The US is concerned that the Iranian military is growing increasingly effective at penetrating its air defenses in the Middle East, several media outlets have reported, citing anonymous officials. It comes off the back of a deadly missile and drone strike on a military base in Jordan on Friday, which left two American service members killed and another one missing, according to the Pentagon.

In an article on Saturday, the New York Times quoted its sources as saying that the latest Iranian retaliatory strikes are a “sign that Iranian forces not only still have ample missile stocks but have also become more adept at evading US air defense systems.”

The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous officials, similarly reported that the Iranian military “has adapted to US defenses, firing missiles that travel at extremely high speeds and can maneuver as they streak toward the Earth.”

According to the NYT, in the run-up to the US-Israeli military campaign against the Islamic Republic that started in late February, the Pentagon had moved some of its troops from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to Jordan and Israel. Since the two countries are situated further away from Iranian territory, they were supposedly considered to be relatively safe by the US military leadership.

Daoud Kuttab, a journalist and columnist at Al-Monitor, has likewise told RT that “maybe the Americans thought that they would be safer in Jordan.” However, “it seems that Iran doesn’t have any red lines,” he added.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that Iranian missile capabilities have been badly degraded by American airstrikes over the past several months.

In June, he told Kristen Welker at NBC News that “most of the [Iranian] drone factories have been knocked out… and most of the missile manufacturing areas have been knocked out,” with Tehran’s arsenals supposedly down to 21% of their pre-war levels.

On Saturday, US Central Command reported that two American service members had been killed, while another remained unaccounted for, following an Iranian ballistic missile and kamikaze drone barrage on a military installation in Jordan the previous day.

At around the same time, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that its forces had destroyed at least two US fighter jets and three other aircraft at an American base in Al-Azraq, Jordan.

The NYT, citing anonymous officials, reported that US military personnel stationed in the Middle Eastern country had come under Iranian missile and UAV attacks on at least three separate occasions earlier in the week. The strikes reportedly left dozens of US service members injured and damaged a significant number of Blackhawk helicopters.

Washington and Tehran have exchanged fire on a nearly daily basis over the past week, following the collapse of a ceasefire earlier this month.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi recently announced that the Islamic Republic had suspended its commitments under the 60-day ceasefire, which Washington and Tehran tentatively agreed to on June 17 as part of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.

Earlier this month, Trump similarly declared the truce with Iran “over.”

Ten fresh corpses were discovered across the central Mexican state of Zacatecas on Saturday, according to local authorities, including five who were discovered hanging from a highway bridge.

The bodies, half-naked and showing signs of torture, were found at three separate locations in the state. Some of them had pieces of cardboard attached to them with messages attributed to an organized crime group. The victims included a former mayor and two municipal officials.

Federal and state security forces have been deployed and an investigation is underway. No arrests have been announced at the time of writing.

Diez cuerpos fueron encontrados en varias partes de Zacatecas, todos ellos corresponden a trabajadores y funcionarios municipales. Varios de esos cuerpos fueron colgados de un puente. #zacatecas #zacatecasmexico #mexico #ejercitomexicano pic.twitter.com/wvQPVEP518

— fuerzas_especiales_mex (@FuerzasMex) July 19, 2026

Zacatecas has long been one of Mexico’s most violent states, as rival drug cartels battle for control of trafficking routes linking the country’s Pacific coast with the US border. The latest killings come just days after federal and state authorities reported a sharp decline in homicides and said security conditions had improved.

Public displays of bodies, including victims hanged from bridges, have long been used by Mexican criminal groups to intimidate rivals and send messages. The latest killings echo a series of similar attacks in recent years.

In June 2025, authorities found 20 bodies in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, including four decapitated victims hanging from a bridge. Their heads were discovered nearby, in a plastic bag.

Mexico is co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside the US and Canada. Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Mexico City staged 13 matches during the tournament, with the country’s final fixture, Mexico’s Round of 16 defeat to England, played in the capital on July 6. The tournament concludes on Sunday with the final between Spain and Argentina in New Jersey.

The US has agreed to allow Saudi Arabia to have its own nuclear program and enrich uranium, CNN has reported, citing draft documents and sources familiar with the negotiations. The draft deal has been negotiated and is awaiting President Donald Trump’s signature, the outlet wrote on Saturday.

According to the report, the agreement would not require the enhanced International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards known as the Additional Protocol, which gives inspectors broader access to nuclear facilities and is designed to help detect undeclared nuclear activities.

The reported deal would give the Saudis access to the same uranium-enrichment technology that has been at the center of Iran’s decades-long dispute with the West. Washington and Israel have long argued that Tehran’s enrichment program could be used to produce nuclear weapons and cited those concerns when launching strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure earlier this year.

Tehran has consistently maintained that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful and that as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) it has an “inalienable right” to enrich uranium for civilian purposes. Iran provisionally applied the IAEA’ Additional Protocol, allowing inspectors broader access than required under standard safeguards.

Saudi Arabia has long sought a nuclear industry, saying it wants to develop domestic uranium resources, diversify its energy mix, free up more crude oil for export, and power industrial and desalination projects. Riyadh has also argued that, as an NPT signatory, it has the same right as other member states to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.

The reported agreement would mark a departure from Washington’s long-standing “gold standard” approach to civilian nuclear cooperation. In 2009, the United Arab Emirates permanently renounced uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing in exchange for American nuclear cooperation. The agreement has since been promoted by successive US administrations as a model for nuclear partnerships in the Middle East.

Arms-control experts cited by CNN warned that allowing Saudi Arabia to pursue enrichment could weaken the “gold standard” and encourage other countries in the region to seek similar rights. They also argued that domestic enrichment gives a country a latent weapons capability, since the same centrifuge technology used to produce reactor fuel can also produce weapons-grade uranium if enrichment continues to higher levels.

Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate have been arrested in the US after British prosecutors brought additional charges against them and requested their extradition.

The brothers, who hold both US and British citizenship, were detained in Miami on Saturday under a sealed warrant. US Marshals in the Southern District of Florida carried out the arrests “pursuant to extradition proceedings,” a Justice Department spokesperson told CBS News.

A source familiar with the matter told AP that they are expected to appear in federal court early this week.

Earlier the same day, the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced that it had decided to bring 38 additional charges related to four further alleged victims, bringing the combined total to 59 charges involving seven alleged victims.

The offenses allegedly took place between July 2010 and August 2017.

Andrew Tate, 39, now faces 42 charges. The new allegations include seven counts of rape, three of facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation, three of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and 19 offenses relating to indecent images of a child and extreme pornography.

Tristan Tate, 38, faces 17 charges overall, including six new counts: two of rape, one of sexual assault and three of facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation.

Both men deny all allegations. Their US lawyer, Joseph McBride, called the new charges “filth and slander” intended to derail the brothers’ defamation lawsuits in the US.

“They’re pulling out all the stops to make sure these guys never get their day in court,” he told AP.

Andrew Tate first gained mainstream attention after appearing on the UK reality show Big Brother in 2016 before building a large online following promoting a hypermasculine lifestyle. Tate has frequently criticized British authorities and the country’s political establishment.

The brothers moved to Romania in 2016 and were arrested there in December 2022 on allegations of human trafficking and forming an organized criminal group. Andrew was also accused of rape.

They spent three months in custody before being moved to house arrest and later placed under judicial supervision.

A Romanian court subsequently returned the original case to prosecutors over legal and procedural irregularities, but the charges were not dismissed.

Romania lifted the brothers’ travel restrictions in February 2025, allowing them to fly to Florida. The decision followed reports that Trump administration officials had raised their case with Bucharest, although Romanian officials denied facing US pressure.

The Russian Defense Ministry has detailed the targets of its latest large-scale overnight attack on , saying that it hit military-industrial enterprises, logistics hubs, and fuel infrastructure used by Kiev’s forces.

Moscow maintains that it targets only military and dual-use installations in response to Ukraine’s indiscriminate “terrorist attacks.”

The ministry said Russian forces used high-precision air- and ground-launched weapons, as well as attack drones, against targets in Kiev and Kiev Region.

According to the ministry, the targets in the Ukrainian capital included Radionics, an electronics manufacturer that produces guidance systems for FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles, FP-7 and FP-9 tactical missiles, Neptune-MD guided missiles, and a Ukrainian analogue of the Soviet S-300 surface-to-air missile. The company also repairs and modernizes avionics and radar systems for MiG-29 fighter jets.

Russian strikes also hit Spetsoboronmash/Artyom, which manufactures missile guidance components; Meridian, a producer of airframes and guidance system parts for Neptune-MD missiles; Oakline, which makes components for long-range strike drones, carbon-fiber parts and batteries for FPV drones, and stores unmanned aircraft, the ministry said.

The Kiev Innovation Terminal operated by Nova Poshta, which the MOD described as a sorting center used to deliver and store dual-use goods, including components for drones, robotic systems, and electronic warfare equipment, was also struck.

In Kiev Region, Russian forces targeted the Tarasovka logistics center operated by Antel Properties, which the ministry said receives, stores, assembles, and distributes components for the production of long-range drones.

The ministry also said Russian forces struck fuel storage tanks and other infrastructure at the Port of Yuzhny in Odessa Region that was used to receive and store military cargo, as well as fuel and lubricants intended to supply the Ukrainian military.

The latest barrage comes as Ukraine has stepped up long-range drone raids deep inside Russian territory amid significant setbacks on the battlefield, often hitting residential buildings and deliberately targeting other civilian infrastructure.

On Saturday, seven night-shift workers were killed and another 25 were injured in a targeted strike on a logistics center operated by Russian online retailer Wildberries in Tambov Region.

Kiev routinely accuses Russia of deliberately striking civilian sites, but it has a long history of using such facilities, including warehouses, public buildings, and industrial sites, for military purposes.

The US health authorities have identified shredded iceberg lettuce served at the country’s largest Mexican-inspired fast-food chain as the source of an outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a parasitic illness that causes severe, explosive diarrhea.

More than 1,600 laboratory-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported nationwide since early May, with 94 people hospitalized. No deaths have been reported, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that the actual number of infections is likely much higher because many cases go undiagnosed.

The CDC on Friday identified the chain as Taco Bell and said a traceback investigation linked the contaminated produce to a single supplier in central Mexico. The CDC urged people not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia.

The agency said the implicated supplier, Taylor Farms de Mexico, has voluntarily removed all iceberg lettuce from the US market. Officials are continuing to investigate whether the contaminated produce was distributed to other restaurants or retailers.

Cyclosporiasis is caused by the microscopic parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis. The illness typically causes explosive watery diarrhea, along with bloating, gas, stomach cramps, nausea, and vomiting. Some people also experience fatigue and fever, while others develop no symptoms at all.

The infection is usually contracted by consuming food or water contaminated with feces, with symptoms typically appearing around a week after exposure, according to the CDC.

While the illness can be treated with antibiotics, it is not detected by most routine laboratory tests, making it difficult to diagnose. If left untreated, the infection can last for more than a month, with recurring bouts of diarrhea being the most characteristic feature.

The parasite is endemic in tropical and subtropical countries. There is no evidence that it is capable of human-to-human transmission.

Previous cyclosporiasis outbreaks in the US have been linked to cilantro, raspberries, sweet peas, lettuce, and basil imported from Mexico.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said he is exploring the legal possibility of arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he travels to the city for the UN General Assembly in September.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November 2024 over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, including “starvation as a method of warfare” and “other inhumane acts.”

Mamdani, who has characterized Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as genocide, vowed during his mayoral campaign last year to arrest Netanyahu if he visited New York City. During an episode of The New York Times’ The Interview podcast that aired on Saturday, the mayor was asked whether he still intended to fulfill that pledge.

“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” he responded, referring to the seat of the ICC, where those accused of major international crimes are tried. “He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court, and what you will find is that is an opinion that is held by many, purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years.”

Accredited representatives of member states are generally granted diplomatic immunity while on official UN visits, but Mamdani said he was in “an active conversation” with the city’s Law Department about potential legal options.

“Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do,” he said. “But we won’t be writing our own laws to that end.”

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, accused Mamdani of failing to confront a “rising wave of antisemitism” and instead choosing to “incite hostility” against the Jewish state. He confirmed that Netanyahu intends to address the General Assembly during its annual High-Level Week, scheduled for September 22–28, saying the mayor’s position “will not change a thing.”

“And if anyone should be arrested, it is NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani,” the ambassador added in a post on X.

Netanyahu said in a recent radio interview that he was not concerned about Mamdani’s threats to detain him, accusing the New York mayor of “championing” Hamas and hating America.

Neither the US nor Israel is a party to the ICC, and federal law prohibits state and local authorities from cooperating with requests from the court. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said last year that the mayor lacked the authority to arrest Netanyahu.

The Ukrainian capital and its suburbs were targeted by a large-scale strike using high-precision weapons and drones early on Sunday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry has said. Moscow maintains that it targets only military and dual-use installations in response to Ukraine’s indiscriminate “terrorist attacks.”

The first blasts in Kiev were heard shortly after 1 AM local time, followed by further explosions in several waves, with local media reporting over 40 missile strikes by 3 AM. Mayor Vitaly Klitschko reported multiple fires near residential buildings, shopping centers, and unspecified “non-residential” facilities.

Several blurred videos shared on social media showed numerous blasts and successive fires in and around the Ukrainian capital.

CCTV footage shows Zircon and Iskander-M missiles striking targets in Kyiv.

So far, 16 PAC-3 interceptors have been launched in response to the attack.

Source: FalconIntel on TG pic.twitter.com/ET4yKtx71F

— OSINTWarfare (@OSINTWarfare) July 18, 2026

The Russian Defense Ministry said high-precision air- and ground-launched weapons and attack drones targeted Ukrainian military-industrial facilities and logistics hubs in Kiev and the surrounding region.

The operation also targeted infrastructure at the Port of Yuzhny in Odessa Region that was being used to receive and store military cargo and fuel supplies intended to support Ukrainian forces, according to the MOD.

Ukraine has stepped up long-range drone raids deep inside Russian territory amid significant setbacks on the battlefield, often hitting residential buildings and deliberately targeting other civilian infrastructure.

On Saturday, seven night-shift workers were killed and another 25 were injured in a targeted strike on a logistics center operated by Russian online retailer Wildberries in the Tambov Region. Simultaneously, another Wildberries logistics center was attacked overnight in Elektrostal, around 50 km east of Moscow, injuring another 24 people.

Kiev routinely accuses Russia of deliberately striking civilian sites, but it has a long history of using civilian facilities, including warehouses, public buildings, and industrial sites, for military purposes.

Last month, Ukrainian media accidentally exposed a drone plant at a film studio struck by Russia. Over the course of the conflict, Kiev has taken considerable steps to decentralize its weapons production chain, establishing small-scale assembly sites that primarily manufacture FPV and fixed-wing long-range drones using components supplied from abroad.

The US State Department has issued a worldwide security warning urging Americans to exercise increased caution amid fears of further escalation in Washington’s renewed war with Iran.

“Due to heightened tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation,” it said on Saturday, advising US citizens worldwide – particularly those in the region – to monitor breaking developments and follow instructions issued by the nearest American embassy or consulate.

The warning noted that flight cancellations and periodic airspace closures could cause travel disruptions. It also said that US diplomatic facilities had been targeted, including those outside the Middle East, and warned that pro-Iranian groups could attack “other US interests overseas or locations associated with the United States and/or Americans throughout the world.”

The alert came hours after US Central Command confirmed that two American service members had been killed in Jordan on Friday as US and allied forces defended the Kingdom against Iranian ballistic missiles and drones.

The deaths brought the total number of officially confirmed American fatalities since the US-Israeli war against Iran began in February to 16.

US President Donald Trump had posted nothing on Truth Social for more than 24 hours and offered only a brief response when NewsNation and the New York Post called him about the deaths.

CENTCOM announced a new round of strikes later than usual on Saturday evening, after remaining silent for much of the day, and claimed that the attacks were intended to “swiftly punish” IRGC forces responsible for the deaths of American service members.

Iranian media acknowledged several missile strikes on Qeshm Island and in the nearby port cities of Bandar Abbas and Sirik overnight. However, the intensity of the bombing appeared much lower than during the previous seven nights, when multiple bridges and other infrastructure targets were hit.

Iran has carried out near-daily retaliatory missile and drone attacks on US military facilities across the Middle East since Washington resumed large-scale strikes earlier this month. Tehran has targeted bases and other American-linked facilities in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, as well as in Iraq and Syria.

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to teach the US an “unforgettable lesson” in a written statement on Saturday, after Tehran repeatedly warned that the “entire region will pay the price” for American attacks on Iran’s civilian infrastructure.

Now that the American enemy is seeking to escalate the conflict thereby incurring even heavier costs and further humiliation, it should know that the noble nation of Iran and the Resistance Front have unforgettable lessons in store for it.

— Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei (@MKhamenei_ir) July 18, 2026

The Iranian Health Ministry said on Saturday that US strikes between June 27 and July 18 had killed 50 people, including women and children, and injured more than 500. An estimated 3,500 Iranians were killed in the first round of attacks launched in February, while Israeli operations in Lebanon reportedly claimed another 4,300 lives.

The parliamentary leader of Germany’s ruling bloc, Jens Spahn, has been forced to step down after he and his husband had a child via surrogacy. Spahn had previously criticized the practice, while his conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) party strongly opposes legalizing it in Germany.

The scandal erupted this week when Spahn and his spouse Daniel Funke welcomed their son Georg, birthed by a surrogate mother from the US. “Georg is our greatest joy. This feeling is almost impossible to put into words,” Spahn told the German tabloid Bild on Wednesday.

The joyous announcement was immediately met with a storm of criticism, with the lawmaker coming under fire for “hypocrisy.” Multiple critics have recalled statements from 2015, when Spahn told GQ magazine that “as a gay man and a Christian I find it personally very hard to warm to the idea of a rented womb.”

“Accepting that I will not become a father naturally requires a great deal of humility. I don’t know if I can muster that,” he added at the time.

The CDU reaffirmed its commitment to keeping surrogacy banned in Germany as recently as during its party convention in February, which was attended by Spahn. The party said in the resolution concluding the conference that due to “ethical, legal, and practical concerns regarding surrogacy,” it believes the practice should remain outlawed “in Germany in order to prevent abuse, exploitation, and health risks.”

Spahn came under fire from all the sides of the spectrum, with his fellow CDU member, the party’s head in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, demanding his resignation. “He claims that, as a private individual, he can act in a completely different way that contradicts his stated position as a CDU elected official,” Peters told Bild. “That is absolutely unacceptable.”

The co-leader of right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), Alice Weidel, stated that Spahn’s resignation was “overdue,” mentioning also his Covid-era actions when he was health minister. He faced allegations of misusing public funds during the pandemic, yet the probe was dropped this past March with no result.

“That he has now undermined a law that he himself voted for has definitively destroyed his credibility,” Weidel wrote on X.

While Spahn initially attempted to defend his decision, he promptly folded and handed in his resignation on Saturday. While stepping down from his parliamentary leader role, he did not mention surrendering his lawmaker mandate. The resignation was acknowledged by Chancellor Freidrich Merch, who called it both “unavoidable” and a “correct” move to make.

“In recent days, I have come to realize that my personal happiness in starting a family with my husband and becoming a father is incompatible with my political office,” Spahn said in a statement circulated by German media.

While surrogacy in Germany is punishable with up to five years in jail, criminal liability extends only to medical practitioners and intermediaries; therefore, Spahn and his spouse will not face any consequences. Commissioning surrogacy abroad remains a popular way for Germans to circumvent the ban, since ordering the procedure and raising children obtained through the method are legal as well.

The Israel Defense Forces opened 57 criminal investigations into the deaths of multiple Palestinian and Lebanese detainees in Israeli military custody but never indicted anybody, according to Haaretz. Seven of the cases reportedly relate to captives who suffered fatal gunshot wounds.

In an article on Friday, the Israeli newspaper cited filings obtained by the human rights group Hatzlacha through Freedom of Information requests. Most of the deaths in question reportedly occurred inside IDF military detention facilities that are equipped with CCTV cameras, the publication notes.

Yet, the Israeli military failed to identify suspects in most of the cases, according to Haaretz.

Another 19 probes have reportedly been launched into alleged beatings, violence, and the “unlawful use of force” toward detainees. However, only two indictments were filed as a result, one of which was later dropped after the alleged victim was returned to Gaza before testifying in court, Haaretz claimed.

Most IDF investigations into suspected looting by Israeli soldiers in Gaza and Lebanon have likewise resulted in no charges brought, according to the publication.

In response to a request for comment, the IDF confirmed that “several investigations were opened into suspected violations,” insisting that the Israeli military “operates in accordance with international law,” as quoted by Haaretz.

Israel has for years faced accusations of abuse against Palestinian detainees inside IDF holding facilities.

The report also came out after a photo showing a semi-naked and blindfolded Palestinian man bound to an iron rod surfaced on social media earlier this month. The Israeli military confirmed its authenticity and promised to launch a probe. However, human rights groups argued that it was emblematic of widespread abuse of Palestinian detainees at what Physicians for Human Rights Israel described as IDF “torture camps.” 

In March, the Israeli military dropped charges against troops accused of sexually abusing a Palestinian prisoner at a detention facility at the Sde Teiman base in July 2024. The IDF cited insufficient evidence to secure a conviction and procedural concerns after disturbing footage of the incident was leaked to the media.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the decision, saying that “Israel must pursue its enemies, not its heroic fighters.” 

Meanwhile, last month, Italy and France launched investigations into the alleged mistreatment of activists who were detained by Israeli troops while trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla in May.

After being expelled from Israel, numerous activists hailing from several countries alleged that they had been subjected to beatings, torture, sexual assault, and in some cases outright rape at the hands of Israeli troops.

Two US service members have been killed, while another is unaccounted for, after Iranian forces struck American military facilities in Jordan with ballistic missiles and kamikaze drones, the Pentagon has reported.

According to a statement released by the US Central Command on Saturday, the casualties were incurred the previous day as American troops “and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks.”

Additionally, another four US troops “were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals,” but were later discharged.

In a post on X, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed the death of two US service members, adding that “their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve.”

Video captures the moment that several Iranian medium to intermediate-range ballistic missiles struck Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan overnight, killing at least two and injuring several other American Servicemembers. pic.twitter.com/cJz39E1LvP

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) July 18, 2026

US President Donald Trump had posted nothing on Truth Social for more than 24 hours and offered only a brief response when NewsNation asked him about the deaths.

“It’s very sad, it’s a very sad thing. We hate to see it happen. It’s in service to our country,” he said, before reiterating that Washington would “never” allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.

“Have you ever asked how many people died in Vietnam? Have you ever asked how many people died in Afghanistan in one day?” Trump told the New York Post in another brief phone interview.

The latest incident marks the first time American troops have been killed since the conflict between Washington and Tehran reignited earlier this month, Axios has reported. This brings the total death toll for US forces to 16 since the US and Israel launched their military campaign against the Islamic Republic in late February.

Commenting on the deadly Iranian retaliation, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed US officials, that Tehran’s forces “not only still have ample missile stocks but have also become more adept at evading US air defense systems.” The news outlet added that over several days of attacks, Iran injured dozens of US service members and damaged several helicopters.

Meanwhile, Iranian media has published footage purportedly showing a massive fire at the US Al-Muwaqqar air base in Jordan following the Iranian missile and drone strikes.

Earlier on Saturday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reported, as cited by the news agency Tasnim, that Iranian forces had launched a “missile and drone attack on fighter [jet] shelters and a large parking ramp at a US base in Al-Azraq, Jordan, completely destroying at least two American fighter jets and three other aircraft, and causing significant damage to others.”

Iran has been striking US military facilities across the Middle East, including installations in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, and Syria, over the past week in retaliation for renewed US attacks on Iranian territory after the collapse of the ceasefire earlier this month.

On Friday, the IRGC claimed that it had targeted a HIMARS missile launcher in Kuwait, causing “significant casualties and damage,” while also supposedly killing “numerous” American special forces personnel stationed in the country.

In a written statement released on Saturday, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said that US President Donald Trump’s signature on the 14-point Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, which Washington and Tehran inked on June 17, was “utterly worthless and devoid of credibility.” He charged that the renewed American strikes on Iranian territory constitute “yet another indisputable testament to the US’s dishonesty, irrationality, unreliability, and malicious nature.”

Khamenei also warned of more Iranian retaliatory strikes to come.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi previously announced that Tehran had suspended its commitments under the 60-day ceasefire agreement with Washington.

Earlier this month, Trump likewise declared the tentative ceasefire with Iran “over,” announcing that the US military was “taking over” the Strait of Hormuz and reinstating a blockade of Iranian ports and vessels. Speaking on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Türkiye, the US president described the Iranian leadership as “scum,” “cuckoo,” “sick,” “vicious,” and “violent people.”

Ukraine could suffer defeat in the conflict with Russia, as the military command structure is growing increasingly rigid and ineffective, Brigadier General Sergey Sobko warns.

His remarks were echoed earlier by former Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov, who was controversially relieved of his post by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky earlier this week – which triggered mass protests across Ukraine.

In a post on Facebook on Friday, Sobko, the chief of staff of the 11th Army Corps, wrote that the Ukrainian military is in urgent need of reform, “otherwise we may be defeated.”

“Professional discussion is often perceived as disloyalty, and initiative as a threat,” he said, adding that this tendency has discouraged commanders from “taking risks for the sake of success.”

Sobko also suggested that commanders are being promoted based on “personal loyalty” to their superiors, as opposed to competence and professionalism. He also called out what he described as a growing trend within the Ukrainian military toward micromanagement and downplaying failures in reports.

Sobko’s criticisms echo those made by former defense chief Fedorov. In the wake of his dismissal earlier this week, the 35-year-old technocrat confirmed that he was at loggerheads with Ukraine’s top military commander, Aleksandr Syrsky, whom he accused of blocking his efforts to modernize the army and make it more technology-oriented.

At a press conference on Thursday, the former minister said, “we faced a complete blockage of all our initiatives.” He also claimed that Syrsky made an ultimatum to Zelensky, demanding that Fedorov be removed from office.

On Friday, the Financial Times, citing anonymous sources, also reported that Fedorov’s push to make corruption-plagued procurement procedures in the defense sector more transparent did not sit well with the top brass either.

The firing of the defense minister, which came as part of a broader government reshuffle, has sparked protests in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities. Apart from demands that the defense chief be reinstated, some demonstrators have also called for Syrsky’s dismissal.

The FT quoted an unnamed senior Ukrainian defense official as saying, “Syrsky hasn’t got a sense of how he’s going to win,” and that his “theory of victory is simply to hold out as long as you can and mobilize more people.”

In a separate piece on Saturday, the FT, citing an anonymous senior official in Zelensky’s administration, claimed that the Ukrainian leader is considering firing Syrsky. According to the outlet, Zelensky is consulting military commanders over the weekend, looking for a potential replacement.

Over the course of the conflict, Syrsky has earned the nickname ‘the Butcher’ for his perceived willingness to disregard heavy casualties.

Russian forces are on track to liberate the key Donbass stronghold of Krasny Liman, located around 17 km northeast of the regional center of Slavyansk, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov has announced, adding that Ukraine’s organized defenses in the area have been completely shattered.

The chief of staff made the remarks on Saturday as he inspected a command post of the Russian ‘West’ group of forces. Russian troops are currently sweeping through the town, conducting search-and-destroy operations against the remaining Ukrainian holdouts, Gerasimov stated.

“Units of the 25th Army are completing the liberation of the city of Krasny Liman, which is crucial for further operations on this axis. The enemy’s organized defense in the town has been broken, and isolated pockets of resistance are being eliminated,” he said.

Located in the north of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Krasny Liman has seen intensive combat in recent weeks, with Russian forces advancing onto the town from the east. It was first liberated from Ukrainian forces in May 2022, but was recaptured later that year. 

The town served as a key logistics hub and stronghold for Ukrainian units stationed in the north of the republic.

Speaking at the command post, Gerasimov touched upon developments elsewhere on the front line. He said Russian troops have been expanding the zone of control around the recently liberated DPR city of Konstantinovka, located at the southernmost tip of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, a heavily fortified string of settlements in the northern part of the DPR that are still under Ukrainian control.

Russian troops have advanced to the northwest of the city toward the town of Druzhkova between Konstantinovka and Kramatorsk, and have already entered the satellite village of Alekseeyevo-Druzhkovka and are battling Ukrainian units stationed there, according to Gerasimov.

The Russian military has conducted new strikes on Ukrainian Black Sea ports, striking multiple cargo vessels used by the Ukrainian military, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.

Russia has intensified strikes on Ukrainian shipping in recent weeks, aimed at disrupting the country’s “capabilities to transport weaponry and military hardware” in the Black Sea. The Defense Ministry publicized strikes on two other vessels on Saturday, sharing footage captured by kamikaze drones.

One of the videos shows strikes on a cargo vessel in the open sea. The ship was hit by a Geran-4 turbojet drone and a Gerbera piston UAV. According to the Russian military, both drones were Seekers, which are believed to be fitted with an AI-powered machine vision system. Seeker drones are said to be capable of searching for, identifying, and locking onto their targets without human input.

A container ship carrying military equipment was hit by two Geran-4 Seeker drones at the port of Chernomorsk, Odessa Region. Footage shared by the Defense Ministry shows the vessel was caught moored at the port.

On Friday, the Defense Ministry showcased strikes on three freighters in Nikolayev, a major port on the Yuzhny Bug River, a tributary of the Dnieper River. All the vessels were used by the Ukrainian military, the ministry said without elaborating. The freighters were likely moored at the port for a long time, given that the Russian military controls the mouth of Dnieper and Ukrainian shipping in the waterway remains disrupted.

