The deceased was identified by police as Max Azzarello, a self-proclaimed “investigative researcher” from Florida

A man who set himself on fire outside the New York City courthouse where former US President Donald Trump is being tried ended up dying of severe burns late on Friday, local media reported, citing the New York Police Department (NYPD). The man was identified as 37-year-old Max Azzarello from St. Augustine, Florida.

The disturbing incident occurred on Friday afternoon, the fourth day of the trial in which Trump is defending himself against charges of illegally covering up so-called ‘hush-money’ payments to a porn star. Azzarello reportedly approached a group of Trump supporters gathered outside the courthouse and distributed pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories. He then doused himself in flammable liquid and set himself ablaze.

The fire reportedly lasted around three minutes before being put out. Azzarello was then taken to a nearby hospital and was reportedly in critical condition upon arrival and died hours later. Four police officers reportedly sustained minor injuries from their exposure to the fire and were also hospitalized. Police said a bomb squad unit was deployed to search the area as a precaution.

Azzarello’s motives for the self-immolation are being investigated. NYPD deputy commissioner Tarik Sheppard said he did not appear to be targeting Trump specifically or anyone else involved in the trial.

Warning: extremely graphic content:

?Man lights himself on fire in New York outside the Courthouse where the jurors for Trump have been selected?

The trial officially begins Monday

https://t.co/lkd29NXsvC

— Conservative Gary (@RealGaryRuot) April 19, 2024

GRAPHIC: Man sets fire to himself at Trump hearing.
Police say he threw conspiracy pamphlets in the air before dousing himself in accelerant. #TrumpTrials #TrumpTrial pic.twitter.com/Q0V5TUd2nD

— Craig Duncan | Fludded (@Fludded) April 19, 2024

“Right now we are labelling him as sort of a conspiracy theorist, and we are going from there,” he stated at a press briefing.

The pamphlets distributed by Azzarello included a link to a Substack account on which he identified himself as “an investigative researcher.” A manifesto allegedly written by Azzarello and posted on the website The Ponzi Papers said that his “extreme act of protest” was intended to draw attention to an “apocalyptic fascist world coup” being prepared by the US government and its allies.

READ MORE: Jury selection begins in Trump hush-money trial

According to the New York Post, citing police records, Azzarello had previously been arrested three times on charges that included criminal mischief and disturbing the peace. Police documents from his latest arrest in August of last year indicated that Azzarello was suicidal.

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Tehran’s top diplomat has refused to blame Israel for Friday’s attack on the country

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has downplayed the significance of Friday’s drone attack on the country, saying that it was minor in scale and involved primitive hardware.

The claims by some media outlets that explosions in the skies above the Iranian city of Isfahan, which hosts a major airbase, were a retaliatory strike by Israel are “not accurate,” Amirabdollahian said in an interview with NBC News on Saturday.

“What happened last night was not a strike,” he insisted, adding that the attack involved just two or three small UAVs, which “were more like toys that our children play with, not drones.”

The UAVs “took off from inside Iran, flew for a hundred meters and then they were struck by our air defense,” the minister added.

Israel, which typically neither confirms nor denies operations on foreign soil, declined to comment on whether it was involved in the Isfahan attack.

According to the Iranian foreign minister, Tehran is not planning any further actions against Israel.

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“As long as there is no new adventurism by Israel against our interests, then we are not going to have any new reactions,” he explained.

However, if the Israeli authorities continue taking provocative steps, “our response will be immediate and to the maximum and will cause them to regret it,” Amirabdollahian warned.

In early April, a strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, which Tehran blamed on Israel, left two generals and several other senior officers dead.

Tehran struck back last week by firing several hundred missiles and drones at military targets inside Israel. While Iranian officials dubbed the operation a “success,” the IDF claimed that most of the incoming munitions were shot down.

Israel promised payback for the attack, while the US declared that it doesn’t want to see the conflict escalate. US President Joe Biden also reportedly urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to show restraint in an effort to avoid a further military escalation.

The attack on Israeli territory was intended as “a warning,” Amirabdollahian said. “We could have hit Haifa and Tel Aviv,” but didn’t do so because targeting civilians is a “red line” for Tehran, he added.

Israel blames Iran for what it claims is its involvement in the Hamas attack on October 7, in which at least 1,200 were killed and 250 taken hostage. Tehran doesn’t deny having contacts with Hamas, but insists that it had no prior knowledge of the raid.

READ MORE: Musk weighs in on Israel’s strike on Iran

The death toll from Israel’s airstrikes and ground offensive in Gaza over the past six months has surpassed 34,000, according to the enclave’s health ministry.

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The new Army Information Support Force will contribute to “competitiveness in modern warfare,” the Chinese leader has said

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has announced a major revamp of the military, creating a new Army Information Support Force which will be responsible for dealing with hybrid warfare.

The announcement was made at a ceremony in Beijing on Friday. Xi stated that China must prioritize the development of its military in the modern era, as well as enhancing its capabilities through reform, science, and new talent.

The Chinese leader described the newly created wing of the army as a ‘strategic force’ that will provide indispensable support for coordinating and using information system networks. “It will play a crucial role in advancing the Chinese military’s high-quality development and competitiveness in modern warfare,” he said, according to the Chinese government’s website.

General Bi Yi was appointed commander of the new military branch, with General Li Wei appointed as political commissar. In the People’s Liberation Army, commissars serve as second-in-command and are largely responsible for administrative tasks and political education.

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Xi also noted that it is important to “adhere to information-led and joint victory, smooth information links, integrated information resources,” as well as strengthening information protection.

Meanwhile, Beijing dissolved its Strategic Support Force, which was created in 2015 to enhance China’s expertise in space, cyber, political, and electronic warfare, and help it fight in “informationized conflicts.”

Commenting on the reforms, Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said China now has four military services – the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force, and four arms – the Aerospace Force, Cyberspace Force, Information Support Force, and Joint Logistics Support Force.

The military reform, which was described by Bloomberg as the largest since 2015, follows the dismissal of nine senior military officers from parliament in December, including four who had served in the Rocket Force.

This also comes after former defense chief Li Shangfu was sacked in October. Beijing offered no explanation for these reshuffles, but Western media reports indicated that Li was under investigation for alleged corruption.

China has consistently taken steps to bolster its military capabilities amid its rivalry with the US, which has only intensified in recent years due to the stand-off over Taiwan. While China considers the self-governed island to be part of its sovereign territory, Washington has approved sales of military equipment to Taipei, with President Joe Biden pledging to defend it in case of an incursion by Beijing.

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Washington has been struggling to free itself from Russian enriched uranium supplies

A US facility has produced its first 200 pounds (90 kilograms) of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), President Joe Biden said on Friday, stressing that the US cannot rely on imported nuclear fuel from Russia.

Moscow is currently the only commercial source of HALEU for the US.

“Today, I can announce that the IBEW plant in southern Ohio has already produced the first 200 pounds of that powerful enriched uranium… [the] first ever made in America,” Biden said as he addressed a construction conference in Washington.

He specified that the “advanced fuel” is needed for “the next generation” of nuclear reactors, and that the Ohio-based facility is expected to enrich “a ton by the end of the year,” which is enough “to power 100,000 homes.”

The US has relied on importing enriched uranium from countries such as Russia to power its nuclear reactors, which Washington “cannot trust at all,” Biden said. He stated that his administration had invested $3.4 billion into new production.

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In June, the federal government authorized a HALEU enrichment demonstration project at the plant in Piketon, Ohio. The complex facility, launched by the federal government back in 1954, enriched uranium for nuclear weapons and power plants until it was shuttered in 2001.

In October, the White House requested Congress provide $2.2 billion in funding to strengthen US energy independence by establishing domestic production of HALEU as well as low-enriched uranium. The Biden administration called enrichment a national security matter, saying that dependence on Russian uranium sources poses risks to the US economy and civil nuclear sector.

In December, the US House of Representatives passed a ban on imports of Russian uranium as part of the sanctions campaign against Moscow over the Ukraine conflict. However, the bill stalled in the Senate.

Washington has limited imports of Russian uranium to 20% of US domestic demand. Last year, it imported nearly $1.2 billion of Russian uranium, reaching a record high since 2009. Russia retained the top spot among US uranium suppliers in monetary terms, increasing the share of imports from 26% to 27% year-over-year.

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Pyongyang insists that the launches were routine and had nothing to do with the rising tensions on the peninsula

North Korea has successfully tested a “super-large warhead” for a cruise missile and a new type of anti-aircraft munition, state-run KCNA news agency has reported.

The “test of power” of the warhead for the Hwasal-1Ra-3 strategic cruise missile and launch of the Pyoltsi-1-2 anti-aircraft missile took place on Friday in the Yellow Sea, the agency said on Saturday. “The tests achieved purposes concerned,” it noted.

KCNA said the “tests are parts of normal works of national defense research institutions… and have nothing to do with [the] situation” on the Korean Peninsula.

According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, it was the first time Pyongyang has mentioned the ‘Pyoltsi’ system, which means ‘meteor’ in Korean.

South Korea’s military said it detected several cruise missile and anti-aircraft missile launches by the North toward the Yellow Sea at around 3:30pm local time on Friday. Detailed specifications of the weapons are now being analyzed, it added.

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“Our military has been closely monitoring signs of North Korea’s provocations and military activities, while maintaining the robust combined defense posture,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

Pyongyang, which remains under international sanctions over its ballistic missile and nuclear programs, has intensified weapons testing since the New Year’s declaration of the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, that he is ending the policy of seeking reconciliation with the South.

According to Yonhap, Friday marked the sixth cruise missile launch by North Korea in 2024.

The Japanese authorities warned last year that ballistic missiles developed by the North “can reach anywhere” on the US mainland. Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo, in an attempt to contain Pyongyang, agreed in 2023 to stage annual multi-domain exercises, share real-time data on North Korean missile launches, and open a hotline for crisis communications.

The three countries held naval drills involving an American aircraft carrier in international waters between South Korea and Japan last week to ensure readiness against nuclear and missile threats from Pyongyang.

READ MORE: North Korea fires new type of ballistic missile – Seoul

Kim said earlier this month that “now is the time to be more thoroughly prepared for a war than ever before” due to the “uncertain and unstable” situation on the peninsula. He promised to deliver a “death-blow” to Pyongyang’s “enemies” if they attack the country.

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Finland’s prime minister claims that Moscow has used asylum seekers from the Middle East against the EU

Russia has engineered the influx of migrants from third countries in order to undermine the EU, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on Friday. He stressed the need to strengthen the two countries' border, which has been closed for several months.

Petteri made the comments during a visit to the frontier at Imatra, along with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“We have to find common solutions to stop this phenomenon when Russia has used illegal immigrants against us. We are preparing our own legislation but we also need EU-level measures,” Orpo told reporters. He previously said the threat from the situation at the border was “evident,” and announced that the government was working on a deportation law.

At a joint press conference, von der Leyen claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has set his sights on Finland” because of the country’s support for Ukraine and its recent accession to NATO. “Russia’s hybrid attacks are not just about Finland’s security. This is about the security of the entire EU,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

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Finland shut down the border with Russia in December and has since extended the closure indefinitely. The Finnish authorities cited a spike in illegal crossings, as more than 1,200 migrants from 29 different countries have applied for asylum since August, according to official statistics. Most of them came from Syria, Somalia, and other Middle Eastern and African states.

Russia has denied weaponizing migration, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accusing Helsinki of refusing cooperation between the countries’ border agencies.

The historically warm relations between the neighbors became severely strained after Finland, along with many Western states, imposed sanctions on Russia and began supplying Kiev with weapons. In a March interview with Russian media, Putin blamed the West for the breakdown of the previously “ideal relations” between Moscow and Helsinki.

Last year, Finland abandoned its longstanding policy of nonalignment in favor of joining the US-led military bloc, whose expansion eastwards Russia sees as a threat to national security.

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Itamar Ben-Gvir seemed to mock the recent strike against the Islamic Republic

One of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s key allies has been accused of damaging Israel with just one word, after making a social media post about an alleged strike on an Iranian airfield.

Iran has brushed off multiple reports of explosions in the skies over Isfahan on Friday, while West Jerusalem declined to comment. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, however, was not impressed by his country's response.

“Lame,” he posted on X (formerly Twitter) in Hebrew, suggesting not only that Israel was behind the strike but that it had been ineffective.

“Never before has a minister done such heavy damage to the country’s security, its image, and its international status,” opposition leader Yair Lapid responded. “In an unforgivable tweet of one word, Ben Gvir managed to sneer and shame Israel from Tehran to Washington.”

Israeli Channel 12 quoted unnamed government officials close to Netanyahu as calling Ben-Gvir “childish and irrelevant to any discussion,” but also accusing him of damaging Israel’s national security.

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“He may as well be working for the enemy,” wrote podcaster Shaiel Ben-Ephraim, who pointed out that Iranian media have been citing Ben-Gvir’s tweet to mock Israel.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency had indeed quoted the minister’s social media post, noting that “even Israeli officials are laughing at them.”

Israel had vowed to “respond” to last Saturday’s drone and missile strikes by Iran, which was a reprisal for the April 1 bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria that killed several senior officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.

Iran acknowledged on Friday that its air defenses were activated in response to a “suspicious object,” while the country’s media reported that three small drones were shot down and that there was no damage on the ground.

Israel does not typically confirm or deny attacks on foreign soil. West Jerusalem, however, repeatedly promised retaliation against Iran, which they accuse of masterminding the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel.

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Karl-Erivan Haub, the former head of a large retail chain, might have faked his own death to escape to Russia, RTL claims

The billionaire former head of German retail giant who disappeared six years ago, presumed dead, has reportedly been found alive and well and living in Moscow.

Karl-Erivan Haub, the former managing director of Tengelmann Group, disappeared while preparing for a race at an Alpine ski resort. Now, German broadcaster RTL claims that the businessman, declared dead in 2021, could still be alive, and may have secretly worked for Russia.

Haub was last seen in April 2018 in Zermatt, Switzerland. He vanished without a trace after taking a ski lift up a mountain alone. A six-day search operation involving five helicopters and several specialized rescue teams yielded no results.

The businessman and married father of two was officially pronounced dead by a Cologne court three years later, after his younger brother, Christian, who took over the business empire, swore under oath that he had seen no indications that his relative was still alive.

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A journalist with RTL, however, has asserted that Karl-Ervian Haub may still be alive. Liv von Boetticher believes evidence she claims to have collected during the course of a three-year investigation “demonstrates convincingly” that the businessman could have “deliberately staged his disappearance” and that at least some members of his family were aware of this. The broadcaster also released a series of podcasts detailing von Boetticher’s investigation.

The reporter claimed in Stern magazine that Christian had initiated an internal Tengelmann Group investigation after his brother’s disappearance, and later hired several private investigative companies, some based in Russia. The journalist also stated that she had personally seen photos of the businessman taken in Moscow in February 2021 by some of the private investigators hired by his brother.

No evidence of an accident was found at the site in Switzerland of Haub’s now-alleged disappearance, von Boetticher told German broadcaster n-tv, adding that the trail had instead “led to Russia.”

According to the journalist, the businessman had talked extensively to a Russian woman identified as Veronika Ermilova before vanishing without a trace. Haub had reportedly called her phone more than a dozen times in three days before going missing. Von Boetticher claimed the woman was his mistress and was linked to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

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According to the reporter, the two were also frequently “in the same places at the same time” over a number of years. In 2008, they were both in Moscow and Sochi within a few days. In 2009, they traveled from Moscow to St. Petersburg on the same train. They also made simultaneous short trips to the same destinations in 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, and 2017, von Boetticher said.

The journalist also claimed that the German billionaire had other connections in Russia, including banker Andrey Suzdaltsev and Russian-American businessman Sergey Grishin. The latter was purported to have been “robbing” the Russian banking system in the 1990s.

Von Boetticher told Die Welt last year that Haub “could have worked as a kind of agent of influence for Russia in Germany,” adding that she also was in the FSB’s crosshairs because of her investigation.

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In 2023, RTL journalists filed a complaint with the Cologne Prosecutor’s Office, accusing Haub’s brother Christian of making false statements before the court. German law enforcement officials initially refused to open an investigation but changed their minds after the reporters approached the Prosecutor General’s Office, which ordered that a probe be launched.

Earlier this month, the Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to news agency dpa that proceedings had been initiated against Christian Haub. Law enforcement officials specifically stated that they had no reason to review a court decision under which Karl-Erivan Haub was declared dead.

Russian officials have not commented on the situation. Veronika Ermilova, who was contacted by Russian media, called the RTL report an “unverified fake.” She said she was “not living with a billionaire” and denied having connections to any security services.

Ermilova said she had previously worked for a St. Petersburg-based event agency that had dealings with Haub. A lawyer for Christian Haub told journalists that there was “no truth” in the accusations against his client, adding that they were based on “incorrect information.”

RT could not independently verify von Boetticher’s claims.

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Italian police worry about radicalization among Muslims in Rome and elsewhere

Italian security services are monitoring 53 “unofficial” Muslim prayer sites in Rome, concerned about radicalization and terrorism, according to a news report.

Improvised prayer spaces have proliferated as the number of Muslim immigrants in the Italian capital grew, opening up in warehouses, garages, apartments, and basements. The authorities tolerate them, even though some are technically illegal.

“These hidden places of worship are where radicalization lurks and where, camouflaged among the faithful, those lone wolves who have too often become martyrs of the holy war hide,” the newspaper ll Tempo said on Friday.

The number of underground mosques under surveillance has nearly doubled from 30 a decade ago, the newspaper noted, citing a report by the Italian Interior Ministry.

The total number of unregistered places of worship may be over 100, according to the outlet, which described Rome as “increasingly the capital of Islam.”

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The situation does not appear to be limited to Rome. Undercover journalists from the news program Fuori dal Coro recently visited some of the underground mosques in Milan, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, producing a documentary titled “Immigrants and Violence, The Muslims Who Hate Italy.”

One of the men, described as a “radical Islamist,” said it is written in the Quran that the Muslims will “kick out the Jews.” He also believes that Muslims will soon conquer the West, starting with Italy because it “has a good heart” and is “very close to Islam.”

“Just look at the churches, a few elderly people, five here, five there,” the man told reporters.

The native-born population of Italy has been getting older – in 2023, the median age was 47.7 – and the country’s total fertility rate was just 1.3. Italy has also been one of the major points of entry for immigrants headed to the EU from Africa and Asia, many from Muslim-majority countries.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni campaigned on a promise of cracking down on migration, but has since fully embraced the EU policy that effectively encourages asylum seekers.

Earlier this month, Italian police detained a suspected member of Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K or ISPK) terrorist group on his way from the Netherlands. Ilkhomi Sayrakhmonzoda, a national of Tajikistan, was wanted by Interpol for suspected involvement in the planning of terrorist attacks in the EU.

ISIS-K claimed responsibility for last month’s terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall concert venue outside Moscow. Nationals of Tajikistan made up most of the suspects arrested by the Russian authorities, who are also investigating Ukraine’s potential involvement.

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Mike Johnson reverted to Republican orthodoxy as he vowed to get weapons to Ukraine as a matter of “critical” importance

In a dramatic break from his party’s hardline conservative base, US House Speaker Mike Johnson this week praised the country’s deep state, called Russia, China, and Iran an “axis of evil,” and vowed to put his job on the line to funnel more than $60 billion to Kiev.

For months, Johnson has resisted bringing a $95 billion foreign aid bill to a vote, arguing that neither he nor his fellow Republicans could support the bill – which would give $14 billion in military aid to Israel and $60 billion to Ukraine – without it being tied to an overhaul of US border security.

However, after a series of recent meetings with US intelligence chiefs, Johnson has changed his tune.

“This is a critical time right now, a critical time on the world stage,” Johnson told reporters on Wednesday. “I think providing lethal aid to Ukraine right now is critically important. I really do. I really do believe the intel and the briefings that we’ve gotten.”

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“I believe [Chinese President] Xi [Jinping] and [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and Iran really are an axis of evil,” he continued. “I think they’re in coordination on this. I think that Vladimir Putin would continue to march through Europe if he were allowed.”

Johnson’s comments represented a break with the Republican Party’s pro-Trump wing. These supporters of the former president – most prominent among them Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz – view the country’s intelligence agencies as arms of the anti-Trump “deep state,” and have called for the flow of money to Kiev to be halted.

“Fighting a proxy war with Russia in Ukraine, which is a non-NATO member nation, is not protecting America’s national security interests, it doesn’t protect the United States of America, as a matter of fact, it pushes us closer and closer to world war three,” Greene told journalist Tucker Carlson earlier this month.

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Johnson’s reference to an ‘axis of evil’, however, invokes the more interventionist GOP of the past. Coined by speechwriter David Frum, the phrase was first used by George W. Bush to refer to Iran, Iraq, and North Korea in the months leading up to the invasion of Iraq. Former National Security Adviser John Bolton later added Cuba, Libya, and Syria to the list.

Despite resistance from some of its Republican members, the House Rules Committee agreed on Thursday to split the foreign aid bill into three separate bills – one each for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The House voted in favor of this move on Friday, leaving Johnson free to schedule a vote on each bill for Saturday, even as Greene filed a motion to remove him from the speakership.

Johnson said on Wednesday that he anticipated the move, telling reporters that he was willing to “take personal risk” to pass the bills.

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With help from the Democrats, the Republican speaker is set to put the $60 billion bill to a vote

The US House of Representatives introduced a rule on Friday that would allow a vote for a $95 billion foreign aid bill, including $60 billion earmarked for the government in Kiev.

Requested by President Joe Biden last October, the funding proposal has languished in the House for months due to objections from a faction of the Republican majority. Friday saw 165 Democrats and only 151 Republicans vote in favor of the rule change, fueling fury against Speaker Mike Johnson.

According to the Washington Post, the issue of Ukraine funding has “deeply divided a dysfunctional” Republican Party.

Congressman Michael Burgess of Texas, who chairs the Rules Committee, said he regretted not having border security in the package of bills but that “the requirement for America to assert itself as the leader of the free world is not optional, it’s not a requirement we can put on pause.”

His party colleague, Dan Bishop of North Carolina, fumed that the Republican leadership is “fighting tooth and nail to pass Democrat, America Last priorities.”

I voted ‘NO’ on the rule to give more aid to Ukraine.

Washington needs to stop shoveling money to Ukraine while our own borders are wide open. pic.twitter.com/DfPWKi9183

— Rep. Andy Ogles (@RepOgles) April 19, 2024

“Washington needs to stop shoveling money to Ukraine while our own borders are wide open,” Congressman Andy Ogles, a Tennessee Republican, complained.

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has filed a motion to oust Speaker Mike Johnson over the rule change. It has been endorsed by Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Paul Gosar of Arizona.

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Johnson became speaker last October after the House Freedom Caucus, the same group now opposed to Ukraine funding, ousted Kevin McCarthy over a secret deal with Democrats to fund Kiev.

The Louisiana Republican plans to put the Ukraine funding bill up for a vote on Saturday. If adopted, it would go back to the Senate for approval before it can be signed into effect by Biden.

While some of the $60 billion would go to pay the salaries of Ukrainian government officials, much would end up in the pockets of US weapons manufacturers. About 20% of the funding would be restructured as a loan, but with the provision that Biden can write it off after November 15.

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The individual collapsed to the ground before police officers extinguished the flames

A man has set himself on fire outside the ‘hush money’ trial of former US President Donald Trump in New York City. The flames were eventually extinguished, but it remains unclear whether the man died from his injuries.

The dramatic incident occurred on Friday afternoon, shortly after final jury selections were made and the panel was seated.

Video footage shows the man engulfed in flames, kneeling upright with his hands behind his head. After burning for around a minute, the visibly charred man collapsed to the ground and the burning remains were extinguished by police officers.

The incident was broadcast live by several US news networks, including Fox and CNN. As Fox reporters realized what was happening, one could be heard telling his colleagues to search their truck for a fire extinguisher.

After putting out the fire, police officers covered the man’s body with fire blankets before he was loaded into an ambulance. It is unclear whether he survived.

Witnesses told CNN that he had scattered pamphlets before dousing himself in gasoline and lighting a match. The New York Police Department told reporters that officers are “still gathering information” on what happened.

The pamphlets included a link to a Substack account, on which the man identified himself as Max Azzarello, "an investigative researcher who has set himself on fire outside of the Trump trial in Manhattan." In a rambling manifesto, Azzarello said that this "extreme act of protest" was intended to draw attention to an "apocalyptic fascist world coup."

Warning: extremely graphic content:

BREAKING: PROTESTER LIGHTS THEMSELF ON FIRE OUTSIDE TRUMP CRIMINAL TRIAL IN NYC.

*WARNING GRAPHIC* pic.twitter.com/a2x07YeXO1

— Mike Carter (@MikeCarterTV) April 19, 2024

The incident occurred on the fourth day of Trump’s criminal trial. The former president is accused of misreporting so-called ‘hush-money’ payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, although he insists the trial is “political persecution” orchestrated by President Joe Biden to take him out of contention before November’s presidential election.

Presiding over the case is Judge Juan Merchan, who has refused to recuse himself despite his daughter working for a marketing firm representing several top Democrats. Merchan issued a gag order against Trump last month, forbidding the former president from criticizing the prosecution.

The incident occurs less than two months after an active-duty US Air Force member died by self immolation outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, protesting against military support for Israel. The man, 25-year-old airman Aaron Bushnell, shouted “free Palestine!” as he burned to death.

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The conflict could drag Europe “into its depths,” the Hungarian prime minister has warned

The leaders of the EU and NATO are potentially ready to deploy forces to Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban claimed on Friday. Brussels sees the conflict between Moscow and Kiev as its “own” and is failing to consider the risks arising from its ever-deeper involvement, he warned.

The mood of EU leaders is “one of war,” Orban told a gathering of his Fidesz Party ahead of the EU Parliament elections. “There is a pro-war majority in Brussels today,” he said, adding that the bloc’s politics “are dominated by the logic of war.” EU politicians are already so invested in the conflict that they fail to see the flaws in their strategy, the prime minister argued.

Despite all the “money and weapons, the situation is not improving [for Kiev], in fact, it is getting worse… We are one step away from the West sending troops to Ukraine,” Orban warned. “This is a vortex of war that can drag Europe into its depths. Brussels is playing with fire.”

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Budapest will not let itself be dragged into the hostilities, and “will not enter… the war on either side,” the prime minister pledged, adding that his country “must stand for peace” everywhere, including in “Brussels, Washington, the UN and NATO.”

“We don't want war, and we don't want Hungary to become a toy of great powers again,” Orban stated.

The idea of sending NATO troops to Ukraine has been repeatedly floated by Western leaders. French President Emmanuel Macron first raised it in February, saying “all options are possible.”

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Macron has since doubled down, stating that there are “no limits” to support for Kiev. His words initially alarmed some NATO allies, who quickly denied having such plans. However, the French leader did receive backing from certain members of the US-led military bloc.

In March, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Russia’s military operation in Ukraine requires an “asymmetric escalation” on the part of the West. Warsaw’s top diplomat also called the idea of a NATO presence in Ukraine “not unthinkable.”

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said earlier in April that every NATO member already has military personnel in Ukraine operating as advisers or instructors. Last week, the former UK minister of state for the armed forces, James Heappey, told Sky News that sending NATO troops to Ukraine should be considered.

Moscow has warned that deploying NATO troops in Ukraine would bring the US-led bloc to the brink of a full-blown conflict with Russia. President Vladimir Putin stated in March that it would be “one step shy of a full-scale World War III.”

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Brussels has accused settlers of human rights abuses against Palestinians

The European Union announced on Friday it was sanctioning four “extremist settlers” and two entities over human rights abuses – including torture – of Palestinians in the West Bank.

The two sanctioned organizations were named as Lehava, a “radical right-wing Jewish supremacist group,” and Hilltop Youth, described as “a radical youth group” whose members are known for “violent acts against Palestinians.”

Hilltop Youth leaders Meir Ettinger and Elisha Yered, accused of involvement in “deadly attacks against Palestinians in 2015 and 2023,” were named on the EU blacklist. As did Neria Ben Pazi, accused of attacking Palestinians in Wadi Seeq and in Deir Jarir since 2021, and Yinon Levi, based in the “illegal outpost” of Mitarim.

The measure was announced by the European Council, invoking its 2020 decree establishing the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, which allowed the block to punish abuses ranging from arbitrary arrests and torture to genocide.

“The EU has decided to sanction extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem for serious human rights abuses against Palestinians,” the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on X (formerly Twitter).

The abuses include “torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” as well as “the violation of right to property and to private and family life” of the Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the European Council.

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Any assets the sanctioned persons or entities have in the EU are subject to being frozen and all trade or transactions with them are prohibited. The four individuals are also banned from traveling to the bloc.

Earlier in the day, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter said that Brussels would urge the EU to “re-evaluate our Association Agreement with Israel” and co-sponsor Palestinian membership in the UN. De Sutter also called for “an EU-wide import duty on products coming from illegal Israeli settlements.”

The West Bank is the territory of the former Palestine Mandate that belonged to Jordan from 1949 and 1967, at which point Israel took it over by force. Israelis have been moving into the territory for decades, with the UN recording over 24,000 homes built there between November 2022 and the end of October 2023. The UN has urged the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza for decades, but Israel remains opposed.

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A man wearing a fake explosive vest threatened to blow himself up inside Tehran’s diplomatic mission in Paris

Police in Paris have arrested a man who entered the Iranian consulate and threatened to blow himself up. The man, who reportedly started fires near the same consulate last year, surrendered to officers after an hours-long standoff.

The suspect entered the building at around 11am local time, carrying what appeared to be a grenade and an explosive vest, the Paris prosecutor’s office told Le Parisien. He emerged several hours later and was taken into custody, after police determined that his explosive devices were fake, the office said.

Prosecutors described the suspect as a 60-year-old Frenchman of Iranian origin, A witness told BFMTV that the man had threatened to blow himself up inside the consulate, and made loud threats, claiming that he needed to avenge his brother. It is unclear whether he was motivated by the recent flareup of tension between Iran and Israel.

Police responded in force to the incident, with tactical units descending on the consulate and closing nearby streets. Video footage shared on social media showed heavily-armed units wheeling blast-proof barriers into place around the building before the suspect’s eventual surrender.

BREAKING:

???? A man wearing a bomb vest has barricaded himself in the Iranian embassy in Paris, and is threatening to blow himself up

French police have set up a security perimeter around the embassy, and the counter terrorist police have now arrested the man who threatened… pic.twitter.com/Kc39ThwF4e

— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) April 19, 2024

The prosecutor’s office told Le Parisien that the suspect was arrested last September for setting fire to tires outside the same Iranian consulate. He was given an eight month suspended sentence the following month and barred from carrying a weapon or entering the city’s 16th Arrondissement, where the consulate is located.

