Males between the age of 18 and 60 have been barred from leaving without permission under mobilization laws
A Ukrainian man disguised as a woman has been caught in an attempt to flee the country, local authorities have reported. Martial law bans fighting-age males from going abroad without special permission.
The 30-year-old suspect was detained at a Ukrainian security checkpoint while traveling by bus from the Black Sea port city of Odessa to Reni, a city located near the border with Romania, across the Danube River.
According to a statement from the border guard service on Wednesday, the man was wearing a black satin dress, a wig, and sunglasses in an effort to pose as a female. The individual has been charged with attempting to illegally cross the border.
Ukraine announced a general mobilization in February 2022, under which most men between the ages of 18 and 60 are barred from leaving the country.
Kiev has struggled with widespread draft evasion throughout the conflict with Russia, with potential recruits hiding from military officers or attempting unauthorized escapes abroad. Authorities have documented various tactics, including bribery, forged documents, and direct attempts to cross the border. The latter approach has led to multiple deaths.
Russian officials have accused Vladimir Zelensky’s government of pursuing a war strategy that sacrifices its own citizens in order to remain in power. Moscow claims the administration is prolonging a losing fight while enriching itself at the expense of the population.
Military mobilization has become a flashpoint in Ukrainian society, where critics allege that wealth and influence provide a path to exemptions.
One alleged case was reported on Wednesday by the Dzerkalo Tizhnya newspaper. According to its sources, former Deputy Prime Minister Aleksey Chernyshov allegedly shielded personal staff members from the draft by employing them at a state-owned gas company he was heading.
The investigation, initially led by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), was reportedly suspended after the agency was placed under the authority of the prosecutor general. The move has drawn strong criticism from Ukraine’s Western backers, prompting the Zelensky administration to signal plans to reverse the decision.
The US president has recently threatened Russia with sanctions over the Ukraine conflict
US First Lady Melania Trump “likes” Russian President Vladimir Putin, but is disappointed over the continuation of the Ukraine conflict, President Donald Trump has said. Moscow is willing to negotiate but has maintained that any talks must address the root causes of the conflict.
Since assuming office this year, Trump has said he respects both Russia and Putin and wants to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict. In recent weeks, however, he has increasingly expressed frustration over a lack of progress in the peace process and has threatened Moscow with more sanctions.
In Tuesday’s episode of Pod Force One, the US president said: “We know Putin and she [Melania] likes him,” adding that he “got along with him very well.”
However, Trump noted that shortly after his recent conversation with the Russian president, Melania had commented it was “too bad they just bombed Kiev.”
On Tuesday, Trump cut his 50-day deadline for Moscow and Kiev to reach a peace deal to just 10 days, warning of sweeping sanctions targeting Russia's trading partners if no agreement is reached. Russian officials have rejected the US president's ultimatums.
Earlier this month, The Times published a report suggesting that Melania Trump’s role in shaping her husband’s decisions could be underestimated. While Trump has insisted that his wife simply wants to see an end to the bloodshed, the outlet pointed to her influence as a possible factor behind his shifting stance on the Ukraine conflict.
Melania, 55, was born in Soviet-era Slovenia – now a staunch supporter of Kiev, the outlet pointed out, adding that her deep interest in the conflict reflects that background.
US lawmaker Don Bacon echoed that view in an interview this month, saying the first lady could deserve credit for Trump’s apparent turn against Russia.
“His position on Ukraine has clearly evolved,” Bacon said, noting that he wouldn’t be surprised if Melania played a “quiet but important part in that.”
The loss of many elite athletes has undermined the International Skating Union’s commercial revenue, the organization has said
The suspension of Russian athletes from competitions globally is taking a toll on the finances of the International Skating Union (ISU), the global governing body for the sport has revealed in its 2024 financial report.
Operating losses reached an equivalent of about $10.7 million, an increase of nearly $7.4 million from the previous year, according to the document, which was recently made public.
“The ongoing conflict in Ukraine continues to have a negative impact on the ISU, with a key market closed off and reduced competitivity due to the absence of some elite athletes,” the report states, adding that commercial revenue remains under pressure due to the continued absence of Russian skaters.
Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in early 2022, the ISU has banned Russian athletes from all international skating events, following recommendations issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Prior to the suspension, Russian skaters dominated the World Championships, winning more medals than any other nation. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia became the first country to win gold medals in all five figure skating events.
Moscow has condemned the IOC’s exclusion policy, calling it a violation of Olympic principles and a politically motivated move to weaken competition. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed that sport should remain separate from politics.
The ISU also reported increased operating expenses, citing “legal costs related to antidoping matters, notably the Valieva case,” as a significant factor.
