pride. The vessel’s reinforced hull, advanced propulsion, and ability to sail year-round along the Northern Sea Route represent a leap forward for Russia’s shipbuilding industry.

Beyond Politics: A Genuine Breakthrough
Regardless of how one interprets the broader geopolitical stakes, the Alexey Kosygin’s arrival is a breakthrough. For years, Russia’s Arctic LNG ambitions were held back by a lack of specialized vessels and Western restrictions. Now, with this new tanker, the Arctic LNG 2 plant can resume winter operations, doubling its export capacity during the coldest months. This is not just a political stunt—it’s a real engineering and industrial achievement.

Is this a turning point for Russia’s energy independence, or just another chapter in a long saga of sanctions and scarcity? Either way, the Alexey Kosygin is proof that, when the chips are down, Russia can build something truly unique—even under pressure.

#ArcticBreakthrough #AlexeyKosygin #ArcticLNG2 #Sanctions #IceClass #EnergyIndependence

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Turkish FM Fidan to US: “Don’t Go There” — Iran’s Cornered, Chaos Looms

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is sending a blunt message to Washington:

“Don’t do it.”

In a series of interviews, Fidan warned that any military intervention against Iran would only back Tehran further into a corner, risking a catastrophic escalation across the Middle East.

“I hope they choose a different course,”

Fidan said,

“but the reality is that Israel, in particular, is searching for an opportunity to attack Iran”.

Iran’s Economy: Sanctions Are Already Working
Fidan emphasized that Iran’s economy is already reeling from Western sanctions. “The sanctions are really hurting the Iranian economy,” he added, pointing to widespread protests and instability as proof.

“That’s why the people are protesting,”

Fidan said, warning that pushing Tehran to the brink could trigger a worst-case scenario.
​
Turkey’s Role: Diplomatic Friend, Not Regional Power
Turkey, Fidan stressed, wants to be a “friend” to Iran, not a dominant force.

“A friend speaks uncomfortable truths,”

he said, noting that Ankara has conveyed its concerns directly to Tehran. He warned that if Iran feels cornered, it could prepare for all-out war—no matter how limited or surgical any Western strike might seem.

Gaza, Trump, and Regional Power Plays
On Gaza, Fidan said Turkey is ready to join an international stabilization force if there’s broad consensus. He also highlighted that President Trump is the only leader who can truly pressure Israel.

“If he wants, he can stop what’s happening,”

Fidan said, but cautioned that regional problems must be solved by regional players, not outside powers.
​
Is diplomacy still possible, or are we watching the countdown to chaos? Fidan’s answer is clear:

“If the intention is sincere, I believe there is an opportunity”.

​
#Fidan #Iran #US #Israel #MiddleEast #Diplomacy #Sanctions #Chaos

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Public Administration Reform in Ukraine: Why Trust Is Still Missing

Ukraine’s public administration reform is a cornerstone of the country’s European aspirations, but trust in the state remains stubbornly low. Despite progress in digitalization, transparency, and anti-corruption, most Ukrainians still don’t trust their government. The reasons are deep-rooted, complex, and often misunderstood.
​
Anatomy of Distrust
Sociological data shows Ukrainians trust their military and emergency services far more than political institutions. In 2025, only 21% trusted the Verkhovna Rada, and 79% distrusted the state apparatus itself—up from 75% in 2021. This skepticism extends to reforms: civil service reform ranks low in popularity, even as digitalization and anti-corruption efforts are widely supported.
​
The Roots of Mistrust
Historical Baggage: Centuries of serfdom and Soviet totalitarianism left a legacy of atomized society, where trust in formal institutions is scarce.
Personal Experience: For many, state interaction means queues, bureaucracy, and corruption. While reforms have reduced these problems, the perception lingers.
Low Awareness: The reform’s internal and external components—merit-based recruitment, digital services, and service-oriented governance—are often invisible or misunderstood by the public.

