US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth floated on Wednesday the possibility of joint strikes on Colombian armed groups, as he welcomed the nation into a military-led counter-narcotics coalition after its conservative president took over last week.
Colombia had authorized so-called “joint military operations” to destroy what is described as “terror networks,” Hegseth told a gathering of the US-led Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition in Panama. “Yes,” he replied when asked if he had discussed with his Colombian counterpart joint strikes against armed groups such as the National Liberation Army (ELN), which the US designates as a terrorist group, and remnants of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
Trump’s Latin America policy expands beyond Panama
President Donald Trump’s Latin American policy has expanded dramatically beyond its early focus on the Panama Canal. More than 200 people have been killed since the launch of US military attacks on what it claimed to be drug boats last September, while a US-led commando raid in January deposed Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela.
Critics say the US strikes amount to war crimes worthy of the International Criminal Court, but Hegseth blasted the organization and encouraged coalition allies attending the meeting in Panama to withdraw from it. He compared drug traffickers to al-Qaeda or ISIS terrorists.
Speaking at a hotel in Panama City, Hegseth invoked a revamped Monroe Doctrine, the 19th-century policy asserting US primacy across the Americas that critics associate with decades of US intervention. He has called it the “Donroe Doctrine”, a play on Trump’s name. “We will defend our hemisphere from external threats,” including from narco-traffickers and foreign malign influence, Hegseth said.
US pledges $1 billion in security aid
Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella’s vows of a security crackdown have been embraced by the Trump administration, which announced plans on Friday to provide $1 billion in US security assistance to his government. During his swearing-in remarks on Friday, De La Espriella vowed to “definitively eradicate the scourge of illicit crops” and committed to also joining the Shield of the Americas program founded by Trump.
De La Espriella has blamed his predecessor, leftist Gustavo Petro, for an expansion of armed groups. Speaking alongside Hegseth at the event, Colombia’s new Defense Minister Jorge Eduardo Mora, a retired major general, said Colombia could take a critical role in combating narco-traffickers on both its Pacific and Caribbean coasts. “I think the time has arrived for the narco-terrorist cartels to confront the power and the capabilities of the entire hemisphere, led by the United States,” Mora said.
One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new security partnership was expected to surpass the level of cooperation under Plan Colombia, a US-Colombia anti-narcotics initiative launched in the early 2000s. … Full article
… there are several possible angles to consider about the source of the “threat” to blow up the US plane. Given the Israeli possible connection, if that is demonstrated, it might be suggested that even if the plot was genuine and therefore “real”, rather than by Iran it might have instead been a false flag designed to bring down the plane by Israel and blame it on the Iranians. But what follows is the part that many would consider unconscionable. Trump predictably persists in blaming what took place on a “security” decision by the Secret Service but since the president controls the Secret Service that might be called a “cover story.” Why the logical route to eliminate the threat was not pursued, i.e. evacuating the plane and removing the passengers and crew to a safe distance away, is not clear. The numerous media, crewmen and assorted other travelers who had already boarded the plane were unaware of the situation and, uninformed of the threat, proceeded to settle in and get ready to depart for the UK, which apparently later took place. Some of them wondered where President Trump was as he usually wandered through the plane pre-flight selling his usual line of BS.
The not-present Trump was engaged in what I prefer to call the “Chickenwalk Crawl” but the “Daily Beast” prefers the “Presidency’s Profile in Cowardice.” He and a select few staffers including his omnipresent blonde bombshell “special aide” Natalie Harp and Secretary of War Peter Hegseth were secretly removed from the plane using an airport catering service cart that normally was used to carry food and other supplies to replenish stocks on the passenger planes. Presumably they might have been delivering a load of BigMacs to Air Force One. The transplants eventually wound up at a US Air Force C32A which was also parked at the airport. Be that as it may and the whole story is full of contrivance and spin, but it is clear that eventually the president and his friends were safe but what about the others on the plane? Even Trump’s Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent were on board Air Force One and apparently unwitting of what thereby became a “decoy” flight to attract any missiles that might be fired in the flight path. Even though Trump had changed aircraft the pretense that he was on board was retained with Air Force One keeping the original “call signal” it used despite the President’s exit – thereby deliberately becoming a decoy to anyone who might be listening in to its communications, confirming that the “target” was still on board.
A senior Trump administration official conveniently and predictably claimed to journalists on Wednesday that the “decoy” Air Force One “was protected by US fighter jets on its flight back from Ankara” though there has been no indication from the Turks controlling the airspace that that was the case. Trump is also now claiming that he was himself at “greater risk” than those on the decoy flight, a ludicrous transparently lying defense but one that is similar to so much that comes out of the White House. Perhaps he should talk to his Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who resigned 24 hours after the “decoy” story broke. She was on the “decoy” plane and might have emerged from the experience just a bit upset. Nevertheless, no matter how one spins it, it would seem that if the plan to bring down the plane had been both real and successful, all those people still on board would have died. … Full article
“When you read Jewish law in many places, you might understand that gentiles can be killed freely without any problems.” — Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, Radio Kol Hai (July 2011)
In January 2012, Andrew Adler, the owner and publisher of a small weekly newspaper called the Atlanta Jewish Times, sparked considerable controversy when he penned an article titled ‘What Would You Do?’ in which he put forth three possible responses Israel might pursue if Iran were to acquire a nuclear weapon. The first two — pre-emptive strikes on Hezbollah and Hamas and disobeying the US Secretary of Defense to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities — failed to raise any eyebrows. Adler’s third suggestion, however, would result in his immediate resignation as editor and the subsequent sale of his newspaper:
“Three, give the go-ahead for U.S.-based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel in order for the current vice president to take his place, and forcefully dictate that the United States policy includes its helping the Jewish state obliterate its enemies. Yes, you read “three” correctly. Order a hit on a president in order to preserve Israel’s existence. Think about it. If I have thought of this Tom Clancy-type scenario, don’t you think that this almost unfathomable idea has been discussed in Israel’s most inner circles?… You have got to believe, like I do, that all options are on the table.“
Almost immediately, the article became headline news around the country forcing major Jewish organizations like the ADL and AJC to feign indignation, and within a week the US Secret Service had launched an ‘investigation’ into the matter while a teary-eyed Adler appeared on the Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasting network’s cable TV show to disavow his column and explain that he actually held a favorable view of President Obama!
Adler’s straight-talk, shocking though it may seem to some, provides crucial insight into the mentality of God’s chosen people and the candor they often use when speaking amongst themselves. Killing a foreign or domestic head of state who presents a perceived obstacle to the preservation of fragile little Israel is not unknown to history, as any reader of Laurent Guyenot’s indispensable book The Unspoken Kennedy Truth or Ronen Bergman’s 2018 bestseller Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations can assure you. … continue
Throughout these various appearances, Hunter Biden has been accurately taking on Benjamin Netanyahu for the genocide in Gaza.
