War at Night, Peace by Day, and Nobody Believes It Anymore!
In Tehran, people go to sleep to the sound of explosions and wake up to the news that the attacks are over and peace talks are underway. On Thursday, that changed within hours. First Donald Trump threatened to hit Iran very hard and seize Kharg oil island, then called off the strikes because progress was being made, and in between Tehran threatened retaliation against the region’s energy infrastructure. By afternoon came the next miracle: an agreement was almost complete, signatures could come as early as the weekend in Europe with Vice President JD Vance present, Iran’s Supreme Leader had agreed, and the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran calls closed and Washington calls open, would reopen. The nuclear issue would still be discussed, in principle, and Israel, whose actions helped trigger the war, is not part of the agreement. Tehran immediately pushed back, saying nothing was final and the claims were pure speculation. It is now the fourth month of this war, which began with the downing of an American helicopter.
For two nights bombs fell, especially in the south, and one strike hit a drinking water facility, something that may constitute a war crime and is now under investigation. Iran attacked American bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, and near Jordan as well, and in the Gulf of Oman a tanker was struck, one day after another incident killed three Indian sailors. The blockade remains, Trump says, until an agreement is reached, and it is, as one woman in Tehran put it, as bad as the bombs because daily life keeps getting harder. People are fleeing north toward the Caspian Sea and they are exhausted. Either fight or do not fight, one man said, enough is enough. President Pezeshkian called this state between war and peace unsustainable while insisting violence would not force the country to surrender. Meanwhile Trump plans to celebrate his eightieth birthday on Sunday with a UFC fight night on the South Lawn of the White House. People wonder who benefits from this daily rise and collapse of expectations, and suspicion is growing that a peace that appears and disappears by the hour is mainly meant to move financial markets.
Turned Away in Miami, Invited to Europe
When Omar Artan landed at Miami airport, what should have begun for him was a historic moment. The referee from Somalia had been selected among the 52 officials chosen by FIFA for the 2026 World Cup. Instead of standing on the world’s biggest football stage, he was pulled aside by US border officers, questioned, and ultimately placed back on a plane. He had departed from Istanbul and days later landed once again in Mogadishu. US authorities later briefly justified the decision with “concerns raised during screening” without providing details. Publicly, all that became known was that Artan’s name resembled that of a person listed in US records as connected to the Somali militant group Al Shabaab. Artan himself said in an interview that he knew nothing about the group. No concrete accusations against him were made public.
What began as a personal humiliation and an organizational problem for the World Cup took a different direction days later. While FIFA representatives pushed back against criticism of the incident, UEFA announced that Omar Artan will officiate a major European club match between Paris Saint Germain and Aston Villa on September 12. The match opens the European season between winners of two major competitions and is among the most visible standalone games outside regular league play. The contradiction is difficult to miss. While US authorities denied the referee entry, Europe’s football leadership placed him on an international stage. Last year Artan had been named Africa’s Referee of the Year and would have become the first Somali ever to officiate a World Cup match.
In Somalia, his return was not seen as defeat. In Mogadishu, Artan was welcomed with celebration. For many there, the lasting image was not that of a man stopped at a border but of a referee who would continue officiating at the highest level despite everything. A 23 year old supporter summed it up simply: for Somalia and for Africa, he is already a hero.
Chandeliers for Guests, Everyday Life for Everyone Else
As the World Cup begins in Mexico City, one of the most discussed destinations is not the stadium but the subway. At Hidalgo station, one of the city’s most important transportation hubs, workers installed marble surfaces, mounted chandeliers, and added lighting that reminded many more of a hotel or a movie set than of daily commuting. The work continued almost until the opening ceremony. The reaction came quickly. Within days, social media filled with photos, videos, and jokes about the transformation. Some users appeared in evening gowns for short clips, added Mozart soundtracks, or exaggerated the new atmosphere on purpose. Others dressed up as characters like the Beast from Beauty and the Beast or as Napoleon Bonaparte and walked through the station. Tailcoats and top hats became recurring motifs. The performances were not directed against the subway itself but against the idea that decoration can make structural problems disappear.
Because the criticism underneath is much more serious than the images. Many residents say the city is being visibly polished ahead of the tournament while everyday problems remain. Flooded underpasses, damaged roads, aging infrastructure, and pressure on public transportation appeared repeatedly in comments alongside the new chandeliers. At the same time bridges were repainted, subway trains redesigned, and public spaces decorated with axolotl motifs that have become symbols of the preparations. Critics see a politics of appearance: visible, photogenic, and quickly marketable. Supporters counter that the World Cup at least triggers investments that otherwise would once again have been delayed. The debate comes during an already tense period. Teachers’ protests, families of disappeared persons, and other groups are already using the international attention to draw focus to their own issues. At the same time there are accusations that street vendors and sex workers are being pushed out of parts of the city to create a cleaner image for visitors.
Between lamps, construction sites, and thousands of smartphone recordings, one question remains unanswered: Does a city become more beautiful for the people who walk through it every day or for those who only come for a few weeks?
