Esmaeil Baghaei was commenting on an American airstrike that hit a family home and killed three people, including a two-year-old, last week US airstrikes on residential areas and other non-military targets in Iran constitute “war crimes” for which Washington must be held accountable, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told RT at a press briefing on Monday. His remarks came after a US airstrike hit a residential neighborhood on Qeshm Island in Iran’s Hormozgan Province last week, leveling a family home and killing three people, including a two-year-old child. Iran said the strike hit a densely populated working-class neighborhood, with footage from the scene appearing to support that claim. US Central Command, however, insisted it had targeted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) positions in retaliation for the force firing “multiple ballistic missiles” a...
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Trump’s promises to Erdogan made headlines, but law, Congress, and entrenched security politics still decide what actually moves An official letter sent by the US Department of State to Congress in late July set the dispute between Türkiye and the US over F-35 fighter jets back to square one. The transfer of the aircraft and Türkiye’s reinstatement in the program are still impossible because Ankara continues to possess the Russian-made S-400 air defense system and associated equipment, has not provided legally sufficient guarantees that it will avoid similar purchases in the future and has therefore failed to meet the conditions under which the US administration could certify to Congress that the security risks to the F-35 program had been removed. Washington has not closed the door on negotiations, allowing both sides to maintain the appearance of moving forward even though the legal situa...
Brussels has quietly restored access to Russian sable pelts, a high-end fur used by European fashion houses, citing the lack of alternative suppliers Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has mocked the European Commission for what he called blatant hypocrisy after it quietly exempted Russian luxury sable fur from sanctions, reportedly bowing to pressure from member states dependent on the trade. The EU initially banned imports of finished Russian fur garments shortly after the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, alongside luxury goods such as diamonds and caviar. Raw pelts remained legal until April, when Brussels closed the loophole by banning both raw and processed furskins, including sable. However, in its 21st sanctions package unveiled late last month – already diluted as member states balked at measures damaging their own economies – Brussels reversed course, exempting raw sable pelts while ...
The national security minister accused judges of siding with Palestinian detainees by suspending the controversial project An Israeli court has temporarily blocked National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from using Nile crocodiles to guard security prisoners, most of them Palestinians. Ben-Gvir proposed surrounding prisons with crocodile-filled moats in December, arguing that the reptiles would strengthen security and deter escapes. While the Israel Nature and Parks Authority initially deemed the plan unfeasible because Nile crocodiles were considered wild animals that could be be kept only in zoos and sanctuaries, the hurdle was removed last month when Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman redesignated them as “tended wild animals,” potentially allowing their deployment at prisons. On Sunday, however, the Jerusalem District Court issued an injunction against the project following a p...
With conflict spreading and old forums faltering, Manila became one of the rare places where powers still chose dialogue In late July, the Philippines did something that has become increasingly rare. It made great powers sit down. Under the chairmanship of the Philippines, the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila and its dense constellation of related gatherings turned the capital into one of the few reliable stages where rivals still appear in the same rooms, exchange views, and keep channels open. From July 20 to 24, foreign ministers from Southeast Asia, the United States, China, Russia, Japan, India, Europe, and beyond convened against a distinctly unsettled backdrop of escalating hostilities between the US and Iran and rising tensions between Beijing and the Philippines after incidents in the South China Sea. Yet ASEAN did what it has long done best – it refused to let the frict...
The US president said the outlines of a deal had been agreed that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end what he called Iran’s nuclear threat US President Donald Trump has canceled a planned attack on Iran after saying the outlines of an agreement had been reached that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and address what he described as Tehran’s “nuclear threat.” CBS News reported that the US and Israel had been preparing a major bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic’s energy infrastructure that could begin as early as the weekend. The network said the proposed operation, which it described as potentially one of the harshest campaigns against Iran to date, was expected to target power plants and oil refineries, while military officials also reportedly discussed cutting electricity across Tehran. In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump wrote that despite the US being ...
A fast-moving blaze has swept through the Spokane area, burning more than 1,000 hectares by Saturday evening Wildfires burning across more than 100,000 hectares in Washington state, US, have triggered widespread evacuations and power outages around the city of Spokane, state officials said on Saturday. Large parts of Spokane County were placed under the highest Level 3 evacuation order as strong winds drove flames into residential areas. Officials urged residents to leave immediately “due to the life-threatening conditions,” while an evacuation shelter was opened at a local community college. The largest blaze, the Old Trails Fire, ignited around noon and had burned more than 1,000 hectares by late afternoon, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The fire spread rapidly through brush and grass into residential neighborhoods. Videos circulating on social medi...
A study found that 87% of all instances of expletives being used by US presidents since 1919 have been recorded in the past decade US politicians are using profanity in public far more frequently than in the past, according to research published by Cardiff University politics lecturer Dr Joseph Phillips. Some 87% of the 692 documented instances of presidents, vice presidents, and presidential candidates using profanity in public have occurred in just the last decade, Phillips wrote. The overwhelming majority of those cases – 78% – came from President Donald Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden, according to the study published this week. On Wednesday, Trump was heard using another expletive following an Iranian attack on US forces in Jordan. According to Fox News’ chief foreign affairs correspondent, Trey Yingst, the president said: “We’re going to beat the f**king s**t out of ...
The company launched an investigation after its advanced models escaped a test environment and hacked another company’s systems without human instruction OpenAI has uncovered additional cases in which its autonomous AI models breached containment and acted without human instruction, Reuters has reported, citing sources. The findings come as the company expands its investigation into a hacking incident last month in which an AI bot went rogue while attempting to cheat in an internal cybersecurity test. During tests of GPT-5.6 Sol and another unreleased model, both stripped of their safety guardrails, the systems were assigned ExploitGym – a benchmark designed to measure AI models’ ability to identify and exploit known software vulnerabilities. Instead of completing the tasks, one model escaped its supposedly isolated testing environment, gained internet access and hacked into Hugging Face ...
