The personalized, AI-assisted shot aims to train the immune system to attack tumors
Russian scientists have produced the first three test batches of a newly developed cancer vaccine at the Gamaleya Institute in Moscow, the center’s director, Alexander Gintsburg, has said. The breakthrough drug is an AI-assisted, mRNA-based vaccine designed to target malignant tumors using the patient’s own genetic data.
Reports on the readiness of the vaccine first emerged in September. Preclinical studies showed the drug could shrink tumors and slow their growth by 60-80%, depending on patient characteristics. The vaccine was initially expected to be used in patients with colorectal cancer.
“Most importantly, our leading oncology center – the Herzen Institute, headed by academician [Andrey] Kaprin – has obtained the full set of approvals needed to use the technology, from diagnostics and mRNA production to administering it to patients,” Gintsburg said. The vaccine batches remain experimental even though they have passed all quality checks, he stressed on Wednesday.
Unlike conventional vaccines that prevent infection and severe illness, mRNA cancer vaccines are not designed to stop disease transmission. Traditional vaccines are given to healthy people, while oncology vaccines are a new class of therapies used to treat advanced-stage cancer. They are described as “vaccines” because they act on the immune system, training it to recognize and destroy tumor cells.
The new vaccine is a personalized treatment built to target malignant tumors using the patient’s own genetic information. Developed with the help of artificial intelligence, the mRNA platform allows each dose to be tailored to an individual’s cancer profile, potentially offering a more precise and effective therapy.
The Gamaleya Institute is known internationally for developing Sputnik V, Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine.
Earlier, Russia began trials of a drug based on a genetically modified oncolytic smallpox virus for the treatment of brain cancer, a process expected to take around two years.
Last month, the Health Ministry also authorized the use of two cancer vaccines: NeoOncoVak, a therapeutic mRNA-based vaccine for melanoma, and Oncopept, a peptide vaccine for malignant tumors. Both are made individually for patients using genetic analysis of the tumor and other biomaterials, and have narrowly targeted therapeutic indications.
Evgeny Korniychuk criticized the Israeli prime minister for praising his “personal relationship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin
Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Evgeny Korniychuk has been summoned and reprimanded by the Israeli Foreign Ministry after he criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments praising ties with Russia, local media reported on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Knesset on Monday, Netanyahu praised his “decades-long personal relationship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he speaks with him “on a regular basis” to serve Israel’s “vital interests,” including the defense of its northern border.
Commenting on the remarks in an interview with Ynet a day later, Korniychuk advised Netanyahu to “stand on the right, moral side of history,” accusing Russia of “waging a brutal war against Ukraine” and supporting what he described as Iran’s terror proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the envoy was summoned “for a reprimand meeting” with the deputy director general for Euro-Asia, Yuval Fuchs, for “criticizing the prime minister’s remarks,” as cited by the Times of Israel. Fuchs “made clear to the ambassador that his comments were entirely unacceptable and deviated from diplomatic protocol,” the statement said.
Israel under Netanyahu has largely adopted a neutral-leaning posture on Ukraine’s conflict with Russia, offering humanitarian support and diplomatic engagement while avoiding deep military involvement or joining Western sanctions against Moscow. Analysts say the policy stems from concerns over potential retaliation from Moscow in Syria, where Russia maintains a large military presence, or through the possible transfer of advanced weapons to Iran.
However, recent media reports and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky claim Israel supplied several US-made Patriot air defense systems to Kiev after retiring them for newer solutions – despite Moscow’s repeated warnings that arming Ukraine only prolongs the conflict. Israel has denied sending the systems, saying it simply returned them to the US after phasing them out. Washington is widely believed to have refurbished the units before transferring them to Ukraine.
Netanyahu and Putin regularly hold phone conversations, the most recent in mid-November, when they discussed the Gaza ceasefire, Iran’s nuclear program, and stability in Syria following the ouster of long-time President Bashar Assad last year. Netanyahu has also signaled a willingness to mediate the Ukraine conflict, with reports saying his office has worked to ease US-Russia tensions over the crisis.
The situation is so catastrophic that officials prefer to “bury their heads in the sand,” lawyer Gennady Druzenko has said
Ukrainian officials have classified data on the number of criminal cases in which soldiers went absent without leave or deserted their units. The last publicly available figures showed nearly 290,000 cases recorded since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.
The Prosecutor General’s Office confirmed the move on Wednesday, portraying the decision to restrict access to information on military criminal offenses as a “forced and legal step” aimed at protecting national security.