According to BFMTV, the man described himself in court last year as an “idealistic” opponent of the Iranian government, and expressed support for the protests that broke out across Iran following the death of a young woman in police custody in 2022.

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A major offensive would have “terrible consequences,” the US Secretary of State has said

The US believes that Israel could achieve its military objectives in Gaza without an invasion of the city of Rafah, which Washington will not support, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. The statement was made on Friday at a news conference following a summit of G7 foreign ministers on the Italian island of Capri.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted his country will conduct a military operation in Rafah, despite concerns over the potential civilian death toll. Members of the Israeli government, including Netanyahu, have maintained that the Jewish state cannot achieve its primary stated goal of defeating the Palestinian militant group Hamas without entering Rafah.

“We believe that a major military operation with a large presence of civilian population would have terrible consequences for that population,” Blinken told journalists. “We have been very clear about this …We cannot support a major military operation in Rafah,” he said.

The US, a key supplier of military aid to Israel, has been expressing concerns that an operation in Rafah would cause significant civilian casualties. Blinken pointed out there are currently around 1.4 million people in the city, which is located next to the Egyptian border, many of whom have been displaced from other parts of Gaza.

“We are committed, as Israel is, to ensuring that Gaza cannot be controlled by Hamas … Making sure that Hamas cannot repeat the events of October 7 … But in terms of major military operations in Rafah, it’s something that we don’t support and we believe that the objective can be achieved by other means,” Blinked stated.

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The diplomat insisted that the US had engaged in discussions about Rafah with senior Israeli officials as recently as this week and that such discussions would continue.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu said recently that a date had already been set for an operation in Rafah, but declined to reveal exactly when. On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that two additional brigades will be mobilized for operations in Gaza. The announcement came a week after the Jewish state pulled most of its ground forces out of the Palestinian enclave, in what the military leadership described as preparation for a mission in the city of Rafah.

The ongoing hostilities in Gaza were triggered by a Hamas incursion into southern Israel in October, in which some 1,200 people were killed and hundreds taken hostage. More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed amid the Israeli retaliation, most of them women and children, according to local health authorities.

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US tax dollars were used to help West Jerusalem target Tehran’s American-made F-14 fighter jets, the SpaceX CEO says

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took aim at Israel’s recent strikes on an Iranian airbase, suggesting that West Jerusalem used US money to attack American-made jets, which were sold to the Shah during the Cold War era.

On Friday, several media outlets reported that Israel had struck targets across Iran. The airstrike came nearly a week after Tehran launched a series of its own attacks on the Jewish state, using hundreds of drones and missiles. That strike was in response to what Iran says was a deadly Israeli raid on its consulate in Damascus, Syria.

One of Israel’s strikes on Friday targeted Isfahan Airbase, home to an Iranian fleet of US-made F-14 Tomcats, according to the Iranian authorities. The fighter jets, which were discontinued in the US in 2006, were purchased by Iran’s Western-leaning government before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The scale of the damage to the airbase is unclear. Iranian media claims that several Israeli drones were destroyed during the attack.

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Tehran lost several F-14s during the grueling 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, although the 1970s-era warplanes have faced maintenance difficulties due to a lack of spare parts.

Commenting on the strike on Friday, Musk pointed to the irony of the situation, writing, “our tax dollars somehow also blowing up our tax dollars.” In a separate post on X (formerly Twitter), he seemed to express dismay about the current standoff in the Middle East, saying, “we should send rockets not at each other, but rather to the stars.”

Israel, a key American ally in the Middle East, has been one of the leading recipients of military aid from Washington. In 2016, it signed a memorandum of understanding with the US, under which West Jerusalem would receive $38 billion in assistance over the following ten years. The US also helped the Jewish state develop its Iron Dome air defense system, and the country is a member of the F-35 fighter program.

The US Congress has been deliberating for months over a foreign aid package bill which would provide aid to Israel. While the bulk of it ($61 billion) is earmarked for Ukraine, it also includes $26 billion in support for Israel and the provision of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, which has suffered unprecedented devastation during West Jerusalem’s conflict with Hamas.

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Both Tehran and West Jerusalem have downplayed the event

Explosions near the Iranian city of Isfahan on Friday morning were Israeli strikes on a military airfield, the New York Times claimed on Friday, citing anonymous sources. Neither Israel nor Iran has officially commented on the incident.

Israel vowed to “respond” to last Saturday’s drone and missile strike by Iran, itself reprisal for the April 1 bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria that killed several senior officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.

Residents of the Iranian cities of Isfahan and Tabriz reported a series of blasts early on Friday. According to the NYT, three Iranian officials said the military airbase near Isfahan was hit. The Fars News agency reported that the explosions were heard near the city’s civilian airport.

“The sound was related to Isfahan’s air defense systems firing at suspicious objects,” Brigadier Siavash Mihandoust, senior army commander in Isfahan province, said on Friday. “We have not had any damage,” he added.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi gave a speech later in the day praising last Saturday’s strike on Israel but did not mention the explosions in Isfahan or Tabriz.

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According to Bloomberg, Israel had warned the US in advance that it would strike Iran in the next 24-48 hours. This was a change from the April 1 attack on Syria, when the White House was informed after the airstrike was already underway, the NYT reported.

Iran vowed to punish Israel but waited 12 days to do so, while warning the US to stay out of it. Tehran also publicly accused the UN of not doing its job to mete out justice, claiming Iran had been left with no choice but to strike back.

Unnamed Israeli officials told British-based media that West Jerusalem would strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities in case of an attack, but that now appears to have been a psychological operation intended to deter Tehran.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Friday that there had been “no damage” to nuclear sites in Iran. The agency head, Rafael Grossi, called for “extreme restraint from everybody.”

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Papua New Guinean tribes are unlikely to have eaten the US president’s uncle, an academic has told The Guardian

Academics from Papua New Guinea have criticized US President Joe Biden for suggesting that their countrymen ate his uncle after a wartime plane crash. Local tribes “wouldn’t just eat any white men that fell from the sky,” one lecturer told The Guardian.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, Biden recounted the alleged fate of 2nd Lieutenant Ambrose J Finnegan Jr., whose reconnaissance plane was “shot down in New Guinea” in 1944. “They never found his body,” Biden said, “because there used to be, there were a lot of cannibals − for real − in that part of New Guinea.”

Michael Kabuni, a political science lecturer at the University of Papua New Guinea, told The Guardian that while cannibalism was historically practiced by some tribes who inhabited the country, “they wouldn’t just eat any white men that fell from the sky.”

READ MORE: Biden claims ‘cannibals’ ate his uncle

“The Melanesian group of people… are a very proud people,” Kabuni said. “And they would find this kind of categorisation very offensive. Not because someone says ‘oh there used to be cannibalism in PNG’ – yes, we know that, that’s a fact. But taking it out of context, and implying that your [uncle] jumps out of the plane and somehow we think it’s a good meal is unacceptable.”

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Human flesh was not a staple in the Melanesian diet, Kabuni explained. Instead, some tribes would eat their deceased relatives as a funerary custom, he told the British newspaper. According to the University of Western Australia, the practice triggered an outbreak of a fatal disease known as ‘Kuru’ and died out in the early 1960s.

“I am lost for words actually,” Papua New Guinean opposition leader Allan Bird told The Guardian. “I don’t feel offended. It’s hilarious really. I am sure when Biden was a child, those are the things he heard his parents say. And it probably stuck with him all his life.”

Economics professor Maholopa Laveil argued that Biden should have chosen his words better, considering the US signed a security pact with Papua New Guinea last year. With the agreement struck, Washington is currently attempting to pressure the country out of a separate pact with China.

“For a US president to say that – particularly after a lot of deals have been struck with PNG and the work they’ve been doing in the Pacific – even off the cuff, I don’t think that should have been said at all,” Laveil said.

READ MORE: State of emergency declared amid deadly Papua New Guinea riots

According to official military records, Finnegan was killed when his plane crashed “for unknown reasons” off the north coast of the island. “One crew member survived and was rescued by a passing barge,” the Pentagon’s POW/MIA Accounting Agency states, adding that “an aerial search the next day found no trace of the missing aircraft or the lost crew members.”

Biden has a long record of exaggerating his own involvement in historic events. The 81-year-old has falsely claimed that he visited Ground Zero in New York the day after the September 11 terrorist attacks, that he was arrested while attempting to visit Nelson Mandela in a South African jail, and that he marched with civil rights protesters in the 1960s.

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Moscow has reported making new gains in Donbass, while continuing its campaign against critical Ukrainian facilities

The past week in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has seen continued active combat at multiple locations along the front line, with the most intense hostilities in Donbass, where Moscow continues its effort to push westwards.
Russia also launched large-scale, long-range strikes on critical Ukrainian infrastructure, including multiple thermal power plants, completely obliterating the largest facility in Kiev Region.

New gains in Donbass

On Saturday, the Russian Defence Ministry announced the liberation of Pervomayskoye, a village located some 20 km to the west of the Russian city of Donetsk. The village has been an important foothold for Ukrainian troops, as it stretches along an elaborate system of canals, ponds and dams.

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Pervomayskoye has provided cover for the southern flank of Ukrainian forces which had been attempting to entrench at the Orlovka-Tonenkoye-Berdychi line after the liberation of the strategic town of Avdeevka mid-february.

While the Russian westward push in the area has seemingly slowed, the military reported minor gains to the west of the now-breached defensive line.

Among the three settlements stretching along a canal system, only the village of Berdychi remains under partial Ukrainian control, with the situation expected to worsen for Kiev following a successful advance by Russian troops to the north of the village, reported on Wednesday

Critical infrastructure strikes

Russia has continued with its renewed campaign against Ukraine’s critical facilities, prompted by Kiev’s growing efforts to attack the country’s oil refineries and other energy facilities. Last Thursday, the Russian military hit multiple energy plants across Ukraine, including the Tripolskaya Thermal Power Plant, the largest in Kiev Region. This is the first time the facility has been targeted.

The plant was hit by multiple projectiles, including new, lighter, Russian Kh-69 cruise missiles, which sparked a major fire that completely destroyed the generator hall. The Kh-69s are significantly smaller than other cruise missiles in Moscow’s inventory and can therefore be launched by fighter jets and frontline bombers, rather than by strategic aircraft, allowing for a more agile use.

The Dobrotvorskaya Thermal Power Plant in the west of Ukraine was also targeted for the first time since the beginning of hostilities. The plant was simultaneously hit by two missiles, footage circulating online suggests.

Anti-drone tactics

Kamikaze FPV drones have become a growing problem for both sides over the course of the conflict, prompting servicemen to come up with additional means to protect their armored and soft vehicles, particularly from strikes from above and the rear. Crude anti-drone grilles and nettings, as well as factory-made armor, colloquially known as “grills,” have become a common sight.

The protective contraptions have become increasingly unsightly and sizeable. To this end the Russian military apparently fielded materiel featuring ultimate anti-drone protection: the “Tsar grill.” A T-72 tank, boasting an anti-drone shell fully covering the vehicle, debuted last week near the town of Krasnogorovka, to the west of Donetsk, which has seen intense combat over the past few weeks.

The tank, footage of which promptly went viral, actually fared well in combat. The vehicle, which apparently acted as a heavy APC, spearheaded a successful attack on Krasnogorovka, allowing Russian forces to reach residential areas on its southeastern outskirts.

The tank survived the attack and has since starred in a new video that emerged this week. The vehicle has apparently received new modifications, becoming even more ungainly, and now features a tower of drone jammers on the roof of the ‘grill.’ The tank has been seen rolling through central Krasnogorovka, as well as successfully leaving the settlement, despite several close explosions.

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The bloc’s regulator has urged caution in the reduction of liquified natural gas imports from Russia as the transit deal with Ukraine nears expiration

The EU’s energy regulator has warned against drastic reductions of imports of liquified natural gas (LNG) from Russia, despite the bloc’s ambition to completely end its reliance on fossil fuels from the country over the Ukraine conflict.

In the 2024 Market Monitoring Report released on Friday, the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) said that “reductions in Russian LNG imports should be approached with caution,” particularly given the impending end of the supply of pipeline gas from the country later this year.

The report was referring to the expiration of the five-year transit contract for gas pipeline supply from Russia to Europe via Ukraine in December. Ukraine said last month that it had no plans to prolong the deal. If the flow stops, the EU could potentially lose 13.6 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas, or about 4% of last year’s total consumption.

The other remaining pipeline route from Russia to Europe goes under the Black Sea to Turkey and Bulgaria.

The EU is aiming to completely end its reliance on Russian fossil fuels by 2027. To that effect, the reduction of the LNG imports from the country “should be considered in gradual steps starting with spot imports,” reads the report. “Substantial volumes” were contracted under long-term agreements before the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and ensuing Western sanctions, the document adds.

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ACER expressed concern over the new powers granted by the EU Parliament to individual countries earlier this month. EU countries now have the legal option to restrict the flow of Russian LNG at the national level. If taken, such moves could break the long-term supply contracts and result in hefty penalties for European companies.

Russia is the second-largest producer of LNG in the Atlantic basin after the US, ACER notes. The sanctioned country was also the bloc’s second-biggest LNG supplier after the US in 2023. According to the data provider Kpler, Russia accounted for 16% of total EU imports last year.

Several countries including Sweden, Finland and the Baltic states are pushing for the EU to impose an immediate total ban on Russian LNG. According to the Financial Times’ sources, officials are set to lobby the European Commission over the plan next week.

Some EU members still rely heavily on Russian LNG, which continues to flow into the continent, mostly through ports in Spain, Belgium and France. A complete ban on the resource would require unanimity among the member states.

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An engineer claims he has been targeted by the company for raising concerns about “no safety culture”

Hundreds of people could die unless American aerospace giant Boeing addresses critical safety issues, a whistleblower has told the US Senate, also claiming that he was threatened with “physical violence” for going public, CNN has reported.

Sam Salehpour, an engineer at Boeing, told two Senate committee hearings on Wednesday that he has been voicing safety concerns for several years but has been “ignored” and told “not to create delays.”

“The safety problems I have observed at Boeing, if not addressed, could result in a catastrophic failure of a commercial airplane that would lead to the loss of hundreds of lives,” he said.

His testimony comes as Boeing grapples with the fallout from a major safety crisis. Fears were raised after an incident on a 737 MAX in January, when an Alaska Airlines flight bound for California from Portland, Oregon, had to turn back after a door panel blew off at 16,000 feet (4,900 meters), injuring several of the 171 passengers aboard and sucking clothing and cell phones out of the aircraft.

After raising concerns, Salehpour said “I was told not to create delays. I was told, frankly, to shut up.” There is “no safety culture” at Boeing, he claimed, alleging that employees who raise the alarm are “ignored, marginalized, threatened, sidelined and worse.”

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The engineer insisted he was testifying due to his confidence that Boeing was “putting out defective airplanes.” He cited alleged practices by the planemaker, including people jumping on pieces of the airplane to correct misalignment between sections of jets.

Salehpour has reportedly urged Boeing to ground all 787 jets for inspection. The US Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating the allegations that Boeing took shortcuts to reduce production bottlenecks while making the 787. Salehpour also raised issues about the production of the 777, another wide-body jet.

Boeing did not have any witnesses at either hearing, according to CNN, but at a briefing earlier this week the company defended its production standards. The manufacturer said that in 13 years of service, the 787 fleet has safely transported over 850 million passengers on more than 4.2 million flights, while the 777 fleet has safely flown more than 3.9 billion passengers around the world.

Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun announced in March that he will step down by the end of the current year, in a move seen as major management shakeup.

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It took West Jerusalem decades to deploy a comprehensive system to protect its skies from all kinds of threats, the French president has said

It is impossible for the West to provide Ukraine with a version of Israel’s famed Iron Dome air defense system, because it has neither the time nor the resources to accomplish such a feat, French President Emmanuel Macron has said.

Speaking at a press conference after a European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday, Macron stressed the urgency of Western countries providing Ukraine with various types of air defense systems.

When asked about the possibility of creating an Israeli-style air defense system for Ukraine, however, the French leader signaled that this was not in the offing. “Israel has been building and financing [its system] for a long time, for decades. It’s impossible to build the same system that would fully meet Ukraine’s needs.”

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Another issue, he continued, is the ability to produce the weapons required for Kiev. He explained that the West prefers to assist Ukraine as part of a joint coalition effort in which countries share responsibilities and complement each other.

Israel has for many years heavily relied on its comprehensive Iron Dome air defense system, which is designed to shoot down artillery shells and short-range missiles. The system, first deployed in 2011 and developed with US funding, has been touted as one of the most effective weapons Israel has at its disposal.

Over the weekend, Iran launched its promised retaliation for the Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus, Syria, using hundreds of drones and long-range missiles, with West Jerusalem claiming that it managed to shoot down 99% of incoming targets, with help from the US, UK and France. The barrage caught the eye of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who suggested that Western countries could offer the same kind of protection to Kiev, which is reeling under recurring Russian strikes.

The possibility, however, was rejected by EU top diplomat Josep Borrell, who claimed that the situations in Israel and Ukraine were not comparable.

“Iran’s attacks flew over air bases of the armies of France, the US, the UK and Jordan. They have gone over their bases, which then acted in self-defense,” Borrell explained. “There are no air bases of the UK, or the US, much less Jordan of course, on Ukrainian territory… Therefore, the same answer cannot be given because the circumstances are not the same.”

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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba has said this was the message he relayed to American counterpart Antony Blinken

Ukraine does not have a ‘Plan B’ for the conflict with Russia if the US Congress refuses to approve more military aid for Kiev, Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba has said.

The diplomat told Ukraine’s Rada broadcaster on Thursday that this was the message he had impressed on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier the same day, when the pair met on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers’ summit on the Italian island of Capri.

The administration of US President Joe Biden has been unable to push another $60 billion in assistance for Kiev through Congress since the autumn, amid a bitter standoff between Democrats and Republicans over immigration and border security.

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced earlier this week that he will put a standalone Ukraine aid bill to a vote on Saturday, while Biden has promised to sign the legislation if it passes.

Kuleba declined to speculate about the outcome of the vote, saying that “so many battles have been fought around this bill – and will continue to be fought – let’s just wait for the result.”

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He reiterated, however, that for Ukraine there is no alternative to US military support, which has already amounted to over $111 billion since the start of the conflict with Russia in February 2022.

“I have always said that we do not need a Plan B because our Plan A is making the strongest possible decisions for Ukraine, not half-decisions. And today I reminded the secretary of state about this: ‘Look, I don’t have any Plan B, Plan A must work – passing a strong bill,” the foreign minister said.

Kuleba claimed that Blinken “supported me and said that we should be focused exclusively on strong decisions for Ukraine, that is, on Plan A.”

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky blamed the decline in Western military aid for Russian military advances, admitting that Moscow’s forces are “putting pressure on us at the front and are gradually moving.”

READ MORE: Zelensky blames EU for Russian advance

Russia has repeatedly warned that foreign weapons deliveries to Kiev will not prevent Moscow from achieving its military goals, but will merely prolong the fighting and could increase the risk of a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO. According to Russian officials, the provision of arms, intelligence-sharing, and training of Ukrainian troops means that Western nations have already become de facto parties to the conflict.

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Air defenses have reportedly been activated in several provinces of the Islamic Republic

Israel carried out a series of strikes on Iran in the early hours of Friday, multiple news outlets have reported. The news comes less than a week after the Islamic Republic fired a barrage of drones and missiles at Israel.

Iranian news agency Mehr reported that several explosions were heard around 4 am local time in the skies over the central city of Isfahan.

IRNA news agency said that air defenses have been activated in several parts of Iran, and that Israel also struck military airfields and a radar site in Syria and Iraq.

Hossein Dalirian, spokesman for Iran’s civilian space program, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that several drones had been shot down over the city of Isfahan. Iranian TV later said that three drones had been destroyed over the city.

According to Al Jazeera, Iran has suspended flights at several airports, including Tehran and Isfahan.

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CNN cited an unnamed US official as saying that nuclear sites were not targeted.

The Israeli army told AFP: “we don’t have a comment at this time” when asked about reports of strikes in Iran and Syria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office refused to confirm to the Times of Israel that Israel was responsible for the explosions heard in Isfahan.

The Syrian Defense Ministry has confirmed the Israeli strike, saying that it occurred at around 3am local time and targeted air defense installations in the south of the country. The attack resulted in “material damage,” the ministry said, without providing further details.

On April 1, Israel struck the Iranian consulate building in Damascus, Syria, killing seven senior officers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force. Iran responded by launching kamikaze drones and missiles at Israel on April 13. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the vast majority of the projectiles was successfully intercepted, and reported only minor damage on the ground.

Reports of the explosions came hours after Iran’s Foreign Minister Houssein Amir-Abdollahian told CNN that Iran's response would be “immediate and at a maximum level,” if Israel takes any further military action against his country.

“If the Israeli regime commits the grave error once again our response will be decisive, definitive and regretful for them,” he stated, explaining that warning was sent to the White House via the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.

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The employees were dismissed after staging sit-ins at the company’s offices

Google has fired 28 workers who protested against the company’s ties with the Israeli government amid the war in Gaza. The US tech giant claimed that defiant employees were disrupting the normal work process.

“Physically impeding other employees’ work and preventing them from accessing our facilities is a clear violation of our policies, and completely unacceptable behavior,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement to the media on Wednesday. “After refusing multiple requests to leave the premises, law enforcement was engaged to remove them to ensure office safety.”

According to tech publication the Verge, a group of employees occupied the office of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian in Sunnyvale, California on Tuesday, while another group staged a sit-in for eight hours in the company’s office in New York. Disgruntled workers also demonstrated outside several Google campuses.

The activist group behind the demonstrations – No Tech for Apartheid – described the firings as illegal and “retaliatory.” They claimed that the sit-ins “did not damage property or threaten other workers,” and had “received an overwhelmingly positive response and shows of support” from colleagues.

@GOOGLE WORKER COAST TO COAST SIT IN UPDATE HOUR 3— Workers remain steadfast in their commitment to remain inside @googlecloud CEO thomas kurian’s office and google HQ NYC until they drop Project Nimbus or are arrested

SUPPORT WORKERS: https://t.co/7pKYAvy6Rm pic.twitter.com/7rb1kgi0hk

— No Tech For Apartheid (@NoTechApartheid) April 16, 2024

Some employees have been publicly speaking out since 2021 against Project Nimbus, a large cloud computing contract Google and Amazon signed with the Israeli government. Time magazine reported this month that Israel’s Defense Ministry has a security entry point to Google Cloud and its AI services.

BREAKING— @google also orders for arrest of of its own workers in SUNNYVALE who sat in for 10 hours at @googlecloud CEO @thomasortk’s personal office, demanding google cut Project Nimbus, the company’s $1.2 billion contract with Israel.

arrests were caught on our livestream pic.twitter.com/pgLe4gkybY

— No Tech For Apartheid (@NoTechApartheid) April 17, 2024

The Israeli military’s ties with big tech have faced additional scrutiny after +972 Magazine and news website Local Call cited intelligence sources in early April as saying that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is using a secret AI program called Lavender to identify human targets during the war with Hamas in Gaza. Although the IDF stated that such programs are “merely tools for analysis” and that it does not rely on AI to pick targets for strikes, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply troubled” by the report.

READ MORE: Israel using AI to pick targets in Gaza – report

Multiple human rights groups have accused the IDF of indiscriminately killing civilians in Gaza, where nearly 34,000 Palestinians have died since October 7, according to local authorities. The Israeli army admitted to accidentally killing seven foreign humanitarian workers during April 1 drone strikes on an aid convoy. The IDF cited misidentification and other errors as causes of the tragedy, and said that it had dismissed two senior officers involved in the strikes.

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The new restrictions target Tehran’s drone-building industry

London and Washington have blacklisted several Iranian military officials and companies in the steel, automotive and drone industries in response to the “destabilizing” strike on Israel last Saturday.

Iran targeted Israel with a barrage of drones and missiles, in what Tehran called lawful retaliation for the April 1 bombing of its consulate in Damascus, Syria, which killed seven high-ranking officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron announced the sanctions at a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Capri, Italy. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also issued a statement.

“The sanctions announced today alongside the US demonstrate our unequivocal condemnation of Iran’s attack on a sovereign state,” Cameron said.

“We’re using the Treasury’s economic tools to degrade and disrupt key aspects of Iran’s malign activity, including its UAV program and the revenue the regime generates to support its terrorism,” said Yellen. “Our actions make it harder and costlier at every turn for Iran to continue its destabilizing behavior.”

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UK sanctions involve seven individuals and six entities accused of enabling Iran to conduct “destabilizing regional activity, including its direct attack on Israel.” London has already imposed over 400 sanctions on Tehran, which include the IRGC in its entirety.

The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) went after 16 individuals and two entities, including the company that makes engines for the Shahed drones that were used in Saturday’s strike.

UK sanctions involve the freezing of any assets the designated individuals or entities may have under British jurisdiction, as well as a ban on traveling to the country.

American sanctions likewise involve the blocking of property, as well as a ban on any US citizens, permanent residents, and even persons passing through the country from doing any business with the sanctioned individuals or entities. The sanctions regime allows Washington to target financial institutions and banks that “engage in certain transactions or activities” with the sanctioned entities and individuals.

While Israel never officially took responsibility for the strike on the consulate building, Israeli officials told the New York Times that it had been in the works for months and deliberately targeted an IRGC general. The Jewish State has accused Iran of supporting Hamas and other militant groups that carry out attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians.

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Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called on other NATO members to contribute air defenses to Kiev

NATO members must provide Ukraine with more US-made Patriot air defense systems, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday in Brussels. Berlin has promised to deliver one Patriot system in the near future, in addition to the two it has already sent to Kiev.

Scholz said he was aiming to promote the idea during “many discussions” at the EU summit held on Wednesday and Thursday.

“We heard that there should now be seven more, one of them is ours and then we hope that six more will be found” by other NATO members, the German chancellor stated.

Berlin has so far made the “greatest contribution” when it comes to providing Ukraine with Patriot systems, Scholz claimed. He called on others to “make the same decisions.” The US, Germany, and the Netherlands have sent several Patriot launchers to support Ukraine in the conflict with Russia.

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The exact number of Patriots in Ukraine’s possession remains unclear. According to Business Insider, Kiev could have between three and five of the systems. The Russian Defense Ministry has provided evidence that several of the launchers and radars have already been destroyed.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte took on a harsher tone toward nations reluctant to scour their stockpiles for missiles to give Kiev.

“We know that many countries are sitting on large piles of Patriot systems, maybe not wanting to deliver it directly,” he said on Thursday, without naming any names. He offered to buy the systems from any third country and send them to Ukraine.

“We have the money available. It’s crucial,” Rutte added.

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Germany, the Netherlands and Spain are among the few European NATO members that still have Patriot systems in their arsenals, according to Der Spiegel. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has admitted that Berlin’s stockpiles are “pretty much exhausted” when it comes to the US-made air defense system, adding that the West would have to scour the world if it wanted to obtain more of them for Ukraine.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that the US-led bloc was working on sending more air defense systems to Kiev, including Patriots.

“We have compiled data about the different air defense systems we have in NATO, focused on the Patriot systems. And we are working with allies to ensure that they redeploy some of their systems to Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said during a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Italy.

Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said he needed 25 Patriot systems, with between six and eight batteries each, to ensure adequate air defense on a nationwide scale.

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Washington was the only Security Council member to vote against the resolution

The US has vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have paved the way for Palestine to become a member of the world body.

Palestine is currently a “permanent observer state” at the UN that participates in meetings but does not have voting rights.

The draft resolution debated on Thursday contained a recommendation to the UN General Assembly to hold a vote on updating Palestine’s status within the organization. The document was rejected with 12 votes in favor, one against, and two abstentions.

US Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs Robert Wood said that “there are unresolved questions as to whether [Palestine] meets the criteria to be considered a state.” He argued that Palestine cannot be admitted to the UN as long as the militant group Hamas controls Gaza.

Washington continues to support for the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, Wood stressed.

“This vote does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood, but instead is an acknowledgement that it will only come from direct negotiations between the parties,” he said in a statement.

The draft was heavily criticized by Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan, who argued that the resolution was “disconnected [from] the reality on the ground” and would have had “zero positive effect for any party.” He slammed the Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs the West Bank but not Gaza, as “a terror-supporting entity that does not deserve any status in the UN.”

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Speaking at the Security Council, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said that the vote had shown that “for Washington, [the Palestinians] do not deserve to have their own state.”

“Today’s use of the veto by the US delegation is a hopeless attempt to stop the inevitable course of history. The results of the vote, where Washington was practically in complete isolation, speak for themselves,” Nebenzia said.

Palestinian Ambassador Majed Bamya insisted that the PA was “not deterred in our pursuit for Palestinian freedom and independence.”

The Security Council session took place as the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza entered its seventh month. Local authorities have reported that nearly 34,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7. The fighting broke out after a surprise raid by Hamas into Israeli territory, which left some 1,100 people dead and led to the capture of over 200 hostages.

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The US has reportedly advised Netanyahu not to attack Iran

The US has denied giving Israel the green light to move against the Gaza city of Rafah instead of attacking Iran, as a Qatari outlet reported Thursday citing an anonymous Egyptian official.

Israel has said it would respond to Saturday’s missile and drone attack by Iran, itself a reprisal for the deadly Israeli bombing of the Iranian consulate in Syria. The war cabinet in West Jerusalem is reportedly trying to formulate a plan of action acceptable to Washington.

Egypt is preparing for a possible Israeli ground attack on Rafah, an unnamed official told the UK-based, Qatari-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, adding that the operation was accepted “in exchange for not carrying out a large-scale attack against Iran.”

A spokesperson for the US National Security Council, however, told reporters that the story was not true and that such a plan has never been discussed.

The Israeli public broadcaster Kan said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed the planned response after a call from US President Joe Biden.

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Iran had targeted Israel with drones and missiles, in what Tehran called lawful retaliation for the Damascus consulate bombing, which killed seven high-ranking officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.

According to a New York Times account published on Wednesday, the US was “caught off guard” by the Damascus strike, as West Jerusalem informed Washington only “moments” before it happened.

While Israel never officially claimed responsibility for the strike that killed General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, anonymous Israeli officials who spoke to the Times confirmed he was indeed the target and that the attack was planned two months in advance.

Internal Israeli documents viewed by the US outlet noted the range of expected Iranian responses to the strike, but failed to predict the “ferocity” of what actually happened twelve days later. West Jerusalem had “badly misjudged” the consequences of the consulate attack, US and Israeli officials were quoted as saying.