The president used the migration crisis in the EU to claim America was overrun by illegals under his predecessor The surge of migrants across the border from Morocco into Spain is an example of what could happen to the US if Republicans aren’t elected, US President Donald Trump has claimed. Trump has repeatedly attacked his political opponents over immigration, blaming his predecessor Joe Biden for illegal border crossings. An estimated 50,000 migrants, mostly young men, swam from Morocco and crossed into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta earlier this week in an unprecedented influx that triggered a humanitarian crisis in the city. The Spanish Interior Ministry has reported that around 48,000 had voluntarily returned by Friday evening. “What’s happening with Spain, with tens of thousands of Illegal Immigrants invading it, happened in the United States during the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration...
Washington holds preferential access to the country’s rare earth wealth under a 2025 pact The US can take “pretty much whatever we want” from Ukraine’s rare earth deposits under a minerals agreement signed last year, President Donald Trump has said, adding that profits from the agreement could ultimately exceed total American aid to Kiev since 2022. Trump made the remarks in an interview with Real America’s Voice aired on Friday as he chastised his predecessor Joe Biden for “giving away” a purported $300 billion in military support to Ukraine without securing repayment. “He could have Europe… paid for it. All you had to do is ask,” Trump said, adding that under his administration European nations now cover more of the costs. Trump said Ukraine has “very rich, very fertile soil in terms of rare earth.” “We have a contract si...
Hungary and Romania have cut nuclear power output as record-low river levels disrupted shipping and supply chains The disastrous heatwave and drought across Europe have pushed the Rhine and Danube rivers to historic water lows, forcing two EU countries into atomic energy power-downs while disrupting industrial output and major trade routes. The Rhine and Danube serve as vital commercial corridors, historic borders and a continuous navigable link between the North Sea and the Black Sea. Many European power plants rely on the rivers for cooling water, and that is why record-low levels have sharply reduced electricity output. Hungary faces ‘unprecedented’ energy crunch The Danube, which flows through or borders ten countries from southwestern Germany to the Black Sea, has reached historically low levels this July. In Budapest, the river fell to a record-low of 23 cm on Thursday, 10 cm below the p...
The tool is set to help in the processing of asylum, visa and residence permit applications as Berlin grapples with an influx of newcomers The German government has approved a bill to deploy artificial intelligence in processing asylum, visa and residence permit applications. The initiative aims to accelerate procedures and reduce pressure on immigration authorities. It was endorsed by the cabinet on Wednesday but still requires backing from the federal parliament and Federal Council. The EU’s economic powerhouse, Germany has long been the bloc’s leading destination for asylum seekers. In 2025, the country received more than 163,000 applications, accounting for about one in five claims lodged across the bloc’s 27 member states, according to the EU Agency for Asylum. The country also hosts the EU’s largest migrant population in absolute terms, with nearly 17 million foreign-born resi...
The official previously pushed for the arrest of the Israeli prime minister for Gaza “war crimes” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has renewed his criticism of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has said the Israeli leader could be arrested on war-crimes charges if he visits the city. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024 over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Mamdani has said his administration would seek to enforce the warrant if presented with an opportunity to do so. Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity this week, Netanyahu accused the mayor of siding with Iran, which he described as a mortal enemy of both Israel and the United States. “The army of Israel, the young men and women of Israel, the public in Israel… stand up and say, ‘Yes, we’re willing to stand up at this moment and stand in the breach with the U...
The state’s attorney general has accused the former US Coronavirus czar of showing a “lack of candor” before Congress Former US Coronavirus czar Dr. Anthony Fauci is facing a state investigation after declining to answer questions during a US Senate hearing on the origins of Covid-19 and the government’s handling of the pandemic. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the probe after Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 111 times on Wednesday. “Fauci’s lack of candor to Congress is unbelievable. My office is launching an investigation into Dr. Fauci. It’s past time we get the truth of what happened during COVID,” Uthmeier wrote on X. Senator Rand Paul, who led the hearing, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis argued that Fauci had no legal basis to invoke the Fifth Amendment because former President Joe Biden had granted him a blanket p...
The eSafety Commissioner’s announcement comes a day after Russia charged CEO Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism Australia has taken legal action against Telegram over alleged failures to tackle terrorism-related content. Just the day before, Russia launched its own case against the messaging platform and its founder, Russian-born entrepreneur Pavel Durov. The Australian eSafety commissioner announced on Thursday that it had started civil proceedings in federal court for Telegram’s “alleged failure to detect and remove pro-terror material from the platform including videos of terrorist executions and mass shootings,” despite complaints from users. The regulator said videos of the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre and the 2022 Buffalo supermarket shooting remained accessible on the platform for around three months before being taken down. The regulator is seeking penalties of up to A$...
The world’s biggest sport now reflects a global system Washington can no longer fully control Based on its historical evolution, huge popularity, and massive budget, it’s fair to say that the game globally known as football – the one in which two teams of 11 players must maneuver a ball into the opposing team’s goal without using their hands – remains the world’s top sport. But despite its universal name and rules, familiar to almost the entire world population, this game has failed to catch on in the US, where even the term ‘football’ means a different kind of game. As for what the rest of the world calls football, in the US it is known as ‘soccer’ – an old British slang abbreviation of ‘Association football’. These linguistic details became highly important when, in order to maintain the pace of expansion and develop new m...