STRAATSBURG (ANP) - Een meerderheid van het Europees Parlement wil voorlopig niet stemmen over de handelsdeal van de EU en de VS vanwege spanningen over Groenland. Dat hebben het centrumrechtse EVP, de sociaaldemocraten en liberale Renew laten weten, goed voor 401 van de ruim 700 zetels.

Goedkeuring van het Europees Parlement is nodig om de deal in werking te laten treden. Wanneer hier precies over gestemd zou worden, was nog niet duidelijk, maar het zou ergens in de komende weken zijn.

Doorslaggevend hierin was de houding van de EVP, de grootste partij in het parlement. Voor het weekend zei de partij de situatie niet verder te willen escaleren. Zij veranderde van koers nadat de Amerikaanse president Donald Trump dit weekend enkele EU-landen tarieven had opgelegd vanwege het sturen van troepen naar Groenland.

De handelsdeal tussen de EU en VS is afgelopen zomer gesloten.

Onder leiding van Kamerlid Gidi Markuszower splitsen zeven PVV’ers zich af. Zij denken dat Wilders de verkiezingen niet had wíllen winnen. „Het is een zwarte dag voor de PVV.”

Het nieuwe jaar is begonnen met drie grote binnenstadsbranden: in Amsterdam, Leeuwarden en Utrecht. Voor de brandweer is het ingewikkeld om zulke branden te bestrijden, vertellen experts Ricardo Weewer en Lieuwe de Witte. „In de middeleeuwen was alles brandbaar.”

Het OM eist alleen tbs met dwangverpleging tegen de Marokkaanse kindermoordenaar Hamzah L. Op een gruwelijke dag in februari vorig jaar stak hij het 11-jarige meisje Sohani dood in Nieuwegein, op de dag van haar verjaardagsfeestje. Hij waagde dat later 'een ongelukje' te noemen. Vandaag op zitting kotste hij ook nog maar eens uit dat hij 'demonen zag en hallucineerde'. Dat Hamzah volkomen krankzinnig is, was al lang en breed bekend, hij terroriseerde de buurt al tijden, beet en sloeg zijn moeder en 'wilde haar vagina zoenen', achtervolgde mensen, intimideerde vrouwen, mishandelde op de dag van de moord op Sohani ook nog een vrouw, zat eerder in de kliniek van Den Dolder en al die verschrikkelijke ellende, al die feiten over de vandaag ontoerekeningsvatbaar verklaarde Hamzah, gaven kennelijk niet voldoende aanleiding om hem eerder van de straat te verwijderen en voorgoed in een donker hol op te sluiten. Dat deze zieke geest na de uitspraak van de rechter dan alsnog tot zijn dood mag wegrotten in een goed beveiligde kliniek.

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

This image of the Helix Nebula from the Visible and Infrared Telescope for Astronomy (left) shows the full view of the planetary nebula, with a box highlighting the smaller field of view from the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (right).

[Image description: Two panels showing different views of a planetary nebula. The left panel, labeled VISTA, shows colorful light from a glowing cloud shaped like an American football at 45-degree angle. Its appearance resembles an eye. The outer edges of the nebula are red and clumpy, and traveling in towards the center, they become yellow and golden. The center of the nebula is black and speckled with tiny stars. At three o’clock along the shell of gas, there is a rectangular box around part of the shell. Lines extend from the box to the right, where the image shows thousands of orange and gold comet-like pillars stream leftward from the right, like thin liquid blown up a sheet of glass. These pillars are around the circumference of the arced shell, which forms a partial orange semi-circle at the right. The pillars are more numerous and denser at the right, and darker red.]

Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, A. Pagan (STScI); CC BY 4.0

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

One of the closest planetary nebulas to Earth, the Helix Nebula has become a favorite among astronomers using ground- and space-based telescopes to study the final moments of a dying star in detail. The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has now zoomed in this familiar object, offering the clearest infrared look yet.