After the missile and drone barrage, Iran summoned the Swiss ambassador to an IRGC base and asked her to convey a message to the US that it “should stay out of the fight, and that if Israel retaliated, Iran would strike again, harder and without warning,” the Times reported.

US officials have reportedly told West Jerusalem to declare victory and forego a reply. However, several members of the war cabinet believe that this would allow Iran to believe it had changed the rules of the conflict, which would be unacceptable to Israel. Among them are Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot – former military commanders and opposition to Netanyahu – according to three Israeli officials.

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The Russian Embassy has dismissed the case as a “blatant provocation”

Two men have been arrested in Germany on suspicion of planning to sabotage local military infrastructure, including US bases, the Prosecutor General’s Office said on Thursday. Authorities claim to have linked at least one of the suspects to Russia’s security services.

Warrants for the men, identified only as Dieter S. and Alexander J. – both referred to as German-Russian dual nationals – were issued by the German Federal Court of Justice, the nation’s highest court of criminal jurisdiction, earlier in April.

Investigators said Dieter S. was “strongly suspected” of working for a Russian “intelligence service.” He is alleged to have discussed possible sabotage operations in Germany with a contact within the service since at least October 2023. The plans were aimed at “undermining military support provided by Germany to Ukraine,” the statement said.

During the conversations, Dieter S. allegedly expressed that he was ready to carry out “explosive and arson attacks” against “military and industrial sites,” including US bases on German soil.

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Dieter S. allegedly took photos and videos of such sites, as well as of military transport convoys, which he then sent to his intelligence contact, the statement said.

Very few details were made public about the role of the second suspect, with law enforcement officials saying only that Alexander J. had been “helping” the main suspect since at least March 2024.

Dieter S. stands accused of “preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state,” as well as of working for a foreign intelligence agency and acting as a sabotage agent.

The Federal Court of Justice issued a separate arrest warrant against him, saying there was “strong suspicion” that he had fought for the Donetsk People's Republic between 2014 and 2016, when the two Donbass republics declared their independence from Kiev in the wake of the Maidan coup. He is therefore also accused of “membership in a foreign terrorist organization,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said, referring to the DPR.

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Berlin reacted to the developments by reaffirming its commitment to helping arm Kiev.

“We will continue to provide massive support to Ukraine and will not allow ourselves to be intimidated,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has ordered her ministry to summon Russian Ambassador Sergey Nechaev to Berlin over the incident, German media reported. Moscow’s diplomatic mission confirmed the summons but denounced it as a “blatant provocation aimed at stirring up spy hysteria, which is already running high in Germany.”

The German side had provided “no evidence” suggesting the suspects with “alleged Russian citizenship” had any such plans or were in any way connected to Moscow’s security services, the embassy said.

The Russian diplomats dismissed claims about Russia’s involvement in such plots as “absurd and ridiculous.” If the arrested men do have Russian citizenship, the German Foreign Ministry must “immediately provide consular access” to them, it added.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene has tried to attach conditions for American aid to Kiev

Any member of the US House of Representatives who votes for sending $60 billion in aid to Kiev should be required to enlist in the Ukrainian military, according to an amendment proposed by a prominent Republican lawmaker.

Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has submitted half a dozen amendments to the Ukraine “security supplemental appropriations” bill, part of a $95 billion foreign aid package pending before the lower chamber of Congress.

“If you want to fund the endless foreign wars, you should have to go fight them,” she said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday. “That’s why I’m introducing an amendment that would require any Member of Congress who votes for the multibillion $ Ukraine supplemental to enlist in Ukraine’s military.”

Taylor Greene has also proposed to block all funds until Ukraine “closes all bio-laboratories and provides all data on such research to the United States Government,” or until the US Department of State certifies that “Christian churches in Ukraine are able to operate free of government interference.”

The US has admitted funding biological research laboratories in Ukraine but has insisted on their peaceful and legitimate purpose, even though much of the money has come via the Pentagon. Kiev has also persecuted the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, seizing its properties and turning them over to the government-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

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Two other amendments by Taylor Greene would redirect all the funding from the Ukraine bill to the disaster-stricken communities of Lahaina, Hawaii and East Palestine, Ohio. Another would reassign all the money to the Department of Justice, so it could begin deporting all immigrants who are in the US illegally.

She also took aim at the $14 billion aid package intended for Israel, proposing that “such sums as necessary shall be used for the development of space laser technology on the southwest border” of the US.

“Israel has some of the best unmanned defense systems in the world,” she said on X. “I’ve previously voted to fund space lasers for Israel’s defense. America needs to take our national security seriously and deserves the same type of defense for our border that Israel has and proudly uses.”

None of the proposals have much of a chance of getting adopted. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has come out in support of Ukraine funding requested by the White House and announced that the vote on it would come as soon as Saturday evening.

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The US is reportedly lobbying the UN to reject the regional authority’s membership bid, which would amount to its recognition

The US government has been lobbying the UN Security Council nations to reject the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) application for full membership, according to The Intercept, citing leaked diplomatic cables.

The outlet reported on Wednesday it had obtained copies of unclassified US State Department cables which contradict the Biden administration’s pledge to fully support a two-state solution.

The 15-member Security Council is reportedly scheduled to vote on Friday on a draft resolution that recommends to the 193-member UN General Assembly that “the State of Palestine be admitted to membership of the United Nations,” which would amount to recognition of Palestinian statehood, which Israel opposes.

The US has been insisting that establishing an independent Palestinian state should happen through direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine, and not at the United Nations. President Joe Biden has previously categorically said that Washington supports a two-state solution and is working to get that in place as soon as possible.

The cables reportedly detail pressure being applied to members of the Security Council. Ecuador in particular is being asked to lobby Malta, the rotating president of the council this month, and other nations, including France, to oppose UN recognition for the PA, according to the report. The State Department has reportedly pointed out that normalizing relations between Israel and Arab states is the fastest and most effective way to achieve an enduring and productive statehood.

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One diplomatic cable, dated April 12, explained US opposition to the vote, citing the risk of inflaming tensions, political backlash, and a potential cut in UN funding by the US Congress.

“We therefore urge you not to support any potential Security Council resolution recommending the admission of ‘Palestine’ as a UN member state, should such a resolution be presented to the Security Council for a decision in the coming days and weeks,” the leaked cable reads.

The PA applied for membership in 2011, but the application was never put to the Security Council. At the time, the US – as one of the council’s five permanent members – said it would exercise its veto power in the event of a successful vote.

The following year, the UN upgraded the State of Palestine’s status from “non-member observer entity” to “non-member observer state,” a status held only by it and Vatican City.

The lobbying efforts by the US indicate that the White House is hoping to avoid an overt “veto” on the Palestinian membership request, The Intercept suggested.

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Argentina has submitted a formal request to the US-led military bloc for ‘global partner’ status, Defense Minister Luis Petri says

Argentina has officially asked NATO to accept it as a new “global partner,” the country’s Defense Minister Luis Petri announced on Thursday following a meeting with the US-led military bloc’s Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana.

In a post on X, Petri shared pictures from his meeting with Geoana in Buenos Aires, and said that he “presented the letter of intent that expresses Argentina’s request to become a global partner” of NATO. He vowed to “continue working to recover links that allow us to modernize and train our forces to NATO standards.”

The US has already designated Argentina as a Major non-NATO Ally (MNNA); Washington uses this term to classify countries that have strategic relationships with the US Armed Forces but do not formally belong to the NATO bloc.

The Global Partner, or ‘Partners Across the Globe’, designation signifies even deeper ties with the US-led group, such as sharing intelligence and participating in joint military operations, and is currently held by countries such as Australia, Japan, South Korea, Colombia, Iraq, Mongolia, New Zealand and Pakistan.

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Petri’s statement comes as Argentina’s President Javier Milei, who was elected last December, has launched a wave of radical reforms aimed at stabilizing the country’s ailing economy and has sought to establish closer ties with the US and other Western countries, even looking to peg its national currency to the dollar.

After securing the presidency, Milei, a self-described ‘anarcho-capitalist’, also formally rejected an invitation to become a member of the BRICS group of nations, led by Russia, China, India, Brazil and South Africa, claiming that he would not “align with the communists.”

Instead, the Argentinian president has insisted that the best way to protect his country’s sovereignty is to strengthen its “strategic alliance” with Washington and other countries that “embrace the causes of freedom.”

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The Turkish leader reportedly said the Jewish state has killed 14,000 children in Gaza

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Israel of outdoing Adolf Hitler by killing 14,000 children in Gaza, Anadolu news agency reported on Wednesday.

Speaking to a meeting of his Justice and Development (AK) Party legislators in the Turkish parliament, Erdogan said that the Palestinian cause has given his life meaning, according to the news agency.

“As long as God grants me life, I will continue to defend the struggle of Palestine, and will be the voice of the oppressed Palestinian people,” the Turkish leader said.

He also compared the struggle of Hamas to the Turkish war of independence (1919-1922) and reminded the MPs that he had stood up for the Palestinian militant group at the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“When no one else would speak, we stood up and said: ‘Hamas is not a terrorist organization, but a resistance group.’ We presented maps at the UN showing how Israel has gradually occupied the lands of Palestine over the past 70 years,” he said.

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Erdogan accused Israel of committing massacres in both Gaza and the West Bank that are “marks of shame in human history,” with “unconditional support” from the West.

Almost 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in the enclave over the past six months, according to the local health authorities, while another 77,000 have been injured. The Hamas-run Gaza government says most of the casualties have been civilians, though it is unclear where Erdogan got the number of dead children. Statistically, nearly half of the population of Gaza is under the age of 18, according to numerous reports.

Israel declared war on Hamas after the Gaza-based group raided nearby Israeli villages and military bases on October 7 last year. West Jerusalem has said over 1,100 Israelis were killed and over 200 taken hostage in the attack, which has been described as one of the worst in the Jewish state’s history.

The UN has estimated that 85% of the Palestinian enclave’s residents have been internally displaced and face acute shortages of food, water and medication, while more than half of Gaza’s infrastructure has been damaged or outright destroyed. A recent report by UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur Francesca Albanese has accused Israel of intending to commit genocide in the enclave.

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A large-scale conflict is in nobody’s interests, but an Israeli retaliation to Iran is bound to happen. The question is, what will it be?

From the night of Saturday, April 13, Iran directly attacked Israel from its territory for the first time using drones and missiles. In many Israeli cities, air-raid sirens sounded, and explosions were heard in Jerusalem.

CNN described it as the most powerful single drone attack in history. The strike was a response to an Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1, which killed several Iranian officers, including a high-ranking general of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This exchange pushed the Middle East closer to a full-scale regional war.

According to the Israeli army, the nighttime attack from Iranian territory consisted of more than 300 launches: Israel was targeted by 170 drones, over 120 ballistic missiles, and more than 30 cruise missiles. In addition to drones, Iran reportedly launched 150 cruise missiles, 110 land-to-land ballistic missiles (Shahab-3, Sajil-2, and Kheibar), and seven Fattah-2 hypersonic cruise missiles.

In addition to Iran, attacks on Israel were also carried out by Yemeni Houthis and pro-Iranian groups from Iraq. It is also reported that the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah participated in the attacks on Israel, launching missile strikes on the Golan Heights.

The attacks caused widespread panic in Israel when air-raid sirens went off at 2am, forcing citizens to seek shelter amid explosions in key locations, including Jerusalem, Haifa, and several military bases. The intensity of the attack overwhelmed Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, prompting retaliatory military actions by allied countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Jordan. As a countermeasure, Israel disabled the guidance systems of Iranian missiles and drones by blocking GPS signals.

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This information is corroborated by reports from American and British media, which stated that drones launched from these territories were destroyed by the air forces of the US, the UK, and Jordan before they could reach Israeli territory. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed the participation of British fighters in repelling the attacks. Additionally, Israel expressed gratitude to France for assistance in monitoring airspace, which facilitated effective protection against the attacks. According to CNN, the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, as well as the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 missile defense systems were involved in repelling the attacks.

According to IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari, Israel and its allies managed to intercept 99% of Iran’s munitions, with the overwhelming majority shot down outside the country. Only a few ballistic missiles reached Israeli territory, hitting an airbase in the south, where “minor damage” was inflicted on the infrastructure, the IDF stated. Iran claimed that its targets were exclusively military and governmental structures, highlighting the serious nature of the conflict and the complexities associated with regional geopolitical tensions.

Have Iran and Israel always been enemies?

Before the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Iran and Israel maintained relatively friendly and cooperative relations, characterized by strategic collaboration in various areas. Despite geographical and cultural differences, both countries found common ground in their shared geopolitical interests and the recognition of threats from neighboring Arab states.

Diplomatic relations between Iran and Israel were established in the early years after the formation of the state of Israel in 1948. Iran, under the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, viewed Israel as a potential ally in the region. Both countries shared concerns about the expansionist ambitions of Arab nationalist movements and the strengthening of Soviet influence in the Middle East during the Cold War.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Iran and Israel discreetly cooperated in various areas, including intelligence sharing, military training, and economic partnership. This collaboration was dictated by mutual interests in countering common enemies, such as Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, led by figures like Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

One notable example of their cooperation was the joint Israeli-Iranian efforts to support Kurdish rebels in Iraq during the 1960s, aimed at destabilizing the Iraqi government, which was viewed as a threat by both Tehran and Tel Aviv.

Additionally, Iran and Israel maintained strong economic ties, with Israel providing Iran with advanced agricultural technologies and expertise, while Iran supplied Israel with oil, especially during times of regional instability, such as the Arab oil embargo of 1973.

Overall, the period before 1979 witnessed a pragmatic alignment of interests between Iran and Israel, driven by their shared concerns and pursuit of mutual benefits. However, these relationships changed dramatically after the Iranian Revolution, which ended the Shah’s regime and ushered in an era of hostility between the two countries.

The roots of Iran-Israel animosity

The rivalry between Iran and Israel is deeply rooted in political, religious, and strategic conflicts that have developed over several decades. This longstanding enmity has multiple aspects, each contributing to the tensions that shape their current relations.

Iran and Israel embody fundamentally opposing political and religious ideologies. After the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Iran established an Islamic Republic based on Shiite principles, which opposed what it perceived as Western imperialism and influence, including that of Israel and the US. Israel, on the other hand, was founded as a Jewish state in 1948 and is viewed by Iran as a Western outpost in the Middle East. Iran’s support for Palestinian groups and its calls for the elimination of the Zionist state have further fueled this ideological conflict.

Both countries strive to expand their influence in the Middle East, often at the expense of the other. Israel sees Iran as its greatest threat, particularly due to Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its support for anti-Israel groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. Conversely, Iran views Israel’s military superiority and its close ties with the US as a serious threat to its own security and regional ambitions.

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Iran’s nuclear program is the subject of intense scrutiny and concern for Israel. Israel fears that Iran’s potential to develop nuclear weapons poses a direct existential threat. As a result, Israel actively advocates for stringent international sanctions against Iran and does not rule out military action to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear capability. Iran insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but its opacity and resistance to international inspections have heightened suspicions and tension.

Iran and Israel have conducted a shadow war across the region, supporting opposing sides in various conflicts. Iran backs groups like Hezbollah and the Syrian government, aiming to establish a “Shiite crescent” from Iran through Iraq and Syria to Lebanon. Israel frequently conducts military strikes to disrupt these efforts and to weaken the military capabilities of these groups, particularly to prevent the transfer of advanced weaponry to Hezbollah and other Iran-allied groups.

The international alliances of each country also contribute to their rivalry. Israel’s strong ties with the US, its peace treaties with certain Arab nations, and its growing relations with other countries concerned about Iran’s policies, such as Saudi Arabia, are perceived by Iran as strategic encirclement. Meanwhile, Iran’s support from Russia and China in the face of Western sanctions showcases the global dimension of this rivalry.

Iran’s ideological commitment to exporting its revolutionary principles and opposing Western influence directly clashes with Israel’s security interests and its alignment with Western values. This ideological export is manifested through Iran’s support for militias and political movements that actively oppose the existence of Israel.

Understanding the complex and multifaceted nature of the Iran-Israel rivalry requires considering these historical, ideological, strategic, and international factors. This rivalry not only affects the security dynamics of the Middle East but also has significant implications for global geopolitics.

What was the reaction to the Iranian attacks on Israel?

Following the Iranian attack, high-ranking officials from various countries heightened tensions. The chief of the Israeli General Staff immediately declared that a response would be forthcoming, without specifying its form or timing. At the same time, the rhetoric from world leaders emphasized the need to contain the conflict and prevent a large-scale war.

At a UN Security Council meeting, the Iranian representative asserted that Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Israel were conducted in self-defense and were necessary, proportionate, and targeted only at military sites. According to Hossein Amir Abdollahian, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic, Iran informed the US administration that the attack on Israel was limited. Iran also threatened strikes on American bases in the region if the US continued to support Israel and oppose Iran during the attack. The minister noted that Iran had targeted an Israeli airbase from which F-35 planes had launched strikes on the Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1.

Immediately after the strikes by the Iranian Armed Forces and the IRGC on Israel, the US adopted a cautious approach. An official spokesperson for the US administration expressed concern about possible rash actions by Israel in response to aggression from Iran. He believed that Israel’s strategic decisions were not always optimal. According to CNN, during his first phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Joe Biden stated that his country would not participate in possible IDF offensive operations against Iran.

Moreover, Joe Biden suggested to the Israeli authorities that they should consider the repulsion of the Iranian strike a victory and end the escalation of actions on that note. Additionally, he did not openly comment on the Iranian attack in his address to the nation. Politico linked this to a desire not to provoke further escalation of tensions in the Middle East.

However, Joe Biden immediately reached out to the speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, urging him to urgently coordinate a new aid package for Israel.

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At the same time, the readiness of the US to defend Israel was declared by the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin. In conversation with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, he promised to do everything necessary to protect the country from “Iranian aggression.”

“Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to wait for a phone call from President Joe Biden. There were several options for retaliation, but the call stopped him. That train has left the station, and now we can take a breath and think again,” one Israeli official told journalists on condition of anonymity.

The Russian side also maintained a restrained stance, expressed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “We call on all involved parties to exercise restraint. We hope that regional states will resolve their issues through political-diplomatic means.”

Although the West believes that a large-scale conflict is in Russia’s interests, they overlook several reasons why Moscow would not want such escalation in the region. Firstly, many countries in the region are now priority trade and economic partners for Russia, and a conflict would severely impact the Russian economy. Secondly, a conflict in the Middle East could provoke prolonged instability near Russian borders and lead to undesirable destructive consequences within Russia itself, such as an increase in the terrorist threat.

All this shows that global players like Russia and the US, as well as regional players, including the Arab monarchies of the Gulf, are not interested in a large-scale war. Iran’s actions themselves indicate that it does not want to engage in a direct war with Israel, as the restrained and symbolic nature of the attacks confirms.

Will Israel respond and will there be a regional war?

The question remains open regarding the intentions of the Israeli authorities. In response to Washington’s reaction, Netanyahu stated, “We will make our own decisions. The State of Israel will do everything necessary to protect itself.” The Chief of the Israeli General Staff made an official statement, saying there would be a response, although the format and timing were not specified. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called Iran’s actions a declaration of war.

From the onset of escalating tensions in the Middle East following attacks by Palestinian militant groups on Israel on October 7, it was clear that the Israeli authorities would respond forcefully. Netanyahu wants to strengthen his position domestically to dispel dissatisfaction with his cabinet and stay in power. Regardless, for the citizens of Israel, security is of foremost importance. Netanyahu wants to prove to the electorate that he is the one who can provide this security by crushing all of Israel’s enemies.

Therefore, Israel will definitely respond, there is no doubt about that. The only question is how it will be done. The most logical scenario seems to be initiating an intervention in southern Lebanon to combat Hezbollah, an ally of Iran. This has been discussed for a long time in Israeli power circles, and Arab countries’ intelligence services have conveyed information about the high likelihood of an Israeli invasion to Lebanese authorities. Moreover, such a step is unlikely to lead to a regional war. It is also possible that Israel might respond by attacking pro-Iranian forces’ positions in Syria.

However, a direct attack on Iran could become a point of no return and lead to a major war. Washington understands this and is therefore pressing Netanyahu hard, as the outcomes of such a large-scale conflict are very uncertain, and it is far from clear that the US and Israel would emerge as victors. Anti-American and anti-Israeli sentiments are extremely strong among the general population in the region. The reaction of the Middle Eastern public in Turkish and Arab segments of social media showed that sympathies were with Iran during the attacks on Israel.

In conclusion, the start of a full-scale war still seems unlikely. Tehran is not interested in such a conflict, nor are Israel’s allies, namely the US and the EU. But this does not mean that the danger has passed. The possibility of a full-scale war always remains, and it is difficult to predict exactly which strike and which side might provoke it. What is clear is that the issues in the Middle East need to be addressed immediately and fundamentally.

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The Ramadan ceasefire in Gaza was not implemented, Moscow’s envoy to the UN has said

Russia’s permanent representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia has called on the United Nations to consider imposing sanctions on Israel over its non-compliance with obligatory resolutions passed by the Security Council.

He noted that UNSC Resolution 2728 demanded a ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan, and this had not been implemented by Israel.

“We remind you once again that non-compliance with mandatory Security Council resolutions must lead to sanctions against violators. We believe that the Council should consider this issue without delay,” Nebenzia said on Thursday during a UN Security Council meeting.

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne also called for sanctions on Israel earlier this month. In February, Paris sanctioned 28 Israeli nationals, though the French government has not published their names.

The Hamas ceasefire resolution was adopted by the Security Council on March 25 in a vote of 14 in favor to none against, with the US abstaining. The document demanded a ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and for humanitarian access to Gaza to be ensured.

The delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza is nearly impossible at the moment, Nebenzia said, pointing to data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which demonstrates that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are currently blocking half of the humanitarian convoys heading to the region.

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Earlier this month, Israel admitted that the IDF had mistakenly conducted a strike that the World Central Kitchen group said killed seven of the organization’s personnel – three British nationals, an Australian, a Palestinian, a Pole, and a US-Canadian.

Shortly after the US abstained on the UN Gaza ceasefire resolution, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a planned visit to Washington by a high-level delegation in protest over the move. He accused the White House of “retreating” from what he said had been a “principled position” by allowing the vote to pass without attaching conditions providing for the release of hostages held by Hamas.

Hamas raided nearby Israeli military bases and villages on October 7, killing more than 1,100 Israelis and taking over 200 hostage. Israel responded by declaring war on the group and invading Gaza. The military operation has reduced much of the enclave to rubble, claiming the lives of more than 33,000 Palestinians over the past six months, according to local authorities.

A weeklong truce deal reached in late November saw 105 hostages freed in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

On Wednesday, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said negotiations stalled between Israel and Hamas to secure a truce in Gaza and a release of more hostages.

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As much as 7% of federal spending could be fraud, according to a new report

The US government could be losing between $233 billion and $521 billion to fraud each year, according to a report on a recent five-year period by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Issued this week, the study – the first of its kind – looked into the federal budget between fiscal years 2018 and 2022, spanning parts of the Trump and Biden administrations, and the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw scammers target historic aid handouts.

The GAO estimated that fraud may have reached as high as 7% of federal spending, with the Washington Post noting that the highest spikes were “likely coinciding with the past abuse of coronavirus relief funds.”

The report called the US’ fiscal health “unsustainable” and called for major reforms to “reduce the loss of federal dollars and help improve the federal government’s fiscal outlook.”

“All federal programs and operations are at risk of fraud. Therefore, agencies need robust processes in place to prevent, detect, and respond to fraud,” the GAO said, noting that its analysis could not be used to predict future losses.

Last week, the White House and Senate Democrats unveiled new legislation aimed at cracking down on fraud in federal programs. Under the proposed legislation, about $675 million would reportedly be devoted toward fighting identity theft, targeting criminals who use information stolen from Americans to collect government aid.

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Lawmakers would also allocate more than half a billion dollars to help the Justice Department ramp up oversight of federal spending.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has taken issue with the GAO report and its methodology, with Jason Miller, deputy director for management at OMB, pointing out that the figures were devised from a “simulation model” and “not based on analysis of estimated losses by individual federal programs.”

The GAO said it had assessed different methods to estimate fraud and ultimately used a “well-established probabilistic method for estimating a range of outcomes under different assumptions and scenarios where there is uncertainty.”

It added that it collected data from multiple sources, including from cases sent for prosecution, information from the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) semiannual report, as well as confirmed fraud data reports made to the OMB.

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An attack on Tehran’s facilities will trigger tit-for-tat retaliation, the IRGC officer in charge of their safety has said

A senior officer of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned that Tehran is capable of striking Israeli nuclear facilities if its own are hit, according to local media.

Tensions have escalated in the Middle East this month following an alleged Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1, in which seven IRGC officers were killed. Tehran retaliated last weekend with a massive barrage of drones and missiles, most of which were reportedly downed by the Jewish state and its Western backers.

The Israeli nuclear compounds “are identified, and the necessary information about all the targets is at our disposal to respond,” IRGC Brigadier General Ahmad Haghtalab, claimed, as quoted by Tasnim, a semi-official news agency associated with the regiment. “We have a hand on the trigger to launch powerful missiles and destroy those targets.”

Tehran has said it considers the incident resolved, but Israel has vowed to strike back without revealing how and when. Reportedly, West Jerusalem is considering further military action, possibly targeting the Iranian nuclear industry. IRGC Brigadier General Ahmad Haghtalab, the officer responsible for safeguarding the Iranian sites, said the Israeli nuclear industry could be hit in retaliation.

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The Israeli nuclear industry has a public civilian component as well as a purported military component, the existence of which it neither confirms nor denies. West Jerusalem has an estimated 80 nuclear weapons at its disposal, including 30 gravity bombs and 50 warheads for medium-range ballistic missiles, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a leading international security watchdog. Haghtalab didn’t specify which sites Iran had considered for its hypothetical operation.

Israel has been accusing Iran of secretly developing nuclear capabilities of its own for decades. Gilad Erdan, its representative at the UN, claimed last Sunday that Tehran was mere weeks away from building a nuclear weapon, as he urged members of the UN Security Council to consider what would have happened if Iran “could have launched a nuclear bomb” when it attacked his country. These claims were later dismissed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The Iranian leadership has stated that it considers all weapons of mass destruction incompatible with Islam. Haghtalab, however, assessed that it would be “conceivable” for Tehran to reconsider its “nuclear doctrine and politics,” if Israel keeps threatening its nuclear facilities.

READ MORE: Biden warns Israel against attacking Israel

Nuclear sites are normally considered off limits for military action, the general said, but Israel’s attack on the consulate, an internationally-protected diplomatic mission, was proof that it does not care about playing by the rules.

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Sweden has lowered the age permitting citizens to identify as a different sex to 16

Sweden’s parliament on Wednesday passed a law lowering the minimum age to legally change gender from 18 to 16, as well as making the process easier. The step has been approved despite criticism from within the government coalition.

The legislation on self-identification was passed by a vote of 234 to 94 in Sweden’s 349-seat parliament.

Sweden was the first country to make gender transition legal in 1972. However, a person currently requires a doctor’s diagnosis of gender dysphoria to be allowed to change their legally recognized gender.

Under the new law, which will come into force next year, a shorter consultation with a doctor or a psychologist will suffice. It will also eliminate the need to be diagnosed with gender dysphoria, where a person may experience distress as a result of a mismatch between their biological sex and the gender they identify as.

Swedish citizens will be able to change their sex at 16, although those under 18 will need the approval of their parents, a doctor, and the National Board of Health and Welfare. The new law will also separate the process of changing legal gender from sex-change surgery, which will still only be allowed from the age of 18.

The legislation has sparked intense debate, and the ruling center-right coalition has been split on the issue. Moderates and the Liberals largely supporting the law, while the smaller Christian Democrats opposed it.

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“This is not a revolution we are doing today, it is a reform,” Johan Hultberg of the Moderates said during a parliamentary debate. “It is not reasonable that there should be the same requirements for changing legal gender as for making an irreversible gender confirming surgery.”

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has defended the proposal as “balanced and responsible.” Meanwhile, many MPs have urged more research into gender dysphoria first.

The leader of the Sweden Democrats, Jimmie Akesson, said it was “deplorable that a proposal that obviously lacks support among the population is so casually voted through.”

Carita Boulwen of the Sweden Democrats called it a “reprehensible” proposal, which risks having “unforeseen and serious consequences” for society.

The bill is also unpopular among the public. According to a recent poll conducted by Swedish television network TV4, 59% of Swedes said it is a bad or very bad proposal, while 22% thought it was a positive move, Reuters reported.

A number of EU countries, including Denmark, Norway, Finland, Germany, and Spain, already have similar laws.

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In his latest gaffe, the US leader described how he told the Jewish state not to attack the city of Haifa

US President Joe Biden told an interviewer that he’d warned the Israeli government against attacking itself, in what appears to be the aging leader’s latest gaffe, and one that has again raised concerns over his mental state.

Speaking with Nexstar Media’s Reshad Hudson in an interview published on Wednesday, the 81-year-old president detailed his plans to win back pro-Palestinian voters, despite his ongoing support for Israel in its conflict with Hamas.

Biden claimed that, aside from meeting with pro-Palestinian activists, he had also “made it clear to the Israelis: don’t move on Haifa,” a renowned port city in northern Israel.

The president then appeared to lose his train of thought, before going on to speak about the weekend’s Iranian attack.

Rather than warning Israel against attacking its own city, the US President apparently meant to refer to Rafah, a Palestinian city in Southern Gaza, which has become the last refuge for displaced civilians in the besieged enclave.

BIDEN: "I made it clear to the Israelis — don't move on Haifa!"

Haifa is a major city *IN* Israel. pic.twitter.com/BdNgoDlGkM

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 18, 2024

In recent weeks, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has reportedly deployed extra artillery and armored vehicles near the Gazan city, in preparation for a large-scale ground offensive.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also vowed that “no force in the world” would be able to prevent the IDF from advancing into Rafah, which accommodates over a million Palestinians and which West Jerusalem says is an operating base for Hamas militants.

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Biden’s latest gaffe has been met with widespread mockery online, with many calling it “seriously embarrassing.” Former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman jokingly suggested that “Israel should accommodate Biden’s demand not to attack Haifa,” while former New York state Assemblyman Dov Hikind claimed that “there’s a strong likelihood Israel refrains from hitting Haifa.”

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram that the US president should also forbid himself from participating in the 2024 elections.

“It would be funny, if this man was not directing billions of dollars and colossal amounts of weapons to wars around the world,” Zakharova wrote.

An ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted in February revealed that as many as 86% of American voters believe Biden to be too old to serve as the country’s president, and have expressed concerns over his cognitive state. Just over 60% of voters also shared similar concerns over Biden’s main rival, former president Donald Trump. The two are set to face off in the presidential election on November 5.

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Lloyd’s of London and Arch Insurance have reportedly refused to pay compensation following the destruction of the gas pipelines

Insurance policies for the Nord Stream gas pipelines sabotaged in 2022 do not cover destruction or damage caused during military hostilities, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported on Thursday, citing a claim filed at the High Court in London by two major Western companies.

The reported claim by Lloyd’s of London and Arch Insurance comes in response to a court filing in March by Nord Stream AG, the pipeline’s operator.

The enterprise, which is 51% owned by Russian energy giant Gazprom, alleged at the time that insurers had failed to pay about €400 million ($438 million) for damage caused by the explosions at the pipelines, according to the Financial Times. Nord Stream AG reportedly estimates it would cost over €1.2 billion to fully repair the infrastructure and replace the lost gas inventory.

In response, the two insurers are said to have claimed that “loss or damage directly or indirectly occasioned by, happening through, or in consequence of war” cannot be covered by the policies. They added that Russia-Ukraine conflict, which began in February 2022, “satisfies the terms war, invasion hostilities or military power.” The insurers also argue the damage could have been caused “by or under the order of any government,” according to Kommersant.

Commenting on the report, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said major concerns have been raised over the credibility of Western insurance giants. Any refusal to pay liabilities adds to a series of hostile acts towards Russia, according to Zakharova, including the seizure of state assets and private property, as well as alleged threats to damage civilian infrastructure.

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Built to deliver Russian natural gas directly to Germany via the Baltic Sea, the Nord Stream pipelines were damaged by unknown perpetrators in a series of explosions in September 2022. The blasts left three out of four pipelines inoperable, causing what is believed to be the largest single methane leak ever.

Shortly after the sabotage, Germany, Denmark and Sweden – in whose economic zones the attack took place – launched separate investigations, although no results have been published. Earlier this year, Denmark and Sweden said they had closed their probes.

The Russian authorities have claimed the US had the most to gain from the sabotage, pointing to the opposition to the pipelines repeatedly voiced by the White House. Moscow has also accused the West of stonewalling the investigation.

Last year, award-winning US journalist Seymour Hersh accused Washington of being behind the bombing, although the White House dismissed the allegations. Several Western media outlets later reported that Ukrainian citizens had been involved in the sabotage. Kiev has denied any connection to the attack.

As a result of the sabotage, gas supplies from Russia to Germany via Nord Stream 1 were halted. Nord Stream 2 had never been put into operation due to EU bureaucratic setbacks.

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Charities claim authorities are clearing out homeless people ahead of the Games this summer

French police have carried out a large-scale eviction at the country’s biggest squat in Paris, just 100 days before the Olympic Games are due to start in the city, local media have reported.

The squat, in an abandoned bus company headquarters in Vitry-sur-Seine, had been home to up to 450 people, including 20 children and 50 women, according to aid workers. At least ten children reportedly attended local schools.

Images of the eviction on Wednesday rapidly spread across social media.

Footage showed officers forcing their way into the camp and examining locked rooms as they oversaw the removal of residents. Makeshift beds and furniture were seen on the floors and in the hallways of the building, along with abandoned personal belongings. Evicted migrants gathered outside with packed suitcases, while others were seen boarding buses.

Activists have linked the move to the broader effort by Paris authorities to clear out migrants and others sleeping rough in the city before the summer Olympics. They claim the government has launched the campaign to make the French capital “more presentable.”

“The squat was the biggest in France. It doubled in size in one year because of the Olympics. Last year, authorities cleared out migrants from nearby the Olympic Village, and many displaced people came here,” Paul Alauzy of the NGO Medecins du Monde told the AP.

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Alauzy, who is also a spokesperson for Revers de la Medaille (The Medal’s Other Side), a collective of charities and aid workers, said homeless people and squats have been steadily cleared out for the past year.

Aid workers have warned that the Olympics are affecting the most vulnerable homeless people in the Paris area as those evicted are not provided with longer-term housing assistance.

When asked about Wednesday’s evacuation, French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said “it has nothing to do with the Olympics,” according to the AP.

Earlier, French authorities claimed that the recent relocations were the result of emergency accommodation centers reaching saturation, claiming that the measure is unrelated to the Games.

France received 167,000 asylum requests in 2023, the second-highest number in the EU. Migrants were mostly from Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East.

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The deployment of American intermediate-range missiles in the Philippines is another blow to global stability, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov has said

US deployment of intermediate-range missiles in the Philippines is another step by Washington towards escalating military confrontation in the Asia-Pacific, Russian ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov has said.

Last week, in what the US Army Pacific said was a “landmark” deployment that showcased “the extensive reach and logistical precision” of the American military, a Typhoon Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile system was flown to the island of Luzon in the Philippines, 250 km from Taiwan. Typhoon systems, which were first introduced in 2023, can fire both the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) and Tomahawk missiles, with the latter having a range of up to 2,500km.

“The Pentagon’s public demonstration of its capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region for the rapid deployment of missile weapons previously banned under the INF (Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces) Treaty raises deep concern,” Antonov wrote in a post on Telegram.

By delivering a Typhoon system to the Philippines, “the US side is bringing an entire class of destabilizing weapons out of the shadows to ensure its military superiority over opponents,” he stressed.

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Such actions by the US signify “another powerful blow to strategic stability,” the ambassador said, adding that “Asia has already accumulated a lot of ‘hot’ material, and the region is rapidly militarizing.”

The US is “purposefully escalating the level of military confrontation and fueling hotbeds of tension” in the Asia-Pacific in an attempt to “return the world to the darkest times of the Cold War and balancing on the brink of a nuclear conflict,” he said.

”We urge the US not to open Pandora’s Box and follow our country’s example by taking all necessary steps to ensure global stability and predictability,” Antonov stated.

The 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) banned Russia and the US from fielding ground-based missiles with a range of between 500km (310 miles) and 5,500km (3,418 miles) in Europe. The US unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2019. This left Russia no choice but to cease its participation in the INF as well.
However, Moscow introduced a moratorium on fielding weapons that used to be covered by the treaty.

READ MORE: ‘Stop lying,’ Russia tells US

Antonov reminded that this moratorium “has clear conditions: we will not deploy such systems until similar US-made systems appear in any region of the world.” But if it happens, “all responsibility for a new surge of tension in the world will fall on Washington,” he stressed.

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A Beijing-funded shipping canal will reduce regional reliance on Vietnam, a fellow communist state and traditional rival

China and Vietnam, two Communist neighbors with a shared revolutionary heritage, exist in a state of strategic unease. They are not enemies, and have significant trade connections, but neither are they friends.

This is because Vietnamese nationalism views Beijing with a suspicion that is historically rooted, with a legacy of seeking to sustain its independence against the Chinese dynasties of old. As China has risen again, this sentiment in Hanoi has increased, especially with the Sino-Vietnamese war of 1978 and overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea, known to Vietnamese as the East Sea.

Similarly, China is wary of the idea of Vietnam potentially aligning with a foreign power as part of a containment coalition against it, itself an instigator of conflict. Although the two countries are not currently in a state of hostility and have worked to improve bilateral relations amid these strong points of contention, this mutual suspicion persists, which leads to them continuing to hedge against one another subtly, even as they co-operate on some projects, in an unspoken competition. For example, one may note Vietnam recently forming parallel strategic partnerships with the US, Australia, and Japan, moves which were unthinkable decades ago.

As Vietnam hedges its bets, China is also broadening its strategic options. Beyond the South China Sea/East Sea controversy, Beijing is making efforts to woo two Southeast Asian countries which traditionally have been reliant on and influenced by Vietnam: Laos and Cambodia. Owing to the reality of geography, Vietnam has had the upper hand against these countries, as it effectively “wraps itself” around the east coastline of Southeast Asia. This renders Laos landlocked, while Cambodia has only a small portion of coastline. This means that, for most intents and purposes, Vietnam has been the two countries’ primary route of supply and access point to the sea.

Both have resented being dominated by Vietnam and, as a result, there has been a decades-long struggle for influence between Beijing and Hanoi over them, including Beijing’s support in the 1970s for the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. However, as China has ascended, the balance of power soon turned in its own favor, as it has unlocked game-changing resources and projects that are now rewriting the geographical limitations of this region via the Belt and Road initiative (BRI). As part of the BRI, China first gave landlocked Laos a new lifeline by building the China-Laos Railway.

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Opened in 2021, this high-speed and commercial freight route, and accompanying expressway, connects the Laotian capital Vientiane with China, meaning the country no longer must rely on Vietnam to access ports. This has allowed Laos to not only export goods to China but also to become an intermediary between China and Thailand, with more railways to form a complete route between Beijing and Bangkok underway. The China-Laos railway is a strategic gamechanger, but more important than that is the new Techo Funan Canal in Cambodia.

This canal is a China-funded and contracted mega waterway that will span over 110 miles (180 km) from the Mekong River at Phnom Penh to the sea, with construction set to start this year. By building this canal, Cambodia now gets to bypass the Mekong Delta, which is in Vietnamese territory and subsequently transforms its capital city into a direct port. This canal strengthens China-backed Cambodia and deals a strategic blow to Vietnam, weakening its hold over its neighbor. Cambodia is thus transformed, from a historical subordinate to Hanoi into a commercial competitor. It is no surprise that the Techo Funan Canal has attracted Vietnamese fears and opposition.

When all of this is viewed together, China is effectively strengthening Laos and Cambodia at the expense of Vietnam. This is also part of Beijing’s strategy of using the BRI to integrate the interior of the continent and establish trade routes which bypass the contested waters of the South China Sea, which the US and its allies are militarizing. So, how is Hanoi reacting to these developments? The answer is, bizarrely enough, by integrating itself with China further in order to further compete with trade from China. As the saying goes, ”if you can’t beat them, join them!” On April 11, Vietnam announced it would be starting work on two high-speed railway links which would connect its northern cities with Yunnan and Guanxi provinces in China. Why? So that Vietnam can continue to promote itself as the nearest and primary overseas destination for Chinese companies, suppliers, and goods, so that it itself can be the next industrial powerhouse. Thus, to continue to hold an advantage and ensure China’s reliance on Vietnam, latch onto China’s success and therefore ensure that outbound Chinese commerce into Southeast Asian ports isn’t going to be siphoned away by what’s emerging in Cambodia.

Either way, what this shows is that the competition between Beijing and Hanoi is a complex and intermingled one, but far from hostile. The two nations have differing and conflicting objectives, but also many complimentary ones, for which it benefits them both to maintain a cordial status quo. Hanoi fears China’s presence emerging all around it, including peeling away its neighbors, which leads it to turn back to the ”Old Enemy” the US, though at the same time it is forced to admit Beijing can’t be ignored and that it continues to derive benefits by being in China’s game. Vietnam has to dine at the table while ensuring it is not the menu.

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Western states need to send more air defense systems to Kiev, the head of the bloc says

NATO members should prioritize arming Ukraine over bolstering their own defense capabilities, the secretary general of the US-led military bloc said on Wednesday.

“A part of the important effort we are now making across the NATO alliance to step up our delivery of air defense systems to Ukraine,” Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels.

“But Ukraine needs even more. That is why if allies face a choice between meeting NATO capability targets and providing more aid to Ukraine, my message is clear: send more to Ukraine.”

Stoltenberg pointed to Denmark as “a strong example” as it pledged in February to donate all of its artillery to Kiev. He praised both Denmark and the Netherlands for their plans to provide F-16 fighter jets, adding that he was “encouraged” by the news that the US Congress is expected soon to vote for additional aid to Ukraine, after months of delay.

The NATO chief’s appeal comes at a time when member states are struggling to deliver sufficient amounts of weapons to Ukraine without depleting their own stocks and compromising security. Officials in Kiev have blamed ammunition shortages for last year’s failed counteroffensive, as well as recent battlefield losses.

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Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has sharply criticized Germany for refusing to donate its Taurus air-launched cruise missiles and US Republicans for stalling the $61 billion military aid bill sought by President Joe Biden.

“If Congress doesn’t help Ukraine, Ukraine will lose the war,” Zelensky warned earlier this month.

Berlin recently agreed to supply another US-made Patriot air defense system to Kiev. However it has refused to reverse its decision on Taurus missiles, arguing that sending them would require German personnel on the ground in Ukraine.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson has announced that he will put the Ukraine aid bill to a vote on Saturday. The legislation was previously stalled due to the bitter quarrels between Democrats and Republicans over immigration and border security.

Russia continues to insist that deliveries of foreign weapons will lead to more escalation, but will not change the course of the conflict. “The West continues to pump the Zelensky regime with weapons and is becoming an accomplice to its horrific crimes,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in January.

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“Diplomatic sensitivities” prevailed over the original plan, a government source has said

Israel planned to retaliate against Iran immediately after Tehran’s drone and missile attack on Saturday, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to hold off after speaking with US President Joe Biden, Israeli media have reported.

According to the public broadcaster Kan, Netanyahu's war cabinet had already approved a range of responses – depending on the scope of the Iranian attack – that would have taken place as early as Sunday.

“The response won’t be what was planned any longer, diplomatic sensitivities won out,” a senior source within the government told the outlet. “There will be a response, but it seems it will be different from what was planned.”

There is still an understanding that Israel will respond, Kan quoted an unnamed Western diplomat as saying, but the delay suggests that it will be weaker than originally envisioned.

Iran launched a barrage of drones, along with ballistic and cruise missiles against Israel on Saturday. According to Tehran, the bombardment was lawful retaliation for the Israeli bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria earlier this month, which killed seven high-ranking officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.

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Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi has said Tehran’s actions “will be met with a response.” However, the Israeli outlet Mako reported on Monday evening that the government was still working on a plan that would be acceptable to the US, “comply” with the rules set by Washington, and calibrated in such a way as to “not degenerate the region into a war.”

Most of the Israeli leadership supports an attack on Iran, according to the news website Ynet, but some notable politicians – such as Shas party leader Aryeh Deri – have spoken out against an escalation.

Iran has been preparing for a possible Israeli attack, most likely against Tehran-linked assets in Syria, while warning against such a course of action.

“The smallest action against Iran’s interests will definitely be met with a severe, extensive and painful response against all its perpetrators,” Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said.

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US military records tell a different story of the WWII incident

US President Joe Biden has claimed that an uncle of his who went missing in the Pacific during the Second World War was eaten by cannibals.

Second Lieutenant Ambrose Finnegan of the US Army Air Forces was declared missing in May 1944, after his light bomber crashed in the sea.

“He got shot down in an area where there were a lot of cannibals at the time,” Biden told reporters on the campaign trail outside Air Force One in Scranton, Pennsylvania. “They never recovered his body, but the government went back when I went down there and they checked and found some parts of the plane.”

Several hours later, at a meeting with United Steelworkers union members in Pittsburgh, Biden told the same story.

“He got shot down in New Guinea and they never found the body because there used to be – there were a lot of cannibals, for real, in that part of New Guinea,” the 81-year-old Democrat said.

According to the Pentagon’s agency for prisoners of war and missing in action (POW-MIA), Finnegan was never shot down, however. Nor was it on a reconnaissance mission, as Biden claimed.

The A-20 Havoc light bomber was on a “courier run” from the Los Negros Island when its engines failed at low altitude, per the official account of the incident. The plane dropped into the sea off the north coast of New Guinea and two out of three crew members never made it out of the sinking wreck, which was never found. The one man who survived was rescued by a passing boat.

Biden has told many fictitious tales about his life over a 50-year career in politics, most famously about getting arrested while trying to visit Nelson Mandela in a South African prison. He has repeated one debunked story about an Amtrak conductor more than a dozen times.

The cannibal claim about Uncle Ambrose, however, served as a springboard for attacking his predecessor – and presumptive challenger – Donald Trump. In the campaign speech in Pittsburgh, Biden told a story about how Trump allegedly refused to honor fallen US soldiers buried in France, calling them “suckers” and “losers.”

The story first appeared in The Atlantic magazine in September 2020, referring to events in November 2018, at the centenary of the WWI armistice. Trump denied the accusation, calling it “more made up fake news given by disgusting and jealous failures in a disgraceful attempt to influence the 2020 election!”

Documents debunking the Atlantic’s claim surfaced within days, but that has not stopped Democrats from repeatedly bringing it up as if true.

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Washington has reportedly signed assurances that the death penalty will not be sought for or imposed on the WikiLeaks founder

Washington has allegedly agreed to a set of conditions regarding the potential trial of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange if he is extradited to the US to face espionage charges, several media outlets reported on Tuesday.

The signed guarantees, which have been shared on X by New York Times correspondent Megan Specia, apparently assure that the 52-year-old Australian national would be able to rely on the US Constitution’s first amendment, which protects free speech, would not be prejudiced at trial because of his nationality, and would not face the death penalty if convicted.

It’s noted, however, that while these assurances are “binding,” the decision on the “applicability of the First Amendment” would be “exclusively within the purview of the US courts.”

Washington’s promises come after the British High Court in London ruled last month that if the US failed to provide these guarantees, then Assange would be able to appeal against his extradition to the US to stand trial for publishing classified military documents.

US has filed assurances in Assange extradition case, which were requested by a British court before it makes a final decision on his ability to appeal. Next step is a hearing on May 20. More on what those assurances are all about in our earlier story here: https://t.co/8ehvD0iHus pic.twitter.com/420CMZP0Wp

— Megan Specia (@meganspecia) April 16, 2024

Assange has been held in London’s top-security Belmarsh Prison for the past five years. He was initially arrested by British police in 2010 for sexual-offense allegations that he denied. In 2012, Assange jumped bail and was granted asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He was arrested again in 2019 when Ecuador revoked his asylum, and has remained in Belmarsh ever since.

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The US, meanwhile, continues to demand that he be extradited to American soil to stand trial on 17 counts of espionage, over the publication of classified Pentagon military documents in 2010 that detailed alleged US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. Assange faces up to 175 years in prison if extradited and convicted.

His legal team as well as his supporters have claimed that the case against him is political in nature and is being waged by the West as revenge for exposing its alleged war crimes.

His attorneys have also been insistent against the sought extradition of Assange to the US, arguing that it would put his life and well-being at risk, and have previously dismissed any assurances given by Washington as meaningless, claiming it would be impossible to rely on them if their client is actually extradited.

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Soviet-designed T-72s were intended to replace Kiev’s battlefield losses

It is unclear how many tanks of the Soviet T-72 design the Polish military currently operates, because the public doesn’t know how many Warsaw has donated to Kiev, military analyst Damian Ratka has said.

Ratka’s comments came during an 80-minute video event about the future of Polish armor, hosted by the news portal Defence24.

“We don’t really know how many T-72 tanks we have, because we don’t know exactly how many of them were transferred to Ukraine,” Ratka said. Kiev probably received at least 30 to 60 vehicles, but the actual numbers are not publicly available, he added.

Ratka’s estimates match what then-PM Mateusz Morawiecki promised to send Ukraine in January 2023: 60 tanks in total, half of them T-72M1 and the other half PT-91 Twardy, the Polish upgrade of the Soviet-era MBT. However, at the time Morawiecki also said that Poland had supplied “about 250” T-72s to Ukraine.

Warsaw first announced it had donated some of its T-72s in April 2022, but would not give any numbers. Prior to that, the Czech Republic and Slovakia had already supplied Kiev with Soviet-era armor, intended to replace the vehicles lost in the battles with the Russian military.

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Morawiecki also pledged to send 14 of the German-made Leopard 2 vehicles to Kiev, later clarifying that the promise was intended to pressure Berlin into doing the same. It was unclear whether any Polish Leopards were actually sent to Ukraine.

Hyped by the Western and Ukrainian press as wonder-weapons that would win the war, the Leopards ended up getting destroyed in large numbers during the Zaporozhye offensive last summer.

Speaking about the future of Polish armored forces, Ratka noted that Warsaw is operating some T-72s and PT-91s still, as well as three versions of the Leopard 2 and an unspecified number of the US-made Abrams and South Korean K2 ‘Black Panther’ MBTs.

Poland has made plans to buy more than 350 Abrams tanks, including 250 of the newer M1A2 model, Ratka said, as well as 180 or so K2s. Credit problems have troubled the planned purchase from Seoul, however.

Ratka added that Poland was planning to shut down the facilities producing spare parts for the Soviet legacy systems, as it could not manufacture some of the key components, such as turrets and engines. The fate of the remaining T-72s and PT-91s was uncertain, he noted, suggesting that they might end up being sent to Ukraine as well.

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Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes was arrested in Brazil after reportedly trying to use dead relative to borrow $3,000

A woman in Brazil has been taken into custody after she wheeled the corpse of an elderly man into a bank, claiming he was her uncle and that he would co-sign a loan, according to media reports, citing local police.

Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes, who claimed to be the niece and caregiver of 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga, wheeled the cadaver into the bank in a Rio suburb on Tuesday and told the teller the man wanted a loan for 17,000 reais ($3,250).

She held a pen and moved his hand forward to no response, footage from the bank’s security camera shows.

“Uncle, are you listening? You need to sign,” she reportedly said, suggesting she sign for him. “Sign, so you don’t give me any more headaches, I can’t take it anymore,” the woman added, grabbing hold of the man’s neck with her hand from behind.

“I don’t think he’s well. He doesn’t look well at all,” remarked one distrustful employee, with Nunes replying “He doesn’t say anything, that’s just how he is.”

She then addressed the deceased man: “If you’re not okay, I’m going to take you to the hospital.”

Shocking new footage shows woman wheeling corpse all over a Brazilian mall before pushing him into a bank where she tried to withdraw money from an account https://t.co/LWO7gTeA1e pic.twitter.com/7MMg2VG8xP

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) April 17, 2024

Bank staff became suspicious as the man’s head kept falling back and they called the police. who arrested the woman on the spot. Nunes has been charged with fraud. The corpse was taken to the morgue.

“She knew he was dead … he had been dead for at least two hours,” the investigating officer, Fabio Luiz Souza, told news program Bom Dia Rio on Wednesday.

“I have never come across a story like this in 22 years [as a cop],” added Souza, who said visible signs of livor mortis left no doubt as to Braga’s state.

It was later determined that Braga had been dead for several hours prior to his trip to the bank. Police said they will look into the circumstances of the man’s death and will try to determine whether Nunes is actually his niece, and whether other people were involved in the alleged attempt to commit bank fraud.

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Tehran is reportedly readying its air force and evacuating personnel from IRGC sites in Syria, according to the outlet

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is allegedly recalling its top military advisers from sites in Syria, as Tehran braces for an Israeli retaliatory attack, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing Syrian and Iranian officials.

The news comes after Iran launched what is estimated to have been several hundred missiles and explosive drones on targets in Israel on Saturday. Tehran framed the attack as retribution for the deaths of seven IRGC officers who were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1.

The Jewish state has claimed to have shot down nearly all of the munitions fired at it over the weekend, while Tehran has reported successfully striking several Israeli military installations.

Now, according to the Journal, Iran is preparing for an Israeli attack and is reportedly readying its air force to intercept the strikes while its navy is setting out to protect commercial Iranian ships in the Red Sea.

At the same time, the outlet claims that the IRGC, as well as the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group, are reducing the presence of their senior officers in Syria, while mid-ranking military personnel are “shifting from their original locations in the country.”

The outlet has explained, citing military experts, that Iran-linked facilities in Syria are the most likely targets of Israeli airstrikes, as they allow the Jewish state to respond while avoiding a direct tit-for-tat exchange with Iran.

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Although the US and other European nations have urged the Jewish State not to retaliate and instead be satisfied that it managed to repel the Iranian assault, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will make its “own decisions” and “do everything necessary to defend itself.”

So far, Israeli officials have not yet commented on the nature of the potential retaliation but have reportedly reassured their American and European partners that the response would not endanger their security and would likely be limited in scope.

Tehran, on the other hand, has warned Israel against carrying out any retaliatory strikes. “The smallest action against Iran’s interests will definitely be met with a severe, extensive and painful response against all its perpetrators,” Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has said.

The United Nations, meanwhile, has expressed concern over the rhetoric in the Middle East amid the latest escalation, and has called on all sides to show “maximum restraint.”

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The West can’t shoot down Russian missiles, the EU’s top diplomat has said

Kiev should not request the same kind of support that the West provided to West Jerusalem during the Iranian attack because the two situations cannot be compared, EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell has said.

The US, UK and France said they collaborated with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Saturday to shoot down some of the incoming Iranian missiles and drones. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has since called on Washington and its allies to do the same for Kiev.

Answering a reporter’s question after Tuesday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers, Borrell said the two situations were “different things that cannot be compared.”

“Iran’s attacks flew over air bases of the armies of France, the US, the UK and Jordan. They have gone over their bases, which then acted in self-defense,” Borrell noted. “There are no air bases of the UK, or the US, much less Jordan of course, on Ukrainian territory or in the territory Russian missiles fly over. Therefore, the same answer cannot be given because the circumstances are not the same.”

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Israel has also spent a lot of time and money to build the Iron Dome air defense system, which the EU couldn’t build overnight in Ukraine “even if we had money in the box,” the Spanish diplomat said. The bloc is nevertheless trying to provide Kiev with additional air defense capabilities, he added.

When asked if the EU was involved in defending Israel, Borrell said that the bloc was not directly involved, because it is not a state and does not have an army, but some of its members are.

“From that point of view I can say that the Union, or the member states of the Union that have the capabilities to do it, have done it,” he said. “We have participated, of course, in [passing along] the information that the intelligence services had about how imminent the attack was. We were warned, like so many others.”

This has made it possible to mobilize military capabilities – I insist, not of the Union, but of some of the member states that were available in the area and that have actively participated in eliminating what this attack represented for Israel.

Iran launched scores of drones, ballistic and cruise missiles against Israel on Saturday. According to Tehran, the strike was lawful retaliation for the Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria earlier this month that killed seven high-ranking officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.

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A contractor working for the Defense Department in Iraq faces civil actions from three former prisoners alleging depraved abuse

An employee of CACI International Inc, a contractor with strong links to the Pentagon, pushed soldiers serving in Iraq to rough-up detainees at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, retired US Army General Antonio Taguba has testified, at a trial in which the company denies being involved in torture.

The Virginia-based consultancy is being sued by three former detainees of the infamous prison, near Baghdad, who allege they were tortured 20 years ago. The hearing began on Monday, after almost 16 years of procedural delays.

Taguba, who retired in 2007 after 35 years’ service, identified Steven Stefanowicz, aka ‘Big Steve,’ as the CACI employee who had instructed Army guards to “soften up” the inmates – and had even attempted to intimidate the general himself at one point.

“He would lean on the table staring me down. He did not answer questions directly,” Taguba told the court. “He was trying to intimidate me.”

Asked if he was in fact intimidated, the retired general responded, “Not on your life.”

A report by Taguba in 2004 said that Stefanowicz “clearly knew his instructions equated to physical abuse” and recommended he be fired, reprimanded and lose his security clearance. According to Associated Press, his testimony on Tuesday was the strongest evidence of CACI contractors playing a role in the Abu Ghraib abuses.

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The retired general testified that his investigation focused on the military police (MP). Many MPs told investigators that they had not received clear instructions from the military, so Stefanowicz and other CACI contractors stepped into the vacuum. The court also heard that investigators were initially confused, because they thought the troops were saying “khaki” instead of the company’s name.

One of the three plaintiffs also testified on Tuesday. Speaking from Iraq and through an interpreter, Asaad Hamza Zubae said he had been kept naked, threatened with dogs, and forced to masturbate in front of prison guards.

Lawyers for CACI challenged that testimony, pointing to government reports showing that dogs had not yet been sent to Iraq at the time.

The contractor has filed over 20 motions to dismiss the case over the past 16 years. Its lawyers have argued that, as a contractor to the Department of Defense, CACI should be protected by the same sovereign immunity as the US government.

The Center for Constitutional Rights, which is representing the plaintiffs, has described the trial as “the first lawsuit where victims of US post-9/11 torture will get their day in court.”

The Abu Ghraib scandal first came to public attention in April 2004, when photos of abused prisoners and their smiling US guards were published. The abuses included stacking nude prisoners in pyramids or dragging them by leashes around their necks. Others were threatened by dogs or were hooded and attached to electrical wires.

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The Lebanese militant group claims it hit a military air surveillance unit

Hezbollah militants have shelled Israeli territory from Lebanon, injuring 18 people, local media reported on Wednesday.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the attack, saying that it had retaliated, striking targets in the neighboring country.

The Shiite armed group has repeatedly bombarded its southern neighbor since the military conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out last October. Hezbollah launched a volley of missiles at Israel late on Saturday while Iran was conducting its massive aerial attack on the country.

Agence France-Presse estimates that at least 363 people in Lebanon have been killed as a result of the hostilities in recent months, including at least 70 civilians.

On Wednesday, The Times of Israel quoted a statement from the Galilee Medical Center that it had admitted 18 people following a drone strike on Arab al-Aramshe, a predominantly Bedouin village. One of the victims is said to have been in critical condition, while another two were seriously wounded.

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Local broadcaster KAN claimed that the Lebanese militants had fired missiles, and not used UAVs. In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, the IDF confirmed that a “number of launches were identified crossing from Lebanon into northern Israel.”

According to the statement, the Israeli military responded by striking the “sources of the fire and a Hezbollah military compound in southern Lebanon where terrorists were operating.”

Hezbollah, for its part, said that it had targeted an Israeli military air surveillance unit and a gathering of Israeli soldiers as well as a command headquarters. On top of that, the Shiite militant group claims to have damaged an Israeli military vehicle, presumably injuring some of the people inside.

On Sunday, the IDF reported conducting airstrikes on multiple allegedly Hezbollah-related targets in Lebanon. According to a post on its Telegram channel, Israeli warplanes hit a number of other military installations in the south of the country, as well as a “significant” Hezbollah weapons manufacturing site close to the Syrian border.

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Legislators will vote on the aid bill this Saturday, according to Mike Johnson

Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson announced on Wednesday that he is sticking with his plan to send a series of foreign aid bills to the floor, including those for funding for Ukraine and Israel. Johnson said in a note to legislators that they'll vote on these on Saturday evening.

Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, has faced mounting pressure to act on President Joe Biden’s long-delayed request for billions of dollars in security assistance. It’s been more than two months since the Senate passed a $95-billion aid package, which includes $14 billion for Israel and $60 billion for Ukraine.

Despite opposition from conservatives over aiding Ukraine, Johnson said earlier this week that he would push to get the package to the House floor under a single debate rule, then hold separate votes on proposed aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as several foreign-policy proposals, according to Republican lawmakers.

