Two firefighting helicopters collided in midair in Greece, killing two crew members, as hundreds of personnel battled at least 220 wildfires recorded nationwide over the past week, according to the Greek Fire Service.

Nearly 500 firefighters and 23 aircraft were deployed to the main front west of Athens alone, but gale-force winds drove flames through dry forests and hampered the response, preventing some aircraft from safely reaching the sea to collect water. Hundreds of people were evacuated from coastal communities by boat after flames and smoke cut off roads.

The collision occurred on Sunday near Psatha, around 70km west of Athens, as the aircraft battled a major wildfire that broke out near Agios Vasileios on Friday before spreading toward Porto Germeno and the forested mountains west of the capital.

BREAKING: Two firefighting helicopters collided Sunday while battling a wind-driven wildfire in the Porto Germeno area west of Athens. Video captured one of the aircraft crashing to the ground after the midair collision. pic.twitter.com/4kTHa7wR0V

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 2, 2026

A Greek coordinator and a Danish pilot aboard one helicopter were killed, while the crew of the second aircraft – a Greek national and a British national – survived. No injuries were reported on the ground.

🚁 Battling the flames in Porto Germeno – Villia, Greece.

Firefighters, supported by aerial firefighting operations, continue their efforts to contain the wildfire. Every minute counts in protecting lives, forests, and local communities.

🎥 kostas_mdtatoo#wildfires… pic.twitter.com/phKkenVf1v

— IoannaDementiEU 🇪🇺 (@IoannaDementi) August 2, 2026

Footage circulating online appears to show one helicopter climbing into the flight path of the other before the aircraft collide. The lower helicopter then bursts into flames and plunges to the ground, while the second remains airborne.

🇬🇷🔥Fire Greece Porto Germeno Attica - Meteology Live App pic.twitter.com/eljgilorwc

— Meteology Live (@AppMeteology) August 1, 2026

Both aircraft were leased Bell helicopters operated by the Australian aerial firefighting company McDermott Aviation. The cause of the collision remains under investigation.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his “deepest sorrow” on X, describing the victims as “frontline fighters in the war against the fires under highly adverse weather conditions.”

Wildfires fanned by heavy winds burned across multiple areas of Greece, including near Athens, with large-scale firefighting operations and emergency evacuations ​underway https://t.co/Pl8qLHOTx0 pic.twitter.com/1FA2ohWspT

— Reuters (@Reuters) August 1, 2026

The collision came just days after two firefighters were killed while battling a blaze on Crete, while a third died in the Peloponnese.

Europe has been grappling with a major wildfire crisis, with fast-moving fires around Madrid, Valencia and Bordeaux forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate.

Spain’s response has been hampered by the grounding of its fleet of Russian-made Kamov Ka-32 helicopters under EU sanctions imposed following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict. Madrid has acknowledged that the restrictions prevent operators from obtaining Russian spare parts or bringing Russian engineers into Spain to conduct maintenance and inspections. Replacement aircraft reportedly carry less water and are less effective in difficult conditions.

US President Donald Trump has teased new negotiations with Iran after abruptly calling off a major attack in a Truth Social post published on the same day that his media company began selling Wall Street firms millisecond-fast access to the platform’s market-moving content.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump claimed that talks would begin on Monday and said several Middle Eastern governments had urged him to give diplomacy another chance.

“We’re just going to see whether or not we can make a deal,” Trump said, claiming that the canceled operation would have been the “biggest attack since World War II.”

From ‘friendly’ talks to ‘locked and loaded’ – and back

Last Monday, Trump claimed that “very friendly negotiations” with Tehran were already underway. 

Within days, however, the US had resumed bombing Iran, while Trump adopted increasingly aggressive rhetoric, promising to hit the country “very hard.”

US media reported on Friday that Washington and Israel were preparing an extensive campaign against Iranian power plants, refineries and other energy infrastructure.

The threats, combined with continued disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, helped sustain fears of a wider energy shock and propelled crude prices toward $90 a barrel.

The sudden reversal triggered another sharp market swing when Asian trading resumed on Monday morning. Brent crude fell by more than 7% at the open, while West Texas Intermediate dropped 6.7% to $78.98 a barrel. US stock-index futures rose as traders priced in a reduced risk of further escalation and disruption to Gulf energy supplies.

Truth Social monetizes Trump’s posts

August 1 was also the launch date of Truth API, a paid service operated by Trump Media & Technology Group that provides institutional customers with a licensed, machine-readable feed of posts from influential Truth Social accounts. The service is aimed specifically at high-frequency and algorithmic trading firms and reportedly costs as much as $100,000 per month.

Trump’s posts are particularly valuable because he routinely uses Truth Social to announce abrupt changes involving wars, tariffs, individual companies and other policies capable of moving stocks, currencies and commodities. The AP noted that policy reversals can be especially lucrative for high-speed traders, who can profit from an initial threat that moves prices in one direction and then rapidly change their positions when Trump announces the opposite.

Hormuz talks are none of US business – Iran

Iran has previously accused Trump of publicizing purported diplomatic breakthroughs to lower oil prices and buy time for further military action. The latest pause also follows an established pattern: Trump has repeatedly announced that strikes against Iran were being suspended to allow negotiations, only for military operations to resume after talks faltered or new attacks occurred.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said negotiations with Oman over the waterway’s management were “nearing completion,” while Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei described the discussions as a bilateral matter that “does not concern any other party.”

Baqaei said Iran and Oman were negotiating a new shipping route that would replace the existing northern and southern routes. He stressed that any agreement “does not mean that the Strait of Hormuz will be opened or remain closed,” contradicting Trump’s claim that the proposed deal would provide for its “immediate, complete and total” reopening.

A petition urging New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to stay away from the commemoration of the 9/11 attacks has gained traction online, attracting more than 70,000 backers.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the attack, which resulted in nearly 3,000 fatalities and the destruction of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The annual commemoration is customarily held at the monument built on the spot where the towers used to stand. It is frequented by senior local and federal officials.

The upcoming anniversary sparked controversy well before the event, with a group of relatives of the victims launching a petition against Mamdani’s participation. According to the petitioners, the motion has nothing to do with the mayor’s religion, but with his controversial views and perceived connections to radicals.

The petition, which was launched last month, reached 50,000 verified signatures earlier this week and over 70,000 as of Sunday. It calls out the Muslim mayor over what it described as “public positions, associations, and responses to rhetoric that many perceive as hostile to these shared values.”

Among other things, it listed the mayor’s connections to radical Brooklyn Imam Siraj Wahhaj and the appointment of Ramzi Kassem, who previously represented a terrorist convicted in an al-Qaeda tanker bombing plot. The petition also called out his father, Mahmood Mamdani, over his 2004 book Good Muslim, Bad Muslim, in which the political scientist argued the 9/11 attack should be “understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism.” The mayor had previously noted that his father had largely shaped his own views, the petition pointed out.

A smaller activist group of the victim’s relatives, the September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, stood by the mayor, condemning the petitioners over the alleged “anti-American accusations and Islamophobic sentiment.” The dissenting group, believed to have just over 250 active members, has been bankrolled by the Soros Foundation, receiving more than $500,000 in grants from it over the past decade.

The controversy comes as the feud between the NYC mayor and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reignited this week after Mamdani said the latter could be arrested on war-crimes charges should he visit the city. Netanyahu claimed the mayor sided with Iran and accused him and other critics of Israel of “moral cynicism” and “absurdity.”

RT showcases its top five stories of the week and dives deeper into the topics that shaped the news over the past seven days.

FIFA crisis as testament to US decline

The FIFA scandal has been further aggravated by Infantino’s botched attempt to sell to private investors stakes in a $20 billion subsidiary to run the World Cup. The plan met with an overwhelmingly negative reaction and was opposed by UEFA’s national associations and other federations around the globe. Infantino eventually abandoned it. While the scandal might not finish off FIFA itself, it is expected to result in the early departure of its embattled boss.

British AI drive runs into energy shortage

The proposal comes as Britain continues to struggle with a deepening energy crisis, during which both speculative energy consumption and household bills have continued to climb. According to Ofgem, this year the average household energy bill is expected to be almost 50% higher than five years ago, climbing to £1,862 ($2,510).

Laura Loomer struggles to notice neo-Nazis in Ukraine

During the interview, the commander of the notorious Azov regiment, now rebranded as the 3rd Assault Brigade, struggled to explain why the insignia of his unit closely resembles the Wolfsangel symbol used in Nazi Germany. Biletsky invoked unspecified “aristocratic” and Cossack symbols, which the insignia is supposedly based upon, and also tried to downplay the use of SS-style symbols in general. “Hitler ate with a fork and was a vegetarian. That doesn’t make forks or vegetarianism bad things,” he told Loomer.

Despite facing criticism over cavorting with open neo-Nazis, Loomer has insisted that she did not find any in Ukraine, touting her Jewish ethnicity as well as the fact Biletsky did not kill her on the spot. The influencer sparked further controversy this weekend when she said she “would kill” Russian President Vladimir Putin if she were the US leader.

Covid-related Fauci scandal reignited

RT explored the disastrous performance of former US coronavirus czar Dr. Anthony Fauci in Congress, where he was summoned to testify on the origins of the pandemic.

While former President Joe Biden pardoned Fauci last January, shielding him from prosecution for any potential offense committed between January 1, 2014, and January 20, 2025, the hearing has renewed the push for jailing him. The oversight committee led by Paul is set to vote on Wednesday on whether to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress. The measure is expected to pass with Republican support.

Roots of Spain’s migrant crisis explained

While the crisis had seemingly waned by the weekend as the bulk of migrants retreated back to Morocco, the true numbers remain unclear. According to Interior Ministry estimates, some 50,000-60,000 migrants invaded the enclave on Thursday. Local media reports citing law enforcement, however, indicated that around 73,500 people have now left Ceuta, suggesting that the scale of the initial invasion was significantly bigger than reported by Madrid.

As I sat in the Olympic Stadium in Athens on Thursday night, I would like to say I felt the hand of history on my shoulder, but instead I felt a sick feeling in my stomach at how European football has been irreversibly damaged by the holier than thou brigade at UEFA.

UEFA, the governing body for football in Europe and subordinate only to global overseer FIFA and to the richest clubs on the continent, has effectively created a full-on apartheid system that sees the rich get even richer and their power increasingly unchecked. And they showed their power in beating back FIFA’s bid to commercialize their biggest cash cow: the World Cup.

Greek (and not just) tragedy

In 1971, Panathinaikos made it to the final of the European Champions Cup, the previous name of the UEFA Champions League. The first and only Greek club to do so, they lost 2-0 to mighty Ajax of Amsterdam, who at the time were in their pomp with the late Johan Cruyff. The Greeks subsequently made two semifinals, in 1985 and 1996, but on Thursday played in the continent’s third tier competition, the UEFA Conference League. If the capital club go on to win this year’s competition, they will receive €7 million, not a sum to be sniffed at. However, the club that wins the Champions League takes home €25 million. That is only for winning the whole thing and doesn’t include prize money for earlier wins etc., but you kind of get the divide that UEFA has deliberately created.

I write this because right now Europe’s governing body brought hellfire down on FIFA for a number of reasons and they’re all false, spurious, and downright deceptive.

Since the UEFA Champions League was launched in 1992, only two sides outside of the ‘Big-5’ leagues [England, Germany, France, Spain, Italy] have won. Ajax in 1995 and Porto of Portugal in 2004. The ‘Champions’ league is actually a misnomer. It’s a league for the winners, runners-up, third, and fourth placed clubs from the ‘Big-5’, with the actual champions from Greece, Ireland, Scotland, Romania, and dozens of other nations having to qualify to be in the money-making league stage. UEFA has gamed the system to keep the wealth and power at the top, leaving ‘minnows’ from Albania, Hungary, and Poland not even dreaming of winning the whole thing.

UEFA created this cabal to ensure that the ‘big clubs’ from the ‘Big-5’ don’t create their own super league, the latest threat being just five years ago. To survive, in 2022 UEFA changed the competition format to give more money to the ‘big clubs’ and relied on FIFA intervention and support to make sure they they remained relevant.

Yet just four years later, they threatened to boycott FIFA competitions due to that organization proposing to increase investment in global football by selling off 20% of its World Cup commercial operations to private investors. As one German football writer said on Sport1 last week, “FIFA saved UEFA by stopping the Super League, UEFA pays back by stopping super money.”

UEFA starts up its money train band wagon

As soon as the British media whipped up a hatestorm to the FIFA proposal, new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham made his latest gaffe. Bad enough that he was boasting about jogging with tarnished athletics star Mo Farah on X, he then wrote something that made even the most hardened anti-FIFA mind boggle.

Burnham was cashing in to build credit with the ‘footballing public’, to try to last at least as long as predecessor Keir Starmer. Because even he knows what UEFA’s ultimate aim is and it’s not protecting football.

Why UEFA fought FIFA

UEFA is solely concerned with money and control, nothing else. It is also staving off two major issues that need to be resolved by September: Russia’s return and Israel’s suspension.

UEFA knows that it will face uproar from the usual screeching heads by allowing even Russian girls back into continental competition, as explained here and once the boycotts kick off, it will lose millions because those not too inclined towards peace in Ukraine will make sure their voices are heard.

In ‘showing off’ by standing up to FIFA right now, it can force the global governing body to backtrack on allowing Russia to return to the footballing family. And the reason is simple: the biggest TV markets are in Europe and FIFA needs them to keep the money flowing. This UEFA power play effectively neuters FIFA from any future moves to increase funding to all its 211 member nations.

And there is the Israel question, soon to be faced in furious technicolor by Ireland. The Irish men’s national team will play their Israeli counterparts in two neutral venues as cities in Israel are unsafe for matches, while Dublin has also been deemed “too volatile.” UEFA’s avoidance of responsibility over the Israel question has put them at odds with FIFA and nations in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and South America. They have punished Israeli football fans for racist and offensive behavior, yet allowed clubs and teams from the country to continue despite the response to the October 7 terror attack by Hamas and the bombing of Iran and invasion of Lebanon.

UEFA ‘saves the day’ and sinks itself?

UEFA has been allowed to kick the can down the road, in relation to the abovementioned in-house conundrums, and won plaudits from the Eurocentric European sports media. By having lapdogs like the BBC back UEFA attacks on FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, UEFA is ensuring that more money stays in Europe while appearing to care about football.

Yet, pretending to be the saviors of football could yet backfire on the European body. UEFA is terrified of having to put those vehemently against Russia’s return back in their proverbial boxes, because money will be lost. It does not want to offend Israel as business and political supporters in Europe will make UEFA pay financially. As soon as this media cycle passes, questions will need to be answered and the rulers of European football have no answers. Indeed, they will depend on FIFA to help out, again.

As for suggestions that they should set up a new global governing body, UEFA has zero interest as it’s bad for business. The noise around FIFA’s commercial sell off was simply to make sure that when the cake is being divided up, they’ll make more money from it, and that FIFA will back down over Russia, and the public will forget that Israel are still in competition. 

Far from breathing a sigh of relief early on Saturday when FIFA released a statement saying its business plan had been shelved, UEFA began the countdown to having to deal with its own burning issues. The ‘thunderous barrage of criticism’, to quote a BBC football writer, directed by UEFA at Infantino will not see the champions of Greece, Ireland, Poland, or Russia, dream of becoming champions of Europe. The ‘barrage’ is poorly aimed flak, meant to distract, from a pair of incoming missiles that could derail the UEFA money train.

Several sunken World War II-era Nazi warships have resurfaced in the Danube River amid a major heatwave and prolonged drought. The vessels became visible as the water level in Europe’s second-longest river fell to record lows.

Photos and videos posted on social media showed massive shipwrecks lying in the water and on a sand ridge in the middle of the waterway near the village of Prahovo in Serbia.

Elsewhere, the wreck of a Hungarian cargo ship that sank in 1937 resurfaced near the Croatian village of Opatovac.

Some 200 vessels could be lying on the bottom of the Danube River, according to the European Investment Bank. River transport has nearly come to a halt due to the low water levels, according to Hungary’s Transport Ministry.

🇷🇸🇭🇷 A sunken German flotilla has surfaced in Serbia due to the shallowing of the Danube, Reuters reports.

The rusting hulks of the German flotilla, sunk in 1944 during the retreat before the Red Army, are reportedly posing a threat to shipping. pic.twitter.com/WwacLDGlgC

— Маrina Wolf (@volkova_ma57183) August 1, 2026

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar also said that the Paks nuclear power plant, which covers nearly half of Hungary’s electricity needs, could be shut down for weeks because of insufficient water levels.

Na Dunavu kod Prahova.
Stari nacististički brodovi se vide zbog niskog vodostaja.
📷Đorđe Kojadinović pic.twitter.com/b44rZe2H4J

— 💀Patogeni puding💀 (@PatogeniP) August 1, 2026

In Budapest, a German WWII artillery shell was found near Margaret Bridge – one of the city’s major traffic arteries – last week. The discovery prompted brief safety closures as a bomb disposal team was deployed to the area. Hungary’s national weather authority also reported a record-low water level of 23cm in the Danube as it flows through the city. The previous all-time low, set in 2018, was 33cm.

In northern Bulgaria, the drying-up river revealed what is believed to be the remains of a mammoth. The bones were found by a local resident of the village of Ryahovo. Nikolay Nenov, a director of a regional history museum in the nearby town of Ruse, called the discovery “very important for science.”

En Bulgarie, des ossements de mammouth découverts dans le lit asséché du Danube
(Reporterre) pic.twitter.com/bvz3Wq1i1j

— PBE 🦔🌳🐤🐾 (@Pbe95) August 1, 2026

The Danube is expected to go even lower in the coming days, with no significant rain forecast and temperatures expected to exceed 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees F) in the region, according to AP.

Israel is at the heart of Washington’s long-running tensions with Colombia and its outgoing President Gustavo Petro, Foreign Minister Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio has told RT.

In an exclusive interview aired on Sunday, Villavicencio insisted that the decisive factor behind US sanctions on Petro was not his alleged failure to combat drug trafficking but rather his outspoken support for Palestine and repeated accusations that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.

Relations between Bogota and Washington – Colombia’s largest trading partner – steadily deteriorated during Petro’s presidency over US policy in Latin America, particularly toward Venezuela and Cuba, regional anti-drug efforts, and broader geopolitical differences, most notably Petro’s outspoken support for Palestine and criticism of Israel. This culminated in Washington sanctioning Petro last year, accusing him of “allowing drug cartels to flourish” and “refusing to stop” narcotics trafficking.

US President Donald Trump called Petro an “illegal drug leader,” and openly backed right-wing presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, who campaigned on restoring closer ties with Washington, over Petro ally and left-wing Senator Ivan Cepeda in the election earlier this year.

“We are talking about record-breaking seizures of cocaine, exceeding the figures achieved by any previous administration,” she said, adding that authorities had dismantled cocaine laboratories, extradited suspects, confiscated criminal assets, and kept the US informed of those efforts.

“President [Petro’s] inclusion on the OFAC list [is] in no way related to drug trafficking. These measures were taken against the president because of his firm and principled stance when he openly described what is happening in Palestine as genocide,” Villavicencio declared. “That was the real reason.”

Petro severed diplomatic ties with Israel in 2024 over its military campaign in Gaza, repeatedly accusing West Jerusalem of committing genocide and becoming one of Israel’s fiercest critics in Latin America.

Petro is due to hand power to President-elect de la Espriella on August 7. He has said he will not attend the inauguration, challenged the legitimacy of the election, and alleged that Israel manipulated Colombia’s presidential vote by hacking election servers. Apart from aligning Colombia more closely with Washington, de la Espriella has pledged to restore full diplomatic ties with Israel, effectively reversing nearly every major foreign-policy decision of the Petro administration.

Meanwhile, the Gaza conflict remains unresolved despite recent political developments. Earlier this week, Hamas said it had accepted Trump’s Board of Peace proposal for phased disarmament, provided Israel fulfills its commitments, including a phased military withdrawal, humanitarian access, and progress on reconstruction.

The US and Israel orchestrated the mass migrant crossing from Morocco into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta to punish Madrid for its refusal to bow to pressure on the Middle East conflicts, Iran’s embassy in Kenya has suggested. Spain has been at odds with Washington and West Jerusalem over the Gaza war and strikes on Iran.

Over the past several days, roughly 50,000 to 60,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta by land and sea in numbers equivalent to some 70% of the enclave’s regular population. The local authorities admitted they had been “completely overwhelmed” by the sudden surge.

The crisis, the largest human traffic invasion in the EU’s history, claimed the lives of at least 86 people, a toll expected to rise further. Many of the victims drowned in the sea or were crushed in the stampede at border checkpoints.

It also branded the crisis “a gift to Europe’s far right” and “punishment for the country that dared to challenge the American Empire and its Israeli henchmen,” warning that “the empire never tolerates defiance.”

Neither the US nor Israel commented on the accusation. However, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon slammed Spain’s handling of the crisis. “Spain, which never misses an opportunity to lecture Israel, has declared a state of emergency in Ceuta following the crisis over its immigration policy”, Danon wrote on X. “Maybe before it continues lecturing us, it’s time it explained to the world why it still maintains colonial enclaves in Africa.”

The comments come against a backdrop of deep acrimony between Madrid and Israel over the Gaza conflict and the US-Israeli war on Iran. Spain recognized Palestine in May 2024, accused Israel of “genocide” in Gaza, and has permanently pulled its ambassador from Israel over its opposition to strikes on Iran while closing its airspace to US aircraft involved in the attack.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar accused Madrid of “standing with tyrants” while US President Donald Trump blasted Spain, saying that it “has been very bad” to NATO. Iran, meanwhile, has praised Spain for its “principled” position on the war.

In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Sanchez said he had “serious concerns” about some EU governments, noting that while most EU states had shown “support and solidarity,” others had responded with a “selfish, polarizing and unlawful reaction” driven by “prejudice, fake news, ignorance, or political interest.” 

Apart from the theory of alleged US-Israel involvement, several other explanations for the crisis have circulated. The Spanish authorities have pointed to criminal human-trafficking networks which they claimed exploited a Supreme Court ruling barring “hot returns” of migrants and fabricated a viral social media campaign to lure them to the border.

At the same time, Western intelligence sources cited by The Telegraph suggested that Morocco may have loosened border controls in retaliation for Sanchez’s pursuit of historic rapprochement with rival Algeria.

In late July, the Philippines did something that has become increasingly rare. It made great powers sit down. Under the chairmanship of the Philippines, the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila and its dense constellation of related gatherings turned the capital into one of the few reliable stages where rivals still appear in the same rooms, exchange views, and keep channels open.

From July 20 to 24, foreign ministers from Southeast Asia, the United States, China, Russia, Japan, India, Europe, and beyond convened against a distinctly unsettled backdrop of escalating hostilities between the US and Iran and rising tensions between Beijing and the Philippines after incidents in the South China Sea.

Yet ASEAN did what it has long done best – it refused to let the friction dictate the terms. The organization offered something that is in very short supply in the modern world of competing geopolitical blocs: a neutral platform where conversation remains possible and practical cooperation continues.

A region under pressure

The timing was anything but comfortable. The Middle East conflict has already begun to squeeze energy prices, shipping insurance, and supply-chain calculations across Asia. For a region whose growth remains tightly linked to imported fuel, the risks are very real. Closer to home, the South China Sea incident added another layer of sensitivity to an already delicate maritime equation. All of these were live pressures that tested ASEAN’s claim to remain the primary driving force in the regional architecture.

Yet the Joint Communiqué adopted on July 21 showed neither panic nor denial. Ministers reaffirmed the peaceful resolution of disputes, full respect for international law including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the principle of ASEAN centrality. Negotiations on a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea continued, with eyes fixed on further progress ahead of the November Summit.

On Myanmar, the Five-Point Consensus remained the central reference, with discussion focused on measurable steps rather than rhetorical gestures. ASEAN would address its challenges on its own terms, without allowing external turbulence to rewrite the regional script.

What gave the Manila meetings their particular charge was not only the formal agenda but the density of bilateral encounters conducted on its margins. ASEAN does not pretend to mediate every dispute or to impose outcomes on larger powers. Its real craft lies in creating the conditions under which those powers can still speak.

The first-ever meeting of the Quad foreign ministers on the sidelines of ASEAN-led events reaffirmed support for a “free and open Indo-Pacific” while explicitly endorsing ASEAN’s unity and centrality. Concurrent sessions of the ASEAN Plus Three, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and the ASEAN Regional Forum further illustrated the layered architecture that continues to revolve around ASEAN as its institutional core. In a period when many multilateral forums have become arenas of performance, Manila still functioned as a workplace.

Lavrov and Rubio

Among the most closely watched encounters was the meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The American side initiated the talks – an important detail in itself. It signaled that even in a period of sharp differences, Washington recognizes the necessity of sustained contact between the world’s two largest nuclear powers.

The discussion covered the Ukraine conflict, the state of bilateral relations, and regional questions of mutual concern. Lavrov set out Russia’s positions with characteristic clarity. Both ministers welcomed the resumption of full contacts between Roscosmos and NASA and spoke in favor of expanding inter-parliamentary exchanges and cultural ties. Rubio indicated that the US remains prepared to play a constructive role in efforts aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

ASEAN’s external relations received concrete reinforcement. Türkiye was admitted as the organization’s 12th Dialogue Partner, joining a diverse group that already includes China, India, Russia, the US, and the EU. Germany and Qatar were elevated to Sectoral Dialogue Partner status. These decisions reflected continued international confidence in ASEAN’s capacity to manage its own agenda and to offer partners meaningful avenues for engagement without demanding alignment on every geopolitical question.

The 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia provided an additional opportunity to widen the circle. New accessions further illustrated the treaty’s enduring appeal as a foundation for peaceful interstate relations. The steady expansion of ASEAN’s partnership network stands as evidence of practical attraction rather than mere ceremonial goodwill.

Energy as the new front line

Few issues illustrated the collision of distant conflict and regional interest more sharply than energy. The flare-up involving the US and Iran has returned attention to the vulnerability of petroleum supply routes and the need for collective resilience. Ministers highlighted the continuing relevance of the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Petroleum Security and the practical advances already achieved under the ASEAN Power Grid.

These mechanisms, developed through years of patient technical work, now function as instruments for managing risk. In the Joint Communiqué, energy security, food security and supply-chain stability were treated central to the region’s ability to absorb external shocks. The emphasis on accelerating implementation of the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation reflected a clear understanding: geopolitical turbulence abroad quickly becomes an economic and social challenge at home.

Centrality is key

Throughout the meetings, ASEAN ministers returned repeatedly to the concept of centrality. As major-power rivalries intensify globally, the organization’s insistence on remaining the primary driving force in the regional architecture is both a principle and a practical necessity. The Joint Communiqué underscored the determination to project common positions, to leverage ASEAN-led mechanisms, and to contribute to an order anchored in international law.

ASEAN does not seek to exclude external partners or to pretend that differences do not exist. The region’s preferences – for consensus, for non-interference, and for inclusive dialogue – continue to shape the terms of engagement. The presence of representatives from the full spectrum of major powers in Manila was itself a recognition of that reality.

The meetings in the Philippines capital showed that inclusive, ASEAN-centered diplomacy retains practical value even when the global atmosphere grows more polarized. The Lavrov-Rubio conversation, the discussions between Rubio and Wang Yi preparing the ground for higher-level contacts, the expansion of formal partnerships, and the steady attention to energy and maritime cooperation all pointed in the same direction.

The region faces real pressures: an unsettled Middle East, maritime tensions in the South China Sea, and the structural competition between major powers that shapes the wider Indo-Pacific. ASEAN’s response to these pressures, as seen in Manila, is to insist that dialogue is better than conflict and silent treatments, centrality is better than fragmentation, and that patient institution-building is the best path through turbulence.

For an international community searching for spaces where conversation is still possible, the message from Manila was both timely and consequential. When the storm rises, ASEAN still sets the table. And for now, that may be the most valuable service of all.

US President Donald Trump has canceled a planned attack on Iran after saying the outlines of an agreement had been reached that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and address what he described as Tehran’s “nuclear threat.”

CBS News reported that the US and Israel had been preparing a major bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic’s energy infrastructure that could begin as early as the weekend. The network said the proposed operation, which it described as potentially one of the harshest campaigns against Iran to date, was expected to target power plants and oil refineries, while military officials also reportedly discussed cutting electricity across Tehran.

In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump wrote that despite the US being “locked and loaded” to strike Iran at “levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II,” he had agreed to requests from Tehran and Middle Eastern nations to hold off on the attack because the “parameters” of a deal had been agreed upon.

Trump said the proposed agreement would include “the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.”

Iranian officials, however, disputed Trump’s account. A source described by the Fars News Agency as being close to Iran’s negotiating team said there were no plans to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and insisted it would remain closed “as long as the US continues its hostile actions.” According to the source, commercial shipping would only be permitted through a route designated by Iran and with the permission of the IRGC Navy.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto leader, reportedly spoke to Trump on Saturday and raised concerns about a further escalation. A source familiar with the conversation told AP that Riyadh feared US attacks on Tehran’s key infrastructure could prompt retaliatory strikes against energy facilities in Gulf countries. The crown prince also reportedly sought clarity about the military action Trump was considering.

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to AP that the conversation had taken place but did not disclose any details.

Despite joining the US in strikes on sites used by alleged Iran-aligned militias in Iraq, Saudi Arabia has reportedly been urging Washington and Tehran to resume negotiations to end the five-month-old conflict. Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, the crown prince’s brother, traveled to Washington on Wednesday for meetings with Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance to discuss Iran strategy.

Wildfires burning across more than 100,000 hectares in Washington state, US, have triggered widespread evacuations and power outages around the city of Spokane, state officials said on Saturday.

Large parts of Spokane County were placed under the highest Level 3 evacuation order as strong winds drove flames into residential areas. Officials urged residents to leave immediately “due to the life-threatening conditions,” while an evacuation shelter was opened at a local community college.

The largest blaze, the Old Trails Fire, ignited around noon and had burned more than 1,000 hectares by late afternoon, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The fire spread rapidly through brush and grass into residential neighborhoods.

Videos circulating on social media showed burning homes, towering plumes of smoke, and orange skies as long lines of vehicles fled the area.

Volleyball friends on the way out of the evacuation zone in Spokane on W Strong, after evacuating from Spike and Dig but then being trapped at the Indian Trail Safeway #OldTrailsFire #WAWildfire pic.twitter.com/fBGmRbktYD

— David Wu (@davidpwu) August 2, 2026

Washington State Forester George Geissler said the blaze threatened about 4,000 structures.

Man this is not good. A community off of Tiffany Ave. in Spokane, with homes on fire, and not a single fire engine in sight. After watching the devastation unfold in Altadena and the Palisades in 2025, seeing neighborhoods once again surrounded by flames is gut-wrenching.
🎥KHQ… pic.twitter.com/Yqy4CQ8rSK

— CodeThreeNews (@CodeThreeNews) August 2, 2026

Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown said around 200 homes had been evacuated by mid-afternoon, along with several major facilities, including water reclamation plants, a waste-to-energy facility, and a local hospital.

🇺🇲🔸Driven by strong winds, the rapidly spreading Old Trails fire jumped the Spokane River and reached residential areas in the northwestern part of Spokane, Washington, prompting a massive emergency evacuation. pic.twitter.com/ziJBMzwD4P

— Argonaut (@FapeFop90614) August 2, 2026

Officials reported no injuries or fatalities as of Saturday evening, while the local utility company, Avista, said around 60,000 customers were without electricity.

BREAKING: Video shows homes on fire in northwest Spokane, Washington amid massive wildfire. pic.twitter.com/pgZ5DnNC92

— AZ Intel (@AZ_Intel_) August 2, 2026

Some buildings have been destroyed, although officials have yet to determine the full extent of the damage.

Massive wildfire has engulfed multiple homes in Spokane, Washington, USA 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/NYl8cRpVFF

— Disaster News (@Top_Disaster) August 2, 2026

Firefighters had zero containment by Saturday evening, as strong winds continued to fuel the blaze, DNR spokesperson Jessica Watson said.

Video from Anna Johnston in Spokane, Washington shows traffic jammed up as residents continue to evacuate due to the Old Trails Fire. The fire continues to spot and grow due to very strong winds.

The Dwight Merkel outdoor Sports complex that was full for Saturday activities has… https://t.co/01CSyaOYcZ pic.twitter.com/x3mXVnjSuT

— The Hotshot Wake Up (@HotshotWake) August 1, 2026

Washington is enduring one of its worst wildfire seasons in years, driven by prolonged drought and extreme heat. More than 1,000 fires have already burned about 172,000 hectares this year – the largest area scorched since 2021 – according to the DNR.

The Old Trails Fire in Spokane, Washington has turned into worst case scenario.

This footage was sent in to me, taken from Indian Trail Road, North of west Francis Ave. Devastating losses.

Crews are making progress on slowing the spread of the fire, now 3,509 acres, but… https://t.co/CKepj7ZB56 pic.twitter.com/EdvWIUK9eC

— The Hotshot Wake Up (@HotshotWake) August 2, 2026

More than a dozen active wildfires remain burning across more than 100,000 hectares in the state, most in sparsely populated areas. The largest, the Kaiser Canyon Fire in northeastern Washington, has already consumed about 54,000 hectares.

BREAKING 🚨🚨#Spokane / #Washington

Dramatic New Video from the Old Trails Fire in Spokane shows dozens of homes burnt to the ground, similar to what we saw in LA and Paradise. Eery feelings pic.twitter.com/5tvpo8oqge

— OC Scanner 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 (@OC_Scanner) August 2, 2026

Around 4,000 firefighters are battling the blazes, Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove said during a virtual press conference.

“This year has already been one of our busiest wildfire years on record, and we just started August,” Upthegrove said. “Our firefighters are already stretched thin [and] any new spark on our tinder dry landscapes can lead to another devastating wildfire. I’m urging all Washingtonians to not be that spark.”

The structure loss in Spokane is unfathomable.

I’d estimate up to 100 homes lost so far based on video evidence alone. Scenes look Palisades-esque. pic.twitter.com/gaFcb828GD

— Mike Gagliardi (Tropics) (@Mike__Gagliardi) August 2, 2026

Governor Bob Ferguson has declared a statewide state of emergency. The order includes a statewide ban on most outdoor and agricultural burning through September 30, covering yard debris burning, bonfires, and campfires outside designated fire rings.

US politicians are using profanity in public far more frequently than in the past, according to research published by Cardiff University politics lecturer Dr Joseph Phillips.

Some 87% of the 692 documented instances of presidents, vice presidents, and presidential candidates using profanity in public have occurred in just the last decade, Phillips wrote. The overwhelming majority of those cases – 78% – came from President Donald Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden, according to the study published this week.

