Aletho News

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. … continue

Blacks only: New taxpayer-funded Berlin pool will only accept Black people on Aug. 14

Remix News | August 13, 2026

A temporary open-air pool erected outside Berlin’s iconic theater was supposed to represent the ultimate low-barrier urban oasis. Instead, a plan to allow only Black people to attend on Fridays has sparked outrage and accusations of racism.

Conceived as a free, non-commercial refuge requiring no identity checks — though reliant on a competitive online reservation system — the €300,000 project was introduced to the public as a shared summer meeting point. However, the organizers have implemented a protocol that excludes anyone non-Black one day this week, a clearly discriminatory practice.

Tensions arose over a specific event slated for Friday, Aug. 14. According to the official program, “During this period, the public bath is exclusively open to Black communities.” … Full article

The Right to Be Left Alone

By Andrew P. Napolitano | Ron Paul Institute | August 13, 2026

The makers of our Constitution undertook to secure conditions favorable to the pursuit of happiness. … They conferred against the Government the right to be let alone — most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men.” — Justice Louis D. Brandeis (1856-1941)

The rapid spread of public surveillance cameras represents something far more consequential than a new piece of police technology. It represents a fundamental change in the relationship between the individual and the state.

These cameras allow government agents to record, identify, catalog and retroactively track the movements of people who have committed no crime, are suspected of no wrongdoing and have done nothing to invite government scrutiny. That’s not public safety. It’s an assault upon individual privacy.

Privacy is not a privilege granted by government. It is an aspect of personal liberty that government exists to protect. It is a natural human right protected from the government in the Bill of Rights. The fact that a person leaves his home and travels upon a public road does not mean that he has surrendered that right.

There is an enormous moral and constitutional difference between a police officer who happens to observe a person in public and government surveillance that automatically and systematically records that person’s vehicle, location and movements; and stores that information for future use. … continue

German opposition slams spy agency ‘revolution’

RT | August 13, 2026

A sweeping overhaul of Germany’s intelligence services proposed by the government could infringe on police powers in violation of constitutional safeguards, opposition politicians have warned.

On Wednesday, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt presented a 730-page package comprising three draft laws that would significantly expand the powers of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany’s foreign and domestic intelligence agencies respectively.

While there is broad political agreement that Germany’s security apparatus requires modernization, critics say the proposed expansion of the BfV’s mandate goes too far. Germany has traditionally maintained a strict separation between intelligence gathering and police work to prevent concentration of power.

“Dobrindt, with these demands that he hastily dictated into the draft legislation, is doing far more harm than good,” Free Democratic Party (FDP) leader Wolfgang Kubicki told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

The BfV is currently focused on collecting and analyzing data. Under the proposed reform, however, the agency would receive new “operative powers” allowing it to actively disrupt suspected threats. These could include hacking computer systems, feeding false information to targets, altering or deleting data, and secretly sabotaging equipment believed to be connected to hostile operations. … continue

They Bought It Anyway: The Disputed Land Beneath Kushner’s Albanian Resort

By Freddie Ponton | 21st Century Wire | August 13, 2026

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are backing plans for luxury development on Albania’s Sazan Island and the nearby Zvërnec coast, where protected territory and village property claims have collided with the development drive of Edi Rama, Albania’s four-term prime minister and leader of the ruling Socialist Party. The project helped trigger nationwide protests before prosecutors froze more than €110 million connected to land acquired for the Zvërnec resort.

ABC called its August 2026 investigation The Flamingo Revolution and led its international audience through wetlands, environmental destruction and the spectacle of a country in revolt. Its report delivered vivid scenes of Albania’s largest protest movement in decades while leaving the central question surrounding Kushner’s consortium largely untouched.

The public deserved the evidence ABC left outside the frame, beginning with what Kushner’s representatives knew before their consortium bought the land. … continue

With Israel Becoming A Pariah State, It’s Seeking To Turn Latin America Into Its Base Of Influence.

By Justin K.P. | The Dissident | August 13, 2026

Becoming more of an international pariah, Israel has been quietly but rapidly expanding its influence across South America, hoping to use it as its new base of international influence and diplomatic protection. … continue

Israel evicts Palestinian families, seizes their homes near Nablus

Palestinian Information Center – August 13, 2026

WEST BANK – The Israeli occupation forces took over three newly built multi‑story homes in the village of Jalud, south of Nablus in the northern West Bank, after expelling their residents at gunpoint.

Local sources said Israeli forces stormed Jalud village and turned three homes into military posts and watchtowers after forcing Palestinian families to leave them.

Israeli raids and settler attacks are escalating south of Nablus, where soldiers have recently commandeered several Palestinian homes as military posts.

In Kafr Sur town, south of Tulkarem, the Israeli army delivered today demolition notices for Palestinian homes and agricultural structures.

According to local sources, the demolition notices targeted a five‑story apartment building, two apartments, four inhabited homes, one unfinished house, and a farm in the town.

Israeli strike targets vehicle in Gaza City, killing local police chief

Palestinian Information Center – August 13, 2026

GAZA – Jamal Abu Kamil, director of the Gaza governorate police, was assassinated Thursday evening in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his vehicle in Gaza City’s al-Rashid street.

Gaza’s interior ministry confirmed that the Israeli occupation army assassinated police chief Jamal Abu Kamil, 43, in an aerial attack on his vehicle southwest of Gaza City.

According to medical sources, other people were injured in the same strike on the car.

Media sources said that an Israeli drone fired three missiles at Abu Kamil’s vehicle in Sheikh Ajlin neighborhood, southwest of Gaza City.

‘Hypocrisy’: Iran slams France for preaching about rights while supporting US, Israeli crimes

Press TV – August 13, 2026

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has censured France and other countries for preaching about human rights and international law while supporting Israeli and US war crimes.

Araghchi made the remarks in an X post on Thursday, after the French Foreign Ministry said 32 states, including France, the UK and Canada, along with the European Union’s foreign policy chief, have in a joint statement condemned the use of capital punishment against foreign-linked rioters in Iran.

“Countries like France should stop lecturing the world about ‘human rights’ and international law. The hypocrisy is blatant and embarrassing,” the top Iranian diplomat said. … Full article

US military loses roughly 25% of Reaper drone fleet in Iran war: Report

MEMO | August 13, 2026

The US military has lost at least 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones, or roughly 25% of its fleet, during its war with Iran, The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing three officials.

The losses involve an aircraft used for surveillance and targeted strikes that can cost between $30 million and $50 million depending on its equipment, according to the report.

The newspaper said the potential cost of the lost Reapers exceeds $1.3 billion.

The drones have been heavily used around the Strait of Hormuz but are “relatively easy targets” for Iran and its proxies because they fly slowly and often at low altitudes, it said.

Not all of the aircraft were shot down, with one official saying an unspecified number crashed after operators lost communications links to the drones.