“If it’s anti-semitic to point out that Bibi Netanyahu is evil incarnate, then I don’t know what to say to people anymore,” Hunter Biden correctly said on the Tucker Carlson podcast, adding, “open your eyes. Open your heart for one minute.”
In his interview with Wajahat Ali referring to the genocide in Gaza, Hunter Biden said, “I will call it a genocide. I don’t know any other definition that fits when one group of people, their stated goal is the extermination of another group of people. I think it’s ridiculous that we continue to debate whether or not it’s a genocide. I think Bibi Netanyahu is evil incarnate,” adding that the Gaza genocide is “unforgivable forever and throughout time”.
While these statements are correct, it is hard not to see this as a way to put the entirety of the burden for the genocide on Benjamin Netanyahu, whitewashing the fact that it could not have been carried out without support from Joe Biden.
This is bolstered by the fact that in his interview with Wajahat Ali, Hunter Biden claimed that his father “believes all the things that I just said” and pretended that Joe Biden put pressure on Netanyahu, adding that Joe Biden “did his best to curtail and to curb the most awful instincts of Netanyahu”.
Hunter Biden’s comments in this context seem more to be part of an effort to whitewash the Democratic Party and Joe Biden’s direct complicity in the Gaza genocide. … continue
Switzerland has selected a documentary featuring testimonies from survivors in the Gaza Strip as its entry for the 2027 Academy Awards, media reports said Thursday, Anadolu reports.
“Who Is Still Alive,” directed by Geneva-based filmmaker Nicolas Wadimoff, will compete for a nomination in the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards, Swissinfo reported.
The documentary places Gaza survivors in an abstract setting where they recount their experiences.
The jury said the film directly addresses feelings of loss, uprooting and belonging, according to a statement by Switzerland’s Federal Office of Culture.
“Who Is Still Alive” won the Prix de Soleure, Switzerland’s most prestigious film award, at the Solothurn Film Festival earlier this year.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is expected to announce a shortlist of international submissions in December. The five final nominees will be revealed Jan. 21, ahead of the Academy Awards ceremony on March 14.
UK taxpayers are unknowingly subsidizing “therapeutic healing” and psychological treatment of Israeli soldiers who served in Gaza, Declassified UK reported on 13 August.
The investigation revealed that an undisclosed sum reached the Yahalom Foundation, an Israeli veterans group serving the Israeli military engineering unit, through a British charity, with the government adding a further 25 percent under the Gift Aid scheme. … continue
Armed Israeli settlers, protected by the Israeli army, opened fire on Friday at activists and landowners gathered in the Harasa area of Beit Sahour, north of the Bethlehem, in southern West Bank
The solidarity event was organized by the Combatants for Peace movement alongside local landowners whose properties in the Ush Ghurab and Harasa areas—located north of the Bethlehem Governorate—are threatened with confiscation by settlers. The rally was attended by Christian clergy and members of the Beit Sahour Municipal Council.
Immediately upon the arrival of the activists and landowners, armed settlers opened fire directly toward the crowd and journalists; no injuries were reported. Despite the attack, participants managed to remove Israeli flags from a home that settlers had been attempting to take over. Israeli forces then intervened and forced the Palestinian landowners and activists to leave, while permitting the settlers to remain at the site.
On March 5, 2026, the Israeli army issued a military order establishing a jurisdiction area for the new “Yatsev” settlement outpost, located east of Beit Sahour. This declaration came approximately four months after a group of settlers seized the former military camp area of Ush Ghurab and set up several mobile homes (caravans) to establish a new settlement presence on the ground.
Since the outpost’s establishment, settlers—under military protection—have repeatedly attacked local landowners and prevented them from cultivating or accessing their property. Palestinian community leaders continue to call for an increased presence to support local residents, strengthen their resilience, and help them maintain hold of their land.
The Israeli army reportedly opened fire on civilian areas of a rural village in southern Syria, in the Daraa province, from areas it also occupies in southern Syria.
According to Syrian state television Al-Ikhbariya, the Israeli army opened fire toward civilian homes in several sections of the village of Maariya.
The gunfire reportedly forced some residents to leave their homes. … Full article
Three Palestinian fishermen were injured Friday when Israeli naval vessels opened fire on them while they were working off the coast of Gaza City, a local union official said, Anadolu reports.
The attack was the latest Israeli violation of a ceasefire agreement in effect in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 10, 2025.
The violations have killed 1,260 Palestinians and injured 4,154 others, according to Palestinian figures.
Zakaria Bakr, coordinator of the Fishermen’s Committees Union in Gaza, said in a Facebook post that Israeli naval vessels fired machine guns at a fishing boat, injuring three fishermen. … Full article
US investment bank JPMorgan has suggested that Iran and Oman’s strategy of imposing mandatory “navigational safety” fees to transit the Strait of Hormuz may be legally justified, the Financial Times (FT) reported earlier this month.
JPMorgan explained in a memo that international law grants ships the right of “innocent passage” through territorial waters, making it illegal to charge fees simply for transit (tolls).
However, charging fees for specific navigational and security services may be permissible, the memo argued.
For example, Denmark and Sweden currently levy charges on vessels transiting the Danish Straits. Rather than charging a toll, which would be illegal, they charge for services.
Denmark’s Pilotage Act makes pilotage mandatory for vessels carrying hazardous cargo – such as oil, chemicals, or gases – or more than 5,000 metric tons of bunker oil. … continue
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says an American MQ-9 Reaper drone has been shot down over the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ Public Relations Department said in a brief statement on Friday that the IRGC’s new advanced defense system intercepted and destroyed an MQ-9 Reaper drone in the skies of Hormozgan, under the control of the country’s integrated air defense network.
This came a day after the Washington Post reported that the United States has lost 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones since launching its war of aggression against Iran, with Iranian air defenses bringing down roughly a quarter of the US fleet and exposing the vulnerability of one of Washington’s key surveillance and strike platforms.
According to the report, the losses could cost US taxpayers more than $1.3 billion, with each Reaper estimated to be worth between $30 million and $50 million, depending on its configuration. … Full article
WASHINGTON – The national debt of the United States has increased by more than $500 billion since July 1 and has come close to a record high of $40 trillion, RIA Novosti calculated based on data from the US Treasury Department.
In early July, that number was $39.389 trillion, by mid-August, the figure reached $39.913 trillion. Thus, the net increase in less than a month and a half amounted to $524.22 billion.
In the first 10 months of the 2026 fiscal year alone, the US government allocated a record $963 billion to service and pay interest on the national debt, RIA Novosti previously found out based on data from the Congressional Budget Office.