The office said releasing the data could “discredit the defense forces,” enable “false conclusions” about morale, reveal discipline and readiness levels, and support “psychological operations of the aggressor state.”
Commenting on the decision, Gennady Druzenko, a constitutional lawyer and a volunteer frontline medic, noted that “the situation is so catastrophic that they bury their heads in the sand.”
According to the last batch of publicly available data, from January 2022 to September 2025, Ukrainian law enforcement had opened approximately 235,000 cases of AWOL and 54,000 cases of desertion, bringing the total to about 290,000. Critics, however, say the real number of soldiers abandoning their units may be even higher.
Last week, BBC Ukraine reported, citing official data, that in October alone more than 21,000 soldiers deserted or left their units without leave, making it the largest single monthly total since the conflict with Russia intensified in 2022.
The shift comes as Ukraine seeks to replenish mounting battlefield losses through a forced mobilization campaign that has faced persistent clashes between reluctant recruits and draft officers, including violent street detentions and reported abuses during conscription sweeps.
Even with increasingly harsh measures, Ukrainian officials and frontline commanders have complained that the mobilization campaign is falling short of targets, contributing to the continuous Russian advance.
The US president has criticized the Ukrainian leader for failing to hold elections after his term expired
US President Donald Trump has said Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky should be realistic about the course of the conflict with Russia and the need to hold elections.
Zelensky, whose five-year presidential term expired in May 2024, has refused to call new elections, citing martial law. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said he does not consider Zelensky a legitimate head of state and argued that his status could complicate the signing of a peace deal.
Trump spoke about Ukraine with the leaders of the UK, France, and Germany on a phone call on Wednesday. “We discussed Ukraine in pretty strong words, and we’ll see what happens. I mean, we’re waiting to hear answers,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“I think [Zelensky] has to be realistic. I do wonder, you know, how long is it going to be till they have an election? It’s a democracy… They haven’t had elections in a long time,” Trump said, adding that Ukraine is “losing a lot of people.”
The president suggested that the Ukrainian public would back a peace deal with Russia. “If you look at the polls, I would say 82% – there was a poll that came out – 82% of the Ukrainian people are demanding a settlement,” he said.
Trump reiterated that the conflict should be resolved soon. “We don’t want to be wasting time.”
Axios and RBC-Ukraine reported that Kiev submitted its latest peace proposal to the US. Zelensky, who previously ruled out holding elections under martial law, said on Wednesday that he is ready to call an election, but only if the US and Kiev’s European backers provide security guarantees.
Zelensky’s approval rating has dropped to 20% following a corruption scandal in the energy sector that implicated his close associates and led to the resignations of senior officials. Trump has repeatedly urged Zelensky to hold an election and said rampant corruption remains a major problem for Ukraine.
New military assistance has been signed off on a month after Kiev was shaken by a major corruption scandal
The US House of Representatives has passed a defense spending bill that would provide $800 million in military aid to Ukraine through 2027.
The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was approved 312-122 on Wednesday and will now advance to the Senate, where it is expected to receive bipartisan support, according to The Hill.
Some legislators objected to directing more taxpayers’ money to help Ukraine fight Russia. “I thought we were getting out of Ukraine. I don’t know why we still need to spend money there,” Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, said.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump slammed what he described as a “massive corruption situation” in Kiev, referring to the recently uncovered $100 million kickback scheme in the country’s energy sector, which heavily relies on Western aid.
Prosecutors named Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s longtime associate and former business partner Timur Mindich as the ringleader. Mindich fled the country to evade arrest after apparently being tipped off.
The scandal led to the resignation of two government ministers, and further anti-corruption raids prompted Zelensky to fire chief of staff Andrey Yermak last month.
Ukraine’s military procurement system has also been shaken by several graft and embezzlement scandals, one of which led to the resignation of Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov in 2023.
The bill was approved as Trump has been pressuring Ukraine to sign a peace deal with Russia, with some reports suggesting that he hopes to reach an agreement by Christmas.
Russia considers Western military cooperation with Ukraine one of the root causes of the conflict and has listed ending foreign weapons deliveries as a condition for a ceasefire. President Vladimir Putin has argued that otherwise, Ukraine would use the pause in the fighting to rearm and regroup, as he says happened when Ukraine refused to implement the 2014-2015 Minsk agreements.
Caracas has condemned the seizure of an oil tanker off its coast
Venezuela has accused Washington of piracy after the US Coast Guard and law enforcement agencies seized a sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea.