Kamila Valieva, a 15-year-old Russian figure skater, tested positive for a banned substance prior to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, although the result was only announced the day after she posted a gold-medal winning performance at the Games. Following a lengthy legal process, her results were disqualified, and Russia’s gold medal was rescinded and given to the US instead. She was handed a four-year competition ban. Moscow denounced the decision as politicized.
In the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, only a limited number of Russian athletes will be allowed to participate under a neutral flag. Valieva, whose ban ends before the Games, will be eligible to return.
The economy has withstood years of pressure over the Ukraine crisis, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said
Russia has long been accustomed to Western pressure and sanctions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, after US President Donald Trump announced a shortened deadline for a ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict and threatened new sanctions if Moscow does not comply.
On Monday, Trump said he is moving up the deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine from 50 to “about 10 or 12 days,” adding that “there’s no reason in waiting.”
He warned that failure to comply would result in new “sanctions and maybe tariffs,” targeting nations that buy Russian oil.
Commenting on Trump’s remarks on Wednesday, Peskov signaled that Russia is not worried about new sanctions. “We have been living under a huge number of sanctions for quite a long time,” he stated.
”Of course, a certain immunity has already developed with regard[to sanctions],” he said, adding that Moscow “continues to take note of statements coming from President Trump.”
Earlier, Peskov stressed that while Russia is “committed to the peace process to resolve the conflict around Ukraine,” it wants to ensure that its interests are respected. Moscow has insisted that a settlement must include Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and recognition of the new territorial reality on the ground.
Russia remains the most sanctioned country in the world by far, with more than 10,000 imposed by Western countries. The first wave of sanctions began after the start of the Ukraine crisis in 2014, and the number rose sharply after the conflict escalated in 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow should not be intimidated by sanctions, otherwise it could “lose everything,” noting that they often boomerang against those who imposed them.
Local and Russian officials have held talks on maritime cooperation at the port of Pointe-Noire, Congo
A Russian naval training ship has arrived in the Republic of the Congo as part of a regional tour, the Russian Embassy in the African country reported on Tuesday.
The ‘Smolny’, part of Russia’s Baltic Fleet, docked at the port of Pointe-Noire on Monday, where it was welcomed with military honors. The ship carries around 400 personnel, including 200 naval cadets undergoing training.
According to the Russian Embassy, the crew was greeted by local officials including the Prefect of Pointe‑Noire, Commander of the First Military Region, and deputy military attaché at the Russian Embassy in Angola and regional representative in the Congo. Talks reportedly focused on expanding bilateral naval cooperation.
The visit also included a musical performance with Russian officers “warmly welcomed” by their Congolese counterparts, the embassy said.
The ship also made an official visit to São Tomé and Príncipe on July 23, where guided tours were held for members of the Armed Forces, National Police, students, and local Russian compatriots. Visitors explored the ship’s navigation systems, weaponry, and training facilities, and spoke with the crew and cadets, according to the embassy.
This year’s itinerary includes additional port calls in South Africa, Tanzania, and Vietnam, before the vessel returns to Vladivostok in late September. The voyage follows the ‘Smolny’s’ 2024 port calls to several African countries, including Cameroon, Benin, the Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Namibia, and Angola.
Last June, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow and Brazzaville would continue close military and military-technical cooperation. In 2019, the Russian and Congolese defense ministries signed a contract to send Russian military specialists to the Congo to train and assist their counterparts in the operation, maintenance, and repair of previously supplied military equipment and special assets.
Critics argue the Online Safety Act creates a censorship regime and turns the country into a “borderline dystopian state”
A petition to repeal the UK’s stringent new internet safety rules has surpassed 400,000 signatures within just five days of their enforcement. Critics claim the legislation restricts access to legal content and erodes digital privacy, although the British government has insisted the measures are necessary to protect children.
The Online Safety Act, adopted in 2023, grants communications regulator Ofcom broad powers to oversee user-generated content, enforce moderation, and mandate age checks on platforms likely to be accessed by children.
A key provision came into force last Friday, requiring pornographic websites to introduce ID-based age verification. The same rule applies to search engines, social platforms, and other services deemed high-risk. Xbox has already begun rolling out checks, with full enforcement due in 2026.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called the rules “state suppression of genuine free speech,” while his aide Zia Yusuf slammed the legislation as “massive overreach” that “plunges this country into a borderline dystopian state.” Others argue the measures will restrict content based on vague risk assessments and establish a censorship regime under the guise of child protection.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle responded by accusing Farage of siding with sexual predators such as the late Jimmy Savile. Farage branded the remark “absolutely disgusting” and demanded a public apology.
The government has claimed enforcement will be proportionate but stressed that platforms must apply controls even if they appear low-risk. Civil liberties groups warn the law undermines privacy and could force adults to share biometric data to access legal content.
