Russia Requests Clarification From US, Turkiye Over Plans to Supply Weapons to Ukraine
Sputnik – 15.08.2026
MOSCOW – The Russian Foreign Ministry has requested clarification from the United States and Turkiye over information released by the US Congress regarding plans to supply weapons to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Saturday.
“The Russian Foreign Ministry has requested clarifications from Washington and Ankara in connection with information released by the US Congress,” Zakharova said.
The US and Turkiye still have time to soberly assess the situation regarding plans to supply weapons to Ukraine, she said.
According to documents released by the US Congress, the arsenal is substantial, namely: 12 multiple rocket launchers and over 2,500 unguided cluster munitions for them, 47,000 cluster artillery shells of 203mm caliber, and 70 ATACMS operational-tactical missiles, Zakharova added.
Pumping new weapons would not seriously affect the course of the special military operation but causes serious damage to bilateral relations with the US and Turkiye, she said.
Attempts to use peacekeeping rhetoric while simultaneously supplying weapons to Ukraine are undermining mutual trust, especially given Turkiye’s assurances that it avoids “lethal” supplies.
Zakharova noted that the timing of the transfer of a large-scale shipment of lethal cargo to recipients in Ukraine is unclear.
“It’s worth noting that the circumstances and conditions of such a large-scale ‘transfer’ of lethal materials remain extremely contradictory. It’s unclear who initiated the re-export, how, and when the plan is to transfer the large-scale lethal cargo to recipients in Kiev,” Zakharova said.
It is also unclear what motivated the United States and Turkey to “open Pandora’s box” and prolong the Kiev regime’s agony, she said, adding that this was particularly striking given that both countries claim a special role in resolving the Ukrainian crisis and have declared a political and diplomatic settlement their priority.
“However, multifaceted damage from such supplies is inevitable. It is not only about the casualties and destruction that the authorities in Kiev are seeking to escalate, but also about serious harm to our bilateral relations with Washington and Ankara,” Zakharova said.
Zakharova highlighted that the supply of additional weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces will not affect the course of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.
“Flooding Zelensky’s junta with ever more weapons will not be able to significantly affect the course of the special military operation in accordance with a just Russian scenario,” Zakharova said in a comment published on the ministry’s website.
The comment came amid reports of possible US-Turkish plans to supply Ukraine with a large batch of US-made weapons, including multiple-launch rocket systems, cluster munitions and ATACMS operational-tactical missiles.
South Korean Leader Pledges to Replace Unstable Armistice With North Korea With Peace
Sputnik – 15.08.2026
SEOUL – South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Saturday said the country aims to end the war on the Korean Peninsula and replace the current unstable armistice regime with a peace regime.
“We will begin the path to ending the war and transforming the unstable armistice regime on the Korean Peninsula into a peace regime,” Lee said in a speech marking the 81st anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule.
The president called on both sides to abandon mutual threats and begin inter-Korean talks to end the decades-long “state of war.”
“Let us abandon the intention of threatening each other and begin inter-Korean talks to end this extremely protracted war. Within this process, effective ways to stop the North’s nuclear build-up can also be discussed,” Lee added.
Peace on the Korean Peninsula would contribute to stability and cooperation in Northeast Asia and serve as a milestone toward a “nuclear-free” peace, he said.
Lee also added that South Korea intends to turn the energy of hostility and confrontation into a driving force for peaceful coexistence and shared prosperity, and to fulfill its role as a direct party to the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea has repeatedly stated it has no intention of abandoning its nuclear weapons. In September 2025, leader Kim Jong Un declared the denuclearization issue “closed,” adding that Pyongyang would never give up its nuclear arsenal. In March 2026, he said that North Korea would strengthen its nuclear state status as “absolutely irreversible.” The country’s nuclear status has also been enshrined in law.
In September 2023, North Korea added a provision on the accelerated development of nuclear forces to its constitution, following a September 2022 law on nuclear policy.
New mRNA Flu Vaccine Produced Much Higher Rates of Adverse Reactions Than Standard Shot
By Jill Erzen | The Defender | August 14, 2026
Moderna’s own clinical trial data raise serious questions about whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should have approved the company’s new mRNA flu vaccine, medical commentator John Campbell, Ph.D., said.
In a recent video, Campbell argued that the study shows only a small reduction in flu cases while reporting substantially higher rates of adverse reactions among people who received the shot.
