By Robert Inlakesh | Palestine Chronicle | August 29, 2026
As Israel continues to ramp up its destruction of south Lebanon, critics ask why Hezbollah suddenly stopped responding and whether the group is again out of options. The tactical pause on the Lebanese organization’s part will not last, and its options are more numerous than some may expect. … continue
Press TV – August 29, 2026
The Iraqi Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada resistance group says it will begin handing over its weapons as part of a government plan to place all arms under state control, but only on the condition that its demands, including the withdrawal of US forces, are met.
In a statement on Saturday, the group said its response to efforts aimed at regulating weapons and ensuring they fall under state authority was conditional on the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraqi soil, territorial waters, and airspace; an outright ban on the use of Iraqi airspace to attack neighboring countries; and legislation to protect the rights of Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) fighters.
Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada also called for full federal control over Iraqi territory, stronger air defense through the deployment of sophisticated missile systems operated solely by Iraqi personnel, and the withdrawal of Peshmerga forces—the official armed forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)—as well as Turkish troops from areas in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, “to divest Ankara of any excuses to launch further attacks.”
Other conditions included placing the border regions of the Kurdistan region under Iraqi army control and forcing separatist anti-Iran Kurdish groups out of the area.
The group further demanded an end to US control over Iraq’s financial and economic institutions… continue
By Robert Inlakesh | Palestine Chronicle | August 28, 2026
Nothing is in place to ensure an Israeli-US victory against the Iranians, but Tel Aviv is not backing down and seeks to complete its mission aimed at dealing an enormous blow to Iran’s economy.
This week, the US Trump administration decided to impose another batch of sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, in what it has labeled ‘Operation Economic Outcast’. Yet, this measure’s viability is about to expire and could end up backfiring tremendously, as all the chips are now in place for Tehran to drag Washington deeper into a fiery regional inferno.
Since April 8, when the US and Iran both agreed to a two-week-long ceasefire, American President Donald Trump has been playing a game designed to manipulate oil markets and has attempted just about every tactic known to man in order to simply off-put the economic iceberg that the global economy is heading straight towards. … continue
RT | August 29, 2026
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Baden-Wurttemberg Governor Cem Ozdemir have called for the opposition Alternative for Germany (AfD) party to be banned. The two establishment politicians claim that the country’s most popular party poses a threat to Germany’s constitutional order and democracy.
The AfD is the largest opposition force in the Bundestag and enjoys the support of 28% of respondents, according to recent surveys.
The right-wing party advocates tougher immigration controls while also calling for an end to Germany’s green policies. It is also highly critical of Berlin’s support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.
In an opinion piece published by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Friday, Pistorius and Ozdemir drew parallels between the modern-day AfD and Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist party.
“Today, we are once again facing a threat to democracy from the extreme right,” the politicians, who represent the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Green Party, respectively, claimed.
In making their case for outlawing the right-wing party, Pistorius and Ozdemir argued that a powerful faction within the AfD espouses the idea of ‘remigration’, thus calling into question the “inviolability of human dignity” enshrined in the German constitution. … continue
Foreign censors have discovered that sending threatening emails to US platforms is cheap. Michael Rulli’s bill would make the next step considerably more expensive.
By Christina Maas | Reclaim The Net | August 29, 2026
It’s not every day that the US Congress is moved to act by the UK’s speech regulators – but there’s a first time for everything, and that time is now. And that regulator is Ofcom.
But Ofcom – or rather, its overreach – has managed to bring about the introduction of a new bill, the first of its kind at the federal level, even if not the first attempt to produce legislation that would deal with this problem.
The bill is called GRANITE, and the full name is even more interesting: Guaranteeing Rights Against Novel International Tyranny and Extortion Act. The man behind it is Republican Rep. Michael Rulli of Ohio, who introduced it on August 27, 2026, as H.R. 10174. … continue
By Cindy Harper | Reclaim The Net | August 29, 2026
A New York law that opponents say was designed to strong-arm social media companies into censoring speech (under the guise of “transparency”) has survived a First Amendment challenge.
US District Judge John Cronan on Aug 26, 2026, dismissed X’s lawsuit against the “Stop Hiding Hate Act.” … continue
Press TV -August 29, 2026
The US has designated Zaid Abdulnasser, a 30-year-old stateless Palestinian refugee based in Berlin, as a terrorist and imposed sanctions on him over his advocacy for Palestinians imprisoned by the Israeli regime, a report says.
The US Treasury Department placed Abdulnasser on its sanctions list on Wednesday, meaning financial institutions dealing with him could face pressure from Washington and potentially cut ties with his accounts, according to a report by Drop Site.
Because international payment networks rely heavily on US banks and dollar transactions, Abdulnasser said the measures could “completely paralyze” him financially.
“I was frightened. The authorities did not contact me beforehand; they just put me on the list,” Abdulnasser told Drop Site in an interview.
Abdulnasser, who has a six-month-old child, said he believes the move is part of a wider effort to restrict Palestinian human rights advocacy. … continue
Al Mayadeen | August 29, 2026
A federal judge on Friday ruled that laws used by US President Donald Trump’s administration to revoke visas and pursue deportation proceedings against noncitizen college students over their pro-Palestinian advocacy and criticism of “Israel” are unconstitutional.