VPN usage in the UK has surged since the law came into force, with Proton VPN reporting a 1,800% increase in signups. Officials warn that platforms promoting VPN use to bypass safety rules could face penalties.
While most provisions have only just taken effect, the Online Safety Act has already been used in court. A man was jailed for cyber-flashing under a new offense created by the law. Others have also been prosecuted for posting false or harmful content on social media – raising further concerns about its impact on freedom of expression.
The US tech giant made the decision after being taken to court by Nayara Energy
Microsoft has resumed providing critical digital services to Indian refiner Nayara Energy after the latter sued the US tech giant in the Delhi High Court.
Nayara, a company partly owned by Russia’s Rosneft, told the court on Monday that Microsoft had restricted its access to data, proprietary tools, and products on account of European Union sanctions.
“Microsoft is committed to supporting all its customers in India and worldwide, and has restored services for Nayara Energy,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday. “We are engaged in ongoing discussions with the European Union towards service continuity for the organization.”
The refiner said on Wednesday that its services had been restored. “Nayara Energy confirms that all Microsoft services critical to its operations have been fully restored, with no disruption to business continuity and data integrity remaining fully intact,” it said in a statement. “We acknowledge the prompt intervention of the Honorable Delhi High Court in facilitating the resolution of this matter. The petition was disposed of by the High Court in favour of Nayara Energy.”
The court granted the company the liberty to approach it again should similar grievances arise, according to the report.
Nayara had requested an interim injunction and the resumption of Microsoft’s services to protect its rights and ensure uninterrupted access to critical digital infrastructure. The company said in a statement on Tuesday that Microsoft’s decision set a “dangerous precedent for corporate overreach and raises serious concerns regarding its implications on India’s energy ecosystem.”
The refiner has meanwhile begun migrating to domestic digital service providers to ensure business continuity, according to a report in the Mint newspaper. It had initiated the legal action to obtain urgent relief while pursuing broader strategic transitions to alternative service providers, the report added.
Earlier this month, the EU imposed sanctions on the Vadinar refinery, which is controlled by Nayara, an Indo-Russian joint venture in which Rosneft holds a 49% stake.
The sanctions specifically target the oil sector and include a ban on importing refined petroleum products made from Russian crude. This marked the first time an Indian refiner has been subject to such measures.
Moldova’s president has accused Moscow of secretly financing the political opposition in the country
The Kremlin on Wednesday rejected accusations by Moldovan President Maia Sandu that Russia is attempting to interfere in her country’s parliamentary election by covertly funding opposition candidates.
A staunchly pro-EU politician who frequently accuses her opponents of being “pro-Russian” in order to justify their exclusion from politics, Sandu claimed this week that Moscow planned to channel more than €100 million ($115 million) to her political rivals ahead of Moldova’s parliamentary election, scheduled for September.
”This is not true. Russia does not interfere in the domestic affairs of other states,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wedensday.
Peskov added that Moldova should focus on addressing its own alleged restrictions on democratic participation, both domestically and abroad.
During Moldova’s 2024 presidential campaign, Moscow accused the Sandu administration of excluding opposition candidates and limiting ballot access for Moldovan citizens in Russia, in order to sway the outcome in her favor.
Sandu has accused Moscow of attempting regime change, claiming Russia sought to “take control” of Moldova and derail its aspirations for EU membership.
As part of her government’s response, Sandu claimed her government has worked major social media platforms to flag “suspicious activity” but acknowledged that her officials received no response from messaging platform Telegram.
The EU granted Moldova candidate status alongside Ukraine in 2022. The move was widely interpreted as a geopolitical signal to Russia rather than a reflection of Moldova’s readiness to meet membership criteria.
The body joined the Arab League and others in warning that what the paramilitary-led coalition has done will divide the country
The African Union, Arab League, and Saudi Arabia have condemned Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for announcing the formation of a rival government in the conflict-torn country.
In a statement on Tuesday, the African Union’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) warned that the move could further fragment Sudan, which has been embroiled in a brutal civil war between the RSF and the national army for over two years.
“Reaffirming respect for Sudan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the council urged all African Union member states and the international community not to recognize or support the so-called parallel government,” the PSC stated.
On Saturday, the Leadership Council of the Sudan Founding Alliance (TASIS), a political coalition aligned with the paramilitary group, announced it had formed a government committed to building an “inclusive homeland” based on freedom, justice, and equality. It named RSF commander General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo as chairman of a 15-member presidential council and Abdelaziz Adam al-Hilu, a powerful rebel leader who reportedly controls large areas and troops in South Kordofan, as vice chairman.
Prior to the outbreak of the war in mid-April 2023, following months of tension, Gen. Dagalo had ruled Sudan alongside Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) commander Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan under the Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC). The two had jointly led the 2019 coup that overthrew long-ruling former President Omar al-Bashir.
