Ukraine Continues to Bedevil Russia With Espionage, Audacity, Tenacity and Surprise

Described as ‘Russia’s Pearl Harbor,’ more than 100 drones were smuggled deep into Russia by Ukrainian spies and hidden in the rooftops of specially constructed wooden cabins. These roofs then opened remotely at the moment of attack, with the drones swarming out and striking more than 40 bomber jets parked at Russian airfields across the country. One of the targets, the Belaya airfield in Siberia, is 3,500 miles from Ukraine. The Russian intelligence services were completely caught off-guard.

In the span of a few hours, nearly a third of Moscow’s strategic bomber fleet was destroyed or damaged with cheaply made drones sneaked into Russian territory. Operation Spiderweb involved more than 18 months of painstaking planning and great risk and was personally overseen by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

This “Pearl Harbor” for Russia was made by possible by extraordinary Ukrainian military OPSEC and their effective espionage network behind enemy lines. Also note that Ukraine was careful to avoid civilian casualties and a nuclear disaster with these strategic bombers, unlike Russian forces who have disregarded civilian lives and the safety of Chernobyl during their invasion.

The armed Palestinian groups that seized 251 Israeli hostages on 7 Oct 2023 similarly exercised great OPSEC in their extensive planning and preparation before the raid, catching everyone by surprise in Jerusalem, Tehran, Wash DC, and Moscow. Only the Egyptian mukhabarat has an inkling of something afoot in the neighboring Gaza Strip. This type of discipline from the Ukrainians and the Palestinians demonstrates an uncommon resolve to resist a powerful, brutal enemy seeking their destruction.

As you learned here on Coriolanus, the Ukrainian intelligence services are first-rate and Kiev did not disclose the operation to the US or any allies to prevent leaks. That means President Zelensky had this card to play when he met with Dotard Trumpf months ago, and when he went to Istanbul in good faith to negotiate with Vladimir Putin who skipped the peace talks anyway. The ex-KGB officer promised revenge for this humiliating and expensive defeat, which cost the Ukrainians far less than the Russians.

Ukraine’s Effective Sabotage Campaign Continues

Kerch Bridge Damaged

Ukraine detonated a massive underwater blast targeting the key road and rail bridge connecting the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula to Russia, damaging its underwater supports. Kiev’s SBU security service claimed responsibility for this embarrassing and costly blow to Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine Hacks Russian Aircraft Manufacturer Tupolev

In 1961, the Tu-95V bomber dropped the biggest nuclear weapon ever made before and since – the Tsar Bomb, or “Big Ivan.”

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) hacked into Russia’s strategic aircraft manufacturer Tupolev.  HUR’s cyber corps accessed over 4.4 gigabytes (GB) of internal data, including official correspondence, personnel files, home addresses, resumes, purchase records, and closed meeting minutes.

“The significance of the data obtained cannot be overestimated. There is nothing secret left in Tupolev’s activities for Ukrainian intelligence.”

The intelligence includes detailed information about engineers and staff responsible for maintaining Russia’s strategic bombers, such as the Tu-95 and Tu-160, which form a key part of Russia’s nuclear triad.

“In particular, we have obtained comprehensive information about individuals directly involved in servicing Russian strategic aviation,” the source added. “The result will obviously be noticeable both on the ground and in the sky.”

Below, Ukrainian cyber operatives replaced the Tupolev website’s homepage with the symbol of their organization, an owl clutching a Russian aircraft.

The Tupolev hack is perfectly timed with the surprise attack against Russia’s strategic bomber fleet and is a bonanza for NATO. The HUR will share this treasure trove of information with the UK, Germany, France, and Canada, leaving out the US. Recall that last year Canada donated 10,500 effective Browning Hi-Power 9mm pistols to Ukraine. Engineers and critical staff at Tupolev should be concerned about a potential 9mm lead shampoo treatment in the future.

Sabotage Against Infrastructure Continues Inside Russia

An explosion on a rail line in Russia’s Voronezh Oblast caused damage to the track and disrupted train travel along the line. No one was injured in the explosion that immediately disrupted the travel of at least 19 passenger and commercial trains. The explosions were allegedly caused by an IED.

A fire broke out at the Avtodizel motor plant in Yaroslavl (174 miles northeast of Moscow), one of Russia’s largest producers of diesel engines and a supplier to the Russian military. The blaze engulfed a 400-square-meter workshop where 12-cylinder engines are manufactured. Firefighters needed more than 90 minutes to extinguish the open flames.  

No casualties were reported and the cause of the fire has not been disclosed.

