Category: Hot News

The Wall Street Journal previously reported that the Ukrainian leader initially approved the plan to blow up key pipelines Kiev has denied any involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, according to Mikhail Podoliak, the top adviser to Ukrainian leader, Vladimir Zelensky. Podoliak made the statement to Reuters on Thursday in response to a report by the Wall Street Journal, claiming that Zelensky had initially authorized the operation. The September 2022 attack ruptured the key energy infrastructure, built to deliver Russian gas to Germany and the rest of Western Europe. According to the US outlet’s sources, which included officers allegedly involved in the operation, Zelensky initially approved the attack on Nord Stream. He later tried to call it off , following pressure from the CIA, but then-Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny told him it could not be done as the sabotage group had already been dispatched and there was no way to contact it. “Such an act can only be carried out with extensive technical and financial resources... and who possessed all this at the time of the bombing? Only Russia,” Podoliak told the agency. Russia has dismissed claims that it would destroy its own pipelines, which provided it with steady revenue. Top officials in Moscow, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, have previously pointed the finger at Washington, arguing that it stood to gain the most from the disruption of Russian gas supplies to the EU. “Ukraine has nothing to do with the Nord Stream explosions,” Podolyak insisted, adding that Kiev did not gain any strategic or tactical advantage from the sabotage. The report by the WSJ claimed that “a handful of senior Ukrainian military officers and businessmen” came up with the idea of blowing up the pipelines during a drinking party in May 2022, a few months after the outbreak of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev. The plotters believed that it would reduce Russia’s energy profits and make the EU less dependent on Moscow, it said. Zaluzhny, who is now Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, told the outlet that claims of his – or Kiev’s – involvement in the destruction of Nord Stream were a “mere provocation.” A senior official in the Security Service of Ukraine, the SBU, also denied the report, insisting that Zelensky in particular “did not approve the implementation of any such actions on the territory of third countries and did not issue relevant orders.” The WSJ said its reporting is partially corroborated by the findings of the German police investigation into the Nord Stream explosions. The German Federal Public Prosecutor issued a first arrest warrant in connection with the sabotage this week, according to local reports. The suspect is believed to be a Ukrainian citizen identified as ‘Vladimir Z’. The newspaper suggested that the police investigation could “upend” relations between Kiev and Berlin, which has been Ukraine’s biggest backer in the EU amid the conflict with Russia.

Reports suggest that one of the Challenger 2 tanks provided to Ukraine may have been destroyed in Russian territory. According to Sky News, the Ukrainian brigade equipped with British Challenger 2 main battle tanks is deploying them in Russia’s Kursk Region. The UK government has supplied 14 of its main battle tanks, encouraging other NATO members to provide their heavy weapons following the announcement in January 2023. These tanks were assigned to Ukraine’s 82nd Air Assault Brigade, but largely remained in reserve after some were destroyed by Russian drones and artillery during Kyiv’s counteroffensive later in the year. The 82nd brigade is one of the Ukrainian units currently involved in the incursion into Russia. Sky News, citing an anonymous source, reported that the expeditionary force has deployed some of the Challenger 2 tanks. The outlet provided no further details on the use of British armor in Russia. On Wednesday, a Russian military-focused Telegram channel claimed that a video of a drone attack on a Ukrainian tank, released earlier by another outlet, depicts the destruction of a Challenger 2. The footage was initially released last Sunday. It shows a Lancet loitering munition striking near the town of Sheptukhovka in Kursk Region. Radio Free Europe, a US-funded news outlet, had identified the area as being close to the active front line. The US and its allies have asserted that they were unaware of the Ukrainian offensive into Russia, but expressed support for it and the use of their weapons. Britain’s Labour government emphasized this week that its policy regarding donated arms remains unchanged from that of the previous Conservative government. Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told The Times that he established rules allowing Ukraine to target locations inside Russia with any equipment provided to them, with the exception of long-range Storm Shadow missiles. ”If that [attacks on Russian targets] involved the use of British weapons, as long as they were used in accordance with international law that was always permitted,” he said, referring to the approach reportedly established over a year ago. Moscow considers the Ukraine conflict to be a NATO proxy war against Russia, in which Ukrainian soldiers serve as ‘cannon fodder’. The hostilities were triggered by the expansion of the US-led military bloc and its increasing presence in Ukraine, Russian officials have stated.

