6th of August 2025: Germany and German army: shadows of the past and the reality of the present. (I)

GERMAN BUNDESTAG, THE PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF GERMANY IN THE CAPITAL CITY, BERLIN. 

For decades, Germany's rearmament has been a taboo subject. The current security context - driven by Russia's aggression in Ukraine and Moscow's expansionist tendencies in general - has changed this state of affairs on our continent. Chancellor Friedrich Merz said bluntly, shortly after taking power, that the Bundeswehr would become the most powerful army in Europe.

In fact, his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, had paved the way for Germany's rearmament in a speech given just a few days after the start of Vladimir Putin's "special operation". His initiative remained mostly on paper for economic reasons and to limit state indebtedness. Merz came and changed the rules of the financial game. Berlin can also arm itself with debt, regardless of the state of the economy. In March, the Bundestag amended the constitutional provision on the budget deficit ceiling. Germany's security is paramount.

In the lines below, I will try to take an x-ray of the current situation - viewed from the outside and considering pros and cons - through the lens of the consequences on the continental geopolitical plane.

5th of August 2025: Secondary sanctions against buying of Russian oil are crucial.

Ukraine War

5th of August 2025:

11:24 US NATO Ambassador: Secondary Sanctions "Obvious Step" +++

US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker has called the imposition of secondary sanctions against countries that buy Russian oil an "obvious step" to end Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine. "Secondary sanctions and tariffs against those who are paying for this war—countries like China, India, and Brazil—that buy oil produced by Russia are the obvious next step to try to end this war," Whitaker told Bloomberg. These could hurt Russia where it hurts most.

4th of August 2025: USA will punish India due to purchase of Russian petrol.

4th of August 2025:
Ukraine War Live Ticker
+++ 6:22 PM Oil Deals with Moscow: Trump Threatens India with Consequences +++
US President Donald Trump is threatening India with "significantly" higher tariffs because of its purchases of Russian oil. India is not only buying huge quantities of the oil, but is also reselling it at a huge profit on the open market, Trump writes on Truth Social. India doesn't care how many people in Ukraine are "killed by the Russian war machine." Therefore, he will "significantly increase" the tariffs India pays to the US. However, he does not specify a specific amount. A statement from the Indian government has not yet been received. Over the weekend, the news agency Reuters learned from Indian government sources that the country will continue to buy oil from Russia despite the threats.

3rd of August 2025: Finland says "stop!" to phones in schools. New law goes into effect.

FINLAND ELIMINATES SMARTPHONES FROM THE SCHOOL LESSONS

NEW CRUCIAL DECISIONS IN FINLANDS EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

New legislation restricting the use of mobile phones in Finnish schools came into force on Friday, a week before the start of the school year, AFP reports, quoted by Agerpres.

This Nordic country, long renowned for the quality of its education, has dropped significantly in an OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) ranking that measures the math, reading and science skills of 15-year-old students.

Finland passed a law in April banning the use of mobile phones by students aged 7 to 16 during school hours.

From now on, phones and electronic devices can only be used in class for educational purposes, as a support tool or for health reasons, with the teacher's permission.

Schools are left free to organize themselves.

In Varkaus, in the east of the country, a school with about 700 students will require them to keep their phones in their backpacks or lockers all day, including during breaks, public broadcaster Yle reported, while in Tampere (in the west of the country), students will only be allowed to use their smartphones outside the building during breaks.

The Finnish National Agency for Education had recommended stricter rules than those required by law: banning them during meals and restricting their use during breaks.

According to the most recent OECD report published in 2022, 41% of Finnish students said that exposure to screens distracted them in all or most math lessons, a figure significantly higher than the OECD average of 31%.