“After significant Member feedback and discussion, the House Rules Committee will be posting soon today the text of three bills that will fund America’s national security interests and allies in Israel, the Indo-Pacific, and Ukraine, including a loan structure for aid, and enhanced strategy and accountability,” Johnson wrote on Wednesday.

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He added that these will be brought to the floor, alongside a fourth bill that includes the REPO Act, TikTok bill, sanctions and other measures “to confront Russia, China, and Iran.”

“By posting text of these bills as soon as they are completed, we will ensure time for a robust amendment process. We expect the vote on final passage on these bills to be on Saturday evening,” Johnson wrote.

He had recently indicated that he'd support sending more money to Kiev if it were a loan rather than a grant. This week, additional pressure was put on him after Iran’s retaliatory strike on Israel, which West Jerusalem claims to have stopped with help from the US.

Meanwhile, moderate New York Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis urged on Wednesday that the Speaker “go back to Biden & [NY Senator Chuck] Schumer and tell them he needs a border security measure to pass foreign aid.” Johnson said in the letter to his fellow members of Congress that he will bring forward an immigration bill that looks like the House’s HR 2.

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During the GOP meeting this week, the speaker reportedly warned hardcore opponents of Ukraine aid that an alternative to his plan would be for Democrats to force a vote on the Senate bill through procedural maneuvers. Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky reportedly urged Johnson to resign.

The previous House speaker, California’s Kevin McCarthy, was ousted from the position by his fellow Republicans for alleged backroom dealing with Democrats on Ukraine.

Proponents of funneling more money to Kiev have been touting the aid to increasingly skeptical American voters, stating that most of the funds would be spent at home to bolster defense manufacturing.

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The resolution against “from the river to the sea” had bipartisan support

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to condemn the chant “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” as hate speech.

The slogan, which dates to the 1960s, calls for a Palestinian state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Israel has argued that this implicitly denies its right to exist in the same territory.

“Our resolution makes it clear that the slogan ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ is antisemitic and calls for the total eradication of the Jewish, democratic state of Israel and the annihilation of the Jewish people,” said one of its sponsors, Congressman Josh Gottheimer.

Congress has the responsibility to “condemn disgusting, divisive, and dehumanizing chants” and fight against “prejudice and hate,” added Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat. The other two sponsors were New York Republican Anthony D’Esposito and Florida Democrat Jared Moskowitz.

The resolution was adopted by 377 votes in favor to 44 opposed. Only one Republican, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, voted against it citing constitutional grounds. The other 43 nays were from the “progressive” faction of the Democrats.

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The first amendment of the US Constitution prohibits Congress from making any laws limiting the freedom of speech, press or assembly. The US therefore has no “hate speech” laws or legal grounds for government censorship.

The recent escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has presented a domestic political challenge for the ruling Democrats, as they count on votes from both liberal Jews and Muslim immigrants.

Gottheimer noted that prominent Jewish organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Jewish Committee have condemned the chant as anti-Semitic. His statement also mentioned that the ADL has recorded “nearly 9,000 antisemitic incidents” in the US in 2023 – mostly after October 7 – and the highest number since 1979, when such record-keeping began. According to the ADL, chants and slogans count as “incidents.”

October 7 was when Hamas, the Gaza-based militant Palestinian group, raided nearby Israeli military bases and villages, killing over 1,100 Israelis and taking over 200 hostage. West Jerusalem responded by declaring war on the group and invading Gaza. The military operation has turned much of the enclave into rubble and claimed the lives of over 33,000 Palestinians over the past six months, according to local authorities.

Israel’s ruling Likud party has its own version of the slogan in its platform, declaring that “between the Sea and the Jordan, there will only be Israeli sovereignty,” which explicitly rejects any Palestinian statehood in the West Bank.

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Becoming a full member will not guarantee statehood, according to Washington’s envoy

A resolution recommending that the Palestinian Authority (PA) become a full member of the UN would not result in a two-state solution to the conflict with Israel, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield has said.

She made the comments at a news conference in Seoul on Wednesday, after being asked whether the US was open to recognizing the PA’s request.

Earlier this month, the regional authority asked to be admitted as a full-fledged member of the UN. The State of Palestine has held observer status since 2012, but full membership would amount to recognition of Palestinian statehood, which Israel opposes.

“We do not see that doing a resolution in the Security Council will necessarily get us to a place where we can find... a two-state solution moving forward,” Thomas-Greenfield said, as quoted by Reuters.

The UN Security Council committee reportedly stated this week that it “was unable to make a unanimous recommendation” on whether the PA’s application for full membership met the criteria.

Applications for UN membership must be approved by the secretary-general before being presented to the 15-member UN Security Council for a vote. The PA applied for membership in 2011, but the application was never put to the Security Council. At the time, the US – as one of the council’s five permanent members – said it would exercise its veto power in the event of a vote.

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The following year, the UN upgraded the State of Palestine’s status from “non-member observer entity” to “non-member observer state” – a status held only by the world body itself and Vatican City.

According to Thomas-Greenfield, US President Joe Biden has categorically said Washington supports a two-state solution and Washington is working to get that in place as soon as possible.

The PA is expected to push the Security Council to vote on a draft resolution as early as Thursday, diplomats told Reuters. Security Council member Algeria reportedly circulated a draft text late on Tuesday.

According to the Palestinian side, 137 of the 193 UN member states already recognize a Palestinian state.

Under the governance of the PA, the State of Palestine claims sovereignty over territory considered Palestinian before the outbreak of the 1967 Six-Day War. This includes Gaza, the entire West Bank, and East Jerusalem.

READ MORE: Interpol approves Palestinian membership despite Israeli objections

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected the idea of Palestinian statehood, and vowed to impose “full Israeli security control over the entire area west of Jordan,” which includes all of these regions.

Parts of the West Bank are already under full Israeli military and civilian control, while Gaza is governed by Hamas, which views the PA as illegitimate for recognizing and negotiating with Israel.

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The current bosses in Brussels have failed in all of their major projects, Hungary’s Viktor Orban has said

The EU needs new leadership as the bloc’s current top officials have proven entirely unsuccessful, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has claimed.

Orban made the comments at the European Parliament on Tuesday as part of a public discussion with Former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and the leader of the French National Rally party, Fabrice Leggeri.

“Now we have a leadership in the EU with some major projects selected by themselves like green transition, RRF (Recovery and Resilience Facility) policy, migration, war [in Ukraine] and sanctions policy, and they all failed,” Orban said.

“The present leadership of the European Union must go away. And we need new leaders,” the Hungarian prime minister insisted.

Orban said he intends “to come and take over Brussels,” reiterating his earlier warning to “occupy” the EU’s key institutions with his allies in order to bring change to the bloc.

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According to the Hungarian leader, the rule of law and conditionality system created by the current EU leadership has “proved to be… an instrument of political blackmailing. If you do not behave as we expect, you do not get the money.”

Hungary has not received “a single penny” from the RRF because European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has openly voiced dissatisfaction with Budapest’s reluctance to accept migrants and its opposition to the bloc’s gender policies, he said.

The EU’s green transition “has failed because it has gone against [the] economic and industrial” interests of the bloc, Orban added. A switch towards climate neutrality should not be “politically motivated,” otherwise “it would destroy the competitiveness of the European economy. That is where we stand today,” he explained.

In contrast to many other EU members, the Hungarian leader has refused to provide arms to Ukraine and has consistently criticized the bloc’s sanctions against Russia over the conflict. According to Orban, the time has come for Brussels to define “what it should do with the issue of the war” in order to find a solution to the crisis and prevent similar ones in the future.

READ MORE: We need a ceasefire in Ukraine – Orban

Even goodwill gestures may “cause difficulties for the European economy,” such as the recent protests by farmers in Poland, France, Germany, and other nations partly caused by the preferences given by the EU to Ukrainian food suppliers, he explained.

Orban also insisted that the issue of aid to Kiev should be “separated as much as possible from the issue of Ukraine’s accession to the EU,” formal negotiations for which were approved last year.

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Was Tehran’s ‘symbolic’ attack on the Jewish state a victory or a defeat for the future?

The night of April 13-14 was another round of ‘shock therapy’ for the world as Iran launched a direct attack on Israeli territory. This followed an unjustified strike by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, which resulted in the deaths of 11 diplomats and two high-ranking generals of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Initially, Israel denied responsibility, but later indirectly admitted to targeting the building under the belief that it served as a military base coordinating Hamas operations. This act clearly violated the Vienna Conventions of 1961 and 1963, which protect diplomatic missions. Typically, such an infringement would lead to the severance of diplomatic ties, but since Iran and Israel have had no such relations and have been on the brink of conflict for decades, Israel’s abrupt move can be interpreted as a declaration of war. Faced with this provocation, Iran was put in a very tight spot and felt compelled to act.

Almost two weeks of suspense followed as the world waited for Iran’s response, which seemed logically inevitable. Pundits and analysts mostly considered two obvious options that Iran could use: either give a mirror response and hit Israeli territory or one of its diplomatic offices in the region, or use its proxy forces, which are as much of a problem for Israel as Iran itself. But Tehran decided to take a third course, both launching a direct attack and using its allies in the region. This attack made history as it was Iran’s first direct assault on Israel. Among other things, it was the most massive drone attack on record, estimated to have involved more than 200 UAVs, as well as 150 cruise missiles, 110 Shahab-3, Sajil-2 and Kheibar surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, and seven Fattah-2 hypersonic cruise missiles. The strikes were launched from multiple locations including Iran, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and the part of Yemen controlled by the Ansar Allah Houthi group.

At 2 a.m., air raid sirens echoed throughout Israel. Panicked citizens flooded the streets, rushing to find shelter as explosions rocked Jerusalem, the port of Haifa, a military base in the Negev desert, and an air force base near Be’er Sheva. The IDF urged residents of Dimona, near a nuclear facility, to remain close to bomb shelters, and news feeds were filled with increasingly alarming messages. The barrage overwhelmed Israel’s renowned Iron Dome defense system, with the sheer volume of incoming drones and missiles proving too much to handle. In response, the air forces of the United Kingdom, the United States, Israel, and Jordan scrambled to intercept the projectiles. In a desperate countermeasure, Israel jammed all GPS signals to disrupt the guidance systems of the Iranian missiles and drones. Tehran promptly declared that its targets were strictly military bases, airfields, and government installations.

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One step from all-out war?

As the attack unfolded, US President Joe Biden publicly stated that he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “to reaffirm America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel.” All European capitals echoed the sentiment. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, while confirming his president’s resolve to support the Jewish state, added that Washington is not seeking conflict with Tehran. These words are unlikely to be welcomed in West Jerusalem. Netanyahu made several statements in light of Iran’s counterattack, first noting that everything was intercepted and blocked, referring to the success of the missile defense system. He then vowed that Iran will be held accountable for its actions. Israeli military reports claimed that almost 99% of the missiles and UAVs launched by Iran were shot down, but many military experts both in the West and in the Global South doubted this statement, relying on footage published in the media.

At the same time, sources of several influential American publications report that Washington is making every effort to dissuade Israel from directly striking Iran in order to “end this cycle of escalation.” Remarkably, but two days after the incident, Netanyahu made less belligerent statements, noting that the Jewish state would respond to Iran’s attack “wisely and without emotions.” Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that Israel will retaliate directly asymmetrically, but rhetoric in this matter is also important, and it is possible that Netanyahu will try not to drag the entire region, and subsequently the world, into the abyss of catastrophe. Especially considering that Israel is not an American puppet, and therefore Washington cannot guarantee that Netanyahu will sit idly by. Hence, the independent actions of the Israeli prime minister will carry significant weight.

Against this backdrop, the opinion of the former Israeli defense and foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, now an opposition figure, appears quite notable. Lieberman stated that Israel was only able to repel the Iranian attack thanks to US assistance, specifically through the capabilities of American intelligence and early interception. Based on this, Lieberman believes that Israel should seek maximum coordination with Washington regarding a retaliatory strike against Iran. According to him, by doing so, the US “will acknowledge that Israel has no alternative but to retaliate against Iran for its attack.” CNN’s sources report that Israel has even decided to postpone the operation in Rafah in Gaza, which it had been planning for several months, due to the situation with Iran. Now, Israeli authorities are focused on responding to the attack, resulting in the active phase of the operation being postponed for at least several days. In simpler terms, Israel is now in the position that Iran had been in all those days since the strike on the consulate in Damascus until the events of the night of April 14.

In turn, Iran’s IRGC issued a statement just minutes after the operation ended, noting that it was practically a ‘final warning,’ and in the event of a reverse reaction from Israel, Tehran would respond with more powerful actions. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian stated that the Islamic Republic does not desire an escalation of tension in the Middle East but acts in defense of its national security and interests. Additionally, according to the Iranian foreign minister, Tehran took into account the inaction of the UN Security Council regarding Israel’s use of force against the Iranian consulate in Damascus, as well as the irresponsible behavior of the US, Britain, and France.

A new place for a new Iran

Iran’s counterattack posed a challenge not only to Israel but to the entire West. Tehran acted on the premise that it wouldn’t allow itself to be slighted. It needed to ‘save face,’ not disappoint its allies and sympathizers, and prove to the entire region that it rightfully belongs among the region’s leaders. Moreover, the events can be seen as a change in Tehran’s tactics. Whereas previously Iranians built their ‘relations’ with Israel on the basis of ‘strategic patience,’ trying to avoid direct conflict with the Jewish state by all means, the situation has now undergone a radical change.

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The hardliners from among the clerics surrounding Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who advocate a tougher position on Israel and the West, have described the tactic of ‘strategic patience’ as a sign of weakness and called for more decisive action. Senior IRGC commanders, on the other hand, took a more pragmatic approach, arguing that Iran was not yet ready to make drastic moves. In the end, instead of emotion and hot-headedness, it was pragmatism that prevailed, combined with an understanding of a new reality – something that the West may not have planned for, at all.

Hence, one might ask: Could all of this have been an attempt to demonstrate to Israel and to the entire collective West that the balance of power in the Middle East has shifted? After all, the name given by Iran to its operation was ‘True Promise’ (or ‘Honest Promise’). Every word and phrase spoken by the Iranians should be examined quite meticulously, through a philosophical lens. In fact, everything seems to indicate that Tehran is now moving from rhetoric to action; if, previously, Iran was called a ‘paper tiger’ by the global community, now the attitude towards it has somewhat changed. Tehran can now boast to the rest of the region about its commitment, saying that “unlike you, we walked the talk.”

There are players in the Middle East who might not be happy with such behavior, especially those that have chosen to remain neutral or to wait out the crisis. We are talking, primarily, about Türkiye and Saudi Arabia. In a polite but somewhat abstract statement, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) called for restraint to prevent any further escalation that “threatens the stability of the region and the safety of its population,” which, in effect, signals that the countries of the union (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Oman, and Saudi Arabia) are unwilling to make a clear choice and possibly still hope for normalization of relations with Israel once the conflict in the Gaza is resolved. Türkiye holds a similar stance, although it should be noted that Ankara condemned Israel’s attack on the Iranian consulate, warned that it would close its airspace to military aircraft in case of a US attack on Iran (in that, Türkiye was immediately joined by Kuwait and Qatar), and attempted to take on the role of peacemaker. Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a series of harsh comments about Israel, thus killing any prospect of becoming a mediator and bringing the opposing sides to the negotiating table.

That said, neither Israel nor Iran is interested in such a scenario. Tehran has chosen a tough but consistent line of policy towards Israel: no deals with the Jewish state until Palestine is free and until Jerusalem is divided into two parts. There is nothing new about Tehran’s position, though – it is all stated clearly in the UN resolution from 1947. Ironically, when voting at the UN in 1947, Iran, ruled at the time by the ‘pro-Western’ Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, voted against this type of solution, arguing that over the long term it would lead to mass deportation of Palestinians from their very own lands, preventing them from visiting their holy sites. In fact, Tehran believed that the newly-founded state of Israel would not stop there and would continue to expand at the expense of its neighboring states. Simply put, Tehran never did betray the core of its own position on the issue; although, seeing the inaction of the Arab states, Pahlavi Iran was gradually building relations with Tel Aviv – without ignoring the problem of Palestine.

Given all this context, the most intriguing question now is how the countries of the region, namely the Arab world, will react to Iran’s actions – after all, the attitude towards modern Tehran is quite mixed. Iran has been able to bolster its hand by using proxy organizations, which are now moving against Israel to defend the interests of Palestine. Judging by their neutral reactions – and quite unsurprisingly, in fact – none of the Arab leaders is interested in a strong Iran. They are interested in Iran existing as a moderate state allied with the West, with which they themselves cooperate. However, if Iran joins Russia and China and, as part of this troika, becomes an actor in the great world politics, the Middle East will face some big changes.

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Does Israel have the answer?

Despite the IRGC’s counterattacks, Iran continues to maintain its position that nobody needs a war, and it’s not interested in one by any means. As for its strikes so far, Iran considers them quite successful; they succeeded in making a point and delivering ‘a clear message’ to the entire West that Tehran is no longer confining itself to verbal statements and that, in general, things are going to get very real. Furthermore, any potential response from Israel will now justify similar operations by Iran, which may become harsher and harsher every time. Besides, the moral victory also belongs to Iran. Tehran had held the situation in suspense all along, and the world witnessed strikes on military bases in the north of Israel and saw them take damage. Iran’s strike, albeit a token one, has happened. The Islamic Republic is beginning to act like the flagship power in the region.

In this case, Israel hardly needs a direct war with the Islamic Republic, especially with the Hamas issue not settled yet, Gaza still not demilitarized, hostages yet to be rescued, and Western allies offering nothing in terms of support but nice statements and condemnations. In the meanwhile, there are rather serious reasons to believe that Israel may not be able to keep its temper and strike, just for self-consolation. Expecting a response strike from Iran, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said, several days prior to the counterattack, that if Iran strikes from its territory, then Israel will attack in response. That means the Israelis could go further and continue their attacks. Yes, Netanyahu has changed his tone somewhat and tries to show now that he doesn’t want a big war. He, however, may be under pressure from the security wing, members of which yearn for revenge and want to blow off steam on Iran, which they think created the situation Israel has been in since October 7, 2023. If Israel does strike back, attacking Iranian territories and killing people, the situation will spin out of control and there will be no stopping the Iranians.

The goal of Iran’s counterattack against Israel was not to unleash a big war. This action can be seen differently: as a PR effort, a propaganda schtick, or muscle-flexing. Some may say that Iran failed to retaliate fully, as its attack didn’t achieve anything equal to the two generals and 11 diplomats that Israel’s strike had killed. The message of the counterstrike, however, was not only to take revenge for Iran’s dead. Tehran deliberately didn’t strike targets in major Israeli cities. Its strikes on Israel were limited, mostly targeting the occupied Golani Heights, which legally belong to Syria, and military installations in Negev desert, in order to avoid escalation and prevent further provocations on Israel’s part. Besides, Iran has proved that it can penetrate Israel’s air defenses and that Israel is not that well protected.

Therefore, Iran’s goal was to change the rules of the game in the region and, by and large, it succeeded. Tehran’s counterattack put paid to any talk of Iran not putting its money where its mouth is and brought the conflict between the two countries to a whole new level. This half-measure cannot be seen as a defeat, but it’s not exactly a victory either. Besides, Israel is not going to sit idle. The Jewish state will start reviewing its actions and correcting mistakes; after all, matters of its own security are the utmost priority for Israel.

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A survey conducted by the Hebrew University asked respondents whether they advocate military action that could alienate allies

Most Israelis oppose a retaliatory strike on Iran that could alienate their country’s allies, a recent poll has found. Several media outlets have reported in recent days that US President Joe Biden advised the Netanyahu government against taking military action against Tehran in response to the latter’s massive aerial bombardment over the weekend.

According to Israel, Iran targeted it with several hundred missiles and explosive-laden drones late on Saturday. The Israeli military claims to have shot down almost all of them. Iran, in turn, has announced that it managed to strike several military installations.

Tehran has framed the attack as retribution for the death of seven high-ranking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officers, who lost their lives when an alleged Israeli airstrike hit Iran’s consulate in Damascus on April 1.

On Tuesday, Hebrew University published the findings of its survey, which it had conducted over the previous two days online and by phone among 1,466 Israelis.

Most of the respondents (74%) spoke out against any military response to Iran’s recent bombardment “if it undermines Israel’s security alliance with its allies.”

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More than half of the people polled also said that Israel “should respond positively to political and military demands from its allies” in order to “ensure a sustainable defense system over time.”

Speaking to reporters during his official visit to Israel on Wednesday, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said “it’s clear the Israelis are making a decision to act.”

He expressed hope that Israel’s response would be executed in a “way that does as little to escalate this as possible.”

Earlier this week, ABC News, citing anonymous Biden administration officials, claimed that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had spoken by phone with his Israeli colleague, Yoav Gallant, telling the latter that Washington would not help its ally in any offensive military operation against Tehran.

The Israeli outlet Mako reported on Monday evening that Israel’s retaliation would need to receive the green light from the US and be in line with rules set by Washington, so as not to “degenerate the region into a war.”

Around the same time, the New York Times alleged that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had called off immediate retaliatory strikes after speaking with US President Joe Biden by phone on Saturday night.

On Sunday, Iran’s chief of staff of the armed forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri warned that the Islamic Republic would unleash a “much more extensive” attack on Israel, should the latter conduct military strikes on Iran.

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House speaker Mike Johnson is working on a complex plan to tie Republican policies to Democrat-favored requests, the news agency said

The chances that the US House would vote this week on a Ukraine aid package are becoming slimmer, as Speaker Mike Johnson faces internal Republican party pressure over his legislative plans, the Associated Press has reported.

The congressional leader spent hours on Capitol Hill on Tuesday with fellow representatives, discussing strategies on how to ensure that policies that his party considers a priority get through the chamber alongside the Democrat-requested funding, AP said. With no draft document produced, “passage of any aid this week [is] in serious doubt.”

The White House has been urging Johnson for weeks to put to a vote a $93-billion bill passed by the Senate in late February. The proposal provides for security assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan as well as humanitarian aid for Gaza.

Johnson has recently indicated that he would support sending more money to Kiev, if it were a loan rather than a grant. This week additional pressure was put on him, after an Iranian retaliatory attack on Israel, which the Jewish state stopped with help from the US.

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According to AP’s report, the speaker is considering a complicated approach, which would break the Senate bill down into separate votes. The Senate would then have to vote on whatever legislative product comes from the House.

The Republican party wants the security of the US southern border to be tied to the spending proposal. Johnson may also push for confiscation of Russian assets in US jurisdictions and for sanctions against Iran, AP added.

During the Republican meeting, the speaker reportedly warned hardcore opponents of Ukraine aid, that an alternative to his plan would be for Democrats to force a vote on the Senate bill through procedural maneuvers. Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky reportedly urged Johnson to resign. The previous House speaker, California’s Kevin McCarthy, was ousted from the position by his own party for alleged backroom dealing with Democrats on Ukraine.

READ MORE: US House speaker to put Ukraine aid bill to a vote – media

Proponents of funnelling more money into Kiev have been touting it to increasingly skeptical American voters, stating that most of the funds would be spent at home to bolster defense manufacturing.

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The country hasn’t seen such levels in 75 years, the government has said

Dubai, a world-renowned megalopolis in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was brought to a standstill by a powerful downpour that hit the typically arid region on Monday and Tuesday. Other parts of the country have also been battered and at least one death has been reported.

The UAE government has reported that the country has faced the largest amount of rainfall since local meteorologists began keeping records 75 years ago.

Dubai received more than 142mm, over 5.5 inches, of precipitation – or 18 months worth according to statistical averages, in just 12 hours.

?BREAKING: DUBAI, exceptional weather with a storm dropping more rain than it receives in a whole year. Hundreds of buildings and thousands of cars are underwater, flooding streets and airport. #Dubai #Storm #DubaiFlooding #Rain #ExceptionalWeather pic.twitter.com/FLCsSNJbF7

— Ivano Panetti (@ivanopanetti) April 17, 2024

The situation was compounded by the fact that many roads in Dubai lack proper drainage due to the area’s extremely dry climate. Large lakes swelled up on major highways, trapping drivers in their cars and forcing many to abandon their vehicles altogether.

According to local police, a 70-year-old man lost his life when his car was swept away by torrents of water in the country’s northern Ras Al-Khaimah emirate.

The popular shopping centers Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates have also been flooded, as has at least one underground station.

Multiple flights at Dubai International Airport – a major international transport hub – were delayed or diverted after a huge section of canopy and runway was entirely covered by water.

Dubai Airport right now
pic.twitter.com/FX992PQvAU

— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) April 16, 2024

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, the airport operator advised travelers “NOT to come to the airport, unless absolutely necessary.”

Scenes of current Dubai weather
pic.twitter.com/z7rGzUtlIB

— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) April 16, 2024

The UAE’s National Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Authority urged citizens not to leave their homes and to park their vehicles in “elevated locations away from areas prone to flooding.”

Schools have switched to remote mode and government employees have also been told to work from home.

READ MORE: Locals told to flee after major flood warning (VIDEOS)

Authorities issued similar advisories back in March over extreme weather conditions.

The torrential rain currently hitting the region has also affected neighboring Bahrain and Oman, leading to multiple deaths there.

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National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has described the punitive measures as a response to Tehran’s bombardment of Israel

The US government is working on a new batch of sanctions on Iran in response to Tehran’s aerial attack on Israel over the weekend, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has revealed. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has called on allies to impose punitive measures on the Islamic Republic.

According to Israel, Iran launched several hundred missiles and kamikaze drones late on Saturday. The Israeli military claims to have intercepted most of them. Iran, however, insists that it managed to strike several military installations.

Tehran has described the aerial bombardment as retaliation for an Israeli airstrike that destroyed Iran’s consulate in Damascus on April 1, killing seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officers, including two generals.

In a statement on Tuesday, Sullivan said President Joe Biden has been cooperating with US lawmakers and foreign allies to devise a “comprehensive response” to Tehran’s actions.

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“In the coming days, the United States will impose new sanctions targeting Iran, including its missile and drone program as well as new sanctions against entities supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s Defense Ministry,” the official announced. The national security advisor added that Washington expects its partners to follow suit.

According to Sullivan, the new measures are meant to “contain and degrade Iran’s military capacity and effectiveness and confront the full range of its problematic behaviors.”

Speaking at a press conference during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington DC on the same day, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also confirmed that the Biden administration was likely to “take additional sanctions action against Iran in the coming days.”

She added that despite the US sanctions already in place, “Iran is continuing to export some oil,” and that “there may be more that we could do” in that respect.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), also on Tuesday, Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote that he had sent letters to 32 nations and had spoken to “dozens of foreign ministers and leading figures around the world, calling for sanctions to be imposed on the Iranian missile project and that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be declared a terrorist organization.”

Tehran has been subjected to a wide range of international sanctions for decades over its missile and nuclear enrichment programs, with the West suspecting Iran of secretly attempting to develop its own nuclear weapons – a claim Tehran has denied.

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Even if Moscow’s money is seized, Ukraine will not be given all of it at once, a US official has told Reuters

No option has been taken off the table as the G7 countries continue to discuss the possibility of using frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine, Reuters has reported, citing a senior US Treasury official.

Washington and its allies have blocked some $300 billion of Russian central bank assets due to sanctions adopted in response to the launch of Moscow’s military operation against Kiev in February 2022. Around $200 billion of that money is held in the EU. The US has been insisting for months that international law allows for the confiscation of the funds, but Germany and France have expressed concerns that such a move could set a dangerous precedent.

The fate of the frozen Russian assets will be discussed during the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting set to kick off in Capri, Italy on Wednesday, an unnamed Treasury official told the agency on Tuesday.

Western nations will be looking into all available ways of using the money to assist Kiev, the source said, while declining to specify which option was the most likely.

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However, the official clarified that even if the US and its allies eventually decide to seize the Russian funds altogether, Ukraine would not have the capacity to absorb the full amount at once.

The official also warned that no major breakthrough should be expected this week, as the final decision on the issue is to be made by the leaders of the G7 countries.

Other informed sources have told Reuters that one of “the most promising proposals” under consideration was for the US and its allies to seize the interest due on the frozen Russian assets for use as collateral for loans or bonds issued to help Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Finance Minister Sergey Marchenko told Reuters that he is going to meet with his German counterpart Christian Lindner and other G7 officials this week to talk about the Russian assets. Unity is required within the G7 on whatever approach the group chooses, he stressed.

READ MORE: US floats softer alternative to confiscating Moscow’s reserves – FT

Moscow has repeatedly said that the seizure of its funds would amount to theft and would further undermine global trust in the Western financial system. Russia also warned that if necessary, it might respond in kind to such a move by the US and its allies.

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The UN’s atomic watchdog has dismissed claims by Israel that Tehran is weeks away from acquiring a nuclear capability

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has no evidence that Iran has an active nuclear weapons program, Director General Rafael Grossi has told journalists. The senior official was commenting on remarks by Israel’s UN envoy, Gilad Erdan, who claimed on Sunday that Tehran could obtain a nuclear weapon within weeks.

Grossi said he is not responsible for statements by IAEA member states, but that the agency itself considers the Israeli claim to be unsubstantiated.

“As far as the agency who is inspecting there is concerned, we don’t have any information or indication that there is a nuclear weapon program in Iran,” he told reporters on Tuesday, after briefing members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) in New York.

“The fact that there is an accumulation of uranium enriched at very, very high levels does not automatically mean that you have a nuclear weapon,” Grossi added. He was referring to previous discoveries by IAEA inspectors of traces of highly-enriched uranium in Iran.

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Last Sunday, Israeli ambassador Erdan lashed out at Tehran at a UNSC session dedicated to discussing Iran’s drone and missile assault on Israel. Tehran launched the barrage at the weekend in retaliation for an attack on its consulate in Syria on April 1, which it blamed on Israel.

Erdan branded Israel’s regional rival “a terror state responsible for global destruction,” and asked the international security body to consider what would have happened if Iran “could have launched a nuclear bomb” when it attacked his country.

“Iran’s breakout time to produce an arsenal of nuclear weapons is now weeks, mere weeks,” he declared. “The IAEA inspectors have been kept in the dark. Iran is on the verge of becoming a nuclear power. It should terrify every member of this council.”

READ MORE: No Russian heavy weapons at Zaporozhye plant – IAEA boss

Tehran has for decades denied claims that it is seeking a nuclear capability. During the presidency of Barack Obama, the US and other world powers signed a deal with Iran under which it was offered sanctions relief and business opportunities in exchange for accepting restrictions on its nuclear industry. Israel was vocally opposed to the 2015 agreement, known as the JCPOA, and lobbied the administration of Donald Trump, which ultimately withdrew US participation, effectively killing the deal.