This is the second major fire at a Russian engine plant in two days. On 2 Jun, a blast and fire tore through a workshop at the Zavolzhsky Motor Plant in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.

Russia May Suffer One Million Casualties in 2025

Russian conscripts line up at the local recruitment center in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on 20 Oct. 2024 (Photo: Sergey Pivovarov / Sputnik via AP)

The Russian military will likely surpass one million casualties in its war on Ukraine this summer, according to one of the world’s leading think tanks.

Approximately 250,000 of these Russian soldiers have died, the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) reported. The idiotic use of World War One-style “human wave” attacks have taken a tremendous toll on the Russian military. Vladimir Putin and his callous disregard for human life– Russian or Ukrainian– is reponsible.

The Ukrainian military has also suffered heavy losses, with 400,000 casualties, including 60,000 to 100,000 soldiers killed, according to CSIS estimates.

Demand for Cardboard Coffins Soaring in Russia

In Russia, dying has never been more affordable—or more humiliating.

Cardboard coffins, once reserved for unclaimed bodies and stray dogs, are now flying off the shelves. According to funeral directors, up to 50% of all burials in some regions now use cardboard boxes instead of traditional wooden caskets.

“We never used to offer them unless someone specifically asked,” admitted one undertaker. “Now people come in and ask for cardboard first. It’s practical.” Another explained the coffin’s appeal bluntly: “It’s lighter. Easier to carry. Cheaper. And no one’s embarrassed anymore.”

The Russians meeting the one million-mark this summer is sooner than many calculations, including your author. Coriolanus had calculated the Israelis would kill 50,000 Palestinian in Gaza by the end of 2024, but was slightly off as the count was 45,541 as of 31 Dec 2024. Your author’s wife suggested including the 4,047 Lebanese people killed by the IDF in 2024.

45,541 Palestinians + 4,047 Lebanese = 49,588 dead Arabs.

Between Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Pol Pots of today, the pile of bodies just keep getting larger and larger. Here’s how the Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to do without coffins:

Mass grave for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

An international arrest warrant for war crimes issued by the ICC remains active for Vladimir Putin. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of a law.

Sources:

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/surprise-drone-attack-airfields-russia-encapsulates-ukraines-wartime-122413545

https://kyivindependent.com/tag/war/

https://www.csis.org/analysis/russias-battlefield-woes-ukraine

Lenta.ru

DIA Global Threat Assessment

  China is deepening selective cooperation with Russia, aiming to avoid actions that could harm its global standing.

  Russia is sourcing military aid from Iran and North Korea, including artillery, UAVs, and personnel.

  Moscow is transferring sensitive technologies (space, nuclear, missile) to bolster Tehran’s and Pyongyang’s capabilities.

  Iran and North Korea leverage these ties to mitigate sanctions and international isolation.

  Despite this, cooperation largely remains bilateral and transactional rather than a fully integrated alliance. The assessment also includes migration to the US as a threat and describes Russia, Iran, China, and North Korea as an ‘Axis of Upheaval’.

More Analyses

US Army General David Petraeus with Paula Broadwell, the authoress of his biography and downfall in an undated photo. This was a modern day Samson and Goliath melodrama. One of Coriolanus’ commanders was a friend and admirer of General Petraeus.

The 48-year-old man, who hasn’t been identified, was arrested at Stansted Airport near London on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life. No one was injured in the fires that occurred between 8 and 12 May at a house owned by Starmer, a building where he once lived, and a car that he had owned.

To no one’s surprise, three men already charged in connection with the fires seem to be connected to Ukraine or Russia: Ukrainians Petro Pochynok (34) and Roman Lavrynovych (21), and Ukrainian-born Romanian national Stanislav Carpiuc (26).

Vladimir Putin’s operatives continue their sabotage campaign against EU and NATO targets. Destroying the houses and car of the UK PM is quite an audacious move and investigators will determine if such a dastardly operation was personally sanctioned by Putin.

The ‘Axis of Upheaval’

Nota Bene: Coriolanus proudly completed several successful tours at DIA. Be that as it may, the real ‘Axis of Upheaval’ blighting the world are these greedy, land-stealing ethnic cleansing oligarchs who have no regard for human life or decency.  Also note this 2025 assessment was publicly released by dishonored Congressman Ronny “Dr Feelgood” Jackson (R-TX), who falsely represented himself as a USN Rear Admiral (Ret.) after he had been demoted to Captain for various blasphemies.

International arrest warrants issued by the ICC for war crimes remain active for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. An indictment is merely an allegation. Both defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty at an international tribunal to be held at the Hague.