The FDA approved Moderna’s mFlusiva this month for adults ages 50-64, with accelerated approval for adults 65 and older. It is the first mRNA flu vaccine licensed in the U.S.
Moderna said it expects the vaccine to be available for the 2026-27 respiratory virus season.
Campbell also questioned why the approval came just one year after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a coordinated federal wind-down of mRNA vaccine development.
“One quick year later, FDA approves Moderna flu vaccines,” Campbell said. “I don’t understand the way the U.S. work[s], but it would appear that HHS isn’t in charge.”
Efficacy of mRNA flu vaccine is ‘not very impressive’
Moderna’s Phase 3 trial, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, enrolled 40,703 participants, with roughly half receiving the experimental mRNA vaccine and the other half receiving a standard flu vaccine. Participants were followed for a median of 181 days.
Laboratory-confirmed flu occurred in 2.0% of participants who received the mRNA vaccine, compared with 2.8% of those who received the standard vaccine. Moderna described those results as showing a relative vaccine efficacy of 26.6%.
“Not very impressive, to be quite honest,” Campbell said.
He noted that the study showed a risk reduction of less than 1%.
“If you’re going from a 2.0% absolute to a 2.8% absolute,” Campbell said, “I would say that’s not a 26.6% relative risk improvement — although it is statistically. But it’s a 0.8% absolute risk reduction.”
“So, do you want to take a new influenza mRNA vaccine to give you a 0.8% reduced chance of getting influenza in absolute terms? Your choice,” he said.
‘Completely unacceptable increase in the adverse reactions’
Campbell said the study showed substantially higher rates of nearly every reported adverse reaction among mRNA vaccine recipients compared with those who received the standard flu vaccine.
Injection-site pain was reported by 65.8% of mRNA vaccine recipients, compared with 29.8% of those who received the standard vaccine. Fatigue occurred in 45.1% versus 20.3%, headache in 37.8% versus 18.0%, and muscle pain in 35.4% versus 11.6%.
Campbell said the disparity extended across nearly every category of reported reactions.
“Injection site pain, way more … in the mRNA group. Redness more in the mRNA group. Swelling more in the mRNA group,” he said. “Six times more fevers in the mRNA group compared to the traditional vaccine group. … Joint pain, way more common … nausea and vomiting, more common … and chills, again, way more common in the mRNA group.”
“A completely unacceptable increase in the adverse reactions there,” he added.
mRNA flu vaccine group showed ‘6.4 times more’ potentially serious reactions
Campbell then turned to the study’s more serious adverse reactions.
Serious adverse events were reported in 2.2% of participants who received the mRNA vaccine, according to the study.
The trial also tracked Grade 3 solicited adverse reactions, which are more severe reactions that can interfere with normal activities or require medical attention. Grade 3 reactions occurred in 6.4% of mRNA recipients — “More than 1 in 20,” Campbell said — versus 1.0% of those who received the standard flu vaccine.
He compared the difference with the vaccine’s reported risk reduction in flu cases.
“So 6.4 times more adverse events, Grade 3, potentially more serious adverse events, in the mRNA group for a 0.8% absolute risk reduction according to their own figures,” Campbell said. “I really wonder why [the FDA] approved this.”
The trial also reported adverse events of special interest among mRNA vaccine recipients, including thrombocytopenia, a condition involving low platelet counts, and cardiomyopathy, which has been linked to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
“Looks like a bit of a no-brainer to me,” Campbell said of the mRNA flu vaccine. “I certainly wouldn’t be having it on those figures.”
‘Are you going to be queuing up? I’m not’
Campbell said his review focused on Moderna’s published trial data but noted that the study does not address broader concerns about mRNA technology.
“We could talk for ages about the lipid nanoparticles and other complications,” he said. “I’m just keeping this to what’s in the paper.”
He said lipid nanoparticles distribute throughout the body, allowing cells in different organs to produce the vaccine antigen. He argued that those cells could then become targets of the immune system.
Previously published studies have linked COVID-19 mRNA vaccines to myocarditis and pericarditis, seizures and cancers.
“Given that information, are you going to be queuing up?” Campbell asked. “I’m not.”
‘They’re not really very safe and not particularly effective’
Campbell’s concerns about the mRNA flu vaccine also led him to question U.S. health policy.
In August 2025, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority would terminate funding for 22 mRNA vaccines in development.
At the time, HHS said it had “reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted.”
The department said the funding was being terminated because “the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu.”
