Germany's new defence minister Pistorius in his first TV inerview tonight said: "I'm not an expert on military strategy, I'm the defence minister". The entire tragedy of German defence policy in a single sentence on his first day in office. Not bad
Some Germans are spending a lot of energy asserting it isn't cold enough in #Gaza for babies to freeze to death, as was reported.
The last time so many Germans tried to work out the right temperature to die of cold was during human experiments in Nazi concentration camps.
Fun fact: Berlin has about as many non-Germans (who have no voting rights) as all the votes of the ruling SPD-Green-Left coalition put together. #BerlinWahl2023
The anti-#Rwanda anger and protest in #DRC following recent #M23 successes would be more credible if there was similar anger about other armed groups in the same region. How's the war against #ADF going, which kills far more people? How are things in #Ituri?
German president teaches German Israel-Palestine policy in 4 easy steps:
1 Announces round table "How do we talk about the war in the Middle East?"
2 Forgets to invite any Palestinians.
3 Gets criticised.
4 Cancels round table.
So how do we talk about the war? Answer: We don't.
Today, #DRC Twitter is celebrating the end of the UN notification scheme for DRC arms imports.
In a year, they'll either complain that it made no difference - or wonder why they have so many well-armed rebel movements. And blame neighbouring countries as usual.
Main German TV news @tagesschau leads with #coronavirus in #Africa. Message: Africa could be worst hit (but no numbers). Footage: Nairobi slum jostling for handouts, then Bill Gates. Nothing about what African govts are doing. No attempt to differentiate between countries. Dire.
Eritrean and Ethiopian forces carpet bombing #Tigray cities almost daily. Civilians are being killed and the wounded that could have been saved are dying due to lack of treatment and urgently needed care. The siege must end and humanitarian aid allowed in.
This is extraordinary. The rector of the University of Glasgow @UofGlasgow is reportedly denied entry to Germany at Berlin airport. He was due to speak at a Palestine conference (an event which the Berlin mayor described as "unacceptable")
UK govt takes measures against #Rwanda because of the #DRC M23 situation.
“Rwanda may have security concerns but it is unacceptable to resolve these militarily" is an astonishingly self-righteous statement coming from the UK.
The M23 war in #DRC is about its governance, its persecution of Tutsi and its shelter for Rwandan genocidaires. These issues are well known, were repeatedly addressed and now must be resolved to find peace, @HansRomkema writes in TAZ @tazgezwitscher