The paper claims the CIA pressured the Ukrainian leader to withdraw permission to target the key pipelines in 2022 According to the Wall Street Journal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky initially approved a plan to sabotage the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines before attempting to cancel the operation under pressure from the US. However, the effort to stop the operation came too late, the Journal reports, citing individuals allegedly involved in the plot. The energy infrastructure, designed to deliver Russian gas to Germany and the rest of Europe, was damaged by explosions beneath the Baltic Sea in September 2022. Early in 2023, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh reported that explosives were planted on the Nord Stream pipelines by US Navy divers under the cover of a NATO exercise, and detonated on orders from US President Joe Biden. Top officials in Moscow, including President Vladimir Putin, have also pointed the finger at Washington, arguing that it stood to gain the most from the disruption of Russian gas supplies to the EU. In its Wednesday article, the WSJ presented a different version of events, alleging that the Ukrainians were responsible for targeting the pipelines. This account was first reported by Western media shortly after Hersh's article was published. According to the outlet's sources, the idea of blowing up Nord Stream was conceived by “a handful of senior Ukrainian military officers and businessmen” who met for drinks in May 2022, a few months after the outbreak of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev. The plotters believed that the sabotage would reduce Russia's energy revenues and make the EU less dependent on Moscow. The report claims that the Ukrainian operation involved a small rented yacht named Andromeda, with a six-member crew including trained civilian divers, and cost only about $300,000. Vladimir Zelensky initially approved the attack on the pipelines, but later, when the CIA learned of the plan and asked the Ukrainian leader to call it off, he ordered the operation to be stopped, according to a Ukrainian officer who claimed to have been involved in the sabotage and three other individuals with knowledge of the event. However, sources allege that the then Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny ignored the demand and proceeded with the attack. He reportedly told Zelensky that, once dispatched, a sabotage team goes incommunicado and cannot be recalled. When contacted by the WSJ for comment, Zaluzhny, who is now Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, denied the report, calling claims of his - or Kiev's - involvement in the destruction of Nord Stream a “mere provocation.” The outlet stated that its sources' account is partially corroborated by findings from the German police investigation into the Nord Stream explosions. It warned that this investigation could “upend” relations between Kiev and Berlin, which has been Ukraine's biggest supporter in the EU amid the conflict with Russia.

Critics have expressed concerns about surveillance methods reminiscent of the East German secret police. A draft reform proposal, seen by Der Spiegel and other media outlets, suggests granting the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) the authority to secretly enter and search homes. The proposal also outlines the potential for police to install spyware on suspects' computers or smartphones, alongside conducting covert searches of their apartments. These powers would supposedly be employed only in exceptional circumstances. The Interior Ministry has defended the initiative, arguing that the BKA plays a crucial role in preventing international terrorism threats. While a spokesperson declined to comment on the details of the proposal, which is still in its early stages, Der Spiegel reported on Wednesday that security agencies require the necessary powers to effectively combat evolving threats. Critics have raised concerns that such far-reaching interventions could undermine the rule of law, as the inviolability of the home is a fundamental principle enshrined in Article 13 of the German Basic Law. Unless there is an “imminent threat,” the current process for searches requires a warrant from the prosecutor's office, while police must inform the individual of specific suspicions and the purpose of the search. The Free Democratic Party has rejected the proposal, labeling it “Stasi 2.0,” a reference to the notorious state security service of East Germany. While acknowledging the need for “adequate and powerful investigative tools,” Bundestag member Manuel Hoferlin expressed deep concern about the secrecy surrounding searches. The German Association of Journalists (DJV) has also vehemently opposed the plans, with Federal Chairman Mika Beuster warning that journalists and whistleblowers could be affected by secret break-ins reminiscent of methods employed by “police states.” Meanwhile, Konstantin von Notz, the vice-chair of the Greens in the Bundestag, has defended the plans, arguing that in these “serious times” the BKA requires modern investigative powers and resources.