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Pavel Durov has slammed the tech giants for their attempts to curtail freedom of speech

Apple and Google “could, basically, censor whatever you can read, access on your smartphone,” Pavel Durov, the co-founder of the popular messaging app Telegram has told Tucker Carlson in an interview; he lamented that the pressure coming from the tech giants is stronger than that exerted by governments.

The entrepreneur has also said he received warnings from both the Democratic and Republican parties after the January 2021 riots in the US Capitol.

The rare discussion took place at the Russian-born IT entrepreneur’s office in Dubai, and was released on Wednesday. Carlson asked Durov to give an example of a request to build backdoors into Telegram that crossed into censorship, and could be considered spying, or violating people’s privacy. The messaging app claims to have over 900 million active users.

“There was a funny story related to your home country,” the tech entrepreneur replied. “After the events of January 6, we received a letter from, I believe, a congressman from the Democratic side, and they requested that we share all the data that we have in relation to what they called ‘that uprising.”

On January 6, 2021, a mob loyal to then-US President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol and forced lawmakers into hiding in an attempt to prevent Congress from formalizing Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.

Durov said his team checked the letter and it “seemed very serious,” essentially saying: “if you fail to comply with this request, you will be in violation with the US Constitution.”

“Two weeks after that letter, we got another letter, a new letter, from the Republican side of the Congress, and there we read that, if we give out any data [to the Democrats], it would be in violation of the US Constitution.

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So we got two letters that said: whatever we do, we would be violating the US Constitution.”

However, the most pressure on Telegram, according to Durov, comes from tech giants Apple and Google, Durov stressed.

“I would say that the largest pressure is not coming from governments. It is coming from Apple and Google. When it comes to the freedom of speech, those two platforms could, basically, censor whatever you can read, access on your smartphone,” he said. “They make very clear that if we fail to comply with their guidelines, as they call it, Telegram could be removed from the [app] stores.”

Durov dismissed any suggestion of links between Telegram and the Russian government, suggesting that competitors could be stirring up such rumours to discredit the company.

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Russian-born IT entrepreneur Pavel Durov says he was “pressured” by the FBI during his stays in America

The US government wanted a so-called 'backdoor' in to Telegram in order to potentially spy on its users, the social media platform’s founder Pavel Durov has said in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson.

The attention from the FBI was one of the reasons Durov dropped the idea of setting up the company in San Francisco, he said.

Born in St. Petersburg, Durov first founded VK, Russia’s answer to Facebook, together with his mathematician brother Nikolay. The brothers later developed the Telegram messaging service and social media platform, which describes itself as one of the safest and best-protected communication tools available.

Durov sold his stake in VK and left Russia in 2014 due to disagreements with the government. He lived in several countries while looking for the best place to run Telegram from, and ultimately settled in Dubai.

In an interview released on Wednesday, Durov said he visited the US several times and even met with former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. He was under the watchful eye of the FBI, which made his stays in America uneasy, he said.

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“We got too much attention from the FBI, the security agencies, wherever we came,” Durov told Carlson, describing the experience as “alarming.”

According to Durov, one of his top employees once told him that he had been approached by the US government. “There was a secret attempt to hire my engineer behind my back by cybersecurity officers,” the businessman said.

“They were trying to persuade him to use certain open-source tools that he would then integrate into Telegram’s code that, in my understanding, would serve as backdoors,” Durov said, adding that he believes the employee’s account. “There is no reason for my engineer to make up (such) stories.”

Durov went on to say that he also had “personally experienced similar pressure” in America, where law enforcement officials approached him on multiple occasions.

Whenever I would go to the US, I would have two FBI agents greeting me at the airport, asking questions. One time, I was having breakfast at 9 am and the FBI showed up at the house that I was renting.

“My understanding is that they wanted to establish a relationship to control Telegram better. I understand that they were doing their job. [But] for us, running a privacy-focused social media platform, that probably wasn’t the best environment to be in,” Durov explained.

The tech entrepreneur acknowledged that Telegram has been used by protest organizers in many countries around the world. He stressed, however, that he wants the platform to remain politically neutral.

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Kiev’s accession would risk a global war, Slovakia’s prime minister has warned

The risks of a global war will only increase if Ukraine becomes part of NATO, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico warned on Tuesday, promising that his country will block Kiev’s attempt to join.

Accepting new countries into the US-led military bloc requires unanimous consent from all of its 32 current members. If Ukraine is invited, Slovakia’s parliament will not ratify the accession treaty, Fico insisted.

“Slovakia needs a neutral Ukraine. Our interests will be threatened if it becomes a NATO member state because that is the basis of a large world conflict,” the prime minister explained, as quoted by the Noviny.sk news website.

Fico stressed that he will not bow to any outside pressure. “Our partners abroad have been taught that whatever they ask and request from Slovakia, they will automatically get it. But we are a sovereign and self-confident country,” he stated.

Slovakia, together with neighboring Hungary, has warned that the EU should not be dragged into the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and has insisted on a diplomatic resolution. After becoming prime minister in October 2023, Fico reversed the previous government’s decision to send weapons to Kiev. He also fiercely opposes sending NATO troops to Ukraine.

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Ukraine formally applied to join NATO in September 2022. Although US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated this month that Ukraine “will become a member of NATO” sometime in the future, the bloc has so far refused to commit to a specific timetable or provide a clear pathway for Kiev’s accession. US President Joe Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg have ruled out Ukrainian membership until the fighting with Russia ends.

Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it views NATO’s continuing eastward expansion as a national security threat. Russia cited the bloc’s military cooperation with Ukraine as one of the root causes of the current conflict and described Kiev’s potential accession as a “red line.”

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The deputy governor of a Polish province got into a flame war with critics

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has dismissed the deputy governor of Lower Silesia, Jacek Protasiewicz, after a series of bizarre social media posts which included “homophobic” insults.

Once a member of Tusk’s party, but expelled in 2015, Protasiewicz tweeted a photo of his old political comrades and said he knew “many cool stories, important and certainly interesting for this country,” which he originally intended to share after his retirement “but maybe I’ll tell them sooner.”

Tusk fired Protasiewicz on Monday, at the request of the provincial governor. He remains a member of a political group allied with the Polish People’s Party (PSL), a junior partner in Tusk’s coalition government that took power last December.

Ahead of the mayoral run-off vote in the provincial capital, Wroclaw, Protasiewicz got into a flame war on X (formerly Twitter), calling one critic a “lousy bum” and another a “stinking coward,” according to local media. The following day, he began posting about what appeared to be a romantic relationship with Daria Brzezicka, a party activist who is 30 years his junior.

When Brzezicka called out a journalist for making insinuations about her, Protasiewicz called him “ordinary, average, crap” and suggested the reporter had a small penis. He called another X user who criticized Brzezicka an “imperceptible speck of dust,” while suggesting a third critic was just typing “stupid things” because he was a jealous loser.

Protasiewicz went on to claim that “big and red lips” and a “delicate mouth” were responsible for activist Oskar Szafarowicz’s career in the formerly ruling PiS party. Szafarowicz has since said he would sue the deputy governor for “vulgar, primitive, homophobic” remarks.

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After the PSL “firmly distanced” itself from the politician’s “inappropriate” comments, Protasiewicz further insisted that he could publish whatever he wants on his private X account.

The provincial governor’s office felt compelled to tweet that Protasiewicz’s posts were “his private opinions and in no way express the position of the governor.”

When asked if this involved any dirt, he replied, “no dirt, just the truth” and implied he had written notes to back it up.

Protasiewicz was a member of the Polish parliament from 2001-2004 and again from 2015-2023, and served three terms as a member of the European parliament between 2004 and 2014.

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CSG has seen its profits surge after refurbishing old tanks to sell off to Ukraine

The owner and chairman of defense manufacturer, Czechoslovak Group (CSG), Michal Strnad, has become a billionaire, thanks to profits he has been reaping from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

The arms maker has seen revenues surge amid the conflict, with profits growing almost twofold in 2022 to around $1 billion and nearly doubling again last year, reaching $1.9 billion. One of the conglomerate’s divisions, Excalibur Army, has greatly contributed to the profits, manufacturing munitions as well as building new and refurbishing old Soviet-made weaponry.

Amid the conflict, the company has supplied some 100 refurbished T-72 main battle tanks to Kiev. CSG’s production of ammunition grew more than tenfold since the escalation in early 2022 of long-simmering hostilities between Moscow and Kiev, with its workforce nearly tripling to 10,000 across manufacturing sites in eight countries, Bloomberg noted.

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The arms maker is looking forward to benefiting from the Russia-Ukraine conflict for years to come and appears to be very open about that. The highest demand observed since the end of the Cold War for weapons in Europe is here to stay, Strnad believes.

“Even if the war were to end tomorrow, it would take years to replenish the empty stocks, not to mention the push to boost defense spending and ramp up production,” Strnad said, as quoted by Bloomberg. “I am confident there will be strong demand for a long time to come.”

The company was originally founded by Strnad’s father, Jaroslav, in 1995, who originally sought to procure decommissioned military hardware from members of the defunct Warsaw Pact – the newly-admitted NATO states – to scrap them and sell for profit. The true profit, however, turned out to be in dealing in arms as they were, with the company promptly discovering high demand for spares as well as for refurbished items of Soviet-era military hardware.

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Authorities said the event attended by Viktor Orban and Nigel Farage presented a “possibility of disorder”

Belgian police barricaded the entrance to a conference of national conservatives in the capital of the EU for several hours, in what participants denounced as censorship and political repression.

The event, dubbed NatCon, drew populists from both Europe and the US to Claridge, a venue in central Brussels. As Brexit architect Nigel Farage spoke on Tuesday, police blocked the entrance and prevented keynote speaker Eric Zemmour – a former French presidential candidate – from entering.

“I knew I wouldn’t be welcome back in Brussels,” Farage, a former MEP, joked on stage, calling the attempt to cancel the event “simply monstrous.”

“In the past, Belgium welcomed Victor Hugo in exile. From now on, this country lives between a caliphate and a dictatorship,” Zemmour said on X (formerly Twitter).

Two other venues had previously backed out on hosting NatCon, under pressure from the socialist and liberal mayors of Brussels and nearby Etterbeek, according to Politico EU. The mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Emir Kir, told the outlet by email he would “immediately” ban the event when informed it was being held in his jurisdiction.

A Politico reporter on the scene said the police invoked the “possibility of public disorder” to attempt to shut down the conference, arguing that they couldn’t guarantee security in case of a counter-protest.

English translation of the Brussels mayor’s order deploying police and banning entrance to the NatCon conference here — pic.twitter.com/4gdHvtWoPI

— Paul Coleman (@Paul_B_Coleman) April 16, 2024

“The conference is extremely peaceful. There is absolutely no public disturbance. Guests, including esteemed scholars and elected leaders, are enjoying hearing civilized discussion,” the NatCon organizers tweeted in response.

The standoff continued for most of the day. In a “compromise” the Claridge owner reached with Kir, the police allowed the event to continue but blocked new arrivals from entering the venue – including Zemmour and French MEP Patricia Chagnon.

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“The last time they wanted to silence me with the police was when the Communists set them on me in ‘88. We didn’t give up then and we will not give up this time either!” said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is scheduled to speak on Wednesday.

Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy and leader of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Party, denounced the police blockade as “hateful oppression of freedom of expression taking place in Brussels.”

“If only the globalists in Brussels put as much energy into securing our borders as they did in trying to gag conservatives, maybe our continent would be in a healthier state,” said former UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who managed to speak at the event.

Belgian PM Alexander De Croo also chimed in, calling the police action “unacceptable.”

“Municipal autonomy is a cornerstone of our democracy but can never overrule the Belgian constitution guaranteeing the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly since 1830. Banning political meetings is unconstitutional. Full stop,” he said.

Today, we overcame attempts by Brussels authorities to silence us and had a wonderful Day One of NatCon Brussels 2. See you again tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/NO9I3CbnUl

— National Conservatism (@NatConTalk) April 16, 2024

NatCon’s principal organizer is the Edmund Burke Foundation, run by Israeli-American philosopher Yoram Hazony. The event comes ahead of the European Parliament elections in June, with polls showing rising support for “nationalist” parties over the establishment EPP and Socialist-Democrat blocs.

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The Euro-Atlantic region has not experienced a crisis like today’s since the end of the Cold War; that has created an opportunity for real change

In his annual address to the Russian Federal Assembly on February 29, 2024, President Vladimir Putin emphasized the need for a new framework of equal and integral security in Eurasia. He also expressed the country’s readiness to engage in a substantive discussion on this matter with the relevant parties and organizations.

The initiative was pursued during Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to China this month. Moscow's top diplomat informed the press about an agreement with China to begin a discussion on the structure of security in Eurasia; a topic addressed during his visit. The fact that Putin’s proposal was on the agenda between the two major countries suggests that it may take concrete form, both in terms of political theory and practice.

The idea of Eurasian security naturally raises questions about other relevant initiatives. During his visit to Beijing, Lavrov directly linked the need for a new framework with challenges to Euro-Atlantic security, which is centered on NATO and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). References to the Euro-Atlantic experience are significant for two reasons.

Firstly, the Euro-Atlantic project is characterized by a high degree of institutional integration. It is based on a military bloc (NATO) which maintains strict obligations for its members. Despite the end of the Cold War, the North Atlantic Alliance has not only survived but expanded to include former members of the Warsaw Pact. NATO is the largest and historically the most stable military bloc.

Secondly, the post-Cold War Euro-Atlantic project has failed to address the issue of common and shared security for all nations in the region. In theory, the OSCE could have brought together, in a single community, both NATO and non-NATO countries, including Russia. But since the early 2000s, the OSCE has experienced a process of politicalization which has favored the interests of Western countries.

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Russia, as a result, has increasingly seen NATO expansion as a threat to its own security. Instruments such as the Russia-NATO Council have been unable to address the growing tensions. The lack of effective and equitable institutions that could effectively address the concerns of Russia and fully integrate it into a common security framework has led to increasing estrangement and, ultimately, a crisis in relations with the West.

This development has been accompanied by a deterioration of the arms control regime and the erosion of security norms, against the backdrop of US-led military operations and interference in post-Soviet states. The culmination of these events has been the Ukrainian crisis, which has reached its military phase and will ultimately determine the final state of emerging security divisions in Europe.

The Euro-Atlantic region no longer exists as a single security community. It is instead characterized by asymmetric bipolarity, with the North Atlantic Alliance on one side and Russia on the other.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, an intensifying and growing confrontation between Russia and NATO has emerged. This conflict has not yet escalated into a fully-fledged military phase, but it manifests itself in various other dimensions, including information warfare and the provision of direct and comprehensive military assistance from Western countries to Ukraine. The Euro-Atlantic region has not faced such challenges since the end of the Cold War. This suggests that the Euro-Atlantic security framework, based on the principles of equal and indivisible security, no longer exists.

At best, one can hope for a reduction in the intensity of the current crisis through a new balance of power and a mutual deterrent, while acknowledging the emerging security divides. At worst, there could be a direct military confrontation between Russia and NATO, with the possibility of nuclear escalation.

The experience of the failure of the Euro-Atlantic project highlights the need for the creation of a new framework with different principles and foundations. Firstly, this new framework should be based on cooperation between several actors and should not rely solely on the dominance of any one party, such as that of the United States in NATO. In this regard, it is significant that consultations on Eurasian security matters have begun between Russia and China – two major powers and permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

This indicates that the very first steps towards establishing a new framework are being taken based on dialogue and shared responsibility, rather than on the principle of dominance by any one power. These steps, however, are not confined to Russian-Chinese bilateral relations, but also leave room for the participation of other countries interested in contributing. The principles of shared responsibility and non-hegemony may form the basis for a new security architecture.

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Another principle worthy of consideration is that of multidimensional security. It is not limited to military matters (although these remain fundamental), but encompasses a broader range of issues, including “hybrid threats” such as information campaigns, cyber security, interference in domestic affairs, and the politicization of the economy and finance. The unresolved nature of these issues in Russia-West relations was one of the preconditions for the current crisis. The discussion on a new security structure could include such issues at an early stage. The principle of the indivisibility of security, which has not been realized in the Euro-Atlantic project, could and should be a core principle for the Eurasia region.

The commencement of consultations between Moscow and Beijing regarding a new security framework, of course, does not necessarily indicate the formation of a military-political alliance akin to NATO. Rather, it is likely that we will witness a prolonged process of development and refinement of the contours and specifications of the new framework. Initially, this may take the form of a platform for dialogue or consultation among interested parties, without the burden of excessive organisational or institutional obligations. Subsequent interactions may be conducted on a case-by-case basis, addressing specific security concerns, including, potentially, digital security. Existing institutions and organisations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) may be utilised to this end. The experience gained could then be transformed into permanent institutions focusing on a wider range of security issues.

An important issue will be the functional orientation of the new structure. NATO originally emerged as an instrument of deterrence against the Soviet Union, but today it has been given a new lease of life as a deterrent against Russia.

It is possible that the new security structure in Eurasia could also be tailored to deterrence.

Both Russia and China are in a state of rivalry and competition with the US, although in the case of Russia this has entered an overt phase, while for China it has not yet fully manifested itself. At least the idea of jointly countering the US has support in both Moscow and Beijing.

At the same time, building a security structure solely to fend off Washington limits the potential inclusiveness of the project. A number of Eurasian states rely on a multi-vector policy and are unlikely to be willing to participate in a structure aimed at competing with the Americans. Conversely, a high degree of inclusiveness could dilute the security agenda, and reduce it to a general issue that does not require specific, coordinated action. At present, there are many unanswered questions regarding the parameters of the Eurasian security framework. These issues will need to be addressed both through diplomatic channels and through dialogue between international experts from the relevant countries.

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

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West Jerusalem has announced a ‘diplomatic offensive’ against the Islamic Republic

Israel’s foreign ministry has called for international sanctions on Iran to be tightened, following the Islamic Republic’s attack on the country over the weekend.

Tehran carried out a massive airstrike on Israeli territory on Saturday in response to the bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria earlier this month. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its role in the bombing, but its responsibility was later implied by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday he has contacted 32 countries and spoke with numerous counterparts, calling on each to “place sanctions on Iran’s missile project and declare the Revolutionary Guard a terror organization, as a way to stop and weaken Iran.”

“We must stop Iran now, before it will be too late,” the FM said in a social media post.

Katz added that alongside the military response to the firing by Tehran of missiles and drones, he is “leading a diplomatic offensive against Iran.”

The foreign minister’s statement comes as Israel’s war cabinet is holding its fifth meeting on Tuesday to discuss a potential response to Iran. Shortly after the attack, the war cabinet decided it will take “clear and decisive” action. The US reportedly said it would not participate in an Israeli counteroffensive and expects the response to be limited in scope.

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A potential full-scale war with Iran would be costly for the Israeli economy, according to experts. Countering Saturday’s Iranian strike, which West Jerusalem claims involved more than 300 drones and missiles, reportedly cost Israel more than $1 billion.

Meanwhile, the Group of Seven countries (G7) were already working on a package of coordinated measures against Iran, according to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Iran has been the subject of numerous international sanctions for decades over its nuclear development program. Sanctions were eased somewhat in 2015 when Tehran agreed to some restrictions to the program under the Iran Nuclear Deal, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), between Iran, the US, the UK, France, Germany, Russia, China, and the EU.

However, the deal was scrapped in 2018 after then-US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew his country from the agreement and reimposed discontinued sanctions on Tehran. Several attempts in recent years to revive the Iran Nuclear Deal have failed.

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Western hypocrisy helped bring about an escalation, the Turkish leader has said

Iran’s first direct attack on Israel is the fault of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu first and foremost, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

In a televised address after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Erdogan said it was unfair to look at last Saturday’s events in a vacuum.

“The one chiefly responsible for the tension that gripped our hearts on the evening of April 13 is Netanyahu and his bloody administration,” he said.

“Since October 7, the Israeli government has opted for provocative moves in order to spread the fire to the entire region. The Israeli government targeted the Iranian consulate in Damascus, violating international law and the Vienna Convention, and that was the last straw,” added Erdogan.

Tehran’s diplomatic mission was struck on April 1, killing seven high-ranking officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, including two generals. Israel never officially claimed responsibility for the strike, but has repeatedly bombed Syria, claiming preemptive self-defense from the Iranian presence there.

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“We have seen the double-standard approach of Western countries,” Erdogan said, pointing out that only a handful of countries condemned Israel’s move, but rushed to denounce Iran’s response.

Tehran eventually launched scores of drones and missiles against targets inside Israel. The US, UK, France and Jordan helped the Israelis with air defense but some of the projectiles got through, causing unspecified damage.

Erdogan also blamed Israel for the current conflict in general, saying its forces have “indiscriminately” killed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, including people standing in line for humanitarian aid.

“For more than 132 days, Israel has been implementing genocidal policies,” the Turkish leader claimed.

Netanyahu declared war on Gaza-based Hamas after the Palestinian militant group raided nearby Israeli villages and military bases last October. Much of Gaza has since been reduced to rubble and its civilian population pushed to the edge of starvation. A recent report by UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur Francesca Albanese has accused Israel of intending to commit genocide in the enclave.

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The proposed system is intended to protect member countries from drone and missile attacks

Poland plans to take part in the development of a European air-defense system that would protect states against potential drone and missile attacks, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced.

The so-called European Sky Shield Initiative was first announced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a speech in Prague in August 2022. Since then, 21 countries have joined the project.

According to Tusk, Iran’s recent attack on Israel shows how important it is to have an air defense system similar to Israel’s Iron Dome.

“There is no reason for Europe not to develop its own shield against rockets and drones,” the Polish prime minister stated. “It doesn’t take much imagination to understand that we may be in the danger zone as well.”

Tusk has urged member countries to boost air-defense investments, given the active use of missiles and drones in the Ukraine conflict. He also pointed to the use of Iranian Shahed drones by Russia to strike Ukrainian targets.

“Iran and Russia act as allies,” Tusk told reporters. “The same Iranian drones that attack Ukrainian suburbs have been used to attack Israel.”

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The German chancellor has a weak hand to play with Beijing, and he won’t dare do the only thing that could give him leverage

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is on a three-day visit to China. He is not traveling alone. A large delegation of German business representatives, including from flagship companies such as Mercedes, Siemens, and BMW, is coming along. Scholz’s agenda is ambitious: The chancellor wishes to talk about international trade and competition, climate politics, the tensions over Taiwan, the war in Ukraine and Beijing’s relationship with Russia. Since Iran has just made use of its clear right to self-defense and retaliated following Israel’s illegal attack on Tehran’s diplomatic premises in Damascus, Scholz felt compelled to make a statement about that as well.

Two of these topics tower above the others: matters of trade and the relationship between China and Russia. Regarding trade, the crucial issue is that the West in general – led by the US – has embarked on a policy of de facto economic warfare against China, while constantly threatening to escalate further.

That was the essence of Janet Yellen's recent Beijing trip; the US Treasury Secretary arrived with a list of demands to curb what America denounced as Chinese “overcapacity” and dumping, and left with a blunt warning that “nothing was off the table” in terms of additional strikes against China’s economy.

Then there is the EU, which as usual, follows Washington’s lead. Under hardliners like European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Vice President Margrethe Vestager, Brussels is ramping up anti-Chinese rhetoric and measures. Beijing has officially been declared a “ partner for cooperation, an economic competitor, and a systemic rival.” With the EU Commission defining “economic security” clearly in opposition to China and launching probes targeting Chinese electric vehicles, wind turbines, and soon the procurement of medical devices, the accent clearly is on competitor and rival.

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At the same time, however, German business leaders know that they cannot afford a policy of sustained conflict. A high-ranking Siemens executive has just gone public with a warning that “decoupling” from Chinese manufacturing would take “decades.” That, clearly, is just another way of saying it’s a very bad idea to even try.

Superficially, it may appear that there is an opportunity here for Scholz – an opportunist to a fault – to appear as a mediator or, at least, to deftly balance and weave between competing demands. The Global Times, a media outlet owned by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, prefaced the chancellor’s visit with a generally welcoming article, depicting Scholz as, in essence, a dove among hawks, arguing that while Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Economic Minister Robert Habeck stand for confrontation, the chancellor is seeking to find a balanced approach.

Yet, even if he wanted to try to be smart and flexible, Scholz is hamstrung in multiple ways. He will struggle to be taken seriously because both Germany and its chancellor lack international standing, and Germany lacks leverage in its relationship with China.

Let’s look at the leverage deficit first: In economic terms, the Chinese-German relationship is substantial and complex. Many factors are important; multiple indicators are relevant, such as, for instance, foreign direct investment (which is currently dipping). But overall trade volumes suffice to show that Germany cannot speak to Beijing from a position of strength or even parity.

China, according to 2023 export data, is still Germany’s single biggest trading partner, as Bloomberg has noted. That is not unusual in today’s world: with the second-largest economy in the world (the largest in Purchasing Power Parity terms), China is the top trade partner for a total of 120 countries. China is also the largest (external) trade partner of the European Union as whole. However, from China’s perspective, Germany ranks only 8th among export destinations, less than the US, Japan, and even Vietnam.

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None of the above means that the economic relationship with Berlin does not matter to Beijing, but it does mean that it matters even more for Berlin. Among rational actors, such a pattern of mutual dependency is a reason for cooperation. What it certainly is not is one-sided leverage for Germany. If anyone has the whip hand here, it’s China, which may have tried to “gently” signal this fact with Scholz’s intriguingly low-key, not to say humiliating reception on his arrival in the Chinese manufacturing metropolis Chongqing.

In fundamental terms, Germany, according to data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is a country of not quite 84 million people (in China, Chongqing alone is home to over 30 million inhabitants) with projected GDP growth this year down to almost zero (0.5 percent). China has a population of over 1.4 billion, and its GDP is estimated to grow by 4.6 percent.

In sum, China’s economy has problems, such as its over-expanded real estate sector, which are inevitable and often obsessively exaggerated by Western “China doomers.” Germany’s economy is a problem.

The German chancellor can only play a weak hand, due to economics. There is only one way to play it well, and that would involve politics. Scholz could create some room for maneuver for Germany if he did what the Global Times article signaled Beijing would like to see from him: to show some autonomy, a little bit of distance between himself and the hardliners now dominating both Washington and Brussels.

Indeed, for the China hawks in the West, the mere possibility that the German chancellor might go off script is such a nightmare scenario it had to be exorcised in one of America’s two most authoritative journals on international politics. Foreign Policy dedicated a whole article to, in essence, asking if Scholz will chicken out and be too conciliatory toward Beijing. If the Global Times sent an invitation of the “an-offer-you-should-not-refuse” kind, Foreign Policy’s message was “don’t you dare.”

Scholz should dare. It would be only rational because it is really the only trump card he has. As Foreign Policy acknowledges, the EU’s hardball approach cannot work if Berlin is not on board. Without the EU toeing the line, Washington’s game would become much more challenging, too. That is power right there: the power to balance and play both sides.

Unfortunately, this is where we come up against Scholz’s very narrow limits. This is no Bismarck. Instead, we are dealing with a chancellor who can be called the most recklessly and – it must be said, spinelessly – subservient to the US in Germany's post-WWII history. Scholz grinned when Biden announced, in essence, that the US would destroy the Nord Stream pipelines if it felt like it. When it happened, nothing happened: Germany took it and kept grinning.

Under Scholz, Berlin has become a perfect client of the US. Accordingly, there is no real daylight between Berlin and Brussels either; another ultra-Atlanticist German, Ursula von der Leyen, runs the European Commission. True, some observers speculate that Germany is slyly cutting corners, but that will amount to too little, in absolute terms, for Beijing.

The issue of dependency also brings us to the penultimate irony of Scholz’s visit: The German chancellor has let it be known that he intends to challenge Beijing on its policy toward Russia and thus the war in Ukraine. In essence, Scholz seems to believe it is his job – and within his rights – to urge China to loosen its ties with Russia as well as to support the West’s unrealistic proposals for ending the war in Ukraine without acknowledging that Russia is winning it.

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There are two things wrong with this astonishingly tone-deaf attitude: First, obviously, neither Germany nor the EU are in a position to make such requests of Beijing. They have neither the arguments nor the power to back them up. In such cases, the wiser and more dignified course is to be quiet. Second, less obviously, who is Scholz to try to interfere in the partnership between Moscow and Beijing, a partnership marked by rationality and respect for both partners’ national interests? As long as Germany offers a spectacle of unquestioning and irrational obedience to Washington, no one will be interested in its advice on how to cooperate.

That was the penultimate irony. Here is the ultimate one: Scholz’s visit is, most fundamentally, an outcome of the fact that the West has not been able to cajole China. With respect to Germany in particular, it is true that, according to a recent poll, two thirds of German businesses active in China complain of unequal treatment. And yet they are there. And yet a German chancellor still arrives with a planeload of business leaders.

The true message of the poll is about how indispensable China is, talk of “derisking” this and “decoupling” that notwithstanding. In the not-too-distant future, a successor of Scholz may well find himself on a similar trip, but to Moscow. Namely, when two realities will have become so compelling that they must be acknowledged: Russia, too, cannot be cajoled by the West; and, for Germany as well as for Europe as a whole, Russia, too, remains indispensable.

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EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says there are legal hurdles preventing such a move

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has called on allies to recognize Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization following the massive aerial attack on Israeli territory late on Saturday.

However, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says such a move by the bloc is not legally possible at present.

Iran launched several waves of missiles and kamikaze drones at Israel over the weekend. Tehran explained that the strikes were carried out in retaliation for a presumed Israeli airstrike that obliterated Iran’s consulate in Damascus, Syria on April 1, killing seven IRGC officers, including two generals.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, Katz wrote that he had sent letters to 32 nations and had spoken to “dozens of foreign ministers and leading figures around the world, calling for sanctions to be imposed on the Iranian missile project and that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be declared a terrorist organization.”

This would help “curb and weaken Iran,” the minister argued, insisting that Tehran “must be stopped now – before it is too late.”

Alongside the military response to the firing of the missiles and the UAVs, I am leading a diplomatic offensive against Iran.

This morning I sent letters to 32
countries and spoke with dozens of foreign ministers and leading figures around the world calling for sanctions to be…

— ????? ?”? Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) April 16, 2024

Meanwhile, in an interview with France’s Le Monde on Tuesday, Borrell said that, while “there have already been several discussions about putting the Revolutionary Guards on the list of terrorist organizations,” this is not a realistic scenario for the time being.

