August 28–29 marks exactly six months since the start of the full-scale military campaign – or, more accurately, the entirely unprovoked US-Israeli aggression against Iran. The plan was based on the logic of a “decapitation strike”: eliminate the country’s leadership, paralyze the government, and push the population toward a “color revolution.” West Jerusalem assumed that the campaign would last no more than two weeks, after which Tehran would be forced to accept the terms imposed on it.

That was the rationale behind the effort to eliminate key figures. Ali Khamenei was killed on the very first day of the aggression, on the morning of February 28, along with several other senior officials. On March 17, a strike on the outskirts of Tehran killed Ali Larijani – the former parliament speaker, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, nuclear negotiator, and longtime Khamenei adviser. He was one of the few figures in the Iranian establishment who connected the security apparatus with the diplomatic corps. Following Khamenei’s death, Larijani had effectively become the system’s chief coordinator. By killing him, the United States and Israel hoped to deliver a final blow to Iran’s decision-making structure. Yet the state was not paralyzed.

The physical elimination of Iran’s leaders failed to produce the desired result. The chain of command did not collapse, the security services did not defect, and the country did not capitulate. Authority was quickly redistributed between the Supreme National Security Council and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The IRGC emerged as an even more influential center of military and political power. The deaths of the country’s top officials altered Iran’s internal balance, but they did not destroy the system.

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Expectations of an internal explosion also proved misplaced. Iranian society and the country’s elites closed ranks, even though grievances over inflation and the broader economic situation remained. The attack itself triggered a wave of national solidarity. Even many critics of the Islamic Republic refused to associate political change with foreign airstrikes. The anticipated uprising never materialized. On the contrary, the war strengthened the forces that had argued for decades that compromise with the West could not guarantee Iran’s security.

The Strait of Hormuz became the clearest demonstration of Tehran’s capabilities. Before the war, roughly 25% of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade passed through the waterway. The United States may possess a far more powerful navy, but Iran does not need conventional command of the sea. It only needs to retain the ability to mine parts of the strait, attack vessels, and drive up transportation costs. Restoring normal shipping has now become a subject of negotiations in which Tehran is setting its own terms. Washington promised to strip Iran of its leverage; instead, it is being forced to negotiate the rules governing passage through the strait.

Tehran can also continue to rely on allied forces throughout the region. The “Axis of Resistance” has suffered losses, but it has not disappeared. Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, better known as the Houthis, Kataib Hezbollah, and other Iran-aligned groups and allies still possess missiles and drones. Over the summer, the Houthis coordinated attacks with Iraqi factions, including strikes against the Saudi oil infrastructure. Kataib Hezbollah remains the most powerful faction within the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. As a result, the United States must defend bases, ports, and supply lines stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea.

Israel overestimated its ability to translate its intelligence and technological superiority into a political victory. Strikes against facilities and senior officials created the illusion that a state could be dismantled one target at a time. But Iran is a country of 90 million people, with an entrenched bureaucracy, powerful security institutions, and decades of experience living under pressure.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to secure a swift resolution. Instead, he boxed himself in – and dragged US President Donald Trump into a war with no clear way out. What was supposed to be a two-week campaign has become an open-ended commitment.

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The cost of that miscalculation is increasingly apparent inside the United States. In August, its national debt exceeded $40 trillion for the first time, while annual debt-servicing costs now stand at roughly $1 trillion. The war has already cost tens of billions of dollars and pushed oil and gasoline prices higher. According to an August Reuters poll, only 33% of Americans approve of Trump’s performance, while just 31% support the campaign against Iran. Even among Republicans, support has fallen from 77% in March to 69%. For a president who promised to end America’s “endless wars,” that is a painful blow.

Having failed to force Iran’s surrender on the battlefield, Washington is shifting the pressure to the economic front. “Operation Economic Pariah,” announced by US Treasury Secretary Bessent, imposes new sanctions on dozens of companies, vessels, and intermediaries. But Iran has spent decades learning how to survive under restrictions. Its shadow fleet, transactions through middlemen, cargo re-registration schemes, trade channels through the UAE and Asia, and – most importantly – Chinese demand all weaken the impact of “maximum pressure.”

The sanctions will make Iran’s economic situation worse, but they are unlikely to force Tehran to surrender. Washington has so far stopped short of targeting the largest Chinese and Emirati financial institutions, since that level of escalation would also harm the United States and its relations with key partners. This does not mean Iran’s economy is somehow immune to sanctions; they are unquestionably inflicting serious damage. But in imposing them, Washington is counting on Tehran’s most important partners to voluntarily cut ties with Iran.

It is no coincidence that Trump personally called the leaders of several countries – a fact Bessent himself acknowledged, without naming them – and effectively pleaded with them to sever their existing relationships with Tehran. In essence, this points to the decline of US geopolitical influence. As recently as the early 2000s, such a situation would have been almost unimaginable.

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Disillusionment with American security guarantees is also growing across the Gulf. US bases did not shield the region from war; instead, they turned their host countries into potential targets. Riyadh, Doha, and Abu Dhabi are now seeking additional security mechanisms, diversifying their partnerships, and maintaining dialogue with Tehran. The American presence remains, but faith in Washington’s ability to single-handedly manage the regional order has weakened.

The “Mecca Agreement,” concluded by Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan in early August, is a vivid example of this shift. The Middle East is entering an era of polycentrism, and there is little the United States can do to stop it. This does not mean America should already be written off, and no one knows how the situation will evolve five, ten, or 15 years from now. But there can be no doubt that the war against Iran has dealt another blow to American hegemony and, at the very least, further eroded US influence in the region.

Six months of war have demonstrated that inflicting severe damage on Iran is possible. Forcing it to capitulate is not. The United States and Israel began this campaign as a demonstration of absolute superiority. Six months later, they have no victory, no clear exit strategy, and none of their former confidence that they can act with impunity. Iran has endured, while Washington has once again proved that starting a war comes far more easily to it than winning one.

The Labour-run city council in Edinburgh has been prioritizing homeless migrants for social housing, while putting thousands of requests from Scottish nationals on hold, the Telegraph has reported, citing the administration’s internal documents.

The proportion of temporary accommodations provided to migrants in Scotland’s capital has grown from 1% to 16% since 2023, the paper said in an article on Friday.

The foreigners were put atop the waiting line under a policy introduced in April 2025, the report read. Meanwhile, applications from some 31,000 locals remained frozen, it added.

Edinburgh is facing a homelessness crisis, which has been exacerbated by the influx of migrants into Britain, the Telegraph said, citing the council’s internal documents. The number of homeless people in the city has surged by 75% over the last five years, it added.

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Many migrants whose asylum claims have been approved by the Home Office choose to come to Scotland in search of accommodation due to its liberal housing policies, according to the paper.

Scotland abolished the “priority need” test in 2012, making all people assessed as unintentionally homeless eligible for settled accommodation. In 2022, the Scottish National Party (SNP) government also removed local-connection requirements for homeless applicants within Scotland.

Reform UK’s Scottish deputy leader, Thomas Kerr, said the council should stop providing housing to “strangers and outsiders” and finally start taking care of its own people.

“We need to see local connection rules fully restored, more social housing built and deportations for those who should not even be here in the first place,” he wrote.

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According to Kerr, Scottish “nationals who work hard, pay their taxes, reach across their community are worth more than finding themselves slipping further down the list.”

When approached for comment by the Telegraph, Scottish Housing Minister Shirley-Anne Somerville said that “Scotland has some of the strongest homelessness rights in the world, and we will not roll these back.”

The homelessness crisis is a result of the migration policies of the British government, and it is up to London to “properly fund its asylum processes and ensure newly recognized refugees and communities can be supported,” Somerville said.

Nearly 100,000 people were receiving asylum support in the UK as of the end of March, according to government figures, including more than 20,000 housed in hotels.

A YouGov poll published earlier in August showed that 69% of Britons believe immigration over the past decade has been too high, while 43% said it had been mostly bad for the country, up from 33% in 2016.

The US has threatened to reconsider its stance on Britain’s control of the Falkland Islands to push London to spend substantially more on its military, The Daily Telegraph reported on Friday, citing sources.

The reported attempt to pressure the UK comes amid mounting disagreements between the two long-time allies over defense, Iran, and the strategically vital Chagos Islands.

The UK and Argentina have been at odds over the Falklands for almost 200 years, with the matter coming to a head when Argentina’s military junta ordered an invasion of the islands in 1982. Britain’s Margaret Thatcher dispatched a naval task force and retook them in 74 days of fighting.

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The US – which backed the UK during the conflict – recognizes Britain’s de facto administration of the islands but takes no position on the competing sovereignty claims.

Now, according to The Telegraph, the US may oppose Britain’s sovereignty claim unless it hikes defense spending. In this vein, Britain is expected to receive “special attention” in a Pentagon review examining whether NATO members have credible paths toward the bloc’s new spending target.

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A senior US official told the Telegraph that discussions on the matter were candid and that “nothing is being ruled out” as Washington searches for ways to push allies into shouldering more of Europe’s defense burden.

While Washington sees Britain’s new defense investment plan as a “step in the right direction,” it is not enough, the official told the paper. “Given the scale of challenges facing us and our allies, we need allies like the United Kingdom to step up in major, fundamental ways. Fortunately, some already are. We strongly encourage the UK to do likewise,” he added.

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Most NATO members have agreed to spend 5% of GDP on security by 2035, with the British officials pushing for the 3% threshold by 2030. However, Britain’s new defense investment plan, unveiled in June, would leave core defense expenditure at just 2.7% of GDP through 2029-2030. In addition, the British government is still struggling to find £4.7 billion ($6.3 billion) for the budget amid fiscal pressures.

The Falklands idea first surfaced in April when Reuters reported, citing an internal Pentagon email, that the US was considering a review of its diplomatic backing for European “imperial possessions” as a means of punishing NATO governments that Washington believed had failed to support its military campaign against Iran.

Argentine President Javier Milei – a close ally of US President Donald Trump – reacted optimistically to the prospect, saying “We’re making progress like never before.”

Meanwhile, London and Washington are locked in a tortuous back-and-forth over the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, home to a joint US-UK military base. Britain agreed in 2025 to transfer sovereignty to Mauritius while retaining the base under a 99-year lease, but put the plan on hold in April after Trump branded the arrangement a “big mistake.”

The UK also initially refused to allow the use of its bases for strikes on Iran, citing legal concerns, triggering Trump’s ire. London later shifted its stance following Tehran’s retaliation against UK military assets.

British conservative commentator Milo Yiannopoulos has been detained by US immigration authorities in Louisiana and faces deportation after allegedly overstaying his legal status and failing to appear for an immigration hearing.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested the 41-year-old former Breitbart editor at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in Kenner, Louisiana, on August 27, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

“Yiannopoulos legally entered the country on May 14, 2019, through New York City,” DHS said, describing him as an “illegal alien” who “chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws.”

An immigration judge issued Yiannopoulos a final order of removal on July 22 after he failed to appear for his hearing, the department said. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal.

On August 27, ICE arrested Milo Yiannopoulos, an illegal alien from the United Kingdom, at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) in Kenner, Louisiana. Yiannopoulos legally entered the country on May 14, 2019, through New York City, New York. He chose to… https://t.co/Hk6QBUmGDI pic.twitter.com/DbIhv8Z6PI

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) August 28, 2026

The arrest quickly spilled into a bitter feud within the MAGA movement. Conservative activist and Trump ally Laura Loomer celebrated Yiannopoulos’ detention and claimed she had personally alerted authorities to his immigration status. The Daily Caller reported that scrutiny of his status intensified after he began criticizing President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

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The episode also carries an ironic twist, as Yiannopoulos has himself repeatedly backed tough immigration enforcement, including sweeping restrictions and mass deportations.

Once one of Trump’s most flamboyant online supporters, Yiannopoulos famously referred to him as “Daddy” during the 2016 campaign. Their relationship later deteriorated sharply, with the British commentator accusing Trump of betraying supporters.

Yiannopoulos subsequently joined Kanye ‘Ye’ West as the rapper mounted an abortive 2024 presidential bid, serving as his campaign manager. He also helped arrange Ye’s controversial 2022 dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Earlier that year, he had worked as an unpaid intern for then-Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.

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Yiannopoulos has remained a favorite target of progressive activists and much of the mainstream media, which has frequently labeled him “far-right.” He has rejected such descriptions, arguing that they are used to marginalize outspoken conservative figures and turn political controversy into character assassination.

His confrontational style has repeatedly generated outrage, however. Among other issues, he drew attention years ago to Britain’s grooming-gang scandals, accusing authorities and the media of ignoring the abuse of vulnerable girls because officials feared accusations of racism or Islamophobia.

✨DEVELOPING✨Footage from 2016 of Milo Yiannopoulos drawing attention to Muslim rape gangs—eight years before the scandal went mainstream—is recirculating. Woke stupidity enabled the industrial-scale rape of white children by Pakistani gangs for over 30 years.
(CNBC, 9/8/2016) pic.twitter.com/7oF6d79UMV

— MILO (@Nero) January 15, 2025

Yiannopoulos’ career suffered a major setback in 2017 after old remarks about sexual relationships involving minors resurfaced, costing him a publishing deal and forcing his resignation from Breitbart.

The White House has not publicly intervened in his immigration case.

The grieving father of Palestinian-American teenager Amer Rabee, who was shot dead by Israeli troops in the West Bank 16 months ago, has accused Washington of abandoning his family after offering little more than condolences.

Speaking to RT correspondent Charlotte Dubenskij, Mohammed Rabee said his 14-year-old son had grown up believing that his American citizenship offered him protection.

“He was always thinking he’s American, so he’s protected. He’s free,” he said.

Amer was born in New Jersey before his family moved to Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah, in 2013. He continued to split his time between the US and the West Bank.

He was killed on April 6, 2025, in an olive grove outside the village. Two friends were also wounded.

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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the teenagers had been throwing rocks at a highway and described them as “terrorists.” Amer’s family and the surviving boys deny the claim, saying they had been picking almonds and tossing them at each other for fun.

Mohammed told RT that his son had been repeatedly shot. “Many shots. He got 14 shots,” he said, later showing Dubenskij the clothes Amer was wearing when he died.

The US State Department confirmed the death of an American citizen and offered condolences, while Democratic Senators Andy Kim and Cory Booker called for a US-led investigation.

But Mohammed says little has happened since. He dismissed US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee’s recent pledge to “stand for American citizens, whether Israeli or Palestinian” as political theater.

“Till now, no one [is] talking about Amer,” he said. “He’s making a show… to show people that he’s helping American people, but we didn’t see that before.”

Amer’s father has since built a small park in his son’s memory and continues to press for accountability.

Watch Dubenskij’s full report below:

Europe only ranks fourth among Washington’s global security priorities, US envoy to NATO Matthew Whitaker has said, as President Donald Trump pushes the bloc’s members to take greater responsibility for their own defense.

Speaking to Newsmax on Thursday, Whitaker outlined Washington’s priorities under Trump’s national security strategy.

”The defense of the homeland is number one... The Western Hemisphere, where we live, [is] obviously equally important,” he said, followed by the Pacific. “Defending Europe is also a priority, but it’s in fourth place.”

Whitaker said the changing division of responsibilities within NATO would also benefit the US economically.

”Our European allies are taking over the conventional defense of the European continent,” Whitaker said. “And I think that’s good for the American taxpayers.”

The ambassador described NATO as being on a “new trajectory” under Trump, crediting the US president with pressuring other members of the US-led military bloc to dramatically increase defense spending.

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Whitaker said European NATO members and Canada have spent an additional $139 billion on defense, including $60 billion on US-made equipment and ammunition.

At last year’s NATO summit in The Hague, members agreed to raise defense and security-related expenditure to 5% of GDP by 2035. Whitaker contrasted the new commitment with the bloc’s previous 2% target, which many members failed to meet.

”For 77 years our NATO allies have taken advantage of the United States’ strength,” Whitaker told Newsmax. “But now we’re going to be all equally strong.”

The Trump administration has repeatedly demanded that European NATO members shoulder a greater share of their own defense costs. The Pentagon is also reviewing the roughly 80,000 US troops currently stationed in Europe, with officials considering different options for Washington’s future military presence on the continent.

US President Donald Trump’s Marine One helicopter nearly collided with a passenger jet earlier this month after a radio failure prevented air traffic controllers from receiving its takeoff warning, federal investigators said on Thursday.

The August 4 incident occurred near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport as Marine One departed the White House area with Trump aboard. An Envoy Air passenger jet was cleared for takeoff at roughly the same time.

The two aircraft came within about 1.5 km horizontally and just 215 meters vertically of each other, triggering an automated collision warning aboard the passenger jet. Marine One’s pilots spotted the aircraft and briefly halted their flight until it had passed.

Under standard procedures, the presidential helicopter was required to notify Reagan airport controllers three minutes before lifting off. Recordings show Marine One made the required call, but the tower did not properly receive it.

Investigators found that the communication problem was already known. Just a week earlier, Marine One pilots and Reagan airport controllers had met to discuss repeated failures by the tower to receive the helicopter’s three-minute takeoff warnings.

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As a precaution, they agreed that another military facility would relay the warning whenever direct communication failed. That backup system also failed on August 4, leaving controllers unaware that Marine One was taking off.

Investigators traced the radio problems partly to construction at the White House, which had forced Marine One to use a temporary takeoff site with poor radio coverage. The report did not specify the project, though the White House has been undergoing construction on both a new ballroom and a permanent helipad.

US aviation authorities have since relocated radio equipment at Reagan National to improve communications.

The near-miss came less than two years after an American Airlines regional jet collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near the same airport in January 2025, killing all 67 people aboard the two aircraft.

Following that disaster, US aviation authorities permanently restricted helicopter operations around Reagan National and introduced additional safeguards aimed at preventing commercial aircraft and helicopters from crossing paths.

Under current procedures, commercial flights must also be suspended whenever Marine One operates in the airport’s airspace.

US President Donald Trump has announced what he called the “biggest oil deal in world history,” claiming an agreement with Venezuela has given Washington majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven crude reserves.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had worked with Venezuelan interim leader Delcy Rodriguez and private businesses to secure “majority US control” of the reserves “at no cost to the American Taxpayer,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday.

“The United States of America has just entered into an Agreement with the Country of Venezuela on, THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY!” the US president declared.

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Trump claimed the transaction “MORE THAN DOUBLES American Oil Reserves,” would substantially increase supplies and eventually lower gasoline prices.

The latest US Energy Information Administration figures put American proved crude oil and lease condensate reserves at around 46 billion barrels. Adding the 65 billion barrels covered by the Venezuela deal would bring the total volume under some form of US control to more than 111 billion barrels, even though the Venezuelan crude would not technically become part of US domestic reserves.

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Trump did not immediately disclose the agreement’s duration, which fields are covered, the precise ownership structure, or which private companies will participate.

Media reports earlier this week said Washington had been negotiating access to 17 Venezuelan fields containing roughly 90 billion barrels, potentially through century-long leases.

The push follows months of increasing US control over Venezuela’s energy sector since the January operation that removed Nicolas Maduro. Washington already controls sales of Venezuelan crude and holds proceeds from them in US Treasury accounts.

British conservative commentator Milo Yiannopoulos has been detained by US immigration authorities in Louisiana and faces deportation after allegedly overstaying his legal status and failing to appear for an immigration hearing.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested the 41-year-old former Breitbart editor at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in Kenner, Louisiana, on August 27, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

“Yiannopoulos legally entered the country on May 14, 2019, through New York City,” DHS said, describing him as an “illegal alien” who “chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws.”

An immigration judge issued Yiannopoulos a final order of removal on July 22 after he failed to appear for his hearing, the department said. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal.

On August 27, ICE arrested Milo Yiannopoulos, an illegal alien from the United Kingdom, at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) in Kenner, Louisiana. Yiannopoulos legally entered the country on May 14, 2019, through New York City, New York. He chose to… https://t.co/Hk6QBUmGDI pic.twitter.com/DbIhv8Z6PI

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) August 28, 2026

The arrest quickly spilled into a bitter feud within the MAGA movement. Conservative activist and Trump ally Laura Loomer celebrated Yiannopoulos’ detention and claimed she had personally alerted authorities to his immigration status. The Daily Caller reported that scrutiny of his status intensified after he began criticizing President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

Read more

The episode also carries an ironic twist, as Yiannopoulos has himself repeatedly backed tough immigration enforcement, including sweeping restrictions and mass deportations.

Once one of Trump’s most flamboyant online supporters, Yiannopoulos famously referred to him as “Daddy” during the 2016 campaign. Their relationship later deteriorated sharply, with the British commentator accusing Trump of betraying supporters.

Yiannopoulos subsequently joined Kanye ‘Ye’ West as the rapper mounted an abortive 2024 presidential bid, serving as his campaign manager. He also helped arrange Ye’s controversial 2022 dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Earlier that year, he had worked as an unpaid intern for then-Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.

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Yiannopoulos has remained a favorite target of progressive activists and much of the mainstream media, which has frequently labeled him “far-right.” He has rejected such descriptions, arguing that they are used to marginalize outspoken conservative figures and turn political controversy into character assassination.

His confrontational style has repeatedly generated outrage, however. Among other issues, he drew attention years ago to Britain’s grooming-gang scandals, accusing authorities and the media of ignoring the abuse of vulnerable girls because officials feared accusations of racism or Islamophobia.

✨DEVELOPING✨Footage from 2016 of Milo Yiannopoulos drawing attention to Muslim rape gangs—eight years before the scandal went mainstream—is recirculating. Woke stupidity enabled the industrial-scale rape of white children by Pakistani gangs for over 30 years.
(CNBC, 9/8/2016) pic.twitter.com/7oF6d79UMV

— MILO (@Nero) January 15, 2025

Yiannopoulos’ career suffered a major setback in 2017 after old remarks about sexual relationships involving minors resurfaced, costing him a publishing deal and forcing his resignation from Breitbart.

The White House has not publicly intervened in his immigration case.

Britain doubles down against Russia

Russia has already warned the UK of “consequences” for Ukraine’s use of British-made drones to strike Russian civilian infrastructure. These words were clearly lost on British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who arrived in Kiev on Monday to mark the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. Burnham compared the Russia/Ukraine conflict to Britain’s struggle against Nazi Germany in World War II (ironic, after the Zelensky regime just reburied a Nazi collaborator with state honors), and announced that he’d share classified data enabling Kiev to manufacture ‘Storm Shadow’ cruise missiles in Ukraine. 

Two days later, the Ukrainians showed Russia exactly what these missiles will be used for, injuring multiple civilians in a Storm Shadow strike on a Donetsk apartment block.

Russia’s response was immediate and kinetic. Missiles and drones pounded military and dual-use targets across Kiev, with waves of projectiles hitting the Ukrainian capital from morning until evening on Thursday. Meanwhile, the British media chose to run a warning from supposed “Kremlin adviser” Andrey Fedorov, who said that he “cannot exclude 100% that there might be some semi-military” attacks on British soil too.

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Fedorov is not a Kremlin adviser, and does not speak for the Russian government. However,  Moscow’s official position was unequivocal, with Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stating that Russian forces may take action “against any British military facilities and equipment in Ukraine and beyond.”

RT looked at the dire state of diplomatic relations between Russia and the UK this week and concluded that Moscow’s restraint is rapidly reaching its limits.

Spy intrigue in Moscow

With Burnham climbing the escalation ladder as fast as possible, planespotters saw an unusual flight entering Russian airspace on Tuesday morning: a US Air Force C-17A Globemaster. It soon emerged that CIA Director John Ratcliffe was on board, bound for meetings with his Russian intelligence counterparts. 

An unusual visitor to Moscow this morning. 👀

A US Air Force C-17A Globemaster III flew from Riga to Moscow Vnukovo Airporthttps://t.co/D7vylYesDQ pic.twitter.com/jXbOSj0LXM

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) August 25, 2026

It’s been nearly five years since a CIA chief visited the Russian capital, and the Western press went into speculation overdrive. Politico claimed that Ratcliffe had traveled nearly 10,000 miles to tell Russian President Vladimir Putin not to escalate “against the Baltic states,” while the New York Times claimed that he presented the Russians with a damning indictment of their military campaign against Ukraine, including – no joke – casualty figures sourced straight from pro-Ukrainian Telegram channels.

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US President Donald Trump kept his cards close to his chest, as did Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “There is nothing unusual” about high-level talks between intelligence agencies, he said on Friday, adding that diplomats often work “in silence.”

Less than a day before Ratcliffe touched down at Vnukovo Airport, the Vatican’s chief diplomat, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, landed in Moscow on a mission of his own. Gallagher’s diplomacy was more public, with the Vatican envoy repeating the Holy See’s calls for an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Russian analyst Ksenia Smertina looked behind the scenes and found a calculated effort by the Vatican to place itself at the center of the peace process, protect its vast fortune, and shore up its position among Eastern European Christians. Her article for RT is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the power politics that have shaped the Church since the days of the Medicis and Borgias.

Ukraine at 35

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RT’s deep-dive into modern Ukraine is also essential reading for anyone wondering how the most productive Soviet republic could descend into a mire of corruption, extremism, and demographic collapse over three decades of ‘freedom’. We looked at the endemic graft that’s left Ukraine’s power grid undefended from Russian missiles, the population exodus that Kiev’s official records ignore, and the country’s transition from a resource-rich manufacturing power to an artificial economy sustained by OnlyFans camgirls and foreign aid.

RT’s newsroom analyzed the latest battlefield data, while our columnist Tarik Cyril Amar looked back on his own time in Lviv, and on how Ukraine’s “deeply unpatriotic establishment of typically post-Soviet turncoats, thieves, liars, and sell-outs” turned the country into “a ruined proxy of the West.”

Landslide disaster in Nepal

Ukraine’s leaders may have chosen their own fate, but some have their fate tragically decided by mother nature. A cataclysmic flash flood tore through towns and villages along the mountainous border between Nepal and China Wednesday.

Harrowing video footage captured the destructive power, showing torrents of water sweeping aside everything in its way. Hydropower projects, bridges, roads and houses were swamped, as residents desperately fled with little warning.

❗Nepal Floods: At Least 7 Dead, Security Personnel Missing 🇳🇵

The worst-hit areas include Timure and Syabrubesi in Rasuwa, where floodwaters have swept away homes, bridges and parts of a key road towards the China border, according to The Kathmandu Post.

Nine Armed Police… https://t.co/OGz6YNAMPx pic.twitter.com/XRGgZGxHj7

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 26, 2026

Thousands of people are still missing, and rescue efforts are ongoing as of Friday. Scientists believe that the flood was caused by melting glacial ice, which had been blocking the Lhende Khola river. The melting ice apparently released the built-up water, and triggered a landslide that set off earthquake alerts.

Meta and TikTok dodge trial 

Anyone hoping that Meta may finally be forced to lift the lid on its addictive algorithms was left disappointed on Wednesday, when Mark Zuckerberg’s megacorporation paid $18 billion to settle a landmark lawsuit brought by 29 US states. Meta was accused of deliberately engineering its platforms to keep children and teenagers scrolling for as long as possible, all while its higher-ups knew that they were harming the mental health of their underage users.

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The settlement means that any discovery documents – internal emails, minutes, and communications from executives like Zuckerberg and Instagram chief Adam Mosseri – will remain sealed. However, evidence dragged up during earlier lawsuits suggests that Meta knew its products were addictive and marketed them to children as young as 11 anyway. 

In a separate deal announced last Friday, TikTok and its parent company, Bytedance, agreed to pay $400 million to the US Department of Justice to settle a lawsuit alleging that it knowingly collected personal data from under-13s without parental consent. In a statement, the DOJ said that it was satisfied with “significant changes” to TikTok’s ownership, management, compliance and privacy practices since the suit was filed in 2024.

Zuckerberg is not out of the woods yet. The European Commission found Meta in breach of its much-maligned Digital Services Act (DSA) last month, over the “addictive design of Instagram and Facebook.” Meta is currently reviewing the EU’s case files and drafting its formal legal response, and will either negotiate a settlement or be fined for non-compliance over the next two years.

What to watch out for

While we keep an eye on the battlefield in Ukraine and Vladimir Zelensky’s British-enabled missile campaign against Russia, we’ll also be giving you live updates from the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Kyrgyzstan on Monday and Tuesday. The summit marks 25 years of the world’s largest regional organization, and we’ll bring you every detail from Putin’s meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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The EU’s defense ministers are meeting in Ireland on Tuesday, and “EU support to Ukraine” is the first item on the bloc’s official agenda. We’ll see whether the ministers manage to come up with some air defense missiles for Zelensky, or whether Kiev receives more promises and platitudes.

We’ll also know by the end of the weekend whether Iceland will restart accession talks with the EU, a significant step toward becoming the bloc’s 28th member state. Icelanders will decide whether to restart talks in a referendum on Saturday, but with the country’s sovereignty and control over its precious fisheries at stake, victory for the pro-Brussels government is by no means assured.

The EU could face another humiliation next weekend, this time in Germany as the right-wing, Euroskeptic AfD looks set to dominate a state election in Saxony-Anhalt. Stick with RT.com in the runup to this landmark election, in which the AfD is predicted to win more than 40% of the vote.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) will stick to its policy of isolating the AfD despite the right-wing party polling at over 40% ahead of regional elections in Saxony-Anhalt. The chancellor claimed that the Alternative for Germany maintains close ties with Russia and thus poses a threat to the “internal and external security of our country.”

The AfD is the largest opposition faction in the Bundestag and the country’s most popular party, with recent surveys indicating that it enjoys the support of 28% of respondents.

The right-wing party campaigns on an anti-immigration platform and is also highly critical of the German government’s support for Ukraine, as well as sanctions against Russia.

Appearing on broadcaster RTL on Thursday, Merz was asked by a businessman from Saxony-Anhalt about the feasibility of the so-called ‘firewall’ policy in a democracy, under which all major parties refuse to cooperate with the AfD. The question came ahead of the regional elections in the eastern region slated for September 6.

The chancellor defended the controversial policy, categorically ruling out a coalition between the CDU and the AfD due to “fundamental” differences.

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He claimed that AfD members frequently visit the Russian Embassy in Berlin and maintain the “closest relationship with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.” Merz also accused the right-wing party of calling into question “our value system” by advocating Germany’s withdrawal from the Eurozone, the EU single market, and the Schengen Area.

The chancellor suggested the possibility of forming a minority government in Saxony-Anhalt, pointing to the situation in both Thuringia and Saxony, where the AfD has also been sidelined, despite coming out on top in the regional elections.

Meanwhile, an INSA poll published by Bild earlier this month indicated that support for Germany’s governing CDU/CSU bloc had dipped to the lowest level in almost five years, at 20%.

The survey also showed that 78% of respondents were dissatisfied with Merz’s government.

Comprised of the Christian Democratic CDU/CSU bloc and the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the ruling coalition has faced criticism over continued economic stagnation and its failure to deliver on pre-election promises.

The AfD has for years faced significant pressure from regional and federal authorities in Germany. The country’s domestic security agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), has designated the party as a suspected far-right extremist entity – a label that permits government surveillance of the AfD. In several regions, local chapters have been subjected to even wider monitoring by the authorities.

Poland has sent confusing signals regarding the potential deployment of nuclear weaponry on its territory, in what appears to be an attempt to enjoy the fruits of deterrence without hosting foreign munitions.

In recent months, a dozen European NATO members, including Poland, have expressed a desire to either host nuclear weapons or take part in nuclear-sharing initiatives to varying degrees. Apart from existing nuclear sharing within the bloc, which involves hosting US munitions, France has proposed an EU-focused scheme to deploy its own weapons to willing nations.

The confusion began on Thursday, when Polish Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Zalewski appeared to rule out ever hosting the weaponry on the country’s soil.

“I would like to say very clearly and openly: Poland does not want to have nuclear warheads on its territory,” Zalewski told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels. “We want to participate in NATO nuclear deterrence, [which] does not mean to have a nuclear warhead on our territory.”

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The remarks caused quite a stir, with some interpreting it as a refusal to participate in the proposed European or even existing NATO nuclear-sharing schemes. The confusion prompted Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz to step in and assure the public that Warsaw still wants to participate in nuclear sharing. 

“To dispel any doubts: Poland remains steadfastly interested in participating in the NATO Nuclear Sharing program. We are also conducting talks regarding the proposal for participation in the European nuclear protective umbrella. Our government’s stance on these issues is unequivocal,” he wrote on X.

While the minister did not explicitly say whether Warsaw was open to hosting foreign nukes, Zalewski doubled down on his original remarks later in the day. Poland remains committed to participating in “NATO’s nuclear deterrence, [but] without storing nuclear weapons,” the official wrote on X while berating those confused by his statements. “Security requires competence and seriousness. Claiming that Nuclear Sharing [equates to] storing nuclear weapons in Poland is ignorance or deliberate manipulation,” he asserted.

The reported invitation for Iran to join the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement puts a new perspective on what the new alliance might ultimately become.

Mehdi Rahimi, head of the Iranian parliament’s news agency, said that the proposal was under consideration by the country’s leadership and argued that the creation of a regional security umbrella would represent a victory for the Islamic Republic. Shortly afterwards, however, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei stated that Tehran had received no formal invitation, although proposals for dialogue with the pact’s members on collective regional security had indeed been raised. For the moment, this appears to be a political overture intended to test the reactions of the parties rather than the beginning of a formal accession process. Even so, it suggests that the agreement is not intended as an alliance against Tehran, but as the possible foundation of a security system built with Iranian participation.

The Mecca Agreement was signed on August 7 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Its central provision declares that an armed attack against one member will be regarded as an attack against all. The formula theoretically combines a formidable set of capabilities: Saudi Arabia’s immense financial resources and influence over global energy markets, Türkiye’s large military and sophisticated defence industry, and Pakistan’s substantial military experience and nuclear arsenal. Yet the public statements offer no detailed decision-making procedure and do not specify what action each signatory would be obliged to take during a crisis. At this stage, the pact is only a political declaration of collective deterrence and not a proper military alliance.

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Erosion of the American monopoly

Donald Trump welcomed the pact and expressed satisfaction that the states of the region were finally assuming greater responsibility for their own defense. His response was consistent with his longstanding view that Washington’s allies should bear a larger share of military expenditure, allowing the US to reduce its costs and step back from the role of unconditional guarantor of other nations’ security. Seen from this perspective, the agreement might appear to be a success for American policy, since three US partners are establishing an additional mechanism of deterrence without Washington’s direct involvement.

Yet behind this public enthusiasm lies a trend that is far less favorable to the US. The Mecca Pact cannot be described as the first symptom of declining American influence in the Middle East, but it is the clearest institutional sign to date that regional powers no longer regard the American security umbrella as sufficient and have begun constructing autonomous centers of power. Washington retains its military bases, weapons systems, intelligence capabilities and relationships with regional elites, but it is gradually losing its monopoly over the rules by which Middle Eastern security is organized.

The US-Israeli war against Iran accelerated this transformation because it revealed the double-edged nature of American security guarantees. The US military presence may deter adversaries, but it can also draw the Gulf states into conflicts whose timing and objectives are determined without their meaningful participation. Iranian strikes, disruption to maritime trade and threats to energy infrastructure demonstrated that a close partnership with Washington does not insulate regional states from danger and may instead force them to bear the consequences of American policy.

Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan are not abandoning American weapons or political ties, yet they want a mechanism capable of functioning even when Washington’s priorities diverge from their own.

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Iran could transform the pact into a security system

For the pact’s three founding members, the possibility of inviting Iran addresses a problem that might otherwise have become the source of another major conflict. As long as Tehran remained outside the agreement, it could interpret the partnership between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan as an attempt to build a Sunni military bloc directed against the Islamic Republic.

By offering Tehran a place at the table, the pact’s founders have effectively replaced the question of whom the alliance is directed against with the question of which rules the region’s principal powers are prepared to accept. Even if Iran never joins, the dialogue itself reduces the likelihood that the agreement will automatically become an instrument of its isolation. Saudi Arabia gains an opportunity to combine military deterrence with continued diplomatic de-escalation, Türkiye strengthens its role as a mediator, and Pakistan avoids having to choose between its strategic partnership with Riyadh and its relationship with neighboring Iran.

Full Iranian participation could transform the nature of the pact itself. It would cease to be an alliance among states united by similar fears and would instead become a mechanism of mutual restraint in which one member’s security could not be achieved through another’s vulnerability. A declaration of collective defense alone, however, would not be enough. The participants would need emergency communication channels, rules for preventing military incidents, mechanisms for exchanging information on missile launches, guarantees of freedom of navigation and commitments not to support armed action against fellow members.

The most difficult issue would concern the non-state armed groups aligned with Iran. If Tehran joined the pact, it would inevitably be expected to assume political responsibility for the actions of forces receiving Iranian weapons and support. At the same time, the other members would have to refrain from exploiting Iran’s internal divisions as a means of exerting pressure on its leadership. Only such reciprocity could turn an appealing formula into a functioning regional order.

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The economic prospects

Iran’s potential inclusion could initiate not only a political renaissance but also a major economic advance, since the development of the Middle East has been constrained for decades not by a lack of resources, but by chronic uncertainty. Wars raise shipping insurance costs, compel governments to accumulate weapons, discourage long-term investment and turn transport corridors into instruments of geopolitical bargaining. Even a partial reduction in these risks would release resources currently devoted to preparing for the next crisis.

Saudi capital, Turkish industry, the Pakistani market and Iran’s energy and transit potential could complement one another. Their cooperation could create new routes connecting Central Asia, the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, while the security of the Strait of Hormuz could be transformed from an instrument of mutual coercion into a shared interest. A region long seen as mostly a theater of war and foreign intervention would gain an opportunity to become an autonomous economic center within an increasingly multipolar world.

The economic dividend, however, is not guaranteed. Continuing sanctions against Iran, competition over transport routes, clashing Turkish and Saudi ambitions, and Pakistan’s disputes with India could import old conflicts into the new arrangement. The pact’s success will depend on the ability of its members to separate collective security from temporary alignments and to prevent every bilateral confrontation from becoming an obligation for the entire coalition.

Israel’s choice

The most difficult external question concerns the future relationship between the Mecca Pact and Israel. Israel is already uneasy about the agreement, and would likely find the accession of Iran unacceptable, seeing it as the beginning of strategic encirclement.

Even with Iran, however, the pact does not have to become an alliance against Israel. If its members firmly establish the defensive nature of the agreement and offer Israel mechanisms for preventing conflict, it could restrain escalation rather than prepare the ground for it. The problem is that the current Israeli leadership has grown accustomed to pursuing security through the unrestricted use of unilateral force, whereas a regional system requires agreed rules and recognition that neighboring states also possess legitimate security interests.

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Much will become clearer after the Knesset election scheduled for October 27, 2026. If Benjamin Netanyahu and the far-right bloc remain in power, tensions are likely to intensify, particularly if Israel continues its strikes against Iran and Syria while treating Türkiye’s growing influence as a direct threat. In that event, the Mecca Pact may evolve not simply as an alternative to weakening American guarantees, but as an instrument for deterring Israeli military action.

An opposition victory would not guarantee peace, since a hard line on Iran and national security extends far beyond Netanyahu’s political camp. Nevertheless, a new coalition might choose normalization over the endless expansion of conflict and attempt to incorporate Israel into the emerging regional balance.

The Mecca Agreement is not a new Middle East Order – merely a promise of one. Yet if it manages to accommodate Iran as a member, establish clear rules of mutual restraint and find a form of peaceful coexistence with Israel, the Middle East could for the first time in decades have a security system created primarily by the states of the region. Such a system would not eliminate their differences, but it could allow them to work with and around those differences without constant recourse to an external hegemon and without turning every crisis into a war. The cradle of the Abrahamic faiths might then cease to be consumed by recurring fires and begin its transformation into a strong, interconnected and prosperous region.

Iran has become stronger while the US has exposed its weakness during the conflict in the Middle East, which is still far from over, experts have told RT on the day marking six months since Washington and Israel attacked the Islamic Republic.

‘US and Israel underestimated resilience of Iranians and Lebanese’

RT’s correspondent in Lebanon, Steve Sweeney, said the Iran war is widely seen in the Middle East as “a strategic defeat for the US and its regional proxy, Israel.”

Israel used Iran as a pretext to launch an invasion of Lebanon, which “wreaked devastation across southern towns and villages, many of them have been destroyed completely,” Sweeney said.

“What Washington has done, what Israel has done is underestimated the resilience of the people on the ground here in Lebanon and also the resilience and the resistance being waged by the Iranians,” he added.

Trump looks like ‘Iranian agent’: Going Underground host Afshin Rattansi

“An alien from outer space might think that Trump has been… sent here as an Iranian agent to confirm the end of the US empire and the end of US power in this region,” Going Underground host Afshin Rattansi suggested.

The 180 days that have passed since February 28 “is not the end of the war,” but “a confirmation that Iran may have to respond... when it comes to retaliation and consequences for the NATO powers bent on their destruction, let alone the destruction of the entire Global South.”

‘If the goal of the operation was to make Israeli territory more secure, then it has been a complete failure’

RT correspondent Charlotte Dubenskij, reporting from the West Bank, said that since Israel launched its war with the US against Iran, it has opened up additional fronts, including operations in Lebanon and Syria, while the conflict in Gaza continues.

The West Bank, Dubenskij said, has become a “tinderbox,” with nationalist attacks by Israeli settlers taking place on a daily basis. She warned that the rising violence could trigger a backlash from Palestinians.

‘Iran has become a superpower’: DD Geopolitics reporter Christopher Helali

Tehran has become a “super power” over the 180 days that have passed since the attack by Washington and West Jerusalem, according to DD Geopolitics reporter Christopher Helali.

“What we can say unequivocally is that... Iran is not going back to the status quo of February 27 and before that. What has happened since has turned Iran into a major world power that doesn’t possess nuclear weapons, but possesses the Strait of Hormuz, which can bring the global economy to its knees and, of course, force the US and other regional powers to make enormous concessions,” he said.

‘A long, drawn-out conflict only beginning’

Former Pentagon analyst Michael Maloof called the US-Israeli operation “irresponsible,” saying it has resulted in “nothing but chaos, confusion, and greater turmoil and economic and political uncertainty in the world today.”

Half a year has passed since the initial attack on Iran, but “we’re only seeing the beginning of what’s going to be a long, drawn-out conflict,” he argued.

Iran has become stronger while the US has exposed its weakness during the conflict in the Middle East, which is still far from over, experts have told RT on the day marking six months since Washington and Israel attacked the Islamic Republic.

‘US and Israel underestimated resilience of Iranians and Lebanese’

RT’s correspondent in Lebanon, Steve Sweeney, said the Iran war is widely seen in the Middle East as “a strategic defeat for the US and its regional proxy, Israel.”

Israel used Iran as a pretext to launch an invasion of Lebanon, which “wreaked devastation across southern towns and villages, many of them have been destroyed completely,” Sweeney said.

“What Washington has done, what Israel has done is underestimated the resilience of the people on the ground here in Lebanon and also the resilience and the resistance being waged by the Iranians,” he added.

Trump looks like ‘Iranian agent’: Going Underground host Afshin Rattansi

“An alien from outer space might think that Trump has been… sent here as an Iranian agent to confirm the end of the US empire and the end of US power in this region,” Going Underground host Afshin Rattansi suggested.

The 180 days that have passed since February 28 “is not the end of the war,” but “a confirmation that Iran may have to respond... when it comes to retaliation and consequences for the NATO powers bent on their destruction, let alone the destruction of the entire Global South.”

‘If the goal of the operation was to make Israeli territory more secure, then it has been a complete failure’

RT correspondent Charlotte Dubenskij, reporting from the West Bank, said that since Israel launched its war with the US against Iran, it has opened up additional fronts, including operations in Lebanon and Syria, while the conflict in Gaza continues.

The West Bank, Dubenskij said, has become a “tinderbox,” with nationalist attacks by Israeli settlers taking place on a daily basis. She warned that the rising violence could trigger a backlash from Palestinians.

‘Iran has become a superpower’: DD Geopolitics reporter Christopher Helali

Tehran has become a “super power” over the 180 days that have passed since the attack by Washington and West Jerusalem, according to DD Geopolitics reporter Christopher Helali.

“What we can say unequivocally is that... Iran is not going back to the status quo of February 27 and before that. What has happened since has turned Iran into a major world power that doesn’t possess nuclear weapons, but possesses the Strait of Hormuz, which can bring the global economy to its knees and, of course, force the US and other regional powers to make enormous concessions,” he said.

‘A long, drawn-out conflict only beginning’

Former Pentagon analyst Michael Maloof called the US-Israeli operation “irresponsible,” saying it has resulted in “nothing but chaos, confusion, and greater turmoil and economic and political uncertainty in the world today.”

Half a year has passed since the initial attack on Iran, but “we’re only seeing the beginning of what’s going to be a long, drawn-out conflict,” he argued.

After decades outside the bloc’s periphery, Iceland is about to hold a referendum on reopening membership talks with the EU. Is the Viking nation preparing to trade sovereignty for stability? Or is it climbing aboard a sinking ship?

Icelanders go to the polls on Saturday, August 29 to answer a straightforward, yes or no question: “Should Iceland resume accession negotiations with the European Union?” 

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The referendum is not legally binding, but liberal Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir has pledged to honor its result.

What stage are talks between Iceland and Brussels at?

Iceland applied for EU membership in 2009, in the chaotic aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The country’s three biggest banks, Kaupthing, Landsbanki, and Glitnir, collapsed in the same week, and rather than force taxpayers to cover their balance sheets, Reykjavik washed its hands of the problem and let them fail.

The Icelandic krona plummeted, inflation soared, and center-right Prime Minister Geir Haarde resigned. Amid the meltdown, the newly empowered Social Democrats argued that by joining the EU and adopting the euro, Iceland could shield itself from future shocks – even as Iceland recovered far more quickly than EU members such as Greece, Ireland, and Portugal, which were subjected to crippling austerity measures by Brussels, the World Bank, and the IMF in the wake of the crisis.

The Social Democrats won the argument, convincing their left-wing, Euroskeptic coalition partners to vote for application. The left agreed, with the caveat that the final membership deal would be put to the people in a referendum.

Following a change of government, accession talks were shelved in 2013. Iceland, it was reasoned, had emerged from the financial crisis in good shape, and joining the EU would erode the island nation’s sovereignty, potentially diluting its control of rich fishing grounds, with no tangible benefits in return.

How do the polls stand before the vote?

With less than a day to go, the latest polls suggest that the vote will come down to the wire. A poll by market research firm Maskina published on August 25 shows the referendum passing by 51.3% to 48.7%. Two days later, a Gallup poll showed a near mirror inversion of these results, with the ‘no’ side leading by 51.6% to 48.4%. The result in both surveys was inside the margin of error, making the outcome impossible to predict. However, the ‘no’ side has been steadily closing the gap since July, and if the trend holds, could succeed in putting membership talks on ice for the foreseeable future.

The Yes vote: Safety in numbers

The two major parties in Frostadottir’s coalition – her Social Democrats and Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir’s Reform Party – support EU membership. Their arguments are the same as they were in 2009, with one key addition: Membership would add a layer of defense against any potential attempts by US President Donald Trump to gain control over Iceland, as he is currently threatening Greenland. Although this is an unlikely scenario, the current US ambassador in Reykjavik caused widespread anger in January when he joked “that Iceland will be the 52nd state and he’ll be governor."

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To Foreign Minister Gunnarsdottir, membership provides safety in numbers. “That is so important for us to see a group of like-minded nations stand together on principles and values,” she told AP. “That is also what I’m looking at when I see the European Union in this volatile world.”

Iceland’s six other major parties – from conservatives to centrists to leftists – all oppose membership. In an effort to persuade their voters, Frostadottir has sold the referendum as a zero-risk proposition. A ‘yes’ vote would merely restart talks, she has argued, pointing out that any deal offered by Brussels would still have to pass another referendum. It would also give Icelanders “the option of seeing what an agreement looks like,” she said last month.

Why does the EU want Iceland?

Home to fewer than 400,000 people, Iceland would be the EU’s smallest member state in terms of population. It sits just south of the Arctic Circle between Greenland and the UK, occupying a chokepoint known as the GIUK gap. Russian submarines and naval vessels entering the North Atlantic must pass through the GIUK gap, and with the EU’s foreign policy now bent on confrontation with Moscow, establishing an outpost here is high on Brussels’ list of priorities.

Frostadottir has reportedly warned the European Commission not to interfere in the vote. “The commission never intervenes in national elections or in referenda in any way,” a spokesperson told Euractiv, an outlet that the commission funds. 

RT readers will recall that the European Commission has intervened in every national election in the bloc since 2024. This year alone, Brussels imposed online censorship measures ahead of elections in Bulgaria and Hungary. A US House Judiciary Committee report released in early 2026 alleged that the European Commission pressured social media platforms to censor populist and conservative speech during elections in Romania, France, the Netherlands, and Ireland.

While neither Commission President Ursula von der Leyen nor her chief diplomat Kaja Kallas have made the case for joining the bloc publicly, EU-funded media have filled in the blanks. According to Euronews, a ‘no’ vote would “close off a strategic opportunity to expand [the EU’s] positioning in the North Atlantic and Arctic region for generations.”

Is Iceland already embedded in the Western military nexus?

Despite presenting a “strategic opportunity” for the EU, Iceland is not some neutral territory waiting to be claimed. Iceland is a founding member of NATO, hosts the bloc’s air forces at Naval Air Station Keflavik, in return for which the military bloc financed the country’s major ring road, and has a network of radar stations described by the bloc’s officials as “the eyes and the ears of NATO in the north.”

At exercise Northern Viking in Iceland, I saw firsthand how U.S. and Icelandic forces train alongside fellow @NATO Allies to protect vital sea lanes and secure the Arctic, and how Icelandic technology is giving Allied forces an operational edge. Building our readiness and… pic.twitter.com/ZToq3GiBvH

— U.S. Ambassador to NATO (@USAmbNATO) August 21, 2026

Iceland has no standing army, but is a protectorate of the US under a 1951 defense agreement. The annual US-led ‘Northern Viking’ military exercise is currently underway in Iceland, and concludes on September 4. 

On top of being fully integrated into the Western military camp, Iceland is already a member of the European Economic Area and visa-free Schengen zone, and has incorporated most EU legislation into its domestic laws. 

No: A choice between war and peace

The EU’s militarization has directly harmed the bloc itself, Gunnar Palsson, Iceland’s former ambassador to Brussels, said in August, pointing to the EU’s flatlining economy as a result of its self-imposed embargo on Russian energy.

“The EU is now, for the first time in its history, a direct party to a military conflict in Europe,” Palsson wrote in an op-ed for Iceland’s Morgunbladid newspaper. “The Union’s escalating involvement in the Ukraine war, which is unlikely to lead to an optimal outcome for European countries, has already had a far-reaching impact on their economic situation, their relations with each other and with the outside world.”

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The EU Iceland considered joining in 2009 is not the same as the hyper-aggressive, militarized bloc of 2026, he concluded.

‘Left Against the EU’, a social movement founded this year to oppose the referendum, has argued that joining the EU would subjugate Iceland’s foreign policy to the whims of the European Commission, which is “rapidly moving towards militarization.”

“The European Union and NATO have given in to the demands of the arms industry for vastly increased military spending, and it has never been more urgent than now for peace-loving people to withdraw from the warring forces,” reads a policy statement from the group.

“A European army is just around the corner, and Icelanders must seriously ask themselves whether they want to prepare their children and society for the future of serving under the arms of a European military power.”

Should the referendum pass, “Icelanders will become citizens of a union that has a strong political will for militarization and is increasingly involved in conflicts and escalating tensions in Europe,” Haraldur Olafsson, who leads the anti-EU ‘Heimssyn’ movement, warned in May. 

Sovereignty over stocks: Why fish are at the center of the argument

For most Icelandic Euroskeptics, however, the referendum comes down to a simpler issue: fish. Fishing accounts for around 4% of Iceland’s GDP, and a third of the country’s exports. Signing up to the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy risks surrendering control over this vital economic and culturally symbolic sector.

Ireland, another island on the EU’s seaboard, was subjected to these rules when it joined the bloc, and more than five decades later, it is likely that Irish fishermen will demand Icelandic fishermen be treated as they were. 

French trawlers are allowed to catch five times more of certain fish in Irish waters than Irish trawlers. “The other countries are making fun of us for the lack of quota we have in our own waters,” Irish opposition leader Peadar Toibin claimed during a parliamentary debate last year.

Any Icelandic politician who trades away sovereignty over the country’s waters would “be expelled from the country,” Eirikur Bergmann, a professor at Iceland’s Bifrost University, told the BBC.

The ‘yes’ side has claimed that Iceland could negotiate exemptions to the Common Fisheries Policy, but no member state has done so to date, and Euroskeptics are unconvinced. Brussels would not even welcome such a debate, never mind find a workable solution. 

“Contrary to the government’s claims, membership of the European Union is not a tailor-made agreement where each country chooses the parts that suit it and rejects the others,” Independence Party leader Gudrun Hafsteinsdottir argued earlier this year. It is unacceptable, Olafsson declared in May, “for a foreign union to legislate on Icelandic resources for its own benefit.”

The EU’s treaties – Rome, Lisbon, Maastricht – “are non-negotiable,” ‘no’ campaigner Sigridur Maria Egilsdottir warned at a rally on August 27. “We wouldn’t show up to the negotiations alone. Brussels would send its most capable team, loaded with conditions, demands and inescapable assumptions that all EU nations have had to abide by.”

Iran has become stronger while the US has exposed its weakness during the conflict in the Middle East, which is still far from over, experts have told RT on the day marking six months since Washington and Israel attacked the Islamic Republic.

‘US and Israel underestimated resilience of Iranians and Lebanese’

RT’s correspondent in Lebanon, Steve Sweeney, said the Iran war is widely seen in the Middle East as “a strategic defeat for the US and its regional proxy, Israel.”

Israel used Iran as a pretext to launch an invasion of Lebanon, which “wreaked devastation across southern towns and villages, many of them have been destroyed completely,” Sweeney said.

“What Washington has done, what Israel has done is underestimated the resilience of the people on the ground here in Lebanon and also the resilience and the resistance being waged by the Iranians,” he added.

Trump looks like ‘Iranian agent’: Going Underground host Afshin Rattansi

“An alien from outer space might think that Trump has been… sent here as an Iranian agent to confirm the end of the US empire and the end of US power in this region,” Going Underground host Afshin Rattansi suggested.

The 180 days that have passed since February 28 “is not the end of the war,” but “a confirmation that Iran may have to respond... when it comes to retaliation and consequences for the NATO powers bent on their destruction, let alone the destruction of the entire Global South.”

‘If the goal of the operation was to make Israeli territory more secure, then it has been a complete failure’

RT correspondent Charlotte Dubenskij, reporting from the West Bank, said that since Israel launched its war with the US against Iran, it has opened up additional fronts, including operations in Lebanon and Syria, while the conflict in Gaza continues.

The West Bank, Dubenskij said, has become a “tinderbox,” with nationalist attacks by Israeli settlers taking place on a daily basis. She warned that the rising violence could trigger a backlash from Palestinians.

‘Iran has become a superpower’: DD Geopolitics reporter Christopher Helali

Tehran has become a “super power” over the 180 days that have passed since the attack by Washington and West Jerusalem, according to DD Geopolitics reporter Christopher Helali.

“What we can say unequivocally is that... Iran is not going back to the status quo of February 27 and before that. What has happened since has turned Iran into a major world power that doesn’t possess nuclear weapons, but possesses the Strait of Hormuz, which can bring the global economy to its knees and, of course, force the US and other regional powers to make enormous concessions,” he said.

‘A long, drawn-out conflict only beginning’

Former Pentagon analyst Michael Maloof called the US-Israeli operation “irresponsible,” saying it has resulted in “nothing but chaos, confusion, and greater turmoil and economic and political uncertainty in the world today.”

Half a year has passed since the initial attack on Iran, but “we’re only seeing the beginning of what’s going to be a long, drawn-out conflict,” he argued.

France hopes to line its own arms manufacturers’ pockets with a €90 billion European Union loan to Ukraine by limiting Kiev's ability to procure weapons from outside the bloc, according to Euronews.

After overcoming Hungary’s opposition, the EU member states in April approved the €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan, aimed at propping up Kiev’s war effort in 2026 and 2027; €60 billion of the total sum has been earmarked for arms procurement.

The scheme, which is backed by joint EU borrowing on the capital markets, is premised on the assumption that it would be repaid when Ukraine secures reparations from Russia – a prospect Moscow has dismissed as “unrealistic.”

In an article on Tuesday, Euronews claimed that France is seeking to place a time limit on wavers allowing Ukraine to purchase weapons from outside the EU using EU-backed funds.

At present, Kiev can request an exemption if there is no EU-made system on offer that meets its immediate needs. According to the publication, Ukraine has so far made use of this mechanism on at least two occasions: when sourcing Chinese-made drone components and US-made Patriot interceptor missiles.

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In early May, then-UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced London’s intention to also gain access to military contracts funded through the EU loan, despite the UK not being part of the bloc.

Following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict and amid the subsequent EU-wide rearmament drive, a number of European arms manufacturers have seen their profit margins surge.

Shares in Rheinmetall, Europe’s largest defense contractor, for instance, have risen more than tenfold over the past six years. Earlier this month, the company reported a nearly 70% increase in second-quarter revenue at €3.29 billion, having more than doubled its operating profit to €562 million.

RT’s Chay Bowes believes that behind a veneer of self-righteous talk lies ulterior motives, and that France is ultimately looking to funnel billions into its own military industrial complex.

Watch Bowes’s report in full below:

Donald Trump has declared himself the “greatest” president in US history while branding Joe Biden and Barack Obama “failures” in a ranking posted on Truth Social.

Abraham Lincoln, who led the US through the Civil War and abolished slavery, and George Washington, the first US president and a founding father, were placed one tier below Trump.

The US president shared the ranking on Thursday alongside a CNN clip highlighting polling showing his dominance among Republican voters. The graphic divides US presidents into six tiers – ‘The Greatest’, ‘Great’, ‘Near Great’, ‘Average’, ‘Below Average’, and ‘Failures’ – with Trump alone at the top.

Lincoln, Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson were placed in the ‘Great’ category. Theodore Roosevelt, Grover Cleveland, John Adams, and James K. Polk were rated ‘Near Great’, while Bill Clinton was among those deemed ‘Average’.

Biden and Obama were placed at the opposite end of Trump’s chart alongside fellow Democrat Jimmy Carter and former presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Warren G. Harding. The list contains 34 presidents and leaves out 11 others, including Ronald Reagan, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and both George Bushes.

The graphic appears to be an altered version of a ranking published by LIFE magazine in 1948, when Harvard historian Arthur Schlesinger Sr. asked 55 experts in American history to classify presidents as ‘great’, ‘near great’, ‘average’, ‘below average’, or ‘failure’. Trump’s version largely retains the original categories but adds himself at the top and several more recent Democratic presidents.

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Trump posted the image after CNN highlighted an Elon University poll showing 53% of Republicans named him the Republican president they admired most, far ahead of Reagan at 18% and Lincoln at 8%. CNN analyst Harry Enten called it a “historic comparison,” saying Trump “nearly triples up” on Reagan.

Expert surveys, however, have placed Trump at the opposite end of the scale. The Presidential Greatness Project ranked him last in 2018 with 12.34 points out of 100, versus 95.03 for Lincoln, and put him last again in its 2024 survey of 154 presidential scholars and experts. Lincoln topped both rankings.

Trump’s broader approval has also slumped during his second term. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted August 21-24 put his approval at a record-low 33%, with 65% disapproving. A Marquette survey showed even weaker numbers on the economy, with 30% approving of his handling of it and just 22% backing his record on inflation and the cost of living.

US President Donald Trump is apparently suffering from “schizophrenia” and “delusions” over his claims that the Strait of Hormuz belongs to Washington, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi has said.

The jab came after Trump shared an image on Thursday titled “US Territories” that listed the Strait of Hormuz as “NEW” alongside Puerto Rico, Guam, and other entities.

Writing on X the next day, Gharibabadi took aim at Trump, saying that “schizophrenia is a complex and acute psychotic disorder that manifests with disturbances in thinking and a distorted perception of reality.” He added that common symptoms include hallucinations and delusions, and that “such patients should be under 24-hour supervision and receive treatment.”

It’s not the first time Trump declared that the US “has total control over the Strait of Hormuz.” Earlier this month, he suggested that he “WILL KEEP IT,” while calling the American blockade “A WALL OF STEEL.” He also claimed that Iran had no navy or air force to speak of and signed off: “Praise be to Allah!”

