Day: February 20, 2026

Digital sovereignty clash: U.S. prepares portal to host content banned in Europe – NaturalNews.com

• The U.S. State Department is developing a portal, freedom.gov, to host online content removed under European speech laws like the EU’s Digital Services Act.
• The initiative is framed as a counter-censorship measure, potentially including a VPN to mask users’ locations and avoid tracking.
• The move signals a major policy clash between U.S. free speech principles and European regulatory models focused on curbing hate speech and disinformation.
• European leaders are simultaneously advancing stricter digital governance, including potential identity verification and VPN restrictions.
• The portal reflects escalating international disputes over digital sovereignty, platform accountability, and the cross-border enforcement of speech standards.

In a bold move that sets the stage for a direct confrontation over global internet governance, the United States is preparing to launch an online portal designed to provide access to material that European authorities have ordered removed from the internet. The initiative, spearheaded by the State Department, aims to create a U.S.-hosted sanctuary for content restricted under laws like the European Union’s Digital Services Act and the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act, challenging foreign speech regulations from American soil.

Trump announces new global tariff after losing in US Supreme Court — RT World News

The justices have ruled that most of the American president’s earlier tariffs are constitutional

US President Donald Trump has announced a new 10% global tariff after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down most of the earlier measures.

In a 6–3 decision on Friday, the highest court ruled that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not give Trump the authority to impose what he described as reciprocal tariffs against almost every country.

Trump responded by vowing to sign an executive order on Friday using another piece of legislation, the Trade Act of 1974, to impose additional tariffs.

“The Supreme Court did not overrule tariffs, they merely overruled a particular use of IEEPA tariffs,” Trump told reporters. “Now I’m going to go in a different direction, probably the direction that I should have gone the first time,” he said.

China overtakes US as Germany’s biggest trade partner — RT World News

China overtakes US as Germany’s biggest trade partner

German exports to America fell by more than 9% last year, the state statistics agency has said

China has overtaken the US as Germany’s biggest trading partner, the German Federal Statistics Agency said in a report published on Friday. The nation’s trade deficit with the Asian country reached a record level of €89.3 billion ($105 billion), according to the agency’s data.

The largest supplier of goods to Germany since 2015 has been China, underscoring the depth of their economic ties. Although the US briefly overtook it as Germany’s top trading partner in 2024, China regained the lead last year. Its exports to Germany rose by 8.8%, pushing total bilateral trade to €251.8 billion.

Germany’s own exports to China fell by 9.7% over the same period. Last year, China’s exports to Germany were worth more than twice what Germany itself sold to China, the data shows.

Meanwhile, Berlin’s exports to the US – the largest importer of German goods – fell by 9.4% in 2025, slashing the trade surplus between the two nations from €69.6 billion to €51.9 billion, according to the statistics agency.

Israel ready to strike Iran-backed forces – media — RT World News

The IDF is reportedly preparing “unprecedented” strikes on Hezbollah and the Houthis

Israel’s military is preparing to launch large-scale pre-emptive strikes on Iran-backed armed groups across the Middle East in order to prevent them from lending support to Tehran in any potential regional conflict, the Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat reported on Friday.

Israeli military sources told the newspaper that West Jerusalem has engaged mediators to warn Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, and armed factions in Iraq that any attack against Israel would be met with a “massive and unprecedented response.”

The sources said that Israeli defense officials believe Tehran is pushing its regional allies to take part in any potential escalation after concluding that their limited involvement in the 12-day Israel-Iran war was a strategic mistake.

Iran has allocated substantial resources, including an estimated $1 billion in 2025, to bolster its allies’ ability to strike targets in Israel and the region, the sources claimed.

Israeli assessments cited by the paper suggest that Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq is reluctant to take part in a confrontation, while Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis are more likely to participate.