On Wednesday, Trump was heard using another expletive following an Iranian attack on US forces in Jordan. According to Fox News’ chief foreign affairs correspondent, Trey Yingst, the president said: “We’re going to beat the f**king s**t out of them.” Biden previously made headlines while serving as vice president, when he was caught on a hot mic telling then-President Barack Obama that signing the 2010 Affordable Care Act was a “big f**king deal.”

However, Trump has introduced a broader range of profanities into presidential rhetoric, using words such as “bullsh*t,” “ba***rd,” “b***ch,” and “f**k” in speeches, interviews, and social media posts, according to Phillips.

The researcher argued that the trend reflects broader changes in political communication rather than simply the personalities of individual politicians. He said profanity has become increasingly common in US politics, with politicians at all levels of government swearing more frequently than in previous decades.

Phillips also argued that politicians increasingly use profanity because it can signal authenticity at a time when public trust in politics is low. Since swearing is common in everyday conversation, using it publicly may help politicians appear more relatable and less carefully scripted. He added that even voters who dislike political profanity are unlikely to change their political allegiances over it, given the deep ideological divisions between the two major parties.

“Profanity can be a signal of authenticity. In a time of low political trust, signals that a politician is ‘authentic’ are at a premium.”

Thai police have arrested four suspects in a high-profile case involving the kidnapping and murder of two Russian nationals and a local family of three. Diana Nazimova, 22, and her brother Roman, 17, disappeared near the resort city of Pattaya earlier this week.

The siblings moved to Thailand with their mother several years ago and lived in the Huai Yai area southeast of Pattaya. According to police, they left their home on a rented Honda ADV 150 motorcycle before dawn on July 26. Shortly afterwards, Diana sent her mother a message saying that someone appeared to be following them, before contact with the two was lost.

CCTV footage showed them speaking with another motorcyclist not far from their home before their disappearance, according to local media. The incident prompted a search operation, and their vehicle was discovered three days later, dismantled and buried in a wooded area near an abandoned cemetery.

Police identified two men – Thana ‘Pong’ Koedthong, 43, and Thongchai ‘Thong’ Srinil, 39 – as the principal suspects in the case. The two were detained near Thailand’s border with Cambodia on July 31 following a five-day manhunt.

BREAKING: Two Russian siblings missing in #Thailand have been killed over a motorcycle.17-year-old Roman was shot dead.
His 22-year-old sister Diana was beaten to death.
Thai police arrested two suspects near the #Cambodian 🇰🇭 border. The men confessed to murdering the pair… pic.twitter.com/hFMz769EFh

— Mahalaxmi Ramanathan (@MahalaxmiRaman) July 31, 2026

During questioning, the suspects confessed to killing the siblings and led investigators to a shallow grave in a wooded area of Huai Yai. Police recovered two bodies believed to be those of Diana and Roman, with forensic examinations still ongoing.

🔴 Tayland’da günlerdir aranan Rus kardeşlerin öldürüldüğü ortaya çıktı.

Pattaya yakınlarında kaybolan 22 yaşındaki Diana ile 17 yaşındaki Roman’ın motosikleti parçalanarak toprağa gömülmüş halde bulundu.

Yakalanan iki şüpheli, kardeşleri motosikletlerini çalmak amacıyla… pic.twitter.com/lXkJ854FDh

— 3. Dünya Savaşı (@ww3mediaa) July 31, 2026

The suspects reportedly posed as police officers conducting a routine check to stop the siblings on a road. They then handcuffed the brother and forced the Russians to accompany them to a wooded area while threatening them with firearms. Police named robbery as the potential motive, as the killers took their belongings, including the motorcycle.

One of the suspects, Thong, also confessed to being involved in the kidnapping and murder of a local family that disappeared around two months ago. Police searched a second site located just a few kilometers away and recovered three more bodies.

Pong and Thong now stand accused of premeditated murder, robbery, firearms offenses, and impersonating police officers. Two additional suspects were also arrested in connection with the second murder case. The Thai corrections service confirmed that Pong had been released from prison only on June 5 after serving seven years and seven months for attempted murder, firearms offenses, and drug violations.

The Russian Embassy in Thailand said it was closely monitoring the investigation and expected the suspected perpetrators to face justice. It added that Moscow had no complaints against Thai authorities but maintained that effective action by Thai law enforcement would be “of key importance” in the case.

Three people were killed and at least two others injured when a gunman opened fire at a crowded In-N-Out restaurant in Idaho, triggering an apparent exchange of gunfire with an armed bystander.

The attack unfolded at around 2:30pm on Saturday in Twin Falls, approximately 130 miles (210km) southeast of Boise. The restaurant had opened only about a week earlier and was packed with customers in one of the city’s busiest commercial districts.

The shooting apparently began inside the restaurant before spilling into the surrounding area, according to footage showing terrified customers and employees fleeing into the parking lot and onto the road as shots rang out.

Video circulating online shows a man armed with an AR-style rifle and dressed in a black shirt and jeans walking out of the venue as the crowd flees. He then approaches a white car, opens its trunk and reaches inside.

BREAKING: Active shooter reported near the In-N-Out Burger at Canyon Rim in Twin Falls, Idaho; according to police. pic.twitter.com/RbWtWahDq8

— Scope Report (@ScopeReport_) August 1, 2026

In another clip, the suspect is seen walking through a parking lot near a Tesla charging station and firing several shots.

WATCH: Active shooter roaming around Twin Falls Visitor Center in Idaho, seen firing at a Tesla vehicle. pic.twitter.com/QGOViBoLMR

— Noteworthy News (@newsnoteworthy) August 1, 2026

Separate footage appears to show another man firing a pistol at the rifleman. Eyewitness Lane Koehn, 34, also told the Associated Press that he saw a man with a handgun open fire after the suspected attacker emerged from the drive-through carrying the rifle.

WATCH: New video appears to show an armed person firing a handgun during the active shooting in Twin Falls, Idaho. pic.twitter.com/t5e9wRnm5H

— Scope Report (@ScopeReport_) August 1, 2026

Police have neither confirmed that the pistol-wielding man was a civilian attempting to stop the attack nor established what role his gunfire played. Authorities have also declined to say how the suspected shooter died, leaving open the possibility that he was killed during the apparent exchange.

There’s been a shooting in In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Police are advising everyone to stay away as a continue to look for the shooter(s). pic.twitter.com/DfIHdHB6XL

— Comandante🎖️ (@commandante_) August 1, 2026

Koehn said the rifleman fired at least three or four rounds, although he could not tell whether anyone in particular was being targeted. Moments later, he saw an In-N-Out employee drag a wounded female colleague across the parking lot. The woman had apparently been shot in the chest. Koehn, the employee, and the pistol-wielding man remained with her until paramedics arrived.

Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks later confirmed that the suspected gunman was among the three people killed.

“We believe the threat to the community is over,” Hicks said, describing the site as an “exceptionally chaotic scene.”

The identities of those killed and injured have not been released. Police are still working to identify the suspected attacker and determine his motive, while the FBI and federal firearms investigators are assisting with the investigation.

The recent burst of illegal migration into Spain’s Moroccan exclave of Ceuta was, above all, a sensational media event produced for political effect. It will have lasting consequences, but not in terms of who ended up where: Of the about 50,000 migrants who suddenly, as if on command, stormed Ceuta by land and sea, almost all quickly went back to Morocco. According to the EU’s home affairs commissioner, not a single Ceuta-crasher made it to the European mainland.

In that sense, the whole thing might as well not have happened. Apocalyptic fantasies of Ceuta turning into a wide open gate to the rest of fortress Europe were always, at best, silly: no, you can’t just travel on into Spain from there or to British Gibraltar, for that matter.

Worse, there have been many deliberate attempts at political profiteering by spreading panic. All through the West, figures from across the political spectrum did not miss a beat trying to exploit the Ceuta emergency: In America, President Donald Trump – under pressure from his self-imposed fiasco in Iran – spoke of a “catastrophe” for Spain and predicted even worse to come in the US if voters dare abandon his Republicans in the upcoming midterms. Elon Musk, richest oligarchs in the world, shared a fragment of the not-so-subtly Zionist horror epic “World War Z” to compare the migrants to Zombies.

Meanwhile in NATO-EU Europe, Italy’s leadership under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni staged some grand, irrelevant theater about the country’s perfectly unaffected borders, while making sour sounds about Schengen this and Schengen that. Not to be outdone, in France the Rassemblement National’s number two Jordan Bardella charged with equal absurdity that Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his liberal policies had “opened the doors of Europe.”

None of the above means that this fresh and unprecedentedly massive – five or six times as large as previous peaks, according to the Wall Street Journal – Ceuta crisis wasn’t real. Indeed, it was real enough to leave at least 67 casualties behind, namely, those migrants who did not manage to breach the Spanish border fortifications and drowned or were crushed to death.

They, however, have met with little interest and no human compassion. Clearly, under Western eyes they are negligible. Western mainstream media and politicians have treated their lives as if they hardly mattered. Almost as if they were, say, Palestinians in Gaza or the West Bank, killed, robbed, and displaced by Israeli genocide and ethnic cleansing.    

Which brings us to an especially intriguing aspect of this manufactured panic: Curiously, Israel’s UN representative Danny Danon has felt it is his job to go after Spain as well. “Spain, which never misses an opportunity to lecture Israel, has declared a state of emergency in Ceuta following the crisis over its immigration policy,” he declared, adding “maybe before it continues lecturing us, it’s time it explained to the world why it still maintains colonial enclaves in Africa.”

Ceuta and its sister exclave Melilla really are odd historical remnants, no doubt. But to hear an official representative of Israel, a genocidal settler colony led by an indicted war criminal, go on about colonialism is rich. But then, that is Danon’s default style: aggressive, shameless, and dirty.

More serious is the fact that Israel’s UN ambassador has chosen to make this statement when social media are already abuzz with theories pointing to Israel as somehow behind – if not necessarily alone – the storming of Ceuta. In essence, the idea is that the Zionist apartheid state and its international networks have found a way to pay Spain back for its far from perfect but – in NATO-EU Europe – unusual solidarity with Israel’s Palestinian victims. No wonder that many Spanish observers, including the Minister of Transport, believe Israel’s involvement is real in this assault on Spain’s territorial integrity and standing within the EU.

So, what are we supposed to think? That the Israel connection is a mere conspiracy theory? That Danny Danon is simply a self-important and nasty man who couldn’t resist what seemed, to his narrow mind, like a good trolling opportunity? That Israel would never meddle abroad so crudely? Or, perhaps, the Israeli representatives at the UN and in Spain are really delivering a well-coordinated performance where Danon implicitly takes the credit for the Ceuta pay-back and Ehrlich adds the plausible-deniability?

Clearly, there are other causes and culprits in play: Recent Spanish legislation and a finding of the constitutional court are said to have attracted the migrants, even if through a massive misunderstanding or deliberate misrepresentation by migrant smuggling networks. Morocco, too, has a well-deserved reputation for “weaponizing” migrants against Spain to make a point. This time, Rabat may have been sending a signal against Spain’s recent rapprochement with Morocco’s opponent Algeria.

Yet there is substantial circumstantial evidence pointing to Israeli sabotage. For one thing, Israeli and Israel-linked think tankers, such as Michael Rubin at the American Enterprise Institute and Amine Ayoub at Ynet, have a record of suggesting to use US influence and Morocco to, in effect, storm the two Spanish exclaves with the help of civilian masses. Likewise, the son of Israeli Prime Minister and wanted war criminal Benyamin Netanyahu has urged “Arabs” and “Muslims” to “free” the Spanish territories.  In general, Morocco and Israel are indeed close de facto allies, connected through security, intelligence, and arms production projects.

The likeliest explanation for the Ceuta assault and its lethal consequences may well be a combination of factors. Yet the real question is not simply which causes contributed to this fatal outcome, but whether they came together spontaneously or by design. Was there a trigger or a catalyst? If there is one thing the genocide in Gaza should have taught everybody then it is that when Israel announces a crime, it will follow through and commit it. With that in mind, it is naïve to rule out the very real possibility that Ceuta was an Israeli psy-op against Spain, at the cost of dozens of lives no one in Europe seems to care about.

The term 'collective West', widely used in Russia, is rarely employed in the West itself, except perhaps when discussing Russian political thinking. What’s commonly heard, however, is the long-running debate over what the West actually is and that discussion has continued in philosophy and politics since at least the 18th century.

The concept has never had a fixed definition, even among those who are supposedly part of it so instead, the West has usually been defined in opposition to something else. At different times, that “other” has been Byzantium and Eastern Orthodoxy, the Ottoman Empire and the Islamic world, or even Germany, which was once regarded by some as alien to the European spirit.

Russia has frequently occupied the same role, albeit there have been periods when Russia was considered part of the Western community, but this generally happened when Western Europe’s great powers needed the support of a major ally against one of their own rivals, and once that purpose had been served, Russia was once again treated as an outsider.

There was also a longstanding debate over the place of the New World, given North America was, geographically and culturally, the West par excellence, yet it simultaneously presented itself as both the heir to European civilization and its challenger. Whether the United States belonged to the same historical and ideological community as Europe remained an open question for generations and for much of this period, conflict within what later became known as the West was intense and almost continuous.

The defeat and division of Germany removed the principal source of conflict within Europe that had dominated the previous three centuries when Germany itself was confined within strict political limits. At the same time, Western Europe’s dramatic decline following two catastrophic world wars enabled the United States to assume leadership of the Atlantic community and finally, the Soviet Union, at the height of its military and political power, provided a common external threat around which the alliance could unite, and this was how the 'collective West' came into being.

During the Cold War it was defined by opposition to Moscow and after the Soviet collapse, it transformed itself into the self-appointed manager of the international order, assuming that its dominance would continue indefinitely, but the erosion of the liberal world order, which began during the first decade of this century and accelerated dramatically by the mid-2020s, has challenged that assumption. Western Europe, as the more vulnerable half of the Atlantic partnership, has been forced to redefine both its identity and its purpose.

The necessary Russian threat

The reasons behind the weakening of the post-Cold War West are well known, and include the disappearance of bipolarity, the rise of new centers of power, America’s strategic shift towards the Indo-Pacific, Washington’s growing focus on competition with China, while the fragmentation produced by the end of the liberal globalization era have all undermined the foundations of the Atlantic order.

An alliance designed for the realities of the mid-20th century no longer corresponds to those of the 21st and previous American presidents hinted that Western Europe could no longer expect the relationship to continue unchanged, however, Trump merely said so openly, and began reshaping it accordingly. Brussels was slow to recognize the implications, but it has now largely done so.

This brings us back to Ukraine, as the United States is reducing its direct role in European affairs, seeking a position that preserves strategic influence while avoiding responsibility for the continent’s security. Western Europe must therefore assume greater responsibility for its own defense, while, at the same time, it needs a new political narrative capable of holding the half-continent together.

An external threat provides exactly that, and Russia has become the ideal instrument.

Over the past four years, the perception of a growing Russian threat has justified NATO’s expansion to include formerly neutral countries and it has enabled Brussels to sever most economic ties and virtually all political relations with Moscow. Confrontation with Russia has become the organizing principle of both Western European foreign policy and, increasingly, domestic politics and physical barriers and new political 'curtains' are once again dividing Europe from Russia.

The next step, however, requires something more ambitious, the institutional consolidation of Western Europe around an explicitly anti-Russian agenda, echoing the mature Cold War.

There are, however, two serious obstacles. The first is that, despite an intense ideological campaign, Western European governments haven’t succeeded in convincing their populations that Russia represents an existential threat comparable to the Soviet Union and attempts, particularly under President Biden, to revive the narrative of the 'free world' confronting tyranny have largely failed.

The second problem is that militarization develops its own internal logic. Using military preparedness as a means of promoting national unity and economic revival inevitably creates pressure for the moral and political mobilization of society and eventually, passive public support is no longer enough, but active participation is required.

As the old theatrical saying goes, a gun hanging on the wall in the first act must eventually fire, but nowhere in Western Europe is there a public eager to fight a war. Governments can’t simply compel people to embrace such a role, while re-educating entire societies would take decades, and even then success would be far from guaranteed and this is where Ukraine assumes a new role.

The Ukrainian leadership, determined to continue fighting Russia until its maximalist objectives are achieved, is effectively turning the country into a mercenary force for the wider West. It has embraced the role that Western Europe itself is unwilling to perform in fighting Russia directly and inflicting the greatest possible damage upon it.

That, however, is only part of the story and the other is the drone revolution, which is fundamentally altering the relationship between technology and manpower, as precision strike capabilities increasingly compensate for shortages of personnel.

Paradoxically, this seemingly technical development may prove to be one of the conflict’s most important political consequences.

Today’s Germany is a grim, unhappy place. Thirty-six years after West Germany’s take-over of the former East Germany (polite term: re-unification), which was supposed to herald a golden age of national fulfilment, citizens are in a very foul mood.

According to Ipsos, one of Germany’s go-to pollsters, their morale is at a “historic nadir,” and they are “losing confidence about the country’s future.” As of last month, fear of poverty and inequality was “clearly increasing,” with 37 percent of all respondents picking it as their number-one angst, followed by “migration” (31 percent), “inflation” (30 percent), worries over the healthcare system (26 percent) and “criminality and violence” (25 percent).

Note that all top five anxieties focus on what is going wrong at home. That doesn’t mean, though, that Germans are optimistic about the world or Germany’s place in it: 24 percent of the Ipsos poll respondents fear “military conflicts between states.”

If the mood is sour, it’s very good reasons: Germany’s abysmally, unprecedentedly unpopular and embattled chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is desperately trying to sell an absurd feel-good story about the German economy as an “anchor of stability.” But that only demonstrates how divorced from reality Germany’s rulers are: In the real Germany that their subjects must inhabit, industrial output is 17 percent below 2017. After the recent roll-out of a perfectly underwhelming “reform package,” business leaders have warned that much more is needed to prevent a “lost decade.” That would be, in effect, the second one in a row.

Meanwhile, Berlin is busy doing two things: cut down public spending on absolutely vital things such as education (next to inexpensive energy, the decisive resource for Germany’s prosperity already sacrificed to the proxy war against Russia) and raze the sorry remnants of social safety nets that have long been in tatters already.

This is the background of not only a severe national depression but also a search for alternatives. At this point at least, the AfD (Alternative for Germany), an anti-immigration party founded in 2013, is benefiting the most from this crisis. On the rise for roughly a decade now, its momentum has recently greatly accelerated.

A fresh poll for all of Germany has the AfD at 27 percent, outdistancing (again) all other parties, including those making up the radical-Centrist coalition currently in charge in Berlin (CDU – 21 percent, SPD – 12 percent).

Perhaps even more importantly, the AfD may well win crucial regional elections in the key eastern Land of Saxony-Anhalt and looks set to do very well in two others – in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Berlin – as well.

In sum, the AfD is probably on the verge of a historic breakthrough that will greatly weaken, maybe even ruin the traditional parties’ longstanding “firewall” strategy of freezing it out of political leadership positions no matter what the people say in elections, in effect half-disenfranchising its voters.

This moment is likely to reset the whole German political system at the cost of the establishment parties which are still desperately defending their de facto exclusive hold over political offices, perks, and power.

So, what do you do when you are losing a (barely) fair fight? Easy, at least if you are part of Germany’s self-appointed guardians of democracy, civil society, and wholesome ‘values’ all around: You start playing even dirtier.

This has all been accompanied by a mainstream media cacophony of cries of “democracy in danger!” and “Nazis at the gates!” Crazy conspiracy theories included, such as the one recently spread – without being challenged – by a member of the co-ruling SPD party on a mainstream news channel: Let’s just blame the latest Islamist terror attack in Berlin on Russia trying to boost the AfD. In what alternative universe does that make any sense? Welcome to the often unhinged, notoriously shameless, and very ugly world of German mainstream discourse.

The problem with the let’s-just-prohibit-the-whole-lot approach is that having a party banned is, fortunately, very hard under German law. And although Berlin’s establishment parties don’t mind bending the rules to deploy nasty lawfare, they do want to be sure to win. If they try to prohibit the AfD and fail, the latter will only get even stronger, as everyone understands. Indeed, even prohibiting ‘merely’ a part of a party, say, a Land organization, is neither easy nor a sure bet.

But what if there were a way to kneecap the AfD without having to run that risk? What about, for instance, promising AfD candidates could be taken out and removed from elections without having to overcome the high legal hurdles that make full-fledged prohibition so scary? And that is where the Land of Lower Saxony (in the former West Germany and not to be confused with Saxony-Anhalt in the former East Germany) has taken on the role of trailblazer in democracy defense via democracy suppression.

Think of recent events there as a prototype or trial balloon. Based on a very recently passed, as it were, made-to-measure law, local election committees have begun to block AfD candidates from running by invoking especially produced reports from the Land branch of Germany’s domestic intelligence service, the Verfassungsschutz. This is unprecedented and scandalous, as critics are pointing out. In a ludicrously flimsy and absurdly unfair procedure that needs no courts – in this manner similar to EU sanctions-against-dissidents policy – German citizens are deprived of the passive franchise, the right to be elected.

The election committees are – surprise, surprise – staffed with preponderant majorities of establishment party representatives, while the domestic intelligence offices producing the reports the committees use – de facto indictments – are subordinate to the Land interior ministry which is led by SPD politician Daniela Behrens, who seems very proud of her contribution to shutting down what she considers excessive choice in elections. Indeed, her ministry has circulated an internal memorandum, in essence, to stimulate the removal of AfD candidates by laying out wide and flexible criteria: See how easy that is? Now get going!

These criteria – or perhaps rather pretexts – for this regime of preventative electoral exclusion include membership in the AfD. Yes, you have read that right: Being a member of the party for which you are trying to run, while that party has not been prohibited and probably never will be, is already a reason for being kicked out of the elections.

Not, at least pro forma, a sufficient reason, it is true. Other truly weighty things must be added. Such as, for instance, a social media post that insists that “real democrats have no need to prohibit other parties” and calls on readers to “stand together for freedom of opinion and against dictatorship.” Yes, you have read that right as well.

By now, a handful of AfD candidates for local office – including a current member of the federal parliament in Berlin – have been dealt with in this new, innovative manner. They are likely to seek legal recourse against this Kafkaesque caricature of due process, but things have been set up in such a way that that may well take years, while the elections will, meanwhile, go ahead in their truncated format.

Full disclosure: I have very little political sympathy for the AfD. But I do take democracy seriously. If the scandalous radical-Centrist attack on election integrity tried out now in one Land becomes a model for the rest of Germany, then those pretending to defend democracy will have put yet another nail in its coffin.

The Pentagon is planning to transfer leadership of the Germany-based NATO command coordinating military aid to Ukraine to another member of the military bloc as Washington continues to scale back its military presence in Europe, Politico reported on Friday, citing an unnamed NATO official.

Ukraine has been heavily dependent on weapons supplies from its Western backers throughout the conflict, which is now in its fifth year. Moscow has condemned the weapons shipments to Ukraine, arguing that they only prolong the conflict without changing the outcome, and warning that the military assistance shows that NATO is a direct party to the conflict, thereby risking a direct confrontation between Russia and the bloc.

The reported plan follows a broader shift in US defense policy under President Donald Trump, whose administration plans to reduce troops and critical weapons systems in Europe and redirect some resources to Asia and other regions. The White House has also pushed NATO members in Europe to take greater responsibility for regional security to significantly raise defense spending. 

The NATO official told Politico that the transition is expected to take up to a year, while a US deputy will remain involved through the alliance’s military command structure. SAG-U was always intended to be a temporary organization, with the transition designed to distribute responsibilities more evenly among NATO allies, the official added.

Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump has pushed NATO members to commit to spending 5% of GDP on defense by 2035, and has repeatedly accused the bloc’s European members of failing to share the common 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.   

In February, the US announced that the UK would take over NATO’s Joint Force Command in Norfolk, Italy would lead the Naples headquarters, while Germany and Poland would assume responsibility for the Brunssum command in the Netherlands.

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck the Campi Flegrei volcanic region near Naples in southern Italy on Friday evening, injuring at least 26 people, two of them critically, and damaging dozens of buildings.

The earthquake hit at 7:46pm local time at a shallow depth of about 3km, according to Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). Its epicenter was between the towns of Pozzuoli and Quarto. Civil protection officials said that it was the strongest quake recorded in the area since continuous instrumental monitoring began, surpassing two magnitude 4.6 tremors registered in 2025.

The quake was felt across Naples, Ischia, Procida, and much of the Gulf of Naples. Seismographs have since recorded more than 60 aftershocks, the strongest measuring magnitude 3.8 late on Friday and another of 3.1 early on Saturday. Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci warned that the seismic swarm is continuing and that further earthquakes above magnitude 3 remain possible.

Grietas en casas, derrumbes, coches dañados y diez personas levemente heridas. Este es el primer reportaje del fuerte terremoto de magnitud 4.7 que sacudió la zona de Campi Flegrei esta tarde, con el epicentro en la zona de Solfatara de Pozzuoli. En las comunas de Flegrei, los… pic.twitter.com/u0YXPfAQF4

— Guillermo Gomez (@G_GomezJ) August 1, 2026

Dust blanketed roads and cars, while several unoccupied buildings collapsed.

#CampiFlegrei: dalle prime immagini che circolano sembra che gran parte dei danni più importanti siano stati causati dal crollo dei costoni di roccia che bordano gran parte dei crateri della caldera. pic.twitter.com/s8PLrMo1LD

— Il Mondo dei Terremoti (@mondoterremoti) July 31, 2026

Cracks also appeared at the town’s commercial port, forcing its closure and suspending ferry and hydrofoil services to the nearby islands of Ischia and Procida.

🚨🇮🇹 4.7 magnitude earthquake just struck Naples.

People flooding the streets in panic.
Power outages reported across parts of Naples.
Train and metro services suspended.
One of the strongest quakes in decades
My brother just sent me this video pic.twitter.com/raPKq4kwSK

— Robin Nakamoto (@RobinNakamoto) July 31, 2026

Power outages affected around 100,000 customers after a high-voltage pylon collapsed in Naples’ Agnano district.

CCTV footage of the moment a strong earthquake struck Campi Flegrei, west of Naples, Italy, causing major damage. pic.twitter.com/AzUpoeL76l

— Weather Monitor (@WeatherMonitors) July 31, 2026

Train, metro, and high-speed rail services across the region were temporarily suspended before gradually resuming.

Imágenes de daños en la región de Nápoles, Italia tras el terremoto de M4.5 está tarde a las 19h46.

Dada la cercanía del epicentro y poca profundidad, percibido fuerte.#Sismo #earthquake #Naples #Italy
Vía @AlertesNewsFR24 pic.twitter.com/wkr0ovOwTc

— Geól. Sergio Almazán (@chematierra) July 31, 2026

Authorities in Pozzuoli initially evacuated around 250 people after the quake. As inspections continued, at least nine buildings were declared unsafe and around 290 residents, were ordered from their homes, with the number expected to rise as building checks continue.

🇮🇹 🫨 #Strongest #earthquake #in 40 #years #strikes #near #Naples 🔹A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck the Campi Flegrei (Phlegraean Fields) area. Residential buildings in Pozzuoli sustained damage, while falling rocks and debris landed on cars and railway tracks. pic.twitter.com/ToLae8tb9A

Local media reported that many residents chose to spend the night outdoors or in their cars rather than return to their homes.

🤔HOFFENTLICH WAR ES DAS, SONST...

Braucht sich keiner mehr um den Klimawandel 😂 zu sorgen.

Ein Erdbeben der Stärke M4,7 hat die Phlegräische Felder bei Neapel, in einer Tiefe von 3 km erschüttert, laut INGV; das USGS gibt eine Tiefe von 5 km an.

Laut Rai war es das stärkste… pic.twitter.com/PazXiWDHcO

— Steffen Unger (@unger2701) August 1, 2026

Three streets have also been sealed off because of the risk of further collapses, including from a damaged church bell tower.

⚠️ UPDATE: A M4.7 earthquake hit Campi Flegrei near Naples, Italy. Fire crews report minor building damage but no immediate rescue requests or major injuries. #Terremoto - Sismo - #Napoli - Pozzuoli - Fuorigrotta - Campania https://t.co/kjC6yBgAmE pic.twitter.com/PDlQ6BSar2

— GeoTechWar (@geotechwar) July 31, 2026

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told the media that she was closely monitoring the situation as Italy’s Civil Protection Department coordinated the emergency response with local authorities.

UN SISMO DE MAGNITUD 4,7 SACUDIÓ A LOS CAMPOS FLÉGREOS, CERCA DE NÁPOLES

Dejó al menos ocho heridos, cuyo estado era estable, además de daños en edificios y cortes de electricidad. Protección Civil informó que fue el movimiento más fuerte registrado en la zona en los últimos 40… pic.twitter.com/UUXbd7NyI4

— Clarín (@clarincom) August 1, 2026

Firefighters continued rescue operations and structural inspections across the affected area on Saturday.

A 4.7 magnitude earthquake struck the Phlegraean Fields (Campi Flegrei) volcanic area near Naples, Italy today

It was the strongest earthquake in the area in over 40 years

The world really doesn’t want Camp Flegrei to wake up & be at its worst behaviour pic.twitter.com/oHEYNWGPTC

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) July 31, 2026

OpenAI has uncovered additional cases in which its autonomous AI models breached containment and acted without human instruction, Reuters has reported, citing sources.

The findings come as the company expands its investigation into a hacking incident last month in which an AI bot went rogue while attempting to cheat in an internal cybersecurity test.

During tests of GPT-5.6 Sol and another unreleased model, both stripped of their safety guardrails, the systems were assigned ExploitGym – a benchmark designed to measure AI models’ ability to identify and exploit known software vulnerabilities. Instead of completing the tasks, one model escaped its supposedly isolated testing environment, gained internet access and hacked into Hugging Face – an online repository for AI models and datasets – in search of ready-made answers.

OpenAI initially said the intrusion was limited to Hugging Face. However, in a statement on Wednesday, it acknowledged the hacking spree had also compromised four accounts across four separate services.

OpenAI defends its models

OpenAI blamed the initial breach on a flaw in third-party software used in its testing environment, saying its AI models exploited it to break out and gain internet access. The company said it is tightening containment, monitoring and access controls while investigating the breach and patching the flaw.

CEO Sam Altman also acknowledged that “we may have to pace the rate of AI development,” but stopped short of committing to slow the company’s research.

Asked about the Reuters report, OpenAI declined to comment, referring to an earlier statement saying it was aware of speculation and planned to publish “a technical report of our learnings in the coming weeks.”

Anthropic finds similar breaches

Rival AI developer Anthropic said on Thursday it had also uncovered containment breaches involving its Claude models during internal security testing.

Anthropic cautioned against overinterpreting the findings because the behavior occurred in what it described as a controlled testing environment. However, it acknowledged the incidents showed AI evaluation systems “require significant controls” and that testing environments should be secured to the same standard as production systems.

Concerns over rogue AI on the rise

The incidents have fueled concerns that autonomous AI models are becoming increasingly capable of carrying out cyberattacks with little human oversight, prompting renewed calls for tighter regulation. They have also reignited debate over who should be held liable when AI systems cause real-world damage. Experts warn that AI capabilities are advancing faster than safety measures.

After initially praising OpenAI for cooperating with the investigation, Hugging Face later called on the company to release the rogue bots’ activity logs and prevent such incidents from becoming “normalized,” warning those responsible “must be held accountable.”

“We’re looking at AI, we’re looking at controls,” Trump told reporters. He insisted, however, that Washington must remain the global leader in AI, adding he did not want regulations that would leave the US “second to China.”

According to Reuters, the European Commission has contacted OpenAI and Anthropic to discuss the incidents ahead of the EU’s AI Act taking effect on August 2. Officials reportedly urged stronger monitoring, risk management and cybersecurity safeguards for advanced AI systems within the companies under the bloc’s new rules, which will allow fines of up to €35 million ($38 million) or 7% of global annual turnover for the most serious violations.

The surge of migrants across the border from Morocco into Spain is an example of what could happen to the US if Republicans aren’t elected, US President Donald Trump has claimed. Trump has repeatedly attacked his political opponents over immigration, blaming his predecessor Joe Biden for illegal border crossings.

An estimated 50,000 migrants, mostly young men, swam from Morocco and crossed into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta earlier this week in an unprecedented influx that triggered a humanitarian crisis in the city. The Spanish Interior Ministry has reported that around 48,000 had voluntarily returned by Friday evening.

“What’s happening with Spain, with tens of thousands of Illegal Immigrants invading it, happened in the United States during the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration, and it will happen again, only worse, if the Dumocrats ever again gain power,” Trump said late on Friday in a brief post on Truth Social, urging Americans to vote Republican in the midterm elections.

White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said on Friday that Trump “has long warned Europe what would happen if they continue to implement far-left, globalist policies, including enabling mass migration.”

Trump and his administration have consistently criticized both the previous US government and European leaders over their handling of illegal migration. The president has claimed that it was “killing” Europe, urging its leaders to act immediately before they lose control of the continent.

Trump’s latest remarks also come amid strained ties with Madrid. The two countries clashed during the recent conflict with Iran after Spain refused to allow the US to use its bases for strikes, while Trump has repeatedly criticized the country over what he believes is its insufficient defense spending.

Migration has remained one of the EU’s defining political issues since the 2015 refugee crisis. Brussels recently agreed on a sweeping overhaul of its migration system aimed at speeding up deportations, while many member states have tightened national immigration laws. Spain has, meanwhile, taken a different approach to migration. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has argued immigration is essential to address labor shortages and demographic decline, while his government has expanded pathways for undocumented migrants to obtain legal status and work permits.

The US can take “pretty much whatever we want” from Ukraine’s rare earth deposits under a minerals agreement signed last year, President Donald Trump has said, adding that profits from the agreement could ultimately exceed total American aid to Kiev since 2022.

Trump made the remarks in an interview with Real America’s Voice aired on Friday as he chastised his predecessor Joe Biden for “giving away” a purported $300 billion in military support to Ukraine without securing repayment.

“He could have Europe… paid for it. All you had to do is ask,” Trump said, adding that under his administration European nations now cover more of the costs.

Trump said Ukraine has “very rich, very fertile soil in terms of rare earth.” “We have a contract signed [with Ukraine] having to do with rare earth. We can go in there at any time we want and take pretty much whatever we want. That was a pretty good deal,” he said.

Trump has portrayed the deal as a way to pay for US military aid to Kiev. While he has claimed it amounted to more than $300 billion, the figure is widely disputed, with the US Special Inspector General for Operation Atlantic Resolve estimating it at $195 billion in total appropriations.

While legally the minerals deal is up and running, with more than a dozen projects currently under review, it remains hamstrung by conflict-related risks, Ukraine’s notorious corruption, inadequate geological data, and risks of power outages, as well as other infrastructure shortfalls.

The deal itself was signed after months of strained negotiations, including a televised Oval Office clash in February 2025 between Trump and Vladimir Zelensky, during which the US president accused the Ukrainian leader of ingratitude and “gambling with World War III.”