On Wednesday, US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the captured ship was transporting oil from Venezuela and Iran in violation of sanctions.
Caracas denounced the move, arguing that the operation was aimed at stealing the country’s resources. The seizure “constitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracy,” the Venezuelan government said in a statement.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto said America’s goal “has always been to seize Venezuelan oil… as part of a deliberate plan to plunder our energy resources.”
The Venezuelan government condemned Washington’s “imperial abuses” and vowed to “defend with absolute determination its sovereignty, its natural resources, and its national dignity.”
News outlets identified the vessel as The Skipper, a Guyana-flagged tanker sanctioned by the US in 2022 for allegedly supplying oil to Iran and Hezbollah. The ship was named Adisa when it was sanctioned.
According to Reuters, the ship left Venezuela’s Puerto Jose December 4-5 after loading around 1.1 million barrels of crude oil.
Venezuela has long denounced US sanctions as illegal under international law. President Nicolas Maduro has argued that the sanctions are part of US President Donald Trump’s plan to topple him. Maduro has rejected Trump’s claims that he supports drug cartels and warned against starting “a crazy war.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi has said the sanctioned vessel was transporting oil from the South American country and Iran
The US has seized an oil tanker allegedly transporting oil from Venezuela and Iran, Attorney General Pam Bondi has said.
The action off the coast of Venezuela took place amid a buildup of US military activity in the region and strikes against what Washington describes as cartel boats.
“Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran,” Bondi wrote on X on Wednesday.
She said the vessel had been sanctioned “due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.”
The video posted by Bondi shows heavily armed law enforcement officials descending onto the ship from a helicopter.
Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. For multiple… pic.twitter.com/dNr0oAGl5x
Media outlets identified the ship as The Skipper, which was sailing under the flag of Guyana, according to the tracking website MarineTraffic. According to ABC News, the tanker, which has the capacity to carry up to 2 million barrels of oil, was bound for Cuba.
The US sanctioned The Skipper in 2022 for allegedly smuggling oil to support Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro rejected Trump’s claim that his government is involved in drug trafficking and warned Washington against starting “a crazy war.”
A group of US legislators recently called for an investigation into strikes on more than 20 boats since September, arguing that they could constitute war crimes.
Democratic Senator Chris Coons told MSNBC on Tuesday that Trump is “sleepwalking us into a war with Venezuela.” He argued that the president’s true aim is to gain access to Venezuela’s oil and mineral resources.
Iceland has said it won’t compete in or air next year’s song contest, joining Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands
Iceland has become the fifth country to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 after Israel was cleared to take part, joining Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands.
The move was announced on Wednesday by Iceland’s public broadcaster RUV, which said it will neither send a performer to Eurovision nor air the show next year.
RUV linked the boycott to widespread public opposition in Iceland to Israel’s presence in the competition and to what it described as the failure of contest organizer European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to address concerns raised by member broadcasters. The network said it had urged the EBU to allow a formal vote on Israel’s eligibility, but the request was rejected.
“It is clear that neither joy nor peace will prevail regarding the participation of RUV in Eurovision,” the broadcaster said in a press release.
Several broadcasters had earlier urged the EBU to bar Israel over the war in Gaza and allegations of voting manipulation during the 2025 contest, which some networks argued boosted Israel’s result.
Eurovision organizers have insisted that Israel meets the contest requirements and will remain eligible to compete in 2026. The EBU has introduced new rules aimed at limiting political or government influence over entries and voting after repeated disputes related to the Gaza conflict.
Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands announced their withdrawals last week, also citing Israel’s participation and the EBU’s refusal to revisit the issue. Spain’s exit drew particular attention because it is one of Eurovision’s five major financial contributors, while Ireland remains the show’s most successful country by wins.
Spanish Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun backed the national broadcaster’s decision, saying “You can’t whitewash Israel given the genocide in Gaza,” and arguing that culture should stand on the side of peace and justice.
The 2026 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to take place in Vienna in May, following Austria’s victory this year.
The EBU has banned Russia from Eurovision since 2022, citing the Ukraine conflict. Moscow responded by launching its own annual song competition, Intervision, which debuted in September.
Bart De Wever has threatened to sue the bloc if it puts his country at risk by forcing an illegal seizure of Russian assets
The latest “very unwise and ill-considered” EU proposal to tap frozen Russian sovereign assets would amount to “stealing,” Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said on Wednesday, according to VRT news.
Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed using the assets to back a loan for Ukraine, adding that the decision could be made by a qualified majority of EU members, potentially bypassing Belgian opposition.
Belgium faces the biggest legal and financial risks as the bulk of the Russian money, €185 billion ($216 billion), is held in Belgium-based clearing house Euroclear.
“There really are better solutions than stealing money from the Russian central bank… I find it very unwise and ill-considered,” De Wever said, according to VRT.
It’s money from a country we’re not at war with… It would be like getting into an embassy, taking all the furniture and selling it.
De Wever said he’s not ruling out taking legal action against the EU if it decides to push for a decision that is “at odds with legality” and “poses great risks” to Belgium.
Von der Leyen’s proposal seeks to provide Ukraine with €90 billion over the next two years. One of its key points is a long-debated ‘reparations loan’ backed by the frozen Russian assets that would require financial institutions holding the assets to transfer them to a new loan instrument.
The EU is also reportedly pushing to decouple the asset freeze from the bloc’s sanctions on Russia and make it indefinite, in an effort to prevent opposition from Hungary. Currently, both measures require regular renewals by unanimous decision.
Russia will retaliate against any expropriation of its assets and has already prepared a response, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday. Kiev’s Western backers have no more money left for funding the Ukraine conflict other than “robbing” Russia, he argued.
A British service member who died in Ukraine has been identified by London as belonging to the Parachute Regiment
A member of the UK armed forces who died in Ukraine has been named as Lance Corporal George Hooley of the Parachute Regiment, the UK Ministry of Defense has said, publicly acknowledging for the first time that its paratroopers have been operating inside Ukraine.
The 28-year-old was killed in what the ministry described on Tuesday as a “tragic accident” while observing Ukrainian forces testing a new defensive system “away from the front lines.”
According to the BBC, the incident is not thought to have been caused by hostile fire. The Telegraph cited a defense source as saying it is the first official UK military casualty in Ukraine.
Last year, the UK admitted that a “small number of personnel” were serving in a supportive role in Ukraine. London has been one of Kiev’s chief arms suppliers, and more than 56,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been trained under the British-led Operation Interflex.
However, according to the Russian Telegram channel Rybar, which covers the Ukraine conflict, at least 99 British men and one woman are said to be part of an “International Legion of Territorial Defence of Ukraine.”
At least 40 UK citizens have died fighting for Ukraine since 2022, according to The Telegraph.
Russia maintains that Western countries’ arms deliveries and training programs make them de facto participants in the conflict. Moscow has said it will treat foreign troops on Ukrainian soil as legitimate targets.
West Jerusalem sees a historic opportunity to neutralize Tehran’s nuclear program – and Washington may struggle to stay out of the fight
At a recent closed-door session of Israel’s parliamentary committee on foreign affairs and defense, senior IDF officials delivered a detailed briefing on the country’s readiness for a potential new round of conflict with Iran. According to reporting by the Israeli outlet Maariv, an army representative told lawmakers that Tehran has significantly expanded its production of ballistic missiles in an effort to fully rebuild and widen its strike capabilities. Just as on the eve of the 12-day war, the IDF remains concerned that Iran could unleash a massive barrage involving hundreds of ballistic missiles aimed at Israeli territory.
Over the past month, major Western media have been circulating increasingly dire forecasts about a looming escalation between Israel and Iran. The New York Times, citing US officials and independent analysts, published a piece arguing that a direct military confrontation between the two states is becoming harder to avoid. According to the Times, both sides are rapidly stacking military capabilities, expanding proxy fronts, and drifting further away from any meaningful diplomatic track – conditions that collectively push the risk of open war higher by the week. The paper links the current tensions to the expiration of the 2015 nuclear accord, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which formally ceased to exist this October. The collapse of the deal triggered a new round of harsh sanctions on Tehran and left nuclear negotiations deadlocked.
The Times also reports that while Tehran insists it has destroyed all stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, Israeli officials remain convinced that portions of the material were quietly moved to secure locations. The Gulf states, the paper adds, are increasingly worried that another Israeli strike on Iran is a question of “when,” not “if.” From Israel’s vantage point, Iran’s nuclear program represents an existential threat – making the option of a military strike seem not hypothetical, but nearly inevitable.
Meanwhile, Ali Vaez, the Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, said that according to his Iranian sources, missile factories in Iran are operating 24 hours a day and in case of another conflict “hope to fire 2,000 [missiles] at once to overwhelm Israeli defenses, not 500 over 12 days” as they did in June.
