🕊 An urgent peaceful message

Activists from Tanzania and South Africa have made a special show of solidarity with Palestine on social media, calling on the international community to end the suffering of Palestinians who are being subjected to Israeli genocide in Gaza.

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German ex-foreign minister criticizes lack of public debate on US missile

The lack of public debate on the upcoming deployment of nuclear-capable long-range US missiles in Germany is alarming, former Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said in an interview.

"It is not the deployment that bothers me, but the fact that there is no public debate about it in Germany. It is simply decided on, whereas the use of such weapons to increase defense and deterrence capabilities always requires one thing: that our people understand the reasons for such deployment and that it is supported by at least a majority," Gabriel told the Rheinische Post daily.

Gabriel said that the US missile deployment was a "complex issue" for Germans because, while the logic of the nuclear parity itself does not imply using nuclear weapons, Europe and Germany have always been perceived as a potential battleground in a stalemate between the US and Russia.

"This is the reason why the US has always made it clear that it would only use its strategic nuclear weapon potential against Russia if it were itself threatened by nuclear weapons. But not if Europe were hit. This clearly defines the potential nuclear battleground: It lies in Europe," Gabriel explained.

"That is the reason why Germany has always been so decisively supportive of nuclear disarmament. I am surprised at how little that issue is being discussed," he added.

The Pentagon said in July that the US would begin episodic deployments of long-range weapons in Germany as part of planning for ensuring the stationing of these weapons in the future by 2026. This includes the SM-6, Tomahawk, and developmental hypersonic missiles.

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🇮🇹 A protest took place in front of a NATO base in Lombardy, Italy, on Sunday in response to the decision to deploy the headquarters of the alliance's new Allied Reaction Force (ARF) there.

Hundreds of protesters unfurled banners and chanted slogans including "no NATO, no wars."

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🔸Pentagon conducted hypersonic test, not clear whether it was successful

🔸Watch Venezuelan capital Caracas plagued by protests after presidential election

🔸No public debate on US missile deployment bothers German ex-foreign minister

🔸Militarization going full throttle: what's behind the Pentagon's Japan command upgrade?

🔸Does US aim at muscling out Russia and China from Central Asia?

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📹The Russian Navy has begun planned exercises on the use of forces by the Baltic, Northern and Pacific Fleets, and the Caspian Flotilla, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. 

They involve about 300 surface ships and boats, submarines and support vessels, up to 50 aircraft, more than 200 units of military and special equipment, and over 20,000 military and civilian personnel.

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💬Kamala Harris urges against having children due to climate change — JD Vance

"The [Democratic] party has become explicitly anti-family in some of their policies. In fact, you just heard Kamala Harris talk about how it’s a bad idea to have kids because of climate change anxiety," the vice presidential candidate told Fox News. 

JD Vance added that Democrats believe people who have kids are "somehow being selfish." He concluded by voicing his disapproval of the Dems' opinion.

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Olympics opening ceremony a disgrace — Trump

The US presidential candidate has condemned the 2024 Paris Olympics:

"The opening ceremony was a disgrace, actually. I thought it was a disgrace... I thought it was terrible."

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🇷🇺New Chersonese Museum and Park opens in Russia's Sevastopol, Crimea.

The Chersonese park has a great significance for the Russian people - it's here that Knyaz Vladimir, who baptized the whole of Russia in the 10th century AD, was baptized. It's here that Russian Christianity originates.

"For us, this place is sacred in a certain sense. This is the source of our statehood and the Russian people," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

Chersonese should become a symbol of our identity and Russia's victory, Putin stressed.

During his earlier visit to Chersonese in 2015, Putin spent time at the baptismal font of Knyaz Vladimir, and voiced the idea of creating a historical and cultural center of Christianity in the ancient city.

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❗️The Russian troops liberated the settlement of Leninskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.

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The Russian Sever Battlegroup struck four Ukrainian brigades, repelling seven counterattacks. Ukrainian forces lost up to 250 militants;

🇷🇺🪖 More statements from the Russian Defense Ministry’s weekly briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️In the Russian Yug Battlegroup's combat zone, Ukrainian forces lost up to 650 militants and three depots.