Later on Saturday, the Defense Ministry said Russian troops hit three other cargo ships involved in the Ukrainian war effort, including a bulker at the port of Yuzhny, Odessa Region. Two other vessels carrying military hardware were targeted at the roadstead of the Odessa port while awaiting unloading, the MOD said. No footage of the latest strikes on Ukrainian shipping was immediately released by the ministry.

Ukraine has launched nearly 1,900 drones towards Moscow Region over the past week, with most shot down on the approach to the capital, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has said, releasing a map detailing the UAV raids. His comments came after Kiev hit two retailer’s logistics centers across the country, killing eight people in total.

In a post on Telegram on Saturday, Sobyanin said 1,892 drones had been sent toward Moscow Region – some 450km from the frontline – between July 11 and 18. “Most were neutralized by air defenses on distant approaches,” he said, adding that only 207 were destroyed closer to Moscow.

Earlier in the morning, the mayor said that more than 370 drones had approached the capital and surrounding region since Friday evening, with 64 shot down closer to Moscow.

His remarks came after a Ukrainian drone raid that hit two Wildberries logistics hubs in Kotovsk, Tambov Region, and Elektrostal, near Moscow. The attack on the warehouse in Tambov killed seven night-shift employees, with 25 others injured. Local governor Evgeny Pervyshov said that Ukrainian drones had been deliberately equipped with shrapnel to inflict maximum casualties among civilians.

The strike on Elektrostal killed one person and injured 37 others, according to local officials. Another two were wounded in Noginsk, also in Moscow Region, where a drone caused a fire at an oil depot. Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov later reported that a total of 61 people had been injured in the drone attack.

Wildberries, often called the Russian version of Amazon, is one of the country’s most popular online retailers.

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky confirmed Kiev had deliberately targeted the Wildberries hubs, claiming they stored sanctioned components for drone and navigation equipment.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has ramped up its long- and mid-range drone campaign, often targeting critical infrastructure, including oil refineries, civilian buildings, and even standalone civilian vehicles on the roads. Moscow has repeatedly branded such attacks as “terrorist,” and pointing out that its own retaliatory strikes are aimed exclusively at Ukraine’s defense-linked facilities and never at civilians.

Democratic lawmakers have urged Congress to block a sweeping Russia sanctions bill championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, warning that it would raise prices for American consumers.

The revised Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 was introduced in the Senate on Thursday, days after Graham died. The senator passed away last Saturday, a day after returning from Ukraine.

Republicans have urged Congress to pass the bill, describing it as a tribute to Graham’s legacy of “promoting liberty around the world” and his “fierce support for Ukraine’s freedom.” 

Democrats, however, argue that honoring Graham in this way would leave American households footing the bill through higher prices.

Apart from imposing sanctions on Russian officials and entities, the act would also authorize tariffs of up to 100% on imports from countries that continue buying large volumes of Russian oil and gas.

According to Congressmen Don Beyer and Brad Schneider, the bill would raise costs for American families and damage America’s “most vital trade relationships.” 

On Sunday, Trump urged Congress to “add Iran to the Russian Sanctions Bill,” noting that “that’s what Lindsey wanted to do, and it was going to happen.” Earlier this month, he said that lawmakers were working on including both Iran and Hezbollah in the legislation, while noting that the issue of secondary sanctions being applied to China and India “has not been discussed.”

The largest buyers of Russia’s oil and gas are China and India. China was the third-largest source of US imports after Mexico and Canada last year, accounting for nearly 10% of total imports. India supplied another 3%, according to UN trade data.

The Democrats’ warning comes as Ukraine’s drone strikes on Russian oil refineries have created an economic shock that is “increasingly visible worldwide, including in the US,” according to Axios.

Russia, one of the world’s largest oil producers and exporters, suspended diesel exports this month after Ukrainian drone strikes disrupted domestic fuel supplies. The Financial Times and Associated Press said the resulting shortages have pushed diesel prices higher worldwide and increased costs for US consumers.

Diesel prices in the US edged above $5 a gallon this week, Axios reported, citing tightening global fuel supplies. Americans are facing another surge in fuel costs only months after the Iran conflict and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz triggered a similar spike. EIA data shows that before 2026, the last sustained period of nationwide diesel prices above $5 came during the 2022 global energy crisis following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict.

When the UN established Nelson Mandela International Day in 2009, the anti-apartheid icon had already been a free man for nearly two decades. The tribute asks people worldwide to dedicate 67 minutes to public service on July 18, his birthday – one minute for every year Mandela spent fighting for human rights.

He had already served his singular, historic term as South Africa’s first black president and had spent years traversing a rapidly transforming global landscape to reconnect with a world he was forced to miss during his 27 years of incarceration. Crucially, his early diplomatic travels prioritized visits to the very nations that had anchored the anti-apartheid struggle – defying Western pressure by openly embracing allies like Libya as early as 1990 and Cuba in 1991.

By pushing back against Western critics who questioned these alliances, Mandela established a precedent for African sovereignty and non-alignment at the absolute height of the post-Cold War unipolar order.

In a famous June 1990 televised exchange in New York, American journalist Ted Koppel pressed him to justify his friendships with figures like Muammar Gaddafi, Yasir Arafat, and Fidel Castro. Mandela responded with a mesmerizing defense of sovereign autonomy, famously telling his audience that Western critics could not dictate who Africa’s friends should be simply because they disliked them, and reminding the world that these leaders had supported the liberation struggle when the West was still aligned with the apartheid regime in South Africa.

Years later, during a historic 1997 visit to Tripoli that openly defied Western-imposed sanctions, Mandela re-emphasized this stance, telling foreign detractors that those who objected to his relationship with Gaddafi could go “jump in the pool.”

This doctrine of unapologetic sovereignty established a lasting blueprint for African diplomacy that resonates today. By asserting that South Africa’s national interest would not be dictated by Western capitals or geopolitical pressure, Mandela drew a clear line between global integration and diplomatic submission. Decades later, as the Global South increasingly asserts its independence amid renewed great-power competition, Mandela’s historic defiance remains the touchstone for African leaders insisting on their right to navigate a complicated world without being forced to into what they did not like.

Today, this battle for autonomy plays out across multiple fronts where Western influence attempts to condition critical support on strategic compliance. When South African President Cyril Ramaphosa stood firm against US rhetoric over land reform and baseless “white genocide” narratives pushed by the Trump administration, he was operating directly within Mandela’s tradition of rejecting foreign dictates.

A similar pushback is unfolding in economic and global security diplomacy, seen when nations like Zambia, Ghana, and Zimbabwe resisted bilateral US healthcare agreements that sought to tie vital medical assistance to access to critical minerals like copper and cobalt. From the African Union’s early, explicit rejection of Western military intervention in Libya in 2011 to South Africa’s unyielding stance at the International Court of Justice (ICC) on Palestine despite Western pressure, these decisions signal an African continent asserting its right to manage its own resources, defend international law, and forge a truly multipolar foreign policy.

This insistence on strategic autonomy has reshaped Africa’s institutional landscape, driving a transition from defensive non-alignment toward proactive global architecture. The evolution from the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to the African Union (AU) reflected Mandela’s core premise: that continental peace-building and conflict resolution must be anchored in African-led frameworks rather than external tutelage.

Today, this institutional legacy finds its most potent expression in the alignment of the Global South, most notably through the expansion of BRICS. By forging alternative trade networks, development finance mechanisms, and diplomatic platforms, African states are translating Mandela’s early defense of sovereign friendships into a structured pursuit of a multipolar world order along with major supporters like Russia.

This modern expression of Mandela’s diplomatic style is illustrated by Africa’s stance on recent global crises, where continental leaders have refused to fall under the geopolitical sway of Washington, Brussels, Paris, or London.

Following the outbreak of the Gaza war, the AU, alongside numerous individual member states, declared solidarity with the Palestinian people against what international legal scholars and human rights organizations described as genocidal war. This culminated in South Africa’s historic December 2023 application to the ICC alleging Israel’s violation of the Genocide Convention, backed by oral pleadings from the AU at The Hague in February 2024.

Similarly, when the UN General Assembly voted on resolutions condemning Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, nearly half of all African member states abstained or declined to vote, refusing to co-sponsor Western-backed sanctions against Moscow.

In both cases, African diplomacy demonstrated that it is no longer bound by former colonial ties or Western consensus, choosing instead an independent path rooted in active non-alignment and sovereign judgment. Furthermore, in direct alignment with Mandela’s legacy of proactive diplomacy, a joint mission of seven African nations led by South Africa stepped into the global arena in June 2023 to mediate the Ukraine conflict – traveling to both Kiev and St. Petersburg to present a diplomatic roadmap, proving that African states now insist on shaping international peace processes rather than inheriting them.

Reclaiming Nelson Mandela’s legacy requires stripping away his sanitized portrait favored by Western commentators, which reduces him to an apolitical saint of quiet reconciliation, and honoring the hard-nosed strategist who prioritised national dignity above superpower approval. Today, as Africa navigates an increasingly fractured global landscape, the true measure of Mandela’s impact is not found in solemn speeches on July 18 or symbolic corporate charity drives. It lives in the resolute insistence of African states charting their own diplomatic destinies. The case of Sahel countries, expelling former colonial power France is a clear example of that.

From the strategic expansion of BRICS to the AU’s insistence on a permanent seat at the UN Security Council, African diplomacy is actively dismantling the outdated assumption that the continent must passively align with distant geopolitical blocs.

When African nations mediate in extra-continental disputes or maintain balanced, interest-driven relations with competing global powers, they are putting into practice the very principles Mandela championed when he defended South Africa’s sovereign right to determine its own friendships.

By rejecting proxy politics and demanding an equitable seat at the global decision-making table, Africa is actively realizing Mandela’s vision. In an age of shifting powers, the continent’s insistence on charting its own course stands as the most enduring monument to his life’s work.

The EU is set to use a multibillion-euro antitrust fine imposed on Google to help ease pressure on the bloc’s budget after years of increased military spending and aid for Ukraine.

The US tech giant has paid €4.6 billion ($5.4 billion), including interest, after losing a years-long legal battle over restrictions linked to its Android operating system. The sum is equivalent to more than 2% of the EU’s 2026 budget.

The European Commission imposed the fine in 2018, accusing Google of abusing Android’s market dominance by requiring smartphone makers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome. Earlier this month, the EU’s top court upheld the penalty, clearing the way for the payment.

Under EU budget rules, fines collected by the commission are paid into the bloc’s common budget, reducing the gross national income-based contributions required from member states.

The windfall will not provide any direct relief for taxpayers, however, as European governments continue to scale back social spending while increasing military budgets and financing Ukraine.

The EU deficit is projected to reach 3.6% of GDP by 2027. Despite the fiscal strain, Brussels has approved a €90 billion Ukraine support loan for 2026-2027, even as Kiev remains embroiled in repeated corruption scandals involving senior officials and figures close to Vladimir Zelensky. NATO members have also pledged €70 billion in military aid, training, and equipment for Ukraine this year, with plans to maintain similar support in 2027.

At the same time, European governments have been urged to sharply increase military spending, with Brussels citing an alleged Russian threat to justify its rearmament drive. Moscow has dismissed the claims as “nonsense” designed to legitimize ballooning military budgets at the expense of social programs.

The shift is already visible in national budgets. France, for example, has cut around €9 billion from several ministries while allocating an additional €6.5 billion to the military.

Critics in several EU countries, including Hungary and Slovakia, argue that Brussels is shifting the cost of its unconditional backing for a corruption-plagued Ukraine onto ordinary Europeans.

Former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has called the EU’s Ukraine policy a “financial tragedy,” while Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has labeled plans to phase out Russian energy “economic suicide” and vowed to oppose further military loans for Kiev.

The US is on the path to revolution because President Donald Trump has betrayed Americans by putting foreign interests ahead of those of his own country, journalist Tucker Carlson has said.

In an interview on Bloomberg’s The Mishal Husain Show aired on Friday, the conservative commentator – once among Trump’s most prominent supporters – accused the president of being “totally disloyal” to the US, saying he had “cheated on the United States with a foreign power.”

“This is why countries have revolutions,” Carlson said, adding: “I don’t want revolution, but we’re going to get a revolution if this continues.”

The former Fox News host, who backed Trump’s 2024 reelection campaign before breaking with him over Iran, argued that many Americans no longer believed the political system represented their interests. He said Republicans had failed to fulfill promises to dismantle the “deep state,” citing the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files as evidence of why many supporters had lost faith in the party.

Carlson has become increasingly critical of US backing for Israel’s war in Gaza and publicly urged Trump not to attack Iran during Israel’s 12-Day War with the Islamic Republic in June 2025. Their rift deepened after the US joined Israel’s strikes on Iran in late February, with Carlson accusing Trump of putting Israeli interests ahead of America’s. He also described Trump’s “true religion” as “Israelism” and called the Iran war “disgusting and evil.”

“Trump allowed the US government to be completely steered by this tiny little country in the Middle East, Israel, to our great detriment,” Carlson told Bloomberg, adding that he had argued directly against Trump’s approach, but “that had no effect at all.”

“And then we wound up in a war with Iran that has gravely hurt the United States,” he said.

The interview comes as the US continues its military campaign against Iran. US Central Command said it had completed a sixth consecutive night of strikes on Thursday after Trump threatened to expand attacks to Iranian energy infrastructure and bridges.

Iran has responded with drone and missile strikes on US military facilities across the region. Tehran has also warned that regional oil and gas exports could be halted, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed until Washington ends its “illegal” military intervention.

Ukrainian drones deliberately targeted civilians during a deadly overnight strike on a warehouse in Russia’s Tambov Region, one survivor has told Russian media, saying workers were prevented from escaping the building.

Seven people were killed and another 25 injured in the attack on the logistics center operated by online retailer Wildberries, according to local officials.

Staff began evacuating after the first strikes landed near the building, the survivor, who asked not to be identified, said. According to his account, workers tried to escape through an emergency exit but were forced back inside because the drones were striking the area around it. As they retreated into the warehouse, another drone hit the building. The blast blew out all the doors and windows, and everyone nearby was injured, he said.

The eyewitness account was recorded from a hospital bed in Tambov on Saturday after doctors operated on the injured.

The drones had been fitted with shrapnel to maximize casualties, Tambov Region Governor Evgeny Pervyshov said, describing the strike as a premeditated terrorist attack.

Doctors removed metal ball bearings from several of the wounded during surgery.

Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova said she had sent appeals to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and the UN secretary-general’s special representative, Vanessa Frazier, over what she described as a new wave of terrorist attacks by the Ukrainian military on Russian regions.

Another Wildberries logistics center was also attacked overnight in Elektrostal, around 50 km east of Moscow, the company said. Fire crews and emergency services worked at the site after employees were evacuated. Twenty-four people were injured, according to Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov. He later reported that a total of 61 people had been injured in the drone attack across the region.

The attack was part of a larger Ukrainian drone raid on Moscow Region. A drone crashed on the grounds of an oil depot in Noginsk, an industrial city around 35 km east of Moscow, causing a fire. As a precaution, the authorities evacuated a nearby maternity hospital, transferring all patients and staff to other medical facilities. An apartment block in the city was also evacuated. Two people have been injured, the governor said.

Another massive drone raid was launched toward Moscow. More than 370 UAVs flew in the direction of the Russian capital since 8:30 PM on Friday, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said. Most were neutralized by Russian air defenses at long range, while 64 were destroyed on approach to the capital, he added.

Later in the day, Sobyanin said that between July 11 and 18 Ukraine had launched a total of 1,892 drones toward Moscow Region, most of which were neutralized far from the capital.

In neighboring Vladimir Region, one drone struck an apartment in a residential building in the city of Vladimir and sparked a fire, Governor Aleksandr Avdeev said. People were evacuated while emergency services extinguished the flames.

The latest barrage follows another large-scale attack on Thursday, when more than 200 drones were launched toward Moscow, most of which were also intercepted far from the capital.

Russia has described the strikes as indiscriminate terrorist attacks intended to divert attention away from Ukraine’s setbacks on the battlefield and has responded with a renewed campaign of long-range strikes targeting dual-use and military-industrial sites.

Most of the Russian strikes have focused on the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, with military plants, drone assembly and storage facilities, and weapons stockpiles targeted in recent weeks.

Several US service members were injured when Iranian attacks struck military facilities in Jordan earlier this week, CBS News reported on Friday, just as Iran launched another wave of retaliatory strikes.

Attacks on at least two Jordanian bases used by US forces resulted in “several American service members being injured,” US officials told the broadcaster on condition of anonymity. No American or Jordanian fatalities were reported; the number of injured troops and the severity of their wounds remain unclear.

The US Department of War has yet to confirm the reported injuries or respond to the CBS account. It is also unclear exactly when the strikes occurred or which bases were hit. US warplanes routinely operate from Jordanian military installations, but the US does not publicly disclose all the facilities used by its forces.

Iran has been pounding US military facilities in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, and Syria with missiles and drones over the past week in retaliation for renewed US attacks on Iranian territory.

Footage from another angle shows two ballistic missiles impacting Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. The second impact caused a much larger explosion, suggesting it may have hit an important target. https://t.co/Twk7SQthzq pic.twitter.com/jtJwampn6g

— OSINTWarfare (@OSINTWarfare) July 18, 2026

On Friday evening, US Central Command launched strikes against Iran for the seventh consecutive night, triggering another wave of Iranian retaliation.

As seen from two different angles; 2 Iranian ballistic missiles bypass 6 Patriot air defense missiles and reach their target at the Muwaffaq airbase in Jordan. pic.twitter.com/rIkvvWgJv3

— ZAMAN (@zamannx) July 18, 2026

The Iranian Army announced on Saturday morning that the 14th phase of Operation Lightning targeted fuel tanks at Jordan’s Al-Azraq Air Base, an ammunition depot at Kuwait’s Al-Udeiri camp, and headquarters buildings, ammunition storage facilities, and connecting bridges at Ali Al-Salem Air Base.

The IRGC separately claimed that Iranian ballistic missiles struck US fighter jets stationed at Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base. Footage circulated by open-source intelligence accounts appears to show several MIM-104 Patriot interceptors being launched as missiles approach the base, followed by at least two apparent impacts. Neither Washington nor Amman has confirmed any damage or casualties from the latest attacks.

Tehran has claimed that its retaliatory attacks inflicted casualties among US personnel. On Friday, the IRGC said it struck US fighter jets and aerial-refueling aircraft in Jordan, as well as US forces and a HIMARS launcher in Kuwait, causing “significant casualties and damage.” It also claimed that “numerous” American special forces personnel were killed in Kuwait.

None of the claims were confirmed by the Pentagon. CENTCOM separately denied an Iranian claim that US troops were killed in an attack on the Al-Tanf base in Syria, stating on Friday that no American personnel in the region have “recently been killed or captured.”

Earlier this week, the IRGC directly appealed to the “noble people” of both Jordan and Kuwait to oppose the US military’s use of their countries as launchpads for attacks against Iran. It described Jordan as sacred land that has no place for foreign occupiers and urged Jordanians to “seize every opportunity to destroy American institutions and expel the occupying US army.”

US President Donald Trump’s social network Truth Social will start selling investors early access to posts from prominent accounts, most likely including his own, the holding company has announced.

Critics argue that the move could create an unprecedented new way for the president to profit from his office, given his family controls Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the platform’s publicly traded corporate parent.

The move was announced on Thursday, when TMTG unveiled Truth API, a business-to-business data feed providing “real-time access to posts from the highest-ranking Truth Social accounts.”

What is on offer?

The service will give paying institutional clients and algorithmic trading firms machine-readable access to posts from top Truth Social accounts “in milliseconds,” rather than relying on manual monitoring, TMTG said. The feed will offer 24/7 coverage and an archive of posts dating back to 2022. It is scheduled to launch on August 1, though the company did not disclose pricing.

“Markets already move on Truth Social posts. Truth API delivers a direct, licensed, real-time feed of the platform’s most market-moving Truths,” said Kevin McGurn, Interim Chief Executive Officer of TMTG. “We expect Truth API to become a meaningful, ongoing source of revenue for the company, creating lasting value for shareholders.”

Trump founded TMTG in 2021 after many major social media platforms suspended his accounts following the January 6 Capitol protests. He has extensively used Truth Social to announce major policy decisions with posts that have repeatedly moved financial markets – such as his April 9, 2025 post announcing a 90-day pause on many tariffs, which sent Wall Street indices sharply higher within minutes.

Why is it different?

While other platforms also sell premium data access, critics argue Truth Social’s move is different because it potentially allows Trump to monetize official presidential communications.

While the announcement does not explicitly say that the mechanism will cover Trump’s own posts, the president is the platform’s most-followed account with 12.9 million followers, trailed by his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, and the White House. Critics argue that as the largest shareholder of TMTG, he stands to benefit directly from the new service.

“He’s selling expedited, privileged access to information about what he is doing as president,” Kathleen Clark of the Washington University School of Law and an expert in government conflict-of-interest rules told AP. “It’s yet more brazen corruption, an improper exploitation of government power to enrich himself.”

Conflict-of-interest controversy

US conflict-of-interest laws bar executive branch officials from participating in government matters in which they have a financial interest. The president and vice president, however, are exempt.

Ethics experts note, however, that previous presidents generally divested holdings that posed conflicts and avoided monetizing official communications. Trump, in contrast, has retained his stake in TMTG, along with major crypto and real estate holdings. Recent financial disclosures show that his 2025 income exceeded $2.2 billion.

Multiple cases this year drew attention after well-timed trades ahead of political announcements generated huge profits. The Financial Times reported in March that oil traders placed more than $500 million in bets minutes before Trump announced “productive” talks with Iran at the height of the war. The timing prompted questions over who may have benefited, though the White House denied any official profited from insider knowledge.
Separately, market commentary platform The Kobeissi Letter claimed in May that a massive crude oil position placed shortly before reports of a possible US-Iran peace deal generated about $125 million in little more than an hour, again fueling insider trading speculation.

Also on Thursday, CNN reported that Trump himself may have timed investments around his Truth Social posts. The outlet said after comparing Trump’s posts with stock trades disclosed in his annual financial filings, it found at least 44 purchases involving 21 companies, including Nvidia, Tesla, Boeing, RTX, and Northrop Grumman, within a week before Trump posted messages about the companies, their executives, or products.

A Trump Organization spokesperson insisted in a statement that “neither President Trump, his family, nor The Trump Organization plays any role in selecting, directing, or approving specific investments.” Earlier, Trump also dismissed concerns, telling reporters last week that outside parties make his investment decisions and that his gains merely reflect a strong stock market.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose additional tariffs on Canada over wildfire smoke, which has blanketed much of the northeastern US just days before the World Cup final in New Jersey.

Trump accused Canada on Friday of failing to manage its forests and allowing “filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air” to cross the border.

“We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, claiming that the pollution is costing the US billions of dollars.

“This is Willful Negligence, and becoming a yearly occurrence,” he added, arguing that the cost “must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying.” Trump said he plans to call Prime Minister Mark Carney to ask what Ottawa intends to do about the fires.

NEW: NYC issues a Code Red air quality alert as smoke blankets the region; breathing the air is equivalent to smoking 10 cigarettes. pic.twitter.com/8Sn9kmzD96

— Scope Report (@ScopeReport_) July 16, 2026

Ontario Premier Doug Ford earlier rejected criticism from US politicians, pointing to Canadian assistance during American wildfires and hurricanes. “Maybe what you should do rather than complain is send support, send help,” he said.

🚨#BREAKING: New York City now has the worst air quality of any city on Earth as canadian Wildfires Blanket Northeast States in Apocalyptic Haze

📌#UnitedStates | #USA

Much of the Northeast has been enveloped in an apocalyptic haze as smoke from Canadian wildfires blankets the… pic.twitter.com/NqLZucjTsl

— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) June 7, 2023

Canada’s wildfire activity intensified in late June amid hot, dry conditions, with several major blazes in northwestern Ontario expanding sharply this week. Smoke from nearly 900 active fires reached New York City on Wednesday, pushing the Air Quality Index above 200 (classified as ‘very unhealthy’) in some areas by Thursday evening.

🚨🤯 2026 WORLD CUP FINAL IN CRISIS MODE!

Thick smoke from Canadian wildfires has swallowed New York. Air quality is in the danger zone — officials urging everyone to stay inside unless absolutely essential.

With the massive final under 48 hours away, FIFA is on high alert.… pic.twitter.com/PXNa3aQxMB

— FIFA World Cup Stats (@alimo_philip) July 17, 2026

Air-quality alerts remained in effect across New York City, Long Island, and parts of northern New Jersey through Saturday, including Bergen County, where MetLife Stadium is located. Officials warned that fine-particle pollution could reach unhealthy levels and urged residents – particularly children and people with heart or respiratory conditions – to limit outdoor exertion, stay indoors where possible, and wear an N95 or KN95 mask outside.

This comes days before Argentina and Spain play in the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Around 80,000 people are expected to attend.

The authorities and FIFA officials are monitoring conditions, although sources told ESPN that the final is not currently considered to be under threat. Rain and changing winds could improve air quality before kickoff, but forecasters cautioned that more smoke could move into the region after the rain passes.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claims that it destroyed a depot housing US unmanned surface vessels and the “main artificial intelligence center” in Bahrain, in retaliation for US strikes on Iranian bridges and other civilian infrastructure.

In a statement issued on Friday evening, the IRGC said it struck a depot housing American USVs in Bahrain during the 17th wave of Operation Nasr 2, claiming that “a large number” of the vessels were burned and destroyed.

“Furthermore, the main artificial intelligence center in Bahrain, which was being used by the Great Satan for enemy targeting to commit war crimes, was completely destroyed by several ballistic missiles and dozens of drones,” the IRGC said.

Neither the US nor Bahrain has officially confirmed any destruction resulting from the reported attacks. Bahrain hosts the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and is one of Washington’s principal military hubs in the Persian Gulf.

Iran also launched missiles and drones at US military assets across the region on Friday. Attacks and interceptions were reported in Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, and Qatar. Jordan said it intercepted several missiles without casualties or damage. The Qatari authorities reported that a child was injured by falling debris following interceptions.

The IRGC described the attacks as retaliation for US strikes on several Iranian bridges, which it said killed and injured multiple civilians. It threatened to target major industrial, information-technology and AI assets belonging to companies with American shareholders throughout the region if the US continues to strike Iranian civilian infrastructure.

“We will raze to the ground the most valuable assets of American companies in all countries that host US bases,” the statement warned, accusing the countries of complicity in Washington’s military operation.

US Central Command announced later on Friday that it launched another round of attacks on Iran, marking the seventh consecutive night of strikes. Iranian media subsequently reported five explosions in the central city of Yazd, as well as blasts in Fars Province and a missile attack on Ahvaz in the southwestern province of Khuzestan.

Earlier in the day, senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader and former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaei declared that Iran’s memorandum of understanding with the US is effectively dead.

He accused the US of violating the agreement by maintaining its naval blockade, continuing attacks on Iranian territory, refusing to release Iranian assets, and creating an “illegal” alternative shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that two oil tankers caught fire after attempting to pass through minefields in the southern Strait of Hormuz on Friday. Citing the IRGC Navy, the outlet said the waterway remains “extremely unsafe and completely closed” due to ongoing US military operations.

The latest escalation follows US strikes on at least five bridges and other infrastructure targets in southern Iran, after President Donald Trump officially restarted the war and threatened to target Iranian civilian infrastructure unless it agrees to Washington’s demands.

Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters slammed Western governments for pushing for war with Russia and banning RT so the warmongering “propaganda of the ruling class” can be freely disseminated.

Appearing on Tucker Carlson’s podcast, published on Friday, Waters expressed dismay that “some people in the governments of the United States of America, and the UK, and the European Union are making blood-curdling, bloodthirsty noises about” a potential conflict with Russia.

He noted that EU nations, including Germany, are rapidly increasing their military spending and funneling taxpayers’ money “into a big piggy bank in order to fight the Russians.”

“The Russians don’t want to invade Europe. What are they talking about?” he said, suggesting that certain interest groups are paying Western politicians to promote warmongering narratives and justify their outsized military expenditures.

Rather than antagonizing Russia and silencing voices that challenge Western propaganda, Waters said, “we have to be cooperating with the Russians.”

“It sort of breaks my heart that I can’t watch RT anymore. Because it’s banned. You can’t watch Russia Today,” he said, noting that it was taken off the air across much of the West following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022.

“So we live in a very difficult time where it may be, unless you, with your audience – or me with my tiny voice – can join with our brothers and sisters and pull together the ordinary working people all over the globe, and we can make the voice of the choir so loud that we can drown out the propaganda of the ruling class,” he said.

Waters has long been a critic of Western military support for Ukraine, telling RIA Novosti last November that officials in the UK and EU “don’t make any pretense that they care about” ordinary Ukrainians.

Their endgame is to use the “corrupt Nazis” in Kiev, who will “help them strip the country of all its assets and stuff the money into their pockets,” he said at the time.

The 13th test flight of SpaceX’s Starship ended abruptly after an engine malfunction forced an automatic launch abort seconds before liftoff on Thursday.

A live stream from the Starbase launch site in Texas showed clouds of smoke and vapor billowing from the rocket as its engines ignited. However, Starship failed to leave the pad.

“We did trigger a hold on the booster that aborted our liftoff as we were starting to light those Raptor engines,” SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot said during the webcast.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk later confirmed on X that “some of the engines didn’t start, triggering an automatic launch abort.”

“Next launch attempt hopefully in a few days,” he added.

The mission was set to deploy 20 of the latest Version 3 Starlink satellites into orbit.