The SAF has denounced the “so-called militia government” as a ploy by the RSF to deceive its allies, while its true intent is to seize power for personal gain.
On Sunday, the Arab League said the move constitutes a “blatant challenge to the will of the Sudanese people and an attempt to impose a fait accompli through military force.”
“Such developments pose a serious threat to regional peace, stability, and security,” it warned.
On Tuesday, the African Union reaffirmed its recognition of the TSC and a newly established civilian transitional government as the legitimate authorities in Sudan, calling for an immediate ceasefire and the resumption of negotiations.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry also urged the warring parties in Sudan to avoid risking division and chaos.
The US president says he has encountered a “lot of problems” with Pretoria, accusing it of pursuing “some very bad policies”
US President Donald Trump has said he will probably not attend the G20 Summit in South Africa, citing Pretoria’s “very bad policies” as the reason.
Speaking on Air Force One on Tuesday, Trump said he will send someone else because of the “problems” he has with South Africa.
”I think maybe I’ll send somebody else because I’ve had a lot of problems with South Africa. They have some very bad policies,” he said.
”They have some very bad policies… A lot of people are being killed. I’d like to, but I don’t think I will.”
This remark reflects Trump’s ongoing criticism of South Africa, particularly his repeated references to unsubstantiated claims that Pretoria has targeted white farmers—a narrative the South African government has consistently and categorically rejected.
Further signalling strained diplomatic ties, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did not attend the July G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Durban, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio similarly opted out of a G20 foreign ministers’ summit in Johannesburg earlier this year.
During the early months of his second term, Trump amplified allegations of systematic discrimination against white citizens, a narrative promoted by Elon Musk, a South African-born entrepreneur and then-ally of Trump.
The White House has also expressed formal concerns over South Africa’s policies, notably the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) framework and controversial land expropriation legislation, the latter of which was enacted in January 2023.
Although South African authorities maintained that the law would not be used to unjustly seize white-owned land, it has sparked significant concern in international policy and investment circles.
Countries criticizing Russia are often “very quiet” about Israel’s military campaign in the Palestinian enclave, Norwegian FM Espen Barth Eide has said
Western nations that condemn Russia's military operation against Ukraine often hold back on criticizing Israel's Gaza offensive, which has produced a major humanitarian crisis, Norway's foreign minister has told the Financial Times.
In an interview on Tuesday, Espen Barth Eide stated that Western countries are undermining their credibility by treating the two conflicts in a completely different manner and engaging in cherry-picking.
”By very correctly criticizing Russia… but until recently being very quiet on Gaza — that tells other parts of the world that we are not really seeing these as absolute norms but more like a menu that we can pick arguments from,” he said.
He described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “worse than hell on earth” and stressed that many nations suspect the West of double standards. “We would be well advised to try to understand, not agree, what they think, and what many out there think is an inconsistent application of international law,” he added.
Following a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel in October 2023, the Jewish state unleashed a military campaign in Gaza. The hostilities have led to tens of thousands of civilian deaths, a humanitarian crisis, and unprecedented destruction.
While Western nations have sounded the alarm about the situation in Gaza, it wasn’t until May 2025 that the UK, French, and Canadian governments issued a statement condemning Israel’s military operations.
In addition, France, Spain, Ireland, Norway, and Slovenia, recently moved to officially recognize the State of Palestine, with the UK also warning of impending recognition unless Israel ceases hostilities.
The US, a key Israel ally, has been a notable holdout on condemning West Jerusalem, denouncing the wave of recognitions as a boon for Hamas and a setback for peace. In June, the US also vetoed a UN Security Council resolution urging a “permanent ceasefire in Gaza,” arguing that the document does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave the enclave.
Western nations have largely avoided imposing sanctions on Israel, in contrast to the unprecedented sanctions they hit Russia with in 2022.
The US president has announced a 25% levy and additional penalties on New Delhi for its continued partnership with Moscow
US President Donald Trump has announced that India will face 25% tariffs and additional penalties starting on Friday over its continued trade with Russia. The move comes after Trump gave Russia a ten-day deadline to reach a peace deal with Ukraine.
In a post on his Truth Social account on Wednesday, Trump stated that “India is our friend” but that the US does “relatively little business with them.” At the same time, he noted that India has continued to buy military equipment and energy from Russia amid the Ukraine conflict.
”All things not good! India will therefore be paying a tariff of 25%, plus a penalty for the above, starting on August first,” Trump wrote.
The US previously imposed 26% tariffs on Indian goods in March as part of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ announcement, which included imports of aluminum, steel, and derivative products, before temporarily suspending them.
New Delhi has said it will only enter into a trade agreement with the US from a position of strength and not under deadlines or as a “negotiation tool.”