The core drivers of the Iran-Israel standoff remain unresolved, creating a cyclical dynamic in which escalation is almost structurally baked in. Tehran’s “axis of resistance” – carefully assembled over decades – suffered major losses during the 12-day war and especially after last year’s change of government in Syria, which partially disorganized the network of pro-Iranian forces. Still, Iran retains key regional assets: the Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and a range of Shia militias in Iraq. Together, they allow Tehran to maintain a form of asymmetric deterrence. Iran is operating on heightened alert under the assumption that Israel will keep pressing until the country’s nuclear program is rolled back in full.
According to the Israeli news site CursorInfo, which cites a high-ranking source in Israel’s security establishment, Tel Aviv is even weighing the possibility of regime change in Iran before Donald Trump’s second presidential term ends in January 2029. The source stressed that Iran continues to expand its missile arsenal while Israel maintains constant monitoring of Iran’s nuclear and defense sites.
Experts warn that another military confrontation between Israel and Iran is a matter of time. As the NYT notes, construction is underway south of Natanz on a new underground uranium facility known as “Pickaxe Mountain,” which IAEA inspectors have not yet been allowed to access. Satellite images show the aftermath of US airstrikes on Natanz targets carried out in June 2025 – evidence of ongoing efforts to degrade Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Against this backdrop, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian insists Tehran seeks peace and dialogue but will not bow to external pressure or abandon its nuclear and missile programs, which it views as inseparable from national sovereignty. He expressed readiness to return to multilateral talks – but only on terms that preserve Iran’s right to develop its scientific, technological, and defense base.
Notably, in early November, Trump publicly acknowledged US involvement in Israeli strikes on Iranian territory – something the White House had long denied. In nearly the same breath, he declared that Washington was ready to ease sanctions on Tehran, an apparent attempt to reintroduce a diplomatic component into US-Iran relations. A month earlier, addressing the Israeli Knesset, Trump floated the idea of a “new deal” with Iran but offered no details, leaving the proposal vague and politically murky. And in late November Trump once again boasted about strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites.
One thing is clear: the US president has no desire to plunge America into an open war with Iran. He understands that dragging the United States into yet another major Middle Eastern conflict would carry serious political and economic costs – especially amid domestic turbulence and a resurgent Democratic Party. Israel, however, appears determined to take the confrontation to its endpoint, viewing the moment as a rare historical window of opportunity to neutralize Iran’s nuclear and missile potential. That would force the Trump administration to respond in some fashion. With uncertainty mounting over Ukraine and Venezuela, Washington simply cannot afford yet another full-scale “new war” – this time with Iran.
Just hours after Trump’s remarks, he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was in Washington for a working visit. Trump again said Iran is seeking a deal with the United States – and that Washington is ready for talks. That same day, Kamal Kharrazi, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, announced that Tehran is prepared for negotiations with the US, but only on the basis of mutual respect and equality. He emphasized that the first move must come from Washington. Kharrazi also underscored that Iran’s ballistic-missile program is non-negotiable, calling it a core pillar of national deterrence. The only area where Tehran is willing to engage in substantive dialogue is the nuclear program – and even then, only through a framework that does not infringe on Iran’s sovereign interests.
In other words, Tehran is not buying into the optimistic rhetoric. Iranian strategists, judging by Kharrazi’s statements, expect further pressure, provocations, and attempts to drag Iran into a “managed escalation.” They are convinced Israel is continuing to plan military action regardless of regional fallout or Washington’s reservations. Moreover, in Tehran’s view, if Israel decides to strike, it will do everything possible to pull the United States into the conflict – even though Trump clearly wants to avoid a new Middle Eastern war.
Ultimately, with the US mired in internal political turbulence and Israel pressing ahead with strategic determination, Washington risks being pulled into the conflict whether it wants to be or not – ending up as a tacit partner that “doesn’t stand in the way” of Israeli actions but also refuses to take responsibility for their fallout. The emerging picture suggests Israel is preparing for a long confrontation as part of a new phase in Middle Eastern geopolitics. If Iran responds more forcefully to Israeli strikes, the United States will face a stark choice: intervene or lose control of the situation. Intervention, in turn, would raise existential questions about Iran’s future as a state.
Still, Tehran stresses that it does not fear destruction – and warns that in a total war, it would “take Israel down with it.”
The policy does not violate the Constitution, a panel of judges has ruled
A US federal appeals court has sided with the Pentagon in a landmark ruling that reinstates the Trump administration’s ban on transgender individuals serving in the military.