US District Judge Noel Wise in San Jose, California, sharply criticized the US State Department and US Department of Homeland Security for using provisions of federal immigration law to pursue deportation against noncitizens for expressing views the government sought to suppress. … continue
MEMO | August 29, 2026
Two Palestinians, including a child, were injured by Israeli army fire in the city of Al-Bireh in the central West Bank on Saturday, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Anadolu reports.
The society said in a statement that its crews treated two people wounded by live ammunition in the Al-Amari refugee camp in Al-Bireh.
One of those injured was a 15-year-old child, while the other, a young man, was shot in the foot, it said, adding that both were transferred to a hospital. … Full article
Palestinian Information Center – August 29, 2026
RAMALLAH – Two Palestinian sisters were injured on Saturday after being assaulted by extremist Jewish settlers in the town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
Two sisters, Mona and Alia Hamed, aged 75 and 65, were injured after settlers launched a brutal attack on them while they were picking figs in their grove, according to local sources.
The settlers also stole the sisters’ mobile phones and their car key before fleeing the area.
MEMO | August 29, 2026
Between 2,500 and 3,000 people are estimated to have been subjected to enforced disappearance in the Gaza Strip during Israel’s war, a Palestinian rights group said Saturday, on the eve of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Anadolu reports.
The Palestinian Center for Missing and Forcibly Disappeared Persons issued the estimate based on an analytical study of a sample of 317 cases, saying the findings showed indicators warranting an investigation into the possibility of a broader pattern of enforced disappearances in Gaza.
The center said its study was based on reports submitted by families of missing people and cases documented in the field and did not represent all cases of missing or forcibly disappeared people in Gaza. … continue
Palestinian Information Center – August 29, 2026
GAZA – Three Palestinian citizens were martyred and several others were wounded in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip on Saturday.
According to media sources, an Israeli strike on an electric delivery bike killed two young men and injured several others in Gaza City’s Tel al‑Hawa neighborhood, with casualties transferred to nearby al‑Quds Hospital.
In the eastern area of al‑Musaddar village in central Gaza, an Israeli drone strike killed farmer Mohamed al‑Attar as he was working his swath of land.
The attack happened as Israeli armored vehicles advanced into the area.
In another incident, several civilians were wounded, one seriously, in an Israeli strike on a tent in al‑Ard al‑Tayiba displacement camp in Khan Yunis.
Three others were injured when an Israeli drone bombed a medicine warehouse inside Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al‑Balah, central Gaza.
Meanwhile, widespread military activity, including shooting incidents, artillery shelling, drone overflights, and demolitions, was reported across Gaza today.
Al Mayadeen | August 29, 2026
The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said Friday that it had recorded 1,030 projectiles fired in southern Lebanon in the period from August 21 to 27.
“Despite lower levels of violence than earlier this year, the situation in south Lebanon remains fragile,” the peacekeeping force said in a post on X, detailing that “from 21 to 27 August, peacekeepers recorded 1,030 projectile trajectories, an average of 147 per day”.
UNIFIL added that the current situation continues to weigh heavily on civilians, as homes and vital infrastructure have been damaged while local communities struggle to recover. … Full article
Al-Manar | August 29, 2026
‘Israel’ fears that a large-scale attack on the Ali Al-Taher Heights in southern Lebanon could trigger Iranian missile or drone retaliation and potentially reignite wider fighting, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported, citing an Israeli security source.
The source said such concerns, coupled with US pressure for ‘Israel’ to continue withdrawing from southern Lebanon, have led the Israeli army to carry out limited operations in the area rather than launch a major offensive.
According to the report, the source acknowledged the difficulty of maintaining long-term control over Lebanese territory, saying that “Israel has no option but to withdraw from southern Lebanon.”
Maariv further reported claims that Israeli forces have surrounded an alleged underground command-and-control Hezbollah facility in the Ali Al-Taher Heights, in Nabatieh district, for more than two months, purportedly “trapping dozens of Hezbollah resistance fighters and an unspecified number of Iranian Revolutionary Guard personnel inside.”
The source claimed that Israeli occupation forces control the access routes to the alleged facility and have been targeting the area from the ground and air.
Despite this, the source said Tel Aviv does not intend to withdraw from the surrounding area or allow those allegedly inside the facility to leave.
By Ma Tong | Global Times | August 28, 2026
China on Friday reiterated that dialogue and negotiation is the only viable way to resolve the Iran issue and that its opposition to illegal unilateral sanctions is consistent and unequivocal, after US President Donald Trump suggested Washington could impose sanctions on Chinese banks doing business with Iran.
“On the Iran situation, we always believe that dialogue and negotiation is the only viable way out. China opposes illicit unilateral sanctions. This position is consistent and clear,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular press briefing on Friday.
Trump on Thursday hinted at possible sanctions on Chinese banks when asked whether Washington would punish them for doing business with Iran. … continue
By Lorenzo Maria Pacini | Strategic Culture Foundation | August 28, 2026
The summit of the Coalition of the Willing held in Kiev on August 24, 2026 – the 35th anniversary of Ukrainian independence – made explicit a stance that until then had remained suspended between rhetoric of support and operational caution. Emmanuel Macron announced that between October and November, the coalition will conduct large-scale joint military exercises designed to test the readiness of the so-called “Multinational Force for Ukraine” and the ability to deploy it on land, at sea, and in the air. The announcement is not a symbolic gesture. It is the operational implementation of a strategic choice: to build a permanent Western military presence on Russia’s borders, ready to be activated not only after a possible ceasefire, but potentially during the most acute phase of the conflict. … continue
RT | August 28, 2026
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. … Full article
Sputnik – 28.08.2026
“It [Finland] provides Ukraine with intelligence information, including data obtained by Finnish satellites… Everyone thinks that it is mainly the American constellation working for Ukraine’s army, but that is far from the case,” Russian Academy of Sciences analyst Nikolai Plotnikov tells Sputnik.