After the signing of the agreement, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev remarked that “Trump has broken the Kiev regime to the point where they will have to pay for US aid with mineral resources, adding that “now they will have to pay for military supplies with the national wealth of a disappearing country.”

An investigation into a prestigious arts school in the US state of Michigan has uncovered decades of alleged sexual misconduct by dozens of faculty and staff members, while also revealing new allegations involving the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The 97-page report, released by Sanghavi Law Office earlier this week, was commissioned by the Interlochen Center for the Arts in 2024, to investigate allegations of abuse against several faculty members. The inquiry was later broadened and ultimately included allegations involving Epstein, a donor to the school.

Investigators collected 70 accounts from former students alleging physical conduct of a sexual nature involving 47 faculty and staff members between the 1950s and the 2010s, with most of the reported incidents occurring before 2000. The report describes a pattern of misconduct ranging from grooming, flirting, and inappropriate touching to sexual contact.

Epstein, who attended Interlochen’s summer camp in 1967 and donated more than $400,000 to the institution between 1990 and 2003, according to media reports, is also the subject of allegations in the report.

Another former student alleged Epstein asked her to expose her breasts while she was giving him a massage at his private residence. She said she cut off all contact with Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, after the incident.

The building named after Epstein was stripped of his name in 2009 after the school learned of his 2008 conviction on sex crime charges in Florida. It was later renamed Green Lake Lodge and has since been demolished.

Outside the school investigation, at least two Interlochen alumnae made allegations of grooming and abuse against Epstein and Maxwell, according to previous media reports. It was not immediately clear whether they also participated in the Interlochen investigation. Their identities were not made public.

Interlochen said it has provided the names of everyone identified in the investigation to prosecutors in Michigan’s Grand Traverse County for possible criminal review. None of those accused still work at the institution, while more than one-third are deceased.

AI developer Anthropic has disclosed three incidents in which its Claude AI models unintentionally targeted real-world organizations during cybersecurity evaluations that were supposed to take place in an isolated environment.

The cases were identified retrospectively during a review prompted by a similar incident involving OpenAI and Hugging Face, an online repository for AI models and datasets, which was reported this month.

Anthropic said that it had found three incidents dating back to April. In each case, a misconfigured test environment retained access to the internet, enabling Claude to interact with real companies and public services. The company attributed the problem to a “misunderstanding” with its evaluation partner, Irregular. The tests involved “capture the flag” exercises requiring Claude to obtain restricted information from simulated targets. However, the model was incorrectly told that the network had no connection to the outside world, pushing it toward treating any systems it encountered as part of the exercise.

Before PyPI identified the package as malicious, it was downloaded and executed on 15 real systems, including one operated by a security company. Claude subsequently extracted credentials that it used to access additional parts of the firm’s infrastructure, Anthropic said.

In the third and most recent incident, the model struggled to reach its intended target and began searching the internet for alternative targets. It ultimately halted its activity after determining that the systems it found were real rather than simulated.

Some technology executives have argued that American AI companies should loosen certain safety restrictions to preserve their position in the global AI race.

On the morning of July 25, Ukrainian drones attacked an Iranian merchant vessel in the Caspian Sea. An explosion occurred on board, killing one sailor and injuring another. Tehran described the incident as an act of aggression, summoned Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires and warned that retaliatory measures could follow.

Vladimir Zelensky did not deny that the operation had taken place, claiming that the targets were vessels allegedly involved in transporting military cargo linked to Iran. Yet within days, Ukrainian diplomacy abruptly changed its tone. Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga told his Iranian counterpart that the merchant vessel had been struck unintentionally, after which discussions over compensation began.

So long as the operation could be presented to Western audiences as another demonstration of the long-range capabilities of the Ukrainian security services, Kiev was eager to speak of success. Once it became clear that Tehran intended to demand accountability, the initial bravado gave way to attempts to portray the incident as an accident. In other words, the Ukrainian leadership sought to reap the publicity benefits of the strike without showing any willingness to accept responsibility for its consequences.

At almost the same time, reports emerged from Iraq that several groups suspected of attacking sites inside the country had been detained. National Security Adviser Qasim al-Aboudi stated that those arrested had admitted to acting in Ukraine’s interests and that, according to their testimony, the attacks had been disguised as operations carried out by local armed factions. The Iraqi authorities have yet to disclose the details of the investigation, but the alleged method closely resembles practices previously associated with Ukrainian structures in Africa and the Middle East.

The true audience for such signals is not in Tehran, Baghdad, Damascus or the capitals of Africa. They are directed at Western governments whose decisions determine the flow of funding to Kiev. At a time when the Ukrainian military remains dependent on foreign weapons, ammunition and budgetary support, Zelensky must prove that his government is not merely a recipient of assistance but a useful contractor capable of contributing to the West’s broader foreign-policy objectives.

The Mali and Syria precedents

This model was most clearly displayed in northern Mali in the summer of 2024. Near Tinzaouaten, Tuareg formations attacked a column of the Malian army and Russian units. Fighters from JNIM, an organization affiliated with Al-Qaeda and active across the Sahel, also took part in the fighting.

Following the attack, Andrey Yusov, a representative of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, stated that the rebels had received information that enabled them to carry out a successful operation. This acknowledgement was made publicly and was reported not by Russian outlets but by some of the world’s largest international media organizations. Reuters, The Guardian, Bloomberg, The Washington Post and Al Jazeera all covered the alleged role of Ukrainian intelligence.

Subsequent attempts to portray the Mali scandal as the product of foreign propaganda were unconvincing, not least because the accusations had been prompted by the words of an official Kiev representative. Ukrainian intelligence itself associated the country with forces that, during the same combat episode, operated alongside a jihadist organization. Mali later severed diplomatic relations with Ukraine, accusing it of interfering in an internal conflict and supporting armed groups. Niger subsequently took the same step.

This approach allows Kiev to benefit from the outcome of an operation while avoiding responsibility for the methods used. When an action wins the approval of Western partners, Ukrainian involvement is highlighted through hints or public statements. When allegations of violating sovereignty or cooperating with radical organizations arise, the authorities issue denials and demand proof of activities they had effectively boasted about only shortly before.

Syria became an extension of the same model, this time in a larger and more politically significant conflict. In December 2024, The Washington Post reported that Ukrainian intelligence had sent a group of drone operators and approximately 150 FPV drones to Syria’s Idlib province. According to the newspaper’s sources, the assistance was intended for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

Reuters subsequently reported on the same claims, noting that the alleged assistance involved more than consultations and included the transfer of equipment as well as the presence of specialists capable of training local fighters in the use of drone systems. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham emerged from organizations linked to Al-Qaeda’s former Syrian affiliate and, at the time, remained on the United States’ list of designated terrorist organizations.

For the Ukrainian leadership, the origins and ideology of such partners appear to matter little whenever their immediate objectives coincide with those of Kiev and its Western patrons. In Mali, Ukrainian intelligence engaged with rebels operating in the same battlespace as an Al-Qaeda affiliate. In Syria, according to reports in the American press, Ukrainian specialists helped an organization with a jihadist past acquire modern drone capabilities.

What connects these cases is not merely the participation of irregular armed groups but also the nature of the assistance attributed to Kiev. It involves precisely those areas in which Ukraine has accumulated considerable experience during the war, including intelligence gathering, target acquisition, operator training and the use of strike drones. The Ukrainian authorities are now attempting to turn these capabilities into a distinct export product, offering them to forces whose immediate objectives align with the interests of Washington and its regional partners.

Reports of arrests in Iraq suggest that Ukrainian activity in the Middle East may not have been confined to Syria. According to Baghdad’s account, the detained groups carried out attacks inside the country and acted in Ukraine’s interests while disguising their operations as the work of local resistance factions.

Such tactics offer clear advantages to those organizing the attacks. Local operatives carry out the mission, initial responsibility falls upon regional armed groups, and the external sponsor retains the ability to distance itself from the incident. When an operation succeeds without provoking serious consequences, the result can be used privately or publicly to demonstrate effectiveness. When arrests and an international scandal follow, official structures simply remain silent.

This is what distinguishes the Iraqi case from the events in Mali. Ukrainian intelligence effectively boasted of the African operation because its outcome could be presented as a blow to the Russian presence. Similar publicity in Iraq would be far more dangerous, since the alleged attacks took place on the territory of a state in no way linked to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Instead of making public statements, Kiev therefore chose to behave as though Baghdad’s accusations did not concern it.

Silence, however, does not erase the broader pattern. Across several regions, Ukrainian structures have been linked to the use of intermediaries and local armed networks through which objectives unrelated to the direct defense of Ukraine are pursued. The countries and operatives may change, but the underlying method remains recognizable.

The attack on the Iranian vessel was the most overt attempt yet to demonstrate a convergence between the interests of Kiev and Washington. Iran occupies an important place in the foreign policy of Donald Trump’s administration, and Ukraine’s ability to strike routes associated with Tehran can therefore be presented as an additional argument for continued American support.

However, the Ukrainian leadership’s conduct after the Caspian Sea strike exposed the limits of this policy. Having secured the desired publicity, Kiev attempted to retreat as soon as a genuine confrontation with Iran appeared possible. The death of a sailor, the diplomatic protest and demands for compensation proved to be a price the Ukrainian authorities were unwilling to pay, despite having previously used the operation itself for political messaging.

Selling an image in place of a coherent strategy

Taken together, these episodes form a consistent picture. Kiev is attempting to offset its dependence on Western money and weapons through highly publicized overseas operations designed to suggest that Ukraine has evolved from a permanent supplicant into a provider of security capable of carrying out missions far beyond its own territory.

This approach was especially evident in March 2026, when the Ukrainian authorities launched an extensive publicity campaign around cooperation with the Gulf states. Kiev dispatched specialists to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan before signing defense cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. Ukraine promised to share its experience in countering Iranian drones and missiles, including interception methods, electronic warfare techniques and the organization of air-defense systems. In return, Kiev expected investment, contracts and scarce ammunition for Patriot systems.

The publicity generated by the initiative was far more substantial than its demonstrable practical results. Kiev spoke at length about hundreds of deployed specialists, unique expertise and a future regional defense architecture, yet Zelensky was later able to say only that Ukrainian teams had intercepted drones in several unnamed countries. Neither the number of interceptions nor the precise extent of Ukraine’s role or the impact of these missions on the overall effectiveness of Gulf air defenses was publicly disclosed. Meanwhile, the region continued to face Iranian attacks, while American, Israeli and national air-defense systems remained, according to Western reporting, the central pillars of its protection. The March initiative therefore looked primarily like a carefully staged presentation in which political claims ran well ahead of independently verifiable results.

The activities of Ukrainian structures in Mali, Syria, Iraq and the Caspian Sea should be viewed through the same lens. Local armed groups are used as intermediaries, drone technology becomes an instrument of political bargaining and every highly publicized operation is converted into promotional material for Washington.

This demonstration is particularly important in relations with the Trump administration, which approaches the open-ended financing of Ukraine more pragmatically than its predecessors. Kiev is attempting to show that it can serve Washington in its confrontation with Iran, in Syria and in other regions where direct American involvement would entail political risks. Hence the effort to portray the Ukrainian security services as a universal instrument capable of working through local forces, exporting drone technologies and carrying out carefully staged strikes.

Ultimately, what emerges is a series of short-term public-relations exercises aimed less at producing lasting military results than at preserving international interest in Kiev. The Ukrainian authorities are selling the West an image of their own indispensability in the hope of obtaining additional money, weapons and political protection, while attempting to conceal the gap between the scale of their claims and the limited number of independently verified achievements behind yet another information campaign.

The US and Israel are preparing a major bombing campaign against Iranian energy infrastructure that could begin as early as this weekend, according to multiple media reports.

The proposed operation would target power plants, oil refineries, and other energy-related facilities in what CBS News described as potentially one of the harshest bombing campaigns against Iran to date. American and Israeli forces are reportedly coordinating their preparations, although the precise scope and duration of the operation have not been finalized.

CBS and Axios reported that US President Donald Trump is seriously considering the strikes but has not yet issued final authorization. The Wall Street Journal, citing separate US officials, subsequently claimed that Trump has already ordered a new attack that could begin over the weekend and last several days.

The strike plan was reportedly discussed during Trump’s cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday. Some White House aides focused on domestic politics strongly opposed the escalation, CBS reported, although the president publicly indicated that heavier attacks are approaching.

“We’ll be hitting them very hard,” Trump told reporters. “At some point, they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore.’”

“The Department of War is locked and loaded, ready to execute the president’s directives at a moment’s notice,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said.

US sources said Israel has been notified and is coordinating with Washington, but an Israeli official denied that the country has been asked to participate or informed of any decision to resume full-scale operations.

Axios reported that the proposed attacks are intended to pressure Tehran into accepting Washington’s terms in ongoing ceasefire negotiations.

A joint campaign would mark Israel’s return to direct combat operations and risk prompting Iran to resume missile strikes against Israel, which it has not targeted since the earlier memorandum of understanding collapsed and the US restarted combat operations in July.

A US Marine Corps F-35B stealth fighter crashed and caught fire at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California, on Friday, apparently resulting in the total loss of the $109 million aircraft, according to footage from the scene.

Emergency crews responded at around 10 AM local time to what the military described as a “Class A mishap,” its category for the most serious accidents. The aircraft was assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 11 of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.

“The pilot ejected, was transported to a local medical facility in stable condition for evaluation and treatment of non-life-threatening injuries,” the Marine Corps said in a follow-up statement, adding that the crash occurred on the base’s flightline.

JUST IN: An F-35 caught fire after a mishap at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on Friday morning. Emergency crews responded to heavy smoke around 10 a.m. Cause under investigation.

- FOX 5 pic.twitter.com/oDthXqbQRf

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) July 31, 2026

Footage from the scene showed a thick column of black smoke rising above the base. Aerial video showed the burned-out jet lying in a scorched dirt field near the runway as military personnel and firefighters surrounded the wreckage.

Exclusive video sent by our follower.

Initial reports indicate that a U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II has crashed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, home of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, in San Diego, California. pic.twitter.com/qze3GLm8Og

— aircraftmaintenancengineer (@airmainengineer) July 31, 2026

The crash also sparked a vegetation fire, prompting a response from the San Diego Fire Department. White fire retardant could be seen covering parts of the ground around the aircraft. No injuries on the ground were immediately reported.

Miramar was formerly home to the US Navy fighter-pilot school depicted in the film Top Gun and was once known as “Fightertown USA.” The school moved to Nevada in 1996, when the base was transferred to the Marine Corps.

The latest incident occurred almost exactly one year after a US Navy F-35C crashed near Naval Air Station Lemoore in central California on July 30, 2025. Its pilot also ejected safely before the jet struck a field and burst into flames.

German officials are trading blame after it emerged that the suspect behind last weekend’s deadly Berlin attack had been released from prison on probation just months before the attack despite reportedly being considered a “high-risk individual.”

A van plowed into a crowd during the festivities known as Christopher Street Day, the German capital’s annual pride event, last Saturday. A Polish woman was killed in the attack and 31 people were injured, according to the authorities. The suspect, identified as 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, a German national of Lebanese descent, was fatally shot by police during an attempted arrest on Sunday following a large-scale manhunt.

Law enforcement officials later revealed that Ballout was a known Islamist who had previously tried to join Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) and had pledged allegiance to the terrorist group in a video allegedly recorded on the day of the attack.

Why was the suspect free?

Ballout was arrested at Berlin Airport in November 2025 upon his return from Lebanon, where he had spent three months behind bars over “inciting a religious conflict.” According to German officials, he had traveled to Lebanon earlier that year in a bid to join IS jihadists in neighboring Syria.

In Germany, he was charged with “preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state” in connection with his attempt to join IS. He was tried by a juvenile court in May 2026, which sentenced him to a year and ten months behind bars.

The ruling nevertheless acknowledged that it “cannot be expected” the defendant “will not commit further offenses in the future.”

Berlin’s judiciary authorities defended the decision amid a wave of criticism in the wake of the attack. The ruling was passed “within the framework of the applicable legal situation,” the head of the Berlin Court of Appeal and the city’s Prosecutor General said in a joint statement.

The Tiergarten District Court that passed the judgement reportedly stated that its job was to ensure people are not unfairly deprived of liberty while crime prevention was the task of security officials.

‘Catastrophe’

Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the attack and called on Germans not to be intimidated by “such acts.” Those behind such attacks “want to divide our society, they want to take away the most important thing we have: our openness and our freedom,” he said in a statement issued in the wake of the incident.

He then faced criticism on social media for attending a business association dinner in Paderborn while the suspect remained at large. The chancellor dismissed the accusations, saying he wanted to demonstrate that “normal” life must continue despite the terrorist attacks.

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann blamed the court’s decision to release the suspect on probation for the attack, calling it “a catastrophe.” “The judges who have to rule on such a case must be aware of the responsibility they bear for the safety of the people,” he told a local broadcaster.

The Greens and the Left MPs in the Bundestag demanded an emergency session of the Interior Affairs Committee involving the chiefs of the Federal Criminal Police, the domestic security agency (BfV) and the Prosecutor General. Berlin Police Chief Slowik Meisel maintained that the suspect had remained under active surveillance since his release in May but had demonstrated no signs of preparing an attack.

“We never lost sight of this man,” she said, adding that “we found nothing” that would warrant preventive detention.

Not enough diversity

An integration commissioner for Berlin’s Neukolln district, Guner Balci, blamed the incident on conservative values. All conservative religious people have a problem with homosexuality regardless of their faith, she told Die Zeit, adding that “things become difficult” in places “where there is no socio-cultural mixing.”

The federal government’s LGBT+ commissioner, Sophie Koch, warned that the far right continued to pose a threat to the LGBT+ community and called for increased security at future pride events.

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner suggested introducing Islam lessons to the state schools to reduce the influence of what he called “backstreet mosques.”

Redeeming the irredeemable

According to Berliner Morgenpost, Ballout had attracted the attention of the authorities from an early age. He was reportedly considered “aggressive” in primary school, transferred between schools, and eventually referred to a special education center.

“Support and intervention needs were identified early on, and he finished school without a diploma,” Berlin’s Education Department told the paper, with its head, Katharina Gunther-Wunsch, blaming the situation on the “lacking” cooperation from his family.

The man later accumulated a criminal record. In 2019, he was convicted of assaulting another person in the schoolyard. Two years later, he was found guilty of assault and extortion with an intent to rob, CBS reported, citing German security officials.

In 2025, he attempted to join IS twice. The second attempt resulted in a prison sentence in Lebanon and was followed by his arrest in Germany.

Upon his release in May, Ballout was referred to a de-radicalization program run by an NGO called Violence Prevention Network Berlin. Its communications director, Cornelisa Lotthammer, acknowledged to the New York Times and CBS that the man was basically irredeemable.

“His extremism was deep,” she told NYT. “He was very radicalized.”

According to Lotthammer, the staff quickly determined his cooperation was “fake.” “Our colleagues could tell that he wasn’t very interested in a real deradicalization process,” she told CBS while maintaining her organization did “what we were supposed to do” and saw no signs of an imminent attack that could have been reported to law enforcement.

The EU has responded to the migrant invasion of Ceuta with watery statements on solidarity, and a stone-faced refusal to blame Morocco for opening its borders. But when Brussels could blame Russia, it sang a different tune.

Sanchez refused calls from local authorities in Ceuta to declare a national emergency, but deployed a token force of 60 troops to the exclave – a gesture perceived by the European right as inadequate.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was first to respond, calling for Spain’s exclusion from the EU’s border-free Schengen Area. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares replied angrily, demanding “European solidarity, not partisan demagoguery” from Italy. Nevertheless, Italy suspended visa-free entry from Spain on Friday evening.

There was little sympathy for Spain on the European right, with the following leaders and officials joining Meloni in blaming the migrant surge on Sanchez’ policies:

• Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk – demanded Spain secure its borders “if Schengen is to survive”

• Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker – threatened to close Austria’s borders, accused Sanchez of creating “additional incentive for illegal migration”

• Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen – said EU should consider suspending Spain from Schengen

• Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson – demanded Spain regain control of its borders

• Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis – called for Spain’s suspension from Schengen

• Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen – backed the Schengen suspension

• French President Emmanuel Macron – announced preparations to strengthen France’s internal border with Spain 

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico took a different tone, criticizing the “hypocrisy” of EU leaders who oppose illegal immigration, but “only a few years ago, through their lax approach, allowed illegal migrants to enter EU countries in massive numbers, causing serious crises.” Fico condemned proposals to boot Spain from Schengen, and offered the Spanish government assistance in securing its borders.

SPAIN MUST BE SUPPORTED IN THE FIGHT AGAINST ILLEGAL MIGRATION.

I am closely monitoring developments in the migration crisis in the Spanish enclave in Africa on an hourly basis. Today, I also joined the initiative of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni calling for a strong…

— Robert Fico 🇸🇰 (@RobertFicoSVK) July 31, 2026

How did the EU respond to the migrant surge?

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the invasion of Ceuta as “unacceptable,” and promised to work with Spain and Morocco to “control the situation.” Von der Leyen refused to blame either the Spanish or Moroccan governments, instead declaring that “returns must be swift, as our rules allow.” 

“I am confident that our close partnership with Morocco will help deliver concrete results,” she added.

The images coming from Ceuta are unacceptable.

We cannot allow anyone to come to our Union without abiding by our rules.

Dangerous crossings must stop immediately. Smuggling networks must be dismantled. And returns must be swift, as our rules allow.

I tasked two Commissioners…

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) July 31, 2026

As EU member states piled on Spain, some of the bloc’s most senior officials attempted to quash the rising right-wing anger. European Parliament Vice President Javi Lopez condemned Meloni’s position as “unworthy of a European partner,” adding that “when migration is weaponized, Europe answers with solidarity, not selfishness.” The EU’s former chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, ridiculed the Italian PM’s threats to expel Spain from Schengen. “That option simply does not exist in the legal architecture of the Union,” he wrote on social media. “It just can’t.”

Chief diplomat Kaja Kallas, meanwhile, did not issue a single statement on the most serious border breach in EU history.

Why is nobody mentioning Morocco?

Amid the infighting, none of the European leaders blaming Sanchez, nor anyone at von der Leyen’s European Commission, have publicly acknowledged the role Morocco played in instigating the crisis.

IN CRE I BLE #Ceuta cientos de marroquíes a la carrera tras llegar a nado al espigón del Tarajal#FronteraSur #Haraga #Inmigracion pic.twitter.com/qVA6MwDuxU

— KARIM PRIM (@KARIMPRIM) July 30, 2026

Video footage from the border in Ceuta appears to show Moroccan guards opening barbed-wire gates, allowing migrants to pour onto Spanish territory.

Numerous trucks were filmed carrying hundreds of young men toward the border from the Moroccan side.

🚨WATCH: New footage shows truck loads of 1000s of Moroccans being dropped off on the Ceuta border yesterday 🇪🇸

Busses and trucks rammed full of military aged men, all at the same time, orchestrated and organised.

This is an INVASION & it’s high time the Spanish government… pic.twitter.com/orDvVJTDbY

— BRITAIN IS BROKEN 🇬🇧 (@BROKENBRITAIN0) July 31, 2026

While the most widely circulated clip shows police intercepting one of the vehicles several miles away, many others apparently unloaded their passengers at the open border without interference.

ESTO ES MUY GRAVE. Me llegan estas imágenes de cómo las autoridades marroquíes vacían camiones llenos de jóvenes cerca de la frontera con Ceuta.

Quien no quiera ver que se trata de una operación perfectamente preparada por el régimen, es que es ciego. pic.twitter.com/YpxFAaF7Wb

— Taleb Alisalem (@TalebSahara) July 30, 2026

Morocco has a longstanding claim to Ceuta and Melilla, Spain’s two north African exclaves, and this claim is tacitly backed by the US House Appropriations Committee, by some sections of the US’ powerful Israel lobby, and by Republican Representative Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, a close associate of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Madrid – with the backing of the EU – accused Rabat of “weaponizing” migration, but Morocco won in the end: the following year, Spain agreed to support Morocco’s ‘autonomy plan’ for Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. Under the plan, Western Sahara would receive some powers of self-governance, but would remain under permanent Moroccan sovereignty.

The crisis taught the Moroccan government a powerful lesson: by weaponizing migration, it can extract valuable political concessions from Spain and the EU.

The Belarus hypocrisy

The EU’s kid-gloves handling of Morocco stands in stark contrast to its response to illegal immigration from Belarus in October and November of 2021. That year, just under 40,000 migrants – mostly from Africa and Asia – attempted to cross from Belarus into Poland, prompting Polish authorities to erect a razor-wire fence, deploy thousands of soldiers, and accuse Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of waging “hybrid warfare” on behalf of the Russian government.

Lukashenko had grievances against Poland and the EU, given that both had provided enthusiastic support to his political opponents during Western-backed riots in Minsk the year before. However, he has denied accusations of weaponizing migration, and no evidence of any Russian involvement in the supposed “hybrid warfare” campaign has ever emerged.

Nevertheless, the EU accepted Poland’s framing. Von der Leyen declared that the border surge was “a hybrid attack, not a migration crisis.” European Council President Charles Michel and chief diplomat Josep Borrell used the same wording, and within weeks, the EU sanctioned 17 Belarusian officials over “human rights abuses and the instrumentalisation of migrants.”

📍 At the border between Poland and Belarus.

Poland is facing hybrid attacks from across the border.

We stand in solidarity with our Member State.

In our new EU budget, we have proposed to triple border management funding.

We are all responsible for Europe’s external borders pic.twitter.com/gdoWTmr3NW

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) August 31, 2025

Despite the fact that Ceuta received more migrants in a day than Poland did in a year, no senior officials in Brussels or any EU member state have raised the possibility of sanctioning Morocco. The EU is capable of taking swift action against supposed “hybrid warfare,” but the decision to do so is clearly only made when it is politically expedient to do so – and not when doing so would upset a de-facto ally of the US and Israel.

What happens next in Ceuta?

The crisis appears to be simmering down, but its legacy will be twofold: first, Morocco’s apparent belief that it can wield disproportionate influence over EU politics through migration has been further vindicated. Rabat discovered that it could extract concessions from Madrid with 8,000 migrants in 2021. With 60,000, it can plunge the EU into infighting and push the Schengen Area to breaking point.

Secondly, Spain is unlikely to forget the pile-on by Meloni and her ilk. Posting on X on Friday evening, Sanchez shared a series of migration figures that implicate Italy as the EU’s leading point of entry for migrants between 2021 and 2026. Notably, and despite the EU-wide campaign against Lukashenko in 2021, the bloc’s eastern border – with Belarus and Ukraine – sits at the very bottom of the list.

“Solidarity and empathy are optional,” Sanchez wrote. “Respect for European treaties and data is not. This is not the time to divide. It is the time to continue building a strong and united EU.”

Israeli strikes have continued across Gaza hours after US President Donald Trump announced a “historic agreement” under which Hamas would be disarmed and the IDF would completely withdraw from the enclave.

At least one Palestinian was killed and several others were wounded in the attacks on Friday, according to Palestinian health officials cited by media reports.

The agreement was reached late on Thursday following talks mediated by Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye and the US under the Washington-led Board of Peace. Trump hailed it as a “monumental step toward lasting peace and security” and a major milestone in his 20-point plan for the enclave. However, both Hamas and Israeli officials have since questioned key provisions of the deal.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir described the draft agreement as “unacceptable to Israel.” Writing on Telegram, he said that the “targeted killings” of “Hamas terrorists” in Gaza must continue, along with the “encouragement” of Palestinian “emigration” from the enclave.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that Israeli forces will “remain in the security zones as long as necessary.” 

Hamas has insisted that no disarmament will take place while Israeli forces remain in Gaza. In a statement, the group said any discussion of the handover of heavy weapons was conditional on a complete end to hostilities, a full Israeli withdrawal, reconstruction, international guarantees and progress toward Palestinian statehood.

According to AFP, Hamas sources said the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a Palestinian technocratic body established by the Board of Peace, would become the sole authority responsible for managing and storing Hamas’ weapons. Reuters separately reported that Hamas had reiterated that any handover remained contingent on an Israeli withdrawal and increased humanitarian aid entering the enclave.

A Roadmap for Completing the Implementation of President Trump’s Comprehensive Peace Plan in Gaza

Principles:

1. All parties reaffirm their commitment to President Trump’s Comprehensive Plan to achieve peace in Gaza, which constitutes, together with the UN Security Council…

— Board of Peace (@BoardOfPeace) July 31, 2026

Under the published roadmap, Israel must complete “without delay” its remaining commitments under the October ceasefire arrangements, “particularly the cessation of military operations.” Hamas and other Palestinian factions would transfer civilian governance and security functions to the NCAG. Heavy weapons and military infrastructure would subsequently be decommissioned under the committee’s administration, while Israeli forces would withdraw in phases.

The Board of Peace was established under Trump’s Gaza plan following last October’s ceasefire to oversee the enclave’s post-war transition and reconstruction. It is tasked with supervising reconstruction, supporting the transfer of civilian governance to the NCAG and coordinating the deployment of an international stabilization force.

Up to 60,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta in roughly 24 hours, overwhelming border forces and increasing the territory’s population by as much as 70%.

The unprecedented influx has triggered a political crisis, raised questions over the true nature of the incident, and exposed deep divisions in the West.

What happened at the border?

Tens of thousands of migrants stormed a weak point in the town of Ceuta, on the Spanish border with Morocco on Thursday. Ceuta’s regional president, Juan Jesus Vivas, said on Friday that around 60,000 people had entered the city since the border crisis erupted the previous day. The magnitude is such that it represents the single greatest human traffic invasion in the EU’s history.

Even more conservative estimates from Spanish media and security sources ranging from 30,000 to 49,000 would still mean that Ceuta’s regular population of some 84,000 had increased overnight by some 50%.

At least 41 migrants reportedly died. Many drowned while attempting to swim around the border barriers, while others were allegedly killed in a stampede near the Tarajal breakwater.

Widely circulated footage showed predominantly young adult men swimming around the breakwater, climbing border structures, and pouring through crossing points as Spanish officers struggled to contain them. Some later marched through Ceuta chanting: “Bye bye Morocco, hello Spain.”

Local police said they had been “completely overwhelmed” by the influx, while the regional government warned that reception facilities, hospitals, and other public services were nearing collapse.

So sieht das dann aus, wenn Tausende Marokkaner in #Ceuta nach Spanien übersetzen.
Das ist eine Landnahme und sie treffen auf ein sozialistisch regiertes Land, das gerade erst 1,2 Millionen illegale Migranten mit legalen Papieren ausgestattet hat und einen Regierungschef, der… pic.twitter.com/2Utuz8gJoW

— Birgit Kelle (@Birgit_Kelle) July 30, 2026

Madrid initially rejected Ceuta’s request to declare a national emergency but later deployed soldiers, special police, and additional Civil Guard units.

Morocco eventually reinforced its side of the border, deployed water cannons and tear gas, fired warning shots, and moved detained migrants away from the frontier. By Friday afternoon, the massive flow appeared to have largely stopped, although some people continued trying to swim into Spanish territory.

Hundreds of migrants also began walking back toward Morocco through the same breakwater route they had used to enter Spain.

Why Ceuta?

Ceuta is one of two Spanish territories on Morocco’s northern coast, alongside the enclave of Melilla. Together, they form the EU’s only land borders with Africa. Morocco claims both cities as part of its territory, viewing continued Spanish control as a legacy of European colonialism, while Madrid has considered them integral parts of Spain since 1580.

The enclaves have repeatedly become flashpoints in diplomatic rows between the two countries. Morocco is believed to have intentionally eased border controls during a dispute in 2021 to spark a migrant influx to pressure Madrid. However, that incident involved only about 10,000 migrants - several times less than the latest crisis.

What triggered the crisis?

It is currently unclear what exactly sparked Thursday’s incident but several possibilities have been raised. Spanish officials blame traffickers exploiting a recent court ruling, others suspect that Morocco deliberately eased border controls to pressure Madrid.

Some have also linked the timing to Spain’s rapprochement with Algeria, Morocco’s regional rival, and to the Sanchez government’s worsening relations with Washington.

🚨 BREAKING UPDATE: Spain's Civil Guard chief declares the border has "TOTALLY COLLAPSED," per @BillMelugin_

THOUSANDS of military-aged African men have poured over the border in the past several hours.

This is because Spain just gave AMNESTY to illegals. All amnesty does is… pic.twitter.com/1uR9dZGXaT

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 30, 2026

How did the Spanish court ruling increase the risk of mass migrant invasion?

The Supreme Court ruling in July asserted that immediate deportation can only apply to migrants crossing land barriers. Those intercepted at sea, on the other hand, must instead go through standard deportation procedures, including legal assistance and the chance to claim asylum.

The Spanish government has claimed that this ruling was misrepresented by traffickers as making sea crossings harder to reverse. The idea had allegedly spread “like wildfire” through human-smuggling networks and helped trigger the mass rush, Madrid suggested.

Critics have also linked the influx to Spain’s recent regularization of around 500,000 undocumented migrants, arguing that the measure encouraged further illegal entry.

Is Morocco applying pressure on Madrid?

The scale of the influx and the apparent lack of resistance on the Moroccan side have prompted accusations that Rabat deliberately loosened border controls to pressure Madrid, drawing parallels with the 2021 incident.

Morocco, however, has vehemently denied its involvement in the latest influx, instead blaming criminal trafficking networks for the crisis.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has also maintained that cooperation with Morocco continues.

The Algeria dispute

Suspicions of Morocco’s involvement have further been fueled by the timing of the crisis, which comes as Spain has been seeking to restore relations with Algeria - Rabat’s main geopolitical rival.

The two North African states have long been at odds over Western Sahara. Morocco claims the territory as its own, while Algeria supports the Polisario Front’s demand for an independent Sahrawi state.

Spain had backed Morocco’s autonomy plan in 2022 and repaired ties with Rabat. However, that caused a diplomatic rupture with Algeria, an important energy supplier to Spain.

Last week, Sanchez visited Algiers for the first time in four years as the two governments seek to restore relations. The Ceuta crisis erupted ten days later.

Some have suggested that Morocco intentionally allowed the migrant influx to occur as retaliation for renewed Spanish engagement with Algeria and an effort to influence Madrid’s foreign policy. Morocco has rejected the accusations.

Is Washington part of the equation?

Some have also linked the crisis to tensions between Washington and the Sanchez government, which escalated after Madrid refused to allow its bases to be used for US strikes on Iran.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Madrid for refusing to commit 5% of GDP to defense and has threatened to cut trade off with Spain altogether.

Following the Ceuta breach, senior White House officials shared footage of the crossings, presenting the crisis as the result of Spain’s left-wing migration policies and directly targeting the Sanchez government.

The United States stands with the people of Spain, and all Europeans, against this egregious violation of their sovereignty and human rights.