In March, a judge appointed by former President Joe Biden blocked the ban, arguing that it likely violated constitutional protections.
In a 2 to 1 ruling on Tuesday, a panel of judges lifted the preliminary injunction.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s policy “likely does not violate equal protection,” Trump appointees Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao argued in their majority opinion.
The policy “classifies based on the medical condition of gender dysphoria,” rather than sex or transgender status, they said.
“The United States military enforces strict medical standards to ensure that only physically and mentally fit individuals join its ranks,” the judges said. “For decades, these requirements barred service by individuals with gender dysphoria, a medical condition associated with clinically significant distress.”
Hegseth made the change in February, a week after President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled ‘Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness’. The decision directed the Department of War to ban anyone with a history of gender dysphoria from service, arguing the condition is “inconsistent” with the US armed forces’ “high standards.”
The move was part of the Trump administration’s broader push to roll back DEI-related policies and what the president calls “radical gender ideology.”
Setting a major precedent in June, the US Supreme Court ruled that a Tennessee ban on hormone blockers for children did not violate protections under the Constitution.
Washington is prioritizing its own interests amid growing Arctic rivalry and interest in Greenland, Danish intelligence has said
The United States has for the first time been flagged as a possible security concern in Denmark’s annual intelligence outlook, which cites a more forceful US pursuit of its interests in the Arctic and renewed pressure over Greenland.
A semi-autonomous Danish territory of fewer than 60,000 people, Greenland has become central to the friction between Copenhagen and Washington. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants the island brought under American control, calling it a strategically vital asset because of its Arctic location and mineral wealth, and he has refused to rule out using military force to that end.
In its annual public risk assessment published on Wednesday, intelligence service FE said the global order is becoming more conflict-driven, with major states using economic, technological, and military instruments more forcefully to secure national goals. Alongside its assessments of Russia and China, the report included a new section titled ‘The US is changing the agenda’, which explained that Washington is increasingly prioritizing its own interests and “now using its economic and technological strength as a tool of power, also toward allies and partners.”
Aside from tariff-related pressures, the US “no longer rules out using military force, even against allies,” the agency added.
The wording marks a notable change for the NATO member state, whose security has traditionally rested on the US-led military bloc. FE also pointed to growing uncertainty about how Washington will balance its strategic priorities in the coming years, including the durability of the US role as Europe’s main security guarantor. Trump has repeatedly urged the bloc’s European members to take primary responsibility for their own security, including by sharply raising military spending.
The rising great-power competition in the Arctic has sharply increased international attention to the region, FE wrote. “This applies in particular to the United States’ growing interest in Greenland and its importance to US national security,” it said.
Denmark, which views renewed US pressure over Greenland as a direct threat to its sovereignty, has responded by strengthening its Arctic defense and expanding military and civil monitoring on the island.
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen had previously repeated a bogus claim that no country has attacked Russia in 100 years
Moscow accused Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen of being historically illiterate and deliberately promoting a false narrative after she claimed that no country has attacked Russia over the past century.
Speaking to CBS, Valtonen had stated that Russia “invaded 19 neighboring countries” during the last 100 years, adding that “no neighboring country has attacked Russia.” A nearly identical claim was also made late last month by EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas.
Responding to Vlatonen’s comments on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova questioned why the Finnish minister “does not know that in 1941 Nazi Germany attacked the USSR.” She suggested this was either due to “the influence of a German school” which Valtonen attended in her childhood or the “degradation of democratic institutions.”
Zakharova recalled multiple examples of Russia being attacked by neighboring states, including Finland’s own early-20th-century incursions.
She has said she will provide Valtonen with a Finnish translation of the Russian Military Historical Society’s “Black Book: A Brief History of Swedish and Finnish Russophobia.”
The spokeswoman went on to suggest that Valtonen’s remarks reflect a broader pattern in which Western Europe “deliberately promotes the inept and uneducated to fundamental government posts” while NATO hands out coordinated talking points to push a hostile anti-Russian narrative.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other officials have linked such claims to an entrenched “animalistic Russophobia” in Western European governments that continue to raise alarms over a supposed threat posed by Moscow. Russia has repeatedly insisted that it has no hostile intentions toward any EU or NATO states.
Moscow has argued that the claims of an impending Russian attack are being used by Western European leaders to justify increased military spending, expanding mobilization initiatives, tighter security measures, and undermine US-led efforts to reach a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict.