The gap between America’s inability to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and its claim to own it is greater than the 7,000-mile distance between Washington and the Strait itself.
Welcome to the post-American order in the Persian Gulf. pic.twitter.com/nC7VBCPILH

— محسن رضایی (@ir_rezaee) August 18, 2026

Iran has repeatedly stated that it remains in full control of the strait, while Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei argued that Washington’s claim to own the strait was even further from reality than the roughly 7,000 miles separating it from the US capital. “Welcome to the post-American order in the Persian Gulf,” he wrote in mid-August.

READ MORE: US unveils ‘economic onslaught’ against Iran

While Iran and the US issued conflicting statements on the status of Hormuz, the daily traffic through the waterway remains in low double digits, compared to an overall flow of roughly 130 ships a day before the war broke out in late February.

Trump has meanwhile stepped back from another major round of strikes on Iran amid reports of critical shortages of long-range guided weapons and air-defense interceptors – something the US president has denied.

Washington has since shifted toward what it described as “an economic onslaught” against Iran to isolate it financially. Tehran has remained defiant, though, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying, “We have seen this movie before. Same bull. Different bullies.”

The US is moving to lock in long-term access to the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves by discussing a 100-year deal with Venezuela, as Caracas plans to leave the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), several outlets have reported.

The idea of quitting OPEC has been discussed during talks with US officials, according to Bloomberg’s sources, although no final decision has been made.

Venezuela was one of five countries that founded OPEC in 1960, alongside Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. It has effectively operated outside the group’s production quota system for years, while decades of US sanctions and domestic economic turmoil have battered its oil industry and diminished its influence within the organization.

A withdrawal from OPEC would mark a major realignment in Caracas following the January 3 US operation that kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Washington has since taken control of Venezuelan oil sales and revenues, with proceeds deposited into US-controlled accounts and Caracas’ access to the funds subject to decisions in Washington.

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The US is also seeking a steady flow of Venezuelan crude to its refineries while encouraging American companies to expand their presence in the country’s energy industry. Venezuela currently produces around 1.25 million barrels of crude per day, well below its historic output.

US pushing for ‘massive’ century-long oil lease

Talk of a potential OPEC exit comes as Washington pushes for a major stake in Venezuela’s oil fields. A deal under discussion could lock in several fields for American companies under a 100-year lease and guarantee the resulting crude supplies to the US.

“This is real and being discussed at the highest levels of the US and Venezuelan governments,” one source told Reuters. A lease is among the legal models under consideration, with individual fields potentially allocated to US producers through auctions or tenders.

A list involved in the negotiations includes 17 fields, spanning undeveloped sites in the vast Orinoco Belt and mature fields around Lake Maracaibo containing roughly 90 billion barrels of proven reserves. Some are currently operated by a small Chinese company under a contract signed during Maduro’s presidency.

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The historic deal could essentially more than double US oil reserves by tapping Venezuela, which holds the world’s largest proven crude reserves. “Calling this deal huge would be an understatement,” one US official told Axios. “It is massive.” 

‘Donroe Doctrine’

Taking a stake in Venezuela’s reserves would amount to an almost unprecedented US intervention in another country’s economy, Bloomberg noted, while fitting Donald Trump’s so-called “Donroe Doctrine” of expanding American influence across the Western Hemisphere.

Trump has repeatedly asserted US control over Venezuela’s oil since Maduro’s capture in January. Speaking to oil executives that month, he said Washington would decide which companies would rebuild the sector: “You’re dealing with us directly. You’re not dealing with Venezuela at all.” He went further in the spring, publicly floating the idea of turning Venezuela into the “51st state.”

The proposed arrangement could, however, run into legal hurdles. Venezuelan law does not currently provide for leasing oil acreage, while the constitution reserves core industry activities for the state. Recent reforms allow foreign participation through joint ventures and production-sharing contracts, but Caracas has for decades prevented foreign producers from booking Venezuelan reserves as their own.

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With details still being negotiated, legal experts say the proposed deal could face constitutional challenges. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright is reportedly expected to travel to Caracas as soon as next week as talks continue. 

Another blow to OPEC

Venezuela’s departure would also hand Trump a small victory in his long-running confrontation with OPEC. The US president has repeatedly criticized the group for wielding too much influence over global oil prices and driving up fuel costs for American consumers.

The push comes as the Trump administration faces pressure over high gasoline prices ahead of this year’s midterm elections. Cheaper Venezuelan crude could help ease fuel costs and replenish the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which currently holds around 290 million barrels – about 41% of its capacity.

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A Venezuelan departure would come just months after the United Arab Emirates quit OPEC on May 1, seeking greater freedom over its oil production. The move left the organization with 12 members, while UAE state oil company ADNOC subsequently moved to boost crude sales.

Other producers have also pushed back against OPEC restrictions. Iraq reportedly threatened to leave in June unless it was allowed to increase output, although Baghdad later said it had no plans to withdraw. Venezuela and Iran remain exempt from OPEC+ production quotas because sanctions have constrained their output.

Moscow trusted in the decency of the West for years, but not anymore, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

In an interview with RBK released on Friday, Lavrov was asked why Russia allowed the US and EU to take advantage of it on numerous occasions in recent decades.

“Deception lies at the foundation of Western diplomacy. And it still does,” he replied.

The minister recalled how the Americans broke their promise not to expand NATO after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and how France and Germany became guarantors of a deal between democratically-elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich and the opposition during the Maidan protests in Kiev in 2014, but proclaimed the rioters as victors after they seized government buildings the next day.

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Nevertheless, Moscow did not abandon attempts to reach common ground with the West because “after all, we are a God-fearing nation. Our multi-ethnic people have many proverbs about their great patience: ‘God endured, and so must we’, ‘Measure twice, cut once’, ‘Don’t hold your breath for promises’,” he said.

“This reveals something about our psychology – not naivety ingrained by centuries of historical experience, but rather the enduring hope that a scoundrel cannot be a complete scoundrel, to put it simply,” Lavrov explained.

It is in the Russian national character to maintain “faith in people right to the very end. But the end has already come,” he said.

According to the minister, the US and EU “firmly set out on a course of supplying the Nazi Kiev regime with ever more advanced and increasingly deadly offensive weapons” after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022.

READ MORE: UK military sites could become targets – Moscow

That same year, Russian President Vladimir Putin, when “answering questions about the West’s position, its treachery and duplicity, said that we would always be ready to talk, but that we had learned our lessons and that our relations with the West would never again be what they had been before,” Lavrov said.

Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has repeatedly humiliated and abused a former household worker, at one point calling him an “undeveloped Moroccan,” a new lawsuit claims. The controversy adds to a years-long trail of remarkably similar allegations, painting a picture of intolerable conditions at the residence.

On Tuesday, Ynet reported that Rami Ben-Hamo, who worked at the residence from 2023 to 2025, is seeking 450,000 shekels ($150,000) in a lawsuit filed with the Jerusalem Regional Labor Court. While the complaint has been formally filed against the Prime Minister’s Office, the alleged abuse is overwhelmingly attributed to Sara Netanyahu.

According to Ben-Hamo, he sometimes worked from around 7:30 AM until the early hours of the following morning, clocking 60 to 80 hours of overtime a month. He claims to have “suffered extreme abuse” from the prime minister’s wife, adding that she made him clean her handbag and the soles of her shoes, repeatedly wash his hands between tasks, and endure screaming and humiliation when cleaning or household chores were not performed exactly as she wanted.

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At one point, Netanyahu allegedly called him an “undeveloped Moroccan,” declaring: “I am the prime minister’s wife. You will do what I tell you.” Ben-Hamo claims the ethnic insult was repeated and that he sometimes had to beg her in tears to stop.

The complaint also alleges that Ben-Hamo was kept at work after the start of Shabbat – the weekly Jewish day of rest between Friday and Saturday evenings – despite Netanyahu knowing he observed the tradition. After suffering a cardiac event at work and undergoing catheterization in 2025, Ben-Hamo says her treatment of him became even harsher.

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When Ben-Hamo wrote a resignation notice, saying he wanted to leave because of the mistreatment, the Prime Minister’s Office “refused to accept this note and demanded that the plaintiff change the wording so that it said he wanted to leave for personal reasons.”

Netanyahu’s office dismissed the allegations as “fake news,” calling it a politically motivated “witch-hunt” ahead of the October elections.

However, the recent controversy fits a pattern of strikingly similar grievances about Sara Netanyahu. Just several weeks ago, former residence worker Yehiel Ohev-Ami, 61, sued her for 300,000 shekels ($100,000), claiming that Netanyahu repeatedly insulted and yelled at him, and “once ordered him to clean the kitchen floor while crawling.” 

In addition, Netanyahu allegedly wished him cancer and death after Ohev-Ami went out on a smoke break, and even “diagnosed” him with autism. The prime minister’s office has denied the accusations.

In May, Israeli media reported that another former employee reached a settlement with her staffing company after alleging repeated humiliation, including an incident in which Sara Netanyahu threw olives and tomatoes at her during breakfast.

In 2016, a Jerusalem labor court awarded former residence caretaker Meni Naftali 170,000 shekels ($57,000) after accepting his claims that Sara Netanyahu’s fostered “abusive employment conditions,” including verbal insults and unreasonable demands.

According to multiple media reports, Sara Netanyahu – a psychologist by training – enjoys immense political influence and essentially has veto powers on appointments to key positions. Earlier this month, former chief of staff Yoav Horowitz suggested that in terms of politics, “Sara Netanyahu and Bibi Netanyahu are one; it’s impossible to separate between them.”

Afghanistan is “undoubtedly” better off five years after the withdrawal of US forces, Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has told RT, while acknowledging that the country continues to face serious problems.

In a rare interview with RT India’s Runjhun Sharma, Mujahid argued that the departure of foreign troops has restored Afghanistan’s independence and left Afghans responsible for rebuilding their own country.

The Taliban returned to power in August 2021 as the Western-backed government collapsed and US forces completed their withdrawal after two decades of war. The hardline Islamist movement has since reinstated a strict interpretation of Sharia law, including sweeping restrictions on women and girls that have drawn widespread international criticism.

However, despite the conflict, Mujahid said Kabul now wants normal diplomatic relations with Washington, including the reopening of the US Embassy in Afghanistan and an Afghan mission in the American capital.

He also argued that Western perceptions of the Taliban remain shaped by two decades of war, accusing international media of portraying the group as seeking conflict and instability and posing a threat to the outside world.

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“But now the war is over, and I believe those wartime policies, both political and media policies, should also change,” he said, urging foreign governments and journalists to engage directly with the Taliban and “understand our goals.”

He also called for sanctions to be lifted and frozen Afghan assets to be returned, saying the measures would help improve relations.

Commenting on Afghanistan’s relations with Russia, which is currently the only country to recognize the Taliban government, Mujahid described Moscow as an important regional partner and said Kabul wants Russian companies to invest in Afghanistan while expanding cooperation in trade, reconstruction, fuel, and energy.

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The spokesman also rejected suggestions that the Taliban should change its domestic policies in exchange for international recognition. Asked specifically about restrictions affecting women and girls, he argued that Afghanistan has already met the normal requirements of statehood and should not be subjected to additional conditions.

“Afghanistan has its own beliefs and convictions, has its own religion and faith, has its own internal interests, and has its own laws,” he said. “These should be valued and respected.”

Watch the full interview below.

Nepal and China briefly suspended rescue operations for those missing in Wednesday’s flash flood due to the threat of new onrush of water from a lake that formed on the upper reaches of the Bhote Koshi river.

The lake broke its banks Friday morning and Nepal asked its rescue teams and residents to move to higher ground. Rescue operations resumed soon afterward when the authorities assessed that the risk of flooding was not as severe as initially thought. 

CNN reported, citing a spokesperson for Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, that there is no risk of a massive deluge like before. “It is a small amount of water leaking from the dam down into the valley below.”

Chinese officials said the risk of flooding had decreased as the water level in the lake had fallen by about 10 meters, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Some 469 people are confirmed dead so far in Nepal, while nearly 1,500 are still missing, including police personnel. More than 1,500 people have been rescued, Nepalese police posted online.

The Nepal Army has intensified rescue operations since this morning to find people trapped in the Rasuwa Hydro Power Project (Hydro) tunnel due to flooding. A Nepal Army team, braving challenging terrain and dangerous conditions, has so far safely rescued two people from the… pic.twitter.com/8vlER7VKy7

— Sahil Patel (@SahilpatelCA) August 28, 2026

More than 13,000 army and police personnel are engaged in the search and rescue effort in Nepal. 

Helicopter rescue missions, which have successfully pulled to safety hundreds of people stranded in the mud and buildings in the last 48 hours, also resumed after the pause.

Heroic rescue! A man stranded on an excavator in a fast-flowing, muddy river was saved after brave firefighters threw him a life jacket and safety rope, pulling him through the current to shore. 🌊#Rescue #HeroicRescue #Flood #EmergencyResponse #China pic.twitter.com/Ypbqva2qRG

— Bappy Boks (@bappyboks) August 28, 2026

China paused rescue operations at the Gyirong Port, which is now completely buried in mud. CCTV said rescue teams had been ordered to stand by and wait for further instructions. Emergency teams at the location of the disaster were ordered to withdraw one kilometer.

Beijing said rescuers were pushing toward the disaster zone, which has lost road connectivity, but has not updated its casualty figures since Thursday, when it said that 558 people including 260 foreigners were missing, with three confirmed dead.

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Nearly half of those missing in Nepal are tourists and travelers. The Nepal Tourism Board says 667 tourists are missing, including 127 Nepalis. 

India says it cannot contact 290 of its nationals.

There is also no information on an 80-member pilgrim group from a spiritual organization in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The group was returning from Mansarovar and had reportedly reached the immigration checkpoint at the border just minutes before the flood leveled the buildings there. The group included people of various nationalities.

British health officials believe that eggs imported from Ukraine could be responsible for a major salmonella outbreak in the UK, The Telegraph has reported, citing a source.

A total of 259 people in the country have been infected with the bacteria over the past year, with one of them dying, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said in a statement on Thursday.

The agency stressed that the exact source of the contaminated products has yet to be established, but added that the outbreak “could all be associated with imported eggs.”

However, a senior official involved in the investigation of a salmonella outbreak in the Netherlands, where over a hundred cases have been registered, told The Telegraph that the “working hypothesis” among his British counterparts is that the unsafe eggs were of Ukrainian origin.

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The cases, involving three closely related salmonella strains, were recorded over a year-long period, with a spike in recent weeks, UKHSA said.

Almost half of the victims, ranging from babies to people in their 90s, required hospitalization, the statement read.

Salmonella causes intestinal infection, typically resulting in diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and abdominal cramps. While most patients recover without specific treatment, the disease can be life-threatening for people with weakened immune systems.

Investigators believe the people were infected after consuming eggs served in “small cafes, restaurants, and takeaway businesses,” rather than eating at home, UKHSA said.

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Chief Scientific Adviser at the Food Standards Agency Ian Young urged the British public to give up on traditional fried eggs with a runny yolk as long as the spread of salmonella continues.

The UK produces most of its eggs at home, with UKHSA assuring that they are perfectly safe. The country imports only 11% of its eggs, with Ukraine being the largest supplier, accounting for almost a third of them.

The exemption from tariffs on Ukrainian eggs exported to Britain, introduced after the escalation between Ukraine and Russia in February 2022, will remain in place until 2028, despite the EU reimposing barriers last year.

In July, EU health authorities linked Ukrainian-made instant noodles to a salmonella outbreak that affected more than 100 people across over a dozen member states.

A few months before that, Azerbaijan’s food safety agency reported discovering the bacteria in a 4.9-ton batch of frozen chicken coming from Ukraine.

A US court has struck down the Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic, ruling that it illegally sanctioned the AI developer for refusing to let its Claude model be used for certain military operations.

In a 59-page ruling issued on Thursday, US District Judge Rita Lin said Secretary of War Pete Hegseth overstepped his authority by designating Anthropic a “supply-chain risk to national security.” She also argued that the move amounted to unlawful retaliation under the First Amendment and deprived Anthropic of due process under the Fifth.

“The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics,” she wrote.
Lin said the government had sought to make a public example of Anthropic for its “arrogance” in criticizing Washington, adding that Hegseth’s supply-chain designation violated the statute invoked by the Pentagon and was “arbitrary and capricious.”

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The dispute grew out of the Pentagon’s push to provide the military with access to AI models for “any lawful use.” Before the standoff, Anthropic had been deeply involved with the Pentagon, with Claude being deployed for various operations. Anthropic also held a Pentagon agreement worth up to $200 million.

However, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei argued in February that while he supports the use of Claude for military ends, it should not be used for mass domestic surveillance or guiding fully autonomous weapons because its current frontier models are not reliable enough for the latter task.

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As the tensions escalated, US President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to cease using Anthropic technology on February 27, branding the company a “radical Left AI company.” Hegseth meanwhile announced the supply-chain-risk designation and declared that the Pentagon’s partners could no longer conduct commercial activity with Anthropic.

Anthropic vowed to challenge the designation, saying such treatment had historically only been reserved for US adversaries. It sued in March, alleging that Washington had retaliated against its protected speech and denied it a chance to contest the allegations before imposing the sanctions.

Hegseth, however, stood his ground, comparing Anthropic’s red lines to “Boeing giving us airplanes and telling us who we can shoot at,” and calling Amodei an “ideological lunatic.”

In the ruling, Lin stressed that the Pentagon “is undisputedly free to select the AI vendor of its choice” and remains free to abandon Claude if Anthropic’s conditions do not meet its requirements. Yet the Pentagon itself had been reluctant to lose access to the model, with one defense official telling Axios in February that “the problem for these guys is they are that good.”

A separate lawsuit from Anthropic is also pending in Washington, DC over a supply chain risk designation that could lead to its exclusion from civilian government contracts.

Norway’s King Harald V has died at the age of 89, the royal palace announced on Friday.

The king passed away peacefully at a hospital in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, at 6:35 AM local time (04:35 GMT), the palace said in a statement.

Harald had been hospitalized with a blood disorder on August 17. The monarch’s health deteriorated during treatment, with his condition being described as “extremely serious” on Thursday.

Members of the royal family canceled their official engagements and were at the king’s bedside during his final days, while people were laying flowers outside the palace, according to local media.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has instructed its employees not to refer to the 9/11 attacks as “terrorist,” according to several media reports.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people. According to the official account, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger airliners, crashing two into the World Trade Center towers in New York City and a third into the Pentagon outside Washington, DC. The fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers and crew attempted to wrest control from the hijackers.

The attacks prompted then-US President George W. Bush to launch the ‘war on terror’ and send American troops into Afghanistan, beginning a conflict that would last two decades.

The Toronto Sun reported on Wednesday that CBC Senior Director of Journalistic Standards and Public Trust Basem Boshra had circulated a confidential memo instructing reporters and editors not to “refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks.”

“The hijackings led to passenger jet crashes in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Manhattan. The World Trade Center (WTC in second reference) was destroyed,” the memo reportedly stated.

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The National Post also reported on the guidance and sought comment from CBC News. A spokesperson for Canada’s national public broadcaster insisted that “it is wholly inaccurate to state our journalists have been urged to declare that this was not a terrorist act.”

The spokesperson said the memo was a routine reminder of CBC policy on the terms ‘terrorist’ and ‘terrorism’, which journalists may use when attributed to government officials, authorities, experts, or politicians.

CBC News editor in chief and general manager Brodie Fenlon has previously explained that the broadcaster “does not itself designate specific groups as terrorists, or specific acts as terrorism,” arguing that the terms are so politically and emotionally loaded that they “can end up being impediments to our journalism.”

The reported guidance comes as relations between Canada and the US have deteriorated amid an escalating trade war. On Tuesday, Ottawa announced retaliatory tariffs of up to 50% on around 700 American products after US President Donald Trump imposed a new round of duties on Canada and threatened further punitive measures.

US President Donald Trump has officially renamed Lake Ontario “Lake America” as trade-related tensions between Canada and the United States continue to escalate.

The premier of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, told Trump to “kiss my a**” this week and threatened to cut electricity supplies to the US.

“We’re going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario, effective immediately, to Lake America,” Trump declared in the Oval Office on Thursday before signing an executive order that requires federal agencies to use the new name on government maps, contracts, documents and communications.

The change was swiftly put into effect, with Trump sharing a letter from the US Geological Survey confirming that the federal Geographic Names Information System had already been updated.

The renaming caps a bitter week in which the trade dispute between Washington and Ottawa rapidly descended into personal insults and threats. The confrontation erupted after negotiations collapsed and Washington imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian imports.

Read more

On Monday morning, Trump threatened to further raise tariffs on Canadian cars, auto parts and steel to 50% from January 2027, accusing Canada of “ripping off” the US and declaring that it would no longer be treated “like a State.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded almost immediately, threatening to withhold or sharply raise the price of oil, potash and uranium exports and saying Ontario was prepared to revive a surcharge on electricity sent to the US, or even cut power exports altogether.

“Someone should get these clowns to ‘fall in line’ or, the consequences for Canada will be far WORSE!” Trump fired back. Ford, who was holding a press conference at the time, doubled down, saying: “I have a lot of real estate on my ass, so he has a lot of room to kiss my ass.”

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The following day, Ottawa threw its financial weight behind the rhetoric. Canada formally unveiled retaliatory tariffs matching Washington “dollar for dollar, rate for rate” on C$27.6 billion ($20 billion) worth of US goods. Duties of 15%, 25% and 50% on products including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics are due to take effect on September 8.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has insisted that his countrymen will continue to use the historic name, noting that “Ontario” derives from an Indigenous word predating both countries. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has likewise said her state would not adopt “Lake America.”

Washington cannot force Canada or international organizations to recognize the change, but it can dictate terminology across the US federal government.

On his first day back in office in January 2025, Trump similarly ordered the Gulf of Mexico renamed the “Gulf of America” for federal purposes – and suggested Thursday that another geographic rebranding could be next.

“We have a gulf and we have a lake. Now, all we need is an ocean,” he said. “So maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them both.”

US President Donald Trump has officially renamed Lake Ontario “Lake America” as trade-related tensions between Canada and the United States continue to escalate.

The premier of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, told Trump to “kiss my a**” this week and threatened to cut electricity supplies to the US.

“We’re going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario, effective immediately, to Lake America,” Trump declared in the Oval Office on Thursday before signing an executive order that requires federal agencies to use the new name on government maps, contracts, documents and communications.

The change was swiftly put into effect, with Trump sharing a letter from the US Geological Survey confirming that the federal Geographic Names Information System had already been updated.

The renaming caps a bitter week in which the trade dispute between Washington and Ottawa rapidly descended into personal insults and threats. The confrontation erupted after negotiations collapsed and Washington imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian imports.

Read more

On Monday morning, Trump threatened to further raise tariffs on Canadian cars, auto parts and steel to 50% from January 2027, accusing Canada of “ripping off” the US and declaring that it would no longer be treated “like a State.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded almost immediately, threatening to withhold or sharply raise the price of oil, potash and uranium exports and saying Ontario was prepared to revive a surcharge on electricity sent to the US, or even cut power exports altogether.

“Someone should get these clowns to ‘fall in line’ or, the consequences for Canada will be far WORSE!” Trump fired back. Ford, who was holding a press conference at the time, doubled down, saying: “I have a lot of real estate on my ass, so he has a lot of room to kiss my ass.”

Read more

The following day, Ottawa threw its financial weight behind the rhetoric. Canada formally unveiled retaliatory tariffs matching Washington “dollar for dollar, rate for rate” on C$27.6 billion ($20 billion) worth of US goods. Duties of 15%, 25% and 50% on products including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics are due to take effect on September 8.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has insisted that his countrymen will continue to use the historic name, noting that “Ontario” derives from an Indigenous word predating both countries. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has likewise said her state would not adopt “Lake America.”

Washington cannot force Canada or international organizations to recognize the change, but it can dictate terminology across the US federal government.

On his first day back in office in January 2025, Trump similarly ordered the Gulf of Mexico renamed the “Gulf of America” for federal purposes – and suggested Thursday that another geographic rebranding could be next.

“We have a gulf and we have a lake. Now, all we need is an ocean,” he said. “So maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them both.”

In a sweeping essay on the coming “turbulent AI era,” Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has argued that the technology could become either “the greatest equalizer ever invented” or “the worst source of injustice,” warning that governments remain dangerously unprepared for the social and economic upheaval ahead.

The intervention comes with an acknowledged “potential bias,” as Gates himself concedes that he has “benefited enormously” from the tech industry, retains financial ties to the sector, and works with Microsoft and other AI companies through the Gates Foundation.

His association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is another source of reputational baggage that Gates addressed in an interview with Axios published on Wednesday, insisting people should judge him “on the record” rather than let the controversy overshadow his warnings on AI and global health.

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Gates called the association a “huge mistake,” insisting his dealings with Epstein were limited and motivated by an attempt to raise money for philanthropic projects. He began meeting Epstein in 2011, despite knowing of his previous sex-crime conviction, and has said he cut ties in 2014 after the financier failed to deliver the promised access to wealthy donors. Gates has denied involvement in Epstein’s criminal activity and told Congress that Epstein later attempted to blackmail him over extramarital affairs.

“I made mistakes. I’ve changed,” Gates said. “I do think the record is clear, and people can just judge me on the record.”

Gates is now warning that AI could unleash disruption on an entirely different scale. Unlike previous technological revolutions, he argues, it can substitute directly for human cognition and rapidly replace workers across law, medicine, customer service, software and manufacturing. Without the right policies, he predicts, there will still be some new jobs, but “far fewer than exist today.”

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He also warns that increasingly accessible AI could make cyberattacks and biological weapons easier for bad actors to develop, while autonomous weapons could give governments greater ability to use deadly force without human involvement. Surveillance and manipulation of public opinion would likewise become cheaper and more effective.

Eventually, Gates cautioned, the danger may come from the machines themselves: increasingly powerful systems “could begin to act against our interests and we could lose control.”

It is not the first time Gates has sounded the alarm about a looming global threat. In a widely viewed 2015 TED talk, he warned that the world was badly unprepared for the next major epidemic.

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The Covid-19 pandemic later gave that warning an air of prescience, but Gates’ prominent involvement in global public-health policy turned him into a lightning rod for distrust. His past warnings and the Gates Foundation’s participation in a 2019 pandemic simulation were subsequently woven into numerous conspiracy theories claiming that he had planned the outbreak and intended to profit from vaccines. Gates himself described such accusations as “crazy” and “evil.”

This time, Gates argues there may be even less room to slow down. While saying he would support a credible international plan to restrain AI development, he concluded that “geopolitical and economic incentives are pushing too hard to go full speed ahead.”

US President Donald Trump has officially renamed Lake Ontario “Lake America” amid an escalating trade war with Canada and Ontario – whose premier recently told him to “kiss my ass” and threatened to cut electricity supplies to the US.

“We’re going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario, effective immediately, to Lake America,” Trump declared in the Oval Office on Thursday before signing an executive order that requires federal agencies to use the new name on government maps, contracts, documents and communications.

The change was swiftly put into effect, with Trump sharing a letter from the US Geological Survey confirming that the federal Geographic Names Information System had already been updated.

The renaming caps a bitter week in which the trade dispute between Washington and Ottawa rapidly descended into personal insults and threats. The confrontation erupted after negotiations collapsed and Washington imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian imports.

Read more

On Monday morning, Trump threatened to further raise tariffs on Canadian cars, auto parts and steel to 50% from January 2027, accusing Canada of “ripping off” the US and declaring that it would no longer be treated “like a State.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded almost immediately, threatening to withhold or sharply raise the price of oil, potash and uranium exports and saying Ontario was prepared to revive a surcharge on electricity sent to the US, or even cut power exports altogether.

“Someone should get these clowns to ‘fall in line’ or, the consequences for Canada will be far WORSE!” Trump fired back. Ford, who was holding a press conference at the time, doubled down, saying: “I have a lot of real estate on my ass, so he has a lot of room to kiss my ass.”

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The following day, Ottawa put financial weight behind the rhetoric. Canada formally unveiled retaliatory tariffs matching Washington “dollar for dollar, rate for rate” on C$27.6 billion ($20 billion) worth of US goods. Duties of 15%, 25% and 50% on products including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics are due to take effect on September 8.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has insisted that Canadians will continue using the historic name, noting that “Ontario” derives from an Indigenous word predating both countries. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has likewise said her state would not adopt “Lake America.”

Washington cannot force Canada or international organizations to recognize the change, but it can dictate terminology across the US federal government.

On his first day back in office in January 2025, Trump similarly ordered the Gulf of Mexico renamed the “Gulf of America” for federal purposes – and suggested Thursday that another geographic rebranding could be next.

“We have a gulf and we have a lake. Now, all we need is an ocean,” he said, floating either the Atlantic or Pacific as a possible candidate.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has instructed its employees not to refer to the 9/11 attacks as “terrorist,” according to several media reports.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people. According to the official account, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger airliners, crashing two into the World Trade Center towers in New York City and a third into the Pentagon outside Washington, DC. The fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers and crew attempted to wrest control from the hijackers.

The attacks prompted then-US President George W. Bush to launch the ‘war on terror’ and send American troops into Afghanistan, beginning a conflict that would last two decades.

The Toronto Sun reported on Wednesday that CBC Senior Director of Journalistic Standards and Public Trust Basem Boshra had circulated a confidential memo instructing reporters and editors not to “refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks.”

“The hijackings led to passenger jet crashes in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Manhattan. The World Trade Center (WTC in second reference) was destroyed,” the memo reportedly stated.

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The National Post also reported on the guidance and sought comment from CBC News. A spokesperson for Canada’s national public broadcaster insisted that “it is wholly inaccurate to state our journalists have been urged to declare that this was not a terrorist act.”

The spokesperson said the memo was a routine reminder of CBC policy on the terms ‘terrorist’ and ‘terrorism’, which journalists may use when attributed to government officials, authorities, experts, or politicians.

CBC News editor in chief and general manager Brodie Fenlon has previously explained that the broadcaster “does not itself designate specific groups as terrorists, or specific acts as terrorism,” arguing that the terms are so politically and emotionally loaded that they “can end up being impediments to our journalism.”

The reported guidance comes as relations between Canada and the US have deteriorated amid an escalating trade war. On Tuesday, Ottawa announced retaliatory tariffs of up to 50% on around 700 American products after US President Donald Trump imposed a new round of duties on Canada and threatened further punitive measures.

The British state broadcaster BBC this week ran a major story drumming up the alleged Russia threat and supposed looming retaliatory attacks on British drone factories supplying Ukraine. The chilly warning purportedly came from a top Russian official – except that the individual in question has not been one in over three decades.

At first glance, the piece titled “UK drone factories may face attacks from ‘unknown sources,’ says Kremlin adviser” looked legit, based on comments made on BBC Newsnight by Andrey Fedorov. The broadcaster presented the interviewee as a heavyweight Russian official, describing him as a “Kremlin adviser” and “Russia’s former deputy foreign minister.”

The latter is partially true: Fedorov was the deputy minister in the RSFSR, the Russian republic of the USSR, between October 1990 and October 1991 prior to the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union. The other claim, however, is completely false. Fedorov used to be an adviser to Russia’s vice president until late 1993, the same year the vice president position was abolished, and has not held any public office since. Over the past decade, he has been best known as a political commentator and a media personality, frequenting assorted Russian political talk shows.

BBC tries to hide fake news

The piece survived for around five hours on BBC’s website before it was quietly amended. Fedorov was ‘demoted’ to a “pro-Kremlin commentator who frequently appears on Russian television,” yet no official retraction of the initial claim was made. The description, while still debatable, given that Fedorov is known for frequently spelling doom and gloom for Moscow, citing his purported high-ranking sources at home and overseas, is not explicitly untrue.

The BBC also did not do a particularly good job of purging the fake, which survived on several of its platforms. A BBC Newsnight Facebook post on the matter still cryptically describes Fedorov as a “President Putin ally” at the moment of the publication, while its post on X claims the commentator “advises President Putin.”

Fake spills all over British media and beyond

The BBC interview with Fedorov was spread across British media alongside his false depiction as a “Putin adviser.” Unlike the source, outlets that reprinted the fake news never bothered to amend it.

Some outlets even managed to outperform the original. The Express, for instance, described Fedorov simultaneously as a “high-ranking Kremlin official” and “high-level Kremlin insider.”

HuffPost UK also described the political commentator as a “presidential adviser” and even ‘promoted’ him to a “key ally to Vladimir Putin.”

The fake also spread beyond the UK media, making it to Al Jazeera with minimal amendments. Following the BBC, Al Jazeera falsely described Fedorov as “an adviser to the Kremlin and a former deputy foreign minister.” 

It also made it to Ukrainian media, which generally takes its British counterparts at face value and attempts no independent fact-checking.

Are the fakes bound to roll on?

This was actually not the first time the BBC falsely presented the Russian political commentator. In January of this year, Fedorov made remarks to the BBC’s Radio 4 on the US military hunt for the Marinera oil tanker and was presented as a “Kremlin adviser and former Russian deputy foreign minister.”

The comments spread widely across British media at the time, apparently without any fact-checking, and remain readily available in news articles from major outlets such The Times and The Independent.

READ MORE: Trump sues BBC for $10 billion

The BBC’s flagship Newsnight program is also involved in a legal case involving US President Donald Trump. The show is accused of editing a Trump speech in a way that made it appear that he had explicitly called for violence ahead of the Capitol Hill riots. A BBC documentary also featured a video of Trump spliced with remarks that had actually been made nearly an hour apart. Neither program notified viewers of the edit. Trump is reportedly suing the British state broadcaster for $10 billion for defamation.

Dozens of immigrants who disappeared from UK asylum hotels as children in 2023 are still unaccounted for, a parliamentary report released on Thursday has found.

Some 472 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children – some as young as 12 – went missing from Home Office-run accommodation for migrant minors.

According to the Director of Children’s Social Care at the Department for Education, Helen Waite, 432 have since been located, leaving 40 unaccounted for. Most have since turned 18, but two remain underage.

The committee “welcomed” that most had been found but said it remains “extremely concerned” about those still missing. It urged the Home Office to detail efforts to locate them, demanding updates every three months. Angela Eagle, then border security and asylum minister, told the committee last year that some of those found were “located in exploitative situations and may have been trafficked.”

READ MORE: The rape gang trial the UK establishment doesn’t want you to know about

Commenting on the report, England’s Children’s Commissioner Rachel de Souza called the situation an “unacceptable failure.”

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“Every child arriving in this country has the right to safely apply for asylum and to be provided with shelter and support while they do so,” she said, urging the government to prevent such disappearances from happening again.

At its peak in June 2023, more than 51,000 asylum seekers were housed in over 400 Home Office hotels across the UK. Human rights groups argued the facilities were unsuitable for children. In 2024, the High Court ruled that placement of unaccompanied minors in hotels was unlawful, and dedicated facilities were subsequently closed.

Immigration has become an increasingly contentious political issue in Britain amid continued Channel crossings, protests over asylum accommodation, high-profile migrant-linked crimes and renewed scrutiny of the country’s grooming-gangs scandal. The controversy contributed to mounting pressure on former Prime Minister Keir Starmer before his resignation earlier this summer. His successor, Andy Burnham, has pledged to stop small-boat crossings but declined to set a deadline.

READ MORE: Child migrants raped amid massive influx into Spanish exclave – Euronews

Europe has faced sustained migration pressure since 2015, when more than a million people arrived, largely from the Middle East and Africa. The issue returned to the spotlight last month after more than 72,000 people crossed into Spain’s Ceuta enclave, overwhelming reception facilities and renewing calls for tighter border controls. Following the crossing, media reports said Ceuta was processing around 2,000 unaccompanied minors, many of whom were reportedly left on the streets with shelters overwhelmed. Police reportedly investigated at least five alleged rapes of minors linked to the influx.

A catastrophic flash flood on Wednesday morning wreaked massive destruction upon Nepal’s northern mountainous region, bordering China. The torrent of water, rock, and mud wiped out entire villages, washed away roads and destroyed power infrastructure and dams.

Thousands of people are missing, Nepalese Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal has said, among them pilgrims to Mansarovar in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus. “Town after town has been wiped out within hours,” he said. Nearly 400 of the 579 tourists missing are Indians.  

Nepal’s army has pressed in helicopters to rescue people trapped in mud and in buildings that survived the deluge, and deliver emergency supplies. More than 100 people have been rescued so far, including foreigners. 

In China, where the border customs post at Gyirong Port was wiped out by the rushing water and rocks, 558 people are missing – 260 of them foreigners. However, rescue efforts are hindered because of the lack of road connectivity and the thick mud covering the area.

Pentagon investigators reviewing the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan have uncovered classified documents that they say were deliberately hidden from previous probes. The discovery comes amid long-running accusations that the administration of former US President Joe Biden concealed failures surrounding the operation.

Sean Parnell, chairman of the Afghanistan Withdrawal Special Review Panel, said on Wednesday that his team had recovered “highly relevant classified documents” that “should have been disclosed.”

The material had been “stashed and hidden away in safes where they would not be found,” Parnell said in a video statement on X, five years after the deadly bombing of the Abbey Gate entrance to Kabul airport.

“After the team reviewed these documents, it became clear why someone tried to hide them,” he said.

Parnell did not disclose what the documents actually contain, who allegedly concealed them, or whether they relate to any specific decisions made by Biden or his officials.

However, he said his panel would follow the evidence “wherever it leads and to whoever it touches,” and promised veterans and the families of those killed “the full picture” of how and why decisions were made during the disastrous withdrawal.

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Thirteen US service members and around 170 Afghans were killed when an ISIS-K suicide bomber attacked Abbey Gate during the August 2021 evacuation. During the chaotic withdrawal, the Taliban rapidly swept across Afghanistan, the Western-backed government collapsed, and thousands of people crowded Kabul airport in an attempt to flee the country.

Images of desperate Afghans clinging to a departing US military aircraft became emblematic of the withdrawal, which ended a 20-year American military presence with the Taliban back in power.

Republicans have since repeatedly accused Biden officials of ignoring or downplaying warnings that a complete US withdrawal could trigger the rapid collapse of the Afghan government and security forces, and of waiting too long to launch a full-scale evacuation.

House investigators have also consistently raised concerns that potentially relevant photographs, video, and other material from the evacuation were missing, deleted, or otherwise unavailable during subsequent probes. They have accused Biden-era officials of withholding information and frustrating congressional attempts to establish exactly how key decisions were made.

Biden administration officials have denied any cover-up and argued that the unexpectedly rapid collapse of the Afghan government severely complicated the evacuation.

Denmark will pay around $47,000 to each Greenlandic woman who can attest to having been implanted with a contraceptive device without consent while Copenhagen controlled the island’s healthcare system. Around 4,500 women may qualify under the scheme.

The Danish parliament approved the payout of 300,000 kroner by a large majority on Thursday, with the compensation to be made tax-free regardless of the contraceptive method used or the number of incidents.

To receive the money, the claimant should make a sworn statement and provide enough detail to make the incident plausible under the scheme. Providing medical records is not required because many of the alleged incidents occurred decades ago and the relevant documentation may no longer exist.

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The payouts address the so-called “spiral scandal,” named after the Danish word for an IUD. An independent Danish-Greenlandic inquiry found that at least 4,070 women and girls – some only aged 12 – had been fitted with IUDs between 1966 and 1970, close to half of Greenland’s women of reproductive age. To some extent, the practice continued until the early 1990s when Greenland took over the health sector from Danish control.

The inquiry also collected testimony from 354 women describing 488 contraceptive incidents. Of 410 IUD incidents in those testimonies, 300 involved either no consent or no clear consent, 47 involved consent, and 63 contained insufficient information. The testimony also included 185 girls who had been under 18 at the time.

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The controversial campaign was propelled by Danish concern over Greenland’s exceptionally rapid population growth, with the authorities seeking to reduce births as modernization required more housing, schools, and other services and became increasingly expensive for the Danish state.

According to the inquiry, another reason for the “spiral scandal” was Denmark’s drive to impose its ideas about family planning on Greenlandic society. While Denmark has favored small nuclear families, Greenlandic society has to a large extent relied on large family and kin networks.

Greenland’s former Prime Minister Mute Inequnaaluk Bourup Egede has described Denmark’s actions as “genocide.” While Copenhagen has not agreed with the characterization, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen apologized on Denmark’s behalf last year, admitting that Greenlandic girls and women had suffered “systematic discrimination” because they were Greenlanders while calling the controversy a “dark chapter” in the country’s history.

The US has announced Operation Economic Outcast, which it calls “an unprecedented, whole-of-government, economic campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran” and compares to D-Day in its effort to end “the Iranian threat.”

The US Treasury has expanded the scope of potential secondary sanctions across five areas of the Iranian economy, including digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping. At the same time, the Office of Foreign Assets Control has added nearly 60 companies, individuals, and vessels to its sanctions lists over alleged links to Iranian oil revenue, procurement for missile and nuclear programs, cyberoperations, and the activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Five tankers have been designated as blocked property, while several licenses covering certain remittances and educational and cultural exchanges have been suspended.

Despite the forceful rhetoric accompanying the announcement, Washington has not imposed a comprehensive ban on all trade with Iran. The new sectoral determinations do not mean that every foreign company conducting a transaction with an Iranian counterpart will automatically be sanctioned. Rather, they provide the US administration with legal grounds for future enforcement, while specific penalties will continue to be imposed selectively. Washington is building a mechanism for more sustained pressure and preparing to direct that mechanism increasingly against Tehran’s foreign partners.

At the same time, the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program has renewed attention to its offer of up to $10 million dollars for information on senior IRGC leaders and associated members of the Iranian establishment, including Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. The reward was first announced in March 2026 and has now become part of a revived psychological and intelligence campaign against Iran’s leadership and security apparatus.

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An economic offensive after an inconclusive military one

The turn towards economic warfare comes after nearly six months of fighting. American and Israeli strikes inflicted substantial damage on Iran, destroyed parts of its military infrastructure and weakened elements of its regional network, but they failed to force Tehran to surrender or change its policies. Iran has retained missile and drone capabilities, the ability to threaten installations across the Gulf, and, most importantly, considerable influence over maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

The military campaign has imposed a heavy cost on the US. According to the Pentagon, direct expenditure had reached at least $37.5 billion dollars by July. Sources and estimates by American analysts suggest that the US expended around 65% of its Patriot interceptor stockpile during the first five months of the war, while the number of available THAAD interceptors fell by at least 38% and the use of Tomahawk cruise missiles approached half of the national inventory. Domestic support for the war, meanwhile, remained low at approximately 35%.

With this in mind, the economic offensive doesn’t look like a demonstration of Washington’s confidence anymore – rather, it is an acknowledgement that further military action is getting unsustainable. The US needs time to rebuild its weapons stocks, reduce domestic political costs, and find an instrument capable of sustaining pressure without another expensive air campaign. Sanctions offer such an instrument because much of their immediate burden falls on foreign companies and the Iranian population, while Washington retains the ability to raise or lower the pressure at will.

Iran understands this as well. If Tehran concludes that a prolonged pause will allow the US to close its commercial and financial channels one by one, the Iranian leadership may attempt to deny Washington the time it needs through limited military escalation, renewed pressure on shipping or further strikes against regional infrastructure. Such a decision would carry enormous risks because it could once again unite the Gulf states against Iran, yet retaining control over the tempo of the crisis remains one of Tehran’s most important advantages.

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China limits American pressure

Many Iranian organizations are already isolated by previous rounds of sanctions, and the new operation’s threat is directed mostly at Iran’s foreign partners. Companies and banks involved in the five designated sectors could face the freezing of assets under US jurisdiction, prohibitions on transactions with American citizens and entities, restrictions on correspondent accounts, and effective exclusion from the dollar clearing system. For an international bank, that threat can be more dangerous than a direct fine because losing access to dollar infrastructure could paralyze a substantial share of its global business.

China, however, throws a wrench into the American model. In 2025, Chinese buyers imported an average of around 1.38 million barrels of Iranian oil per day, accounting for more than 80% of Iran’s seaborne oil exports. The trade has been sustained through independent refineries with limited exposure to the US, intermediaries, yuan settlements, and schemes that obscure the origin of individual cargoes. By August 2026, deliveries had fallen to approximately 534,000 barrels per day from 1.57 million in February, although this decline resulted more from the war and naval blockade than from Beijing’s voluntary compliance with American sanctions.

Washington has already sanctioned individual Chinese technology suppliers and smaller refiners, but the new package does not target China’s largest banks. Sanctioning them could disrupt US-China negotiations, provoke retaliation, interfere with supplies of critical goods, and accelerate the movement of bilateral trade into payment systems beyond the dollar. The answer to the question of secondary sanctions against China is deeply contradictory. The US threatens Beijing with consequences, but it remains reluctant to adopt measures capable of inflicting comparable damage on the American economy itself.

Iran’s other partners do not form a united front. The United Arab Emirates, which accounted for roughly 30 percent of Iranian imports worth about $21 billion in 2024, has already suspended financial and commercial dealings with Tehran. Türkiye, however, whose annual trade with Iran amounts to around $5 to $6 billion, has given no indication that it intends to sever economic relations, particularly since Iran provides approximately 13% of Türkiye’s gas imports. Trade between Iran and Iraq exceeded $10 billion in 2025, while Baghdad pays Tehran an estimated $4 to $5 billion annually for natural gas used in electricity generation. Abandoning these supplies quickly would risk serious domestic disruption.

Pakistan and Oman are also important. Informal trade between Iran and Pakistan is estimated at approximately $4 billion, while the two governments have set a target of $10 billion. Trade with Oman reached around $1.5 billion in 2025. India has reduced its turnover with Iran to $1.63 billion, although most of that trade consists of food and other goods that New Delhi considers humanitarian. These countries may reduce overt operations and their banks will become more cautious, but they are unlikely to abandon commerce that supports energy security, supplies border regions, and preserves strategically important transport links.

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Iran is redrawing its trade map

Iran began preparing for prolonged isolation long before the current war, building its response around a gradual dispersal of trade and logistics. In the oil sector, the Goreh-Jask pipeline is particularly important because it carries crude to the Gulf of Oman and permits exports without passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Its designed capacity is 1 million barrels per day, although its effective capacity is estimated at closer to 300,000 barrels and actual shipments through Jask remained far lower before the war. The route cannot yet replace the terminals of the Persian Gulf, but it can preserve a portion of Iranian exports during a blockade.

The port of Chabahar provides access to the Arabian Sea for non-oil trade, while overland crossings connect Iran with Iraq, Türkiye, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. After the crisis began, Pakistan opened six designated road routes linking its cities of Karachi and Gwadar, as well as Port Qasim, with the Iranian border crossings at Gabd and Taftan. Gas pipelines to Türkiye and Iraq allow part of Iran’s energy exports to continue without tankers, while border trade, barter, and settlements in national currencies reduce dependence on major international banks.

Maritime exports are simultaneously moving deeper into the grey economy. The methods include ship-to-ship transfers, the disabling of automatic identification systems, repeated changes of flags and ownership, the relabeling of crude oil, and long chains of intermediary companies. Digital assets and gold cannot support the entire foreign trade of a large country, but they can be used for individual payments, component procurement, and the preservation of reserves. The new sanctions will increase the cost of every such operation, but they are unlikely to eliminate a system that has been developing for decades.

When economic coercion undermines its own foundation

America’s capacity to impose secondary sanctions rests on the central role of the dollar in global trade. According to the International Monetary Fund, the dollar accounted for 57.13% of disclosed global foreign exchange reserves in the first quarter of 2026. Neither the yuan, the euro nor the existing BRICS platforms currently provide a comparable combination of liquidity, legal infrastructure and financial market depth.

Yet the dominance of a currency is not invulnerable, especially when access to it is increasingly used as an instrument of coercion. Every new threat against a foreign bank, tariff imposed on a trading partner, or attempt to force a third country to abandon an economically necessary contract increases the value of alternative mechanisms. Settlements in national currencies, central bank digital currencies, gold, regional clearing arrangements, and projects such as BRICS Pay remain fragmented, but sanctions are giving them both a political purpose and growing commercial demand.

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The paradox of American strategy is that the more effectively Washington uses the power of the dollar, the more urgently other states search for protection from it. If secondary sanctions are extended to major Chinese, Turkish, Iraqi, or Indian institutions, Iran will not be the only country to bear the cost. Supply chains will be disrupted, energy and shipping prices will rise, global trade will become increasingly fragmented, and non-Western governments will acquire another powerful reason to support financial infrastructure that does not depend on decisions made in Washington.

The resilience of Iranian society, shaped by the war with Iraq, more than four decades of sanctions, repeated currency crises, and the constant threat of external pressure, should not be discounted either. Iranians have learned to adapt economic life to inflation, shortages, and instability, while the state has developed mechanisms for allocating scarce resources, using informal markets, and transferring much of the burden onto the private sector.

This does not mean that the new sanctions will be painless. They may accelerate inflation, reduce employment, restrict access to technology, and deepen public discontent. Yet declining living standards will not automatically lead to political revolt. External pressure often strengthens the authorities’ narrative, allows them to attribute the crisis to a foreign enemy, and increases the population’s dependence on state-controlled systems of distribution.

Even if implemented with maximum severity, Operation Economic Outcast is unlikely to weaken Iran rapidly or provoke an immediate mass uprising against its leadership. A prolonged struggle is far more probable, with Washington raising the cost of Tehran’s foreign relations while Iran expands alternative routes, exerts pressure in the Strait of Hormuz, and encourages its partners to adopt new settlement mechanisms.

Residents of the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta tore down makeshift migrant shelters as police fired rubber bullets during escalating protests over the migration crisis, videos posted online purport to show. Thousands of migrants remain in the territory nearly a month after a record mass crossing from neighboring Morocco, with many seeking asylum in the EU.

The crisis erupted in late July, when around 72,000 people crossed or attempted to cross into Ceuta, many by swimming around border barriers. Most were returned, but Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska has said around 5,000 remain. Ceuta President Juan Jesus Vivas has put the figure as high as 9,000.

Thousands of residents took to the streets on Wednesday for a second day of protests, demanding faster deportations and criticizing Madrid’s handling of the crisis. Demonstrators carrying Spanish flags marched toward government buildings chanting “No invasion – expulsion.”

Protesters later headed toward El Trampolin beach, where migrants had erected makeshift shelters. Police intervened to keep the groups apart and fired rubber bullets as tensions escalated, according to media reports. Several shelters were torn down during the confrontation.

The influx has strained the resources of the tiny Spanish territory with a population of roughly 84,000 people, with thousands sleeping on beaches, in forests, and on the streets. Local authorities have struggled to provide accommodation, food, and sanitation while processing asylum claims and determining who can be returned.

Ceuta’s government has accused Madrid of failing to do enough to resolve the crisis. Police cleared about 1,500 migrants from a beach last Thursday and transferred them to temporary facilities, but hundreds reportedly returned within hours amid fears of deportation.

The mass crossing has also left scores of migrants dead. At least 88 bodies recovered following the influx were being buried at Ceuta’s Muslim cemetery last week, with only nine identified, according to media.

READ MORE: US court reverses Trump’s 75-country visa ban

Migrants have meanwhile staged their own demonstrations demanding asylum. Around 200 gathered at El Trampolin earlier this month carrying signs reading “We don’t want to return to Morocco” and “We are human too.”

Ceuta, along with Melilla, forms the EU’s only land border with Africa and has long been a destination for migrants seeking to reach Europe. The latest influx was fueled by economic hardship in Morocco and viral claims that Spain had effectively opened its border.

Spanish and Moroccan authorities have blamed smugglers and online misinformation for encouraging the crossings. Morocco has since reinforced security around Ceuta, while Madrid has moved to speed up asylum decisions and the return of migrants with no right to remain.

A Turkish-owned cargo vessel carrying fresh vegetables to Russia has been struck by drones in the Black Sea, leaving five crew members injured, according to Turkish media.

Ukraine intensified drone attacks on Russian commercial traffic in the Black Sea last month as part of a failed campaign intended to exert economic pressure on Moscow and force it to accept Kiev’s terms in the conflict.

The Cameroon-flagged Lider Bordo Mavi was struck by three drones off the Russian port of Tuapse, sparking a fire on board, according to Turkish media reports. Some news outlets suggested the overnight strikes were part of Kiev’s campaign against Russian maritime trade.

The ship belongs to a ten-vessel fleet operated by the Trabzon-based shipping company Lider Gida and departed the Turkish city port of Samsun on Tuesday. It was carrying fresh vegetables and had diverted to Tuapse from its original destination, the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

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Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Novorossiysk, a major Russian Black Sea port, as well as commercial vessels using its facilities. Global shipping giant MSC suspended new bookings to and from the port earlier this week after one of its vessels was damaged in an attack, according to Bloomberg.

Türkiye “tested” by attacks on cargo ships

Erkut Celebi, head of the Trabzon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the incident was the latest in a string of drone attacks on Turkish commercial vessels in the Black Sea and called on Ankara to provide financial support to affected companies.

“Türkiye is clearly being tested,” Celebi told reporters, warning that the attacks were threatening Black Sea trade and placing mounting pressure on Turkish exporters and shipowners.

Türkiye has remained largely neutral in the Ukraine conflict and maintained commercial ties with both Russia and Ukraine, drawing criticism from Kiev’s Western backers.

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Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky announced the 40-day “pressure campaign” last month. Ukrainian forces targeted Russian oil refineries, civilian vessels in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, and warehouses operated by commercial online retailers to pile up economic damage and inflict hardships on the Russian population.

Ankara played a major role in negotiating safe passage for ships through the Black Sea since the escalation of the conflict in 2022. The arrangement largely held, despite occasional attacks on vessels in neutral waters that Moscow attributed to Ukrainian operations.

Russian officials warned that Kiev was playing with fire by attacking other countries’ commercial vessels. After the latest escalation, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Kiev of opening Pandora’s box. Russian retaliatory strikes have effectively cut off shipments through Ukrainian Black Sea ports. Moscow has indicated that it does not intend to restore the previous arrangement.

“Our Turkish colleagues are once again proposing that some form of agreement be reached so that shipping is not subjected to attacks. Yet it was not us who initiated these hostilities,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

A catastrophic flash flood on Wednesday morning wreaked massive destruction upon Nepal’s northern mountainous region, bordering China. The torrent of water, rock, and mud wiped out entire villages, washed away roads and destroyed power infrastructure and dams.

Thousands of people are missing, Nepalese Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal has said, among them pilgrims to Mansarovar in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus. “Town after town has been wiped out within hours,” he said. Nearly 400 of the 579 tourists missing are Indians.  

Nepal’s army has pressed in helicopters to rescue people trapped in mud and in buildings that survived the deluge, and deliver emergency supplies. More than 100 people have been rescued so far, including foreigners. 

In China, where the border customs post at Gyirong Port was wiped out by the rushing water and rocks, 558 people are missing – 260 of them foreigners. However, rescue efforts are hindered because of the lack of road connectivity and the thick mud covering the area.

Iranian businesses are increasingly turning to discounts and installment payments to keep customers shopping, as sanctions and the economic fallout from the US-Israeli war squeeze household budgets, RT’s Salman Khujuri reports.

The trend comes nearly six months after the US and Israel launched the war against Iran in late February. Large-scale fighting has subsided under a series of temporary agreements, but efforts to reach a lasting settlement have stalled as Washington ramps up economic pressure on Tehran.

Businesses in the Iranian capital are adapting to soaring prices and falling purchasing power, with some allowing customers to spread purchases over several payments.

Bobak Shirpour, who runs a large clothing retail business in Tehran, told RT on Thursday that worsening economic conditions after the war and years of sanctions prompted his company to seek suppliers offering better prices and quality. With many larger families unable to pay in cash, the retailer also introduced discounts and installment plans.

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“People have welcomed it, they come in with a smile and leave with a smile,” Shirpour said, adding that despite the narrower profit margins, business remains steady.

Shoppers interviewed by RT said installment plans have become increasingly useful as household budgets come under pressure. “They allow people to buy things they can’t afford to pay for in cash and pay in four installments instead. It gives people some peace of mind and helps them meet some of their basic needs despite these difficult circumstances,” one customer said.

Iranian households have been cutting spending on food and other essentials as inflation and the falling rial erode purchasing power, according to recent media reports. Installment shopping has also expanded to Iranian companies offering deferred-payment services as consumers struggle with the rising cost of living, the Financial Times reported earlier this month. 

Watch RT’s full report below:

Two employees at Germany’s Frankfurt Airport have died in a rare malaria outbreak caused by infected mosquitoes believed to have been accidentally brought in by plane from a malaria-endemic country.

The outbreak began in early July, according to the Frankfurt Public Health Department. The first worker died shortly afterward, with the malaria diagnosis confirmed posthumously. Authorities traced the outbreak to the airport, where operator Fraport set traps and captured several mosquitoes, sending them for genetic analysis to determine their origin. Staff were advised to seek medical attention if symptoms developed.

In mid-July, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany’s federal disease-control agency, confirmed four cases among airport employees.

“The affected individuals fell ill between July 4 and 6, 2026,” the RKI wrote in its Epidemiological Bulletin. “It is assumed that the infection was transmitted by an infected Anopheles mosquito imported by plane.”

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Citing medical sources, local media later reported that a total of six male workers, largely in jobs handling luggage, had been infected.

On Wednesday, Frankfurt health authorities announced that a second infected worker had died. They insisted, however, that “for the population of Frankfurt, the risk is considered very, very low.”

“The disease is not transmissible from person to person but is always transmitted by mosquitoes,” the authorities said in a statement to German media. They did not confirm the total number of cases but said those affected were receiving treatment.

Frankfurt health chief Peter Tinnemann similarly sought to reassure residents, telling DPA news agency that “the risk to the Frankfurt population is insignificant.”

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Malaria is a potentially fatal disease caused by Plasmodium parasites spread by infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It typically causes fever, chills, headaches and fatigue, while severe cases can lead to organ failure, seizures and coma. The most dangerous form, malaria tropica, can become life-threatening within 24 hours if undetected, though malaria is generally considered preventable and curable with early treatment.

The disease is concentrated mainly in tropical regions, particularly sub-Saharan Africa. The latest WHO data shows an estimated 610,000 people died from malaria worldwide in 2024 out of roughly 282 million cases – around 9 million more infections than the previous year. More than half of the deaths occurred in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Niger.

READ MORE: Fauci aide admits conspiring to hide Covid records

Malaria cases in Germany normally involve travelers who were infected in endemic countries. In rare cases, however, infected mosquitoes can be carried into the country aboard aircraft, including in luggage, and then bite people on the plane or at the airport – a phenomenon known as “airport malaria.” Europe’s last documented airport-acquired case also occurred at Frankfurt Airport in 2023, according to the RKI.

The Landesweingut Kloster Pforta, one of Germany’s oldest wineries, faces insolvency by 2027, according to an expert report commissioned by the state government. Its troubles, from an unsustainable business model to high staffing costs, come amid a wider German wine slump driven by falling consumption and cheaper imports.

Owned by Saxony-Anhalt, Kloster Pforta is one of Europe’s oldest continuously operating wineries. Cistercian monks founded the monastery in 1137 and planted the Pfortenser Koeppelberg vineyard in 1154. The state took ownership after German reunification in 1993, but the estate still grows rare historic varieties, including Weisser Heunisch and White Elbling, alongside Riesling, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Gris.

An independent report by auditing firm Ecovis, cited by the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung on Tuesday, found that the winery can no longer secure credit or maintain liquidity on its own.

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“The current business model is not sustainable in its present state, as it is generating persistent losses,” the auditors warned, adding that “without drastic restructuring measures, these losses will lead to insolvency and over-indebtedness of the company by 2027 at the latest.”

Auditors blamed high payroll costs, inefficient vineyard use, and weak sales and marketing, compounded by a disastrous 2024 harvest and the wider wine-market slump. To avoid bankruptcy, Kloster Pforta now plans to halve its vineyards, cut staff, and receive a €2 million injection under a four-year restructuring plan.

German wine has been in decline for years. German Wine Institute (DWI) data earlier this year showed that annual consumption fell from a Covid-era peak of 24.3 liters per adult to 21.5 liters – below pre-pandemic levels.

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Since the start of the Ukraine conflict, producers have faced higher energy, labor, and material costs, pushing up prices, while consumers have increasingly turned to cheaper bottles as German food prices have risen by around 30% on average.

