Israel is preparing options for an independent military operation against Iran if the US rejects further escalation and shifts fully toward diplomacy, Channel 13 reports. The IDF is developing plans that would not require direct US participation. sfg.media/en/a/israel-...

Israel Is Preparing a Plan for an Independent Military Operation Against Iran

It Could Be Used if the U.S. Rejects Further Escalation and Opts for Diplomacy

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Russia’s A7 payment network says it handles nearly 20% of foreign-trade settlements—over $100bn a year. Open Source Centre says it helps firms bypass sanctions through entities in Kyrgyzstan, Hong Kong and the UAE. sfg.media/en/a/a7-russ...

A7 Network Says It Handles Nearly 20% of Russia’s Foreign-Trade Payments

Researchers Say It Evades Sanctions Through Affiliated Companies and Cryptocurrency and Seeks to Become an Alternative to SWIFT

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EU countries are increasing purchases of Russian gas despite plans to phase it out next year. In June, Russian LNG imports were 14% higher than a year earlier, with France buying the largest share. sfg.media/en/a/eu-coun...

EU Countries Are Increasing Purchases of Russian Gas Despite Plans to Phase It Out by 2027

Russia’s Revenue From Energy Supplies to Europe Has Reached €60 Million a Day

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The US Senate passed a stopgap funding bill 90–6 to keep the government open through Dec. 11, avoiding a shutdown before November’s midterms. The bill omits extra funding for the Iran war and Trump-backed voter ID provisions. sfg.media/en/a/us-sena...

U.S. Senate Approved Temporary Government Funding Through December 11 to Avoid a Shutdown Ahead of the Elections

Additional Spending on the War With Iran and Some of Trump’s Voter Identification Demands Were Left Out of the Bill

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AI-assisted employment claims are swamping Britain’s tribunals. Emergency “interim relief” applications have jumped from about 20 a year nationwide to roughly 20 a month in each of 12 regional offices. sfg.media/en/a/uk-ai-e...

The Number of Employee Claims Against Employers Prepared With AI Has Surged in the U.K.

More Than 100 Times as Many Urgent Applications Are Now Being Filed, While New Cases May Wait Until 2030 for a Hearing

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Bloomberg reports that Putin has effectively given the FSB’s Second Service broad power to investigate almost anyone with little outside oversight. Sources say Russia’s elite increasingly fears the security service is “spinning out of control.” sfg.media/en/a/fsb-sec...

The FSB’s Second Service Is Gaining More Influence in Russia and Can Investigate Cases Against Almost Anyone

Russia’s Elite Fears the Security Service Is Spinning Out of Control

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Elon Musk has not agreed to let Ukraine use Starlink for strikes deep inside Russia, The Atlantic reports. He reportedly fears such use could escalate the war, while Kyiv wants Starlink to help target Russian missile systems. sfg.media/en/a/musk-st...

Musk Still Does Not Allow Ukraine to Use Starlink for Strikes Deep Inside Russia

He Fears Further Escalation and Calls for a Deal

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The US Senate has approved a bill tightening sanctions on Russia and Iran. It would impose 100% secondary tariffs on countries that keep buying Russian oil and gas, targeting China and India in particular. sfg.media/en/a/us-sena...

U.S. Senate Approved a Bill Imposing New Sanctions on Russia and Iran

Countries Buying Russian Oil and Gas Would Face 100% Secondary Tariffs

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OpenAI’s first consumer device is expected in 2027: a compact, screenless AI speaker priced above $300. The ring-shaped, battery-powered device will feature cameras, microphones and moving parts designed to make interactions more expressive. sfg.media/en/a/openai-...

OpenAI’s First Consumer Device Will Be a Compact Smart Speaker Without a Screen

It Is Planned for Release in 2027 at a Price of $300–400

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Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have signed a joint defense pact under which an armed attack on one will be treated as an attack on all three. The agreement also calls for broader military cooperation. sfg.media/en/a/pakista...

Ukrainian forces attacked the Yalta coast with sea drones, according to a Ukrainian monitoring group. Russian authorities told beachgoers to leave after a damaged unmanned boat washed ashore and required demining. sfg.media/en/a/ukraini...

Ukrainian Forces Attacked the Yalta Coast With Sea Drones

After the Attack, Vacationers Were Urged to Leave the Beaches, and a Boat Washed Ashore Is Being Defused

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Trump: US Won’t Let China Take the Lead in AI and Crypto youtube.com/shorts/yVbwu...

US intelligence assesses the risk of a Russian attack on Europe as low but rising as the Ukraine war drags on, WSJ reports. Cyberattacks, local provocations and other hybrid operations are seen as likelier than a full-scale invasion. sfg.media/en/a/russian...

U.S. Intelligence Believes the Risk of a Russian Attack on Europe Will Rise as the War in Ukraine Drags On

The Probability Is Currently Assessed as Low, but the Threat Could Increase From Fall 2026—Primarily in the Form of Cyberattacks and Other Hybrid Operations

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Three teachers and three students were killed in a school shooting in Thailand’s Nonthaburi province. Another 15 people were wounded, two critically. The student suspected of carrying out the attack reportedly died by suicide. sfg.media/en/a/thailan...

Student Opened Fire at a School in Thailand, Killing Six People

Another 15 People Were Injured, Two of Them Are in Critical Condition

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Iran is seeking to bar US- and Israeli-flagged ships from the Strait of Hormuz and restrict cargo linked to Israel under a proposed agreement with Oman. Tehran also wants fees and compensation from states it considers “hostile.” sfg.media/en/a/iran-ho...