Campbell said the FDA’s approval of Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine appears to conflict with that policy.
“And yet a year later, here we have it approved,” he said. “Who’s in charge here? Is it not the HHS that’s in charge?”
HHS said in 2025 that it was “shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.” The agency also emphasized that it supports “safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them.”
Campbell challenged that claim as well.
“We’ve seen that they’re not really very safe and not particularly effective,” he said, adding, “Who wants them?”
This article was originally published by The Defender — Children’s Health Defense’s News & Views Website under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Please consider subscribing to The Defender or donating to Children’s Health Defense.
Don’t Let Hunter Biden Whitewash His Father’s Genocidal Legacy
By Justin K.P. | The Dissident | August 13, 2026
Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, has been making the rounds on the podcast circuit, giving interviews on popular shows such as Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan, the Tucker Carlson show, Candace Owens and the Left Hook with Wajahat Ali.
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.
The reality is, Joe Biden and his administration hold just as much responsibility for the slaughter in Gaza as Benjamin Netanyahu does.
Brown University’s Cost of war project has calculated that during the first year of the genocide in Gaza, the Biden administration spent $17.9 billion in military funding for Israel and another $3.8 billion in the second year, with an additional $9.65 – $12.07 Billion spent on military campaigns to protect Israel, including the Biden administration’s bombing of Ansar Allah in Yemen for it’s blockade on the Red Sea in an attempt to pressure an end to the Genocide.
While financing the military equipment used to carry out the Genocide in Gaza and bombing resistance groups attempting to stop the genocide, the Biden administration never once pressured Israel to accept a ceasefire.
This was outright admitted by multiple U.S. and Israeli officials on Israeli TV on a special aired on Israel’s Channel 13.
The former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Michael Herzog, in the special admitted, “God did the State of Israel a favor that Biden was the president during this period, because it could have been much worse. We fought for over a year, and the administration never came to us and said, ‘ceasefire now.’ It never did. And that’s not to be taken for granted”.
The former U.S. ambassador to Israel, Thomas Nides, similarly admitted, “At the most significant political peril of Joe Biden’s political career, the easiest thing for Joe Biden would have been, if he was worried about the votes in Michigan, is to basically be a little soft; he refused to do it. There was enormous pressure within the White House on him to change his position. When I hear comments about ‘he wasn’t good enough, or he didn’t have Israel’s back,’ am I disgusted by it? One hundred percent. Is it true? 100 percent no”.
When Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that “soldiers were killed during the war in Gaza from a lack of ammunition due to a partial embargo that was imposed by the Biden administration”, multiple Biden administration officials came out to clarify that they gave unconditional support to Israel’s Holocaust in Gaza.
Amos Hochstein, a top Biden advisor admitted in response, “After more than $20 Billion military support, largest in Israel history, 2 aircraft carriers rushed to the region, deterring a massive regional war, defeating Iran missile/drone attack x2, defending israel at most vulnerable moments, after SAVING countless lives of Israelis – only acceptable response to POTUS Biden and American people is THANK YOU.”
Similarly, the Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President of the United States, Philip H. Gordon, admitted in response, “Hard to overstate the damage to US-Israel relations done by the sense of entitlement and ingratitude reflected in comments like these and Netanyahu’s own recent statements. Baseless misdirection to suggest that Israeli soldiers’ deaths in Gaza were caused by some phantom US ‘embargo’ (when in fact Biden resisted enormous pressure to condition aid, as required by U.S. law, even as Israel rebuffed calls to facilitate more humanitarian assistance and reduce civilian casualties)”.
The reality is that Joe Biden’s backing of the genocide in Gaza is also “unforgivable forever and throughout time” despite his son’s attempts to whitewash these facts.
Is Israel Planning to Assassinate President Trump?
By W.M. Peterson |
“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.