The Air Force fleet had about 165 Reapers, and the Marine Corps possessed 20 before the war began, public budget data and the services showed.

Air Force Lt. Gen. David Tabor told the Senate in May that the number had fallen to about 135.

Iran blocks US-backed plan for Syrian military intervention in Lebanon

Al Mayadeen | August 13, 2026

Iran has thwarted a planned Syrian military intervention in Lebanon that was being prepared at the request of the United States, delivering a direct warning to Damascus that any Syrian military entry into Lebanese territory would be met with a regional response, according to Iranian sources cited by U News.

The Iranian warning included threats to stir up the Syrian–Iraqi border, open a confrontation line in Homs, support Alawite movements in the Syrian coastal region, and encourage the Kurds to return militarily to the outskirts of Aleppo.

The warning was not directed solely at Damascus; it also reached Ankara, Baghdad, Doha, and Riyadh, carrying the message that any Syrian adventure against Hezbollah in Lebanon would not remain confined to the Bekaa Valley but could turn into a broad regional confrontation within Syrian territory.

Iran succeeded in transforming any potential Syrian intervention in Lebanon from a military option that could be marketed to the US into a high-cost regional adventure, sources said. The Iranian warning, which reached Damascus through Turkish channels, included a threat of Iranian ballistic missile strikes that would begin from Damascus and include, in the first wave, more than 100 strategic targets, foremost among them the Syrian presidential palace. … continue

Trump wants to talk to Hezbollah. Will they pick up the phone?

By Ali Rizk | Responsible Statecraft | August 13, 2026

For decades, U.S. policy in Lebanon has focused on the elimination of Hezbollah, or at least its military wing. But the Trump administration has taken this effort to new heights.

The State Department is sponsoring the first ever direct talks between Lebanon and Israel since the Madrid peace talks, with the disarmament of Hezbollah being a central objective of those talks.

Washington has also taken the unprecedented step of sanctioning individuals from outside the party whom it accuses of undermining the campaign against Hezbollah, including members of Lebanon’s state security apparatus. Meanwhile, the U.S. and Israel are engaged in an unprecedented financial crackdown on Hezbollah, as the New York Times reported this week.

Ironically, however, Donald Trump is also the first sitting American president to express a willingness to hold direct talks with the Lebanese Shiite movement.

“I would speak to Hezbollah. I speak to everybody. I’ll speak to people that a lot of people think I shouldn’t be speaking to, and things work out,” Trump told reporters during an oval office meeting with his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun last month.

While it would be easy to dismiss these remarks as typical Trumpian grandstanding, there appears to be more to the story. … continue

Israeli-occupied Golan Heights inseparable part of Syria, says Iranian Foreign Ministry

Press TV – August 13, 2026

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denounced the latest claims by Israeli officials over the occupied Golan Heights, emphasizing that the strategic region is an “inseparable” part of Syria.

The ministry, in a statement released on Thursday, vehemently condemned the rhetoric of criminal Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Golan Heights, occupied by the Tel Aviv regime for almost 60 years, will remain part of Israel “for eternity”, and his fierce opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“Basically, the leader of the criminal gang and mafia ruling over the occupied Palestinian territories is not in a position to comment on the formation of an independent Palestinian state, because the Palestinian land belongs to the Palestinian people, and the racist illusions of the genocidal Zionist regime cannot change this reality,” the statement added.

It added that “the Golan Heights are an inseparable part of the territory of Syria, and the colonial ambitions of a usurping and occupying entity cannot change its legal and historical realities.”

The Iranian foreign ministry also condemned Colombia’s recent recognition of the Israeli regime’s sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, calling it a violation of the UN Charter and international law. … continue

The Mecca pact and the limits of a ‘Muslim NATO’

Divergent threats, US ties, and economic interests leave the collective-defense pact’s real purpose open to dispute.

By F.M. Shakil | The Cradle | August 13, 2026

The oil-rich Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, nuclear-armed Pakistan, and Turkiye, which commands NATO’s second-largest army, signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on Friday, 7 August. The accord arrived as fighting again intensified in Yemen. Days later, the Ansarallah-aligned Yemeni armed forces (YAF) launched ballistic missiles at Marib and the Red Sea port of Mokha, the latest escalation against Saudi-backed forces.

Iran noted the turn toward regional security arrangements, saying it showed a growing recognition that security cannot be guaranteed by foreign powers. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the accord reflected a rapidly changing understanding of security across the region.

Pakistan welcomed the accord and said the Mecca agreement stipulates that an attack on any member will be treated as an attack on all. Islamabad described it as a major step toward stronger strategic relations, regional security, and cooperation in mutual defense.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar called the accord a defensive document that does not target any one country. Posting on X on 9 August, Dar said it remained open to any regional state willing to commit to its founding principles.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan went further, insisting that neither Iran nor any other country was the pact’s designated target. In an online discussion, he also expressed hope that Egypt would eventually join.

Veteran Pakistani diplomat Riffat Masood offered a narrower reading. In a discussion with Saudi-American researcher Dr Hamza al-Kanani, Pakistan’s former ambassador to Iran and Norway said the phrase “an attack on one is an attack on all” applies specifically to external threats.

“It does not have any regional implications, which means that this clause would apply whenever any country signing this agreement came under attack from Israel, the US, or any external force,” she claimed.

Masood added that the article does not cover intra-regional rivalries involving Iran or the YAF. … continue

The Caspian Sea: America’s New Eurasian Containment Arena

By Salman Rafi Sheikh – New Eastern Outlook – August 13, 2026

The Caspian Sea — for thirty years a backwater of great-power politics — has quietly become a battlespace, and most of the world is still treating it as a footnote. … continue

US Spent $533 Million on Shell Factory That Produced Zero Usable Shells — Reports

Sputnik – 13.08.2026

A US Army-funded artillery plant near Dallas, built to produce 155mm shells for Ukraine, never produced a single usable shell, ProPublica reported.

Workers described robots catching fire, machines smashing into equipment, steel cracking beyond repair and giant presses needing to be beaten with a sledgehammer just to function.

“It was just a bunch of guys taking turns going at the machine with a sledgehammer every night,” one former employee said.

The Army halted work on two of the plant’s three production lines in 2025 after General Dynamics missed multiple deadlines.

The company was still awarded billions in new contracts. … Full article

Israel Fabricated Iranian Assassination Threat Against Trump In Attempt To Ramp Up Iran War

The CIA Has Accused Israel Of Fabricating Iranian Assassination Threat

By Justin K.P. | The Dissident | August 13, 2026

Last month, “intelligence” was relayed by Israel that Iran was supposedly planning on assassinating Trump, which resulted in him “secretly flying out of Turkey in an alternate military aircraft”.

But the claims of an Iranian assassination attempt against Trump relayed by Israel were deemed to be bogus even by U.S. intelligence.