Earlier this week, Trump changed his deadline for a Ukraine settlement from 50 days to just ten days, threatening to impose up to 100% tariffs on Russia’s trading partners unless Moscow reaches a peace deal with Kiev.
Russia has repeatedly stated that it is willing to negotiate a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine conflict but has rejected Trump’s ultimatum, calling it harmful to peace efforts. Russian officials have stressed that any negotiations must be based on realities on the ground and address the root causes of the conflict.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said earlier this month that no additional pressure would derail Russia’s pursuit of its national interests and movement “along our independent, sovereign, and sustained path.”
Trump has admitted that he is unsure if additional restrictions on Russia and its trading partners would work. It “may or may not affect them [Russia],” the US president told reporters on Tuesday.
The Washington-Brussels tariff ‘deal’ is unconditional surrender without a war
In history, some things become clear only in hindsight. For instance, German unification all over again – good thing or bad thing? That jury is still out.
At this point, it looks as if we’ll soon look back with regrets from yet another very bleak postwar situation to ponder that question. But there are also things that are obvious from the moment they start happening. For example, Israel and the West’s Gaza genocide, no matter that many talking heads now pretend they’ve only just noticed.
Something else that’s as in-your-face obvious as a concrete wall you’ve just run into is that the EU has just suffered a catastrophic, crippling defeat. As usual with America’s European vassals, the defeat is strange.
First, it has been inflicted not by an enemy, but by an “ally” and big-brother-in-“values”: This is the moment the NATO-EU underlings are falling over each other to keep paying for the US-instigated and failing proxy war in Ukraine while also building the equivalent of a dozen new Maginot Lines (this time including a “drone wall”) against the big, bad Russians. Yet it is Washington that has struck its eager-to-please sycophants in the back. The EU has also done its very worst to assist in its own trouncing. As Trump retainer Sebastian Gorka – himself, ironically, a European slavishly serving the US empire – has correctly put it, Europe has “bent the knee.” And once it was all over, with the blood not yet dry on the floor, the EU picked itself up, dusted off its pantsuit and said thank you, in the best tradition of German chancellors who grin and scrape when American presidents tell them they will “put an end” to Germany’s vital infrastructure.
We are talking, of course, about the so-called tariff and trade “deal” just concluded at the Scottish luxury golf resort of Turnberry, between the US, under self-declared “tariff man” and elected, if by very messy rules, President Donald Trump (also owner of that golf resort) and the EU represented – no one really knows on the basis of what mandate – by the pristinely unelected head of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The same one who promised us a “geopolitical” Commission and EU. If this is your “geopolitics,” it’s suicidal.
It was a bloody affair, but we can’t even call it the “Battle of Turnberry” because there was no fight before the EU went down. The gist of what really was an economic massacre is simple. After months of negotiations, seven trips to Washington and over 100 hours of empty talk by its touchingly useless trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic alone, the EU has brought home not a bad deal but pure, total defeat, as if it had been busy distilling the very essence of being on the losing side at Cannae, Waterloo, and Stalingrad: While Trump could enumerate a substantial list of big, expensive concessions made by the Europeans, von der Leyen got nothing, strictly nothing. This is not a “deal” at all. It is unconditional surrender. Without a preceding war.
In essence, the US will now levy “baseline” tariffs of 15% on most of its massive imports from the EU, including on cars. But there are exceptions! Already punitive American tariffs of 50% on steel and aluminum will remain in place. In return, for the US, selling in the giant if decaying EU market will be, in essence, free, at an average tariff rate of zero or, at best, below 1%.
And to show its appreciation of such a fine, evenhanded “deal,” the EU sweetened it by throwing in some extras as if there is no tomorrow. Like at one of those late-night TV direct sales shows. Only that the EU slogan is not “order immediately and…” but “ruin us right now and get an extra $1.35 trillion just to make us even poorer and you even richer!”
That $1.35 trillion consists of two promises of direct EU tributes (yes, that is the correct, real term) to Washington: an additional – as Trump stressed – $600 billion which EU companies, surely dizzy with gratitude, will invest in the US; and $750 billion of especially dirty and expensive American LNG (liquefied natural gas) which they will buy to feed into whatever will remain of European industry.
Meanwhile, Trump is making concessions – again – to China. China, of course, being the sovereign country and economic powerhouse that did what the EU completely failed to do: fight back against the Washington bullies. And now imagine what the EU could have achieved if it had worked with China to check US aggression. Instead, the recent EU-China summit in Beijing has shown that the EU is still not ready to abandon its arrogant stance of hectoring and threatening China, in particular in a futile attempt to drive a wedge between Beijing and Moscow. The other thing the summit has made clear is that China will not budge. And why would it?