Finnish instructors also train Ukrainian soldiers, while Finnish citizens participate in combat operations against Russia, he adds.
In the financial sphere, Finland has given Ukraine over $5 billion since 2022, with $3.85 billion being for military purposes alone, the expert notes, adding the country also supplies Ukraine with arms.
“Finland, under its current president, that vicious Russophobe [Alexander] Stubb, is pursuing an openly anti-Russian policy,” Plotnikov concludes.
Sputnik – 28.08.2026
Ukraine’s military continues to embrace a sinister and systematic pattern of warfare explicitly targeting the defenseless.
Fresh testimonies and official reports from Russian regions paint a damning picture of how drones and artificial intelligence are used by the Ukraine regime to hunt civilians, punish evacuees, and terrorize urban populations.
In a chilling account, Yevgenia Kirichenko, a resident of Konstantinovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, described a harrowing evacuation during which a Ukrainian drone stalked her family.
The woman signaled to the drone operator that they were carrying an infant, yet the drone attacked. … continue
By Prof. Glenn Diesen | August 28, 2026
There will unavoidably be a lot of speculation about CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s brief visit to Moscow due to the secrecy surrounding it, and media stories must conform to the war narratives. We are told that this was a routine visit and nothing out of the ordinary, although in reality, this was the first visit by a CIA director since November 2021. Given the deteriorating situation between NATO and Russia, we can draw some conclusions about the likely purpose of the visit.
The visit was likely intended to deliver a message and a threat to Moscow as desperation grows in Washington. NATO and Russia are now in the most dangerous period ever in their history of conflict. The CIA has been in charge of the Ukraine proxy war against Russia since the coup in 2014, and massive escalations can be expected as it all falls apart. … continue
By Alexandr Svaranc – New Eastern Outlook – August 28, 2026
The U.S. State Department has abruptly recalled its ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, who also served as the President’s Special Envoy for Syria and Iraq. This sharp personnel pivot has raised numerous questions: was this decision a consequence of pressure from the Israeli lobby? … continue
Remix News – August 28, 2026Sven Hüber, the deputy federal chairman of Germany’s Police Union (GdP), has stepped down from his post with immediate effect following public scrutiny regarding his service as a political officer for East Germany’s border guards.
Hüber recently made headlines for his stance against the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. He urged police officers to actively counter a potential AfD administration in Saxony-Anhalt, arguing that “police officers personally take on enemies of the constitution because the oath they take stipulates the same.”
The resignation follows investigative reporting by the German media outlet Apollo News alleging that Hüber committed severe abuses at the East German border during the Cold War prior to joining the German Federal Police.
The report claims that during his tenure as an SED political officer, Hüber placed a service weapon into the mouth of a captured East German refugee in the “death strip” and physically assaulted the individual while they were pinned to the ground. … Full article
German auto giant Volkswagen’s revived plans to convert production at its Osnabruck plant to military equipment in partnership with Israel’s state-owned Rafael drew sharp condemnation on Friday from the opposition Left Party, Anadolu reports.
Thomas Gross, the party’s mayoral candidate in Osnabruck for next month’s election, strongly criticized Volkswagen’s management over the controversial proposal and for leaving thousands of workers in the dark about their future.
Cooperating with an Israeli state-owned enterprise is incompatible with Osnabruck’s tradition as a “City of Peace,” Gross said in a statement to Anadolu, citing the city’s legacy as the birthplace of the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, which helped lay the foundations of modern international law.
He added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is responsible for numerous war crimes in Gaza, and that international human rights organizations believe they amount to genocide. … Full article
IMEMC | August 28, 2026
On Friday afternoon, Israeli forces assassinated three Palestinian young men after targeting a house with a drone strike, in the Hursh al-Saada area, in the western part of Jenin city, in the northern occupied West Bank.
Media sources reported that an Israeli drone strike targeted an under construction house in the Hursh al-Saada area, while additional reinforcements were deployed at the scene and in several areas of Jenin city.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that its ambulance crews were called to the site of the drone strike, where Israeli forces detained them upon arrival.
Later the PRCS reported that soldiers released its crews, forcing them to leave without transporting any of the wounded or dead, and confiscated medical equipment.
The Palestinian Health Ministry announced the identities of the victims as Qais Ibrahim Mohammad Al-Bitawi, 22, Basil Mohammad Ibrahim Turkman, 26, and Mu’min Mohammad Faris Jaradat, 22, adding that occupation forces confiscated their bodies.
WAFA’s correspondent reported that Israeli forces abducted the young man Ibrahim Al-Bitawi, while he was near the Al-Naseem roundabout in Jenin city.
In a statement, the Israeli army announced the assassination of the wanted Qais al-Bitawi, along with “additional aides” after carrying out what it called a “precision attack” in Jenin, targeting Palestinians from the air.
