The war in Gaza and Israeli plans for the forced displacement of more Palestinians remind many of the Nakba, which Palestinians commemorate every year on May 15. But what exactly is it?

What does Nakba mean?

The Arabic word Nakba means catastrophe. In the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the term Nakba or Al Nakba refers to Palestinians who lost their homeland during or after the Arab-Israeli War in 1948.

It is estimated that around 700,000 people in the area that is today Israel either fled or were expelled from their homes. Many Palestinian refugees abroad have remained stateless to this day.
By the end of the war, about 700,000 Palestinians had left or been expelled from their homes.

What is Nakba Day?

On May 15, 1948, the Arab-Israeli war began, and it has long been the day when Palestinians take to the streets and protest against displacement.

Many carry Palestinian flags, bring keys to their former homes, or hold banners with key symbols. The keys symbolize the hope of returning home and what the community sees as their right to return.

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In the past, some protests have escalated into violent clashes. Israel accuses Hamas and other organizations, which are listed as terrorist organizations in the European Union and elsewhere, of using this day to promote their goals.

The term "Nakba Day" was coined in 1998 by then Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. He designated that date as the official day to commemorate the loss of the Palestinian homeland.

Why did the Palestinians have to leave?

Until the end of World War I, Palestine was under Turkish rule as part of the Ottoman Empire. Afterwards, it came under British control, known as the "British Mandate".

During that period, an increasing number of Jews from around the world immigrated to the area, considering it their ancestral homeland: Eretz Israel, the Promised Land where Jews had always lived, although they were a minority at the time.

After the experience of the Holocaust in Nazi Germany, the UN General Assembly adopted the "Palestine Partition Plan". The Arab League rejected this plan, but the Jewish Agency for Palestine accepted it, and on May 14, 1948, the state of Israel was proclaimed.

In response, a coalition of five Arab states declared war, but was ultimately defeated by Israel in 1949. Even before the war, between 200,000 and 300,000 Palestinians had already left the area or been expelled during the fighting, with an additional 300,000 to 400,000 displaced. Their total number is estimated at around 700,000 people.

During the war, more than 400 Arab villages were destroyed. Human rights violations were committed by both sides. The massacre in Deir Yassin, a village on the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, remains etched in Palestinian memory to this day. According to the German Federal Agency for Civic Education, more than 250 people were killed. This caused fear among Palestinians and forced many to leave their homes.

By the end of the war, Israel controlled about 40 percent of the area originally intended for Arab Palestinians under the 1947 UN partition plan.

Where did the Palestinians go?

Most Palestinians ended up as stateless refugees in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, and neighboring Arab countries, with only a minority moving further abroad.

To this day, only a small number of Palestinians have sought or obtained other citizenships. As a result, the vast majority of the current approximately eight million Palestinians in the Middle East remain stateless, even in the third or fourth generation.

Where do they live today?

According to the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), most Palestinians in the region still live in refugee camps that have gradually turned into refugee cities. They are mainly located in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, but also in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and East Jerusalem.

It is estimated that the international Palestinian diaspora has grown to around 7.4 million people. If correct, the total number of Palestinians is about 15 million. However, there is no global body tracking Palestinians in the diaspora, and exact figures are not available.

What does the declared right of Palestinians to return represent?

According to UN General Assembly Resolution 194 of 1948, as well as UN Resolution 3236 of 1974 and the 1951 Refugee Convention, Palestinians considered as Palestinian refugees have the "right of return".

Israel, however, rejects the "right of return" for Palestinians, arguing that it would mean the end of Israel's identity as a Jewish state. Israel denies responsibility for the displacement of Palestinians and simultaneously emphasizes that between 1948 and 1972, about 800,000 Jews were expelled or had to flee from Arab countries such as Morocco, Iraq, Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen.

Are there any proposals for a solution?

Over the past 77 years, various approaches to resolving the Palestinian issue have emerged. The most prominent solution remains the two-state solution, with Israel and a future Palestine, dividing Jerusalem into two capitals. However, both sides have doubts about the feasibility of this project.

The international community criticizes Israel for building an increasing number of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, which could exclude the possibility of forming a unified Palestinian territory.