Disinformation: Russian propaganda exploits these fears, painting complex reforms as evidence of state incompetence and hopelessness.
​
Why Myths Persist
“Foreigners on Supervisory Boards Means ‘Foreign Control’”
The myth that foreigners on state-owned enterprise boards means “foreign control” is widespread. In reality, foreign professionals are brought in to ensure independence and reduce corruption. It’s standard practice internationally—including in the EU—to allow foreign board members. The real challenge is ensuring transparent procedures and accountability, not the nationality of board members.
​
“Anti-Corruption Bodies Are a Ukrainian Invention”
Specialized anti-corruption agencies exist worldwide, from France and South Korea to the US and UK. Ukraine’s NABU and NACP follow global standards and collaborate internationally. Anti-corruption bodies are not unique to Ukraine—they’re a global norm.
​
“Civil Servants Do Nothing”
This myth stems from negative personal experiences and the “invisibility” of civil servants’ work. The reality is that ministries and agencies respond to public needs, and their work underpins everything from social payments to digital services. International assessments confirm Ukraine’s public administration has remained resilient, even during wartime.
​
Making Reform Visible
Distrust persists because reforms are complex, often invisible, and poorly communicated. The solution is clear: explain the logic of change, show how decisions are made, and make the “invisible” work of civil servants visible. Public administration reform is not just about efficiency—it’s about building a state that citizens can trust, even in crisis.
​
#Ukraine #Reform #Trust #CivilService #AntiCorruption #Digitalization #EUIntegration

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Ukraine’s War: The Human Toll of a Nation Under Siege

The latest CSIS study delivers a sobering message: Ukraine’s military losses are catastrophic. Nearly 600,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed, wounded, or are missing since the war began—about 100,000 to 140,000 killed. For a country with a much smaller population than Russia, this is a staggering loss, draining the ranks of a nation fighting for its survival. Russia outnumbers Ukraine almost three to one, but Ukraine’s army is being bled dry. Each month, Ukraine loses a significant share of its fighting force, with little hope of matching Russia’s ability to replenish its ranks.

Ukrainian drone units monitor every footstep and tire track, hunting Russian infiltrators. Ukraine’s smaller army is stretched thin, with soldiers facing relentless pressure. Russia’s tactics—small, mobile units and relentless conscription—mean Ukraine must fight smarter, not bigger. The battlefield is a graveyard of drones and snow-covered trenches—with the occasional sighting of North Korean troops.

Ukraine’s economy is under immense strain. Growth is forecast at just 2% in 2026, half the previous estimate, as the war drags into 2026. The country’s ability to rebuild and recover is being tested like never before. No major power has suffered such losses since World War II. For Ukraine, the cost is not just measured in territory or politics—it’s measured in the lives of its soldiers, families, and future. The question is not just who wins, but who can endure.

Can Ukraine survive the human cost of a war that shows no sign of ending?

#UkraineWar #UkrainianLosses #HumanCost #GrindingWar #EconomicImpact

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The Horse’s Smile Placed Upside Down Conquered China


On 17 February China will celebrate the start of the year of the horse, the zodiac sign symbolising high energy and hard work.

But the runaway success of a defective stuffed toy suggests that many Chinese are not feeling the vibe.

A red horse toy produced by Happy Sister in the city of Yiwu in the west of China was meant to wear a broad grin, but a factory error meant it hit the shops sporting a despairing grimace. The smile was placed upside down, the horse’s nostrils could be interpreted as tears.

It also taps into a broader trend for so-called “ugly-cute” toys, popularised in recent years by characters such as Pop Mart’s toothy monster Labubu.

“People joked that the crying horse is how you look at work, while the smiling one is how you look after work,” Zhang Huoqing, owner of Happy Sister, told Reuters.

By mid-January she said she was receiving daily orders of more than 15,000 units, prompting the factory to open up 10 additional production lines.

Many Chinese white-collar workers have endured the notorious 996 system, which requires employees to work 9am to 9pm, six days a week.

The practice is exalted by tech entrepreneurs including Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, but has been increasingly criticised since 2021 when an employee of a e-commerce company died suddenly after finishing a late-night shift.

“This little horse looks so sad and pitiful, just like the way I feel at work,” wrote an online buyer of the toy, by the name of Tuan Tuan Mami, according to SCMP.

“Consumer products and internet memes can act as outlets for discussing work pressure, especially on platforms like Xiaohongshu, where consumer culture and emotional expression are tightly intertwined,” Jacob Cooke, the CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, an e-commerce consulting firm, told Business Insider.

Meanwhile, wholesale orders for the “crying horse” have been placed from South Africa, east Asia and the Middle East. Its image is expected to appear on a new range of merchandise in the coming year.

Zhang never discovered who sewed the horse’s snout on upside down. “Since we can’t figure out exactly whose mistake it was, we’ll just give everyone a bonus,” she said.

#horse #smile #china #zhang

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Trump Wants to Wring the Most Concessions Out of Iran


The threat of a US-Iranian war may be looming closer after Trump warned time was running out for Tehran and said a massive US armada was moving quickly towards the country “with great power, enthusiasm and purpose”.