He explained that “for such a listing, a judicial authority in a member state must consider that the organization has committed a terrorist act” – something for which there are apparently no grounds at present.

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French President Emmanuel Macron has urged Israel not to retaliate against Iran militarily. In an interview with BFMTV and RMC radio, the president said the focus should instead be on further isolation of Tehran and more sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Tehran has been the subject of a wide range of international sanctions for decades over its missile and nuclear enrichment programs, with the West suspecting that the latter is aimed at producing nuclear weapons.

Numerous media reports have alleged that the US government has also advised Israel against responding by force.

Russia has expressed deep concern following the latest escalation between Israel and Iran, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stating on Monday that further escalation of tensions in the region “serves no one’s interests.”

Moscow has also criticized the UN Security Council for failing to denounce the Israeli airstrike on the Iranian diplomatic premises in Syria earlier this month.

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Washington does not intend to take part in any attack on Tehran on West Jerusalem’s behalf, unnamed officials have told the outlet

The US will not help Israel retaliate by launching offensive military operations in the wake of Iran’s missile and drone attack, Biden administration officials have privately warned, according to ABC News.

Israel has promised a “response” following the massive Iranian attack on the country over the weekend, which West Jerusalem said involved more than 300 drones and missiles. Iran said the attack was a reprisal for the bombing of its consulate in Damascus, Syria earlier this month, which cost the lives of several senior Iranian military personnel.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that they shot down the vast majority of the incoming projectiles, with help from the US, UK, France, Jordan, and others.

Shortly after Iran’s attack ended, a senior US administration official reportedly told journalists that the White House believes Israel “has freedom of action to protect itself and defend itself.”

“That’s a long-standing policy, and that remains,” the official reportedly said.

However, when asked if the US would help Israel counter with offensive military operations, that official said there was no such plan.

“We would not envision ourselves participating in such a thing,” the person said.

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According to a second US official cited by ABC, this message was also delivered directly to Israel’s top brass in a private phone call on Sunday between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Austin made clear in a very “direct” manner that the US was not planning to take part in a potential counteroffensive on Israel’s behalf, the official claimed.

ABC noted that the comments were “an unusual message for a close ally that’s spent decades receiving more US military aid than any other country in the world and whose relationship with America is often described as ‘ironclad’.”

The outlet added that the reasoning behind the decision was the Biden administration’s fear of a “broader war” erupting in the Middle East.

Israel’s war cabinet has reportedly decided it will take “clear and decisive” action following Iran’s mass missile and drone attack on Saturday. However, the Israeli outlet Mako reported on Monday evening that the retaliation will need to be acceptable to the US and “comply” with rules set by Washington, so as not to “degenerate the region into a war.”

Tehran has promised to respond “within seconds” if Israel decides to launch any form of attack against the Islamic Republic.

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The stalling of American aid is a “disgrace,” the leader has claimed

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has accused US politicians of playing political games around the issue of aid for Kiev, claiming that they do not care how many people in his country are dying.

Zelensky’s comments come as US lawmakers prepare to vote on a controversial aid package for Ukraine that has been stalled in Congress for months due to a bitter dispute between Democrats and Republicans.

In an interview on Monday, Zelensky referred to comments made at the weekend by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson. The US politician told Fox News that he planned to move forward with a vote on an aid bill for Israel this week, without specifying when a Ukraine package would be taken up, or whether it would be tied to funding for West Jerusalem.

“This is pure politics, and it’s a disgrace for the world and a disgrace for democracy,” Zelensky told PBS NewsHour. “Nobody cares how many people are dying in Ukraine every day. They only care about their approval ratings,” he added.

Johnson has since promised to advance the long-stalled Ukraine aid bill sought by President Joe Biden this week, multiple news outlets reported on Monday. Johnson reportedly told Republican colleagues at a closed-door meeting that he intends to allow the House to vote on a standalone bill in the coming days that would ensure additional military aid for Kiev. The House will also be expected to vote on separate bills providing more assistance to Israel and Taiwan.

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House Republicans have previously refused to back the foreign aid bill unveiled by Biden in October, which includes $61 billion in assistance for Ukraine.

The legislation has been held up for months as the GOP tries to force the White House to crack down on the influx of illegal immigrants via the southern US border. Biden’s 2024 election rival, former President Donald Trump, previously urged Republicans to block the bill, arguing against unconditional aid for Ukraine.

The delay in approving more weapons for Ukraine has rattled Zelensky and other officials in Kiev, who are blaming mounting battlefield losses on shortages of foreign-supplied ammunition and air defenses.

In his interview with PBS, Zelensky reiterated that without the US support, Ukraine “will have no chance of winning” in its conflict with Russia.

Moscow, meanwhile, has repeatedly stated that no amount of foreign assistance will change the outcome of the fighting, and has accused the West of escalating the hostilities.

READ MORE: Zelensky signs draconian mobilization bill

On Tuesday, Zelensky signed a contentious mobilization proposal into law, giving his government more powers to enforce conscription and punish draft dodgers. It also obliges local authorities and the police to help the military in its mobilization efforts. The bill does not contain a clause allowing soldiers to return home after three years of service, which had been the policy before the current conflict began in February 2022.

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The Russian leader has called for “reasonable restraint” in the Middle East

Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken with his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, following Tehran’s drone and missile attack on Israel, the Kremlin has said.

Iran launched scores of drones and missiles against Israel on Saturday, as “punishment” for the bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria that killed seven high-ranking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force officers at the beginning of the month.

Raisi phoned Putin on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the “aggravated situation” in the region and the “retaliatory measures” taken by Tehran, according to the readout of the call.

Putin “expressed hope that all parties will show reasonable restraint and will not allow a new round of confrontation, fraught with catastrophic consequences for the entire region,” the Kremlin said.

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Raisi “noted that Iran’s actions were forced and limited in nature,” adding that Tehran was “not interested in further escalation of tensions.”

Both presidents agreed that the root cause of the current conflict is the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict, calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, deliveries of humanitarian aid, and the creation of conditions for a political and diplomatic settlement.

Israel has vowed to deliver a “clear and decisive” response to the Iranian strike, which the government in West Jerusalem said had been largely intercepted. However, the Israeli military is reportedly working on a plan that would be acceptable to the US.

Meanwhile, the Iranian military has described the strike as a great success. “Operation True Promise” proved that Israeli defenses were “flimsier than a spiderweb,” Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari, commander of Iran’s ground forces, said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“The Iranian armed forces broke the taboo about the Israeli regime’s capabilities, demonstrated their might, made it clear that the era of hit-and-run is over, and defined new rules for the region,” Heydari said, according to the Tasnim news agency.

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Tehran’s retaliatory attack may not have caused much destruction, but it was far from a failure

On the night of April 14, Iran and its proxy forces launched a series of cruise missile and kamikaze drone strikes on Israeli territory. The attacks did not come as a surprise. Tehran had warned that it would respond to the Israeli airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus, Syria, on April 1, which killed several high-ranking officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including two generals. The retaliatory strike was called Operation True Promise.

There is still much debate on whether Iran’s retaliatory strike was successful. Most military experts agree that there was nothing unusual about Tehran’s actions, except that this was Iran’s first direct attack on Israel. From a technical point of view, the strategy was simple and correct: Iran first suppressed the enemy’s air defense systems with drones and then launched hypersonic missiles which the Israelis and Americans were not able to intercept. Incidentally, in light of this, Ukraine’s statements about shooting down Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missiles sound ridiculous.

Do not jump to conclusions

Many experts were skeptical about Iran’s strike and hastened to say that the retaliation did not live up to expectations. Given the clip thinking of most commentators, this reaction is hardly surprising. Their reasoning resembles a Hollywood blockbuster stuffed with special effects, where the end of the world and its miraculous salvation fit into 90-120 minutes, with a love scene in the middle. In real life, things are different. As Sun Tzu wrote in ancient times, to fight 100 battles and win 100 battles is not the height of skill. The best way to win is not to fight at all. This is Iran’s strategy. Its strike against Israel was not so much a military response as a grandmaster’s move in a big chess game. And the game is not over yet.

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After the attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria’s capital, Tehran found itself in a tough situation. It had to respond in a way that would look convincing and would achieve specific military goals, but would not start World War III.

To achieve the first point, Iran had to carry out a direct strike without resorting exclusively to proxy forces – and that is indeed how it acted. Regarding the second point, even though most of the missiles and drones were indeed shot down, some managed to penetrate Israeli air space and hit military targets. The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, said that the information center on the Israeli-Syrian border and Israel’s Nevatim air base were hit. And finally, as to the third point – war didn’t happen. This resembled the situation in 2020, when the Iranians hit US bases in Iraq in response to the assassination of General Soleimani.

However, it is still too early to speculate as to whether Iran’s attack was a success or not. The big question now is how Israel will respond.

What Iran has accomplished

It’s important to emphasize that Iran’s operation carried more political than military weight. In this sense, it was carried out subtly and was a success. Obviously, the Iranians did not want to start a war which would involve the US, even though that is what Netanyahu wanted. In other words, Israel didn’t manage to provoke Iran.

It is also obvious that the Islamic Republic possesses more powerful drones and missiles than those used in the attack on April 14. However, even the less advanced drones and missiles were able to penetrate Israeli air space and inflict economic damage, since Israel spent much more money on shooting down the missiles and drones than Iran spent on launching them.

Tehran has once again demonstrated that Israel is not invulnerable, and it is possible to attack it. As for the degree of inflicted damage, which some commentators were unsatisfied with, it largely depends on the type of missiles and drones used in the attack – and Iran has a lot of military equipment.

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Finally, Iran’s main achievement is that it has managed to confuse Israel in the same way that it was confused after the October 7 Hamas attack. The country has to respond. But how? Should Israel strike Iranian proxy forces? This is possible, but Israel does it all the time without much result. Should it hit Iran directly? But that would start a war which no one is prepared for, including the US.

Conclusion

The ball is now in Israel’s court, and the country faces the same challenges that the Islamic Republic did after April 1. But will Israel be able to solve these challenges as efficiently?

It is noteworthy that IRGC Commander-in-Chief, Hossein Salami, said that from now on, if Israel attacks the interests of Iran and Iranian citizens, Tehran will strike it again.

This is an important statement. Essentially, the attack carried out by Iran on April 14 was not just a retaliatory strike, but established a new order. Iran demonstrated that it is ready to resort to new means of influence in a situation where words are not sufficient. It attacked Israel directly not in order to start a war, but to demonstrate what could happen if all other methods of pressure on Israel fail.

A new option has been put forward. Israel may be deprived of its most important advantage – absolute impunity, which until recently had been guaranteed by the US.

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Kiev’s refusal to acquiesce has seen tensions rise between Ukraine and its top backer, the paper claims, citing anonymous US officials

The US has on multiple occasions asked Ukraine to stop targeting Russian oil refineries with its drones, the Washington Post claims, citing anonymous American officials. Kiev has reportedly ignored those requests, thus straining relations with its top foreign provider of military assistance, the newspaper reports.

Since January, Ukraine has launched a series of long-range attacks on Russian energy facilities, including oil depots and refineries, using kamikaze drones. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has argued that the strikes have been meant to impress Kiev’s Western backers amid a lack of progress on the front line.

The Washington Post reported on Monday that US Vice President Kamala Harris had met privately with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in February, telling him to refrain from targeting Russian oil refineries. President Joe Biden’s administration reportedly believes that such attacks would raise global energy prices and provoke massive Russian retaliation.

According to the media outlet, the Ukrainian head of state “brushed off the recommendation.” Despite the US becoming more and more insistent over the following weeks, Kiev doubled down on its strategy.

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As a rift widens between Washington and Kiev over the latter’s tactics, Ukrainian officials are becoming exasperated at the US’ inability to provide its partner with additional weaponry. This is due to the fact that Republicans in Congress have, for months, been blocking President Joe Biden’s foreign aid package, that envisages, among other things, $60 billion for Ukraine.

The newspaper, citing US Senator Tom Cotton, suggested that Biden’s main concern is keeping gasoline prices from rising domestically ahead of the November US presidential election.

Appearing on Ukrainian TV on Sunday, the country’s Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba made it clear that Kiev would consider Washington’s appeals if the US boosted its defense aid for Ukraine.

Last Wednesday, Celeste Wallander, the US Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, told lawmakers that the “strikes that we have seen against Russian energy sources have not significantly altered Russia’s ability to prosecute the war.” She added that the “Russians have been able to rapidly repair the facilities that were struck.”

A day prior, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told a Senate panel that “those attacks could have a knock-on effect in terms of the global energy situation.”

Last Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine’s recent tactics have forced Russia to respond by targeting Kiev’s energy and oil facilities. He explained that these strikes have helped degrade the Ukrainian defense industry’s capabilities.

Moscow has described the Ukraine conflict as a US-led proxy war against Russia, with Washington willing to fight “to the last Ukrainian.”

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President Vladimir Putin is not invited, according to the organizers

A Russian delegation can join an international celebration marking 80 years since D-Day in France, but President Vladimir Putin is not welcome, the organizers announced on Tuesday.

The Allied landing in Normandy, which opened a second front against Nazi Germany in Europe, will be commemorated on June 6. Earlier in the day the radio station Europe 1 broke the news of the imminent French decision.

The Liberation Mission organizing committee stressed in a statement that President Putin will not be invited for the ceremony “in view of the circumstances,” referring to the Ukraine conflict.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that Moscow had received no official communications on the matter from Paris.

President Putin took part in a ceremony on the 70th anniversary of D-Day in 2014. The event took place months after a Western-backed armed coup in Kiev prompted the then-Ukrainian region of Crimea to break away and seek Russian protection from Ukrainian nationalists. Paris invited the Russian leader despite the diplomatic rift caused by those events. Western media described Putin as “detached and isolated” during the event in Normandy.

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According to Europe 1, France wants Moscow to have lower-level representation at this year’s event, but marking the historic date “would be difficult” if the country was not part of it at all, the outlet suggested.

The Soviet Union sustained the highest number of casualties among the Allied powers during World War II, losing more than 26 million people, most of whom were civilians. Western nations provided crucial supplies for the Soviet war effort but joined the effort on the European continent only after the Red Army had forced Nazi Germany and its allies into retreat.

Earlier in the day, Bloomberg claimed that some French and foreign officials were “apprehensive” about President Emmanuel Macron’s public rhetoric on Russia. The French leader seems to be “oscillating unpredictably between peacemaker and provocateur,” the news agency said.

Last year, Macron said he may invite Putin to Normandy, if circumstances allowed.

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President Xi Jinping has shared four principles to resolve the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev

World powers should focus on restoring peace and stability in Ukraine rather than seeking “selfish gains,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday.

The chancellor arrived in China on Sunday, accompanied by a large delegation of ministers and business executives.

Meeting with Scholz at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Xi told the German leader that all parties should work together to restore peace in Ukraine as soon as possible. The Chinese leader also outlined four principles that he believes will prevent the conflict from escalating.

“First, we should prioritize the upholding of peace and stability and refrain from seeking selfish gains,” Xi said, as quoted by the Xinhua news agency.

The next step, according to Xi, would be to stop “adding fuel to the fire,” which would enable conditions for the restoration of peace.

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The Chinese leader also called for a reduction of the impact of the conflict on the global economy, and for parties to “refrain from undermining the stability of global industrial and supply chains.”

Scholz, whose three-day trip to China is the second since he took office in 2021, told Xi that he is willing to discuss “how we can contribute more to a just peace in Ukraine.” The ongoing crisis has affected Germany’s “core interests” and has disrupted energy supplies and global trade, the chancellor added.

According to Scholz, the hostilities have also had a negative impact on European security and risk damaging the “entire international order.”

China, which has insisted it is neutral in the Ukraine conflict, has been widely criticized by the West for refusing to condemn Moscow’s military operation.

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The strategic partnership between Moscow and Beijing has strengthened since the Ukraine crisis broke out, as the two countries have ramped up economic cooperation and diplomatic ties.

Beijing has long urged peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, and issued a 12-point peace plan to end the hostilities on the first anniversary of the conflict in February 2023.

The initiative, hailed by Moscow, includes a call for a cessation of hostilities, the resumption of peace talks, abandoning a “Cold War mentality,” and respecting the sovereignty of all nations.

In contrast to Beijing’s proposal to end the fighting, Kiev’s ten-point peace formula first presented by President Vladimir Zelensky in the autumn of 2022 demands the complete and unconditional withdrawal of Russian forces from all territories within Ukraine’s 1991 borders.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has described Zelensky’s peace formula as an “absolutely hollow” ultimatum that is “divorced from reality.”

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The incident in Copenhagen has been described as the country’s ‘Notre Dame’ moment

A fire engulfed one of the best-known buildings in the Danish capital of Copenhagen on Tuesday in an incident that has been compared to the 2019 Notre Dame blaze in Paris.

Denmark’s historic old stock exchange in the center of the city went up in flames, leading to a collapse of its spire. The 17th century Borsen was undergoing renovation and had been covered in scaffolding and protective plastic.

“Horrible pictures from the Bourse. So sad. An iconic building that means a lot to all of us... Our own Notre-Dame moment,” Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Danish TV also quoted locals describing the fire as a Notre Dame moment for the country. In 2019 fire engulfed the landmark medieval Catholic cathedral in Paris while the building was shrouded in scaffolding for renovations, bringing down its roof and spire. Tuesday’s fire in Denmark took place just a day after the fifth anniversary of the Notre Dame blaze.

According to the Copenhagen fire department, nearby buildings have been evacuated. The scaffolding around the stock exchange building made it harder for the emergency services to reach the flames, while the copper roof was preserving the heat, the fire department added.

READ MORE: Macron’s wife wanted ‘phallus and golden balls’ for Notre Dame – ex-minister

No injuries were immediately reported as everyone inside the building was able to leave. Some of its historic artifacts have also been rescued.

It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze. The building currently serves as the headquarters for the Danish Chamber of Commerce.

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The French president has been “oscillating” between war warnings and calls for peace, the news outlet said

Some French security officials are “apprehensive” of President Emmanuel Macron’s public rhetoric, in which he seems to be “oscillating unpredictably between peacemaker and provocateur,” Bloomberg has claimed, citing insider sources.

In his public remarks, the French leader has urged Western nations to go on a war footing and brace for a future conflict with Russia. But such statements have been undermined by the actual policies of his government, the news outlet argued on Tuesday.

Among the issues causing “unease” among foreign allies and French officials, according to Bloomberg, was a phone call between French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu and his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu earlier this month.

Moscow said that during the call the Russian side warned France against deploying troops in Ukraine – a scenario that Macron first floated in March. The officials also discussed possible talks “based on the Istanbul peace initiative,” the statement added, referring to a failed attempt by Russia and Ukraine to resolve the conflict in its early stages, which was reportedly derailed by the West.

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The French account of the call did not mention plans for such talks, and reiterated a commitment to supporting Kiev, which Paris claims was Lecornu’s message to Shoigu.

Another example of Macron’s efforts to influence the Ukraine conflict, cited by Bloomberg, was his recent call for an Olympic truce to be held this summer, when Paris will be hosting the summer games. The UN General Assembly traditionally demands a cessation of all hostilities worldwide every time the Olympics are held, although they are rarely observed, the outlet noted – but Macron “really meant it”, according to a source quoted in the report.

Bloomberg suggested that Macron’s messaging was partially motivated by France lagging behind some other EU nations in its assistance to Ukraine. The estimated pledges of arms by Paris are worth less than €2 billion ($2.1bn), compared to Germany’s €22 billion ($23.4bn) it said. A Polish government official told the outlet that France was apparently compensating politically for its failures in delivering munitions to Kiev.

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Washington’s commitment to Israel’s defense has caused envy in Kiev, the Wall Street Journal has quoted the academic as saying

There is growing disenchantment with the US among Ukrainians over its perceived lack of commitment to their defense, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing the director of the Center for International Studies at the Odessa National University.

Vladimir Dubovyk told the newspaper in an article on Monday that the swift action from the US and its NATO allies to fend off a massive Iranian missile and drone strike on Israel at the weekend stands in stark contrast to their apparent reluctance to beef up Ukraine’s air defenses amid its conflict with Russia.

Ukrainians are “beginning to sour on the US,” Dubovyk was quoted as saying. The scholar noted that Washington played a key role “in the first two years of the war [with Russia], but now of course there’s a huge slowdown,” apparently referring to President Joe Biden’s latest aid package, which has been deadlocked by Republicans in Congress for several months.

“Rather than helping Ukraine create the kind of air-defense network Israel has, the West has provided [Kiev] with a patchwork of equipment,” the WSJ noted, adding that these stockpiles have become significantly depleted as Moscow escalates its campaign of air bombardments.

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The situation in Ukraine was contrasted with that of Israel, after Iran launched several hundred missiles and kamikaze drones at the Jewish state late on Saturday. US, British, French and Jordanian fighter jets scrambled to intercept the projectiles, and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later reported that the vast majority of Iranian rockets and UAVs had been shot down before they reached Israeli airspace.

Tehran said the attack came in response to an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1, and claimed that it had struck several Israeli military installations.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky noted that Israel is not a NATO member, meaning Western powers were not legally obliged to come to its defense. The Ukrainian leader added that the involvement of the US, the UK, and France did not result in a war breaking out in the region.

“European skies could have received the same level of protection long ago if Ukraine had received similar full support from its partners,” Zelensky concluded.

During a press conference on Monday, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby made it clear that the situations in Israel and Ukraine cannot be compared, describing them as “different conflicts, different airspace, [and] different threat picture.”

He also emphasized that the US “is not going to be involved in [the Ukraine conflict] in a combat role.”

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Washington has no intention of directly engaging Russian forces on Kiev’s behalf, a senior official has said

The US will not shoot down Russian drones and missiles fired at Ukraine, in contrast to how American forces protected Israel from an Iranian attack last weekend, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told journalists on Monday.

The US, the UK and France helped Israel repel a massive barrage launched by Iran in retaliation for what Tehran said was an Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus earlier this month. Kirby was asked during a daily briefing whether the same tactics could be used in the Ukraine conflict.

“I knew this question was coming,” he responded. “Look: different conflicts, different airspace, different threat picture. And [President Joe Biden] has been clear from the beginning [of the Ukraine hostilities] that the US is not going to be involved in that conflict in a combat role.”

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Western powers have pledged to provide assistance to Kiev “for as long as it takes” to defeat Russia. However, they have repeatedly rejected the idea of directly engaging Russian forces. Even the French government, which has not ruled out deploying troops to Ukraine, made it clear that any hypothetical mission would be to relieve Ukrainian soldiers of non-combat duties, so that Kiev could send more of its own troops to the front line.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron was asked the same question as Kirby during an interview with LBC on Monday.

“Actually, putting NATO forces directly in conflict with Russian forces – I think that would be a dangerous escalation,” he said. Instead of “Western planes over [its] skies trying to shoot things down,” Ukraine instead requires air defense systems, Cameron suggested.

Moscow perceives the Ukraine conflict as a US-led proxy war on Russia, in which Ukrainians are being used as ‘cannon fodder’. It has warned that it will consider any military assets directly engaged in hostilities as legitimate targets, regardless of who operates them.

READ MORE: West gets ‘fantastic value’ out of Ukraine – Boris Johnson

Statements from some Western officials appear to back up the Russian view of the situation. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed last week that the US and its allies are getting “fantastic value” from the money spent on Ukraine, because “those guys without a single pair of American boots on the ground are fighting for the West.”

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A day before the agreement would have come into force, Kiev pulled out, sources told Reuters

Russia and Ukraine had almost reached a new Black Sea shipping deal in March after two months of negotiations, only for Kiev to abruptly walk away, Reuters reported on Monday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.

The official agreement governing the freight route lapsed in July 2023, when Moscow declined to renew the original Türkiye- and UN-mediated Black Sea Grain Initiative. Russia said that the US and EU had not kept their part of the deal, blocking exports of Russian food and fertilizer.

The most recent talks were brokered by Türkiye at the prompting of the United Nations, and a tentative agreement to “to ensure the safety of merchant shipping in the Black Sea” was reached last month, according to Reuters’ sources.

They added that while Kiev did not formally sign, it agreed that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could announce the deal a day before Turkiye’s March 31 local elections, with the pact to take effect immediately upon being made public.

“At the very last minute, Ukraine suddenly pulled out and the deal was scuttled.”

According to the draft seen by Reuters, Ankara had mediated agreements between Moscow and Kiev “on ensuring free and safe navigation of merchant vessels in the Black Sea,” in compliance with maritime conventions.

The guarantees would not apply to “warships, civilian vessels carrying military goods,” except when agreed upon by all parties, the copy of the document stated.

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Both Russia and Ukraine were to offer security guarantees to commercial vessels in the Black Sea, undertaking not to strike, seize or search them, provided they were unladen or had declared a non-military cargo, according to the draft agreement.

The reasons for Kiev pulling out are unclear, but President Vladimir Zelensky accused Russia of targeting grain export infrastructure during the original deal, thereby putting vulnerable countries at risk.

Speaking to reporters earlier this year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denied that Moscow ever attacked Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea during the grain deal. One of the reasons Moscow did not return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative was Kiev’s misuse of the shipping passage during the agreement, he said.

“The Ukrainians used these free secure passages to launch their weapons in the form of naval drones,” damaging Russian ships and ports, Lavrov stated. He added under the old agreement, only 3% of the shipped Ukrainian grain went to countries on the UN World Food Programme's list of states in greatest need.

READ MORE: Egypt wants to host Russian wheat hub

Since then, Moscow has donated 200,000 tons of grain to six African nations, with the last shipments arriving in January of this year.

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Mike Johnson has reportedly unveiled a plan to pass the legislation after months of impasse

US House Speaker Mike Johnson has promised to advance the long-stalled Ukraine aid bill sought by President Joe Biden this week, multiple news outlets reported on Monday.

The proposed legislation has been stuck in Congress for months due to a bitter dispute between Democrats and Republicans.

According to reports, Johnson told Republican colleagues at a closed-door meeting that he intends to allow the House to vote on a standalone bill this week that would ensure additional military aid to Kiev. The House will also be expected to vote on separate bills providing more aid to Israel and Taiwan.

“We know that the world is watching us to see how we react,” Johnson told reporters after a meeting with GOP legislators, as quoted by the New York Times. He added that the leaders of Russia, China and Iran are “watching to see if America will stand up for its allies and our interests around the globe – and we will.”

House Republicans have previously refused to back the foreign aid bill unveiled by Biden in October, which includes $61 billion in assistance for Ukraine.

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The legislation has been held up for months, with the GOP trying to force the White House to crack down on the influx of illegal migrants via the southern border. Biden's 2024 election rival, former President Donald Trump, previously urged Republicans to block the bill, arguing against unconditional aid for Ukraine.

The delay in approving more weapons for Ukraine has rattled President Vladimir Zelensky and other officials in Kiev, who are blaming mounting battlefield losses on shortages of foreign-supplied ammunition and air defenses. “If Congress does not help Ukraine, Ukraine will lose the war,” Zelensky warned last week.

Russia, meanwhile, has repeatedly stated that no amount of foreign assistance will change the outcome of the conflict, and accused the West of escalation.

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A long ongoing case has both caused and revealed corruption in all areas of public life

In Greek mythology Heracles (Hercules in Latin) was tasked with cleaning out the Augean stables in a single day.

Augeas was a Greek king who owned large herds of animals that resided in his palatial stables. They produced extraordinary amounts of dung, and the stables had not been cleaned for years.

Heracles completed his allotted task in a day – but King Augeas refused to pay him. Heracles killed the king, and went into exile.

The Brittany Higgins #MeToo case in Australia still awaits its Heracles – in the meantime, the prodigious pile of dung that it has generated grows exponentially higher by the day.

The sordid saga is Australia’s most infamous #MeToo case. It has dominated the mass media, the legal system, and politics in this country for the past few years – both causing and revealing corruption within each of these areas of Australian public life.

It has destroyed the reputations and careers of prominent journalists, politicians, judges, and lawyers – whilst at the same time transforming both its protagonists, Brittany Higgins and Bruce Lehrmann, into, at the end of the day, rather grubby and flawed celebrities.

It commenced in March 2019, when two drunk, unknown twenty-something political staffers – Higgins and Lehrmann – decided to go back to Parliament House in Canberra after a regular Saturday night of excessive drinking at nearby bars.

Parliament House had long been a favored after-hours sexual trysting location for young political staffers, but both Higgins and Lehrmann have subsequently maintained, unconvincingly, that this was not their intent.

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Higgins claimed that Lehrmann raped her in a minister’s office (that of Senator Linda Reynolds, for whom they worked) to which they had improperly gained access, while Lehrmann has steadfastly denied that any sex, consensual or otherwise, took place.

On Monday, in the Federal Court in Sydney, Justice Michael Lee handed down his judgment in defamation proceedings brought by Lehrmann against Channel 10 and television personality Lisa Wilkinson – who broadcast the sensational television interview in early 2021 in which Higgins first publicly alleged that Lehrmann had raped her in Parliament House.

Justice Lee, one of the few lawyers involved in the Higgins saga to have acted with complete propriety and objectivity, made damning findings about both Higgins and Lehrmann – describing them as “unreliable witnesses” who had told deliberate lies – and found that Channel 10 and Wilkinson had acted unreasonably and in a “grossly improper and unjustifiable way.”

Justice Lee’s assessment of the credibility of all the major protagonists in the Higgins saga is undoubtedly correct.

Notwithstanding this uniformly negative appraisal, Justice Lee found – on the civil, balance of probabilities, onus of proof – that Lehrmann had raped Higgins in 2019, because he had been reckless as to whether the inebriated Higgins had consented to having sex with him.

Lee was at pains to point out that this finding differed from a finding of guilt in a criminal trial – where the more onerous “beyond reasonable doubt” onus of proof applies. It is also clear that if Lehrmann had admitted to having sex with Higgins, he would have been in a better position to defend his conduct.

In making this crucial factual finding, Justice Lee disbelieved the accounts given by both Higgins and Lehrmann of what had occurred on the night in question. In particular, he rejected Higgins’ evidence that she had repeatedly told Lehrmann that she did not consent to having sex with her.

It followed that Justice Lee entered judgment in favor of Channel 10 and Wilkinson – because their truth defense had been made out. Lehrmann will no doubt appeal the decision – given that the legal costs of all parties probably exceed $5 million.

The defamation trial presided over by Justice Lee revealed in graphic terms the unprofessional and unprincipled conduct engaged in by those media organizations that became involved in the Higgins affair in a partisan fashion.