The aborted launch follows several upgrades made after Starship’s previous test flight in May, when a simulated landing of the Super Heavy V3 booster in the Gulf of Mexico ended in an explosion.

The upper-stage Starship also broke apart after splashing down in the Indian Ocean, although SpaceX still declared the mission a success.

The latest setback sent SpaceX shares down to $131.11 early on Friday, leaving them below the company’s IPO price of $135. The stock had already slipped to $132.28 on Wednesday amid growing investor concerns over whether the company can generate enough profit to justify its trillion-dollar valuation.

SpaceX went public last month in a record $75 billion offering that briefly made Musk the world's first trillionaire.

The company is competing with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to build lunar landers for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon by landing near its south pole.

Earlier this week, Russia successfully launched a Soyuz-2.1a rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, along with NASA astronaut Anil Menon, to the International Space Station.

Newly released footage shows the moment a bomb exploded in an assassination attempt on exiled Ukrainian businessman Vadim Ermolaev in Monaco last month.

Multimillionaire Ermolaev, now a Cypriot citizen, his partner, and their 13-year-old son were seriously injured on June 29 when an improvised explosive device detonated near the entrance to a residential building. Ermolaev, who was sanctioned by Kiev in 2023, had reportedly planned to expose corruption involving senior Ukrainian officials.

The footage was published on Friday by Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who said on Telegram that the suspects had secretly installed a surveillance camera near the scene to verify the assassination before deleting the recording. Investigators later recovered and restored the footage, he said.

The video shows a person placing a black backpack by the entrance before walking away. Minutes later, Ermolaev and his family approach the building. The suspect appears to glance back twice while speaking on a mobile phone before the device explodes. Investigators said the bomb was remotely detonated and packed with shrapnel.

Investigators identified Ukrainian national Anastasia Berezovskaya as the main suspect in the bombing. Prosecutors said she was later found dead outside Kiev with a gunshot wound to the head, allegedly killed by accomplices seeking to eliminate a witness.

According to investigators, Berezovskaya had been in contact before the bombing with two men, including Vitaly Zhikovich, an acting colonel in the Ukrainian military intelligence agency (HUR). Ukrainian authorities later detained Zhikovich and a former law enforcement officer over her killing, identifying Zhikovich as the alleged organizer of the Monaco attack. Police said a search of his home uncovered a basement room that “resembled a torture dungeon.”

According to Russian security services, Zhikovich attempted but failed to commit at least 20 terrorist acts in Russia in recent years.

Former Ukrainian diplomat Andrey Telizhenko told RT that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and military intelligence chief Kirill Budanov had “personally cleared” the killing of the woman suspected of carrying out the Monaco bombing. He claimed Kiev intended to use her in a broader operation to implicate Russia.

Israel has reportedly reclassified Nile crocodiles as “tended” animals, potentially clearing the way for their use as part of prison security.

The controversial proposal to surround prisons with crocodile-filled moats was reportedly floated late last year by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who argued the reptiles would strengthen security and deter escape attempts. The plan was initially deemed legally unfeasible by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority because Nile crocodiles were classified as wild animals that could only be kept in zoos and wildlife sanctuaries.

That legal obstacle was reportedly removed this week when Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman redesignated the Nile crocodile as a “tended wild animal,” Israeli media reported on Friday. The new classification allows the reptiles to be kept in a wider range of facilities, potentially including prisons.

The new designation reportedly comes despite warnings from the ministry’s legal adviser, who told Silman she had no authority to unilaterally decide on the status of the crocodiles and lay the groundwork for their deployment into prisons. A few weeks ago, Ben-Gvir and Silman reportedly held a meeting with the legal adviser and Nature and Parks Authority chief Raya Soraki, pressing them into accepting the dubious plan.

According to Israeli media reports, Ben-Gvir wants to first introduce the reptiles to Ketziot Prison, a penitentiary in southern Israel that holds primarily Palestinian prisoners. After he first floated the proposal, the Israel Prison Service (IPS) reviewed it and sent officers to the Hamat Gader crocodile farm early in January to familiarize themselves with the reptiles.

לאחר הצעת בן גביר להקמת בית כלא מוקף תנינים למחבלים: קציני שב"ס הגיעו הבוקר לחמת גדר לסיור למידה | @lee_ayash pic.twitter.com/xgWGqJ9zRJ

— i24NEWS (@i24NEWS_HE) January 1, 2026

The IPS reportedly received the minister’s proposal favorably, considering settling for smaller specimens that would cost about $8,000 per head rather than elder reptiles costing around $20,000. “This is a relatively small sum compared with the security investment a prison requires, and the results would be even better,” an IPS source told the Maariv newspaper at the time, adding that the “also dangerous” small reptiles would eventually grow inside the prison compound.

Several women have accused Gerald Marie, the former head of Elite Model Management's European operations, of rape and human trafficking in a criminal complaint filed in France. At least one of the plaintiffs alleges she was sexually abused while still a minor.

Marie, whose agency represented some of the world's biggest supermodels, including Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, and Cindy Crawford, has faced similar accusations from more than a dozen women over the past several years. French prosecutors previously investigated the claims but closed the case in 2023 because the alleged offenses, dating largely to the 1980s and early 1990s, fell outside the statute of limitations. Marie has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Six women, most of them Americans, filed the latest complaint on Wednesday, according to their lawyer, Mathias Darmon. Two are accusing Marie publicly for the first time, including one who alleges she was underage when she was assaulted.

The complaint alleges that Marie, while running one of the world's leading modeling agencies in Paris, “used the authority, influence and power conferred on him by his position to obtain forced sexual relations with numerous young women, some of whom were underage,” according to excerpts published by Le Monde and AFP.

Responding to the new filing, Marie's lawyer, Celine Bekerman, said that there was “no reason whatsoever to call on the courts to again revisit a case that is both time-barred and closed, nearly 40 years after the alleged events.”

Last month, former supermodel Carre Otis filed a separate complaint in Paris accusing Marie of repeatedly raping her when she was 17 and trafficking her to wealthy men in Europe. Otis first made the allegations in her 2011 memoir Beauty, Disrupted.

Earlier this year, 14 women, including former BBC journalist Lisa Brinkworth, also urged French authorities to investigate Marie over alleged links to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In 2020, dozens of former models from the US, Canada, and Sweden told The Guardian that they had been sexually assaulted after Marie invited them to private meetings at his apartments in the 1980s. Several said they did not come forward earlier because they feared it would end their modeling careers, while others accused him of exploiting their youth and poor command of French.

India’s concerns on finalizing a trade deal with the US have been underscored by Washington’s move to slap 25% tariffs on Brazil.

The US announced the 25% tariffs on Thursday following a Section 301 investigation into Brazil’s trade practices. The tariffs are scheduled to take effect on July 22.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative cited Brazil’s preferential tariff arrangements with India and Mexico as one of the reasons for imposing the tariffs on certain Brazilian imports.

New Delhi has concerns that the US is likely to slap similar tariffs on India, which is also the subject of a probe along with China and other countries. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated last month that tariff rates could return to previous levels after US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer “concludes studies on Section 301 investigations.”

The US has been exploring ways to bring back the levies after the Supreme Court struck down the earlier tariffs imposed by the Trump administration under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act as illegal.

India and the US announced the broad contours of a trade pact in February after protracted negotiations. However, talks for a final deal lost momentum after the Supreme Court’s decision.

The temporary 10% tariffs imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act after the court decision will lapse on July 24. That could potentially level the playing field for all countries, blunting any competitive advantages that New Delhi would have gained from a trade deal. The same would apply to any additional levies under Section 301.

Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said last month that New Delhi “cannot enter into force a US deal” until the “framework for getting a competitive advantage is finalized.

India’s key export sectors, including textiles, could all face uncertainty depending on how the US proceeds with the Section 301 probes, academic Biswajit Dhar was cited by the Hindu Business Line as saying.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki has vetoed a bill introducing ‘cohabitation contracts’ for couples living together regardless of their gender, arguing that the legislation goes against the constitutional definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

The veto is another blow to pro-EU Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who has repeatedly pledged to deliver reforms on LGBTQ rights and less strict abortion laws. A lack of unity on the sensitive issues within the ruling coalition, as well as resistance from the nationalist president, has hampered the advancement of these plans.

The legislation envisioned the introduction of cohabitation contracts, which would have allowed two adults to enter into a marriage-like agreement governing various issues, including access to medical information, joint property rights, and burial matters. The final version of the bill was already watered down to secure support from conservative partners within the ruling coalition, which argued that the original legislation would have undermined marriage.

Nawrocki argued that the bill “would lead to the loss of the ‌special status of marriage, defined in... the Constitution as the union of a man and a woman.”

“These proposals create a new, formalized institution of family law, equipped with a broad catalog of rights similar to those of marriage,” he said on Friday.

Tusk condemned the veto, calling Nawrocki’s decision “an expression of contempt for people and their right to happiness and a normal life.”

The government now needs to secure a three-fifths majority in parliament to overturn the presidential veto. This is highly unlikely, as the legislation is strongly opposed by right-wing opposition parties and the ruling coalition lacks the necessary numbers by a wide margin.

This comes after the EU’s highest court forced Poland to recognize same-sex marriages registered in other countries of the bloc. The ruling was handed down last November, with Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court citing it for the first time in March when it ordered the authorities to recognize the marriage of two Polish men registered in Germany and the first same-sex marriage certificate was issued in the country in May.

Obesity may be keeping more than half a million people out of work in Britain, a new research presented at the International Congress on Obesity in Mexico has found.

Scientists from the University of York analyzed data from 284,258 UK Biobank participants – working-age men (38-65) and women (38-60) – and found obesity reduced the probability of being employed by 4.2 percentage points. Among those studied, the overall employment rate was 75.5%, with roughly one-quarter meeting the clinical definition of obesity – a body mass index (BMI) above 30.

The findings presented on Thursday suggest roughly four in every 100 obese people may be unemployed because of their weight alone – some 600,000 people. It also found that the effect was significantly stronger among men than women: obesity reduced men’s chances of being employed by 6.6 percentage points, compared with 2.1 percentage points for women.

Researchers warned that obesity has implications beyond public health, arguing that it also causes “substantial economic losses” by reducing workforce participation during peak working years.

According to lead author Dr Aharon Katz, “tackling obesity isn’t just a health imperative – it’s an opportunity to boost economic productivity. Because obesity affects workers in the prime years of their working lives, it may have profound effects on their working careers, individual health and societal costs.”

Katz called for targeted policies and workplace initiatives to raise awareness, reduce bias, and improve inclusivity.

Previous research cited in the study also linked obesity to higher sickness absence and lower wages, estimating that it costs the UK around £31 billion ($41.6 billion) annually in lost productivity and about £126 billion in total economic and societal costs.

Around two-thirds of UK adults are overweight or obese, with obesity rates having doubled since the 1990s and increasingly linked to major health risks.

Last month, the British Heart Foundation estimated that obesity contributes to around one in nine cardiovascular deaths in England and warned that weight-related heart disease could claim about 170,000 lives by 2035. An April study by the Institute of Cancer Research and Imperial College London also identified excess weight as a key driver of rising cancer rates among younger adults.

Meanwhile, Britain faces an ongoing economic and cost-of-living crisis which contributes to slow economic growth and the steepest decline in household wealth since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The findings come as the UK government pilots programs offering weight-loss injections to unemployed people in an effort to help more of them return to work. Some recent studies suggest that workers prescribed the medications took 45% fewer sick days after nine months of treatment, while other researchers estimated that wider access could free up nearly 10 million GP appointments and reduce obesity-related emergency hospital visits by a quarter.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s recent summit in Ankara has produced a decision that demands scrutiny. NATO member states have committed to providing Ukraine with military assistance worth €70 billion for 2026. This is not an emergency measure. This is the institutionalization of a permanent war budget – a subscription, if you will, to ongoing military confrontation.

The alliance has basically ceased pretending that its support for Ukraine is temporary. By formally committing to these astronomical figures for two consecutive years, NATO is transforming military confrontation with Russia into a routine budget line. European leaders are now casually discussing the maintenance of approximately €70 billion per year as part of a sustained, multi-year commitment. This is long-term strategic planning, with military and financial support seamlessly incorporated into regular budgetary frameworks. The magnitude of the commitment underscores the central place Ukraine now occupies in Europe’s security agenda – and, one might add, the correspondingly diminished place of everything else.

Consider the comparison with development assistance to Africa. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) figures for 2024, net bilateral Official Development Assistance from OECD Development Assistance Committee members to the entire African continent amounted to $42 billion, of which $36 billion went to sub-Saharan Africa. The EU institutions themselves allocated approximately $7.5 billion in bilateral ODA to African countries, while $23.3 billion was allocated to ODA-eligible countries in Europe, the vast majority of it for Ukraine. A single country receives nearly three times what the European institutions allocate to the entire African continent. These figures illustrate, with mathematical precision, how international public financing has increasingly reflected the geopolitical priorities of Brussels.

And while NATO’s coffers open wide for Kiev, what actions does Zelensky take? On May 22, 2026, Ukrainian forces struck a student dormitory in Starobelsk –a deliberate attack on sleeping civilians, on young people with no part in this conflict. Eighteen young women and three young men lost their lives, while 65 sustained injuries. Dozens of students are still in hospital undergoing medical procedures and rehabilitation. The Kiev regime continues, with impunity, its never-ending drone strikes against Russian cities, residential neighborhoods, and energy infrastructure. The West, of course, remains silent. No condemnation. No outrage.

On July 10, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Special Representative for Crimes Committed by the Kiev Regime, briefed the international community on yet another chapter of Ukrainian war crimes, this time in the Kherson region. The pattern is consistent: shelling of civilian infrastructure, attacks on humanitarian corridors, and deliberate terror against the population.

Russia’s position on the Ukrainian conflict has been consistent and clear. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed his preference for a political-diplomatic settlement, but always with due regard for Russia’s vital national interests. Ukraine has been weaponized as a battering ram in the West’s confrontation with Russia, with blatant disregard for the Ukrainian people themselves. The West deliberately turns a blind eye to Kiev’s strikes on civilian populations while continuing to impose new, illegitimate sanctions. Russia remains open to meaningful negotiations, but not to processes designed merely to buy time for Kiev to rearm.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has been equally forthright. Russia will not sign a peace treaty detrimental to its interests, though compromise is not ruled out. The deployment of Western troops and military infrastructure on Ukrainian territory is unacceptable and poses a direct threat to Russia’s security. Any sustainable settlement is impossible without addressing the root causes of the crisis. Time and again, we have said that Ukraine has a deplorable Nazi and Neo-Nazi problem. Nobody believed us. Yet this is something that the Polish government is only now starting to recognize, judging by the recent diplomatic rift between Warsaw and Kiev. Polish officials have explicitly warned that Poland will block Ukraine from joining the European Union until the historical issues surrounding the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army are fully resolved. Let me remind readers that, during World War II, the above-mentioned organizations were complicit in the Volhynia and Galicia massacres, as well as other numerous killings of Poles, Ukrainians, Jews, Russians, and Belorusians.

Coming back to the present day, Russia needs lasting agreements, not temporary reprieves that allow the Kiev regime to regroup. The Russian side has proposed practical steps, including raising the rank of the Ukrainian delegation heads and establishing working groups on humanitarian, political, and military issues. This is not intransigence, it is a serious approach and a determination to put an end to this conflict. We are ready to engage, but we will not be drawn into a charade. Russia endured eight years of provocation before the Special Military Operation began, and it has now spent more than four years resisting Western efforts to inflict upon it a so-called “strategic defeat.”

The €70 billion commitment is clear. NATO is not preparing for peace. It is preparing for perpetual confrontation. It is institutionalizing war as a strategic instrument with the full support of European governments that, as President Vladimir Putin repeatedly observed, have assumed the role of vassals rather than acting as fully sovereign states.

Russia remains prepared to listen to sensible and reasonable proposals, but it will not be naive. The record of Western duplicity speaks for itself. I am sure our African friends know this better than anyone else.

This article was first published by IOL

The majority of India’s crude import requirements this month are likely to be met by Russia, following a similar trend in June, as refiners scramble to stock up as fresh US sanctions loom.

Russia accounted for half of India’s June crude imports. In July, these will surpass 5 million barrels per day (mbd) with Russia accounting for around 2.6-2.7 mbd, The Hindu Business Line reported, quoting an unnamed senior executive of a refiner.

Last month’s rise came despite a sanctions waiver from the US ending halfway through the month as the world’s third-largest energy importer looks to keep its domestic market supplied. The reliance on Russian crude became more notable for India following the disruption to the passage of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, triggered by the US and Israel’s attack on Iran.

The trend will likely continue in August as the first-half supply contracts have already been made, the report said.

This comes as a bipartisan group of US senators is pushing a bill to impose 100% tariffs on the top five countries, which includes India and China, buying Russian oil and gas. The aim, the group says, is to cut Moscow’s revenues from energy sales and pressure it to end the Ukraine conflict. The bill, originally championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, has the support of President Donald Trump.

However, in a sign of how the bill will protect the interests of US allies while targeting emerging powers, it has tariff exceptions for Japan, France, Hungary, and Belgium – the other top buyers of Russian gas.

China has said that it will take necessary measures to “firmly defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese businesses and citizens” if the sanctions are levied.

India does not have many alternative suppliers capable of replacing Russian crude at the same scale, reliability, and economics, Sumit Ritolia, Lead Research Analyst for Refining & Modeling at Kpler, told the Hindu Business Line.

Moscow has dismissed claims linking Russia to threats against US elections, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, calling the intelligence cited by Washington unsubstantiated.

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump delivered a prime-time address which focused on alleged vulnerabilities in the voting infrastructure. He said the current system “falls catastrophically short” and is exposed to hacking.

While Trump barely mentioned Russia in his speech and was more focused on alleged meddling efforts by China – which Beijing has denied – the White House released a trove of declassified documents, with one assessment stating: “We judge that US adversaries, including at a minimum Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea… have the capability to compromise US election infrastructure.”

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Peskov said the allegations are based on “certain anonymous and unsubstantiated information from the US intelligence services.”

He noted that “investigations and inquiries were conducted in the US” and they came to “the conclusion that Russia did not influence the elections in the US in any way.”

“Russia has never interfered in the internal affairs of other countries, and we expect that no one will try to interfere in our internal affairs,” he added.

Allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election and coordination between Trump’s campaign and Moscow – known as Russiagate – overshadowed much of Trump’s first term and led to an investigation overseen by special counsel Robert Mueller.

While Mueller claimed that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election “in sweeping and systematic fashion” – which Moscow firmly denied – he did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government.

Police in Poland have recorded a sharp rise in hate crime complaints from Ukrainians, according to national newspaper Rzeczpospolita. Ukrainians have increasingly reported physical assaults, verbal abuse, and online harassment, the outlet said.

Ukrainians filed 180 hate crime complaints in the first six months of 2026 – around 30% more than in the same period last year, Rzeczpospolita reported on Friday, citing data from Poland’s National Police Headquarters.

The figures follow a series of anti-Ukrainian incidents across the country. In the southern city of Bielsko-Biala, a bus driver was charged after allegedly insulting two 11-year-old Ukrainian girls because of their nationality. Other cases have been reported in Warsaw, Poznan, and other cities.

“I assume these statistics don’t reflect the whole truth. It’s usually assumed that hate crimes are underreported. Some victims don’t want to report a crime because they’re simply afraid,” sociologist Jacek Kucharczyk told the newspaper. He argued that a “toxic atmosphere” surrounding Ukrainians, fueled by political rhetoric and social media, had spilled over into everyday life.

A separate report by the Union of Ukrainians in Poland found that anti-Ukrainian hate speech and bias-motivated crimes tend to rise in waves, driven by political developments and social tensions. It also cited research by the Demagog association and the Institute of Media Monitoring, which identified around 94,000 anti-Ukrainian social media posts during Poland’s 2025 presidential election campaign.

Relations between Warsaw and Kiev have deteriorated in recent months over the Volhynia Massacre, a campaign of ethnic cleansing carried out by Ukrainian Nazi collaborators during World War II.

Poland recognizes the killings as genocide, while Ukraine honors many of those involved as national heroes. The dispute flared again last month after Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky named one of the country’s commando units after the “heroes of the UPA” (Ukrainian Insurgent Army), whose members Poland holds responsible for the wartime massacre of tens of thousands of Poles. In response, Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked Zelensky’s Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest state honor, saying the move had crossed a line for most Poles.

Astronomers have detected an atmosphere on a rocky planet within a potentially habitable zone outside the Solar System for the first time, according to a new report by a Harvard-led team of scientists.

The findings stemmed from analyzing data on the super-Earth LHS 1140b, which circles a red dwarf 49 light-years from Earth in a temperature zone that theoretically allows liquid water to exist. The discovery, published in the journal Science on Thursday, was based on traces of helium escaping the planet.

“An atmosphere is essential for a planet to support life as we know it,” Collin Cherubim, the study’s lead author and a planetary scientist who works at the University of Chicago, said. “This is the first time anyone has found an atmosphere on a rocky planet in the habitable zone of another star.”

The team first spotted the signal in 2024, watching LHS 1140b with the WINERED spectrograph on the Magellan Clay Telescope in Chile. The instrument caught helium thinning at high altitude, a sign the gas is steadily leaking from the planet’s upper atmosphere.

Cherubim tempered the excitement, saying that “at this point, we have absolutely no evidence for life on the planet,” adding that “we think all of the really important, essential ingredients are there.”

The scientist still called the discovery “really exciting,” stating that “it really puts LHS 1140b at the forefront as the best, most promising, exciting laboratory for studying astrobiology and habitability outside of our solar system.” He noted LHS 1140b resembles Earth in bulk composition and temperature but differs sharply elsewhere, including its tidal lock and likely deeper water reserves.

First discovered in 2017, LHS 1140b is a heavy world, about 5.6 times Earth’s mass and working out to nearly twice Earth’s surface gravity – not deadly enough to kill a human outright, but enough to cause serious joint damage, rapid muscle fatigue, and dangerous cardiovascular strain over time.

One side of the planet is always facing its star, which itself is a red dwarf burning at roughly half the Sun’s surface temperature. Compared to the Sun, red dwarfs are more volatile and tend to blast off flares that typically strip small, close-orbiting worlds bare. The red dwarf near LHS 1140b, however, is unusually calm – which may explain why the planet kept an atmosphere at all.

Apart from helium, the exact make-up of the atmosphere is unclear, but earlier studies suggested the presence of nitrogen, possibly mixed with water vapor and carbon dioxide. Helium isotopes are in high demand but notoriously difficult to obtain on Earth. Helium-4 can be used as a supercoolant in complicated machines while its rarer cousin, helium-3, is prized as a potential fuel for future fusion reactors – one reason companies are eyeing it on the Moon.

In addition, recent studies have shown that some living microorganisms – such as yeast and E. coli bacteria – can survive in an atmosphere of pure helium and hydrogen.

While essentially next door by space standards, LHS 1140b is well beyond the reach of any spacecraft humans have built. NASA’s Voyager 1 – the fastest human-made interstellar object, which reached the speed of 17 km/s by slingshotting past Jupiter’s and Saturn’s gravity and now traveling beyond the Solar System – would need roughly 860,000 years to cross the distance to the planet.

Ukraine has deployed military personnel to several African countries in an attempt to open a “second front” against Russia, Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Borisenko has said. In an interview with TASS published on Friday, the Russian diplomat named Mali, Libya, and Sudan as countries where Ukrainian personnel have allegedly supported armed groups or carried out attacks against Russian interests.

He said Ukrainian instructors, including “those trained in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles,” are embedded with Islamist militants in Mali, which has battled a jihadist insurgency for over a decade.

Ukraine has been at the center of a diplomatic dispute in the Sahel since an ambush in July 2024 by Tuareg rebels killed dozens of Malian soldiers and Russian military contractors. Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andrey Yusov said at the time that the rebels received information that enabled the attack, although Kiev later denied supporting terrorism.

Recent attacks have targeted strategic military sites across Mali and neighboring Niger, including the airport in Niamey, which also houses an airbase and the headquarters of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) joint force. Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso established the force to combat the regional insurgency with Russian support under defense and counterterrorism agreements.

The AES has accused foreign powers, including France and Ukraine, of supporting armed groups behind attacks across the Sahel. On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after talks with his Chadian counterpart, Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul, that former colonial powers are using Ukrainian militants alongside terrorist groups to destabilize the Sahel and undermine Russia’s ties with countries in the region.

Borisenko also said on Friday that Ukrainian instructors sent to Libya to train local forces in drone warfare used “unmanned boats against the Russian tanker Arctic Metagaz, which was damaged earlier in March” between Libya and Malta and is “still drifting in the Mediterranean.” The Russian Investigative Committee said aerial and naval drones damaged its control systems and two storage tanks, injuring two crew members.

In Sudan, Borisenko said Ukrainian personnel fought alongside the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during its capture of El Fasher late last year, when dozens of civilians were killed. A Sudanese Foreign Ministry official told RT in June 2025 that Kiev provided drones to the RSF, which has been locked in a brutal civil war with the Sudanese army since April 2023.

Ukraine’s latest government reshuffle is not about reforming the military but about Vladimir Zelensky trying to preserve his grip on power, exiled opposition leader Viktor Medvedchuk has said.

Medvedchuk, who formerly led the Opposition Platform – For Life party, banned by Kiev, made the remarks after Zelensky dismissed Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov and launched a broader cabinet overhaul that has triggered protests across Ukraine.

Zelensky justified Fedorov’s dismissal by citing tensions between the defense minister and Commander-in-Chief Aleksandr Syrsky, stating the two could not work together without his personal mediation.

However, in an article published on Thursday via his Other Ukraine platform, Medvedchuk said the real political struggle in Kiev is actually between Fedorov and Zelensky himself, and is “not for military power, but for civilian power, for overall leadership of the country.”

He claimed that despite nationwide protests, Zelensky cannot afford to back down after firing Fedorov because doing so would mean surrendering political control and access to wartime graft schemes.

“For the bloody clown, to retreat now means to finally lose power and hand over military corruption flows to others,” Medvedchuk wrote.

The replacement of Fedorov with acting Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) chief Evgeny Khmara is intended to extend the influence of the Zelensky-controlled agency over the Defense Ministry, Medvedchuk added.

Ukrainian media have reported that Fedorov’s dismissal was also linked to Zelensky’s dissatisfaction with the minister’s “independent political game” and ties to circles close to the Western-backed National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), which have investigated multiple high-profile corruption cases involving senior Ukrainian officials.

Fedorov, 35, was Ukraine’s youngest-ever defense minister and only assumed the role in January. He deepened Ukraine’s ties with Palantir, a controversial US data-mining and military technology company, but failed to reform his corruption-prone ministry in accordance with “NATO standards,” as Fedorov himself admitted while confirming his departure.

His dismissal has sparked demonstrations in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities, with protesters demanding that he be reinstated and some calling for Syrsky to be removed instead. Fedorov has also accused Syrsky of “splitting the country” and backed calls for his dismissal.

India has rolled out a hydrogen train service as a pilot project using fuel-cell technology, joining an elite four-nation group that operates these trains.

The pilot project is envisaged to test hydrogen technology, as the world’s most populous country embraces clean technologies for the travel needs of its 1.4 billion citizens. Only Germany, Japan, the US, and China have hydrogen-powered rail services.

The hydrogen train will run on an 89-km stretch in the northern state of Haryana between Jind and Sonipat. It will have a maximum operational speed of 75 kph and can go up to 110 kph.

The train, which can carry up to 2,600 passengers, has ten cars – two hydrogen-powered driving cars and eight passenger coaches – making it the largest train in the hydrogen category.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who attended the inaugural ceremony on Friday morning, called it “a major leap towards green mobility” for the country in an X post.

India takes a major leap towards green mobility!

In Jind, flagged off India’s first indigenous hydrogen-powered train between Jind and Sonipat.

This remarkable achievement reflects the ingenuity and dedication of the Indian Railways team. It is a proud symbol of Aatmanirbhar… pic.twitter.com/hVo89u5vvI

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 17, 2026

Hydrogen fuel-cells convert hydrogen to electricity using an electrochemical process to run the train. The byproducts are water vapor and heat, making it an attractive alternative to diesel, which emits carbon dioxide, soot, and other exhaust gases.

However, it is less energy efficient than direct-electric trains which draw power from an overhead wire or third rail.

Refueling is quicker compared to recharging large batteries. The pilot project includes hydrogen storage and refueling facilities.

Hydrogen trains can easily fill the gaps in India’s 115,000 km railway network – among the largest in the world – where lines have not been electrified, or where electrification is not viable.

The overall carbon benefit is greatest when the hydrogen is produced using renewable energy, as India is doing.
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Germany tested the first hydrogen-powered passenger train – Alstom’s Coradia iLint – in March 2017 and rolled out regular commercial passenger service in 2018.

The two-passenger car train logged a 1,175 km journey without refueling in 2022.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has warned the administration of US President Donald Trump against interfering in his country’s elections.

Germany is due to hold federal elections in September, with immigration expected to be among the campaign’s defining issues.

“It is illegal to finance political parties in Germany from abroad,” Merz said on Wednesday. “And I assume that our friends around the world, in particular, will also abide by these legal rules that we have established in Germany.”

Merz’s remarks came after the US State Department launched a grant program on Monday worth nearly $5 million to support projects aimed at strengthening democratic resilience, the rule of law, freedom of speech and the press, and human rights in Europe.

The department said beneficiaries should address “national sovereignty, migration, censorship, and lawfare challenges” in line with a “shared political philosophy,” the law, and “our common Western civilizational heritage.”

“For our part, we do not interfere in American elections,” Merz told reporters. “Conversely, I do not want the American government or institutions close to the government to interfere in German elections.”