Europe’s New Waiting List - Electricity First, Turbine Later
For a long time companies lined up for chips, today they line up for electricity. In Europe, buyers are now paying reservation fees just to secure a place in production schedules for gas turbines. The reason is growing electricity demand from new data centers combined with the electrification of large parts of the economy. According to Siemens Energy, a system first developed in the United States has now spread to Europe and the Middle East. Companies reserve production capacity years in advance because actual delivery of equipment can take a long time. For reservations lasting roughly six months, between ten and fifteen percent of the turbine price is already due.
The pressure is not coming only from the data center market. Many countries are expanding renewable energy but still need dependable output during periods without wind and sun. Gas turbines therefore remain a sought after part of infrastructure despite the energy transition. Germany plans to launch long delayed tenders in September for new gas power plants with a capacity of nine gigawatts. The legislation is now before parliament. Siemens Energy is already in talks with potential participants. What is also notable is what is not happening. Although data centers are willing to pay higher prices for faster delivery, Siemens Energy says it deliberately avoided shifting all available capacity in that direction. The company wants to avoid depending on a single demand sector. At present, around 25 percent of turbine demand comes from the data center sector. About 60 percent still comes from traditional utilities and infrastructure operators. From recent contracts totaling roughly 87 gigawatts, the company expects an additional 35 billion euros in service revenue over more than twenty years.
The Number Switzerland Is Arguing About
On Sunday Switzerland votes on an idea that just a few years ago would have been considered politically fringe: permanent population should remain below ten million by 2050. Today around 9.1 million people live in the country. If the proposal passes, the government would have to begin restrictions once the population reaches 9.5 million, including limits on family reunification and new asylum applications. If the ten million mark is reached, Bern would be required to terminate the free movement agreement with the European Union.
The conflict behind it reaches far beyond migration. It touches the question of how much growth a country wants to carry and who benefits from it. Since 2000, the share of foreign born residents in Switzerland has risen from about one fifth to roughly one third. Among wealthy nations, only Luxembourg ranks higher. This transformation became especially visible in Zug, a region that evolved from a quiet canton into an international economic center with commodity trading, multinational corporations, and most recently the so called Crypto Valley.
Economic success is visible. Zug is now among Europe’s wealthiest regions, public budgets record large surpluses, and schools, roads, and infrastructure have expanded. At the same time rents and housing prices have reached levels that push many locals out. Family homes sell for millions, vacancy rates are close to zero. Thousands now leave every year. For many supporters of the cap, that is exactly the problem. They argue immigration does not solve labor shortages permanently but creates new demand for housing, roads, energy, schools, and workers. Companies rely too often on additional labor instead of investing in training and new technologies. Some see the current development as a cycle in which growth continuously demands more growth.
Opponents argue Switzerland has another problem: demographics. Society is aging, birth rates are low, and many sectors are already short of workers. A sudden shift could slow investment, strain the labor market, and damage relations with the European Union. One third of employees at large companies today do not hold Swiss citizenship, and in some regions English is spoken more often than German in daily life. Remarkably, the lines are no longer clear. Even critics of the initiative openly admit that the speed of change has become too high. Business groups also call for more domestic training and less automatic dependence on the European labor market. At the same time, many see a hard population cap as the wrong tool.
In Zug, numbers tell only part of the story. Behind them are people who stayed and others who had to leave their home despite being born there. The vote therefore is not only about population. It is about how Switzerland understands growth: as a goal, as a tool, or as a limit.
The Drones Before the State of Emergency
What for a long time looked like another chapter in South Korea’s political crisis was described far more sharply by a court on Friday. Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was convicted because, according to the ruling, he ordered military drone flights over North Korea in order to deliberately escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula and later justify declaring a state of emergency. The court concluded that Yoon and his allies sent drones across the most heavily fortified border in the world in late 2024 not for national defense but to provoke a response from Pyongyang. The presiding judge said the operation used the appearance of a military mission to manufacture an emergency.
For this case, Yoon has now received a prison sentence of 30 years. It is already his second major conviction. For his role in imposing martial law at the end of 2024, he had previously been sentenced to life imprisonment for insurrection. The accusation in the drone case was considered among the gravest in South Korean criminal law: undermining the country’s military interests or providing advantages to an enemy state. No former South Korean president has ever been convicted of such an offense. Two close associates were convicted as well. Former Defense Minister Kim Yong hyun received 30 years and former military counterintelligence chief Yeo In hyong received 15 years. Both had already been punished for their involvement in the state of emergency.
Yoon’s defense announced an appeal. It argues the drone flights were a legitimate response to North Korean balloon campaigns that had previously dropped garbage over South Korea. The court rejected that argument and found that the missions served private political goals and had no connection to national security or national defense. North Korea had already claimed in October 2024 that South Korean drones flew over Pyongyang and dropped leaflets criticizing Kim Jong Un. At the time Seoul neither confirmed nor denied the accusation. Later military personnel testified they carried out the flights on orders but knew nothing about any connection to plans for martial law.
When Yoon finally declared a state of emergency on December 3, 2024, one of the country’s most serious political crises in decades began. Armed soldiers moved into the National Assembly. Thousands of people flooded the streets, prevented arrests of opposition politicians, and bought parliament enough time to overturn the emergency order after only six hours.