The army claimed that Al-Bitawi was an “organization leader” who was allegedly “responsible for local Hamas activity in the Jenin camp”, who “worked to advance numerous operations,” adding that a weapon was found in their vehicle.
Applauding the assassination operation in Jenin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described it as “an initiative, an attack, and a successful thwarting.”
Yisrael Katz, Israel’s Defense Minister stated that “These are the fruits of the offensive and preemptive policy that we are leading in ‘Judea and Samaria’ (the occupied West Bank),” adding, “We will continue to act forcefully and preemptively and thwart any threat to Israeli citizens, wherever it may be.” … Full article
MEMO | August 28, 2026More than 6,000 amputations have been recorded in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, as shortages of medical supplies and equipment hamper efforts to provide prosthetic limbs and rehabilitation services, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
Husni Muhanna, media and public relations officer at Gaza’s Prosthetics and Paralysis Center, said children account for approximately 25 percent of people receiving services at the facility.
He said treating children with amputations presents particular challenges because they require specialized rehabilitation and prosthetic limbs that must be repeatedly adapted as they grow.
Muhanna said restrictions on the entry of medical and technical supplies have significantly limited the center’s ability to respond to the growing number of patients requiring prosthetics.
The center is experiencing severe shortages of equipment and materials needed to manufacture artificial limbs, he said, including plaster used during essential stages of the production process. … Full article
Palestinian Information Center – August 28, 2026
… New ceasefire violations were reported across the Gaza Strip early Friday, including artillery shelling and gunfire from Israeli helicopters and naval vessels.
A local source reported that a man was killed and others were injured in an Israeli drone strike on the al-Nafaq area east of Gaza City on Friday afternoon.
Meanwhile, three Palestinians, including a girl, were injured by Israeli gunfire in Hamad City, west of Khan Yunis.
A local source also reported that another Palestinian was killed after Israeli forces targeted a motorcycle near al-Istijaba Mosque in Gaza City’s al-Sabra neighborhood.
The PIC correspondent also confirmed that three Palestinians from the Abdeen family were killed in an Israeli strike on the al-Qarara area, north of Khan Yunis Governorate. … Full article
The Cradle | August 28, 2026Israeli Colonel Nochi Mendel says he stands by his decision to carry out the April 2024 World Central Kitchen (WCK) massacre in Gaza, accusing the organization of having “ties to Hamas” during an interview with ABC published on 27 August.
“I’m the commander, and I’m the one who gave the order to carry out the operation,” Mendel said, adding “I’m not sorry for what I did.”
Mendel spoke to ABC in October 2025. Last week, the Israeli military confirmed it would bring no criminal proceedings and impose no further penalties on anyone involved in the April 2024 massacre of seven WCK aid workers. […]
WCK rejected the allegations as “false and outrageous,” telling ABC that they were “the latest attempt to shift blame away” from the Israeli military’s own actions. … Full article
MEMO | August 28, 2026
Israeli forces raided and searched a home Friday in Taranja village in the northern countryside of southwestern Syria’s Quneitra province, Syrian state media reported, Anadolu reports.
State-run Alikhbaria TV, citing its correspondent, said the raid took place during an Israeli incursion into the area.
The broadcaster did not provide further details on whether the incursion resulted in casualties, arrests or damage. … Full article
Al Mayadeen | August 28, 2026
The United States has cut Banque Misr’s UAE branch off from the US financial system over alleged violations of Washington’s sanctions on Iran, the US Department of the Treasury said Friday.
The move comes days after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced “Operation Economic Outcast”, a campaign aimed at isolating the Islamic Republic and countries accused of supporting it by targeting potential sources of revenue available to Tehran.
On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sent a letter to the UN leadership and member states, calling on them to condemn what he described as an attempt at economic coercion.
Experts say the US move to cut Banque Misr’s UAE branch from the US financial system falls well short of the broader measures threatened by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent under “Operation Economic Outcast,” limiting its impact to a single branch rather than imposing sanctions on the bank itself. … continue
Introducing RAF Welford the largest repository of Weapons of Mass Destruction in the country
By Daid Miller | UK Column | July 26, 2026
Tucked away off an obscure exit from the east-bound M4 near Swindon is a military base referred to regularly in the local press as ‘secret’. What is the connection between this obscure RAF facility and the mass destruction of civilian infrastructure in Iran in March and April this year? Back then we saw reports of attacks on the desalination plants in Qeshm Island, and commercial and energy infrastructure targets in Bandar Abbas, which also caused noted civilian casualties. There were also reports of attacks on Kashan International Airport, including on civilian infrastructure such as passenger terminals. Serious bombs were dropped in Isfahan, destroying the protected Shah Mosque heritage site and causing civilian deaths among facility workers and nearby residents.
In the recent resumption of daily US attacks on Iran, it has been reported that the planes dropping the bombs have come from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
One thing connecting all these incidents is that the bombs in the long range bombers came from a little-known location in the sleepy Berkshire countryside. Perhaps it’s surprising to learn that the RAF were involved, but here’s the thing: Welford is not an RAF base any more. Rather, it’s the largest US bomb arsenal in the UK, and the second largest in Europe. The bombs stored here are transported by road to RAF Fairford where they are loaded onto long-range B-1 and B-52 bombers.