A surge in monkeypox infections in Africa has triggered vaccine efforts The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the recent surge in monkeypox virus infections in Africa a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) and urged a vaccination campaign. Monkeypox has long been endemic in central Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). When the virus began spreading widely in late 2022, the WHO declared an emergency and renamed the disease "mpox" to reduce stigma. “On top of outbreaks of other mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, it’s clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday. Tedros made the announcement following the WHO emergency committee's decision that the surge in infections had the potential to spread across Africa and potentially beyond the continent. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has already declared a health emergency, citing the spread of the virus to Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. According to the WHO, over 14,000 cases and 524 deaths have been reported this year, surpassing last year's total. The virus “appears to be spreading mainly through sexual networks,” Dr. Tedros said, describing the development as “especially concerning.” The WHO has long identified gay men as a key population affected by the virus. “The current upsurge of mpox in parts of Africa, along with the spread of a new sexually transmissible strain of the monkeypox virus, is an emergency not only for Africa, but for the entire globe,” WHO Emergency Committee Chair Professor Dimie Ogoina said on Wednesday. “Mpox, originating in Africa, was neglected there, and later caused a global outbreak in 2022. It is time to act decisively to prevent history from repeating itself,” Ogoina added. The WHO has recommended using two vaccines approved by national regulators and initiated emergency use procedures to allow countries without approved vaccines to use them. Dr. Tedros has estimated the initial cost of the regional response plan to stop the spread of the virus at $15 million. The WHO has already released $1.45 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies, with plans to disburse more in the coming days. The disease is primarily transmitted through skin and mucosal contact with an infected person, contaminated materials, or infected animals. Symptoms include an acute rash, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, muscle and body aches, high fever, and headaches. The virus was first detected in macaque monkeys in the late 1950s, leading to its original designation. The WHO registered the first human case in 1970, in what was then called Zaire.

The biggest risk that Brussels faces after the pair’s fireside chat is that Europeans might start learning some inconvenient truths from each other When X owner Elon Musk announced a digital fireside chat on the app with former US president and current Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, at least one EU official promptly went ballistic. EU Internal Markets Commissioner Thierry Breton reacted to the online promotion of the exclusive event with a threat – the kind of thing that goes over far better on an official company letterhead (the European Commission’s in this case) than, say, in a whispery, untraceable phone call. “I am writing to you in the context of recent events in the United Kingdom and in relation to the planned broadcast on your platform X of a live conversation between a US presidential candidate and yourself, which will also be accessible to users in the EU,” Breton to Musk. He warned the billionaire about ongoing compliance investigations and insisted on the need to mitigate “amplification of harmful content” which “if unaddressed might… generate detrimental effects on civic discourse and public security.” Ah, yes. Because anything that goes against the official EU establishment narrative and agenda is generally considered to be a threat to public order. The plebs might actually discover some inconvenient realities that better explain why daily life in Europe has become more challenging than that of our gatekeeping overlords. Worse, they may decide to do something about it, which presents an even greater inconvenience to the ruling establishment in that they may actually have to rework some of their policies to the detriment of some opaque special interests. How fitting that Breton evoked the recent unrest in the UK, which wasn’t caused by an actual migrant but nonetheless sparked public outcry over migration and asylum issues – something that’s so “fake” that the British government itself has tried to hide the extent of the problem by stocking migrants on an offshore barge and proposing to send them to Rwanda. Breton also CC’d X CEO Linda Yaccarino on his letter in the same way that a principal chewing out an unruly student in writing would also copy the kid’s mom so she could give him a good spanking at home. But Breton found out that getting mom onboard is hard to do when the “kid” in this case supports the whole household. “This is an unprecedented attempt to stretch a law intended to apply in Europe to political activities in the US,” Yaccarino. “It also patronizes European citizens, suggesting they are incapable of listening to a conversation and drawing their own conclusions.” Usually, when the EU is accused of foreign interference, it’s because it’s riding shotgun with Uncle Sam, who wasn’t around for backup this time when Musk himself with a meme from the movie, Tropic Thunder – a still image of actor Tom Cruise in his role as a talent agent, captioned with the line, “Take a big step back and literally, f**k your own face!” Chief editor of France Inter’s digital operations, Stephane Jourdain, cited European Commission sources who that Musk’s reply would be added to their files against X. Aye, aye, commissars! Oh, but wait. It appears that Breton got out ahead of the EU clownmobile and is now about to get a deep back massage from the jalopy’s tire tracks. The European Commission “denied Breton had approval from its President Ursula von der Leyen to send the letter,” the Financial Times. Breton now knows exactly how every EU citizen feels when unelected “Queen Ursula” makes the same kind of top-down decisions for all Europeans as that which the unelected Breton just tried to unilaterally impose on Musk. All this drama for what, exactly? The fact that Trump might say something that doesn’t jibe with the EU’s propaganda, which apparently is so tenuous and fragile that it needs to be preemptively protected from any potential future challenges, however rational or nutty? It turns out that the EU didn’t have much to worry about. Trump doesn’t seem to have a clue about what’s actually going on here. “They take great advantage of the United States in trade,” Trump said of Europe, which was goaded by the Biden administration into foregoing its trade relationship with Russia, whose cheap energy allowed it to compete with the US on the global playing field. It now has a greater dependence on pricier American liquified natural gas. And the trade deficit that the US has with the EU is largely the result of all the protectionist tariffs that it slaps on its other competitors, like China – an idea that Trump has long supported himself – leaving the US with fewer suppliers, like the EU. The US is doing a far better job of screwing itself than anyone else could. “Why is the United States paying disproportionately more to defend Europe than Europe? That doesn’t make sense,” Trump said to Musk. “That’s unfair, and that is an appropriate thing to address.” Except that the US cash “for Ukraine” is mostly just being dumped into the US military industrial complex, which is actually a great deal for Washington cronies. And when the US demands that Europe spends more on weapons for itself, guess who the big winner is? “In the 2019-2023 period, 55% of imports to Europe were from the US, up from 35% in the 2014-2018 period,” French state media outlet, France 24, of EU weapons. As if the EU is going to clarify any of those Trump statements. If Brussels had to be honest, it’d be like, “Well, actually, Trump was spreading fake news when he said that we’re not paying enough for Ukraine. Our own arms industries are also starting to cash in on the charade now, too.” The EU also probably won’t want to admit that it has become more dependent on the US for everything – including trade – despite the whole idea of breaking up with Russia having been in the interests of avoiding getting too committed to any one partner. Yet here’s Trump sounding like he has no clue why Brussels has become such a stage-five clinger that it needs the US to buy more of its stuff. The more Trump blabs, the more the average European citizen can assess for themselves how much his reality jibes with theirs. And the more daylight that exists between them, the less influence Trump will have on them. Which is why it could actually serve the EU’s own agenda to let him talk as much as possible. The downside, of course, is that open debate on anything EU-related evoked by Trump – even cluelessly – risks sparking an online public dissection of EU actions that would bleed into the more conventional media. And the danger there is that there is a high probability of EU politicians being outed as inept jokers.