The Washington Post reported that “The assassination threat was relayed by the Israeli government to the CIA, where analysts did not view the intelligence as compelling and conveyed that skepticism to Trump administration officials”.

The article added, “Another official called the reports of threats against Trump’s life ‘Israeli-derived, not U.S.-generated, and viewed as low confidence.’”

The article added, “Some U.S. intelligence officials saw Israel’s sharing of the warning about threats to Trump’s life as designed less to inform than to influence the president’s decision-making and U.S. policy in the region, a current and a former U.S. official said” with the report quoting one official saying it “fit a broader pattern of Israeli intelligence reporting that some officials see as designed as much to shape presidential decision-making as to inform it”.

Indeed, fabricated claims of Iran planning to assassinate Donald Trump seem to have been Israel’s most successful deception deployed to get Trump to carry out its preferred policy on Iran. … continue

Misleading intelligence is worse than fake news: Araghchi warns US

Al Mayadeen | August 13, 2026

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned US officials that misleading intelligence can be more dangerous than false news, pointing to Washington’s record of strategic miscalculations.

In an English-language post, Araghchi called on US officials to “beware,” arguing that intelligence failures have repeatedly contributed to major US miscalculations.

He said the United States has “long made miscalculations due to shortcomings in intelligence,” citing the war on Iran as a prominent example.

Araghchi also identified the Strait of Hormuz as “an even bigger miscalculation”; he argued that Washington was making a major mistake in thinking that it can control the key waterway.

Araghchi warns Washington over intelligence failures

Araghchi’s warning comes amid continued scrutiny of intelligence assessments surrounding the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The Iranian foreign minister’s argument centers on the consequences of intelligence failures when they become the basis for military and foreign-policy decisions.

An inaccurate assessment can extend beyond the intelligence community, shaping decisions over military operations, diplomatic pressure, sanctions, and escalation.

The warning also comes as questions have emerged in Washington over intelligence supplied by “Israel”. … continue

Wrong, Reno Gazette Journal, a Flawed Climate Study Doesn’t Prove Future Desertification for Reno

By Anthony Watts | Watts Up With That? | August 12, 2026

The Reno Gazette Journal (RGJ) reports in “Climate models project Reno-Sparks could be a desert by late century,” that climate change is poised to dramatically reshape the world’s ecosystems, with forests giving way to savannas, deserts, and other major vegetation shifts occurring by the end of the century. This is false. The study does not observe ecosystem changes occurring today, but instead projects hypothetical future vegetation changes using climate models that rely on the now-discredited and retracted RCP 8.5 worst-case emissions scenario, making the scientific study used to write the RGJ newspaper article invalid.

Readers would never know it from RGJ’s coverage that the scientific model used to generate the study’s alarming findings was pronounced as implausible by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in April. Yet the information about that climate model retraction is easy to understand and readily available if they bothered to look. … continue

New Study Details Massive Recent Sea Ice Expansion And Cooling In The Greenland Sea

By Kenneth Richard | No Tricks Zone | August 13, 2026

Scientists (Yilgan and Jónsdóttir, 2026) report annual mean sea ice extent in the Greenland Sea was 8.4 times greater in 2023 (2,403.6 km²) than in 2019 (287.6 km²).

In the month of January, the sea ice extent was 6.4 times larger in 2024 (20,308 km²) than in 2017 (312 km²).

Hand-in-hand with the recent sea ice expansion, the region has experienced a short-term 1°C cooling from 2016 to 2024.

The recent trend for the Greenland Sea appears to be consistent with the trajectory enveloping much of the Arctic since the mid-2000s as reported by England et al., 2025. … Full article

Another New Study Links Modern And Past Global Warming To Natural Changes In Cloud Clover, Not CO2

Cloud cover changes are a “top-down dynamical driver” of Earth’s climate

By Kenneth Richard | No Tricks Zone | August 12, 2026

A July 2026 Environmental Research Letters paper authored by Bellocchi et al. attributes ~80% of the rise in Earth’s absorbed solar radiation since 2000 to declining high-reflectivity cloud cover, primarily from circulation-driven contraction of storm-cloud zones.

The study highlights the climate’s “albedo governance,” suggesting a 1% shift in Earth’s albedo corresponds to a 1°C surface temperature change.

With more cloud cover, more solar radiation is reflected and the surface cools. With declining cloud albedo, which has been observed since 1980, less solar radiation is reflected and the surface warms.

Cloud cover changes are driven by natural atmospheric circulation modes and internal variability. This is supported by reconstruction data showing cloud cover decline has for centuries occurred independently from “greenhouse-gas forcing.” … Full paper

UK withholds files on Israeli firm accused of meddling in Scottish election, citing national security

MEMO | August 12, 2026

The UK government has refused to release information relating to an Israeli influence firm accused of interfering in Scotland’s parliamentary election, invoking national security and warning that disclosure could damage Britain’s relations with other countries, according to a report by The National.

The Scottish newspaper reported that the Cabinet Office withheld all material requested under Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation concerning BlackCore, an Israeli firm linked by France’s foreign interference watchdog to an alleged digital influence operation targeting Scottish First Minister John Swinney and the Scottish National Party (SNP).

The controversy follows findings by Viginum, France’s service for protection against foreign digital interference, which said in June that it had identified BlackCore-linked operations affecting elections in Scotland, France, New York City, Angola and Togo.

In Scotland, Viginum identified the “mobilisation of at least 256 accounts” which posted around 1,400 comments, primarily targeting Swinney, the SNP and the Scottish Government. Of those, 652 targeted Swinney personally, according to the French investigation. … continue

Palestinian students sue Columbia, citing harassment and bias

Al Mayadeen | August 12, 2026

A group of current and former Palestinian students and staff have sued Columbia University, accusing the university of discriminating against its Palestinian community and subjecting its members to unequal treatment since late 2023, according to a court filing in New York.

The lawsuit reports that Columbia failed to protect Palestinian students and staff from harassment while subjecting them to “unfair and biased disciplinary hearings.”

Columbia has previously denied reports of discrimination and condemned hate. … Full article

Israel holds 40 Palestinian journalists behind bars amid campaign to silence press

Press TV – August 12, 2026

Israel is imprisoning around 40 Palestinian journalists, including five women, as it intensifies a sweeping crackdown to silence the Palestinian press and suppress reporting on its violations and crimes, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS).

The PPS said Israeli authorities are also keeping three journalists under house arrest, while 19 of those currently detained are being held under administrative detention without charge or trial.

More than 250 Palestinian journalists have been arrested or detained since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, the group said, with many later released.

More than 260 journalists have also been killed since the start of the war, according to the PPS.

The group said the arrests, killings and enforced disappearances of Palestinian journalists are part of a systematic Israeli campaign to silence the press, crush press freedom and prevent the world from seeing the violations and crimes committed against Palestinians.