A few months ago I met up for lunch with an old friend who, after years of intransigence, has finally reclaimed his mind from the Zionist propagandists and taken a deeper interest in topics like Israel/Palestine and Jewish influence in American affairs. During the course of our conversation, I casually mentioned the likelihood that Israeli leaders have considered assassinating Donald Trump for the purpose of expanding US involvement in the war with Iran. My friend, visibly stunned by the idea, asked why in the world Israel would do such a thing when Trump is by all appearances Israel’s Top Goy, performing nearly every trick demanded of him by Netanyahu and the Israel Lobby. I responded that it doesn’t matter what Trump does for Israel, the minute he’s deemed more valuable dead than alive the Zionists will begin workshopping a scenario in which the increasingly unpopular ‘leader of the free world’ can be eliminated in such a way that Iran can be blamed and the American military can be dragged deeper into the conflict upon the pretext of revenge. Indeed, Israeli intelligence has been priming the pump for an “Iranian” assassination of Trump since 2024, absurdly trying to link the events in Butler, PA and Ryan Routh’s golf course shenanigans to Tehran. I told my friend that while I believe the chances of an assassination actually happening are low, I do think it’s probable the Jews will develop a plan, if they haven’t already, to have in the back pocket as a last resort. Certainly, there’s no shortage of historical precedent supporting the notion.
My hypothetical took on new life this past week when it was reported in the mainstream media that Israeli intelligence had alerted the US that Iranian agents were planning to shoot down Trump’s plane with shoulder-fired missiles as he departed the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey on July 8. The warning was taken seriously enough that the Secret Service had Trump switch planes twice before finally leaving in the hopes of deceiving any would-be attackers. According to The Times of Israel :
“Israel told the United States about the Iranian assassination threat that prompted the US Secret Service to take President Donald Trump off Air Force One and transfer him in a catering truck to a military plane as he prepared to fly out of Turkey last month, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing an unnamed US official.
Later Tuesday, Trump confirmed that he had indeed been smuggled off Air Force One in Ankara because the Secret Service and US military told him to switch planes. Israeli intelligence indicated that Iran was plotting to use shoulder-to-air missiles to take down Trump’s plane, according to the WSJ report. Senior Trump aides, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, remained on the plane despite the threat, the official said. The WSJ reported last month that Israeli intelligence had indicated a new plot was in development to assassinate the US president, but did not provide details. … Trump had flown to the NATO summit in Ankara aboard a newly-renovated Qatari-donated jet. The trip was the first international travel for the new plane, whose speedy upgrades triggered questions over its cost and security, and took place as hostilities escalated with Iran, which borders Turkey.
Before departing the Turkish capital, Trump said he would instead use an older baby blue Air Force One plane “for old time’s sake” to RAF Mildenhall in Britain, while the new Qatari-gifted plane stopped at the same base so US service members stationed there could tour the aircraft. But after Trump boarded the old Air Force One in front of cameras in Ankara, he was secretly shuttled by an airport catering truck to a smaller plane, an Air Force C-32A, the Washington Post revealed Monday.“
Probably not coincidentally, all of this transpired a mere day after Trump and Turkish President Recep Erdogan held a private bilateral meeting during which Trump discussed the possibility of Turkey’s reentry into the F-35 Lightning II program, while also announcing his commitment to lift the CAATSA sanctions placed on Turkey by the US government seven years ago. Originally a co-producer and buyer in the fighter jet program, Turkey was removed in 2020 following its acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile defense system. Trump remarked that his administration is “certainly” considering the sale of F-35s to Turkey and openly praised Erdogan as “a great friend,” telling reporters at the NATO summit: “Turkey has been much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal.”
Considering the fact that Turkey is rapidly emerging as one of Israel’s biggest strategic adversaries, these developments likely sent shockwaves through Tel Aviv. An August 10 article on the Quincy Institute’s Responsible Statecraft website points out that:
“Within 72 hours of the Ankara summit, Netanyahu took his objections to three American networks, arguing that Erdogan was ‘not a friend’ and could not be trusted… Israeli leaders, eager to drive a wedge into Ankara’s relationship with Washington, appear determined to cast Turkey as the next Iran.“
It’s possible that at least part of the reason for Trump’s flirtation with Erdogan is to antagonize Israel at a time when the Zionist state is doing almost everything it can to scupper US peace agreements with Iran. It’s just as possible that Israel, by way of retaliation, is seeding the narrative that Iran is striving to help the vainglorious 47th President off this mortal coil as a way of threatening Trump back into line. It should be pointed out that immediately following the great plane switcheroo in Ankara, the US military conducted a heavy wave of airstrikes, hitting 90 targets across Iran. Two days later, the US initiated a bombing campaign that lasted for 13 consecutive nights. If the intent of the “Iranian threat” was to bring Trump back under heel, it would seem he got the message.