Mainstream reporting by the BBC as well as in independent media like the Canary and Declassified UK have all described the goings on at RAF Fairford. But hardly anyone seems to know about the secret munitions dump only miles away. Let’s examine what’s been going on there. … continue
Press TV – August 28, 2026
Former British prime minister Boris Johnson has openly criticized Washington’s reckless military aggression against Iran, describing the US action as a clear “mistake” and declaring that the United States walked into an “obvious trap” without any coherent strategy or defined objectives.
Speaking at the Economic Times World Leaders Forum in New Delhi on Thursday, Johnson expressed regret that the United States failed to consult its closest ally, Britain, before launching the unprovoked assault.
He insisted that London could have played a decisive role in preventing this disastrous miscalculation. “I really think we could have prevented falling into an obvious trap,” the former premier stated.
Questioning the flawed calculations of American planners, Johnson said British officials should have demanded answers from US President Donald Trump, his advisors, and the Pentagon prior to the aggression. Key questions, he noted, should have focused on the true goals of the war and contingency plans in the event of a legitimate Iranian response, including the possible closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The ex-British leader further criticized the performance of Britain’s own security and intelligence services, asking why they failed to warn the government that Washington was heading into a “terrible trap.” As the United States’ closest ally, Britain had a duty to seek a clear explanation of the aggression’s objectives and its inevitable consequences, he added.
Johnson portrayed the current predicament facing the United States as a complete “dead end,” stressing the urgent need to reverse course from the path on which Washington is now stuck. He called for coordinated efforts by the United States, Britain, and India to find a way out of the crisis, stabilize oil markets, and restore shipping routes.
Emphasizing the necessity of diplomacy, the former prime minister said reaching an agreement with Iran – however challenging the negotiations may prove – is essential. “We must find a way to reach an agreement with Iran,” Johnson declared. … Full article
Al Mayadeen | August 28, 2026Iranian commercial and financial activity continues across Dubai despite Washington’s push to sharply restrict Tehran’s access to regional markets and financial networks, The Wall Street Journal reported.
According to the newspaper, Iranian banks, airlines, restaurants, and businesses remain active in the United Arab Emirates even after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced what he called an “Economic D-Day” campaign aimed at countries and companies maintaining economic links with Iran.
Bessent had specifically demanded the closure of overseas branches of Bank Melli Iran, but the bank’s operations in Dubai appeared unchanged this week.
At one Bank Melli branch in Dubai’s old city, around a dozen tellers were continuing to serve Farsi-speaking customers, according to the report. Employees said they had received no instructions ordering the branch to cease operations.
“We put our trust in God on what happens next,” an Iranian bank employee said.
Bank Melli has operated in the UAE since 1969 and currently maintains two branches in Dubai. … continue
Press TV – August 28, 2026
The Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective (AISC) has strongly condemned an open letter published by The Guardian, noting that its Western academics and signatories have distorted history and provided “ideological cover” for the intensification of the war against Iran.
In a detailed response, the collective said the August 20 letter creates a “false and dangerous equivalence” between the defensive measures of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the aggressive acts of the United States and Israel, which it described as “the most powerful and genocidal imperialist forces in world history.”
It added that the letter fails to place Iran’s current circumstances within the longer history of imperialist intervention in the region.
“The letter distorts history, obfuscates the current geopolitical conjuncture, and provides ideological cover for the intensification of the ongoing war against Iran,” highlighted the collective. … continue
By Sayer Ji | August 28, 2026
… NBC News confirmed a detail LancasterOnline did not report: the birth was attended by a lay midwife who was not certified in midwifery. A traumatic splenic rupture in a newborn is a recognized obstetric complication — associated with difficult delivery, resuscitation compression, or inexperienced attendance. It is not a recognized complication of measles in any modern cohort.
The medically parsimonious explanation is a birth-injury death in a Plain-community birthing center. The state chose to announce it as a measles fatality — an epidemiologically unprecedented and pathologically unsupported framing — because the political value of a measles death, in the middle of a war between Governor Shapiro and Secretary Kennedy, was higher than the medical value of an accurate one. […]
What Was Actually Established Last Night
Every element of the Governor’s Tuesday announcement has now been contradicted by the elected county coroner with statutory authority over the case, with the concurrence of an independent forensic pathologist, on the record, in three separate publications:
By Brenda Baletti, Ph.D. | The Defender | August 27, 2026
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro stood in Lancaster County on Tuesday and announced two “measles-associated deaths” — the first the commonwealth has reported in 35 years — calling them “preventable” and urging residents to get vaccinated.
Within a day, the county’s own coroner publicly disputed the state’s characterization.
On Tuesday, a Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) press release reported two measles-associated deaths in unvaccinated Lancaster County residents. The department initially withheld the individuals’ ages, medical circumstances and immediate causes of death, citing privacy concerns.
On Wednesday, Lancaster County Commissioner Josh Parsons said on X that the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office had recorded zero deaths caused by measles — only one death of a person who tested positive for measles.
The coroner, Dr. Stephen Diamantoni, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that one of the deaths involved a newborn who died shortly after birth from a lacerated spleen. Measles antibodies were present in postmortem testing, but Diamantoni said the death was not caused by measles. … continue
RT | August 27, 2026
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.