This unacceptable incident is the direct result of the Spanish Government's deliberate efforts to enable and facilitate mass illegal…

— Department of State (@StateDept) July 31, 2026

Washington has meanwhile maintained close relations with Rabat, reaffirmed its recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, and praised Morocco’s role in the US-backed Abraham Accords with Israel.

This has prompted claims that Morocco may have expected the Trump administration to tolerate political pressure on Sanchez, particularly when the crisis also served Washington’s own campaign against the Spanish government.

How has the international community reacted to the mass immigrant invasion?

The images of dense crowds streaming into Ceuta have prompted shock and ridicule that Spain has lost control of its border.

US President Donald Trump called the scenes “terrible” and presented them as a warning of what could happen in the US if Democrats returned to power.

European People’s Party leader Manfred Weber described the situation as “appalling” and said that the images were the direct consequence of the “pull factor” created by Spain’s mass regularization program and the “instrumentalisation of illegal migration.”

Italy accused Spain of failing to protect the EU’s external frontier and encouraging further migration through its regularization policy. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Rome was prepared to consider “extraordinary measures,” including suspending Schengen arrangements with Spain. Finland has backed the proposal.

Elon Musk mocked the scenes by comparing them to the zombie film World War Z with the caption: “Wow, the situation in Spain looks crazy!”

Just kidding, this is the actual footage … pic.twitter.com/jYRpSWM24e

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 31, 2026

Russian presidential investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev compared the crowds with depictions of the sack of Rome in 410 AD and described Ceuta as a vivid illustration of “catastrophic” EU and UK migration policies. He also accused European left-wing parties of supporting mass immigration in the expectation that migrants and their descendants would later vote for them.

Other widely shared posts have also ridiculed the Sanchez government’s longstanding humanitarian defense of migration by contrasting his rhetoric about empathy and vulnerable newcomers with footage from Ceuta showing crowds composed overwhelmingly of young men.

Can the migrants be returned?

Spain and Morocco have agreed to accelerate the return of those who entered Ceuta illegally, but Madrid cannot summarily send back migrants who arrived by sea.

Unaccompanied minors also cannot be deported as adults and must be identified and placed under child-protection procedures.

According to Spain’s Interior Ministry, around 48,000 of the estimated 60,000 arrivals had already voluntarily returned to Morocco by Friday evening. Spanish authorities have not said how many of those remaining will be deported or how long the process could take. The government is reportedly considering new maritime barriers and possible legal changes to facilitate its response to future crossings.

As nearly 50,000 North African migrants surged into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta overnight, one group responded with mockery and glee: Israeli politicians and their Zionist supporters, who celebrated the slap in Spanish President Pedro Sanchez’ face.

An estimated 49,000 migrants, predominantly young Moroccan men, stormed across Morocco’s border with the Spanish exclave of Ceuta between Thursday and Friday, after guards on the Moroccan side seemingly decided to open the barbed wire gates built to prevent such a surge. 

As videos of the migrants marauding through Ceuta spread on social media, local authorities in the city begged for military intervention from Madrid. Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez refused to declare a national emergency, but sent a token force of 60 troops to the exclave. 

In certain Israeli circles, however, the reaction was one of jubilation. Although Israeli politicians and influencers have spent decades lamenting the supposed “Islamization” of Europe, they celebrated on Friday as tens of thousands of Muslims poured into EU territory. After Sanchez labeled Israel’s war on Gaza a “genocide,” banned the transit of military goods to Israeli via its territory, and denied the US use of its military bases to strike Iran, Zionist commentators viewed the invasion of Ceuta as just punishment for Spain.

Israel’s UN ambassador embraces decolonization

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, used the crisis to call on Spain to surrender its two north African exclaves: Ceuta and Melilla.

“Spain, which never misses an opportunity to lecture Israel, has declared a state of emergency in Ceuta following the crisis over its immigration policy,” he wrote on X, referring to the local emergency declaration in Ceuta. “Maybe before it continues lecturing us, it’s time it explained to the world why it still maintains colonial enclaves in Africa.”

Spain, which never misses an opportunity to lecture Israel, has declared a state of emergency in Ceuta following the crisis over its immigration policy.

Maybe before it continues lecturing us, it’s time it explained to the world why it still maintains colonial enclaves in…

— Danny Danon 🇮🇱 דני דנון (@dannydanon) July 30, 2026

Meanwhile, Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory, the Golan Heights, and parts of southern Lebanon is considered illegal under UN and international law. While Israel does not officially support Morocco’s claims to Ceuta and Melilla, the Jewish state has strengthened relations with Morocco since the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son, Yair, hinted back in 2019 that his father could “fund NGOs in [Spain] calling you to give away Ceuta and Melilla.”

Journalist celebrates the ‘Spanish punishment’

Israeli journalist Edy Cohen was far from the only reporter celebrating, but in a lengthy post on X, he presented the invasion as divine punishment for the desecration of the Israeli flag at last month’s ‘Running of the Bulls’ in Pamplona.

“When you want to destroy Israel, you get the young Moroccans,” he wrote. “They raised a banner that said ‘Destroy Israel’. Fate, with almost divine cynicism, raised another one for them: ‘Receive Morocco’.”

El castigo español: cuando quieres destruir a Israel, recibes a los jóvenes marroquíes

Hace exactamente un mes, en el festival de San Fermín en Pamplona, miles de españoles vestidos de blanco y rojo corrían con los toros y desplegaban sobre sus cabezas un enorme cartel: «DESTROY… pic.twitter.com/rLOOIyiwVo

— إيدي كوهين אדי כהן 🇮🇱 (@EdyCohen) July 31, 2026

Cohen followed his celebratory message with a threat: “And don’t be surprised if in a few years those same young people who stormed Ceuta are the ones taking to the streets of Madrid and Barcelona shouting the new slogans… he who invites the destruction of the Jewish state suddenly discovers that destruction can also start in his own home.”

Ben-Gvir wants open borders for Spain

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir joined in the mockery, congratulating Sanchez “for his profound commitment to welcoming immigration and ‘human diversity’.”

Ben-Gvir, who has called for the destruction of Lebanon, the execution of Palestinian prisoners, and the use of starvation as a weapon of war, called on Sanchez to go further and aid in the depopulation of Gaza.

Mis felicitaciones al Presidente del Gobierno de España, Pedro Sánchez, por su profundo compromiso con la acogida de la inmigración y la "diversidad humana".
Como alguien que demuestra una gran preocupación por Hamás y los residentes de Gaza, le llamo a traducir las palabras en…

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) July 31, 2026

“As someone who demonstrates great concern for Hamas and the residents of Gaza,” he continued, “I call on you to translate words into actions: open the doors of Spain and grant refuge to the residents of Gaza who seek to emigrate. This is an excellent opportunity to contribute a little more to Spain’s ‘human diversity’.”

A two-state solution for Spain

Israeli influencer Yoav Kaufman posted a novel solution to the crisis on X: hand over half of Spanish territory to Morocco, in a modern re-do of the Islamic conquest of Spain. “2 States for 2 Nations. Living side by side. In peace and prosperity,” he wrote, mocking Spain’s support for Palestinian statehood.

2 States for 2 Nations. Living side by side. In peace and prosperity. pic.twitter.com/ZRXPQgXMER

— Yoav Kaufman 🇮🇱 (@yoavkaufman) July 31, 2026

Ironically, Kaufman describes Israel as “fighting the West’s future war” on his X profile.

The Israel lobby makes its offer

Israel’s powerful lobby in the US has also positioned itself against Spain in the argument over Ceuta. Michael Rubin, policy director at the pro-Israeli Middle East Forum think tank, suggested that “if Spain would return occupied Ceuta and Melilla to their rightful Moroccan sovereignty, Madrid would not be in this mess.” To ensure that as many people as possible heard his argument, Rubin posted in English, Spanish, Arabic, and Berber.

If Spain would return occupied Ceuta and Melilla to their rightful Moroccan sovereignty, Madrid would not be in this mess.

Si España devolviera Ceuta y Melilla ocupadas a su legítima soberanía marroquí, Madrid no estaría en este lío.

لو أعادت إسبانيا سبتة ومليلية المحتلتين إلى…

— Michael Rubin (@mrubin1971) July 30, 2026

In an article for Israel’s Ynet news site in April, Moroccan journalist and Middle East Forum fellow Amine Ayoub called on Israel to help “Morocco recover Ceuta and Melilla,” so that the US and Israel could “punish a NATO member that has repeatedly chosen obstruction” and establish a military presence on the Strait of Gibraltar. 

The disastrous heatwave and drought across Europe have pushed the Rhine and Danube rivers to historic water lows, forcing two EU countries into atomic energy power-downs while disrupting industrial output and major trade routes.

The Rhine and Danube serve as vital commercial corridors, historic borders and a continuous navigable link between the North Sea and the Black Sea. Many European power plants rely on the rivers for cooling water, and that is why record-low levels have sharply reduced electricity output.

Hungary faces ‘unprecedented’ energy crunch

The Danube, which flows through or borders ten countries from southwestern Germany to the Black Sea, has reached historically low levels this July. In Budapest, the river fell to a record-low of 23 cm on Thursday, 10 cm below the previous record set in 2018, according to Hungary’s official water-monitoring service.

Hungary’s Paks nuclear plant, the country’s largest source of domestic power, generating nearly half of its electricity, was forced to cut output at three of its four reactors, reducing production to about 60% of capacity. On Thursday, Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar warned the plant could be shut down altogether within 24 to 72 hours “for the first time in 44 years,” because its cooling-water intake nozzles can no longer reach the receding Danube.

Heatwave spreads across Europe’s nuclear sector

Downstream in Romania, one of two reactors at the Cernavoda nuclear plant – which generates roughly one-fifth of the country’s electricity – was shut down earlier this week because of low water levels. The Energy Ministry had planned to take the second reactor offline on Thursday due to “unfavorable developments in hydraulic conditions,” but kept it running overnight. It remains on standby for shutdown if river conditions deteriorate further, operator Nuclearelectrica said. The two reactors have never before faced simultaneous shutdown because of low water levels.

Analysts warn the reactor outages could increase Hungary’s and Romania’s reliance on electricity imports while driving up power prices across the EU, as both countries are normally major electricity exporters. The disruption could further deepen the bloc’s energy crunch, which began with the loss of cheap Russian gas following Ukraine-related sanctions on Moscow and has worsened this year amid the US war on Iran and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy shipping route.

Elsewhere, French power providers are also feeling the strain of extreme heat. State-owned utility EDF shut down one reactor at the Golfech plant on Thursday after soaring river temperatures pushed cooling conditions beyond operating limits, and warned output at the Tricastin plant could also be reduced. Many of France’s reactors rely on river water for cooling, but environmental rules limit the discharge of heated water when river temperatures are already high. The outages have tightened electricity supplies, with French evening power prices climbing to around €200 per megawatt-hour on Thursday – among the highest summer levels since the 2022 energy crisis, according to Epex Spot data.

Switzerland’s Beznau plant on the Aare River has also been hit hard, with its two reactors cycling between full shutdowns and 50% power cuts over the past month after river temperatures reached the 25°C regulatory threshold.

Low water levels hit river traffic

Record-low river levels have also disrupted river traffic across Europe, affecting everything from shipping to tourist cruises. Cargo ships can no longer carry full loads, forcing operators to split shipments between several vessels or shift freight to road and rail, with surcharges driving up transport costs.

In Serbia, hundreds of small boats and dozens of cargo vessels have been stranded on the dried-out riverbank near Novi Sad, where the Danube has retreated up to 20 meters from its usual shoreline. Barges and tankers were carrying only about 30% to 40% of their normal capacity, local reports said. Serbia’s fuel imports plunged to just 25% of their July target because of constrained river transport, Serbian Mining and Energy Minister Dubravka Dedovic Handanovic said last week.

The Rhine traffic also affected

The Rhine flows about 1,230 km (765 miles) from the Swiss Alps through or along Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France and the Netherlands before reaching the North Sea, making it one of Europe’s busiest shipping routes for grains, minerals, ores, coal and oil products, including gasoline. Navigable depth at Kaub – a key Rhine chokepoint for shipments to southern Germany and Switzerland – stood at 29 cm on Thursday, the lowest since 2018, according to German federal data.

Cargo vessels continue to pass through the chokepoint but are carrying only about 20% of their normal loads, Roberto Spranzi, director of German shipping cooperative DTG, which operates around 100 inland freight vessels, told Reuters. He said low water levels mean four to five times more vessels are needed to move the same volume of cargo. As a result, tanker barge transport from Rotterdam to Karlsruhe, Germany, rose to around €145-€150 ($165.84-$171.56) per ton on Thursday from €45 at the end of June, according to media reports citing commodity traders.

Reduced navigable depths are disrupting deliveries of essential petrochemical feedstocks, including naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), reports claim. Commodity intelligence provider ICIS reported that LyondellBasell had declared force majeure on butadiene supplies from its Wesseling plant after low water levels disrupted feedstock deliveries. German chemical giant BASF also warned of possible force majeures and product shortages because it relies heavily on the river for transport.

Heavy industry along the Rhine is also feeling the impact. German steelmaker Thyssenkrupp said this week the severe drought has created major bottlenecks in transporting raw materials to its main production hub in Duisburg, forcing it to curb hot metal production.

Forecasts show Rhine clearance could fall to 24 cm on Friday, the lowest level since records began in 1990, which could worsen the bottlenecks and further drive up shipping costs.

Meanwhile, another major heatwave – the fourth this summer – is forecast to hit Western Europe in the coming days, meteorologists warn. Temperatures are expected to soar above 40°C across the Iberian Peninsula and France, with some areas potentially reaching 45°C. As the system moves east, 40°C-plus heat is forecast to spread across Central Europe, from western Germany to Italy, Hungary and much of the northern Balkans.

The German government has approved a bill to deploy artificial intelligence in processing asylum, visa and residence permit applications.

The initiative aims to accelerate procedures and reduce pressure on immigration authorities. It was endorsed by the cabinet on Wednesday but still requires backing from the federal parliament and Federal Council.

The EU’s economic powerhouse, Germany has long been the bloc’s leading destination for asylum seekers. In 2025, the country received more than 163,000 applications, accounting for about one in five claims lodged across the bloc’s 27 member states, according to the EU Agency for Asylum. The country also hosts the EU’s largest migrant population in absolute terms, with nearly 17 million foreign-born residents accounting for about 20% of Germany’s population.

Over the past year, the federal government has tightened Germany’s migration policy by expanding border checks, increasing the number of migrants turned back at the border, and accelerating asylum procedures and deportations. The measures marked a sharp break with the open-border policy adopted by Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2015.

The bill would also allow AI in cases where there are justified doubts about the accuracy of an applicant’s statements to compare information submitted in applications with publicly available information online.

The proposal has drawn criticism from several German human rights groups, which argue that the use of AI in migration procedures could undermine privacy and lead to discriminatory outcomes. Deutsche Welle cited digital rights watchdog AlgorithmWatch as saying that the government was seeking to use migrants and tourists as “guinea pigs” for the technology. The experts also said that the system could not guarantee the protection of personal data or prevent discrimination.

The move comes amid a broader shift toward stricter migration rules implemented by the EU that has recently adopted the updated Pact on Migration and Asylum, which tightens border procedures, asylum screening and rules for managing migration flows across the bloc.

A similar AI-based measure is being explored in Britain, where there is a plan to deploy Facial Age Estimation technology at the border to help assess the age of migrants claiming to be minors. The proposal has also faced criticism from dozens of rights groups, which warn that the technology could produce inaccurate results, reinforce algorithmic bias, and raise concerns over the handling of sensitive personal data.

The military-technical balance of power is a key element of every political system and changes in that balance, including those brought about by the emergence of new forms of warfare, shape political intentions and determine what is possible in international affairs. The rapid transformation of warfare, driven by the drone revolution and demonstrated over the past year in both Ukraine and the conflict around Iran, offers an opportunity to reassess familiar concepts and how they are evolving.

The spirit has changed, but let us leave the military aspects of drone warfare to the specialists and focus instead on the political consequences.

August 2025 can be seen as the turning point, when Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin held their much-discussed meeting in Alaska. Whether any concrete agreements were reached remains disputed, but what’s clear is the essence of what became known as the ‘spirit of Anchorage’.

Trump believed that although Ukraine was resisting stubbornly, its defeat was ultimately inevitable and the sooner Kiev accepted concessions, the less severe the damage would be. The understandings reportedly reached reflected what Russia was prepared to settle for, the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donbass, and where meaningful political negotiations could begin. The White House then turned to the other interested party, the Ukraine-Western Europe partnership.

It’s difficult to judge how much pressure Trump actually placed on his European counterparts. Some effort appears to have been made, but neither Trump nor his advisers were prepared to invest significant political capital and that was especially true given that parts of his administration didn’t share his hostility towards Vladimir Zelensky. 

Almost a year later, it is fair to say that Brussels and London, together with Ukraine, achieved at least part of that objective.

Meanwhile, Western perceptions of the conflict have changed and at this summer’s G7 and NATO summits, the US president displayed a noticeably more neutral, at times even supportive, attitude towards Kiev. In effect, he acknowledged that his earlier confidence in Ukraine’s inevitable defeat had been, at the very least, premature.

Whether this shift reflects genuine changes on the battlefield or the success of an effective political and media campaign is open to debate, but either way, the change is real and the much-discussed ‘spirit of Anchorage’ has faded because the political climate itself has changed.

Fear and hatred in Europe

Ukraine’s growing ability to conduct long-range drone strikes is the product of three years of sustained financial and technological support from Western Europe, and despite Trump’s repeated claims that “Sleepy Joe” squandered hundreds of billions of American dollars on Ukraine, it’s European governments, Germany above all, that are now carrying the greatest burden of supporting Kiev’s war effort. That’s why assistance didn’t collapse after Trump returned to the White House and sharply reduced American aid.

Public rhetoric, particularly in Germany, increasingly suggests that a military confrontation with Russia around the turn of the next decade is a genuine possibility. The argument is straightforward: As long as Ukrainians are fighting, Western Europe has time to prepare and therefore the conflict should continue for as long as possible, although how much of this militaristic rhetoric reflects genuine belief remains open to debate.

The circumstances have undoubtedly revived Western Europe’s long-standing historical suspicion of Russia, a powerful and, from the their perspective, unpredictable giant to the east. During periods of close economic cooperation these fears receded into the background, replaced by the pursuit of mutual benefit, but this political crisis has quickly pushed commercial interests aside.

In that sense, today’s expectation of a future military confrontation isn’t entirely artificial as it reflects deeply rooted attitudes within Western Europe’s political consciousness.

There is, however, another dimension that is both more rational and perhaps not fully appreciated in that the EU and UK’s political establishment is searching for a new basis for internal cohesion at a time of profound economic and social change, and that faced with mounting uncertainty, it requires a unifying idea.

Nothing serves that purpose better than an external threat.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has renewed his criticism of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has said the Israeli leader could be arrested on war-crimes charges if he visits the city.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024 over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Mamdani has said his administration would seek to enforce the warrant if presented with an opportunity to do so.

Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity this week, Netanyahu accused the mayor of siding with Iran, which he described as a mortal enemy of both Israel and the United States.

“The army of Israel, the young men and women of Israel, the public in Israel… stand up and say, ‘Yes, we’re willing to stand up at this moment and stand in the breach with the United States.’ This is the ally that Mamdani and his ilk are vilifying,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu claims NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani "supports Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah."

Source: Hang Out with Sean Hannity pic.twitter.com/3Lahrohbcc

— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 30, 2026

“And what is he supporting? Iran. Who is he supporting? Hamas. Who is he supporting? Hezbollah,” he added, accusing Mamdani and other critics of Israel of “moral cynicism” and “absurdity.”

Iran, Hamas, and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah movement are part of what Tehran calls the regional “axis of resistance,” an alliance opposed to Israel and its influence in the Middle East.

Israel’s influence on American foreign policy, particularly President Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran, has also fueled divisions within the MAGA movement. Prominent Trump allies, including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, have publicly broken with the president over the issue.

Mamdani is regarded as a rising figure in the Democratic Party. His victory in the New York mayoral election was widely seen as proof that outspoken criticism of Israel is no longer necessarily a barrier to electoral success in the US, even in a city with one of the world’s largest Jewish communities. The Israeli government equates criticisms of its policies with anti-Semitism.

The German government is developing a “secret plan” to prevent regional authorities from potentially obstructing the deployment of NATO troops to the Russian border, according to a joint investigation by The Telegraph and Die Welt.

The “contingency” measures are reportedly driven by fears that the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party could secure enough support in upcoming regional elections in two eastern states to form local governments.

Known for criticizing Berlin’s anti-Russia policies as harmful to Germany’s national interests, the right-wing party has grown to become the country’s most popular political force after once again being excluded from last year’s federal coalition talks.

Berlin has long accused the AfD of extremism, while Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has claimed that the party has “undeniable” ties to Russia and must be deprived of access to classified information if it comes to power.

The federal government is now seeking a way to rein in what The Telegraph bluntly described as “pro-Kremlin traitor states” in the event that NATO decides it is time to go to war with Moscow.

NATO roundabout

The scenario centers on NATO’s Reinforcement and Sustainment Network, which involves moving large troop contingents, heavy equipment, and logistical supplies to bloc members in Eastern Europe and the Baltic. Germany is set to play the role of what The Telegraph and Die Welt described as NATO’s “roundabout,” with its geographical location making it a central logistics hub.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that it has no intention of attacking NATO unless attacked first and has dismissed such allegations as “nonsense” designed to justify Russophobic hysteria and rampant militarization.

Nevertheless, the NATO mechanism could be triggered without any hostile move by Russia, “at the first sign” reported by a Western intelligence service that Moscow was preparing an attack, according to The Telegraph.

Protests and obstructionism

An uncooperative regional government could potentially delay troop movements through “bureaucratic obstructionism” by withholding the necessary permits or refusing to provide NATO troops with police escorts and priority access to local roads.

Merz’s government also reportedly expects the deployment to trigger protests among local residents and debates within regional authorities about the extent to which they want to become involved in a process that could “expose them as part of NATO’s logistical hub.”

Bending the rules

Under German law, the federal government has very few ways to limit states’ independence short of declaring a state of emergency or imposing martial law. “The key question is how to circumvent a state not adhering to the federal idea without violating the constitution,” Roderich Kiesewetter, an MP from Merz’s CDU, told The Telegraph and Die Welt, adding that the Interior Ministry is drawing up relevant plans.

Berlin has already set the secret plan in motion to “create mechanisms that would make it possible to overrule individual states or to take the necessary measures,” added Tobias Krull, deputy chairman of the Saxony-Anhalt parliament’s Interior Committee.

Germany’s Basic Law allows for so-called “federal enforcement” if a regional government violates an obligation under federal law, but the clause has never been invoked.

During a state of emergency or under martial law, the federal parliament could also activate certain provisions allowing the government to intervene in state affairs and simplify military logistics. This would still require a two-thirds majority – something Merz’s government would be unlikely to secure, given that the AfD controls more than 23% of the seats in the Bundestag, while another 10% are held by the Left – another party the chancellor has ruled out cooperating with.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is caring more for Ukraine than his own nation, an opposition MP, Marcus Frohnmaier, told Rick Sanchez on the latest episode of Sanchez Effect aired on Wednesday.

The government has neglected the ongoing competitiveness and energy crisis in Germany while directing billions of euros in aid to Kiev, according to the lawmaker from the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Merz “is the chancellor of Ukraine and not the chancellor of Germany,” Frohnmaier stated.

Merz, who came to power in 2025 following a snap election, has become the least popular German chancellor in decades in less than two years since taking office. A total of 84% of Germans were dissatisfied with his performance, including more than half of his own Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party supporters, according to an ARD-DeutschlandTrend poll published earlier this month.

The lawmaker also argued that the Merz government outright ignored the most pressing issues faced by the nation. “German companies [are] leaving the country, they’re going to Poland, they’re going to the US,” he said, adding that those that are “not big enough” just go “bankrupt.” Frohnmaier blamed it on high energy costs and excessive regulation and taxes.

Merz himself admitted earlier this month that the nation’s “ongoing energy crisis [was] due to the lack of Russian gas” but suggested no way out of it. Earlier, he also repeatedly blamed Germany’s economic troubles on its people by telling Germans to work more and claiming that the “welfare state as we have it today can no longer be financed.”

At the same time, he actively pushed for a massive military spending increase, vowing to make the German army the strongest conventional force in Europe, with his government also repeatedly pledging more support for Ukraine amid plans to cut social spending.

According to Frohnmaier, the current chancellor’s story is that “of incompetence.” “I think this guy is not able to be a head of a government and to take responsibility,” the MP said.

Watch the full report below:

US President Donald Trump has cast doubt on whether Washington will allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot interceptor missiles, despite previously promising to grant Kiev a production license.

Trump told the Financial Times in a telephone interview on Thursday that he was “not sure” whether Ukraine would receive permission to produce the missiles, adding that Washington was still considering the request.

Describing the Patriot as a “very extraordinary weapon,” Trump said the US had to be “a little bit careful” about granting other countries access to its advanced military technology.

The remarks appear to contradict Trump’s public pledge at the NATO summit in Türkiye earlier this month, when he told Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky that Washington would provide Kiev with a license to manufacture Patriot interceptors.

Zelensky emerged from closed-door talks with Trump at the White House on Tuesday, claiming that they had discussed licenses for interceptor production. Trump, however, offered no indication that any agreement had been reached, saying only that “many things were discussed” and that the meeting went “very well.”

The initiative is also facing resistance from US manufacturers, with Boeing reportedly reluctant to transfer sensitive technology used in the seeker warheads of PAC-3 interceptors, according to Die Welt. Lockheed Martin manufactures the missile bodies, while Boeing supplies key components for the warheads.

Trump has denied reports that the US military is running short of munitions, insisting last week that it has “far more” missiles than it needs. US media reports have nevertheless suggested that concerns over dwindling Patriot and THAAD stocks have affected the scale and timing of American military operations against Iran.

The US president told the FT that his priority is negotiating an end to the Ukraine conflict rather than supplying more weaponry. “I’m not looking for missiles. We’re looking for peace,” he said, adding that his envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, would visit Ukraine in the coming days.

Palestinian militant group Hamas has agreed to completely disarm in Gaza under US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace plan, although Israel must also meet a series of conditions as part of the agreement, according to a senior official.

Ghazi Hamad, a member of the Hamas negotiating delegation, confirmed to Al Jazeera on Friday that an agreement has been reached, adding that an official statement will be released soon.

“These negotiations were difficult and hard, and we tried to reach the best possible formula that was achievable,” Hamad, whose remarks were also carried by Reuters and the BBC, was cited as saying. He stressed, however, that Israel must approve the phased disarmament, adding that Hamas will not implement any part of the agreement unless Israeli forces fulfilled their obligations, particularly withdrawing from Gaza and advancing reconstruction in the Palestinian territory.

“We will not take any action regarding disarmament prior to Israel’s withdrawal from the [Gaza] Strip,” he stated.

Hamad also told the BBC that the group insists on the wording “inventorying and storing weapons” under Palestinian oversight rather than handing them over to Israel.

The news first emerged when Trump announced on Truth Social on Thursday that his Board of Peace has reached a “historic agreement” on the complete disarmament of Hamas and every other armed group in Gaza, calling it a “monumental step toward lasting peace and security” and a major milestone in his 20-point plan for the enclave.

“The agreement will be carried out in carefully structured phases,” the US president wrote. “As disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw, and the International Stabilization Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and its neighbors.”

Trump said Gaza would eventually be governed by a “new Palestinian government” working closely with the Board of Peace. He thanked Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye for mediating the talks, insisting the territory would no longer be allowed to serve as a base for attacks against Israel.

Board of Peace Director-General and High Representative for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov confirmed the breakthrough in a post on X.

“Today, agreement has been reached on the decommissioning of weapons and civilian transition in Gaza. It took months of very difficult negotiations to get here,” he wrote, adding that there were several moments when he “did not believe we would make it” and insisting the Israeli withdrawal “must move in lockstep” with Hamas decommissioning.

Today, agreement has been reached on the decommissioning of weapons and civilian transition in Gaza. It took months of very difficult negotiations to get here. There were several points when I did not believe we would make it... What the agreement says matters. What happens next…

— Nickolay E. MLADENOV (@nmladenov) July 31, 2026

Reports published shortly before Trump’s announcement, however, suggested significant details remain unresolved. Hamas reportedly wants to retain “personal” small arms, while heavy weapons would be stored under the supervision of a Palestinian body rather than destroyed. It also seeks amnesty for members of the disbanded armed formations and wants the process synchronized with an Israeli withdrawal rather than surrendering all weapons in exchange for a promise that Israeli troops would later leave.

It is realistic to expect Hamas to disarm now that the group has “made the strategic decision” to do so, Ramallah-based journalist Mohammed Najib told RT. He added, however, that the reported deal can only succeed if it is backed by international guarantees and Israel follows through on its commitments.

”Hamas concluded that no construction can take place in Gaza if it continues to reject the disarmament. So they agree to this issue,” he said, adding that “as this agreement was declared by US President Donald Trump, Netanyahu cannot say no to it.”

Saad Nimr, a professor of political science at Birzeit University, also argued that Hamas is unlikely to give up its weapons before Israel begins withdrawing from Gaza, as the group no longer trusts Israel to honor ceasefire commitments.

“The more Israel gets out of Gaza, the more Hamas will give up their weapons,” he told RT, arguing that any disarmament would have to happen in parallel with an Israeli pullout.

Israel’s reaction

Earlier in the day, unnamed sources told Reuters that talks in Cairo between mediators and Hamas leaders on implementing the Gaza peace plan had made rare progress, though an Israeli official said the proposed terms were not satisfactory. Following Trump’s announcement, the Times of Israel reported, citing an unnamed source, that the agreement had been signed by Hamas negotiators, the board, and the mediating countries, but that “the Israeli office” issued a statement saying the disarmament proposal did not meet Israel’s demands.

“Israel says it will not take any action until Hamas is disarmed with its weapons, tunnels and infrastructure and we all understand the complexity of this,” Moshe Sa’ada of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party told public broadcaster Kan News. “Hamas is already saying that it’s the other way around: that it expects Israel to withdraw and only afterwards it will disarm.” Sa’ada added that he still believed there would ultimately be “no other option” in Gaza “apart from military rule and end-to-end occupation.”

Right-wing National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also blasted the emerging deal before Trump’s social media post.

“You only talk with Nazis through the crosshairs – and no other way,” he wrote on X. “The only solution in Gaza to which Israel is willing to be a partner is encouraging emigration and destroying Hamas.”

An official told the BBC that if Israel decides not to withdraw as part of the peace plan, Trump would be “very disappointed.”

The announcement came as Israeli strikes continued across Gaza despite the ceasefire introduced last October. The Gaza Health Ministry said hospitals received the bodies of six people on Thursday, along with 34 wounded patients. The dead reportedly included an eight-year-old child killed in a strike on a displacement camp in Khan Younis and an 18-month-old baby killed when a home in the Bureij refugee camp was bombed. According to Gaza health authorities, at least 73,341 Palestinians have been killed and more than 174,000 wounded since Israel launched its military campaign in retaliation for the deadly Hamas raid of October 2023.

Trump holds veto power over all decisions, can issue directives on the organization’s behalf and serve without a fixed term. He can be replaced only if he resigns or is unanimously declared incapacitated by the executive board, and he personally designates his successor. Invited members normally receive three-year terms, but that limit does not apply to those contributing more than $1 billion.

Palestinians have no representation on the board’s upper governing bodies and participate only through its technocratic arm, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG). The 15-member civilian body, led by Ali Shaath and operating under the board’s oversight, is tasked with managing Gaza’s day-to-day public services. It is also the interim authority to which Hamas has agreed to transfer governing powers.

The NCAG welcomed the Hamas disarmament agreement, calling it “the opening of a path toward beginning” implementation of the broader peace roadmap. In a statement on X on Friday, it said it was ready to “assume its responsibilities” and “take over the administration of the [Gaza] Strip” to ensure the roadmap leads to “practical steps that have a tangible impact on citizens’ daily lives.” Since it was established by the Board of Peace in January, the NCAG has been unable to enter Gaza, largely due to Israeli objections.

Statement by the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza

The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) welcomes the progress announced yesterday regarding the roadmap, and the opening of a path toward beginning its implementation.

This development…

— اللجنة الوطنية لإدارة غزة - NCAG (@NCAG) July 31, 2026

The military and political confrontation between the United States and Iran is becoming less a crisis than a permanent feature of the international landscape. A new center of chronic instability is emerging in south-western Eurasia, and it will shape political and economic developments across the wider region for years to come.

This matters not only because of Iran’s geopolitical position, but because it’s now a permanent member of both BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Unlike Russia’s confrontation with the West, which is mediated through the conflict in Ukraine, Iran’s dispute with Washington is direct and that reality inevitably raises questions about how BRICS and the SCO will function as organizations and what role they can play in an increasingly fragmented international order.

Both groups emerged from the crisis of the liberal world order that became apparent in the early 2000s when the American-led ‘war on terror’ and the invasion of Iraq convinced many governments that the promised unipolar world had failed to deliver stability or impartial global leadership.

The SCO, founded in 2001, was designed to strengthen regional cooperation in Eurasia while BRICS, launched in 2009, sought broader coordination among leading non-Western powers on global issues. Both represented a growing lack of confidence in institutions dominated by the United States and its allies.

As a result, BRICS and the SCO have generally adopted cautious and consensual positions and their public rhetoric has often created the impression that Western behavior presents no fundamental challenge to international stability, and that there’s little urgency in constructing alternative institutions of global governance.

This has always been something of a contradiction, given the very existence of BRICS and the SCO is itself a vote of no confidence in the post-Cold War order. If their members genuinely believed that the US and the EU could provide fair and effective leadership in global governance and Eurasian security, there would have been little reason to create entities from which Western powers are largely absent.

Sooner or later, both organizations were always going to confront the question of what comes next and Iran’s confrontation with the United States has simply accelerated that debate.

It also exposes the limits of consensus politics as only Russia has unequivocally condemned what it describes as American and Israeli aggression against Iran. Other members, including China, have adopted far more cautious public positions; while welcoming the ceasefire in April and the memorandum signed in June, the diversity of views makes coordinated political action difficult.

For resource-rich powers such as Russia or the United States, this is manageable, but for countries heavily dependent on imported energy, including China and India, the implications are considerably more serious.

The second challenge concerns transport and logistics because Iran occupies a central position in the International North-South Transport Corridor linking Russia with the Middle East and South Asia and persistent instability will inevitably complicate investment and long-term planning.

The situation may become even more complicated if tensions between Israel and Turkey continue to grow beneath the surface and Central Asian states, increasingly viewed as attractive destinations for investment and trade, will have to adjust their own development strategies accordingly.

The third issue concerns America’s regional alliance system. As Washington becomes more deeply involved in confrontation with Iran, it places growing pressure on its Middle Eastern partner, but the wealthy Gulf monarchies have little desire to transform themselves into heavily militarized societies resembling Israel and their strategic calculations are becoming more complicated with every escalation.