While the CIA considers the Iranian threat to Air Force One dubious, the thought of shooting down an aircraft with innocent lives onboard to kill but one man is not a novel one in Israel. On pp. 272-273 of his aforementioned bestseller, Israeli journalist Ronen Bergman describes how Israel’s Minister of Defense Ariel ‘Butcher of Beirut’ Sharon once hatched a plan to shoot down a commercial airliner carrying PLO leader Yasser Arafat:
“When the Mossad reported that Arafat was flying more commercial flights… Sharon decided that one of those would make a legitimate target. He ordered Eitan, the air force, and the operations branch to come up with a plan to shoot down a civilian jetliner.
Sharon sketched out the broad parameters. The flight would have to be shot down over the open sea, far from the coast, so that it would take investigators a long time to find the wreckage and establish whether it had been hit by a missile or had crashed due to engine failure. Deep water would be preferable, to make recovery even more difficult… The air force drew up a detailed plan to shoot down an airliner. Its representatives at the Goldfish forum explained that they had chosen a precise spot on the commercial air route across the Mediterranean, one where there was no continuous radar coverage by any nation and where the sea below was a daunting three miles deep. A salvage operation there would be extremely difficult, perhaps impossible, with the technology of the time. This complex plan set strict parameters for where the Israeli aircraft could shoot down Arafat’s plane undetected, which meant there would be a fairly narrow window of opportunity for executing the attack. … General Gilboa expressed his sharp opposition to these operations time and again. ‘It was clear to me that the air force would execute it as well as could be, and the plane would vanish forever. They do what they are told, and if you give them an order to build a pipeline to move blood from Haifa to the Negev, they’ll do it excellently and won’t for a moment ask whose blood it is…‘”
Whether he knows it or not, Trump, the one-time casino mogul, is dicing with death, playing into the hands of potential Israeli assassins by repeatedly claiming that the US would “completely decimate and destroy” Iran if it ever were to succeed in knocking him off. Quite foolishly, Trump has told journalists he’s “left instructions” to “literally bomb them at levels they’ve never seen before” if such an event were to occur. One can only imagine the frenzied Happy Merchant-style hand-rubbing taking place among members of Netanyahu’s cabinet when they hear remarks like these.
President Donald Trump’s jangled nerves put at ease by the armed and ready Avenger surface-to-air missile system, allowing for a smooth stroke of his 9-Iron.
I’m sure there are many Iranians who would like to see Trump bite the dust. After all, he is responsible for the murder of the country’s military hero General Qasem Soleimani and its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whose family members were also killed and maimed in the joint US/Israeli airstrikes on his residential compound in February. Trump made these decisions entirely on behalf of Israel and we’re left to wonder whether or not he realizes with the benefit of hindsight that he’s bumbled his way into a carefully laid trap. With Iran’s victory in the war all but assured absent the use of nuclear weapons or a ground invasion by US forces, Israel is getting desperate to increase America’s military presence in the region. Would they go so far as to assassinate a sitting US president for at least the second time in history? I don’t know, but in the words of Andrew Adler: “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.“
British taxpayers unknowingly subsidize therapy for Israeli soldiers: Report
The Cradle | August 14, 2026
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.
That additional quarter comes from the British government, which administers Gift Aid through His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Barred as a foreign organization from claiming Gift Aid itself, the foundation instructs its British supporters to send money instead through UK Toremet, a charity registered in Britain.
Emails written by its head of fundraising call Toremet a “registered partner platform” that handles donations on the foundation’s behalf, telling donors that giving this way secures “full tax recognition and enabled Gift Aid.”
The projects put to British donors include a £5,000 (around $6,746) “therapeutic healing journey” for soldiers coming out of Gaza, individual psychological treatments, and a £100,000 (around $134,909) hall commemorating dead Israeli soldiers.
Records from two years earlier show British money also flowed toward equipment for troops still in service, with one fundraising page telling donors their help would buy more specialized kit to supply to the soldiers. Whether Gift Aid was added to those donations is unclear.
The Charity Commission has previously warned that raising funds for a soldier of a foreign military is neither lawful nor acceptable for a charity.
The disclosures deepen the scrutiny already surrounding UK Toremet, which since 2016 has been the subject of three regulatory compliance cases brought by the Charity Commission over its work in occupied Palestine.
The regulator has since opened an inquiry into eight British charities operating in illegal Israeli settlements.
UK-registered charities are promoting programs that send young British Jews into illegal settlements in occupied Palestine and put them through Israeli army training, according to an investigation by Middle East Eye (MEE) published in July.