Cheap imports add to the squeeze: Spanish bulk wine, for example, enters Germany at just €0.91 ($1.06) per liter, making it difficult for domestic producers to compete at the €1-to-€3-per-bottle end of the market.

Wine woes mirror Germany’s wider slump

The winery’s troubles come amid a broader German slump, with near-zero growth, high energy costs, and business insolvencies at a 20-year high. Since moving away from Russian energy in 2022, Germany has turned to costlier supplies, while major manufacturers have closed factories amid weaker demand.

READ MORE: ‘Merz must go’: Thousands protest against German government (VIDEO)

Meanwhile, Berlin has committed €96 billion ($109 billion) to Kiev, launched a €100 billion rearmament drive, and pledged to raise core defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2029. Amid criticism that military spending is coming at the expense of domestic needs, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s approval has plunged to a record-low 13%.

Germany is considering pouring funds into Britain’s nuclear program as European NATO nations grow increasingly hesitant to rely on the US nuclear umbrella, the Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

German officials are discussing financial and industrial support for Britain’s Trident submarine nuclear weapons program rather than pursuing a national arsenal, with one source citing Germany’s World War II guilt as a factor, the newspaper said.

“We have a very strong interest that the existing nuclear powers in Europe extend their capabilities,” one well-placed source told the newspaper.

Berlin is reportedly exploring whether German money or industry could contribute to the next generation of British nuclear submarines, missiles, or uranium enrichment for future warheads. One British defense source, however, questioned whether German companies possess the highly specialized experience needed to build and maintain Britain’s nuclear submarine fleet, which has been reeling under maintenance and manpower issues.

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The push comes amid tensions between European NATO members and US President Donald Trump, who has pressed the rest of the bloc to shoulder more of their own defense burden while moving toward reducing the US military footprint on the continent.

“Policymakers are waking up each morning and asking themselves what the hell the Americans are going to do tomorrow,” a German diplomatic source told The Telegraph.

Rather than respond by seeking a national nuclear weapon, Berlin has increasingly looked for ways to bind Germany into the British and French deterrents, the article says.

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Together with France, Germany has created a nuclear steering group, and German forces are expected to take part in a French nuclear exercise. However, Berlin is reportedly wary of depending solely on Paris because of President Emmanuel Macron’s looming exit next year and the potential victory of an EU-skeptic candidate.

Germany remains a non-nuclear-weapon state under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and is formally barred from manufacturing or controlling atomic weapons. The 1990 Two Plus Four Treaty, which paved the way for German reunification, also prohibited foreign nuclear weapons and their carriers from being stationed in the territory of the former East Germany.

Berlin nevertheless already takes part in NATO’s nuclear-sharing arrangements and is believed to store 20 US B61 bombs at Buchel Air Base in western Germany under US custody, with German aircraft assigned a potential role in delivering them during a potential NATO nuclear operation.

Last month, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) reported that at least one NATO country raised “concern about the active research and development work being carried out in Germany that has a nuclear weapons focus.”

It added that NATO specialists believe Germany could produce the necessary fissile material “within one to three months” and build a functioning nuclear explosive device “within a year” without conducting a full-scale test.

Moscow has warned that any NATO plans to buttress its nuclear umbrella are a “direct strategic threat” to Russia.

Ukrainian basketball player Kate Koval has left Louisiana State University’s women’s basketball team less than two weeks after the team signed Russian center Anna Minaeva.

Head coach Kim Mulkey announced Koval’s departure on Monday, saying the Ukrainian had decided to leave the program “for personal reasons.”

“We will respect her privacy on her decision, but we had a long talk about it, and it was a hard decision for her,” Mulkey said.

The announcement came after Mulkey revealed last week that she had spoken privately with Koval about whether she was prepared to play alongside Minaeva and “pass the ball to each other.”

Mulkey said she had hoped the Ukrainian and Russian players could become “ambassadors” for friendship and perhaps even help bring an end to the conflict between their countries. Koval reportedly responded: “I doubt that.”

Mulkey also said she had made clear that geopolitical tensions would not influence LSU’s recruitment decisions.

“I cannot make a decision to not recruit somebody that can help our program because of a conflict between two countries,” she said.

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LSU announced Minaeva’s signing on August 14, describing the 17-year-old Russian center as an “all-around addition that can impact the 2026-27 squad immediately.”

“It takes tremendous courage to leave home at just 17 years old and travel across the world to pursue a dream. I’m excited to support and guide Anna as she begins this next chapter at LSU,” Mulkey said at the time.

LSU has said Minaeva could develop into “one of the college game’s most effective post players.” She previously played for MBA Moscow, competing in the Russian Premier League and Superleague.

Ukrainian athletes have repeatedly avoided interactions with Russian competitors since the escalation of the conflict between Kiev and Moscow in 2022.

In May, Ukrainian rhythmic gymnasts were filmed covering their ears and eyes while the Russian and Belarusian national anthems were played at the European Championships in Varna, Bulgaria.

The tournament marked the first time in nearly five years that athletes from Russia and Belarus had been allowed to compete under their national flags, after World Gymnastics and European Gymnastics lifted restrictions earlier that month.

The US-Canada trade war is reaching the bathroom, with tariffs on paper products threatening to push up prices for toilet paper and other everyday essentials for Americans.

Trade talks between the two neighbors collapsed last Friday, with both sides accusing the other of making last-minute changes to a proposed comprehensive deal. US President Donald Trump immediately imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, including wine, cement, plywood, and clothing. Not to be outdone, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed to respond “dollar for dollar,” with Ottawa announcing duties of up to 50% on around 700 American products on Tuesday.

Paper products are among the hardest hit, with Canada targeting toilet paper and facial tissue with 25% duties, along with paper towels and napkins at 50%. Chemical wood pulp used to make such products also faces a 50% tariff.

Canada is the main source of US toilet paper imports, supplying $383.4 million worth in 2025 – about two-thirds of the imported total – according to US International Trade Commission data. Mexico was a distant second at $63 million. Canada is also the main foreign supplier of wood pulp to the US, including northern bleached softwood kraft pulp (NBSK), a key material in toilet paper and paper towels. Canadian pulp reportedly accounts for around 30% of US toilet paper and 50% of paper towel production.

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If the tariffs take effect, US importers will bear the added cost of bringing Canadian products and pulp across the border, and given the reliance on Canadian supplies, at least some of that expense is likely to be passed on to consumers. This could prove particularly noticeable in a country that accounts for more than 20% of global tissue consumption, according to the 2019 report The Issue with Tissue by the Natural Resources Defense Council. Market research data shows the average American goes through around 141 rolls of toilet paper a year – roughly three a week – making the US the world’s top consumer, just ahead of Germany. At that rate, even a modest price hike could quickly add up.

Toilet paper is far from the only potential casualty of the trade war. Canada’s measures mirror many products targeted by Washington, with higher duties covering everything from fish, cheese, clothing, and cosmetics to steel and aluminum goods, motorcycles, smartphones, and exercise equipment. Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly said that the counter-tariffs were aimed primarily at protecting businesses while also applying political pressure ahead of the November 3 US midterm elections.

READ MORE: Trump slaps 50% tariffs on Canadian cars

With Canada’s retaliatory tariffs not taking effect until September 8, however, some analysts hope that Washington and Ottawa still have time to strike a deal.

“That gives us this week. It gives us next week,” Christopher Sands, head of the Center for US-Canada Studies at Johns Hopkins University, told AP on Wednesday. “Time to take a breather and talk about how to avert an all-out trade war.”

The US has accused Chinese hackers it described as “state-backed” of breaking into NASA, the Federal Reserve and other sensitive government networks, just weeks before Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected in Washington for talks with President Donald Trump.

Beijing rejected the allegations, with the Chinese Embassy in Washington saying China “opposes and combats all forms of cyberattacks” and urging the US to “stop using cybersecurity issues to smear or discredit China.”

The Justice Department and FBI announced on Wednesday that they had seized three internet domains linked to two hacking platforms allegedly operated by a Chinese group known as QTFY. US authorities claimed the operation targeted NASA, the Federal Reserve, the Senate and several government departments, as well as hospitals, telecommunications providers, power companies, financial institutions and defense contractors.

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Washington described the campaign as Chinese state-sponsored activity and alleged that the company behind it provided hacking services to China’s Ministry of State Security and the People’s Liberation Army. However, officials did not disclose what sensitive information was allegedly stolen or what damage, if any, was caused.

The latest accusations come little more than a month after Trump similarly accused Beijing of meddling in US elections, claiming China had illicitly acquired some 220 million American voter files during the 2020 election cycle in what he called the “largest compromise” of election data in US history.

China dismissed that allegation as “groundless” and “entirely fabricated.” Trump’s assertions of election “hacking” were met with skepticism even among some of his supporters, as the documents released by the White House only showed Chinese interest in collecting publicly available or commercially obtainable American voter information.

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Trump himself openly acknowledged after meeting Xi in Beijing in May that Washington conducts extensive espionage against China.

“We spy like hell on them too,” Trump told reporters. “We do a lot of stuff to you that you don’t know about,” Trump claimed he had told Xi, describing the two countries’ espionage activities as a “double-edged sword.”

Beijing has made similar accusations against Washington, claiming last October that the NSA had conducted a years-long cyberattack on China’s National Time Service Center, which supports critical sectors including finance, energy, transport and defense. The NSA did not confirm or deny the allegation.

The renewed cyber accusations come ahead of Xi’s expected visit to the US on September 24. Trump has said he plans to host the Chinese leader following their May talks in Beijing, as the two sides seek to manage disputes over trade, technology and cybersecurity, as well as Washington’s sanctions threats against nations that continue trading with Iran.

Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has warned that artificial intelligence and social media are eroding people’s ability to think and feel, while powerful interests exploit technology, politics and war for profit.

Speaking to RT on Wednesday, the veteran musician welcomed Australia’s decision to bar fully AI-generated songs from its music charts, saying streaming platforms have already gutted musicians’ livelihoods with minuscule royalties while concentrating ownership and profits in the hands of Big Tech.

“So that piracy has almost destroyed everything. But if they are then allowed to use AI to produce fodder for their very tame audience who pays so much a month to get any music that they want from anywhere… Unfortunately, we know that a large number of that audience won’t be able to tell the difference between AI and Pink Floyd, or Neil Young, or Bob Dylan, or The Beatles or anything else.”

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Waters broadened his criticism beyond the music industry, accusing social media platforms of manipulating users’ emotions and political attitudes through addictive algorithms, while warning that reliance on AI assistants was undermining independent thought.

“It reduces the size of your brain and your capacity to think and your capacity to feel,” Waters said. “In fact, it reduces everything human about anybody who goes in that direction.”

“So where do you draw the line? I’m not sure,” he added. “Wouldn’t it be great if we had a factual, you know, a sort of fact-based library, if that’s all there was? But it’s not. It’s controlling our political motivations and our feelings and our emotions, and also releasing dopamine.”

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Waters then widened the argument to global politics, saying the same pursuit of power and profit had produced a world increasingly governed by force rather than international law.

“We live in a world that is controlled now by gangsterism,” he said. He cited Israel’s destruction of Palestinian communities in Gaza and the occupied territories, as one example, while accusing Washington of openly stealing Venezuela’s oil wealth through coercion.

Turning to Ukraine, Waters blamed the failure to implement the Minsk agreements and the collapse of the 2022 Istanbul peace talks, accusing Western governments of preventing a negotiated settlement.

Waters warned that the Ukraine conflict has since escalated “in a very, very dangerous way” and increasingly resembles the future of warfare, dominated by drones and missiles.

“Just who gets killed, nobody cares anymore,” Waters said, “because all they’re interested in is making money.”

Watch the full interview below

Iran has praised China for rejecting US threats to impose sanctions on countries that continue to trade with the Islamic Republic, with Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf saying on Wednesday that Tehran’s strategic partnership with Beijing “needs no one’s permission.”

Ghalibaf welcomed what he called China’s “principled statement” rejecting “illegal sanctions against Iran” in a post on X.

“The Iran-China comprehensive strategic partnership is rooted in mutual respect, win-win cooperation, and a shared vision for a multipolar world,” he wrote. “This relationship needs no one’s permission.”

His remarks came after Beijing strongly rejected Washington’s threat of secondary sanctions against countries and companies that continue doing business with Iran. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Beijing “firmly” opposes sanctions that have no basis in international law or authorization from the UN Security Council.

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China said its cooperation with Iran complies with international law and should not be interfered with, warning that it would take “all necessary measures” to protect its rights and interests.

Washington unveiled a new round of economic measures against Tehran on Monday as part of what the Trump administration has described as an effort to further isolate Iran from the global economy. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced sanctions against nearly 60 individuals, entities and vessels and warned foreign countries and companies that they could face penalties for maintaining financial ties with Tehran.

The measures targeted companies based in mainland China and Hong Kong but stopped short of sanctioning major Chinese financial institutions. Beijing has been the biggest buyer of Iranian oil for years, although flows have been severely curtailed since Washington resumed its blockade of Iranian ports in mid-July.

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The latest pressure campaign comes nearly six months after the US and Israel launched their war against Iran in late February. Large-scale fighting has subsided following a series of temporary agreements, but efforts to reach a lasting settlement have stalled, while Washington has stepped up economic pressure on Tehran.

Iran has denounced the expanded sanctions as a violation of international law and argued that Washington’s attempt to force other countries to sever economic relations with Tehran amounts to interference in their sovereignty.

The US has labeled Palestine Action a terrorist group, marking the first time that a British left-wing organization has been targeted by US terrorism sanctions. The US Treasury also blacklisted two other left-wing groups.

Palestine Action was added to the US’ list of Specially Designated ​Global Terrorist organizations on Wednesday, according to a statement posted online by the US Treasury Department. Under the department’s sanctions, the group will have any of its bank accounts or property in the US frozen, while its members could be barred from entering the country.

Formed in the UK in 2020, Palestine Action’s stated goal is to end “global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime.” Its members have vandalized British military aircraft and factories owned by or linked to Elbit Systems, an Israeli weapons manufacturer.

The British government declared Palestine Action a terrorist organization last July. Since the designation, four of its members have been sentenced as terrorists for causing criminal damage to an Elbit Systems plant, while more than 3,500 of its supporters have been arrested and 480 charged with terror offenses for endorsing the group.

Today, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control took action to counter the growing threat posed by violent far-left terrorist groups. Globally networked and politically motivated terrorists—particularly far-left terrorists—are increasingly embracing organized, deadly violence…

— Treasury Department (@USTreasury) August 26, 2026

“Today’s action complements the UK’s proscription,” the Treasury Department stated, adding that Palestine Action was being sanctioned “for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods and services to or in support of, an act of terrorism.”

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“Palestine Action’s activities in the US and elsewhere have always been about saving lives by disrupting the Israeli war machine, which is committing a genocide in Gaza with the support of the US Government,” Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori said in a statement. “[US President Donald] Trump has been at the center of the mass murder of Palestinians, enabling the Zionist regime at every turn.”

The Treasury also sanctioned Masar Badil, a Palestinian revolutionary movement allegedly run by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and Autistici Inventati, described by the department as “an Italy-based entity that supplies specialized digital architecture, tools, and services for Antifa cells and other violent far-left extremists.”

The 2026 US Counterterrorism Strategy identifies “Violent Left-Wing Extremists, including Anarchists and Anti-Fascists” as one of the top three terror threats facing the US, along with transnational drug cartels and Islamist terrorists. In late 2025, the US State Department designated four European ‘Antifa’ groups – including a German group that attacked right-wingers with hammers in Budapest in 2023 – as terrorist organizations.

Meta has reached a settlement in a landmark lawsuit filed by multiple US states that accused it of deliberately designing Facebook and Instagram to addict children and teenagers.

The social media giant has faced allegations of encouraging compulsive use among young people, misleading consumers about the safety of its platforms, and improperly collecting personal data from children under 13.

Meta previously estimated that the claims could have exposed it to penalties of as much as $1.4 trillion, while the states were also seeking sweeping changes to how Facebook and Instagram operate.

On Wednesday, the social media giant announced that it had reached an approximately $18 billion settlement with 52 attorneys general across US states, territories, and the District of Columbia, effectively ending the case without a jury ruling on the allegations and without Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg taking the stand.

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Meta said the money would be paid out over the next ten years and earmarked to fund youth online safety initiatives, among other state priorities. The settlement, which still requires judicial approval, will also force significant changes to Facebook and Instagram for users under 18.

Teens will face a two-hour daily limit across both apps unless a parent allows them more time, while access will be blocked from midnight to 6 AM and most notifications muted during school hours.

Meta said it will also offer teenagers the option of a non-algorithmic feed, allow autoplay to be disabled, hide like counts by default, and strengthen age checks and parental controls. Most of the measures will remain in place for ten years.

The tech giant has further demanded that rival tech giants TikTok and YouTube also face certain restrictions. Meta said it would pay out 30% of the settlement, or $5.3 billion, only if the two companies adopt similar safeguards and make matching payments.

The settlement came during the second week of a federal trial in Oakland, California involving claims brought by 29 states, which based their accusations on Meta’s own internal research and communications.

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Court documents cited company data showing that teenagers were disproportionately being exposed to harmful material, including content involving suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, bullying, and violence.

Internal messages revealed that some of the figures were deliberately removed from a presentation to company leadership, following advice from Meta’s lawyers, to avoid creating a paper trail back to Meta’s top brass. Instagram product design director Francesco Fogu admitted that he agreed to scrub the statistics from the presentation because “at the end of the day, I didn’t care.”

Meta has denied wrongdoing throughout the case, insisting that it has worked to protect children and teenagers online. It has also rejected the idea that Facebook and Instagram were deliberately made addictive, arguing that “social media addiction” is not even a recognized psychiatric condition.

Despite the settlement, Meta, along with other social media companies, continues to face thousands of separate lawsuits from individuals, families, and school districts over alleged harm to young users.

Hungary considers Russia a “threat to Hungary, Europe and the global order,” according to a foreign policy directive published by the country’s new pro-EU government. The statement marks a dramatic shift from the pragmatic relations pursued by former Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Signed by Prime Minister Peter Magyar on Tuesday, the document states that “Hungary condemns Russian military aggression and fully supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, and recognizes Ukraine’s right to self-defense.”

“Russia’s behavior poses a threat to Hungary, Europe and the global order, and also puts the Hungarian minority living in Transcarpathia in serious danger, therefore we support all efforts aimed at initiating negotiations towards sustainable peace and long-term security guarantees,” it continued.

Hungary had not formally designated Russia a “threat” at any point since 1945.

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This new position is almost identical to that of the EU, which also backs “sustainable peace and long-term security guarantees,” but only if they recognize Kiev’s maximalist demands – a return to Ukraine’s 1991 borders, freedom for Ukraine to pursue NATO and EU membership, and NATO-like security guarantees provided by European and American forces.

Since taking office in May, Magyar has worked to align Budapest’s foreign policy with Brussels’. He has ended Hungary’s opposition to EU accession talks with Ukraine, backed the bloc’s 21st package of anti-Russian sanctions, and lifted Budapest’s veto on a €90 billion loan package to Kiev.

Magyar’s predecessor, Viktor Orban, condemned Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. However, he also condemned the “war policies” of the West that provoked the conflict, and refused to help arm Kiev, arguing that Ukraine cannot hope to defeat Russia and should seek an imperfect peace deal instead. Orban argued that the EU’s self-imposed embargo on Russian energy would “kill off the European economy,” and lent support to its sanctions packages only after securing exemptions that would allow Hungary to continue purchasing Russian oil, gas, and nuclear fuel.

Hungary still imports energy from Russia under Magyar. Andrei Kolesnik, a member of Russia’s State Duma committee on defense, Andrei Kolesnik, suggested that Russia could cut these supplies in response. 

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“They’ve given [Magyar] the order to now treat Russia poorly,” he told Gazeta.ru. “They’re trying to gain some benefits. I think that oil supplies to Hungary, and energy supplies to Hungary from Russia, are now in question after such statements.”

Orban’s government viewed Kiev, not Moscow, as the most pressing threat to Ukraine’s Hungarian minority. Under Vladimir Zelensky’s rule, ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia have had their language rights restricted and been subjected to brutal forced conscription. 

In June, Magyar struck what he called a “formal agreement” with Zelensky to protect the rights of Ukraine’s ethnic Hungarians. However, no documents concerning the agreement have been published to date, making it completely unclear what protections Zelensky has agreed to.

AP and Reuters have demanded answers from Israel over last year’s strike on Nasser Hospital in Gaza, which killed more than 20 people, including five journalists.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, marking the first anniversary of the August 25, 2025 attack, the news agencies said Israel had yet to provide the “clear answers and accountability that an incident of this gravity requires.” They stressed that the journalists were killed at a hospital, a site protected under international law and a key location for news coverage from Gaza.

The victims included Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri, visual journalist Mariam Dagga, who worked for AP and other outlets, and Moaz Abu Taha, a freelancer who collaborated with Reuters. The other two reporters slain in the attack were Al Jazeera photographer Mohammad Salama and Ahmed Abu Aziz, who worked for the Quds Feed Network and several other media outlets.

Reuters also renewed its demand for an explanation over the October 2023 death of visuals journalist Issam Abdallah, who was killed by Israeli tank fire while reporting in southern Lebanon.

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“We again call on the government of Israel to explain the deaths of these journalists and take every step necessary to protect journalists covering the conflict,” AP and Reuters said.

The IDF acknowledged carrying out the ‘double-tap’ strike on Nasser Hospital. It later said it regretted harm to “uninvolved individuals,” denied deliberately targeting journalists, and promised an inquiry.

The attack came two weeks after four Al Jazeera journalists were killed in an Israeli strike near al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

Israel has repeatedly faced accusations of targeting reporters since launching its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza in October 2023.

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In March, RT correspondent Steve Sweeney and cameraman Ali Rida Sbeity narrowly escaped death when a missile struck less than ten meters from their position in southern Lebanon, leaving both with shrapnel wounds. Sweeney later told RT’s Rick Sanchez that he believed the attack was deliberate, noting that both journalists were wearing clearly visible press markings.

In February, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Israel was responsible for two-thirds of the 129 journalists and media workers killed worldwide in 2025. It described Gaza as the deadliest assignment for journalists since the organization began collecting data in 1992.

CPJ also said that Israel had conducted few transparent investigations and that no one had been held accountable in the cases it examined.

The IDF has “strongly” rejected the allegations that it intentionally targets journalists or their families.

Palestinians in the West Bank village of Madama say they fear further violence after Israeli MP Zvi Sukkot smashed a local memorial with a sledgehammer as IDF soldiers stood by. The military later insisted the incident was neither authorized nor anticipated.

A far-right lawmaker known for confrontations with Palestinians and a member of the ultranationalist Religious Zionist party, Sukkot traveled to Madama, south of the city of Nablus, on Tuesday, ostensibly for a tour.

Videos he later posted online instead showed him pulling out a sledgehammer and defacing a memorial to Palestinians killed in conflicts over the past century. He claimed the memorial “glorified terrorism” and “must be removed,” arguing that children who grow up seeing it could be encouraged to become terrorists themselves. His IDF escort could be seen standing meters away and not intervening as he struck the memorial.

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After the footage sparked widespread condemnation, the IDF insisted Sukkot had requested protection for a tour of West Bank villages but deceived the military about his intentions, producing the sledgehammer and attacking the monument without authorization.

Locals, however, reject the suggestion that the soldiers were innocent bystanders, pointing to repeated confrontations with Israeli troops and settlers. One said army patrols had passed through Madama just hours before Sukkot arrived, firing tear gas and stun grenades and waking residents.

RT correspondent Charlotte Dubenskij spoke to Madama residents about why they dispute the IDF’s account and what they fear could come next. Watch her full report below.

Israeli forces shot and wounded a Palestinian teen during a raid on a UN-run training center in East Jerusalem, local officials have reported.

The moment the boy was shot was caught on camera, with footage published by Middle East Eye and other media outlets on Tuesday showing him collapsing as gunfire rings out.

The Jerusalem Governorate said the boy sustained a minor gunshot wound to the shoulder from live ammunition as Israeli forces raided and seized the Qalandiya Training Centre, a key UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) facility in Kafr Aqab in East Jerusalem.

VIDEO | The moment a Palestinian child was struck by live ammunition fired by Israeli occupation forces after they raided and seized the Qalandiya Training Centre, a key facility operated by the UNRWA, in the town of Kafr Aqab, in occupied Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/D8xRucHqp1

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) August 25, 2026

More than 50 Israeli security personnel and at least four armored vehicles entered the facility while around 20 UNRWA employees were inside, according to the agency. Staff were forced from the premises during the operation.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir joined the raid, saying “there is no place for the agency in Jerusalem and Israel.” He later posted an image from the compound on X declaring: “UNRWA in our hands.”

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the takeover, saying he had ordered the operation under Israeli legislation restricting UNRWA. Israeli officials accuse its employees of links to Hamas and involvement in the October 7, 2023 attack, and say the site will be converted into an educational and community complex. UNRWA has rejected broader allegations against it while saying it investigates claims involving individual staff members.

UNRWA “unequivocally” condemned the raid, saying the center is UN property protected under international law. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also hit out at the “unlawful” entry and said Tuesday’s operation was the fifth unauthorized Israeli incursion into the facility since May.

The incident comes amid rising violence in the Palestinian territories. Days earlier, Israeli settlers shot dead 17-year-old Karim Sanad Shalaldeh near Hebron, while Israeli troops killed 58-year-old Fathi Khazem in Jenin in a separate incident. The IDF said Khazem had attempted to attack a soldier with a knife.

READ MORE: Israel to build IDF compound on site of demolished UN office in Jerusalem

Israel has occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the 1967 Six-Day War. The territories are envisaged as part of a future Palestinian state under the internationally backed two-state solution.

Russia has repeatedly said a negotiated two-state solution is the only viable way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Moscow supports an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, coexisting peacefully with Israel.

Israel will continue building illegal settlements in the West Bank in preparation for a “major” wave of Jewish immigration, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. Israel’s most recent settlement expansion triggered rebukes from its Arab neighbors and Western partners.

“Today, many of our brothers and sisters around the world understand: This is our land and it will remain ours,” Netanyahu said in Jerusalem on Tuesday. “And when I say our land, every Jewish man and every Jewish woman, the door is open. We are waiting for you. We are preparing the door for major Aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel).” 

It is unclear whether the “major Aliyah” predicted by Netanyahu is actually coming. Israelis have emigrated in growing numbers since Hamas’ 2023 attack and the subsequent war on Gaza. More than 150,000 Israelis left the country from 2024 to 2025, according to a report by 972 magazine.

The Israeli prime minister spoke at an event organized by the Binyamin Regional Council, which governs 47 Jewish settlements in the West Bank. All of these settlements, which are located outside Israel’s 1967 borders, are considered illegal by the UN, and Israel’s transfer of population to them has been deemed a breach of the Geneva Convention by the International Criminal Court.

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Although the Israeli state sometimes pre-authorizes the construction of settlements, they typically begin as outposts on Palestinian land, until they are retroactively legalized by the Israeli government. During his speech on Tuesday, Netanyahu boasted that his government has established and regularized “104 settlements and 160 farms and we continue to do more.”

“It isn’t easy, it’s never easy,” he continued. “The land of Israel is acquired through suffering. Sometimes also through smiles, sometimes also through arguments, but it is being acquired by us. We are not giving up, we have a vision, this is our land, and it will remain ours.”

Last week, Israel opened bidding for the construction of more than 1,200 homes in the E1 settlement project, located east of Jerusalem. Named after its designation on Israeli planning maps, the project will comprise more than 3,400 homes, and was green-lit by Netanyahu’s government last year.

The E1 plan will establish a land corridor between East Jerusalem and the existing settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, both of which are built on Palestinian land. It will also sever road links between the Palestinian cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem, located to the north and south of Jerusalem, respectively. 

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Eight Arab and Muslim states, including Mecca Pact members Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Türkiye, “categorically” rejected the plan, describing it as “a dangerous escalation.” The UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, European Commission, and 15 European states also condemned the project.

“The E1 settlement will undermine the prospect of the two-state solution by driving a wedge through the West Bank,” they said in a statement last Thursday. “At a time of grave instability in the West Bank with unprecedented levels of violence by settlers against civilians, and serious restrictions on the Palestinian economy, this decision is even more concerning.”

Netanyahu has suggested for years that he intends to annex the entirety of the West Bank, describing the option as “on the table” even as he signed peace accords with Arab states in 2020. Netanyahu’s hardline coalition partners have been more explicit, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urging the prime minister in June to “apply sovereignty here in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] before the elections” in October.

US President Donald Trump has reportedly submitted a landmark nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia for congressional review and renewed demands that Riyadh normalize relations with Israel as part of the deal.

According to US media outlets, citing unnamed administration and congressional sources, the document was sent to Congress on Monday. The White House has yet to publicly confirm the move.

Lawmakers now have 90 session days to review the US-Saudi pact. If they attempt to block it, Trump is expected to use his veto powers to push it through. A two-thirds majority in both chambers would be required to overrule the president.

The agreement was originally signed last month and aims to allow American companies to play a major role in developing Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear energy program. The 30-year deal is expected to involve the construction of US-designed nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia and could be worth tens of billions of dollars.

Riyadh says it wants nuclear power to meet the growing domestic energy demand, reduce the amount of oil consumed at home, and free up more crude for export.

However, the deal has raised concerns over nuclear proliferation. Unlike a similar US deal with the United Arab Emirates, the pact does not permanently bar the kingdom from reprocessing nuclear fuel or enrichment, which could potentially be used to make weapons.

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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman previously suggested that the kingdom could seek a nuclear weapon if Iran ever acquires one.

Trump has also tied the nuclear agreement to Saudi Arabia formally joining the Abraham Accords and establishing diplomatic relations with Israel. The condition was unexpectedly announced by Trump late last month after the agreement had already been negotiated and signed.

An administration official cited by Reuters on Wednesday said Trump’s position on the issue “has not changed.”

The Abraham Accords, brokered during Trump’s first term, established diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco.

The US has also pushed for Saudi-Israeli normalization, but the efforts have stalled since the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said it will not normalize relations with Israel without an irreversible path toward the creation of a Palestinian state.

Russian President Vladimir Putin set foot on Iturup Island, the largest of the Kuril Archipelago and known in Japan as Etorofu, on August 13 and walked its length as if he were simply visiting home.

He toured a local fish plant, spoke with residents who praised the island’s clean air, friendly neighbors and quiet charm, and smiled for the cameras.

Japan, which has claimed ownership over the islands since they were incorporated into the USSR after World War II, reacted swiftly and sharply. The Russian ambassador was summoned to receive a formal protest, while Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the visit “absolutely unacceptable” and said it had hurt the feelings of the Japanese people. Moscow answered in kind by summoning Japan’s ambassador in Russia.

The diplomatic exchange, while predictable, revealed how little room remains for compromise between the two countries right now.

Ukraine and the Kuril red line

The deterioration of relations cannot be separated from Japan’s full-throated support for Ukraine after 2022. Tokyo adopted Western sanctions, revoked Russia’s most-favored-nation trade status and has increasingly discussed ways of supporting Ukraine’s military effort. From Moscow’s perspective, this is not simply an expression of Japanese solidarity with Kiev, but part of a wider alignment against Russia.

Putin’s visit served as a direct and measured response. It showed that while Japan supports Ukraine and participates in the pressure campaign against Russia, Moscow has no intention of making territorial concessions to Tokyo with regards to the Kurils.

Interestingly, Tokyo’s current confrontational stance, while symbolically forceful, has not produced a corresponding escalation of concrete measures over the territorial dispute itself. That restraint may reflect two realities. Washington has little incentive to become directly involved in a bilateral quarrel with Moscow, while Tokyo must also consider the consequences of pushing Russia, China and North Korea into even closer alignment.

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More than just four islands

The disputed territories have considerable practical value. They provide access to rich fishing grounds that once sustained extensive bilateral economic activity and may contain valuable mineral resources.

The Kurils also occupy a strategically critical position in the North Pacific. For Russia, control of the island chain provides a natural defensive buffer and helps protect access routes for its Pacific Fleet, energy infrastructure and maritime trade. For Japan, meanwhile, Russian control of the territories represents the unresolved legacy of the Second World War and an enduring challenge to its territorial claims.

The fishing issue illustrates just how complicated this relationship has been. Tokyo until relatively recently paid Russia for access to fishing grounds around the disputed islands. Whatever the legal and political arguments surrounding sovereignty, such arrangements demonstrated a degree of practical recognition of Russian administrative control and jurisdiction.

Today, those same waters remain economically important to Russian coastal communities.

That practical reality helps explain why Moscow sees the Kurils not simply as bargaining chips but as part of its national security perimeter.

A warning about militarization

Putin’s visit came against the backdrop of Japan’s military buildup and Tokyo’s increasing involvement in supporting Ukraine’s war efforts.

From Moscow’s perspective, these developments reinforce longstanding fears of strategic encirclement. Japan’s proximity to Russia’s Far East makes its military posture particularly sensitive to Russian planners. Moscow sees military exercises, missile deployments and discussions about providing military assistance to Ukraine as part of a pattern.

The Kremlin’s response has likewise included naval drills and missile exercises in the region, moves that Tokyo has condemned as provocative.

Overall, Putin’s visit wasn’t some new threat aimed at Japan – it was a public reaffirmation of an existing position and realities on the ground.

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The missed opportunity of the Abe-Putin years

During the 2010s, parallel negotiations under Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe created genuine expectations that the two countries might finally resolve their territorial dispute and conclude a formal peace treaty.

Neither side approached those negotiations as a simple exercise in defending maximalist claims. Both governments understood that a compromise would require concessions and that a durable settlement could produce economic and strategic benefits.

The 1956 Moscow Declaration had already established the basic framework for one possible compromise: Moscow agreed in principle to transfer the islands of Habomai and Shikotan to Japan after the conclusion of a peace treaty, while leaving the larger islands of Etorofu and Kunashiri under Soviet control.

For a time, it seemed that formula could become the foundation for a settlement. However, the political environment has since changed dramatically.

Why the Kurils are only one thread in a complicated story

The territorial dispute is a symptom of deeper tensions that have shaped Russo-Japanese relations since the 19th century.

The 1855 Treaty of Shimoda established a border between Etorofu and the island of Urup, also part of the archipelago. The 1875 Treaty of St. Petersburg subsequently transferred the entire Kuril chain to Japan in exchange for Japanese recognition of Russian control over Sakhalin. The 1905 Treaty of Portsmouth then reshaped the regional balance following the Russo-Japanese War.

These agreements demonstrate that sovereignty over the islands has never existed outside a shifting regional balance of power.

The events of 1945 transformed that balance again. Amid the ongoing war in the Pacific in 1945, the Soviet Union acted with the blessing of the United States as far as the Kuril islands were concerned. Under the secret Project Hula – launched in 1945 – American warships and training helped the Soviets take control over the Kurils.

This history provides Russia with a strong historical argument: the islands were taken from Imperial Japan with allied consent. Japan’s postwar renunciation did not bind Moscow, and decades of Soviet and now Russian administration have simply created a fait accompli.

Tokyo, however, maintains a fundamentally different interpretation of the postwar settlement and continues to describe the southern Kurils as its ‘Northern Territories’.

The result is a dispute in which both sides possess deeply rooted historical narratives – and neither is prepared to abandon them easily.

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Pragmatism or permanent paralysis?

The Kuril dispute is not inherently insoluble. What makes it appear so today is the wider deterioration of the relationship.

The experience of the 2010s showed that negotiations can advance when both governments regard compromise as more valuable than rhetorical victory. It also showed that progress requires political courage: neither side can expect to obtain everything it wants.

Japan’s position has hardened alongside its Ukraine policy. Russia, meanwhile, has become increasingly resistant to territorial negotiations with states it regards as participating in an adversarial Western coalition.

That leaves the two countries trapped in a familiar cycle. Japan demands recognition of its territorial claims. Russia responds by emphasizing its sovereignty and military presence. Each side then interprets the other’s position as evidence that compromise is impossible.

But this need not be permanent. A future settlement would require Japan to reconsider whether confrontation over Ukraine and maximalist positions on the Kurils are advancing its long-term interests. Russia, for its part, would have to recognize that a stable relationship with Japan could offer benefits that perpetual confrontation cannot.

A statement of reality

Putin’s visit to Iturup was not, in itself, a threat. It was a statement of fact as Moscow sees it: Russia controls the islands, considers them strategically vital, and has no intention of surrendering them under political pressure. Japan is equally clear that it has not abandoned its claims.

The choice facing both countries is therefore not between victory and defeat, but between permanent paralysis and pragmatic diplomacy.

The unresolved dispute over the Kurils remains one of the most visible in the Pacific. But it also presents an opportunity. The same pragmatic approach that once brought Moscow and Tokyo to the negotiating table could do so again – if both sides decide that managing their differences is more valuable than allowing the wider geopolitical confrontation to define their entire relationship.

At least fourteen newborn babies have been killed after a fire tore through a nursery at a major government hospital in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, according to the city administration and hospital officials.  

The fire broke out at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) early on Wednesday on the third floor of PIMS’ Mother and Child Health ward. Rescue officials said it began at around 6:45am local time after the compressor of an air-conditioning unit apparently exploded inside the nursery, although the precise cause has not yet been established. Firefighters brought the blaze under control and began cooling operations.  

Initial reports gave conflicting casualty figures, with Reuters citing Geo TV as saying 15 of 16 newborns had died. The Islamabad administration later confirmed 14 deaths, while PIMS said 15 babies had been in the nursery. 

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At least one baby was rescued by a doctor, PIMS spokesperson Dr. Aneeza Jalil told reporters, adding that the fire may have been caused by a short circuit.  

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered an immediate investigation and called for anyone found responsible to face punishment. “A tragedy involving children is an irreparable loss,” he said, adding that those responsible should be identified and face the “strictest possible action.”  

A fact-finding committee has been set up to determine the cause of the fire and examine whether the hospital’s safety systems and emergency response were adequate.  

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PIMS, established in 1985, is Islamabad’s largest public-sector hospital, with more than 150 beds in its maternity ward. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan underwent a brief medical checkup there on Friday.  

The blaze comes months after authorities identified widespread fire-safety shortcomings across Islamabad and follows another recent tragedy involving children. In June, 14 children were killed when the roof of a tutoring center collapsed outside Lahore.  

The Capital Development Authority said in January that most of the 6,500 public and private buildings it inspected lacked approved fire-safety plans or relevant certificates. The survey covered 300 government buildings.

Scientists at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU) have developed a way to make 3D-printed cookies using genetically engineered yeast to produce protein and nutrients from plastic and agricultural waste.

The project aims to tackle two of the planet’s crises: plastic waste accumulation and food insecurity.

The team first set out to develop ways to make use of waste plastics, Lahiru Jayakody, an associate professor of microbiology at Southern Illinois University said in an interview with the American Chemical Society (ACS) published on Monday.

“We thought, why not focus on making food? Because plastic is carbon and food is carbon,” he said.

The process starts by breaking down plastic and plant waste with water and oxygen under high temperature and pressure. Genetically engineered yeasts then consume the resulting compounds and produce proteins, fats, and acids. With the addition of fiber, starch, and sweetener, the resulting mix is fed into a 3D printer which molds the paste into any desired shape.

With this technology, the scientists created small protein-rich cookies they dubbed “µBites” or “microbites.” They are waiting for the safety go-ahead from their university to actually taste-test them, however.

The novel technology could be useful in hostile environments, according to Jayakody.

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“If you want to produce food in a very extreme environment using the resource you have, carbon resource waste like Arctic, or the desert, and potentially one day in the Mars or the lunar surface, microbeids can do that job,” he told Reuters.

SIU researchers have been developing the technology since 2021, when their µBites concept was selected for NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge.

The news comes as scientists are paying closer attention to how plastic already unintentionally enters the human food chain.

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Researchers have reported microplastics and even smaller nanoplastics in human tissues. A 2025 study published in Nature Medicine detected them in the liver, kidneys, and brain, while a 2026 review published last month said particles had also been found in blood, placenta, and heart tissue.

The particles could pose health risks, with studies linking exposure to inflammation, oxidative stress, cell death, and disruptions to metabolism and immune function. However, researchers say more evidence is needed to determine the effects of long-term exposure in humans.

Darline Graham has won South Carolina’s Republican Senate primary runoff, putting the political novice in a strong position to secure a full six-year term in the seat held for more than two decades by her famously hawkish late brother, Lindsey Graham.

Graham defeated five-term Congressman Ralph Norman on Tuesday, taking roughly 52% of the vote against his 48%, according to preliminary results. She will face Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, in the November 3 general election. Republicans are heavily favored in South Carolina, which has not elected a Democratic US senator since 1998.

The 62-year-old was appointed to the Senate by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster in July following her brother’s sudden death, which came just hours after the veteran lawmaker returned from a visit to Kiev.

She had never held elected office before, having previously served as commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind and in a communications role at the state Vocational Rehabilitation Department.

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What was initially presented as a caretaker appointment quickly turned into a bid for the seat outright after President Donald Trump threw his weight behind Graham and urged her to run. Trump later personally campaigned for her in South Carolina, while his MAGA Inc. super PAC spent nearly $830,000 backing her ahead of the runoff.

Graham had finished first in the initial ten-candidate Republican primary on August 11 with around 33% of the vote, while Norman took roughly 25%, forcing Tuesday’s head-to-head contest because neither secured a majority.

Her victory came despite an awkward debate performance last week that raised questions about her readiness for the Senate. Asked whether Taiwan and the South China Sea constituted national security issues for Washington, Graham struggled to answer before acknowledging that she was “not that informed on national security.”

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“National security is not my thing,” she later said, stressing instead that she supported the US military and arguing that South Carolina voters were more concerned with domestic issues.

The admission presented a striking contrast with Lindsey Graham, who made foreign policy one of the defining features of his 23 years in the Senate. He was a vocal supporter of Kiev, pushed sweeping sanctions against Russia and advocated an aggressive US posture toward Iran and other foreign adversaries. At his funeral last month, Trump himself described Graham as “extremely hawkish,” adding that the senator “never saw a war that he didn’t like.”

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Darline Graham has nevertheless already inherited at least one of her brother’s signature foreign-policy projects. Shortly after taking his seat, she helped reintroduce legislation originally championed by Lindsey Graham that targets countries purchasing Russian and Iranian energy. The Senate passed the measure earlier this month.

Trump’s endorsement proved decisive in the runoff, overcoming Norman’s argument that Republicans should choose an experienced conservative rather than effectively turn the Senate seat into a Graham family inheritance.

A US Army Black Hawk went down during a training flight in Colorado on Tuesday, just a day after CNN reported that the service’s Apache attack helicopters are crashing at a historically high rate amid persistent mechanical problems.

The Black Hawk came down on the east side of Thorodin Mountain in Gilpin County, west of Denver and near Golden Gate Canyon State Park. Four people were aboard, but no injuries were reported. Emergency crews also found no fuel leak or fire and said there was no danger to the surrounding community.

Footage and aerial images from the scene showed the helicopter sitting upright among trees with its rotor blades heavily damaged.

A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter has crashed in Colorado while carrying four crew members. The status of the crew and the cause of the crash are currently unknown. pic.twitter.com/0EWyqvLMqD

— OSINTWarfare (@OSINTWarfare) August 25, 2026

The Black Hawk had flown from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and belongs to the Army’s elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the “Night Stalkers.” The Army described the incident as an “aviation mishap” during routine training operations and said an investigation was underway.

The same unit suffered a deadly crash last September, when an MH-60M Black Hawk went down during nighttime training near Summit Lake in Washington state, killing all four soldiers aboard.

A far more devastating Black Hawk disaster thrust Army aviation into the national spotlight on January 29, 2025, when an Army UH-60L Black Hawk collided with American Airlines Flight 5342 as the passenger jet approached Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Both aircraft plunged into the Potomac River, killing all 64 people aboard the airliner and all three soldiers in the helicopter.

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The disaster – the deadliest US aviation accident since 2001 – triggered heightened scrutiny of military helicopter operations and aviation safety. Internal Pentagon figures provided to Congress and reviewed by AP last year showed that the rate of Class A mishaps – the military’s most serious category of aviation accidents – jumped 55% between 2020 and 2024.

More recent Army data suggest the problem has not gone away. On Monday, CNN reported that AH-64 Apache attack helicopters are crashing at a historically high rate, with five Class A flight mishaps recorded so far in fiscal 2026. Based on internal Army safety data and flight-hour figures supplied by the service, the outlet calculated a rate of about 6.24 major crashes per 100,000 flying hours.

Global fertility may have fallen below replacement level for the first time in human history, putting the world population on course for decline within roughly one generation, a new study has warned.

The paper, Terra Incognita: The Economics of a Shrinking World, published earlier this month by economics professor Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde of the University of Pennsylvania and Northwestern University researcher Patrick Norrick, warns that prolonged low fertility could shrink workforces, rapidly age societies, and strain economies and welfare systems.

The researchers estimate that humanity is likely already below replacement fertility – the average number of children per woman needed for each generation to replace itself. The global threshold is around 2.2, while the study puts the current rate at no higher than 2.19, suggesting the world may have only just crossed it.

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“As of 2026, humanity is likely to be below replacement level: we are having fewer births than we need to keep population constant in the long run… this has never happened before in our history as a species, not even during wars or pandemics,” the authors stated.

The analysis covers 236 countries and territories from 1950 to 2023, with fertility declining in 219. On average, countries have lost around 0.062 births per woman annually, and there is little evidence the trend is leveling off, authors note.

The global population is not shrinking yet because large generations born in previous decades are still having children, but the researchers estimate this effect could sustain growth for only another three decades, with population peaking at around 9 billion in 2056 before declining.

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The authors note the trend has spread well beyond rich countries, with fertility rates in 2025 estimated at just 0.87 in Thailand, 1.01 in Colombia, 1.35 in Iran and 1.52 in Brazil. They say there is no automatic mechanism driving fertility back toward replacement level because there is no single explanation for falling birth rates: while housing and childcare costs, economic insecurity, contraception, and changing social norms may all contribute, none fully explains the global trend.

The economic consequences of the looming population decline could be far-reaching, the study warns. Smaller generations mean fewer workers supporting growing elderly populations, straining pensions, healthcare, and public finances while slowing growth. In the US, the authors estimate that 2% annual productivity growth combined with a 0.5% contraction in the workforce would reduce long-term GDP growth to roughly 1.5%.

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UN demographic forecasts have also shifted sharply downward over the past decade. In 2015, the organization projected more than 11.2 billion people in 2100, with no peak before the end of the century. Its 2024 revision instead projected that the population would peak at around 10.3 billion in the mid-2080s before declining slightly to about 10.2 billion by 2100.

The world’s population crossed the 8 billion mark in 2022, according to UN estimates, and currently stands at approximately 8.3 billion.

Musk weighs in

US tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has repeatedly warned about falling birth rates, reacted to the study after an X user described its findings as an “existential crisis.” “I’ve been warning about this for years,” he wrote.

I’ve been warning about this for years https://t.co/kHFPFjNkE7

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 23, 2026

Musk, who has 13 children, has repeatedly described declining birth rates as one of the greatest threats to civilization. In 2022, he wrote that “population collapse due to low birth rates is a much bigger risk to civilization than global warming.” Last year, he warned that “Low birth rates will end civilization” and called for the issue to be treated as a national emergency, while suggesting Europe could “die out” unless birth rates recover.

Last weekend, commenting on a paper outlining ancient Rome’s attempts to boost its population, Musk wrote: “The reason Rome fell was because they stopped making Romans.”

Russia’s demographic challenge

Russian officials have long warned about the country’s demographic challenges. According to state statistics agency Rosstat, Russia’s total fertility rate fell to around 1.305-1.374 children per woman last year, alongside some of the lowest monthly and quarterly birth figures in modern Russian history. 

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Moscow has introduced childbirth payments, expanded maternity benefits and other family support measures to reverse the trend. It has also revived the Soviet-era “Mother Heroine” title, which provides financial rewards to women with ten or more children, and discouraged the promotion of “child-free” lifestyles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed the importance of improving economic and social conditions in order to promote larger families and make parenthood a widely supported choice. He has backed a national family support service and established a presidential council on family and demographic policy in 2024.

Two people have died of measles in Pennsylvania, decades after the disease was considered eradicated. Measles is currently making a resurgence in the US, with cases at a 35-year high.

The two victims were residents of Lancaster County, a largely rural county west of Philadelphia, state health officials announced on Tuesday. No additional details were provided, except that neither victim was vaccinated.

Fatal cases of measles are exceedingly rare in the US, but infections are rising. 2,289 cases of the disease were recorded in 2025, the highest number since 1991, when 9,643 cases were recorded. Last year’s number was surpassed by this July, and as of August 20, 2,777 cases have been recorded this year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Outbreaks have occurred in 47 US states and territories, with 94% of cases occurring among the unvaccinated.

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Measles is a highly contagious viral respiratory disease that was officially eliminated in the US in 2000 following a successful mass vaccination campaign. Before mass vaccination began in the 1960s, measles killed between 400 and 500 Americans every year, according to CDC data.

Dr. Adam Ratner, an adviser to the CDC, told the JAMA medical journal last year that skepticism about Covid-19 vaccines has “bled over” into other vaccines, due to the Covid shots becoming “this insanely polarized political thing” from 2020 onwards. 

“Once there was that kind of hesitancy out there and that kind of divisiveness, it’s not surprising that it has bled over into people thinking about vaccine mandates and childhood vaccines in general,” Rather said.

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic, has vouched for the safety of the combined measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, but noted “the decision to vaccinate is a personal one.”

A vaccination rate of around 95% is required to prevent measles outbreaks. In November, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), a division of the World Health Organization (WHO), will meet to determine whether the US and Mexico can still claim to be “measles free” after recent outbreaks.

The trial of six members of a Pakistani ‘grooming gang’ has quietly restarted in Manchester. The retrial hasn’t made the headlines, and looking at the sordid details of the case, it’s clear the British establishment wants to keep it that way.

The six suspects were alleged members of the Rochdale grooming gang – a group of Muslim men, predominantly Pakistani, who trafficked, sexually abused, and raped underage white British girls in the northern English town between the 1980s and 2010s. More than 75 men have been charged and 53 convicted since Greater Manchester Police began investigating the gang in 2010.

What are the men accused of?

The suspects have been charged with 46 counts of rape, sexual assault, and ‘assault by penetration’, with two of the men facing more than a dozen charges each.

• Tahrir Rashid, 53, 12 counts of rape, 3 counts of indecent assault, 1 count of assault by penetration

• Mohammed Saleem, 46, 8 counts of rape

• Sucklane Shah, 46, 2 counts of rape

• Itfaq Hussain, 45, 3 counts of rape

• Arshad Mohammed, 55, 5 counts of rape

• Amjad Mahmood, 53, 12 counts of rape, 2 counts of indecency with a child, 1 count of indecent assault, 2 counts of assault by penetration

All of the suspects’ alleged offenses took place between 2003 and 2008, and involved two girls who were as young as 13 when they were “passed around” between the gang, according to prosecutors. Rashid, the alleged ringleader, is also accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s.

What happened in the first trial?

The six men were tried last year, but the trial collapsed with no explanation in December. When reporting restrictions were lifted a month later, it was revealed that the jurors had formed a WhatsApp group to discuss the case, and had shared documentaries on the subject of grooming gangs. 

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As the jury had been banned from talking about the case outside of court, the judge concluded that “no course of action that I can reasonably take can cure the position that now exists because of these multi-layered difficulties,” and halted the trial.

Before the trial collapsed, the court heard how the group abused two girls in the “most humiliating and degrading way imaginable.” One of the victims, identified only as ‘Girl C’, was collected from school by Rashid, plied with alcohol, and raped repeatedly by the gang. ‘Girl C’ was raped a dozen times by Shah over several months, prosecutors alleged.

Mohammed told the other victim, ‘Girl A’, that he ran a modeling agency as a ruse to take nude photographs of her. She was allegedly raped by at least three members of the gang.

Both girls were described by the prosecution as “very vulnerable children with chaotic home lives,” which made them “easy prey for men with an unhealthy interest in having sex with children.” All six suspects pleaded not guilty.

Why do the British authorities want this kept quiet?

The proliferation of grooming gangs – or ‘rape gangs’, as right-wing politicians label them – is a national embarrassment for all levels of the British state. Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Police were warned of the gang’s activity in Rochdale as far back as 2007, but refused to investigate allegations of organized rape by Pakistani gangs until 2012, for fear “of being tarnished with a race brush,” according to an independent review published in 2024.

A 2014 report on rape gangs in Rotherham found that social workers, youth workers, and police officers ignored reports that 1,400 children had been abused by the gangs, partly for fear of being seen as racist. A nationwide audit published this year concluded that authorities in 50 towns and cities were reluctant to investigate the gangs due to the fact that the overwhelming majority of perpetrators were of Pakistani origin.

The most shocking report, funded by Restore Britain MP Rupert Lowe and published in June, found that Pakistani rape gangs operated in 149 of the UK’s 317 municipalities. The report determined that a “bare minimum” of 250,000 women and girls had been raped by grooming gangs since the year 2000, and that senior politicians helped the gangs escape prosecution. 

In Parliament, reading the testimonies of rape gang survivors provided to our inquiry.

Please watch, listen and understand. pic.twitter.com/C7dyIL46ga

— Rupert Lowe MP (@RupertLowe10) June 17, 2026

These politicians included London Mayor Sadiq Khan, of Pakistani descent, who denied the existence of grooming gangs in the British capital, despite having evidence proving otherwise, and former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who as director of public prosecutions between 2008 and 2013, let 13,000 pedophiles off with warning letters instead of prosecuting them.

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Lowe’s report was published at a time of heightened racial tension in the UK, coming a week after a Sudanese migrant attempted to behead a man in Belfast, and six months after British police handcuffed a dying white teenager after the man who stabbed him falsely accused him of racism.

It detailed a litany of crimes committed against white girls, with one victim “raped by between six and seven hundred different men over the course of three years,” and others raped by dogs, cut with knives, and “subjected to penetration with objects.” Lowe’s report, and earlier government-backed reports, found that some children were trafficked to Pakistan by the gangs.

Starmer’s ruling Labour Party voted en masse against a Conservative motion calling for a national statutory inquiry into the gangs last year. Starmer’s party eventually backed down under public pressure and opened a probe earlier this year, which is ongoing.

Are there more trials to come?

The six suspects currently on trial were charged in 2023 as part of Greater Manchester Police’s ‘Operation Lytton’. Active since 2015, Operation Lytton is aimed at arresting and prosecuting suspects who were overlooked by earlier investigations. The operation has resulted in 32 convictions to date.

#JAILED | Seven men jailed for 174 years after grooming two girls in #Rochdale (2001–2006).

Thanks to survivor bravery & GMP’s CSE team, justice has been served.

Op Lytton: 32 offenders jailed for 474 years so far.

Time is no barrier to justice.

More: https://t.co/SzwzGHTode pic.twitter.com/DolFSd1kBv

— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) October 1, 2025

Fourteen suspects are currently awaiting trial, according to the most recent information from Greater Manchester Police.

Outside the greater Manchester area, six other large-scale grooming gang trials resulted in convictions this year. In Bradford, where 20% of all residents are of Pakistani descent, 15 men were sentenced in June for 88 rape offenses against the same 14-year-old girl. 

Eight men in south Wales have been charged with raping eight children, with their trial due to begin in early 2028.

A far-right Israeli MP smashed a memorial to Palestinians killed in the conflict with Israel in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday. He committed the act under IDF escort, which has been condemned by the army and politicians in Israel.

Zvi Sukkot, a member of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s ultranationalist Religious Zionist party, said he went to the West Bank village of Madama to remove a monument that “glorified murderers of Jews.”

Video of the incident circulating online shows Sukkot and one other man taking sledgehammers to the monument while an Israeli soldier with an assault rifle watches nearby.

Footage of the aftermath captured by an RT correspondent shows the memorial defaced, with tiles around its stone base partially smashed.

The IDF said Sukkot had received permission to conduct a military-escorted “tour of monuments” in the West Bank, but “acted deceptively” and without authorization in damaging the monument.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stressed that “taking the law into one’s own hands, particularly by public figures, is unacceptable.” The statement did not mention Sukkot by name.

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Netanyahu’s primary political rival Gadi Eisenkot called the MP’s stunt “a disgrace.”

“He lied to and misled the IDF and its commanders, harmed security, and tarnished the State of Israel as a whole,” the former military chief said on X.

Sukkot’s ultranationalist Religious Zionist party has been at the forefront of Israel’s recent push for more settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law by the UN and most of the international community.

Last week, West Jerusalem opened bidding for the construction of more than 1,200 new homes in the area as part the settlement expansion, which was unveiled in July. Critics stress that the project threatens to effectively cut the West Bank in two if completed.

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Settler violence has also spiked. Around 190 attacks against Palestinians took place in the first four months of this year, the UN said last month.

The settlement push has been condemned internationally, with the leaders of more than a dozen European countries denouncing it as “unacceptable” in a joint statement on Thursday.

Earlier this month, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia called on Israel to cease its “creeping expansion” into the occupied Palestinian territories and to take measures to “curb settler violence.” Moscow has long said that the only way to put the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to rest is to implement a two-state solution.

The Canadian government has announced that it will impose retaliatory tariffs of up to 50% on around 700 American products, after US President Donald Trump hit Canada with a round of tariffs and threatened further increases. 

American steel and aluminum will be tariffed at 50%, according to a statement on the Canadian Finance Department’s website, while other goods – including dairy products, appliances, and farm equipment – will face tariffs of 25%. The measures will cover around $20 billion in US imports, and will come into effect on September 8, the statement added.

“Canada will match the United States’ tariffs dollar for dollar, rate for rate,” Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said at a press conference on Tuesday. The tariffs, he added “are designed primarily to provide protection for Canadian industry impacted by US tariffs.”

Trade talks between the US and Canada collapsed on Friday, with both sides accusing the other of making last-minute changes to a proposed comprehensive trade agreement. Trump immediately imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, including wine, cement, plywood, clothing, and hockey equipment.

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The dispute deepened on Monday when Trump took to Truth Social to threaten further tariffs on America’s northern neighbor.

Trump accused Canada of “ripping off the United States of America for years,” highlighting Ottawa’s protectionist tariffs on American agricultural produce. The system, he said, is “not sustainable.”

“On January First, 2027, Tariffs on all Cars, Trucks, both large and small, Automotive Parts, and Steel, will be increased to 50%,” Trump announced. The move will double the current 25% tariff on Canadian auto imports. “Build in the US and there are ZERO TARIFFS,” the president added, saying Canada would no longer be treated “like a State” and calling it “among the worst nations in the world to deal with.”

At the core of Trump’s grievance is the trade deficit with Canada. He claims this figure stands at $60 billion, but Trump’s own trade representative puts it at $48.3 billion. While Trump views this deficit as evidence that Canada is taking advantage of the US, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has argued that the deficit only exists because the US imports so much oil, gas, and electricity from Canada. “I don’t think they want us to stop sending it,” he commented in an address on Saturday.

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Trump also takes issue with Canada’s protectionist tariffs on dairy, poultry, and eggs, which can be as high as 200% over a certain quota. Canada also tariffs American automakers who have moved their Canadian factories back to the US, a policy that directly challenges Trump’s plans to reindustrialize the US.

Trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa date back to Trump’s first term, but reignited when he returned to office last year and launched a sweeping tariff campaign against major trade partners, including China, the EU, Japan, and Mexico.

“We’ve been under no illusions,” Carney said on Saturday, referring to his dealings with Trump. “We recognized from the start that America has changed.”

The administration of US President Donald Trump is preparing to revoke the visas of up to 200,000 foreigners, AP reported on Tuesday, citing State Department documents and two US officials familiar with the plan. The reported move, which targets business and tourism applicants who have applied for or are currently seeking asylum, could be the largest mass visa revocation in US history.

US President Donald Trump has pursued a sweeping immigration crackdown since returning to office in January 2025, including increased deportations, expanded detention efforts, and tighter restrictions on visa applicants.

The visa revocation process, which has not yet been finalized and could be challenged in court, is expected to begin in the coming weeks and would target B1 business and B2 tourist visas issued since 2016, AP said.

“We are coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the US claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told AP.

Pigott did not provide an estimate of how many visas could be affected, adding that the process would remain ongoing and the number of cases could change.