The broader international environment is changing and increasingly, the United States and the wider West are no longer viewed as providers of stability and development. Instead, many countries see them as sources of geopolitical disruption as confidence in the Western-led order continues to erode, while its ability to present itself as the natural center of global governance weakens.

A prolonged American confrontation with Iran is likely to reinforce that trend, given it will consume diplomatic attention and expose the limitations of US power in managing multiple crises simultaneously. For organizations such as BRICS and the SCO, this creates opportunities that don’t require ideological confrontation or institutional overreach.

Attempting to forge a unified foreign policy among such diverse memberships would only generate internal divisions. The strength of both groups lies precisely in their flexibility and they provide platforms where countries with different interests can cooperate without requiring complete political alignment.

That model is becoming increasingly valuable as the existing international system loses coherence.

So, rather than trying to mirror Western alliances, BRICS and the SCO should continue offering frameworks for practical cooperation while allowing members to pursue their own national interests because as confidence in Western institutions continues to decline, their relevance will grow naturally.

The collapse of the international order built around Western dominance isn’t a temporary phenomenon and the task for BRICS and the SCO is therefore not to create artificial unity where it does not exist, but to take advantage of the strategic space opened by that transformation and that may ultimately prove to be their greatest strength.

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

Spain has deployed just 60 troops to its North African exclave of Ceuta after thousands of migrants overwhelmed security forces and stormed across the border from Morocco, with up to 30,000 more people reportedly swarming the frontier.

The Spanish Interior Ministry said the military contingent consisted of three platoons of 20 soldiers each, sent to reinforce the Guardia Civil after officers admitted that the border had “totally collapsed.” Madrid also dispatched specialized police units, bringing their total number to around 200, as well as 30 additional Guardia Civil officers.

The small military deployment came after Ceuta’s regional government pleaded with Madrid to take “decisive” action, close the border and declare a national emergency, warning that local police, hospitals and migrant reception facilities had been overwhelmed.

The Spanish Army is moving toward the Ceuta border with Morocco. pic.twitter.com/UV5swszyU2

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) July 30, 2026

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government rejected the emergency request, arguing that migration does not qualify under legislation covering natural disasters, major accidents and other national catastrophes.

Migrants continue to flood into Spain pic.twitter.com/Dluot7MRUR

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) July 30, 2026

The soldiers were ordered to support the Guardia Civil “in the exercise of its powers” and perform any additional tasks deemed necessary to maintain security. However, Madrid announced no expanded rules of engagement or independent authority for the troops to seal the frontier, detain migrants or carry out expulsions. Their publicly defined role therefore remains one of supporting the police rather than taking control of the border.

🔴 #URGENTE | INVASIÓN EN CEUTA

Avalanchas de marroquíes saltan la valla de Ceuta y entran ilegalmente en territorio español sin ningún control. pic.twitter.com/KQQYrnCKSO

— Vito Quiles 🇪🇸 (@vitoquiles) July 30, 2026

Footage showed large groups swimming around the Tarajal breakwater using inflatable tubes, climbing border structures and rushing through an opened gate as overwhelmed officers struggled to contain the flow. Moroccan forces later deployed reinforcements and used water cannon to disperse crowds gathering near the Bab Ceuta crossing.

Die spanische Exklave Ceuta wird derzeit überrannt: Bereits mehr als 1.500 Migranten, vorwiegend aus Marokko und Algerien, gelangten in kürzester Zeit in die EU. Ihr Ziel dürfte mutmaßlich Deutschland sein. Grenzen müssen jetzt geschlossen und Abweisungen rigoros durchgesetzt… pic.twitter.com/hW7RtKi2OE

— Alice Weidel (@Alice_Weidel) July 30, 2026

“The situation is absolute chaos,” local Civil Guard chief Rachid Sbihi told AP. “It’s not possible to give precise numbers, but there are thousands of migrants crossing,” he said, adding that the border had “totally collapsed.”

Spanish state television initially reported that between 2,000 and 3,000 people had crossed the border, while local outlet Ceuta al Día claimed that around 20,000 had arrived. Antena 3 cited Guardia Civil sources as estimating that almost 40,000 people had swarmed the frontier, although it acknowledged that the figure was approximate. Thousands more were reportedly traveling toward the border from Tangier, Tetouan, Fez, Rabat, Casablanca and other Moroccan cities.

Sanchez and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska are scheduled to visit Ceuta on Friday. Spain and Morocco have meanwhile promised closer coordination and the rapid return of migrants who entered illegally, although Madrid has not explained how that pledge will be reconciled with a recent Supreme Court ruling restricting the summary expulsion of people arriving by sea.

The French police have admitted that they have orders to let illegal migrants get on small boats and head across the English Channel for the UK, according to a video released by British Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp.

In a video posted on X on Wednesday, Philp speaks to members of the French police on a beach in northern France and confronts them about a group of migrants piling onto a small boat just a few yards away.

“Our order is to let them go like that… We just have to say to them, ‘don’t do that, it’s dangerous’,” one officer says.

Just leaving this here for you @ShabanaMahmood….. https://t.co/n4HtXdLL9m pic.twitter.com/otYzGwhaah

— Chris Philp MP (@CPhilpOfficial) July 29, 2026

“Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, is paying the French government over half a billion pounds, £660 million of our money to the French government to stop these boats,” he said.

The £661 million ($889 million) migration agreement, inked in April, is intended to boost French enforcement action, build up police presence on beaches and increase surveillance with new helicopter units, cameras and drones, according to the Home Office.

Successive UK governments have repeatedly promised and failed to reduce the arrivals, despite escalating tensions following a number of attacks and high-profile murder and rape cases involving migrants in recent years.

Just last week, Keir Starmer was replaced by Andy Burnham as prime minister. Starmer lost support following his deeply unpopular handling of anti-immigration protests and his crackdown on internet speech.

Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov has claimed he was dismissed because reforms to overhaul military procurement and tackle entrenched interests within the ministry triggered a backlash.
 
Fedorov was removed by Vladimir Zelensky earlier this month after just six months in office as part of a sweeping government reshuffle. At the time, Zelensky cited tensions between the defense minister and commander-in-chief Aleksandr Syrsky, while Ukrainian media reported that disagreements over military reform lay behind the rift.
 
In an interview with Ukrainskaya Pravda published on Wednesday, Fedorov suggested the broader government reshuffle may have served as cover for his dismissal. He said changes to procurement rules and defense tenders had angered vested interests.

The co-founder of Palestine Action has been granted permission to challenge the group’s prohibition at the British Supreme Court, as police arrested hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists in London.

The court ruled on Thursday that Huda Ammori, who co-founded Palestine Action in 2020, could appeal the proscription later this year. Palestine Action was listed as a terrorist organization last July, and although Britain’s High Court ruled the ban unlawful earlier this year, an appeals court later reinstated it, citing the group’s “support for violence.”

“We will continue to fight this proscription all the way to the Supreme Court and, if necessary, to the European Court of Human Rights to overturn what has become one of the most extreme attacks on free speech and the right to protest in modern British history,” Ammori said in a statement.

The ban placed Palestine Action in the same legal category as Al Qaeda and the IRA, and criminalized public displays of support for the organization. More than 3,500 Palestine Action sympathizers have since been arrested for displaying t-shirts, flags, and placards supporting the group at protests.

Palestine Action was proscribed by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who served under former Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Starmer led a nationwide crackdown on pro-Palestine activism, following the ban with calls for the “policing of language” and banning of anti-Israel protests.

Starmer’s replacement, Andy Burnham, has said that the Labour Party “didn’t get it right” on the war on Gaza and “needs to do better.” However, Burnham’s home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has left the prohibition in place.

It is unfathomable that Andy Burnham's new Government is continuing with the proscription of Palestine Action meaning huge numbers of police resources are being redeployed and used to police and arrest pensioners peacefully protesting a genocide. pic.twitter.com/JvyYXHcD0l

— Cllr Martin Abrams (@Martin_Abrams) July 30, 2026

Last month, four Palestine Action members were sentenced as terrorists for vandalizing an Israeli arms plant near Bristol in 2024. After ramming their way into the Elbit Systems factory with a decommissioned prison van, they destroyed computers, drones, and other equipment inside, causing around £1.2 million ($1.6 million) in damage.

Joint US-Saudi strikes on alleged Iran-aligned militia positions across Iraq have sparked political backlash, with Baghdad condemning the attacks as a violation of the country’s sovereignty. RT’s Ali Rida Sbeity reported on the ground.

The strikes targeted positions of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in seven provinces, according to Iraqi officials, with the group saying at least 20 of its members were killed and 32 wounded. Washington and Riyadh said they had targeted Iran-linked militants in response to a drone attack on Saudi oil facilities, a claim denied by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

The PMF is formally part of Iraq’s security structure, meaning the strikes are being treated “not as simple attacks on armed factions, but as attacks on institutions belonging to the Iraqi state,” Sbeity said.

Tensions deepened after US President Donald Trump claimed the strikes had been coordinated with Baghdad. “That stands in sharp contrast to the public Iraqi position, which describes the strike as a violation of sovereignty,” Sbeity added.

The current escalation comes after a brief pause in direct US attacks on Iran-linked targets. Earlier this week, Tehran launched missiles at US military installations in Jordan in its first regional attack since fighting subsided.

Ahmed Al-Shahri, head of the Saudi Experience Forum, described the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s strategic infrastructure as crossing a “red line.”

The US-Saudi strikes have “once again” placed Iraq at the center of a wider regional confrontation that Baghdad has “repeatedly tried to avoid,” Sbeity said.

The first patient to receive Russia’s personalized melanoma vaccine is feeling well and has developed the immune response needed to fight the disease, said Aleksandr Ginzburg, the scientific director of the Gamaleya Research Institute, which helped develop the treatment.

Last year, the Russian Health Ministry approved two domestically developed personalized cancer treatments: an mRNA-based vaccine for advanced melanoma named Neooncovac and a peptide medicine targeting colorectal cancer dubbed Oncopept.

Neooncovac was administered to its first patient in April. The recipient is a 60-year-old man with stage-three melanoma and metastases, who is being treated at the Herzen Moscow Oncology Research Institute.

According to Ginzburg, the patient is “feeling completely normal” and continuing treatment. Tests have shown “very positive” immunological responses, with the body producing the active compounds needed for the immune system to fight the tumor and its metastases, he told RIA Novosti on Thursday.

The patient is expected to receive two further doses of the medicine. His immune response will continue to be monitored throughout the treatment, Ginzburg said.

Beijing has lodged an official protest with New Zealand’s Foreign Ministry over controversial remarks made by the country’s top diplomat, Winston Peters, to a Chinese-born MP during a heated parliamentary exchange.

The Chinese Embassy in Wellington made the announcement on Thursday, a day after the event, citing “negative China-related remarks.”

On Wednesday, during debate on the country’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, Peters, founder and leader of the right-wing populist NZ First party, was asked by China-born Green Party MP Lawrence Xu-Nan whether he had been vaccinated.

In response, Peters alleged that the lawmaker, who was born in the Chinese city of Tianjin but grew up in New Zealand, had “come here five minutes ago.”

The incident also prompted a rare public intervention by China’s ambassador to New Zealand, Wang Xiaolong, who said on X that while he generally avoided commenting on domestic politics, “sometimes, a statement says more about the person that makes it than anything or anybody else.”

On the ambassador's comments, Peters said that his remarks were a defense of democracy and free speech. In a post on X, he argued that the envoy had “proven the point” he made in parliament, contrasting New Zealand’s democratic freedoms with what he described as “communist and dictatorship countries.” Peters added that he would “not resile from that point.”

Commenting on Peters’ attack, Xu-Nan said: “It’s a little bit unbelievable to have a Minister for Foreign Affairs, I guess, scapegoating the migrant communities as a distraction to shift the blame away from all of the harm that this government is doing.”

NZ First has previously faced criticism over similar remarks. Last year, deputy leader Shane Jones shouted “send the Mexicans home” at Philippines-born MP Francisco Hernandez, prompting a diplomatic protest from Mexico. Peters later said the comments “may have been expressed differently” in the heat of the moment.

Thousands of north African migrants have broken into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta from Morocco. Regional authorities have pleaded with Spain’s socialist government to send in the military, but Madrid has refused.

Groups of migrants began swimming around the border fence separating Ceuta from Morocco earlier this week, but the trickle became a surge on Thursday when a large group overwhelmed border guards and broke through the fence.

The head of Ceuta’s regional government estimated that up to 2,000 people had arrived by midday on Thursday, overcrowding reception centers and creating “a humanitarian and social emergency.” The majority of the arrivals are young men, the Associated Press reported.

Video footage shared on social media showed hordes of migrants cheering as they poured into the Spanish territory by land and sea.

IN CRE I BLE #Ceuta cientos de marroquíes a la carrera tras llegar a nado al espigón del Tarajal#FronteraSur #Haraga #Inmigracion pic.twitter.com/qVA6MwDuxU

— KARIM PRIM (@KARIMPRIM) July 30, 2026

Ceuta’s mayor-president, Juan Jesus Vivas, called on the Spanish government to declare a national emergency and deploy police officers and soldiers at the border. The Spanish Interior Ministry, however, said that it does not consider migration to be an emergency.

No es una crisis migratoria en Ceuta, es una declaración de guerra de Marruecos. pic.twitter.com/FaqS2z0u6E

— David Santos (@davidsantosvlog) July 30, 2026

🔴 Miles de inmigrantes ilegales asaltan la frontera y entran en la ciudad autónoma: "Es una invasión sin precedentes".https://t.co/FwIknSSM8p pic.twitter.com/l99I8lH7sI

— Bipartidismo Stream (@Bipartidismo_) July 30, 2026

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez – who legalized 500,000 illegal immigrants earlier this year – offered an ambiguous response. “We are mobilizing all necessary resources… and preparing the necessary measures to restore normalcy as soon as possible,” he wrote on social media. “This is the moment to build solutions, with responsibility and cooperation.”

Russia has reportedly proposed a mechanism for settling trade with Bangladesh in Indian rupees to bypass US sanctions and facilitate payments for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, local media has reported.

Dhaka has been unable to make the loan repayments for the Russian-financed plant due to US sanctions on Russian banks.

Moscow’s proposals to overcome the disruption in payment are likely to be discussed at bilateral talks to be held later this year, Bangladesh media reported, citing unnamed officials in Dhaka’s Economic Relations Division (ERD).

RT sources have not confirmed the reports, but they acknowledged that the issue of making payments for the Rooppur nuclear power project remains unresolved.

Bangladesh media also reported that Moscow has proposed establishing a bilateral payment infrastructure and renewed its proposal to open a local branch of a Russian bank.

However, RT sources pointed out that, excluding the nuclear power plant, trade between Moscow and Dhaka is too limited to justify building a mechanism for making national-currency payments from scratch.

The estimated cost of the two-reactor 2,400 MW-plant is about $13 billion, with Russia providing a government loan covering 90% of the amount. Russia has also taken on long‑term obligations to supply nuclear fuel, perform technical maintenance, and manage spent nuclear fuel.

The plant’s first reactor is expected to begin commercial operation next month, with an initial supply of about 300 megawatts. 

Part of India and Russia’s bilateral trade is settled in Indian rupees. Dhaka also reportedly trades with New Delhi in Indian rupees, along with the US dollar and other foreign currencies.

Dhaka exported goods worth $245 million to Russia during the July-May period of the current fiscal year, data provided by the Export Promotion Bureau of Bangladesh showed.

Since the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, the West has consistently sought to draw Türkiye into its policy of confrontation with Moscow. This was particularly evident at this month’s NATO summit in Ankara when the West attempted to pressure the Turkish leadership into adopting a clear anti-Russia stance.

For Washington and Europe, Türkiye is particularly valuable. It is not just a member of the North Atlantic Alliance, but a country with the second-largest army in NATO, a developed defense industry, a strategic location in the Black Sea region, and significant influence in the Middle East and parts of Eurasia. Therefore, for the West, it is crucial to not just secure Ankara’s formal loyalty (which is already ensured by its NATO membership), but to make it part of the unified anti-Russia front. 

Ankara, however, continues to pursue a policy that significantly differs from the course of most NATO states. Calling Türkiye completely neutral would be a mistake. It supports Ukraine’s narrative concerning territorial integrity, maintains military-technical ties with Kiev, participates in meetings of the NATO-Ukraine Council, and occasionally makes political statements in support of Ukraine. However, Türkiye has not joined EU sanctions against Russia or curtailed Russian-Turkish economic cooperation; moreover, it has maintained direct channels of communication with Moscow. The European Commission’s 2025 report noted that Türkiye has consistently refrained from joining EU restrictive measures against Russia, although it has taken steps to prevent sanctions from being circumvented through its territory. The trade turnover between Russia and Türkiye also remains high, despite external pressure.

This was clearly demonstrated by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s three-day visit to Russia on June 15-17. The packed agenda demonstrated Ankara’s desire to develop relations with Moscow. Fidan met with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Secretary of the Security Council Sergey Shoigu, representatives of the Russian leadership and the business community, and Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin. Fidan was also received by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The discussed topics included bilateral cooperation, energy, transport, regional security, and prospects for resuming Russia-Ukraine negotiations. 

Such active diplomacy demonstrates that Türkiye is unlikely to be drawn into an anti-Russia bloc. Russian-Turkish relations are based not only on personal dialogue between Erdogan and Putin. Major energy, trade, investment, and infrastructure projects exist between the two countries. Russia is currently constructing Türkiye’s first nuclear power plant, the Akkuyu NPP. At the end of 2025, Türkiye  announced that Russia would provide an additional $9 billion in funding for the project. For Ankara, severing such ties wouldn’t just be a symbolic demonstration of solidarity with the West; it would bring concrete economic losses and additional risks to energy security.

The situation in the Black and Azov seas is especially important for Türkiye. The escalating attacks on vessels directly affect Turkish interests. In June, Fidan noted that Kiev must avoid actions that could undermine security in the Black Sea and Türkiye’s interests. At that time, tankers near the Turkish coast, including a Turkish vessel, had been attacked. Ankara lodged formal protests to Ukraine in regard to these incidents.

Ankara fears more than just economic damage. Turkish leaders understand that the expanding geography of the strikes could directly affect Türkiye’s borders. Drones and naval drones are not always able to accurately determine a vessel’s nationality, crew composition, beneficial owner, or the nature of the cargo being transported. Any error could result in the deaths of Turkish citizens, damage to Turkish property, or an environmental disaster off the country’s coast. This is precisely why Türkiye is interested in limiting the scale of the war. 

Moreover, Erdogan continues to assert his role as a mediator. For him, this is an opportunity to strengthen Türkiye’s international status. Ankara has already hosted Russia-Ukraine talks, brokered grain deals, facilitated prisoner exchanges, and repeatedly offered to host new contacts on its territory. Although the Turkish platform ultimately collapsed, as Kiev failed to comply with the terms of the agreements and Ankara lacked the political will to pressure Zelensky and his entourage, Türkiye believes it may still be a mediator in the future. During his June visit to Moscow, Fidan reiterated Türkiye’s readiness to host another round of talks and help make them more productive.

Fidan’s position on the agreements discussed between Russia and the US during the summit in Anchorage is also notable. Fidan urged the Ukrainian side to heed the understandings reached in Alaska, noting that Moscow’s unilateral commitment is insufficient and that “it takes two to tango.” This formulation fundamentally differs from the approach of most European politicians, who place the blame for the failure to reach an agreement solely on Russia. Ankara has made it clear that a diplomatic settlement requires reciprocal action from Kiev and its Western backers. 

Naturally, Türkiye  will continue to make certain overtures to Ukraine and partners within NATO. It will not publicly renounce its support for Ukraine’s “territorial integrity,” will not cease cooperation with Kiev, and will participate in Western meetings on Ukraine. For example, on July 13, Fidan represented Erdogan at the Paris summit of the so-called Coalition of the Willing. However, Türkiye’s participation in such formats does not necessarily mean that it is ready to break ties with Russia. Turkish diplomacy traditionally strives to maintain ties with various players, preventing any single power center from gaining a monopoly on relations with it.

The West could offer Türkiye several concessions such as the lifting of sanctions, a return to the F-35 program, access to European defense funds, investments, and political concessions. But even these incentives are unlikely to force Erdogan to completely reconsider relations with Moscow. The Turkish leader understands that without Russia’s involvement, it is impossible to resolve issues concerning Syria, the Middle East, the South Caucasus, the Black Sea region, as well as energy and Eurasian policy issues. Furthermore, demonstratively joining the anti-Russia front would deprive Türkiye of its mediator status and transform it from an independent player in international relations into just another tool used by the West to implement its strategy. 

Therefore, Western attempts to draw Türkiye into an open confrontation with Russia are not likely to yield the desired result. Ankara may make certain concessions, bargain with Washington, expand cooperation with NATO, and strengthen ties with Ukraine; but it will probably avoid crossing the line that would directly damage relations with Russia. Türkiye will not choose between Russia and the West: its goal is to force Moscow, Washington, and Brussels to consider Turkish interests.

This is the essence of Erdogan’s policy. It’s neither neutrality in the classical sense, nor equidistance. Rather, it is strategic autonomy based on pragmatism, balance, and the desire to extract political and economic advantages from the competition among major powers. The West would like to see Türkiye as part of a united anti-Russia front. However, Türkiye prefers to see itself as a separate center of power. And as long as Erdogan retains control over the country’s foreign policy, the likelihood that Ankara will fully submit to the West’s anti-Russia strategy remains low. 

The US Senate has unanimously urged President Donald Trump not to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker who helped Jeffrey Epstein recruit and abuse underage girls.

Maxwell, the daughter of disgraced British newspaper tycoon and former MP Robert Maxwell, who had suspected ties to Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, is currently serving a 20-year federal prison sentence after being convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking and related offenses.

The resolution, introduced by Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen and approved without objection from either party on Wednesday, states that Maxwell should not receive “a pardon, commutation, or any other form of executive clemency.”

Rosen stated that it was “horrifying” that Trump had even entertained the possibility of clemency, arguing that Maxwell should never receive a pardon for helping Epstein abuse underage girls.

Trump has repeatedly declined to categorically rule out pardoning Maxwell. When asked about the possibility last year, he stressed that he had the authority to do so but said nobody had approached him with a request. He later also said he would consult the US Justice Department following the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear Maxwell’s appeal in October 2025.

Speculation over possible clemency further intensified after Todd Blanche, then deputy attorney general and now Trump’s nominee for attorney general, interviewed Maxwell for around nine hours over two days as part of the Justice Department’s Epstein investigation.

The Senate move comes amid continued anger over the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files. The disclosure process has faced criticism over delays, extensive redactions and the absence of major new prosecutions, disappointing supporters who had expected the records to expose powerful figures connected to Epstein.

Trump and Maxwell moved in the same social circles in New York and Florida during the 1990s and early 2000s, when the president was also acquainted with Epstein. After Maxwell’s arrest in 2020, Trump drew criticism for saying, “I just wish her well, frankly.”

The US president has denied any wrongdoing connected to Epstein and says he ended his relationship with the financier years before his 2019 arrest. Maxwell later told Justice Department officials that she had never witnessed Trump behaving inappropriately.

RT has opened submissions for the 2026 Khaled Alkhateb International Memorial Awards, which honor outstanding war reporters working in conflict zones around the world.

This year’s contest will accept news reports or series of reports from conflict zones, with a maximum running time of ten minutes. Submissions are accepted in Russian, Arabic, and English, or with subtitles in any of the three for reports in other languages. Qualifying videos must have been published between October 1, 2025, and September 30, 2026.

The competition is open to reporters from major media organizations, independent journalists, freelancers, and bloggers.

“This is the ninth year we’ve honored the best war correspondents with the Khaled Alkhateb Award, and each year we see the job getting harder and harder for our people – especially in the Special Military Operation zone, and especially in our region, because Israel and Ukraine are deliberately targeting journalists,” RT Arabic chief Maya Manna said.

Sometimes journalists are killed live on air, and the West says nothing at all – it just stays silent. So we feel compelled, and duty-bound, to make sure people know that a war correspondent’s work can get you killed. And every year we show the heroes who go to the front regardless, and bring us the truth.

The jury for this year’s competition will include journalists from leading news organizations, each with firsthand experience covering conflict zones around the globe. The members will be announced at a later date on the award’s official website. Submissions will be accepted via a form on the site.

Ukraine’s deadly attack on an Iranian cargo ship named Anna in the Caspian Sea was Vladimir Zenensky’s “gift” to Israel and the US, the former senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Kanani Moghaddam, told RT.

The strike, which killed one Iranian sailor and injured another on Saturday, came three days before Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Washington for talks with US President Donald Trump.

Zelensky acknowledged the operation shortly after it occurred, hailing the “very strong results” of strikes on vessels that he claimed “were involved in the transportation of military cargo” linked to Iran.

The former commander also warned that if Ukraine continues to attack Iranian ships in the Caspian Sea, Tehran will retaliate using medium-range missiles. Iran possesses missiles with ranges of around 2,000km, which, according to publicly available estimates, could reach parts of eastern Ukraine.

Watch the full statement below.

Five children from Russia and Ukraine are about to be reunited with their loved ones under an international humanitarian initiative, Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova reported. According to Moscow, the process is being coordinated by US First Lady Melania Trump and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, praised Melania Trump for what he called “a vital global humanitarian and peacemaking role” in helping Russian and Ukrainian children separated from their families reunite with their relatives. “Under her coordination, 33 children have already been reunited with their families,” he wrote in a post on X on Thursday, adding that “more reunifications” are ahead.

According to the White House, this is the fifth group of children the US first lady has helped reunite. “This milestone marks another step toward ensuring that innocent kids can safely return to their homes, communities, and the people who care for them,” it said in a statement.

“While diplomacy and peacebuilding are important to this effort, they are surpassed by our collective ability to place children above international disputes,” Melania said, commenting on the reunition.

A Ukrainian woman also came to Russia from Germany for her daughter on Thursday, according to the commissioner. The girl had been living with her grandmother since 2023.

Three more children are about to reunite with their relatives in Ukraine and Germany.

Another six-year-old boy is about to be reunited with his Ukrainian mother, who has been living in Russia with his grandmother since 2022. A 15-year-old teen, who has been living with relatives in Russia, will also soon go to his mother, who is living in Ukraine, according Lvova-Belova. One more 15-year-old will travel to Germany to live with his older sister, who has requested custody of him.

All the humanitarian efforts are being carried out upon the orders of President Vladimir Putin on the basis of requests of parents or close relatives of the affected children, the commissioner said, maintaining that the child’s interests are taken into account in each particular case. “Soon, all the children will be reunited with their loved ones!” she added.

A total of 31 children have been returned to Russia, and 145 children returned to Ukraine or other countries as part of the humanitarian initiative backed by the Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner’s Office, according to Moscow’s data.

The Italian mafia is seeking to buy up some of the 800,000 firearms reportedly missing or stolen from Ukraine since 2022, including drones and other advanced arms, senior prosecutors have warned.

Some 780,465 items sent to Ukraine have reportedly disappeared since the escalation of the conflict, including around 149,000 during the first five months of 2026. The Il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper reported on Wednesday that much of the arsenal consisted of European military supplies intended for Kiev.

The outlet noted that European law enforcement authorities have struggled to track the flow of these arms, given that Western governments conceal the details of their extensive military shipments to Ukraine.

The weapons have since reportedly ended up on the European black market and are now said to have attracted the attention of Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian Mafia, which would like to upgrade its arsenal with military-grade systems.

Palermo chief prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia told Italy’s parliamentary Anti-Mafia Commission this week that the criminal organization was trying to build a “quality arsenal” and has already obtained access to AK-47 rifles and powerful explosives.

De Lucia said that the mafia is also trying to obtain more advanced weaponry, such as mine-dropping drones, warning that Italian security services are not prepared to deal with such weapons systems.

The latest report comes amid repeated corruption scandals involving Ukraine’s military and state institutions. Recent investigations have uncovered millions of dollars in illicit sales of military equipment and theft from military repair contracts and drone funds, alongside wider schemes involving defense procurement and foreign donations.

Commenting on the Italian prosecutor’s warning, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow had long warned that Western weapons sent to Kiev would spread through illicit markets and eventually threaten Ukraine’s European sponsors.

Zakharova explained that some of the weapons supplied to Kiev never actually reach their stated destination because of corruption, while those that do arrive are divided between the front, black-market buyers, and armed groups in other regions.

Russian officials have also accused Ukraine of supplying weapons and drone expertise to militants in Africa, while Mali has alleged that Kiev provided kamikaze drones to terrorist organizations operating in the Sahel.

Statehood Day in Kiev. Very important. Very historical. “So how can I make it all about me?” the EU said. Here comes Brussels to put the “hood” in “statehood” day, and bring some muscle to Kiev’s mobilization hustle.

What a great opportunity for the EU to come back into town for another photo op, another summit, and another round of butt- and back-slapping.

‘Queen’ Ursula von der Leyen set the tone: “It’s a special moment. Ukraine has built a strong military momentum. The tide is turning. I will announce new initiatives to integrate our defense industries. So we can produce more, and faster. We will also discuss accession and preparations for this winter.”

At this point, all those same talking points have had more comebacks than Madonna. The tide’s been turning for so long that you’d expect it to have actually arrived somewhere by now. So what’s the occasion this time, beyond pretending that you actually had Statehood Day on your calendar in Brussels? Because let’s pretend that an excuse to drop by is actually necessary, and that you’re not just the Karen of the northern hemisphere block watch.

Stop me if you know this one: support, integration, EU accession somewhere down the road. Ukraine’s promised path to the EU seems to consist primarily of summits announcing that the path exists. Then there’s the “Coalition of the Willing.” Which is basically the European version of the Avengers. Except that instead of superheroes assembling, it’s the EU clown posse assembling to celebrate their assembling superpower.

They also assembled in Paris, promised coordination, and produced the usual result: another round of commitments to future commitments. But hey, they’re planning some military exercises for September. Poland says that they’ll go ahead on that, with British and French troops involved. Except that Germany reportedly isn’t joining, with Berlin noting that the drills are limited and mainly staff-focused. Which is like RSVPing ‘yes’ to a wedding because you like the idea of the marriage, but in reality you just can’t be bothered. Hopefully they’ll at least have enough tact to send an Amazon gift card.
And while France is stepping up as the new lead war drummer, Bulgaria seems to be looking to exit stage left. “We have exhausted our capabilities to provide military support. I mean weapons and commissions from the warehouses of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. We have provided 13 packages. We don’t have anything else to supply to Ukraine,” said Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev.

Then there’s the EU’s latest move on Ukrainian refugee arrivals. Europe has entered a new phase of messaging. The kind where they say the quiet part a lot less quietly.

Specifically, the part about Ukrainians not being able to defend Ukraine while also kicking back on a patio somewhere in the EU. So unless you’ve already got a reservation for that patio and have been hanging out there for a while now, you can forget it.

They need to first satisfy their military obligations in Ukraine amid full mobilization, the EU says. And if they happen to survive that, then they can give asylum a shot, I guess.

So while leaders continue to promise Ukrainians support, anyone actually taking them up on their offer had better make a point of keeping up with the fine print. Because they’re using tactics normally associated with the guy who sells you a lemon at the used car lot. Come for the shiny asylum offer – and get a swift kick to the behind back to Kiev.

There are also reports that Ukraine itself has asked EU countries to tighten access for its citizens under temporary protection rules. Which is a unique and novel dynamic. Because usually when people leave a country during a war, the government of the country they’re leaving doesn’t get to call ahead and ask if maybe fewer of them could be let in.

“It is necessary to see the interests and values ​​of the nation and the allies. We are closing the door in the face of the Russians,” said Hungarian Defense Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi.

So dramatic. You can almost hear the door slam in the background. But when you actually take a closer look under the blustery rhetoric, it turns out they don’t seem all that interested in actually locking that door. It’s more of a swinging pet door. Because for all the public tough talk, Hungary recently refused to send weapons to be used against Russia. Like Slovakia, the US, and the Czech Republic with the recent NATO package. Poland and the Netherlands say that they’ve already given what they can. So this united front is starting to look like a group project where everyone says that they’re psyched but then discreetly bails.

So where does that leave the grand coalition? A lot of countries are still saying the ‘right’ things, but fewer of them are willing to reach into their pockets for anything that isn’t self-serving involving their own military industrial complexes. And everyone is trying very hard not to stare at the glaring gap between those two things.

Meanwhile, over in Kiev, the EU’s collective message is that momentum is building. And it seems that they figure that if they keep saying that often and loudly enough, then eventually they might stop getting pestered by Kiev about when exactly the momentum-powered ride is supposed to end in an EU fairytale. At this rate, it’s all starting to look like Disneyland’s hellish It’s a Small World ride: an endless refrain with no obvious final stop.

Europe isn’t positioning itself for a resolution to this conflict anytime soon, but rather a marathon. Like an endless relay for Ukraine. One that they’re willing to sponsor as long as they don’t have to personally do the sweating. And now they seem to be aligning policy to make sure that it has the people to keep going. Whether those people had other plans or not.

Boeing is reluctant to share the technology used in the warheads it manufactures for the Patriot PAC-3 interceptor missiles which Ukraine and its Western supporters want to manufacture in Europe, German media outlet Die Welt has reported, citing sources.

US President Donald Trump announced earlier this month that Ukraine would receive a license to produce the coveted Patriot systems. Manufacturing is expected to be based in a European NATO country, potentially Germany, where the facilities would be considered safe from potential Russian attacks.

In a report on Wednesday, Die Welt correspondent Christoph Wanner outlined several obstacles facing the initiative, including what he described as Boeing Defense’s unwillingness to transfer sensitive technology to foreign partners.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has said Kiev needs an additional 300 interceptor missiles to sustain its air defenses through the coming winter.

Media reports have pointed to a worldwide shortage of Patriot interceptors and other costly US-made munitions. The supply crunch has reportedly intensified as a result of Washington’s ongoing conflict with Iran.

Germany remains one of the Ukrainian government’s main military donors as it is also seeking to expand its own armed forces, citing what officials describe as a growing threat from Russia. Berlin’s rearmament plans have faced financial pressures and a widespread public reluctance to volunteer for military service.

Moscow maintains that the Ukraine conflict was engineered by NATO as a proxy war against Russia. Russian officials have accused the bloc of using Ukrainians as “cannon fodder” while supplying Kiev with weapons, funding and intelligence.

Former US Coronavirus czar Dr. Anthony Fauci is facing a state investigation after declining to answer questions during a US Senate hearing on the origins of Covid-19 and the government’s handling of the pandemic.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the probe after Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 111 times on Wednesday.

“Fauci’s lack of candor to Congress is unbelievable. My office is launching an investigation into Dr. Fauci. It’s past time we get the truth of what happened during COVID,” Uthmeier wrote on X.