In the future, the debt burden will only increase. According to the congressional estimates, the US national debt will continue to grow continuously over the next decade. As early as fiscal year 2027, the figure is expected to exceed $41.3 trillion, the psychological mark of 50 trillion will be reached by 2033, and by fiscal year 2036 it will reach more than $56.2 trillion.
By Freddie Ponton | 21st Century Wire | August 14, 2026
The Nord Stream sabotage has produced years of claims, leaks and competing theories, but only recently have two formal legal records begun to show what can be tested in court. In Germany, federal prosecutors have charged Ukrainian national Serhii Kuznietsov over the pipeline explosions. Meanwhile, in London, Nord Stream AG sued Lloyd’s Insurance Company S.A. and Arch Insurance (EU) DAC after insurers refused to pay for the damage; the Commercial Court’s judgment examined the attack in technical detail without deciding who carried it out.
The London proceedings were not intended to identify the perpetrators. Their purpose was to determine whether the insurers’ war exclusion applied. The court heard extensive forensic and operational evidence, yet many of the questions raised by Nord Stream AG’s experts receded once the judge concluded that the exclusion applied under any plausible account of the attack. The judgment settled the insurance claim without identifying the perpetrators or settling what happened at the Nord Stream blast sites on the Baltic seabed in September 2022.
The German proceedings claim to go further by identifying an alleged participant. Yet the publicly disclosed case has not established that the Andromeda was present above every blast site, matched evidence recovered from the yacht to material from the seabed, or explained how the operation was carried out.
The London court found that it did not need to identify the perpetrators, while German prosecutors have yet to prove their case against Ukrainian national Serhii Kuznietsov, whom they accuse of participating in the sabotage. More importantly, the evidence heard in London exposed why Germany’s yacht story is taking on water. Prosecutors have a boat, a crew and a theory, but no publicly demonstrated forensic bridge to the Baltic seabed.
Almost four years after a series of underwater explosions tore through the Nord Stream pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm, the German prosecution and the London insurance trial have presented two very different versions of the event before the public.
Germany claims that a covert Ukrainian military team sailed into the Baltic Sea aboard a 50-foot charter sailing yacht, dove down to four pipelines and planted charges, under orders from Ukrainian state agencies.
Conversely in London, after six weeks of deliberation—including evidence on explosives, subsea operations and the damage itself, the court ruled without deciding who carried out the attack. However, the insurance trial has introduced some compelling evidence which could potentially refine the facts of this story.
Two competing narratives
Germany’s Federal Prosecutor indicted Ukrainian national Serhii Kuznietsov in Hamburg on 30 June 2026, accusing him of coordinating the team aboard Andromeda.
On 6 July, the Commercial Court in London rejected Nord Stream AG’s insurance claim after finding that the sabotage fell within a war exclusion—a conclusion the judge could reach whether the attacker was assumed to be from Ukraine, Russia or the United States.
More crucially, the London’s judgment leaves behind a highly credible and substantial technical record, one which presents serious difficulties for the German trial’s version of events. The forensic experts examined explosions at two groups of sites, separated by roughly six and a half kilometres, and over a time window of 17 hours, rupturing three pipeline strings, and damaging a fourth, although without opening it, and leaving another area of explosive damage known as “the Dent”. … continue
A NATO fighter jet has destroyed a drone that entered Latvian airspace, the US-led bloc has said.
The announcement came as Ukraine carried out a major UAV attack against Russia’s northwestern Leningrad Region on Friday. A total of 54 drones were shot down or intercepted above the region overnight, local governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said. A fire broke out at the key Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga during the raid, but it was swiftly extinguished, according to the governor.
There have been multiple reports in recent months of Ukrainian drones violating the airspace of Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Finland, or crashing inside those countries, while on their way to Russia. […]
Moscow previously warned that if Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania knowingly help to facilitate Ukrainian drone strikes, Russia could consider them complicit in the attacks and would have the right to self-defense under the UN Charter. – Full article
Instances of Ukrainian interference in the internal affairs of European countries continue to grow. The Kiev regime is intensifying its destabilization activities abroad, using even terrorist tactics to boycott its own European allies. As the pro-Ukraine agenda becomes increasingly unpopular in Europe, the regime is left with little choice but to employ illegal interference methods to prevent its source of military and financial aid from drying up.
Recently, Kostadin Kostadinov, leader of the Bulgarian opposition party Revival, publicly advocated for the expulsion of the Ukrainian ambassador to Sofia, Olesya Ilashchuk. He accuses the Ukrainian diplomat of interfering in Bulgaria’s domestic affairs, particularly regarding recent drone incidents.
These comments come amidst the controversy surrounding the incursion into Bulgarian airspace by a Ukrainian drone, which exploded in the Kardam region near energy facilities of the Trans-Balkan Pipeline. Bulgarian Ministry of Defense specialists analyzed the wreckage and concluded it was a “Maya” UAV used by the Ukrainian armed forces.
Following the incident, the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Ukrainian diplomats in the country to provide explanations to the authorities in Sofia. However, Ambassador Ilashchuk’s stance was deemed inappropriate. She downplayed the incident’s significance, regarding it as insignificant, even though the explosion occurred near an energy facility – a situation that could have led to serious consequences, such as larger explosions, massive fires, and the release of toxic gases. … continue
Ukraine does not take back all of its prisoners of war, only those it considers ideologically or politically useful, Institute of CIS Countries leading researcher Alexander Dudchak tells Sputnik.
“Those who could tell the truth about conditions in Russian captivity – that they are fed, receive medical care, and are treated humanely – are taken back last, or not taken at all,” Dudchak says.
Who is given priority?
Ukraine agrees to take back only those prisoners who are willing to speak about alleged “brutality” by Russian forces and can be used in the information war
Priority is given to officers, nationalists, Azov fighters.
In April, Ukraine refused to take back rank-and-file soldiers and contract troops, demanding only unit commanders
“According to Ukrainian human rights activists, around 40% of the prisoners Ukraine could take back remain on the lists for years because Kiev does not submit exchange requests or blocks the process,” the pundit notes. … continue
A temporary open-air pool erected outside Berlin’s iconic theater was supposed to represent the ultimate low-barrier urban oasis. Instead, a plan to allow only Black people to attend on Fridays has sparked outrage and accusations of racism.
Conceived as a free, non-commercial refuge requiring no identity checks — though reliant on a competitive online reservation system — the €300,000 project was introduced to the public as a shared summer meeting point. However, the organizers have implemented a protocol that excludes anyone non-Black one day this week, a clearly discriminatory practice.