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The measure would not necessarily result in immediate deportation, AP noted, adding that most people with pending asylum applications could be moved into another immigration category while losing their status as business or tourist visitors. Under the new approach, current applicants would reportedly have to demonstrate that they do not intend to seek asylum in the US and provide evidence that they plan to return to their home countries.

As part of its broader immigration campaign, the Trump administration has taken a series of measures to tighten controls on foreign nationals seeking to enter or remain in the US.

Earlier this month, the State Department said it revoked more than 175,000 visas since Trump returned to office. The affected individuals include people who violated visa terms or were accused or convicted of crimes. AP reported that the total also includes people who have publicly criticized US policies.

In January, the department imposed an indefinite pause on immigrant visa processing for nationals of 75 countries while it reassessed screening and vetting procedures.

READ MORE: US approved payment to Liberia for accepting deportees – NYT

The administration has significantly stepped up deportation efforts as part of the campaign. In September 2025, DHS reported that more than 2 million people had been removed or had self-deported from the US during Trump’s first 250 days in office.

The Trump administration has also moved to tighten rules for work visas for highly skilled professionals. A new DHS proposal would impose an additional $103,265 fee on cap-subject H-1B petitions filed by US employers. DHS estimates that around 85,000 petitions annually would be subject to the proposed fee.

A rare and violent tornado has run rampant through the village of Pomas in southern France, injuring 39 people, including two critically, and damaging around 300 homes, according to the local authorities.

The tornado struck the village in the Aude department on Monday evening, with footage showing a large funnel swirling over the settlement, with gusts of violent winds wreaking havoc, ripping apart roofs, and smashing windows.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez called it a “tornado of rare intensity” while praising firefighters, security forces, and volunteers involved in the response.

Rescue operations continued through the night, the prefecture said on Tuesday, with 75 firefighters deployed alongside specialist reinforcements to check damaged buildings and search affected areas.

Residents forced from their homes were sheltered in a multi-purpose hall with help from the Red Cross, while others were temporarily relocated with relatives or to neighboring communes.

🌪️Eyewitness footage recorded from the village of #Verzeille captured a #tornado forming and swirling beneath a violent supercell thunderstorm south of the southern French city of #Carcassonne. https://t.co/tL5GfNBnxLpic.twitter.com/oGurjJdrxi
📌Authorities reported at least 26… pic.twitter.com/U5AVlVP0iw

— ⚡️🌎 World News 🌐⚡️ (@ferozwala) August 25, 2026

While no people were reported killed or missing, among the injured was a pregnant woman who was hurt when her house collapsed on her, according to AFP.

The storm also battered electricity infrastructure across southern France. Grid operator Enedis said about 21,000 households were without power across the south on Tuesday morning, including around 1,600 in Aude. The prefecture later put the number still without electricity locally at about 1,400.

The tornado appears unusually powerful by French standards. Emmanuel Wesolek, president of the Keraunos severe-weather observatory, told HuffPost that an initial assessment indicated “gusts of more than 200 kph” and potentially as high as 240 kph.

The tornado would likely rate somewhere between the upper end of EF2 and the lower end of EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, he added.

According to Meteo-France, while not as frequent as in the US, a few dozen tornadoes occur in mainland France in an average year, and most are of low intensity. According to figures cited by HuffPost, EF2 tornadoes occur only once or twice annually, while an EF3 is recorded roughly once every four years.

The EU is highly reluctant to revive plans to steal more than $200 billion in frozen Russian sovereign reserves and hand them over to cash-strapped Ukraine, EurActiv reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

On Monday, European leaders flocked to Kiev in a show of solidarity for Ukraine, which marked its 35th Independence Day, but the talks quickly turned to the country’s numerous issues, including a substantial budgetary deficit. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky told European officials that his government still faces a €23.5 billion ($27.4 billion) shortfall on top of EU funding already promised and urged Brussels to accelerate the next instalment of its €90 billion support loan.

According to EurActiv, while the EU’s attention once again pivoted to the idea of confiscating around €210 billion of Russian funds immobilized in EU institutions, mostly in the Belgian-based Euroclear, “there is little sign the issue is about to return to the table in Brussels.”

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“The obstacles and the reservations by a number of member states haven’t changed,” a senior EU official told the outlet.

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Last year, EU officials proposed a scheme to leverage the frozen Russian assets as collateral to issue a loan to Kiev, which it would repay only after receiving reparations from Moscow. Separately, the EU had already agreed to redirect net windfall profits generated by the immobilized assets to Ukraine.

Russia has condemned the asset freeze as “theft,” ruled out paying any reparations to Ukraine, and has warned the EU of harsh retaliation if it confiscates the funds one way or another.

However, the scheme – which was championed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – met fierce opposition from a number of EU members, most notably Belgium. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever argued that the plan would leave it uniquely exposed to legal and financial pushback from Russia.

“Taking [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s money and leaving the risks with [Belgium]. That’s not going to happen,” he said last year.
Euroclear also vehemently opposed the seizure plot, at one point warning that it could sue the EU if the bloc tries to confiscate the assets. Several other EU leaders also raised concerns that confiscating Russian assets would erode international law and tarnish the bloc’s reputation and standing among investors.

Gaza rescue crews have been searching the enclave’s ruins for thousands of Palestinians believed to remain buried beneath buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes, some dating back to the first months of the war.

Recovery work continues amid a fragile ceasefire and an unresolved dispute over a peace roadmap unveiled last month by US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, which calls for Hamas to relinquish control of Gaza in exchange for Israel withdrawing from the enclave. Israel has rejected the proposal, insisting Hamas must first disarm, while Israeli strikes have continued, further complicating recovery operations.

Gaza’s Civil Defense estimates that around 8,000 Palestinians killed during the war remain buried beneath the rubble. A chronic shortage of excavators and other heavy machinery has hampered recovery efforts, often forcing crews to search collapsed buildings with basic tools. Some families have waited years for the remains of relatives to be recovered for burial.

READ MORE: UN expert urges peacekeepers in Palestinian territories as settler attacks surge

Local journalist and RT contributor Rami Almughari visited one such operation in southern Gaza City, where Civil Defense crews were searching the ruins of a three-story building struck during Ramadan in 2024. Thirteen people were killed in the strike, and crews are now searching for the remains of four still beneath the rubble. With bodies spending years under the debris, Almughari says rescuers are often recovering only bones and fragments of remains.

Watch Almughari’s full report on the recovery struggle below.

Norway will continue developing oil and gas fields in the Arctic, Energy Minister Terje Aasland has said, despite EU calls for a moratorium on drilling in the region. The bloc should no longer see his country as Europe’s “green battery,” he added.

EU Arctic policy aims to keep fossil fuels in the ground, cut black carbon and accelerate the green transition, citing claims of the region’s unusually rapid warming.

Brussels seeks to influence energy policy in Norway, which is not a member of the EU, but is the bloc’s largest gas supplier following the decision to reject cheap gas from Russia.

“In today’s geopolitical and security environment, and given the resource situation, I believe continued activity in the Barents Sea serves both Norwegian and European interests,” Aasland said in a Reuters interview on Monday, the opening day of ONS, Norway’s four-day energy conference in Stavanger.

The minister explained that Norway would develop the areas, but leave it to the EU to decide whether to impose a moratorium on buying the resulting oil and gas. He added that Norway aims to maintain petroleum production and exports at roughly the current levels until at least 2035, with production in the Barents Sea key to that goal.

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Ranked among the world’s top 10 gas producers and exporters, Norway also generates surplus renewable energy from its extensive hydropower network, exporting it to help balance Europe’s power supply.

Aasland called the long-standing idea of Norway serving as “the green battery” of Europe “flawed,” stressing that “the Arctic must be part of that discussion” if the country “is to remain a long-term supplier of oil and gas to Europe.”

According to the European Commission, Norway has supplied roughly 30% of the EU’s gas imports in recent years after Brussels rejected Russian energy in the wake of the Ukraine conflict. The country’s petroleum revenues have since reached record levels, boosted by its growing share of the European gas market and a surge in oil and gas prices after the loss of Russian supplies.

In 2025, the country’s gas production remained near the previous year’s record high, while oil output reached its highest level since 2009. Official Norwegian forecasts, however, show output could fall sharply after 2030 unless new fields are developed.

Fifteen years ago, it appeared that Russia-Japan relations were improving to the extent that Japan could become, for Russia, an eastern version of Germany as a former enemy turning into a major economic partner in a relationship where Russian resources were traded for the other partner’s investment and advanced technologies. With frequent and seemingly productive summit meetings between Russian President Vladimir Putin and then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, it appeared that the issues remaining after World War II would finally be resolved and that a firm and lasting foundation would be laid for a qualitatively new relationship between what were sometimes called distant neighbors.

Over the years, the Russo-Japanese negotiations on a peace treaty to finally draw a line under the war had advanced considerably. However, there was still one stumbling block that refused to go away, and that was Tokyo’s defense and foreign policy subservience to Washington. Moscow simply could’t trust the Japanese to stand up to American political and military demands, given the US overlordship of Japan. That attitude proved prudent, because when the Ukraine crisis came, Tokyo had to fall in line with its senior ally. Germany, one might add, did even worse, given Berlin meekly allowed its economy to be deprived of the unique advantage it had enjoyed, cheap Russian gas, and watched its vast and lucrative business relationship with Russia be destroyed.

The cases of Japan and Germany taught Russians an important lesson. Countries that are US allies cannot be regarded as genuinely sovereign, since Washington has enough leverage to make them follow the American lead. Of course, Germany and Japan are more dependent on the US than some other allies, given the long and continuing military occupation of both and the wholesale Americanization of their elites and societies, but the general finding is still true in that an alliance with America is a form of bondage.

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Japan, again alongside Germany, is teaching Russia another lesson. When encouraged by the US, formerly pacified countries can return to militarism. Germany’s post-war culture of peace is rapidly giving way to wholesale militarization as German leaders vow to make the Bundeswehr Europe’s strongest army and the German defense industry is ramping up production. Germany has become a leading participant in NATO’s proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, and German politicians and experts openly discuss a direct shooting war with Russia.

Japan isn’t there yet, but its Defense White Paper has already named Russia as a threat, while Tokyo’s already impressive defense budget is on the rise and restrictions on its naval activities are being eased, as are the rules governing Japan’s military exports. At the same time, US missile deployments in Japan threaten not only China and North Korea, but Russia as well. Tokyo is also strengthening its ties with NATO, so, as a result, Russia has to pay more attention to its Far Eastern flank. President Putin’s recent visit to Russian Pacific Fleet maneuvers and his trip to the island of Iturup in the South Kurils testify to that.

There are also other useful lessons to be learned from Northeast Asia. North Korea stands out as an example of a medium-sized and largely isolated country that has been able to ensure its sovereignty and security in a complex and challenging environment. All the talk of an impending collapse of the regime in Pyongyang, so common for years, has long since ceased. Unlike many other countries, the nuclear-armed DPRK is being courted, not threatened, by the US. For Moscow, Pyongyang has become a valuable military ally whose soldiers actually fight alongside their Russian comrades. The Russia-DPRK alliance substantially complements the Moscow-Beijing strategic partnership in bolstering security in the region.

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From this perspective, it is interesting to consider where South Korea is headed. The ongoing Iran war has demonstrated the hollowness of US security guarantees. Rather than protecting the Gulf states and deterring their regional adversaries, American military bases in the region have become targets attracting Iranian strikes that also affect the host countries. Not only has the US failed to defeat Iran and change its regime, it has proven unable to make Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz. It should have dawned on US allies around the world that the Americans may still make others fight for them, but that they themselves will not be willing, or even able, to fight for their allies.

There’s no question that the Republic of Korea is intently observing these developments and considering their implications. President Donald Trump’s recent abrupt decision to cut short joint military exercises to put pressure on Seoul over trade and investment issues has also been a useful warning. At the end of the day, South Korea’s security lies in its own hands. That security doesn’t rest solely on military and technological power, considerable as it is, and, thus, investing more in diplomacy with neighboring countries, including China and Russia, should be a priority. 

US President Donald Trump has warned schools across the country against promoting gender identity and transition, touting his administration’s efforts to purge what he calls “transgender ideology” and “far-left extremism” from classrooms.

Speaking at a White House back-to-school event on Monday, Trump said schools could face legal and financial consequences for telling children they are “trapped in the wrong body.”

“Every public school in America is now on notice that if they tell a child that they’re trapped in the wrong body, they are committing child abuse,” he said.

The president accused his predecessor Joe Biden’s administration of “weaponizing” education and imposing “extreme ideologies,” including critical race theory and “transgender insanity,” on children as young as four or five. He said schools had neglected basic education for gender identity issues, leaving the US near the bottom among leading nations despite spending “more money on education than any other country in the world by double.”

President Trump just issued a MAJOR WARNING to American schools:

"Every public school in America is now on notice that if they tell a child that they're trapped in the wrong body, they are committing child abuse"

🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/bls7ASN6FS

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 24, 2026

Trump stated his return to office meant reversing course, citing his measures targeting transgender policies and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices in education.

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“We’re systematically ending every single one of these radical left betrayals and we’re putting the parents back in charge,” he stated.

Speaking alongside Trump, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the administration had cut billions in DEI funding at schools and universities, redirecting it toward teachers, classrooms, and academic efforts, including workforce training. She warned that schools that continue promoting gender-related changes could lose funding altogether.

“If they subject children to radical experiments and sideline parents, they will lose their federal funding,” McMahon stated. “Children belong to their parents, not the federal government.”

Trump attacked the promotion of gender transition even before returning for his second term, vowing to “stop” gender-affirming care for minors, which he equated with “child sexual mutilation.”

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On his first day back, he signed an executive order recognizing only two sexes, male and female, and defining sex as an immutable biological classification rather than gender identity. His administration later rolled back Biden-era Title IX rules expanding protections based on gender identity and sexual orientation and moved against schools over transgender students’ participation in girls’ sports, access to sex-segregated facilities, preferred pronouns, and social transition without parental knowledge.

Trump has also pursued a broader DEI crackdown, which his administration views as discriminatory and incompatible with merit-based policies. He ordered federal agencies to dismantle DEI programs, including in the military and Foreign Service, and reversed Biden-era workforce equity initiatives. The campaign has extended beyond government, with DEI funding cut and federal contractors and other institutions pressured to abandon race- and gender-conscious policies.

READ MORE: Hegseth declares war on low testosterone

The crackdown has fueled disputes across the US, pitting Trump supporters and parental-rights groups against civil rights organizations, Democratic-led states, and some school districts, which have challenged several measures in court. Trump’s broader anti-DEI push has proved similarly divisive, with some major companies scaling back diversity programs while others have retained them despite administration pressure.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is trying to “neutralize” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio by establishing a direct channel with President Donald Trump, CNN Brasil reported on Monday, citing sources.

Rubio previously excluded Brazil from the group of countries he described as friendly and attacked Lula over trade. The Brazilian president accused him of being “anti-Latin America.”

Tensions between the US and Latin America’s largest economy have been soaring for months, as Trump fiercely backed former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro during his trial over a plot to overturn his 2022 election defeat and keep himself in power.

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In September 2025, Bolsonaro was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison. Trump described the prosecution of the former leader as a “witch hunt.”

The two countries are also locked in a trade dispute. The US imposed an additional 25% tariff on certain Brazilian goods in July after a trade investigation accused Brazil of a litany of unreasonable practices.

According to CNN, Lula complained for weeks about Rubio, a vocal critic of Brazil’s government, before calling Trump and seeking to weaken the secretary’s influence over bilateral relations. During a call last week, Lula reportedly told Trump that contact should proceed “without intermediaries.”

Following the conversation, Lula said talks with Trump were “very civilized and very respectful,” while lamenting that the “second tier” of the US government was taking “unthinkable” actions. “I sometimes get the impression that Trump is much better at political relations than his advisers.” 

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Rubio has made little effort to hide his hostility toward Lula’s government. In June, he excluded Brazil from the list of friendly countries, while noting that it is “in the middle of an election cycle” – a reference to the upcoming vote in October in which Lula is seeking reelection and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has emerged as his main right-wing challenger.

Rubio also accused Lula of failing to negotiate in good faith, and said he “put his own ego” ahead of securing a trade deal, adding that the tariffs were “the price for that.” Lula has called Rubio “anti-Latin America” and “a mortal enemy of Cuba and several Latin American countries.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that Iran attempted to assassinate one of his sons, making the explosive allegation without saying which of his children was allegedly targeted, when the supposed plot took place or how close it came to being carried out.

The bombshell came almost in passing during a telephone interview with Israel’s Channel 14 on Monday about security arrangements for Netanyahu’s political rival Gadi Eisenkot, a former Israeli military chief who is challenging him ahead of the October 27 general election.

“This is an unbelievable case. Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to murder him, tried to murder one of my sons,” Netanyahu said, arguing that round-the-clock protection for Eisenkot was “not a luxury” and warning that without it, the Iranians “will succeed.”

Netanyahu has two sons, Yair and Avner. He did not identify which one he was referring to, nor did he say where or how Iran allegedly planned to attack him.

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Israeli media have separately reported that Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, and both sons were granted expanded state protection in July. Channel 12 reported that the alleged Iranian plot had been known to Israel’s security establishment for several months but had been subject to a military gag order.

The claim comes as Netanyahu faces a difficult reelection campaign. Successive surveys have put his governing bloc short of the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority, while polls have shown Eisenkot competing closely with or overtaking Netanyahu and his Likud party. Reuters reported in July that surveys were pointing to a defeat for Netanyahu’s coalition, although the fragmented opposition also lacks a straightforward path to forming a government.

US President Donald Trump also claimed that Tehran had repeatedly tried to kill him – even before the initial salvo of US-Israeli strikes on February 28 killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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“I got him before he got me,” Trump boasted in an interview with ABC News shortly after the strike that also killed Khamenei’s daughter Boshra and 14-month-old granddaughter Zahra, as well as a son-in-law and daughter-in-law.

During the NATO summit in Türkiye in July, Trump was secretly removed from Air Force One and transferred inside a catering truck to another military aircraft after Israel relayed intelligence about another alleged Iranian assassination threat. The extraordinary operation was concealed even from some members of his traveling party.

US intelligence reportedly assessed the Israeli-supplied information with “low confidence,” while Tehran has denied broader accusations that it sought to assassinate Trump or other American officials.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that Iran attempted to assassinate one of his sons, making the explosive allegation without saying which of his children was allegedly targeted, when the supposed plot took place or how close it came to being carried out.

The bombshell came almost in passing during a telephone interview with Israel’s Channel 14 on Monday about security arrangements for Netanyahu’s political rival Gadi Eisenkot, a former Israeli military chief who is challenging him ahead of the October 27 general election.

“This is an unbelievable case. Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to murder him, tried to murder one of my sons,” Netanyahu said, arguing that round-the-clock protection for Eisenkot was “not a luxury” and warning that without it, the Iranians “will succeed.”

Netanyahu has two sons, Yair and Avner. He did not identify which one he was referring to, nor did he say where or how Iran allegedly planned to attack him.

Read more

Israeli media have separately reported that Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, and both sons were granted expanded state protection in July. Channel 12 reported that the alleged Iranian plot had been known to Israel’s security establishment for several months but had been subject to a military gag order.

The claim comes as Netanyahu faces a difficult reelection campaign. Successive surveys have put his governing bloc short of the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority, while polls have shown Eisenkot competing closely with or overtaking Netanyahu and his Likud party. Reuters reported in July that surveys were pointing to a defeat for Netanyahu’s coalition, although the fragmented opposition also lacks a straightforward path to forming a government.

US President Donald Trump also claimed that Tehran had repeatedly tried to kill him – even before the initial salvo of US-Israeli strikes on February 28 killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Read more

“I got him before he got me,” Trump boasted in an interview with ABC News shortly after the strike that also killed Khamenei’s daughter Boshra and 14-month-old granddaughter Zahra, as well as a son-in-law and daughter-in-law.

During the NATO summit in Türkiye in July, Trump was secretly removed from Air Force One and transferred inside a catering truck to another military aircraft after Israel relayed intelligence about another alleged Iranian assassination threat. The extraordinary operation was concealed even from some members of his traveling party.

US intelligence reportedly assessed the Israeli-supplied information with “low confidence,” while Tehran has denied broader accusations that it sought to assassinate Trump or other American officials.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has threatened to cut electricity and critical minerals to the United States if President Donald Trump continues to escalate his trade war with Canada, drawing an angry response from the US leader.

The exchange came hours after Trump announced that tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, auto parts and steel would rise to 50% on January 1, 2027. The move followed the collapse of trade talks last week and a separate 50% levy that took effect Saturday on around $20 billion worth of Canadian imports.

“Everything’s on the table. I’ll do whatever it takes,” Ford told AP on Monday, saying Ontario could raise electricity prices or halt exports altogether. “We power 1.5 million homes and businesses,” he added, warning that if Trump keeps trying to dismantle Canadian manufacturing, “he better have a pack of batteries.”

Trump fired back on Truth Social, dismissing Ford’s comments as “bluster” and personally attacking the premier before warning Canadian leaders to “fall in line.”

“Someone should get these clowns to ‘fall in line’ or, the consequences for Canada will be far WORSE!” Trump wrote, again referring to Prime Minister Mark Carney as “Governor Carney.” He insisted the US is “far bigger, richer, and stronger” and claimed Canada “couldn’t survive” without its southern neighbor.

“I have a lot of real estate on my ass, so he has a lot of room to kiss my ass,” Ford shot back during a press conference on Monday.

Canada's Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Trump:

I have a lot of real estate on my ass, so Trump has a lot of room to kiss my ass. pic.twitter.com/nP8MLVxfbI

— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 24, 2026

Ford said Ottawa should consider progressively stronger retaliation, including restrictions on oil, potash and strategic minerals. Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette, whose province is a major hydroelectricity supplier, said she is not currently pursuing Ford’s approach but would not exclude it as Canada enters a “new phase” of the dispute.

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Canada is by far the largest foreign supplier of electricity to the US, although nationwide dependence is relatively modest. US Energy Information Administration data show the US imported about 24.5 terawatt-hours of Canadian electricity in 2025 while exporting about 16 terawatt-hours back, leaving net dependence at roughly 0.2% of total US consumption.

However, the exposure is far more concentrated in border states such as New York, Michigan and Minnesota, where a stable supply of Canadian power can be particularly important during periods of peak demand. Meanwhile, the AI boom is placing additional pressure on regional power grids as tech companies race to build massive, power-hungry hyperscale data centers. In July 2026, New York imposed a one-year moratorium on state discretionary environmental permits for new hyperscale facilities while it develops new regulations intended in part to protect grid stability and ratepayers.

Ontario has used the electricity threat before. In March 2025, Ford imposed a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to the three states before suspending it after Trump threatened to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.

READ MORE: Canada fires back at Trump’s 50% tariffs

Carney also responded to Trump’s latest tariff threat on Monday, accusing Washington of seeking to dismantle Canada’s auto industry through negotiating terms Ottawa considered unacceptable. After Canada walked away from the talks late Friday, Carney said the US had “asked too much and offered too little” and announced dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs beginning September 8.

Appointing Darline Graham to simply finish her brother Lindsey’s Senate term was one thing, but having her run for the next term, with Donald Trump’s support, is simply bonkers. Or does Trump know something we don’t?

Darline’s political inexperience was on full display during last week’s debate against her run-off opponent, Rep. Ralph Norman, when she was unable to answer an elementary question on national security involving China and Taiwan.

Graham was simply asked if Taiwan and the South China Sea are national security issues for the US. Incredibly, she even failed to at least respond with a “yes” or “no.”

Clearly unprepared for the big night, Graham began by requesting for the question to be repeated. It didn’t help her. Following the second reading she admitted defeat, saying, “I’m just going to be honest here – I’m not, on national security, that – I’m not that informed on national security. So...”

After her voice quivered for a moment amid rumbling from the debate audience, Graham dug her hole deeper with a non sequitur: “But I do support the military. My brother was in the Air Force for 33 years, so I will do everything I can to support the military. My dad was in the army.”

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But things only got worse for poor Darline, who proceeded to admit to her severe shortcomings and incompetency. “I’m not a polished politician up here. National security is not my thing – not my area of expertise – but I do support the military.” Some people may think that it is a bit perplexing and not a little scary that Graham is already serving in the Senate on an interim basis.

Following Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sudden death on July 11, Gov. Henry McMaster appointed his sister Darline to finish up the remaining months of his tenure. What began as a sentimental gesture inexplicably morphed into a White House endorsement, with Trump pushing the inexperienced woman to enter the primary race with a chance at serving a six-year term that will begin in January. Feelings for her brother aside, Darline Graham has never held an elected office. Until this summer, she was commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, and earlier held a communications role in the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department.

Trump’s endorsement notwithstanding, Graham only received 33% of the vote in the special August 11 ballot, forcing her into an August 26 runoff against Ralph Norman, who came in second place with 25% of the vote. “Her lackluster showing reflected South Carolina Republicans’ deep unease with Trump trying to turn one of their Senate seats into an inheritance for someone with a joke of a political resume,” ZeroHedge quipped.

Darline’s egregious debate failure drew comparisons to Miss South Carolina’s famous response to a question in the 2007 Miss Teen USA pageant.

The question she was asked to answer went as follows: “Recent polls have shown a fifth of Americans can’t locate the US on a world map. Why do you think this is?”

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The cringe answer: “I personally believe that US Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don’t have maps. And, I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and the Iraq everywhere like such as... And I believe that they should – our education over here in the US should help the US or should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future for our children.”

It is an apt comparison and it would be funny if we weren’t dealing with a position that has the power to actually influence America’s foreign policy.

Having driven her own performance off a cliff, the next day Graham attempted to cover her losses by admitting to Trump attack dog Sean Hannity that she “tripped up on one question.” Brushing aside the importance of her inability to answer the question, Graham told Hannity, “I’m not a politician, certainly not a career politician, I don’t speak politician.”

In a separate interview with reporters, Graham said: “I tripped up on one question last night, regarding Taiwan. I don’t speak politician. I was just honest. Of course, Taiwan is our friend. But I think people in South Carolina are more worried about boys in girls’ sports.” Too bad Darline didn’t say that on the debate stage.

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With feelings for politicians at an all-time low, it would be a safe bet that the majority of South Carolina Republicans don’t want Graham to “speak politician.” With that said, however, it’s reasonable to expect her to have the capacity to string together some intelligent comments with regards to one of world’s major hot spots, especially at a time when the US Department of War has expended a hefty proportion of its weapons in Iran – a military disaster with no resolution in sight.

Thus, perhaps it can be argued that Darline Graham’s embarrassing lack of knowledge over foreign affairs might be just what the MAGA camp wants – a lot less Lindsey and much more Darline. They may be willing to forgive Darline’s inability to find Taiwan on a map so long as she focuses congressional attention on critical domestic issues, like LGBTQ curricula in schools, soaring costs, and crumbling infrastructure.  

On Tuesday, South Carolina Republicans will cast a vote that either continues in the blood-soaked shoes of Lindsey Graham or opts for a change in the person of his sister that keeps the attention on the American homeland.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has barred Russian teams from returning to the Chess Olympiad next month, prompting prominent names in Russian chess to accuse its leadership of politicizing the sport and making “Russophobic” decisions.

FIDE suspended the Russian and Belarusian national teams from its competitions in 2022, although players from both countries were allowed to compete individually under neutral status. The federation lifted all restrictions on Belarusian athletes last month.

On Sunday, the FIDE Council ruled that Russian teams would remain excluded from the 46th Chess Olympiad, which is scheduled to take place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from September 16 to 27.

Russian Chess Federation chief Aleksandr Tkachev said the decision had undermined FIDE’s own motto, “We are one family,” and accused members of the Council of putting their personal interests ahead of chess.

“There are people who prioritize the game over politics and don’t worry about their own careers. But there are also people who prioritize personal interests, and they currently predominate on the Council. This time, they prevailed,” Tkachev told TASS on Monday.

He claimed the decision had been initiated by acting FIDE President Viswanathan Anand, who took over last month after his Russian predecessor, Arkady Dvorkovich, was forced to step aside after he was placed under EU sanctions.

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Russian chess legend Anatoly Karpov, the 12th world champion, went further, accusing the federation’s leadership of Russophobia.

“There is only one explanation for this decision – the FIDE leadership has gotten out of control. The decisions being made are Russophobic,” Karpov told TASS. “Let’s hope the situation changes after the elections in September.”

FIDE is due to hold its presidential election in Uzbekistan on September 26-27, alongside the closing stages of the Olympiad.

The ruling means Russia will miss its third consecutive over-the-board Olympiad after being absent from Chennai in 2022 and Budapest in 2024.

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Former FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said he was “ashamed” of the decision, arguing that sport should remain above politics.

Russian players nevertheless remain prominent internationally under the FIDE flag. They won four medals – one gold, two silvers and one bronze – at the Asian rapid and blitz championships in Hong Kong last month.

Moscow has repeatedly condemned restrictions imposed on Russian athletes by international sporting bodies as politically motivated. President Vladimir Putin has argued that comparable measures have not been applied to athletes from other countries involved in armed conflicts.

Russia just pulled its ambassador to the UK, as British Prime Minister Andy Burnham doubles down on open involvement in the Ukraine conflict. The risk of open war has never been higher, but Burnham is writing checks that he can’t cash.

Relations between Russia and the UK are at an “unprecedentedly low level,” Moscow’s embassy in London said in a statement on Sunday, after it emerged that ambassador Andrey Kelin had left his post in late July and would not be immediately replaced. In a follow-up statement to the Sunday Times, an embassy spokesperson said that Kelin had made “considerable efforts to preserve contacts and channels of communication” between the UK and Russia, but the UK had clearly chosen a “path of confrontation.”

☝️ Russia-UK relations across all areas have deteriorated to an unprecedentedly low level entirely on London's initiative.https://t.co/ddib4uE1B4 pic.twitter.com/BrdJAyk4bO

— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) August 23, 2026

“He left Britain in the hope that a more constructive and respectful dialogue could eventually be restored, should the UK reconsider its policies towards our country,” the spokesman added.

How did Russia/UK relations get this bad?

Well, firstly, Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Theresa May, and of course David Cameron and their anglophonic media bullhorns. 

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Moscow has viewed the UK as one of Ukraine’s most bellicose foreign backers since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson intervened to scupper a peace deal between Moscow and Kiev that April; Britain supplied Ukraine with ‘Storm Shadow’ cruise missiles for long-range strikes on Russia a year later; and in the latest revelation by the British press, Ukraine utilized a plethora of British-made drones in its campaign of long-range attacks on Russian civilian targets this year.

On August 17, the Russian embassy in London warned Britain that “the deeper its involvement in the conflict and the greater its support for Kiev’s terrorist machinery, the higher the price it will pay.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov added that Moscow has “every right to regard the proudly proclaimed direct involvement of British missile forces in strikes against Russia as participation in the war, with all the consequences that entails.”

Neither statement seems to have deterred Burnham. Later that day, the British PM proclaimed that the UK would continue “to support Ukraine 100%.” Six days later, his office announced that it would provide Ukraine with classified information enabling it to produce Storm Shadow cruise missiles on Ukrainian soil. Burnham followed this up with a visit to Kiev on Monday, where he compared the conflict to Britain’s struggle against Nazi Germany in World War II, and promised to supply Ukraine with anti-air missiles to repel Russian strikes on its energy infrastructure.

Is pulling the ambassador a sign of war?

The withdrawal of Kelin is an unprecedented move. Diplomatic relations between Moscow and London have been strained on multiple occasions during the post-Soviet period, Russia’s response has typically been restrained. When FSB agents caught British spies hiding a listening device outside the Russian embassy in 2006, the Kremlin named and condemned the agents responsible. When the UK expelled four Russian diplomats after Moscow refused to extradite a suspect in the alleged poisoning of double agent Alexander Litvinenko in 2007, Russia responded in kind. 

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Similarly, when the UK expelled 23 diplomats in 2018 over the alleged poisoning of undercover MI6 agent Sergei Skripal, Moscow’s response was the tit-for-tat expulsion of 23 Brits staff and the closure of a British consulate-general in St. Petersburg.

At no point during these incidents did Russia withdraw – or threaten to withdraw – its ambassador. However, with relations already in the gutter since 2022, Moscow’s lack of urgency in replacing Kelin most likely does not herald military action against the UK. Instead, it is an acknowledgement of just how badly relations have deteriorated.

What will Russia do to neutralize the UK’s Ukraine missile threat?

Russia’s kinetic response to Burnham’s missile data sharing plan is straightforward. In a statement to reporters on August 24, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “our armed forces are carrying out the relevant work and obtaining the necessary data in order to identify the production sites for such missiles and other military equipment, and are taking measures to destroy these locations.”

Destroying missile production sites in Ukraine is a far easier task for Russia now than at any point since 2022. Ukraine has no ammunition for its Patriot air defense batteries left, nor does Kiev have any money to buy more. In a post on X on Sunday, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky admitted that his military used all of its 2026 budget in the first six months of the year buying and building drones to attack civilian infrastructure in Russia. 

As a result, Russia has been dismantling weapons plants, ports and ships used to import arms, and energy targets across Ukraine with impunity since July.

How far can Britain escalate against Russia?

Burnham has little more to offer. The US is unwilling to share its dwindling stocks of Patriot missiles with Ukraine, even if the UK offers to buy. Three out of five weapons packages donated by the UK to Ukraine this year included other models of defense missiles – a total of more than 2,500 missiles – but these have apparently been used up by Kiev’s forces.

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Britain’s ability to escalate beyond data-sharing and weapons packages is constrained by two key factors. Firstly, open UK intervention in Ukraine could trigger a cataclysmic, and likely nuclear, conflict between Russia and NATO. Secondly, Britain’s armed forces have been hollowed out by decades of underfunding: there are fewer active-duty troops in the British military than at any point since the end of the Napoleonic Wars; Britain reportedly has enough ammunition for less than a day of full-scale combat; and no means of defense against Russian ballistic missiles.

Given the potential consequences, some figures within the British defense establishment have called for restraint. Former Chief of the Defense Staff Tony Radakin – who once urged Britain to prepare to fight Russia in space – and his successor, Richard Knighton, have both reportedly sought contact with Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov in order to limit the threat of naval escalation. Another former British defense chief, Field Marshal Lord David Richards, has called for peace talks with Russia since 2022, arguing last year that Ukraine “cannot win” the conflict with anything short of full-scale NATO intervention.

Even former defense attache John Foreman – who has encouraged Ukraine to strike Russia with British-made missiles – told The Times on August 15 that Britain should reopen “strategic dialog” with Russia, calling London’s suspension of military-to-military communications in 2024 “daft.”

'Good to speak to @edvaizey today about the need to hold our noses and re-establish mil to mil ties.

We can continue to support Ukraine. But at the same time, we can talk to the Russians'. Cutting military communication with Russia was a 'daft decision'.

With Russian forces…

— John Foreman CBE (@John_ForemanCBE) August 15, 2026

These calls have also come from the UK’s typically hawkish circuit of ‘Russia experts’. Among this group is Mark Galeotti, an academic with rumored links to British intelligence. In an interview with former British diplomat Ian Proud in mid-August, Galeotti conceded that “behind closed doors,” many British diplomatic and security officials now believe that “we’ve reached the stage where we need to be pushing both sides to some kind of resolution.”

“After years of spouting these empty mantras of ‘as much as it takes, for as long as it takes’, etc etc, who’s going to turn around and say ‘actually, come to think of it, this is not in our interests’,” he told Proud. 

Will Burnham step back?

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Burnham, Galeotti argued, is unlikely to spend precious political capital on restarting diplomacy with Russia, as to do so would open him up to attacks from rival parties and hawks within his own Labour Party. 

After his speech in Kiev on Monday, Burnham chaired a meeting of the ‘coalition of the willing’ – a 34-nation group put together to pool military aid for Ukraine. In his opening remarks, Burnham called on the UK’s allies to “dig into our own stocks and help others dig into their stocks” to keep the Ukrainian military fighting.

However, should the UK continue supplying long-range missiles and drones to Ukraine, and should these munitions be used to kill Russian civilians, Russia is running out of diplomatic means of deterring London.

Britain has scoffed at every polite warning from Moscow to date, but with Kelin’s office vacant, there are fewer civilized options available to Russia. The “consequences” threatened by Lavrov could be far more catastrophic than a formal demarche.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has announced new sanctions against Iran, and threatened to boot any country dealing financially with Tehran out of the US dollar system, in a bid to make Iran an “economic outcast.”

The new sanctions target nearly 60 entities, individuals, and vessels in multiple jurisdictions that allegedly trade in “illicit nuclear and missile technology” with Iran, aid Iran’s “cyber operations,” and move Iranian oil, the US Treasury Department said in a statement on Monday. More than a third of the sanctioned entities and individuals – 21 – are based in China.

The Treasury also said it had identified digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping as areas for potential secondary sanctions.

Speaking at a press conference later on Monday, Bessent went further, announcing the beginning of “Operation Economic Outcast,” which he described as “an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe.”

In the Second World War, D-Day marked the historic beginning of a campaign with our allies to target and drive the enemy from its positions, including those in third countries. Today, in that same spirit, we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections… pic.twitter.com/1fLyobUucu

— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) August 24, 2026

Bessent explained that the US would penalize any country refusing to sever its economic ties with Tehran. “Any entity that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran will be removed from the US dollar system,” he said, adding “the clock just started ticking.” 

Iran exports goods to 147 countries, and imports from 114, according to the most recent data from the World Bank. Asked how the US intends to force three quarters of the world’s nations to cease trade with Iran, Bessent said that US President Donald Trump phoned multiple world leaders over the weekend “with specific requests to cease their interactions” with Iran, and that every country had been given “a defined timeline” to comply with his demands. 

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Bessent refused to share any more details, telling reporters that “we’re not going to name names,” nor was he “going to set timelines.” Pressed on whether Washington expected China – which is Iran’s largest trading partner – to abide by the sanctions regime, Bessent did not give a definitive answer.

“We find that the best way to engage with countries is through quiet diplomacy. And we are level-setting with every country to tell them our expectations. We know who they are. They know who they are,” he replied, adding “no-one is above the reach of US sanctions.”

Bessent’s threats were shrugged off in Tehran. “Americans know that no one buys their bombast,” senior Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X after the treasury secretary's press conference.

“The United States is not in an economic position to further restrict its relations with other countries,”he explained. “Iran’s trading partners, both in the media and through messages sent to us, have made it clear that they don’t take these statements into account anywhere.”

Mohsen Rezaei, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned on Sunday that “not a single drop of oil will leave the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz” if the Gulf states join the US’ economic pressure campaign. If US President Donald Trump “wants to do something, we will retaliate in a seismic manner,” Rezaei added.

Last week, Trump threatened to inflict what he called “Economic D-Day” on Iran, after a 60-day window for negotiating peace with Tehran expired with no breakthrough. Trump ruled out a return to negotiations, but Pakistani Chief of Defense Forces Asim Munir arrived in Tehran on Monday in an attempt to revive the talks. 

The massive influx of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta has shown that Germany would be better off outside the Schengen zone, Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-chair Alice Weidel has said.

The EU’s “borderless” travel system poses a threat to Germany as long as the bloc’s external borders remain largely unprotected, the leader of Germany’s most popular party told ZDF broadcaster on Sunday.

Some 72,000 people illegally entered Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on the North African coast, within hours in late July. The influx led to severe overcrowding and inadequate sanitation, with local authorities reporting a subsequent outbreak of disease.

At least 15 rape cases were also reported in the migrant-swamped enclave. Although most of the arrivals were quickly sent back, city authorities estimated that as many as 10,000 remained in Ceuta as of last week.

“When I see something like what’s happening in Ceuta, then [I say] we’re leaving Schengen,” Weidel said. “We have to start [acting] preventively, we can’t just let everyone in unchecked.”

Germany must “close” its borders because the EU is failing to uphold its commitments on external border security, she argued.

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“Schengen only works with secure external borders and open internal borders. Neither works,” Weidel said, claiming that neither the EU border agency Frontex, nor “readmission agreements,” nor the bloc’s border arrangements function properly.

“We will leave Schengen so that people like those from Ceuta can no longer come to us,” she added.

The AfD holds just over 23% of seats in the Bundestag, making it the largest opposition faction. However, it remains largely unable to influence legislation because of the so-called “firewall” policy, under which Germany’s other major parties refuse to cooperate with it.

Weidel has argued that this could change after the next parliamentary elections, scheduled for 2029, which she believes the AfD could win.

The Ceuta crisis has already sent shockwaves through the EU. Several European leaders have called for Spain to be excluded from the Schengen zone, while Italy introduced temporary border checks on travelers arriving from Spain on August 1. Madrid responded with reciprocal measures.

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Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has linked the influx to Madrid’s decision to grant amnesty to undocumented migrants who arrived in Spain before January 1, 2026. The measure, which could affect more than a million people, has created a strong incentive for new arrivals to reach Spain and then travel onward to other EU countries, he argued earlier this month.

Germany has long been the EU’s leading destination for asylum seekers. It received more than 163,000 applications in 2025, accounting for roughly one in five claims across the bloc’s 27 member states, according to the EU Agency for Asylum.

The country also has the EU’s largest foreign-born population in absolute terms, with nearly 17 million people born abroad, or around 20% of the population.

Berlin has already expanded checks along its borders with other EU countries and increased the number of migrants turned away in an effort to curb illegal migration.

US President Donald Trump has announced a 50% tariff on Canadian cars, trucks and auto parts starting next year, escalating a bitter trade war with Ottawa after negotiations collapsed last week.

In a post on Truth Social on Monday, Trump accused Canada of “ripping off the United States of America for years” and imposing excessive tariffs on American farmers. He claimed that bilateral trade has left the US with a “$60 billion deficit.”

“Not sustainable, and NOT ANYMORE! On January First, 2027, Tariffs on all Cars, Trucks, both large and small, Automotive Parts, and Steel, will be increased to 50%,” Trump announced. The move will double the current 25% tariff on Canadian auto imports.

“Build in the U.S. and there are ZERO TARIFFS,” Trump added, saying Canada would no longer be treated “like a State” and calling it “among the worst nations in the world to deal with.”

“WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!” he wrote.

The announcement comes just two days after a separate package of 50% US tariffs took effect on around $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, including wine, cement, plywood, clothing and hockey equipment.

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Last week, the two sides spent three days trying to wrap up months of heated trade negotiations and avoid mutual tariffs spiraling into an all-out trade war. However, the talks broke down on Friday as both sides accused the other of making last-minute changes to a proposed agreement.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the US terms “unfair” and “uneconomic” and pledged to match Washington’s tariffs “dollar for dollar” to protect Canadian workers and businesses.

Ottawa’s retaliatory measures, which are set to take effect on September 8, will target US goods including steel, dairy products, appliances, and electronics.

Trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa, which date back to Trump’s first term, reignited after he returned to office last year and launched a sweeping tariff campaign against major US trade partners. These include Canada, Mexico, China, the EU, and Japan, who Trump has accused of unfairly benefiting from access to the US market.

There is one feeling I often recall from having lived and worked in Ukraine – to be precise, in its most nationalist, full-of-itself city, Lviv – for a total of five years in the 2000s: Thank God, at least there’s no violence!

That is what I, some other foreigners, and quite a few Ukrainians, too, were thinking and even saying then. The country was politically and even culturally polarized, extremely corrupt, and a sham ‘democracy’ even more fake than most of the rest.

It was dominated and bled dry by a greedy, hypocritical, and – despite all the cheap talk, the pious singing-of-anthems-hand-on-heart, and the cheesy peasant braids and stitched shirts – deeply unpatriotic establishment of typically post-Soviet turncoats, thieves, liars, and sell-outs. There was no rule of law, the courts were a bad joke, and the police was a racket.

And yet, while the usual business-crime complex took its toll and there was the occasional state murder of a journalist, there was no large-scale violence. There was bitter grumbling galore, including about Crimea, all the time. But there was no civil war – as the almighty US intelligence services had infamously as good as predicted in the even darker 1990s – and no one was reaching for a gun either to leave an unbearable country or keep others in it by force.   

While the Americans were busy thinking about the possibility – and perhaps opportunities – of Ukrainians killing each other in large numbers, their British cousins were considering another kind of doom. For them, more than three decades ago, the most interesting question was whether Ukraine and Russia would go to war, specifically over Crimea. There, British spooks back then warned with unusual honesty, “most of the population is Russian,” and things might become less than cordial if Kiev didn’t watch its steps.

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And here we are now: On the 35th official anniversary of its existence outside the former Soviet Union, Ukraine has become the sum of all fears, much worse than even its pervasively corrupt, brutally unfair, and de facto lawless pre-2014 version. It is now ruled by its worst, most corrupt, and most authoritarian and bloody regime ever – hands down – under Vladimir Zelensky and his cronies. They steal, embezzle, and launder piles of dirty money as if there’s no tomorrow, which, to be fair, there really probably isn’t for them, at least not in Ukraine.

They literally hunt and, in effect, sell their subjects as cannon fodder, so that they can profit and the West can have its slaughterhouse war against Russia, in an insane, evil, and futile attempt to eliminate Moscow as a power to be reckoned with. This is the reality of “busification,” and nothing remotely like it happened before Zelensky and his accomplices took over. Those who do not readily submit to being treated as combat cattle regularly die mysteriously from ‘falls’ or maybe just blowing their nose.

The Ukrainian mass media have never been remotely clean, objective, or reliable. But the zombified and self-zombifying propaganda machine created under Zelensky is unprecedentedly awful. Those who openly resist the national brainwashing are incarcerated by kangaroo courts, tortured, and killed.

Or consider basic demography: Ukraine’s real population has almost halved since the end of the Soviet Union, and the future looks even worse. And while part of this catastrophe is due to the current war, much of it has been produced by the ceaseless class-war-from-above of injustice, exploitation, and hopelessness that Ukraine’s ‘elites’ have waged on their own subjects for a third of a century while blabbing sanctimoniously about nation this and nation that.

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And the results of all these horrors? They are abysmal even on their own perverse terms. Just look at the map: Crimea is gone and so are substantial portions of Ukraine’s post-Soviet east due to a combination of regional rebellion, Kiev’s cack-handed, violent attempts to stomp it out, and a war with Russia. All of this could have been avoided.

Yet it was not. Indeed, Ukraine’s short post-Soviet history is, among other sad things, a record of at least sleepwalking and, more frequently, proactively provoking this twin catastrophe. But Ukrainians – or rather their rotten establishment – did have plenty of help in getting it so wrong. Take, for instance, the mean-spirited and asinine obsession with suppressing the Russian language to eradicate Ukraine’s windfall advantages as a mostly bilingual country of Russian and Ukrainian speakers.

That perverse and self-harming pursuit – recalling Freud’s hunch about nationalism as neurosis – was obstinately cultivated by both a narrow-minded but hyperactive and arrogant minority of ukrainier-than-though nationalists at home and descendants of run-away World War II nationalists, mass murderers of Poles, and Nazi collaborators from the West who were eager to infest post-Soviet Ukraine with their hoary bigotry.

Personally, I remember being naïve enough back then in the 2000s to ask Lviv acquaintances why Ukraine couldn’t just codify its own variant of Russian (comparable to the way American English is different from British English) and also promote Ukrainian (I know both languages, as it happens), and then focus on actually important matters. Blank stares were the answer, at best.

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Ironically, well into the current war, there was a short news blip about someone in Ukraine having discovered the same obvious idea. How catastrophe can concentrate the mind and how sad that even now, after an estimated 1.5 million battlefield casualties, such pragmatic thinking is still a minority taste: Kiev’s policy is simply to double down on a daft campaign to win the lexicon while losing the war.

Entitled, patronizing exile nationalists projecting their selfish tunnel-vision fantasies on, and throwing their Western hard currency at, desperate people freshly shell-shocked by ultra-predatory ‘transition’ capitalism were one noxious outside influence vitiating Ukraine’s post-Soviet trajectory. But it was far from the only one. Indeed, as time went on, the West as a whole – its politicians, intellectuals, and mainstream media – became ever more interested in and vastly detrimental to Ukraine.   

To be fair, the first yet already extremely harmful steps the West took to, ultimately, ruin Ukraine had very little to do with it: When Washington decided – not once but repeatedly – to cheat and humiliate Russia and break clear promises not to expand NATO eastward, it was first Germany, then multiple Eastern European countries that were at the center of attention, but not Ukraine. Yet, ironically, even while neglecting it, the West’s reckless expansion already set the stage for phase two of putting Ukraine in the crosshairs.

That was reached in 2008, when, at an infamous summit in Bucharest, the high and mighty of the West, led by the indispensably destructive US, artfully maneuvered Ukraine into the very worst position imaginable: by making a promise of NATO membership for Ukraine sometime in the future, they inevitably poked Russia in the eye once too often. By keeping the reckless promise vague, they left Ukraine completely exposed, as if baiting Moscow to intervene. The whole mad scheme took willfully ignoring the clear warnings issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Munich one year before and multiple equally explicit warnings produced by not Russians but widely acknowledged Westerners such as George Kennan and, back then, even William ‘Bill’ Burns.

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Georgia shared this fate – lethal promises, no back-up – with Ukraine. And yet even after a short war there quickly demonstrated that this time Russia would stand its ground and defend its basic national security interests, the West stayed its course in Ukraine.

Indeed, it doubled down on it. If only the West had dropped Ukraine the way it dropped Georgia in 2008, many Ukrainians would still be alive and the country would have lost none or far less territory. Instead, the West got involved ever more deeply, offering a poisonous EU association agreement and the shaping a regime-change coup in 2014. After that, it bound Ukraine so closely into official and black-ops NATO structures that formal membership looked increasingly irrelevant, while helping Kiev sabotage the last realistic chance to return to peace and avoid large-scale war, the Minsk II agreement of 2015. Meanwhile, demagogic public intellectuals, such as Tim Snyder and Anne Applebaum did their worst to pour oil into the fire by a mix of silly nationalism-by-proxy and nasty Russophobia.

Finally, the West almost nonchalantly refused to seriously consider Moscow’s, as it turned out, last pre-February-2022 offer to return to substantial diplomacy and compromise. Once the war had greatly escalated, the West sent Britain’s most evil clown to kill an excellent opportunity to make peace quickly produced by the Istanbul talks of spring 2022.

Since then, since locking Ukraine into a devastating, perfectly unnecessary, and futile yet deliberately provoked war to weaken Russia, things have only gotten worse and worse, and there seems no end in sight. Indeed, as a remarkably sane former German general has just explained, Kiev is still eager to drag all of Western Europe (at least) into an open shooting war with Russia. In Europe, many establishment figures seem all too willing to go along. Ukraine has become the outstanding example of how the West risked and then destroyed the opportunities of the post-Cold War period. Ukraine could have been a prosperous country profiting from links to both East and West. Instead it’s a ruin.

The joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of eight Arab and Muslim countries was one of the clearest diplomatic signals of recent weeks. Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Pakistan, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates did more than condemn Israel’s E1 settlement project. They demanded that the plan be halted, the decisions approving it reversed, and sanctions considered against individuals and entities involved in settlement expansion. The signatories also reaffirmed that an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, remains the only viable path toward a lasting settlement, according to an official statement released by the UAE Foreign Ministry.

This was not just another communiqué intended to register concern over unfolding events. The reference to possible sanctions suggests that even the region’s more cautious governments are beginning to adopt a tougher stance. Israeli leaders apparently assume that normalization with certain Arab countries has become irreversible and that their objections can therefore be safely ignored. The E1 project, however, may reveal just how badly mistaken that calculation is.

The plan calls for the construction of more than 3,400 homes in the strategically important corridor between East Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim. If implemented, it would effectively split the West Bank into northern and southern sections while cutting East Jerusalem off from the main territory of any future Palestinian state. In other words, E1 would reshape not only the demographic but also the political geography of the conflict. This is not a routine expansion of an existing settlement. It is a step that could deprive the “two states for two peoples” formula of its territorial foundation.

Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has made no attempt to conceal the project’s political purpose, openly presenting it as a way to finally “bury” the idea of Palestinian statehood. E1 received final approval in 2025, and the publication of construction tenders in 2026 transformed it from a political threat into a plan moving toward practical implementation.

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Against this backdrop, the UAE’s participation in the joint condemnation is especially significant. It was Abu Dhabi, after all, that was the leading Arab participant in the Abraham Accords in 2020 and the most persuasive example of normalization with Israel. The two countries opened embassies, lifted visa requirements, signed a free trade agreement, and began expanding cooperation in technology, energy, investment, and security. At first glance, then, the UAE’s decision to join other major Arab and Muslim powers in denouncing E1 may look like a sharp foreign-policy reversal.

It is still too early to suggest that Abu Dhabi is abandoning the Abraham Accords. Rather, the UAE is changing the terms on which it is prepared to support normalization and reminding Israel that establishing diplomatic relations did not amount to endorsing every subsequent action taken by the Israeli government. For the Emirates, normalization has always been an instrument of statecraft – not a commitment to follow Israel unconditionally.

The annexation of Palestinian territory is a matter of principle for the UAE leadership. In 2020, Abu Dhabi justified its decision to normalize relations by arguing that its agreement with Israel had halted the annexation of Palestinian land and preserved the possibility of a two-state solution. This was intended to reassure Arab audiences that the Emirates had not abandoned the Palestinian cause but had instead chosen a different way of influencing Israel: direct dialogue rather than a boycott. The latest demarche should therefore be seen not as a repudiation of that earlier policy, but as an attempt to restore the Abraham Accords to their originally stated purpose.

The Israeli government’s actions, however, are steadily making that argument harder to sustain. If normalization does not restrain annexation, halt settlement expansion, or preserve the prospect of Palestinian statehood, it becomes increasingly difficult for Abu Dhabi to explain what political purpose its special relationship with Israel actually serves.

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As early as September 2025, UAE representative Lana Nusseibeh described the annexation of the West Bank as a “red line” that could destroy the spirit of the Abraham Accords. At the time, the Emirates reportedly considered downgrading diplomatic relations, although a complete break was not under discussion. The E1 project has now brought Israel dangerously close to that line.

There is also a broader strategic calculation at work. Israel is becoming politically toxic even for Arab governments that embraced normalization only a few years ago. The problem is not Israel’s existence or the need to maintain working relations with it. What has become toxic is the course pursued by the current Israeli government, which openly rejects Palestinian statehood, continues to expand settlements, and expects its Arab partners to quietly accept the new reality.

Put bluntly, the Israeli leadership has lost its sense of proportion. It behaves as though the economic and defense interests of Arab countries allow it to disregard their position on Palestine indefinitely. But there are limits to that approach. Israel cannot expect to deepen its relations with the Arab world while systematically destroying the possibility of a Palestinian state.

For the UAE, association with this policy carries growing reputational costs. Abu Dhabi has no intention of sacrificing its standing in the Arab and Muslim world to pay for the radicalism of members of the Israeli cabinet. The Emirates understand that, as the regional order is reshaped, they must maintain stable relations first and foremost with their neighbors and the leading powers of the Islamic world.

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In the long run, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, and Jordan matter more to the UAE than unconditional solidarity with every policy adopted by Israel. Turkey, Pakistan, and Indonesia must also be considered, as their influence over the emerging Islamic political consensus continues to grow. Iran’s geopolitical clout is likewise visibly increasing following the end of the hot phase of the joint US-Israeli war against Tehran.

The presence of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Pakistan in this group is particularly important. Shortly before the statement was issued, the three countries formed the Mecca Defense Pact, which has already been described as a prototype for a “Muslim NATO.” The UAE did not join the alliance, and it would be wrong to portray it as a member. Yet the joint demarche over E1 shows that Abu Dhabi does not want to find itself outside the emerging Arab-Islamic political alignment. The Emirates are signaling that they can coordinate their position with the core members of the Mecca alliance while continuing to cooperate with Israel and the United States.

At the same time, the criticism of Israel was carefully calibrated. The eight countries cited not only international law and UN resolutions, but also Donald Trump’s peace plan and its rejection of West Bank annexation. This framed the Israeli government’s actions as a challenge not only to the demands of Arab countries but also to Washington’s own stated position. It allows the UAE to increase pressure on Israel without turning its demarche into an anti-American gesture.

For now, it is difficult to imagine Abu Dhabi opting for a complete break with Israel, although that possibility cannot be ruled out entirely. The cooperation built since the signing of the Abraham Accords has proved too valuable to the Emirates, particularly in the economic, technological, and security spheres.

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A gradual cooling of relations is more likely. Official contacts may become less frequent, some joint projects could slow down, and statements from the Emirati leadership may grow increasingly blunt. If Israel continues pursuing the de facto annexation of Palestinian territory, however, Abu Dhabi may once again consider downgrading diplomatic ties.

At its core, the latest demarche is a warning, not a rupture. The UAE is making clear that normalization is not a blank check and does not give Israel the right to ignore the interests of the Arab world. The Israeli leadership has become far too confident that economic cooperation has permanently separated the Palestinian issue from its relations with Arab governments.

The E1 project proves otherwise. Normalization has political limits, and the Israeli government is moving dangerously close to crossing them.

Britain is directly participating in the Ukraine conflict and actively working to prolong it, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, responding to London’s announced plans to provide Kiev with classified technical information needed to assemble long-range cruise missiles domestically.

According to a Downing Street press release published on Sunday, the UK government has authorized European defense manufacturer MBDA to release classified information concerning UK-made components for SCALP, the French-produced version of Britain’s Storm Shadow. The air-launched missiles use shared French and British technology and have a range exceeding 250 km.

The release of the information is set to be announced by UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham during a visit to Kiev on Monday, his first international trip since taking office last month.

Responding to the announcement, Peskov said Britain is “participating in this war on the side of the Kiev regime” and is “methodically and regularly adding fuel to the fire and scheming to prevent any development of the peace settlement process.”

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“Our armed forces are carrying out the relevant work and obtaining the necessary data in order to identify the production sites for such missiles and other military equipment, and are taking measures to destroy these locations,” Peskov added.

London said the decision to release the information will allow “the French and Ukrainians to move forward with the Ukrainian assembly of the missile.”

“The Ukrainian people should be in no doubt: The UK is behind you today and for as long as it takes,” Burnham said ahead of his visit to the Ukrainian capital, where he is also expected to meet with Vladimir Zelensky and chair his first meeting of the ‘coalition of the willing’, established by Britain and France under his predecessor, Keir Starmer.

Moscow has maintained that the UK and other suppliers of weapons to Kiev are directly responsible for the deep-strike campaign, which it says has frequently hit civilians.

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According to the Sunday Times, drones manufactured by BAE Systems and another unnamed British company have been used to hit targets in Russia over the past six months, including two oil refineries. The UAVs reportedly include the Nyan, a jet-powered drone produced by a BAE Systems subsidiary.

In a statement last week, the Russian Embassy in London called the UK “an accomplice and co-perpetrator of the bloody crimes and terrorist attacks” committed by Ukraine. It warned that “the deeper its involvement in the conflict and the greater its support for Kiev’s terrorist machinery, the higher the price it will pay.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that London will face consequences if it continues supplying drones used by Ukraine for strikes deep inside Russia.

“We have every right to regard the proudly proclaimed direct involvement of British missile forces in strikes against Russia as participation in the war, with all the consequences that entails,” Lavrov said.

Iran has denied reports that it has been invited to join the Mecca defense pact comprising Saudi Arabia, Türkiye. and Pakistan, while confirming that proposals have been made for talks with the three countries on regional security.

The clarification comes after Mehdi Rahimi, the head of the Iranian parliament’s Khaneh Mellat news agency, told Al Mayadeen on Saturday that Tehran had received an invitation to become a member of the Mecca pact and was considering it.

On Monday, however, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei rejected the claim, stating that no formal invitation had been received in Tehran. At the same time, he said that discussions with the pact members concerning broader regional security have been proposed and are under consideration.

The three founding members of the pact had previously repeatedly said the alliance could eventually expand to include other regional states, with Egypt being publicly mentioned as a possible candidate. Pakistan has also said it would have no objection to Iran joining.

The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, which was signed on August 7, brings together Türkiye, which possesses one of NATO’s largest militaries and a rapidly growing defense industry, Saudi Arabia, which features enormous financial resources and ambitions to shape the Arab political order, and Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state with one of the largest militaries in the Muslim world.

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The pact stipulates that an armed attack on one member would be regarded as an attack on all three, and also calls for closer military coordination, joint exercises and defense-industry cooperation.

Tehran initially said it had “no reason for concern” over the agreement, with spokesman Baghaei noting that its creation reflected a growing desire among regional states to develop their own security mechanisms.