The United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA), whose stated aim is to inspire young Jews to build a relationship with Israel, routes participants into Marva, an army-run course in which they spend weeks living on a military base and undergoing basic training. Bnei Akiva, meanwhile, houses its gap-year students in a West Bank settlement and drills them for military service.
The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) told MEE that the activities breach international law, describing Marva as closer to “pre-enlistment military training” than cultural exchange.
The pattern is not new, with The Guardian reporting in July last year that the Kasner Charitable Trust had moved £5.7 million (around $7.69 million) to a religious school inside the illegal settlement of Susya near Hebron through the conduit charity UK Toremet, in donations made between 2017 and 2021.
The Charity Commission told the outlet that operating in the occupied Palestinian territories is not in itself a criminal offense or a breach of charity law.
JPMorgan says Iran, Oman ‘legally justified’ to charge Hormuz navigation fees
The Cradle | August 14, 2026
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.
Pilotage refers to the service of guiding a ship or aircraft through hazardous, confined, or coastal waters and local areas using visual landmarks, charts, and specialized local knowledge. The pilotage fees are paid to the Danish Ministry of Business and range from $10,000 to $25,000 per transit for a Balticmax tanker.
Another country operating “a de facto tollbooth” on oil tankers is Turkiye, a US ally and NATO member, JPMorgan wrote.
Turkish authorities have “broad regulatory powers in the Turkish Straits and can charge for services under the 1936 Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits.”
Ankara charges a Suezmax oil tanker approximately $130,000 for a round-trip passage, roughly $0.13 per barrel of crude.
In exchange for the fee, Turkiye provides lighthouses, light, and channel buoys, as well as sanitary control and emergency rescue services.
According to JPMorgan, these precedents indicate that Iran and Oman’s plan to impose mandatory charges for “navigational safety” to transit Hormuz could be legally justified.
In a previous note published in May, the investment bank’s analysts wrote: “By structuring the measure as a service fee rather than a transit toll, and by coordinating with Oman as the other littoral state, Iran could attempt to create a legal framework that appears consistent with international maritime law.”
Amir Handjani of Responsible Statecraft (RS) argues that establishing an Iran–Oman transit authority would benefit commercial shippers.
“Ships get a predictable process instead of IRGC commanders deciding by whim who passes, who doesn’t, and an unpredictable pricing mechanism,” Handjani wrote.
At the same time, US sanctions and restrictive insurance clauses may pose severe compliance issues for international oil and shipping firms seeking to traverse the Strait of Hormuz under such a proposal.
Reuters reported on 6 August that if shipping firms pay service fees to Iran to pass Hormuz, this would trigger US sanctions imposed unilaterally on the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA).
“Any payment could lead to asset freezes,” Reuters quoted unnamed industry sources as saying.
Major shipping firms have also raised concerns over a clause introduced last month by Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) that terminates vessel insurance if it pays a toll or charge for passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
US National Debt Grows By Over $500Bln Since Beginning of July
Sputnik -14.08.2026
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.
Ukraine provoking Bulgaria with drone incident
By Lucas Leiroz | August 14, 2026
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.
Kostadinov commented on the matter, stating that the ambassador should immediately be declared “persona non grata”. He considers it intolerable for a foreign diplomat to downplay the seriousness of a drone incident on Bulgarian soil. Furthermore, he asserted that by acting this way, she is undermining relations between Ukraine and Bulgaria – doing the exact opposite of what a diplomat is supposed to do.
“She clearly does not contribute to good diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Bulgaria and there are sufficient grounds for her to be declared persona non grata,” he said.
The opposition leader described the case as an “act of aggression” and further stated that Ukraine is likely involved in other similar occurrences that need to be investigated by Bulgarian authorities. Moreover, he believes this is linked to the fact that Bulgaria has recently reduced its assistance to the Ukrainian regime. The apparent goal is to interfere in the Bulgarian government’s decisions, pressuring it to actively participate in the war if it wishes to avoid incidents like this.
It remains unclear what Ukraine’s actual intention is with these drone operations. The regime may be seeking to directly coerce Bulgaria – as well as other European countries – by demonstrating its capacity to damage local energy facilities if its interests are not met. Alternatively, the Ukrainian intention could be to stage “false flag” attacks, leading Bulgarians to believe that Russia is behind these incursions.
Ultimately, the Ukrainians’ goal is to ensure that their source of funds and weapons does not dry up. As European nations see their weapons stockpiles and financial reserves decrease – and with local populations increasingly stopping their support for pro-Ukraine policies – the regime grows concerned about the future of international aid, prompting it to stage provocations designed to spark panic in Europe and thereby attempt to regain support.
