🇺🇸🇺🇸🌹🚫 — Democratic socialist Francesca Hong, who wants to end thanksgiving and abolish prisons, has narrowly lost Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, 39.4% to 39.8%.

📢 🇬🇧 🗳 Rupert Lowe on X: Reform UK has said that a pact with Restore Britain is off - that is their decision.

I’m not getting into the personality differences of it all, I can’t be bothered.

We made our offer, a genuine attempt was made. It was based on policy. I didn’t particularly enjoy doing it, but I tried because I thought it was the right thing to do.

If Reform want to discuss policy, not personality, then they know where to find me.

My aim is now on continuing to present a laser-focused plan to the British people.

We’ve already done so on deportations, policing, energy, self-defence, economics and more.

Others are being worked on, and will be released over the coming weeks.

I am particularly proud of our economics paper which lays out a costed plan on how Britain can live within its means - vast cuts to first spending, then tax. Doing it slowly, carefully and properly.

It is a plan that will work.

This is what we must focus on.

Restore Britain stands on a radically different platform to any other party.

We must now prove that our plan can work.

📎 Rupert Lowe

🇺🇸🇿🇦 Trump redirects millions in Aids funding to furthering Afrikaner Self-determination in South Africa

Trump just cut hundreds of millions in US AIDS funding to South Africa… and the State Department is now preparing a $1 million grant to research anti-white discrimination against Afrikaners — with Lex Libertas (founded by Ernst Roets) as a frontrunner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drbufuM0zbQ

📎 Willem Petzer

🇩🇪🤝🇦🇫 — Germany has expanded cooperation with the Taliban, allowing more Taliban-appointed officials to work at Afghan diplomatic missions in the country in exchange for increased cooperation on deporting Afghan migrants, POLITICO reports.

Under the arrangement, Germany can conduct up to three deportation flights to Afghanistan per month and has broadened removals beyond convicted criminals to include Afghan men without legal permission to remain.

Afghan dissidents and refugees in Germany fear the Taliban’s growing diplomatic presence could give its officials access to sensitive personal and family information, potentially exposing critics to intimidation, blackmail, or persecution.

Critics accuse Chancellor Merz’s government of effectively legitimizing the Taliban as it faces mounting domestic pressure to reduce migration, while Berlin insists the arrangement is limited to technical cooperation and does not constitute political recognition.

🇺🇸🕊🇮🇷 Trump is shifting to a do-nothing strategy on Iran, betting that economic sanctions and a naval blockade will force Tehran to negotiate after military threats and limited strikes failed to end the war, according to The Atlantic.

🔗 Faytuks Network

🇮🇷🤝🇨🇳 Iran says it will soon join BRICS Development Bank

▪️Iranian Central Bank Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati announced that Iran will soon become a member of the New Development Bank (NDB), also known as the BRICS Bank, while attending the BRICS summit in India. He described the NDB as the most significant achievement of BRICS cooperation, praised India's presidency of the bloc, and said Iran and India have expanded cooperation in the monetary, banking, and digital economy sectors, as reported by Tasnim News Agency.

▪️Hemmati said the BRICS summit provides an important opportunity to strengthen Iran's monetary and banking ties with fellow member states. He added that BRICS countries are discussing greater monetary and financial cooperation, including conducting trade in their national currencies, and said Iran is seeking to establish bilateral and trilateral monetary cooperation with other BRICS members.

🔗 The Cradle

🇮🇷⚔️🇺🇸 Senior Iranian source tells Reuters there are no discussions to extend a ceasefire with the U.S., saying that there is no ceasefire start date and therefore nothing to extend.

The source accused Washington of violating the MoU 48 hours after it was reached and said talks now focus on the U.S. returning to the memorandum and defining a timeframe for its commitments.

🔗 Faytuks Network

🇸🇦❌🇪🇬 Saudi Arabia opposed Egypt's inclusion in Mecca agreement, sources say

Saudi Arabia opposed Egypt joining the security pact signed with Turkey and Pakistan last week, despite Ankara's push for Cairo to be included, three Saudi sources familiar with the discussions told Middle East Eye.

One of the sources, a former senior adviser to the Saudi monarchy, said Riyadh did not want Egypt to join the agreement "at least for now".

According to the sources, the Saudi decision to oppose Egypt's entry was due to simmering tensions between Riyadh and Cairo.

They said the kingdom was the biggest financial supporter of Sisi's government after he seized power in a 2013 coup, initially spending around $25b to shore up Cairo's flagging economy, but Riyadh had become frustrated by what it regards as a lack of reciprocal support on key security issues.

One of the sources pointed to Egypt's "minimal and unreliable" role in Saudi Arabia's lengthy war with Yemen's Houthis and its position during the US and Israeli war on Iran.

They also cited growing unease over Cairo's "subordination" to the United Arab Emirates, specifically after the fallout between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi over the latter's support for Southern Yemeni separatist groups that "threaten Saudi's national security and interests".

Two of the sources noted that while Egypt sent air defence systems and fighter jets to Abu Dhabi in response to Iranian attacks, and Sisi visited UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed more than once during the war, no such steps were taken towards Saudi Arabia. They concluded that Riyadh had become increasingly alarmed by Sisi's alignment with Abu Dhabi.

🔗 https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-opposed-egypts-inclusion-mecca-agreement-sources-say

🇱🇾 Libyan medias published videos of the burned out remains of the South Zawiya Power Station which was attacked last night by Mohamed "Al-Far" Bahroun's militias.

Zawiya and the surrounding towns are without power and it will take months for the power station to be restored.

@CIG_telegram

🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷 The U.S. Navy is preparing to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln and send the USS Theodore Roosevelt as sailors aboard the Lincoln had their mental health deteriorate after 9 months of continuous deployment

Lincoln has gone much of the deployment without the regular port calls that typically give carrier crews a break from life at sea. Carriers generally pull into a port every 30 to 45 days to allow for replenishment, maintenance and crew rest.

“We’ve just been turning and burning the whole time we’ve deployed,” said one sailor, noting that crew morale was high at the beginning of deployment, with expectations of port visits and other breaks.

“Nothing to really look forward to at this point,” the sailor said, adding that crew morale now is so low that sailors and Marines aboard Lincoln would be willing to forgo any upcoming stops in favor of returning home as soon as possible. “All we want is a date home.”

Sailors aboard Lincoln separately described an incident in which a crew member was prevented from jumping from the ship.

The sailors, along with spouses and family members, also confirmed earlier problems aboard Lincoln that included food rationing, water shortages and a stretch of more than a week when service members could not do laundry.

🔗 https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2026-08-11/abraham-lincoln-middle-east-mental-health-town-hall-meeting-22506344.html