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. … Full article
By Justin K.P. | The Dissident | August 27, 2026
Legendary Journalist Seymour Hersh just published another major story on his Substack quoting sources who alleged the possibility that the late child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was an asset of the Israeli Mossad, as well as the U.S. F.B.I., potentially for blackmail operations.
According to Hersh, “I have been told that specific evidence about Epstein’s connections to foreign and domestic intelligence services, particularly Mossad and the FBI, though they do exist in government files, have yet to be the subject of materials made public by the Trump administration’s Justice Department and have not come under scrutiny by Congress and the media.”
One “well-informed international source I’ve known for a long time” told Hersh that “if all the details were to come out about Epstein and Israel it could cause problems for the past and present members of some in the Trump administration, as well as for senior officials in prior Democratic administrations”. … continue
Palestinian Information Center – August 27, 2026
GAZA – At least three Palestinian citizens were martyred and several others were injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, amid ceasefire violations persisting for 322 days.
According to the Palestinian Information Center reporter, a civilian was killed in a drone strike on a tent in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis.
Local sources also reported that an Israeli airstrike this morning targeted the roof of a house in ash‑Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, leaving one citizen seriously wounded.
Meanwhile, medical and media sources said that two civilians were killed and several others were wounded with varying degrees of severity after an Israeli drone bombed an inhabited house in ash‑Shati camp.
A child, identified as Obeida Quwaider, was injured by Israeli gunfire in Qatar displacement camp, east of Hamad City in southern Gaza. … Full article
Al Mayadeen| August 27, 2026
The Israeli occupation continues to violate Palestinian rights in the West Bank as it pursues settlement expansion and carries out arrests and attacks against Palestinians.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the Israeli occupation authorities told the Supreme Court this week that the Israeli occupation forces remain opposed to allowing residents of the Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams refugee camps to return to their homes.
According to the newspaper, the Israeli occupation army is preparing to maintain operational control over the area for the long term, nearly a year and a half after launching its operations there.
Haaretz reported that tens of thousands of residents were forced to leave the camps suddenly, violently, and under humiliating circumstances, and are currently relying on limited assistance provided by humanitarian organizations. … Full article
Press TV – August 26, 2026
Israeli occupation authorities have seized thousands of acres of Palestinian land in the central part of the occupied West Bank to build a so-called “security route” around an illegal settlement in clear defiance of international law and UN Security Council resolutions.
The anti-settlement Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission reported on Wednesday that Israeli officials have expropriated 15,342 dunams (3,791 acres) of land in the city of al-Bireh to construct a 3,835-meter-long road.
The route would surround the settlement of Psagot, located on Jabal al-Taweel land to the east of the city. This illegal road effectively forms a new buffer zone around the settlement, restricting Palestinian access to the lands situated between the settlement’s developed area and the roadway. … Full article
The Cradle | August 27, 2026
An Israeli court in the occupied city of Jerusalem acquitted on 26 August the settler who was seen several months ago assaulting a nun in a video that went viral on social media, according to Hebrew media.
Israel’s Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) said the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court ruled that Yona Schreiber – who was caught on camera violently attacking the nun – “suffered a psychotic episode” and therefore was “not responsible” for his actions.
The attacker was briefly arrested and put on trial earlier this year.
According to KAN, the court accepted a psychiatrist’s assessment as justification for brutally attacking the nun. The report says he has been “acquitted” and that the court ordered he be hospitalized.
“Medical treatment will help him return to optimal functioning,” his lawyer was quoted as saying.
The lawyer’s office said they “understand” the “complainant’s distress and wish her well in overcoming the effects of the incident.”
The video went viral in April. It shows the settler running up to the nun, violently shoving her onto the ground, and then calmly walking away. … Full article
IMEMC | August 27, 2026
Israeli forces injured three Palestinians, including a 14-year-old girl, and abducted at least 12 others during widespread military incursions across the occupied West Bank on Thursday.
The operations included home invasions, field interrogations, property damage, and deployments in multiple communities across Hebron, Bethlehem, occupied Jerusalem, Tubas, Qalqilia, Tulkarem, Jenin, Nablus, and Ramallah. Israeli colonizers also raised flags and expanded an outpost in the Bethlehem area and released livestock near residents’ homes in the Ramallah area.
In Al-Karmil, south of Hebron in the southern West Bank, two women and a 14-year-old girl were wounded when Israeli forces opened fire on a vehicle carrying several women.
According to local sources, Israeli forces invaded the town, deployed along its streets, and broke into several homes, converting some into military positions before the shooting.
Al-Karmil Mayor Qassem Abu Arram, whose wife was among the wounded, said the women were returning from a wedding when soldiers opened heavy fire on their vehicle in the town center.
He added that there had been no warning, military roadblock, or visible indication that Israeli forces were operating in the area.
Abu Arram identified the seriously wounded as his wife, Sana’ Abu Arram, 58, and Lana Al-Haroush, 14, both of whom sustained facial injuries. Doaa’ Al-Haroush suffered shrapnel wounds to the face. … Full article
Palestinian Information Center – August 27, 2026
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM – Two Palestinian young men were injured on Wednesday evening by Israeli army gunfire in the town of Beit Anan, northwest of Occupied Jerusalem.
According to the Jerusalem Governorate, Israeli army forces raided the towns of Beit Anan, Biddu, and al-Qubeiba in the northwest of Jerusalem, firing live ammunition and teargas canisters at local youths.