Some observers have dubbed the new grouping an “Islamic NATO,” although experts have cautioned against treating it as a fully-fledged military bloc. Gulf Research Center chairman Abdulaziz Sager has said the pact could strengthen the members’ combined diplomatic and defense weight and contribute to a more regionally driven security system.

Israel, meanwhile, has responded to the pact with alarm, raising concerns that a bloc built around Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and nuclear-armed Pakistan could emerge as a counterweight to its own military dominance in the region.

The Mecca pact members, however, insist that the agreement is defensive, is open to other countries in the region, and is not directed against any other states.

Singapore has launched the world’s first independently operated data center using living human brain cells for some computing tasks, the medical school of the National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) has said. The system consumes a fraction of the power of traditional computing hardware. The neurons are fed every three days and sustained by dedicated life-support equipment.  

NUS Medicine announced the prototype earlier this month in partnership with Singapore-based data center operator DayOne and Australian biotech firm Cortical Labs. Housed at the university, the system is described by its developers as the world’s first independently operated biologically integrated server rack.  

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The facility comprises 20 CL1 biological computers, each containing at least 200,000 lab-grown human neurons on an electrode-fitted silicon chip. Derived from blood cells reprogrammed into stem cells, the neurons exchange electrical signals with conventional hardware, turning their activity into computing power.   

Cortical Labs founder and CEO Hon Weng Chong said the prototype moves biological computing “from research to commercial application,” arguing it could complement AI where “data is sparse” and conditions change. He pointed to potential uses in drug discovery, humanoid robotics, cybersecurity and fraud detection.  

Unlike conventional data centers packed with power-hungry servers and cooling systems, biological computers could operate on a fraction of the electricity by harnessing the natural processing capabilities of living neural networks.  

Keeping the “computers” running looks more like maintaining a laboratory than a server room. Technicians feed the cells a mixture of sugar, micronutrients and pH buffers every three days, while a gas system supplies carbon dioxide, oxygen and nitrogen.  

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Each CL1 draws around 30 watts including its life-support equipment, according to Chong. Nvidia’s H100 SXM AI processor can consume up to 700 watts under heavy workloads, while a server fitted with eight such chips can draw around 10,200 watts including supporting hardware.  

The power difference is particularly relevant for Singapore, which temporarily halted construction of new data centers in 2019 because of concerns over their electricity and water consumption. Data centers accounted for around 7% of the country’s electricity use in 2020.  

The technology is not intended to replace silicon, which Chong said remains “far superior” for the fast, repeatable calculations behind large language models such as ChatGPT. Biological systems, however, can learn from fewer examples and adapt to changing conditions.

Japan does not plan to supply Ukraine with weapons, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara has said. At a press briefing on Monday, he told reporters that Tokyo “is not considering any deliveries” of defensive or offensive weapons “at this time.”

Kihara was responding to Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergey Koretsky, who asked Japan on Sunday for anti-ballistic missiles, in an interview with Kyodo News.

“I would like to kindly ask one and only thing... anti-ballistic missiles,” he was cited as saying. “It’s the most important thing we need... I very much hope and count on your country.”

Koretsky took office in July and was reportedly close to disgraced businessman Timur Mindich, a close associate of Vladimir Zelensky who fled to Israel amid a corruption scandal.

“At this time, the government does not consider transferring weapons under the Self-Defense Forces Law to Ukraine,” Kihara said, referring to an overhaul in April of Japan’s defense-export policy that lifted restrictions limiting transfers to non-lethal categories and opened the door to lethal weapons exports.

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He noted that Tokyo has already provided Kiev with non-lethal equipment and pledged around $20 billion in recovery, reconstruction, and humanitarian aid, signaling that it intends to keep its assistance within these bounds.

Japan’s stance on the Ukraine conflict has been marked by contradiction. Tokyo has publicly sided with Kiev, condemning Russia’s military operation and taking part in the Western sanctions. However, it has stopped short of supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine, and unlike some Western nations, has retained stakes in key Russian energy projects, citing their importance to domestic energy security.

Over the past few months, Ukraine has increasingly sought new military hardware from its Western backers to counter severe battlefield shortages amid the steady advance of Russian forces. Last month, Russia announced the capture of the key Ukrainian stronghold of Konstantinovka in northwestern Donbass before launching an offensive toward the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, the last two major cities in the region still under Ukrainian control. Over the past week, Russia has liberated six settlements in Donbass.

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Kiev has intensified long-range drone attacks deep inside Russia, increasingly striking energy and civilian infrastructure and prompting Moscow to denounce the raids as terrorist attacks against civilians. Last month, Russian Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik told RT that Ukraine is trying to mask its battlefield setbacks by attacking Russian civilians and presenting the strikes as “some kind of achievement.”

Russia has long accused Western weapons suppliers of enabling Ukraine’s deep-strike campaign. A Sunday Times report last week claimed that Ukraine has used British-made drones for long-range attacks inside Russia over the past six months. Moscow maintains that this aid makes Kiev’s foreign backers direct participants in the hostilities and only serves to prolong the conflict. Earlier this month, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that Russia will adopt “much harsher methods to destroy everything that enables the West to fuel Kiev’s war machine.”

READ MORE: Russia warns UK over drones used by Ukraine

The ‘coalition of the willing’, a group of Western states pushing for continued aid to Ukraine which includes the UK, France, and Germany, will convene in Kiev on Monday to discuss future weapons deliveries. Kiev is expected to seek additional interceptor missiles. The UK is set to announce that it will provide Ukraine with classified technical information needed to assemble long-range cruise missiles domestically.

Japan does not plan to supply Ukraine with weapons, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara has said. At a press briefing on Monday, he told reporters that Tokyo “is not considering any deliveries” of defensive or offensive weapons “at this time.”

Kihara was responding to Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergey Koretsky, who asked Japan on Sunday for anti-ballistic missiles, in an interview with Kyodo News.

“I would like to kindly ask one and only thing... anti-ballistic missiles,” he was cited as saying. “It’s the most important thing we need... I very much hope and count on your country.”

Koretsky took office in July and was reportedly close to disgraced businessman Timur Mindich, a close associate of Vladimir Zelensky who fled to Israel amid a corruption scandal.

“At this time, the government does not consider transferring weapons under the Self-Defense Forces Law to Ukraine,” Kihara said, referring to an overhaul in April of Japan’s defense-export policy that lifted restrictions limiting transfers to non-lethal categories and opened the door to lethal weapons exports.

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He noted that Tokyo has already provided Kiev with non-lethal equipment and pledged around $20 billion in recovery, reconstruction, and humanitarian aid, signaling that it intends to keep its assistance within these bounds.

Japan’s stance on the Ukraine conflict has been marked by contradiction. Tokyo has publicly sided with Kiev, condemning Russia’s military operation and taking part in the Western sanctions. However, it has stopped short of supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine, and unlike some Western nations, has retained stakes in key Russian energy projects, citing their importance to domestic energy security.

Over the past few months, Ukraine has increasingly sought new military hardware from its Western backers to counter severe battlefield shortages amid the steady advance of Russian forces. Last month, Russia announced the capture of the key Ukrainian stronghold of Konstantinovka in northwestern Donbass before launching an offensive toward the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, the last two major cities in the region still under Ukrainian control. Over the past week, Russia has liberated six settlements in Donbass.

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Kiev has intensified long-range drone attacks deep inside Russia, increasingly striking energy and civilian infrastructure and prompting Moscow to denounce the raids as terrorist attacks against civilians. Last month, Russian Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik told RT that Ukraine is trying to mask its battlefield setbacks by attacking Russian civilians and presenting the strikes as “some kind of achievement.”

Russia has long accused Western weapons suppliers of enabling Ukraine’s deep-strike campaign. A Sunday Times report last week claimed that Ukraine has used British-made drones for long-range attacks inside Russia over the past six months. Moscow maintains that this aid makes Kiev’s foreign backers direct participants in the hostilities and only serves to prolong the conflict. Earlier this month, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that Russia will adopt “much harsher methods to destroy everything that enables the West to fuel Kiev’s war machine.”

READ MORE: Russia warns UK over drones used by Ukraine

The ‘coalition of the willing’, a group of Western states pushing for continued aid to Ukraine which includes the UK, France, and Germany, will convene in Kiev on Monday to discuss future weapons deliveries. Kiev is expected to seek additional interceptor missiles. The UK is set to announce that it will provide Ukraine with classified technical information needed to assemble long-range cruise missiles domestically.

UN special rapporteur for Palestine Francesca Albanese has called for the deployment of an international protection force in the Palestinian territories in response to a rise in attacks by Israeli settlers.

“An International Protection Presence in West Bank/east Jerusalem and Gaza is absolutely URGENT,” Albanese wrote in a post on X on Monday.

“Third states have an obligation, per the ICJ, to act to end Israel’s unlawful occupation,” she said, using the acronym for the Hague-based International Court of Justice. She called on the offices of the UN secretary-general and the General Assembly to help bypass what she described as the “paralysis” of the organization’s Security Council, where the US has vetoed multiple resolutions critical of Israel.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law by the UN and most of the international community. Israel disputes this position. The settlements are also widely viewed as an obstacle to establishing a viable Palestinian state. In 2024, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion saying Israel should end its occupation of Palestinian territory “as rapidly as possible.”

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On Sunday, the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, condemned Israel’s plan to build more than 1,200 housing units under the E1 settlement project, saying it would “divide the West Bank in two, isolating East Jerusalem, and further eroding the viability of a two-state solution.”

Israel has taken an increasingly hawkish stance since the war in Gaza began with a Hamas attack in October 2023, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying last year that “there will be no Palestinian state to the west of the Jordan River.” More Israeli outposts have since been approved in the West Bank, which far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich hailed as “a revolution” in settlement expansion.

Settler violence has also surged. There were about 190 attacks against Palestinians per month in the first months of 2026, according to UN data cited by The Guardian. A 17-year-old Palestinian was killed and another wounded by gunfire on Friday during an altercation with settlers.

The UK will provide Ukraine with classified technical information needed to assemble long-range cruise missiles domestically.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to announce the move during a visit to Kiev on Monday, his first international trip since taking office last month.

According to a Downing Street press release published on Sunday, the British government has authorized European defense manufacturer MBDA to release classified information concerning UK-made components for SCALP, the French-produced version of Britain’s Storm Shadow. The air-launched missiles use shared French and British technology and have a range exceeding 250 kilometers.

Kiev and Paris are seeking to establish local production lines on Ukrainian territory. Britain says its decision will allow “the French and Ukrainians to move forward with the Ukrainian assembly of the missile.”

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“The Ukrainian people should be in no doubt: The UK is behind you today and for as long as it takes,” Burnham said, echoing the position of previous governments.

During his visit, Burnham is expected to meet Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and chair his first meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, established by Britain and France under his predecessor, Keir Starmer.

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Moscow has maintained that the UK and other suppliers of weapons to Kiev are directly responsible for Ukraine’s deep-strike campaign, which it says has frequently hit civilians.

According to The Sunday Times, drones manufactured by BAE Systems and another unnamed British company have been used to hit targets in Russia over the past six months, including two oil refineries. The UAVs reportedly included the Nyan, a jet-powered drone produced by a BAE Systems subsidiary.

In a statement last week, the Russian Embassy in London branded the UK “an accomplice and co-perpetrator of the bloody crimes and terrorist attacks” committed by Ukraine. It warned that “the deeper its involvement in the conflict and the greater its support for Kiev’s terrorist machinery, the higher the price it will pay.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that London will face consequences if it continues supplying drones used by Ukraine for strikes deep inside Russia.

“We have every right to regard the proudly proclaimed direct involvement of British missile forces in strikes against Russia as participation in the war, with all the consequences that entails,” Lavrov said.

A rapidly spreading human-caused wildfire in Nevada has injured at least six people and forced around 42,000 residents to evacuate, while tens of thousands more have been warned to prepare to leave.

The Hawk Fire broke out northwest of Reno on Saturday and had spread across more than 15,000 acres (61 square kilometers) by the following day. Three civilians and three first responders have been injured, while several structures have been destroyed.

The “GO NOW” evacuation zone has expanded to the edge of the University of Nevada, Reno, while another 45,000 people in an adjacent “GET SET” zone have been urged to leave and prepare to stay away for several days.

WATCH: Human-caused Hawk Fire explodes to 10,500 acres near Reno, Nevada; 42,000 evacuated pic.twitter.com/d95enUHNKM

— Rapid Report (@RapidReport2025) August 23, 2026

Shifting and strengthening winds caused the fire to change direction rapidly and reportedly jump over fire trucks, preventing crews from reaching some hot spots as residents attempted to flee.

“It was extremely confusing,” Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam said, describing how the winds repeatedly sent the flames in different directions and urging residents in evacuation-warning zones to leave. “Please get out if you can right now,” he said.

The Hawk Fire has consumed most of Mount Peavine here in Reno, NV. Many people in the north valleys area lost their homes and businesses were destroyed including a Copart warehouse and storage facility. I am located roughly 1.8 miles from the evacuation zone.@nyprepper1 pic.twitter.com/ifR9GXjpG4

— Mopar🇺🇲Man1152 (@SSecurity93929) August 23, 2026

Officials have determined that the fire was human-caused but have not disclosed how it started or whether it was accidental or deliberate, saying the precise cause remains under investigation.

READ MORE: Belgium battles record wildfire near German border (VIDEO)

Footage shared online shows a vast line of flames illuminating the night sky as thick smoke rises over the Reno area. Another video appears to show a man operating heavy machinery while surrounded by flames in an attempt to create a firebreak.

VIDEO: Nevada Army Guard drops water on Hawk Fire, Aug. 23, 2026. #hawkfire pic.twitter.com/aDSQzeleK9

— Nevada Guard (@NVNationalGuard) August 23, 2026

Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo has declared a state of emergency in Washoe County. The National Guard has deployed two helicopter crews and 60 troops to support firefighting operations and protect evacuated neighborhoods. Two hospitals have moved patients to safety, while authorities are monitoring whether the county jail will also need to be evacuated.

JUST IN: Human-caused Hawk Fire spreads toward neighborhoods in northwest Reno, Nevada, burning homes and injuring at least 6 people, according to press conference. pic.twitter.com/rLJ16jK6wt

— Scope Report (@ScopeReport_) August 23, 2026

Nearly 60,000 customers initially lost electricity, although that figure had fallen to around 10,000 by Sunday. Parts of US Route 395 were also closed.

The Hawk Fire comes as months of dry weather and record-low snowfall last winter fuel blazes across the American West. Fifteen new fires erupted across Nevada on Saturday alone. Earlier this month, wildfires near Spokane, Washington, forced around 60,000 people to evacuate, while three separate blazes north of Reno displaced more than 13,000 residents.

A Turkish sailor who survived a drone attack on one cargo ship was killed when the vessel that rescued him was struck as well, near Russia’s Black Sea coast. Ukraine has been escalating long-range strikes against Russian ports and civilian logistics.

According to multiple Turkish news reports on Saturday, Ilker Lazoglu was the cook on the San Marino-flagged bulker Necibe. The vessel was reportedly struck by drones at Russia’s Black Sea port of Tuapse on Tuesday, where it was scheduled to load 20,000 tons of wheat.

Along with 17 other crew members, he was evacuated to the Ural, a Turkish-owned and Cameroon-flagged vessel, Türkiye Today and Hurriyet reported. However, that ship was reportedly hit near Novorossiysk, which has faced numerous attacks by Ukrainian drones in recent months.

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Lazoglu and eight other sailors were injured in the attack, and he later died from his wounds, Hurriyet reported, citing a relative.

For several months, Ukrainian long-range strikes have been targeting Russian ports and international shipping that Kiev suspects of transporting Russian cargoes. Russian officials have warned that Ukraine is “playing with fire” by attacking other countries’ civilian ships in the Black Sea and have condemned the strikes as terrorist acts.

Moscow has retaliated by targeting Ukraine’s key Black Sea ports and shipping it says are handling imports for the Ukrainian military, effectively cutting off the country’s main export route.

READ MORE: Putin hints at ‘catastrophic scenario’ for Ukraine

Kiev opened this “Pandora’s box” by targeting “civilian targets and logistics,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday. Now Ukraine is reaching out via third-party countries to try to prevent the situation from “developing into a catastrophic scenario,” he said, adding that Moscow remains ready for peace talks provided they are based on the realities “on the ground.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was booed on Saturday during a visit to North Rhine-Westphalia, which had been hit by devastating wildfires. The heckling comes as Merz’s approval rating has fallen to a historic low amid growing public dissatisfaction with his performance.

The wildfire in Germany’s Eifel region was described as the largest in the region’s history and prompted the evacuation of around 2,000 people. Firefighting efforts, completed earlier this week, were complicated by the presence of possible unexploded World War II ordnance.

Merz’s speech, in which he thanked emergency services for bringing the fires under control, was repeatedly interrupted by shouts and whistles from some of those gathered, while several farmers also honked their tractors’ horns.

Bild reported later in the day that around 200 people attended the event, with some holding signs bearing slogans critical of Merz. The gathering marked the chancellor’s return to the public eye after a 23-day vacation; he last appeared in public on July 29, the tabloid noted.

Mit Buhrufen und Pfiffen ist Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz (CDU) am Samstag in Hürtgenwald-Gey empfangen worden. Merz reagierte gelassen: Er lasse sich von denen, die herumschreien, nicht beeindrucken. pic.twitter.com/XIo6Hzw5oT

— WDR (@WDRaktuell) August 22, 2026

Approval ratings for Merz’s coalition, comprising the Christian Democratic CDU/CSU bloc and the Social Democratic Party, have declined steadily since it took office in May 2025. The government has faced criticism over continued economic stagnation and its failure to deliver on pre-election promises.

On Sunday, the German Press Agency (dpa) reported, citing the latest YouGov poll, that most Germans expect the chancellor to be replaced before the next scheduled election in 2029.

READ MORE: Support for Germany’s ruling bloc falls to five-year low – poll

Earlier this year, Welt reported that the chancellor’s approval had fallen to a record low amid growing dissatisfaction with his performance and what respondents described as broken promises and a lack of leadership.

Last month, Der Spiegel cited sources as saying that CDU was discussing Merz’s possible departure as chancellor amid a botched cabinet reshuffle and growing discontent within the party.

A small-scale British power plant was taken offline because of a cyber attack, with UK authorities blaming an Iranian-linked hacking group, The Telegraph reported on Saturday.

In the UK, dozens of small-scale power plants are connected to the national grid, many of them gas-fired facilities that operate for just a few hours a week.

The newspaper did not specify which facility was targeted but noted that it was out of operation for four days in July.

The authorities reportedly notified the National Cyber Security Centre, a public-facing branch of the Government Communications Headquarters, held emergency briefings for energy company executives and sent businesses guidance on strengthening security measures.

According to The Telegraph, the incident coincided with a series of cyberattacks targeting water infrastructure in the US that affected facilities in 12 states. Earlier this month, CBS News cited sources as saying that more than 30 community water systems had been impacted and that the attacks might be linked to Iran-backed hackers.

READ MORE: Water systems across US hit by suspected cyberattacks – ABC News

Some utilities reportedly lost critical remote-control capabilities, forcing operators to switch to manual mode. In several cases, the hackers gained remote access to pumps, valves, and water pressure.

Western intelligence agencies have repeatedly claimed that critical national infrastructure and government bodies face a constant threat from hackers in Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia – allegations that the authorities in each country have dismissed. Moscow says that the West habitually cites the supposed threat of external aggression to justify a massive military buildup and the development of offensive cyber capabilities.

A US court has overturned a Trump administration rule that suspended the issuing of immigrant visas to people from 75 countries.

The State Department announced the restrictions in Janurary, which did not apply to tourist or student visas, saying they were needed to prevent the entry of those who would “take welfare and public benefits.” Russia, Brazil, Colombia, Albania, Egypt, Haiti, Somalia, and Pakistan were among the nations covered by the policy.

Judge Jeannette Vargas of Manhattan said in her ruling on Friday that US consular staff had been ordered to reject visas for all applicants from the blacklisted countries even if they were able to support themselves.

Under American laws, an immigrant’s application can only be turned down if the person is determined likely to become a “public charge” by a review of their finances, health, and skills.

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“The Policy, which categorically prohibits the issuance of immigrant visas based upon the nationality of the applicant, represents a direct abrogation of this statutory scheme,” the judge stated.

Vargas, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, also found that Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not have the authority to impose the visa ban.

The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by immigrant rights groups, along with applicants for immigrant visas and American citizens whose relatives had been denied visas to the country. The Trump administration can still appeal.

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Responding to NPR, a State Department spokesperson would not comment on ongoing litigation. The Trump administration is “protecting the American people by upholding the highest standards of screening and vetting of visa applicants,” the spokesperson insisted.

A sweeping clampdown on immigration, which the White House says is needed to improve domestic security, led to nationwide protests after the fatal shootings of two US citizens by federal agents in Minnesota in January.

Besides imposing visa restrictions, the US government has stepped up deportation of illegal aliens, with Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo saying earlier this week that some 2,300 Mexican nationals had been flown to his country from the US since the start of year, despite objections by Mexico.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) also faces scrutiny over conditions in its detention centers. At least 52 people died in the agency’s custody during the first 500 days of Trump’s second term, according to a report by Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights.

Iran has said that not “a single drop of oil” will leave the Persian Gulf and threatened to attack alternative export routes if neighboring states take part in the US economic pressure campaign against Tehran.

The warning comes after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday called on Washington’s allies and other countries to choose sides and stop doing business with Iran, as the US prepares what he touted as “the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world.”

In an interview with state broadcaster IRIB which aired on Saturday, Mohsen Rezaei, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, urged other countries not to participate “in the economic war with America,” saying that otherwise Tehran would treat them as enemies.

“If the countries surrounding Iran join the Americans in the economic war, not a single drop of oil will leave the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and we will also target other routes through which oil is exported from the Persian Gulf,” he said.

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If US President Donald Trump “wants to do something, we will retaliate in a seismic manner,” Rezaei added.

On Thursday, Trump announced what he called the “most crushing economic operation against Iran,” describing it as an “Economic D-Day” and calling on US allies “to stand with the United States of America to isolate and defeat the Iran threat.”

The announcement came after a 60-day window for negotiating a peace agreement with Tehran expired on Monday without a breakthrough, prompting Trump to declare that the talks had ended.

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Earlier on Wednesday, the UAE suspended economic ties with Iran after two ballistic missiles were fired at its territory. Tehran denied responsibility, describing the incident as an Israeli “false-flag operation.”

Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, which handles around a quarter of global seaborne oil and LNG trade, shortly after the US and Israel launched their joint bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic on February 28. The US Navy imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports in April and has since been guiding ships along routes that Tehran considers illegal.

Nearly 200 ships navigated the strait last week, up from 150 the previous week and just 40 two weeks earlier, bringing traffic to around 20% of pre-war levels, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations Center.

Kpler data showed that more than 80% of liquid cargo vessels crossing the strait over the past two weeks either used a US-backed route through Omani waters that Iran considers illegal or switched off their tracking systems, likely to use the same corridor. Five vessels were struck by Iranian projectiles during the past week, resulting in two reported casualties. All five ships were reportedly damaged but not lost.

Denmark plans to stop issuing temporary residence permits to Ukrainian refugees from regions least affected by the conflict with Russia, the EU nation’s immigration minister, Morten Bodskov, has said. The announcement follows a wider trend among European nations to cut benefits to those fleeing the conflict with Russia and strip protections for military-aged males from Ukraine.

In June, the government in Copenhagen presented a bill aimed at preventing military-aged men from Ukraine, who do not have an official exemption from service, from receiving asylum.

In a statement on Saturday, Bodskov said that Denmark wants to further tighten the rules for those who escaped the fighting, despite prolonging the Ukraine Special Act that allows them to stay in the country until March 2028.

Denmark has accepted 47,600 displaced Ukrainians since the escalation between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022, according to the minister’s data.

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The “large number” of refugees puts some Danish cities and towns under “severe pressure” as they struggle to find housing for them and integrate them into the society, he explained.

In order to relieve the municipalities, “the government will now adjust the rules so that only the Ukrainians who need protection the most can be granted a residence permit under the relaxed rules,” Bodskov said.

This means that people from 14 “less war-torn” regions in western and central Ukraine, including Lviv, Transcarpathia, Ivano-Frankovsk, Zhytomir and others, will not be able to apply for a residence permit, he added.

Norway and Switzerland previously introduced similar restrictions, which led to a drop in the number of applications, the minister stressed.

In early August, the EU announced that it is ending its temporary protections for military-aged Ukrainian men. Starting from this week, the bloc obliges all refugees from the country to provide proof that they aren’t dodging the draft.

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More than 4.35 million refugees from Ukraine are currently registered across the EU, according to Eurostat data. Many countries such as Poland, Germany and Hungary have been cutting back benefits for them in recent months amid increasing pressure on their welfare systems and public frustration over the rising cost of accepting migrants.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly called for military-age men to return from abroad due to severe troop shortages and continued setbacks on the front line with Russia. Vladimir Zelensky said in April that it would be “a matter of justice.”

In order to replenish the ranks of its armed forces, Kiev has resorted to so-called “basification,” in which draft officers ambush men on the streets, often using force against those who resist.

Moscow has accused Kiev’s Western backers of being willing to wage a proxy war against Russia “to the last Ukrainian.”

US far-right influencer Jake Lang, known for his Quran-burning stunts, has been arrested on suspicion of rioting after clashes with counterprotesters outside Minneapolis City Hall.

Lang spent four years in prison over the riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, before being pardoned by President Donald Trump. This week, he announced what he described as a “crusader freedom of speech rally” in Minnesota’s largest city on Saturday.

The event was billed in support of Shiloh Hendrix, a white woman found guilty last month of disorderly conduct following a viral video showing her using a racial slur against an autistic black child at a playground in Rochester. She was fined $1,000, given a stayed 90-day jail sentence and one year of supervised probation, and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.

Mayor Jacob Frey called on Lang’s opponents not to attend the “lame-a** racist rally” and urged them to avoid confrontation. “We don’t need to take the bait,” he said in a message on X on Thursday. Nevertheless, an angry crowd formed in anticipation of the event.

BREAKING: Chaotic scene in Minneapolis as Jake Lang rides in the bed of a pickup truck outside city hall pic.twitter.com/fjvMqUIh4A

— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) August 22, 2026

Lang’s two vehicles drove onto the sidewalk in front of City Hall, while Lang stood in the back of a pickup truck holding a large sign that read, “Jake Lang loves black people but hates n***ers.” One of his associates held a tall white cross.

WATCH: Protesters PEPPER SPRAYED as they Smash Up Jake Lang's truck, while he drives through the side walk outside Minneapolis City Hall.

Lang crew was seen hovering in the back by the end of the drive as police struggled to keep crowds away.

Originally promoted as "N March",… pic.twitter.com/O3RtJwZV3W

— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) August 22, 2026

Counterprotesters attempted to block the vehicles and clashed with Lang as police tried to separate the groups, resulting in chaotic scuffles.

According to 5 Eyewitness News, police arrested all seven occupants of the vehicles, including Lang, and later arrested four other individuals in connection with the clashes. A message on Lang’s official X account said he was “brutally assaulted” and taken “as a political hostage.”A message on Lang’s official X account said he was “brutally assaulted” and taken “as a political hostage.”

In November 2025, Lang attempted to burn a copy of the Quran in Dearborn, Michigan, home to a large Muslim community, but was stopped by a counterprotester. He tried setting another copy of the Quran on fire outside a Dearborn mosque in May but was again stopped when someone sprayed it with a fire extinguisher.

In January, Lang held a demonstration outside the headquarters of the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC in Washington, DC, with a banner reading “Make Jerusalem Christian Again,” and threw chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil.

The Pentagon has fired senior employees of its newspaper Stars and Stripes after they publicly criticized what they called government interference in its editorial policy.

First published during the US Civil War in 1861, the newspaper has served as a voice for American troops and reaches about 1.4 million readers daily online and through its overseas print editions. Although partly funded by the Pentagon, it is legally required to maintain editorial independence. The paper recently criticized US tactics in the war against Iran and reported on numerous problems facing the military during the campaign.

Editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, publisher Max Lederer, and Middle East reporter Lara Korte each received a notice of separation on Friday citing insubordination.

Slavin told AP that he was fired “for stating in a CBS interview that hypothetical censorship of news for service members would constitute a red line.”

“I stand by the principle that Stars and Stripes must remain editorially independent, as required by law and by the department’s own policies,” he added.

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Korte, who participated in the same interview last month, wrote on X that she was dismissed after telling CBS that she worked for Stars and Stripes and “not the Pentagon, not any administration, and not any policy maker.”

Lederer, who had served as publisher for 19 years and was due to retire in September, wrote in his resignation letter on Tuesday that his understanding of the newspaper’s “value and mission” differed “in fundamental ways” from the Pentagon leadership’s plans.

In an interview published on July 5, the journalists criticized a push to rid the paper of what the Pentagon termed “woke distractions that siphon morale,” as well as changes to regulations guaranteeing its independence. Slavin said his team had been barred from publishing news from paid wire services such as AP, making it “more difficult for us to cover breaking news.”

Jacqueline Smith, the publication’s ombudsman responsible for safeguarding its editorial independence, was fired in January after writing an article critical of Pentagon press restrictions. She later sued the Defense Department, alleging that her dismissal was retaliatory.

Stars and Stripes was among the first outlets to report on deteriorating living conditions and low morale aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which spent more than 200 days operating near Iran without port calls. It also reported on ammunition shortages and published an op-ed earlier this month by retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel L. Davis, who argued that “America’s war against Iran has already been lost at the strategic level.”

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused media outlets of spreading “fake news” and sued several of them. His War Secretary, Pete Hegseth, has vowed to push “woke culture” out of the military and revive “the warrior spirit.”

Six EU nations want the bloc to introduce a windfall tax on oil companies’ “excessive profits” linked to price hikes caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran, several media outlets reported on Saturday, citing a joint letter from the countries’ finance ministers.

Oil prices have repeatedly topped $100 per barrel this year due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which handles around a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil and LNG trade.

Global crude benchmark Brent futures reached $102 per barrel last month, with Goldman Sachs predicting that prices could exceed $120 in the fourth quarter and average $100 next year if disruptions in the strait continue through 2027.

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Finance ministers from Portugal, Spain, Austria, Italy, Poland, and Germany called the crisis “one of the biggest supply shocks in decades,” according to the reports. In a letter addressed to the Irish finance minister, they warned that “around the world, discontent is growing over the rising cost of living” and called for a “common approach that ensures those who profit from the crisis contribute their share to reducing the burden on the general population.” Ireland currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council.

The initiative, reportedly led by Germany, seeks to “tackle the issue of high energy prices by discussing an EU-wide framework to tax excess profits.” The ministers demanded that the issue be placed on the agenda of the bloc’s next meeting of economic and finance ministers, scheduled for mid-September.

Oxfam, a network of anti-poverty NGOs, estimated last month that the combined profits of BP, Chevron, Eni, ExxonMobil, Shell, and TotalEnergies amounted to nearly €40 billion ($46.6 billion) between April and June and could reach €147 billion ($171.2 billion) by the end of the year. The charity called for a permanent windfall tax of at least 50% on profits exceeding a 10% return on investment.

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The EU has been struggling with a cost-of-living crisis exacerbated by its decision in early 2022 to phase out Russian energy supplies in response to the Ukraine conflict.

According to the European Commission, Russian oil accounted for 27% of the bloc’s crude imports, while Russian gas covered 45% of the EU’s needs in early 2022. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz acknowledged last month that the loss of Russian imports had contributed to the country’s current energy problems, while refusing to change Berlin’s stance on anti-Russian sanctions.

The EU has meanwhile continued to set records for Russian LNG imports despite Brussels’ goal of ending them entirely. Belgium, in particular, relied entirely on Russian supplies of the fuel last month, Bloomberg reported in early August.

The Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) has fined US ride-hailing company Uber €825 million ($964 million) for using automated systems to suspend drivers suspected of fraud or given low customer ratings without adequate human review.

The watchdog found that Uber’s use of automated decision-making to suspend drivers between 2018 and 2022 violated the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Tensions are mounting between Washington and Brussels over multi-billion-dollar fines imposed on American tech giants, with US President Donald Trump recently threatening tariffs in response to what he has described as unfair treatment of US firms.

In a statement on Friday, the AP said Uber had violated EU privacy rules by using a fully automated system to suspend drivers suspected of fraud or those who received low customer ratings.

“Uber has committed serious infringements,” AP vice president Monique Verdier said in the statement. Drivers were summarily suspended and had their incomes cut off, she said.

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“That’s forbidden. A computer is not allowed to make independent decisions that have major consequences for you. A human should have reviewed this first.”

The AP said it launched the investigation following a complaint from French human rights advocacy group LDH. The Dutch watchdog handled the case because Uber’s European headquarters is located in the Netherlands.

Uber denied that it permanently deactivated driver accounts without human intervention and said it would appeal.

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The AP said the fine was calculated under European guidelines that allow penalties of up to 4% of a company’s worldwide annual turnover. Uber generated about €44.5 billion ($52 billion) in global revenue in 2025. The €825 million penalty amounts to roughly 1.85% of that figure.

Trump has repeatedly threatened the EU with economic retaliation over penalties imposed on American technology companies. In July, he said the US would launch a trade investigation after the bloc fined Google approximately $1 billion for violating competition rules, warning that it could lead to new tariffs on EU imports.

US Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has allowed work on President Donald Trump’s controversial White House ballroom to continue despite a pending lawsuit. On Friday, the judge issued an administrative stay of lower courts’ rulings that would have halted construction.

Last month, an appeals court supported a decision by a federal district court judge stating that the project requires congressional approval and that work must stop until it is given. Trump then filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court.

Trump argued that work on the 90,000-square-foot addition to the White House needed to continue for the sake of national security and the president’s own safety. The construction includes a five-story underground military complex that would include shelters and a hospital to protect senior officials in case of an emergency, the Washington Post reported, citing court filings. According to the paper’s estimates, the overall project could cost $600 million.

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The Trump administration is also said to have claimed that the ballroom itself would be outfitted with missile-resistant columns and a drone-proof roof, adding an additional layer of protection to the underground bunker and the White House in general.

Roberts’ decision is reportedly aimed at giving the Supreme Court more time to assess the emergency appeal. It is unclear how long the administrative stay might last. According to the Washington Post, such injunctions usually stay in place for days.

Trump praised the development on Truth Social, stating he was “grateful” and calling the project “vital for National Security.” He also vowed to make the ballroom “the greatest of its kind.” On Saturday, he also claimed that the project was “under budget, and ahead of schedule” and would cost taxpayers “zero dollars.”

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The National Trust for Historic Preservation – a privately funded non-profit overseeing protection of historic places across the US and which challenged the ballroom in court – stated that the decision was “not final,” adding that they were awaiting “further action.” It has questioned the administration’s claim that the project is needed for national security.

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer blasted the judge’s decision by accusing what he called the “MAGA Supreme Court” of “rubber stamping Trump’s vanity-driven, gilded corruption.” He also claimed that the administration was “wasting money” on Trump’s “pet projects.”

The ballroom started being built in October 2025. A section of the East Wing of the White House was torn down to make space for the addition, expected to seat 650 people – more than three times the space in the East Room, the largest event space in the White House. The Democrats were quick to slam the project as a “disgrace.”

According to the Washington Post, officials told the Supreme Court this month that construction was about “65% complete,” with some 250 people supposed to be working on it 20 hours a day, seven days a week.

Israeli settlers shot and killed a Palestinian teenager near Hebron in the occupied West Bank, Palestine’s Health Ministry said in a statement on Friday. In a separate incident the same day, the IDF killed a retired Palestinian man in Jenin, according to Al Jazeera.

Karim Sanad Shalaldeh, 17, was shot dead by Israeli settlers during an attack on the town of Sa’ir, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. A 70-year-old man was also wounded by the gunfire, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Israeli troops were sent to the area after Israelis “present in the area without advanced authorization” were injured by thrown rocks, the IDF said. A “security official” then opened fire, causing Palestinian casualties, it said, adding that Israeli police are investigating.

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On the same day, Israeli forces killed a 58-year-old Palestinian man in Jenin, according to Wafa. Fathi Khazem, a retired colonel of the Palestinian National Security Forces, was shot dead during an Israeli raid of his home, Al Jazeera reported. According to the IDF account, “a terrorist armed with a knife” attempted to attack a soldier and was shot.

The shootings came just days after Israel opened a tender for the construction of more than 1,200 homes in the occupied West Bank as part of a controversial settlement expansion unveiled in July. Critics say the construction will effectively cut Palestinian territory in two if completed.

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On Thursday, leaders of more than a dozen countries, including Germany, France, and the UK, as well as the European Commission, issued a joint statement condemning the project as illegal and “unacceptable.”

Rising violence in the Palestinian territory has also drawn a warning from the US. Israeli settlers who take West Bank property belonging to Palestinian-Americans could face sanctions, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Reuters.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War. Around three million Palestinians live there along with more than 600,000 Israeli settlers. Under the internationally backed two-state solution, the West Bank would form part of a future Palestinian state together with East Jerusalem and Gaza.

READ MORE: Is Israel trying to start a proxy war in Syria?

Moscow has long stressed the conflict can only be resolved through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

Imagine you are a Chilean who’s lived in America – the so-called “Land of the Free” – for decades in peace and tranquility. Suddenly, one humid day in late October 2025, in your adopted home of Fort Myers, Florida, you are snatched in broad daylight then imprisoned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Your capture remains completely unknown to the outside world until January the next year, when the US Department of Homeland Security names you among the “worst of worst criminal aliens” arrested by ICE to date. You are accused of committing “homicide” almost 50 years ago. Your incarceration makes international headlines, and comes as a personal shock. But not because you’re innocent. 

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You are no ordinary Chilean. You are Armando Fernandez Larios, a 76-year-old fascist intelligence veteran who in September 1976 helped assassinate former Chilean Defense Minister Orlando Letelier using a car bomb. An outspoken opponent of dictator Augusto Pinochet, Letelier fled Santiago a year after the September 1973 CIA coup that installed Pinochet in power.

What role precisely Fernandez Larios played in Letelier’s murder, which also took the life of his colleague Ronni Karpen Moffitt, is still not fully clear. He has told a variety of stories about what he knew, when he knew it, and what he did and did not do regarding the event. But Fernandez Larios was a key operative.

It seemed in 2025 ICE had gotten their man, in a huge win for immigration enforcement and international justice. But this March, Fernandez Larios was released from jail. Court documents obtained by the National Security Archive show he launched a legal action, accusing the US government of “breach of contract” by violating a plea deal he cut in 1987.

That agreement saw Fernandez Larios provide information to US prosecutors on Letelier’s assassination, in return for an extremely light prison sentence and promise the government “would neither seek to deport [him] to Chile nor to cooperate in his extradition to Chile.” Rather than let Fernandez Larios’ action go to court, ICE freed him. Presumably, he’s sunning himself in Fort Myers right now.

The CIA connection

A huge archive of declassified documents related to Letelier’s assassination analyzed by RT Investigates, including secret statements made to US officials by Fernandez Larios, sheds shocking light on the case. They show that in mid-1976, Fernandez Larios was tasked by Pinochet’s regime with obtaining fake passports and US visas to fly to Washington DC.

Fernandez Larios was joined by Michael Townley, Pinochet’s US-born lead hitman and CIA double agent. They secured visas from Chile’s US embassy, after claiming to be on a secret mission to meet with CIA deputy director Vernon Walters at Langley headquarters in Virginia. Fernandez Larios traveled to Washington first, to conduct surveillance on Letelier’s movements in advance of his assassination. 

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On September 9, 1976, 12 days before Letelier’s murder, Fernandez Larios met Townley in the lavatory of New York’s John F. Kennedy airport to provide him with a surveillance map, notes on Letelier’s home and office addresses, as well as cash for the operation. Townley then recruited members of the Cuban National Movement, to assist him in building, placing, and detonating the car bomb.  

A militant anti-Fidel Castro Cuban exile group, CNM was founded by veterans of the CIA’s failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, and worked closely with the CIA. Experts at explosives, the bomb was planted without detection then detonated as Letelier, Moffitt and her husband Michael were driving to work in downtown DC. Michael was sole survivor of the bombing.

In April 2010, it was revealed that only days before Letelier was killed, a State Department warning due to be sent to Chile, against carrying out “the assassination of subversives, politicians and prominent figures,” was cancelled at the behest of Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. His department had been extremely worried about Pinochet carrying out killings outside Chile.

“We are trying to head off a series of international murders that could do serious damage to the international status and reputation of the countries involved,” Kissinger had been informed by aides, but he was unmoved. A close confidante of Pinochet who’d personally assisted his bloodstained rise to power, did Kissinger know Letelier was due to be killed?

The coverup and polygraph test 

In the aftermath of the assassination, Fernandez Larios participated in an extensive cover-up orchestrated by Chilean officials, including Pinochet himself. After being identified by the US media along with Townley as a lead suspect in Letelier’s murder, he deceived military investigators, gave false testimony to the Chilean Supreme Court, and lied to FBI and Justice Department investigators.

By 1985 though, Fernandez Larios was open to talking, having back-channel discussions with the US about testifying on Letelier’s assassination. In return for defecting and providing what he knew – or claimed to know – about the killing, and Pinochet’s intelligence operations generally, Fernandez Larios would receive extreme leniency, then be allowed to stay in the US, safe from extradition.

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Fernandez Larios was debriefed by US officials in Santiago in mid-January 1987, then subjected to polygraph tests in Brazil. He consistently denied knowing his 1976 mission to Washington DC was an assassination plot. The lie detector results showed “consistent signs of deception in Fernandez’ disclaimers.” Under further debriefing, he finally admitted “his surveillance contributed to the death of Letelier and Moffitt.”

A late January 1987 State Department cable on what to do with Fernandez Larios however disregarded the polygraph tests, shockingly stating he was “not a murderer or party to a conspiracy to murder.” The memo judged his information on the Letelier-Moffitt case to be of “limited value”, but stated “foreign policy benefits” to providing him a generous plea deal were “substantial.”

In February 1987, Fernandez Larios pleaded guilty to being an “accessory after the fact” to Letelier’s assassination. Within just five months, a State Department legal advisor wrote to the US Parole Commission, praising Fernandez Larios’ “character” and “his willingness to come forward and pay his debt” over his role in the crime. He was paroled in autumn 1987.

The “Caravan of Death”

In keeping with “consistent signs of deception” when discussing his foreknowledge of Letelier’s assassination, Fernandez Larios also did not tell US officials about many violent atrocities he personally committed as a member of Pinochet’s elite military unit, the “Caravan of Death.” 

Following Pinochet’s seizure of power this deadly Caravan flew around Chile kidnapping local officials who remained loyal to Salvador Allende, who died in contested circumstances during the coup. Approximately 72 dissidents were executed or “disappeared.”  Fernandez Larios was identified by multiple witnesses as one of the most ruthless members of the military death squad.

After Pinochet’s fall in 1990, investigations into his regime’s many atrocities were opened in Chile. In several cases, substantial evidence against Fernandez Larios as a personal perpetrator of appalling crimes was found, leading to Santiago launching legal proceedings. In accordance with his plea deal though, Fernandez Larios remained at liberty in Florida.

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It took until March 1999 for a civil suit to be launched against him in the US. The family of Winston Cabello, a 28-year-old Allenda-era regional planning director executed alongside 12 other political prisoners by the Caravan of Death in October 1973, accused Fernandez Larios of “extrajudicial killing, torture, crimes against humanity and cruel and inhuman treatment.”

Numerous Chileans identified Fernandez Larios as a participant in the torture and executions of prisoners in multiple municipalities. One witnessed him personally slashing Cabello to death with a knife. The three-week trial ended in October 2003, Fernandez Larios found liable for extrajudicial killings, torture and crimes against humanity. Cabello’s family was awarded $4 million in damages. 

That sum remains uncollected, and Fernandez Larios is once again a free man after his recent spell in prison, despite him truly being the “worst of the worst” captured by ICE. A strong case for his deportation to a country other than Chile remains. He has not been granted a special “snitch” visa protecting foreign informants from deportation. 

US President Donald Trump has broken into a scornful tirade against conservative journalist and podcaster Tucker Carlson, as well as his other allies-turned-critics, including former Congress members Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie.

In a Truth Social post on Friday, he branded the trio a bunch of “losers” having little to no chance in US politics and incapable of bringing any meaningful change.

Trump’s rant particularly targeted a meeting between Carlson, Massie, and Greene earlier this month, which was followed by the journalist unveiling a political manifesto claiming that the American political system is “totally incapable of responding to reality” and suggesting a reform involving “a third party or multiple parties.”

The journalist also repeatedly criticized Washington’s war on Iran, arguing that the US betrayed its own national interests by acting on Israel’s behalf. “I think America lost its sovereignty many years ago,” he told RT last month. Speaking on Sanchez Effect last week, he also called the US political system a “fraud,” accusing both Republicans and Democrats of “collusion against the American people.”

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The president stated in his post that Carlson was a “totally irrelevant” person with “surprisingly… very Low I.Q.” He claimed that Carlson was supposedly planning to “run for political office” while stating at the same time that “nobody cares about him any longer” and he had “no chance” at any political race where he could “probably take a couple of points away from whatever the Republican ticket happens to be.”

Carlson himself has repeatedly denied personal political ambitions but says he would back any attempt to create a third party.

The president also branded Massie a “failed politician, and a real JERK” voting “No” on “everything” and accused Greene of going from an “ultra conservative to a liberal ‘fool’" in weeks simply because he allegedly did not answer her calls.

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Massie and Greene both publicly condemned the war with Iran and criticized Trump over what Greene called his efforts to conceal documents related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“What a team this would be, THREE LOSERS, and a pocketful of change!” the president wrote, telling them to “join the Radical Left Dumocrats.”

The rendezvous in early August was treated by the US media as a step towards potentially creating a third party to contest the 2028 election, although no official statements were made. Greene did say that “the movement has begun” in a post on X featuring a photo from the meeting.

The former congresswoman also responded to Trump’s post in a lengthy statement of her own, calling Trump “a neocon puppet of Israel” and blaming his tirade on his own “bad polling.” Massie claimed on X that the president was “weeks away from failing his midterms in November” while stating that he “should have listened to” him, Greene, and Carlson.

Washington’s clash with the International Criminal Court exposes the contradictions between supranational legal claims, American exceptionalism, and the rise of multipolar sovereignty.

The latest clash between Washington and the International Criminal Court says more about the structure of the present world order than about Tomoko Akane or Abdoulaye Seye. On August 18, 2026, the United States imposed sanctions on Akane, the Japanese president of the ICC, and Seye, a Senegalese senior trial lawyer in the Office of the Prosecutor. The measures freeze assets subject to American jurisdiction and restrict access to the American financial system. The ICC answered by calling the sanctions a “flagrant attack” on the independence of the court. Nine of its 18 judges, both deputy prosecutors, a former prosecutor, and another staff member now face American sanctions. Washington says the court has exceeded its mandate by pursuing officials from states that never accepted its authority, above all the US and Israel. This dispute raises the oldest political question in a new form: who has the right to judge whom? The liberal international order promised an answer based on universal law. The American response supplies another answer based on sovereign power. A multipolar view has reason to distrust both claims when either seeks authority over civilizations and states that never freely granted it.

The American position contains a genuine question of sovereignty, even when Washington applies that principle selectively. The US never became a party to the Rome Statute. Israel also remains outside the court. From the American perspective, an international tribunal created by a treaty cannot simply acquire authority over American soldiers, officials, or allied leaders without American consent. The ICC answers that its jurisdiction can arise through the territory on which alleged crimes occurred, including territory belonging to states that accepted the Rome Statute. This is the legal basis behind some proceedings involving nationals of countries outside the court. Lawyers can argue over jurisdiction, territorial consent, complementarity, admissibility, and treaty interpretation, but that us beside the point of the political issue in question here. A multipolar order begins from the existence of several sovereign centers of power, each possessing its own history, institutions, political traditions, and conception of justice. Any institution claiming authority above these centers carries an immense burden of legitimacy. A tribunal with universal ambitions must either possess genuine universal consent or depend upon political power to enforce its judgments. The ICC possesses neither a world state behind it nor universal membership. The US, China, Russia, India, Israel, and several other important powers stand outside its system. Such a court can aspire to universality, yet aspiration alone cannot create a universal political community.

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Yet Washington weakens its own argument whenever it converts sovereignty into a privilege reserved for itself and its allies. Sovereign equality means that American sovereignty deserves respect because every sovereign state deserves respect. American exceptionalism follows another principle: Washington claims freedoms that it frequently refuses to extend to others. The US objects when an institution beyond its control threatens American officials, while successive American governments have used sanctions, financial restrictions, diplomatic pressure, military power, and extraterritorial legislation to pressure individuals and companies far beyond American territory into complying with American policy. Washington rejects the ICC because the court supposedly projects authority beyond the consent of sovereign states; Washington then answers that alleged violation by using the global reach of the dollar and the American financial system against foreign judges and prosecutors. Sovereignty becomes both the defense and the weapon. An international institution may pursue justice until its work touches the protected sphere of American power. At that point, financial coercion begins. For advocates of multipolarity, this episode illustrates why the concentration of global finance, sanctions power, communications infrastructure, and legal influence inside one geopolitical center creates political dependence even for institutions that describe themselves as independent.

The ICC itself deserves scrutiny from the same multipolar standpoint. The answer to American domination cannot consist of transferring ultimate authority from Washington to The Hague. The court arose during the high tide of the post-Cold War order, when Western political ideas increasingly appeared under universal names. Liberal democracy became “democracy.” Western doctrines of rights became “human rights.” Western political assumptions became “international norms.” Institutions created within that historical climate often inherited the same universal language. The moral appeal is easy to understand. Genocide, mass killing, torture, and deliberate attacks upon civilians are terrible acts, and societies naturally seek ways to punish those responsible. The difficulty begins when moral judgment becomes a permanent supranational machinery claiming jurisdiction across radically different political worlds. International criminal law then enters the sphere of geopolitics. Prosecutors depend upon evidence supplied by states. Courts depend upon governments to arrest suspects. International bodies depend upon funding, diplomatic backing, banking systems, travel access, and political cooperation. Enforcement follows the distribution of power. A defendant from a weak state may find himself in The Hague. A leader protected by a great power may remain beyond its reach. The language remains universal while the ability to enforce it remains unequal. That gap between universal principle and political reality has haunted international justice from its beginning.

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The case involving Israel has made these contradictions extremely evident. Washington’s campaign against the court intensified after the ICC pursued Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. American officials argue that the court lacks legitimate authority over Israeli leaders and presents a danger to American personnel as well. Human Rights Watch takes the opposite position and describes the sanctions as an effort to shield American and Israeli officials from accountability. These rival claims are a sign of a deep transformation. For decades, international institutions appeared strongest when their judgments fell upon governments situated outside the central Western alliance. Their authority becomes much harder to sustain when legal mechanisms move towards leaders of states protected by Washington. The result is a collision between two competing claims to authority: the ICC’s claim to universal jurisdiction and America’s claim to exceptional freedom from external judgment. The first seeks a law capable of reaching across political boundaries; the second reserves a sphere of exemption for the hegemon and selected partners. Multipolarity points towards a third principle: rules between civilizations require consent, reciprocity, and equal application. A rule that binds Senegal yet spares America lacks equality. A court that claims authority over states that reject its jurisdiction faces a problem of consent. Both problems belong in the same discussion.

Japan’s reaction adds another layer. Tokyo has long stood among Washington’s closest allies, yet the Japanese government called the sanctions against Akane “very unfortunate” and reaffirmed its support for the ICC and for the prosecution of serious international crimes. This dispute cuts across the familiar division between the West and its geopolitical opponents. Japan supports the American alliance system while also defending an institution that Washington now seeks to weaken. Such disagreements will become more common as the unipolar age recedes. States will increasingly refuse to place every question of law, trade, security, technology, culture, and diplomacy inside a single geopolitical hierarchy. They may cooperate with Washington in one field, Beijing in another, Moscow in yet another, and regional institutions in still another. This fluidity lies near the heart of multipolarity. Multipolar politics does not require every country to join an anti-American bloc. Such a bloc would merely reproduce bipolar logic. It means recovering the capacity to judge particular questions according to national interests, treaty obligations, civilizational traditions, and regional realities. Japan’s criticism shows how an allied state can maintain its strategic relationship with Washington while publicly rejecting an American measure that conflicts with another part of its foreign policy.

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The sanctions also expose the political character of the global financial system. An American sanction carries weight because the US controls access to institutions and networks that reach far outside its borders. A judge living in Europe can feel the force of a decision taken in Washington because banks, payment systems, corporations, insurers, and technology firms fear American penalties. This gives the US something close to a global administrative power without the formal structure of a world government. The same mechanism has appeared in sanctions against states, companies, businessmen, politicians, media organizations, and private citizens. From a multipolar perspective, the central question therefore concerns architecture. A world containing several sovereign poles requires several financial centers, payment systems, reserve assets, legal forums, information networks, and diplomatic mechanisms. Otherwise formal sovereignty survives while material sovereignty disappears. A government may possess a flag, parliament, army, and constitution while its officials, citizens, and companies remain vulnerable to decisions made inside another country’s financial bureaucracy. The present conflict with the ICC dramatizes this problem because the target is an institution that describes itself as independent. Judicial independence means little when foreign financial power can impose serious personal costs on judges for performing acts authorized by their institution. Even critics of the ICC should understand the danger contained in that precedent.

A mature multipolar position therefore has little reason to choose between worship of the ICC and worship of American sovereignty. The better principle is sovereign equality joined to negotiated international responsibility. Great crimes require mechanisms of judgment, yet those mechanisms gain strength through broad consent, reciprocity, clear jurisdiction, regional legitimacy, and rules applied to powerful and weak states alike. International law will command deeper respect when it grows from agreements among civilizations instead of presenting the political inheritance of one historical era as the final constitution of mankind. The same standard must apply to Washington. America may defend its sovereignty, but that defense becomes credible only when it respects the sovereignty of others. The ICC may defend judicial independence, but its claim to authority becomes stronger when its structure reflects a genuinely plural distribution of global power. The dispute over Akane and Seye therefore marks another stage in the breakdown of the old order. The future will contain fewer institutions capable of speaking unquestioned in the name of “the international community.” That phrase once concealed a hierarchy. Multipolarity brings the hierarchy into view. From there a different order can emerge: several great political spaces, several legal traditions, and several centers of power negotiating common rules without granting any capital, court, or ideology the right to tower above humanity as its final judge.

International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane has warned of what she described as the erosion of international law after US authorities imposed sanctions on her and another senior ICC official.

The Hague-based institution was created in 2002 under the Rome Statute to prosecute genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. So far, 123 countries have ratified the treaty and are full members of the court. However, major global powers including Russia, China, India and the US have either not signed or not ratified the agreement.

“I had anticipated these sanctions against me to some extent, so I am not surprised,” she said in a comment included in a social media post on Friday by Japanese publisher Bungei Shunju, which had published her book. “What is important is not to let this become the beginning of the end of the international rule of law.”

On Tuesday, Washington sanctioned Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the institution as a “corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate.”

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The designations are part of a campaign announced by Rubio last month to “systematically dismantle the threat posed” by the ICC to US sovereignty.

The ICC said on Wednesday that it “strongly rejects” the new designations, calling them “a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution.”

The White House has accused the court of targeting citizens of states that have neither consented to its jurisdiction nor ratified the Rome Statute. The ICC previously investigated alleged crimes by US military and intelligence personnel in Afghanistan despite Washington not being a member.

Israel has also rejected the court’s jurisdiction. Nevertheless, in 2024 the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. US President Donald Trump later condemned the warrants in an executive order signed in February 2025.

The court has also faced criticism elsewhere, with Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Chad moving to withdraw from the ICC this summer, accusing it of disproportionately targeting African countries.

READ MORE: US targets ICC chief in push to ‘dismantle’ court

The Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019, but the court retained jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed while it was a member. Former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested under an ICC warrant and transferred to The Hague in March 2025 over alleged crimes against humanity linked to his anti-drug campaign.

Russia has likewise rejected the court’s authority. The ICC issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova in March 2023 over the alleged unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children. Moscow called the warrants legally void, rejected the allegations and said it had evacuated unaccompanied minors from the war zone while taking steps to return them to their legal guardians upon request.

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have agreed to pay $400 million to settle a US government lawsuit accusing the social media platform of illegally collecting children’s personal data.

The out-of-court settlement, announced by the US Department of Justice on Friday, ends the case without the allegations being tested at trial and without any determination of liability.

The case was brought in 2024 under the Biden administration by the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission. The government accused TikTok of knowingly allowing millions of children under age 13 to create regular accounts and collecting and retaining their personal information without parental consent.
It also alleged that TikTok frequently failed to delete children’s accounts and data when requested by parents.

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The resolution comes against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s dramatic reversal on TikTok. During his first term, Trump sought to effectively ban the Chinese-owned platform on national security grounds unless ByteDance relinquished control of its US operations. By the 2024 presidential campaign, however, he opposed efforts to ban it, arguing that its disappearance would benefit rival Meta.

“If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in March 2024, referring to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People!”

Trump has feuded with Meta for years, accusing Facebook of political bias and censorship even before it suspended his accounts following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. The feud intensified after the suspension, with Trump repeatedly accusing the company of interfering in US elections.

The tone of Friday’s DOJ announcement also contrasts sharply with that used when the case was launched. In 2024, the department described TikTok and ByteDance as “repeat offenders” operating “on a massive scale.” The Trump administration’s DOJ, by contrast, highlighted “significant changes” to TikTok’s ownership, management, compliance and privacy practices.

READ MORE: Whoever wins the Meta trial, the masses will remain willing slaves

Since returning to the White House last year, Trump has repeatedly intervened to prevent TikTok from being forced out of the US under a 2024 divest-or-ban law. His administration delayed enforcement several times while a restructuring was negotiated, ultimately backing a new US-based joint venture majority-owned by American investors that allowed TikTok to continue operating.

The delays were controversial, as the law provided for one extension of up to 90 days under specified conditions, while Trump repeatedly directed the Justice Department not to enforce it.

Ottawa will introduce reciprocal “dollar-for-dollar” measures in response to the 50% tariffs the US has imposed on Canadian goods, Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement on Friday, after trade talks with Washington broke down.

The latest round of intense negotiations lasted three days and was aimed at wrapping up months of talks between Washington and Ottawa, with mutual tariffs threatening to escalate into an all-out trade war.

“Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses,” the statement reads.

The prime minister stressed that “last-minute changes in the US-proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal.”

Earlier in the day, the Trump administration invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a rarely used provision that allows the head of state to impose duties of up to 50% on imports from countries deemed to have subjected US commerce to unequal or discriminatory treatment.

The tariffs, which came into effect just after midnight on Saturday and cover about 5% of Canada’s US-bound exports, target goods ranging from plywood and cement to wine and hockey sticks, Western media outlets have reported.

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The dispute, which dates back to Trump’s first term, was rekindled after he returned to office last year and imposed sweeping tariffs on imports from a wide range of countries, including Canada, Mexico, China, the EU and Japan. Trump once again accused America’s trading partners of unfairly benefiting from access to the US market.

Earlier this week, Trump delayed the 50% levies, originally scheduled to take effect on August 19, to give negotiators additional time to reach a deal.

At the time, Trump said Washington and Ottawa had agreed to revive the Keystone XL pipeline project, which was intended to transport Canadian oil to the US, while Carney noted significant progress made by the two sides in trade talks.

AP has cited a senior Trump administration official as saying that Canada had been seeking concessions from Washington on tariffs previously imposed by the US president on steel, aluminum, automobiles and lumber, but the US has so far shown no willingness to make such concessions.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement shortly after midnight that despite the US offer to give Canada “the best treatment of any major exporter to our market,” new demands and walk-backs of other commitments by Ottawa had “upended the careful balance” reached in recent days.

READ MORE: Trump and Canada have a deal*

Commenting on the US tariffs, Candace Laing, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, called the collapse “a body blow to North American competitiveness in this self-defeating trade saga.” She warned that “Americans will see their costs go up, and Canadians will see customers, investment and small businesses disappear.”

Carney has, however, pledged to introduce additional measures to support Canadian workers and businesses in the coming days, as well as to diversify the country’s partnerships abroad.

South Korea has launched its first trial container ship voyage to Europe via the Northern Sea Route (NSR), as disruption to traditional shipping lanes drives growing interest in Russia’s Arctic trade corridor.

