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Journalist Richard Medhurst, known for his critical reporting on the Israeli genocide in Gaza, was detained by Austrian authorities this week following a raid on his home and studio.

Police seized all his electronic devices and accused him of being "a member of Hamas" and encouraging "terrorism"—charges that carry a potential sentence of up to over 10 years in prison.

Medhurst described the raid as a "trap", stating that he was threatened with his residency being revoked after a brief interrogation. "They seized my phone and ransacked my place, turning my studio upside down," he said, adding that authorities photographed his belongings and seized years' worth of journalistic tools.

He linked his detention to pressure from the UK, emphasizing British involvement in the decision to have him arrested. "This is state violence and an attack on the entire profession, freedom of speech, and democracy," Medhurst stressed.

There is a word that has been on everyone’s lips in recent days and weeks in Germany: "Brandmauer." Meaning firewall, it refers to the consensus among the country’s mainstream political parties that forbids any cooperation with far-right parties.

That non-codified agreement was thrown overboard recently when the opposition centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU), poised to win the upcoming snap federal elections on 23 February, proposed an anti-immigrant parliamentary motion that passed with support from the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The firewall against the AfD might have crumbled, but it was never very sturdy to begin with due to one key engineering flaw: mainstream parties’ complicity in the unstoppable rise of the far right.

A prime example of liberal Germany’s selective outrage is the utter lack of indignation at an anti- democratic resolution passed on the same day the AfD-supported CDU motion to toughen migration policy which shocked German complacency into action. Entitled "Anti-Semitism and hostility towards Israel at schools and universities", it is an unprecedented state-sponsored attack on the constitutionally enshrined autonomy of universities and academic freedom in the service of "Israel".

Nor has Germany’s centre-left coalition government’s steadfast support for the most fascist Israeli government in the Zionist entity’s history while it conducted the world’s first live-streamed genocide, described by Palestinian American legal scholar Noura Erakat in an X post as the "cruelest phase" of a 76-year-long Nakba, led to any kind of self-critical reflection among these so-called antifascist protesters, many of whom are Social Democratic and Green party loyalists.

On the contrary: The Greens boasted a record number of 5000 new membership applications in five days following Merz’s political sacrilege of collaborating with the AfD.

Hundreds of Rwandan troops have been killed during covert operations in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), contradicting claims from Kigali that its soldiers are not involved in the conflict there.

Multiple intelligence, military and diplomatic sources say that “very significant” numbers of soldiers from the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) have died supporting an offensive by M23 rebels in DRC.

Satellite imagery of one military cemetery in the Rwandan capital of Kigali indicates at least 600 graves have been dug since the M23 – backed by RDF troops – restarted operations within DRC three years ago.

North Korean troops sent to fight alongside Russia in its war against Ukraine have not been seen in battle for several weeks, raising speculation that they have been withdrawn after suffering heavy losses, according to South Korea’s spy agency.

The National Intelligence Service in Seoul this week confirmed media reports that North Korean troops had been pulled from the frontline around the middle of January.

North Korea began sending an estimated 11,000 troops to the Russian Kursk region in late 2024, soon after the North’s ruler, Kim Jong-un, and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, agreed a mutual defence pact designed to strengthen their alliance against what they called a US-led “western hegemony”.

Channel 13 news revealed that during an assessment of Trump's proposal to displace the residents of Gaza and rebuild the Strip, Binder cautioned that the plan could trigger an escalation of operations in the West Bank, especially with the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The report explained that Binder did not oppose Trump’s plans but only warned about the potential repercussions.

In a statement, Katz said, “There will be no reality in which IDF officers will speak out against US President Trump’s important plan regarding Gaza, and against the directives of the political echelon,” despite the Channel 13's report saying that he expressed no criticism of the plan.

Israeli media reported that Israeli Security Minister Israel Katz instructed outgoing IOF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi to reprimand the head of the Military Intelligence Directorate after a TV report cited Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder warning about the repercussions of US President Donald Trump’s plans for Gaza.

A 33-year-old Turkish man, known as the "Suicide Traveler," attempted to take his life for the 232nd time by climbing to the rooftop of a five-story building in Manavgat, Antalya.

Carrying a knife, a noose, and a plastic bottle filled with gasoline, his actions caused panic among passersby. Emergency responders, including police, firefighters, and medics, rushed to the scene to de-escalate the situation.

During negotiations, the man admitted he was extremely hungry. Officers promptly ordered him a shawarma (döner kebab), which led him to abandon his suicide attempt.

According to Turkish media, the man has gained notoriety for his repeated suicide attempts across the country, earning him the nickname "Suicide Traveler." Despite continuous rescue efforts and psychological support, he persists in his tragic endeavors.

Even inside the Harris campaign, there was dissent about whether she needed to take a more aggressive stance for Gaza.

A Harris organizer who worked on youth turnout said that senior campaign officials gave them an order: When they sent out mass volunteer or fundraising emails and people replied by asking about Gaza, they were told to mark it as “no response.” The result? They seldom ended up engaging with voters on that issue.

“We also didn’t create a new category for Gaza responses out of fear that category would be leaked. Instead we were told to mark them as ‘no response,’” the organizer said, faulting top Harris campaign leaders for failing to address the issue. “The only ‘clowns’ out there are those who were in senior leadership and decided to abdicate on this issue, who silenced a Palestinian speaker at the DNC, and who told us to ignore it every time a voter asked us about Gaza.”

During negotiations with the DNC and the Harris campaign, we were repeatedly told by interlocutors that Harris couldn’t meet any of our basic requests (a policy shift from Biden, a Palestinian speaker at the DNC, a statement distinguishing herself from Trump on Israel, or even a meeting with Michigan families who lost loved ones to Israeli bombs) because of AIPAC-aligned politicians like Fetterman, who might take to TV, rile up suburban white and Jewish voters, and fracture the party’s coalition in a swing state.

That political calculus alienated a key voting bloc, although likely not large enough to have shifted the ultimate election outcomes, that should be part of a durable Democratic majority. But few will ever be held accountable for that choice.

A Fetterman staffer condemning Uncommitted for not advocating for Palestinians 'the right way' is like an arsonist scolding the fire department for using the wrong hose.

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