Finland and Estonia have joined Poland in supporting the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk Region. The prime ministers of Finland and Estonia have expressed their support for the Ukrainian attack on Russia’s Kursk Region, following similar statements from the EU foreign policy chief and US President Joe Biden. Kiev deployed several thousand troops across the Russian border last week. They have captured a dozen or so villages and, according to Moscow, have indiscriminately targeted civilians. “Ukraine has the right to self-defense and it’s clear that they can do their operation in Kursk,” Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told reporters in Helsinki on Wednesday, at a joint press conference with his Estonian counterpart Kristen Michal. “We fully support Ukraine in its different operations and personally I wish them luck,” Michal said. Earlier in the day, Polish PM Donald Tusk stated that Kiev has “every right to wage war in such a way as to paralyze Russia in its aggressive intentions as effectively as possible.” He also claimed that Russian actions have “the hallmarks of genocide.” Most Western leaders declined to comment on Ukraine’s assault until Monday, opting instead to make general statements endorsing “self defense” on the part of Kiev. They also claimed to be unaware of the Ukrainian offensive in advance. However, on Tuesday, the US president suggested that Washington had been in contact with Kiev throughout. “I have spoken with my staff on a regular basis, probably every four or five hours for the last six or eight days,” Biden told reporters in New Orleans. “And we’ve been in direct contact, constant contact with the Ukrainians.” Meanwhile, EU foreign policy commissioner Josep Borrell stated that Kiev had the bloc’s “full support” for the Kursk offensive. Ukrainian troops interviewed by Western outlets indicated that the incursion’s primary objective was to capture territory that could be traded with Moscow in eventual peace talks, while simultaneously relieving pressure on Pokrovsk, Chasov Yar and New York in the Donbass. However, the attack appears to have weakened Ukrainian positions in the Donetsk People’s Republic, as Russian troops began to advance more quickly. The Kursk incursion also resulted in an increase in Russian enlistments, according to President Vladimir Putin.