The NSR stretches roughly 5,600 km along Russia’s Arctic coast, mostly through waters under its jurisdiction. The route relies on domestic port and navigation infrastructure. State atomic energy corporation Rosatom oversees its development and operates the world’s only nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet.

The PanStar Acro departed from Busan New Port on Saturday and will sail through the NSR before calling at Felixstowe in the UK, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and Gdansk in Poland.

The ship is expected to reach Felixstowe in around 18 days. The journey between Busan and Rotterdam via the Arctic is around 13,000 km, 35% shorter than the roughly 20,000 km route via Suez, with South Korean estimates suggesting the NSR could cut around ten days from a typical Asia-Europe voyage.

According to Reuters, Western diplomats have raised concerns over South Korea’s plan, which involved consultations with Russia and permits for the ship’s passage. The agency cited a European diplomat as saying Western governments want to isolate Moscow over the Ukraine conflict, not pursue “engagement” with it.

READ MORE: China to launch regular shipping to Europe via Russia’s Northern Sea Route – Rosatom

There are questions over sanctions risks linked to payments for Russian navigation and other services. Seoul says consultations with relevant countries and agencies have been completed, and Korean media report that the sanctions risks have been resolved.

The country’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has said it aims to establish a new trade corridor, with the voyage marking the country’s return to the Arctic after a decade-long hiatus and its first use of a container ship on the NSR.

South Korean companies conducted five trial voyages along the NSR between 2013 and 2016, but regular services did not follow due to limited cargo volumes and a less developed route. Russia has since significantly expanded its Arctic infrastructure and navigation capabilities.

Moscow has sought to turn the NSR from a corridor primarily serving its Arctic projects into a major international trade artery linking Asia and Europe. China has already launched a regular container service to Europe via the NSR, while India is considering sending its first cargo vessel along the route in 2027 and Japan has shown interest as well.

READ MORE: India to send first ship along Arctic route next year – official

Earlier this month, Rosatom CEO Aleksey Likhachev linked growing demand for the NSR to the “persistently difficult situation” in the Persian Gulf. The Iran conflict has also fueled instability affecting Red Sea shipping, with Houthi attacks and threats around the Bab el-Mandeb strait prompting some operators to avoid the Suez Canal route.

The meeting between the Russian and US presidents in Alaska last year caused a sensation in both form and substance. Expectations were so high, whether expressed as hope or alarm, that the Anchorage summit was almost certain to disappoint.

The conflict surrounding Ukraine is too deep and complex to be resolved at a single meeting, even one involving the leaders of Russia and the United States. Negotiations to end the Vietnam War dragged on for years, despite both sides understanding from the beginning that the conflict would eventually have to end.

The real question was whether Anchorage could provide the starting point for a peace process; it didn’t. Much has since been said about why, although the conditions for such a breakthrough probably didn’t exist in the first place. Yet rather than dismissing the summit with the usual sarcasm about the “spirit of Anchorage,” it’s worth considering what the meeting did achieve.

First, it exposed the widening divergence between the United States and Western Europe as the old world’s leaders remain committed to seeking a military victory over Russia, but Washington, by contrast, doesn’t want to become directly involved in pursuing that objective.

Donald Trump’s claim that the United States is merely a mediator rather than a participant is plainly disingenuous, given that Washington remains deeply involved, but American involvement could be far greater, even allowing for the apparent limits on its resources and its growing obligations elsewhere.

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This divergence doesn’t mean the transatlantic alliance is about to collapse; however, it does suggest that the Atlanticism established during the second half of the 20th century will not survive in its old form. Whether its replacement will prove more advantageous to Russia remains unclear, but, nevertheless, Moscow has long wished to see the end of NATO as we have known it, and the chances of that happening are increasing.

Anchorage also demonstrated that the United States isn’t all-powerful, as Trump was unable to secure from Western Europe and Ukraine what he wanted at the time. In that instance, Washington’s failure worked against Moscow, but the broader recognition that American power has limits should be regarded as a positive development.

Taken together, these lessons show that the West is becoming more diverse and internally divided, so its remaining unity must increasingly be maintained by political pressure and institutional inertia. Russia must therefore develop a more sophisticated and flexible policy towards Western countries, exploiting their growing differences rather than continuing to treat them as a single bloc.

Finally, Anchorage offered a revealing model of modern diplomacy, in which personalities increasingly matter more than institutions, and character more than principles. There are no longer any “magic” agreements and a gentleman’s agreement lasts only until another gentleman arrives with different priorities.

READ MORE: Why the Alaska understandings no longer matter

What retains value is composure and reliance on one’s own capabilities, combined with a sober assessment of their limits. Russia’s mistake before Anchorage was to imagine Trump as an external force capable of fundamentally changing the situation, but he didn’t play that role, nor could he have done so.

That disappointment returned everyone to the reality of the conflict in that no outside power can impose its resolution. During the year since Alaska, the Russian-Western European military confrontation has acquired a clearer direction and an internal logic of its own and it’s within that logic that Russia must seek a way to end the present war and prevent the next one, without waiting for magical solutions or grand bargains imposed from abroad.

This article was first published by Kommersant and was translated and edited by the RT team.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has lashed out at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after Ankara announced that it’s seeking an Interpol Red Notice for the controversial leader on genocide charges. The war of words comes amid broader tensions between the two US allies after Türkiye was angered by recent IDF airstrikes on an airbase in Syria.

An Interpol Red Notice is a request to police worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a wanted person pending extradition.

In a statement on X on Friday, Netanyahu’s office labeled Erdogan “an antisemitic dictator, who has massacred Kurds, harbors Hamas terrorists, occupies half of Cyprus, and jails record numbers of journalists and politicians who oppose him.”

The Turkish leader “now seeks to extend his aggression against Israel into Syria. Israel will not tolerate it,” it stressed.

“Erdogan’s pathetic attempt to intimidate the leaders and soldiers of Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East, will go nowhere,” the statement read.

Earlier on Friday, Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said on X that Netanyahu was among 35 defendants wanted over “an attack” on the activist-operated Global Sumud Flotilla, which sought to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. The charges include genocide, crimes against humanity, torture, deprivation of liberty, hijacking a transport vehicle, and property damage.

“We categorically reject the notion that the Netanyahu government, which is pursuing a policy of genocide in Gaza, is untouchable and cannot be held accountable,” Gurlek said.

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The Israeli Navy has boarded several convoys in international waters sailing for Gaza, most recently in May, when more than 400 activists were detained aboard around 50 boats. The activists were deported to Greece and alleged mistreatment while in Israeli custody.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said at the time that all participants in “the provocative flotilla” were unharmed.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly compared Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler over the war in Gaza and accused him of committing genocide against Palestinians. Netanyahu, in turn, has labeled Erdogan an “anti-Semitic dictator” and accused him of committing genocide against Kurds.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has warned Erdogan against dragging his country “into dangerous adventures in Syria” after Ankara strongly condemned the strikes on the Abu al-Duhur airbase on August 18. The attack caused no casualties but damaged recently built runways.

Both Syria and Türkiye denied Israel’s claim that Turkish troops were set to be deployed in the area. US presidential envoy to Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack also condemned the Israeli strikes as an unnecessary escalation.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is currently considering South Africa’s genocide case against Israel. Separately, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

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Israel, which is a party to the ICJ Statute but not a member of the ICC, has denied the allegations.

Officials in Spain’s Murcia region have demanded an explanation from authorities in Madrid after dozens of illegal migrants arrived by boat on a crowded beach in broad daylight.

The immigration crisis was thrust back into the spotlight late last month when more than 72,000 people crossed into Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast, prompting scrutiny of the left-wing government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and accusations of lax border security.

On Wednesday, a black inflatable boat carrying 62 migrants reached Cala del Barco, a tourist spot near Cartagena. The migrants began jumping into the water as the vessel approached the shore, startling beachgoers.

🇪🇸 A high-powered smuggling boat stormed a packed Spanish beach in broad daylight, dropping off dozens of migrants right in front of sunbathers.

The boat dumped people at Cala del Barco in Cartagena before speeding back out to sea.

Some migrants wore balaclavas and ran off… https://t.co/AM6s09pvPL

— NewsForce (@Newsforce) August 20, 2026

Officials said the group consisted of 45 adult men, 15 boys, and two adult women, all believed to be Algerian. All 62 have since been located, examined by the Red Cross, and handed over to police.

🔴Des dizaines de migrants sont arrivés en bateau sur la plage de Cala del Barco, en Espagne ; les autorités ont indiqué que la Guardia Civil est parvenue à localiser 62 personnes pic.twitter.com/VB5YzYuVIP

— 75 Secondes 🗞️ (@75secondes) August 21, 2026

🔴 Los inmigrantes desembarcados en la Cala del Barco de Cartagena se dispersan a pie por el complejo de La Manga Club. https://t.co/uvlzwtAKEY pic.twitter.com/ZkzHMEEsjb

— La Bandera (@labanderaes) August 19, 2026

Murcia regional president Fernando Lopez Miras argued that the arrival appeared to have been “organized” and demanded answers from the government.

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“We don’t understand how a vessel of that size can reach our shores without being intercepted, without being detected, without any kind of control. We don’t understand where the [Interior] Ministry’s personnel are,” he said, as cited by Murcia Plaza.

He added that the migrants brought “fear and insecurity” to the area and that there was “no information, cooperation or coordination” between the central government and the regions.

Cartagena Mayor Noelia Arroyo said the situation “cannot become normalized,” calling for a “serious, orderly and secure” migration policy.

“If a migrant boat can reach a cove like this, disembark in full view of citizens and then leave, we have to ask ourselves how our maritime borders are being controlled,” she said.

Sanchez condemned the mass crossing into Ceuta as a “violation of Spain’s territorial integrity” and pledged to strengthen border controls, while blaming the influx on the activity of human-smuggling networks and the spread of “fake news” on social media.

He also condemned what he described as the “selfish, polarizing, and illegal” attitude of European countries such as Italy, which suspended border-free travel with Spain in response to the Ceuta crisis.

Türkiye said it is seeking an Interpol Red Notice for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on genocide charges. The move comes amid broader tensions between the two US allies, as Ankara has condemned Israel’s recent airstrikes on an airbase in Syria.

An Interpol Red Notice is a request to police worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a wanted person pending extradition. 

Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurler said on X on Friday that Netanyahu was among 35 defendants wanted over “an attack” on the activist-operated Global Sumud Flotilla, which sought to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. The charges include genocide, crimes against humanity, torture, deprivation of liberty, hijacking a transport vehicle, and property damage.

“We categorically reject the notion that the Netanyahu government, which is pursuing a policy of genocide in Gaza, is untouchable and cannot be held accountable,” Gurler said.

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The Israeli Navy has boarded several convoys in international waters sailing for Gaza, most recently in May, when more than 400 activists were detained aboard around 50 boats. The activists were deported to Greece and alleged mistreatment while in Israeli custody. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said at the time that all participants in “the provocative flotilla” were unharmed.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly compared Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler over the war in Gaza and accused him of committing genocide against Palestinians. Netanyahu, in turn, has labeled Erdogan an “anti-Semitic dictator” and accused him of committing genocide against Kurds.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has warned Erdogan against dragging his country “into dangerous adventures in Syria” after Ankara strongly condemned the strikes on the Abu al-Duhur airbase on August 18. The attack caused no casualties but damaged recently built runways.

Both Syria and Türkiye denied Israel’s claim that Turkish troops were set to be deployed in the area. US presidential envoy to Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack also condemned the Israeli strikes as an unnecessary escalation.

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier is now heading home from its extended deployment, multiple US media outlets reported on Thursday, citing unnamed officials.

The carrier’s deployment began in late November last year and was originally scheduled to end in May, but it was repeatedly pushed well beyond the deadline due to its participation in the US-Israeli aggression against Iran. The vessel now holds a modern US Navy record for the longest consecutive, uninterrupted time at sea with roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard, spending more than 260 days without a port call. 

The deployment has been reportedly riddled with assorted troubles, ranging from food and basic supply shortages and prolonged lack of hot and potable water to ever-clogged toilets and broken morale and mental health issues, including multiple apparent attempts by crewmembers to jump overboard.

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The Navy has not confirmed such reports, with the acting Secretary Hung Cao only admitting last week the vessel has experienced a “small number of mental health cases,” which had been purportedly “treated with no loss of life.”

The allegations surrounding the protracted deployment of the carrier have prompted calls for the dismissal of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who had publicly disputed the reports on the conditions aboard the carrier, dismissing the sailors’ accounts as “completely misrepresented.” Last week, for instance, US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Hegseth “must be fired immediately” over the USS Abraham Lincoln situation. 

“When Pete Hegseth was nominated, everyone knew he was completely incompetent. Now our brave sailors are paying the price in a horrific and unfathomable way,” the Democratic leader has said. 

The politics of Vladimir Zelensky’s Ukraine remain a smelly swamp, producing a ceaseless seepage of scandals occasionally percolating to the surface in big, toxic bubbles that pop with a noxious stink. Recently, for instance, the returning ambassador to the US – no less – has become the subject of a corruption case bad enough to require bail equivalent to $130,000.

The very latest Zelensky regime stink bubble to burst, however, is centered on a former double minister. Before ending up at the center of yet another big pile of dirt, compliments of Zelensky and cronies, Herman Galushchenko had served as minister of energy and then of justice. And if you know Kiev’s political culture – for want of better terms – you won’t be surprised to hear that, in the end, he ended up arrested under suspicion of very large-scale corruption.

To be precise, Galushchenko is one of the main suspects in the massive scandal featuring the Energoatom, aka Mindich-Gate after Timur Mindich, an intimate friend of Zelensky who, clearly tipped off about his impending arrest, has long fled to Israel. Galushchenko, too, tried to run, but was not fast enough, or more likely, lacked the same level of premium protection, namely from the president himself, and got caught at the border.

Yet if the story had ended there, this would not be Ukraine.  Now we are into the sequel, and it’s at least as bad as the first part. Because in essence, Galushchenko in a cell was a thought that Zelensky and his crew could not tolerate. Surely out of sheer mafia-like camaraderie! Perish the thought – they were afraid of any deals the former minister might strike and names he might name. But getting Galushchenko out was expensive: Here as well the court had set bail, and as Mindich-Gate was a $100-million case, the bail wasn’t cheap.

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Hence, this time the scandal is not about the embezzling, extorting, or stealing of humungous amounts of money, Ukrainian-establishment style. But that’s only because the stealing had been done already and phase two had started: laundering the loot. In legalese, the official case is about an attempt to “legalize criminally acquired property.” In practice, this meant weaving up a web of criminal deception to pay Galushchenko’s bail, well above $3 million – we are in the big league now – with dirty money made to look clean.

Central to this operation and the highest-ranking official to have lost her position at this point is Irina Mudraya, the deputy head of Zelensky’s very own office, as well as a former deputy minister of justice. But the circle of suspects is much wider, as always in Ukraine where corruption is the passionate national sport of those running and ruining the country, while its ordinary citizens are hunted by military press gangs in broad daylight.

Also officially under suspicion and investigation are Maksim Mikitas, a former parliamentary deputy; Vadim Stolar, a currently serving parliamentary deputy; Viktor Dubovik, another high official from Zelensky’s presidential office; Elena Ferens, a deputy minister of justice; Nikolay Gladishchenko, Oleg Stupak, Liudmila Snygur, all three high up in the management of state-owned Sens Bank, which served as the financial vehicle for the launder-and-pay-for-Galushchenko scheme.

Then we also have “businessman,” a “person linked to Mikitas,” the director of the Metrostroy company, a driver who also happens to run Montazh Servis (a construction company by the name of it – good for concrete foundations to bury the talkative), and a bodyguard who doubles as the director of a firm calling itself The Philosophy of Development.

These, in sum, are typical pillars of the Ukrainian establishment as it really is. Suffice it to say that, in 2018, high-flyer Irina Mudraya, trained at Lviv University, received a ‘Best Legal Adviser in Banking and Financial Law’ award (sure, just be honest next time and call it ‘Best Consigliere in Mafia Ukraine’). In 2021, she won ‘Women Leaders who have Influenced the Development of the Legal Community’ (and unfortunately, she probably has). And just two years ago, Business Woman magazine honored her achievements in “Politics and Diplomacy.”

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In short, if the Cohen Brothers were to make a very dark, caustic comedy about corruption in Ukraine, this would be their cast. Not all of it, of course, because rest assured, many accomplices and even leaders have not been caught and won’t ever be caught, including the man everyone is always thinking about but can’t ever name when the latest stink bubble pops – the president himself.

Yet one man who may be looking at an uncertain near-future in conjunction with ‘Operation Forrest Gump’ – the code name for this investigation – is the current head of Zelensky’s administration, Kirill Budanov. Formerly mostly busy with black ops, lies, and terrorism, Budanov has taken his office as Zelensky’s top manager only recently. His predecessor Andrey Yermak, another very close, intimate friend of Zelensky, had been forced out because of his deep involvement in Mindich-Gate. Or probably, really due to both his own crimes and those of Zelensky himself that needed a fall guy.

As caught by eavesdropping, Mudraya reminded an accomplice that “he says that corruption needs to be organized and controlled; we must not fight it.” According to Ukrainska Pravda, the mysterious “he,” the real author of that arrogantly direct and brashly cynical statement, was her boss Budanov.

It is intriguing, as another Ukrainian publication has pointed out that it is precisely Ukrainska Pravda that has dared name Budanov. For the outlet is among the supporters of Mikhail Fedorov, the tech whizz kid and former minister of defense, who has turned from a Zelensky regime insider into a challenger by calling for presidential elections even during wartime. That is, in reality, for calling for an end to the Zelensky regime, because the incumbent, polls show, can be beaten.

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Let’s set aside that Fedorov has demolished, in passing, a favorite propaganda lie shared by official Kiev and the West, namely that the Ukrainian constitution does not allow for such elections during wartime. In reality, the constitution does no such thing. Politically, the key fact is that Fedorov has thrown his hat in the ring. And in that coming fight, it is very likely that one of his main rivals will be Budanov.

The swamp that is Ukrainian politics keeps festering. The greed and cynicism of Kiev’s ‘elite’ knows no limits. At the same time what may be even more tragic for Ukraine is that any attempt to reign in the rampant corruption by finally holding everyone accountable, no matter how high up, is not only unlikely to succeed but dishonest too.

Naming Budanov? Yes, but not because he should face scrutiny and accountability but because he needs to be weakened so that another ambitious establishment representative has a better chance at beating him at coming elections. In Kiev, stories of messianic redeemers are popular again and again. Zelensky was once the most enthusiastically endorsed of them all. And yet it is his regime that has become the very worst. Why would Fedorov be any different? Or for that matter, anyone else. Ukraine does not need personnel change; it needs a massive reset.

Dozens of Ukrainian soldiers have deserted while undergoing military training in Germany, Die Zeit has reported, citing interviews with ten men who fled their units.

Kiev has increasingly relied on forced mobilization as it struggles to replenish battlefield losses. Videos regularly circulate online showing recruitment officers detaining men in public places and forcing them into vehicles, sometimes after violent confrontations. The practice has become widely known in Ukraine as “busification.”

Die Zeit reported on Wednesday that during the early years of the conflict, Ukrainian troops sent to Germany for training were generally experienced and highly motivated. More recently, however, many of those arriving have been newly mobilized recruits.

In Saxony-Anhalt alone, the regional Interior Ministry has recorded around 80 cases of Ukrainian soldiers deserting, while the nationwide total is believed to run into the hundreds, according to the weekly.

Among those interviewed was Vladimir Shulgin, a 39-year-old former pianist from Dnepr. He told Die Zeit that after Ukraine intensified its mobilization campaign, he largely avoided leaving home while his wife supported the family.

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Shulgin said he was detained by recruitment officers after venturing outside in late January and was subsequently sent to Germany’s Altengrabow military training facility.

According to his account, he initially had no intention of deserting. He changed his mind after allegedly being physically abused by Ukrainian superiors and threatened with death upon his return to Ukraine.

After a German military doctor referred him to a hospital in Berlin, Shulgin did not return to the training facility. He has since applied for asylum and is living in a refugee shelter.

Another deserter interviewed by Die Zeit said he had fled because he did not want to kill or be killed.

“I simply don’t want to die, and I don’t want to kill. Not at the front, and nowhere else. Is that enough?” he said.

Their prospects of obtaining asylum are “likely slim,” however, according to the newspaper.

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German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said last month that while Ukrainian men of military age could still apply for asylum, avoiding military service did not in itself constitute grounds for protection.

Similar desertions have occurred during Ukrainian training programs elsewhere in Europe. In late 2024, Ukrainian media reported that around 50 soldiers from the 155th Mechanized Brigade had deserted during training in France.

The Ukrainian authorities have acknowledged tens of thousands of desertion and unauthorized-absence cases since the conflict with Russia escalated in 2022.

Russia has accused the leadership in Kiev and its Western backers of being willing to fight “to the last Ukrainian.”

The US Navy is reportedly considering whether to rename an upcoming aircraft carrier honoring World War II black hero Doris Miller after President Donald Trump in an unprecedented move.

The ongoing discussions were first reported on Friday by CNN, citing three sources familiar with the matter. The report was corroborated by CBN News, with two unnamed US officials confirming to the broadcaster that deliberations have been going on.

The USS Doris Miller is set to become the fourth Ford-class aircraft carrier and is expected to be commissioned in the mid-2030s. Under the first Trump administration, the US Navy announced the decision to name it after Miller, who distinguished himself during the attack on Pearl Harbor. The sailor, an enlisted cook with no appropriate training, managed to shoot down at least one incoming Japanese aircraft during the attack, becoming the first black recipient of the Navy Cross for his feat.

The navy is now reportedly weighing renaming a different warship after Miller, as well as posthumously recommending him for the Medal of Honor, the top US decoration for military valor. The sailor was killed in 1943 in the Japanese torpedoing of the USS Liscome Bay, which remains the deadliest carrier sinking in US Navy history, with over 700 crew lost.

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During conversations regarding the ship’s name, the US Navy reportedly stopped referring to the ship as the USS Doris Miller, calling it exclusively by its hull number, CVN-81, one of the sources told CNN. The service has also been reportedly reviewing its rules covering vessel appellation, as naming a carrier after a sitting president would be an unprecedented and highly controversial move.

A recent Trump executive order, in which he tasked the Pentagon and US Navy to come up with a plan to replace electromagnetic aircraft launch systems on carriers with old-school steam and hydraulic catapults, also referred to the ship only by its hull number.

The US president has shown a great interest in shipbuilding during his second term. In December last year, Trump announced plans to construct a ‘Golden Fleet’ of massive, aptly named Trump-class battleships that would be “100 times more powerful” than any ever built. Trump said he approved building two ships to start, with plans for up to 25. 

The ‘Golden Fleet’ affair reportedly resulted in the downfall of Navy Secretary John Phelan, who was sacked this April for allegedly failing to deliver a plan to build the Trump-class battleships on a “nearly impossible timeline.”

As more US police departments deploy Flock cameras to monitor traffic and track criminals, public backlash has grown. In San Diego, a protester dressed as Darth Vader showed up to a city council meeting to portray Flock as a tool for tracking “rebel scum.”

There are now more than 130,000 Flock cameras dotting the US, with law enforcement departments in at least 4,000 cities erecting the AI-powered surveillance devices on intersections, parking lots, and public land. Flock Technologies says the cameras have helped police stop burglaries, carjackings, and homicides, but opponents say they encroach on civil liberties.

At a meeting of the San Diego City Council on Wednesday, a man dressed as Star Wars villain Darth Vader shared his opinion on the technology, approaching the podium with his character’s signature mechanical breathing.

“The Emperor is a fan of Flock, and we must continue utilising Flock technologies so that we can surveil the rebel scum,” he declared. “As they move from playground to playground, from playground to pool, from pool to gymnasium, because we all know that the Flock cameras are not only following the license plate readers, they are following children.”

Darth Vader comes out in favor of Flock cameras pic.twitter.com/YL3jaiwIEx

— Orwell Day (@OrwellDay) August 20, 2026

Flock is best known for its Falcon ALPR (Automated License Plate Recognition) cameras, which capture still images of passing vehicles. However, the company’s Condor PTZ video cameras can be used by police departments to track the movement of individuals across multiple cameras with AI, and search for people via description.

Flock’s Falcon ALPR cameras have already been used by more than 50 police officers to stalk women – including ex-wives and partners – without their consent, the Washington Post reported earlier this month. Vulnerabilities in Flock’s software have also left images of children, recorded with the company’s video cameras, exposed online. 

“I need this so I can stalk my ex-girlfriend,” ‘Darth Vader’ told the city council meeting. “This technology will help us find Luke Skywalker as he traverses the universe in his X-Wing.”

The rollout of Flock cameras began at scale in 2020, but the process has not been smooth.  Flock cameras have been shot, spray-painted, cut down, and obstructed across the country. According to FlockStats, a website that counts confirmed incidents of vandalism against the devices, at least 162 have been destroyed nationwide. 

As the cameras have proliferated, so have their detractors. Republican Representative Thomas Massie is among the highest-profile opponents of the technology, introducing a bill last month that would withhold federal funding from police departments deploying the cameras. Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, a Democrat, has also ordered cities to pause the installation of Flock cameras until the state develops new privacy legislation. 

Israeli airstrikes on Syria’s Abu al-Duhur airbase on August 18 unexpectedly turned what might otherwise have looked like another familiar episode of Israeli military activity inside a neighboring country into something far more dangerous.

This time, the real recipient of Israel’s warning was neither Iran nor Hezbollah, but Türkiye, which has emerged as one of the principal political and military partners of Syria’s new leadership since the fall of Bashar Assad. Eight strikes hit the airbase, located roughly 70 kilometers from the Turkish border, damaging runways and military infrastructure.

Israel said the operation was intended to prevent Syria from allowing Turkish forces to establish a presence there, while US and Israeli officials indicated that one of the objectives was also to disrupt the delivery of advanced Turkish weapons systems to the facility. Shortly before the attack, Mossad chief Roman Gofman had reportedly discussed with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Shaibani the expansion of Türkiye’s military footprint, arms sales to Damascus and the possible transfer of drones to the Syrian armed forces.

Turkish-Syrian military cooperation itself is hardly a secret. As early as August 2025, Ankara formally agreed to assist the reconstruction of Syria’s armed forces through weapons, military equipment, logistics, training and advisory support, and over the past year, the two governments have steadily deepened that relationship. What remains unconfirmed, however, is whether a new shipment of Turkish weaponry was physically delivered to Syria on August 20. Yet the issue goes beyond that particular shipment.

Israel increasingly views the transformation of Turkish assistance from a reconstruction program into a permanent military infrastructure as a strategic shift in the regional balance. It is especially concerned about drones, electronic warfare systems, radar networks and, above all, the eventual deployment of modern air-defense systems that could restrict Israel’s long-standing freedom of action in Syrian airspace.

The escalation between Türkiye and Israel is advancing at a remarkable speed. For the moment, the confrontation remains largely rhetorical, diplomatic and indirect, but Syria has created the very real possibility of a proxy conflict between two states that both possess modern armed forces, sophisticated defense industries and competing visions of the regional order. Syria could become the arena in which those visions collide via the arming of allies, the destruction of military infrastructure and attempts to enforce rival red lines. Such a scenario could become the point of no return.

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Syria is no longer just a buffer zone

The most important change is that post-Assad Syria is no longer merely a battleground for Israel’s campaign against Iranian influence. For years, Israel operated within a relatively predictable framework. Airstrikes targeted assets linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, weapons depots and supply routes serving Hezbollah, Syrian air-defense systems and other infrastructure capable of restricting Israeli operational freedom. Türkiye was not directly a part of that equation.

Now, Ankara has acquired the opportunity to rely not only on its long-standing military presence in northern Syria and on armed groups historically aligned with it, but increasingly on the central government in Damascus itself. Syria’s new authorities need investment, reconstruction, military training, infrastructure and international political backing, all of which Türkiye is well placed to provide. For Ankara, this represents an unusually favorable strategic opening, allowing it to convert years of costly involvement in the Syrian conflict into lasting influence over the political and military architecture of the neighboring state.

Israel sees the Turkish presence as a threat. If the Syrian army remains weak, fragmented and technologically backward, Israel can preserve near-unrestricted operational freedom across large parts of Syrian territory. But if Türkiye helps Damascus rebuild a centralized army, restore airfields and radar networks, acquire drones and eventually field modern defensive systems, Israel could face a fundamentally different Syria within several years. More importantly, that Syria would no longer be backed by a sanctions-battered Iran, but by a NATO member with a rapidly expanding defense-industrial base.

The attack on Abu al-Duhur is an attempt to establish a preventive red line. Netanyahu said after the strike that Israel would not tolerate a Turkish military presence in Syria that threatened Israeli security, adding that an earlier message had apparently not been understood clearly enough. Türkiye replied by accusing the Israeli prime minister of pursuing an “expansionist and destabilizing policy,” while Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan against testing Israel’s determination.

Even Israel’s allies in Washington are concerned. US envoy Tom Barrack described the strike as an unnecessary escalation, while the US has accelerated efforts to create a deconfliction mechanism between Israel, Türkiye and Syria. The very fact that such a mechanism is now considered necessary shows that Washington is increasingly treating an accidental or deliberate confrontation between two of its most important regional partners as a scenario that requires technical safeguards rather than as an abstract possibility.

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Netanyahu needs an enemy before October

Yet it would be a mistake to think that Israel is solely pursuing military goals. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 27, and the campaign has already transformed Israel’s foreign policy into one of the central arenas of domestic political competition.

For Benjamin Netanyahu, this may be one of the most difficult election campaigns of his career. For decades, he built his political brand around two propositions – that he alone could guarantee Israel’s security and that he possessed a unique ability to manage relations with Washington and other world powers. Both claims are now under scrutiny. The October 7 attack shattered much of Netanyahu’s long-cultivated image as Israel’s ultimate guarantor of security. Years of war and mobilization have not produced an uncontested political outcome; relations with allies have grown more complicated, and domestic tensions have been intensified by disputes over ultra-Orthodox military service, the confrontation over the judiciary and Netanyahu’s continuing criminal trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, all of which he denies.

His problem is compounded by shifts within the electorate itself. Netanyahu must simultaneously recover more moderate right-wing voters and prevent the radical wing of the nationalist camp from drifting toward politicians such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and other parties positioned to the right of Netanyahu’s Likud party. That creates almost ideal conditions for a return to one of Netanyahu’s most effective political instruments – the politics of the besieged fortress.

The more threatening the external danger appears, the easier it becomes to move the election away from questions about Netanyahu’s personal responsibility, his court cases, the social cost of prolonged mobilization and economic pressures, and instead turn it into a referendum on who can be trusted to lead Israel against a growing circle of enemies.

That strategy has become explicit in Likud’s campaign messaging. Billboards have placed Erdoğan alongside Iran’s supreme leader, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, beneath the slogan that they all want Netanyahu to lose. Erdoğan is no longer a difficult foreign leader or an unreliable partner, he now stands among Israel’s traditional adversaries and is being used as part of domestic electoral mobilization.

Netanyahu’s critics are attacking him from opposite directions. Naftali Bennett, himself hardly a dove, argues that Israel’s international position has deteriorated dramatically under Netanyahu and has proposed the creation of a special public-diplomacy body to fight for Israel’s image abroad. Bennett’s criticism carries weight: There is no fundamental disagreement between him and much of the Israeli right over the need to confront hostile regional forces. The disagreement is over method and results. According to Bennett, Israel possesses enormous military power but has failed to efficiently convert it into diplomatic clout.

Ehud Barak, by contrast, has attacked Netanyahu for moving too far in the opposite direction. He described the strike on Abu al-Duhur as “reckless and foolish” and argued that it carried a strong political flavor of manufacturing security fears before the election. Barak’s position is that Türkiye is not Iran and not Assad’s Syria, and that the tensions with Ankara can still be managed through discreet channels coordinated with Washington.

Netanyahu now finds himself squeezed between those that demand he prove that Israel can still impose its will on the region, and those accusing him of turning foreign policy into an extension of his election campaign. In this tight spot, backing down before Ankara may carry almost as much domestic political risk as escalating further.

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Erdoğan has reasons of his own

The situation in Türkiye’s domestic politics is similar in some aspects, but different in others. The next scheduled presidential and parliamentary elections are formally due in 2028, yet the possibility of an early vote remains a recurring subject in Turkish politics. The issue is especially relevant for Erdoğan because constitutional limits complicate another presidential run unless the legal and electoral framework changes or early elections are triggered under specific conditions. At the same time, the government continues to promote the idea of a new constitution, a project that the opposition views partly through the lens of Erdoğan’s political future.

Türkiye is also approaching the next electoral cycle from a position of persistent economic and political strain. Inflation remains high, purchasing power has been severely eroded, and the cost of housing and food continues to shape everyday voter sentiment. Even as Ankara has adopted more orthodox economic policies and rebuilt parts of its financial credibility, the social consequences of years of inflation remain politically toxic.

The political environment is also tense. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Erdoğan’s most formidable long-term rival, has been imprisoned, while the main opposition party CHP has endured a severe internal crisis and leadership struggle. Turkish authorities reject accusations that legal proceedings against opposition figures are politically motivated, but the struggle over the country’s post-Erdoğan future, or perhaps Erdoğan’s continued political dominance, has already begun well before the formal campaign.

Confrontation with Israel offers Erdoğan several political advantages. It appeals simultaneously to religious-conservative and nationalist constituencies, allows Türkiye to present itself as a state capable of shaping the Middle East, and turns foreign policy activism into proof that Ankara remains an autonomous center of power despite its economic problems.

By backing the government in Damascus, Türkiye can embed itself in Syria’s future security and political architecture, weaken Kurdish armed formations, expand markets for its defense industry and deepen its political presence all the way to the Mediterranean. Erdoğan has already argued that Israeli military activity in Syria and Lebanon has reached a stage where it threatens Türkiye’s own security.

This creates a problem similar to Netanyahu’s. Once Ankara publicly presents itself as a state capable of protecting its partners and influencing the regional balance, retreating after a direct Israeli strike on an object associated with Turkish-Syrian cooperation becomes politically costly. The more Türkiye’s regional strategy depends on the perception that it can defend its interests, the harder it becomes to ignore Israeli attempts to define the limits of Turkish involvement by force.

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The Mecca pact and the fear of a new Sunni axis

On August 7, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a defense agreement in Mecca. The pact reportedly includes principles of mutual protection, political and military coordination, joint exercises and cooperation in defense production, including drone manufacturing, electronic warfare and emerging technologies. Riyadh has emphasized that the arrangement should not be understood as a sectarian bloc or as an alliance directed against any particular state.

The agreement brings together Türkiye, which possesses one of NATO’s largest militaries and a rapidly growing defense industry, Saudi Arabia, which features enormous financial resources and ambitions to shape the Arab political order, and Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state with one of the largest militaries in the Muslim world.

From an Israeli perspective, this is the kind of development that feeds concern over the emergence of a new Sunni axis. What matters is not whether the three countries have formally created an anti-Israel alliance. They have not. Their interests differ, their relationships with Washington are distinct, and Saudi Arabia in particular has reasons to avoid being locked into an overtly anti-Israeli structure. But Israeli strategists are increasingly focused on the possibility that Turkish military power, Saudi financial weight and Pakistani strategic capabilities could gradually become parts of a broader political-security architecture capable of limiting Israel’s freedom of maneuver.

This concern is not limited to Netanyahu’s camp, either. Bennett has previously warned of the danger of Türkiye becoming a kind of “new Iran” and of a hostile Sunni strategic framework emerging with the involvement of nuclear-armed Pakistan. Once Saudi Arabia is added to that picture, the implications become even more uncomfortable for Israel, especially because normalization with Riyadh was for years regarded as one of the top strategic objectives of Israeli diplomacy. After decades of confronting what Israeli strategists described as an Iranian-led “Shiite crescent,” Israel may now be facing the early outlines of a very different regional center of gravity – one that conflicts with the idea of Israel as the uncontested dominant power of the region, and potentially with the nationalist expansionist vision of ‘Greater Israel’ itself.

For Ankara, on the other hand, the Mecca pact is another opportunity to evolve from an autonomous regional player into one of the architects of a new Middle Eastern security order. It allows Erdoğan to deepen strategic ties with the largest Arab economy, reinforce relations with a nuclear power, consolidate influence in Syria and demonstrate to Turkish voters that, despite domestic economic difficulties and political tensions, Türkiye is capable of shaping events far beyond its borders.

The current Turkish-Israeli confrontation is about more than Erdoğan and Netanyahu, or even about Syria itself. It is the product of two processes occurring simultaneously. At home, both leaders have powerful incentives to demonstrate strength amid electoral pressure, economic problems and social polarization. Abroad, competition for regional leadership and military-political influence is intensifying rapidly in a Middle East where the old post-Assad balance has already begun to disappear.

Neither Ankara nor West Jerusalem appears to want a direct war – yet if Türkiye continues to arm and train the Syrian military while Israel systematically destroys the infrastructure created with Turkish assistance, a de facto proxy conflict will already exist. But if Turkish servicemen are killed in a future strike, or if Israel deliberately destroys a major Turkish military asset inside Syria, the domestic political cost of restraint for Erdoğan would rise dramatically. Conversely, if Syrian forces using Turkish-supplied systems were to shoot down an Israeli aircraft, Netanyahu would face exactly the same political dilemma, particularly only weeks before the October election.

When foreign confrontation starts to define a leader’s domestic political legitimacy, the space for compromise contracts much faster than the space for military action.

Escalation was the name of the game this week, as the full extent of British involvement in Ukraine’s long-range strikes on Russia was revealed, and as US President Donald Trump laid claim to the Strait of Hormuz and shifted to a policy of subjecting Iran to long-term economic strangulation.

Trump declares ‘D-Day’ for Iran

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The 60-day window for the US and Iran to negotiate a lasting ceasefire and peace deal expired on Monday, with Trump telling reporters that he had no interest in extending a truce when he felt Tehran was “not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary.” 

Instead, the US president took to social media to declare the Strait of Hormuz “new US territory,” before promising to inflict “Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale” on Iran by punishing any country doing business with the Islamic Republic. However, despite Trump’s declaration of “ECONOMIC D-DAY,” the balance of power in the Persian Gulf has not changed.

Iran retains its veto on shipping in the vital waterway; a mere six ships transited the strait on Tuesday, despite the Pentagon leaking information about a ‘secret shipping corridor’ via the Israeli military’s favorite reporter, Barak Ravid. Iran also maintains a formidable arsenal of missiles and drones, and has threatened to “escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and wider region” if diplomacy fails and Trump refuses to lift his blockade on Iranian ports.

pic.twitter.com/FSYX32KR8d

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 19, 2026

Iran and Oman are the only players in the region making diplomatic progress right now, with the two reaching an “understanding” on a future shipping regime in the strait, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday. Trump’s response? If Oman strikes a deal that doesn’t satisfy Washington, “we’ll bomb the sh*t out of them.”

Russia warns Britain of ‘consequences’

As the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence approaches on Monday, the country is in the most perilous position it’s been in since the fall of the USSR. Vladimir Zelensky spent the week continuing to beg for non-existent air defense missiles from his Western backers; this was to no avail as Russia continued to pound military, industrial, and energy targets across Ukraine with impunity.

We need missiles for Patriots, and only our partners can provide them. We ain’t talking about gifts. Ukraine is ready to buy the weapons we need. What matters is that decisions be made, first and foremost in the U.S. I am grateful to everyone who is helping Ukraine save lives. pic.twitter.com/OImT18CGwM

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 20, 2026

For as long as Kiev keeps up its campaign of terror-bombing Russian cities, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned on Thursday, “the Russian Armed Forces will respond proportionately.” For Ukraine, this means more ballistic missiles, more blackouts, and more burning weapons factories in Kiev and beyond.

Zelensky wasn’t the only participant in the conflict to receive a stark warning from Moscow. After the Sunday Times revealed that Ukrainian forces have used British-made drones for long-range attacks inside Russia for the past six months, Moscow’s embassy in London stated that “London’s actions will inevitably carry consequences for which it will have to answer.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the point even more directly:

[Russian President Vladimir Putin] has warned that we have the right to act in any part of the world’s oceans if anyone encroaches on our interests or our property. Likewise, we have every right to regard the proudly proclaimed direct involvement of British missile forces in strikes against Russia as participation in the war, with all the consequences that entails

Coming after Russia dismantled Ukraine’s port infrastructure with missiles, and began its winter campaign against Ukrainian energy infrastructure a month early, it’s a warning that London would be wise to heed.

Zelensky feels the squeeze

Zelensky’s friends in London have vowed to stick with the Ukrainian leader “100%” of the way, but at home in Kiev, opposition is rising. Fired by Zelensky last month, former Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov made a bid for power on Tuesday, releasing a campaign-style video blasting the corruption and “systemic crisis of governance” in Kiev, and upping the ante by calling for a wartime election.

Fedorov’s drone-centric model of warfare won him support from a public hungry for the illusion of victory, and his glad-handing with the new military-industrial elite in Silicon Valley made him powerful friends abroad – even if, as RT explored in our ‘Wired for War’ series, he turned the Defense Ministry into a glorified sales office for Palantir.

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Zelensky, on the other hand, had to fire another senior aide this week as the Timur Mindich corruption scandal keeps thinning out his ranks. Storm clouds are gathering for the former actor. The challenge from Fedorov combined with another embarrassing corruption revelation has drawn the attention of the Western media, with the usual cheerleaders in the Wall Street Journal calling the ex-minister’s video the “biggest challenge” to Zelensky’s “hold on the presidency” since 2022.

To mark the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, RT is launching a dedicated series that provides a snapshot of Ukraine’s present, and warnings about its future. Watch for banners on Sunday on rt.com. 

Meta’s trillion-dollar trial begins

Zelensky is a once-untouchable titan facing his most serious challenge to date. If there’s anyone who knows the feeling, it’s Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Meta went on trial on Tuesday, accused by four US states of designing its platforms to keep children and teenagers scrolling for as long as possible, with all of the ensuing mental health consequences. 

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Meta has faced – and lost – ‘addiction’ lawsuits before, but this trial is the first to be heard in a federal courtroom, and also involves federal-level accusations that the company harvested data from under-13s without parental consent. Should the four states win, Meta could, at least in theory, be forced to pay $1.4 trillion in damages. Appeals may go all the way to the US Supreme Court, where a judgment against the company could force Meta, TikTok, and other social media giants to permanently alter how they build their platforms.

Whatever the result, 25 other US states have signed on to the lawsuit, meaning Zuckerberg’s legal problems will only compound from here on.

However, as the old military adage goes, “shoot the archer, not the arrow.” Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are merely tools in the hands of an elite hellbent on building a decadent society, French-Russian analyst Matthieu Buge wrote for RT this week. Defanging Meta won’t stop people craving the dopamine hit that tech offers, he argued, concluding that “whoever wins the Meta trial, the masses will remain willing slaves.”

Another crisis threatens the EU

Every EU headline these days seems to involve a crisis of some sort: the energy crisis, economic crisis, political crisis, and the migrant crisis, the latter of which degenerated this week with multiple rapes in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta. The latest emergency looming over the bloc is a potentially existential one – a food crisis. 

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It’s the perfect storm. The War in the Persian Gulf has driven fertilizer costs sky-high, and successive heatwaves across Europe have decimated yields. Groundwater reserves are depleted in France, harvests of certain vegetables are down almost 100% in Belgium, while cattle go hungry in Spain and Polish poultry farmers grapple with mass die-offs.

This was one of our top stories this week, and we’ll be keeping an eye on the crisis throughout the fall. Meanwhile, here’s what we’ll be monitoring next week: 

What to watch out for

The on-again, off-again talks between the US and Iran are seemingly dead in the water, and with all parties escalating, we’ll be watching who signs on to Trump’s sanctions regime. China is already out, and the Europeans are staying quiet. If the sanctions plan crumbles and Trump refuses to walk away, a return to open war may be in the cards.

Expect more punishing Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid, and more long-range attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure from an increasingly desperate Zelensky. The embattled Ukrainian leader hasn’t publicly responded to Fedorov’s challenge yet, and he’ll likely use his Independence Day speech on Monday to project an image of control and stability.

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The true test for Zelensky will come on his next foreign trip, when Western reporters may question him on Fedorov’s political ambitions and – less likely – the endemic corruption in Kiev. Zelensky has a famously short fuse, and his reaction will speak volumes about how seriously he takes the threat to his power. 

We’ll also stay tuned to the Meta trial and keep you posted on just how hard Zuckerberg and his colleagues worked to hide the insidious design of their platforms. Stick with rt.com for all these stories, and watch our banners for our special deep-dive into Ukraine’s tragic, fascinating three decades of independence.

Israel has warned Türkiye against expanding Ankara’s military involvement in Syria, days after striking a Syrian airbase it claimed was being prepared for Turkish forces.

West Jerusalem attacked the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northwestern Syria on Tuesday, damaging the facility but causing no reported casualties.

“[Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan is dragging Turkey into dangerous adventures in Syria,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Thursday.

Katz went on to accuse Erdogan of making “empty and delusional” anti-Israel speeches and warned him against testing the country’s determination to defend itself.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Damascus was about to violate a security “status quo” by allowing Turkish troops to deploy there. Syria and Türkiye denied any such deployment was planned.

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The rivalry between Israel and Türkiye has increasingly spilled into Syria, where Ankara has emerged as a key backer of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and is helping train and rebuild the country’s armed forces. Israel has opposed a Turkish military foothold, arguing it could threaten its security and restrict its freedom to operate in Syria.

Middle East Eye reported this week, citing Turkish government insiders, that Ankara views the Abu al-Duhur strike as a challenge to its credibility as a regional security partner. It came less than two weeks after Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, under which an attack on one is considered an attack on all three, potentially raising the stakes of any direct military confrontation involving Türkiye.

According to MEE, Israel also did not use its military hotline with Türkiye before the strike, raising the risk of an unintended confrontation.

US Ambassador to Türkiye and Syria envoy Tom Barrack called the attack an “unnecessary escalation” and urged the sides to avoid further military incidents.

READ MORE: Israel unleashes new strikes on southern Lebanon (VIDEOS)

Relations between Israel and Türkiye have deteriorated sharply in recent years, particularly over Gaza, with Erdogan repeatedly accusing Netanyahu of genocide and comparing him to Adolf Hitler. Netanyahu has hit back by calling Erdogan an “antisemitic dictator” and accusing him of genocide against the Kurds, with the two trading personal attacks as recently as June.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been transferred back to prison after a brief visit to an Islamabad hospital following a court order.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court had on Tuesday ordered that the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party – one of cricket’s all-time greats – be moved to the private Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad within 48 hours, and kept there until September 16.

The authorities took him to the hospital just after midnight early Friday morning, past the court deadline. The PTI had threatened to file a contempt of court petition against the government.

“A team of qualified doctors, including an ophthalmologist, a cardiologist, and a physician, conducted a detailed examination of him and declared him medically fit,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on X about Khan. “After the completion of this entire process, he was transferred back to Adiala Jail.”

❗Imran Khan Back In Jail After Hospital Check-Up (Reports)

Doctors have found former Pakistan PM Imran Khan fit to remain in custody after examining him at a hospital in Islamabad. (Reports)

Khan was taken to the hospital from Adiala Jail amid concerns over his deteriorating… pic.twitter.com/5DdeBBHDpT

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 21, 2026

Khan only spent a few hours in the hospital before being returned to Rawalpindi prison, where he has been incarcerated since 2003. 

His lawyers had said his health had deteriorated in prison, and that he had lost significant vision in his right eye.

The government had appealed to the top court to review and recall its order on Khan, saying medical reports showed he had no condition that required immediate treatment.

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Hundreds of security personnel were deployed along the roughly 30 km route to the hospital, which was also kept under tight security while Khan was there.

His supporters lined the route and cheered as the convoy passed despite the late hour.

Khan has been convicted of selling state gifts, a charge he denies. The former PM and his political allies have maintained that the cases against him are politically motivated and intended to prevent his return to politics.

The PTI, which retains a large support base, was stripped of its ability to participate in elections ahead of the 2024 vote.

Israel has warned Türkiye against expanding Ankara’s military involvement in Syria, days after striking a Syrian airbase it claimed was being prepared for Turkish forces.

West Jerusalem attacked the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northwestern Syria on Tuesday, damaging the facility but causing no reported casualties.

“[Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan is dragging Turkey into dangerous adventures in Syria,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Thursday.

Katz went on to accuse Erdogan of making “empty and delusional” anti-Israel speeches and warned him against testing the country’s determination to defend itself.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Damascus was about to violate a security “status quo” by allowing Turkish troops to deploy there. Syria and Türkiye denied any such deployment was planned.

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The rivalry between Israel and Türkiye has increasingly spilled into Syria, where Ankara has emerged as a key backer of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and is helping train and rebuild the country’s armed forces. Israel has opposed a Turkish military foothold, arguing it could threaten its security and restrict its freedom to operate in Syria.

Middle East Eye reported this week, citing Turkish government insiders, that Ankara views the Abu al-Duhur strike as a challenge to its credibility as a regional security partner. It came less than two weeks after Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, under which an attack on one is considered an attack on all three, potentially raising the stakes of any direct military confrontation involving Türkiye.

According to MEE, Israel also did not use its military hotline with Türkiye before the strike, raising the risk of an unintended confrontation.

US Ambassador to Türkiye and Syria envoy Tom Barrack called the attack an “unnecessary escalation” and urged the sides to avoid further military incidents.

READ MORE: Israel unleashes new strikes on southern Lebanon (VIDEOS)

Relations between Israel and Türkiye have deteriorated sharply in recent years, particularly over Gaza, with Erdogan repeatedly accusing Netanyahu of genocide and comparing him to Adolf Hitler. Netanyahu has hit back by calling Erdogan an “antisemitic dictator” and accusing him of genocide against the Kurds, with the two trading personal attacks as recently as June.

Israeli warplanes carried out a new wave of strikes around Nabatieh, a major city and administrative hub in southern Lebanon, early on Friday, with footage showing powerful explosions lighting up the night sky.

The attacks come despite a US-brokered framework agreed in June aimed at ending fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group. The deal envisages a progressive Israeli withdrawal alongside Lebanese Army deployments and Hezbollah’s disarmament but has stalled over which should come first.

🚨🇱🇧 🇮🇱 Israeli airstrikes are hitting Kfar Rumman alongside the Ali al-Taher Heights

-Both targets sit in the same corridor just outside Nabatieh in southern Lebanon

-Israel struck the ridge yesterday with airstrikes and heavy mortar fire, and again on Saturday

-Ali al-Taher…

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) August 21, 2026

Reports from Lebanon: Israeli airstrikes are pounding the Ali al Taher hills pic.twitter.com/au05A7rAKW

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) August 21, 2026

The overnight strikes targeted the town of Kfar Rumman on the outskirts of Nabatieh and the nearby Ali al-Taher Heights, according to Lebanese media. Israeli artillery also struck several other locations across the south.

Watch the moment Israeli fighter jets strike the town of Kfar Roummane in southern Lebanon.

Follow Press TV on Telegram: https://t.co/kG3YhfM6RO pic.twitter.com/pQRMubK7ir

— Palestine Highlights (@PalHighlight) August 21, 2026

The Ali al-Taher Heights, which overlook the Nabatieh region and roads leading into the city, have emerged as a focal point of Israel’s military campaign. The Israeli military claims Hezbollah maintains underground infrastructure in the area and has repeatedly targeted the heights in recent weeks.

The latest bombardment comes less than a week after one of the deadliest Israeli attacks in Lebanon since fighting subsided under a June truce. Eleven people were killed in attacks in the south on August 15, according to Lebanese officials. Israel said it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.

READ MORE: Hezbollah won’t disarm – Beirut residents to RT (VIDEO)

The attacks come five months after an RT crew was nearly killed while reporting on Israeli operations in the same broader region of southern Lebanon.

RT correspondent Steve Sweeney recently returned with DD Geopolitics reporter Christopher Helali to the damaged Qasmiyeh Bridge over the Litani River, where he and cameraman Ali Rida Sbeity were wounded in an Israeli airstrike on March 19. Sweeney shared a first-hand account of the strike as he returned to the scene.

The conflict in Lebanon is closely tied to Israel’s confrontation with Iran. Hezbollah, Tehran’s longtime ally, resumed attacks on Israel in March following the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, prompting a major Israeli air and ground campaign. Fighting subsided following the Israel-Lebanon truce in June, but Israeli strikes have continued.

Lebanon has condemned the attacks and demanded that Israel withdraw from its territory. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called last week’s deadly strikes “extremely dangerous” and said any Hezbollah military infrastructure on Lebanese soil should be dealt with by the Lebanese state, not Israel.

Pakistan has vastly expanded the powers of Chief of Defense Forces (CDF) Asim Munir through two new laws passed on Thursday.

The Defense Forces Act, 2026, and the amended National Command Authority Act, 2010, expand the statutory role of the CDF, an office that was created only last year.

The Defense Forces Act allows the CDF to exercise powers and perform functions necessary for “multidomain integration, operational cohesion, coordination and oversight of all matters which have joint, tri-services and strategic implications for the Armed Forces and national security of Pakistan.”

These also give Munir the power to retire, release, accept or reject the resignation of, or retain in service, any person – except for posts where the appointments are made by the president on the advice of the prime minister, such as those of the army, navy and air force chiefs.

He can also relax the age or service limit of retirement for any military personnel.

Pakistan’s constitution requires the CDF to also be the army chief – considered the most powerful role in the country, thus practically giving Munir control over the army, navy and air force. The CDF is also the senior military adviser over Pakistan’s nuclear command.

The latest changes give Munir considerable influence over the careers of military officers. By making the CDF the prime minister’s senior military adviser, the laws also consolidate the military leadership’s role in decision-making.

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The federal cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved the bills on Thursday and they were presented before the National Assembly by Defense Minister Khawaja Asif even though they were not on the agenda.

The bills, drafted as a follow-up to the 27th Constitutional Amendment, then passed amid a walkout by the opposition.

Last year’s 27th Constitutional Amendment reorganized the Pakistani military command, creating the roles of CDF and commander, national strategic command. The amendment gave Munir immunity from arrest or prosecution regarding official or personal actions tied to his tenure and rank.

Munir was promoted to the rank of field marshal on May 20, 2025, becoming only the second officer in Pakistan’s military history, after Ayub Khan, to receive the rank.

An adult-content creator was presented as a potential ambassador for the memory of Poland’s 1944 Warsaw Uprising before public outrage forced a reversal, according to local media reports. The campaign commemorating the revolt’s 82nd anniversary has the honorary patronage of the Polish Culture Ministry.

Monika Laskowska, known in Poland as an OnlyFans creator, appeared in a photo published by the Warszawa44 Association wearing a T-shirt commemorating the uprising and was presented as an ‘Ambassador of Remembrance’, multiple media outlets reported on Thursday. OnlyFans is a subscription platform widely associated with adult content.

The Warsaw Uprising was launched by the Polish resistance against Nazi German forces on August 1, 1944, in an attempt to liberate the capital as Soviet troops approached. The revolt was crushed after 63 days of fighting, leaving much of the Polish capital destroyed and an estimated 150,000-200,000 civilians dead.

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Warszawa44, the association behind the commemoration, said it had selected Laskowska because of her public profile, social-media reach and “declared willingness to promote the memory of the Warsaw Uprising.”

Laskowska has also interviewed celebrities associated with Poland’s so-called “freak fights” – combat events that typically pit influencers and other internet personalities against each other – and has herself participated in such bouts.

The choice quickly drew backlash on social media, with users questioning whether an adult-content influencer was an appropriate figure to promote the memory of one of the most significant events in modern Polish history.

Polish media personality Karolina Korwin-Piotrowska, whose father fought in the uprising, also blasted the campaign for chasing social-media reach with controversial figures. She sarcastically suggested that organizers recruit even more provocative personalities.

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“I propose, therefore, to co-opt Mrs. Polański, who Onet interviewed and who poses nicely with or without a shirt, some whores, drug addicts, maybe a few rapists,” she wrote.

Sebastian Meitz, an expert at Poland’s Sobieski Institute, publicly questioned Culture Minister Marta Cienkowska over the campaign and asked whether Laskowska had received the title under “culture” or “national heritage.”

The Culture Ministry rushed to distance itself from the decision, saying on Thursday that the list of ambassadors “was not consulted with the Ministry.” While the project had received its honorary patronage, the ministry stressed that it provided neither funding nor organizational support.

Warszawa44 president Dariusz Michalak confirmed that Laskowska was their own choice. The association, however, reversed course after the controversy erupted, suspending her ambassador role and removing her photo from Instagram.

China has refused to join a US plan to “squash” Iran’s economy, rejecting Washington’s push to be part of the “toughest sanctions in history” against the Islamic Republic.

On Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on American allies and other countries to choose sides and stop doing business with Iran, as Washington prepares what he touted as “the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world.”

In an interview with CNBC, Bessent described the plan, expected to be unveiled on Monday, as “a one-two punch” combining a naval blockade with “the toughest sanctions in history.” He claimed it would “squash” the Iranian economy and “collapse this regime.”

Beijing, however, has rejected Washington’s call.

“Regarding the Iran issue, sanctions and pressure do not help resolve the problem,” Reuters quoted a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington as saying. “China calls on the relevant parties to take responsible actions and resolve the issue through political and diplomatic means.”

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Bessent’s remarks followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Wednesday of what he called an “economic D-Day” against Tehran, threatening “tremendous Economic Consequences” against countries providing Iran with “any type of lifeline.”

China has also rejected that threat. In response to a question by Bloomberg on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said “sanctions and pressure tactics are not the solution” and called for a “political and diplomatic approach.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has also dismissed the threat.

“Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat,” Araghchi wrote on X on Thursday. “US economic terrorism threatens global economy and sovereignty worldwide.”

China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, having purchased more than 80% of the country’s shipped crude in 2025, according to Kpler data cited by Reuters.

Bessent argued that Beijing has a strong interest in cooperating with US sanctions because of its reliance on energy supplies passing through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming China gets “50% [of their] energy from inside the Gulf.”

READ MORE: US accuses allies of China tariff ‘scam’

China’s energy supplies, however, are considerably more diversified. According to AFP, China imported 36% of its crude from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Iraq in 2025, while also buying large quantities from producers outside the Gulf, notably Russia.

Around 30% of China’s LNG imports came through Hormuz in 2025, but Beijing also sources LNG elsewhere and receives substantial pipeline gas from Russia and Central Asia.

China has refused to join a US plan to “squash” Iran’s economy, rejecting Washington’s push to be part of the “toughest sanctions in history” against the Islamic Republic.

On Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on American allies and other countries to choose sides and stop doing business with Iran, as Washington prepares what he touted as “the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world.”

In an interview with CNBC, Bessent described the plan, expected to be unveiled on Monday, as “a one-two punch” combining a naval blockade with “the toughest sanctions in history.” He claimed it would “squash” the Iranian economy and “collapse this regime.”

Beijing, however, has rejected Washington’s call.

“Regarding the Iran issue, sanctions and pressure do not help resolve the problem,” Reuters quoted a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington as saying. “China calls on the relevant parties to take responsible actions and resolve the issue through political and diplomatic means.”

Read more

Bessent’s remarks followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Wednesday of what he called an “economic D-Day” against Tehran, threatening “tremendous Economic Consequences” against countries providing Iran with “any type of lifeline.”

China has also rejected that threat. In response to a question by Bloomberg on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said “sanctions and pressure tactics are not the solution” and called for a “political and diplomatic approach.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has also dismissed the threat.

“Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat,” Araghchi wrote on X on Thursday. “US economic terrorism threatens global economy and sovereignty worldwide.”

China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, having purchased more than 80% of the country’s shipped crude in 2025, according to Kpler data cited by Reuters.

Bessent argued that Beijing has a strong interest in cooperating with US sanctions because of its reliance on energy supplies passing through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming China gets “50% [of their] energy from inside the Gulf.”

READ MORE: US accuses allies of China tariff ‘scam’

China’s energy supplies, however, are considerably more diversified. According to AFP, China imported 36% of its crude from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Iraq in 2025, while also buying large quantities from producers outside the Gulf, notably Russia.

Around 30% of China’s LNG imports came through Hormuz in 2025, but Beijing also sources LNG elsewhere and receives substantial pipeline gas from Russia and Central Asia.

