November 13, 2025 – News Briefs

The Longest Standstill Ends - Trump’s Signature Reopens America

After 43 days of political paralysis, President Donald Trump signed the bill to reopen the federal government late Wednesday night. It ends the longest shutdown in the history of the United States - a standstill that left hundreds of thousands of federal employees without pay, paralyzed airports, and pushed the nation to the brink of political asphyxiation.

Earlier, the House had narrowly approved the spending bill by a vote of 222 to 209 - a decision made possible only after eight Democratic senators broke their own party’s blockade and joined Republicans in allowing the measure to move forward. The rebellion within Democratic ranks sparked outrage in the party, but in Congress, the need for movement ultimately prevailed.

In the evening, Trump signed the bill, calling it a “great victory” and speaking of “a new beginning for America.” Yet the fractures remain: the health subsidies that Democrats had fought for until the very end were eliminated - and many are now wondering whether the country can truly breathe again after this winter of political paralysis.

The Pardon of a Dissenter - Germany Frees Boualem Sansal

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has pardoned the Algerian-French writer Boualem Sansal - at the explicit request of Germany. The 80-year-old author, known for his sharp criticism of the government and religious fundamentalism, was arrested a year ago during a visit to his homeland and sentenced to five years in prison for allegedly endangering national security. Sansal, who suffers from cancer, had become a symbol of the political conflict between Algiers and Paris after applying for French citizenship.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier had personally advocated for the writer, citing his age, illness, and literary importance as humanitarian reasons. Tebboune called it a “friendly gesture” toward Germany, which would also cover the costs of transport and medical treatment. French President Macron expressed thanks for the “German mediation,” yet Algeria’s silence toward Paris reveals the diplomatic ice age between the once-connected nations.

Sansal’s release, one year after his arrest, is seen as a rare act of political grace - and a quiet triumph of diplomacy over pride. His words remain: “The worst prisons are the ones we build for ourselves.”

The End of Clarity - The IEA Loses Faith in Peak Oil

The International Energy Agency is retracting its once-bold prediction: the peak of global oil demand, it said in 2023, could be reached by 2030. Now the IEA declares it is “more complicated.” In its new World Energy Outlook, it presents two possible futures side by side - one in which nations continue their climate policies, and one in which they stop. The latter, reintroduced under pressure from the Trump administration, shows rising oil and gas consumption until 2050 and a climate warming by nearly three degrees.

While OPEC warns of underinvestment and Republicans speak of “realism,” analysts stress that the IEA once again underestimates the revolution in solar, batteries, and electric vehicles. The message remains bleak: the world sways between progress and relapse - and even “Peak Oil” has suddenly become nothing more than a mirage.

Before the Fall – The Night of Three Faces

Footage from 1992 shows Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell at a party at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Amid music, dancing, and laughter, it captures the image of a carefree elite unaware that, decades later, it would come to symbolize a moral collapse.