Authorities are reportedly investigating a possible unauthorized entry and potential contamination of the water supply at a military base in Cologne. A military base in Cologne, Germany, was placed on lockdown on Wednesday due to concerns about a possible act of sabotage, according to Der Spiegel. A spokesperson for the German Defense Ministry confirmed that security services are investigating the incident. In recent months, several Western media outlets and officials have alleged that Russia has been intensifying efforts to carry out acts of sabotage on European soil. Moscow's presumed goal is to disrupt the delivery of Western weapons to Ukraine and the training of Ukrainian troops abroad. Moscow has consistently dismissed these allegations as "not serious" and "unfounded." Der Spiegel reported on Wednesday that the Bundeswehr barracks had been completely sealed off, with police and military counter-intelligence services investigating a potential unauthorized entry. According to the publication, there are suspicions that saboteurs may have contaminated the water supply at the military facility. The outlet cited internal instructions disseminated among personnel warning against using water from the base's utility system. The article claimed that military personnel at the base had also been instructed to be vigilant for any unknown individuals and to report "suspicious behavior" on the premises. Der Spiegel speculated that security services may be searching the base for potential saboteurs, noting that a suspicious individual was allegedly spotted near the fence surrounding the complex. This individual is believed to have fled after being detected. The media outlet also reported that an opening in the fence was discovered during an inspection by military police. According to the article, cases of gastrointestinal illness have been reported at the base recently, though it is unclear whether these incidents are related to the water supply at the facility. The barracks in Cologne is home to several Bundeswehr command units. In addition, the installation houses the German Air Force, with Cologne Airport located immediately adjacent to the base, Der Spiegel noted. According to its estimates, a total of 5,500 military and civilian personnel work at the military facility. The base is also said to be a key hub for Ukrainian service members returning home after receiving military training in Europe. In April, the German Prosecutor General's Office reported that two German-Russian dual nationals had been arrested on suspicion of planning to sabotage local military infrastructure. Around the same time, the head of German domestic intelligence, Thomas Haldenwang, warned that the risk of acts of sabotage had "significantly increased" in the country.

A search is underway for an instructor and a trainee from one of the missing aircraft, according to media reports. Two French fighter jets collided over northeastern France. The incident in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department involved two Rafale aircraft and occurred around midday on Wednesday, Agence France Presse reported, citing civilian and military officials. Both aircraft are part of the squadron stationed at the Saint-Dizier-Robinson Air Base, the army confirmed. The pilot from one jet was injured in the incident but is alive and conscious. The second aircraft had an instructor and a trainee on board who are still unaccounted for. All three officers are French citizens, the military emphasized. Local media report that a search-and-rescue operation is underway in the area. The location has been cordoned off, and fire brigades were dispatched to the scene. Rescue workers have found a significant amount of debris from the incident. Earlier reports suggested that the missing aircraft might have been Mirage jets instead of Rafales.

Moscow has previously denounced Latvian policies as “extremely” Russophobic According to the Russian newspaper Izvestia, Russian citizens who have lived in Latvia for more than two decades will have to disclose their views on the Ukraine conflict in order to have their residence permits extended. The paper reports that Latvian authorities have sent letters to Russian citizens whose residence permits date back to before 2003, requiring them to complete a questionnaire assessing their opinions on issues including the conflict in Ukraine. Respondents are required to state whether they consider Russia´s actions in Ukraine to be “unprovoked military aggression”, and whether they believe that it was legal for several former Ukrainian regions to join Russia, the outlet wrote on Wednesday, citing a Russian citizen who provided the outlet with a copy of the documents. The article does not include a copy of such a questionnaire, and RT has been unable to verify the report. According to a separate document, published by Izvestia, Russians will also have to submit proof of their command of the Latvian language at pre-intermediate level, as well as a number of other standard residency application documents. The papers must be submitted by June 30, 2025, it added. The Latvian parliament adopted immigration amendments in June extending the language exam requirement to Russian citizens who received residency prior to 2003. According to the Latvian government, nearly 5,000 people fall under that category. The legislation stipulates that those who fail to provide the necessary paperwork will have their residence permits revoked by November 2025, and be asked to leave the country. The Baltic state initially only granted citizenship to ethnic Latvians when it declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. According to Izvestia, as of early 2024, there were more than 437,000 ethnic Russians residing in Latvia, or 23% of the country's total population. Some 296,000 have Latvian citizenship. In a 2004 survey, the majority of non-citizens called the naturalization process “humiliating” and “difficult.” While the EU member state has gradually restricted the rights of Russian-speakers for years, the process intensified after the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Russian TV channels have been banned, while monuments to Soviet soldiers who drove out Nazi German invaders in World War II have been systematically removed. In July, a pro-Russian activist Elena Kreile was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of publicly displaying support for Russia and its military operation in Ukraine. Earlier this year, the Latvian government announced that schools in the country would start phasing out Russian as a second foreign language in primary education starting from 2026, and replacing it with an EU language. Moscow has denounced Latvian policies – as well as those of the neighboring Estonia and Lithuania – as “extremely” Russophobic, but said it would not sever diplomatic relations with the three countries, as this would leave tens of thousands of Russian citizens in distress and without consular support.