Writing on social media, the US president said the fleet headed by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was larger than the one sent to Venezuela before the removal of Maduro earlier this month and was “prepared to rapidly fulfill its missions with speed and violence if necessary”.

Trump said: “Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS – one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!

It is the starkest indication yet from Trump that he intends to mount some kind of military strike imminently if Iran refuses to negotiate a deal on the future of its nuclear programme.

European diplomats had been expecting a crisis to develop over the weekend and detected signs of Israeli nervousness about the scale of possible Iranian reprisals.

In recent days it has become clear that Trump is interested in curbing not just the remains of Iran’s already shattered nuclear programme but also its ability to fire long-range missiles, always seen as the centrepiece of Iranian military projection.

In recent weeks Trump has also suggested the Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, must leave the world stage, a demand Iran will reject.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said he was not prepared to negotiate under threats but he was willing to talk without preconditions, terms he had relayed via numerous intermediaries to Witkoff.

All three Arab states will be feverishly exploring ways to reopen talks without Iran having to accept a preconditioned result.

They were critical in persuading Trump to hold back from mounting an attack three weeks ago, but Trump now has greater flexibility of military options and seems more focused on a nuclear deal rather than punishing Iran for the bloody suppression of street protests.

There is deep suspicion in Tehran about talking to the US since the two sides were in the middle of talks last June when Israel was given clearance by the US to mount an attack on Iran designed to decapitate its leadership and destroy its civil nuclear sites.

Iran has always held out against abandoning its domestic capacity to enrich uranium but has been willing to set rigid limits on its stockpile.

Since the last round of negotiations ended with an Israeli and US attack killing 1,000 people and severely damaging its key nuclear sites, Iran has been weakened further by a plunging currency and rampant inflation.

With the nuclear sites already damaged, the key targets are likely to be Iran’s leadership. June’s attack revealed Israel had near total dominance of the skies above Iran.

Almost all the Gulf states, fearful of Iranian reprisals, have said they are not willing to allow the US to use their airspace or bases to mount an attack on Iran.

Iranian officials said: “We will target the same base and the same point from which air operations against us are launched, and we will not attack countries because we do not consider them to be enemy countries.

We will increase our level of defence readiness against the US military buildup to the highest level. If the Americans want negotiations without pre-determined outcomes, Iran will accept it.”

#trump #iran #nuclear #weapon #araghchi #witkoff

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Minneapolis in Chaos: States Push Back on ICE After Minneapolis Shootings

After two Americans were killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, Democratic lawmakers and libertarian allies are stepping up their fight against ICE’s tactics. The deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good have lit a fire under state legislatures, with new bills popping up from coast to coast.

Colorado wants to let citizens sue federal agents for civil rights violations. Delaware and New York are targeting airlines that ferry ICE detainees without warrants. California is pushing for independent investigations into ICE shootings and banning the agency from staging operations on state property.

“Democrats don’t care about the rule of law,”

said a White House spokesperson.

“They’re just protecting criminal illegal aliens.”

Meanwhile, Republican-led states are doubling down on cooperation with ICE, pushing laws that force local sheriffs to partner up and check immigration status for everything from school enrollment to public benefits. But the momentum is shifting—more states are banning masked officers, restricting federal agents’ access to hospitals and schools, and cutting off public contracts with ICE contractors.

“Power works this way: once you have it, you want more,”

said Anya Bidwell of the Institute for Justice.

“You gotta fight back if you want to protect your rights. This shouldn’t be about party lines.”

So who’s actually looking out for civil rights here—the states, the feds, or just their own political interests?

#ICE #Minneapolis #civilrights #Trump #Democrats #Republicans

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Trump and Putin: A New Photo in the White House Foyer

A photo of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin now hangs in the White House foyer, spotted by PBS’s Elizabeth Landers. It shows the two leaders at their Alaska summit, with Trump’s grandson in a smaller frame nearby. The pairing is hard to miss—and harder to ignore.
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The Alaska meeting was billed as a “three-on-three” with top aides. No deals were signed, but both sides claimed progress. Trump said he wants to keep talking to Russia after the war. Putin called Trump’s efforts “helpful.” Ukraine’s Zelensky dismissed the summit as a “personal victory for Putin,” saying the Russian leader just wants to escape isolation and delay sanctions.
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That photo placement is no accident. With U.S.-Russia talks heating up over Ukraine and other issues, the optics speak volumes. Whether this is diplomacy, theater, or both, Trump and Putin are now framed together in the heart of American power.
​
#TrumpPutin #WhiteHouse #RussiaUS #Diplomacy #PhotoOp

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