Lisa Wilkinson’s interview with Higgins in February 2021 – which turned Higgins into a #MeToo icon – was hardly an exercise in journalism at all. Wilkinson was committed to the #MeToo cause and to bringing down the conservative Morrison government, and Justice Lee found that Higgins’ allegations were not tested at all – especially her now demonstrably false assertion that the government conspired to cover up her rape.

Wilkinson’s slanted interview unsurprisingly later won a prestigious award, and in her televised acceptance speech in June 2022 she reiterated the truth of Higgins’ allegations – thereby causing Lehrmann’s upcoming criminal trial for rape in the ACT Supreme Court to be postponed, and making it difficult, if not impossible, for him to receive a fair trial before a jury.

Justice Lee found that no reputable journalist could have believed that Wilkinson’s speech did not amount to a contempt of court.

And, at one point in her cross-examination, Wilkinson – who Justice Lee described ironically as a “fourth estate eminence grise” – accused Lehrmann’s lawyer of “making me sound like a tabloid journalist” – a comment that provoked laughter from serious journalists.

Wilkinson fell out with Channel 10 as a result of the aftermath of her speech, and she has not appeared on television for the past few years. Justice Lee’s scathing and apt criticisms of Wilkinson will probably ensure that her “journalistic” career will not be revived anytime soon.

After Lehrmann’s rape trial was aborted as a result of misconduct by a juror, Lehrmann agreed to give a tell-all television interview to the Channel 7 ‘Spotlight’ program, which was broadcast in June 2023.

This was hardly surprising – both Higgins and Lehrmann are addicted to the celebrity culture that created them and continues to sustain them in their quest for perpetual celebrity status.

Lehrmann’s ‘Spotlight’ interview was just as self-serving and flawed as Higgins’ interview with Wilkinson had been – perhaps even more so because Lehrmann is the more determined liar – and his defamation trial revealed squalid details about the lengths to which Channel 7 was willing to go to procure it.

Bear in mind that Justice Lee found that Lehrmann was “a fundamentally dishonest liar” who “gave false evidence about a litany of matters.”

Evidence presented at the trial showed that Channel 7 paid the rent on an expensive apartment for Lehrmann for over 12 months, as well as paying for meals at fashionable restaurants and numerous interstate trips.

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More sensationally, a former Channel 7 employee who acted as Lehrmann’s “minder” on the ‘Spotlight’ program testified that Channel 7 paid $10,000 for “Asian massages” for Lehrmann, as well as reimbursing him for cocaine that he purchased.

The “minder” also testified that Lehrmann supplied Channel 7 with confidential documents obtained during his criminal proceedings – thereby committing a contempt of court. Justice Lee found that this allegation was made out. Both the “minder” and producer of ‘Spotlight’ recently departed Channel 7.

So much for what the Higgins saga tells us about contemporary investigative journalism in Australia.

The story has had an even more destructive impact on the legal system in Australia, particularly in the Australian Capital Territory – the nation’s capital.

After Wilkinson delivered her infamous televised speech, and after Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivered his apology to Higgins in federal parliament in early 2022 – in which he implicitly accepted that she had been raped – it was virtually impossible for Lehrmann to receive a fair trial before a jury in his criminal rape case.

Nevertheless, the Lehrmann criminal matter went to trial in the ACT Supreme Court in late 2022.

During her cross-examination at the trial, Higgins was granted the extraordinary indulgence of not having to appear for some days – even though no application by her was made in open court. And when the jury was unable to reach a verdict after some days’ deliberation, it was not discharged, as many lawyers thought it should have been.

By chance, a court official discovered that a juror had improperly accessed material from the internet – in clear breach of the trial judge’s repeated directions, and the trial was aborted.

Of course, the fact that modern jurors pay no heed to judge’s directions gives lie to the proposition that adverse pre-trial publicity can be cured by an appropriate direction by the trial judge.

After the rape trial had been aborted, Higgins delivered an inflammatory speech on the court steps condemning the legal system and Lehrmann. This speech constituted a clear contempt of court, but no action was taken against Higgins – just as no action had been taken against Lisa Wilkinson for her speech earlier in the year.

A subsequent enquiry reluctantly established by the woke Labor/Greens ACT government into the Lehrmann trial – presided over by a well-respected former judge from Queensland – made serious findings of misconduct (including that he had not acted with fairness and detachment and had lied to the judge presiding over Lehrmann’s rape trial) against the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, who had prosecuted Lehrmann at trial.

Drumgold was forced to resign, and notwithstanding the serious findings of misconduct made against him by the enquiry, Drumgold has now found employment as a lecturer in law at a Canberra university.

And the ACT government recently gave Senator Reynolds $90,000 and an apology to settle a defamation action she had brought in respect of Drumgold’s conduct.

Not surprisingly, the reputation of the ACT legal system amongst those who believe in due process and the rule of law is at an all-time low – and quite deservedly so. It is difficult to see how it can ever recover.

Lehrmann’s flawed prosecution for rape has also led a few courageous judges in New South Wales – including one particularly brave female judge – to publicly raise questions about the influence of the #MeToo movement on the Office of the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions.

These judges believe that “meritless” cases alleging rape are regularly being prosecuted for essentially ideological reasons – and they are sick and tired of presiding over extremely weak cases with no reasonable prospects of success, that juries quickly throw out. These judges have taken the unusual step of ordering the government to pay the successful defendants’ legal costs in such cases.

The Higgins saga’s effect on politics has been equally dire.

Mention has already been made of Prime Minister Morrison’s extraordinary apology to Brittany Higgins made in federal parliament in February 2022.

Given that it was inevitable that the Higgins matter would wind up before the courts, it was grossly improper for Morrison to express a view on what might have occurred in Parliament House three years earlier. He was completely unaware of the facts at the time, and his apology was a pathetic attempt to curry political favor with the #MeToo movement.

Morrison’s crude ploy failed completely, and Higgins became a trenchant critic of the prime minister and subsequently campaigned against him. The Morrison government was voted out of office in early 2023 – with its “woman problem” said to be a major contributing factor to its demise.

Morrison also disloyally failed to support Senator Reynolds over the Higgins matter – he simply threw her under the #MeToo bus, in order to try and save himself and his government from being voted out of office. Reynolds has now, understandably, resigned from parliament in disgust – yet another female victim of the Higgins saga.

After winning the federal election in early 2023, the Labor government of Anthony Albanese settled a foreshadowed legal claim by Higgins against the Morrison government and Senator Reynolds for the staggering sum of $2.3 million – at a mediation that lasted less than a day.

It is now apparent that many of the allegations made by Higgins in that foreshadowed claim were never properly tested, and may well be demonstrably false. Justice Lee expressed doubts the settlement in his judgment.

Higgins and her boyfriend were friendly with a number of female Labor politicians who had eagerly taken up her cause in 2022, and serious questions have recently been raised about the propriety of this unprecedented settlement.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission – ironically established by Albanese last year – is currently considering whether to conduct an enquiry into Higgins’ settlement.

Higgins used part of her settlement monies to recently purchase a chateau in France, where she now resides with her boyfriend – who bears a disturbing resemblance to Bruce Lehrmann. Australian taxpayers are decidedly unimpressed.

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The Higgins saga is, however, far from ended.

Last year, Lehrmann was charged with raping a woman after meeting her at a Toowoomba striptease club. That trial will take place later this year or early next year, and will no doubt ensure that Lehrmann retains his celebrity status for the foreseeable future.

Senator Reynolds has also sued Higgins and her boyfriend for defamation, and that case will come on for trial later this year in Perth.

If the National Anti- Corruption Commission decides to investigate Higgins’ remarkable $2.3 million payout – as it should – that enquiry may also take place later this year.

It is now beyond argument that the Higgins saga has seriously corrupted journalism, the legal system and politics in Australia, perhaps beyond hope of redemption, because – as Justice Lee pointed out in his judgment – the Higgins “shambles” has always been “a proxy for broader cultural and political conflicts.”

A few judges and journalists of integrity – no politician would dare criticize the #MeToo movement – have taken a principled public stand, but they comprise a very small, if courageous, minority.

No doubt the #MeToo movement will fixate upon the fact the Justice Lee found that, on the civil onus of proof, Higgins was raped and blithely ignore his serious criticisms of her and those media organizations that uncritically published her false allegations.

As the Higgins tsunami continues to wreak havoc into the future, one can only wonder what appalling additional disclosures it will reveal and how much more Australian taxpayers will have to pay for it.

Only one thing is certain – cleaning up all this filth is beyond even Heracles.

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The counterstrike needs to be acceptable to the US, local media have said

Israel's war cabinet has decided on “clear and decisive” action following Iran’s mass missile and drone attack on Saturday. The response will have to comply with the will of the US, however, according to Israeli media.

Tehran launched a barrage of cruise and ballistic missiles, and drones, in retaliation for the bombing of its consulate in Damascus, Syria earlier this month that killed several senior officers of the Islamic revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say that they shot down the vast majority of the incoming projectiles, with the help of the US, UK, France, Jordan, and others.

“This launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles, and UAVs into the territory of the State of Israel will be met with a response,” IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said on Monday.

Halevi spoke from the Nevatim Air Base near Beersheba, one of the sites hit by the Iranian attack. The IDF has reported “minor damage” to the facility, but released no details.

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“Iran wanted to harm the strategic capabilities of the State of Israel – that is something that had not happened before,” said Halevi, adding that the IDF had prepared ‘Operation Iron Shield’ to counter the strike.

“Israel is very strong and knows how to deal with it alone, but with a threat so numerous and so far away, we are always happy to have [the US] with us,” Halevi added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet has agreed to mount some kind of action in response to Tehran, the prominent Israeli outlet Mako reported on Monday evening.

According to the publication, the retaliation will need to be acceptable to the US and “comply” with the rules set by Washington, while also be measured in such a way as to “not degenerate the region into a war.”

Another issue that has come up is the need not to damage the ad hoc coalition assembled to repel the Iranian strike, which includes Jordan and reportedly even Saudi Arabia. Both Halevi and Defense Minister Yoav Galant have insisted that “it is forbidden under any circumstances” to endanger the coalition, Mako noted.

Tehran has announced that it would respond “within seconds” if Israel decides to launch any form of attack against Iran.

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The Scranton Army Munitions Plant has produced artillery shells for Ukraine

The US Army factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania that specializes in artillery ammunition caught fire on Monday afternoon, according to local media reports and eyewitnesses.

The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant started spewing black smoke shortly before 3pm local time. Local emergency services were summoned to deal with what was described as a “structure fire.”

No further details were available.

The Joint Munitions Command (JMC) facility is owned by the US military but operated by General Dynamics-Ordnance and Tactical Systems. It makes 155mm and 105mm artillery projectiles, 120mm mortar rounds, 203mm naval shells, as well as a variety of smoke, illumination and incendiary rounds.

The US has been trying to ramp up production of artillery ammunition to supply Ukraine for its conflict with Russia.

Scranton is a community of about 75,000 residents in northeastern Pennsylvania. It is the birthplace of US President Joe Biden. He is scheduled to visit the town on Tuesday.

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A large container ship collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month, leaving six people dead and the structure completely destroyed

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched a criminal probe into the deadly collapse of a large bridge in Baltimore, multiple US media outlets reported on Monday, citing sources close to the investigation.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge was destroyed on March 26, when the Singapore-flagged container ship ‘Dali’ ran into one of its supports. The collision resulted in a catastrophic structural failure of the bridge, which collapsed along most of its span, largely blocking maritime traffic to and from the port of Baltimore. Six members of a roadwork crew who were doing maintenance on the bridge at the moment of the collision were killed.

FBI agents are now working to determine whether federal laws were followed amid the disaster, as well as seeking to establish all the circumstances that led to it, AP reported, citing an unnamed person familiar with the matter.

The US Coast Guard is participating in the investigation as well, CNN reported, citing an anonymous official, who said the probe also seeks to determine whether the ship’s crew failed to properly report an earlier technical issue with the vessel that delayed its departure shortly before the collision. While still at port, the container ship reportedly experienced issues with its electrical supply.

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The vessel’s manager, Singapore-based Synergy Marine Group, said it has been fully cooperating with the US authorities in the probe.

“Due to the magnitude of the incident, there are various government agencies conducting investigations, in which we are fully participating,” Synergy Marine spokesperson Darrell Wilson said in a statement on Monday without explicitly naming any agencies involved. “Out of respect for these investigations and any future legal proceedings, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time,” he added.

Meanwhile, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott on Monday announced a partnership with two law firms to launch legal action over the collapse, vowing to “hold the wrongdoers responsible” and receive compensation for the damage done to the people of the city and redress the economic fallout of the accident.

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The collapse of the middle class is driving the abandonment of a system we believed was here to stay

We can already see that modern states are facing such serious challenges that foreign policy is being subordinated to domestic considerations everywhere. This is true of Western countries, Russia, China, India, and everyone else. Indeed, it highlights what existing academic theories are unable to understand simply because of their methodology.

One of the curious effects of the two world wars of the last century, and in particular of the emergence of incredibly power weapons in the possession of several powers – the mass use of which could lead to the cessation of sentient life on the planet – has been to increase the importance of the foreign policy activities of states in the broad sense. The horror that a military catastrophe would be universal and irreversible in its consequences, which gradually became apparent and finally became firmly rooted in the minds of people, has firmly placed questions of international stability among the first priorities for the public.

In addition, industrial-scale warfare and economic globalization have contributed to the growing importance of issues directly related to external factors. The latter has, to a certain extent, linked the development and even the very existence of any given state to the tasks it undertakes in the international arena. This has especially been true for medium-sized and small countries for which the waters of the modern world are too shark-infested to offer the possibility of a fully independent existence. But even in the case of the great powers, foreign policy issues have become so important over the past century that they are almost on a par with domestic concerns.

Moreover, the now universal market economy and comparative openness have indeed reduced the ability of different governments to fully determine the parameters of domestic development on their own. This has reinforced the perception that success or failure in the crucial task of keeping citizens happy will be decided via a country’s integration in the global system, which will solve most problems by itself. The practical consequence of this has been a historically unimaginable expansion of the diplomatic apparatus and, more generally, of the institutions that manage foreign relations. Huge numbers of officials, imbued with a sense of the importance of their work and their profession, are now responsible for their countries’ external affairs.

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And in this sense the global system of states has indeed been moving towards the European medieval model, in which the government could interfere little in the daily lives of its subjects, especially in the spiritual life, and was happy to concern itself exclusively with foreign policy tasks. Only those powers that have most preserved the primacy of the national over the global could afford to retain sovereignty in the traditional sense of the word. First of all, this describes the United States, whose prioritizing of domestic policy over foreign policy gradually became a unique feature that has distinguished the superpower from all other countries in the world. But this order, which suited everyone, is now beginning to break down.

The first signs that things were moving towards something fundamentally new came with the emergence of such “universal” problems as various manifestations of climate change, plus the internet and the information revolution, and artificial intelligence. Some ten to fifteen years ago, the late Henry Kissinger was the first of the great thinkers of our time to point out that “problems are global, but their solutions remain national.” With this statement, the eminent statesman wanted to draw attention to the fact that the international community was not ready to develop consolidated approaches to solving problems that affect everyone.

Rich, poor, and developing countries alike have been unable to make decisions based on a strategy of minimizing the losses of each while achieving a comparative good for all. The most striking example has been the development of international cooperation on climate change. In the space of a few years, it has evolved into a series of transactions between states based on the interests of their corporate sectors and related governmental preferences, or, as in the case of Russia, on scientifically based public policies in this area that also take into account national economic interests. Thus, even during the period of Western dominance in world affairs, and indeed at its expense, states have failed to create a single “supranational” program to deal with the consequences of a phenomenon that threatens to seriously disrupt individual regions.

However, the problem is not limited to those issues, which have become relevant precisely as a result of recent changes and technological advances by mankind. The most important issue has been the growth of inequality, a concrete manifestation of which has been the decline in the incomes of large sections of the population and the gradual disappearance of the phenomenon of the “middle class” in most Western countries.

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The problem was most pronounced during the coronavirus pandemic, when the least well-off suffered the most. In the United States, this resulted in huge human losses that no one really cared about because of the peculiarities of the local socio-economic structure. In Russia, and most of the rest of Europe, the deaths of citizens from Covid were added to the already enormous costs of various types of social programs and health care. As a result of the intensive work of states to mitigate the immediate effects of the 2008-2009 crisis and the 2020-2022 pandemic, and at the same time to continue measures to stabilize budgets, the greatest concern now is the future of social programs that were the basis of welfare in the 20th century and the source of the wellbeing of the expansive middle class.

But soon this will lead to a general crisis of a system that has provided stability in the form of a middle class that relies on savings. Thus, we will see a general decline in the economic basis for citizens’ consent to the existing domestic political order. This applies primarily to Western countries, but Russia will not be spared the negative consequences of the collapse of a way of life that was at the center of the modern global economy and was the source of legitimacy for state intervention in the free market. All the more so because the consequences of the globalization of information, such as a certain erosion of control over the lives of subjects, have not disappeared. Even China, where the state’s information policy is the most consistent and subordinate to the tasks of the government and elites, faces this problem.

As a result, states have to focus more and more on their immediate tasks, such as maintaining public peace among citizens. In the case of growing international political powers such as China or India, their sheer demographic size puts domestic issues at the top of the agenda. As a result, foreign policy activities take a back seat and are only considered in the context of internal struggles for unity (Russia, China, India) or the retention of power by elites that have become virtually irremovable in recent decades (the United States and major European countries).

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This process has two interesting implications at a theoretical and practical level.

First, there is growing confusion among those whose professional responsibility it is to analyze international politics. One of America’s most prominent realists, Stephen Walt, in his recent articles has angrily drawn attention to the way in which the US government’s foreign policy decisions deviate from the logic of international life. It is also not uncommon to hear claims from Russian analysts about politics as such being dominated by purely foreign policy rationality.

Second, there is a purely practical risk that governments preoccupied with domestic concerns will in fact pay insufficient attention to those issues of international life that remain fundamentally important. So far, the leading nuclear powers have shown themselves capable of looking after the survival of humanity, despite some shifts in their own priorities. One suspects, however, that it would be a little foolhardy to place all hope in the wisdom of our statesmen alone.

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

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Riyadh has refuted Israeli media reports about its alleged participation in repelling Iranian drone and missile attack

Correction: A previous version of this article was based on a report by Israeli public broadcaster Kan and contained a link to a site posing as an official website of the Saudi royal family. The article has been amended to remove this link and to clarify the official position of the government of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has dismissed reports about its alleged participation in defending Israel from the Iranian strikes over the weekend.

The claims were originally circulated by Israeli public broadcaster Kan and a fake website purporting to be an official outlet of the Saudi royal family. Riyadh, however, has reportedly said no official websites provided such information and the country did not participate in the interception of the drones and missiles launched by Tehran.

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“There is no official website that published a statement about Saudi participation in intercepting attacks against Israel,” informed sources told Al Arabiya on Monday.

According to the claims circulated by the fake website, “a source from the Saudi royal family, who prefers anonymity,” in their response to a report by Kan, had “subtly acknowledged” the kingdom’s participation in repelling the Iranian attack.

The ‘source’ also bluntly accused Tehran of instigating the conflict in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, claiming it was a “deliberate attempt to unravel the progress” in repairing ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Iran launched a major attack on Israel over the weekend, using kamikaze drones, cruise and ballistic missiles, and citing a recent deadly strike on its consulate in Syria, widely attributed to West Jerusalem. Israel and its allies have insisted the strike was successfully repelled, with a majority of incoming projectiles shot down before even reaching the country’s airspace by US and UK fighter jets.

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Critics argue the ruling sets a dangerous precedent threatening free speech and right to assembly

A Louisiana police officer will be allowed to press charges against BLM organizer DeRay McKesson after losing several teeth and suffering brain damage during a civil rights protest, the US Supreme Court has ruled.

In July 2016, McKesson led a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Baton Rouge over the fatal police shooting of an armed black man named Alton Sterling. During the protest, Officer John Ford was injured by a rock or piece of concrete thrown by one of the activists, who has remained unidentified.

Ford’s lawsuit claimed McKesson should have known the protest would turn violent when it started and is therefore liable for his injuries. Initially dismissed by a district judge, it was revived last year by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear McKesson’s appeal.

McKesson was arrested by Baton Rouge police on the day of the protest but was later released and charges against him were dropped. In November 2016, the city paid out a $100,000 settlement to 92 activists arrested during the riot, amounting to about $230 a person after legal fees.

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Backed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), McKesson had argued before the Fifth Circuit that he was engaging in free speech and assembly activities protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution. In a 1982 case involving black civil rights activists in Mississippi, the Supreme Court ruled that participants in such activities were shielded from liability arising from the conduct of others.

The appeals court rejected this line of argument, though one dissenting judge invoked Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s 1965 march in Alabama and said that political upheavals – from marches to riots – have “marked our history from the beginning.”

Judge Don Willett argued that the majority’s legal theory “would have enfeebled America’s street-blocking civil rights movement, imposing ruinous financial liability against citizens for exercising core First Amendment freedoms.”

The ACLU has warned that the ruling could set a precedent, making it easier to sue protest leaders for illegal conduct of attendees, which would “stifle activism seeking political or societal change,” according to Reuters.

McKesson was one of the early leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement, which claimed that police across the US were racist and too aggressive towards African Americans. The district judge that rejected Ford’s initial lawsuit had argued that Black Lives Matter is an idea and not an entity, and therefore can’t be sued.

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Since it evacuated its settlements in 2005, the Jewish state has had no presence in the enclave. Twenty years later, it seems ready to permanently return

“It will happen – there’s a date,” reassured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, referring to the Rafah offensive that’s aimed at eliminating the remaining battalions of Hamas, the Islamic movement responsible for the massacre on October 7, 2023 that claimed the lives of more than 1,200 Israelis.

The international community is objecting to the planned assault, fearing it will lead to a high death toll. The area – approximately 64 square kilometers – is now home to 1.3 million Gazans who have escaped from the north and center, where clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinian fighters are still raging.

The Israeli prime minister however, is determined to go ahead. Last month, the IDF presented its plans for the takeover of the area. Once the green light is given, the army will move in, and experts say it is just a matter of months until Rafah falls into the hands of the Israelis.

But what are Israel’s plans for the longer term? RT spoke to two political analysts to discuss possible scenarios for the “day after,” the reaction of Gazans and the Arab world, and what it could mean for Israel. In Jerusalem: Yoni Ben Menachem, a veteran journalist and an author specializing in the Middle East, and in Istanbul: Shadi Abdelrahman, a Gaza native, who escaped the territory shortly before the war.

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Scenario One: re-occupation of Gaza under full Israeli control

Ben Menachem: A full occupation of Gaza might only be possible as a temporary solution to dismantle the battalions of Hamas. The group is now concentrated in Rafah and a couple refugee camps in the center, so Israel will operate there to make sure that the threat is gone and that their military infrastructure is eliminated.

Once this is achieved, Israel will establish a buffer zone – that will be one kilometer wide – in the north of the enclave to protect Israel’s southern communities, but it has no plans to remain there forever. Gazans will reject it, [and] Hamas will fight against it, endangering our soldiers and staging terror attacks against civilians. The Arab world and the international community will also stand against it – so a full re-occupation of the strip is unsustainable in the long term, and Prime Minister Netanyahu has already stated that he had no such plans.

Abdelrahman: I don’t think Israel will make the mistake of re-occupying the strip. First of all, it wouldn’t want to take responsibility for a place with very few resources and with a population that largely lives below the poverty line. But if for some reason they do decide to recapture it, Gazans will not take it lightly, primarily because they see how Israel is limiting Palestinians’ freedom of movement in the West Bank, how they storm Palestinian houses, how they erect checkpoints and arrest those they deem terrorists – so they won’t want to see that taking place in Gaza as well.

The population in Gaza is more aggressive than in the West Bank, and if Israel does decide to try its luck, the resistance will be strong and Israel will be paying a very high price.

Here, I am not only talking about throwing stones, although that will occur too. There will be attacks on settlements and on soldiers and that means that Israel will need to fork out a pretty penny for their security, something that Tel Aviv is not ready to do. This cycle of violence will continue as long as Israel remains in the strip and I am pretty sure that soon enough they will understand that they need to evacuate, just as they did in 2005.

International pressure might also play a role but I am not counting on it that much. Protests will be staged against this occupation here and there but governments, either in the Arab world, or the West, will remain largely silent. So everything will depend on Palestinians’ resistance and this, I can assure you, will be violent.

Scenario Two: Israeli military control and Palestinian Authority civil control

Ben Menachem: For Israel, a scenario where the Palestinian Authority controls the civil life in the Gaza Strip is the last option, and it will happen only if Israel fails to find a partner whom it can trust and who can govern the enclave, or if Netanyahu yields to American pressure.

Right now, Netanyahu strongly opposes this scenario primarily because Israel considers the PA as an inciting force. It believes it supports, finances and educates terror. But the PM is also rejecting this idea because of political considerations. Inside his own coalition there are several hawkish voices, including those of Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich and Homeland Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oppose the idea of the PA governing the Strip. Netanyahu is fearful of losing their support because if that happens, his coalition will fall and Israel will need to go to the polls.

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Abdelrahman: I believe this is the most likely scenario. Israel would want to create a conflict between Palestinian factions over who will control the Gaza Strip. On the one hand, there is the Palestinian Authority that would like to re-establish its control over this territory [from which it was expelled in 2007 following elections won by Hamas – ed.]. They would like to prove that they are the legitimate rulers, who will be representing the Palestinians in the peace process. On the other hand, there is Hamas, who are not planning to relinquish power that easily. So what Israel will do in this case is that it will support one faction against the other, creating tensions and violence between them.

This conflict can easily play into the hands of the Israelis. To the outside world, Israel can claim that these Palestinian factions cannot agree amongst themselves, so how can anyone give them an independent state? They fight with one another, so how can Israel live safely next to them? I am sure they will use this narrative to continue their occupation.

Naturally, the population of Gaza will reject such a scenario because it will only create additional problems for them. As for the Arab states, they will largely not care.

Scenario Three: Israeli military control; civil control by moderate Arab states like Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia

Ben Menachem: This scenario can only exist in the imagination. No Arab country will agree to take such a huge responsibility and invest billions of dollars to reconstruct the area. Two weeks ago, the Arab League already stated that they are not ready to govern the Gaza Strip. It won’t work.

Abdelrahman: Such a scenario is highly unlikely. Although it is very profitable for Israel, the Saudis and the Emiratis will not engage directly with Hamas; they won’t send their troops to fight against the group. Yet their involvement might take place on a financial level. They can be involved in a number of reconstruction projects, they might provide the intelligence to curb the threat of terror but I doubt they will put in place their own civil administration, and if they do, Gazans will reject it. They will treat such a foreign administration just as they treat Israel – as an enemy.

Scenario Four: Full Israeli withdrawal and the establishment of a Palestinian state

Ben Menachem: Israel will of course withdraw from the entire Gaza Strip after it dismantles Hamas and its military infrastructure, but no Palestinian state will be established there. As long as the right-wing government is in power, this option is out of question.

Yet, Israel might go to elections and another government might come to power. But whoever comes, I honestly don’t think that after the massacre of October 7, the public will agree to a Palestinian state. The majority of Israelis are against it, according to public opinion polls. Besides, for such recognition to happen, Israel would need to hold a referendum and the chances that it would pass are slim, at least in the coming years.

Abdelrahman: When we talk about the establishment of a Palestinian state, we need to ask ourselves, what kind of state is it going to be? Many things have changed since the Oslo Accords of 1993 and the process that started back then, when a Palestinian state was supposed to be established over the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Many things are not applicable anymore. Over the years, Israel has erected many settlements in the West Bank. Plus the American elections will also play a role here. If Donald Trump is going to be re-elected, and I believe he will, he will not allow a Palestinian state to be established. And even if Gaza does become independent, it is probably going to be an unarmed state, something that will not be accepted by the Palestinian factions, especially those with violent ideologies like Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Neither will that be accepted by Iran.

However, the establishment of an independent state in Gaza might play to the hands of Israel. This way, they can say that they gave Palestinians the freedom they have been looking for. Under this scenario, any bullet fired from Gaza could drag the area into a war because the Palestinians, who would be independent, would no longer be able to say that they are fighting an occupation.

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Scenario Five: Israel fails to eliminate Hamas

Ben Menachem: Israel can only destroy the infrastructure of Hamas and perhaps eliminate their leaders. But the ideology, the ideas of Hamas will live on. Hamas will remain as a political movement. So honestly speaking I don’t see that this region will see peace. Their hatred towards Jews is only getting stronger because of the war.

Abdelrahman: Israel failed to get any major gains in their ultimate goal to get rid of Hamas. And I don’t see how they can manage to achieve it in the near future. The children who have seen this war, who have lost their parents, will grow up, will want to take revenge for the suffering they have endured, and they will join Hamas. Therefore, the future looks bleak to me because it promises more clashes and violence.

How will the people of Gaza react to Hamas staying? I am sure they will not like this option because they have been living under them since 2007 and witnessed the destruction they brought on the Strip. But Gazans will not be happy with the Palestinian Authority either simply because for all these years they have failed to bring an independent state. So there should be a third option, a third party that can take the lead, but we are still in the dark on who that might be.

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An unidentified man attacked an Assyrian Orthodox bishop during a service on Monday

Clashes have broken out between members of the Assyrian Orthodox community and police in Sydney, Australia after a knife-wielding man attacked and stabbed a prominent cleric on Monday.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, hundreds of people gathered outside the church, presumably believing that the perpetrator was still inside. A police riot squad and a helicopter were quickly deployed to the area in an effort to contain the crowd.

As tensions rose, the mob began throwing projectiles at the officers, with authorities reporting that two were “injured and a number of police vehicles sustained damage.”

One of the officers is said to have been “hit with a metal object and sustained a twisted knee and a chipped tooth,” while his colleague ended up with a fractured jaw after being struck with a brick.

Both have been taken to a hospital.

Sky News Australia, citing reporters at the scene, has said that police used pepper spray outside the church, with dozens of people apparently affected.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), New South Wales Premier Chris Minns described the unfolding events as “disturbing.”

He urged the local community to “remain calm and continue to listen and act to the directions of Police and Emergency Services.”

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Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was delivering a sermon which was also being livestreamed, when an unidentified man wearing black approached his podium and stabbed him multiple times. Three parishioners who tried to intervene also reportedly sustained injuries.

According to media reports, the clergyman is in stable condition, with the other victims sustaining non-life-threatening wounds as well. The perpetrator was subdued at the scene and detained by police.

Monday’s attack came days after a similar knife rampage at a busy shopping mall in Sydney left six people dead. The suspect was eventually shot dead by police, with authorities describing the incident as likely “related to the mental health” of the attacker.

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