In the context of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, triggered by Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, the Israeli government has repeatedly stated that it rules out the two-state solution.

According to UN data, at least 1.9 million people, or about 90 percent of the population across the Gaza Strip, have been displaced during the war, many of them multiple times. Many have fled in search of safer areas since Israel recently issued multiple displacement orders.

According to Palestinian sources, more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 2023.

Israel has expressed support for plans to place the Gaza Strip under Israeli control and forcibly displace Palestinians living there. The UN has called these plans "ethnic cleansing," and many Palestinians believe the Nakba is being repeated.

The Spanish government is currently analyzing the data and has not provided an official comment on the causes of the problem

A preliminary report by Entso-e identified the loss of 2.2 gigawatts of capacity in southern Spain as the initial cause

A new detailed report has revealed what could have caused the massive power outage in Spain and parts of Portugal in April.

The massive power outage in three European countries, which left millions in the dark, began in Spain and spread to Portugal and parts of France. This was preceded by a power outage in southern Spain.

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About 2.2 gigawatts of capacity disappeared from the grid in southern Spain less than a minute before the complete collapse of the power networks on the Iberian Peninsula, according to Entso-e, the umbrella organization of European transmission system operators, in a preliminary report. The Spanish government has not yet commented on the causes of the blackout, stating that it is reviewing data from electricity producers and the grid operator.

The blackout left millions of people without electricity and paralyzed telephone connections, trains, and traffic lights in Spain, Portugal, and parts of southern France last month. Entso-e determined that there were no causal blackouts in Portugal and France.

Timeline of the power outage

According to the analysis by Entso-e, this is a detailed reconstruction of the events on April 28, 2025:

12:32 - A large number of different power outages were registered in southern Spain, with a preliminary estimated total capacity of 2.2 gigawatts
12:33:18 - The frequency of the Iberian Peninsula's power grid continued to decline, reaching 48.0 Hz
12:33:21 - AC overhead lines between France and Spain were disconnected by protective devices against loss of synchronization
12:33:24 - The Iberian power grid completely collapsed, and the HVDC lines between France and Spain stopped transmitting electricity

Cause of the massive power outage revealed?

Following the Entso-e report, RBC Capital Markets stated that solar farms in southern Spain are the most likely culprits for the outage.

- The most likely cause of the blackout was a series of shutdowns of solar installations totaling 2.2 GW in the south or southwest of Spain - RBC analysts said.

In recent years, Spain has seen a huge increase in solar capacity as cheap solar energy has flooded the power grid this year. Often these solar systems follow the grid rather than forming it, which would allow them to stabilize the electricity frequency.

(Die Presse)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated today that a personal meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin would not solve all issues, but it could represent a political victory in terms of finding a formula to move closer to peace.

"If I meet with Putin, it should result in a political victory – a ceasefire or an exchange of prisoners based on the all-for-all principle. And if he does not come, it means he does not want a political victory for either side," said Zelensky.

He did not completely rule out the possibility that Putin might still come to Turkey this week.

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"First of all, I don't really believe that Putin is capable of meeting in person. I think he is afraid. And if he feels a strong blow to his economy and to the Russians, then, in my opinion, there is still a possibility that he will come," Zelensky told "Spiegel".

He noted that he would prefer to hold a meeting in Ankara, which he also told the Turkish president in a phone conversation.

"But if Putin decides to come to Istanbul, I will be ready to welcome him there. Such a meeting is necessary to find a format that would bring the end of the war closer," emphasized the Ukrainian leader.

Speaking about the position of the American side and the allegedly greater pressure on Kyiv than on Moscow, Zelensky stressed that U.S. President Donald Trump "needs to be convinced that Putin is lying."

"He needs to be shown that it is not the Ukrainians who are slowing down these processes," said the Ukrainian president, expressing hope that the U.S. will introduce a new "very dangerous for Russia" package of strong sanctions.

Zelensky assessed that Washington is ready for such a step.

When asked about Trump's chief negotiator Steve Witkoff, Zelensky said that he had never spoken with him, not even on the phone.

"It seems to me that something has not worked out with Witkoff," observed the Ukrainian leader, noting that he has invited all security advisers to Kyiv.