Sources: 

Link One

Link Two

https://www.lbc.co.uk/world-news/cia-boss-reveals-putin-invasion-russia/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62v63gl8rvo

US Again Stymies UN Security Council Efforts to Restrain the Israeli Death Forces (IDF)

UN Security Council members voting in favor of the draft resolution. (UN Photo / Eskinder Debebe)

One Pariah State Defends Another Pariah State at the UN

The US has vetoed the UN Security Council’s draft resolution calling for an “unconditional and permanent” ceasefire in Gaza. The other 14 members voted in favor of the document, which also demanded the release of all hostages and the lifting of humanitarian aid restrictions. The dishonorable US Ambassador to the UN, Dorothy Shea, said the resolution would “undermine diplomatic efforts” to reach a ceasefire, adding that the UN has not labelled Hamas as a terrorist organization as demanded by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) AKA the American Islamophobia Propaganda Action Center.

If the Jews in Auschwitz asked for a ceasefire, would the SS have granted it?

Wounded Palestinians arrive to al-Shifa hospital, following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, 16 Oct 2023. (Photo: Abd Khaled / AP).

Since October 2023, the IDF has killed at least 54,677 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring or maiming 125,530 others. Moreover, at least 10,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. IDF attacks has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

UN: 50,000 Pregnant Women in Danger of Losing Their Child

So, while AIPAC and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu gloat over the US veto, 50,000 pregnant Palestinian mothers-to-be are in danger of losing their children because of malnutrition in the Gaza Strip.

“The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat,” said UN relief chief Tom Fletcher.

Fadi Al-Zanat (6) is treated at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza on 10 Mar. He was suffering from severe malnutrition and dehydration, according to the health ministry in Gaza. (Photo: Mousa Salem / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images)

Palestinians wait to receive food at a refugee camp in Rafah on 27 Jan. (Photo: Saher Alghorra / Middle East Images / AFP / Getty Images)

Through AIPAC, both American political parties have continuously hampered UN efforts at restraining the murderous land-grabbing Israelis for decades and are complicit in this ethnic cleansing. The so-called Two-State solution palaver was just a chimera to keep inducing billions of dollars of US aid to Israel every year from hard-working American taxpayers.

Why The Democratic Party Lost 6,265,888 Voters in 2024 They Once Had in 2020:

Coriolanus estimates a six to eight million permanent loss of supporters for the Democratic Party as antiwar progressives have become sick and tired of funding the brutal ethnic cleansing of defenseless Palestinians, despite an opportunity for them to vote out Republicans in the upcoming 2026 mid-term and 2028 presidential elections. Your author supported Kamala Harris in 2024 with the hope that she would divorce herself from the Biden policy of unqualified support for Israel and of course defeat Dotard Trumpf. Recall that in Sep 2024, the late Pope Francis said that choosing between the Democrats and the Republicans was choosing for the “lesser of two evils.”

Sisters Hanan (3) and Misk (18 months) suffered severe injuries in an Israeli air strike. (Photo: BBC)

Diya al-Adini (15) was a young and enthusiastic photographer before he lost his arms in an Israeli strike. (Photo: BBC)

An international arrest warrant issued by the ICC for war crimes remain active for Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Sources:

https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1164056

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/259283/pope-francis-in-flight-press-conference-us-presidential-elections-harris-trump-catholic-vote

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g60p1xgdlo

https://www.unfpa.org/occupied-palestinian-territory

Murder-Death-Kill Plagues Innocent Mexicans

The late Mexican band Grupo Fugitivo.

Police in Mexico detained a suspect known as M-47 who may have ordered the mass murder of the music band Grupo Fugitivo in Tamaulipas state.

Relatives of the band members received ransom demands after the men’s disappearance, but four days later their bodies were discovered. 12 suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder. The Gulf Cartel has its stronghold in Tamaulipas state and engages in the smuggling of drugs and migrants across the US-Mexico border, as well as kidnapping for ransom. Unclear is why the members of Grupo Fugitivo were targeted.

A fire killed 12 and injured three people who were reportedly locked up inside a drug rehab center in the violence-plagued Mexican state of Guanajuato  Mexico’s privately run drug rehabilitation centers are often abusive, clandestine, unregulated, and underfunded. They have been the targets of similar attacks in the past.

Murdering harmless musicians requires a special kind of depravity. Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum has her hands full trying to uplift her people from poverty, dealing with a water shortage and imminent drought, defanging the drug cartels, and protecting the sovereignty of her country from the Dotard Trumpf junta.

The competent and capable President of Mexico.

Note that Mexican servicemembers died fighting alongside Americans as allies in WWII. The Aztec Eagles are the only Mexican military unit to ever deploy outside their country. ZERO Israeli soldiers fought alongside or served with the US over the past 77 years (e.g. Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Grenada, Panama).