Tensions arose over a specific event slated for Friday, Aug. 14. According to the official program, “During this period, the public bath is exclusively open to Black communities.” … Full article
By Andrew P. Napolitano | Ron Paul Institute | August 13, 2026
The makers of our Constitution undertook to secure conditions favorable to the pursuit of happiness. … They conferred against the Government the right to be let alone — most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men.” — Justice Louis D. Brandeis (1856-1941)
The rapid spread of public surveillance cameras represents something far more consequential than a new piece of police technology. It represents a fundamental change in the relationship between the individual and the state.
These cameras allow government agents to record, identify, catalog and retroactively track the movements of people who have committed no crime, are suspected of no wrongdoing and have done nothing to invite government scrutiny. That’s not public safety. It’s an assault upon individual privacy.
Privacy is not a privilege granted by government. It is an aspect of personal liberty that government exists to protect. It is a natural human right protected from the government in the Bill of Rights. The fact that a person leaves his home and travels upon a public road does not mean that he has surrendered that right.
There is an enormous moral and constitutional difference between a police officer who happens to observe a person in public and government surveillance that automatically and systematically records that person’s vehicle, location and movements; and stores that information for future use. … continue
A sweeping overhaul of Germany’s intelligence services proposed by the government could infringe on police powers in violation of constitutional safeguards, opposition politicians have warned.
On Wednesday, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt presented a 730-page package comprising three draft laws that would significantly expand the powers of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany’s foreign and domestic intelligence agencies respectively.
While there is broad political agreement that Germany’s security apparatus requires modernization, critics say the proposed expansion of the BfV’s mandate goes too far. Germany has traditionally maintained a strict separation between intelligence gathering and police work to prevent concentration of power.
“Dobrindt, with these demands that he hastily dictated into the draft legislation, is doing far more harm than good,” Free Democratic Party (FDP) leader Wolfgang Kubicki told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
The BfV is currently focused on collecting and analyzing data. Under the proposed reform, however, the agency would receive new “operative powers” allowing it to actively disrupt suspected threats. These could include hacking computer systems, feeding false information to targets, altering or deleting data, and secretly sabotaging equipment believed to be connected to hostile operations. … continue
By Freddie Ponton | 21st Century Wire | August 13, 2026
Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are backing plans for luxury development on Albania’s Sazan Island and the nearby Zvërnec coast, where protected territory and village property claims have collided with the development drive of Edi Rama, Albania’s four-term prime minister and leader of the ruling Socialist Party. The project helped trigger nationwide protests before prosecutors froze more than €110 million connected to land acquired for the Zvërnec resort.
ABC called its August 2026 investigation The Flamingo Revolution and led its international audience through wetlands, environmental destruction and the spectacle of a country in revolt. Its report delivered vivid scenes of Albania’s largest protest movement in decades while leaving the central question surrounding Kushner’s consortium largely untouched.
The public deserved the evidence ABC left outside the frame, beginning with what Kushner’s representatives knew before their consortium bought the land. … continue
Becoming more of an international pariah, Israel has been quietly but rapidly expanding its influence across South America, hoping to use it as its new base of international influence and diplomatic protection. … continue
WEST BANK – The Israeli occupation forces took over three newly built multi‑story homes in the village of Jalud, south of Nablus in the northern West Bank, after expelling their residents at gunpoint.
Local sources said Israeli forces stormed Jalud village and turned three homes into military posts and watchtowers after forcing Palestinian families to leave them.
Israeli raids and settler attacks are escalating south of Nablus, where soldiers have recently commandeered several Palestinian homes as military posts.
In Kafr Sur town, south of Tulkarem, the Israeli army delivered today demolition notices for Palestinian homes and agricultural structures.
According to local sources, the demolition notices targeted a five‑story apartment building, two apartments, four inhabited homes, one unfinished house, and a farm in the town.
GAZA – Jamal Abu Kamil, director of the Gaza governorate police, was assassinated Thursday evening in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his vehicle in Gaza City’s al-Rashid street.
Gaza’s interior ministry confirmed that the Israeli occupation army assassinated police chief Jamal Abu Kamil, 43, in an aerial attack on his vehicle southwest of Gaza City.
According to medical sources, other people were injured in the same strike on the car.
Media sources said that an Israeli drone fired three missiles at Abu Kamil’s vehicle in Sheikh Ajlin neighborhood, southwest of Gaza City.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has censured France and other countries for preaching about human rights and international law while supporting Israeli and US war crimes.
Araghchi made the remarks in an X post on Thursday, after the French Foreign Ministry said 32 states, including France, the UK and Canada, along with the European Union’s foreign policy chief, have in a joint statement condemned the use of capital punishment against foreign-linked rioters in Iran.
“Countries like France should stop lecturing the world about ‘human rights’ and international law. The hypocrisy is blatant and embarrassing,” the top Iranian diplomat said. … Full article
Iran has thwarted a planned Syrian military intervention in Lebanon that was being prepared at the request of the United States, delivering a direct warning to Damascus that any Syrian military entry into Lebanese territory would be met with a regional response, according to Iranian sources cited by U News.
The Iranian warning included threats to stir up the Syrian–Iraqi border, open a confrontation line in Homs, support Alawite movements in the Syrian coastal region, and encourage the Kurds to return militarily to the outskirts of Aleppo.
The warning was not directed solely at Damascus; it also reached Ankara, Baghdad, Doha, and Riyadh, carrying the message that any Syrian adventure against Hezbollah in Lebanon would not remain confined to the Bekaa Valley but could turn into a broad regional confrontation within Syrian territory.
Iran succeeded in transforming any potential Syrian intervention in Lebanon from a military option that could be marketed to the US into a high-cost regional adventure, sources said. The Iranian warning, which reached Damascus through Turkish channels, included a threat of Iranian ballistic missile strikes that would begin from Damascus and include, in the first wave, more than 100 strategic targets, foremost among them the Syrian presidential palace. … continue
By Ali Rizk | Responsible Statecraft | August 13, 2026
For decades, U.S. policy in Lebanon has focused on the elimination of Hezbollah, or at least its military wing. But the Trump administration has taken this effort to new heights.
The State Department is sponsoring the first ever direct talks between Lebanon and Israel since the Madrid peace talks, with the disarmament of Hezbollah being a central objective of those talks.
Washington has also taken the unprecedented step of sanctioning individuals from outside the party whom it accuses of undermining the campaign against Hezbollah, including members of Lebanon’s state security apparatus. Meanwhile, the U.S. and Israel are engaged in an unprecedented financial crackdown on Hezbollah, as the New York Timesreported this week.
Ironically, however, Donald Trump is also the first sitting American president to express a willingness to hold direct talks with the Lebanese Shiite movement.