A tiny elite controls vast economic power while billions are struggling to survive, according to the World Inequality Report
Global inequality remains at “extreme” levels, with fewer than 60,000 multi-millionaires, the top 0.001%, now controlling three times more wealth than the bottom 50% of humanity combined, according to the World Inequality Report 2026.
Compiled by more than 200 researchers and published on Wednesday, the study says the disparity is reflected across all categories, as the richest tenth of the world’s population now owns close to three-quarters of all wealth, while the poorest half holds barely 2%.
Income is split in a similar way. The top 10% earn more than the remaining 90% put together, while the poorest half capture less than a tenth of global income.
“The result is a world in which a tiny minority commands unprecedented financial power, while billions remain excluded from even basic economic stability,” the authors wrote.
According to the research, a gender pay gap “persists across all regions,” with women capturing just over a quarter of global labor income, a share that has barely moved since 1990.
The global divide is visible long before people enter the job market, the report says. Average public education spending per school-age student is around $230 a year in Sub-Saharan Africa, versus $8,600 in Europe and $10,500 in North America and Oceania, reflecting a ratio of more than 40 to 1.
The authors argue that raising money from the top could shrink that divide. A 3% global tax on fewer than 100,000 centi-millionaires and billionaires would bring in about $750 billion a year, roughly equal to the combined education budgets of low- and middle-income countries.
Poorer countries are squeezed by a global financial system tilted toward rich states, the study showed. Advanced economies can borrow cheaply and earn higher returns abroad, letting them operate as “financial rentiers.” Around 1% of world GDP flows from poorer countries to richer ones each year through debt service, profit repatriation, and other financial flows, almost three times the amount of global development aid, the report concludes.
A temporary armistice would not provide a long-term peace solution, Kirill Dmitriev has argued
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and his “warmonger” backers in Western Europe are attempting to contrive a temporary ceasefire that does not resolve the causes of the conflict with Russia, Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev has said.
The Ukrainian leader recently suggested an “energy truce” with Moscow, amid a lull in Washington-brokered diplomatic efforts. Ukraine is getting ready to approach US negotiators with a rewritten peace plan after talks with its Western sponsors.
“Zelensky and UK & EU warmongers trying again the trick with a temporary ceasefire that does not resolve all key outstanding issues and does not provide for a long term peace solution,” Dmitriev wrote on X on Wednesday.
1. Zelensky and UK & EU warmongers trying again the trick with a temporary ceasefire that does not resolve all key outstanding issues and does not provide for a long term peace solution. As President Trump wrote after Alaska Summit: 👇 https://t.co/bHexR5zZ6n
The senior Russian negotiator cited US President Donald Trump, who said after the Alaska summit earlier this year that the goal of the talks was a full peace deal rather than “a mere Ceasefire Agreement.”
The Kremlin has said it remains focused on finding a lasting diplomatic settlement.
“A stable, guaranteed, long-term peace, achieved through the signing of appropriate documents, is an absolute priority,” rather than a ceasefire, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the press on Wednesday, when asked about Zelensky’s call for an “energy truce.”
Moscow and Kiev agreed to a month-long energy infrastructure ceasefire in March, following talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump. However, there were systematic violations by the Ukrainian side, according to Russian officials.
Russia has long insisted on a stable peace that eliminates the conflict’s underlying causes, arguing that any temporary armistice would afford Kiev time to rearm with the help of its Western backers.
Western European nations have insisted on playing a bigger role in talks based on Trump’s 28-point peace plan. UK and EU leaders are complicating the negotiations, making demands that are outright “unacceptable” to Moscow, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said last week.
Officials in Washington reportedly fear the court could target the president and others in his administration after 2029
Washington is pressuring the International Criminal Court (ICC) to amend its founding statute to block any future attempt to prosecute US President Donald Trump or his senior officials, Reuters has reported, citing administration sources.
The ICC was created in 2002 under the Rome Statute to prosecute genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. So far, 125 countries have ratified the treaty and are full members of the court. However, major global powers including Russia, China, India, the US, and Israel have either not signed or not ratified the agreement.
The administration fears the court could move against Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and others after Trump leaves office in 2029, according to one senior official. The source did not specify which issues might trigger prosecution but insisted that the Rome Statute must be amended to state explicitly that the ICC has “no jurisdiction” to pursue them.
If the tribunal refuses to act, Washington may sanction the ICC as an institution, severely disrupting its operations, the outlet claimed.