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clygr1v6z2mo

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mexico-fire-drug-rehab-center-deaths-guanajuato/

https://www.foreignassistance.gov/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/201st_Fighter_Squadron

Michigan: Two Chinese Nationals Smuggle Pathogen into US

Yunqing Jian (Undated photo)

Yunqing Jian (33) and Zunyong Liu (34), citizens of the People’s Republic of China, were charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the US, false statements, and visa fraud.

The FBI arrested Jian for allegedly smuggling into the US a fungus called Fusarium graminearum, a potential agroterrorism weapon. This noxious fungus causes “head blight,” a disease of wheat, barley, maize, and rice, and is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year. Fusarium graminearum’s toxins cause vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects in humans and livestock.

Jian received Chinese government funding to research this pathogen. Jian’s boyfriend, Liu, works at a Chinese university where he conducts research on the same fungus. He allegedly smuggled Fusarium graminearum into the US so that he could conduct research on it with Jian at the University of Michigan.

Note the phraseology in the AUSA press release: A complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Trial cannot be held on felony charges in a complaint. When the investigation is completed, a determination will be made whether to seek a felony indictment.

The University of Michigan issued the following statement:

3 June 2025

As one of the world’s leading public research institutions, the University of Michigan is dedicated to advancing knowledge, solving challenging problems and improving nearly every facet of the human experience. Our research enterprise across all three campuses is united in this commitment to serving the people of Michigan and the world. 

We strongly condemn any actions that seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university’s critical public mission. It is important to note that the university has received no funding from the Chinese government in relation to research conducted by the accused individuals. We have and will continue to cooperate with federal law enforcement in its ongoing investigation and prosecution.

Please direct media inquiries to the FBI by emailing DE_Media@fbi.gov or calling (313) 965-5749.

A complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Trial cannot be held on felony charges in a complaint. When the investigation is completed, a determination will be made whether to seek a felony indictment.

Sources:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmi/pr/chinese-nationals-charged-conspiracy-and-smuggling-dangerous-biological-pathogen-us

https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article277949468.html

US: Romanian National Pleads Guilty to Epidemic of ‘Swatting’ Calls

Thomasz Szabo (26) of Romania, pleaded guilty to being the leader of a years-long conspiracy that targeted victims across the US with “swatting” and bomb threats. Szabo and his co-conspirators falsely reported ongoing violent emergencies at government buildings, houses of worship, and private residences, including the homes of senior government officials.

One of those subordinates bragged to Szabo:

“I did 25+ swattings today and created massive havoc in America; $500,000+ in taxpayers wasted in just two days.”

Szabo was extradited from Romania in November 2024. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of threats and false information regarding explosives and will be sentenced on 23 Oct 2025.

This lunatic and his gang of misfits enjoyed taking advantage of the American police state and knew full well about the waste of money this cost taxpayers. There is no reporting of any injuries or fatalities Thomasz Szabo caused, but police may have responded to one of his hoaxes which may have allowed a suspect to commit and flee a real crime. Thomasz Szabo and his followers will certainly be enjoying the company of genuine US federal law-enforcement personnel for several years.

Source:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/romanian-citizen-pleads-guilty-swatting-numerous-members-congress-churches-and-former-0

EUROPOL: 200,000 Euro Reward for Dutch Fugitive

Joseph Johannes Leudekkers (34) is brown eyed and 182cm tall.

Leijdekkers is also involved in serious cases of excessive violence, torture, and murder.

Above, convicted cocaine smuggler Jos Leijdekkers attends a church service in Tihun, Sierra Leone, 1 Jan 2025, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video.  West Africa has become a major drug transit hub, so no surprise that Jos Leijdekkers would be spotted there.

Sources:

https://eumostwanted.eu/leijdekkers-joseph-johannes-jos

Anxiety: Elderly Americans Applying for Social Security at Record Rates

Older Americans are filing for Social Security benefits at a record rate this year, a surge that could reflect growing anxiety about the stability of the retirement system amid cutbacks under the Trumpf junta. 

The number of people claiming Social Security jumped 17% to 1.8 million this year through May compared with the same period a year ago. New filings are on track to reach four million, up 15% from the prior fiscal year. Claiming Social Security early reduces a person’s monthly benefit and can result in lower lifetime benefits for some retirees, as well as their spouses and dependent children.