“I would speak to Hezbollah. I speak to everybody. I’ll speak to people that a lot of people think I shouldn’t be speaking to, and things work out,” Trump told reporters during an oval office meeting with his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun last month.
While it would be easy to dismiss these remarks as typical Trumpian grandstanding, there appears to be more to the story. … continue
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denounced the latest claims by Israeli officials over the occupied Golan Heights, emphasizing that the strategic region is an “inseparable” part of Syria.
The ministry, in a statement released on Thursday, vehemently condemned the rhetoric of criminal Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Golan Heights, occupied by the Tel Aviv regime for almost 60 years, will remain part of Israel “for eternity”, and his fierce opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
“Basically, the leader of the criminal gang and mafia ruling over the occupied Palestinian territories is not in a position to comment on the formation of an independent Palestinian state, because the Palestinian land belongs to the Palestinian people, and the racist illusions of the genocidal Zionist regime cannot change this reality,” the statement added.
It added that “the Golan Heights are an inseparable part of the territory of Syria, and the colonial ambitions of a usurping and occupying entity cannot change its legal and historical realities.”
The Iranian foreign ministry also condemned Colombia’s recent recognition of the Israeli regime’s sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, calling it a violation of the UN Charter and international law. … continue
Divergent threats, US ties, and economic interests leave the collective-defense pact’s real purpose open to dispute.
By F.M. Shakil | The Cradle | August 13, 2026
The oil-rich Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, nuclear-armed Pakistan, and Turkiye, which commands NATO’s second-largest army, signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on Friday, 7 August. The accord arrived as fighting again intensified in Yemen. Days later, the Ansarallah-aligned Yemeni armed forces (YAF) launched ballistic missiles at Marib and the Red Sea port of Mokha, the latest escalation against Saudi-backed forces.
Iran noted the turn toward regional security arrangements, saying it showed a growing recognition that security cannot be guaranteed by foreign powers. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the accord reflected a rapidly changing understanding of security across the region.
Pakistan welcomed the accord and said the Mecca agreement stipulates that an attack on any member will be treated as an attack on all. Islamabad described it as a major step toward stronger strategic relations, regional security, and cooperation in mutual defense.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar called the accord a defensive document that does not target any one country. Posting on X on 9 August, Dar said it remained open to any regional state willing to commit to its founding principles.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan went further, insisting that neither Iran nor any other country was the pact’s designated target. In an online discussion, he also expressed hope that Egypt would eventually join.
Veteran Pakistani diplomat Riffat Masood offered a narrower reading. In a discussion with Saudi-American researcher Dr Hamza al-Kanani, Pakistan’s former ambassador to Iran and Norway said the phrase “an attack on one is an attack on all” applies specifically to external threats.
“It does not have any regional implications, which means that this clause would apply whenever any country signing this agreement came under attack from Israel, the US, or any external force,” she claimed.
Masood added that the article does not cover intra-regional rivalries involving Iran or the YAF. … continue
By Salman Rafi Sheikh – New Eastern Outlook – August 13, 2026
The Caspian Sea — for thirty years a backwater of great-power politics — has quietly become a battlespace, and most of the world is still treating it as a footnote. … continue
A US Army-funded artillery plant near Dallas, built to produce 155mm shells for Ukraine, never produced a single usable shell, ProPublica reported.
Workers described robots catching fire, machines smashing into equipment, steel cracking beyond repair and giant presses needing to be beaten with a sledgehammer just to function.
“It was just a bunch of guys taking turns going at the machine with a sledgehammer every night,” one former employee said.
The Army halted work on two of the plant’s three production lines in 2025 after General Dynamics missed multiple deadlines.
The company was still awarded billions in new contracts. … Full article
The CIA Has Accused Israel Of Fabricating Iranian Assassination Threat
By Justin K.P. | The Dissident | August 13, 2026
Last month, “intelligence” was relayed by Israel that Iran was supposedly planning on assassinating Trump, which resulted in him “secretly flying out of Turkey in an alternate military aircraft”.
But the claims of an Iranian assassination attempt against Trump relayed by Israel were deemed to be bogus even by U.S. intelligence.
The Washington Post reported that “The assassination threat was relayed by the Israeli government to the CIA, where analysts did not view the intelligence as compelling and conveyed that skepticism to Trump administration officials”.
The article added, “Another official called the reports of threats against Trump’s life ‘Israeli-derived, not U.S.-generated, and viewed as low confidence.’”
The article added, “Some U.S. intelligence officials saw Israel’s sharing of the warning about threats to Trump’s life as designed less to inform than to influence the president’s decision-making and U.S. policy in the region, a current and a former U.S. official said” with the report quoting one official saying it “fit a broader pattern of Israeli intelligence reporting that some officials see as designed as much to shape presidential decision-making as to inform it”.
Indeed, fabricated claims of Iran planning to assassinate Donald Trump seem to have been Israel’s most successful deception deployed to get Trump to carry out its preferred policy on Iran. … continue
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned US officials that misleading intelligence can be more dangerous than false news, pointing to Washington’s record of strategic miscalculations.
In an English-language post, Araghchi called on US officials to “beware,” arguing that intelligence failures have repeatedly contributed to major US miscalculations.
He said the United States has “long made miscalculations due to shortcomings in intelligence,” citing the war on Iran as a prominent example.
Araghchi also identified the Strait of Hormuz as “an even bigger miscalculation”; he argued that Washington was making a major mistake in thinking that it can control the key waterway.
Araghchi warns Washington over intelligence failures
Araghchi’s warning comes amid continued scrutiny of intelligence assessments surrounding the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The Iranian foreign minister’s argument centers on the consequences of intelligence failures when they become the basis for military and foreign-policy decisions.
An inaccurate assessment can extend beyond the intelligence community, shaping decisions over military operations, diplomatic pressure, sanctions, and escalation.
By Anthony Watts | Watts Up With That? | August 12, 2026
The Reno Gazette Journal(RGJ) reports in “Climate models project Reno-Sparks could be a desert by late century,” that climate change is poised to dramatically reshape the world’s ecosystems, with forests giving way to savannas, deserts, and other major vegetation shifts occurring by the end of the century. This is false. The study does not observe ecosystem changes occurring today, but instead projects hypothetical future vegetation changes using climate models that rely on the now-discredited and retracted RCP 8.5 worst-case emissions scenario, making the scientific study used to write the RGJ newspaper article invalid.
Readers would never know it from RGJ’s coverage that the scientific model used to generate the study’s alarming findings was pronounced as implausible by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in April. Yet the information about that climate model retraction is easy to understand and readily available if they bothered to look. … continue
By Kenneth Richard | No Tricks Zone | August 13, 2026
Scientists (Yilgan and Jónsdóttir, 2026) report annual mean sea ice extent in the Greenland Sea was 8.4 times greater in 2023 (2,403.6 km²) than in 2019 (287.6 km²).