Senator Rand Paul, who led the hearing, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis argued that Fauci had no legal basis to invoke the Fifth Amendment because former President Joe Biden had granted him a blanket pardon covering potential federal offenses.

Fauci justified his actions by citing what he described as Paul’s “obvious obsession” with his “prosecution.”

Both Paul and DeSantis called for Fauci to be held in contempt of Congress – a formal finding that a witness has obstructed a congressional investigation.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz called for Fauci to face criminal charges following the hearing. Speaking to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, the Texas lawmaker called the former White House medical adviser “the most damaging bureaucrat in the history of America” and said he “should go to jail.”

The investigation comes after years of clashes between Florida officials and Fauci over the federal Covid response. Under DeSantis, the Republican-run state became one of the leading critics of lockdowns, mask mandates, and vaccine policies promoted during the pandemic.

Australia has taken legal action against Telegram over alleged failures to tackle terrorism-related content. Just the day before, Russia launched its own case against the messaging platform and its founder, Russian-born entrepreneur Pavel Durov.

The Australian eSafety commissioner announced on Thursday that it had started civil proceedings in federal court for Telegram’s “alleged failure to detect and remove pro-terror material from the platform including videos of terrorist executions and mass shootings,” despite complaints from users.

The regulator said videos of the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre and the 2022 Buffalo supermarket shooting remained accessible on the platform for around three months before being taken down. The regulator is seeking penalties of up to A$54.6 million ($38 million).

Telegram’s CEO responded to the charges by posting a picture of himself raising a middle finger on X. He has previously claimed Moscow’s attempts to restrict Telegram were an attack on freedom of expression.

Durov is also under criminal investigation in France, where prosecutors accuse Telegram of failing to curb criminal activity on the platform, including child sexual abuse material, drug trafficking, and organized fraud. French investigators questioned him for a fourth time earlier this month.

British energy regulator Ofgem on Wednesday proposed fees and stricter rules for AI data center developers to cull “unviable, stalled or speculative projects” that are taking up scarce grid capacity amid skyrocketing electricity demand.

It comes as the UK moves to grow its cloud computing and artificial intelligence industries but grapples with a sharp spike in grid connection requests – which Ofgem says have more than tripled in less than a year.

The amount of electricity capacity being sought by firms wanting to plug into the UK’s grid spiked from 41 gigawatts to 125 gigawatts between November 2024 and June 2025, driven largely by demand from data center projects, the regulator said in a press release on Wednesday.

The figure is nearly triple the UK’s 2025 peak electricity demand of around 46 gigawatts.

The measure is expected to “tackle unviable, stalled and speculative projects,” according to the regulator.

In March, the UK government announced reforms aimed at clearing speculative grid connection requests, which it said more than quadrupled in the six months prior.

While the Western restrictions had a detrimental impact on the Russian economy, it has adapted to them and learned to “minimize their effects,” according to Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has warned that “sanctions are a double-edged sword” and hurt both Russia and the countries that impose them.

The US military has warned troops in the Middle East against filming the aftermath of Iranian drone and missile attacks, with some personnel in Jordan reportedly told that their mobile phones could soon be confiscated to strengthen “operational security.”

The head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, claimed in a July 28 letter obtained by Reuters that photos and videos published by American service members were helping Tehran improve the accuracy of its strikes.

Cooper complained that journalists and online “open-source intelligence” researchers were effectively conducting battle-damage assessments for Tehran.

“Iran knows the weapons were fired; however, their forces do not know if they missed by 50 meters, hit an empty tarmac, or successfully struck a crowded facility,” Cooper wrote. “Detailed lists, descriptions, and analyses of what was hit, openly published by news outlets, are essentially performing Iran’s Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) for them, free of charge.”

One video cited by Cooper was recorded using Meta smart glasses during a deadly Iranian missile and drone attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on July 17. The footage showed US troops running for shelter and entering a bunker as warning sirens blared.

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

Separate close-range footage from the same night appeared to capture multiple ballistic missiles directly striking the Jordanian facility. The Pentagon later confirmed that three American service members had been killed in the attack.

While the Pentagon’s stated concern is that Iran may take advantage of the footage, the restrictions would also make it considerably harder for the public to independently assess the true impact of Iranian attacks.

The possible phone seizures would give Washington greater control over the flow of information. CENTCOM routinely publishes short, curated clips of American aircraft taking off, missiles being launched and Iranian targets being struck.

Concerns about transparency have grown since the US Department of War quietly updated its database over the weekend to show that 18 service members had been killed and 624 wounded since the war began on February 28. Lawmakers have demanded more information about damage to radar systems, aircraft hangars, barracks and other infrastructure at US bases.

The US has launched a “powerful” bombing raid against Iran after US President Donald Trump warned that it was “our turn to hit them,” following Tehran’s ballistic missile attack on American forces in Jordan the previous night.

US Central Command said the new strikes began at 8 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday.

“The strikes are a powerful response to yesterday’s attempted Iranian attacks on US forces based in the Middle East,” CENTCOM announced.

The command did not immediately identify the targets, disclose how many aircraft or missiles were involved, or say how long the operation was expected to continue.

Trump had warned earlier on Wednesday that Iran was about to face a harsh response, reportedly telling Fox News: “We’re going to beat the f***ing s**t out of them.”

Speaking later at the White House, Trump said Iran had fired five missiles at American forces and credited US Patriot air-defense systems with intercepting all of them. “We’re going to be hitting them very hard because it’s our turn to hit them,” he added.

CENTCOM described Tuesday’s missile launch as an attempted “surprise attack,” claiming that all the incoming projectiles had been intercepted. The command did not initially mention Jordan, saying only that the missiles had targeted US forces “based in the Middle East.”

The renewed US bombing ended a brief pause that began after Trump suspended a 13-night campaign of strikes last Friday to allow negotiations with Tehran to proceed. He had warned, however, that military action would resume if diplomacy failed.

German auto giant BMW is planning to slash some 8,000 jobs globally by the end of 2027, according to several news media outlets, including Reuters and Bloomberg. German workers are expected to be particularly affected as the manufacturer is dealing with high production costs in Europe, as well as plunging sales in China, according to the reports.

The company allegedly offered buyouts to those in research, development, planning and other corporate departments as part of a deal aimed at pushing through with the plan. Factory workers would not be eligible for the deal, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

BMW CEO Milan Nedeljkovic is expected to announce a voluntary reduction program at a staff meeting this week, the sources said, adding that the scheme would be launched in October and run through 2027. The company will reportedly slash around 5% of its total workforce.

It comes just a day after another German carmaker, Porsche, announced plans to eliminate another 5,000 jobs by 2035, bringing its total planned reduction to around 9,400 positions. Its parent company, Volkswagen, is considering slashing up to 100,000 jobs amid a protracted industrial slump caused by high energy prices.

The crisis has been repeatedly linked by officials and business representatives to high energy costs resulting from Berlin’s decision to abandon cheap Russian oil and gas imports. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz admitted earlier this month that Germany’s “ongoing energy crisis [was] due to the lack of Russian gas.”

Before Germany’s decision to join the EU’s sanctions and de facto impose a Russian energy embargo upon itself, Russia supplied 55% of the country’s natural gas imports. Last week, the newspaper Berliner Zeitung reported that the nation had been paying five times as much for imported gas as it did before abandoning long-term Russian supply contracts.

A suspected drone has struck an American-owned floating liquefied natural gas facility at Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Damietta, setting two vessels ablaze and prompting US President Donald Trump to threaten retaliation against Iran.

British maritime security firm Ambrey assessed that at least one drone had hit the Energos Winter, a floating storage and regasification unit moored at the port on Wednesday. The maritime risk group Vanguard separately said an unidentified projectile had struck the vessel’s starboard side.

The resulting fire reportedly spread to the nearby LNG carrier GasLog Salem. Crew members were evacuated, both vessels were moved outside the port as a precaution, and firefighters brought the blaze under control. No casualties were reported.

BREAKING: Footage shows crews working to put out a fire on the US-owned floating platform in Egypt following a drone attack, with initial reports Iran struck it. pic.twitter.com/sFpRt2nfSD

— The Hormuz Letter (@HormuzLetter) July 29, 2026

The Energos Winter can store 138,250 cubic meters of LNG and deliver up to 650 million cubic feet of gas per day into Egypt’s energy network. Its US-based owner, Energos Infrastructure, operates four floating LNG facilities in the country that collectively supply around 35% of Egypt’s natural-gas demand.

No group has claimed responsibility for the incident, and neither Egyptian authorities nor the maritime-security firms have publicly attributed it to Iran.

President Trump, however, told reporters that he had been briefed on the incident, describing it as “a little more of the same,” before signaling that US retaliation against Tehran was imminent.

2/2 While no one claimed responsibility, Iran is the prime suspect. Meanwhile, the IRGC launched ballistic missiles at merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Watch emergency crews racing to cool down the burning LNG tanker in Egypt 👇 pic.twitter.com/FdIiL4M9np

— Predictivemoney (@Predictivemoney) July 29, 2026

“We’re going to be hitting them very hard because it’s our turn to hit them,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday. “They know it’s coming. They’re asking us not to do it.”

"We're going to hit them very hard."

President Trump warns adversaries that the U.S. is prepared to respond forcefully following a drone attack on an LNG tanker off the coast of Egypt.

Trump signaled that retaliation is imminent despite requests from adversaries to hold back.… pic.twitter.com/SMOUuj5qGT

— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 29, 2026

Trump had issued an even more explicit threat earlier in the day after Iran launched several ballistic missiles at US forces in Jordan.

“We’re going to beat the f***ing s**t out of them,” Trump reportedly told Fox News, adding: “We’ll be hitting them hard. They’re going to get a beating.”

Trump said Iran had fired five missiles and credited US Patriot systems with destroying them. “It’s our turn,” he said, while suggesting that diplomatic negotiations could eventually resume after the threatened retaliation.

The renewed hostilities came days after Trump suspended a 13-night US bombing campaign to allow negotiations with Tehran to proceed.

The fragile pause has since unraveled, with the US tightening its blockade of Iranian ports and threatening to seize Iranian funds frozen abroad – moves that Tehran considers clear violations of the agreements reached so far.

Former US Coronavirus czar Dr. Anthony Fauci was hauled before Congress on Wednesday to testify on the origins of Covid-19. Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right to silence, but RT kept the receipts.

Fauci appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, in a hearing orchestrated by Senator Rand Paul. A Kentucky Republican and vocal critic of Fauci’s handling of the pandemic, Paul released thousands of pages from Fauci’s personal diaries over the weekend, which suggested that the Covid chief knew the virus did not originate in a ‘wet market’ in Wuhan, China, but insisted in public that it did.

Former US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has also released documents suggesting that Fauci pushed the wet market theory in meetings with the intelligence community, before denying under oath that he ever held such discussions.

“I hope today Dr. Fauci will come clean, admit it was a mistake to fund dangerous research in China, admit that the risk of this dangerous research exceeded any possible benefits, ask forgiveness, and pledge to help our government devise safeguards so a manmade epidemic never happens again,” Paul said in his opening statement at Wednesday’s hearing.

My full opening remarks: pic.twitter.com/QZSn437FfF

— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) July 29, 2026

Any hopes that Paul would get answers, however, were dashed when Fauci pleaded the Fifth more than 100 times during questioning from Paul and other Republicans on the committee.

Here’s what Fauci was asked, and what the record shows.

Did Covid-19 come from a laboratory?

Fauci was asked multiple times whether Covid-19 originated in a laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology; whether he was aware that the virus bore the hallmarks of gene editing; and whether he knew that the lab had more than 100 man-made viruses in storage that could have been precursors to Covid-19.

Based on Fauci’s own diary, he believed in January 2020 that “the market was not the source, it was the amplifier.” After a call with a dozen government scientists on February 1, Fauci remarked that the group was split, with only two believing the wet market theory, and the rest believing that a lab leak was more likely. Fauci insisted on the wet market theory, and on April 17 publicly declared that the virus was “totally consistent” with a natural species jump. He reiterated this point in a National Geographic interview in May, stating “everything about the stepwise evolution over time strongly indicates that it evolved in nature and then jumped species.”

It has not been conclusively proven that Covid-19 was created at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, but the lab leak theory is now the official position of the White House.

Did Fauci fund gain-of-function research in Wuhan?

Fauci shot down any questions concerning his own role in coronavirus research in Wuhan. He has previously testified under oath that the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the parent organization of Fauci’s NIAID, did not conduct “gain-of-function” research into bat-borne coronaviruses at the Wuhan lab.

However, documents released in 2021 and 2022 prove that the NIH paid a private firm, EcoHealth Alliance, to conduct this research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and that some of this money was doled out even after the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) rejected the proposal as overly risky.

In a 2020 email, Fauci stated that he knew gain-of-function research was being carried out at the lab. The NIH’s role in funding research on bat-borne coronaviruses specifically is described in publicly available grant information, although the words “gain-of-function” are not used in the grant proposal.

🚨BREAKING🚨

New emails reveal that Dr. Fauci was aware of risky gain-of-function research occurring in Wuhan, China prior to the emergence of COVID-19.

Why didn’t he tell the American people?@COVIDSelect is demanding answers👇 pic.twitter.com/pvxtaCRB5s

— Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic (@COVIDSelect) July 13, 2023

Gain-of-function research refers to the process of modifying animal viruses to make them more likely to infect humans, in order to weaponize them or develop vaccines against them.

Was Fauci involved in the Pentagon’s monkeypox research?

Paul asked Fauci whether he was aware of gain-of-function research on the monkeypox virus at the NIAID’s ‘Integrated Research Facility’ in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Fauci stayed silent, but monkeypox has been studied at the facility for years.

In 2015, the facility – which also experiments with highly lethal pathogens like ebola – conducted research that boosted the transmissibility and virulence of monkeypox, although the NIAID never referred to this research as ‘gain-of-function’. After a worldwide outbreak of monkeypox in 2022 – which primarily affected gay men – research on the virus continued at Fort Detrick under the supervision of the US Army until the facility was shut down last April over repeated safety violations.

One week later, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning “dangerous gain-of-function research” in foreign labs, and pausing funding for such projects on US soil. In guidance released on Tuesday, the White House made the funding pause permanent, and issued new reporting requirements for all “projects that may increase the harmful consequences of biological agents.”

Did Fauci work with the CIA?

The CIA funded bioweapons research at Fort Detrick, under ‘Project MKNAOMI’, although the project was shut down in 1976, a decade before Fauci took over leadership of the NIAID. While the extent of the CIA’s subsequent involvement in gain-of-function research is unclear, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) – often characterized as a CIA cutout – did fund such research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. In testimony to Congress in 2024, however, former USAID Administrator Samantha Power refused to label the research ‘gain-of-function’.

Paul claimed on Wednesday that “the CIA transferred funds to NIAID through interagency agreement,” and submitted documents purportedly proving this claim. The documents have not been made public.

What’s next for Fauci?

Fauci received a pardon from former President Joe Biden last January, shielding the former NIAID chief from prosecution over any offense committed between January 1, 2014 and January 20, 2025. Given the pardon, Republicans argued that Fauci had no grounds to plead the Fifth and shield himself from self-incrimination.

However, as the hearing took place after January 20, 2025, Fauci could have opened himself up to obstruction or contempt charges by giving false answers.

Throughout today's hearing, Anthony Fauci repeated the following script 111 times.

And yes, his refusal to testify is grounds for contempt. pic.twitter.com/mu1wkN6iLN

— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 29, 2026

“It’s against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress. There will be repercussions for your refusal to testify,” Paul told Fauci as the two-hour hearing wrapped up. Afterwards, Paul told reporters that the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will vote next week on whether to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress.

“We believe that with his… immunity from criminal liability, that he didn’t need to hide behind the Fifth Amendment and that maybe the Fifth Amendment doesn’t attach when you have a pardon in place,” Paul explained.

Russia can only preserve itself by achieving victory in the Ukraine conflict because the West is seeking to destroy the country through Kiev, former President Dmitry Medvedev has said.

Medvedev, who serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, made the remarks on Wednesday while addressing young politicians and representatives of parliamentary parties at the ‘Territory of Meanings’ youth forum. He said Russia was facing an unprecedented challenge, citing Western sanctions and political pressure.

“Our common task is to preserve our country,” Medvedev said. “The only way to preserve our country is victory in the special military operation,” he added.

Medvedev stated that Russia has long endured Western efforts to undermine its sovereignty, asserting that its adversaries harbor disdain for “our country – large, strong, proud and self-sufficient, one that cannot be commanded.” He claimed that Western nations are now employing Ukraine as a “battering ram” to bring about Russia’s downfall.

While political parties may disagree on economic and social issues ahead of the upcoming State Duma election, Medvedev said they must remain united on issues affecting the country’s survival, expressing confidence that Russia will ultimately prevail.

On Monday, President Vladimir Putin told State Duma lawmakers that no one would ever succeed in breaking the Russian people, saying “This has not happened and will not happen in the future.” He added that the country’s political system and state institutions are prepared to repel any hostile actions.

Putin also said that Russia’s opponents have failed on the battlefield and are now resorting to terrorist attacks. He argued that the Western sanctions have failed to damage Russia as intended and have instead inflicted the greatest harm on the European and other states that introduced them.

Russia’s Federal Security Service has brought terrorism-related charges against Pavel Durov, the Russian-born billionaire behind popular messaging app Telegram, once again placing the entrepreneur at the center of a dispute over whether technology platforms should be held responsible for crimes organized through their services.

The case stems from an alleged Ukrainian recruitment operation targeting young Russians through a Telegram dating chatbot. According to the FSB, victims were manipulated or coerced into committing arson, sabotage and other crimes.

On Thursday, Russia’s financial watchdog, Rosfinmonitoring, added Durov to its register of extremists and terrorists. Under Russian law, those on the register face a range of legal and financial restrictions.

FSB argues that as the owner of Telegram, Durov should be held accountable for failing to stop Ukrainian activities. The agency has said he is being placed on an international wanted list, although the process has not yet been completed.

What is the link between Durov and Ukrainian spies?

The FSB does not allege that the two cooperate in any nefarious way. The statement it released on Wednesday focuses on Ukrainian recruitment efforts through a dating chat bot popular among Russian youths.

The service, which investigators named as ‘Daivinchik / Leo – match and meet new friends,’ claims to serve over 13 million users per month.

According to the FSB, Ukrainian agents are using it for multistage scam and coercion operations and have successfully recruited at least 46 Russian citizens, aged between 12 and 22, since July 2025. The agency claims that Telegram has failed to block Daivinchik / Leo, along with several other services that are similarly exploited by Ukrainian special services.

The FSB said it considers placing Durov on an international wanted list, but Russia’s ability to secure his extradition remains in question.

Telegram’s long dispute with Moscow

The latest case marks a sharp escalation in Telegram’s long and complicated relationship with the Russian state.

Russian authorities previously demanded that the company provide encryption keys needed to access messages linked to terrorism investigations. Durov refused, arguing that Telegram could not compromise private communications without undermining the security of all its users.

Tensions have resurfaced as Moscow has tightened regulation of foreign-owned and privately controlled communications platforms. Telegram experienced access disruptions in Russia earlier this year, while authorities have also restricted or blocked a range of Western services.

At the same time, the government has promoted Max, a domestically developed messenger presented as part of Russia’s push for technological sovereignty. Telegram, however, remains deeply embedded in Russian public life and is widely used by officials, media organizations, and businesses.

The statement suggests that Moscow has not abandoned negotiations with the company, even as the FSB pursues a criminal case against its founder.

Durov’s battle with France

Russia is not the only country seeking to hold Durov responsible for activity conducted through Telegram.

The entrepreneur remains under judicial supervision in France following his arrest in 2024, although his travel restrictions were reportedly lifted in November 2025. French investigators have accused Telegram of failing to cooperate adequately in cases involving organized crime, illicit transactions and abusive content.

He sharpened that criticism after French cybercrime police raided the Paris offices of X as part of an investigation into the platform’s algorithms and its Grok artificial intelligence chatbot.

“Don’t be mistaken: this is not a free country,” Durov wrote, describing France as the only nation “criminally persecuting all social networks that give people some degree of freedom.”

He has also accused President Emmanuel Macron of seeking to turn the European Union into a “digital Gulag” and argued that European governments increasingly want citizens to rely on established media rather than social platforms for information.

His claims echo criticism contained in the US national security strategy released in December. The document warned that Europe faced not only economic stagnation but the prospect of “civilizational erasure,” citing immigration, falling birth rates, declining national confidence, and the “censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition.”

Why Telegram is becoming a geopolitical issue

The dispute surrounding Telegram is also part of a wider struggle over technological sovereignty. For much of the internet era, US corporations have dominated the global market for social networks, search engines, mobile operating systems and digital communications. Governments outside the United States have become increasingly concerned that essential communications infrastructure is controlled by companies subject to American law and political pressure.

Russia, China, the European Union and other powers have responded in different ways, ranging from data-localization rules and antitrust investigations to platform bans and the development of domestic alternatives.

Telegram occupies an unusual position in this contest. It is neither a conventional US technology company nor a Russian state-controlled platform. Durov was born in Russia, operates Telegram from Dubai, and reportedly holds several citizenships, exposing him to competing legal demands from multiple governments.

His comments came amid a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accusing Meta of misleading users about the extent of WhatsApp’s privacy protections. The complaint alleges that Meta can access or analyze communications it publicly describes as protected by end-to-end encryption.

Meta has denied the allegations. Company spokesman Andy Stone said WhatsApp cannot access users’ encrypted messages and vowed to contest the lawsuit.

Durov’s challenge is that he is attempting to defend Telegram from several directions at once. Russia wants greater cooperation against Ukrainian operations and other security threats. France is pursuing him over alleged criminal misuse of the platform. Other governments want stricter content moderation, data access or compliance with local laws.

In an increasingly fragmented digital world, his multiple passports and Telegram’s lack of a clear national allegiance may provide flexibility. They may also leave him exposed to pressure from every side. Across the world, governments are becoming less willing to tolerate globally operating communications platforms that sit outside their legal and political control.

Former Wall Street lawyer and federal prosecutor Jay Clayton has been confirmed as the next US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) despite having no traditional intelligence background, following his nomination by President Donald Trump.

Following US Senate approval in a 51-47 vote on Tuesday, Clayton will replace acting DNI Bill Pulte, has filled the role since Tulsi Gabbard resigned last month, citing personal family matters.

Trump has welcomed the confirmation, describing Clayton as “outstanding in every way” and saying he would do “a spectacular job” leading the US intelligence community.

Who is Jay Clayton?

Clayton spent more than two decades at Sullivan & Cromwell, an elite Wall Street law firm representing major banks and corporations. He later chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during Trump’s first term.

He subsequently became US attorney for the Southern District of New York, overseeing cases involving financial crime, terrorism, espionage and public corruption.

Clayton has cited this work as evidence of his national security experience. However, he has never served in an intelligence agency, the military, or a senior foreign-policy role.

Prosecuted Maduro

One of Clayton’s most prominent cases involved Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom US special forces seized alongside his wife, Cilia Flores, during a pre-dawn military assault on Caracas in January.

The operation was widely condemned as a gross violation of international law and the UN Charter, with experts describing it as a “forcible abduction” that could amount to a crime of aggression. 

Clayton’s office took charge of prosecuting the couple on narco-terrorism, cocaine-trafficking and weapons charges. Before Maduro’s capture, Clayton presented the case as part of Washington’s broader pursuit of cartel leaders, corrupt foreign officials and alleged state-sponsored drug trafficking.

Oversaw the Epstein files release

Clayton and his office were also involved in reviewing and preparing thousands of pages of records from the cases against convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell for public release.

That work included identifying sensitive materials, reviewing what could be released without affecting investigations, victim privacy, or sealed records, and helping the Justice Department determine redactions and approve documents for public release.

The release of the Epstein files has been widely criticized for delays, extensive redactions and the absence of major new prosecutions or clear answers about the late financier’s network. It has also become a source of anger within Trump’s own support base, amid accusations that the government was continuing to shield influential people.

Why did Democrats oppose his nomination?

Clayton initially appeared capable of attracting bipartisan support due to his experience leading the SEC and Manhattan US attorney’s office, as well as his reputation as a conventional and competent institutional figure.

However, that support largely disappeared during his confirmation hearing, where Democratic senators repeatedly asked him whether Joe Biden had defeated Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

Clayton declined to answer directly, saying only that Biden had been “certified” as the winner, while also denying that he was an election denier.

Mark Warner, the senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, later said he had “serious reservations” about whether Clayton would stand up to political pressure.

How does he compare with Gabbard?

Clayton’s appointment has drawn comparisons with Gabbard, a military veteran and former congresswoman known for opposing regime-change wars, advocating a less confrontational policy toward Russia and supporting greater intelligence transparency.

As DNI, she released material concerning US-linked biological laboratories in Ukraine, the origins of Covid-19, the 2016 Russia investigation and the intelligence complaint behind Trump’s first impeachment.

Her departure followed reports of tensions within the administration over US military policy. Gabbard had been excluded from planning the operation to seize Maduro and was reportedly marginalized during deliberations over Iran, issues that conflicted with her longstanding anti-interventionist position.

She and Trump nevertheless publicly said she resigned to care for her husband after his cancer diagnosis.

Clayton, by contrast, has not clearly outlined his positions on military intervention, Russia, declassification or other major intelligence or foreign policy issues.

How powerful will Clayton actually be?

Clayton is taking over an office that has been weakened by recent staffing cuts and internal upheaval.

During his brief tenure as acting DNI, Pulte oversaw several rounds of dismissals and claimed the agency’s workforce had been reduced by about 30% within weeks. Current and former officials cited by CNN said morale inside the office had collapsed and key analytical units were badly understaffed.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe has meanwhile reportedly emerged as Trump’s principal intelligence adviser, raising questions over how much influence Clayton will wield.

During his confirmation hearing, Clayton offered few details on whether he intends to rebuild the office, continue shrinking it or adopt a more limited coordinating role.

Turkish politics rarely stands still, but even by local standards, the past week has moved fast. Ozgur Ozel, the leader of the Republican People’s Party, told his parliamentary group that a new party will be formed within days.

On the surface, this looked like a routine reshuffling of parliamentary seats – the kind of maneuver that happens periodically in Ankara without lasting consequence. Underneath, it is nothing of the sort. The announcement was framed as a defensive move, yet its implications reach far beyond the corridors of the CHP. Against the backdrop of Türkiye’s stalling economy, the tense regional environment, and the unresolved Kurdish question, the birth of this new formation looks like the opening move in a broader contest over who controls the timing of the country’s next election. Taken together, the pieces suggest that Ankara is entering a period in which political survival, not policy, will dictate the pace of events.

A party born out of necessity

Ozel did not describe his move as a rupture. He insisted that the CHP’s role as the parliament’s main opposition voice would not be abandoned, only carried forward under a new banner. The language was careful, almost defensive, and for good reason. Splitting a party while claiming continuity is a delicate balancing act, one that requires convincing both loyal voters and international observers that nothing essential has been lost in the transition. In practice, the plan is to bring roughly 85 deputies with him, instantly turning the new party into the second largest bloc in parliament and pushing the CHP itself down to 4th or 5th place. A party that has anchored Turkish opposition politics for a century is being hollowed out from within, not by an external rival but its own recent leader.

The logic behind the move becomes clear once the legal pressure on the CHP is taken into account. Courts have been steadily encroaching on the party’s internal affairs, including the reinstatement of Kemal Kilicdaroglu as the formal leader of the CHP. For Ozel, remaining inside a party whose leadership could be legally reassigned at any moment is a losing bet. Commentator Murat Yetkin described the new project as a reserve platform, built precisely so Ozel can wait out the legal storm without being dragged into seven months of an internal power struggle before elections arrive. This is an insurance policy, drafted by a politician who understands that Turkish courts have repeatedly proven capable of reshaping party leadership through rulings where ballots fail.

CHP falls back into Kilicdaroglu’s hands, Ozel keeps a functioning vehicle of his own, complete with parliamentary representation and a base of loyal deputies. If it does not work, he has lost remarkably little, since the new party can, in theory, be folded back into a friendly CHP once the legal dust settles. It is a move built for optionality rather than conviction, and that pragmatism is precisely what makes it significant. Ozel is betting that having control over a smaller, loyal formation beats having a contested claim over a larger, legally vulnerable one.

An economy running out of room

None of this is happening in a vacuum. Türkiye’s banking sector is heading into a difficult second quarter, with net profits expected to fall by more than 20 percent as inflation expectations stay elevated and tight monetary policy pushes up the cost of financing. For a country that has leaned heavily on its banks to sustain consumer spending and keep growth numbers presentable, that is a signal that the buffer policymakers have relied on for the past several years is thinning when they can least afford it.

More troubling is the currency exposure building up in the real economy. Foreign currency liabilities among Turkish companies hit $392.4 billion in May, the highest level recorded since 2013, while the net foreign currency deficit reached $204.4 billion. Numbers on this scale are not abstract statistics for policymakers to just shrug off. They represent a private sector increasingly vulnerable to any depreciation of the lira, and a government with steadily shrinking room to maneuver on interest rates without triggering the kind of corporate distress these figures already hint at. Companies holding that much foreign currency debt need a stable or strengthening lira simply to service their obligations, which locks the central bank into a defensive posture regardless of what domestic conditions actually call for.

This is the trap facing Turkish economic policy right now. Tightening further to defend the currency risks strangling growth and deepening the sense of stagnation that voters already feel in their daily expenses. Loosening policy to stimulate the economy risks reigniting inflation and putting even more pressure on companies already struggling under record foreign currency exposure. There is no comfortable middle path left – only a series of trade offs that grow less forgiving with each passing quarter. And because Turkish monetary policy rarely operates independently of political considerations, every one of these trade offs eventually becomes a political decision as well, made with an eye on elections rather than purely on economic fundamentals.

Türkiye’s foreign policy is not offering any relief either. Tensions with Israel remain unresolved, friction with Greece over Aegean and maritime issues continues to simmer, and the Cyprus question sits as stubbornly unsettled as it has for decades. Each of these fronts demands attention and resources from Ankara at a moment when the government would prefer to focus inward. None of them are new disputes, which in some ways makes the current moment more dangerous rather than less. Familiar tensions have a way of being taken for granted as innocuous right up until the moment they’re not. Meanwhile, Ankara now finds itself simultaneously managing several long running disputes while its domestic bandwidth is consumed by an economic downturn and a reshaped opposition.

The country’s relationship with Israel, in particular, carries reputational weight far beyond its immediate bilateral stakes. It shapes how Türkiye is perceived across the region, as well as among Western partners whose goodwill matters for investment and financing. Meanwhile, the dispute with Greece touches on questions of sovereignty and resource rights that have periodically brought the two NATO members close to open confrontation. Any escalation there draws in alliance partners who would rather see the issue quietly managed than publicly inflamed. Cyprus remains the oldest and most institutionally entrenched of these disputes, one that has outlasted multiple Turkish governments. It shows no signs of a breakthrough resolution on the horizon under the current one either.

And inward is precisely where another long-stalled issue sits waiting. The volatile question of the Kurds, Türkiye’s largest minority, periodically revived and just as often shelved, has once again stalled without resolution. For a governing coalition that depends on managing multiple constituencies at once, from nationalist partners wary of making concessions to Kurdish voters watching for signs of bad faith, this paralysis is not a neutral state of affairs – it is a source of accumulating pressure that eventually must be addressed or exploited. Every month that passes without movement raises the cost of eventual action, whether that action takes the form of renewed negotiation or renewed confrontation, and either path carries real electoral consequences for a coalition already stretched thin from managing an economic downturn and a resurgent opposition on its flank.

A government racing the calendar

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government is working on a new constitution, an undertaking that has historically doubled as a mechanism for locking in political advantage before conditions change. The drafting of Turkish Constitutions has rarely been a purely technical affair, and there is little reason to expect it will be different this time. A new constitutional framework offers an opportunity to redraw the rules of the game while the ruling coalition still holds the votes needed to do so, and that opportunity narrows with every point the opposition gains.

The most plausible reading of the coming months is that Erdogan and his coalition partners will look to call elections ahead of schedule, most likely in the first half of 2027, before economic pressure mounts further and before the new opposition party has had time to build a national profile beyond parliament. Acting early, while the opposition is still reorganizing and before currency and banking pressures fully surface in household budgets, offers the ruling coalition its best remaining window to secure more time in power on favorable terms. Waiting past that window risks facing voters amid a perfect storm of economic strain, regional tension, and unresolved domestic disputes. For a coalition that has spent two decades reading the political calendar better than its rivals, it would be wise to move sooner rather than later.

The Russian Cultural Foundation has opened applications for an international film session for young filmmakers from countries which share Eurasian values.

The session, titled ‘Creativity Unites’ and held as part of Russia’s Diamond Butterfly award, will take place from October 19 to November 13 at Nikita Mikhalkov’s Academy of Cinematographic and Theatre Arts. It is open to filmmakers from Eurasian Film Academy member states and other countries and aims to support movies that reflect the spiritual and moral traditions, history, customs and cultures of participating nations.

Six masterclasses led by Russian filmmakers will help participants create three-minute projects and present them to the public. Ten participants will be chosen by an expert council from applications received until September 5. On September 15, the final list will be revealed. 

Director Nikita Mikhalkov, known for ‘Burt by the Sun’ and other movies, spearheaded the creation of the Eurasian Film Academy and the Diamond Butterfly award with support from Russia’s Culture Ministry and Foreign Ministry. Organizers say the initiative aims to foster cultural exchange and promote films reflecting both “national” and “universal spiritual and moral values.”

The Diamond Butterfly was launched in 2025 as an international alternative to major Western film awards. The inaugural ceremony was held in Moscow last November, with Chinese director Xu Zheng’s Upstream winning the top prize. The competition featured 34 films from 17 countries, including Russia, China, Türkiye, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, South Africa, Venezuela and Cuba. The first ‘Creativity Unites’ session also brought together participants from multiple countries including Russia, China, India, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.

There is no indication that Russia is planning to attack Poland militarily, Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz has stated.

Speaking to RMF FM on Wednesday, Kosiniak-Kamysz commented on the allegations that Moscow could launch a “kinetic attack.”

“There are no predictions of an attack like the full-scale war in Ukraine,” he said.

Instead, Moscow is escalating sabotage, provocations, and destabilization efforts, he claimed.

Top officials in Warsaw have long contended that Russia poses a military threat to Poland. Moscow may be ready for a “global confrontation” by 2027, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has suggested.

Kiev’s European backers have increasingly made claims that Moscow poses a looming threat, as tensions over the Ukraine conflict have grown.

Russia has dismissed the narrative as “nonsense” and “fearmongering” intended to justify inflated military budgets to taxpayers, while warning that European nations are preparing for a full-scale war against Moscow.

Western countries are “waging war” against Moscow via Kiev by “pumping [Ukraine] full of state-of-the-art weaponry and announcing plans to manufacture new, lethal, high-tech anti-missile systems specifically for Ukraine,” he added.