Americans are becoming traumatized by the Trumpf junta, according to the American Psychological Association (APA) and hence the early applications for SSA benefits. But the oligarchy is doing just fine as they will amass more fortunes for themselves while working class and poor Americans struggle to make ends meet amid cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP to pay for the unneeded tax breaks for the fabulously wealthy oligarchs.

What the Republicans and the ruling elite are doing to poor and working class Americans is called “social murder.”

Sources:

https://www.ssa.gov/data/retirement-insurance-online-apps-2012-onward.html

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/pregnancyparenting/america-is-becoming-traumatized-under-trump-increasing-environmental-crises/ar-AA1xTK4l

Coriolanus is Monitoring the Felon Musk-Dotard Trumpf Feud

Two of the four worst persons in the world may be having a divorce.

Followers of the Watch, both of these peccable oligarchs can inflict enormous damage on each other, so Coriolanus will be analyzing the strategic implications of this so-called ‘feud” and how long it lasts.

Update: US Salmonella Outbreak

The Florida-originated cucumber salmonella outbreak now includes passengers on six cruise ships. Total stricken nationally: 449 in 31 states and DC. 125 have been hospitalized, but no deaths. The Trumpf junta reduced or eliminated food surveillance on cruise ships this year.

Who needs ISIS or al-Qaida when we have America’s Godzilla destroying our health, economy, and national security? And Trumpf’s his own properties have health violation issues, as you will read below.

Sources:

www.miamiherald.com

www.mcclatchydc.com

Trumpf’s New Jersey Westminster Club Cited for Numerous Health Violations

Trumpf’s opulent private golf club in Bedminster, NJ.

Dotard Trumpf’s private golf club in Bedminster, NJ was hit with a remarkable 18 health code violations, nine of them considered “critical,” according to a recent report by the Somerset County Department of Health.

Source:

Harper’s Magazine Weekly Summary

Our immense gratitude to Becky Zhang for her superb summation of events. This month Harper’s Magazine is celebrating 175 years of excellent writing.

Explosions caused two bridges bordering Ukraine in western Russia to collapse. The Israel Defense Forces fired into a crowd of Palestinians who were en route to a US- and Israeli-backed aid station in Gaza, killing at least thirty-one and injuring more than a hundred; Israeli military command announced that it had killed one of Hamas’s leaders, the brother of the former Hamas chief who architected the 7 Oct attacks; a US diplomat called Hamas’s amendments to the latest ceasefire proposal “totally unacceptable”; and at a Colorado gathering in support of Israeli hostages, an Egyptian man who had overstayed his tourist visa attacked the crowd with a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails, injuring eight people. Explosions caused two bridges bordering Ukraine in western Russia to collapse, Ukraine deployed large-scale drone attacks on Russian air bases, and representatives for the two countries convened in Istanbul for a second round of peace negotiations. A cholera outbreak in Sudan killed more than 170 people last week, and flooding in north-central Nigeria killed more than 150. Two were killed and hundreds arrested in French celebrations of the Paris Saint-Germain football club’s victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League final, and footage surfaced of the French First Lady shoving her husband in the face as they prepared to disembark a plane to commence a tour of southeast Asia. “We are squabbling and, rather, joking with my wife,” said the French president of the incident.

The State Department announced that it would “aggressively” terminate the visas of select Chinese students, after pausing the scheduling of further student visa appointments and threatening to revoke the capacity of Harvard University to enroll foreign students. “Humanity rises and falls as one,” said a Chinese graduate in Harvard Square as a man pinned another to the ground behind her. “This is a time where we can use a little bit more moral imagination and imagine ourselves being connected with one another.” The Supreme Court ruled to allow the Trumpf junta to expedite the deportation of 530,000 migrants hailing from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela; and ICE detained a Massachusetts high schooler on his way to volleyball practice. The US president pardoned a reality TV couple convicted of defrauding community banks of at least $30 million, and several government officials received fraudulent phone calls and text messages impersonating the president’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles. “There’s only one Susie,” said the president. In Iowa, a Republican senator defended potential cuts to Medicaid eligibility, reasoning, “Well, we are all going to die”; and in California, Minnesota’s governor warned that the Democratic Party was becoming “roadkill.” Felon Musk criticized the US president’s tax bill in an interview with CBS; bade farewell to the White House the following day, sporting a black eye he attributed to his five-year-old son; denied a report by the New York Times alleging his bladder-destabilizing ketamine use; and vowed to do better after a third SpaceX rocket disintegrated mid-flight.