In the month of January, the sea ice extent was 6.4 times larger in 2024 (20,308 km²) than in 2017 (312 km²).
Hand-in-hand with the recent sea ice expansion, the region has experienced a short-term 1°C cooling from 2016 to 2024.
The recent trend for the Greenland Sea appears to be consistent with the trajectory enveloping much of the Arctic since the mid-2000s as reported by England et al., 2025. … Full article
Cloud cover changes are a “top-down dynamical driver” of Earth’s climate
By Kenneth Richard | No Tricks Zone | August 12, 2026
A July 2026 Environmental Research Letters paper authored by Bellocchi et al. attributes ~80% of the rise in Earth’s absorbed solar radiation since 2000 to declining high-reflectivity cloud cover, primarily from circulation-driven contraction of storm-cloud zones.
The study highlights the climate’s “albedo governance,” suggesting a 1% shift in Earth’s albedo corresponds to a 1°C surface temperature change.
With more cloud cover, more solar radiation is reflected and the surface cools. With declining cloud albedo, which has been observed since 1980, less solar radiation is reflected and the surface warms.
Cloud cover changes are driven by natural atmospheric circulation modes and internal variability. This is supported by reconstruction data showing cloud cover decline has for centuries occurred independently from “greenhouse-gas forcing.” … Full paper
The UK government has refused to release information relating to an Israeli influence firm accused of interfering in Scotland’s parliamentary election, invoking national security and warning that disclosure could damage Britain’s relations with other countries, according to a report by The National.
The Scottish newspaper reported that the Cabinet Office withheld all material requested under Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation concerning BlackCore, an Israeli firm linked by France’s foreign interference watchdog to an alleged digital influence operation targeting Scottish First Minister John Swinney and the Scottish National Party (SNP).
The controversy follows findings by Viginum, France’s service for protection against foreign digital interference, which said in June that it had identified BlackCore-linked operations affecting elections in Scotland, France, New York City, Angola and Togo.
In Scotland, Viginum identified the “mobilisation of at least 256 accounts” which posted around 1,400 comments, primarily targeting Swinney, the SNP and the Scottish Government. Of those, 652 targeted Swinney personally, according to the French investigation. … continue
A group of current and former Palestinian students and staff have sued Columbia University, accusing the university of discriminating against its Palestinian community and subjecting its members to unequal treatment since late 2023, according to a court filing in New York.
The lawsuit reports that Columbia failed to protect Palestinian students and staff from harassment while subjecting them to “unfair and biased disciplinary hearings.”
Columbia has previously denied reports of discrimination and condemned hate. … Full article
Israel is imprisoning around 40 Palestinian journalists, including five women, as it intensifies a sweeping crackdown to silence the Palestinian press and suppress reporting on its violations and crimes, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS).
The PPS said Israeli authorities are also keeping three journalists under house arrest, while 19 of those currently detained are being held under administrative detention without charge or trial.
More than 250 Palestinian journalists have been arrested or detained since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, the group said, with many later released.
More than 260 journalists have also been killed since the start of the war, according to the PPS.
The group said the arrests, killings and enforced disappearances of Palestinian journalists are part of a systematic Israeli campaign to silence the press, crush press freedom and prevent the world from seeing the violations and crimes committed against Palestinians.
Journalists held in Israeli detention have faced a range of abuses, including starvation, medical neglect, torture, mistreatment, sexual assault and harsh detention conditions, the PPS said.
It added that Israeli authorities have used administrative detention to imprison journalists indefinitely without charge or trial, often invoking “secret files,” while accusations of “incitement” are increasingly deployed against journalists over their reporting and expression of opinion. … Full article
Israeli occupation forces demolished a home and filled a water well in the Bani Naim–Yatta desert area south of Hebron on Tuesday, as demolition activity continued across Palestinian communities in the southern occupied West Bank.
Local activist Osama Makhamra said the forces demolished a home belonging to Ibrahim Mufleh al Atimin, leaving his family of nine without shelter.
Makhamra said the forces returned for a second time and filled a 180‑cubic‑meter water well belonging to Hashem Ibrahim al‑Atimin with dirt and debris, leaving it unusable. […]
Later Tuesday, Israeli forces delivered demolition orders for Khallet al-Dabe’ School and several homes and farms in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron.
Activist Jaber Dababsa said Israeli forces issued a demolition order for the school, which serves 12 elementary students. … Full article
Hordes of illegal, extremist Israeli settlers have been besieging two Palestinian families who are trapped in their homes near the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
The families have been stuck in their homes and surrounded by the settlers since Sunday, in the town of Qusra – where Israelis have been uprooting locals and establishing illegal outposts. […]
Local sources described the violent settler attack, siege, and road closures to WAFA. The besieged Abu Rida family is located in the Ras al-Ain area of Qusra.
“Colonists raided the vicinity of the home of the Abu Rida family, belonging to Yusuf Abdul Salam Abu Rida, in the Ras al-Ain area of Qusra, imposed a siege around it, prevented residents from reaching the property, and erected a tent nearby under the protection of Israeli occupation forces,” the sources said.
The settlers blocked the road leading to the home with rocks, according to sources.
While the house has been besieged for days, extremist settlers have been trying to take over the house for four months, WAFA reported.
“Colonists have repeatedly cut electricity to the home, pelted it with stones, and besieged it on several occasions,” residents of Qusra say.
The Hassan family of Qusra town are also trapped in their homes and have been appealing for urgent help via social media. Their electricity and water supplies are being targeted as well. … Full article
Israeli military operations have devastated farmland, water sources, and tree cover across the occupied West Bank and Gaza, according to Palestinian officials, researchers, and multiple UN agencies.
The destruction has accompanied expanding colonial projects in the West Bank and has compounded the humanitarian collapse in Gaza, where UN bodies have documented widespread damage from bombardment, bulldozing, and military operations.
Across both regions, the loss of agricultural land has uprooted thousands of trees, severed water networks, and left entire communities unable to sustain long‑term food production.
Farmers say the effects extend far beyond the plots directly hit by bulldozers, with destroyed wells, irrigation lines, and access roads leaving large agricultural zones dry and inaccessible.
Jenin has faced some of the most extensive bulldozing in recent months. In Zububa, west of Jenin, farmer Munir Abu Bakr lost around 50 dunams of land planted with olive trees and irrigated vegetable crops, along with an artesian well. … continue
Firefighters and residents in south Lebanon have accused Israeli occupation forces of deliberately starting wildfires, as forested areas have been consumed by flames following Israeli bombardment.