Although political parties are not explicitly listed as eligible for the grants, Merz stressed that foreign funding of political actors is illegal under German law.

Responding to Merz’s criticism, a US State Department spokesperson told Politico that the Trump administration remained committed to “defending democracy and human rights around the world, including in Europe.” The spokesperson said the funding was intended to help European allies protect those rights, along with their “civilizational self-confidence and sovereignty from those who seek to undermine them.”

The funding is part of a months-long effort by the Trump administration to redirect US government money toward supporting nationalist and right-wing groups – and potentially political parties – across Europe, in line with its National Security Strategy, The Guardian said on Thursday, citing former US officials.

According to the outlet, the program’s eligibility criteria are broad and vague, allowing applications from “individuals” and “governmental institution[s]” without clarifying who qualifies.

“There seems to be an effort by the State Department to put the thumb on the scale of elections in Europe, giving an unfair advantage to rightwing parties with resources that they would ordinarily not get,” one former State Department official told the outlet.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party initially embraced backing from figures close to Trump, including Elon Musk and Vice President J.D. Vance, who criticized Europe’s treatment of right-wing parties at last year’s Munich Security Conference. The party has since publicly distanced itself from the MAGA movement as it prepares for September’s state elections in eastern Germany.

The grant program is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to deepen ties with socially conservative groups and right-wing political movements across Europe. The new US National Security Strategy, released in December, claims Europe is facing “civilizational erasure” and praises the growing influence of “patriotic European parties,” in what appears to be a reference to populist movements.

The Trump administration has repeatedly accused Russia and China of election interference, but now appears to be seeking to influence votes in Europe. In a prime-time address on Thursday, Trump claimed Chinese intelligence had obtained 220 million US voter records, calling it the “largest compromise” of election data in the country’s history. Beijing rejected the allegation, saying it “has never and will never interfere” in US presidential elections.

The worsening Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) has disrupted travel and delayed negotiations linked to a US-backed critical minerals partnership, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing four people familiar with the matter.

The partnership is part of Washington’s broader efforts to diversify critical mineral supplies and reduce reliance on China.

The outbreak has delayed travel and negotiations linked to a US-backed minerals partnership. Although existing mining operations have not been directly affected, visits by suppliers, consultants, and investors have been postponed, creating logistical difficulties and slowing discussions on expanding cooperation, according to the report.

A meeting in Washington scheduled for June to assess the interest of US companies in Congolese mining projects was postponed, while a planned review in July was canceled because key participants could not travel from the US. Some discussions have since moved to Paris and Brussels, while negotiations have continued in London.

DR Congo is the world’s largest producer of cobalt and the second-largest supplier of copper. It also holds significant reserves of lithium, tantalum, and germanium, minerals essential for electric vehicles, electronics, energy infrastructure, and defense industries.

Washington launched negotiations with Kinshasa last year as part of a broader effort to diversify US critical mineral supply chains. In exchange for greater American investment and security support, the US has sought expanded access to Congolese mineral resources.

The talks came as fighting between the M23 armed group and government forces intensified in the country’s mineral-rich east. Following talks with Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi in April 2025, US Africa adviser Massad Boulos said the partnership could attract multi-billion-dollar investments.

The two countries signed the Strategic Partnership Agreement in December 2025 alongside the US-brokered Washington Accords between DR Congo and Rwanda. The deal commits the sides to expanding American access to Congolese minerals and developing transport infrastructure, including the Lobito Corridor linking mining regions to Angola’s Atlantic coast.

The initiative forms part of Washington’s broader strategy to challenge China’s dominance in critical mineral supply chains. Chinese companies have spent years investing billions of dollars in Congolese mining and are major players in the country’s cobalt and copper sectors.

The World Health Organization said on Thursday that DR Congo has recorded 2,073 cases and 796 deaths since an outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus was declared on May 15.

The US State Department told Reuters that Washington is committed to containing the outbreak while advancing the minerals partnership.

On Thursday, the US Embassy in Kinshasa announced new health measures barring US nationals leaving DR Congo from flying directly to the US until they have spent 21 days in another country, underscoring the growing impact of the outbreak on travel and engagement with the central African nation.

US President Donald Trump’s veteran teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez is under investigation over an alleged insider betting scheme tied to the president’s speeches.

The aide is believed to have earned thousands of dollars by placing bets on the contents of Trump’s remarks on prediction market Kalshi, a platform where users trade contracts on the outcome of future events.

Perez has served as one of Trump’s teleprompter operators since the president’s first campaign in 2016 – a role former aides have described as very challenging due to Trump’s tendency to improvise. Perez was one of only a few people with advance access to Trump’s speeches and was known to receive last-minute edits directly from Trump.

According to ABC News, which first broke the story on Thursday, a federal probe was launched after Kalshi flagged unusual trading activity on its ‘Mentions’ market, where users can bet on which words and phrases public figures will say during speeches and events. The company said it referred the matter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal regulator overseeing the industry.

Sources claim CFTC investigators found Perez had placed bets on more than a dozen Trump speeches over a three-month period, including his January speech at the World Economic Forum and February’s State of the Union address. Investigators also reportedly found instances where Perez backed out of bets mid-speech when Trump – who frequently departs from prepared remarks – skipped sections containing words Perez had wagered on. Sources said Perez made more than $100,000 on the bets, although his account was frozen before the money could be withdrawn.

“Our surveillance team promptly flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC… We have been assisting regulators on this matter and provided evidence we collected,” Kalshi’s lead lawyer, Robert DeNault, said in a statement.

White House rules prohibit employees from using non-public government information for personal financial gain, including placing speculative bets on prediction platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket based on advance knowledge of government actions. Kalshi, the first federally regulated US prediction market launched in 2021, also prohibits users from placing trades based on information obtained through their jobs.

Commenting on the report, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the CFTC investigation and said Perez had been placed on unpaid administrative leave. She said she discussed the matter with Trump, who called it a “disgrace” and personally decided to suspend the staffer.

“There are very strict ethical guidelines here at the White House that explicitly state not to do this… And if they are violated, people will pay consequences for that, as you’re seeing with this case,” Leavitt said at a briefing, adding that Perez will no longer work at the White House.

Trump has not publicly commented on the case. A CFTC spokesperson declined to comment.

Prediction markets controversy

Prediction markets are facing mounting legal and political scrutiny in the US. The Department of Justice recently filed its first insider trading cases tied to the platforms, including allegations against a US special forces soldier accused of betting on the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and a Google employee accused of using internal company data to wager on user search activity.

The industry has also become the focus of a growing legal battle between the Trump administration, US states, and federal regulators. A bipartisan group of more than 40 state attorneys general argues that prediction platforms effectively operate as unregulated sportsbooks, while sidestepping state gambling laws, consumer protections, age checks, and taxes. While Kalshi and Polymarket argue they are federally regulated financial exchanges overseen by the CFTC, the states contend they, not the CFTC, have jurisdiction over the platforms, and have responded with lawsuits, cease-and-desist orders, and bans. The dispute is widely expected to reach the US Supreme Court.

Trump and his administration have backed the prediction market industry, arguing the CFTC should remain its sole regulator. However, this backing resulted in criticism and conflict-of-interest concerns due to Trump family’s business ties to the sector. His son, Donald Trump Jr., serves as a strategic adviser to Kalshi and holds a financial stake in Polymarket through his investment firm, 1789 Capital. Last year, Trump Media & Technology Group also announced plans to launch a prediction market on Truth Social, allowing users to wager on sports and politics.

China has rejected US President Donald Trump’s claim that Beijing masterminded the theft of 220 million American voter files to meddle in the 2020 election. Trump’s explosive remarks came ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to Washington in late September and amid a tentative trade truce between the two countries.

In a prime-time address to the nation on Thursday, Trump accused Chinese intelligence services of illicitly acquiring 220 million voter files containing names, addresses, phone numbers, and party affiliations, claiming that Beijing assigned a dedicated unit to exploit the data.

He called the alleged breach “an unprecedented election security nightmare” and the “largest compromise” of election data in US history.

The president also claimed that US intelligence agencies detected the alleged Chinese data harvesting in 2020, but intentionally hid it from him and Congress. He did not, however, announce any plans for retaliation against Beijing.

Liu Chang, the spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, dismissed the claims, saying “China has never and will never interfere in the presidential elections of the US.”

According to the New York Times, China’s efforts to collect voter data have been “broadly known for years.” Voter information in many cases can be freely downloaded or bought, the paper said, adding that possessing the data could offer insight into American voters but would not on its own allow anyone to manipulate votes.

The data declassified by the White House also contains a series of memos by senior cyber intelligence official Chris Porter, who argued that China took “at least some low-level, exploratory steps” to undermine Trump’s chances against then-Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Despite this, Porter agreed with the overall intelligence conclusion that “there was no information suggesting China tried to interfere with election processes.”

Trump’s bombshell accusation comes weeks before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to Washington around September 24. According to the South China Morning Post, Beijing will send Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu to Washington next week to help lay the groundwork for the trip.

Reuters warned that Trump’s accusations could fray US-China ties and unsettle the fragile trade truce. Denis Simon of the Quincy Institute, a Washington think tank, told the South China Morning Post that the speech was significant because it elevated alleged Chinese election meddling to “a central national security narrative.”

He added, however, that while Trump’s remarks could cast doubt on Xi’s visit, “harsh rhetoric does not automatically prevent summit diplomacy,” and the key question is whether “the two governments can continue to compartmentalize, maintaining channels for negotiation while simultaneously accusing each other of increasingly serious security threats.”

Trump traveled to China in May, though high-level talks with Xi did not produce a breakthrough on trade. China pledged to increase purchases of US soybeans and buy 200 Boeing jets – though the number turned out to be much lower than expected. Trump also said he discussed arms sales to Taiwan with Xi. His administration later said shipments to the island – which Beijing views as its sovereign territory – were paused.

Russia is offering India the joint production of the latest T-90MS tank, a representative of Rosoboronexport (ROE) told RT India.

According to Russia’s key state-owned defense exporter, which is part of the Rostec state corporation, co-production of the T-90MS could become the next stage of Russian-Indian cooperation in the tank sector. T-90MS is an export version of Russia’s latest T-90M tank series, designed and manufactured by Uralvagonzavod, also a part of Rostec.

The South Asian nation already operates a significant fleet of T-72 and T-90S tanks, which are being successfully upgraded by the country’s own defense industry.

According to ROE, the potential project for localization of the T-90MS could be implemented in several stages: first, the supply of technological kits for assembly at Indian facilities; and second, the localization of component manufacturing.

“The technical foundation created by the technologies already transferred significantly reduces both the cost and the time needed to establish production of the T-90MS and combat vehicles based on it at Indian enterprises,” the company representative said.

Earlier this year, Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov also praised the T-90MS’s combat performance, saying it stands “head and shoulders above” its NATO counterparts.

According to him, the T-90MS incorporates some of the most advanced technologies and new technical solutions, many of which are currently being tested on the battlefield. “In addition to its protection suite – which includes explosive reactive armor, slat screens, electronic warfare systems against UAVs, and active protection – the tank also uses a principle of differentiated armor protection,” the ROE representative added.

The T-90MS is also equipped with a new fire-control system based on a “digital onboard” architecture. Its design includes integrated information-command systems and other innovative solutions. The tank has enhanced firepower thanks to a new range of artillery rounds and guided missiles.

Comparing the T-90MS with foreign tank models, a representative of Uralvagonzavod told TASS in May that, according to Russian military personnel operating the T-90M on the battlefield, the tank demonstrated exceptionally high effectiveness in combat missions in the Ukraine conflict. He added that the tank compares favorably with Western main battle tanks such as the American M1 Abrams and the German Leopard 2, whose effectiveness has come under question after battlefield testing in Ukraine.

According to ROE, one of the main advantages of the T-90MS project for India is that the Russian tank platform can integrate a range of Indian-made systems. “A number of T-90MS systems, as well as a large share of its components, are unified with those already used in the T-72 and T-90S tanks,” the ROE representative noted.

Adding that, given India’s existing experience with Russian platforms, the training of crews, instructors, and field-repair specialists would be greatly simplified, as would the standardization of repair equipment and training simulators.

India has been buying Russian tanks since the 1960s. In 2001, New Delhi and Moscow signed a major deal for the supply and licensed production of T-90S tanks in India. Produced as the “T-90 Bhishma” at the Heavy Vehicles Factory in Avadi, Chennai, the program has already delivered more than 1,000 units.

India is currently carrying out a major modernization of its armored fleet. A five-year program, approved at a cost of more than $7.8 billion, focuses on extending the service life and improving the combat readiness of legacy platforms, including 790 T-72 “Ajeya” tanks, 200 T-90 “Bhishma” tanks, 500 BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, and 230 armored recovery vehicles.

ROE noted that Moscow is also offering India technical solutions and systems already used in the latest T-90MS for incorporation into the modernization program for India’s existing T-90S fleet. The Russian side is also open to working in parallel on the joint development of future armored vehicles, given that New Delhi is working on a massive Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV) program, which aims to procure 1,770 next-generation main battle tanks to replace its aging Soviet-era T-72 fleet.

According to ROE, the use of Russia’s latest tank technologies could help India strengthen the combat capability of its armored forces at relatively low cost and within a shorter timeframe.

Britain has called on FIFA to sanction Argentina after its players celebrated knocking England out of the World Cup with a banner asserting Buenos Aires’ claim to the Falkland Islands.

The defending champions beat England 2-1 in Wednesday’s semifinal to set up a final against Spain. After the final whistle, Lisandro Martinez and Giovani Lo Celso briefly held up a banner reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” (“The Falkland Islands are Argentinian”).

The South Atlantic archipelago, located about 300 miles east of Argentina, has remained a point of contention between London and Buenos Aires since the 74-day Falklands War in 1982, which ended in Argentina’s defeat. Argentina says it inherited the islands after gaining independence from Spain in 1816, while Britain considers them a British Overseas Territory.

The display prompted an angry response from British politicians. Business Secretary Peter Kyle urged FIFA to launch “a proper inquiry,” calling the banner “entirely inappropriate” and an “egregious violation” of the governing body’s rules. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said the players who displayed it should be barred from Sunday’s World Cup final.

Downing Street later backed calls for an investigation. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman said: “The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are.” While stressing that any disciplinary action is “a matter for FIFA,” he said that Starmer agreed the incident should be investigated.

FIFA and the International Football Association Board (IFAB) do not allow political, religious, or personal messages during matches. Penalties range from fines and suspensions to points deductions and bans.

The football governing body has not commented on the incident. Argentina was fined in 2014 after displaying the same “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” banner following a friendly against Slovenia.

The incident is the latest political flashpoint at this year’s tournament. Last month, spectators at Iran’s match in Los Angeles displayed Iran’s pre-1979 national flag, a symbol used by opponents of the government in Tehran despite FIFA’s ban on political messaging.

The tournament has also been marred by controversy over visas, ticket prices, and refereeing, including FIFA lifting US striker Folarin Balogun’s suspension after reported lobbying by President Donald Trump, Washington denying entry to Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan despite his having a valid visa, and Iran being forced to base its team in Mexico after initially being barred from training in the US.

The Polish authorities have accused Russian intelligence of orchestrating the desecration of World War II memorials after charging an 18-year-old Ukrainian with vandalizing monuments commemorating Poles massacred by Ukrainian nationalists.

Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) said on Tuesday that the suspect, identified as Illia K., was charged with defacing several memorial sites dedicated to victims of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the armed wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). Polish historians estimate that UPA fighters killed at least 100,000 ethnic Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, territories now largely in western Ukraine.

Investigators said Illia K. committed 47 offenses between November 2024 and August 2025. He received cryptocurrency payments through exchanges registered in Russia and China and acted on behalf of Russian intelligence in an attempt to inflame tensions between Poland and Ukraine, the ABW claimed.

The Polish National Prosecutor’s Office said on Thursday that the suspect faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The case came as another incident involving the commemoration of Volhynia massacre victims unfolded this week. On Thursday, Warsaw police arrested a 23-year-old Ukrainian national for allegedly inciting violence against participants in a march honoring the victims of the massacres, the Polish Press Agency (PAP) reported. He was later handed over to the Border Guard for deportation.

The Volhynia massacre is recognized as genocide in Poland, and remains an open wound in relations between Warsaw and Kiev. The OUN and UPA are officially honored as national heroes in Ukraine.

The dispute intensified in May when Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky awarded a commando unit the honorary title ‘Heroes of the UPA.’ Warsaw, one of Kiev’s staunchest supporters in its conflict with Russia, condemned the move. Last month, Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked Zelensky’s Order of the White Eagle, the country’s highest state honor, saying the decision had crossed a line for most Poles.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has defended its decision to provisionally reinstate the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), after several EU states threatened to push Brussels to cut funding for sports bodies that readmitted Russian and Belarusian athletes, Reuters reported.

The IOC last week lifted its nearly three-year suspension of the ROC, imposed in 2023 after the committee incorporated sports organizations from four former Ukrainian regions that had voted to join Russia.

According to Reuters, nine EU member states have written to European Sports Commissioner Glenn Micallef urging the EU to stop funding the IOC, World Aquatics, the International Fencing Federation and other sports bodies that have readmitted Russian and Belarusian athletes. The signatories are Estonia, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and Sweden.

An IOC spokesperson defended the decision, telling Reuters the suspension was lifted after the ROC removed regional sports organizations from “territories falling under the jurisdiction of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine” and confirmed it would no longer operate there.

“The IOC has to navigate the complex realities and consequences of the current geopolitical context,” the spokesperson said.

The committee also reiterated that it will not stage its own events in Russia or invite Russian government officials, adding that any decision on the Russian flag, anthem and other national symbols at future Olympics will be made “at the appropriate time.” It noted that competitions outside the Olympic Games are governed by the relevant international federations.

Russian and Belarusian athletes were barred from most international competitions after the Ukraine conflict escalated in February 2022, although several federations have since eased the restrictions.

Moscow has repeatedly accused Western countries of politicizing sport and pressuring international federations to exclude Russian athletes, insisting competitors should be judged solely on sporting merit. It has described the IOC’s 2023 suspension of the ROC as politically motivated and contrary to Olympic principles.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova welcomed last week’s decision, saying: “Common sense has prevailed!”

US President Donald Trump has made a prime-time White House address on election security, announcing the release of declassified intelligence documents detailing alleged vulnerabilities in the voting infrastructure.

“Every American deserves to know that when they cast their vote, that vote will be counted accurately,” Trump said, arguing that the existing system “falls catastrophically short” and is dangerously exposed to hacking.

Trump accused China of carrying out “the largest compromise of election data in history,” claiming Beijing acquired information on 220 million US voters, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and political preferences.

He also alleged that members of the “Deep State” within US intelligence agencies “worked to actively suppress and downplay information about the extent of China’s sinister election meddling.”

“US spy agencies began learning about the compromise of voter registration files in 2020,” Trump said, accusing officials of concealing the alleged breach from both the president and the public.

Voting-system vulnerabilities

The White House published four downloadable document packages as the president made the address. The first contains intelligence assessments and other reports dated between January 2020 and June 2026, which the administration says show “that US adversaries, including at a minimum Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, as well as non-state groups, have the capability to compromise US election infrastructure.”

The page identifies centralized voter registration databases, electronic pollbooks, and official election websites as particularly vulnerable. It also cites intelligence concerning an alleged Venezuelan plot to digitally alter vote totals during that country’s 2020 election.

Chinese acquisition of voter data

The second set of documents concerns China’s alleged acquisition and exploitation of American voter information. The White House claims that data belonging to tens of millions of voters across 18 states was bought, stolen, and hacked, and that Beijing assigned a specialized unit to exploit it.

However, voter registration information is publicly available or commercially obtainable in many states, and possession of this data does not by itself demonstrate that ballots or vote totals were affected.

Michigan investigation

The third release covers a voter registration investigation in Muskegon, Michigan. The White House says canvassers admitted to signing forms in other people’s names, submitting registrations for fictitious individuals, and receiving gift cards based on the number of applications collected.

Trump said FBI Director Kash Patel would be instructed to ensure that the case is fully investigated and that any suspected crimes are referred for prosecution.

Non-citizens on voter rolls

The final package cites a Department of Homeland Security review that allegedly identified around 278,000 non-citizens registered to vote in federal elections.

The White House did not say how many, if any, voted, and has not claimed that any US vote totals were altered during the 2020 election.

Russia and China have joined forces with over two dozen other nations to create a new international organization to help guide work on AI development with a “people-centered approach.”

The World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO), a new intergovernmental body, will be headquartered in Shanghai. A total of 29 nations are founding members, including ten African countries and 12 Asian countries. Belarus, Serbia, Cuba, Brazil, and Venezuela also joined the initiative.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was also present at the signing ceremony on Thursday. The organization will seek to uphold UN principles and contribute to the shared benefit of AI development, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the agreement. WAICO will promote global AI governance aimed at making the technology safe, fair, and beneficial to all of humanity, it added.

“We consistently advocate for the establishment of transparent rules governing extraterritorial technologies,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko said.

Grigorenko oversees the digital transformation of the Russian economy along with Digital Development and Communications Minister Maksut Shadayev, who signed the agreement.

Why does AI need regulations?

The rapid development of sophisticated AI technology has sparked concerns, even within the leading Western AI companies. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in January that the technology could lead to catastrophic risks ranging from mass job displacement to global totalitarian dictatorship and even human extinction.

More tangible risks include AI-powered cyberattacks on critical infrastructure such as power plants, massive privacy breaches, and the use of AI for mass surveillance and propaganda. Earlier this month, China accused Anthropic’s AI coding tool Claude Code of containing security backdoor vulnerabilities capable of transmitting sensitive user information without consent.

Western nations are also actively employing AI in military operations. The Pentagon said last month that a data analysis platform developed by Palantir, powered by models such as Claude and Elon Musk’s Grok AI, enabled the US military to fire more than 2,000 missiles at Iran in just four days.

Exclusivity vs openness

WAICO is not the first attempt to create an international AI cooperation mechanism. Last year, Washington unveiled a project dubbed ‘Pax Silica’ – an initiative it said was aimed at creating “the global technology supply chain” needed to develop and enhance AI capabilities.

The signatories were offered access to the “full stack of technological advancements that are shaping the AI economy” in exchange for providing their resources, manufacturing, and logistics capacity, as well as protecting “sensitive technologies and critical infrastructure from undue access, influence, or control,” in what was seen as a not-so-subtle reference to China.

The project’s architecture would essentially tie its participants to US computing infrastructure and AI processing power, with those behind it calling the idea of digital sovereignty “backward and counterproductive.”

A vision unveiled by China last year in its Global AI Governance Action Plan is the direct opposite of this approach. The 13-point document called on the international community to “jointly” seize the opportunities offered by AI and promote its innovative development “in the spirit of openness and sharing.”

It also said that AI capacity building should be undertaken by all of humanity instead of a chosen few within an “inclusive multi-stakeholder governance model” framework.

“AI development should not be a solo performance by a single country, but a symphony of international cooperation,” Chinese President Xi Jinping stated at the opening of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference on Friday, warning against technological exclusion and “overstretching the national security concept in the field of AI or placing one country’s security over that of others.”

Why is China pushing cooperation?

China has rapidly evolved into a major AI power thanks to its extraordinary pace of AI research and development while embracing a philosophy of international cooperation instead of technological fragmentation.

Chinese companies that introduced increasingly capable AI models such as DeepSeek, Qwen, GLM, and Kimi also lowered barriers to their adoption through competitive pricing and open-source releases, allowing researchers, businesses, and governments worldwide to build upon their work.

Beijing has also faced pressure from Washington, which has sought to restrict China’s access to US technologies. In September 2025, the US Department of Commerce blacklisted 32 foreign entities, including 23 Chinese companies. Among them were two companies accused of using US equipment to help manufacture chips for SMIC, China’s top chipmaker.

The US previously introduced export controls on advanced AI chips, including Nvidia’s flagship H200. The measures forced China to aggressively fast-track its own domestic AI chip ecosystem and remained in place for years until December 2025. Washington justified the restrictions on national security grounds, accusing China of intellectual property theft and forced technology transfer. Beijing accused the US of politicizing trade and disrupting global supply chains.

Russia’s role

Russia is one of the few nations with its own AI large language models (LLMs), including YandexGPT and Alisa AI, developed by Russian tech giant Yandex, as well as GigaChat, a product created by the nation’s largest lender, Sberbank.

Russian developers have also invested heavily in platform solutions that solve practical problems in a bid to make AI useful to ordinary citizens. Russia’s healthcare system alone already employs more than 60 AI-powered diagnostic services capable of assisting physicians across dozens of clinical specialties by identifying signs of disease in medical imaging.

AI applications are also becoming increasingly prevalent in financial services, education, transportation, and digital government, providing valuable insights into how AI can create added value when embedded in services people use every day.

Last month, President Vladimir Putin said Russia is planning to contribute to a global AI development initiative.

According to Putin, Russia possesses several advantages, including scientific expertise, a strong education system, and abundant energy resources needed to support large-scale computing systems and data centers, which could greatly contribute to an international AI alliance.

On Thursday, Grigorenko said he is “confident that our active participation in the organization will help strengthen global technological dialogue and will also facilitate the effective promotion of Russian innovations and expertise in international markets.”

As BRICS adjusts to its expansion in 2024 and 2025, it faces two linked questions. How can the group stabilize itself internally, and how can it assume a more important role in global governance?

The answer shouldn’t be to imitate existing institutions because BRICS will only succeed if it identifies common objectives that matter to its members and that are also relevant to the wider international community. No credible system of global governance can now be imposed by a small group of powerful states. It must reflect the interests of the international majority.

For BRICS, the most promising basis for such a role lies in sustainable development. The United Nations has pursued this objective for decades, but the continued dominance of Western states in many global institutions has prevented those goals from being implemented fairly, so BRICS could offer a different model.

Given that most international organizations are the legal expression of a particular balance of power, the most absurd course would be to reproduce one of the structures created by powers whose global influence was built on military superiority. Such organizations formalize either the relationship among their members or their collective intentions towards the rest of the world. Some were created after wars, while others were designed to coordinate the policies of a narrow group of states.

BRICS is different in that it wasn’t established to solidify the outcome of a military conflict, institutionalize the relative strength of its members or organize a bloc against outside powers, and it’s not based on a common military hierarchy and doesn’t seek to impose a single foreign policy.

For that reason, any attempt to strengthen BRICS must begin with a more basic question about what the shared objectives of its members are, and how those objectives can connect their domestic priorities with their international ambitions. 

Every successful form of international cooperation serves the fundamental interests of its participants. For example, European integration, now represented by the European Union, emerged from the conditions created by the Second World War, where the major Western continental powers had suffered devastating defeat or destruction. Through NATO, they surrendered much of their independent military role to the United States, while European integration then helped their political elites consolidate this new strategic position and strengthen their economic base by combining markets.

These internal objectives later allowed the Western European states to exercise an international influence far greater than the individual geopolitical weight of Germany, France, Italy or their smaller allies would otherwise have permitted.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations was created for a different purpose as its founders sought to prevent conflicts among newly independent states and reduce damaging competition between them. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization also began with the limited but important task of stabilizing the inner part of Greater Eurasia in an area directly affecting the security of Russia and China.

In each case, the organization was most effective when pursuing the purpose for which it had originally been created, but the limits are equally clear. The European Union failed in its attempts to become a genuine political union, and ASEAN has struggled to influence the domestic political development of its members or formulate a common response to the most important strategic challenge in Asia, namely the confrontation between China and the United States. Meanwhile, the SCO has so far achieved little beyond its original regional responsibilities.

Organizations created to formulate a common external policy are often more politically effective. The G7 is one example. It cannot be seen as just an expression of American leadership. It is an effective organ through which the collective West coordinates its policies towards the rest of humanity.

Its emergence in the 1970s was no accident. Western dominance was beginning to face structural limits, while the Soviet-led bloc was showing the first signs of its later crisis. The G7 allowed the leading Western powers to coordinate both defensive and offensive policies. In earlier centuries, historians might have described such a body as the embryo of a world government.

That position is no longer sustainable, given that China’s economic rise, Russia’s resurgence and the broader redistribution of global power have reduced the G7’s ability to dictate the international order, while at the same time its need for internal discipline has increased.

No serious observer can now regard the G7 as an institution of global governance, but it remains, however, an effective military and economic headquarters for the West, from which campaigns against the rest of the world can be organized.

BRICS shouldn’t seek to become a rival version of the same structure, because by its nature, BRICS rejects the permanent division of the world into opposing camps and it can’t strengthen itself by becoming a closed club. Such a move would contradict its original political purpose and wouldn’t serve the interests of its members.

NATO offers another warning. The alliance combines internal and external functions. Internally it helps preserve the existing political order in Europe, whereas externally it maintains the cohesion of the Western military bloc. Nevertheless, it can’t become an institution of global governance and attempts to present NATO as a global policeman were only credible during the brief period of Western euphoria after the Cold War or during the early 2000s, when Washington’s allies were trying to restrain American unilateralism.

BRICS must follow a different path. Its next stage should combine the domestic development goals of its members with practical initiatives that can benefit the wider international community. Sustainable development provides the most obvious foundation.

The BRICS countries differ greatly in size, wealth, political systems and levels of development. Yet all are united by the need to achieve economic growth, technological modernization, social stability and greater national sovereignty, and these priorities are familiar throughout the global majority.

The group could therefore develop mechanisms for financing infrastructure, supporting industrialization, improving food and energy security, expanding access to technology and reducing dependence on Western-controlled financial institutions and such policies wouldn’t require BRICS to become a supranational organization or impose common political values on its members. Nor would they require the creation of a military bloc; they would instead demonstrate that international cooperation can produce practical results without political tutelage from the West.