A Ukrainian soldier says his mother was beaten and forced off a bus in the Lviv region after passengers objected to her speaking Russian. She was struck near the eye and left on the roadside to find another bus. sfg.media/en/a/mother-...

Mother of a Ukrainian Soldier Was Beaten and Forced Off a Bus in the Lviv Region for Speaking Russian

The Woman Had to Find Another Bus on the Highway

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Trump plans two executive orders limiting birthright citizenship for children born through commercial “birth tourism” and for children of some foreign diplomatic staff. The measures would apply only to future births. sfg.media/en/a/trump-b...

Trump Will Sign Orders Restricting Birthright Citizenship for Children Born in the U.S. Through “Birth Tourism”

The Measures Will Also Affect Children of Some Foreign Diplomats

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Germany’s AfD has reached a record 28% in the ARD-DeutschlandTrend poll, seven points ahead of the governing CDU/CSU bloc on 21%. Only 13% approve of the federal government’s work, while 85% are dissatisfied. sfg.media/en/a/afd-rec...

AfD Support Reaches a Record 28% and Leads the CDU/CSU by Seven Points

Only 13% of Germans Approve of the Current Government’s Performance

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Gilad Erdan and Yuli Edelstein say they will not join a future government with ultra-Orthodox parties. Their new right-wing party could draw votes from Likud and complicate Benjamin Netanyahu’s re-election bid. sfg.media/en/a/former-...

Two Former Likud Ministers Formed a New Party Opposing Exemptions for the Ultra-Orthodox From Military Service

It Could Siphon Votes From Netanyahu in the Election

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Ebola cases in DR Congo have exceeded 4,000, with 1,801 deaths recorded by August 4. The outbreak is now the second largest on record, and officials are investigating whether the Bundibugyo strain may be mutating. sfg.media/en/a/dr-cong...

Ebola Cases in DR Congo Exceed 4,000

Authorities Do Not Rule Out a Virus Mutation and Begin Searching Homes for Infected People

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The US-backed Board of Peace has awarded the first contract to build a military base in Gaza. US firm Arkel International will construct the site, initially for 150 Moroccan troops, with capacity later rising to 5,000. sfg.media/en/a/us-back...

U.S.-Backed Board of Peace Signs Its First Contract to Build a Military Base in Gaza

First, 150 Troops From Morocco Will Be Stationed There, Then Their Number Could Rise to 5,000

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1/2 An explosive-laden drone was found among Ukrainian aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport, near a cargo plane carrying ammunition. The munitions had recently arrived from France and were likely due to be transported onward. sfg.media/en/a/ukraini...

The Ukrainian Plane Near Which an Explosives-Laden Drone Was Found Was Carrying Ammunition

The Drone Bypassed the German Airport’s Security System Undetected

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A US Senate committee supported referring Anthony Fauci for prosecution after he refused to answer questions about COVID-19 and its possible artificial origin. The full Senate must now decide whether to hold him in contempt. sfg.media/en/a/senate-...

Senate Committee Backed a Proposal to Criminally Prosecute Anthony Fauci

The Move Followed His Refusal to Answer Questions About the Origins of COVID-19

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Cyclospora infections have now been reported in 47 US states, with more than 25,000 cases, around 500 hospitalizations and two deaths. The outbreak is the largest recorded in the country. sfg.media/en/a/us-cycl...

Cyclosporiasis Has Been Detected in 47 U.S. States, Infecting More Than 25,000 People

It Is the Largest Outbreak on Record, and a Salmonellosis Outbreak Has Also Emerged

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Donald Trump told major Republican donors that Vice President JD Vance should become the party’s presidential nominee in 2028, The Washington Post reports. Trump repeatedly urged them to “get JD elected.” sfg.media/en/a/trump-j...

Trump Named JD Vance as the Republicans’ Future Presidential Candidate

He Told the Party’s Biggest Donors to “Get JD Elected”

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Leipzig/Halle Airport has fully resumed operations after a drone carrying explosives was found nearby. Several aircraft were diverted and part of the airport was temporarily closed. sfg.media/en/a/leipzig...

Leipzig/Halle Airport Fully Resumed Operations After a Drone Carrying Explosives Was Found

German Authorities Consider the Incident a Possible Hybrid Attack

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Valerii Zaluzhnyi says Russia has found countermeasures to nearly every type of NATO weapon used by Ukraine and argues the alliance must overhaul its standards for modern warfare. sfg.media/en/a/zaluzhn...

Zaluzhnyi Said Russia Has Found Ways to Counter Nearly All Types of NATO Weapons

He Said the Alliance Will Have to Completely Rethink Its Standards

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Sweden’s Supreme Court has transferred the Russian shadow-fleet vessel Caffa to Ukraine. Ukrainian investigators say Russia used the ship to illegally export grain from occupied Sevastopol. sfg.media/en/a/sweden-...

Sweden’s Supreme Court Handed Ukraine a Vessel From Russia’s “Shadow Fleet”

Investigators Say the Caffa Was Used to Illegally Export Grain From Sevastopol

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The Washington Post reports that Trump berated Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth over depleted US missile stockpiles and demanded to know why he had not been warned. The White House and Pentagon deny the account. sfg.media/en/a/trump-p...

Trump Berated the Pentagon Chief Over Depleted U.S. Missile Stockpiles

According to The Washington Post, the President Demanded to Know Why He Had Not Been Informed of the Critical Munitions Shortage

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A US court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for about 350,000 Haitians. Many could now face detention and deportation after losing legal protection. sfg.media/en/a/court-a...

Court Clears Trump to End Temporary Protection for About 350,000 Haitians

Many of Them Could Now Face Detention and Deportation

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