It took three years for a European Union court to establish what is obvious: the text messages exchanged between Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla regarding the largest vaccine deal in EU history are relevant and the public has the right to see them, writes Berliner Zeitung in an article dedicated to today’s EU Court ruling against the President of the European Commission.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, the President of the European Commission has faced accusations of purchasing excessive quantities of vaccines from the American company Pfizer at inflated prices, as well as hiding text messages.

Von der Leyen has consistently emphasized that text messages are not official documents and that they did not concern contracts.

The Commission also stated that Ursula von der Leyen’s messages have since been "deleted" — a process that would trigger an investigation in any administration. However, in Brussels, this has not been a topic for years, writes the Berlin-based newspaper.

Who knows what the European Commission will come up with now to avoid disclosing the text messages. If they are eventually published, a much-needed investigation could finally be conducted.

In the scandal dubbed "Pfizergate," it will be necessary, among other things, to clarify whether Ursula von der Leyen acted independently and whether too many vaccines were ordered at too high a price. This can ultimately only be seen from the vaccine contracts.

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The Commission claims that all these contracts have since been published. However, serious pressure from the media and the European Parliament was first needed for this to happen. Moreover, key parts of the contracts are blacked out.

The European Commission Does Not Want Transparency

The European Commission's refusal to ensure transparency reveals much more than they would like to admit. Those who negotiate for 1.8 billion doses of vaccines at an assumed price of 20 euros per dose or more are not acting in a private capacity but on behalf of around 450 million EU citizens.

This concerns their money (over 35 billion euros) and their health.

Ursula von der Leyen is not yet facing trial. So far, none of the accusations have had consequences for the former German defense minister, who has already been involved in previous scandals.

Incidentally, the "consulting scandal" during her time in Berlin also involved missing text messages.

Anyone who now thinks the Pfizer affair was an exception in a historically extraordinary situation is mistaken.

The same pattern is now reappearing in the comprehensive militarization at the EU level. Brussels plans to invest around 800 billion euros in the European defense industry by 2030.

Joint procurement of ammunition, new weapons factories, and direct contracts with industry are planned. Here too, transparency, control, and public debate are lacking.

It remains unclear who decides on setting priorities and on what legal basis these funds will be allocated.

At the same time, rules such as debt limits, which were considered untouchable for decades regarding investments in the social and healthcare sectors, are being abolished.

If the negotiations over vaccines gave the impression that Ursula von der Leyen effectively secured a monopoly for Pfizer through secret deals, it is legitimate to urgently ask: will the same approach be repeated in the defense industry?

A Warning Signal for the Future of the EU

The scandal over the vaccine contracts is not just a chapter of past pandemic policies but a warning for the future of the European Union.

Those who claim legitimacy must ensure transparency. Those who seek trust must be accountable. And those who wish to lead in democracy must be ready to be subject to control — especially when it comes to multi-billion euro amounts.

That is why the European Union urgently needs a binding and verifiable system of transparency for large contracts, and it needs it now. Otherwise, the often-invoked European solidarity will be reduced to a series of chat messages between the president and a pharmaceutical CEO — messages no one can read anymore.

The fact that the lawsuit for the disclosure of text messages was filed by a foreign media outlet — The New York Times — three years ago also says a lot about the state of the media landscape in Germany and Europe. A shift is needed here as well — the press must once again report critically and independently, concludes Berliner Zeitung.

US President Trump is visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. In political talks, Gaza and Israel cannot be avoided, but it is certainly easier to discuss only the economy.

The business model of Chinese e-commerce platforms Temu and Shein has been dismantled, and the influx of their cheap goods into the United States suppressed after President Donald Trump closed loopholes in the duty-free regime law.

In 2024, 1.36 billion shipments entered the US under the so-called de minimis rule, which exempts goods worth less than $800 (704 euros) from import duties. This is nine times more than in 2015, when there were 153 million such shipments.

Goods purchased from Temu and Shein, which accounted for 30 percent of low-value American packages daily last year, will now be subject to a 30 percent tariff or fixed fees of up to $50, plus a 145 percent import duty on Chinese goods imposed by Trump last month.