Turkiye approved a circular allowing cabin crew to fine passengers who prematurely leave their seats upon landing; and archaeologists revealed a loaf of 5,000-year-old bread that was excavated in central Turkiye. The remains of a freelance writer were found in a container in downtown Las Vegas, but the primary suspect for the murder had already died the week before in a high-speed car chase with Utah’s Highway Patrol. A tractor trailer spilled soybean powder across a New York highway in what the local police department called “the biggest protein spill bust in WSPD [West Seneca Police Department] history”; and a truck overturned near the US–Canada border, releasing 14 million honeybees. A man jumped into a pit of ancient terracotta warriors in Xi’an, China; and an ultramarathoner in Wales breastfed thrice en route to placing first in the race’s female division. Brazilian nuns beatboxed on a Catholic television program to viral fame, and a London beauty consultant specializing in Brazilian butt lifts was prohibited from performing cosmetic procedures after testimony from nearly 40 women in a civil trial for what an attorney likened to a “serious knife crime.” “He butchered me,” said one plaintiff. “There is no other word for it.”

Source:

Poor Bear Caged for Four Years Makes First Friend

IDF Kills US-Turkish Humanitarian in West Bank

Undated image of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi.

A 26-year-old Turkish-American activist, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, was shot in the head and killed during an anti-settlement protest near Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The IDF admitted to firing at the demonstrators and has not said if any other gunmen were present.

She was shot during a weekly demonstration against an Israeli settlement near the Palestinian village of Beita. Eyewitnesses and Palestinian officials said the Israeli military was responsible.

The IDF stated its forces “responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them.” It said that it was “looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area.”

Protests at Beita are common. The Palestinian town is next to a ramshackle Israeli settler outpost known as Evyatar. The settlement was unauthorized by the Israeli state until it was legalized earlier this year. All Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law.

Eygi was volunteering in the West Bank with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), the same group as Rachel Corrie (23), a US citizen who was killed in 2003 while trying to block an Israeli bulldozer from razing Palestinian homes. (Getty Images)

In 2012, IDF Lt. Col. Shalom Eisner smashed the face of an unarmed activist named Andaers in the West Bank with his US-made M16 rifle. His expression looks like contempt. This protestor can consider himself lucky just to be alive.

Nearly 700 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah and the UN, who have called for a full investigation of Aysenur’s killing.

Sources:

Aysenur Eygi: US activist killed after Israeli military fires at protest in West Bank | CNN

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi: UN urges inquiry into killing of US-Turkish protester in West Bank (bbc.com)

Related article‘All the streets were destroyed:’ Palestinians count the cost as Israel pulls back from Jenin

Massachusetts Physician Sentenced Nine Months for Punching Police Officer During 6 Jan Attack

A medical doctor who punched a police officer during a mob’s attack on the US Capitol was sentenced to nine months of imprisonment followed by nine months of home confinement. Jacquelyn Starer (70) was inside the Capitol on 6 Jan 2021 when she struck the officer with a closed fist and shouted a profane insult.

Jacquelyn Starer told US District Judge Timothy Kelly that she isn’t proud of her actions that day, including her “regrettable encounter” with the officer. “I accept full responsibility for my actions that day, and I truly wish reason had prevailed over my emotions,” she said.

Starer also turned to apologize to the officer whom she assaulted. The officer, identified only by her initials in court filings, told the judge she feared for her life as she and other officers fought for hours to defend the Capitol from the mob of Donald Trump supporters. “Do you really take responsibility for your actions or are you just going to say: ‘It wasn’t my fault. Fight or flight’?” the officer asked Starer before she addressed the court.

Starer of Ashland, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in April to eight counts, including a felony assault charge. Starer’s attorneys asked the judge to sentence her to home confinement instead of incarceration.

In the 43 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,488 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the attack on the US Capitol, including nearly 550 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.

Sources:

District of Columbia | Massachusetts Woman Sentenced to Prison for Assaulting Law Enforcement and Other Actions During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

https://www.yahoo.com/news/physician-sentenced-9-months-prison-214655876.html

US Sees Increasing Risk of Sabotage of Key Undersea Cables by Secretive Russian Military Unit

The USIC has detected increased Russian military activity around key undersea cables and assesses Russia may now be more likely to carry out potential sabotage operations aimed at disabling a critical piece of the world’s communications infrastructure. Russia has been building up a dedicated military unit called the “General Staff Main Directorate for Deep Sea Research,” or GUGI.

“We are concerned about heightened Russian naval activity worldwide and that Russia’s decision calculus for damaging US and allied undersea critical infrastructure may be changing,” a US official told CNN. “Russia is continuing to develop naval capabilities for undersea sabotage mainly thru GUGI, a closely guarded unit that operates surface vessels, submarines, and naval drones.”

The US and NATO regularly tracks Russian ships that patrol close to critical maritime infrastructure and undersea cables often far from Russian shores.