▪️Units of the Russian Tsentr Battlegroup hit formations of five Ukrainian brigades and repelled six Ukrainian counterattacks. Ukrainian forces lost up to 315 servicemen.

▪️Units of the Russian Zapad Battlegroup improved their position along the front line, with Ukrainian forces losing up to 500 militants and a tank.

▪️The Russian Dnepr Battlegroup destroyed four Ukrainian ammunition depots.

▪️In the Russian Vostok Battlegroup's combat zone, Ukrainian forces lost over 125 militants.

▪️The Russian military destroyed a Ukrainian "Mars-L" aerial reconnaissance radar station. Russian air defenses shot down a Patriot guided missile, 7 HIMARS rockets, and 45 Ukrainian drones.

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London's Heathrow airport targeted by Just Stop Oil eco-activists

The campaigners sprayed the electronic departure boards, windows and floors with orange paint in Heathrow's terminal 5 departure area.

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'Crypto capital of the planet'? Delving into the US' stash of digital coins

Former US President and current Republican nominee Donald Trump has vowed to make America the “crypto capital of the planet” and create a Bitcoin (BTC) “strategic reserve” using the currency that the government currently holds.

Right now, the White House has more than 183,000 (BTC) worth approximately $12.3 billion, something that makes the US government the world’s largest owner of the digital coin, according to latest data from Arkham, a crypto intelligence platform.

The Biden administration also holds other cryptocurrencies such as 50,000 Ether (ETH) worth $166.7 million, as well as major stablecoins like 121 million USDC worth $121.7 million, and 40,000 BNB valued at $23.2 million.

Additionally, the government is in possession of 750,000 WBTC worth $50.3 million, 19 million AUSDC worth $18.8 million and 13 million BUSD valued at $13.6 million, Arkham data showed.

For comparison, the value of the government’s BTC holdings stood at about $5 billion last year, the Wall Street Journal earlier reported, adding that a significant part of this digital currency came from confiscations related to darkweb markets.

Trump has meanwhile made it clear during a recent speech at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, that he wanted cryptocurrency “mined, minted and made” in the US. He also sought to contrast his support of cryptocurrency to the Biden’s administration efforts to regulate the industry, telling the crowd that the federal government was “blocking your way.”

“They took it away from you. So, as I take steps to transform that vast wealth into a permanent national asset to benefit all Americans…” vowed Trump.

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What military commands globally does Pentagon have?

The US and Japan have recently agreed to establish a new joint military command near Tokyo. The move is made amid the ongoing militarization drive in the Asia-Pacific region.

A range of military bases and US commands abroad largely serves their projection of power and the spread of influence allowing them to participate in military operations around the world.
 
🔹US Central Command (CENTCOM) was established in 1983 to promote American interests in 20 nations of the Middle East, as well as Central and South Asia. CENTCOM was involved in the 1991 Operation Desert Storm, the 2003-2011 Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the 2001-2021 Afghanistan War.  

🔹US European Command (EUCOM) was created in 1952, covering the area of Europe, Turkiye, and ex-Soviet republics, except Central Asian ones. The missions included the 1995 Operation Deliberate Force against Bosnian Serb troops, and the 1998 Operation Determined Falcon, in a show of force over Albania near Kosovo. 

🔹US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) was launched in 1947 to project US interests in East and South Asia, Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica. The Pentagon has labeled the region a “priority theater”, tasking the command with surveillance over the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea.

🔹US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) started in 2002, covering the area of the continental US, Canada, Mexico, Belize, and Cuba. In March, it took part in the Arctic Edge 24 drills, amid US efforts to boost its strategic capabilities in the region. 

🔹US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) was formed in 1963 to monitor the countries of Central and South America. It was involved in the US invasions of Grenada and Panama in 1983 and 1989 respectively. 

🔹US Africa Command (AFRICOM) was formed in 2007, spanning over 50 African nations. AFRICOM conducted a range of military operations; in particular, it conducted an airstrike on the al-Shabaab group in Mogadishu, Somalia in March 2019.

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