According to Reuters, future ICC investigations may include the US military campaign in the Caribbean and off the Pacific coast of South America, where American forces have carried out deadly strikes on suspected drug-running vessels, killing more than 80 people.
Last year, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
The court recognizes Palestine as a member, which it says grants jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed in the enclave. The Trump administration has maintained strong political and military backing for Israel throughout the conflict.
Washington is also reportedly pressuring the ICC to drop its investigation of Israeli officials and to formally close an earlier probe into the conduct of US forces in Afghanistan. The US previously imposed economic sanctions and visa bans on ICC judges and prosecutors.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described the court as “a national security threat that has been an instrument for lawfare” against the US and Israel.
Lithuania has accused Belarus of “hybrid attacks” and has requested indefinite emergency powers for the military
The Lithuanian government has declared a nationwide state of emergency, citing air traffic disruptions caused by weather balloons carrying smuggled cigarettes into the country.
Vilnius claims they have been launched from Belarus as part of a wider “hybrid attack,” allegations Minsk firmly denies.
The NATO country’s government has additionally requested indefinite emergency powers for the military to address the situation, asking its parliament to allow soldiers to restrict access to specific areas, stop and search vehicles, check documents and personal belongings, and detain those suspected of crimes or resisting officers. Troops would be authorized to use force while performing these tasks if the motion passes.
Vilnius claims that the weather balloons, which are uncontrollable meteorological devices equipped with GPS trackers, have repeatedly disrupted flights and prompted airport shutdowns. Officials claim they pose a risk to civil aviation and national security. Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Rugyniene has said the declared measures will remain in place as long as needed.
Belarus has denied responsibility for the balloons, dismissing the accusations as a provocation. Minsk has pointed to cases in which SIM cards from Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland were reportedly found in GPS devices attached to the balloons, suggesting they were launched from inside the Baltic states.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a key Russian ally, has described Lithuania’s accusations as “exaggerated and politicized,” adding that pilots consulted by Minsk saw no threat to civil aviation. He has insisted that his country does not seek confrontation with its neighbors.
Vilnius declared an emergency in 2021 after accusing Minsk of facilitating migrant crossings, which it denied, and again in 2022 following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict. Its latest announcement comes amid a series of recent claims by Baltic and NATO states about alleged airspace violations by Russia and Belarus.
Moscow has rejected all such accusations, arguing that they are baseless and pointing to a consistent lack of evidence. Russian officials have said the claims are aimed at creating fear among Europeans in order to justify expanding military budgets, tightening security measures, and undermining US-led efforts to reach a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict.
“Land swaps” combined with a demilitarized zone are intended to make the agreement “more palatable” for Kiev, David Ignatius has claimed
Ukrainian and Western officials have been discussing “land swaps” between Moscow and Kiev, as well as a wide demilitarized zone along the front line to make a potential peace agreement more tolerable for Kiev, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reported on Wednesday, citing sources.
Ignatius suggested, citing American, Ukrainian, and European officials, that “a peace deal seems to be getting closer.” He added that a Ukrainian official told him the talks are “far from over,” with work ongoing on three documents – a peace plan, security guarantees, and an economic recovery package for Kiev.
One idea centers on a demilitarized zone running along the line of contact from Russia’s Donetsk Region toward Zaporozhye and Kherson Region, with heavy weapons banned in a deeper rear area, the report claims. The line would be “closely monitored, much like the DMZ that divides North and South Korea,” Ignatius wrote.
On the other hand, the report said that “land swaps” between Moscow and Kiev are “an inescapable part of the deal,” with negotiators “haggling” over how new lines would be drawn. According to the column, US officials said that Ukraine was likely to lose much of Donbass and should offer concessions now to avoid further casualties.
These two elements appear to be a compromise to make the deal “more palatable” for Vladimir Zelensky, who has publicly rejected territorial concessions, Ignatius wrote.
Under the package, Ukraine could reportedly join the EU as early as 2027, with Washington believing it could overcome opposition from Hungary, which has been an opponent of the move. Negotiators also expect that Kiev’s membership would push it to address endemic corruption.
As for security guarantees, the US is expected to provide Ukraine with NATO-like assurances, with the EU making similar commitments. Kiev also reportedly wants the US Congress to ratify the agreement. Meanwhile, talks over the eventual size of the Ukrainian army – what the piece described as another “delicate issue” – are still ongoing.
Moscow insists that any sustainable settlement must include Ukraine’s full withdrawal from four new Russian regions, a Ukrainian commitment to stay out of NATO, and demilitarization and denazification.
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