Undersea cables form a critical backbone of internet and telecommunications traffic around the world. Most communications and internet traffic travels across a vast network of high-speed fiber-optic cables installed along the ocean floor. A coordinated attack could significantly disrupt private, government and military communications along such cables as well as industries that rely on such communications, including financial markets and energy suppliers. Undersea cables also carry vast amounts of electricity among several European countries.

Commanders aboard a NATO patrol vessel in April 2023 told CNN they had witnessed an increase of military surveillance over undersea cables in the Baltic Sea and the waters around Northern Europe.

Last year, a joint investigation by the public broadcasters of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland found that Russia has a fleet of suspected spy ships operating in northern European waters for potential sabotage of both undersea cables and wind farms. Using data analysis, intercepted radio communications, and intelligence sources, the broadcasters tracked over several years some fifty ships operating in the area, using underwater surveillance to map sites for potential attacks.

Taiwanese and US intelligence have observed similar activity by the Chinese Navy in waters around Taiwan. “The activity looks like targeted harassment by Beijing – or an exercise in preparation for cutting off the whole of Taiwan,” Elisabeth Braw wrote in Foreign Policy magazine in February 2023.

Russia’s covert naval program has not been disrupted by its ongoing war against Ukraine, continuing to fund GUGI even while waging war in Ukraine. Sabotage of US or allied undersea infrastructure would be a significant escalation in Russian aggression outside of Ukraine.

Sources:

Exclusive: US sees increasing risk of Russian ‘sabotage’ of key undersea cables by secretive military unit (yahoo.com)

To Secure Undersea Cables, Take Lessons from the British Empire’s All-Red Line | Proceedings – July 2024 Vol. 150/7/1,457 (usni.org)

Pakistani Accused of Plotting to Kill Jews in NYC on Behalf of Islamic State

The lone unarmed suspect was arrested by an army of police officers Wednesday in the town of Ormstown, Quebec, 60 km south of Montreal. Muhammad Shahzeb Khan is described as a Pakistani citizen residing in Toronto.

A Pakistani citizen living in Canada has been charged with planning an attack in NYC in support of the Islamic State group. Muhammad Shahzeb Khan AKA Shahzeb Jadoon (20) is accused of plotting a mass shooting at a Jewish center around 7 Oct 2024, the first anniversary of the Gaza War. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Khan aimed to kill “as many Jewish people as possible” in the name of Islamic State. Khan attempted to travel from Canada to the US but was arrested on 4 Sep before reaching the border. He had told two undercover law enforcement officers of his plans to create “a real offline cell” of Islamic State supporters to carry out an attack.

The suspect, who was unarmed when arrested in Canada, requested the undercover officers to acquire AR-style rifles, ammunition, and other equipment for the NYC attack, including hunting knives in order to slit throats.

There is no information regarding Muhammad Shahzeb Khan’s mental faculties or whether he has any military or firearms training in order to carry out this extraordinary mega-attack with accomplices whom he has never personally met.

A complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Sources:

Office of Public Affairs | Pakistani National Charged for Plotting Terrorist Attack in New York City in Support of ISIS | United States Department of Justice

Pakistani Accused Of Plotting To Kill Jews In New York On Behalf Of Islamic State (rferl.org)

Locals Accuse Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump of ‘Taking What is Ours’ for Billion Dollar Resort Project in Albania

Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former U.S. President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump, daughters of former US President Donald Trump, look on during the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on 18 July 2024 in Milwaukee, WI. The land they plan on developing in Albania is subject to several disputes. (Getty Images)

Local residents in Albania are accusing Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump of attempting to take land away from them for two luxury resort projects.

The daughter and son-in-law of former President Donald Trump are looking to invest almost $1bn in the area. Kushner previously announced his plans to build a hotel and a number of beach villas on a part of land that has been farmed by an Albanian family for generations but which was seized from them after the end of the Communist regime in 1991, according to The New York Times.

“They are trying to take from us what is ours,” Bledar Alexandros Konomi told the paper. Konomi used to help take care of cattle on the part of the mainland where Kushner now wants to build a hotel. His claim to the land is supported by court records. Kushner is also seeking exclusive development rights on the small island of Sazan, where the Soviet Union stored military supplies during the Cold War.

2024 CIA World Factbook

A second bid to develop the island was submitted by Albanian-American developer Evi Kokalari-Angelakis. When her proposal to the Albanian government was disregarded, she insinuated the regime wants to ingratiate themselves with the former president in the event he returns to the White House in January.