Pakistani authorities took former Prime Minister Imran Khan to an Islamabad private hospital following a court order, but soon whisked him back to Rawalpindi prison where he has been incarcerated since August 2023.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court had on Tuesday ordered that the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party – one of cricket’s all-time greats – be moved to the private Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad within 48 hours, and kept there until September 16.

The authorities took him to the hospital just after midnight early Friday morning, past the court deadline. The PTI had threatened to file a contempt of court petition against the government.

“A team of qualified doctors, including an ophthalmologist, a cardiologist, and a physician, conducted a detailed examination of him and declared him medically fit,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on X about Khan. “After the completion of this entire process, he was transferred back to Adiala Jail.”

❗Imran Khan Back In Jail After Hospital Check-Up (Reports)

Doctors have found former Pakistan PM Imran Khan fit to remain in custody after examining him at a hospital in Islamabad. (Reports)

Khan was taken to the hospital from Adiala Jail amid concerns over his deteriorating… pic.twitter.com/5DdeBBHDpT

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 21, 2026

Khan only spent a few hours in the hospital.

Khan’s lawyers had said his health had deteriorated in prison, and that he had lost significant vision in his right eye.

The government had appealed to the top court to review and recall its order on Khan, saying medical reports showed he had no condition that required immediate treatment.

Read more

Hundreds of security personnel were deployed along the roughly 30 km route to the hospital, which was also kept under tight security while Khan was there.

His supporters lined the route and cheered as the convoy passed despite the late hour.

Khan has been convicted of selling state gifts, a charge he denies. The former PM and his political allies have maintained that the cases against him are politically motivated and intended to prevent his return to politics.

PTI, which retains a large support base, was stripped of its ability to participate in elections ahead of the 2024 vote.

Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica has accused YouTube of waging a “war” against people who think independently and “tell the truth,” after the Google-owned platform deleted his channel without any warning.

YouTube removed Kusturica’s ‘My Life’ channel on Wednesday, without publicly elaborating on the decision, according to several media reports. The project, produced with Sputnik’s Serbian service, contained more than 200 videos and had roughly 30,000 subscribers. Some of the videos are dedicated to the fate of Yugoslavia, the clash of civilizations, and the collision between Christian and Western values.

After the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, YouTube banned both Sputnik and RT as the West imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia. Moscow condemned the Western crackdown on the outlets as proof of an anti-Russian agenda and Western censorship.

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Commenting on the ban, Kusturica told TASS that “a totalitarian society” was behind the move, adding that “for them it is normal that they closed the channel on YouTube. They are at war with us, with people who think, who tell the truth and bring truth to the masses.”

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Separately, he said that “they don’t want anyone in that choir who doesn’t sing a song in which the algorithms reflect what those at the top want, those richest people in the world, plus the intelligence services.”

Sputnik Balkan noted that while YouTube rules stipulate that a channel can be shut down due to user complaints about video content, and after three consecutive warnings, neither the outlet’s editorial staff nor Kusturica received any notifications.

RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan also condemned the move, describing Kusturica as her close friend. “Welcome to the club, maestro!” she wrote, referring to the Western sanctions placed on other outlets.

Born in Sarajevo in 1954, Kusturica is one of Europe’s most decorated filmmakers. He won the Palme d’Or at Cannes for ‘When Father Was Away on Business’ in 1985 and again for ‘Underground’ in 1995, while ‘Time of the Gypsies’, ‘Arizona Dream’ and ‘Black Cat White Cat’ cemented his reputation for surreal and politically charged Balkan cinema.

Kusturica has been supportive of Moscow’s stance on the Ukraine crisis, arguing that the conflict had been “long prepared with the assistance of the Pentagon” and was “a war against Orthodoxy,” while describing the Ukrainian government as “pro-Nazi.”

Bangladeshi lawmakers have elected Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, a candidate of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), as the country’s 23rd president.

The former secretary-general of the BNP secured 255 parliamentary votes in the presidential election, while Oli Ahmed, a former army colonel from the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance, received 88 votes.

The president is the constitutional head of state but the position is largely ceremonial.

The polling was held on Thursday evening, with all of the country’s 349 lawmakers casting their votes.

This was the first presidential election in 35 years to feature more than one candidate. In previous elections, the political opposition never contested the ruling party.

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Awami League, the party of ousted President Sheikh Hasina, was banned by the interim government of Muhammad Yunus and could not take part in the election.

The election was necessitated by the resignation last month of Mohammed Shahabuddin, citing health issues, ahead of the official end of his tenure in April 2028.

A Reuters report quoting sources said that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s government had pressed Shahabuddin to step aside because of his long-standing ties to Hasina, who is now in India.

Alamgir will be sworn in on Friday evening.

The Russian Navy has carried out a successful missile test near the country’s Kuril Islands, the Pacific Fleet has said.

The test comes a week after Japan vigorously protested Russian President Vladimir Putin’s first-ever visit to the archipelago, which is partially claimed by Tokyo.

The missile test, which took place near the southern Kurils, involved the Varyag guided missile cruiser, the Omsk nuclear-powered submarine, and a ground-based Bastion surface-to-ship missile system, the Russian Pacific Fleet said in a statement on Thursday.

They fired several types of munitions at a target simulating enemy vessels at a distance of around 300 km (186 miles), with targeting data provided by naval aviation, the fleet said.

Objective control data confirmed the destruction of all targets, it stressed.

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Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi reacted to the drills by telling reporters that Tokyo “cannot tolerate moves [by Russia] to strengthen military power on the four Northern Islands because they go against our country’s stance [on the territories].”

Kyodo news earlier reported that Japan had lodged a protest with Russia after Moscow notified it of the upcoming missile test last week.

On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Tokyo’s ambassador to Moscow to express a strong protest over “anti-Russian statements” by the Japanese leadership.

After Putin traveled to Iturup, the largest of the Kuril Islands, on August 13, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the trip “absolutely unacceptable” and said it “hurts the feelings of the Japanese people.” Motegi also issued a statement, claiming that the four southernmost islands of the archipelago “are an inherent part of Japan’s territory both historically and under international law.”

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The Russian Foreign Ministry said it informed the Japanese envoy that “Russia’s sovereignty and jurisdiction over the southern Kuril Islands are inviolable. These territories were transferred to our country following World War II, as enshrined in the relevant agreements of the Allied Powers and the UN Charter.”

“Any attempts by the Japanese side to directly or indirectly call this obvious reality into question are categorically unacceptable and illegitimate,” it added.

Moscow “reserves the right to take appropriate countermeasures” in response to Japan’s adherence to Western sanctions against Russia and its support for Ukraine, the ministry warned.

The Kuril Islands, stretching from Kamchatka to Japan’s Hokkaido, came under Soviet control following Tokyo’s defeat in World War II and were subsequently incorporated into the USSR. The Japanese authorities, however, continue to claim the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and the Habomai – which they call the “Northern Territories.” The dispute has been the main obstacle to Moscow and Tokyo signing a formal peace treaty in the eight decades since the conflict.

A US woman has been charged with plotting to bomb the New York State Capitol building and then flee the country to join ISIS.

In a statement on Thursday, the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York alleged that Samantha Bowie had pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), a jihadist terrorist group.

Investigators alleged that Bowie posted extremist messages online, including praise for the 9/11 attacks, and said she wanted to “destroy as much of the building as possible and kill the senators while they are meeting.” She made several visits to the Capitol and took photographs in preparation for the attack, officials said.

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Bowie was detained on Wednesday after allegedly acquiring what she believed to be an explosive device. The Department of Justice and the FBI released a photo purportedly showing Bowie wearing black Islamic clothing that covered her face at a convenience store, where she allegedly bought items to make a bomb. Another photo purportedly showed Bowie taking a picture with her phone. Her face was not visible in either image.

“This arrest will send a strong message to anyone across the country who has been radicalized by our enemies,” First Assistant US Attorney John Sarcone III said.

There have been several IS-linked plots in the US in recent months. In April, two men were detained for allegedly throwing explosive devices at protesters outside Gracie Mansion, the residence of the mayor of New York. Police alleged that the suspects were IS supporters and that bomb-making equipment and instructions were found in a storage unit they owned.

In November, several men were charged in Michigan with plotting attacks on behalf of IS using AR-15 rifles and shotguns.

Drone footage released by the UK’s Border Security Command on Thursday shows French police intercepting migrants attempting to cross the English Channel illegally.

The officers moved in on the beach as dozens of migrants wearing life jackets were pushing an inflatable boat towards the water in an attempt to cross from France to Britain. Some migrants threw stones at the officers, who used pepper spray and slashed the boat with knives, according to ITV.

Around 15,900 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, down 43% from the same period last year, officials said. The UK Home Office announced on Thursday that more than 80,000 criminals and immigration offenders have been deported since July 2024.

“Returns have reached a near-decade high, with removals now at their highest level since 2016,” the Home Office added.

French cops zoom onto beach to STOP illegals from setting off to UK by boat pic.twitter.com/GgxVgu5FOL

— RTVisual (@RT_Visual_on_X) August 20, 2026

Immigration remains a hot-button issue in the UK, which has seen riots and mass protests sparked by violent crimes linked to migrants and Britons with foreign backgrounds.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who assumed office last month, vowed to be “relentless” in stopping small-boat crossings in the Channel after 752 migrants reached the UK aboard nine boats on July 29, marking the largest single-day arrival this year.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

Shocking news of a sudden over-threefold year-on-year increase of the number of miscarriages and stillbirths should be front page on global media. But because it is one of the latest consequences of the ongoing Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, it will probably go ignored by most Western corporate media.

In fact, since a ‘ceasefire’ supposedly came into effect in October 2025, media coverage of Gaza has decreased dramatically. But – as with ceasefires prior – Israel has continued to kill Palestinians in Gaza on a near-daily basis, by bombing, machinegun fire, drone strikes, and by (continuing its near twenty-year siege on Gaza) not allowing in adequate amounts of humanitarian aid, medical supplies, and other things needed to just sustain life at the very basic level.

As of August 19, the Gaza Health Ministry reports 1,273 Palestinians have been killed, 4,223 wounded since October 11, 2025.

In mid-July, Ahmad Abu Foul, a Palestinian medic who I’ve known since I lived in Gaza, told me of the sudden increase in miscarriages, primarily among women living in displacement tents across the Gaza Strip.

He cited Dr. Mohammed Al-Bashiti, an obstetrics and gynecology specialist at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, as warning of this disturbing increase and attributing it to various environmental and physical factors, notably, severe malnutrition and anemia, and “extreme physical fatigue due to repeated displacement from one place to another. Many are forced to carry heavy loads beyond their physical capacity, putting their pregnancies at greater risk.”

But it’s also caused by exposure to toxic chemicals – explosive residues, TNT-related materials, smoke – which put the baby at risk. Ahmad said that his sister just had a miscarriage at four months pregnant, and his niece had a stillbirth at eight months.

Thousands of women in #Gaza have lost their pregnancies amid the destruction of the healthcare system, displacement, shortages of essential supplies, and the ongoing genocide.

A thread 🧵 pic.twitter.com/oRmM3M9xWk

— Euro-Med Monitor (@EuroMedHR) August 13, 2026

The Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, on July 30 published an article highlighting the dramatic rise in miscarriages. It cited a recent UN report stating from January to June 2026, 3,950 miscarriages had been reported. This is over triple the 1,197 miscarriages reported from July to December 2025. The miscarriage rate, it notes, is one-sixth of all pregnancies.

Haaretz cited Dr. Ahmed al-Farra, head of the pediatric department at Nasser Hospital as likewise saying the contributing factors to the increase in miscarriages are malnutrition and stress and also water shortages: “We have reached a point where each person has three liters of water a day, far below the minimum required. Ninety percent of the water is not fit for drinking. The water shortage leads to infections, weakening the immune system and worsening malnutrition.”

With the complete destruction of the Gaza Strip by Israel, and with Palestinians constantly forced to suddenly move their inadequate tents elsewhere, the lack of clean drinking water, and the near-complete dependence on financial and humanitarian aid from the outside world set the stage for a host of food-, water-, and hygiene-related illnesses, and now this dramatic increase in miscarriages.

Although it was stipulated in the ‘ceasefire’, Israel hasn’t been allowing sufficient food, water and medicines to enter Gaza.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reported on August 9, 2026, that, “Israel enforces a comprehensive policy that disrupts the entire supply chain, starting from the entry of goods and aid through crossings until they reach the population.”

Read more

It notes the dearth of aid trucks entering Gaza in the first place, and that those which are permitted entry are not guaranteed to reach those in need, “due to the destruction or impairment of the transportation, storage, and distribution infrastructure.” It also notes that delays in shipping “cause frozen food, medicine, and other vital materials to spoil before reaching those in need.”

Euro-Med points out that Israel, “as the occupying power, has an obligation under Articles 55 and 59 of the Fourth Geneva Convention to guarantee that the population receives food and medical supplies when local resources are insufficient.”

From a logistical perspective, many of the illnesses plaguing Gaza could be eradicated were Israel to adhere to international law and allow in sufficient food, water and medical aid.

Israel is of course aware of this, as it has been since enforcing a full siege on Gaza in 2007. But the Israeli authorities know no international body or state – certainly not its biggest backer, the US – will force it to stop its genocide and allow in aid.

The invisible, creeping 'Yellow Line'

Israel has been expanding its control of Gaza via a constantly-expanding, mostly-invisible, ‘Yellow Line’ – a demarcation line set out in the Israeli-US ‘peace plan’ of 2025. The Palestinians can mainly only guess at where it lies, aside from some yellow cement blocks which are periodically moved still further into Gaza, to claim more land.

Palestinians report being fired upon by Israeli forces even if nowhere near where the Yellow Line might be. This is reminiscent of the Israeli ‘Buffer Zone’ imposed inside the Gaza Strip in the 90s and widened in the 2000s, expanding from 50 meters to 300 meters to much further. It was imposed in the name of “security” but was, in reality, another landgrab device.

Having accompanied Palestinian farmers for years when I lived in Gaza, I’m acutely aware of how Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition on any – elderly to child – Palestinian civilians, whether near what Israel deemed off limits, or hundreds of meters or even a kilometer away. We routinely came under this fire, bullets whizzing close by our heads and bodies, Israel  maiming or killing Palestinians who were simply trying to work their farmland.

Read more

TRT World noted in a July 27 article that since October, “the so-called Yellow Line has expanded from covering roughly half of Gaza to nearly 65 percent of the territory by June, and more than 23 kilometers of berms have gone up alongside it.”

Many Palestinians, including Ahmad, the medic mentioned above, report being told suddenly one morning to move west as the Israeli occupying forces shift the Yellow Line still further.

While the Yellow Line theoretically marks the limits of Israel’s ‘temporary’ occupation, it is clear that Israeli forces never intend to withdraw. Instead, Israeli leaders speak of “encouraging emigration” of Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip. This is code-speak for making conditions so unlivable that they are forced out of the Strip – in other words, ethnic cleansing.

Nonstop killing continues

On August 19, Israel killed ten Palestinians in central Gaza. On August 18, an Israeli strike near the sea in Gaza City killed six Palestinians, including a child, and wounded ten more. The slaughtering hasn’t stopped since the ‘ceasefire’, but major media reporting on it has.

Nearly every day there are reports from Gaza of Palestinians killed or maimed by Israel, ceasefire be damned. On top of which, Israel continues its decades-old policy of gunning down Palestinian fishers, ensuring they cannot access the sea for food.

Gaza’s Health Ministry lists the Palestinian death toll since October 2023 as 73,407. It lists only those it can actually count, which does not include those buried under rubble, completely obliterated, or otherwise unaccounted for.

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Many believe the real number is in the hundreds of thousands. Back in July 2024, I wrote of estimates in the Lancet that a death count of close to 200,000 was “not implausible,” while others with expertise in Gaza put the number of killed Palestinians at over double that. I also referred to a report in which a graphic denoting population accounted for 1.85 million people, not the 2.2 million existing pre-genocide.

Israel is now actively working to ensure a true death toll cannot be counted, literally removing the evidence of unaccounted-for bodies under the rubble.

Euro-Med reported on August 3 that Israel has removed or crushed an estimated 10 million tonnes of rubble from Gaza, “before international and local investigative committees have had the chance to survey, examine, and document the sites. This risks destroying crucial evidence of genocide and the remains of victims still unaccounted for under the rubble. These sites need careful examination and thorough criminal investigation before any intervention that might change or erase their features.”

We’ve seen Israeli leadership call for Israel to kill 30, 40, 50 Palestinians a night, and prior to that – among a very long list of genocidal statements – refer to Palestinians as human animals and enforce measures to ensure that if Israeli bombs and fire don’t kill Palestinians, they will die of starvation, disease, or before they are even born. So, it isn’t hard to conclude that this dramatic rise in miscarriages and stillbirths is not an accidental consequence of the genocide, but a predicted and calculated result of Israeli policies.

Israel has acknowledged that its troops killed Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl, and opened a criminal investigation into the incident. At the same time, it has refused to pursue a probe into the death of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in a separate attack.

Both incidents occurred in 2024 and prompted international outrage over the conduct of Israeli forces, making them among the most notorious civilian casualties of the Gaza war. 

The contrasting decisions have triggered outrage over Australian citizen Zomi Frankcom, who was among the seven slain aid workers. Canberra summoned Israeli Ambassador Hillel Newman on Thursday, with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong demanding accountability.

The killing of Hind Rajab

Five-year-old Hind Rajab was fleeing Gaza City’s Tel al-Hawa neighborhood with relatives in January 2024 when their car came under heavy Israeli fire. Independent investigators later found hundreds of bullet impacts and estimated that an Israeli tank had been only meters away and would have easily identified the car passengers as civilians.

Hind survived the initial attack and spent hours trapped inside the car alongside her dead relatives, pleading with Palestinian Red Crescent dispatchers by phone to rescue her. An ambulance sent to reach her after coordinating its movement with the Israeli military was subsequently shelled, killing two paramedics.

Hind’s body and those of her relatives and emergency workers were recovered 12 days later, after Israeli forces withdrew from the area

Israel’s response

Despite initially denying that its forces were even in the area where Hind was killed, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) acknowledged for the first time on Wednesday that its troops had indeed fired on the car carrying the girl and her relatives. It also admitted that a shell was later fired at the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance sent to rescue her.

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The IDF said the findings and alleged failures surrounding coordination with the ambulance warranted a criminal investigation.

In the WCK case, however, the military stated that despite “serious failures” in the attack, commanders’ actions did not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct and no criminal investigation would be opened.

Israel claimed its troops had mistakenly believed a Hamas fighter was traveling with the convoy and claimed it had deviated from an agreed route.

Australia demands answers

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Israel’s decision on the WCK killings fell “far short of the accountability we expect” and said Australia was “outraged.”

She questioned why, if the first strike on the convoy was a “catastrophic error,” two more missiles were fired minutes later. Canberra has also said Israel has still not handed over requested audio from the drone involved in the attack.

Frankcom’s family said it was “deeply disappointed” and called for an independent investigation.

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WCK similarly rejected Israel’s findings, saying the IDF had known its workers were unarmed and had “full visual clarity” of their clearly marked vehicles. The organization said the Israeli military “cannot credibly investigate its own conduct.”

Israel doubled down

After being summoned to the Australian Foreign Ministry on Thursday, Israeli Ambassador Hillel Newman defended the IDF’s decision, saying there had been “no criminal intention” to kill innocent civilians and that therefore, there was no criminal responsibility. 

He refused to apologize for the deaths of the aid workers, saying doing so could have “legal ramifications,” and claiming that “there are a lot of haters of Israel in Australia.”

Gaza scrutiny

Despite the IDF announcing an investigation into the murder of Hind and her family, Israeli rights groups have warned that even cases which do reach the criminal investigation stage rarely result in prosecutions. 

Yesh Din researcher Dan Owen told Reuters that only a “tiny” proportion of investigations into soldiers accused of killing Palestinians have led to indictments.

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Hind’s grandmother has also said the family does not trust Israel’s judicial system and wants the case pursued internationally.

Gaza casualties

More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the Gaza war began in 2023, according to local health authorities, including aid workers, medical personnel and journalists. 

Israel has faced repeated accusations of war crimes over attacks on civilians and humanitarian workers, while maintaining that its operations target Hamas and other armed groups.

Israel has acknowledged that its troops killed Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl, and opened a criminal investigation into the incident. At the same time, it has refused to pursue a probe into the death of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in a separate attack.

Both incidents occurred in 2024 and prompted international outrage over the conduct of Israeli forces, making them among the most notorious civilian casualties of the Gaza war. 

The contrasting decisions have triggered outrage over Australian citizen Zomi Frankcom, who was among the seven slain aid workers. Canberra summoned Israeli Ambassador Hillel Newman on Thursday, with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong demanding accountability.

The killing of Hind Rajab

Five-year-old Hind Rajab was fleeing Gaza City’s Tel al-Hawa neighborhood with relatives in January 2024 when their car came under heavy Israeli fire. Independent investigators later found hundreds of bullet impacts and estimated that an Israeli tank had been only meters away and would have easily identified the car passengers as civilians.

Hind survived the initial attack and spent hours trapped inside the car alongside her dead relatives, pleading with Palestinian Red Crescent dispatchers by phone to rescue her. An ambulance sent to reach her after coordinating its movement with the Israeli military was subsequently shelled, killing two paramedics.

Hind’s body and those of her relatives and emergency workers were recovered 12 days later, after Israeli forces withdrew from the area

Israel’s response

Despite initially denying that its forces were even in the area where Hind was killed, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) acknowledged for the first time on Wednesday that its troops had indeed fired on the car carrying the girl and her relatives. It also admitted that a shell was later fired at the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance sent to rescue her.

Read more

The IDF said the findings and alleged failures surrounding coordination with the ambulance warranted a criminal investigation.

In the WCK case, however, the military stated that despite “serious failures” in the attack, commanders’ actions did not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct and no criminal investigation would be opened.

Israel claimed its troops had mistakenly believed a Hamas fighter was traveling with the convoy and claimed it had deviated from an agreed route.

Australia demands answers

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Israel’s decision on the WCK killings fell “far short of the accountability we expect” and said Australia was “outraged.”

She questioned why, if the first strike on the convoy was a “catastrophic error,” two more missiles were fired minutes later. Canberra has also said Israel has still not handed over requested audio from the drone involved in the attack.

Frankcom’s family said it was “deeply disappointed” and called for an independent investigation.

Read more

WCK similarly rejected Israel’s findings, saying the IDF had known its workers were unarmed and had “full visual clarity” of their clearly marked vehicles. The organization said the Israeli military “cannot credibly investigate its own conduct.”

Israel doubled down

After being summoned to the Australian Foreign Ministry on Thursday, Israeli Ambassador Hillel Newman defended the IDF’s decision, saying there had been “no criminal intention” to kill innocent civilians and that therefore, there was no criminal responsibility. 

He refused to apologize for the deaths of the aid workers, saying doing so could have “legal ramifications,” and claiming that “there are a lot of haters of Israel in Australia.”

Gaza scrutiny

Despite the IDF announcing an investigation into the murder of Hind and her family, Israeli rights groups have warned that even cases which do reach the criminal investigation stage rarely result in prosecutions. 

Yesh Din researcher Dan Owen told Reuters that only a “tiny” proportion of investigations into soldiers accused of killing Palestinians have led to indictments.

Read more

Hind’s grandmother has also said the family does not trust Israel’s judicial system and wants the case pursued internationally.

Gaza casualties

More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the Gaza war began in 2023, according to local health authorities, including aid workers, medical personnel and journalists. 

Israel has faced repeated accusations of war crimes over attacks on civilians and humanitarian workers, while maintaining that its operations target Hamas and other armed groups.

Russia and China are both opposed to Japan’s accelerating militarization and growing debate over acquiring nuclear weapons, Beijing’s ambassador to Moscow, Zhang Hanhui, has said, warning that Tokyo’s policies could trigger a new arms race.

In an article published by TASS on Thursday, Zhang said Moscow and Beijing had reached a “high degree of consensus” over Japan. “Beijing and Moscow consider it necessary to remain highly vigilant and firmly oppose Japan’s accelerated remilitarization and its pursuit of nuclear weapons,” he wrote.

The envoy warned that if Tokyo decides to create its own nuclear weapons, the strategic balance in Northeast Asia will be completely disrupted, and “a nuclear arms race in the region could erupt at any moment”. “If Japan’s right-wing forces continue to play with fire on nuclear policy, the Japanese will ultimately once again find themselves in the dock of history,” Zhang added.

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The warning comes after, in December 2025, a senior official involved in devising Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s security policy reportedly argued that Japan should consider acquiring nuclear weapons as the US nuclear umbrella is becoming increasingly unreliable. “In the end, we can only rely on ourselves,” the official was quoted as saying.

Publicly, Takaichi has stressed that Japan still adheres to three non-nuclear principles – a long-time policy stating that Tokyo will not possess, produce or permit the introduction of nuclear weapons.

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However, she has questioned the latter principle, while Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has argued that “one topic we cannot avoid is nuclear weapons,” adding that the issue should be discussed “without any taboos.” 

In this vein, Zhang accused the Japanese leadership of hiding nuclear ambitions behind the country’s status as the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings in war, saying Japanese leadership had begun “dangerous experiments in nuclear policy” while trying to revive “the spirit of militarism.” 

The envoy also alluded to Japan’s nuclear prowess, recalling that the country possesses about 44.4 tons of separated civilian plutonium. “This amount is sufficient for the production of approximately 5,500 nuclear warheads,” he said. “Given the desire and appropriate capabilities, Japan becoming a nuclear power no longer looks like fantasy.” 

Russia has voiced similar concerns. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called debate over revising Japan’s non-nuclear principles a “serious signal,” while Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko warned that abandoning the policy would worsen security in Northeast Asia.

Residents of a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut have said they will not trade the group’s weapons for reconstruction money, while decrying a US-brokered framework peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel.

The Dahiyeh neighborhood in the south-western part of the Lebanese capital has suffered extensive destruction from strikes by West Jerusalem since the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2023 and its subsequent spillover into Lebanon.

The deal, signed between the Lebanese and Israeli governments in late June, envisages the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) pulling out from southern Lebanon, to be replaced by the Lebanese military, which would oversee the disarmament of Hezbollah.

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According to the document, the internationally supported reconstruction of the country would only begin after the group lays down its arms. Hezbollah has called the agreement “a surrender” to Israel and warned that attempts to enforce it could lead to conflict.

The sentiment is shared by locals in Dahiyeh, who continue to support Hezbollah despite Israeli attacks, RT’s Steve Sweeney has reported from the area.

One shopkeeper blasted the agreement as a “humiliation and disgrace” for his country, insisting that “it brought no benefit to the Lebanese state.”

Another said: “Are they offering us money in exchange for restricting the resistance’s weapons? Let them state the amount. We would raise it ourselves rather than trade away the resistance’s arms.”

The World Bank estimates that Lebanon’s reconstruction after the Israeli airstrikes and ground invasion will cost at least $11 billion. Physical damage from the 2023 to 2024 war between the IDF and Hezbollah alone was put at $6.8 billion, with the assessment not including the subsequent destruction.

ChatGPT maker OpenAI has announced it is decelerating the development of its AI models, citing security risks.

In July, one of the company’s advanced AI bots unknowingly escaped its testing environment, gained internet access, and hacked into the servers of the Hugging Face online repository for AI models and datasets.

OpenAI said in a statement on Tuesday that the Hugging Face incident and the overall rise in the capabilities of its artificial intelligence models “have added urgency to our work on strengthening our monitoring, alignment and containment safeguards across all stages of the training process.”

“As models become more capable, the risks associated with developing and testing them internally also grow. Our standards for monitoring, alignment, and security must stay ahead of those risks,” the statement read.

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The company, headed by CEO Sam Altman, said it has “temporarily slowed the pace of scaling” while it works on implementing the upgrades.

The measures include a two-week pause in the training of the latest OpenAI models and the assignment of additional AI bots to monitor the behavior of AI agents during testing, it announced.

The company’s largest planned training run “remains on hold while we conduct smaller-scale training and evaluations to assess model behavior, validate our safeguards, and establish more evidence of alignment before proceeding,” the statement read.

Alignment is a key process of making AI systems behave as intended by the developers and being responsive to human oversight.

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Last week, US Senator Bernie Sanders published a letter addressing the CEOs of the three leading AI companies – OpenAI Anthropic, and Meta – urging them to “stop building machines that humans cannot control.”

“Mr. Altman, Mr. [Dario] Amodei and Mr. [Mark] Zuckerberg: In the interest of humanity, stand by your words. Pause AI development,” he wrote.

The incidents of AI going rogue should be a wake-up call, Sanders said. He also warned that the technology falling into the “wrong hands” could lead to the development of “new bioweapons that result in the deaths of tens of millions of people.”

When addressed about the Hugging Face incident last month, US President Donald Trump said that “we’re looking at AI, we’re looking at controls.” However, he insisted that America must be the global leader in AI, adding he did not want any regulations that would leave the country “second to China.”

Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica has accused YouTube of waging a “war” against people who think independently and “tell the truth,” after the Google-owned platform deleted his channel without any warning.

YouTube removed Kusturica’s ‘My Life’ channel on Wednesday, without publicly elaborating on the decision, according to several media reports. The project, produced with Sputnik’s Serbian service, contained more than 200 videos and had roughly 30,000 subscribers. Some of the videos are dedicated to the fate of Yugoslavia, the clash of civilizations, and the collision between Christian and Western values.

After the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, YouTube banned both Sputnik and RT as the West imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia. Moscow condemned the Western crackdown on the outlets as proof of an anti-Russian agenda and Western censorship.

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Commenting on the ban, Kusturica told TASS that “a totalitarian society” was behind the move, adding that “for them it is normal that they closed the channel on YouTube. They are at war with us, with people who think, who tell the truth and bring truth to the masses.”

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Separately, he said that “they don’t want anyone in that choir who doesn’t sing a song in which the algorithms reflect what those at the top want, those richest people in the world, plus the intelligence services.”

Sputnik Balkan noted that while YouTube rules stipulate that a channel can be shut down due to user complaints about video content, and after three consecutive warnings, neither the outlet’s editorial staff nor Kusturica received any notifications.

RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan also condemned the move, describing Kusturica as her close friend. “Welcome to the club, maestro!” she wrote, referring to the Western sanctions placed on other outlets.

Born in Sarajevo in 1954, Kusturica is one of Europe’s most decorated filmmakers. He won the Palme d’Or at Cannes for ‘When Father Was Away on Business’ in 1985 and again for ‘Underground’ in 1995, while ‘Time of the Gypsies’, ‘Arizona Dream’ and ‘Black Cat White Cat’ cemented his reputation for surreal and politically charged Balkan cinema.

Kusturica has been supportive of Moscow’s stance on the Ukraine crisis, arguing that the conflict had been “long prepared with the assistance of the Pentagon” and was “a war against Orthodoxy,” while describing the Ukrainian government as “pro-Nazi.”

US Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack has condemned Israeli airstrikes on an airbase in northwestern Syria as a dangerous escalation.

On Tuesday, Israeli forces struck the Abu al-Duhur base in Idlib province, near the Turkish border. Although there were no casualties, the strikes damaged the recently built runways.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the attack was carried out because Israel and Syria had agreed to “a status quo in security matters,” and claimed that Damascus was “on the verge” of breaching the arrangement by allowing “Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo.”

“Israel repeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel’s security. Syria chose to ignore these warnings,” it added.

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Both Syria and Türkiye denied the claims. Barrack, who also serves as US President Donald Trump’s envoy to Syria and Iraq, said the strikes “constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.”

Barrack added that the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa “has neither adopted a predatory posture nor maintained proxy forces” and was committed to “de-escalation with Israel.”

“We encourage all parties to prioritize logical discourse over further military incidents,” Barrack wrote on X on Tuesday.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani told Axios on Wednesday that Damascus had “no intention” of establishing a Turkish base or allowing a permanent Turkish military presence at the site. The Turkish Foreign Ministry similarly accused Israel of resorting to “frivolous allegations” to legitimize its attacks on Syria.

Netanyahu defended the strikes on a podcast on Wednesday.

“The message was conveyed but apparently they didn’t hear it, so we made sure they understood it more clearly,” he said, according to the Times of Israel. Netanyahu has repeatedly clashed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a vocal critic of Israel’s war in Gaza.

Relations between Israel and the US have remained tense in recent months as Netanyahu, who faces parliamentary elections in October, rejected Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, arguing that Israeli troops would not withdraw from the Palestinian enclave until Hamas fully disarms.

Trump earlier condemned Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, saying they could undermine peace talks with Iran. This week, Trump said he had suspended the negotiations and announced a “historic” campaign to cripple Iran’s economy.

US Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack has condemned Israeli airstrikes on an airbase in northwestern Syria as a dangerous escalation.

On Tuesday, Israeli forces struck the Abu al-Duhur base in Idlib province, near the Turkish border. Although there were no casualties, the strikes damaged the recently built runways.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the attack was carried out because Israel and Syria had agreed to “a status quo in security matters,” and claimed that Damascus was “on the verge” of breaching the arrangement by allowing “Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo.”

“Israel repeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel’s security. Syria chose to ignore these warnings,” it added.

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Both Syria and Türkiye denied the claims. Barrack, who also serves as US President Donald Trump’s envoy to Syria and Iraq, said the strikes “constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.”

Barrack added that the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa “has neither adopted a predatory posture nor maintained proxy forces” and was committed to “de-escalation with Israel.”

“We encourage all parties to prioritize logical discourse over further military incidents,” Barrack wrote on X on Tuesday.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani told Axios on Wednesday that Damascus had “no intention” of establishing a Turkish base or allowing a permanent Turkish military presence at the site. The Turkish Foreign Ministry similarly accused Israel of resorting to “frivolous allegations” to legitimize its attacks on Syria.

Netanyahu defended the strikes on a podcast on Wednesday.

“The message was conveyed but apparently they didn’t hear it, so we made sure they understood it more clearly,” he said, according to the Times of Israel. Netanyahu has repeatedly clashed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a vocal critic of Israel’s war in Gaza.

Relations between Israel and the US have remained tense in recent months as Netanyahu, who faces parliamentary elections in October, rejected Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, arguing that Israeli troops would not withdraw from the Palestinian enclave until Hamas fully disarms.

Trump earlier condemned Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, saying they could undermine peace talks with Iran. This week, Trump said he had suspended the negotiations and announced a “historic” campaign to cripple Iran’s economy.

A former senior official who worked under US Covid czar Anthony Fauci has pleaded guilty to conspiring to hide government records concerning coronavirus research and the origins of the pandemic.

David Morens served as a senior adviser at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which Fauci headed, between 2006 and 2022. He was indicted on April 28 on charges including conspiracy against the US, destroying or falsifying federal records, concealing records, and aiding and abetting, over an alleged scheme to evade public-records requests concerning Covid-19 research.

On Tuesday, Morens pleaded guilty in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, to one count of conspiracy to commit offenses and defraud the US. He admitted that he and others had deliberately used his personal Gmail account to evade Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

He now faces up to five years in prison and is due to be sentenced on November 12.

In emails previously released during the investigation, Morens wrote that he had learned from an “FOIA lady” how to “make emails disappear.” In another, he said he could send material to “Tony,” an apparent reference to Fauci, through private Gmail or deliver it personally, adding that “Tony” is “too smart to let colleagues send him stuff that could cause trouble.”

The records concerned US-funded coronavirus research carried out at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The funding was cut in 2020 as scrutiny grew over whether Covid-19 could have emerged from the Chinese laboratory.

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Prosecutors said Morens worked with associates behind the scenes to restore the funding, push back against the lab-leak theory, and exchange nonpublic government information through private channels.

In his plea, Morens further admitted involvement in an illegal gifts scheme. The head of the nonprofit behind the Wuhan-linked research grant had sent him wine for his “behind-the-scenes shenanigans.” Prosecutors said Morens also discussed writing scientific commentary supporting a natural origin of Covid-19 as something he could do to “earn” the gift.

The guilty plea comes amid renewed scrutiny of Fauci, whom critics have accused of helping fund risky coronavirus research in Wuhan, concealing what he knew about a possible lab origin, misleading Congress and the public over the pandemic and vaccines, influencing intelligence agency assessments, and leading them away from the lab-leak theory, and personally profiting from his government role.

Last month, Fauci appeared before a Senate committee, where he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times while being grilled about Wuhan research, Covid’s origins, and his conduct during the pandemic. The Republican-led panel later voted to hold him in contempt of Congress.

Shortly before leaving office, former US President Joe Biden granted Fauci a broad pardon covering any potential federal offenses committed between 2014 and January 2025. Fauci has described efforts to prosecute him as an “unhinged” campaign.

READ MORE: Scientists create viruses with AI

Meanwhile, Covid-19’s origins remain unresolved. The FBI and CIA have both assessed a lab incident in Wuhan as the most likely source. Other US agencies have insisted on natural transmission from animals. China rejects the lab-leak claim.

US President Donald Trump has vowed to target any country helping Iran’s economy, marking a shift away from a purely military focus.

Trump made the remarks after a 60-day window to negotiate a peace deal with Tehran expired on Monday without breakthroughs.

“I am announcing the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY! This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday night.

“I am also announcing that ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences. Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies – it all needs to stop NOW,” he added.

“This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY, and we need all of our Allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat,” Trump wrote.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

A biological male who identifies as a woman was sentenced on Tuesday to six years and one month in prison after pleading guilty to plotting to kill US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

According to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Ryan Michael English, who goes by Raleigh Jane English, turned herself in to a police officer outside the Capitol building on January 27, 2025. Police searched English and found a folding knife, two Molotov cocktails and a lighter in his jacket pockets.

English confessed to traveling to Washington, DC, to kill a Cabinet nominee whose Senate confirmation vote was scheduled for that day, or to burn down an unidentified think tank in the capital. Police found a note to a roommate in English’s pocket that said, “This is terrible but I cant do nothing while nazis kill my sisters… Im so sorry for lying and plotting and lying.”

Judge Rudolph Contreras said English was concerned with “trans rights” and that “the plan was basically impossible to succeed, and she turned herself in before it came anywhere near fruition.”

US Attorney Jeanine Pirro rejected English’s argument for a lighter sentence, which portrayed the defendant as “a young transexual woman who has experienced trauma and suffering from the day she was born.”

“My office will not tolerate attempts to intimidate or harm public officials that strike at the heart of our democratic process and are antithetical to the values we all depend on,” Pirro said following the sentencing.

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Police said English was inspired by Luigi Mangione, who was charged with fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan in December 2024. In his diary and a handwritten note, Mangione allegedly described his frustrations with the healthcare industry. Last week, he pleaded guilty to stalking Thompson, resulting in his death.

The US has seen a series of attacks on public figures in recent years, which observers have attributed in part to increasingly charged political rhetoric.

In September, a gunman killed conservative activist and organizer Charlie Kirk during a speech on a university campus in Utah. US President Donald Trump survived several assassination attempts, including a shooting at his reelection rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024.

In June 2025, an assailant murdered Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and wounded state Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. In April of the same year, a man firebombed the residence of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

On August 18, a federal trial opened in the US, organized by a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general against Meta. Twenty-nine states brought the lawsuit – represented by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey at the trial. They consider that the company’s social media platforms, which they claim hook users, harvest their data, and hide their methods, are addictive to children and harm their mental health.

While this particular trial concerns only Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube are also targeted, while Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, and many others have already been summoned to testify to Congress. And again, let’s not forget the European Union's Digital Service Act and the showdown between Elon Musk and former European commissar Thierry Breton about X’s content moderation. Regulation of social platforms is strengthening everywhere. The arguments are always the same: companies shouldn’t be above the truth or the law, there’s a crucial need to ban “hate speech,” protect our children from pedophilia and psychological disorders, and so on.

But is it really about online activity? Isn’t the problem deeper and rooted in society itself? In its depravity that can be traced back to decades of cultural propaganda, consumerism, promotion of all kind of sexual habits, and the dismantling of the homogeneity of people? Indeed, social platforms are a tool to propagate ideas and shape minds, and a lot of trash can be found out there, but they remain only a tool. They are not ideas, ideology, instructions, policies; they are only a transmission channel of a peculiar zeitgeist. Long before Meta, TikTok and X elites were promoting their decadent agenda through books, schools, political discourses, Hollywood and music: sexual promiscuity and ambiguity (essentially targeting the youth), acceptance of a cheaper and cheaper lifestyle (for the masses), tolerance for organized mass immigration (creating an unstable society), abortion and euthanasia (altering the perception of life itself), and of course omnipresence of gadgets supposed to connect people and make life easier when in reality they’re alienating them.

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The main argument used by the political forces confronting these platforms (the protection of children) is of course pure hypocrisy. The political forces have themselves been perverting the young. The real issue behind these trials is alienation: who or what is supposed to alienate people? The technological revolution that mankind is enduring has created a new political paradigm. It is now a confrontation between states and high-tech companies. The political elites cling to their power and influence while the technology giants constantly gain more and more might. Of course, one can argue that it was the same during the Industrial Revolution. Political forces had to deal with the economic importance of entrepreneurs. And most of modern history can be summed up as a constant dialectic between two conceptions: people serving the economy or the economy serving people. But the big difference is that now the tech giants have an asset that traditional entrepreneurs wouldn’t have even dreamed of acquiring to such an extent: control over propaganda and the personal data of billions of people. It really is a question of balance of power. A question that can be solved in only two ways: the forced creation of techno-fascism (where the tech giants obey the political leadership) or the organic emergence of digital capitalist anarcho-totalitarianism (where the politicians are puppets, even more so than they are nowadays).           

In any case, the main culprits will still be the masses. Because, you know, you can’t stop progress! As French philosopher Jacques Ellul wrote: “Modern technology has become a total phenomenon for civilization, the defining force of a new social order in which efficiency is no longer an option but a necessity imposed on all human activity.” Technology has been sanctified, it can’t be controlled – but the worst part is that people can’t envision a world without it and the more it develops the more severe the addiction becomes. And to believe that anything can be changed through institutional means is illusory.

Technology will keep developing. The politicians can’t do anything about it and the masses welcome it, just as they accept with thoughtlessness the decadent society they are offered. The only revolution that can happen has to be not a continuous technological one but a sudden philosophical, spiritual one. Unfortunately, as Etienne de la Boetie wrote back in the second half of the 16th century, one can argue that people voluntarily accept their own servitude. But the servitude is now not towards a government but toward technology.

US President Donald Trump has said he expects to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un later this year, days after ordering joint military drills with South Korea scaled back over what he called their ‘hostile’ signal to Pyongyang.

During his first presidency, Trump and Kim sought to improve relations between the two countries, meeting three times, including at the Demilitarized Zone in 2019. The diplomatic thaw eventually stalled without a deal on North Korea’s nuclear program.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Trump said he knows Kim Jong-un “very well” and the two “get along.” 

“The fact that I get along with him – that’s a good thing,” the US president said, adding that North Korea possesses “57 very powerful nuclear weapons.” 

Asked whether he planned to meet with Kim later this year, Trump replied: “Yeah, I will be.”

Also on Wednesday, NBC News quoted a White House official as saying Trump was open to meeting Kim at the “appropriate time,” although no date has been set.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s National Defense Ministry said that the annual joint military drills with the US, codenamed Ulchi Freedom Shield, were being cut short at Washington’s request.

A US Department of War official said the drills, which began on Monday, would end on August 21 rather than August 27, with some live-training events canceled or converted to simulations.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told parliament on Wednesday that the Trump administration had not notified Seoul of the move in advance.

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North Korea has denounced the joint US-South Korean drills and vowed to respond with a “new level of deterrent.” Kim’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, a high-ranking official in the Workers’ Party, said on Wednesday that the reduction in the scale and duration of the drills did not change their “hostile and confrontational nature.” She described the personal relationship between Trump and her brother as “excellent.” However, she denied that there is any communication between the two leaders, according to AP.

The drills were scaled back after Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday that he was “not happy” that the US had agreed to participate. He said the drills were costly and “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea. “It is too late to cancel,” Trump wrote, adding that he had instructed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” the exercises.

Trump pointed out that South Korea has refused to back the US in its military campaign against Iran.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he said he “was not happy when South Korea said – no, they are not interested in helping us with the Hormuz Strait.”

Leaving aside Belarus, which is geographically European but rarely treated as part of Europe’s political mainstream, most people would probably name Serbia, which, in geopolitical terms is a remarkable exception. Even after the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, Belgrade maintained a friendly attitude towards Moscow at both the governmental and public levels.

For four years, Serbia has tried to remain neutral despite sustained pressure from Brussels and Washington, and it refused to impose sanctions on Russia, while avoiding taking openly hostile measures. Recently, however, something appears to have shifted.

The change began in July, when Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic made an unexpected visit to Kiev and less than a month later, he hosted Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky in Belgrade.

During their talks, Vucic announced the launch of a Serbian-Israeli factory producing unmanned aerial vehicle, meaning the project places Serbia within the wider Western European drive to expand drone production, an effort from which Kiev may ultimately benefit. Then came a curious dispute over reports that Serbia might end visa-free travel for Russian citizens while hints of such a move appeared in official government documents, even as Belgrade categorically denied that any decision had been taken.

Vucic insists that Serbia’s policy hasn’t changed, yet his recent actions have created understandable doubts. Where are our Serbian brothers heading and when did they take this apparent wrong turn?

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The answer is less dramatic than it may first appear. Serbia is an internationally recognized master of political balancing, even by the standards of countries forced to live between competing powers. Geographically, it’s surrounded by NATO and European Union members, and that reality pushes Belgrade towards Euro-Atlantic integration, whatever the wishes of its population.

Politically and culturally, however, much of Serbia continues to lean towards Russia. So to preserve its right to maintain that relationship, Belgrade must constantly make compromises, including occasional gestures of support for the Western agenda.

Vucic’s precarious domestic position makes this balancing act even more difficult. Since late 2024, the president and his party have faced persistent street protests, with demonstrators accusing the authorities of corruption and demanding their resignation and at the end of June, Vucic said he would step down “very soon” and call early parliamentary and presidential elections.

In any event, he must leave the presidency next year because he can’t seek a third consecutive term, but he’s nevertheless hinted that he intends to remain in power, perhaps by moving into the prime minister’s office if his party wins the election.

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The European Union appears to have plans of its own and buoyed by the electoral defeat of Viktor Orban in Hungary, Brussels may now hope that Serbia’s leadership, which it considers too friendly towards Russia, can be removed through the ballot box.

Vucic has already faced warnings that EU funding could be blocked unless Serbia repeals legislation strengthening presidential powers while Western policy circles have also discussed placing the Serbian elections under “special supervision,” supposedly to ensure their fairness. In practice, the objective would be to make certain that the present authorities surrender power to more reliably pro-EU forces.

Seen in this context, Belgrade’s recent maneuvers become easier to understand. Suggestions that Serbia might bring its visa policy for Russians into line with EU requirements are a familiar way of stringing Brussels along with promises of future reform, while Vucic’s sudden friendship with Zelensky serves a similar purpose in that it demonstrates loyalty to the prevailing Western political line without committing Serbia to a fundamental change of course.

Together, these gestures may be intended to discourage the European Union from interfering too aggressively in the coming elections while helping Vucic and his party secure a comfortable result. His early announcement that he intends to leave the presidency also gives him some protection, given Brussels will find it harder to direct sustained criticism at a leader who can present himself as a lame duck with one foot already out of office.

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It’s equally important to consider what Vucic didn’t offer Zelensky. Serbia made no substantial commitment to Kiev and even the proposal that Belgrade might take responsibility for rebuilding a Ukrainian city remained deliberately vague as no one was told which city Serbia supposedly intended to reconstruct, still less when or how the project would be financed.

In practical terms, therefore, nothing fundamental has changed in Russian-Serbian relations, nor have these meetings created any entirely new source of tension. Serbian-made weapons have already displayed a mysterious tendency to find their way to Ukraine through third countries, while Vucic was probably sincere when he said that Belgrade had not joined Kiev’s side.

Serbia itself hasn’t suddenly changed either. It remains a country with a difficult history and an unenviable geography, trying to preserve its interests in an increasingly unforgiving world. Its leaders must accommodate the European Union without surrendering a relationship with Russia that retains deep cultural and popular roots.

Should Russia condemn the Serbs for trying to preserve their identity and room for maneuver? Definitely not and in fact should help them do so. 

The difficulty is that, for the moment, Russia may not possess as many opportunities to help as either country would like.

Has Serbia withdrawn its support for Russia?

This article was first published by the online newspaper Gazeta.ru and was translated and edited by the RT team

Croatian police have arrested a Ukrainian man suspected by Germany of taking part in the operation behind the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions, following a request from Berlin.

The German Federal Prosecutor’s Office said on Wednesday that Ukrainian national Vladimir Z., previously identified by media as Vladimir Zhuravlyov, had been apprehended in the Croatian city of Pula under a European arrest warrant.

According to the warrant, Zhuravlyov, a trained diver, is accused of planting explosives as part of a group, committing sabotage, and destroying infrastructure. He is expected to be extradited to Germany.

German investigators maintain that the attack was carried out by a small group of Ukrainians who used forged documents to rent a sailing yacht and transport military-grade explosives from Rostock, Germany to waters near the Danish island of Bornholm. The group allegedly used commercial diving equipment to plant the charges on the pipelines at a depth of around 100 meters.

Wall Street Journal journalist Bojan Pancevski even claimed in a recently published book that a glamour model was among the yacht’s crew.

Moscow has dismissed the “Ukrainian frogmen” theory as fantasy, arguing that such a complex operation could not have been carried out in NATO-controlled waters by a small group without state assistance or Western intelligence involvement.

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Zhuravlyov had previously evaded arrest. While living in Poland in 2024, he fled to Ukraine before he could be apprehended. Der Spiegel reported that he crossed the border in a vehicle belonging to the Ukrainian military attaché.

He later apparently returned to Poland and was detained there in September 2025. The following month, however, a Warsaw court rejected Berlin’s extradition request as “unfounded,” arguing that “blowing up critical infrastructure during a war… is not sabotage but denotes a military action.”

The September 2022 explosions severed three of the four Nord Stream pipelines built to carry Russian gas to Germany.

German authorities say the alleged team was led by Sergey K., identified by media as former Ukrainian special forces member Sergey Kuznetsov. He was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and extradited to Germany three months later.

Prosecutors charged Kuznetsov in June with “war crimes” for knowingly attacking civilian infrastructure. His trial is due to begin this fall.

In a recent interview, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in response to a question about the aggressive attitude of Israeli politicians towards Türkiye, stated that Ankara will not shy away from war if attacked. While these words cannot be considered a direct declaration of war against Israel, they certainly served as a stern warning. The Turkish leader clearly stated Ankara’s position: Türkiye does not seek to enter into an armed conflict, but any aggression against it will be met with a decisive response. Erdogan, however, did not express any intention to strike first; he merely indicated that the diplomatic means of deterring Israel are gradually being exhausted.

Erdogan’s words are directly related to the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed on August 7 by Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. Its core principle is reminiscent of Article 5 of NATO, which states that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all. The defense pact provides for military coordination, joint exercises, intelligence sharing, and the development of defense-industrial cooperation. Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan are creating their own mechanism of deterrence. And while it is not yet a full-fledged ‘Islamic NATO’, it is much more than a mere declaration of friendship.

US President Donald Trump’s reaction to this pact was notable. He welcomed the agreement, calling it a “big step” that demonstrates the unity of Middle Eastern countries. At first glance, it sounds contradictory that Washington is approving a mechanism that reduces the dependence of regional allies on American security guarantees. However, the Mecca Agreement is not a military alliance against the US, but rather an agreement against the American monopoly on determining regional security rules. There is a difference between these two concepts, although the distinction may narrow over time.

Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan all have their own grievances against Washington. Türkiye is dissatisfied with US support for Kurdistan Workers’ Party-affiliated militias in Syria, its exclusion from the F-35 program, and America’s continued support for Israel. Saudi Arabia feels bitter about America’s muted response to the attack on its oil infrastructure during the US aggression against Iran and is no longer confident that American guarantees will shield it at a critical moment. Pakistan considers its relations with Washington rather situational. After decades of cooperation, Islamabad faced sanctions and a decline in American interest following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, while Washington’s ties with India strengthened.

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The conclusion made by all three countries is quite simple: while cooperating with the US is possible, completely outsourcing security to the Washington is no longer plausible. What Türkiye contributes to the alliance is a large military force and a developed defense industry; meanwhile, Pakistan contributes military experience and its nuclear status; and Saudi Arabia brings with it financial resources and political clout. Together, they are capable of negotiating with Washington not as three dependent partners, but as an independent coalition.

Why, then, is Trump satisfied about this new agreement? Regional self-defense is consistent with his long-standing principle that US allies should bear more costs and responsibilities. Moreover, openly opposing the pact would be tantamount to acknowledging US concerns and pushing the three countries toward even greater independence. Washington benefits from welcoming the new structure and maintaining influence through NATO, arms sales, intelligence cooperation, and bilateral ties. Finally, Trump can portray the situation not as a weakening of America, but as a success of his own policy – an example of how the allies have united to share the common burden.

The underlying fault line remains, however. The Mecca agreement enshrines the right of regional powers to decide for themselves who poses a threat to them and what their response should be. Ankara, Riyadh, and Islamabad have no intention of severing ties with the US, but they are trying to safeguard themselves should American policy again prove unpredictable or be subordinated primarily to Israeli interests. Formally, the pact is not directed against Washington; but politically, it signifies a shift away from American patronage toward a more polycentric security system. This is why experts view the agreement as a sign of America’s declining role in the region. 

The entire region, from the Eastern Mediterranean to South Asia, is closely monitoring the new agreement. India sees that its main adversary, Pakistan, has received collective guarantees from two influential states. Israel must take into account that Türkiye now intends to rely not only on its own forces and NATO membership, but also on a separate regional defense mechanism. Likewise, Greece, which has long-standing disputes with Ankara in the Aegean Sea, concerning Cyprus and maritime borders, cannot ignore the strengthening of Türkiye’s position. 

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Therefore, another configuration may gradually emerge in response – a notional axis of India, Israel, and Greece, possibly including Cyprus. The foundation for this already exists: India is developing military-technical cooperation with Israel, Greece is purchasing Israeli missile and air defense systems, and in February 2026, New Delhi and Athens signed a declaration on expanding defense-industrial cooperation and agreed to prepare a five-year roadmap.

There is currently no reason to talk about the imminent emergence of a formal trilateral pact. India has officially stated that it is studying the implications of the Mecca Agreement for its national security and regional stability, but remains cautious. Most likely, a possible counterweight will initially emerge not in the form of a single treaty, but as a network of joint exercises, intelligence sharing, cooperation in air defense, unmanned systems, and maritime security. But the very possibility of such a configuration demonstrates that the Mecca agreement has already set in motion the logic of regional balancing: the emergence of a single center of power almost inevitably pushes its potential rivals closer together. 

But is Erdogan truly prepared to fight Israel? While retaliatory actions are quite possible, a pre-planned major war is not likely. Türkiye is not interested in a direct confrontation. War would hit its already battered economy, inevitably trigger a crisis within NATO, complicate relations with the US, and could quickly escalate beyond a bilateral conflict. Israel also understands that war with Türkiye carries an incomparably greater risk than operations against non-state actors or strikes against weaker neighbors.

Nevertheless, such a scenario is no longer entirely out of the question. The main zone of risk is Syria, where the interests of the two countries frequently clash. Ankara seeks to consolidate its influence in Damascus, strengthen Syrian statehood while maintaining pro-Turkish sentiments, and prevent the emergence of hostile forces on the Turkish border. Israel is trying to limit Türkiye’s rise and maintain freedom of military action. The two sides maintain technical channels to prevent accidental clashes, but a strike on a target housing Turkish military personnel or the death of Turkish citizens could be enough to trigger a chain reaction.

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Another potential conflict zone is the Eastern Mediterranean, including Cyprus and the disputed maritime zones. The risk will also increase if Israeli operations in Syria and Lebanon, which Erdogan has already described as a threat to Türkiye’s security, continue to expand. If the Turkish leader decides that Israel is “not about to calm down,” is ignoring red lines, and gradually bringing the threat closer to Turkish borders, Ankara could shift from diplomatic pressure to limited military measures such as strengthening air defense systems, providing cover for allied forces in Syria, interceptions, naval deployment, or retaliatory strikes. A local incident that may spiral out of control appears more realistic than a deliberate decision by the two leaders to launch a full-scale war.

The Mecca agreement raises the costs of attacking Türkiye, but does not automatically imply that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will start a major war with Israel. The full text of the document has yet to be published, and collective defense could include various forms of assistance, from political support and intelligence sharing to direct military involvement. For now, it is primarily an instrument of deterrence: its purpose is not to facilitate war, but to dissuade a potential adversary from starting one.

Erdogan’s statement should be seen within this logic. He is not declaring war on Israel, but is depriving the Israeli leadership of the confidence that Türkiye will, under any circumstances, limit itself to protests and diplomatic statements. A full-scale Turkish-Israeli war remains unrealistic. However, if Israeli actions affect Turkish forces or are perceived by Ankara as a direct threat to national security, Erdogan is capable of responding with force. Then it would no longer be a question of whether he wants war, but whether the parties are able to stop the war after the initial exchange of blows.

Trump said just before midnight Washington time that he has a deal with Canada to avoid 50% tariffs – for three days. Although that may not be the case a few more seconds from now. Just ask Iran. Whoops, here we go already. Canada has already disputed the existence of any deal.

If midnight strikes on the eve of August 19th without Canadian government negotiators agreeing to Trump’s demands, then Canada faces “50% tariffs,” Trump had warned. Except now, apparently, Canada has a deal with Trump. For three days. Clock it. Best to check that reservation again before leaving the house, though.

The reality is that most exports to the US from Canada are already covered under a North American free trade agreement that also includes Mexico. And the Canadian government has spent the past several months educating the country’s companies about how they can feasibly ensure that their own products can qualify under that deal. Which leaves, what exactly? Canadian booze. Canadian hockey gear. Canadian wood and paper products.

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Almost all of the US’s particleboard comes from Canada. And the overwhelming majority of its softwood lumber, wood products, and paper. Way down the list as the second supplier is – China. Trump has called Canadian leadership “nasty” for not letting him grab them by the wood, but he’s also called China cheats, rip-off artists, and a “total disaster” in past remarks.

Yet you’d think that the US has actual options from the way that Trump has been behaving. Why even negotiate with Canada if that’s the case. It’s like the guy blowing up your phone asking for a date while insisting that he has better offers on the table than you. Well, go ahead, then. What’s stopping you? If you’re still camping out on the lawn, then there must be something that you really want and need – regardless of the accompanying rhetoric suggesting otherwise.

Now, apparently, there is a deal. Until there isn’t. Or until the deal becomes a different deal. Or until the deadline for the deal moves. Or until the deal is declared a victory, followed by another deadline to secure the next victory. It’s like a departure board for a flight in hurricane season.

Oh, what’s that? You want first dibs on Canadian natural resources in the interest of collective security, as reports have suggested? That’s like telling a woman that she must date you and not anyone else because you’re the safest choice.

Does Mr. Security threaten to violate you against your multiple attempts to rebuff his advances, as Trump did in repeatedly riffing about making Canada the “51st state” despite Canadians literally making it the primary issue in their last national election that resulted in a landslide win for the current Prime Minister, Mark Carney, who made it the cornerstone of his campaign?

“The US is demanding a right of first refusal on Canadian critical minerals, that Canada complete its purchase of US F-35 fighter jets, that Ottawa buy US tech such as radar planes as part of joining Mr. Trump’s planned Golden Dome missile defence system, and that Washington receive some guarantee on future supplies of oil and gas,” according to the Globe and Mail.

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You want all that in exchange for holding Canadian hockey sticks and booze hostage? No wonder Canadians are willing to wait out the drama and honestly don’t even care if a deal is ever made.

In fact, this entire charade has made Canada more unified and stronger than ever. It’s finally awoken even the most sycophantic pro-US Canadians to its vassal status reality through historical kowtowing to Washington’s demands. Just a few years ago, anyone talking about diversifying interests away from US over-dependence and speaking publicly about how the US-centric world is over, would have immediately been branded some kind of foreign agent tasked with breaking up the US-led Western alliance. But Carney has made it clear that sovereignty runs through the kind of diversification of interests that much maligned patriotic Canadians have been demanding for years.