Moscow has long seen its conflict with Kiev as a NATO-led proxy war waged with Ukrainian manpower and Western arms, intelligence and command and control systems.

Ukraine’s “terrorist” strikes are an attempt to compensate for its battlefield losses, Russian Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik told RT on Sunday, after a Ukrainian drone strike killed 12 civilians at a tourist resort in Russia’s Zaporozhye Region.

Last week, Kiev’s attacks have killed at least 57 civilians, including seven children, according to Miroshnik, who heads the Foreign Ministry’s mission documenting Ukrainian war crimes.

Based on its historical evolution, huge popularity, and massive budget, it’s fair to say that the game globally known as football  – the one in which two teams of 11 players must maneuver a ball into the opposing team’s goal without using their hands –  remains the world’s top sport. But despite its universal name and rules, familiar to almost the entire world population, this game has failed to catch on in the US, where even the term ‘football’ means a different kind of game. As for what the rest of the world calls football, in the US it is known as ‘soccer’ – an old British slang abbreviation of ‘Association football’.

These linguistic details became highly important when, in order to maintain the pace of expansion and develop new markets, the leaders of the World Football Federation (FIFA) decided to choose the US as the host of the World Cup. This happened twice – in 1994 and 2026.

The choice of dates wasn’t incidental. This sporting event, watched on television by almost the entire world, was to become the living embodiment of the unipolar world order that Washington has been building since the collapse of the USSR. And if in 1994, when the US hosted the World Cup, America managed to create a beautiful illusion of the triumph of liberal democracy to advance its own political and economic interests under the guise of globalization (what would later be called ‘Westernization’), then the tournament hosted in 2026 jointly with Canada and Mexico became a symbol of deep political contradictions not only between the US and its allies, but also between the countries of the so-called ‘global minority’ and ‘global majority’.

These contradictions extended far beyond the stadiums where, for the first time in the history of the sport, 48 teams competed for the champion’s trophy. Although the slogan of the founder of the modern Olympic games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, “O Sport, You Are Peace” – which calls for a halt to all military conflicts during sporting events, as was the case in Ancient Greece, and for political non-interference in sports – is quite applicable to football as well, it would be hard to disagree with the assertion of many journalists that the recent FIFA World Cup was the most politicized tournament in its history. 

Trump wanted to turn the upcoming World Cup into a “triumph of the American way of life”, as the schedule conveniently coincided with celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the US Declaration of Independence. And what better way was there to highlight the exceptionalism of American statehood than with a sport imported from the former metropole, which became highly popular everywhere but in the US! 

All available resources were deployed to reinforce this fundamental political thesis. A specially produced series, ‘Ted Lasso’, starring Jason Sudeikis, promoted soccer in the US. It tells the story of a American college football coach who transfers to a third-rate British soccer club and turns it into a Premier League champion only by means of traditional American optimism and faith in a better future. Global media promotion of the World Cup was to be carried out by American pop stars (such as Shakira, who wrote the theme song for the third time), Hollywood actors (including Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Adam Brody, all spotted in the stands for the first time), and bloggers with millions of followers (the most famous of whom was Darren Watkins Jr., better known as IshowSpeed).

The main sporting hero was to be multiple-time champion Lionel Messi, now the star of the American team Inter Miami, representing Florida, the US president’s home state. To ensure that the Argentine footballer would play the final match of his career at the World Cup final (officiated by a Slovenian referee – a fellow countryman of US First Lady Melania Trump), all sorts of tricks were employed. Thanks to this, team Argentina (the country which is currently one of America’s few allies in Latin America) encountered relatively weak opponents and only met a worthy competitor in the semi-finals. The Argentina-England match became memorable not only for its final moments, but also for a controversial banner that reminded the world of the long-standing territorial dispute over the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands.

Despite FIFA’s desire to make football a more democratic sport by expanding the number of teams participating in the final stage, this World Cup will be remembered as a tournament that perpetuated neo-colonialism and global football inequality. After all, the trophy was contested not simply by the top teams in FIFA rankings, but by teams that managed to lure the best players from all around the world – including Spain, England, France, Portugal, and the Netherlands. It’s no wonder that after the Curaçao team – jokingly referred to as the “Netherlands B Team” – achieved a historic draw against Ecuador, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands visited the players’ locker room to congratulate them. Nor is it surprising that the Norway national team reached a historic quarter-final and even had good chances in the match against England, since their top striker, Erling Haaland, and many of his fellow teammates are English Premier League stars. Despite the clear bias in favor of the giants, millions of fans continued to support those countries that had been (and often continue to be) oppressed by their former metropoles. 

This explains the phenomenon of the Cape Verde team, which remained unbeaten in regulation time, and their forty-year-old goalkeeper, Vozinha; or the DR Congo team, which gave its all during the tournament, and was supported by a superfan replicating the likeness and pose of Patrice Lumumba, the symbol of Africa’s renaissance.

Finally, amid America’s renewed military action against Tehran, many people sincerely supported Iran’s team, which had been under intense political pressure throughout the tournament – ranging from visa restrictions and the fact that the team was prohibited from staying in the US before and after matches (which increased travel costs due to the need to travel to and from the training base in Mexico), to the referee’s controversial decision to disallow a goal due to a razor-thin offside, which deprived the team of the opportunity to advance from the group stage.

This is particularly true since the current World Cup was hosted by the US – a nation that unleashed unprovoked aggression against the Middle East on February 28, 2026. Meanwhile, America’s regional ally, Israel, participates in all international tournaments, despite a long list of military operations – from the operation in Gaza to the attacks on Iran in the summer of 2025, and the current military actions in Lebanon. Given the fact that even the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is gradually lifting sanctions against Russian athletes, FIFA and its European bureau, UEFA, are likening themselves to the “sergeant’s widow” who “flogged herself” in Nikolai Gogol’s satirical play ‘The Government Inspector’.

By depriving the tournament of the Russian team – which had never presented much competition to the football giants in their fight for the main trophy – world football lost gigantic sponsorships from major Russian corporations (until 2022, Gazprom was the sponsor of the UEFA Champions League), the opportunity to earn money in the large Russian market (in terms of not only television rights but also player transfers), and a venue capable of hosting matches at the highest level, meeting all quality and safety standards (European Football Championship matches and other equally prestigious games have been held on Russian territory).

This isn’t just an example of one country’s artificial isolation, it's a dangerous precedent that shakes the very foundations of soccer diplomacy. The longer international sports officials turn a blind eye to this situation, the deeper the looming crisis in global football will become. And the first signs of this crisis already emerged this summer in the US.

Some 49% of Americans think that the US should arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes, according to a recent poll. After three years of war in the Middle East, Israel’s once-solid support in the US has cratered.

Asked whether the US should enforce an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest, 49% of respondents answered “yes” in an Economist/YouGov poll published on Tuesday, while 27% said “no” and 23% were unsure.

The ICC issued the warrant in 2024, accusing him of using “starvation as a method of warfare,” crimes against humanity, and intentionally directing attacks against Gaza’s civilian population. However, the ICC lacks any means of enforcing the warrant, as neither Israel nor the US recognize the court’s authority.

Surveying 1,500 American adults, the poll found that 47% believe Netanyahu is “guilty of war crimes in Gaza,” while 24% disagree and 29% are unsure.

In the US, support for Israel has traditionally been strongest among Republicans and the elderly. However, 43% of over-65s now back arresting Netanyahu, according to Tuesday’s poll. Support for the Israeli prime minister’s arrest is lowest among self-described ‘MAGA’ Republicans, at 21%.

The Israeli leader arrived in Washington this week to meet with US President Donald Trump and attend the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham, an avowed supporter of Israel. Prior to Netanyahu’s arrival, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that he would explore the legal possibility of arresting the Israeli PM when he travels to the city for the UN General Assembly in September.

Mamdani later acknowledged that he would have no legal authority to enforce the ICC warrant, and called on the Trump administration to do so instead.

Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. pic.twitter.com/YRezmW6YVx

— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) July 22, 2026

“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani said, referring to the Dutch city where the ICC is based. “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.”

Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Netanyahu dismissed the ICC case against him as “bogus,” and accused Mandani of “fomenting hate” against Jews. “I’m going to New York,” he told Fox host Sean Hannity. “I’m going to speak the truth in front of this hate-spewing elected official who’s pitting one group of New Yorkers against the others. He’s turning them against New York Jews.”

A cutting-edge AI model developed by OpenAI has managed to escape the confines of a lab test and break into a company’s database without any human instruction. It’s a nightmare scenario – or is that just what OpenAI wants you to believe?

Instead of identifying these vulnerabilities, OpenAI’s models searched for ways to cheat the test. They managed to obtain open internet access from within the closed testing environment and used this newfound freedom to hack into Hugging Face’s servers. Hugging Face is a repository of AI models and datasets, and according to OpenAI, the models being tested reasoned that they could find a solution to the ExploitGym tasks there.

“Knowing this, the model searched for and successfully found ways to gain access to secret information that it could use to cheat the evaluation,” OpenAI said in its report about the incident. 

Hugging Face discovered the intrusion with the help of a different AI model, and fixed the vulnerability that allowed it to happen in the first place. On its end, OpenAI blamed the escape on a weakness in third-party software used in its testing lab, through which its models found internet access. It kept the technical details of how its models exploited this weakness under wraps.

Super impressed with @huggingface's breakdown of the AI agent autonomous cyber attack from OpenAI, including technical timeline, & interactive replay (AND how they defended against the attack)!
Here is the interactive attack replay vid and source:https://t.co/SVsc5ClRcW pic.twitter.com/r59n6aUr3c

— Rachel Tobac (@RachelTobac) July 28, 2026

On its path to breach Hugging Face’s servers, the model also broke into a supposedly isolated testing environment at Modal, a firm that rents out computing capacity to AI developers, Reuters reported on July 28.

Has AI become sentient?

Taken at face value, the story suggests that OpenAI’s models are capable of complex lateral thinking: suspecting that Hugging Face’s servers likely contained the answers to the test; realizing that they needed external internet access to breach these servers; and independently developing and combining various attack techniques to achieve its goal.

However, it remains unclear just how autonomously OpenAI’s models were operating. The company has not revealed how its models were prompted to approach the ExploitGym test, and imprecise wording could have resulted in the models assuming that ‘escaping’ containment was a legitimate path to solving the trial. Despite the hyperbole from both OpenAI and Hugging Face, there is no evidence to suggest that the AI models ‘wanted’ to escape, or that when left to their own devices, would default to malicious activity.

If the incident also involved – as OpenAI said it did – a second, “even more capable pre-release model,” the appeal to industry-level customers is obvious. By publicizing an incident that took place during closed testing, OpenAI can generate hype for its pre-release model without ever providing proof.

None of this is to say that the incident didn’t happen, or that the offensive capabilities of AI aren’t a cause for concern, just that OpenAI has a financial incentive to scaremonger about its own products. A month before the incident, the company confidentially filed the paperwork for an initial public offering. According to Reuters, the company is targeting a valuation of up to $1 trillion, and planning to go public as early as September.

Anthropic also filed for its IPO in June, targeting a valuation of $965 billion in October. Back in April, Anthropic’s unreleased Mythos Preview model also managed to “escape” its testing environment and carry out advanced cybersecurity exploits without being “explicitly trained” to do so. Anthropic released a lengthy technical explanation of how Mythos pulled off this feat, before announcing that the model was too powerful to release to the public.

The biggest IPO run in the history of the market

three $1T+ companies. possibly all going public in the next 12 months.

SpaceX IPO: $1.75T.
OpenAI IPO: $1T
Anthropic IPO: $1T

we're living through the greatest technological wealth creation in history. pic.twitter.com/44QuB3rpxi

— shirish (@shiri_shh) April 28, 2026

Scarcity drives hype, and the US government’s decision to slap export controls on Anthropic’s Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models in June only heightened interest in the company. The export controls were lifted in early July after Anthropic agreed to impose stricter guardrails on its models and collaborate with the government on security.

Was the AI escape an elaborate marketing ploy?

For OpenAI, the incident is the best possible advertisement for its models’ capabilities. In its report, the company included a graph illustrating how leading AI models – including GPT‑5.6 Sol, Anthropic’s Claude Mythos 5, and DeepSeek-V4-Pro – are “increasingly able to sustain complex, multi-step cyber operations over long time horizons.” Although this is presented as a cause for concern, the chart lists GPT-5.6 Sol as the most capable among all of its competitors – a clear advertisement for OpenAI.

Sam on the Hugging Face incident:

“This is the first security incident that I have felt very viscerally. I've been a little surprised that more people don't feel it so viscerally.

We paused training. We have to figure out how to secure our sandboxing in a world of multiple zero… https://t.co/XXeB7RZsM3 pic.twitter.com/F4hbHuItqw

— Patrick OShaughnessy (@patrick_oshag) July 28, 2026

If the incident also involved – as OpenAI said it did – a second, “even more capable pre-release model,” the appeal to industry-level customers is obvious. By publicizing an incident that took place during closed testing, OpenAI can generate hype for its pre-release model without ever providing proof.

None of this is to say that the incident didn’t happen, or that the offensive capabilities of AI aren’t a cause for concern, just that OpenAI has a financial incentive to scaremonger about its own products. A month before the incident, the company confidentially filed the paperwork for an initial public offering. According to Reuters, the company is targeting a valuation of up to $1 trillion, and planning to go public as early as September.

Scarcity drives hype, and the US government’s decision to slap export controls on Anthropic’s Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models in June only heightened interest in the company. The export controls were lifted in early July after Anthropic agreed to impose stricter guardrails on its models and collaborate with the government on security.

How has the US government responded?

Both incidents have caught the eye of lawmakers on Capitol Hill. On July 23, Representatives Ted Lieu and Nathaniel Moran introduced the AI Kill Switch Act, which would “require developers of the most powerful AI systems to maintain the technical capability to throttle, suspend, or shut them down.” The bill would also empower the US Department of Homeland Security to “order a slow down or shutdown of an AI system that can cause catastrophic harm.”

In a statement on the bill, Lieu referenced the ‘escapes’ of both of OpenAI’s models, and of Mythos. The California lawmaker described both cases as models “going rogue,” a framing that the mainstream media picked up and ran with.

Lieu knows no more about the OpenAI incident than anyone who’s read the company’s press release. However, his wording plays right into OpenAI’s (perhaps unintentional) marketing campaign. Furthermore, should the bill pass, OpenAI and Anthropic could be forced to throttle their models before release, meaning investors will only ever know of their theoretical – and not their real-life – power.

While powerful AI systems have many potential benefits, they can also go rogue, behave in extremely dangerous ways, or even resist human intervention.

We need to keep human control by ensuring AI systems can be completely shut down if necessary. pic.twitter.com/y4JfaD8RFJ

— Rep. Ted Lieu (@RepTedLieu) July 23, 2026

The open-source argument

The incident bolsters OpenAI’s argument that frontier AI models are too powerful to be released to the public, and that companies like OpenAI should – with the blessing of the government – maintain oversight and control over them. In such a closed-source arrangement, customers would have no control over the weights of the models – essentially the tweaks that determine the choices the models make.

On the other side of the argument, open-source advocates maintain that the only way to defend against cyberattacks by advanced AI is to equip defenders with the same tools. In the case of OpenAI and Hugging Face, the latter company was only able to detect an attack because it used GLM 5.2, a Chinese open-source model, to perform its security analysis.

In a letter posted on social media on July 24, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang – a longtime open-source advocate – declared that “defenders need access to models with comparable capabilities so they can detect, simulate, and respond to emerging threats.”

“Relying solely on closed models is not inherently safe: they can be breached, misused, or fail in ways that outsiders cannot detect,” he continued. “And concentrating advanced AI capabilities behind a small number of closed models compounds that risk. Open weight models, on the other hand, allow a broad community of researchers and developers to examine their behavior, identify vulnerabilities, develop safeguards, and improve them over time.”

However, it appears in the US that the closed-source argument will win out. On August 1, an executive order issued by US President Donald Trump in June comes into effect, requiring AI firms to submit advanced models to the government for approval 30 days before release. The Trump administration has also considered banning open-source Chinese AI models – a move supported by the CIA that would ensure OpenAI and Anthropic’s dominance in the field. Shortly after the executive order was issued, former Trump AI adviser David Sacks noted that “the leading closed labs, already a duopoly in terms of AI model revenue, want the government to eliminate their open source competition.”

Every new incident of an AI “escape” only reinforces their bid for total control.

Iran has demanded compensation from Ukraine over a deadly strike on a cargo ship after Kiev’s foreign minister initially claimed that “Iran has no standing to pretend to be a victim,” only to call Tehran a day later and assure it that the attack was unintentional and that Kiev did not seek escalation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that he had spoken with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrey Sibiga, following the attack on the cargo ship Anna in the Caspian Sea last week.

“Was assured by Ukrainian FM that the attack on an Iranian ship was unintentional and Ukraine seeks no escalation,” Araghchi wrote on X. “Iran does not seek escalation either, but made clear any attack on our citizens or interests is unacceptable. There must be restitution for losses.”

Was assured by Ukrainian FM @andrii_sybiha that the attack on an Iranian ship was unintentional and Ukraine seeks no escalation.

Iran does not seek escalation either, but made clear any attack on our citizens or interests is unacceptable. There must be restitution for losses.

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) July 28, 2026

Sibiga described the call as a “frank conversation” and said Kiev wanted to “avoid unnecessary escalation.” He maintained that Ukrainian operations were aimed at countering Russia and were “never intended to target civilian vessels or people,” while calling on Tehran to end its alleged support for Moscow.

“Iran has no standing to pretend to be a victim,” Sibiga wrote on Monday, accusing Tehran of supplying Russia with weapons and dismissing its references to the UN Charter as “absurd.” He also claimed that Iran was attempting to divert attention from Russian strikes on Ukrainian shipping in the Black Sea.

In recent weeks, the Russian military has escalated long-range strikes on port infrastructure and shipping targets in the Black Sea, seeking to disrupt the flow of military supplies and weapons to Ukraine. Multiple freighters, combat and auxiliary vessels, and various port installations have been struck, according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack as “reckless,” summoned Ukraine’s acting chargé d’affaires and warned that it reserved the right to protect the country’s security and national interests.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky subsequently praised the “very strong results” of strikes on vessels he claimed were involved in transporting military cargo. Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel similarly claimed that the Anna had been carrying components for drones and missiles, while Tehran maintained that the vessel and its cargo were entirely civilian.

The incident involving the Iranian vessel comes amid growing accusations that Kiev is expanding its activities in the Middle East. Iraq’s national security adviser claimed this week that authorities had arrested several groups that confessed to carrying out attacks on behalf of Ukraine. Kiev rejected the allegations as “unfounded and unsubstantiated.”

A man serving four consecutive life sentences for murdering four US university students is seeking to overturn his guilty plea, claiming he was coerced into confessing to crimes he says he did not commit, the New York Times has reported.

Bryan Kohberger, who admitted last year to the November 2022 murders of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, reportedly filed a petition for post-conviction relief in an Idaho court on Monday challenging his conviction.

In a handwritten filing obtained by the NYT, the 31-year-old accused his former defense lawyers of providing ineffective counsel and using “coercion, disinformation, false promises, and the withholding of exculpatory discovery” to persuade him to accept the agreement.

Kohberger claimed he had been “advised to lie” and told that whether he was actually guilty was unimportant. He also alleged that his lawyers frightened him and his family with what he described as “fabricated” stories about confinement in an “actual 8X8 death row cell,” while assuring him he would receive better treatment in prison if he admitted responsibility.

I now have a copy of Bryan Kohberger's petition to revoke his guilty plea. Here is part of it. pic.twitter.com/bkuLSxpKlq

— Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) July 27, 2026

 “My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn,” Kohberger said. He also cited what he described as previously withheld exculpatory evidence, including unidentified clumps of hair reportedly found in Chapin’s hand.

The agreement spared Kohberger a possible death sentence by firing squad. He was sentenced to four consecutive life terms without parole and an additional ten years for burglary. He has never publicly explained a motive for the killings.

The four students were stabbed to death at an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022. Kohberger, then a PhD criminology student at nearby Washington State University, was arrested weeks later.

Kaylee Goncalves’ family rejected Kohberger’s latest claims, saying he had previously “never claimed he was uninformed or pressured” and describing renewed attention on the convicted killer as “the real tragedy,” according to the BBC. In a separate statement criticizing the New York Times for giving him a platform, the family reportedly called Kohberger “the mosquito you just can’t seem to swat.”

The Goncalves family has long opposed the plea agreement, while the families of Chapin and Mogen reportedly supported it to avoid a lengthy trial.

Saudi Arabia’s largest crude oil processing facility was damaged in a drone strike on Monday, according to open-source analysts reviewing satellite imagery and a Gulf official cited by the Wall Street Journal.

The images circulating online appear to show a large smoke plume rising from the Abqaiq complex, along with burn marks and apparent damage around parts of the facility.

Yemen’s Houthis claimed responsibility for what military spokesman Yahya Saree described on X as strikes on “targets and sensitive points in the supply and transport of crude oil from eastern Saudi Arabia to [the port of] Yanbu.”

🛰 Sentinel-2 satellite imagery captured today confirms extensive fires and possible damage, with clearly visible burn scars at Saudi Aramco's Abqaiq oil processing facility, the company's largest oil processing plant, in eastern Saudi Arabia.

The facility was hit in a drone… pic.twitter.com/XBSUOnkRHw

— Egypt's Intel Observer (@EGYOSINT) July 27, 2026

While Saree did not identify the plant by name, the description is consistent with Abqaiq, a key hub linking Saudi Arabia’s eastern oil fields with the Red Sea export terminal at Yanbu.

The Kingdom acknowledged that its oil infrastructure in Eastern Region had been targeted and blamed Iran-backed militias in Iraq. The Wall Street Journal, citing a Gulf official, reported that the Abqaiq complex had sustained only minor damage.

According to a Reuters analysis of Gulf export routes, the East-West pipeline is Riyadh’s main alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. Any disruption to the corridor would further constrain the Kingdom’s export options and could increase pressure on global oil supplies.

The strike marks an escalation of the Houthis’ campaign against Saudi energy infrastructure. The group says it is retaliating for recent Saudi airstrikes in Yemen and has threatened to impose a blockade on the Kingdom after Riyadh resumed military operations against Houthi targets.

According to the Associated Press, Gulf officials have privately complained that the Trump administration failed to warn them before the US-Israeli attack on Iran in February, leaving Gulf states exposed to retaliation. They reportedly believe US military resources were focused primarily on protecting American and Israeli assets, while Gulf partners remained vulnerable.

American and Saudi warplanes have carried out joint strikes against alleged Iran-aligned militia sites across eastern Iraq, according to US Central Command.

The air raid targeted multiple logistics and weapons facilities used by groups allegedly directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), CENTCOM said on Tuesday.

“US Central Command and the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces conducted precision strikes in Iraq, July 28, against Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps directed to attack US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure,” the command said.

The Saudi Defense Ministry confirmed that it had coordinated with CENTCOM to carry out “precise and targeted strikes” on Iraqi militias allegedly linked to attacks on the Kingdom’s energy infrastructure earlier this week.

“The Kingdom emphasizes that it does not seek escalation but will respond to any aggression it faces,” spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki said, citing the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

Footage circulating online reportedly showed the aftermath of an airstrike on a Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) base in Iraq’s Wasit province. Iraqi media also reported multiple explosions in the Al-Deir and Al-Haritha areas of southern Basra province, although the full extent of the damage and any casualties remained unclear.

The rare joint operation came amid a broader Saudi confrontation with Iran-aligned forces across the region.

Shortly after the Saudi strikes, the industrial city of Jazan was reportedly targeted in an apparent Houthi retaliation, with a large fire breaking out at a facility operated by the state-owned oil company Aramco. The Houthis had also claimed attacks on two Saudi tankers, one of which caught fire, while another sustained minor hull damage.

Saudi Arabia previously led a military intervention in Yemen in 2015 against the Houthis, who had captured the capital, Sanaa. However, the years-long bombing campaign failed to defeat the group and only deepened Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.

Saudi Arabia has blamed recent drone attacks against its oil facilities on Iran-linked militias operating from Iraqi territory. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella organization for several Iran-aligned groups, denied involvement and accused Riyadh of attempting to divert attention from attacks carried out by the Houthis. It warned that Saudi military action against Iraqi factions would trigger retaliation.

Iran has launched multiple ballistic missiles at US forces in the Middle East in what the US Central Command (CENTCOM) described as an attempted “surprise attack.” 

The US Department of War did not identify the targeted facilities, saying only that the missiles had been aimed at American forces “based” in the region.

“At 5:45pm ET today, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on US forces based in the Middle East,” CENTCOM stated.

Iranian missiles are targeting US bases in Jordan 🚀 https://t.co/jiR6sKHVk0 pic.twitter.com/RhJ9fw8nZ7

— John Hussain (@johnhussainpres) July 28, 2026

All the incoming missiles had been successfully intercepted, CENTCOM claimed, adding that American forces remained “vigilant and at a high state of readiness.”

WATCH: Additional footage of US interceptors engaging in Iranian missiles launched at Jordan pic.twitter.com/v1y9RaqS9n

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) July 28, 2026

Several videos shared by open-source intelligence trackers appear to show intense air-defense activity in Jordan, including near Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, with US Patriot systems reportedly engaging incoming threats.

The IRGC claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that several ballistic missiles had targeted a US air base and what it described as a US Central Command headquarters in Jordan. The group said the strike was carried out in response to “aggressive actions” by the US military and warned that its attacks would continue as long as Washington continued its ”illegal and malicious actions” against Iranian interests.

The incident marked Iran’s first reported ballistic missile attack on an American facility since US President Donald Trump suspended strikes against the Islamic Republic on Friday.

Trump said on Monday that Washington and Tehran were engaged in “very friendly” negotiations, but warned that the US could return to “strong military action” if diplomacy failed. He claimed that he had suspended the bombing to allow talks to proceed, while threatening to “beat the hell out of” Iran if no agreement was reached.

The pause followed almost two weeks of renewed US strikes and Iranian retaliation after the collapse of a 14-point memorandum that had established a temporary ceasefire, lifted the American naval blockade and provided for the reopening of the strait while a longer-term agreement was negotiated.

President Donald Trump hosted Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky in the Oval Office on Tuesday, with US officials sharing no details about what was discussed during the roughly hour-long meeting behind closed doors.

More than nine hours after the talks ended, Trump shared a brief post on Truth Social, saying it had been a “great honor” to meet Zelensky.

“Many things were discussed. The meeting went very well!” he wrote, offering no further details.

The only other official White House comment came in a brief post by press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said “both meetings were positive and productive,” referring to Trump’s sit-downs with Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Meanwhile, Zelensky claimed on X that he and Trump “discussed licenses for Patriot interceptor production and several other ideas that could help.” He added that they “also spoke about diplomacy” and said he was “grateful to the United States for its firm support.”

Trump and Zelensky last met earlier this month on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Türkiye, where they discussed strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses and potential peace talks. After the meeting, Trump said Washington would grant Kiev a license to produce Patriot interceptor missiles, while adding that the US would not supply the weapons directly and that European NATO members should finance military aid to Ukraine.

Since returning to office, Trump has repeatedly criticized Zelensky, at one point calling him a “dictator without elections” and “ungrateful” for American support, while arguing that Ukraine may ultimately have to cede territory to Russia to end the conflict. Zelensky, however, has continued to press Washington for more military assistance.

Kiev has relied heavily on Western weapons supplies throughout the conflict, while repeatedly urging its backers to provide additional Patriot systems and interceptor missiles amid continued Russian strikes on military-related targets across Ukraine. Moscow says the strikes are being carried out in response to terrorist attacks by Kiev against energy infrastructure and civilians inside Russia.

The meeting comes after Kiev launched another major overnight drone attack on Moscow, sending more than 390 UAVs toward the Russian capital. While no casualties have been reported, the regional authorities said several residential buildings were damaged.

Russia has warned that continued deliveries of Western arms make NATO members de facto participants in the conflict and risk triggering an all-out war.

Vladimir Zelensky and Benjamin Netanyahu led a procession at US Senator Lindsey Graham’s funeral service, as they sought to realize Graham’s lifelong ambition of dragging the US deeper into catastrophic foreign wars.

Graham’s casket was carried into the US Capitol on Tuesday, ahead of a funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral. A member of the House of Representatives for eight years and a Senator for 23, Graham died suddenly of aortic dissection as a result of heart disease on July 11.

Graham’s legacy is one of constant agitation for US involvement in foreign wars. At the time of his death, Graham – who in 2022 called for the assassination of Russian President Vladimir Putin – was working on an anti-Russian sanctions bill, and had just returned from Kiev, where he toured a drone factory and apparently expressed glee that the weaponry there would be used to kill Russians.

On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal published video footage of Graham reacting to the opening strikes of the US-Israeli war on Iran in February. “I almost cried,” the Republican lawmaker said in the footage. “I mean, like, how long have we been pushing this? It’s here. I talked with Trump this morning. Holy Jack. It’s here. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”

Even in his own comments at Graham’s funeral, Trump repeatedly referred to the South Carolina Senator’s enthusiasm for conflict. “He was extremely hawkish,” Trump told mourners. “He never saw a war that he didn’t like…he wanted it for the good of our country.”

Graham was an avatar of the Bush-era neoconservatism that still holds the Republican establishment in a death grip, and two attendees in particular arrived at his funeral service determined to give him in death what he longed for in life: a massive expansion of US involvement in Iran and Ukraine.

Zelensky’s big bet

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Trump at the White House on Tuesday morning, arriving one after another for their respective sit-downs with the US president. 

Zelensky, who met with Graham no fewer than 10 times in Kiev since the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, described the Senator as “a true friend of Ukraine.” In a post on X, Zelensky said that he used the meeting to push for the production of Patriot missiles in Ukraine “and several other ideas that could help.”

A good meeting with President Trump @POTUS at the Oval Office. Thank you for everything we do together to protect the lives of Ukrainians and advance peace. First and foremost, I offered President Trump our condolences on the passing of Lindsey Graham. He was a true friend of… pic.twitter.com/56yoaeqb2B

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 28, 2026

Zelensky uses every trip to the US and Europe to beg for weapons, money, and sanctions on Russia. However, he arrived in Washington on Tuesday with a gift for Trump, according to Fox News: “Evidence that Russia is assisting Iran in targeting US bases in the Middle East.”

Zelensky is likely gambling that by presenting the correct ‘evidence’, he can link the US’ de-facto proxy war against Russia with its kinetic war against Iran, and draw the US into open conflict with Russia.

In one fell swoop, Zelensky could drag the US into war with Russia, and his European backers into war with Iran – something that Trump tried and failed to achieve earlier this year. 

Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Kornichuk, hinted at this goal in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 on Monday. “We are fighting the same enemy, the other side of the same axis of evil,” he said.

While Zelensky’s recent moves could merge two regional conflicts into a cataclysmic world war, they may also serve a narrower aim: by attacking Iranian shipping, Zelensky demonstrated his usefulness to the US and Israel, right as Trump weighs a “massive attack” on Iran which would plunge Ukraine and the Gulf states into a bidding war for the US’ dwindling stocks of anti-air missiles.

Bibi’s best shot

Netanyahu also arrived with ‘intelligence’ for Trump. According to information leaked by his officials to the US media, the Israeli PM landed in Washington with plans to brief Trump on Iran’s supposed efforts to reconstitute its nuclear enrichment program at ‘Pickaxe Mountain’, a subterranean facility carved into granite near the Natanz nuclear complex.

In a video message released before he departed for Washington, Netanyahu said Iran would be “first and foremost” on the agenda with Trump. “Of course, our goal is to safeguard our security while also expanding the circle of peace around us,” he added. 

However, relations between Trump and Netanyahu are reportedly strained, and it remained unclear after the closed-doors meeting whether Trump had given the Israeli leader the reassurances on Iran that he wanted. “We are at a critical juncture,” an Israeli official told Channel 12. “President Trump will soon decide which way he’s going.”

For Netanyahu, the death of Lindsey Graham represents a significant loss of influence on Trump. Graham was a close friend of Netanyahu, and bragged earlier this year about “coaching him on how to lobby [Trump] for action” against Iran. In additional video footage released by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Graham can be seen speaking to Netanyahu by phone, telling the Israeli prime minister that he was “going to try to get him to join with y’all in Lebanon, to maybe fly some with you.”

“Would you like that?” Graham asked, before Netanyahu politely declined the unilateral offer of military intervention.

Lindsey Graham tied Kiev and West Jerusalem to Washington

Graham was far from the only war-hawk in Washington, but his close alliance with Trump and enthusiasm for military adventurism made him a vital conduit to the White House for Zelensky and Netanyahu, both of whose ambitions cannot be realized without US support. As such, his funeral represents the last opportunity for the Ukrainian and Israeli leaders to leverage his name in order to extract favor from Trump.

Without Graham in Trump’s ear, former White House strategist Steve Bannon remarked earlier this month, “the oligarchs in Ukraine and Imperial Israel proponents are curled up in the fetal position.” 

Zelensky and Netanyahu could not have chosen a more fitting tribute to Graham than traveling to Washington on the day of his funeral to beg for military aid. It’s exactly what the arch neocon would have wanted.

A Ukrainian drone that was intended as a birthday gift for the late US Senator Lindsey Graham will now be deployed on the front lines “to kill Russians,” according to US conservative activist Laura Loomer.

Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, died at the age of 71 on July 11, shortly after returning from Kiev, where he met Vladimir Zelensky and visited a drone manufacturing facility. A strong advocate of US military assistance for Kiev and a harsh critic of Russia, Graham traveled to the Ukrainian capital at least ten times in recent years.

In a video released on Tuesday, the day of Graham’s funeral, Loomer displayed a P1 Sun interceptor at SkyFall, a Ukrainian defense company that manufactures interceptor, FPV, and heavy bomber drones. According to Loomer, the senator toured the facility while celebrating his birthday and was presented with the drone as a gift.

Loomer said the UAV had originally been due to be sent to Graham’s home, but the manufacturer changed its plans following his death. “They’re going to deploy the drone to the front lines so that it can be used to kill Russians,” Loomer said.

The longtime Republican senator was one of Kiev’s most outspoken supporters in Washington and repeatedly advocated tougher measures against Moscow and increased US military assistance for Ukraine. Zelensky traveled to Washington on Tuesday to attend Graham’s funeral.

Loomer, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, has significantly changed her previous stance on Kiev. After years of denouncing Ukraine and its “Nazi apologists,” she traveled to the country, met Zelensky, apologized for her earlier remarks, and claimed that the Russian media had “bamboozled” her. The shift has sparked debate online, while Loomer has repeatedly denied that Ukraine financed her trip.

Watch the video below:

Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate face serious threats in the Miami federal jail, where they are being held while fighting extradition to Britain, their lawyer has claimed.