With such prices for American consumers, which have more than doubled, the profit margins of these merchants are collapsing. This also means that Temu and Shein will likely double their pressure on Europe to maintain their low-cost business model, exploiting a loophole in the EU's minimum shipment value law – writes Danas.

The EU Also Plans to Close the Loophole

Although lower than the US threshold, the EU's exemption of 150 euros ($170) has not slowed the explosive growth of Temu and Shein. In 2024, 4.6 billion low-value packages flooded the EU market – twice as many as in 2023 and triple compared to 2022. Moreover, 91 percent of these shipments come from China.

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Every day, 12.6 million duty-free packages are delivered, threatening EU retailers burdened by higher labor, supply chain, and compliance costs. Unlike their Chinese rivals, EU companies do not benefit from favorable international postal rates.

Although the European Commission proposed abolishing the de minimis rule two years ago, the plan is still awaiting approval from the 27 EU member states and the European Parliament. According to Bloomberg, it is expected to be abolished no earlier than 2027.

This delay threatens EU companies already facing fierce Chinese competition – from e-commerce to solar panels and electric vehicles – goods that are now increasingly redirected to Europe due to Trump’s tariffs.

Many EU retailers fear that Temu and Shein will now flood European markets with even more cheap products, potentially driving them into bankruptcy.

Chinese Goods Often Fail Safety Tests

In addition to threatening profitability and increasing layoffs in EU companies, the influx of cheap Chinese goods raises even greater concerns about product safety.

Agustin Reyna, Director General of BEUC, the European Consumer Organisation lobby in Brussels, says that organizations like his have collected "extensive evidence" that Chinese goods – from toxic makeup and clothing to faulty toys and devices – do not meet EU safety standards.

"We need additional tools to address the influx of unsafe products entering Europe via small packages, often purchased on platforms like Temu," Reyna told DW. "Consumers are unknowingly putting their health and safety at risk."

In January, the European Commission promised new, stricter controls on Chinese retail platforms to prevent the entry of "unsafe, counterfeit, or even dangerous" products into the EU. Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič called on EU lawmakers to introduce a handling fee for Chinese packages to cover rising costs.

Many policymakers would like online platforms to be directly responsible for selling dangerous and counterfeit products. Currently, platforms like Temu are only intermediaries, not sellers, thus avoiding direct responsibility. This creates huge problems for customs authorities and regulators.

"With over 12 million packages entering the EU single market daily, it is simply unrealistic to expect customs to act as the last line of defense," Reyna emphasizes. "It is therefore necessary to make online merchants responsible for the safety and compliance of the products they sell to European consumers."

The Growing Problem of VAT Fraud

There is increasing evidence of other illegal practices by Chinese sellers – for example, declaring lower goods values to evade sales tax or value-added tax (VAT), which range from 20 to 27 percent depending on the EU country.

"There are many cases where importers declare incorrect values of their shipments to fall below the prescribed threshold and avoid customs formalities. This is fraud," says Momchil Antov, a Bulgarian economist and customs expert from the D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics, to DW.

Last month, the EU's Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and Polish authorities uncovered a sophisticated VAT fraud scheme involving Chinese goods imported into the EU. To evade taxes and duties, fraudsters declared that goods were destined for other EU countries, while in reality, they mostly remained in Poland.

In another case, since 2023, Chinese exporters have used Belgium’s Liège Airport to evade 303 million euros in taxes, employing a complex system involving private customs agencies and fake companies in other EU countries.

Although the European Commission’s plan to abolish the exemption on shipments up to 150 euros remains blocked, some EU countries have adopted Šefčovič's proposal. For instance, the French government announced last week that it would increase inspections of low-value goods entering the country.

Product safety, labeling standards, and environmental protection standards will be checked, and Paris will charge a flat "management fee" for each shipment.

In any case, EU policymakers will need to curb fraud and ensure compliance while also promoting fair competition, without restricting consumers' access to affordable goods from Chinese merchants.

Police and firefighters are currently investigating the circumstances of the incident

The house, purchased in 2004, is valued at £2 million

Police have announced they are investigating a fire at the North London home of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, which occurred in the early morning hours.

A cordon has been set up in front of the property, with a large number of firefighters and police officers present.

Although the Prime Minister now resides in his official residence, he still owns the luxury property.