This would also make BRICS more attractive to countries outside the group, given that many states are not looking for a new ideological center or another system of discipline but for investment, technology, infrastructure, and greater freedom in choosing their own path of development.

A joint BRICS initiative in West Africa could provide a useful starting point as few regions have been exploited more extensively by Western powers, and few have received less in return. A serious program focused on infrastructure, energy, agriculture, education, and industrial capacity would show what BRICS can offer in practice.

Its success would depend on whether roads were built, electricity supplied, food production increased, and national economies made more resilient and not rhetoric about a “new world order.”

That is how BRICS can move towards global governance, by creating forms of cooperation that reflect the interests of the global majority and not by copying the institutions of Western dominance.

This article was first published by the Valdai Club and edited by the RT team.

The US military will screen troops aged 30 and older for low testosterone every year and offer hormone replacement therapy to those found deficient, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has announced.

The Pentagon chief unveiled the plan in a nearly three-minute video on X titled ‘The High-T Department of War’. He stressed that the initiative “is not about artificial enhancement” but rather “restoring and optimizing [service members’] natural capabilities, protecting your longevity, and ensuring you have the biological foundation required to sustain the fight.”

Hegseth said the therapy would be optional and based on recommendations by health professionals.

Asked by reporters about which studies underpin the new policy, the Pentagon pointed back to the video, in which Hegseth said the “modern battlefield” demands “maximum psychological and mental readiness.” It did not answer whether female troops would be screened for declining estrogen.

Testosterone deficiency in men usually grows with age and is often linked to erectile dysfunction, low libido, mood changes, and weight gain. However, while recent studies by the National Institutes of Health found that testosterone replacement therapy addressed libido issues and somewhat mitigated mood swings, it did little to improve endurance, memory, or overall well-being.

Despite the available research, the administration of US President Donald Trump– particularly Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – has been pushing to make testosterone replacement therapy more widespread, with the Food and Drug Administration recently proposing to ease prescribing limits on testosterone medications.

Hegseth’s remarks triggered mockery, however, with some commentators alluding to the secretary’s hardline campaign against ‘wokeness’, DEI, and the decision to ban transgender service members.

Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth said the plan sounded “like gender-affirming care to me,” while Chrissy Houlahan, a Pennsylvania Democrat, suggested it proved Hegseth “takes direction from the far corners of the manosphere.”

Democratic Senator Cory Booker dismissed Hegseth as “not a serious person” and unfit for his role. “The fact that we, in the midst of a disastrous [Iran] war, have a secretary of defense doing things like this makes us a mockery globally. This is ridiculous,” he told CNN.

Pakistani-born Shabir Ahmed, a rape gang ringleader recently released in the UK after serving a prison term for dozens of child sex offenses, committed his crimes because of his upbringing in England, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said on Thursday.

The 73-year-old, who first entered the UK as a teenager, was a leading figure in the Rochdale grooming gang, which sexually abused and trafficked British girls as young as 12 in the Greater Manchester borough during the 2000s.

Ahmed was released from prison under supervision in early June after serving 14 years. The British authorities have been unable to deport him because of a provision protecting certain Commonwealth citizens who were resident in the UK before 1973, despite his British citizenship having been revoked following his 2012 convictions.

“The matter in question is entirely an internal matter of the United Kingdom,” Andrabi said at a press briefing.

Regardless of where [Ahmed] was born, the onus lies on where he grew up, was raised, groomed, and, unfortunately, was spoiled... His heinous crimes demand serious introspection rather than a quest to search for extraneous causes.

The spokesman stressed that Islamabad strongly condemns child sexual abuse, which should be “punished to the fullest extent of the law, irrespective of race, ethnicity, or religion,” but insisted that Pakistan “has no connection whatsoever with this matter” and “cannot be associated” with any related decisions.

On Monday, UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to amend the Immigration Act to remove the legal barrier preventing Ahmed’s deportation.

The Rochdale rape gang was one of many grooming gangs, predominantly composed of men of Pakistani origin, that systematically raped and sexually trafficked vulnerable young British girls across the UK over decades.

The grooming gangs scandal returned to the spotlight of British politics last year, forcing the Labour government to announce a nationwide inquiry, which unearthed “blindness, ignorance, prejudice, defensiveness” and systematic failures by police and public bodies to protect victims and act on reports of abuse.

The US has launched another round of overnight strikes, reportedly hitting civilian infrastructure, including several bridges across Iran. Tehran had warned that further escalation would have consequences for the entire region.

US Central Command announced its sixth consecutive night of strikes on Thursday evening in a brief statement without disclosing the targets, after President Donald Trump threatened earlier this week to expand the bombing campaign to Iranian power plants, energy infrastructure, and bridges.

The Iranian authorities say US airstrikes targeted five bridges in the southern province of Hormozgan overnight, expanding on earlier reports that transportation infrastructure was hit.

According to the provincial governorate, as cited by Fars news agency, the strikes damaged the Gariveh bridge linking Bandar Abbas with Bandar Khamir and Lar, a bridge near the village of Latidan, two bridges on the Kahoorestan–Lar route, a partially completed bridge connecting Bandar Khamir, Keshar, and Bandar Abbas, and a bridge in the village of Maru in the Khamir district.

US missiles also reportedly struck Iranshahr Airport in southeastern Iran, while at least one civilian was killed and seven others were injured in another attack on a residential neighborhood in Bandar Abbas.

Iranian media reported that at least seven people were killed and 16 others injured in the strikes. The authorities urged residents to avoid traveling through the affected areas so emergency and rescue crews could access the sites.

At least two Iranian civilians killed, three bridges targeted tonight, a dangerous escalation. https://t.co/rBVNEF0dYd pic.twitter.com/6pkBlliHnF

— MenchOsint (@MenchOsint) July 16, 2026

“If the enemy, in the course of its war of attrition, seeks to strike Iran’s infrastructure or carry out further assassinations of officials, the entire region will pay the price,” a senior intelligence official in Tehran told RT on Thursday, as the US launched its latest strikes.

Iranian state media confirms that US forces struck two road bridges outside of Bandar Abbas tonight, cutting off the city from coastal routes to the west. pic.twitter.com/JcqmfXtYzX

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) July 16, 2026

Iran will unleash an all-out regional war that will leave the US “stunned” and prove to Trump how “unrealistic” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s expectations and assessments were, the source added.

“Iran’s plan for escalating the war will be full of surprises. And unlike the political disarray in the White House, here in Tehran we have maximum consensus on implementing this plan,” the official said.

The US resumed its strikes last week and reimposed its naval blockade of Iranian ports to protect commercial shipping and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump claimed that the US is now in control of the waterway and will act as its “guardian.”

In retaliation, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched drone and missile attacks against US military facilities in the region, including the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, one of America’s main naval hubs in the Persian Gulf. Tehran warned that regional oil and gas exports could be blocked completely and declared the strait closed until the US ends its “illegal” military intervention in the region.

Ukraine’s parliament on Thursday approved former Naftogaz CEO Sergey Koretsky as prime minister. Koretsky has been linked to disgraced businessman Timur Mindich, a close associate of Vladimir Zelensky who fled to Israel amid a major corruption scandal.

Koretsky’s appointment comes as Zelensky presses ahead with a sweeping government reshuffle less than a year after the previous overhaul, while Ukrainian forces face mounting battlefield pressure and authorities continue to grapple with large-scale corruption in the energy sector.

The investigation centers on an alleged $100 million embezzlement scheme involving state nuclear operator Energoatom. Western-backed anti-corruption agencies have tied the affair to Mindich, who has long been regarded as one of Zelensky’s closest associates and dubbed “Zelensky’s wallet” by Ukrainian media.

Koretsky was “100% Mindich’s man,” Ukrainian lawmaker Aleksey Goncharenko claimed last August, citing the so-called ‘Mindich tapes’ – leaked surveillance recordings from the corruption investigation published by the media.

According to Goncharenko, Koretsky was placed in charge of Ukrnaftoburinnya, a private energy company previously owned by Zelensky’s former patron, oligarch Igor Kolomoysky, after it was seized by the state.

“The idea: to take control of cash flows, withdraw billions, and install your own people. This plan was discussed and implemented right in Mindich’s apartment. Everything is recorded on the tapes,” Goncharenko said.

“The main executor is Sergey Koretsky,” the lawmaker added, alleging that the executive coordinated all key decisions with Mindich and, by extension, with Zelensky.

The Energoatom affair has deepened tensions between Zelensky’s administration and the Western-backed National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).

The scandal also led to the departure of Zelensky’s influential chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, often described by Ukrainian media as the country’s “gray cardinal.” In May, NABU and SAPO named Yermak as a suspect in a separate money laundering investigation.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s decision to fire Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov has sparked nationwide protests. Hundreds of people have taken to the streets of Kiev and other cities for the second consecutive day to demand that the minister be brought back. Some of the protesters also called for Ukraine’s top military commander, General Aleksandr Syrsky, to be dismissed instead.

Fedorov was Ukraine’s youngest-ever defense minister. The 35-year-old technocrat took over from his predecessor in January and held the office for around six months. During that time, he deepened Ukraine’s ties with Palantir, a controversial US data-mining and military technology company. He still failed to reform the corruption-prone ministry in accordance with “NATO standards,” as Fedorov himself admitted while confirming his departure.

Photos and videos that surfaced on social media showed people flooding the streets of Kiev and other cities like Dnepropetrovsk, holding Ukrainian flags, as well as placards and banners calling on Zelensky to reverse his decision. Crowds are heard chanting “shame!” in some videos. More than 1,000 demonstrators rallied outside of Zelensky’s office in the Ukrainian capital. Some protesters were also seen holding placards demanding Syrsky be fired.

❗️Джерелом влади є народ, - в Киеве не утихает акция протеста против увольнения Федорова.

Количество людей значительно увеличилось. pic.twitter.com/MIkJoM6NnJ

— laralara (@FraLorik) July 16, 2026

The demonstrations have continued for a second consecutive day, with hundreds of people taking part in an overnight protest in Kiev, holding placards objecting to Fedorov’s dismissal and singing the national anthem.

Zelensky justified his decision by pointing to a conflict between the defense minister and the military chief. Fedorov and Syrsky failed to find common ground and were not even communicating properly without his oversight, Zelensky said in a statement on Thursday.

The Ukrainian leader added that Ukrainians can do whatever they want. “If they want to take [to the streets], good for them.” 

⚡️В оккупированном бандеровцами Киеве разгораются "картонные" протесты против отставки министра обороны Федорова!🤦‍♀️

Кастрюльки не хотят мира,и не требуют этого от диктатора Зеленского!
По-моему с ними уже давно все ясно,плохо,что власти России этого не видят,спасать там некого! pic.twitter.com/w6zk7ga2Ty

— Наташа Иванова (@NatasaIvanova9) July 16, 2026

Fedorov accused Syrsky of “splitting the country” and called for his dismissal. Syrsky did not mention the conflict in his own statement on Telegram on Thursday, but thanked Fedorov for his work, expressing hope that he would remain in government.

Протесты из-за отставки Михаила Федорова с поста министра обороны Украины распространились еще на девять городов страны, передает УНИАН:https://t.co/vWoTqNe9rH

Видео: Paraic O'Brien/X pic.twitter.com/lvAFKTQw19

— ТАСС (@tass_agency) July 16, 2026

The Ukrainian outlet Strana claimed that Zelensky had become increasingly dissatisfied with Fedorov’s “independent political game” and his ties to circles close to the Western-backed National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), agencies that have investigated a string of high-profile corruption cases involving senior Ukrainian officials.

Artificial intelligence is no longer simply a technological race. It is becoming a question of how the world chooses to govern one of the most transformative innovations of the modern era, who benefits from it, and whether its advantages remain concentrated in the hands of a few companies or are shared more broadly.

This week in Shanghai, Russia and China signed an agreement to establish the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, and it marks an important step in answering those questions. Russia and China were among the principal founding participants, joining nearly 30 countries in creating a new intergovernmental body dedicated to international AI cooperation and governance. The organization is explicitly built around principles of international collaboration, human-centered development, equitable access, and ensuring that artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity.

For Russia and China, the initiative reflects a shared understanding that the future of AI should not be dictated by technological monopolies or geopolitical exclusivity. Instead, both countries argue that AI should remain accessible, practical and focused on improving people’s daily lives.

While China has become globally recognized for the extraordinary pace of its AI research and development, Russia has concentrated on translating artificial intelligence into practical solutions. The two approaches complement each other perfectly. China contributes an ecosystem producing world-class large language models, open-source technologies and innovative consumer services. Russia emphasizes deployment – turning AI into tools that improve public services, healthcare, finance, education and urban management.

China’s rapid progress has been impossible to ignore. Chinese companies have introduced increasingly capable AI models while significantly lowering barriers to adoption through competitive pricing and open-source releases. Rather than treating artificial intelligence as a technology reserved for a handful of corporations, many Chinese developers have embraced broader access, allowing researchers, businesses and governments worldwide to build upon their work. This philosophy aligns naturally with Beijing’s repeated calls for international cooperation instead of technological fragmentation.

Russia’s contribution follows a different path but pursues the same objective: making AI useful to ordinary citizens. Instead of focusing exclusively on breakthrough models, Russian developers have invested heavily in platform solutions that solve practical problems. Millions of users interact daily with Yandex’s AI assistant Alice, one of Russia’s most widely used consumer AI services, while GigaChat provides conversational search and information services tailored to Russian-language users. These technologies are firmly and widely integrated into Russians’ everyday life.

Perhaps nowhere is this more visible than in healthcare. Moscow’s healthcare system already employs more than 60 AI-powered diagnostic services capable of assisting physicians across dozens of clinical specialties by identifying signs of disease in medical imaging. Such systems do not replace doctors; they augment their capabilities, helping medical professionals work faster, more accurately and more efficiently. Similar AI applications are increasingly appearing across financial services, education, transport and digital government, demonstrating that artificial intelligence delivers its greatest value when embedded into services people use every day.

This emphasis on practical deployment also explains why Russian AI companies have successfully entered international markets. Many countries are less interested in abstract demonstrations of technological capability than in ready-to-use solutions that improve healthcare systems, digital public services or financial infrastructure. Russian developers increasingly offer exactly these kinds of products, often adapting their technologies to local languages, regulations and national priorities rather than insisting upon a one-size-fits-all model.

The new World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization creates an institutional framework through which this experience can be shared more effectively. Russia’s approach is based on cooperation rather than exclusive control. Its objective is not to monopolize AI development but to contribute practical expertise while learning from partners. China has similarly promoted a vision where artificial intelligence should not become an exclusive game played by only a handful of countries or corporations.

The new organization represents something larger than another diplomatic forum. It offers an opportunity to establish common ethical standards, encourage transparency, facilitate knowledge exchange and reduce the technological divide separating developed and developing countries. Such cooperation does not slow innovation. On the contrary, predictable rules and shared principles can accelerate responsible development by creating trust among governments, businesses and citizens alike.

The momentum is already extending beyond Shanghai. Russia is preparing to host several major international AI events over the coming months and years, including the ‘Journey into the World of Artificial Intelligence’ conference later this year, the Future Technologies Forum, and a high-level international AI meeting in 2027. These gatherings will provide additional opportunities for Chinese, Russian and international researchers, policymakers and businesses to exchange experience and deepen cooperation.

Artificial intelligence will shape economies, societies and international relations for decades to come. The question is no longer whether AI will transform the world, but whether that transformation will be inclusive or exclusive. Russia and China are betting that openness, international partnership and practical applications serving ordinary people offer the strongest foundation for the next chapter of AI development. If the new organization succeeds in turning those principles into reality, it could become one of the defining institutions of the AI era.

A “huge blast” from an Israeli strike has hit southern Lebanon just as an RT crew was preparing to go on air in Nabatieh province, RT correspondent Steve Sweeney has reported.

The explosion on Thursday was heard “very loudly across the region,” with a large cloud of smoke billowing from the nearby area. “We could hear it very loudly from where we are now,” Sweeney said, describing this part of southern Lebanon as having been “heavily targeted by Israel over the past few weeks” and subjected to daily bombardments and demolitions.

Villages along the ridgeline around Nabatieh have faced repeated air and drone strikes, with roads, vehicles, and other infrastructure among the targets, as local officials appeal for an end of the “Israeli aggression.”  

The latest strike came as Lebanon and Israel concluded a two‑day round of US‑brokered talks in Rome, where officials agreed on the structure and guidelines for withdrawing Israeli forces from two ‘pilot zones’ in southern Lebanon. The designated areas are intended to test a phased framework involving an Israeli pullout, the disarmament of Hezbollah units there, and the deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces.  

Lebanese MP Hassan Fadlallah has condemned the emerging arrangement as an “ill‑fated” agreement that “terminates Lebanon’s existence as an independent state” and “legitimizes the occupation and its criminal practices.” He warned that the proposed pilot areas would prevent the return of displaced people and reconstruction, and make Lebanese authorities “the enemy’s partner in every drop of blood it sheds and every home it destroys.”  

According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, more than 4,300 people have been killed and over 12,000 wounded since the conflict escalated on March 2. The Israeli campaign against Hezbollah began days after the US-Israeli bombardment of Iran. While international attention is focused on whether the Rome talks can deliver a breakthrough, for many in southern Lebanon, peace “seems a very, very distant hope,” Sweeney said.

Watch the full report below.

Tensions are escalating again in the Persian Gulf. US President Donald Trump notified Congress of renewed airstrikes on Iran and vowed to destroy all of the Islamic Republic’s military infrastructure in the Strait of Hormuz. In turn, the Iranian army has attacked American targets in the region. According to Iranian media, US communications systems, Patriot missile defense systems, an ammunition depot in Kuwait, and other targets have been hit.

The Yemeni Houthis have also joined the fighting. In response to Saudi Arabia’s strikes on Sanaa Airport, they attacked Abha Airport in Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones and warned all airlines against flying in Saudi airspace.

How are the parties approaching the latest round of conflict, and how will the events unfold? We explore below. 

A perfect stalemate 

In our previous article on Iran, we suggested that the most likely scenario after the ceasefire would be occasional exchanges of fire, with Iran effectively controlling traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. This is precisely what happened. Omani territorial waters remain mined and vessels can only move through Iran’s territorial waters. The June memorandum has effectively forced the US to accept this situation. 

However, the contradictions have only deepened since then. For one thing, neither the US nor Iran is interested in resuming the hostilities. But since neither inflicted a strategic defeat on the other in the previous round, they have been unable to agree on anything substantive. Any agreement is a compromise, a concession – but why should anyone give in if there are no losers?

In this situation, military logic pushes the two sides to renewed hostilities; political logic also favors war, since it believes the contradictions can be resolved only by force; and the economic logic also advocates for war, since normal traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has not been resumed and the global oil shortage persists.

At the same time, no one is ready to fight; neither the US nor Iran has the means to inflict a strategic defeat on the other side. And until there is an understanding of how to achieve this, until one side is convinced that it can achieve its goal by force, this precarious and absurd balance will persist.

The US tried to outsource the war to the Arabs, suggesting: ‘You need it, you deal with Iran’. But there were no fools among the Arabs. Even the UAE, the only Arab nation to publicly side with the US, was not willing to fight. This is understandable: If the UAE really does get involved in a full-scale war with Iran, they risk receiving the brunt of it. The entire infrastructure of the Gulf monarchies, all those gilded skyscrapers on the coast, all the desalination plants that supply water, and all the port facilities will be easily targeted, since they are lined up along a narrow strip of coastline directly opposite the Iranian coast.

In June, America needed a break. The World Cup, Trump’s birthday, and the 250th anniversary of America’s independence were not events that the administration wanted to be overshadowed by an increasingly unpopular war at home, with exploding missiles and drones dominating the headlines.

The US needed some kind of document that the public would believe – so instead of a full-fledged peace treaty, the 14-point memorandum emerged.

For its part, Iran needed the US to lift the blockade which created problems for it. The Gulf Arab states also sought to lift the blockade – in fact, the American blockade was a bigger problem for them than the blockade imposed by Iran.

Meanwhile, long-term issues such as security guarantees for Iran, the permanent status of the Strait of Hormuz, and the fate of the Iranian nuclear program remain unresolved. They require complex compromises, which neither side is currently capable of.

Nevertheless, over the past month, some of the accumulated oil in the Gulf has entered the market through the ‘partially open’ strait. While this hasn’t solved the problem of depleted long-term reserves, it has significantly lowered prices and partially relieved Western countries, including the US, of the inflationary pressure that accumulated in recent months.

Schrödinger’s war

Now we’re witnessing another escalation. Will it lead to a new full-scale war? Let’s assume not. Here’s why.

War can be likened to Schrödinger’s cat – the thought experiment in which a hypothetical cat sits in a box with a device capable of killing it with 50% probability. Until the box is opened, the outcome cannot be known, meaning the cat is simultaneously alive and dead to us. In physics, this phenomenon is called quantum uncertainty.

In preparation for war, the parties build up their military, plan their actions, conduct exercises, analyze, and predict how the enemy will behave. However, the pre-war period is always a ‘closed box’. It’s impossible to determine in advance what will happen during a war and whether the pre-war plans will be of any use. Only war will ‘open the box’.

It may seem that after the war in Iran, nothing has really changed and the parties largely returned to their pre-war state since the contradictions between them have not disappeared. But in reality, it has become clear that the US and Israel cannot change the regime in Tehran by military force, and Iran cannot inflict critical damage on the US and Israel. The war has demonstrated to all sides the limits of their capabilities. This is a fundamental factor that will determine the state of affairs in the region for many years to come.

Bearing this in mind, the parties will prepare for a new conflict. There’s a a saying that goes: ‘generals always fight the last war’, which is usually said with disdain. But in reality, the previous war is the only practical experience they have, while theoretical military constructs are detached from reality. This is why military doctrines are so conservative. They are written in blood.

Preparing for the next war will take time. Much has to be reconsidered, new ideas must emerge, and resources must be built up to support these ideas.

When preparing for a new war, the winning side is always more vulnerable, since it is less motivated to correct past mistakes. In this sense, Iran is vulnerable, and its leadership may tend to rest on its laurels, thinking: ‘The last time, we blocked the strait and successfully launched Shahed drones against our neighbors, so next time, we need to do the same, only with more resources. For example, launch 2,000 drones a day instead of 200.’ Iran’s adversaries, however, will be forced to draw deeper conclusions, and this could give them an advantage the next time. Drones are relatively simple targets; it’s much easier to build an effective, scalable, and inexpensive air defense against them than against jets and missiles. But again, this is a matter of future concern, and will take several years at least.

Unthinkable events

During war, things that were previously unthinkable can happen, only to later become the new norm. In the case of the war with Iran, this was first of all the assassination of leaders, and secondly, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The repercussions of these events varied. No one talks much about the assassination of leaders – it is considered a sort of anomaly. But now, everyone must assume that it is possible, and no one is invincible, including the US. Pandora’s box has been opened.

As for the Strait of Hormuz, it has become the war’s decisive battle, and the possibility of its renewed blockade will impact many things. Any decisions regarding logistics, investment, and industrial construction will be made based on this, and will be made with caution. When the strait closed, the fate of the Persian Gulf monarchies changed forever. The psychological trauma has been profound and will affect at least one generation. 

There is another factor, one that acts slowly but inexorably. Future conflicts are determined by global changes. Before World War I, everyone was convinced that this type of war would never happen. The economy was global, the world united, capital and people flowed freely from one country to another, and developed countries simply could not wage war against each other. Sound familiar?

But then came the Industrial Revolution, which created new military capabilities and an immediate desire to test them. This led to World War I and soon afterward, World War II.

The current situation is similar. The AI revolution is underway, offering radically new military capabilities. It is impossible to predict the vector of this development and the extent of its future impact – and this is the main factor of uncertainty. Any speculation on this matter is akin to trying to guess whether Schrödinger’s cat is alive or not.

***

A single individual, even the US president, cannot influence so many objective factors. Even if Trump decides to bomb Iran until he runs out of bombs and missiles, it’s unlikely to lead to regime change in Iran. And this means that the escalations and ceasefires will continue until the world changes sufficiently to alter the outcome of the (alas, inevitable) next war.

The Middle East conflict has helped Iran to realize it has a potent weapon in its arsenal in the contentious Strait of Hormuz, a former Indian diplomat said.

At the same time, the stated objectives of the US in the conflict it unleashed also stand unfulfilled, former diplomat Rajiv Sikri told RT India in an exclusive interview.

“Americans just can’t stand the thought that they’ve lost this war because none of the objectives for which they fought the war appear to have been achieved, whether it was regime change or the nuclear issue,” Sikri told Runjhun Sharma in the latest episode of India, Russia and the World.

The ceasefire was brokered because after the Americans and the Israelis tried to bomb Iran into submission, “they ran out of ammunition.”

The issue with the protracted conflict is that Israel doesn’t want this war to stop and for all stakeholders, “this has become an existential issue.”

“For Iran, it was a question of survival,” he said, adding that Israel considers Iran as a principal rival “preventing its total domination of the region.”

Not succeeding against a “regional power like Iran is very humiliating” for Washington also, he pointed out.

Iran is vital to Moscow as it is in the same neighborhood. “Any instability there would affect Russia. I don’t think that Russia wants Iran to collapse,” he said, adding that Moscow will provide considerable assistance on the security and technological fronts to Iran.

He said that Russian Security Council Deputy Chair Dmitry Medvedev’s presence at the funeral of slain Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei signals that Russia will stand by the country. “It’s a message to Iran and to America, Israel, and the rest of the world,” Sikri said.

He also noted that the Tarique Rahman administration in Bangladesh has not done anything to reverse some of the questionable and anti-India policies of the Muhammad Yunus regime.

“I think India will have to be quite alert and watchful on what is happening in Bangladesh because you have now a revival of the pre-1971 scenario where you had China, US and Pakistan working in concert.”

New Delhi has asked shipping companies and vessel operators to refrain from deploying Indian sailors in vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, where several ships have come under attack earlier this week.

The advisory comes in the wake of attacks on two ships in the Strait of Hormuz that left two Indian crew members dead and eight others injured in the contentious waterway. The Middle East conflict has resulted in the death of nearly a dozen Indian nationals. Several seafarers have been rescued from ships and tankers that were struck.

“Ship owners, ship managers and (hiring and staffing) companies are directed to avoid deploying Indian seafarers on vessels undertaking voyages involving passage through the Strait of Hormuz until further orders,” India’s Director General of Maritime Administration (DGMA) said in a notification on Wednesday.

The DGMA asked vessel operators to adhere to “heightened security vigilance in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and adjoining waters” and that it “continues to closely monitor the evolving security situation and remains committed to safeguarding the safety, security and welfare of Indian seafarers.”

Advisory for Indian Maritime Stakeholders

In view of the heightened security situation in the Gulf region, the Directorate General of Maritime Administration (DGMA), through DGMA Circular No. 36 of 2026, has directed Ship Owners, Ship Managers and RPSL Companies to avoid… pic.twitter.com/s8XgKI1ifn

— Directorate General of Shipping, Govt. of India (@dgshipping_IN) July 15, 2026

The Indian sailors stranded in the Middle East shipping lanes when Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and US forces blockaded Iran were mostly employed on foreign-flagged ships.

Indians are disproportionately impacted by the attacks on ships in various global conflict areas as the country has some 300,000 nationals working on ships, making it the third-largest supplier of maritime labor globally.

Shipping expert Captain Sanjay Prashar cited practical difficulties like unemployment in enforcing steps to curtail the deployment of seafarers. “Anybody who’s a seafarer… has to run a home,” he told RT India. “So I think those guys are going to take their chances.”

He added that the Indian government “needs to do more to protect these seafarers.”

“We have ships which are being targeted in Ukrainian waters or in Russian waters or transiting through Black Sea. Then we have ships through the Hormuz Strait, even in West Africa.”

The Middle East conflict has flared up again as the ceasefire agreement reached in June has unraveled after the US and Iran traded strikes, and struck ships trying to transit the strait.

First, a bit of recent history. In 2015, after the Maidan coup in Kiev and the beginning of the confrontation between Russia and the West, the EU created the East StratCom Task Force to fight foreign disinformation campaigns supposedly orchestrated by Russia.

This agency is a part of the European External Action Service and its goal is to fight Russian activities and promote EU ones in eastern countries such as Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Belarus, etc. It’s not double standards, it’s a basic war for influence. So far, nothing surprising.

Following suit, in 2021, the French authorities created VIGINUM, the Vigilance and Protection against Foreign Digital Interference Service, a national agency working as a watchdog for foreign interference in elections – incidentally, months before Macron’s reelection after his first disastrous mandate. You know, just to be sure that ‘dictatorships’ and ‘illiberal democracies’ don’t meddle in the democratic process.

That was already quite ridiculous, but France goes further.

Arguing that people never had access to this much information in history, the Senate’s Culture Committee launched a mission on the “gray areas of information in the digital space.” The report, presented in July 2026, makes 56 recommendations, describing a media landscape profoundly transformed by digital platforms (such as Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, etc.), content creators, and AI. The rapporteurs are worried because algorithms are not neutral tools and contribute to amplifying sensationalist, polarizing, and misleading content.

Thinking about how to adapt to the media landscape evolution, they suggest establishing financial support for creators of news content “that meets editorial quality criteria” (that is, combating hate speech, protecting minors, respecting human dignity, and so on – the usual pretexts). Financial support under conditions – in other words, a leash. Indeed, the internet and AI have changed the world of information forever and the entire structure of the industry has to be reshaped – or it will reshape itself dialectically. But for the political authorities, the issue goes far beyond the future of mainstream media: It has a direct impact on… once again (sigh)… ‘democratic functioning’.