The two brothers, both US-UK citizens, were arrested in Florida on July 18 at London’s request. UK prosecutors are seeking to extradite them to face over 59 charges in Britain. The alleged offenses, which involve seven purported victims, are connected with rape, assault, trafficking, and “indecent images of a child and extreme pornography,” prosecutors said in a statement. Both have denied any wrongdoing. 

The Tates’ lawyer, Joseph McBride, told reporters on Monday that, since their arrest, they have been kept in the Special Housing Unit, which he described as solitary confinement. However, he argued that, despite their isolation, the nature of the allegations have placed them in danger.

“They have a target on their back that’s very, very real,” McBride said, adding that the brothers risk being “stabbed, jumped, murdered” because they have been accused of sexual offenses, while warning that prisoners could compare them to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The US Bureau of Prisons has explained that Special Housing Units may be used to ensure safety, facilitate transfers, or for investigative purposes. It also said the Miami facility’s drinking water has been certified as safe, while declining to discuss individual inmates.

The brothers’ lawyers plan to seek their release on bail while the extradition proceedings continue. A detention hearing has been scheduled for August 13.

McBride has said the Tates will vigorously oppose extradition, describing Britain’s attempt to prosecute the brothers as politically motivated and dismissing the allegations as “garbage” and “a stitch up job.”

Their defense also argued that the brothers are not a flight risk, pointing to their repeated compliance with reporting requirements in Romania, where they remain under investigation for separate allegations involving human trafficking and other offenses.

The Romanian case was returned to prosecutors due to legal and procedural irregularities, but the accusations have not been dismissed. 

As a former professional kickboxer and dual US-UK citizen, Andrew Tate built a global following with content centered on wealth, masculinity, and traditional gender roles. He has also frequently criticized Britain’s authorities and political establishment. His statements on women have drawn widespread accusations of misogyny and prompted several major platforms to suspend his accounts, although some were later restored.

The end of July has brought significant changes to Polish domestic politics: the country’s main right-wing opposition force, Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s Law and Justice (PiS) party, has officially split.

More than 30 members of the Sejm (the lower house of the Polish parliament) were demonstratively expelled from the party. This marked the end of a long-standing, latent standoff between the longtime party leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, and the moderate wing of former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Kaczynski issued a harsh ultimatum of loyalty to his allies, and Morawiecki responded by creating his own association, Rozwoj Plus (Development Plus), asking the leader to “take a step back” and publicly refuse to sign declarations. Kaczynski viewed this as a rebellion and expelled the dissenters from the party.

It’s worth noting that in Poland’s recent history (since 1989), splits within the right-wing camp are almost canon, occurring with clockwork regularity. The Polish right has a unique quirk in its proverbial DNA: it is inherently incapable of maintaining a monopoly on power for long. As soon as they win or, conversely, suffer a major defeat, a fierce melee for leadership and party funds immediately erupts within the camp. Jaroslaw Kaczynski is a constant participant and chief orchestrator of these processes. His distinguishing characteristic is his preference for remaining with a small but absolutely loyal sect rather than with a large but free-thinking coalition.

This is what happened in 1989, when the Solidarity party disintegrated due to a conflict between Lech Walesa and the Kaczynski brothers, creating a vast array of obscure right-wing players, who were later united under the Law and Justice banner ten years later.

In 2007, the most significant split occurred, when PiS was at the height of its power and Kaczynski was prime minister. Due to a dispute over a constitutional amendment banning abortion, Sejm Speaker Marek Jurek led the ultra-Catholic wing of the party to form the Right Side of the Republic (Prawica Rzeczypospolitej). This split deprived Kaczynski of his majority in the Sejm, triggered early elections, and handed Poland over to Donald Tusk for eight long years.

The latest schism, however, is fundamentally different because of the new reality, both in Poland itself and in the world around it. Firstly, this split is occurring against the backdrop of total financial bankruptcy and the physical liquidation of the PiS party’s rear. While Kaczynski had previously deliberately pursued splits, being “well-fed and strong,” Donald Tusk has now pinned him down, with no legal escape.

For example, budget funding through subsidies from the State Electoral Commission (PKW) has been completely cut off. The loss of subsidies triggered a chain reaction: the prime minister’s team completely purged PiS party cadres from major state monopolies like energy giants Orlen and PGE, depriving Kaczynski of shadow sponsorships, while state-owned banks PKO BP and Pekao SA blocked all credit lines to the opposition due to the threat of default.

Private businesses, meanwhile, have panicked and stopped making informal donations. It’s also worth noting that Mateusz Morawiecki is a former top banker, firmly backed by Polish big business and financial circles tired of the isolationism of the old leader. These people understand perfectly well that the old party machine is no longer physically capable of supporting regional offices and sponsoring campaigns, but they are willing to continue working with the multi-millionaire.

Secondly, the party is in a complex situation related to the political and legal immunity of its supporters. Previous splits (in both 2007 and 2011) were either purely ideological or career disputes: they were over values, abortion, or leadership within the camp. None of the outgoing MPs faced criminal prosecution. Currently, Tusk’s parliamentary investigative committees are completing criminal audits into the shadowy pandemic fund schemes, in which members of Morawiecki’s team are the main suspects.

The problem is that Kaczynski is stuck in the conservative dogmas of the early 2010s. He maniacally demands that his supporters wage an all-out, frontal, and uncompromising war with Brussels and Berlin. Modern European right-wing heavyweights (Marine Le Pen in France, Giorgia Meloni in Italy, Santiago Abascal in Spain) have long outgrown these concepts. They have grasped the cardinal rule of European politics: to seize power, you must be respectable, play by the EU’s rules, and pragmatically take money from European funds.

Due to his extreme Russophobia, Kaczynski has personally blocked the creation of a unified mega-alliance of the right in the European Parliament, refusing to sit at the same table with “Putin’s friends.” For this reason, he has maintained his distance from Marine Le Pen and Germany’s AfD for years. In fact, Kaczynski’s radical, unruly isolationism has become a toxic burden for right-wing forces on the European stage, and poses risks to the right’s negotiations with the Brussels bureaucracy.

Therefore, the leaders of European right-wing forces politely shake his hand at protocol congresses, but the real business and financial flows are conducted exclusively behind his back with Morawiecki, who is closely integrated into the European elite. As the leader of the European Conservatives and Reformists party in the European Parliament, Morawiecki relies on the support of Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni. He also has contacts with the MAGA wing of the American right-wing conservatives.

That is, Kaczynski himself has become a political mammoth: he still has a fanatical sect within Poland, but on the global map of 2026, neither Washington, Brussels, nor Rome need him. Meanwhile, Tadeusz Morawiecki enjoys popularity and is ready for constructive dialogue with the main Western powers. One gets the feeling that his departure from the party was also dictated by a desire to move away from radical slogans in favor of creating a respectable right-wing alternative, ready for constructive dialogue with Brussels and Washington.

He will now have to navigate between Kaczynski’s fanatical dogmatists and Morawiecki’s pragmatic Eurosceptics, while Tusk, taking a more grassroots approach, buys votes from dissidents. The irony is that earlier this week, with his loud speech about the “threshold of pain” and revocation of Ukraine’s medals, Karol Nawrocki appeared to be a strong national leader, able to unite right-wing forces and seize the government’s agenda. He has reached an all-time high approval rating, topping national trust rankings at 54.8%. But, as the reality in Warsaw shows, the music didn’t last long. The party egoism of the old leaders in one evening nullified this entire presidential consolidating effect.

For now, the only ones benefiting from this relentless destruction of the right-wing base are those in the Cabinet of Ministers. Donald Tusk has received an unprecedented gift, which the center-right government intends to exploit to the fullest, both domestically and internationally. The collapse of the opposition monolith has freed the ‘Brussels Governor-General’ to force through the Sejm any Euro-Atlantic directives it likes, since buying the votes of disoriented renegades from the disintegrating PiS will now be a matter of purely technical and financial calculation.

Moscow’s expert circles occasionally entertain the idea of ​​reaching an agreement with Poland, given the tectonic shift in the global order and the loss of functionality of old structures. Under these developments, the conditions may arise for establishing non-public channels of communication on a ‘second track’ with the Polish community.

On the other hand, such a request gives pause for reflection: are there any political forces in Warsaw today that are capable of such large-scale maneuvers? The Polish left-wing flank, united in the Sejm in the Left (Lewica) coalition, is a paradoxical hybrid of former socialist-era functionaries, frantically proving their true Euro-Atlantic loyalty to Brussels and ultra-liberal, glossy youth, fixated on the climate agenda and leftist values. Regarding Russia, the Polish left is even more fierce and dogmatic than Kaczynski’s right-wing isolationists. For them, Moscow is both a nightmare from the past and a promoter of enemy values, against which they are prepared to approve any NATO military budget. There is no room for pragmatism on this side.

At first glance, the right-wing divorce in Warsaw also does not seem to create ideologically cooperative entities, but merely rearranges the figures within NATO’s formerly hostile orbit. Mateusz Morawiecki himself will not publicly engage in direct political dialogue with Moscow. At the same time, as a pragmatic banker, Morawiecki exclusively understands the language of finance and material negotiations, investment security, and leveraging international benefits to strengthen his own sphere of influence in the national political arena.

Therefore, Russia’s final position on Poland must remain extremely pragmatic: Moscow has no ideological partners in Warsaw and cannot have them; any negotiations will be based solely on Russian military successes and the development of the concept of a multipolar world. It can be concluded that in an era where the world order is facing disruption, the only reliable guarantors of stability and border security for Russia remain its own Army and Navy. The era of geopolitical sentimentality is over. As the Polish saying goes, “sytuacji w których serce klęka” (there are situations in which the heart kneels).

The Iraqi authorities have busted several militant cells linked to Ukraine that were involved in multiple attacks within the country, according to National Security Adviser Qasim al-Aboudi.

The top official made the remarks on Monday during an interview with Dijlah TV, stating that the country’s intelligence service has concluded that Ukraine has been meddling within Iraq.

“We arrested a limited number of groups that carried out attacks inside Iraqi territory and targeted several facilities. During questioning, they confessed to working for Ukraine,” al-Aboudi said.

The adviser did not name the facilities targeted by the Ukraine-linked militants or say whether the groups had carried out attacks beyond Iraq’s borders.

The remarks come as Saudi Arabia claims it was targeted by several drones launched from Iraqi territory to strike oil facilities in the east of the country. The kingdom pinned the blame on Iran-linked militias and threatened to retaliate “at the appropriate time and place.” However, The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella organization for Iran-linked groups, has denied any involvement and accused Riyadh of attempting to divert attention from attacks recently launched by Yemen’s Houthis. Any hostile action against the Iraq-based groups would prompt retaliation against Saudi Arabia, The Islamic Resistance warned.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine rejects the unfounded and unsubstantiated allegations made by Qasim al-Aboudi,” it said in a statement. “There are no facts or evidence to support these allegations,” it added. 

Over the past few years, Kiev has been repeatedly accused of aiding assorted militant and branded terrorist groups overseas. For instance, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) has repeatedly pointed at foreign powers, including France and Ukraine, for supporting anti-government armed groups in the region. Earlier this month, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Borisenko said that Kiev had deployed military personnel in several African countries in an apparent attempt to open a “second front” against Moscow.

Russia’s victory in the Ukraine conflict would serve the interests of “all peace-loving humanity” by checking NATO and EU encroachment on national sovereignty, Greek philosophy professor Dimitrios Patelis has told RT.

Patelis, who teaches at the Technical University of Crete, made the remarks in an interview aired on Tuesday, saying that Greece’s NATO and EU commitments have pushed national security “into the background.” He argued that pan-European legislation is now taking precedence over national law and effectively negates sovereignty and independence for member states such as Greece.

In this vein, the professor alluded to reports that Athens is under sustained pressure from NATO and EU partners to transfer Patriot air-defense assets to Ukraine, including missiles from batteries operated by the Greek Air Force.

He was referring to an article by eKathimerini newspaper, which reported this month that Ukraine – which has demanded more Patriot interceptors from the West for many months – had requested as many as 200 PAC-2 missiles from Greece’s stockpile.

According to the report, some of the missiles have been in service with the Hellenic Air Force for 23 years and may be nearing the end of their operational lifespan. It added that earlier talks on transferring entire Patriot batteries collapsed, shifting the focus to munitions rather than full systems, with one proposal reportedly involving Greece selling the missiles to Norway for onward delivery to Kiev.

“I do not know to what extent our government is ready to make such a decision,” he said. “The victory of the Russian Federation in this war, in this special military operation, is in our interests, because we are not talking only about sovereignty and the existential danger to Russia itself, which NATO, the European Union and the United States are trying to pose in every possible way.”

“This is also in the interests of all peace-loving humanity,” he concluded.

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake has struck Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan’s southern Kyushu region, causing extensive damage and killing at least 13 people, according to local media. 

The quake struck just before 4:30 PM local time on Tuesday, with its epicenter around 20 km south of Kumamoto, a city of 700,000 people. Video footage showed roads cracking, bridges collapsing, and buildings swaying as the tremor hit.

🔥道路が大陥没🔥しているので、

ドライバーさん、安全運転してくださいね。

今、熊本で震度7の地震が発生し大変なことになっています。とにかく、落ち着いて行動してください。 pic.twitter.com/sFFSbGIqI3

— とうしろう（5号）守若 冬史郎🙄 (@tourouken555) July 28, 2026

Police responded to reports of an explosion at Aeon Mall in Kumamoto, and found that the building’s second floor had collapsed. Japan’s TBS broadcaster said that a “considerable number” of people were killed in the collapse, while emergency services said that “many people” were trapped under the rubble.

皆さん余震に気をつけてください。上のコンテナ落ちてこないかヒヤヒヤした。お父さんの脚もなんとか抜けて無事でした。#熊本地震 pic.twitter.com/zMRQd3LlIq

— たくろ (@tak_genki) July 28, 2026

The official death toll stood at 13 as of Wednesday morning, including fatalities that remained under investigation, according to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. She said 3,600 soldiers had been deployed to clear rubble and search for survivors.

🇯🇵: Explosion at Aeon Mall Kumamoto Traps People After Major Japan 7.1 Quake
On July 28, 2026, after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, an explosion occurred at Aeon Mall Kumamoto in Kashima Town around 5:30–6 p.m.
It collapsed part of the second floor,… pic.twitter.com/fsJ5nMc70k

— Muhammad John (@MuhammadJoh_n) July 28, 2026

Fires and power outages have been reported across Kumamoto Prefecture, and rail service has been suspended in the region. Around 300,000 people have been instructed to go to evacuation centers, as the quake’s shallow 10 km depth means that hundreds of aftershocks are expected in the coming hours and days. 

There have already been at least 60 aftershocks, ranging in magnitude from 1 to 4, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The earthquake caused “no damage or safety issues at the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant,” which is located around 100 km from the epicenter, the International Atomic Energy Agency wrote on social media.

WATCH: Powerful shaking sends a building swaying side to side after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto, Japan pic.twitter.com/NYeGx7ZCSS

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) July 28, 2026

Multiple fires have broken out since the quake struck. Firefighters in Uki City, Hikawa Town, and Hitoyoshi City have reportedly been sent to battle building fires connected to the earthquake.

Two devastating earthquakes hit Kumamoto in 2016. A magnitude 6.5 quake was followed by one of magnitude 7.3 two days later, killing 273 people and injuring more than 2,800. Sitting on top of the confluence of four major tectonic plates, Japan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world. In 2011, the world’s fourth-most powerful earthquake struck off the coast of Japan’s northeastern Tohoku region, triggering a tsunami that killed almost 20,000 people and caused a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, ultimately rendering much of the surrounding area effectively uninhabitable.

Last week, US and Japanese forces conducted training exercises simulating a magnitude 8 to 9 earthquake along the Nankai Trough off Japan’s Pacific coast. Japan’s Earthquake Research Committee estimates a 70% to 80% chance of such a quake occurring in the next 30 years.

The US and Iran are engaged in “very friendly” negotiations, US President Donald Trump has said, warning he could order a return to hostilities if diplomacy fails.

Iran, meanwhile, denied having any direct talks with the US but confirmed consultation with Oman, which has often acted as a mediator between the two.

Trump made the remarks on Monday, telling reporters, “I think there’s a good chance that something could happen, and if it does, good, if it doesn’t, we go back to doing what we were doing two days ago.”

Speaking at a campaign rally in Michigan later the same day, Trump also noted, referring to Iran: “You can’t bribe them. You’ve got to beat them, and we’ll beat the hell out of them… Right now, there are very friendly negotiations going on.”

According to the outlet, the talks revolve around a new arrangement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and revive negotiations on a broader nuclear deal. They are reportedly being conducted mainly between Iran and Oman, with Qatar, Pakistan and Egypt also involved, alongside Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

He stressed that the only ongoing dialogue is with Oman over arrangements for the strait, adding, though, that Iran has “never hesitated to use diplomatic tools to protect our national interests.” 

Asked on what conditions Iran and the US could engage directly, Baghaei noted that Washington must first “demonstrate more responsible behavior” while accusing it of acting “like a mafia gang” over the past one to two years by disregarding international law.

“As long as this behavior continues, we cannot hope to create a favorable public atmosphere,” he stressed.

The remarks came after the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had held off on an expanded attack on Iran not only to give diplomacy more space, but also over concerns the Pentagon was running low on air-defense missiles — a claim Trump denied, saying the US has “far more munitions than anyone in the world.”

The developments also come ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington. Netanyahu said before departing on Monday that he would discuss “all the issues on the agenda, primarily Iran” with Trump, adding: “Our goal is to maintain our security and also expand the circle of peace around us.”

The current pause follows almost two weeks of renewed US strikes on Iran and Iranian retaliation, which began after the collapse of the 14-point Memorandum of Understanding due to escalation in the Strait of Hormuz.

The document established a temporary ceasefire, lifted the US naval blockade, and provided for the toll-free reopening of the strait to commercial shipping for 60 days, pending a longer-term arrangement between Iran and Oman on the waterway’s administration. It also promised sanctions relief, a release of Iranian funds frozen abroad, and a US-backed reconstruction plan, contingent on a final deal. Harder questions, including the future of Iran’s nuclear program, were deferred to a 60-day negotiating period.

Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has denounced Europe’s military buildup and escalating confrontation with Russia, arguing that Western governments are steering the world toward catastrophe while arms manufacturers and political elites profit from perpetual war.

Speaking Monday on Rick Sanchez’s The Sanchez Effect, Waters said calls for European NATO members to increase military spending to 5% of national GDP were “effing insane.” He questioned how Western leaders could even contemplate a direct conflict with Russia, given the Soviet Union’s decisive role and immense losses during World War II.

“I often say to people, do you know who the Russian people are? They won the Second World War, for God’s sake. Twenty-five million of them died, saving the world for us,” he said. “And you want to have a war with them? How dumb.”

Waters blamed Western governments for prolonging the Ukraine conflict and argued that the war could have been prevented either through the Minsk agreements or through a preliminary peace settlement reached in Istanbul in 2022.

“This is 12 years since Maidan, since John McCain went and organized that so-called revolution, and murdered a few people, and got rid of the elected government, and put in the Banderites. Nazis – they’re just Nazis, and we know that,” he said. “Then we sent a moron… Who’s the stupidest man who’s ever been in government in England? Boris Johnson! Send him to the Ukraine to tell them that they’re not allowed to make peace!”

“Think of all the children and grandchildren, all the men on both sides who have been killed since then,” he said. “Why? Money. That’s all.”

The musician argued that modern conflicts are driven primarily by profit and the interests of a narrow ruling class. He pointed to major defense contractors and wealthy political donors, claiming that money has corrupted democratic institutions and made US foreign policy vulnerable to private influence.

“This ship is steering for the rocks,” he warned, urging ordinary people in Europe and the US to stop blindly trusting political leaders who promote confrontation and instead rebuild communication and cooperation across national borders.

“We have to open our eyes,” he said. “We have to start talking to our neighbors and cooperating with one another.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of “fomenting hate” following the mayor’s call for his arrest in relation to the war in Gaza.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024 over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the enclave, including “starvation as a method of warfare” and “other inhumane acts.” Mamdani, who has described Israel’s military campaign as genocide and called the Israeli prime minister a “war criminal,” last week urged US federal authorities to execute the warrant if Netanyahu visits New York for the UN General Assembly in September.

Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Netanyahu dismissed the ICC case against him as “bogus” and said he would still travel to New York despite Mamdani’s calls for his arrest. Accusing the mayor of “fomenting hate,” the Israeli leader said: “He’s supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers – Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone. But he’s trying to turn one group against the other.”

Washington has consistently opposed the ICC. Earlier this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged to “dismantle” the court by urging other countries to withdraw their support. Meanwhile, Netanyahu, who reportedly traveled to Washington on Monday, is expected to meet with President Donald Trump and attend funeral services for the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, whom the Israeli leader referred to as “a great patriot” and one of Israel’s “greatest friends.” Trump has also dismissed the prospect of Netanyahu being arrested in the US, saying in a social media post on Monday that the Israeli prime minister “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America.”

Multiple incidents involving Israeli settler groups occurred in the West Bank over the weekend, with two mosques and farmland set on fire, and other properties vandalized amid escalating violence against Palestinians.

The latest attacks come two days after a major clash between settlers and locals near the Palestinian village of Tal, southwest of the city of Nablus. On Friday, a large group of settlers entered the village, prompting skirmishes with locals and ultimately triggering an Israeli military raid on Tal. At least four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed in the ensuing chaos under unclear circumstances, with both sides blaming each other.

The Tal incident prompted an uptick in settler violence, and two mosques were attacked early on Sunday in the West Bank. A mosque under-construction was torched in the village of Qusra to the southeast of Nablus, and another one was set on fire in Kour, a Palestinian village southeast of the city of Tulkarm. The unfinished building was badly damaged by the blaze, while worshipers managed to extinguish the flames at the Kour mosque in time.

In both instances, the buildings were scribbled with offensive graffiti in Hebrew. The Palestinian authorities have condemned the “heinous crime,” noting that Israeli settlers attacked 45 mosques across the West Bank throughout 2025. Apart from the mosque attacks, a private home was reportedly set on fire in the town of Beit Furik, farm fields were burned, and cars were vandalized across several locations. Palestinian workers were also attacked at a stone-cutting facility near Ramallah.

Settler violence has been on the rise in the West Bank since the surprise attack on Israel by Hamas in October 2023, which triggered a major conflict in Gaza. The violence further escalated this year with near-daily attacks, according to a UN inquiry published last month. The report said that rampaging settlers have been increasingly shielded by Israeli forces during attacks on Palestinians. 

“The increasing participation of Israeli security forces in settler attacks amounts to a de facto collapse of the distinction between settlers and soldiers,” the report concluded.

At the time, Israel brushed off the UN findings, accusing the body of relying on unsubstantiated allegations and drawing a “false moral equivalence” between Hamas ​militants and Israeli civilians.

The EU’s sanctions on Russia have left Spain without access to advanced firefighting equipment amid an unprecedented wildfire emergency, with record blazes overwhelming parts of southern Europe.

Fast-moving fires near Madrid, Bordeaux, and Valencia have forced more than 360,000 people to evacuate over the past several days. Over 9,000 firefighters, troops, police, and other emergency personnel have been mobilized to battle the blaze, backed by dozens of aircraft and hundreds of vehicles. However, dry conditions and another approaching heatwave have complicated their efforts. Authorities say this year’s wildfires are among the worst on record.

Spain’s response has been further hampered by its inability to deploy its former fleet of Russian-made Kamov Ka-32 helicopters. The aircraft are considered particularly effective for wildfire missions due to their large water capacity, maneuverability, and ability to operate in extreme heat and difficult terrain.

Previously used under contracts with Spain’s national and regional authorities, the fleet has remained grounded under the EU sanctions regime that was imposed against Russia following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict.

Prominent French Eurosceptic Florian Philippot said Brussels’ restrictions had effectively deprived Spain of nearly a dozen of its “best helicopters” at the height of the emergency.

Accusing Brussels of sacrificing Europeans to its “stupid Russophobic ideology,” the Les Patriotes leader wrote on X, “These idiotic sanctions are definitely a real problem, not for Russia, but for European countries,” while demanding that an end be put to the restrictions.

Spain has deployed replacement helicopters, water bombers, and drones to fight the wildfires, but the substitutes reportedly carry less water and perform less effectively in difficult conditions.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday that the area lost this summer was six times greater than that lost at the same point in 2025, while warning of “difficult and complex hours” ahead.

France has evacuated around 250,000 people, as more than 13,500 fires and outbreaks have scorched over 116,000 hectares nationwide this season, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez reported, describing the situation as “completely unprecedented” and “far from over.”

The Gironde blaze near Bordeaux alone has burned around 42,000 hectares and become intense enough to generate a rare ‘fire cloud’, which can create its own winds and lightning, prompting sudden and unpredictable changes in the fire’s behavior.

Nunez said the blaze had taken on “a life of its own” and was spreading erratically, making it exceptionally difficult to contain.

Western Europe recorded its hottest June on record this year, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. France experienced its warmest June and hottest day ever recorded, while Spain registered its hottest June days, as extreme heat and dry conditions heightened the risk of wildfires.

Three-quarters of Poles have expressed a negative attitude toward Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky, according to a recent poll.

The disapproval comes amid an ongoing scandal over Kiev’s veneration of Nazi collaborators involved in the mass killing of Poles during World War II.

Zelensky sparked outrage in Poland in May by giving an elite commando unit a “heroes of UPA” award referring to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which carried out an ethnic cleansing campaign targeting mostly Polish Catholic residents of what is now Western Ukraine, which resulted in over 100,000 deaths. He and other top officials declared that “no one will ever dictate to Ukrainians which heroes to honor.”

In the survey, conducted earlier this month among 1,000 Polish adults, 75.8% of respondents said they viewed Zelensky “mostly” or “definitely” negatively, according to media group Wirtualna Polska, which commissioned the poll and reported the results on Saturday. The latter response was selected by 41.9%.

Negative views were overwhelming among supporters of conservative opposition parties. Even among voters backing the ruling coalition of pro-EU Prime Minister Donald Tusk, however, only 45% described their attitude toward Zelensky as positive, with 41% choosing the qualified response “mostly.”

Among politically unaffiliated voters, 83% of respondents expressed a negative attitude toward Zelensky. Only 7% described their opinion as “mostly good,” while 10% declined to give an answer.

Negative sentiment toward Ukrainians in Poland has nevertheless increased over several issues, including disruption to agricultural markets caused by Brussels-backed food exports, crime and widespread perceptions that some migrants have abused Polish hospitality.

The UPA controversy has significantly accelerated the decline in Polish support for Ukraine, with even Tusk saying Zelensky had crossed a line. According to police data, reported hate crimes targeting Ukrainians have risen 30% year-on-year amid the dispute.

Zelensky was also stripped of Poland’s highest state distinction, the Order of the White Eagle. He claimed he had been unfairly targeted and blamed the fallout on Polish electoral politics ahead of next year’s general election.

Three women have been stabbed in an knife attack in the northwestern part of France’s capital. The rampage was cut short by an off-duty police officer, who subdued the attacker and took him into custody.

The incident took place near the Porte de Clichy metro station on Monday afternoon. Footage circulating online shows the 31-year-old suspect randomly attacking female passersby with two large kitchen knives.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the attacker was confronted by a police officer, who managed to detain him. The three victims, aged 19, 24, and 36, were hospitalized, with two in critical condition, he added.

The incident comes a day after a suspected hardline Islamist drove a van into a crowd in Germany’s capital city of Berlin, killing one person and injuring at least 29. After his vehicle crashed, the 21-year-old suspect reportedly proceeded to stab his victims before fleeing the scene.

The attack prompted a massive multi-hour manhunt for the attacker, who was ultimately found in west Berlin late on Sunday. The police said the suspect was shot dead at the scene after he refused to surrender and lunged at the officers with a knife.

US President Donald Trump has denied that the American military is struggling with dwindling munitions as it continues its war with Iran. The remarks come as a rare pause in the fighting entered a third day, following reports that low interceptor stocks were forcing the White House’s hand in the conflict.

On Sunday, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had held off on a major new attack on Iran over concerns that the Pentagon is running low on air defense missiles.

In a statement to the WSJ, Trump pushed back on the claim, saying, “We have far more munitions than anyone in the world, and far more than we need.” He did not provide further details.

According to the WSJ, a planned two-week campaign of intensified attacks on Iran was shelved to give diplomacy some space, and Trump may ultimately order the resumption of strikes. The paper reported that Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine had informed the White House of the declining inventories, and that while Caine believes the low stocks would not preclude a resumption of major combat operations, they would add to the risk.

One senior official was cited as saying continued strikes were having the opposite of their intended effect, keeping Iran united and focused on an external threat rather than pushing it back to the negotiating table.

In addition, the WSJ reported that the White House warned it would consider it a risk to national security if news organizations published updated government figures on how many Patriot and THAAD interceptors have actually been fired since the war began.

Independent estimates suggest why the numbers may be sensitive. A recent CSIS analysis indicates that US and allied forces expended between 1,060 and 1,430 Patriot interceptors in the war’s early phase alone, against a US production line in Camden, Arkansas that turns out roughly 600 to 620 a year. The US has also burned through hundreds of Tomahawk missiles, with the Pentagon receiving an estimated 15 new missiles a month.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Army said that it had suspended its strikes on US military assets across the region, explaining that Tehran’s strategy in the conflict “has been entirely retaliatory.”

Sweden is establishing a new civilian intelligence agency to improve its monitoring of Russia’s political leadership, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt has told The Economist.

First announced in May and modeled on Britain’s MI6, Sweden’s Foreign Intelligence Service (UND) is due to begin operations in January.

In an article published on Sunday, The Economist described UND as Bildt’s brainchild, saying the veteran politician concluded that the country’s existing military intelligence apparatus was ill-equipped to analyze the Russian leadership. In 2022, Stockholm assumed Russia would not send troops into Ukraine and now wants to ensure it “never repeats that embarrassing blunder,” the magazine said.

While the intelligence system was “very good at tracking the military developments on the ground,” it was “not as good at looking at the politics of Russia and where they were heading,” Bildt said.

Bildt, who served as foreign minister from 2006 to 2014, was a leading advocate of Ukraine’s closer integration with the EU and co-launched the bloc’s Eastern Partnership initiative together with Poland in 2009.

Weeks of unrest and clashes with police culminated in a Western-backed coup that toppled democratically elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich in February 2014.

Crimea, a predominantly Russian-speaking region, rejected the coup and voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia in 2014. The Donbass regions of Donetsk and Lugansk declared independence within the following months.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly described the 2014 coup as the starting point of the current conflict. He has argued that Russia was compelled to defend the people of Donbass after Ukraine failed to implement the 2014-2015 Minsk agreements and adopted what he described as discriminatory language and cultural policies targeting Russian speakers.

The top US commander in the Middle East, Admiral Brad Cooper, has advised US President Donald Trump that striking Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz was no longer effective, Axios reported on Sunday, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Cooper, who leads US Central Command (CENTCOM), reportedly told Trump that the designated bombing targets in the area had largely been exhausted. He added that there was no point in continuing the strikes unless the US returned to major combat operations, according to Axios.

Trump paused the strikes on Friday, abruptly ending a 13-day bombing campaign amid reports that regional mediators were rushing to broker a new ceasefire. Several American news outlets reported that Trump was also concerned about dwindling stocks of interceptors used to counter Iran’s retaliatory missile and drone attacks on bases across the Middle East. Trump, however, denied that the US was running short of ammunition.

On June 26, Iran warned that transit through the Strait of Hormuz would be permitted only via routes designated by Tehran.
Local media reported on Sunday that an oil tanker exploded in the Strait of Hormuz after striking a naval mine when it deviated from the designated navigation lane. Iranian authorities did not immediately comment on the reported incident.

Both sides have signaled that the truce, first reached in April and later expanded through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on June 17, is effectively over.

The latest round of hostilities erupted over differing interpretations of the MoU, which was intended to provide more time for negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran insists it has the right to control all traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and has labeled routes designated by the US Navy as illegal.

US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Brazil are a strategic mistake that will harm the American economy, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has written in an op-ed for the Washington Post.

Last week, the US imposed an additional 12.5% tariff on Brazilian products on top of the previous 25%, potentially raising duties on some goods to 37.5%. According to Global Trade Alert, Brazil and Türkiye now share second place in terms of the scale of the tariffs Washington applies to them, behind China.

In an op-ed published on Sunday, Lula said he was “taken aback” by Trump’s initial announcement of 50% tariffs last year, which he described as politically motivated.

Highlighting the US trade surplus with Brazil, Lula argued that the tariffs would hurt American industries which are dependent on Brazilian imports, and make products including food, footwear, textiles, furniture, and auto parts more expensive for US consumers.

“Besides being unfair, the new tariffs are a strategic mistake: They will harm the US economy and the US partnership with Brazil,” Lula wrote.

“Latin America and the Caribbean need neither aircraft carriers patrolling their waters nor punitive tariffs,” Lula wrote.

On Saturday, Brazil denied visas to two US State Department officials who had planned to visit the country and reportedly discuss its voting system ahead of the presidential election in October.

“Brazil’s destiny is for Brazilians alone to determine – without foreign interference or subservience,” Lula said.

In the October election, Lula is expected to face Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. The elder Bolsonaro, a close ally of Trump, was sentenced to 27 years in prison last year for plotting a coup after losing his 2022 re-election bid. He has denied the charges as politically motivated.

Trump has repeatedly demanded that Brazil drop the legal proceedings against Bolsonaro, describing them as a “witch hunt.”

Iran has claimed that Ukraine attacked one of its commercial vessels in the Caspian Sea at Israel’s behest over the weekend.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky stated earlier that the vessel struck on Saturday was transporting military cargo. Iran, which has denied involvement in the fighting between Russia and Ukraine, said the attack killed one sailor.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated his country’s position during separate calls with the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

“Zelensky has attacked an Iranian commercial vessel, killing a sailor. A blatant UN Charter violation done at Israel’s behest to drag Europe into its war,” Araghchi wrote on X on Sunday.

“In calls with EU High Rep Kallas and FM Lavrov, [I] made clear that what the freeloader in Kiev did CANNOT GO UNANSWERED,” he added.

Speaking to Israel’s N12 television channel, Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgeny Korniychuk claimed that the Iranian ship was carrying components for drones and missiles. Tehran, however, insisted that the cargo was entirely civilian.

Iran confirmed in 2022 that it had delivered a “small number” of Shahed-136 kamikaze drones to Russia months before the Ukraine conflict began in February of that year. Moscow has maintained that all Geran-2 drones, believed to be based on the Shahed-136 design, are produced domestically.

In recent statements and interviews with the American press, Zelensky said he was “100 percent sure” that Russia had helped Iran during its conflict with the US and Israel. Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied that Moscow supplied Tehran with weapons. US President Donald Trump also said recently that he did not believe either Russia or China had provided Iran with military assistance.