Journalists held in Israeli detention have faced a range of abuses, including starvation, medical neglect, torture, mistreatment, sexual assault and harsh detention conditions, the PPS said.

It added that Israeli authorities have used administrative detention to imprison journalists indefinitely without charge or trial, often invoking “secret files,” while accusations of “incitement” are increasingly deployed against journalists over their reporting and expression of opinion. … Full article

Israeli Forces Demolish Home, Issue Orders Near Hebron

IMEMC | August 12, 2026

Israeli occupation forces demolished a home and filled a water well in the Bani Naim–Yatta desert area south of Hebron on Tuesday, as demolition activity continued across Palestinian communities in the southern occupied West Bank.

Local activist Osama Makhamra said the forces demolished a home belonging to Ibrahim Mufleh al Atimin, leaving his family of nine without shelter.

Makhamra said the forces returned for a second time and filled a 180‑cubic‑meter water well belonging to Hashem Ibrahim al‑Atimin with dirt and debris, leaving it unusable. […]

Later Tuesday, Israeli forces delivered demolition orders for Khallet al-Dabe’ School and several homes and farms in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron.

Activist Jaber Dababsa said Israeli forces issued a demolition order for the school, which serves 12 elementary students. … Full article

Settler hordes besiege Palestinian families near occupied West Bank’s Nablus

The Cradle | August 12, 2026

Hordes of illegal, extremist Israeli settlers have been besieging two Palestinian families who are trapped in their homes near the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

The families have been stuck in their homes and surrounded by the settlers since Sunday, in the town of Qusra – where Israelis have been uprooting locals and establishing illegal outposts. […]

Local sources described the violent settler attack, siege, and road closures to WAFA. The besieged Abu Rida family is located in the Ras al-Ain area of Qusra.

“Colonists raided the vicinity of the home of the Abu Rida family, belonging to Yusuf Abdul Salam Abu Rida, in the Ras al-Ain area of Qusra, imposed a siege around it, prevented residents from reaching the property, and erected a tent nearby under the protection of Israeli occupation forces,” the sources said.

The settlers blocked the road leading to the home with rocks, according to sources.

While the house has been besieged for days, extremist settlers have been trying to take over the house for four months, WAFA reported.

“Colonists have repeatedly cut electricity to the home, pelted it with stones, and besieged it on several occasions,” residents of Qusra say.

The Hassan family of Qusra town are also trapped in their homes and have been appealing for urgent help via social media. Their electricity and water supplies are being targeted as well. … Full article

Israeli Bulldozing Intensifies Destruction of Farmland, Water Systems

IMEMC | August 12, 2026

Israeli military operations have devastated farmland, water sources, and tree cover across the occupied West Bank and Gaza, according to Palestinian officials, researchers, and multiple UN agencies.

The destruction has accompanied expanding colonial projects in the West Bank and has compounded the humanitarian collapse in Gaza, where UN bodies have documented widespread damage from bombardment, bulldozing, and military operations.

Across both regions, the loss of agricultural land has uprooted thousands of trees, severed water networks, and left entire communities unable to sustain long‑term food production.

Farmers say the effects extend far beyond the plots directly hit by bulldozers, with destroyed wells, irrigation lines, and access roads leaving large agricultural zones dry and inaccessible.

Jenin has faced some of the most extensive bulldozing in recent months. In Zububa, west of Jenin, farmer Munir Abu Bakr lost around 50 dunams of land planted with olive trees and irrigated vegetable crops, along with an artesian well. … continue

‘Israel’ wages ecocide against southern Lebanon’s woodlands

Al Mayadeen | August 12, 2026

Firefighters and residents in south Lebanon have accused Israeli occupation forces of deliberately starting wildfires, as forested areas have been consumed by flames following Israeli bombardment.

Environmental organizations said the fires reported in recent weeks reflect a longstanding pattern of Israeli attacks affecting Lebanon’s natural environment.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military dropped flares in a wooded area outside Khiam in south Lebanon, igniting fires. When firefighters moved in to put out the flames, a drone struck nearby, forcing them to retreat, Hussein Fakih, head of civil defense in the Nabatieh region, told the Guardian.

“Most of our missions are now related to fires. There are enormous areas of woodland that have burned; I don’t have the exact figures, but in the areas close to the [frontline], around 30-40% of the land has been affected by fires”, he stressed.

According to videos and testimony from first responders, the Israeli occupation forces have caused fires throughout southern Lebanon, particularly in olive groves and agricultural areas, during the nearly two months since the June 17 ‘ceasefire’ that “Israel” is violating daily. […]

During the summer of 2024, Israeli troops used trebuchets, medieval catapults, to hurl flaming debris over the border wall into Lebanon. The Lebanese army also published photographs of Israeli drones carrying hoses that were used to spray forests with flammable materials.

Health and environmental experts raised concerns in February after Israeli aircraft dropped herbicides linked to cancer on farms in southern Lebanon. […]

On Aug. 1, forcibly displaced residents of the border village of Yaroun discovered that their olive and fruit groves, along with their homes, had been burned by Israeli troops occupying the area.

“They had already bulldozed the whole village. Then they set fire to the trees. What remained in this particular area were the olive trees, large groves, with very old olive trees. They started there, then the fire spread along the outskirts of the village”, said Hafez Ghasham, mayor of Yaroun.

Residents of Yaroun had already seen the Israeli forces bulldoze all but 20 of the village’s 900 homes in previous months. During their forcible displacement, they pooled money to purchase costly satellite imagery of the village. … Full article

Israel blows up school, strikes religious commemoration site in southern Lebanon despite truce

MEMO |August 12, 2026

Israeli forces blew up buildings in southern Lebanon early Wednesday, including a school, and struck a site used to commemorate Ashura, causing injuries despite ongoing ceasefire negotiations, the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Israeli forces detonated and destroyed the four-story Sheikh Naim Mahdi School building in the center of Eastern Zawtar, the agency said.

They also carried out explosions in the Touline Valley along the Wadi al-Saluki road, it added.

During the night, Israeli forces carried out two large explosions in Haddatha, as well as a massive blast in Beit Yahoun in the Bint Jbeil district, according to the agency.

An Israeli drone directly struck an Ashura commemoration site on the Kafra-Al-Asi road, causing several injuries, the NNA said.

The agency also reported that an Israeli drone flew over Beirut’s southern suburbs. … Full article

Iran says US ‘unprecedented violations’ of Geneva Conventions cannot be ignored

Press TV – August 12, 2026

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has condemned US threats and airstrikes against Iran’s civilian infrastructure as clear war crimes, warning that normalizing such “unprecedented violations” of the Geneva Conventions would erode the international legal order.

In a post on X on Wednesday marking the 77th anniversary of the adoption of the four Geneva Conventions, Baghaei said the architects of the treaties could scarcely have imagined that decades later, the United States, as host of the United Nations and a permanent member of the Security Council, “would repeatedly threaten to attack the infrastructure, bridges, and power plants of another country, and would in fact commit such crimes.”