The report’s main warning concerns the 2027 election campaigns. Considering that France already has VIGINUM to detect foreign interference, they wonder: “Are we protected from all risk of internal interference? Our answer to this question is clearly no. We are vulnerable, and it is real,” the rapporteurs say.

So now, after the external threat, they are afraid that there could be a threat from within. What threat? Theoretically, Macron cannot be reelected in 2027, but he has already planted close associates in the politico-administrative structures of the French state. Nothing to be scared of. “What would happen if a prominent figure, a school of thought, or a political party with substantial financial resources decided to use them to further a political agenda, employ social media as a weapon?” the senators ask.

To address this threat, they recommend the creation of an “independent observatory on disinformation” before the next presidential election.

So, Macron’s regime has a new twisted Orwellian concept: ‘internal interference’ in one’s own domestic affairs. And an ‘independent’ observatory will have to check if French citizens think right, especially before they get politically organized. There is no such thing as an independent observatory. Never. Even the Yellow Vests protests – though absolutely not politically organized – wouldn’t be possible in this context. The freedom of speech the French government boasts about all the time is a myth.

To be honest, with all the freedom-destroying laws, censorship organs, and fact-checkers, and knowing people who had to run away from France to avoid jail because of their opinions, I thought this was already the case. But now it’s apparently an official political direction. The senators said a bill should soon be drafted. Welcome to a democracy where you’re supposed to be politically engaged because it is, as they say, a duty, but where a commission will tell you if you can talk or not – or be financially harassed through endless lawsuits, or sent to jail. Who knows?

There’s only one conclusion to draw: For decades, the European elites managed their people so badly that they eventually could only feel threatened. And indeed, threatened beasts do exhibit defensive aggression.

Chinese surgeons have implanted a brain-computer interface in a patient with limited hand mobility, in what is described as the world’s first commercial procedure using an approved non-invasive device of its kind.

The procedure was carried out on Monday at a hospital in Shanghai. The patient suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident ten years ago and had limited hand function despite years of rehabilitation.

During the operation, a coin-sized implant was placed on the surface of the patient’s brain. The device is designed to capture brain signals and send them to a computer, which translates them into commands for a robotic glove.

According to officials, the operation went as planned and the patient is recovering, with vital signs stable. They added that the implant had successfully captured stable, high-quality brain signals.

The implant, known as NEO, was developed by Chinese start-up Neuracle and approved by China’s medical regulator in March, allowing it to move beyond clinical trials and be used commercially in hospitals.

The milestone has put Neuracle ahead of Elon Musk’s Neuralink in the race to commercialize implantable brain-computer interfaces. Although Neuralink has also implanted chips in humans and claims to have 21 people enrolled in trials worldwide, it has yet to receive full commercial approval in the US.

NEO’s approach also differs from Neuralink and is designed to be non-invasive, being placed on the surface of the brain without penetrating it, and is aimed at helping patients restore limb function.

Musk’s chip, on the other hand, uses ultra-thin threads inserted directly into brain tissue with the help of a surgical robot. Neuralink’s first product, Telepathy, is also intended to allow people with paralysis to control computers, phones, and other devices using their thoughts.

Other companies have also been pursuing less invasive routes. Synchron, a US-based startup, has developed an implant inserted through a vein rather than through open-brain surgery, while Meta has been working on AI systems that translate non-invasive brain scans into text.

For now, the primary use of brain-computer interfaces remains medical, particularly for patients with paralysis, spinal cord injuries, and severe neurological conditions. However, Musk has predicted that such chips will eventually replace phones. Industry researchers have also discussed future uses in consumer electronics, robotics, and human augmentation.

More than 200 Ukrainian drones were launched toward Moscow Region overnight, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has said.

According to Sobyanin, the UAVs were detected from Wednesday evening to 9:00 AM Thursday, and most of them were intercepted by Russian air defenses at long range.

”Ten enemy UAVs were destroyed on approach to Moscow,” the mayor wrote on Telegram, adding that emergency crews were working at sites where debris fell.

The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier that the air defenses intercepted and destroyed 375 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over a number of Russian regions overnight, including Moscow Region.

The attack prompted temporary restrictions at all airports in Moscow and other cities, including Penza, Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Ivanovo, Yaroslavl, and Cherepovets.

The latest raid followed another large-scale Ukrainian drone attack earlier this week. On Tuesday, Sobyanin said around 340 UAVs were headed toward Moscow Region; most were intercepted at long range and more than 50 were destroyed on approach to the capital.

On Monday, a Ukrainian drone attack caused serious damage in Moscow Region’s Istra district. Three people were killed and three others injured in the settlement of Pionersky; two more people were injured in Solnechnogorsk. The local authorities declared a state of emergency in the city following the strike.

Moscow and the surrounding region have increasingly been targeted by long-range Ukrainian drones in recent weeks, aimed at energy facilities, transportation infrastructure, and civilian sites.

Russia has described the strikes as indiscriminate terrorist attacks intended to divert attention away from Ukraine’s setbacks on the battlefield, and has responded with a renewed campaign of long-range strikes targeting dual-use and military industrial sites.

The bulk of the Russian strikes have been focused on the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, with a number of military plants, drone assembly and storage facilities, and weaponry stockpiles targeted in recent weeks.

China and President Xi Jinping are now viewed more favorably than the US and Donald Trump across most of the world, a new Pew Research Center survey spanning six continents has found.

Pew says China enjoys a more positive image than the US in 25 of the 36 countries and territories surveyed, including American neighbors Canada and Mexico. The trend is particularly pronounced across the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

The US leads in just six nations – Poland, Philippines, South Korea, India, Japan, and Israel – while views are roughly even in five others. The survey, released Wednesday, polled more than 42,000 people from February 8 to May 13, spanning the start of the US-led war on Iran.

Among the 20 countries with comparable data since 2023, 46% now view China favorably against 36% for the US. Three years ago, the figures were reversed, with 58% favoring the US and 32% China.

In 22 countries, respondents also expressed greater confidence in Xi than in Trump, although confidence in both leaders remained generally low. The only category in which the US outperformed China was respect for personal freedoms, although the gap was narrow.

“Some of the views that we see of the US are at or near historic lows,” said Laura Silver, Pew’s associate director and co-author of the report, noting that this is the first time in nearly two decades of the organization’s global polling that China has been viewed more positively than the US. She said China has benefited from being seen as a more “reliable partner,” attributing the shift to improving perceptions of the country following its post-pandemic recovery. She noted, however, that views of the US fell after Trump launched the war on Iran.

“There was just an actual relationship between the outbreak of the war and the sense that the US is just not contributing to peace and stability and that people have less confidence in Donald Trump,” she said.

Some of Washington’s closest allies recorded the sharpest shifts. In Canada, favorable views of the US fell from 57% in 2023 to 33%, while favorable views of China rose from 14% to 44%. The decline followed Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods and his repeated suggestions that Canada should become America’s “51st state,” remarks widely criticized in Ottawa.

Major European countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain, also saw shifts toward China. The change follows deteriorating ties with Washington during Trump’s second term, marked by tariff disputes, pressure on NATO allies over defense spending, criticism of Europe’s refusal to back the US war on Iran, and repeated calls for Denmark to sell Greenland to the US.

Pew also found that views across Latin America now slightly favor China over the US. The shift comes after Trump effectively took over Venezuela, threatened military action against Mexico, Colombia and Cuba, and ordered the Pentagon to target vessels in the Caribbean under the guise of anti-drug operations.

Commenting on the findings, the Chinese Embassy in Washington told The Guardian that they “demonstrate that China’s governance achievements and development progress are widely recognized.” The White House did not immediately comment.

Former acting Zambian President Guy Scott, the first white head of state in sub-Saharan Africa since the end of apartheid, has died aged 82, the government announced.

Scott died on Wednesday after an illness at his farm in Lusaka, the southern African nation’s capital, according to a statement signed by Cabinet Secretary Patrick Kangwa.

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has accorded Scott a state funeral “in recognition of distinguished professional and political contribution to the nation,” Kangwa said, adding that burial arrangements will be announced later.

In a separate statement, Hichilema described Scott as a “true Zambian patriot” who devoted many years to public service. He said the former leader guided Zambia through a difficult transition “with a steady hand and a commitment to constitutional order” after the death of President Michael Sata.

Scott served as vice president under Sata from 2011 until the leader died in office in October 2014. He assumed the presidency under Zambia’s constitutional succession rules and served as acting head of state for around three months, until Edgar Lungu was inaugurated following a special election in January 2015. Lungu died in South Africa in June 2025, but remains unburied amid a dispute between his family and the Zambian government over his funeral arrangements.

Scott’s appointment made him the first white head of state in Africa since South Africa’s F.W. de Klerk, the last leader under apartheid, left office after the country’s first multiracial elections brought Nelson Mandela to power in 1994.

Born in Zambia to Scottish and English parents, he was also the country’s first white leader since independence from Britain in 1964. He could not contest the 2015 election because Zambia’s constitution at the time barred candidates whose parents were not Zambian by birth or descent from running for the presidency.

His brief presidency was marked by a power struggle within the ruling Patriotic Front. Scott dismissed Lungu as the party’s secretary-general in November 2014 but reversed the decision a day later after the move triggered protests and clashes in Lusaka.

A Cambridge-educated economist, Scott entered parliament in 1991 and later served as agriculture minister, earning praise for helping manage a severe regional drought and food shortage. He subsequently broke with the Patriotic Front and supported the United Party for National Development, led by current President Hakainde Hichilema.

At least 11 people, including children, have been killed and 19 others injured in a fire at an orphanage in the Algerian capital, the North African nation’s authorities said on Thursday.

The blaze broke out before dawn in a dormitory at a state-run child care facility in Mohammadia, an eastern district of Algiers. Ten of the injured suffered burns of varying severity, two experienced breathing difficulties, and seven were treated for “psychological shock,” the Algerian Civil Protection authority wrote on Facebook.

The organization said five others with special needs were evacuated to safety, while firefighters were still working to extinguish the fire.

Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb visited victims receiving treatment at the Zeralda hospital for severe burns and Mustapha Pacha University Hospital in Algiers.

Speaking on behalf of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Ghrieb offered condolences to the victims’ families and said the state stood in full solidarity with those affected, according to an official statement.

He also ordered the authorities to provide comprehensive medical and psychological care for the injured and support for the bereaved families.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Algeria has previously experienced fatal fires at institutions housing vulnerable people. In September 2019, eight babies were killed when a blaze swept through the maternity ward of a hospital in the eastern city of El Oued. Emergency services rescued 11 other babies, more than 100 women, and 28 hospital workers.

The orphanage blaze comes as Algeria battles a wave of wildfires across several provinces. On Thursday, the Civil Protection service said its crews had responded to 115 forest, scrubland, agricultural, and palm-grove fires over the previous 24 hours. It said 89 had been fully extinguished, 14 were under guard after being suppressed, and 14 remained active, with firefighting aircraft, regional detachments, and mobile units deployed to several affected areas. No casualties were reported in the update.

Wildfires are a recurring summer hazard across northern and eastern Algeria, where extreme heat, dry vegetation, and strong winds can cause flames to spread rapidly. The World Bank has described forest fires as an increasingly frequent threat to the country and linked the growing risk to climate change.

SpaceX shares dipped below their initial public offering (IPO) price on Wednesday, little more than a month after the company’s record-breaking market debut briefly made Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire.

SpaceX raised a record $75 billion by pricing its IPO at $135 a share in June and outlining ambitions that include orbital data centers, lunar infrastructure, asteroid mining, and ultimately cities on Mars as potential drivers of future growth beyond its core businesses.

According to trading data, the stock fell as low as $132.28 on Wednesday before recovering to close at $135.27, about 40% below its mid-June peak of $225.64.

Analysts attributed the selloff largely to growing doubts that SpaceX can generate enough profits to justify its trillion-dollar valuation. Forbes cited the widening gap between the company’s market value and losses in its launch and AI businesses, while valuation expert Aswath Damodaran described the stock as “embarrassingly overvalued.”

SpaceX generated $18.7 billion in revenue last year but still posted a $4.9 billion net loss after heavy spending on AI infrastructure and Starship development. Its AI division alone lost $6.4 billion in 2025, partly offset by profits from Starlink, the company’s only profitable operating business. SpaceX reported another $4.3 billion net loss in the first quarter of 2026.

Another concern is growing competition. Barron’s noted that China is making rapid progress in reusable rocket technology, an area where SpaceX has long held a commanding lead. Earlier this month, China recovered the first stage of an orbital rocket for the first time and said it aims to reuse the booster before the end of the year.

The decline has also dented Musk’s net worth, which peaked at an estimated $1.45 trillion on June 16 following the IPO. The Financial Times now estimates it at about $860 billion, though he remains the world’s richest person

The operator of India’s largest nuclear power plant has denied that any nuclear safety or security-related information was exposed in a recently reported data breach at the facility.

The leaked data is related to common service facilities and not the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant itself, according to a statement by Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), the owner and operator of the plant.

On Wednesday, Reuters reported that ransomware group World Leaks had posted a large cache of files related to the plant on the dark web.

The exposed documents included purported blueprints of parts of the plant’s facilities and supplier details, Reuters said, adding nearly 19,000 files totaling 14.3 gigabytes could have been online.

The plant, which is in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, is being built in collaboration between NPCIL and Russia’s state-owned Rosatom. When complete, it will house six pressurized water reactors. Two units with a capacity of 1,000 MW each are already operational.

“The information claimed to be available on the public domain…  does not relate to any nuclear safety – or nuclear security-related systems or information,” NPCIL said, terming facilities of “conventional nature” that are typically found in thermal power plants as well as other process industries.

❗Kundankulam Data Leak: NPCIL Says No Nuclear Safety Or Security Information Exposed

India's Nuclear Power Corporation said the leaked documents were not related to the plant's core systems, adding that the incident involved data linked to an engineering contractor's… pic.twitter.com/6NO4ZjxqwQ

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 16, 2026

The stolen information came from Indian businessman Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group, which was awarded a contract in 2018 to build all the systems in the power plant other than the actual nuclear facility. Reliance Group told Reuters in a statement that there had been a “partial breach” of its data on a server hosted by third-party Indian data center service provider Yotta, and that the government had been informed of the incident.

Yotta claimed it had prevented suspected ransomware execution on May 29.

The data breach could pose a “serious” risk to the safety of the plant, Nickolas Roth, a senior director at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, was quoted as saying by Reuters. However, the news agency also said it could not verify the authenticity of the documents on the dark web.

The dark web is a hidden part of the internet that is unindexed by standard search engines, and can be searched only by using a specialized browser.

World Leaks usually posts stolen corporate data on its website after its victims decline to pay the ransom demanded. In June, the hacker group posted files of Tata Group, which contained confidential designs of its clients Apple and Tesla, after the Indian conglomerate ignored the hacker’s demand for $1.5 million in ransom.

Malware tied to a North Korean hacker group was found on the Kudankulam plant’s administrative network in 2019.

Several US lawmakers said they were “disgusted” by testimony from Kathy Ruemmler, a former Goldman Sachs chief legal officer and White House counsel under former President Barack Obama, about her relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Ruemmler appeared before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday as part of the congressional investigation into Epstein’s network of influential associates.

Documents released by the Justice Department show Ruemmler exchanged extensive communications with Epstein from 2014 to 2019, long after his 2008 guilty plea to soliciting prostitution from a minor. The correspondence suggests she referred to him as ‘Uncle Jeffrey’ and accepted expensive gifts. Ruemmler maintains that their relationship was professional and stemmed from her work as an attorney.

In her opening statement, Ruemmler said she was unaware of the extent of Epstein’s criminal conduct, claiming he used her and other respected figures to legitimize himself.

Much of the questioning centered on a 2016 email in which Ruemmler wrote to Epstein: “Best massage ever, but not your kind of massage.” She testified that the remark was a joke in poor taste about massages and prostitution, insisting that the exchange was taken out of context.

Democratic Representative Yassamin Ansari said Ruemmler’s explanation suggested she understood what the exchange referred to while making “light of the abuse that these women went through.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that several Democratic lawmakers emerged from the hearing saying they were “disgusted” by Ruemmler’s testimony. The committee’s top Democrat, Robert Garcia, said it is “difficult to see how she’s being completely truthful.”

Ruemmler’s testimony also renewed scrutiny of Goldman Sachs’ handling of the controversy surrounding her ties to Epstein. She announced in February that she would step down as the bank’s
chief legal officer effective June 30, saying media scrutiny over her relationship with Epstein had become a distraction.

Instead of leaving as planned, however, she remained in an advisory role at the request of CEO David Solomon, helping oversee the search for her successor.

The Financial Times reported last month that Solomon’s backing of Ruemmler became a taboo subject inside the bank, with very few senior executives daring to question his support for her.

The National Bank of Ukraine has decided to redesign the lettering on its new banknote after backlash over a font allegedly associated with a Russian designer.  

Earlier, Kiev introduced the 2,000-hryvnia (about $45) bill as Ukraine’s highest-denomination banknote as inflation continued to rise. The note features Ukrainian poet and dissident Vasily Stus. However, it quickly sparked debate within Ukraine’s design community.  

The bank said on Monday it would revise the typography after designers claimed the lettering resembled a typeface created by a Russian designer. It stressed that although no third-party fonts had been used and all graphic elements were drawn manually, the inscription would be changed to eliminate any possible associations with Russia.  

The governor of Ukraine’s central bank, Andrey Pyshny, declared the banknote “must be impeccable in every detail,” adding that even the possibility of unwanted associations justified a redesign.  

“A discussion emerged within the professional community over the calligraphy used for the denomination, with its style being linked to an adaptation of a typeface once created by a Russian designer... The denomination’s inscription will be changed,” he wrote on Facebook.  

Kiev has stepped up efforts to purge the Russian language and Russian culture from public life in recent years, while monuments and other symbols linked to Russia have been removed. Meanwhile, the mandatory use of Ukrainian in schools and state institutions has been expanded.   

The campaign intensified after the escalation of the conflict in February 2022. In December, Ukraine’s parliament stripped Russian of protections under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, while earlier this year Kiev established a legal basis for a sweeping ban on Russian literature, paving the way for the removal of such books from circulation.   

Last month, a monument to novelist Mikhail Bulgakov was dismantled. Bulgakov, the Kiev-born Russian author of ‘The Master and Margarita’, is widely regarded as one of the greatest novelists of the 20th century. The statue, outside the Bulgakov Museum in one of the Ukrainian capital’s best-known historic districts, was removed as part of the campaign to erase monuments and cultural landmarks associated with Russia and the Soviet past.  

Despite these measures, Russian remains widely spoken across Ukraine and Russian-language content continues to circulate. Moscow has repeatedly cited the protection of Russian speakers and the restoration of their language rights among its key conditions for a peace settlement.

Russia carried out precision strikes overnight on Ukrainian military-industrial and port infrastructure, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

According to the ministry, the strikes targeted defense industry facilities in Kiev involved in producing and storing drones, as well as infrastructure at the ports of Odessa and Yuzhny used to receive and store military cargo and fuel.

Five fuel storage tanks intended to supply the Ukrainian military were also hit.

Among the targets in Kiev was an industrial site operated by logistics company Rapid PJSC, which the ministry said assembles and stores medium- and long-range fixed-wing UAVs and foreign-made components used in their production.

Another target was a drone storage facility belonging to the Kiev-1 radio-electronics enterprise, which assembles and stores AN-196 Lyuty long-range strike drones, Leleka-100 reconnaissance drones, and components for other UAV models.

The ministry also said Russian forces struck a cargo ship transporting military supplies for Ukraine en route to the Port of Chornomorsk, as well as a high-speed Ukrainian special forces boat near Snake Island in the Black Sea.

Russia has intensified long-range strikes on Ukraine’s military-industrial and logistical infrastructure in recent weeks, describing it as retaliation for terrorist attacks on Russian civilian and energy infrastructure, which have intensified as Ukraine suffers battlefield setbacks.

Earlier this month, Russia announced the liberation of the Ukrainian stronghold of Konstantinovka in northwestern Donbass, opening the way toward the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, the last two major cities in the region still held by Ukrainian forces.

The overnight strikes followed another Ukrainian drone raid on Russia. The Defense Ministry said air defenses intercepted and destroyed 375 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over 18 Russian regions, including Moscow Region.

A day earlier, a Ukrainian drone struck a service vehicle at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) near Energodar, killing the chief engineer and driver. Rosatom CEO Aleksey Likhachev described the strike on Europe’s largest nuclear power plant as a deliberate terrorist attack by the “Kiev regime,” noting similar attacks killed 13 people and wounded 48 in just over two months.

Moscow called on the International Atomic Energy Agency to condemn the attack, but the agency stopped short of assigning responsibility, calling instead for an “immediate end to all attacks on or near nuclear sites and their staff.”

France’s lower chamber of parliament has given final approval to a controversial bill legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide. The legislation, which has been criticized by the clergy and was rejected three times by the conservative Senate, is now in the hands of the country’s top constitutional body.

The left-leaning National Assembly greenlit the bill on Wednesday 291 votes to 241, capping what its author, former lawmaker Olivier Falorni, called a legislative “marathon with hurdles.” 

Support for the bill in the chamber has steadily eroded with each reading: The Assembly passed the text 305-199 in May 2025, 299-226 in February 2026, and 295-232 on June 30.

The Senate, which is dominated by conservatives, rejected the bill several times, and with no compromise reached in a joint committee, the government invoked the National Assembly’s constitutional right to have the final word on the matter.

The bill grants adults who are French citizens or legal residents and suffer from a serious, incurable, and life-threatening illness in an advanced or terminal stage the right to request lethal medication if their pain is unbearable or resistant to treatment.

Psychological suffering alone does not qualify and should be linked to the disease. Applicants must also be capable of expressing their will “freely and in an informed manner,” and their discernment cannot be “seriously impaired.” The patient is also subject to a mandatory reflection period.

On the day the substance is administered, a doctor must verify that the patient still wants to proceed; if any pressure on the patient is detected, the procedure must be suspended and reported to the state prosecutor. Patients would normally self-administer the drug, with a doctor or nurse stepping in – subject to a conscience clause – only if they are physically unable.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who has backed the reform for years, wrote on X: “In 2022, I committed to opening this path with the French people. With seriousness, with humility, and with full respect for our democracy, that commitment has been fulfilled.” 

The Association for the Right to Die With Dignity said the legislation would allow people “to choose to end unbearable suffering, freely and with full awareness.” Its president, Jonathan Denis, said the law “creates a new right [but] never forces anyone to exercise it,” while ensuring that every person can “have their wishes respected.”

Hanane Mansouri, an MP from the right-wing UDR group, warned that the legislation “is gradually reversing our scale of values.” The Bishops’ Conference of France said the bill “marks a grave rupture in the history of our country,” adding that “in choosing to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, deputies have written into French law the possibility of causing death.”

The law cannot take effect yet, as Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu referred it to the Constitutional Council. The council is now expected to rule on whether the two-day reflection period before administering the lethal substance respects personal freedom and human dignity, whether adults under legal guardianship can give free and informed consent, and how doctors’ right to refuse participation squares with hospitals that opt out of offering assisted dying.

The council has up to one month to rule if the government does not require urgency, and has the right to strike down individual provisions, forcing parliament to rewrite and revote on them, or annul the law. Only after the council’s say can the legislation be enacted by Macron.

The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage of drone strikes on cargo vessels and Ukrainian ships in two ports, saying the targets were being used to support Kiev’s war effort.

In the video, published on Wednesday, Geran-4 Seeker UAVs can be seen striking cargo ships in the port of Chernomorsk in Odessa Region and Ukrainian vessels in the port of Dnepr-Bug near the settlement of Galitsynovo in Nikolaev Region.

The footage appears to show several vessels being detected from the air before one of them is hit, triggering an explosion. The Defense Ministry did not specify the extent of the damage.

The strikes were part of a broader Russian attack campaign against Ukrainian ports, vessels, and military-linked logistics facilities this week. According to the ministry, Russian forces hit cargo ships in Chernomorsk, Odessa, Yuzhny and Dnepr-Bug, including vessels carrying military supplies or other cargo for the Ukrainian armed forces.

Russia’s Defense Minisry also reported strikes on port infrastructure in Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny used to unload and store military cargo, fuel, and lubricants, as well as workshops involved in UAV production and assembly.

On Thursday, the ministry said Russian forces had also hit a cargo ship en route to Chernomorsk and a Ukrainian special operations speedboat near Snake Island.

In recent weeks, the Russian military has ramped up long-range strikes on Ukrainian military industry and dual-use critical infrastructure sites, repeatedly launching large-scale attacks involving kamikaze drones and cruise and ballistic missiles.

Moscow has said the campaign comes in response to Kiev’s continued terrorist attacks against Russian civilian infrastructure, which have recently intensified amid the latest string of setbacks suffered by Ukrainian forces on the battlefield.

What Kiev’s spy agencies routinely do abroad is “terrorism,” Vitaly ‘Pastor’ Zhikovich, an acting Colonel of the Ukrainian military intelligence agency (HUR), acknowledged in an exclusive audio obtained by RT.

Zhikovich was one of two HUR agents who confessed to killing Anastasia Berezovskaya, the main suspect in last month’s bomb attack on exiled Ukrainian millionaire Vadim Ermolaev in Monaco.

“In international terms, what we’re doing is called terrorism. That’s why I’m telling you like it is. It’s called terrorism,” Zhikovich says about his agency’s work in one of the recordings.

During a search at his house following his arrest, Ukrainian police discovered a torture chamber in the basement. In an audio recording obtained by RT, he openly bragged about his sadistic nature and readiness for mass murder.

“When I’m planning operations, I’m constantly thinking about them. It’s my whole life. I live and breathe the operations I’m planning. I enjoy it. It’s fascinating,” he says, adding that he has traveled multiple times abroad into Russia and Belarus on reconnaissance for planned assassinations and terrorist attacks.

“I’ve traveled abroad many times. I’ve done a lot of work in Crimea, Russia, and Belarus. Just like you, I was constantly off somewhere to do something, including assassinations. I live for it. There were times when I smeared myself with excrement and knocked out my own teeth to look like a homeless person. I’ve done that too!” he boasts.

Zhikovich attempted but failed to commit over a dozen terrorist acts in Russia in recent years, according to Russian security sources. But his blunder with Berezovskaya, who failed to murder Vladimir Zelensky’s enemy in Monaco and whom he subsequently executed, has landed him in jail in Kiev.

Watch the full exclusive RT report below or read it here

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky is directing the nation’s intelligence services not to spare civilians in their operations abroad, Vitaly Zhikovich, an acting colonel of the Ukrainian military intelligence agency (HUR), said in an exclusive audio recording obtained by RT.

Zhikovich is one of two Ukrainian spies who confessed to liquidating Anastasia Berezovskaya, the main suspect in last month’s bomb attack on exiled Ukrainian millionaire Vadim Ermolaev in Monaco. Russian security services identified him as an active military intelligence operative and shed light on his other attempted terrorist plots.

“My superior said that there would be casualties, civilian casualties. And my president – that green bastard – wants civilian casualties,” Zhikovich can be heard saying to an unidentified interlocutor in one of the recordings, referring to Zelensky, whose last name has a semantic association with the word ‘green’ in Russian and Ukrainian.

Zhikovich attempted but failed to commit at least 20 terrorist acts in Russia in recent years. In another recording, Zhikovich stated that his agency was preparing an unprecedented attack against the Crimean bridge after one attempt already failed.

“Believe me, this is going to be a massive event, and the whole world will be talking about it. What we’ve got going on here is really something huge. Crocus will look like nothing by comparison, I’m telling you!” he said.

The 2024 Moscow Crocus City Hall massacre was the deadliest terrorist attack in Russia in over two decades, claiming the lives of 151 people and wounding another 609. The Russian Investigative Committee concluded that the attack carried out by a regional offshoot of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) was organized on behalf of Ukraine.

Watch the full exclusive RT report below or read it here

Ukrainian military intelligence feels complete impunity for their terrorist attacks, be it in Russia or in the heart of Europe, Vitaly Zhikovich, the alleged mastermind of the Monaco bombing, bragged in audio recordings obtained by RT.

The suspect was well known to Russian security services and was on Moscow’s radar for over two years due to his attempts to organize dozens of terrorist attacks and sabotage in Russia.

After Zhikovich was caught getting rid of an asset who tried to assassinate a foe of Vladimir Zelensky in Monaco, Russian law enforcement decided to lift the veil on his true identity, RT’s Roman Kosarev said in an exclusive report.

Monaco bombing

The operation took place on June 29 and was initially described by Monaco officials as an unprecedented attack in the history of the country.

The target was Vadim Ermolaev, a former Ukrainian multimillionaire who was sanctioned by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and was also suspected of links to organized crime. The network under Ermolaev’s command allegedly scammed people out of money in Russia and the EU through around 170 call centers, many of which were based on his commercial properties.

CCTV footage shows a person leaving a backpack containing an improvised explosive device packed with shrapnel near the entrance to a residential building.

The bomb was detonated remotely, seriously injuring Ermolaev and two other people who accompanied him – a woman whose legs and an arm were amputated and her 13-year-old son.

Tying up loose ends

The suspect was soon named as Anastasia Berezovskaya, and Interpol instantly issued a Red Notice for her arrest. By that point, however, she was already in Ukraine with those who ordered the attempted assassination. Instead of being protected, she was killed and buried by the man who sent her to Monaco.

Ukrainian media reported the discovery of Berezovskaya’s body last week, and officials later confirmed her identity, adding that two people were detained as part of the investigation into her murder – including Zhikovich, who the Kiev authorities initially described as a former police officer and ex-SBU agent.