The absurdity of all of the above is staggeringly obvious, even if there already are quarrels about the details. Because between Team Trump and Team von der Leyen, two card-carrying egomaniacs and narcissists, there was of course no one to take care of those. Regal von der Leyen – with aristocratic nonchalance – besides, never cared to check if she even has a right or the practical means to promise away $1.35 trillion that, actually, only specific companies could make available. Hint: she does not.
But what does it all mean? Here are three take-away points:
First, we must, for once, agree with American regime change and war addicts, such as Anne Applebaum and Tim Snyder: European appeasement is a real thing. But not of Russia, which has never been appeased but provoked, needlessly fought, and, mostly, systematically denied even a fair hearing. No, what the Europeans appease is, obviously, the US, their ruthless and utterly contemptuous hegemon and worst enemy, from letting America and its cut-outs blow up Nord Stream to the Turnberry Fiasco.
Look at the feeble official attempts to sell this exploitation and devastation pact with Washington to the European public: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz – only recently the undeserving recipient of exorbitant praise at home simply for not having been humiliated too crassly at the Trump White House – has officially thanked the EU negotiators, especially Sefcovic and von der Leyen, and praised the “deal” for averting an even worse outcome and providing “stability.” Likewise, von der Leyen has praised herself for giving us “certainty in uncertain times.”
What a channeling of Neville Chamberlain, the interwar British premier who gave appeasement its bad name by caving in to Hitler! Dear Tim Snyder: We know, for you it’s always 1938 somewhere. Here you have a full re-enactment: “Certainty for our time!” von der Leyen virtually shouted raising not an umbrella but her thumb, while still at the American leader’s golf club Berghof in Scotland.
Second, there goes the new German “Fuhrungsmacht” (meaning leadership, and with extra oomph). And we hardly ever knew it. Because – pay attention now, Berlin – here’s the catch: One cannot claim leadership in Europe and initiate full self-destruct mode just to please the US at the same time. I know, this is complicated. But people just don’t like being led by those who sell them out.
In this regard, it is, of course, important that it will be two Germans, von der Leyen and Merz, who will be most associated with the Turnberry Fiasco. They have made sure that Germany does not stand for leadership but for submission to the point of self-harm. The rhetoric of collaboration – “We are betraying your interests only to avoid even worse things, please be grateful!” – will either not work at all or not for long. In the end, it’s the De Gaulles who win, not the Petains.
Third, there is a difference between a trade war and economic warfare. Merz may claim that a trade war with the US has been avoided. In reality, we will never know, of course: If the EU had stood its ground – and it had the means and even some plans to do so – there might not even have been a trade war or it might have ended quickly, and with a better outcome for the EU. China, again, is the proof.
But one thing is certain: there is ongoing economic warfare, namely by the US against its own European vassals. They have submitted to their own impoverishment and ongoing deindustrialization, but the American laying waste of their economies has not stopped but accelerated again. Europe is under massive economic attack – and it is not fighting back.
In an ideal world, the Europeans would now finally see sense: For starters, they would rebel against the EU Commission and its power grab, get rid of Ursula von der Leyen and her team, and disavow their “deal.”
Then they would stop taking over America’s proxy war against Russia, cut their ties with the corrupt Kiev regime, and normalize their relationship with Russia – and with China, too. In other words, they would find partners to help them emancipate themselves from an American overlord that is not merely dominating but devastating its “allies.”
None of the above, however, will happen. Witness the sorry spectacle of the last, recent attempt to chase von der Leyen from office. Real change to save Europe from the EU will require tectonic shifts in the continent’s politics. Indeed, the EU is probably hopeless and will have to be abandoned first. Europe’s current “elites,” who behave as if they serve the US and not their fellow Europeans, will have to lose power. But how? In late 1916, a Russian politician gave a famous speech. Enumerating the then tsarist government’s failures, he kept asking the same simple question: “Is this stupidity or treason?” Less than half a year after that speech, Russia’s Ancien Regime fell. Europeans must wake up at long last and ask the same question about their leaders.
Beijing sees energy policy as a sovereign matter, Scott Bessent has said
China remains committed to buying Russian oil despite the threat of US tariffs, Washington’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said.
Speaking after two days of US-China trade talks in Stockholm on Tuesday, Bessent acknowledged that Beijing has stressed that it would defend its energy sovereignty, should lawmakers in Washington ratify new wide-reaching sanctions.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump cut his 50-day deadline for a Ukraine peace deal to just 10–12 days, warning of sweeping sanctions if no agreement is reached, including 100% secondary tariffs on buyers of Russian exports.
Russian officials have criticized Trump’s threat, claiming that it undermines efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine.