The suspect has reportedly been identified as Ukrainian national ‘Vladimir Z’ German authorities have issued the first arrest warrant in relation to the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, according to local media. The suspect is believed to be a Ukrainian citizen known as ‘Vladimir Z’. It is unclear if the suspect has ties to Ukraine's military or intelligence services. No one has taken responsibility for the explosions that damaged the pipelines in the Baltic Sea in September 2022. The sabotage halted gas supplies from Russia to Germany. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was also damaged, had never become operational due to EU bureaucratic delays. German state broadcaster ARD, along with the Suddeutsche Zeitung and Die Zeit newspapers, reported on Wednesday that Federal Public Prosecutor Jens Rommel issued the first arrest warrant in the case in early June. While the alleged suspect has been identified, two of his compatriots, a couple, have reportedly been named as potential accomplices. German officials have reportedly requested cooperation from their Polish counterparts in hopes of locating the suspect, who is said to have been tracked to a location west of Warsaw before disappearing. ARD reported that they contacted the suspect by phone on Tuesday. ‘Vladimir Z’ claimed he had no involvement in the sabotage. According to the state broadcaster, the suspected saboteurs are said to have sailed to the sabotage site on a yacht named the ‘Andromeda’. However, Polish authorities have maintained that the vessel’s journey was “purely touristic” in nature, with the crew apparently not raising any suspicion. German prosecutors are skeptical of the Polish account, according to ARD. Polish officials have also reportedly told their German counterparts that CCTV footage of the yacht and its crew has been deleted. Despite EU inter-state regulations, Warsaw has reportedly failed to respond to Berlin’s request for cooperation regarding Vladimir Z’s possible whereabouts, ARD alleged. German media reports indicate that investigators have yet to find concrete evidence linking the suspect directly to the Ukrainian military or intelligence service. High-ranking officials in Kiev have publicly denied any involvement in the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines. The German prosecutor’s office has declined to provide an official statement. Russian authorities have blamed the US for the disruption of Russian gas supplies to Germany, as they stand to gain the most from it. Moscow has cited Washington's public grievances regarding the Nord Stream project, expressed on several occasions prior to the destruction of the pipelines. The Kremlin has also accused the West of obstructing investigative efforts into the blasts.