This gives us an up-close view of the possible eventual fate of our own Sun and planetary system. In Webb’s high-resolution look, the structure of the gas being shed off by a dying star comes into full focus. The image is more than just striking, it reveals how stars recycle their material back into the cosmos, seeding future generations of stars and planets.

In the image from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), pillars that look like comets with extended tails trace the circumference of the inner region of an expanding shell of gas. Here, blistering winds of hot gas from the dying star are crashing into colder shells of dust and gas that were shed earlier in its life, sculpting the nebula’s remarkable structure. This happens when a lighter, faster-moving material pushes into a heavier, slower-moving one, like oil trying to push through water.

The iconic Helix Nebula has been imaged by many ground- and space-based observatories over the nearly two centuries since it was discovered. Webb’s near-infrared view of the target brings these knots to the forefront compared to the ethereal image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Additionally, the new near-infrared look shows the stark transition between the hottest gas to the coolest gas as the shell expands out from the central white dwarf.

This blazing white dwarf, the leftover core of the dying star, lies right at the heart of the nebula, out of the frame of the Webb image. Its intense radiation lights up the surrounding gas, creating a rainbow of features: hot ionized gas near the center (the top of the Webb image), cooler molecular hydrogen farther out, and protective pockets where more complex molecules can begin to form within dust clouds. This interaction is vital, as it’s the raw material from which new planets may one day form in other star systems.

In Webb’s image of the Helix Nebula, color represents this temperature and chemistry. A touch of a blue hue marks the hottest gas in this field, energized by intense ultraviolet light. Farther out, the gas cools into the yellow regions where hydrogen atoms join into molecules. At the outer edges, the reddish tones trace the coolest material, where gas begins to thin and dust can take shape. Together, the colors show the star’ s final breath transforming into the raw ingredients for new worlds, adding to the wealth of knowledge gained from Webb about the origin of planets.

The Helix Nebula is located 650 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Aquarius. It remains a favorite among stargazers and professional astronomers alike due to its relative proximity to Earth, and striking appearance.

[Image description: A closeup of a small section of the Helix Nebula, an expanding shell of gas and dust. Thousands of orange and gold comet-like pillars stream upward from the bottom, like thin liquid blown up a sheet of glass. These pillars are around the circumference of the arced shell, which forms a partial orange semi-circle at the bottom. The pillars are more numerous and denser at the bottom, and darker red. They fade to orange and then yellow in the arc. In the top two-thirds, they are thinner and more golden, and it’s easier to see the black background of space. Several bright blue stars, some with diffraction spikes, are scattered throughout. A few larger stars are on the right side.]

Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, A. Pagan (STScI); CC BY 4.0

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

This image, captured by Copernicus Sentinel-3 on 18 January 2026, shows clouds of smoke from wildfires on the coast of Chile.

The fires have been burning in numerous locations along Chile’s coast, including in the regions of Ñuble and Biobío, where a state of catastrophe has been declared.

This image shows one of the most badly affected areas, near the city of Concepcion, approximately 570 km southwest of the capital Santiago. The fires have been exacerbated by intense heat in the region and high winds, with parts of central and southern Chile forecast to reach temperatures up to 35 degrees Celcius on Tuesday. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed in the fire and at least 19 casualties have been reported.

The image was captured by Sentinel-3’s Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI), an imaging spectrometer. OLCI’s 21 distinct spectral bands measure data on ocean colour and vegetation with a spatial resolution of 300 m. This provides data for monitoring ocean ecosystems, supporting crop management and agriculture and providing estimates of atmospheric aerosol and clouds.

The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission consists of two satellites, with a third satellite due to be launched later this year.

Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2026), processed by ESA

Op een koude winterdag zit Ben bij het graf van zijn vrouw Diny op de Zuiderbegraafplaats in Rotterdam, zoals hij dat al acht jaar lang doet. Hij praat tegen haar over de kleine, alledaagse dingen van het leven. Door voetproblemen en een ongemakkelijk zittend stoeltje werd het bezoek steeds lastiger. Nu staat er een speciale trooststoel voor Ben.