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The property in question is a four-bedroom house Starmer bought in 2004, which he currently rents out.

The value of the house is estimated at around £2 million - reports Blic.rs.

The language of ultimatums cannot be used for dialogue with Russia, stated the Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov, commenting during a briefing on the threat of new European sanctions against Russia in case Moscow refuses to cease fire in Ukraine, reports TASS.

"The language of ultimatums is unacceptable for Russia, it is not appropriate. You cannot talk to Russia in such a manner," emphasized the Kremlin spokesperson.

He also reminded that Russia had already received similar threats on May 10, which were also presented "in a rather ultimatum-like form."

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French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and Poland, Keir Starmer and Donald Tusk, visited Kyiv, where they proposed, during negotiations with the Ukrainian side, a 30-day truce starting from May 12.

On Monday, May 12, the German government announced that if the Russian Federation refuses the ceasefire proposed by Europe and Ukraine, the EU will begin preparing additional sanctions against Russia.

Workers at the American car manufacturer Ford's plants in Cologne are preparing for the first strike in protest against the planned job cuts, the IG Metall union announced on Monday.

Employees at two factories, established in 1930, are expected to stop work starting Wednesday morning, with the strike lasting until the end of the night shift on Thursday morning, the union said.

Job Cuts

The management plans to reduce the number of jobs in Cologne by 2,900 by 2027.

Unions accuse Ford's executives of acting without a clear concept, thus endangering the survival of Ford's German subsidiary.

IG Metall is one of the most powerful German unions, representing workers in various manufacturing sectors, advocating for a collective agreement that provides high severance payments and financial security for workers - write Index.hr.

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Broken Negotiations and Strike Decision

Negotiations between the two sides have stalled, leading IG Metall to hold its first workers' referendum last week, where as many as 93.5 percent of union members voted for an unprecedented workers' protest to increase pressure on management.

“It is time for the employer to take action and find a comprehensive solution for the workers in Cologne,” said Benjamin Gruschka, head of the works council at Ford's German subsidiary.

However, the leadership of Ford's German branch has limited options, as the company ultimately depends on its American parent company.

Expected Impact on Production

The strike will significantly impact production.

Of the 11,500 employees at Ford in Cologne, approximately 4,500 work in production and 3,500 in product development, according to union data. The spare parts center employs about 1,700 people, while the rest are in administrative and other departments.

The impact of the strikes is likely to be significant, as the vast majority of employees are union members and there is widespread dissatisfaction with the current situation.

Long-Term Problems of the European Subsidiary

Ford's European subsidiary has long been reporting losses, and in 2023, production of the Ford Fiesta, a small car that was manufactured in Cologne and was initially very successful, was discontinued.

Currently, Ford produces two electric cars in Cologne, whose sales are well below expectations despite investments of nearly two billion euros.

According to official data, Ford models accounted for only 3.5 percent of newly registered cars in Germany last year, compared to five percent in 2022.

Although Ford's factories will receive financial incentives of several hundred million euros from the American parent company for further investments over a four-year period, automotive industry experts believe this is far from enough.

Pessimistic Expert Forecasts

“The situation is bad, and the outlook is even worse,” said Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, director of the Center for Automotive Research based in Bochum.

“Ford is too small in the passenger car segment to operate profitably in Europe. That is the case now and it is very likely to remain so in the future,” he said.

Dudenhöffer gave a pessimistic forecast for Ford's business in Europe, saying that the number of vehicles sold is too low while labor costs are too high.

Ford has long been losing market share in Germany and Europe, the expert noted.

“Ford is getting smaller and smaller. It is now so small in Europe that it makes no sense to continue operating under the current circumstances,” he said.

Possible Solutions for the Future

According to Dudenhöffer, there are two solutions to Ford's European problems.

One option would be for the parent company from the US to sell its European automotive business to “get rid of the problem,” he said. Car production could remain in Cologne, but the development and administrative departments would be transferred to the buyer, according to the expert.

The second option would be to form a joint venture with another car manufacturer to achieve greater economies of scale and lower costs, Dudenhöffer said.

In this way, Ford of Europe “could finally become competitive,” he said, suggesting the French car manufacturer Renault as a potential partner.