He said the conventions established fundamental rules governing armed conflict, including “humanity,” “distinction,” “military necessity,” and “proportionality,” as well as the prohibition of “unnecessary suffering,” with the aim of “civilizing humanity and humanizing war.”

Adopted in 1949, the four Geneva Conventions establish international rules for the protection of civilians, wounded and sick combatants, and prisoners of war during armed conflicts. … continue

Strait of Hormuz closure exposes AI’s hidden helium dependence, putting global chipmaking at risk

By Yousef Ramazani | Press TV | August 12, 2026

… While Taiwanese companies have invested heavily in helium recycling systems that can recapture ninety to 95 percent of the helium used in certain processes, leak-detection helium is essentially unrecoverable, and even a 5 percent loss at high consumption volumes adds up rapidly.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company reportedly held inventory of four to six months and had locked in multiyear helium supply contracts as part of its Arizona fab planning, but the prolonged nature of the disruption raised concerns about the sustainability of these buffers. […]

Efforts to diversify helium supply have been complicated by the physical limitations of the industry. New helium projects under development in Canada, Tanzania, and Minnesota are years away from meaningful production.

The specialized cryogenic containers used to transport helium are in limited supply, and the stranded containers in West Asia represent a significant portion of the global fleet. … Full article

Saudi airstrikes target areas in Yemen’s Saada province

Al Mayadeen | August 12, 2026

Saudi airstrikes targeted areas in Yemen’s northwestern Saada province on Wednesday, according to reports from media outlets in Sanaa.

The strikes hit the Bani Muain area in the Razih district, which lies along the border, according to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent, while Yemeni media reported that Saudi airstrikes also targeted several areas in the border district of Al Dhaher.

In response, Yemeni forces continue to retaliate against the Saudi aggression, according to the reports.

The Yemeni government maintains that the Yemeni armed forces are at full readiness to confront the aggression and are continuing to target Saudi military mobilizations, emphasizing that the equation of “blockade for blockade and escalation for escalation” is an irreversible option until the demands of the Yemeni people are achieved, according to the statements.

In response to the Saudi aggression and as part of the “blockade for blockade” equation, the Yemeni armed forces are imposing a navigation ban on Saudi oil ships in the Red Sea. … Full article

Pentagon accused of ‘whitewashing’ civilian casualties

RT | August 12, 2026

The Pentagon was accused of whitewashing US Army crimes after publishing its annual estimate of civilian casualties in 2025.

The report, submitted to Congress late Monday and obtained by US news outlets, contains numbers that are far lower than estimates by independent outlets.

The Pentagon concluded that US military operations killed 153 civilians and injured 243 last year. All of the cited casualties in 2025 stemmed from Washington’s bombing campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, while another 15 remain under review.

However, independent monitors have reported figures significantly higher. The Airwars group has estimated that at least 258 civilians may have been killed during the Yemen campaign, while the Yemen Data Project has put the toll at 238 dead and 467 injured. The Pentagon recorded no civilian casualties from US military operations in the Western Hemisphere, despite dozens of strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific beginning in September of 2025 – a point of particular criticism. … continue

Iran to soon join BRICS New Development Bank

The Cradle | August 12, 2026

Iranian Central Bank Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati announced on 12 August that the country will soon be joining the New Development Bank (NDB).

“The most important result of cooperation among BRICS member countries is the establishment of the New Development Bank, and our country will soon become a member of this bank,” said Hemmati.

BRICS states have worked to cut their reliance on the dollar by pushing for trade and financial transactions in national currencies.

Hemmati said member states are able to trade with one another in their own currencies, as Iran remains under sweeping western sanctions and seeks to build an alternative economic network around them.

“We are seeking to establish bilateral and trilateral monetary cooperation with member states,” he said. … Full article

Why does Turkey transfer ATACMS and will this save Neo-Nazi junta?

By Drago Bosnic | August 12, 2026

NATO member Turkey plans to transfer a massive arsenal of US-made long-range strike systems and artillery munitions to the Neo-Nazi junta forces. This includes at least 70 M39 ATACMS TBMs (tactical ballistic missiles), 12 M270 MLRSs (multiple launch rocket systems), 2,524 M26 227 mm rockets (compatible with both the M270 MLRS and the M142 HIMARS) and 47,000 M509A1 203 mm cluster-munition artillery rounds.

This will be by far the largest single transfer of NATO-sourced weapons and munitions to the Kiev regime outside the United States. It comes at a critical moment for the political West, as the Neo-Nazi junta’s ATACMS stockpiles are virtually gone after years of failures against the Russian military, both in terms of losses caused by Moscow’s world-class long-range precision strike capabilities and its no less stellar SAM/ABM (surface-to-air missile/anti-ballistic missile) systems.

With the US embroiled in its disastrous aggression against Iran, the Pentagon is unable to restock its own arsenal, let alone spare some of its missiles for the Kiev regime. Turkey’s decision to deliver these weapons and munitions comes at a critical moment for the political West, demonstrating its loyalty to NATO and its aggression against the world. Namely, arming the Neo-Nazi junta with so many weapons is a clear message to both Russia and Iran, particularly now that the latter has also been targeted by NATO’s favorite puppet regime. As previously mentioned, it also comes amid US aggression against Iran, demonstrating strategic coordination between Ankara and Washington DC. Turkish motives are certainly multifaceted. Apart from showing loyalty, it’s also gaining massive profits from (re)selling its old stockpile of US-made weapons and earning “points” for a potential return to the troubled F-35 program. … continue

Putin warns West over ship seizures

RT | August 12, 2026

Russia could seize ships carrying Western cargo in retaliation for similar actions against Russian maritime trade, President Vladimir Putin has warned.

There have been several incidents in recent months in which Western militaries have seized vessels that their governments accused of being part of a so-called Russian ‘shadow fleet’. Putin warned on Wednesday during a meeting with Pacific Fleet commanders that Moscow could take retaliatory measures wherever it deemed necessary.

“Some nations are violating the Law of the Sea by trying to restrict the movement of our civilian traders. They recently came up with the idea of seizing our ships and selling off our plundered property. This is certainly nothing short of piracy and robbery,” Putin said.

“If such a policy is implemented in practice, we will be forced to take mirror responses. And not necessarily in the waters where our ships are being raided. We’ll do it wherever and anywhere we see fit,” he added.

Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Viktor Liina reported in response that the Russian military has detailed information about Western commercial traffic.

“From April 24 to August 6 of 2026, 1,001 ships passed through the Russian exclusive economic zone, including 379 with flags of unfriendly nations,” he said. “That includes 273 general cargo ships and 71 tanks, including 26 under the British flag and nine under the French flag.”