Environmental organizations said the fires reported in recent weeks reflect a longstanding pattern of Israeli attacks affecting Lebanon’s natural environment.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military dropped flares in a wooded area outside Khiam in south Lebanon, igniting fires. When firefighters moved in to put out the flames, a drone struck nearby, forcing them to retreat, Hussein Fakih, head of civil defense in the Nabatieh region, told the Guardian.
“Most of our missions are now related to fires. There are enormous areas of woodland that have burned; I don’t have the exact figures, but in the areas close to the [frontline], around 30-40% of the land has been affected by fires”, he stressed.
According to videos and testimony from first responders, the Israeli occupation forces have caused fires throughout southern Lebanon, particularly in olive groves and agricultural areas, during the nearly two months since the June 17 ‘ceasefire’ that “Israel” is violating daily. […]
During the summer of 2024, Israeli troops used trebuchets, medieval catapults, to hurl flaming debris over the border wall into Lebanon. The Lebanese army also published photographs of Israeli drones carrying hoses that were used to spray forests with flammable materials.
Health and environmental experts raised concerns in February after Israeli aircraft dropped herbicides linked to cancer on farms in southern Lebanon. […]
On Aug. 1, forcibly displaced residents of the border village of Yaroun discovered that their olive and fruit groves, along with their homes, had been burned by Israeli troops occupying the area.
“They had already bulldozed the whole village. Then they set fire to the trees. What remained in this particular area were the olive trees, large groves, with very old olive trees. They started there, then the fire spread along the outskirts of the village”, said Hafez Ghasham, mayor of Yaroun.
Residents of Yaroun had already seen the Israeli forces bulldoze all but 20 of the village’s 900 homes in previous months. During their forcible displacement, they pooled money to purchase costly satellite imagery of the village. … Full article
Israeli forces blew up buildings in southern Lebanon early Wednesday, including a school, and struck a site used to commemorate Ashura, causing injuries despite ongoing ceasefire negotiations, the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported.
Israeli forces detonated and destroyed the four-story Sheikh Naim Mahdi School building in the center of Eastern Zawtar, the agency said.
They also carried out explosions in the Touline Valley along the Wadi al-Saluki road, it added.
During the night, Israeli forces carried out two large explosions in Haddatha, as well as a massive blast in Beit Yahoun in the Bint Jbeil district, according to the agency.
An Israeli drone directly struck an Ashura commemoration site on the Kafra-Al-Asi road, causing several injuries, the NNA said.
The agency also reported that an Israeli drone flew over Beirut’s southern suburbs. … Full article
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has condemned US threats and airstrikes against Iran’s civilian infrastructure as clear war crimes, warning that normalizing such “unprecedented violations” of the Geneva Conventions would erode the international legal order.
In a post on X on Wednesday marking the 77th anniversary of the adoption of the four Geneva Conventions, Baghaei said the architects of the treaties could scarcely have imagined that decades later, the United States, as host of the United Nations and a permanent member of the Security Council, “would repeatedly threaten to attack the infrastructure, bridges, and power plants of another country, and would in fact commit such crimes.”
He said the conventions established fundamental rules governing armed conflict, including “humanity,” “distinction,” “military necessity,” and “proportionality,” as well as the prohibition of “unnecessary suffering,” with the aim of “civilizing humanity and humanizing war.”
Adopted in 1949, the four Geneva Conventions establish international rules for the protection of civilians, wounded and sick combatants, and prisoners of war during armed conflicts. … continue
… While Taiwanese companies have invested heavily in helium recycling systems that can recapture ninety to 95 percent of the helium used in certain processes, leak-detection helium is essentially unrecoverable, and even a 5 percent loss at high consumption volumes adds up rapidly.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company reportedly held inventory of four to six months and had locked in multiyear helium supply contracts as part of its Arizona fab planning, but the prolonged nature of the disruption raised concerns about the sustainability of these buffers. […]
Efforts to diversify helium supply have been complicated by the physical limitations of the industry. New helium projects under development in Canada, Tanzania, and Minnesota are years away from meaningful production.
The specialized cryogenic containers used to transport helium are in limited supply, and the stranded containers in West Asia represent a significant portion of the global fleet. … Full article
Saudi airstrikes targeted areas in Yemen’s northwestern Saada province on Wednesday, according to reports from media outlets in Sanaa.
The strikes hit the Bani Muain area in the Razih district, which lies along the border, according to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent, while Yemeni media reported that Saudi airstrikes also targeted several areas in the border district of Al Dhaher.
The Yemeni government maintains that the Yemeni armed forces are at full readiness to confront the aggression and are continuing to target Saudi military mobilizations, emphasizing that the equation of “blockade for blockade and escalation for escalation” is an irreversible option until the demands of the Yemeni people are achieved, according to the statements.
In response to the Saudi aggression and as part of the “blockade for blockade” equation, the Yemeni armed forces are imposing a navigation ban on Saudi oil ships in the Red Sea. … Full article
The Pentagon was accused of whitewashing US Army crimes after publishing its annual estimate of civilian casualties in 2025.
The report, submitted to Congress late Monday and obtained by US news outlets, contains numbers that are far lower than estimates by independent outlets.
The Pentagon concluded that US military operations killed 153 civilians and injured 243 last year. All of the cited casualties in 2025 stemmed from Washington’s bombing campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, while another 15 remain under review.
However, independent monitors have reported figures significantly higher. The Airwars group has estimated that at least 258 civilians may have been killed during the Yemen campaign, while the Yemen Data Project has put the toll at 238 dead and 467 injured. The Pentagon recorded no civilian casualties from US military operations in the Western Hemisphere, despite dozens of strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific beginning in September of 2025 – a point of particular criticism. … continue
Iranian Central Bank Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati announced on 12 August that the country will soon be joining the New Development Bank (NDB).
“The most important result of cooperation among BRICS member countries is the establishment of the New Development Bank, and our country will soon become a member of this bank,” said Hemmati.
BRICS states have worked to cut their reliance on the dollar by pushing for trade and financial transactions in national currencies.
Hemmati said member states are able to trade with one another in their own currencies, as Iran remains under sweeping western sanctions and seeks to build an alternative economic network around them.
“We are seeking to establish bilateral and trilateral monetary cooperation with member states,” he said. … Full article
NATO member Turkey plans to transfer a massive arsenal of US-made long-range strike systems and artillery munitions to the Neo-Nazi junta forces. This includes at least 70 M39 ATACMS TBMs (tactical ballistic missiles), 12 M270 MLRSs (multiple launch rocket systems), 2,524 M26 227 mm rockets (compatible with both the M270 MLRS and the M142 HIMARS) and 47,000 M509A1 203 mm cluster-munition artillery rounds.