One of the young men was shot in the knee with live ammunition before being transferred to the hospital, where his condition was described as stable. The second one was injured by a rubber‑coated metal bullet.
Al Mayadeen | August 27, 2026Israeli occupation forces carried out a series of artillery and airstrikes across southern Lebanon, targeting several towns and their outskirts, according to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent, as violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty continue relentlessly.
According to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent, Israeli warplanes carried out two airstrikes targeting residential areas in Arabsalim, in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh district, before launching another strike on Nabatieh al-Fawqa.
Arabsalim Mayor Ali Hassan said the Israeli strike targeted a residential home in the town, killing a newlywed bride and wounding several others. He added that the woman had been married just two days earlier.
The National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli artillery shelled al-Mansouri, while occupation forces also dropped explosive and incendiary materials on the outskirts of the town.
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation artillery shelled the outskirts of Mays al-Jabal, coinciding with a sweeping operation using machine guns. The occupation’s artillery also targeted the outskirts of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah in the Nabatieh district. … continue
By Marwa Haidar | Al-Manar | August 27, 2026
Things are becoming increasingly clear about the US green light for the Israeli enemy to press ahead with its attacks on southern Lebanon. According to US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Washington has not, so far, reached an agreement with Tel Aviv to halt its assaults.
Even more strikingly, asking ‘Israel’ to stop attacking southern Lebanon apparently amounts to asking it to “do everything,” according to Issa, himself of Lebanese origin, whose broken Arabic carries a distinctly Lebanese accent.
The remarks by Issa were made Wednesday, after a meeting with Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian.
“So far, we haven’t agreed with them (Israelis) to halt attacks (on southern Lebanon),” Issa told reporters. … continue
MEMO | August 27, 2026
Saudi Arabia has reiterated that it will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without the creation of an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, amid reports that US President Donald Trump is seeking to link a civil nuclear agreement with Riyadh to Saudi normalisation with Israel.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Trump has referred the US-Saudi civil nuclear cooperation agreement to Congress for review but has stipulated that it will not take effect unless Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords.
“The president’s position has not changed, and the agreement will not move forward unless Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords,” the newspaper quoted a US administration source as saying.
The reported condition follows the signing of the nuclear agreement last month by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.
A Saudi source quoted by Israel’s Channel 12 rejected linking the nuclear agreement to normalisation, saying Riyadh’s position on relations with Israel remained unchanged.
“The Saudi position is clear, firm and unwavering,” the source said. “There will be no diplomatic relations with Israel without the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
The source maintained that Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear program forms part of its broader strategic partnership with Washington and should not be conditional on establishing relations with Israel.
Press TV – August 26, 2026
The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says the UN nuclear watchdog cannot demand access to inspect nuclear facilities damaged in the US-Israeli military strikes unless a specific, approved protocol for inspecting sites under wartime conditions is established.
Speaking on Wednesday at an event unveiling new knowledge-based achievements of the AEOI, Mohammad Eslami said Iran’s interactions with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are strictly governed by a recent law passed by the Iranian Parliament, which has already been communicated to the agency.
“The IAEA is well aware that under current conditions, until the regulations and inspection protocols for sites that have been subjected to military attacks are drafted, approved, and communicated, it cannot claim the right to inspect them.”
While routine safeguards inspections continue normally at facilities that were not targeted, the situation for attacked sites is fundamentally different, Eslami said.
“The country remains in a state of war, and it is not yet the case that the conflict has ended and security at these sites has been fully restored.”
Eslami censured the IAEA’s dealing with the recent hostilities, saying all the targeted facilities were previously registered with and regularly inspected by the UN nuclear agency.
The IAEA’s failure, he added, to protest or condemn the military strikes calls its independence and competence into question.
The current push by Washington and Tel Aviv for the IAEA to visit the damaged sites is not about nuclear safeguards, but rather a transparent attempt to conduct battle damage assessment, he said.
“The only reason for this pressure is that they want to see what happened to these sites as a result of the military operations they carried out.”
He also touched on recent threats by the US president to bomb specific Iranian locations, such as the Kuh-e-Kalang site. Such rhetoric, he said, serves as a “historical lesson that international organizations are being used as playthings by the United States and Israel.”
The Iranian official urged the IAEA to resist external pressure and threats and to operate strictly according to its own statutes. … Full article
Press TV – August 27, 2026
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman says Moscow will work alongside Iran and other like-minded countries to counter unlawful sanctions initiatives and remove sanctions pressure from international relations.
Speaking on Thursday in response to US economic pressure on Iran, Maria Zakharova said Moscow will coordinate efforts with its Iranian partners and other countries concerned to oppose “illegal initiatives.”
“We will work together with like-minded countries to remove sanctions pressure from international relations,” she said.
Zakharova said sanctions have long been turned into “a tool for settling scores with and punishing countries that are not favored by the West.”
Earlier, China said that unilateral sanctions against Iran are illegal. … Full article
Press TV – August 27, 2026
Pakistan has reaffirmed its commitment to bilateral trade with Iran in accordance with international law, saying it will not abide by unilateral US sanctions against Tehran.
Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi made the remarks during his weekly press briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, while responding to IRNA about the US economic war against Iran.