The UK and France have carried out several interdictions of supposed Russian ‘shadow fleet’ vessels. In June, The Telegraph reported that British authorities were considering selling around 100,000 tons of Russian crude seized from a sanctioned tanker and using the proceeds to benefit Ukraine. … continue

EU Weaponizing Operation Irini Against Legitimate Shipping – Russian MFA

Sputnik – 11.08.2026

The EU is using Operation Irini as a tool of intimidation, which amounts to an abuse of international legal norms, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.

“Today, Operation Irini is effectively being used by the EU to intimidate commercial carriers and obstruct freedom of navigation. This is a clear case of abusing existing international legal norms and broadly interpreting its own authority,” the ministry said in a statement.

In order to hinder maritime shipments of oil and other cargoes on behalf of Russia, the European Union is leveraging the naval operation Irini,conducted off the coast of Libya. Citing the “adjusted” mandate of this operation, European forces are carrying out unlawful inspections of foreign vessels.

“The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, by labeling not the actions of EU member-state ships involved in Irini as unlawful, but rather the routine maritime shipments that ensure the energy and food security of developing countries, once again demonstrates flagrant disregard for the norms of international law,” the Foreign Ministry added.

Moscow mocks Romanian ‘evidence’ linking downed drones to Russia

RT | August 12, 2026

Romanian officials have presented pieces of foam plastic as supposed evidence that drones recently shot down over the country were Russian, Moscow’s embassy in Bucharest has said.

Speaking to the Izvestia newspaper on Wednesday, the mission responded to Romania’s accusations that Russian UAVs have on numerous occasions strayed onto its territory during attacks on Ukrainian military-related sites.

During a meeting at Romania’s Foreign Ministry on the matter, Russian diplomats were shown “pieces of foam plastic” and were asked to regard them as evidence of the drones’ supposed Russian origin. “Naturally, we were provided with no facts linking these drones to our country,” the embassy said.

The mission suggested that the incidents amounted to a “prearranged performance” involving shooting at training targets, intended to justify Romania’s military buildup and higher defense spending. “The local political establishment has long pursued this goal and is actively implementing it in practice,” the embassy said, adding that Bucharest is purchasing expensive Western-made weapons with taxpayers’ money, justifying it by the alleged “threat from the East.” … continue

Britain and Germany Among Largest Suppliers of Parts for Ukrainian Drones – Russian Diplomat

Sputnik – 11.08.2026

The United Kingdom is the most active supplier of main units and components for unmanned aerial vehicles used as killer drones against civilians. Germany supplies weapons in large quantities, and Sweden is also involved. Canada plays an active role, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik told Sputnik.

“At the very least, these countries, even in their official rhetoric, emphasize as much as possible that they are supplying the Ukrainian regime in Kiev with unmanned aerial vehicles, which have caused civilian deaths in the Russian cities of Nizhnekamsk and Belgorod,” Miroshnik stressed.

“Ukrainian forces have fired more than 7,000 munitions at civilian facilities in Russia in the past week, killing 43 civilians and injuring 376 more, the Russian diplomat said.

He added that Ukrainian troops used large quantities of “weapons with shrapnel and high-explosive fragmentation warheads with the aim of causing maximum harm to civilians.”

The enemy attacked residential areas, infrastructure facilities, industrial and logistics hubs in 16 Russian regions located far from the front lines, according to Miroshnik.

He also said that a Ukrainian drone operator deliberately directed a UAV at a beach with civilians in Arkhipo-Osipovka, Krasnodar Region, which should be classified as a grave war crime under international humanitarian law.

Disregarding the norms and principles of international humanitarian law, the enemy carried out deliberate strikes on medical facilities and medical transport, including those located in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Miroshnik pointed out.

Child among two killed in Ukrainian drone raid on southern Russia

RT | August 12, 2026

Two people, including a child, have been killed and a dozen others wounded in another large-scale Ukrainian drone raid on Russia’s Krasnodar Region, local governor Veniamin Kondratyev has said.

The region was targeted by hundreds of UAVs overnight, Kondratyev wrote in a post on Telegram on Wednesday.

Civilian facilities and private homes in Novorossiysk, Anapa, Gelendzhik, and the Temryuksky district suffered damage in the raid, he added. … Full article

By Normalizing Ties With Israel, Delcy Rodriguez Betrays The Bolivarian Revolution

By Justin K.P. | The Dissident | August 11, 2026

Delcy Rodriguez, the “interim president” of Venezuela installed by the United States after kidnapping President Nicolas Maduro, is destroying and spitting in the face of the political revolution started by Hugo Chavez’s election in 1999, dubbed the Bolivarian Revolution after Simon Bolivar.

Anti-imperialism was always at the forefront of Hugo Chavez’s and Nicolas Maduro’s agenda, first and foremost, solidarity with the Palestinians suffering under Israeli occupation.

In 2009, after Israel’s bombardment in Gaza dubbed Operation Cast Lead, which killed 1,400 Palestinians – including 300 children, and which a UN inquiry called “a deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorise a civilian population”, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez severed “ties with Israel in protest against its war in the Gaza Strip”, with Chavez saying, “Venezuela … has decided to break off diplomatic relations with the state of Israel given the inhumane persecution of the Palestinian people”. … continue

No, Climate Central, Rising Cooling Costs Aren’t Due to Climate Change

By Anthony Watts | Watts Up With That? | August 10, 2026

Climate Central’s latest report, Warming U.S. Cities Face Higher Cooling Demand and Energy Bills, argues that climate change is driving increased cooling demand and higher electricity costs across America. The report is mistaken, overlooking several important factors that explain the increased use of cooling better, factors endemic to growing cities.

Climate Central describes “cooling degree days as a temperature-based metric used to estimate the demand for energy to cool buildings.” Climate Central has calculated that cooling degree days have increased in 97 percent of the 241 U.S. cities it analyzed since 1970, resulting in an average 37 percent increase in cooling demand. It further suggests that household cooling costs will continue to climb as the climate warms.

Perhaps the most obvious omission is that the analysis focuses exclusively on cities. Climate Central’s own methodology states that it calculated cooling degree day trends using temperature records from 241 urban locations between 1970 and 2025.

Cities are well known to experience the Urban Heat Island effect. As vegetation is replaced by asphalt, concrete, buildings, parking lots, highways, and other infrastructure, urban areas naturally become warmer than surrounding rural regions.

A definitive test case was performed in Reno, NV that illustrated how even a difference of just one mile could dramatically alter temperature measurements used as part of the climate record.

Pavement absorbs solar energy throughout the day, buildings trap heat overnight, and millions of air conditioners discharge waste heat directly into the surrounding environment.

In fact, Climate Central acknowledges this phenomenon in its own report, noting that air conditioners release waste heat outdoors and that, in cities with millions of units operating simultaneously, this process can increase the urban heat island effect.