With the US embroiled in its disastrous aggression against Iran, the Pentagon is unable to restock its own arsenal, let alone spare some of its missiles for the Kiev regime. Turkey’s decision to deliver these weapons and munitions comes at a critical moment for the political West, demonstrating its loyalty to NATO and its aggression against the world. Namely, arming the Neo-Nazi junta with so many weapons is a clear message to both Russia and Iran, particularly now that the latter has also been targeted by NATO’s favorite puppet regime. As previously mentioned, it also comes amid US aggression against Iran, demonstrating strategic coordination between Ankara and Washington DC. Turkish motives are certainly multifaceted. Apart from showing loyalty, it’s also gaining massive profits from (re)selling its old stockpile of US-made weapons and earning “points” for a potential return to the troubled F-35 program. … continue
Russia could seize ships carrying Western cargo in retaliation for similar actions against Russian maritime trade, President Vladimir Putin has warned.
There have been several incidents in recent months in which Western militaries have seized vessels that their governments accused of being part of a so-called Russian ‘shadow fleet’.Putin warned on Wednesday during a meeting with Pacific Fleet commanders that Moscow could take retaliatory measures wherever it deemed necessary.
“Some nations are violating the Law of the Sea by trying to restrict the movement of our civilian traders. They recently came up with the idea of seizing our ships and selling off our plundered property. This is certainly nothing short of piracy and robbery,” Putin said.
“If such a policy is implemented in practice, we will be forced to take mirror responses. And not necessarily in the waters where our ships are being raided. We’ll do it wherever and anywhere we see fit,” he added.
Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Viktor Liina reported in response that the Russian military has detailed information about Western commercial traffic.
“From April 24 to August 6 of 2026, 1,001 ships passed through the Russian exclusive economic zone, including 379 with flags of unfriendly nations,” he said. “That includes 273 general cargo ships and 71 tanks, including 26 under the British flag and nine under the French flag.”
The UK and France have carried out several interdictions of supposed Russian ‘shadow fleet’ vessels. In June, The Telegraph reported that British authorities were considering selling around 100,000 tons of Russian crude seized from a sanctioned tanker and using the proceeds to benefit Ukraine. … continue
The EU is using Operation Irini as a tool of intimidation, which amounts to an abuse of international legal norms, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.
“Today, Operation Irini is effectively being used by the EU to intimidate commercial carriers and obstruct freedom of navigation. This is a clear case of abusing existing international legal norms and broadly interpreting its own authority,” the ministry said in a statement.
In order to hinder maritime shipments of oil and other cargoes on behalf of Russia, the European Union is leveraging the naval operation Irini,conducted off the coast of Libya. Citing the “adjusted” mandate of this operation, European forces are carrying out unlawful inspections of foreign vessels.
“The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, by labeling not the actions of EU member-state ships involved in Irini as unlawful, but rather the routine maritime shipments that ensure the energy and food security of developing countries, once again demonstrates flagrant disregard for the norms of international law,” the Foreign Ministry added.
Romanian officials have presented pieces of foam plastic as supposed evidence that drones recently shot down over the country were Russian, Moscow’s embassy in Bucharest has said.
Speaking to the Izvestia newspaper on Wednesday, the mission responded to Romania’s accusations that Russian UAVs have on numerous occasions strayed onto its territory during attacks on Ukrainian military-related sites.
During a meeting at Romania’s Foreign Ministry on the matter, Russian diplomats were shown “pieces of foam plastic” and were asked to regard them as evidence of the drones’ supposed Russian origin. “Naturally, we were provided with no facts linking these drones to our country,” the embassy said.
The mission suggested that the incidents amounted to a “prearranged performance” involving shooting at training targets, intended to justify Romania’s military buildup and higher defense spending. “The local political establishment has long pursued this goal and is actively implementing it in practice,” the embassy said, adding that Bucharest is purchasing expensive Western-made weapons with taxpayers’ money, justifying it by the alleged “threat from the East.” … continue
The United Kingdom is the most active supplier of main units and components for unmanned aerial vehicles used as killer drones against civilians. Germany supplies weapons in large quantities, and Sweden is also involved. Canada plays an active role, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik told Sputnik.
“At the very least, these countries, even in their official rhetoric, emphasize as much as possible that they are supplying the Ukrainian regime in Kiev with unmanned aerial vehicles, which have caused civilian deaths in the Russian cities of Nizhnekamsk and Belgorod,” Miroshnik stressed.
“Ukrainian forces have fired more than 7,000 munitions at civilian facilities in Russia in the past week, killing 43 civilians and injuring 376 more, the Russian diplomat said.
He added that Ukrainian troops used large quantities of “weapons with shrapnel and high-explosive fragmentation warheads with the aim of causing maximum harm to civilians.”
The enemy attacked residential areas, infrastructure facilities, industrial and logistics hubs in 16 Russian regions located far from the front lines, according to Miroshnik.
He also said that a Ukrainian drone operator deliberately directed a UAV at a beach with civilians in Arkhipo-Osipovka, Krasnodar Region, which should be classified as a grave war crime under international humanitarian law.
Disregarding the norms and principles of international humanitarian law, the enemy carried out deliberate strikes on medical facilities and medical transport, including those located in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Miroshnik pointed out.
Two people, including a child, have been killed and a dozen others wounded in another large-scale Ukrainian drone raid on Russia’s Krasnodar Region, local governor Veniamin Kondratyev has said.
The region was targeted by hundreds of UAVs overnight, Kondratyev wrote in a post on Telegram on Wednesday.
Civilian facilities and private homes in Novorossiysk, Anapa, Gelendzhik, and the Temryuksky district suffered damage in the raid, he added. … Full article
The FBI manufactured plots to convince Trump that Iran sought to kill him, while Israel and its administration allies exploited the president’s deepest fears to keep him on the war path.
“I got him before he got me,” an ebullient President Donald Trump remarked to a reporter when asked about his motives for authorizing the killing of Iran’s Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on February 28, 2026.
With his off-the-cuff remark, Trump revealed that anxiety about his own assassination at the hands of Iranian agents influenced his decision to initiate a US-Israeli regime change war that has already resulted in American casualties, the bombings of schools and hospitals inside Iran, devastating Iranian retaliatory strikes on US military bases and embassies, and a spiraling global economic crisis. … continue
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Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, has been making the rounds on the podcast circuit, 
Armed Israeli settlers, protected by the Israeli army, opened fire on Friday at activists and landowners gathered in the Harasa area of Beit Sahour, north of the Bethlehem, in southern West Bank
Hordes of illegal, extremist Israeli settlers have been besieging two Palestinian families who are trapped in their homes near the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
Firefighters and residents in south Lebanon have accused Israeli occupation forces of 
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