Pakistan has consistently rejected unilateral measures and does not accept unilateral sanctions, he said.
He added that such sanctions have negative consequences, and Pakistan does not recognize them under international law. … Full article
Sputnik – 27.08.2026
The US Justice Department is preparing to revive long-dormant maritime “prize courts” to speed up the military capture of Iranian oil tankers and cargo as US property, Bloomberg reported.
The plan would allow the US to seize oil and other cargo from enemy or even neutral vessels, sell it, and transfer the proceeds to the US Treasury.
Aaron Reitz, a US attorney involved in the initiative, confirmed that the Justice Department is “now reviving” what he called an “ancient body of maritime law.”
The move is expected to face legal challenges, as prize courts have gone largely unused since the Spanish-American War of 1898 and have been dormant since World War II.
The plan comes as US forces have already illegally intercepted and seized multiple Iranian-owned or Iran-linked ships since imposing an unlawful blockade in April.
The US lectures the world about “freedom of navigation” — then digs up antique courts to “legalize” piracy against whoever it decides to bully next.
Al Mayadeen| August 27, 2026
Iran will respond swiftly and decisively to any US attempt to revive a mechanism known as “prize courts” to detain oil tankers and seize Iranian oil shipments, a senior Iranian security official stated on Thursday.
According to Nournews, the official said that if Washington uses the mechanism to detain Iranian oil tankers and confiscate their cargoes, the Islamic Republic of Iran would take “serious and swift measures” to impose reciprocal costs on US interests in the Gulf.
“If America is going to detain Iranian oil at sea and then confiscate it under the title of war prize, it must also be prepared to expose American interests to corresponding retaliatory measures,” the official warned.
The official said US interests in shipping, energy, insurance, finance, and Gulf-related infrastructure would not be insulated from the consequences of such action. … continue
RT | August 27, 2026
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.” … continue
Global Times – August 27, 2026
China strongly deplores and firmly opposes the US once again smearing it under the pretext of cybersecurity, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press conference on Thursday.
Lin made the remarks when asked about the US Department of Justice’s announcement on Wednesday that it had carried out court-authorized seizures of domains used by two hacking platforms which Washington claimed were operated and used by “China state-sponsored hackers to target US critical infrastructure and other sensitive networks.”
“We have noted relevant reports. China firmly opposes and combats hacking activities in accordance with the law. At the same time, China firmly opposes the dissemination of disinformation for political purposes,” Lin said. “The so-called US statement lacks factual evidence and turns facts on their head. China strongly deplores and firmly opposes the US once again smearing China under the pretext of cybersecurity.”
“The US is widely recognized as the world’s biggest hacking and surveillance empire, with an appalling record backed by irrefutable evidence,” Lin said, noting that China has serious concerns about US cyber activities. … continue
By Jefferey Jaxen | August 27, 2026
On August 8, as measles cases climbed across Pennsylvania and schools prepared to reopen, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Department of Health published a sweeping rewrite of the state’s communicable-disease rules.
17 days later national headlines now report of two measles-associated deaths whose status is current unresolved with several clear anomalies that has the public, politicians and Kennedy himself asking serious questions about their validity.
Regulation 10-242, filed with the Independent Regulatory Review Commission as IRRC No. 3490, runs hundreds of pages and would remake 28 Pa. Code Chapter 27 — the same chapter that governed isolation, reporting, and outbreak control long before Covid. Public comment closes September 21. Shapiro’s gubernatorial election vote happens on November 3 the stakes are high.
The political context is harder to ignore.
The rule update would erode parent consent in a child’s health care, create a mandatory vaccine tracking database, and give the Department of Health access to children’s medical records without parental consent.
Specifically regarding measles, the newly proposed rule would create a category called § 27.160 isolation plus outbreak quarantine of “presumed susceptibles.”
The rule would pair isolation with outbreak quarantine of those presumed ‘susceptibles’ and keep them out of a setting until they prove they are not susceptible, take a measles vaccine, or no cases occur there for 21 days. … continue
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By Alan Smithee | Counter-Currents | December 8, 2016
Any discussion of the plausibility of conspiracies has to start with MK Ultra—one of the most bizarre “conspiracy theories” that turned out, by all official accounts, to be completely and entirely true. MK Ultra was a CIA program that began in the early 1950s and operated at full scale from then until around 1964. The program was reduced in scope in 1964 and then again in 1967 and wasn’t officially put to an end until 1973 [1]—although 14-year CIA veteran Victor Marchetti claimed in 1977 that the CIA’s assurances that it had stopped the program were nothing more than a “cover story.”
It is unambiguously acknowledged that the MK Ultra program was extremely illegal, as it involved performing covert tests and experiments altering the mental state and brain functioning of unwitting, non-consenting, oblivious U.S. citizens. These tests involved everything from hypnosis and sensory deprivation, to verbal and sexual abuse and other forms of psychological torture,[2][3] to giving potent psychoactive drugs like LSD to unsuspecting U.S. citizens. On the Senate floor in 1977, Senator Ted Kennedy explained that the Deputy Director of the CIA had revealed to the Church Committee (the arm of Congress tasked with investigating the scandal in 1975) that these kinds of tests had been performed “at all social levels, high and low, [to] native Americans and foreign.”
Again, all of this is universally acknowledged in the public record… continue
Aletho News If Americans Knew No Tricks Zone
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