Trump’s desire for Canadian assets – and the frustration over being denied, as repeatedly exhibited by his Ambassador to Ottawa, Pete Hoekstra – has also served to draw Canadians’ attention to the various potential ways that American and other foreign interests have been actively supporting separatist groups – most recently in resource-rich Alberta – in an attempt to gain political leverage over the country’s elected decision makers and tilt the global playing field in their own favor.

Hoekstra himself has been linked to a voter ID app used by the separatist movement, which has also met with Trump’s State Department officials – as a Canadian petition on the parliamentary website states. To date, nearly a quarter-million Canadians have signed it, demanding that Hoekstra be drop-kicked out of the country for foreign interference – a phenomenon that would have been unthinkable to associate with the US until recently, despite what some of us kept trying to explain.

The trade spat with the US was also the catalyst needed for the various Canadian provinces to do away with their own provincial protectionist barriers – finally allowing free trade across the nation.

And buying Canadian – or anything BUT American – has become such a widespread activist movement that it’s been widely reported that despite Trump’s demand that Carney get American booze back on Canadian shelves, it would just sit there collecting dust at this point. It’s no wonder Canadians that don’t care about any midnight deadlines, with 66% certain that Trump wouldn’t honor it anyway, according to an Abacus poll.

So, yes: Canada and Trump have a deal. Unless something changes. Like the direction of the wind. Which is already the case, apparently. It’s actually more like a three-day free trial that can be cancelled anytime before it ends. Or even after. Doesn’t really matter anyway, since the charges will be showing up on the statement, regardless.

South Korean prosecutors have sought the death penalty for a woman accused of killing two men with drug-laced drinks after allegedly consulting ChatGPT about potentially lethal combinations and dosages.

Kim So-young is accused of giving beverages spiked with benzodiazepines to three men between December 2025 and February this year. Two died, while the third survived, according to Yonhap. She is also charged with injuring three other men using similar methods.

Prosecutors asked the Seoul Northern District Court on Tuesday to sentence Kim to death during the final hearing of her trial.

Kim has denied intending to kill the men and has claimed she gave them the drinks to prevent unwanted physical contact.

However, police have said they recovered ChatGPT conversations from Kim’s phone in which she asked about the effects of combining sleeping pills with alcohol, what amounts could be dangerous, and whether the mixture could prove fatal.

According to investigators cited by NBC News, one of the three men at the center of the murder case survived after spending two days in a coma. Kim is believed to have subsequently consulted ChatGPT about the risks and dosages involved, and investigators say she increased the amount of drugs used before the later fatal poisonings.

Authorities have sought to use the chatbot conversations as evidence that Kim understood the potentially lethal consequences of the drugs. A lawyer representing one victim’s family has said the chat logs could be important in establishing whether she intended to kill.

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The case is one of several recent violent-crime investigations involving ChatGPT.

Florida launched a criminal investigation into ChatGPT creator OpenAI this year after authorities said the perpetrator of the 2025 Florida State University shooting had used the bot to seek advice about guns and ammunition before killing two people and injuring six others.

In Canada, OpenAI faced lawsuits after acknowledging that it had banned the ChatGPT account of a teenager who later killed eight people in the Tumbler Ridge massacre, but had not alerted police.

Earlier this month, prosecutors in Massachusetts said a 17-year-old charged with murdering his 45-year-old mother and 14-year-old brother had also used ChatGPT to create “fantasy stories” about killing his family.

OpenAI has generally rejected claims that ChatGPT is responsible for violent acts committed by users, insisting it has a zero-tolerance policy on using its tools to assist violence and has been strengthening safeguards, account enforcement, and procedures for referring potentially dangerous users to law enforcement.

The company has also faced lawsuits accusing ChatGPT of fostering addictive behavior, reinforcing mental-health crises, and contributing to suicides.

Israel is building an execution facility for Palestinian prisoners sentenced to death on terrorism charges, ultranationalist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has announced. Apart from an execution chamber, the facility will house viewing booths where “crime victims” and their families can witness hangings – an option “customary in many countries,” Ben-Gvir mentioned while presenting the facility on Tuesday.

The complex will be used to hang convicted “terrorists” under the recently approved Death Penalty for Terrorists Law. The Knesset passed the legislation, championed by Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party, in March. It mandates death penalty for those convicted of deadly terrorist attacks aimed at “ending Israel’s existence” – a provision critics say effectively exempts Jewish Israelis, making the law applicable almost exclusively to Palestinians. Executions must be carried out within 90 days of sentencing, with no right of appeal.

The execution facility’s exact location has not been disclosed beyond that it is housed in a newly built death-row wing at a prison in central Israel. In partly blurred video footage filmed at the site, a beaming Ben-Gvir proudly showcases the construction site, framing it as the fulfillment of promises to his supporters.

“We are making history. Terrorists deserve only one thing – death by hanging,” the minister stated. “I took office promising to stop the ‘summer camps’ in the Prison Service. This has been fully implemented. I promised to legislate a death penalty law for terrorists. This has been carried out. And now the death row and hanging facility are also starting to take shape.”

Ben Gvir is known for inflammatory rhetoric toward Palestinians and has been sanctioned by multiple countries for repeatedly inciting violence against them.

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He famously boasted that he would ensure “the terrorists [in prison] receive the minimum of the minimum” in food and argued last year that “there is no such thing as ‘Palestinian people.’” A leading advocate of the execution law, the minister and his party members wore noose-shaped lapel pins for months, while his 50th birthday cake in May also featured a noose.

‘Deeply discriminatory’ law

The death penalty law has drawn widespread criticism from human rights groups and legal campaigners, including in Israel, over discrimination, due process, and potential violations of international and Israeli law. UN human rights experts have warned that hanging in particular is incompatible with the absolute prohibition on torture, while Israeli rights group B’Tselem argued that the highly visual method contributes to the “dehumanization” of Palestinians.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has called it “deeply discriminatory” and an egregious violation of international law. Israeli lawmakers and rights groups, including Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel – recently petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the law as unconstitutional.

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Israel previously permitted capital punishment only in exceptional cases, including treason and Nazi-era war crimes. Only two people have been executed since the state’s creation: an Israeli army officer for treason in 1948 and Nazi Holocaust architect Adolf Eichmann in 1962. No Palestinian prisoners have been sentenced to death since the new law was approved.

Israel currently holds around 9,400 Palestinian prisoners, including nearly 100 women and more than 370 minors, according to media reports citing the Palestinian Prisoner Society. Rights groups have repeatedly reported mistreatment of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, with former detainees and advocacy organizations alleging abuse, torture, starvation, physical and psychological harm, sexual violence, and denial of medical treatment. Israel is also reportedly holding the bodies of more than 100 Palestinians who died in its custody.

READ MORE: Israeli settler attacks terrorize last all-Christian village in West Bank (VIDEO)

Meanwhile, reports state the Israeli military continues near-daily raids and arrests across the occupied West Bank and Gaza, ostensibly targeting Hamas militants and their supporters. Meanwhile, as Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and demolitions of homes belonging to relatives of Palestinians accused of attacks against Israelis continue, the UN warned last week that the humanitarian and security situation in the region had reached a critical “breaking point.”

The US has imposed sanctions on two senior International Criminal Court (ICC) officials, accusing The Hague-based institution of overstepping its authority.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday designated ICC President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, describing the court as a “corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate.”

The designations are a part of a campaign announced by Rubio last month to “systematically dismantle the threat posed” by the ICC to US sovereignty.

Rubio has accused the court of targeting nationals of countries that have neither consented to its jurisdiction nor ratified the Rome Statute. The ICC previously investigated alleged crimes by US military and intelligence personnel in Afghanistan despite Washington not being a member.

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Israel likewise rejects the court’s jurisdiction. Nevertheless, in 2024 the ICC issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. A February 2025 executive order signed by US President Donald Trump condemned the warrants.

Seye worked on the prosecution team involved in the Netanyahu case. Israeli outlet Ynet reported in May that he was also overseeing an ICC investigation into funding for West Bank settlements and the supply of weapons to settlers. Netanyahu welcomed the latest US sanctions, denouncing the ICC as a “kangaroo court.”

The ICC said on Wednesday it “strongly rejects” the new designations, calling them “a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution.”

The court has also faced criticism elsewhere. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have initiated withdrawals this summer, while Chad followed in July, accusing the ICC of disproportionately focusing on Africa.

READ MORE: Netanyahu accuses NYC Mayor Mamdani of backing Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah

The Philippines withdrew in 2019, but the ICC maintained jurisdiction over crimes allegedly committed while the country was a member. Former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested under an ICC warrant in March 2025 over alleged crimes against humanity linked to killings during his anti-drug campaign and transferred to The Hague.

Russia has likewise rejected the court’s authority. The ICC issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova in March 2023 over the alleged unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia. Moscow dismissed the warrants as legally null and void and rejected the allegations, saying it evacuated unaccompanied children from the war zone and is ready to return them to their legal guardians upon request.

NASA has released images showing a crater blasted into the Moon by a discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage that struck the lunar surface at around 5,400 mph (8,700 kph) earlier this month.

The US space agency published an animated before-and-after comparison on Tuesday, using images captured by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) that show the previously undisturbed surface and a dark new impact scar.

NASA said the crater measures roughly 18 meters (60 ft) across and less than 3 meters (10 ft) deep.

The images also reveal bright and dark rays spreading outward from the crater. NASA said the darker streaks consist of weathered lunar dust and rocks that were blasted out from the upper 1.5 ft (0.46 m) of the lunar surface by the impact. The material had been altered over time by solar wind, cosmic rays, and micrometeorite strikes. Brighter debris near the crater rim came from deeper underground.

Spotted: Falcon 9 impact site

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has captured images of a new crater on the Moon. The crater formed on Aug. 5, 2026, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage impacted the lunar surface. https://t.co/aqduBYwpmg pic.twitter.com/hE83yvzmIk

— NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) August 18, 2026

The 4-ton upper stage struck the Moon on August 5 after drifting through space for more than a year. The Falcon 9 launched in January 2025 carrying the US Blue Ghost and Japanese Resilience lunar landers. Its reusable first-stage booster returned to Earth, while the second stage remained in space.

SpaceX said the stage had initially been placed on a trajectory considered safe under existing rules. A combination of solar activity and gravitational forces later sent it toward the lunar surface.

Although the Moon is regularly struck by natural meteoroids, collisions involving man-made objects are much less common. NASA deliberately crashed rocket stages into the lunar surface during the Apollo era to collect seismic data.

READ MORE: SpaceX rocket stage crashes into Moon

Experts have warned that unplanned impacts could become a greater concern as human activity on and around the Moon increases. UK aerospace engineer Dean Sladen told Space.com last week that uncontrolled rocket stages could become a “tangible operational risk” as space agencies and private companies build permanent lunar infrastructure.

Sicily is facing its worst aviation disruption in more than two decades as a prolonged eruption of Mount Etna forces hundreds of flight cancellations, stranding thousands during the peak summer holiday season.

Europe’s tallest and most active volcano has been erupting continuously since August 6, producing lava fountains, fresh flows, and persistent ash emissions. Experts say the activity could continue for weeks or even months.

Volcanic ash has caused the greatest disruption, with shifting winds carrying it toward Catania-Fontanarossa Airport, about 30 km south of Etna. On Tuesday, the airport extended restrictions due to “Etna’s eruptive activity and the simultaneous emission of volcanic ash,” limiting arrivals to ten per hour. In recent days, the cap has fallen as low as five as changing winds repeatedly forced schedule revisions under safety procedures.

READ MORE: Volcano eruption triggers highest aviation alert over Russia’s Far East (VIDEO)

Catania is Sicily’s busiest airport and the sixth busiest in Italy. Its operator, Societa Aeroporti Catania (SAC), has called the disruption “the most difficult emergency of the last 20 years.” Between August 6 and 12, 36% of some 1,974 scheduled arrivals were canceled, SAC said, while around 630 incoming flights were diverted. By August 13, nearly 800 flights had been canceled, disrupting travel for tens of thousands of passengers.

Drone footage released by the Ruptly video agency on Tuesday showed Etna lighting up the night sky as jets of glowing lava erupted from its summit and flowed down its slopes.

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The ongoing eruption stands out for its duration. Salvo Gambino, director of the Etnean Observatory at Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), said similar activity usually lasts only a few hours to half a day.

“In this case we have… days of continuous activity. Similar phenomena were seen in the late 1970s,” Gambino told Euronews.

Several parts of Etna are also active simultaneously, with lava fountains and ash emissions at the Voragine crater and multiple vents feeding flows in the Valle del Bove. A new vent opened on the eastern side on Monday, though INGV said the lava currently poses no threat to populated areas.

Italy’s Civil Protection Department has kept Etna at yellow alert, the second of four levels, since June 26. Despite heightened monitoring and restrictions, particularly at higher altitudes, the eruption has drawn large crowds, causing congestion and prompting some hiking closures. The local rescue service has also urged caution following several callouts.

The US has suspended negotiations with Iran and is seeking to gradually “strangle” the country, CNN reported on Tuesday, after its bombing campaign near the Strait of Hormuz failed to yield the desired results.

The US abruptly halted its most recent wave of strikes late last month amid reports that the war, launched on February 28, has largely depleted its stockpiles of precision munitions and interceptor missiles. Top brass also reportedly warned President Donald Trump that the military had exhausted its list of targets near the Strait of Hormuz.

White House officials reportedly told political allies that they were changing strategy in what a CNN source described as “going from ‘hammer Iran ASAP’ to ‘strangle them’ over time.”

According to the outlet, Trump instructed his negotiators, including Vice President J.D. Vance and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to halt talks with Tehran.

“There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday, adding that the US blockade of Iranian ports remained “in full force and effect.”

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

US congressional lawyers are struggling with a flood of error-ridden AI-generated legislation, forcing them to spend increasingly more time rewriting proposals produced by chatbots, Politico reported on Monday.

Staffers and outside groups have more frequently turned to ChatGPT and Claude to produce legislative text, with error-ridden drafts regularly reaching the House Office of Legislative Counsel (OLC), according to eight current and former officials interviewed by the Axel Springer-owned outlet.

In some cases, lawyers spend “more time trying to fix AI-drafted legislation than it would take for them to draft it from scratch,” one person who advises congressional staff on the technology said.

The OLC helps lawmakers turn policy proposals into bills and ensure they fit existing US law. However, AI-generated drafts have reportedly arrived with incorrect statutory references, confused legal definitions and wording that could produce unintended consequences if enacted.

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One example cited by Politico defined a “state” in a way that could exclude Washington, DC or tribal nations from a federal program. AI can also confuse legal mechanisms such as tax credits, deductions and grants.

The errors are adding to an already heavy workload. The OLC has 61 attorneys and 19 support staff and received 5,623 legislative requests during the first 60 days of the current Congress, up 72% from the same period two years earlier.

AI use is becoming increasingly common on Capitol Hill, four congressional staffers told Politico, saying that chatbots are used to review and draft legislation. The introduction of generative tools, however, has already led to a number of public blunders.

Canadian politician reads AI prompt aloud in legislature without realizing it:

"Here's a more natural, flowing version of that section that reads like a legislative speech rather than a series of short points" pic.twitter.com/S2Q0aV2Ufp

— CR1337 (@CR1337) July 26, 2026

In June, Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna’s office published an amendment summary containing the words “Claude responded:” along with other text copied from the chatbot. Luna said AI had been used on the summary rather than the amendment itself, and added that the inclusion of Claude’s remarks was “not a shocker. Most staff use it.”

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A similar episode recently occurred in Canada, where New Brunswick lawmaker Bill Oliver admitted using AI to prepare a lengthy speech after reading leftover chatbot instructions aloud in the legislature, including: “Here’s a more natural, flowing version of that section that reads like a legislative speech rather than a series of short points.”

AI-related errors have also reached the US courts. Two federal judges came under scrutiny last year over rulings containing inaccurate quotations, factual errors and incorrect case references, with AI reportedly involved in at least one case.

The State Department also apologized last month after using an AI-generated map that misplaced all six African countries it highlighted.

Despite such blunders, the OLC is also exploring how AI could assist its own work. The office told Congress in March that it had formed a working group to examine uses such as legal research and had already introduced specialized technology to help its lawyers draft legislation.

The UAE has accused Iran of firing two ballistic missiles in its direction on Tuesday, as the two-month window for US-Iran peace talks expired without a breakthrough. Following the incident, Abu Dhabi announced a halt to all trade and financial transactions with Tehran.

The alleged incident was reported by the UAE’s Defense Ministry and the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA). The agencies did not explicitly say whether the incoming missiles were shot down. The military stated that one of them fell inside the country’s territorial waters, while the second landed outside.

Later in the day, the Defense Ministry said the projectiles appeared to have attacked “maritime navigation.” The ministry did not specify whether the allegedly targeted vessels were traveling within the country’s domestic or international waters.

Shortly after the UAE’s military provided the update on its assessment of the alleged attack, the Foreign Ministry announced a halt to all trade and transactions with Iran over the incident.

“In light of the regional escalation that undermined regional and international peace and security, all activities, trade exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran have been suspended until further notice,” the ministry said in a statement.

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Iran has not publicly commented on the allegations. At the height of the US-Israeli war on Iran, Tehran repeatedly targeted the Gulf nation, accusing it of allowing US forces to use its territory to launch attacks.

The 60-day window set out in a US-Iranian memorandum for reaching a peace deal expired on Monday without a breakthrough. The two sides repeatedly exchanged strikes during the negotiating period, while shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz remained largely disrupted.

Earlier on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump confirmed that “no talks or conversations [were] going on, or scheduled” with Iran. “The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect. The Hormuz Strait is open and operating. All water mines have been removed or detonated,” he claimed.

Iran maintains that it controls maritime traffic through the waterway and has repeatedly signaled plans to impose permanent tolls for safe passage.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), reiterated the position on Tuesday, arguing that Washington’s failure to reopen the strait signaled “the post-American order in the Persian Gulf.”

“The gap between America’s inability to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and its claim to own it is greater than the 7,000-mile distance between Washington and the Strait itself,” Rezaei wrote on X.

The UAE has accused Iran of firing two ballistic missiles in its direction on Tuesday, as the two-month window for US-Iran peace talks expired without a breakthrough. Following the incident, Abu Dhabi announced a halt to all trade and financial transactions with Tehran.

The alleged incident was reported by the UAE’s Defense Ministry and the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA). The agencies did not explicitly say whether the incoming missiles were shot down. The military stated that one of them fell inside the country’s territorial waters, while the second landed outside.

Later in the day, the Defense Ministry said the projectiles appeared to have attacked “maritime navigation.” The ministry did not specify whether the allegedly targeted vessels were traveling within the country’s domestic or international waters.

Shortly after the UAE’s military provided the update on its assessment of the alleged attack, the Foreign Ministry announced a halt to all trade and transactions with Iran over the incident.

“In light of the regional escalation that undermined regional and international peace and security, all activities, trade exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran have been suspended until further notice,” the ministry said in a statement.

Iran has not publicly commented on the allegations. At the height of the US-Israeli war on Iran, Tehran repeatedly targeted the Gulf nation, accusing it of allowing US forces to use its territory to launch attacks.

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The 60-day window set out in a US-Iranian memorandum for reaching a peace deal expired on Monday without a breakthrough. The two sides repeatedly exchanged strikes during the negotiating period, while shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz remained largely disrupted.

Earlier on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump confirmed that “no talks or conversations [were] going on, or scheduled” with Iran. “The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect. The Hormuz Strait is open and operating. All water mines have been removed or detonated,” he claimed.

Iran maintains that it controls maritime traffic through the waterway and has repeatedly signaled plans to impose permanent tolls for safe passage.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), reiterated the position on Tuesday, arguing that Washington’s failure to reopen the strait signaled “the post-American order in the Persian Gulf.”

“The gap between America’s inability to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and its claim to own it is greater than the 7,000-mile distance between Washington and the Strait itself,” Rezaei wrote on X.

The UAE has accused Iran of firing two ballistic missiles in its direction on Tuesday, as the two-month window for US-Iran peace talks expired without a breakthrough.

The alleged incident was reported by the UAE’s Defense Ministry and the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA). The agencies did not explicitly say whether the incoming missiles were shot down. The military stated that one of them fell inside the country’s territorial waters, while the second landed outside.

Later in the day, the Defense Ministry said the projectiles appeared to have attacked “maritime navigation.” The ministry did not specify whether the allegedly targeted vessels were traveling within the country’s domestic or international waters.

Iran has not publicly commented on the allegations. At the height of the US-Israeli war on Iran, Tehran repeatedly targeted the Gulf nation, accusing it of allowing US forces to use its territory to launch attacks.

The 60-day window set out in a US-Iranian memorandum for reaching a peace deal expired on Monday without a breakthrough. The two sides repeatedly exchanged strikes during the negotiating period, while shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz remained largely disrupted.

Read more

Earlier on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump confirmed that “no talks or conversations [were] going on, or scheduled” with Iran. “The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect. The Hormuz Strait is open and operating. All water mines have been removed or detonated,” he claimed.

Iran maintains that it controls maritime traffic through the waterway and has repeatedly signaled plans to impose permanent tolls for safe passage.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), reiterated the position on Tuesday, arguing that Washington’s failure to reopen the strait signaled “the post-American order in the Persian Gulf.”

“The gap between America’s inability to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and its claim to own it is greater than the 7,000-mile distance between Washington and the Strait itself,” Rezaei wrote on X.

Agricultural producers across the EU have warned of sharp drops in yields after Europe has been hit by successive heatwaves this summer. Economists have said the losses are likely to push food prices higher in the coming months.

June and July were the hottest on record in western Europe, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, which has warned of a “continued risk of heatwaves affecting much of Europe” through August and into September.

In France, one of the EU’s largest grain producers, groundwater reserves were severely depleted across much of the country by early August, according to the national geological survey.

Prince de Bretagne, a major growers’ cooperative in Brittany, warned last week of a “historic” vegetable crisis. It projected yield declines of 40% for peas, 60% for broccoli, and between 50% and 100% for artichokes this summer.

Eric Legras, president of Unilet, France’s leading association of canned and frozen vegetable producers, said severe heat had also hit northern and southwestern France, describing the crisis as “exceptional.”

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Livestock farmers have meanwhile warned of a growing “forage production deficit” ahead of winter. France’s National Committee for the Promotion of Eggs has estimated that heatwaves have cut daily output by around one million eggs, while poultry farms have reported high mortality rates.

In northern Italy, home to one of Europe’s main rice-growing regions, water shortages have left some paddies “completely dead, burnt, with the rice dried out,” according to Coldiretti, the country’s largest farmers’ association.

Farmers in Spain have likewise reported considerable shortfalls in cereal yields, as well as cattle fodder deficits.

The German Farmers’ Association on Tuesday warned that grain production would be 7%, or 3.3 million tons, lower than last year. The worst-hit regions in the south of the country could potentially suffer total crop failures.

In neighboring Poland, business outlet Puls Biznesu predicted last month that persistent drought could force the country to become more reliant on food imports.

Analysts at Zurich Insurance Group and several European banks have estimated that the heatwaves could cost the EU between €50 billion and €180 billion.

Denmark has deployed a batch of fresh military conscripts to Greenland for the first time in modern history, as Copenhagen seeks to assert its control over the Arctic territory in response to threats of annexation from US President Donald Trump.

Around 100 conscripts from the Schleswig Infantry Regiment arrived in Nuuk in early August, Denmark’s military said in a press release on Tuesday. The group will divide their time between training and “operational tasks,” the military explained, with some troops stationed in Nuuk and others sent 350km north to Kangerlussuaq, an airbase used by US forces throughout the Second World War and Cold War.

The conscripts deployed to Greenland are the first batch of recruits to serve 11-month stints in the Danish military. In 2024, Denmark extended conscription from four months to 11, broadened the draft to include women, and ordered annual conscription numbers to increase from 5,000 to 7,000.

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The military’s press release framed the deployment as an opportunity for recruits to “practice and train military skills in unfamiliar terrain.” The statement made no mention of Denmark’s ongoing dispute with the US over Greenland, but it did note that the conscripts will take part in Operation Arctic Endurance – a military exercise launched in direct response to Trump’s threats to annex the territory.

Trump started threatening to annex Greenland last year, claiming that the US needs the landmass “for the purpose of national security” – namely to host elements of his promised ‘Golden Dome’ ballistic missile defense network. Trump has also said that he wants “Greenland for its rare-earth minerals.” 

Denmark launched the exercise in January, after Trump and other top US officials refused to rule out the use of military force to annex Greenland. Two weeks before the operation was announced, Trump joked that Denmark’s entire military presence on Greenland amounted to “two dog sleds.”

Eleven other NATO states have sent troops to take part in the exercise, including France, Germany, and the UK. Operation Arctic Endurance is a small-scale exercise, with fewer than 300 Danish and allied troops in Greenland at any one time before the arrival of the conscripts.

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Copenhagen viewed an armed conflict with the US as highly unlikely, government and military sources told Denmark’s DR broadcaster in March, but placed troops in Greenland as an insurance policy. By stationing troops on Greenland “with as many different flags on their shoulders as possible,” DR explained, the Danish government ensured that “the Americans would be forced to take a major hostile action if Donald Trump actually wanted to occupy Greenland militarily.”

“The cost to the US would be raised. The US would have to carry out a hostile act to get Greenland,” a defense source told the broadcaster.

As an American oil company moved drilling equipment onto Greenland last month, Trump posted an image of himself looming over Greenland on his Truth Social platform, along with the caption “Hello, Greenland!”

Only hours before the annual US-South Korean military exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield was due to begin, Donald Trump issued a statement that went far beyond another dispute over how much America’s allies should pay for their own security.

On August 16, 2026, the US president announced that he had instructed the Pentagon to substantially reduce joint military exercises with the Republic of Korea, describing them as costly and arguing that such demonstrations of force were sending North Korea an unnecessarily hostile signal. For decades, these exercises had been presented as an essential element of deterrence on the Korean Peninsula.

Trump approached the issue from almost the opposite direction. He suggested that North Korea, despite its nuclear arsenal and long confrontation with the US, has behaved in an unthreatening and respectful manner while he has been president. The following day he again emphasized his personal relationship with Kim Jong-un and said that the two men understood each other.

Yet North Korea was only part of the story. Trump also linked his frustration with Seoul to the war with Iran, claiming that he had asked South Korea to support American actions and had effectively received the answer “No thanks.” Seoul was far more cautious. South Korean leaders had to consider the permanent security problem on the peninsula, domestic legal procedures, and the political risks of direct involvement in another Middle Eastern war.

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For Trump, however, these considerations appear to carry less weight than the principle of reciprocity. If the US spends enormous resources protecting an ally, provides a nuclear umbrella, and maintains tens of thousands of troops on its territory, that ally should be prepared to support Washington when American interests are at stake. South Korea is revealing in this respect. It is a major industrial economy with a sophisticated defense sector, yet its security still depends on capabilities that only the US can provide, while its export-oriented economy remains highly sensitive to access to the American market.

Paying for security

The modern US-South Korean security relationship emerged from the Korean War, was institutionalized through the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1953, and has remained stable for decades. The US maintained forces on the peninsula and extended strategic and eventually nuclear deterrence, while Seoul provided infrastructure, shared costs, and developed its own military capabilities. Around 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea today.

American forces are part of a system that includes intelligence, logistics, command structures, air and naval power, and, above all, the US nuclear umbrella. Washington traditionally viewed this presence as an investment in American influence across Northeast Asia.

Trump challenged this logic during his first presidency. Previous administrations generally accepted substantial overseas military expenditure as part of the cost of maintaining a US-led international order. Trump repeatedly returned to a simpler question: How much was the ally itself paying?

In 2019, his administration reportedly sought to raise Seoul’s annual contribution to the cost of American troops to nearly $5 billion, several times the existing amount. Yet South Korea was never a free rider. Pentagon spending connected with the US presence in Korea reached roughly $13.4 billion between 2016 and 2019, while Seoul provided about $5.8 billion in support. Under the current cost-sharing framework, South Korea’s contribution for 2026 is approximately 1.5 trillion won, or around $1.1 billion.

The Trump administration’s argument is that Washington provides a strategic asset whose value exceeds the direct cost of maintaining troops and that wealthy allies have enjoyed access to it too cheaply. The same logic applies to trade policy. During Trump’s first presidency, Washington attacked KORUS – the US-South Korea free trade agreement – as economically unfavorable, noting that the US goods trade deficit with South Korea had risen from $13.2 billion in 2011 to $23.1 billion in 2017.

Two principles had emerged during Trump’s first term. Allies should pay more for security and trade deficits should not be accepted merely because they occur between strategic partners. Earlier US policy could tolerate some economic imbalance as the price of geopolitical cohesion. Trump increasingly treats the economic and military dimensions of an alliance as parts of the same calculation.

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Strategic dependence

South Korea’s dependence on Washington should still not be overestimated. Seoul possesses formidable conventional capabilities. Its defense expenditure reached approximately $47.8 billion in 2025, while its defense industry produces advanced artillery, tanks, aircraft, missiles, and naval systems and has become an important global exporter. The emerging American strategy increasingly assumes that South Korea should take primary responsibility for conventional deterrence against North Korea.

The most significant aspect of the dependency lies elsewhere. The Republic of Korea remains protected by US extended nuclear deterrence, backed by the full range of American capabilities, including nuclear weapons. Seoul participates in strategic consultations, but ultimate control over the nuclear component remains in American hands. Operational command arrangements in a major war create another layer of dependence.

The result is a peculiar balance. South Korea is powerful enough to handle many conventional threats, yet replacing American nuclear guarantees would require a profound strategic shift and might reopen the politically explosive question of acquiring an independent nuclear arsenal. This gives Washington leverage that cannot be measured only through troop numbers.

Economic ties create another asymmetry. In 2025, South Korean exports reached a record $709.4 billion, of which about $122.9 billion went to the US. America absorbed roughly 17 percent of all South Korean exports and remained the country’s second-largest foreign market. Dependence is the greatest in sectors such as automobiles, semiconductors and automotive components.

Bilateral goods trade in 2025 reached approximately $194 billion. US exports to South Korea stood near $68.8 billion, while imports reached about $125.2 billion, leaving Washington with a deficit of roughly $56.4 billion. Traditional economic analysis can treat this deficit as one element of a wider relationship involving investment, technology and industrial integration. Trump sees it more transactionally. If a country depends on American security and benefits from access to the American market, Washington can demand measurable concessions in return.

One strategic account

During Trump’s second presidency, this approach has become more systematic. Trade, investment and defense are increasingly treated as elements of one strategic negotiation. South Korea has agreed to investment commitments worth approximately $350 billion, including around $150 billion connected with American shipbuilding. In return, Washington moderated some of the tariff pressure that had threatened Korean exports.

At the same time, Seoul has faced expectations that it will increase defense spending, purchase more American weapons and provide greater support for the US military presence. South Korea has committed itself to moving defense expenditure towards 3.5 percent of GDP and purchasing roughly $25 billion of American military equipment by 2030.

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Tariffs, defense expenditure, arms purchases, and investment in American industry are increasingly placed on the same political balance sheet. Access to the US market is tied to investment, while reliance on American protection brings pressure to spend more on defense and buy American weapons.

The dispute over Iran shows how far this approach can extend. South Korea imports almost all of its energy resources. Before the latest crisis, around 70% of its crude oil and roughly 20% of its liquefied natural gas came from the Middle East, much of it dependent on the Strait of Hormuz. The disruption cause by the Iran war threatened South Korean industry and growth.

Yet economic exposure did not translate into a willingness to participate militarily in American operations against Iran. Seoul sought alternative supplies and measures to stabilize domestic markets but remained reluctant to become directly involved in a distant conflict. This appears to have irritated Trump precisely because the refusal contradicted his understanding of reciprocity.

From Washington’s perspective, the US has guaranteed South Korean security for decades, and when America asked for assistance in another strategically important region, Seoul hesitated despite suffering economically from the crisis itself. Trump’s subsequent criticism of joint exercises is a statement that military protection is not an unconditional feature of the alliance, but an asset whose political value must be matched by tangible support.

A new American model

South Korea is part of a larger transformation in American strategy. The US is not returning to classical isolationism. It continues to maintain global military capabilities, confront China in the Indo-Pacific, preserve nuclear alliances, and intervene when vital interests are perceived to be at stake. What is changing is Washington’s willingness to bear a disproportionate share of the everyday cost of the international order.

The emerging priority is the protection of the US and the strengthening of the Western Hemisphere, followed by the containment of China and preservation of American technological, industrial and military superiority. Allies in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East are increasingly expected to assume greater responsibility for regional security as Washington recognizes that its resources are not unlimited.

The US remains the most powerful individual state, but the period of virtually uncontested predominance has ended. China has accumulated enormous industrial, technological, and military capabilities, Russia continues to impose security costs on Western Europe, and maintaining commitments across several theatres demands enormous resources. Trump’s answer is therefore not retreat but an attempt to make American power cheaper to maintain.

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There is a historical analogy with the Second World War, although it should not be pushed too far. More than sixteen million Americans served in the armed forces, yet the US industrial heartland escaped the destruction experienced by Europe and much of Asia, while wartime production massively expanded national capacity. America emerged dramatically stronger relative to other major powers.

There is no clear evidence that the Trump administration is consciously attempting to reproduce that scenario by encouraging conflicts elsewhere. A more defensible interpretation is that its policy follows a similar logic of relative power. Washington wants allies to carry more of the expense of regional defense, foreign companies to invest more heavily in the US and strategic industries to return to American territory, while partners purchase American weapons and contribute to US industrial renewal.

South Korea is wealthy enough to be asked to pay more, militarily capable enough to assume additional responsibility, and economically integrated enough with the US for tariff pressure to hurt. At the same time, it remains dependent enough on American strategic guarantees that it cannot easily disregard Washington’s demands. This makes Seoul an almost ideal test case for Trump’s new alliance policy.

The ultimate risk is that America’s alliance network has itself been a foundation of US power. States accepted American military leadership and financial influence partly because protection was regarded as predictable. If it increasingly becomes a conditional service whose price changes with trade balances or support for US operations, governments such as South Korea’s will have stronger incentives to seek strategic autonomy.

Trump may make the alliance system less expensive while also making it less American politically. A more autonomous South Korea could reduce Washington’s burden but become less willing to align automatically with US preferences.

For the moment, however, access to the American market increasingly comes with demands for investment and concessions, while American security guarantees increasingly come with demands for greater defense spending and political support. South Korea has not been granted an exception.

Trump’s decision to reduce joint military exercises reflects a deeper reassessment of America’s role in a changing world, in which Washington appears determined not to abandon global leadership but to make it more selective, less expensive and more economically rewarding. Whether that strategy preserves American primacy or encourages even close allies to seek greater independence may become one of the defining questions of the emerging international order.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

The prospect of US control over Venezuela’s sovereign assets would amount to a “colonial relationship” and set a “terrible precedent” for Latin America, former IMF Executive Director Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr. has told RT.

Reports have surfaced that some 31 tons of Venezuelan gold – valued at approximately $4 billion and held at the Bank of England – could be released to fund reconstruction following earthquakes in June, but potentially placed under US Treasury control.

The bullion has been inaccessible since 2018, when the Bank of England stopped recognizing the Venezuelan government and froze the country’s reserves. However, following weeks of US-backed negotiations, the Venezuelan government and opposition recently reached a rare agreement to jointly seek repatriation of the assets.

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To overcome legal hurdles, they proposed converting the gold into funds to be deposited into US Treasury accounts rather than transferred to Venezuela, with spending subject to independent international audits.

The US Treasury had earlier issued a limited license allowing certain disaster-relief transactions involving Venezuela, which remains under US sanctions. Since the January 3 US operation that captured former President Nicolas Maduro, Washington has taken control of Venezuelan export revenues, particularly proceeds from oil sales. Caracas’ access to the funds is subject to US decisions.

READ MORE: US lifts sanctions on Venezuela acting president

In an interview released on Tuesday, Batista argued that placing the gold under US control would further violate Venezuela’s sovereignty and allow Washington to effectively “micromanage” how the country’s own wealth is spent. He noted, however, that such a move would hardly be surprising because “the US not only controls Venezuela after they abducted Maduro,” but “exerts enormous influence over Great Britain, including the Bank of England.” 

“Venezuela has become a protectorate of the United States. I wouldn’t even say neocolonial. It’s a colonial relationship,” Batista stated. He warned that placing the bullion under US control would set a “terrible precedent” for Washington’s relations with the rest of Latin America. “We are under threat by US aggressive imperialism, lack of respect for any rules, norms, the right of property.” 

Watch the full interview below.

Iran has called US President Donald Trump “delusional” after he proclaimed the Strait of Hormuz a “new US territory.”

Trump made the claim on the strategic waterway, which remains heavily disrupted due to the ongoing standoff, in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday. The US president shared a map of the strait and its environs with an area circled out and labeled as “New territory of the United States.”

The post promptly elicited a reaction in Tehran, with Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi condemning Trump’s “delusions” and warning Iran would “correct” them. At the same time, he commended Trump for managing to “correctly write the name of the eternal Persian Gulf,” apparently referring to the reported intentions of the US president to rebrand the waterway as the ‘Arab Gulf.’

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The exchange comes as negotiations between Washington and Tehran remain stalled, while the two-month window to reach peace expired on Monday. Shortly after laying claim to Hormuz, Trump confirmed that “no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled” with Iran. “The naval blockade remains in full force and effect. The Hormuz Strait is open and operating. All water mines have been removed or detonated,” the US president claimed in a subsequent Truth Social post.

On Monday, Trump threatened to attack US ally Oman and “bomb the sh*t out of it” should it “get in the way” of his purported effort to end the conflict with Iran. While Muscat has been playing a major role in mediating the talks between the US and Iran, it has been conducting parallel negotiations with Tehran on establishing a joint mechanism to govern the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has been seeking to collect tolls for safe passage through the waterway on a permanent basis and has reached an “understanding” with Oman on the matter, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday. The US has ruled allowing Iran to charge fees for passing through the strait, signaling it would continue to block Iranian ports indefinitely unless it relinquishes the demand.

Congressional Democrats will introduce a war powers resolution prohibiting military action against Oman, after US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb the country for holding talks with Iran. 

Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Trump warned that “if Oman gets in the way” of his efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz via a peace deal favorable to the US, he would “bomb the sh*t out of them.” Trump was reacting to news that Oman and Iran were closing in on a deal to reopen the strait, which would reportedly involve shipping companies paying transit fees to Iran – a strategic loss for the US. 

In a statement on Tuesday, US Senator Tim Kaine said that he will introduce a war powers resolution “prohibiting military action against Oman” when the Senate returns from summer recess next month.

“President Trump is increasingly deranged in his one-man campaign to threaten and initiate wars all over the globe,” Kaine said. “His wars are illegal since they are not approved by Congress, but he keeps on despite the massive toll on our troops, their families, the pocketbooks of everyday Americans, our stock of munitions and our alliances around the globe.”

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Kaine added that he hopes to “find some Republican colleagues to join with Democrats and check this blindly stumbling power-drunk president from inflicting more damage on the US and the world.”

Without support from a majority of Senators, war powers resolutions are largely symbolic. Democrats in both houses of Congress have filed more than a dozen such resolutions since the US began attacking Iran in February, with one passing the House in July. However, with Republicans holding a 53-47 majority in the Senate, only one war powers resolution – a non-binding and therefore toothless ‘concurrent resolution’ – has actually passed the upper house. 

A memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Iran in June set a 60-day window to bring the conflict to an end and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. With talks deadlocked, the memorandum expired on Monday. Trump has since ruled out any extension to the present ceasefire, telling reporters on Monday evening that he believes Iran is “not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary.” 

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran is prepared “to escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and wider region” if diplomacy fails, and to launch “timely and precise strikes” to break the US naval blockade on Iranian ports if necessary.

After suggesting that he may declare “the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the US” last week, Trump posted a map of the Persian Gulf with the strait labeled “new US territory” on Tuesday. “Just as Trump correctly wrote the name of the eternal Persian Gulf, soon his delusion regarding the Strait of Hormuz will either be corrected or we will correct the delusions of this deluded man,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi replied.

Russia and Egypt have strongly challenged a report by Politico alleging violations at the El Daba nuclear power project (NPP). The report which the Axel Springer-owned outlet admits is sourced from an intelligence official is “biased,” they have claimed, insisting that the venture fully complies with international safety standards.

El Dabaa, Egypt’s first nuclear power plant, is being built by Russian state corporation Rosatom in Matrouh Governorate. Launched in 2017, the $28.75 billion development comprises four VVER-1200 Generation III+ reactors and is jointly financed by Moscow and Cairo, with Russia covering about 85% through a 22-year loan. Construction is expected to be completed by 2029, and the plant to come online by 2030. When fully operational, the plant is expected to meet roughly 10% of Egypt’s electricity needs, while freeing up millions of cubic meters of natural gas for domestic use or export.

Politico’s claims

Politico on Monday published a lengthy report detailing purported violations at the site.

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According to the outlet, the letter was part of a tranche it obtained through an intelligence official that also included confidential Rosatom documents outlining violations identified in the company’s own reviews and audits.

Citing a “confidential letter” from an unknown party addressed to an unnamed Rosatom executive, it claimed that Egypt’s Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) – the government agency responsible for the country’s civilian nuclear power stations – had identified “defects” at reactor units, violations of “nuclear safety culture,” and “deliberate negligence” by a project official.

The document also reportedly details construction delays, security breaches, unprofessional conduct, and an attempt to conceal a serious accident.

How have Russia and Egypt’s nuclear agencies reacted to Politico’s claims?

Rosatom was the first to reject the allegations.

“None of the claims made in the Politico report have been substantiated through the contractual, technical, or regulatory procedures established for the project,” Rosatom’s press service told RBK. The company said that El Dabaa is being implemented under Russian-Egyptian intergovernmental agreements and a contract with the NPPA, with all work subject to continuous regulatory oversight.

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The Egyptian nuclear authority later issued its own statement, saying that the report “presented an inaccurate and unbalanced picture” and drew conclusions without proper technical and regulatory context. It added that it had received a request for comment before publication but considered the article too politicized to “warrant a response.”

El Dabaa meets the “highest internationally recognized nuclear safety and security standards,” the NPPA insisted, dismissing issues outlined by the outlet as “typical” for a project of this scale.

Politico is attempting to draw El Dabaa “into a broader narrative aimed at serving other political objectives,” the NPPA claimed.

“Following a careful review of the article, it became clear that it lacked the required balance and objectivity and contained inaccuracies and reflected a biased approach.”

How did Politico structure its PR offensive?

Politico framed the purported violations at El Dabaa as posing broader risks to cooperation with Russia on peaceful nuclear energy, pointed to Rosatom’s Paks II project in Hungary, which generates half of Hungary’s electricity but which has repeatedly fueled tensions between Budapest and Brussels.

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The El Dabaa allegations “cast a shadow over the Paks II project” and could “reinforce concerns” in Brussels, where Politico Europe has a sizeable and influential newsroom, about entrusting critical European infrastructure to a Russian company.

Politico also cited the Royal United Services Institute, a UK-based think tank co-funded by the British government, the US State Department and the European Commission, which last month urged Western countries against doing business with Rosatom. Politico then released a supporting article citing Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sybiga, who seized on the outlet’s “investigation” to call for EU sanctions on Rosatom and an end to nuclear energy cooperation with Moscow.

Western pressure on Rosatom

Rosatom controls nearly half of global uranium enrichment capacity and supplies nuclear fuel to reactors worldwide. Its critical global role and expertise have allowed it to avoid sweeping Western sanctions imposed on much of Russia’s energy sector since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022. However, some subsidiaries, executives, and projects face targeted restrictions.

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Several European countries and the US have historically relied on Russian nuclear fuel and enrichment services, making a comprehensive ban economically costly.

While Washington banned Russian uranium imports in 2024, it introduced waivers allowing purchases until the full ban takes effect in 2028. Kiev, however, has pressed the EU and G7 for sweeping sanctions on Rosatom, particularly over its operation of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), Europe’s largest nuclear facility. Russia took control of the plant in March 2022, and the facility and nearby Energodar have been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian artillery and drones since.

Russia has long argued that Western sanctions, particularly on energy, are illegal and self-defeating. Rosatom CEO Aleksey Likhachev acknowledged in May that restrictions have hampered its overseas projects, particularly by complicating international payments, but said that they have ultimately strengthened the company’s technological independence by encouraging closer cooperation with Russian manufacturers and new suppliers.

Who owns Politico – and do they have an agenda?

Politico is owned by Axel Springer SE, the German media conglomerate that acquired the outlet from founder Robert Allbritton in October 2021.

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Axel Springer operates under binding corporate principles known as “The Essentials,” which explicitly champion free markets, Israel, and US-EU transatlantic relationship. While Russia and Ukraine are not named, the company’s leadership has presented its staunch support for Kiev as an extension of its commitments to defending democracy against authoritarianism and strengthening transatlantic ties.

That openly prescribed ideological framework has raised questions about editorial independence, with critics and staff questioning whether mandatory corporate values can coexist with newsroom impartiality. CEO Mathias Döpfner has publicly defended the principles as fundamental to Axel Springer and told employees who reject them that they are free to leave.

Axel Springer’s Cold War history is also noteworthy. In the 1990s, investigative journalist Murray Waas cited former US intelligence officials alleging that the German media mogul received roughly $7 million in covert CIA funding in the 1950s – around $97 million in today’s money. The funds were reportedly intended to promote pro-American, anti-communist sentiment in postwar West Germany and support Springer’s expanding media operation, which would include right-leaning, pro-Western publications such as Bild.

US rapper Kanye West could potentially meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the artist’s upcoming visit to Russia, a senior State Duma lawmaker has said. West, also known as Ye, is scheduled to perform in St. Petersburg on October 10 and 11 as part of his Ye Live Concert Tour.

On Tuesday, Svetlana Zhurova, the first deputy chair of the State Duma’s International Affairs Committee, told Lenta.ru that Putin has previously met prominent foreign celebrities, but noted that a meeting with West would depend on several practical factors.

“Hypothetically, such a possibility exists,” Zhurova said.

Anna Subcheva, head of local concert organizer SAY Agency, previously told RIA Novosti that it is the rapper’s “long-standing dream” to meet Putin, for whom he has “expressed great admiration for several years.”

“The main issue here is the working schedule of our president and the artist’s own schedule, so that they align,” Zhurova said, also pointing to security and health requirements surrounding presidential meetings.

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West will be making his first concert appearances in Russia, although he visited Moscow in June 2024 for the birthday of Russian designer Gosha Rubchinsky, with whom he had previously collaborated.

His upcoming Russian shows follow a string of cancellations and bans in several European countries over his controversial statements about Jews, Adolf Hitler, and Nazism. West has since apologized for some of his remarks, attributing his actions to bipolar disorder as well as “poor judgment and reckless behavior.”

The rapper’s St. Petersburg concerts have attracted strong demand, with VIP tickets reportedly selling out within two hours of going on sale.

Look, Queen Ursula, we need to talk, girlfriend.

Yes, I’m addressing you directly, EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, because I’m not going to pretend that there’s anyone in charge in Europe who’s actually elected by the people and crafting EU policy.

And since you’ve apparently been more interested in monitoring Russian media platforms for dissident views that could potentially qualify as “Russian-aligned” than stopping online clarion calls for mass migration pushes into the EU, RT seems as good a place as any for an intervention.

Because the problem for the EU is that it’s getting so dissociated from the realities and concerns of its own people that even the pure data wonks are starting to sound the alarm. Seat projections for the EU parliament are set to swing populist to the detriment of the right-left establishment majority for the first time ever, according to recent reporting by Euronews on research data complied by the Europe Elects platform.

Now, the next EU election isn’t until 2029, which is a long way off, and you could very well decide to drop all of this in someone else’s lap by then. After all, you keep telling us that Putin is coming to Western Europe around that time, so maybe you’ll want to personally be busy window shopping in New York by then, instead of dealing with the headache of his arrival – or alternatively, his non-arrival after spending years scaring up billions from European taxpayer pockets for military hardware to mark the occasion.

I hate to break it to you, Queen, but the data from this very non-Russian research outfit (Europe Elects), published by a non-Russian media outlet (Euronews), is basically saying that right now, Europeans are looking more increasingly pro-Russian than not. To the point where the EU parliament, after the next election, could see pro-Russian gains and the anti-Russian firewall lose its majority. Or at least that’s how you guys see it when you look down on the plebes.

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Because apparently there is no such thing as people who are just genuinely fed up with how you guys are running things. We either support you – or support Russia. We’re just mindless units to be fought over, like the last jars of Nutella in a supermarket blowout sale.

Look, unlike you guys, the average European is fed up with hearing about Russia and Ukraine, and with European policies revolving around that conflict and sucking the life out of everything else that actually falls within your purview.

Perhaps it would be different if you had everything else under control, and had the luxury of jacking around outside of the Eurozone that you’re actually responsible for – but that’s clearly not the case. The usual way that politics is supposed to work is that the establishment takes action A, and its impact is direct, positive, and visible on issue A. Instead, what we’re getting is action A being taken on issue A, and causing not only aggravation and worsening of issue A, but also of issues B, C, D, E… which happened to be more or less fine before. This is what has happened with the EU’s Ukraine obsession, and now it seems like it’s becoming par for the course for other issues, too. It’s like we’re spending money to see pure ideology in action rather than success as defined in the dictionary and not through some kind of Orwellian rhetoric that flips everything on its head.

In just the latest example, even one of the most stalwart establishment entities of an EU state has explicitly asked what the heck you think you’re doing. The EU has fallen into line in pushing this authoritarian control of internet use, promoting a “harmonized” bloc-wide control of internet use under the pretext of protecting kids – which apparently requires ID collection from every single adult user, as well. Turns out that even the French Constitutional Court told French lawmakers to take their law and shove it somewhere else other than up the rears of the French populace.

“By prohibiting minors under the age of 15 from accessing certain online services, the law inherently requires every person, even an adult, to prove their age before accessing them,” the court ruled. “By failing to specify the conditions and limits under which such proof must be provided, the legislature has not established the legal safeguards necessary to ensure compliance with these requirements.”

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The court obviously doesn’t understand that the whole idea is to use kids to push a mass surveillance scheme. Or else it does understand – and isn’t going for it. Is the judge populist? Does he have a photo of Putin hidden in his desk? Or maybe the judge – like so many others – is just genuinely fed up with establishment hacks on all sides colluding with some opaque agenda whose advancement routinely seems to leave the average person worse off.

Consider, for instance, that this mass data initiative just happens to coincide with the recent revelation that the French public finance department – in other words, the tax collection folks – was massively hacked back in June. The hackers made off with almost all conceivable personal, tax, and income data of an estimated 700,000 taxpayers, according to a French European lawmaker. How do we know all this? Because the hackers said so. It was only then that the establishment felt compelled to inform people.

Hey, Queen Ursula, why don’t you guys just get in touch with the hackers and mainline all our “save the kids” internet data right to them? Just make sure they have to double-authenticate and click on all the cookies to access it first, though.

Again, the action taken on problem A (the kids running into perverts online), risks causing other problems of B (authoritarianism), C (data leaks), D (constitutional issues), and E (hacker-facilitated scams), even before there’s the most remote opportunity to credibly ascertain whether it does anything at all to actually fix issue A.

Look, I’m personally one of the center-right cohorts that you lost with this kind of nonsense. And things like this perfectly illustrate why populism is on the verge of exploding in Europe. Because who’s even left? We’re looking for people to lead with basic common sense. Folks who can read the room, and who are as far away as possible from your blast radius. If Russia is cheering that on, then you only have yourselves to blame. Perhaps that wouldn’t be the case if your repeated insistence on lockstep groupthink hadn’t pushed any real, legitimate dissent outside the tent and left only idiocy to bounce around off the walls unabated.

Admittedly, you guys do a great job with the food quality regulations that the average person doesn’t have the knowledge or time to police themselves. And the tethered bottle caps have grown on me. I actually miss the feeling of the plastic on my face when I take a swig of a Pepsi outside of the EU, and the cap risks rolling under the car seat. I’m not bringing my own durable container to fast food takeout, though. You can forget that. I am the durable container. Fill me up!

All I’m saying is that Euronews is warning you that you’re turning even more Europeans into “Russians” (by your own definition), and that your iron-fisted smashing of the alarm on the results of your own idiocy is counterproductive. The data shows that it’s only giving a growing number of Europeans even more incentive to just unplug the entire European establishment at the ballot box.

Jordan is preparing to mark the 2,000-year anniversary of Jesus Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River, with the Muslim nation investing more than $100 million to draw Christian pilgrims to one of the world’s holiest sites.

Jordanian Prime Minister Jafar Hassan met with Christian leaders this month and signed agreements to develop the baptism site by building a village for Christian pilgrims and visitors, a museum dedicated to the baptism, a green corridor, and infrastructure upgrades leading to the site. The project is expected to cost $120 million, Vatican media reported.

The year 2030 is widely accepted as the two millennium anniversary of Christ’s baptism by John the Baptist, a moment that marked the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. The ceremony took place at Bethany Beyond the Jordan on the east bank of the Jordan River, which today separates Jordan from the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

At the time of Jesus’ baptism, Bethany Beyond the Jordan was a part of Perea, a Jewish client state of Rome.

Four popes have visited Bethany Beyond the Jordan: Paul VI in 1964, before the site was excavated and restored, followed by John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. Jordan is the only country to have hosted these four pontiffs.

Although Jordan is a Muslim country, with Islam enshrined as its state religion, it is home to around 350,000 Christians. Speaking at the meeting with Christian leaders, Hassan said that honoring the anniversary of the baptism “reflects Jordan’s historical and religious standing and its role as a global destination for Christian pilgrimage, while highlighting the Kingdom’s message of coexistence.”

Two of the holiest sites for Christian pilgrims – the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, where Jesus was crucified, and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where he was born – are located across the Jordan River, in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory. Although visitors can normally access the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in East Jerusalem, pilgrims traveling to Bethlehem must pass through a system of Israeli military checkpoints, barriers, and road closures, which are often shut by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) without prior notice.

The Strait of Hormuz will remain indispensable to global energy trade despite efforts by Persian Gulf states to develop alternative export routes, a top Iranian military advisor has told RT.

In an exclusive interview with the outlet, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander and adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, argued that the strategic waterway cannot easily be replaced given the concentration of oil and gas production in the Gulf.

“The Strait of Hormuz will never lose importance. [The Persian Gulf] is the production site for oil and gas. Oil wells cannot be moved elsewhere,” Naqdi told RT correspondent Saman Kojouri.

The veteran brigadier general also pointed to the time and expense involved in developing new energy infrastructure.

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“If they want to find alternative routes to transport oil and such, it takes many years and incurs very heavy costs,” he said.

Oil-producing Gulf states have been pursuing additional infrastructure and export routes as shipping through the Strait remains severely disrupted, with July transit volumes down more than 80% from pre-conflict levels.

Saudi Arabia is considering another expansion of its East–West pipeline system, although an industry estimate cited by AFP suggests it could be completed only around 2030–31. The UAE is moving faster on an additional pipeline, which is expected next year, while a revived Iraq–Syria project has no timetable. Kuwait and Bahrain currently have no pipeline routes bypassing Hormuz.

READ MORE: Israeli minister calls for 30-40 ‘targeted assassinations’ in Gaza per night

Elsewhere in the interview, Naqdi offered Iran’s version of the alleged missile plot that prompted US President Donald Trump to secretly switch planes while leaving Türkiye last month, claiming it had never existed.

Watch the exclusive interview with Mohammad Reza Naqdi in full below.

Pakistan’s top court has ordered imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan to be moved to a hospital amid intensifying concerns about his health.

The Supreme Court issued the order after Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and his family raised concerns about his health, citing medical reports from the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where the 73-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has been held since August 2023.

The court directed Khan to be moved to the private Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad within 48 hours, and to be kept there until September 16, reports quoted PTI spokesman Naeem Haider Panjutha as saying. Khan’s family members have been allowed weekly meetings with him.

The court also directed a medical board to be formed, which will include Khan’s personal physician, and his sister Uzma Khan – also a medical doctor – to look into his health issues.

It, however, warned against sharing the board’s medical report with the media or the public, or using it for any political purposes.

A medical report submitted by the jail administration on Monday had revealed that a doctor from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, who examined Khan on August 2, noted fluctuating blood pressure, palpitations, headache, and restlessness.

Khan, the report said, attributed the problems to infrequent meetings with his wife and family, as well as his lack of access to newspapers and TV.

A medical board that examined Khan on August 10 recommended more frequent meetings with his wife and family, a relaxation of his prison routine, and access to newspapers, magazines, television and books.

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“Stress was never his weakness,” former Pakistan President Arif Alvi posted on X on Monday. “That it is now at peak levels tells you everything about what three years of imprisonment and total isolation have done to him.” 

Khan’s sons Sulaiman Khan and Kasim Khan have also raised concerns about his health and the restrictions on meeting him.

Khan was Pakistan’s prime minister from 2018 until he lost a no-confidence vote in 2022 – reportedly at the behest of the US, because he was too friendly to Russia. His imprisonment sparked nationwide protests, some of which turned violent.

He was found guilty of illegally buying and selling state gifts in 2023, although the sentence was later suspended. In 2024, he was sentenced to ten years for leaking state secrets, a charge he has denied.

Khan and his political allies have maintained that the cases against him are politically motivated and intended to prevent his return to politics.

PTI, which retains a large support base, was stripped of its election symbol ahead of the 2024 vote.

READ MORE: Former cricket greats appeal to Pakistan for better treatment of Imran Khan

In February, over a dozen cricket greats, including from India, appealed to Islamabad for more “humane” treatment for Khan amid reports that his health was deteriorating.

Look, Queen Ursula, we need to talk, girlfriend.

Yes, I’m addressing you directly, EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, because I’m not going to pretend that there’s anyone in charge in Europe who’s actually elected by the people and crafting EU policy.

And since you’ve apparently been more interested in monitoring Russian media platforms for dissident views that could potentially qualify as “Russian-aligned” than stopping online clarion calls for mass migration pushes into the EU, RT seems as good a place as any for an intervention.

Because the problem for the EU is that it’s getting so dissociated from the realities and concerns of its own people that even the pure data wonks are starting to sound the alarm. Seat projections for the EU parliament are set to swing populist to the detriment of the right-left establishment majority for the first time ever, according to recent reporting by Euronews on research data complied by the Europe Elects platform.

Now, the next EU election isn’t until 2029, which is a long way off, and you could very well decide to drop all of this in someone else’s lap by then. After all, you keep telling us that Putin is coming to Western Europe around that time, so maybe you’ll want to personally be busy window shopping in New York by then, instead of dealing with the headache of his arrival – or alternatively, his non-arrival after spending years scaring up billions from European taxpayer pockets for military hardware to mark the occasion.

I hate to break it to you, Queen, but the data from this very non-Russian research outfit (Europe Elects), published by a non-Russian media outlet (Euronews), is basically saying that right now, Europeans are looking more increasingly pro-Russian than not. To the point where the EU parliament, after the next election, could see pro-Russian gains and the anti-Russian firewall lose its majority. Or at least that’s how you guys see it when you look down on the plebes.

Read more

Because apparently there is no such thing as people who are just genuinely fed up with how you guys are running things. We either support you – or support Russia. We’re just mindless units to be fought over, like the last jars of Nutella in a supermarket blowout sale.

Look, unlike you guys, the average European is fed up with hearing about Russia and Ukraine, and with European policies revolving around that conflict and sucking the life out of everything else that actually falls within your purview.

Perhaps it would be different if you had everything else under control, and had the luxury of jacking around outside of the Eurozone that you’re actually responsible for – but that’s clearly not the case. The usual way that politics is supposed to work is that the establishment takes action A, and its impact is direct, positive, and visible on issue A. Instead, what we’re getting is action A being taken on issue A, and causing not only aggravation and worsening of issue A, but also of issues B, C, D, E… which happened to be more or less fine before. This is what has happened with the EU’s Ukraine obsession, and now it seems like it’s becoming par for the course for other issues, too. It’s like we’re spending money to see pure ideology in action rather than success as defined in the dictionary and not through some kind of Orwellian rhetoric that flips everything on its head.

In just the latest example, even one of the most stalwart establishment entities of an EU state has explicitly asked what the heck you think you’re doing. The EU has fallen into line in pushing this authoritarian control of internet use, promoting a “harmonized” bloc-wide control of internet use under the pretext of protecting kids – which apparently requires ID collection from every single adult user, as well. Turns out that even the French Constitutional Court told French lawmakers to take their law and shove it somewhere else other than up the rears of the French populace.