Despite recognizing that cities generate their own localized warming, the report makes no serious attempt to determine how much of the increase in cooling degree days results from expanding urban development rather than some general warming trend. … Full article

Kiev lacks political will to fight corruption – anti-graft chief

RT | August 11, 2026

The Ukrainian state has no political will to root out corruption, as powerful interests reap illegal benefits from the increasingly compromised system, including the massive defense sector, senior anti-graft officials have warned.

Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies are facing growing resistance from powerful interests that benefit from entrenched graft within the government, according to senior investigators.

Efforts to obstruct the work of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) are being compounded by shortages of personnel and legal powers needed to pursue major cases effectively, the heads of the two Western-backed bodies said at a press conference on Monday.

“The state demonstrates that it has no political will to fight corruption properly,” SAPO Head Aleksandr Klimenko told journalists. He said graft remains a serious problem and is becoming more acute at the highest levels of government, which are the primary focus of NABU and SAPO investigations.

NABU Director Semyon Krivonos said corruption in the defense sector remains one of the agencies’ main priorities because it directly affects Ukraine’s military capabilities amid the conflict with Russia.

“Corruption is transforming to a certain degree now. Large arms suppliers can have powerful beneficiaries, including top-level law enforcement officials, members of parliament and people from other branches of the government leveraging secret agreements,” he said.

The two agencies were established under pressure from Kiev’s Western backers and were designed to operate with a significant degree of independence. In recent years, they have investigated several figures linked to Vladimir Zelensky’s inner circle, and the Ukrainian leader has unsuccessfully attempted to bring the institutions under his political control.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has been hit by a series of corruption scandals in recent years. One of the latest high-profile controversies involved former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. Leaked NABU surveillance recordings suggest that he had close links to businessman Timur Mindich.

Mindich, a longtime business associate of Zelensky, fled to Israel last November… Full article

Russia’s lockdown of Odessa ports could be a grim turning point in war

By George Beebe | Responsible Statecraft | August 11, 2026

Over the course of a few short weeks, a grim new reality has taken shape in Ukraine.

Russia has shown that it need not conquer and occupy Ukraine’s entire Black Sea coastline to turn that country into the equivalent of a landlocked state. It need only deny access to Ukraine’s critically important Odessa port complex, something it is doing quite effectively through air and missile strikes on port facilities and approaching ships.

That reality will probably not amount to a knock-out blow in the ongoing war. But it is likely to have a profound impact on Ukraine’s already gloomy post-war prospects — and, by extension, on the contours of a new European security landscape in the current conflict’s aftermath.

Only a handful of months ago, Russia was conducting few military operations against Odessa. Early in the war, attacks by Russia and Ukraine on merchant shipping in the Black Sea had threatened to choke off agricultural exports vital to world markets. Under pressure from India and other key partners in the Global South, Moscow agreed to the so-called “Grain Deal” with Ukraine, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, to allow unimpeded commercial exports from the region. … continue

US Unable to Replenish Javelin Missiles Sent to Ukraine Until 2030

Sputnik – 11.08.2026

WASHINGTON – The United States will not be able to replenish the Javelin anti-tank missiles transferred to Ukraine until at least 2030, according to Pentagon budget documents reviewed by Sputnik.

In fiscal years 2022–2025, the US Army purchased 9,374 missiles to replenish their stockpiles. However, a significant portion of these batches will not be delivered to the military until several years after the contracts were signed.

The most recent delivery – a batch of 944 missiles, funded back in 2024 – will not begin until August 2030.

Deliveries of command and launch units for the Javelin systems will also be delayed for several years, according to Sputnik’s calculations. The latest batch purchased with funds to replenish weapons transferred to Ukraine includes 50 warheads and is scheduled to be delivered to the US Army by the end of 2028.

The Pentagon explains this delay by saying that the volume of additional procurement in the 2022–2024 fiscal years exceeded the production capacity of its facilities. The full procurement and production cycle for one Javelin missile takes up to 4.5 years, while for a command and launch unit, it takes just over four years, Sputnik revealed.

Bulgarian opposition calls for expulsion of Ukrainian ambassador

RT | August 11, 2026

Bulgarian opposition leader Kostadin Kostadinov has called for Ukrainian Ambassador Olesya Ilashschuk to be expelled from the country, accusing her of interfering in domestic affairs and citing a series of security incidents involving Ukraine.

The Revival party leader said Sofia should declare Ilashschuk persona non grata after the Foreign Ministry announced it would summon her over a Ukrainian drone that crashed and exploded near a strategic gas pipeline over the weekend.

The UAV entered Bulgaria through Romanian airspace and detonated near the former Kardam border checkpoint, around one kilometer from a compressor station on the Trans-Balkan Pipeline. The Defense Ministry said the aircraft was likely a Maya decoy drone of a type used by Ukrainian forces, but noted there was no indication the incident was deliberate.

Kostadinov accused the authorities of downplaying the episode, arguing that the damage at the site was inconsistent with an unarmed reconnaissance drone. He described it as an “act of aggression” and questioned whether other Ukrainian drones had also entered Bulgarian airspace.

He also demanded that Ilashschuk be questioned over two former Ukrainian servicemen detained earlier this year on espionage charges. Revival claims the men had obtained sensitive information, including coordinates and technical details of compressor stations along the Balkan Stream gas pipeline. … Full article

Israel Issues Military Order to Seize Land in Salfit Governorate

IMEMC | August 11, 2026

Israeli occupation authorities issued a military order Monday to seize 2,224 dunams of Palestinian land belonging to the village of Marda, in the Salfit governorate of the central occupied West Bank, citing what they call “military purposes.”

The targeted land lies in a strategic location along Road 505, directly north of the illegal colonial bloc of Ariel. […]

The order transfers possession of the land to the commander of the Israeli occupation army through the official responsible for land affairs at the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

The location provides an elevated vantage point over movement routes in the area, and the order states that the land will be used to establish a military communications tower or similar installation. … Full article

UNIFIL documents 552 Israeli violations in South Lebanon in 3 days

Al Mayadeen | August 11, 2026

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) documented 552 Israeli violations in South Lebanon over three days, from Friday, August 7, through Sunday, August 9, including 455 artillery shells and 97 violations of Lebanese airspace, most involving drones.

UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said, “229 shells fired by the Israeli army on Saturday represent the highest number recorded by UNIFIL since June 21,” as the UN force also reported an Israeli airstrike in al-Mansouri.

UNIFIL further reported that Israeli tanks fired shells that landed around 200 meters from a UNIFIL position in Mays al-Jabal… Full article

Israeli ‘double-tap’ strike targets rescuers in Nabatieh

Al Mayadeen | August 11, 2026

An Israeli drone strike on the city of Nabatieh wounded two civilians, the Emergency Operations Center of Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health announced.