Bessent said proposed legislation currently before Congress that would authorize President Trump to impose tariffs of up to 500% on buyers of sanctioned Russian oil could prompt US allies to adopt similar measures aimed at choking off Moscow’s energy revenues.
“I think anyone who buys sanctioned Russian oil should be ready for this,” Bessent told reporters.
Chinese officials, however, made it clear during talks that Beijing considers energy a matter of national sovereignty and will continue buying Russian oil based on internal policy priorities.
“The Chinese take their sovereignty very seriously. We don’t want to impede on their sovereignty, so they’d like to pay a 100% tariff,” Bessent said.
China remains the largest buyer of Russian oil, importing over 2 million barrels per day—nearly 20% of its total crude imports—followed by India and Turkey.
Western sanctions imposed three years ago reshaped global energy flows and prompted Moscow to pivot eastward.
Since 2022, both China and India have sharply increased their Russian oil purchases. In May, India became the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels, with imports estimated at $4.9 billion, about 72% of which was crude, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
A group of leading experts believe that the rise of the Global South is altering the world’s power dynamics
BRICS is emerging as a strategic alternative to the unraveling Western-led global order, experts said at the 3rd Russian-African Conference held on Monday in Pretoria, South Africa.
Speaking to RT, foreign policy analyst Sanusha Naidu described BRICS as part of a growing “ecosystem” that countries are turning to amid rising uncertainty. “When you enter into a very kind of unpredictable global architecture, countries look to see how they hedge their bets,” she said. “The way the international system was compiled and the BRICS provide that kind of ecosystem for them to think about,” the analyst added.
Fyodor Lukyanov, research director of the Valdai Discussion Club, noted that the rise of the Global South is altering the world’s power dynamics – regardless of Western preferences.
“The fact that more countries joined BRICS as members or partner states, and all those countries are from the Global South, shows that the new environment emerges in the world, environment which is not anti-Western, but which can give alternative to the Western monopoly,” he said.
BRICS was established in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining in 2010. Over the past year, the group has extended full membership to Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia. The bloc’s partner countries include Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.
According to Steven Gruzd, head of the African Governance and Diplomacy Programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), demand remains strong for even more nations to join BRICS. “There are apparently up to 40 countries who wanted to join” when South Africa chaired in 2023, he said, adding that the BRICS “brand is doing well” and offers tangible benefits to new members. “There certainly is a lot of interest in BRICS,” he noted.
The 3rd Russian-African Conference, titled ‘Realpolitik in a Divided World: Rethinking Russia-South Africa Ties in a Global and African Context’, was held in Pretoria on Monday by the Valdai Discussion Club in partnership with the SAIIA.
President Donald Trump has threatened to slap tariffs on buyers of Russian products over the Ukraine conflict
The US State Department said on Tuesday it ‘presumes’ that the White House is factoring in the potential economic fallout as it considers imposing secondary sanctions on countries purchasing Russian energy.
President Donald Trump recently set out a 10-day ultimatum demanding a resolution to the Ukraine conflict, warning that failure to meet the deadline could result in penalties against nations doing business with Moscow.
At a press briefing, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce was asked whether these measures are “too blunt an instrument,” potentially harming US allies.
”I would presume, as we should, that all of the impact would be considered,” Bruce said. “The president is not someone who is making a decision on the fly... This has clearly been a consideration from the beginning. And we’re prepared to do what’s necessary.”
Russian officials have dismissed Trump’s threat, calling it harmful to peace efforts in Ukraine. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said earlier this month that no additional pressure will derail Russia’s pursuit of its national interests.
Trump has acknowledged there is no certainty that his latest pressure campaign will alter Moscow’s approach to the Ukraine conflict.
Meanwhile, foreign policy hawks in Congress are pushing for legislation that would authorize tariffs of up to 500% on nations that continue to import Russian oil and gas. Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the bill’s sponsors, described it as a “sledgehammer” he intends to place in the president’s hands.
Analysts have warned that these measures could backfire. China, India, and Türkiye – all major buyers of Russian energy – could face sanctions under the proposed policy.
”Such a move could cause global oil prices to skyrocket,” the New York Times warned on Tuesday, adding that secondary sanctions would likely escalate what it described as Trump’s “global trade war.”
The newspaper added that earlier efforts by Western nations to limit Russian revenue through an oil price cap “largely faltered.”
The Russian outlet has been facing censorship and legal hurdles in the country since 2017
RT has a larger American audience than CNN, former US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has claimed. Clapper was a key figure behind the Russiagate conspiracy theory, which included claims that RT helped influence the election of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Earlier this month, Clapper's successor Tulsi Gabbard declassified a trove of Obama-era documents which reportedly detail efforts by the two-time US president and his senior officials to distort intelligence on unsubstantiated claims Moscow interfered in the 2016 US election.