The new arms package includes dozens of fighter jets, as well as mortar and tank ammunition The US State Department has approved more than $20 billion in new arms sales to Israel, despite pressure on President Joe Biden's administration to stop weapons deliveries to Israel and push it into ceasefire negotiations with Hamas to stop the ongoing conflict in Gaza. In a series of to Congress on Tuesday, the State Department stated that the United States is “committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel in developing and maintaining a strong and ready self-defense capability.” The largest deal, worth approximately $18.8 billion, includes the sale of 50 new F-15IA fighter jets and the upgrade of 25 F-15I jets already in service with the Israeli Air Force. West Jerusalem also plans to purchase Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) for the jets, nearly 33,000 120mm tank cartridges, up to 50,000 high-explosive mortars, and new military cargo vehicles. The State Department asserted that the proposed sale “will not alter the basic military balance in the region” and will have “no adverse impact on US defense readiness.” Most of the proposed weapons sales are long-term agreements, but the announcement comes amidst concerns that the ongoing war in Gaza could escalate into a wider Middle East conflict. Following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (who was the militant group’s chief negotiator in indirect Gaza ceasefire talks with Israel) in Iran, and top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut in late July, both Tehran and Hezbollah have threatened retaliatory actions against Israel. These killings have sparked global worries of a full-blown war between Iran and Israel. On Monday, the leaders of France, Germany, and the UK jointly urged Iran and its allies “to refrain from attacks that would further escalate regional tensions.” Hostilities erupted after Hamas launched a surprise incursion into southern Israel last October, resulting in the deaths of around 1,100 people and the taking of 200 hostages. The Israeli response has claimed at least 39,800 lives, according to Palestinian health officials. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has reportedly faced increasing pressure from the Biden administration to end the war amidst growing international criticism over Israel’s methods of warfare. While it would take years for the newly approved weapons to actually reach Israel, according to Axios, the announcement may help alleviate Republican criticism ahead of the elections that the Biden-Harris administration doesn't supply weapons to Israel.

Google maintains that clearly labeling such advertisements as “sponsored” is sufficient to prevent voters from being misled. According to an Axios report, US Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign has been using Google search advertisements that link to genuine news articles from reputable sources, but with altered headlines and descriptions designed to portray the Democratic presidential candidate in a more favorable light. The Harris campaign has been running these ads linking to stories by “nearly a dozen” news outlets, including CNN, AP, CBS, NPR, The Guardian, USA Today, and others since at least August 3, Axios revealed on Tuesday. These ads closely mimic real news results, potentially misleading users. While Axios recognized that such practices are “common,” it acknowledged that according to Google's ad transparency center, Harris' rival Donald Trump is not running these types of misleading ads. Several news outlets reportedly claimed they were unaware their brands were being used in this way, according to Axios. A spokesperson for The Guardian indicated the company would be “reaching out to Google for more information about this practice.” Google has maintained that this practice does not violate its rules, arguing that since the ads are labeled as “sponsored,” they are “easily distinguishable” from legitimate search results. However, the tech giant admitted that a supposed “technical glitch” in Google's Ad Library caused some of the ads to “appear” to lack the necessary disclosures, Axios reported. A Google spokesperson promised to investigate the glitch, emphasizing that the company has for years “provided additional levels of transparency for election ads specifically.”

Thierry Breton’s menacing letter apparently did not have Ursula von der Leyen’s blessing The European Commission has stated that Thierry Breton did not consult them before sending a threatening letter to Elon Musk, just before his two-hour conversation with US presidential candidate Donald Trump. Breton, the Internal Market commissioner responsible for enforcing the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA), suggested in his letter that Musk had a duty to censor potentially “harmful content” on X, the platform he owns formerly known as Twitter. “The timing and the wording of the letter were neither co-ordinated or agreed with the president nor with the [commissioners],” an European Commission spokesman said on Tuesday. Breton did not seek approval from President Ursula von der Leyen, another official told Financial Times on condition of anonymity. “Thierry has his own mind and way of working and thinking,” the official said. Sources close to Breton told the outlet that the letter had been in the works for some time, but the Trump event seemed like an appropriate “trigger point” for publishing it. The move backfired, however. Musk responded to Breton’s letter with a meme from the 2008 comedy ‘Tropic Thunder’, in which Tom Cruise’s character shouts, “Take a big step back and literally f**k your own face!” Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign accused the EU of “trying to meddle in the US presidential election” and advised the bloc to mind its own business. Four EU officials, speaking to Politico on condition of anonymity, said the bloc really wanted to avoid the appearance of election meddling. “The EU is not in the business of electoral interference,” said one of them. “DSA implementation is too important to be misused by an attention-seeking politician in search of his next big job.” , Breton announced that the European Commission considered X in violation of the DSA and intended to levy massive fines against Musk’s company unless it agreed to its restrictions on “hate speech” and “misinformation.” “The European Commission offered X an illegal secret deal: if we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us,” in response. “The other platforms accepted that deal. X did not.” Breton vocally denied the existence of such an offer, but Musk replied he was looking forward to “a very public battle in court, so that the people of Europe can know the truth.” Musk bought Twitter in October 2022, after voicing displeasure over widespread censorship on the US-based social media platform.