However, the Ukrainian strategy to regain support is proving unsuccessful. The Bulgarians did not fall for the regime’s trap and acted rationally, investigating the drone’s origin and demanding explanations from Ukrainian diplomats. Furthermore, stances like Kostadinov’s demonstrate that the local people desired an even harsher response, such as the expulsion of diplomats and the severing of relations.
In other words, the Ukrainian strategy of attempting to regain support through provocations, fear, and terror is actually having the opposite effect – making the pro-Ukraine agenda even more unpopular among Bulgarians and other Europeans as well. Ultimately, this demonstrates how the regime’s true nature is becoming apparent to the Western public, who no longer believe the Ukrainian government’s deceptive narratives and are unwilling to continue contributing to the conflict’s indefinite prolongation.
It is inevitable that this will lead to deeper repercussions. European governments are likely to increasingly scale back their aid to Ukraine in the near future – whether by choice or simply because they lack the capacity to continue assisting, given the depletion of available military and financial resources in Europe. At some point, international assistance will prove insufficient, leaving the regime with no alternative but to recognize its defeat on the battlefield.
Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.
You can follow Lucas on X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram.
Options to Defeat Iran
Tales of the American Empire | August 13, 2026
American foreign policy has supported the Greater Israel project since the 9-11 terror attacks. This would greatly expand the size of Israel and kill or displace millions of Arabs. Iran is not a target for Israeli expansion, but is a powerful nation that supports resistance to the genocidal Greater Israel agenda. When the Trump administration entered office in early 2025, there was news they may fulfill the Zionist dream of attacking and destroying Iran.
Since President Trump ran as an anti-war candidate, war with Iran was irrational because it was risky and unlikely to succeed. A year ago, Tales of the American Empire produced “War with Iran is Foolish”, which is linked in the description. It explains that attacking Iran would fail and lead to an economic disaster. Unfortunately, greedy and insane people have taken control our nation, to include Donald Trump and most US Congressmen.
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Related Tales:
“War with Iran is Foolish”; 
• War with Iran is Foolish
“Why the Strait of Hormuz is Not Irrelevant”; What’s Going on With Shipping?; August 9, 2026; • Why the Strait of Hormuz is Not “Irrelevan…
“The MOST DANGEROUS WARHAWKS in MEDIA /Lt Col Daniel Davis”; Deep Dive; August 3, 2026; • The MOST DANGEROUS WARHAWKS in MEDIA /Lt C…
Ukraine ‘Ideologically Selects’ PoWs by Reclaiming Some and Writing Others Off – Expert
By Ekaterina Blinova – Sputnik – 13.08.2026
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.
The Dead are of No Use to Ukraine
The situation is especially troubling when it comes to the dead. Ukraine is extremely reluctant to take back the bodies: they must be identified, processed, transported, and families must then be compensated.
According to the UN, only about 30% of the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers killed in the conflict have been returned, even though Russia has handed over tens of thousands.
The rest remain in morgues on the Russian side, because Ukraine has little incentive to take them back: each body means compensation payments to the family, which authorities are trying to minimize.
Ideological Selection
“The Ukrainian side is lying when it claims that Russia is constantly delaying prisoner exchanges,” Dudchak stresses. “Its media says Russia has never taken a single humanitarian step – that is an outright lie.”
Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova has said that Russia is ready to hand over 224 Ukrainian nationals serving prison sentences in exchange for Russian prisoners of war, but Ukraine refuses to take them back.
This is not an isolated case: Ukraine has rejected exchange proposals more than ten times since the start of 2026, each time setting new conditions, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
“Ideological selection is not just a figure of speech. It is a real practice: instead of taking back all their people, they choose whom they can use and whom they can simply write off,” Dudchak concludes.
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From the Archives
A short history of British torture
ICC | December 2005
When the House of Commons was debating how much to increase the time limit for detention without trial the question of torture came up. Officially this was limited to the nice considerations of whether it was all right to send people to places where torture is used and whether Britain can use information collected by the use of torture in other countries. This discussion gave an impression of democratic Britain as the home of civilised behaviour where the very idea of torture is repugnant to our legislators – unlike, say, the US with its secret CIA jails… In reality, the British state has a long history of using and developing a whole range of torture techniques. … continue
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