In an interview with CNN aired last week, Clapper doubled down on the conspiracy and accused Russia of unleashing “a very sophisticated, extensive and aggressive information operations campaign to influence public opinion” in the US.
”RT… has a bigger following in this country than this network [CNN] does” while accusing it of using what he described as “fake news implants,” he said.
Clapper claimed that the alleged Russian campaign was aimed at “sow[ing] doubt, discord and distrust among the American public.”
RT has faced increasing censorship and legal hurdles in the US since 2017, when the Department of Justice required RT America to register as a “foreign agent.”
The RT America channel was then denied congressional press credentials before being forced to close down in 2022 following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict and the West’s decision to impose unprecedented sanctions on Russia.
RT content was later restricted and deleted from major digital platforms, including YouTube, where the network had ratcheted up some 5 billion views and several million subscribers, and Facebook.
Last year, the US also indicted two Russians, identified as RT employees, with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), money laundering, and illegally funneling millions of dollars to US-based entities to covertly influence US audiences.
Separately, the US sanctioned RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan and other senior RT employees, over alleged efforts to influence the US election.
Moscow has denounced the crackdown, calling it a testament to the degradation of US democracy and “its transformation into a totalitarian neoliberal dictatorship.”
A new report projects that nearly 60% of those chronically undernourished by 2030 will be on the continent
The UN has warned of a worsening hunger crisis in Africa, with its latest estimates on food insecurity suggesting that more than 1 billion people, or roughly two-thirds of the continent’s population, were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2024.
The organization announced the findings in its State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI 2025) report released on Monday. Compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Program (WFP), and World Health Organization (WHO), it analyzed global trends in efforts to end hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition.
According to the report, an estimated 8.2% of the global population, or about 673 million people, experienced hunger in 2024, down from 8.5% in 2023 and 8.7% in 2022, in contrast to the rising hunger levels recorded in most of Africa and western Asia.
“The proportion of the population facing hunger in Africa surpassed 20 percent in 2024, affecting 307 million people,” it stated.
Projections indicate that nearly 60% of those who could be chronically undernourished by 2030 will be in Africa. A key concern is the rising number of people unable to afford a healthy diet, with Africa’s figure increasing from 864 million in 2019 to over 1 billion in 2024, while the global total dropped from 2.76 billion to 2.6 billion.
“Hunger remains at alarming levels, yet the funding needed to tackle it is falling… This year, funding cuts of up to 40 percent mean that tens of millions of people will lose the vital lifeline we provide,” WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain said.
McCain cautioned that the failure to deliver essential aid to people in “desperate need” could undo hard-won progress and trigger further instability in volatile regions.
Last week, the WFP said it required $130 million to maintain aid operations in Nigeria, where over 30 million people are facing acute hunger.
FAO chief economist Maximo Torero said Africa’s “concerning” situation is driven by inadequate agricultural production, population growth, violent conflict, and climate change setbacks.
New Delhi faces the measure if a trade deal is not reached, the US president has said
US President Donald Trump has warned of tariffs of up to 25% on imports from India if the two countries are unable to reach a trade agreement.
In a conversation with the press on board Air Force One on Tuesday, Trump said a deal has not been reached between India and the US, ahead of the August 1 deadline.
“India has been a good friend but India has charged basically more tariffs than almost any other country over the years,” Trump told a reporter.
The US imposed 26% tariffs on Indian goods in March as part of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, which included imports of aluminum, steel, and derivative products, before temporarily suspending them.
New Delhi previously said it would enter into a trade agreement with the US, but from a position of strength and not under deadlines or as a “negotiation tool.”
❗️Trump Thinks US Will Impose 20-25% Tariffs on India, but “Deal is Not Finalised”
“India has been a good friend but India has charged more tariffs than almost any other country over the years,” Trump told reporters aboard AF1 - shortly after claiming once again that he "stopped… pic.twitter.com/tK6N9KPGBJ
In the 2024-25 fiscal year, bilateral trade between India and the US reached $131.8 billion, with a trade surplus of $41.18 billion for New Delhi, according to the Indian Commerce Ministry.
Aboard Air Force One on Tuesday, Trump said he has been responsible for “a lot of great settlements” of conflicts, including the South Asian conflict as well as the recent border clash between Thailand and Cambodia. “I did a good job in about five different wars. You think I’ll get credit for it? No,” he added.
A few hours earlier, Modi refuted Trump’s claim that he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. “No world leader asked India to stop its military operation,” he said in the lower house of parliament.
While rejecting Trump’s claims, Modi said US Vice President J.D. Vance tried to call him several times. “I missed the US vice president’s calls,” he said. “And when I called him back, he said Pakistan is planning a major attack. And I told him if Pakistan attacks India, our attack would be much bigger as we will respond to bullets with cannons.”
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