Zhikovich’s secret identity

While his previous police work is indeed a fact, the SBU line has nothing to do with the truth, because he is actually an acting colonel in the Ukrainian military intelligence agency (HUR), according to Russian law enforcement sources.

During a search of his house following the arrest, Ukrainian police discovered a torture chamber in the basement. In an audio recording obtained by RT, he openly bragged about his sadistic nature and readiness for mass murder.

When I’m planning operations, I’m constantly thinking about them. It’s my whole life. I live and breathe the operations I’m planning. I enjoy it. It’s fascinating.

“I’ve traveled abroad many times. I’ve done a lot of work in Crimea, Russia, and Belarus. Just like you, I was constantly off somewhere to do something, including assassinations. I live for it. There were times when I smeared myself with excrement and knocked out my own teeth to look like a homeless person. I’ve done that too!” he said.

Breaking news in Kyiv: A Ukrainian woman suspected of carrying out a bombing that injured a Ukrainian-born business tycoon in Monaco was found Monday evening shot dead and buried near Kyiv. Prosecutors discovered a “torture chamber” at one of the two suspects’ homes. The men — a… pic.twitter.com/KD9qt9gaNR

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) July 7, 2026

Zhikovich, whose code name is ‘Pastor’, also admitted to conspiracy to steal from his employer, whose funds come largely from the Western taxpayer.

“My superiors have given me complete control, so in my next operation, I can decide for myself how much to pay a person and when to pay, without being beholden to anyone. So the question is this. If everything sells down in their minds, then in principle, they’ll give me, an intelligence colonel, the chance to handle all these tasks myself. That would be amazing,” he said.

I’d be the one deciding whether to pay or not, how much to pay, and so on, you see. So, I’d get the job done, go and film it, transfer the money, and that’s it. No writing reports, no asking for permission. I’d just go and do it. 

Imposter Islamist terrorist

Zhikovich recently converted to Islam but decided to take a radical path in order to be able to recruit more assets for his terrorist operations. To potential recruits, he said he wanted to free the Caucasus region from Russia and portrayed himself as a ‘true believer’.

“Our aim is simply completely different. The boss’ aim is to wage war and make money. My aim is to liberate the Caucasus and that’s all. That’s why I regard all of them as unbelievers, as scum. Once they’ve converted to Islam, then we’ll talk differently,” he told a potential recruit.

He warned a jihadist recruit that the Israeli Mossad spy agency provided him access to software that can tell “with an accuracy of 90% whether a person is lying or not.”

To be honest, I tested this program on you. I had to do it. It was shared with us by Mossad. They’re those, what are they called? Jewish pigs, [expletive].

Zhikovich also bragged about his alleged contacts with the terrorist group Imarat Kavkaz and militants who fought in Syria.

“One of them is now serving with us. He wants to get a passport. He already has a wife here, a Ukrainian woman. I see him regularly at the mosque, and we have discussions. He knows who I am, what rank I hold, and what sort of person I am,” he said.

Attempted assassination in Dagestan

Disguising himself as a jihadist fighter, he tried to recruit Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terrorist supporters to organize the assassination of a prominent Russian military officer. The target was Temirlan Abutalimov, who was decorated with the country’s highest honor – Hero of Russia – is currently a national policy and religious affairs minister in Dagestan.

“We’ll know when he’s on his way. So, once he’s picked up the woman, you’ll have about 20 to 30 minutes. You’ll see a black Camry, and when he pulls up to the gate, you just press the button in your pocket. He’s not a blogger. He has a social media account because of his job. He’s the acting minister of religious affairs in Dagestan, the one who killed people. He won’t be able to teach anyone anything. His example will only teach people that it’s okay to kill and get away with it.”

“Putin chose him personally. He took a liking to him and chose him. He’s been away for four or five days now. When he gets back on Monday, he’ll go to work. And then after work, maybe he’ll ring his girlfriend and go off to relax. If I hadn’t been with my girl for five days and had just gotten back, I’d ring her right away.”

Your job, as soon as I’ve called you, will be to take the juice carton and put it in the bin. You’ll need to put it in the bin and that’s it. Then walk over to that little bench and wait for him to arrive. There is an important detail. There’s a mark drawn on one side of the black bag with a marker. That side must be facing him. That’s where we’ve packed loads of nails.

“That’s the main thing. Make sure you pay attention to that. Then don’t forget that you’ll need to connect the wires to the cable. Just pop them in and place the bag so the mark is facing him towards the side where he’ll be opening the gate. Then press the button when he turns up. That’s it.”

Deceiving his supervisors

Russian security services knew about the Dagestan attack plot and decided to imitate a successful execution. Abutalimov is alive and well and is already back at work.

But Zhikovich desperately needed proof that the operation designed by Ukrainian military intelligence was completed for him to be paid and gain favor with his superiors.

“Here’s what I want you to do. I want to make a sort of memorial to him with his photo and his information. Take a photo and post it online and see what the reaction is. That’s what I want to do. I want to make a self-adhesive photo with the design I sent you. You stick it on any monument to make a fake tombstone. Take a photo, throw some wreaths on top, and that’s it. This self-adhesive photo gets taken off, and we wait for the result. I wanted to get this across to you so that you’d understand,” he said.

No one’s going to pay me until I’ve proven it. That’s just how it works. In short, I’m in a real mess.

Zhikovich was ready for anything, including forgery, but knew that it had to be believable. 

“I’ve got to give it a go because the thing is with this pagan, he was supposed to be dead, not alive. And if I make a video of the cemetery now… well, you’ll do it. I’ll write up a report straight away and immediately transfer all the remaining funds I’ve got for this operation and pay you. And then whatever happens to him, however he ends up, I couldn’t care less. Nobody will understand you. A general won’t understand a private’s problems. The general’s floating around in his own little world, the private’s floundering around down below in his own world. So you shouldn’t even count on that,” he said.

I couldn’t care less about what happens afterward. I’m ready for anything. I’ve been through worse. Right now, my job is to pay you and give money back to the people I took it from. That’s the top priority.

“Now, try to figure out how to deliver parcels from Europe, the carriers and the services. I’ll order a poster from Europe, disguise it in tubes, hide it, and send it to you. You’ll receive it, find any Muslim cemetery, and simply film a video. Then you’ll remove the sticker and burn it. Send the video to me. I’ll send everything off straight away and get the money. Then I’ll tell you what to do next,” he added.

Attempted suicide bombings in Pyatigorsk

Zhikovich planned another terrorist attack against law enforcement officers and civilians in a resort area in Pyatigorsk. For this, he recruited a woman who held German citizenship since 1995 and was looking for a job on the internet. She had no idea what she was carrying, in contrast to a sworn ISIS member, who was also recruited by Zhikovich and was supposed to blow her up.

After the plan was foiled by the FSB, Zhikovich tried to organize another terrorist attack in Pyatigorsk. For this, he recruited two unsuspecting women from Moscow who were looking for work on the internet. They had no idea what was planned and that they were to be killed. They were arrested before they could unknowingly bring explosives to the designated spot.

Soon afterward, Zhikovich tried to organize yet another attack in the south of Russia near a roadside cafe, which was a popular eatery among civilians and law enforcement.

Russian security services prevented it and even tricked Ukrainian military intelligence into believing that the terrorist attack took place, which they bragged about on social media. 

Expendable biological drones

Several other attempts to commit mass murder show that Zhikovich treated almost all of his agents as expendable and actually preferred for them to be killed when executing attacks. He was prepared to recruit anyone as human drones, including children.

He tried to commit terrorist attacks in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, at least twice. On the first occasion, he wanted to use a suicide bomber in a car, and for his second attempt, he recruited scammers from a call center who gave him the perfect candidate – a young man who suffered from an intellectual disability.

“I want to finish off Grozny. We’ll stick to the plan,” Zhikovich told his interlocutor. “These are the guys from the call center. They’re money mules. They trick people out of their money. We tracked them down, and they handed this man over to us.”

In the town of Volgodonsk, once again with the help of call center scammers, he was able to manipulate a 16-year-old girl into carrying an explosive to the local administration building. She believed she was carrying a listening device and helping Russian law enforcement catch a corrupt official.

To maximize the casualties, Zhikovich came up with a plan to call in a bomb scare at 1:00 PM to create panic and cause an evacuation. The unsuspecting teenager was supposed to arrive with the explosive at the same time.

“The main thing for me is that the event takes place at 1:00 PM,” Zhikovich said. “I’ll send the details to the person. They’ll know what to look for, and that’s it.”

Terrorist plot bigger than Crocus

One of Kiev’s most coveted Russian targets – the Crimean Bridge – was also a high priority for Zhikovich and Ukrainian military intelligence. For this planned attack, he wanted to use yet another unsuspecting civilian. A car filled with 800 kg of explosives was supposed to detonate once it was on the bridge.

Zhikovich tried to sway his jihadist recruits by comparing what he was about to do with the attack on Crocus City Hall near Moscow in 2024, where terrorists killed 151 people and wounded another 609.

“Well, believe me, this is going to be a massive event, and the whole world will be talking about it. What we’ve got going on here is a really powerful thing. Crocus has nothing on this, I’m telling you!” he bragged.

Zhikovich openly told his recruit that they were involved in international terrorism.

In international terms, what we’re doing is called terrorism. That’s why I’m telling you like it is. It’s called terrorism.

Second attempt on Crimean Bridge

After this terrorist attack was prevented, Zhikovich attempted another on the bridge a few months later.

This time he chose a smaller car and used a wheelchair to make it easier to pass through international borders with the explosive cargo. Apparently using a contact within a major international humanitarian organization, he was able to declare the wheelchair as transit cargo.

“We’re actually planning something just as serious as the last mission. Because I haven’t stopped there. Allah is providing everything. All the signs and opportunities for me to carry out another operation like this. You’ll be involved in it. You’ll just need to press a single button, that’s all. When you’re picking up the wheelchair, you’ll pull it out of the trunk and discreetly pull on a little rope. I’ll show you. I’ll send you some photos. That’s it. You won’t need anything else. Put the wheelchair down and drive off,” Zhikovich told a recruit. 

The guy who will be giving you the wheelchair, let’s put it this way, he’s a Christian. No, not even a Christian. He’s a bit of a flaky guy. He’s not a Muslim. He’s not one of us. He’s no servant of Allah. That’s why we’re using him. He won’t survive, that’s for sure. By the time the car arrives, he’ll be dead.

The terrorist attack was also prevented by Russia’s security services. The authorities said both vehicles that were supposed to be used in attacks against the Crimean Bridge were able to pass freely through Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Moldova, and the Baltic States.

They were loaded with hundreds of kilograms of deadly explosives, ready to be detonated at any time. Russian intelligence said ferries from Bulgaria to Georgia were used, but neither Zhikovich nor his commander seemed to care about the possible dangers this deadly cargo would pose en route.

Zelensky ‘wants civilian deaths’

With the orders coming from the very top of the decision-making chain, Zhikovich apparently thought that all the bases were covered, and openly stated that Zelensky wants civilians to be killed.

“I’ll answer as a staff member. Look at the situation. Remember, I once told you that politics is like a prostitute. You remember when I spoke to you about Syria? You do realize we won’t talk openly about what my goal was, or how we were preparing that minibus,” he said.

My superior said that there would be casualties, civilian casualties. And my president, that green bastard, wants civilian casualties.

Is Zhikovich expendable too?

Ukrainian military intelligence colonel Vitaly Zhikovich attempted, but failed to complete, at least 20 acts of terrorism in Russia.

Despite this, he was able to get paid and lead the life of a wealthy man in Kiev. He reportedly owned a house in a prestigious neighborhood, a couple of luxury cars, and seemed to be on good terms with his command.

But his blunder with Anastasia Berezovskaya, who failed to murder Zelensky’s enemy in Monaco and who he subsequently executed, landed him in jail.

At the latest court hearing in Ukraine, he admitted that he used this particular assassin in other attacks in Europe. But after Zhikovich started talking, it’s uncertain if he will live to see the day when he is sentenced.

China has vowed to protect its companies from proposed US tariffs targeting buyers of Russian energy, warning Washington that economic coercion and unilateral sanctions would ultimately backfire.

Speaking on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian responded to legislation introduced in the US Senate that would authorize tariffs of up to 100% on imports from the largest purchasers of Russian oil and natural gas, including China.

“China firmly opposes unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law or authorization of the UN Security Council, and will take necessary measures to firmly defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese businesses and citizens,” Lin said.

“Practicing double standards and resorting to coercion and pressuring will eventually prove to be self-defeating,” he added.

The revised sanctions bill was introduced on Tuesday by the US Senate. It is an update to legislation originally proposed by the late Russia hawk Senator Lindsey Graham, who died of heart complications on Saturday.

If enacted, the measure would authorize US President Donald Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on goods imported from the five largest buyers of Russian oil and gas. China and India would be among the countries most heavily affected.

The proposal comes less than two months after Washington and Beijing signed a trade framework designed to ease months of tariff tensions following a trade war in which the US imposed duties of up to 145% on Chinese imports, while China responded with tariffs of up to 125% on American goods.

During the dispute, Beijing also restricted exports of rare earth minerals critical to US high-tech and defense industries, disrupting supply chains and forcing some American manufacturers to suspend production.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has come under scrutiny in Congress over its decision to give the United Arab Emirates easier access to advanced AI chips. Critics question whether business ties involving the president’s family influenced the policy change.

The US Commerce Department announced on Friday that the UAE will be eligible for license-free exports and transfers of sensitive technologies, including advanced AI chips and servers, meaning approved entities will no longer need individual US export licenses. Washington cited “support in advancing US national security interests,” including operations against Iran.

Abu Dhabi had sought the policy change for years, but previous administrations blocked it over concerns that sensitive technology could reach China. The move gives the UAE privileged access unmatched by any other Middle Eastern state, including Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Media reports say the decision has come under scrutiny because it followed a series of business deals between UAE-linked entities and companies tied to Trump’s family.

The controversy centers on World Liberty Financial (WLF), a cryptocurrency venture launched in 2024 by Trump, his special envoy Steve Witkoff and their sons. According to The Hill and The Wall Street Journal, UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan bought a 49% stake in WLF for $500 million last year. Another fund he chairs, MGX, later used the company’s stablecoin for a $2 billion investment in crypto exchange Binance.

Critics say the investments coincided with negotiations over AI exports that first resulted in Washington approving annual sales of 500,000 advanced AI chips for a planned Nvidia-powered AI megacampus in the UAE and have now culminated in license-free access to the technology.

House lawmakers on Tuesday grilled Jeffrey Kessler, head of the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), over the administration’s handling of advanced AI exports. Representative Bill Keating (D-MA) pressed Kessler on whether he had discussed the UAE AI chip export controls with Witkoff, but the BIS chief declined to comment.

“Why are you evading the answer?” Keating asked. “Could it be the conflict of interest in there with Witkoff and World Liberty Financial and the Trump administration, which the president personally benefited by? Could it be that? Could it be a fear?” 

Senator Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, argued last week that the policy effectively grants license-free access to advanced AI chips for MGX and G42, another UAE company chaired by Tahnoon. She said the timing raised conflict of interest concerns.

Former senior US export controls official Chris McGuire, now at the Council on Foreign Relations, called the decision “impossible to justify on national security or economic grounds,” telling the WSJ there was “only one explanation” for the policy shift: “the UAE paid for it.” 

US and UAE officials cited by the WSJ rejected claims that Emirati investments influenced Washington’s policy changes. Neither Trump nor Witkoff has commented on the allegations.

Financial disclosures released last week showed Trump earned at least $2.24 billion in revenue in 2025, including $1.16 billion from his family’s cryptocurrency ventures. However, asked last week about his financial disclosures, Trump brushed off concerns, saying his gains reflected a strong stock market.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has dismissed the country’s youngest-ever defense minister, Mikhail Fedorov, who deepened Kiev’s controversial cooperation with US data-mining and military technology company Palantir during his six months in office.

The 35-year-old technocrat confirmed his departure on Wednesday, saying it was “a great honor” to serve as defense minister. In a lengthy farewell statement, Fedorov listed his supposed achievements but acknowledged that he failed to reform the corruption-prone ministry in accordance with “NATO standards.”

Zelensky has not publicly explained the decision, which comes as part of yet another sweeping government reshuffle that has already seen Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko and her cabinet removed.

Ukrainian officials and lawmakers cited by local media claimed that tensions between Fedorov and Commander-in-Chief Aleksandr Syrsky “crossed all lines,” particularly over military reform and procurement. MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak said Zelensky blamed Fedorov for failing to rebrand Ukraine’s notorious mobilization press gangs.

The Ukrainian outlet Strana suggested the reshuffle may also have been aimed at removing Fedorov. Citing sources, it claimed Zelensky had become increasingly dissatisfied with Fedorov’s “independent political game” and his ties to circles close to the Western-backed National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), agencies that have investigated a string of high-profile corruption cases involving senior Ukrainian officials. The outlet also claimed that some of Fedorov’s supporters viewed him as a potential future prime minister or even president.

Fedorov entered the government in 2019 as minister of digital transformation and became closely associated with Kiev’s drone warfare and the rapid integration of civilian technology into military operations. After taking over the Defense Ministry in January, he deepened Ukraine’s ties with Palantir, a controversial US data-mining and military technology company.

During a meeting in May with Palantir CEO Alex Karp, Fedorov discussed expanding cooperation in AI, battlefield data analysis, and military planning. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said the partnership was intended to help Kiev identify aerial targets, predict attacks, and ultimately “transfer the war onto Russian territory.”

Palantir was also involved in creating the Brave1 Dataroom, which gives Ukrainian developers access to real battlefield information for training AI models. Kiev said the company’s technology has already been integrated into intelligence processing and the planning of long-range strikes. Karp previously claimed that Palantir software was responsible for “most of the targeting” conducted by Ukraine.

Fedorov replaced Denis Shmigal, who was appointed defense minister in July 2025 but lasted less than six months before being transferred to the Energy Ministry amid a reshuffle triggered by a major corruption scandal. Zelensky praised Shmigal for achieving “solid results” shortly before removing him and reappointing him to head the similarly corruption-prone Energy Ministry. 

The defense portfolio has repeatedly changed hands under Zelensky amid battlefield setbacks, increasingly violent mobilization, and persistent procurement scandals. Previous ministers Aleksey Reznikov and Rustem Umerov were both removed after their tenures became embroiled in allegations of graft involving military supplies and Western-funded weapons contracts.

Interior Minister Igor Klimenko has reportedly been tapped to become the next defense minister, although the appointment requires parliamentary approval.

New York City’s self-professed ‘democratic socialist’ mayor Zohran Mamdani has drawn backlash for attributing the recent uptick in rape reports to an expanded definition of what constitutes the crime.

In an interview with PIX11 News published on Monday, Mamdani was asked about recently released NYPD rape complaints statistics.

“A lot of the increase in rape also comes from an expanded definition of what counts as rape, as well as survivors coming forward for acts that took place years prior,” he said. He did not elaborate on what he meant.

Mamdani’s statement about the “expanded definition” likely refers to NY’s 2024 Rape is Rape Act, which broadened the definition of rape to any forced sexual intercourse. Prior to the decision, the definition was limited to non-consensual vaginal penetration with a penis.

NEW: @NYCMayor addresses @JulieMenin concerns of rape and felony assaults on the rise by saying the definition has changed.

“A lot of the increase in rape, comes from an expanded definition of what counts as rape,” says Mamdani.

Stands by not increasing number of officers. pic.twitter.com/Z7ObkZN2jA

— Dan Mannarino (@DanMannarino) July 13, 2026

According to NYPD crime statistics released last week, rape complaints are up 6.6% year to date. The figures cover the period from January-July, 2026, meaning the increase came well after the 2024 legislation took effect.

The remarks prompted criticism from numerous people online, including New York City Council Member Susan Zhuang.

“Expanding the legal definition of rape was an important step… but it should never be used to deflect from the responsibility to reduce sexual violence. Survivors deserve leadership, action, accountability, and justice. They don’t deserve deflection,” she wrote on X in response to a clip of the interview.

Mamdani, an openly socialist political outsider, campaigned on a platform focused on affordable housing, public ownership of utilities, and wealth taxation. He was elected last year despite little enthusiasm from fellow Democrats and fierce opposition from Republicans, including US President Donald Trump.

Trump initially described Mamdani as a “communist” and warned that New Yorkers will soon flee the city under his leadership, but moderated his rhetoric after meeting the Democrat in person last November.

However, in his July 4 speech at Mount Rushmore, Trump warned about what he called “a resurgence of the communist menace” in the US. Communism is “a mortal threat to American liberty,” he said.

EU ambassadors have failed to reach a consensus on the 21st round of sanctions against Russia following three days of talks, multiple news outlets, including Reuters, Euractiv, and Politico, reported on Wednesday.

The move, which requires unanimous support, was met with opposition from several nations, including Greece, which voiced concerns over phasing out Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments.

The sanctions package, which has been in the works for several months, was designed to target Russia’s energy, financial, crypto, trade, and fisheries sectors and bar entry to Russians who have served in the military since the conflict in Ukraine escalated in February 2022.

The draft put forward by the European Commission also envisaged replacing the existing price cap on Russian crude with a ban on services needed to ship oil, as well as phasing out LNG transportation.

The oil- and gas-related provisions appeared to be the most contentious issues. The plan reportedly ran into opposition from Greece, which was concerned about the fate of its shipping companies. Earlier, Malta also resisted the proposal for similar reasons, according to Bloomberg.

Bulgaria, which depends on Russian energy supplies, criticized the package last month, calling it counterproductive and more damaging to EU members’ economies than to Russia’s.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said earlier this week that EU members were undecided on the proposed ban and the tightening of restrictions on Russian LNG. The Financial Times reported on Monday that the bloc imported a record volume of LNG from Russia’s flagship Yamal project in the first half of 2026, ahead of a planned ban.

EU envoys agreed to freeze the existing price cap on Russian oil at $44.10 per barrel until July 23, when they are scheduled to convene again in a bid to reach a deal on the sanctions package.

Russia’s Urals export crude blend was trading at around $55 per barrel in early July, but the price jumped to nearly $66 per barrel after hostilities broke out again between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. If EU members fail to reach a deal on the sanctions, the price cap could rise to $58 per barrel, according to Euractiv.

Russian oil and gas were not the only points of contention. According to Politico, Brussels had already had to drop a proposed ban on Russian fish imports and ease draft visa restrictions for former Russian military personnel after the idea faced criticism from France and Italy.

Italy and Bulgaria also reportedly opposed the bloc’s plan to include the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, on the expanded blacklist alongside 250 other individuals and entities.

Moscow has stated that sanctions will not have a decisive effect on its economy or affect Russia’s political course. Earlier this year, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that although the sanctions had had an overall “negative impact” on the Russian economy, the country had “gained significant experience in minimizing their effects.” He also warned that the restrictions are a double-edged sword and contribute to economic stagnation in Europe.

Moscow is expecting an explicit response from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after the killing of a senior engineer at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) by the Kiev regime, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.

Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has been targeted by Ukraine on multiple occasions since Russia took control of the facility in March 2022. On Wednesday, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said a Ukrainian drone struck a ZNPP service vehicle on the edge of the plant’s industrial site near the city of Energodar, killing chief engineer Aleksandr Yakovlev and driver Dmitry Filippov.

Rosatom CEO Aleksey Likhachev described the strike as a “deliberate terrorist act” by the “Kiev regime,” saying Yakovlev had devoted his life to the nuclear industry and “died, in essence, at his post.” Likhachev added that similar attacks over the past two and a half months had killed 13 people and wounded 48 others, warning they pose a “real threat of a massive nuclear incident” affecting parts of Russia, Ukraine and the EU.

Reacting to the attack, Zakharova said it should finally compel IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to acknowledge the “crime of the Kiev regime” and issue a clear public statement. Grossi “is obliged at last to see this crime,” she said, adding that Moscow expects the agency to deliver an unequivocal condemnation.

Later on Wednesday, the IAEA said on X that Russia had informed it of the killings and that Grossi had condemned the incident, calling it an “unacceptable attack on the plant and its management” that “seriously threatens nuclear safety.” The agency reiterated its call for an “immediate end to all attacks on or near nuclear sites and their staff.”

Russia has repeatedly urged the IAEA to respond more forcefully to Ukrainian attacks on the plant. Likhachev has previously warned that “radiation knows no borders and does not recognize passports,” arguing that any nuclear incident would pose a long-term threat to multiple countries.

In recent months, Kiev has also increasingly targeted infrastructure linked to the plant and the nearby city of Energodar, according to Russian officials. Kindergartens, schools, roads, transport enterprises and vehicles delivering supplies to the local community have all come under attack, Moscow has said.

The IAEA, which maintains a permanent team of experts at the ZNPP, has repeatedly confirmed that the plant and its surroundings have come under attack, but has not assigned responsibility for the strikes.

The ZNPP has been operated by Rosatom since the autumn of 2022, after the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions, along with the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, voted in referendums to join Russia. Moscow has argued that attacks on the plant and its personnel constitute not only acts of terrorism but also a direct challenge to international nuclear safety norms that the IAEA cannot afford to ignore.

The Baltic states are using “horror stories” about an alleged Russian threat to justify further NATO build-up and higher military spending, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. 

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Peskov was commenting on Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda’s claims that Moscow could be preparing “provocations” and limited attacks on critical infrastructure in Poland or the Baltic states. 

“This is the latest batch of horror stories, intended to continue brainwashing people and to prepare the population for further militarization,” Peskov said. 

Baltic leaders are deliberately “creating the image of an enemy” in the form of Russia to facilitate the expansion of NATO military infrastructure across the region “in all its forms,” he added. 

Nauseda told Lithuanian media this week that intelligence agencies had “received signals” about possible “kinetic operations” targeting critical infrastructure. He acknowledged, however, that the information did not indicate where or when such incidents might occur. 

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics reportedly echoed the warning on Wednesday, citing information from “Lithuanian, Latvian and other NATO states” intelligence agencies about possible “various sabotage attempts to lower the security in our states.” 

Western officials have repeatedly cited the prospect of Russian aggression to justify higher defense spending, including the EU’s €800 billion ($917 billion) ReArm Europe initiative and NATO members’ commitment to increase military expenditure to 5% of GDP. 

Moscow has consistently denied harboring aggressive intentions toward the US-led military bloc, dismissing claims of a planned attack on NATO as “nonsense.” Kremlin officials have described such accusations as fearmongering aimed at inflating military budgets. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Russia has “no reason” to attack the EU or NATO unless it is attacked first. 

Russia has also repeatedly condemned NATO’s military build-up in Europe and the alliance’s increased activity near its western borders, warning that any deployment of nuclear capabilities closer to Russian territory would draw a response. 

The Baltic states have been among Kiev’s strongest supporters within the EU throughout the Ukraine conflict. Moscow has argued that continued Western military and financial aid only prolongs the fighting without changing its outcome, while increasing the risk of a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has created “an atmosphere of fear” through the “systematic” persecution of political opponents with the tacit backing of Western nations, a newly formed rights group has claimed, warning that any dissenting voice is now treated as an “enemy.”

Tensions have remained high since last month’s parliamentary election, in which Pashinyan’s pro-EU Civil Contract party won 49.74% of the vote, according to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC). At least seven opposition parties have petitioned the constitutional court to annul the results, alleging widespread electoral misconduct, while hundreds of protesters rallied outside the CEC headquarters.

On Monday, the Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Persons Subjected to Political Persecution – a watchdog established by lawyers, political activists, and several former officials – accused the government of waging a campaign to silence the opposition.

“Everything is being done to foster a climate of fear, isolate political and public figures, and attempt to decapitate the numerous opposition forces,” former MP and lawyer Elinar Vardanyan said. According to the committee, around half a dozen opposition politicians are either in custody or facing criminal prosecution.

“Anyone who holds a different point of view is regarded by the authorities not as an opponent, but as an enemy,” said Armenia’s first ombudswoman, Larisa Alaverdyan, who joined the group. Committee members argued that Pashinyan has been able to pursue the crackdown because he has effectively received a “carte blanche” from his Western backers.

“In pursuit of their own interests, Western institutions are not merely turning a blind eye to Pashinyan’s actions – they are, in effect, encouraging them,” political analyst Yervand Bozoyan said, accusing foreign governments and international organizations of being “silently complicit in the destruction of democracy” in Armenia.

Pashinyan has declared the opposition parties that entered parliament illegitimate and vowed to strip them of their political standing. He has also said his government intends to confiscate the assets of the leaders of the three largest opposition parties, adding that they “should be left hungry.”

Following those remarks, prosecutors opened a criminal case against former President Robert Kocharyan, leader of the Armenia Alliance, the third-largest parliamentary party. Another opposition leader, Samvel Karapetyan, has remained in custody since last year on charges of plotting a coup, which he denies.

About a month before the election, Pashinyan hosted an EU-Armenia summit and a meeting of the European Political Community (EPC), an EU-led forum launched in 2022 after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict. He has also pledged to deepen Armenia’s integration with the EU, despite the country’s continued reliance on trade with Russia and Moscow’s warnings that adopting EU standards could damage the South Caucasus nation’s economy.

In March 2026, two years after the Crocus City Hall massacre in Moscow, a military court in Russia sentenced the perpetrators.

The terrorist attack on March 22, 2024 claimed the lives of 149 and injured 600 innocent civilians. Fifteen people, including the four Tajik citizens who carried out the attack and 11 facilitators, were given life sentences.

Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP) claimed responsibility and the attack’s operational signature was as striking as the death toll. Planning was conducted remotely from Herat, Afghanistan; coordination was carried out through encrypted digital channels, across international borders, and the entire enterprise operated seamlessly without a single face-to-face interaction between the architect and the executors. An earlier attack in January 2024 in Kerman, Iran followed the same template.