Opposition party member in the Albanian parliament Agron Shehaj said the process of choosing a developer had lacked transparency, which “makes it look like this is a private deal that is in the political interest of the prime minister of Albania.”

Prime Minister Edi Rama and Kushner both rejected the notion that the former president had anything to do with the development process.

“The fact that such a renowned American entrepreneur shows his interest on investing in Albania makes us very proud and happy,” said a spokesperson for the prime minister. “It shows on another level to the US and the world that there is a new rising star in the beautiful Mediterranean world of tourism named Albania.”

“We have this 1,400-acre island in the Mediterranean and we’re bringing in the best architects and the best brands,” Ivanka Trump said on the Lex Fridman Podcast earlier this summer.

The projects on the Albanian coastline are not connected to the Trump Organization, which is partly owned by Trump, and it will not be linked to the Trump name.

Jared Kushner established an investment company called Affinity Partners, which is supported mostly by funds coming from the Saudi Arabian government. Over the years, Saudi NGOs built 200 mosques in Albania and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia donated one million copies of an Albanian-language version of the Quran.

A University of Cincinnati professor of statistics said it’s “very obvious that a big corruption scheme is going on.”

On the mainland, villagers in Zvernec, near the site where one of the projects is planned, have notified Kushner that they claim to own the land, which is subject to several disputes.

Source:

Locals accuse Jared and Ivanka Trump of ‘taking what is ours’ for billion-dollar resort project in Albania | The Independent (the-independent.com)

US-Iraq Deal Would See Hundreds of Soldiers Withdraw by Sep 2025

The US and Iraq have reached an understanding on plans for the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition forces from Iraq. Hundreds of troops would leave by September 2025, with the remainder departing by the end of 2026. The US and Iraq are also seeking to establish a new advisory relationship that could see some US forces remain in Iraq after the drawdown. The US has approximately 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in neighboring Syria as part of the coalition formed in 2014 to combat Islamic State as it rampaged through the two countries. The group once held roughly a third of Iraq and Syria but was territorially defeated in Iraq at the end of 2017 and in Syria in 2019. Iraq had demonstrated its ability to handle any remaining threat.

The agreement follows more than six months of talks between Baghdad and Washington, initiated by Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in January amid attacks by Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups on US forces stationed at Iraqi bases. The rocket and drone attacks have killed three American troops and wounded dozens more, resulting in several rounds of deadly US retaliation that threatened government efforts to stabilize Iraq after decades of conflict.

Under the plan, all coalition forces would leave the Ain al-Asad airbase in western Anbar province and significantly reduce their presence in Baghdad by September 2025. US and other coalition troops are expected to remain in Irbil, in the semi-autonomous northern Kurdistan region, for approximately one additional year, until around the end of 2026, to facilitate ongoing operations against Islamic State in Syria.

In other news, Switzerland reopened its embassy in Baghdad, 33 years after closing its previous representation due to the 1991 Gulf War. By reopening the embassy, the Swiss Federal Council aims to strengthen bilateral relations with the populous country and deepen cooperation in economic, security, and migration matters

Sources:

US-Iraq deal would see hundreds of troops withdraw in first year, sources say (voanews.com)

Swiss embassy in Baghdad reopens (admin.ch)

12 Students Hospitalized, One Dead from Unidentified Cause in Northern Vietnam

Two hospitals have been tasked with uncovering the cause of the death of a student from Thai Nguyen Industrial College in northern Vietnam and the hospitalization of 12 others.

All 13 victims had developed fevers, headaches, stomach aches, and nausea, with the cause still unknown. The deceased student was diagnosed with multi-organ failure, acute heart failure, myocarditis, and hepatitis B. One student is in a critical condition and on a ventilator. The ten remaining students are in stable condition.

The two hospitals were ordered to identify appropriate treatments for the patients and control the infection, if any, to minimize the number of people likely to catch the disease.

Source:

12 students hospitalized, 1 dead from unidentified cause in northern Vietnam | Tuoi Tre News

Lioness Rescued in Ukraine from a Tiny Cage Tentatively Walks on Grass for First Time

A UK animal rescue charity evacuated two lionesses from Ukraine and one has just been filmed taking her first steps on grass. Yuna the lioness had never felt grass beneath her paws, having been raised in captivity in a small concrete enclosure. She had been traumatized long before the Russian invasion.

In concert with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, England, organized the retrieval and air transport of the lionesses out of Ukraine in a 30-hour operation.

Yuna safely arrived at a 32-acre facility in Kent, and another lioness was delivered to a similar sanctuary in Belgium. Fundraising and preparations are underway to rescue another three lionesses from Kyiv.

Source:

The Good News Network and YouTube