The US leader made his first remarks about the incursion of Kiev’s forces into Kursk Region US President Joe Biden has said that Washington is in contact with Kiev about Ukraine’s ongoing incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region, which is posing a challenge for Moscow. According to Moscow, last week, Ukraine sent several thousand troops across the Russian border to seize a dozen villages and indiscriminately target civilians. “I have spoken with my staff on a regular basis, probably every four or five hours for the last six or eight days and it’s creating a real dilemma for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” Biden told reporters on Tuesday, in his first remarks about the Kursk offensive. “And we’ve been in direct contact, constant contact with the Ukrainians. That’s all I’m going to say about it while it’s active,” he added. Biden's first public reaction to Zelensky's terror attack on the Kursk region: it creates a "real dilemma"The US President claimed he discusses the situation in Russia with his staff “every 4-5 hours”. — The Great Investor (@TheGreatInvest2) The US leader made these remarks while arriving in New Orleans, speaking outside Air Force One. Earlier in the day, EU foreign policy commissioner Josep Borrell stated that Kiev had the bloc’s “full support” for the Kursk offensive. Previously, Washington and Brussels have responded to press inquiries about the events in Kursk by using general statements about support for Ukraine and unchanging policies. “We’re in touch with our Ukrainian counterparts, and we are working to gain a better understanding of what they’re doing, what their goals are, what their strategy is, and I’m going to leave a little bit of space for us to have those conversations before I try to characterize what’s going on,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Friday. The US announced another $125 million in military aid to Ukraine later that day. However, on Monday, Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, visited Kiev and praised the Kursk incursion as “bold” and “beautiful.” He also encouraged retired Western pilots to join the Ukrainian air force and fly NATO-provided F-16 fighters against Russia. Acting regional governor Aleksey Smirnov reported on Monday that at least 12 Russian civilians have been killed and another 121 wounded by Ukrainian invaders. Ukrainian soldiers who spoke to Western outlets reported taking significant casualties in the invasion. They also stated that their objectives were to capture some territory that could be traded away in potential peace talks with Moscow, as well as to relieve pressure on the Donbass front. On Monday, reports suggested that the Russian forces were actually advancing at a faster pace, while military enlistments were up due to the fighting in Kursk.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis is suspected of purchasing a villa in Greece shortly before the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict, raising concerns that he was preparing for a potential escape if hostilities spread. Lithuanian opposition lawmakers have alleged that Landsbergis was preparing to flee the country ahead of the 2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict, fearing the possibility of hostilities spilling over into Lithuania. These accusations stem from reports that Landsbergis' wife made a €250,000 ($273,000) down payment on a luxury villa on a Greek island in February 2022, just before the fighting began between Russia and Ukraine. According to the Lithuanian news outlet Lietuvos rytas, the property comprises a 313 square-meter house with two terraces and a 23 square-meter guesthouse. Both Lithuanian and Greek flags have reportedly been seen on the villa's grounds, which are reportedly concealed from view behind a tall fence. “It was clear that war in Ukraine was inevitable. It is obvious that Landsbergis, in the face of a difficult geopolitical situation, was ready to sharpen his skis,” opposition MP Agnes Sirinskiene told Delfi, expressing her shock at the timing of the purchase. Landsbergis has not yet publicly responded to these accusations, as he is currently on vacation and not expected to return to work until September. Meanwhile, the news outlet Respublika has reported that opposition MPs are preparing a series of questions for the foreign minister to be addressed at the next plenary session of the Lithuanian parliament. “If some other family had bought real estate somewhere on the island just before the war, it might not have raised much suspicion. However, when the minister of foreign affairs, who probably has the most information about the possible war in Ukraine, behaves in this way, it requires explanations,” Lithuanian MP Aidas Gedvilas said. Landsbergis, who has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine, has repeatedly warned that Russia might attack another European country if allowed to prevail in Ukraine. He has also called for regime change in Moscow and urged NATO to provide the Ukrainian military with “everything we have.” Russia has repeatedly condemned Landsbergis' statements, describing his “extremist” ideas as “unacceptable behavior for the head of a foreign ministry.” Moscow has imposed personal sanctions on the minister and threatened him with criminal liability for his calls to overthrow the Russian government.