The strike was carried out in two successive rounds, with the second targeting an ambulance team from the Islamic Health Authority, Islamic Message Scouts Association, and other medical personnel that had arrived at the scene to evacuate the wounded. The strike damaged an ambulance.

The Ministry renewed its condemnation of the continued Israeli targeting of ambulance crews, describing it as an unacceptable violation of international humanitarian law and all international norms. … continue

Deadly clash aboard US carrier Abraham Lincoln leaves seven dead, several injured: Report

Press TV – August 11, 2026

Seven US Navy personnel have reportedly been killed and several others wounded in a violent clash aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, as growing unrest among the carrier’s crew has exposed mounting pressure inside the US military amid a prolonged deployment.

The incident erupted after an adviser to US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Brad Cooper boarded the carrier to address mounting complaints from crew members following protests by their families over the ship’s prolonged deployment, according to Tasnim News Agency, citing an informed military source.

The adviser was reportedly met with boos and had water bottles thrown at him while addressing a gathering of personnel.

The confrontation subsequently escalated into a fight among crew members involving knives and other bladed weapons, leaving seven personnel dead and several others wounded, according to the source.

The atmosphere aboard the carrier remains tense and unsettled, Tasnim reported. … continue

The Silver Lining: The Donald’s Impending Defeat in Iran May Finally Bring the Empire Home

David Stockman’s Contra Corner | August 11, 2026

… there is surely a silver lining in this greatest U.S. military defeat in modern history – even if under the nation’s most impulsive and strategically incompetent presidents ever. Namely, the possibility that the delusional scales of Empire may finally fall from the eyes of the American people.

The fact is, there is no need for a globe-spanning empire of military forces, bases, naval armadas, forward deployments, and Forever Wars stretching from one end of the planet to the other. An invincible nuclear deterrent combined with a robust Fortress America conventional defense of the nation’s coastlines, airspace, and near approaches would more than guarantee the security and liberty of the American people from sea-to-shining-sea.

Moreover, a true America First defense posture could be funded on roughly $350 billion per year, not the empire’s current near-trillion-dollar budget. So the Donald’s rash, impulsive launch of the war on Iran may, ironically, point the way toward a more peaceful world free of the utterly unnecessary, dangerous, and bankrupting empire bivouacked on the banks of the Potomac. … Read full article

Yemen: We haven’t closed the door to dialogue; Saudi Arabia has

Al Mayadeen | August 11, 2026

Amid ongoing Saudi aggression against Yemen, the Sanaa negotiating delegation is maintaining contacts with various regional and international parties, the delegation’s head, Mohammad Abdul Salam, stated.

He stressed that attacks by Yemeni armed forces on Saudi vessels, military buildups, and camps inside Yemen constitute a legitimate response to the aggression against the Yemeni people, particularly the July 13, 2026, assault on Sanaa Airport.

“We have never closed the door to dialogue and negotiations, either before or after, and it is the Saudi side that rejects them. It has recently stated this clearly, contradicting its statements in which it claims to support peaceful solutions,” Abdul Salam said. … Full article

US military marching into Puntland as Red Sea tensions escalate

By Blaise Malley | Responsible Statecraft | August 11, 2026

In early August, the top U.S. special operations commander for Africa signed a security agreement with the president of Puntland — a semi-autonomous region in northeastern Somalia — to expand the American military installation there.

The deal surfaced through a short statement from the Puntland government.

“Under the agreement, the United States will expand its military base in Bosaso to improve operations against terrorism and to help protect maritime security,” the Puntland Government of Somalia wrote in a statement. “The Puntland state remains committed to fighting terrorism and any threat that could harm the security, stability, and development of Puntland, Somalia, and the Horn of Africa.”

There are few details regarding the arrangement, which has no public text and has not yet been confirmed by the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) or anybody in Washington.

“The informality is really important,” said Samar Al-Bulushi, associate professor of anthropology at University of California, Irvine, and a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute. “If the U.S. wants to be able to stand by its claim — that seems to be a claim only — that it respects the sovereignty of the Somali government, then, in theory, it wouldn’t be negotiating formal agreements with these semi-autonomous regions.”

The deal was reportedly negotiated without input from the central government in Mogadishu — whose authority the government in Puntland does not recognize — marking a notable shift toward treating Somalia’s federal peripheral states as sovereign negotiating partners in their own right. […]

AFRICOM officials also met with leadership in Jubaland, another federal member state that does not recognize Mogadishu’s authority, in the days before the Puntland government announced the deal. These efforts could reinforce a pattern that risks deepening the divisions the U.S. says it wants to see resolved. … Full article

US forces fire on Panama-flagged ship attempting to breach Iran blockade: Report

MEMO | August 11, 2026

US forces fired on a Panama-flagged ship early Tuesday that was attempting to breach an American blockade of Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing an official.

An American chopper fired at the rudder of the ship after the crew ignored warnings from US personnel working to enforce the naval blockade of Iranian ports, the US official reportedly said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the incident, and the US official reportedly said the ship appeared to be trying to move its crew to another civilian vessel after the attack.

Earlier Tuesday, maritime security firm Vanguard said that a Panama-flagged containership, Vela Nova, was struck by a missile fired from a helicopter while transiting westbound through the Gulf of Oman about 71 nautical miles (131 kilometers, 82 miles) from the coast of Pakistan.

“The missile struck the vessel, causing a fire that was subsequently extinguished,” Vanguard said in an initial report on the incident. All 17 crew were accounted for, it added.

US profits from seized Venezuelan oil tankers, sends them for scrap in India: Report

Press TV – August 11, 2026

The US government has quietly sold two oil tankers seized following its military aggression against Venezuela to Dubai-based vessel recycler Global Marketing Systems (GMS), with the vessels set to be dismantled in India.

The two tankers, the Era and Lileo, were purchased by GMS last month for an undisclosed sum, Lloyd’s List reported on Monday.

Both vessels had been seized by US authorities in January 2026 amid Washington’s military campaign against Venezuelan oil shipments. … continue

Trump’s $23 billion ship will be outdated before it even hits water

In an era of cheap drones, the new battleship is overly reliant on expensive and highly vulnerable technology

By Dan Grazier | Responsible Statecraft | August 11, 2026

The first proposed Trump-class battleship now has a price tag: $23 billion.

This cost, as assessed by the Congressional Budget Office, will garner a lot of attention. But the primary concern for policymakers and citizens alike should be the complexity of the ship’s design.

The U.S. Navy has a poor shipbuilding record in the 21st century. The Zumwalt-class destroyer, the Littoral Combat Ship, and the Constellation-class frigate have been complete failures. The final verdict of the Ford-class aircraft carrier is not yet in, but when the ship’s crew can’t even rely on the sewage system to work properly, the case isn’t looking too good.

It becomes clear reading through the CBO’s report that Navy officials in Washington have learned nothing over the past 25 years from their shipbuilding mistakes. … continue