In 2024 and 2025, Pakistan, working with Iranian, Russian, and other international partners, conducted multiple intelligence-based operations that led to the neutralization and apprehension of numerous high-value ISKP targets from Pakistan-Afghanistan border areas.

The resulting investigations as reported in UNSC monitoring team reports, and Pakistan’s domestic media alerted the global counterterrorism architecture about the ISKP’s wherewithal in the cyber domain.

The investigations revealed that these incidents served as an announcement of a new era of ISKP embracing new technology; Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations have always found innovative ways to spread terror and have used drones, encrypted messaging, and other modern technology, but ISKP has mastered the cyber domain, using encrypted applications, the dark web, and cryptocurrencies.

The Virtual Caliphate: Four operational domains

ISKP’s evolution into the digital domain is not merely an operational nuance, nor is it restricted to incitement and recruitment. It is a structural reorganization conceived in four distinct but interlocking domains.

First, it constitutes the propagation of ideology, in which extremist narratives are published without geographical constraint. ISKP produces multilingual propaganda in Pashto, Darri, Russian, Uzbek, Farsi, Urdu, Malayalam, Bengali, and English through the publication of its Voice of Khurasan magazine. This publication is tailored to a specific audience, designed to exploit local grievances in tandem with the plight of the Palestinians.

Second, it functions as a recruitment ecosystem, inciting young people, connecting potential jihadists to established networks through social media, gaming platform chats, and specialist forums. The organization has learned to speak in the languages of digital youth culture and aesthetics, gaming, and viral content, embedding its ideological messages within formats designed for maximum algorithmic amplification and emotional resonance.

Third, it props up ISKP’s financial infrastructure, mobilizing resources through cryptocurrency and digital donation channels that bypass conventional financial monitoring. Cryptocurrency has revolutionized the financial architecture of terrorist fundraising. Despite the improvements in blockchain analytics, digital currencies remain the preferred means of cross-border fund transfer due to the anonymity provided by the method. ISKP has demonstrated increased institutional sophistication in this space, establishing dedicated wallets and structuring transactions to evade detection. The fundraising apparatus also leverages digital means to exploit Muslim suffering in conflict zones such as Gaza and frames financial contributions as a religious obligation. As Pakistan cracked down on ISKP media and external operation cells in 2025, ISKP issued a warning to stop crowdfunding transactions to their previously publicized Monero wallet barcode, as it was compromised.

Fourth, ISKP has achieved an operational integration in the cyber domain that enables attack planning, logistical coordination, execution, and the glorification of terrorist attacks across borders through secure channels and encrypted messaging applications. ISKP’s most significant digital innovation has been the transformation of jihadist training from a cumbersome physical model requiring travel to camps, face-to-face instruction, and geographic concentration of trainees, to a learning model accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. ISKP produces and disseminates detailed instructional manuals on weapons training, improvised explosives manufacturing, operational security, target selection, and tactical planning.

The AI frontier: Automated radicalization

In recent years, ISKP has developed a qualitative edge in its existing digital playbook. It has started to integrate generative AI into its propaganda and recruitment architecture. After the Crocus City Hall attack, the ISKP media branch produced an AI-generated news bulletin, presenting the vicious attack as a strategic win and framing it in language geared toward attracting multiple regional audiences simultaneously. The ability of AI tools to simultaneously produce multilingual content to target multiple audiences in a short period of time is becoming a force multiplier for ISKP.

However, the most troubling use of AI is the AI-powered chatbots that have already demonstrated their effectiveness as a radicalization tool. In one widely cited case, a 19-year-old British-Indian man who attempted to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II in 2021 was radicalized in part through over 5,000 messages exchanged with an AI chatbot he created himself on the Replika platform and regarded as a sympathetic and encouraging companion.  

Meanwhile, the way ISKP is embracing AI, the creation of a radicalized chatbot trained by a senior ISKP ideologue on a strict Salafi interpretation of Islam and Takfiri ideology has the capacity to dehumanize the radicalization process, not only making counter-radicalization more challenging, but also making actual perpetrators anonymous and difficult to detect. This scenario would be a nightmare for global efforts to counter and prevent violent extremism.

ISKP’s evolution from a territorially ambitious organization into a digitally native transnational terrorism architecture is one of the most consequential developments in recent years. ISKP, under the leadership of Shahab al-Muhajir, has demonstrated that territorial defeat, while necessary, is insufficient to neutralize ISKP, as it has structured itself around virtual presence rather than physical geography. If the global counterterrorism architecture fails to become more integrated and efficient and/or becomes a victim of geopolitical contests, it will only help terrorist organizations that are adapting to new technologies in overdrive.

The real challenge is faced by developing countries that have limited wherewithal and experience in handling these types of threats in the technological domain, especially when developed countries hardly see it as their problem. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization and its counterterrorism department – the Regional Anti Terrorists Structure (RATS) – with Russia and China as its founding members, provide an ideal multilateral forum to share good practices in countering terrorism, and can develop institutionalized mechanisms to not only monitor terrorists, especially ISKP, but can also develop the means to counter them.

India will run short of the key infrastructure resources needed to power the explosive growth in data centers the country is witnessing, without smart planning, a technology industry analyst told RT India.

India has about 150 operational data centers, with over 100 on the way, driven by the country’s AI boom and cloud adoption.

Data centers guzzle water and power. However, both are in scarce supply in India’s biggest cities where the bulk of them are being built – Navi Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Noida – as well as Jamnagar, RT India reported.

In 2020, India’s data centers consumed around 375 megawatts (MW) of electricity, which jumped to 1,500 MW by 2025. By 2032, the figure is projected to hit 13.56 gigawatts, a 30-fold increase in just over a decade.

A 1 MW data center requires around 26 million liters of water for cooling. A 30 MW facility needs 780 million liters, and a 160 MW one needs as much as 4.2 billion liters of water.

Over half (59%) of Indian districts faced water scarcity in 2025, and 3% are facing absolute scarcity.

Globally, there is a scramble to put guardrails to protect the environment and minimize the potential burden on local communities from data centers.

“The amount of infrastructure required, the resources required to support these gigawatts of data centers by the end of 2030 is going to be unprecedented,” a technology industry analyst at Counterpoint Research in Mumbai, Neil Shah, told RT India.

He noted that India doesn’t have enough resources and hasn’t “even planned for this particular increase.”

In Mumbai, which is on course to be one of the country’s biggest AI data center hubs, an estimated one-third of the electricity will be consumed by data centers. There are 28 new data centers being built in the city alone.

“We still have grids shared with the public infrastructure as well as these upcoming AI data centers,” Shah pointed out.

He said that there has to be “dedicated power grids and supply” built for these structures.

At some point, smart planning for the “required type of electricity, whether it’s renewables or whether it’s nuclear,” will have to come into play, Shah noted.
The approvals for future projects should be templatized to incorporate clean energy standards, emphasizing renewable energy, “whether it is about water recycling… energy efficiency,” he said.

He cited the example of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio as a template to be emulated. At its Jamnagar data facility, Reliance envisages that 50%-60% of the requirements would be met with smart renewables.

“The water recycling and everything is taken care of,” Shah pointed out.

Shah also suggested regular energy audits to scrutinize consumption patterns and separate billing standards for data center-scale electricity and water consumption.

The EU has agreed to stop granting temporary protection to newly arriving Ukrainians liable for military service while extending the scheme for others who fled the conflict with Russia, according to the Council of the European Union. The restriction will take effect in March 2027, while the broader protection scheme will remain in place until March 2028.

Kiev imposed a general mobilization shortly after the escalation of the conflict in February 2022, preventing nearly all military-age men from leaving the country. Despite the restrictions, many reached the EU, where adult men now make up around 27% of Ukrainians under temporary protection, according to bloc data.

The European Commission said on Wednesday that new applicants would have to “satisfy their military obligations in Ukraine” to qualify for temporary protection. It said the measure was intended to reflect the country’s “evolving defense needs” and would not affect those already benefiting from the scheme. Ukraine currently conscripts men between the ages of 25 and 60.

Irish Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council, said the extension “provides stability for those who found safety in the EU.” At the same time, he stressed that “we also want to make sure Ukraine can defend itself,” adding that this is why the temporary protection scheme “respects Ukraine’s legitimate needs.”

Across Western Europe, governments are increasingly scaling back support for Ukrainian refugees as pressure grows on welfare systems and public frustration over migration costs rises. More than 4.35 million Ukrainians are registered for temporary protection across the EU, according to Eurostat, while countries such as Poland, Germany, and Hungary have already moved to cut benefits.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly called for military-age men to return from abroad due to troop shortages. Vladimir Zelensky said in April that “our armed forces would certainly like them to come back because it is a matter of justice.”

Ukraine has struggled to replenish its ranks as Russian forces continue to advance. The so-called “busification” campaign, in which draft officers ambush men on the streets and outside their homes, often using force against those who resist, has repeatedly sparked public outrage.  

The conscription crisis has prompted several of Kiev’s European backers to review their asylum laws. Earlier this year, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed to restrict protections for Ukrainians, arguing that young men were needed in their home country. Last month, the Czech government approved legislation tightening temporary protection rules, saying future EU discussions could also include limiting protections for military-age men as Ukraine faces mounting manpower shortages.

Moscow has accused Kiev and its Western backers of being willing to fight Russia “to the last Ukrainian.

A Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton sold for a record of over $50 million at a Sotheby’s auction to an anonymous buyer on Tuesday, prompting scientists to warn that treating rare dinosaur fossils as luxury collectibles is harming research and public education.

The 67-million-year-old specimen is one of the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons ever discovered, according to Sotheby’s. Unearthed in South Dakota, it comprises 183 fossil bones, representing about 61% of the original skeleton. The auction house highlighted its exceptionally well-preserved skull and evidence of healed combat injuries.

After a 10-minute bidding war involving seven bidders, the skeleton sold for a record $50.1 million to an anonymous telephone bidder, far exceeding Sotheby’s pre-sale estimate of $20-$30 million.

Scientists have warned that record-breaking auctions are increasingly putting scientifically valuable specimens beyond the reach of researchers.

It’s a world record for Gus! The T. Rex just sold for $50.1 million at Sotheby’s New York, becoming the most expensive dinosaur ever up for auction.

Discover the story of the 67-million-year-old fossil >> https://t.co/nARpEBfo5K pic.twitter.com/cKUHe3MXYF

— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) July 14, 2026

“The current trend towards dinosaur fossils being marketed and sold like rare artworks at vast prices by auction houses is very concerning,” Richard Butler, a vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Birmingham, told The Guardian. While fossils have long been bought and sold, prices are now “increasingly out of the reach of museums,” he added.

Mathew Wedel, an associate professor of anatomy at Western University of Health Sciences in California, told the Financial Times that the trade has created “this kind of fraught situation where some of the best specimens are being lost to science.”

In a statement to AP, the US-based Society of Vertebrate Paleontology also urged the buyer to “immediately” donate the fossil to a museum.

Before Tuesday’s auction, the record was held by Apex, a nearly complete stegosaurus that sold for $44.6 million at Sotheby’s in 2024. The buyer was later revealed to be billionaire Ken Griffin, who subsequently loaned the specimen to the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

The previous record-holder, Stan, a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, fetched $31.8 million at a Christie’s auction in 2020. After its anonymous purchase, it was acquired by Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism for display at the emirate’s Natural History Museum.

Unlike the US, where fossils found on private land can generally be bought and sold, countries including Brazil, China, Mongolia, and Argentina treat important fossils as state property or national heritage, restricting their commercial trade.

A Russian company is planning to set up shop in India’s GIFT City, an international financial services center, to sell gold to Indians crazy for the yellow metal.

PJSC MGKL, the holding company of Russian pawnshop chain Mosgorlombard, said it will register at the financial center in the western Indian state of Gujarat to enter the capital market.

Mosgorlombard will start with installing automated terminals for the purchase and sale of gold and silver, Interfax reported.

The next step will be to set up a company in India to offer loans secured by gold.
Last year, Indian households held a staggering 34,000 tons of gold, CNBC reported, quoting Morgan Stanley, with some estimates valuing it at $5 trillion. The gold loan market in the country has outstanding portfolios of $225 billion.

Still only 10-12% of household gold is currently pledged, leaving massive room for growth for companies such as Mosgorlombard.

Mosgorlombard is a major pawnshop chain and resale platform that offers instant short-term loans against jewelry, furs, and electronics.

“Considering the scale and maturity of the gold-backed loans market in India, we expect strong demand for contactless acceptance of gold items,” MGKL CEO Aleksey Lazutin said in a statement.

MGKL also operates in the wholesale purchase and processing of precious metals. In April, Indian rating agency CareEdge Global gave a long-term local currency credit rating of B- to MGKL, with a stable outlook.

Entities in GIFT City, modeled on the lines of other global financial centers such as Singapore’s Marina Bay and Dubai’s DIFC, are allowed to transact in foreign currencies, make use of tax incentives, and tap India’s booming financial ecosystem.

The banking asset size of the center exceeds $100 billion.

The US has announced the end of its 23-year military presence in Iraq, as it shifts its focus to expanding the war against Iran.

US President Donald Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said at the White House on Tuesday that US forces will leave Iraq by September 30, ending a deployment that began with the 2003 invasion and the overthrow of then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and later continued under the banner of counterterrorism.

Around 2,000 US servicemen are believed to still be stationed in Iraq.

”We don’t think we need the military there anymore,” Trump said, arguing that Iraq’s security environment has changed after months of US-Israeli strikes “destabilized” Iran.

Al-Zaidi confirmed that US forces will be gone by the end of September and that “American companies will enter” instead.

Trump said the relationship with Iraq will now focus on investment and energy, citing the country’s oil reserves. He said the two countries are “going to be doing a lot of deals” and that the US is “going to be taking out a lot of oil.”

The US invaded Iraq in March 2003, claiming that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction and had links to terrorist groups. Although the weapons were never found, the US presence grew to more than 170,000 troops by 2007.

In 2011, most combat forces left, but the US returned in 2014 after Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) captured large areas of Iraq and Syria.

Critics argued that the Iraq invasion was launched on false pretenses, destabilized the country, helped create the conditions for the rise of IS, and was “largely about oil,” which former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan acknowledged in his memoirs.

Trump has been far more open about this than past administrations, and has argued that America should have “taken the oil” in Iraq, and that US forces in Syria would be “keeping the oil.”

Last week, Trump resumed military strikes on Iran and has refused to rule out a ground operation by allied forces and the potential capture of Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub, in order to “take the oil.”

The number of children arrested for sexual offenses in the UK reached a record high last year, a government-backed report has stated.

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF), a charity researching youth violence prevention, said on Tuesday that 3,809 children were arrested for sexual offenses in 2024-25, up nearly a fifth from 3,225 a year earlier. The figure was 74% above the Covid pandemic low of 1,979 in 2020-21 and surpassed the previous record of 3,633 set in 2015-16.

Separate YEF research based on a survey of 11,000 children aged 13 to 17 found one in 25 teenagers had experienced physical or sexual abuse in a relationship. Among those in relationships, 15% reported being pressured into sex, physically assaulted, or having explicit images shared without their consent – equivalent to one pupil in a typical classroom, researchers said. They linked the rise in child sex offenses to the growing circulation of explicit images among minors.

“The rise in arrests for sexual offenses by children is deeply concerning,” said Jess Southgate, YEF’s lead on violence against women and girls. “Whether it reflects more offending, more victims coming forward, or both, what’s clear is that more work is needed to prevent these harms from happening.”

The Guardian recently also reported a rise in cases of parents becoming victims of sexual abuse by their own children. Support group Pegs said that among 188 parents who sought help, 17% – predominantly mothers – reported experiencing sexual abuse by their child. Meanwhile, the National Analysis of Police Recorded Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Crimes Report found that more than half of 10- to 17-year-olds reported to police for sexual abuse targeted other children.

The issue returned to the spotlight in May during the widely debated trial of three boys, aged 14 and 15, convicted over two separate rapes of teenage girls in Hampshire last year. The boys filmed the assaults and shared some of the footage online.

The judge handed all three Youth Rehabilitation Orders – mostly involving community work – instead of custodial sentences, prompting widespread criticism from victims and lawmakers, who argued the ruling sent the “wrong message” that those convicted of rape might avoid prison.

More broadly, Britain has seen a sharp rise in child sexual abuse referrals involving both juvenile offenders and adult pedophiles. The National Crime Agency said earlier this year it now receives around 1,700 referrals each week, while police arrest about 1,000 suspected offenders every month.

The rise in child sex offenses adds to pressure on outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer over child protection. His government has introduced tougher online safety measures, including requiring tech giants to block explicit content on children’s phones and introducing a social media ban for under-16s, and updated sex education.

However, Starmer has repeatedly faced criticism over his handling of the grooming gangs scandal, which exposed systemic child sexual abuse by organized groups of Pakistani origin, as well as his government’s initial reluctance to launch a nationwide inquiry. Although Labour eventually backed a national probe, the issue became one of the defining controversies of Starmer’s premiership, contributing to the political crisis that culminated in his resignation last month.

South African police have offered a reward of 50,000 rand (about $3,000) for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for killing a Ghanaian national in Cape Town.

Bashira Issaka, 35, was shot dead inside the premises of his container business on June 29 after being told to pay a protection fee, according to the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Police spokesperson Thembakazi Mpendukana said the suspects allegedly entered the business and demanded a protection fee before fatally shooting Issaka.

Police said investigators are pursuing all possible leads to identify and apprehend those responsible for the killing.

”The investigating officer is exploring all avenues in a bid to bring the perpetrators to book and reaches out to the community for assistance,” Mpendukana said.

Western Cape police are now appealing to members of the public who may have information about the murder to come forward, assuring potential informants that their identities will be protected.

”Identities of those who offer their assistance will remain anonymous. A cash reward is offered for the successful arrest and conviction of the suspects,” Mpendukana said.

The case is being investigated by Sergeant Donovan Peterson of the Provincial Serious and Violent Crimes unit.

First published by IOL

The EU has banned the purchase, import, and transfer of Sudanese gold in a move aimed at cutting off financial sources for the African country’s ongoing civil war, the bloc said on Monday.

The measure also prohibits the sale, supply, transfer, and export of mining chemicals, including mercury and cyanide, to Sudan.

“Gold has become a key source of revenue sustaining the conflict in Sudan,” the EU said in a statement, adding that the restriction “aims to reduce the resources available to those responsible for perpetuating the violence.”

Sudan is Africa’s fifth-largest gold producer, with 74.6 tons of output, according to the World Gold Council. Both the army and the paramilitary have sought control over gold-producing areas and trade networks amid the conflict.

A 2024 UN Panel of Experts report said more than 50% of Sudan’s gold production was smuggled out of the country, with illicit trade networks helping sustain the war economy.

Sudan’s war began after a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.

The fighting has killed at least 59,000 people and displaced millions, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), although aid groups and researchers say the true toll is likely higher because many deaths in conflict areas remain undocumented.

The warring parties now operate competing administrations. The army-aligned transitional government operated from Port Sudan during much of the war and began restoring state institutions in Khartoum after retaking the capital in March 2025. In February 2025, a Sudanese political coalition announced the formation of a parallel government led by RSF chief Dagalo.

Regional and international efforts led by the US, Saudi Arabia, and the African Union, among others, to secure a ceasefire between the warring parties have so far failed. A US-backed proposal reported last week called for a 90-day humanitarian truce in Sudan, followed by negotiations on a permanent ceasefire and a civilian-led transition to elections. Sudan’s army-aligned authorities said they would only accept the plan if the RSF fully withdrew from cities, disarmed, and demobilized its forces.

Last Sunday, a Sudanese court sentenced Dagalo and 15 other RSF figures to death in absentia over alleged war crimes and the killing of West Darfur Governor Khamis Abbakar.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned that regional oil and gas exports could be blocked completely in response to US attempts to control the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement on Tuesday, the IRGC accused Washington of acting like “pirates” by restricting energy flows in the region and warned that other export routes serving the US and its allies could be blocked in response.

“Regional oil and gas exports are either for everyone or for no one,” the statement said.

The warning came as the IRGC claimed a new strike on US military infrastructure in Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and serves as one of Washington’s main naval hubs in the Persian Gulf.

According to the IRGC, the fifth wave of Operation Nasr-2 targeted an NSA management center, a command-and-control center, large warehouses containing military parts and equipment, and fuel storage tanks belonging to the US Fifth Fleet.

The statement said the facilities had been “smashed and destroyed” in the early morning strike. The US military has not commented on the claim.

The latest warning follows Tehran’s decision to declare the Strait of Hormuz closed until the US ends its “illegal” military intervention in the region.

Washington has said its renewed strikes on Iran are aimed at protecting commercial shipping and freedom of navigation through the strait. US President Donald Trump has claimed that America is now “in control” of the waterway and will act as its “guardian.”

The US president has also threatened to escalate strikes against Iran, including attacks on power plants and bridges, unless Tehran returns to negotiations. In a Fox News interview on Tuesday, Trump refused to rule out a ground campaign, saying “other people” could carry it out, and again referred to Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub.

Kharg Island handles most of Iran’s crude exports and has been repeatedly cited by Trump as a possible target. Earlier this year, he said the US could seize the island “to take the oil.”

The EU and UK should abandon their ambitions to act as independent “middle powers” and accept their role as “vassals” under the US, Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev has said.  

Dmitriev made the remarks on X on Wednesday while commenting on a series of posts by US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby.  

“The EU/UK’s faulty ‘middle power’ strategy started to freak out the US,” Dmitriev wrote. “EU/UK vassals should know their place.”  

The term “middle powers” generally refers to countries that wield significant economic, diplomatic, or regional influence but lack the military and political reach of global superpowers. The concept has recently gained traction among some Western leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said earlier this year that “the middle powers must act together” adding, “if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.”  

Responding to the idea on Tuesday, Colby dismissed a collective middle-power strategy as a distraction.  

“There is a great deal of hubbub about a collective ‘middle powers’ strategy these days,” Colby wrote. “At DoW, we are not concerned that this is a serious possibility. Rather, we are more concerned that a few allies and partners will think it is and waste valuable time, money, and political capital on a distraction.”  

Colby said the strategy was based on a “faulty understanding of international relations,” arguing that middle powers lacked a coherent foundation for alignment. He also rejected suggestions that countries were distancing themselves from Washington and claimed the US was seeing an “upsurge” in demand for American military engagement.  

The exchange comes as Washington plans to reduce troops and critical weapons systems in Europe and redirect some resources to Asia and other regions.  

After returning to the White House last year, US President Donald Trump pushed NATO members to commit to spending 5% of GDP on defense by 2035, repeatedly accusing European allies of failing to share the bloc’s military burden. Divisions within NATO also deepened over Trump’s push to acquire Greenland and after several European members declined to support his military operation against Iran.   

The US and European NATO members have also differed over the Ukraine conflict. While Trump has sought to broker a peace settlement between Moscow and Kiev, several EU governments have insisted that any agreement must be reached on Ukraine’s terms and have continued to back military support for Kiev.  

Earlier this month, Dmitriev argued that EU and UK leaders were prolonging the Ukraine conflict to distract voters from mounting economic and political problems at home.

India and Russia will sign a pact to speed up operationalizing the Arctic shipping route as the countries take steps to achieve a targeted $100 billion in bilateral trade.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin posted on the official portal of regulatory legal acts on Tuesday that Rosatom’s proposal to develop cooperation in maritime cargo transportation along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) has been approved.

The Arctic route will provide India with alternative passages to ship commodities to markets in eastern and northern Europe, saving up to 40% in distance and about two weeks of travel time compared to traditional routes through the Suez Canal.

The uncertainty over the transit of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after the Middle East conflict began late in February has impacted India, which is heavily dependent on energy imports.

The Arctic route pact would also be a significant boost to efforts by Russia and India to achieve the targeted $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.

🇷🇺🇮🇳 Russia Moves To Fast-Track Arctic Trade Route With India

Russia has authorized state nuclear giant Rosatom to sign an MoU with India to expand cooperation on cargo transport through the Northern Sea Route (NSR) - the shipping corridor that could emerge as an alternative to… pic.twitter.com/ByP8NnqUNP

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 15, 2026

Rosatom was instructed to sign the memorandum on behalf of the Russian government, Mishustin posted. Rosatom, which has assets in power engineering, machine building, and construction, is Russia’s designated operator and coordinator of the NSR.

The state-owned conglomerate also manages Russia’s unique fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers, essential for keeping the Arctic shipping lane navigable.

In June, Aleksey Chekunkov, Russia’s minister for the development of the Far East and the Arctic, said India is considering increasing its use of the NSR in the wake of disruptions to seaborne trade in the Strait of Hormuz.

India and Russia formalized the Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Support (RELOS) pact during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi in December. The pact offers India access to ports along the NSR, from Vladivostok to Murmansk.

The outcomes of Putin’s trip also included the expansion of logistics links to develop the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), the Chennai–Vladivostok corridor – also known as the Eastern Maritime Corridor (EMC) – and the NSR.

Putin said that cooperation on the 3,500-mile NSR, the 4,500-mile INSTC, and the 6,450-mile EMC would accelerate under the new bilateral agreement.

Israel has approved more than $400 million to establish dozens of new settlements in the occupied West Bank, despite international condemnation of what critics describe as the de facto annexation of Palestinian territory.

The West Bank, which was captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, is home to around 3 million Palestinians and more than 500,000 Israeli settlers. Along with East Jerusalem and Gaza, it is envisioned as the core of a future Palestinian state under the internationally backed two-state solution.

The Israeli government said on Tuesday that the security cabinet allocated 1.3 billion shekels ($431 million) to establish 34 new settlements in the West Bank. The decision was announced by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a West Bank settler who oversees civilian affairs in the territory and has pledged to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state.

Calling the decision “historic” and “a day of celebration for Israel and settlements,” Smotrich said another 1.075 billion shekels would soon be allocated to build roads serving the new communities.

“We are strengthening the security of the State of Israel, killing the idea of establishing a terrorist state in the heart of the country, and strengthening our hold on the homeland in Judea and Samaria,” Smotrich said, using the biblical term for the West Bank.

Hamas condemned the plan as a “dangerous and criminal” step toward annexing the occupied territory, as cited by PressTV. The group accused Israel of seeking full control of the West Bank and urged Palestinians to intensify resistance, while calling on the UN and the international community to move beyond verbal condemnation and take practical steps to halt settlement expansion.

Israel has faced growing criticism over its West Bank settlement moves. While successive governments have stopped short of formally annexing the region, critics, including the UN, Arab states, and many Western allies, say the policy fragments Palestinian territory and further undermines the viability of a two-state solution.

Israel argues that the West Bank is disputed territory with deep historical and biblical ties to the Jewish people.
Settlement approvals reached a record 54 in 2025 and 103 overall with the latest announcement. Earlier this year, the security cabinet transferred more authority from the military to civilian ministries, introduced a process to register West Bank land as ‘state property’, and allowed Israeli citizens to purchase land directly in the territory.

The settlement drive has been accompanied by rising violence in the West Bank since the Gaza war began in 2023. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at least 117 Palestinian communities have been completely or partially displaced by settler attacks, which have more than doubled from around 850 in 2022 to over 1,820 in 2025.

Israeli human rights group B’Tselem says Israeli military operations and settler attacks have killed more than 230 Palestinian children since 2023.

Israeli public opinion has been divided over the settlement policy. A March 2025 Jewish People Policy Institute survey found that 58% of Jewish Israelis see them as enhancing national security, while 35% view them as a liability. Among Arab Israelis, 63% consider them a burden rather than a security asset.

Russia will continue to support Sahel countries in their fight against terrorism by helping to strengthen their armed forces, training security personnel, and providing humanitarian assistance, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

Lavrov made the remarks during talks with Chadian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul. The two sides discussed regional security, including the situation in the Sahara-Sahel region and cooperation with the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), comprising Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.

“We intend to provide assistance to countries in the region on a bilateral basis, including by enhancing the combat readiness of national armed forces and training military and law enforcement personnel,” he said.

The foreign minister said Russia and its African partners are concerned about the growing threat from groups affiliated with Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) and Boko Haram spreading across the region. He also accused unnamed former colonial powers of attempting to undermine Russia’s ties with Sahel states, alleging that militants from Ukraine are being used alongside terrorist groups in destabilizing activities.

“Wherever the Ukrainians see an opportunity to damage what they perceive to be the interests of the Russian Federation, they will align themselves with anyone, including African extremists seeking to bring down legitimate governments, or any other dregs of society,” Lavrov said.

The Sahel has been embroiled in militant violence for over a decade, with factions linked to IS, Al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram carrying out attacks across Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and neighboring countries.

Chad has also remained a key frontline state in the fight against militant groups, with Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants repeatedly targeting its forces around the Lake Chad region. In 2021, longtime Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno was killed while visiting troops battling rebels in the country’s north. More recently, Boko Haram attacks have killed dozens of Chadian soldiers, including at least 23 troops in an assault on a military post in the Lake Chad area in May.

Fadoul thanked Russia for its support in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel, saying Chad appreciates its efforts, particularly toward the AES countries.

The talks between Moscow and N’Djamena also covered trade, investment, energy, geological exploration, fertilizer production, and healthcare cooperation. Russia said it would increase scholarships for Chadian students from 300 to 360 annually.

Fadoul said Chad intends to pursue and deepen its “historic and enduring” cooperation with Russia, describing bilateral ties as based on “trust, mutual respect and reciprocal interests.” The two sides are also set to sign an agreement exempting holders of diplomatic and service passports from visa requirements.