https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/2-american-mercenaries-killed-in-donbass-region—report

2 American mercenaries killed in Donbass region - Report

US officials said, on Friday night, that two Americans who were fighting in Ukraine died in the war-torn country's east.

A State Department spokesperson said as quoted by ABC News: “We can confirm the recent deaths of two US citizens in the Donbass region of Ukraine.”

“We are in touch with the families and providing all possible consular assistance”, he added.

At least two other American fighters were killed in Ukraine, and two more were captured by Russian forces.

Stephen Zabielski, 52, was killed in May after stepping on a landmine in the village of Dorozhnyanka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

A US Marine veteran, Tristan Nettles, who was with Zabielski the night he died accidentally touched a tripwire while on a mine-clearing mission in dense vegetation and foggy conditions.

Willy Joseph Cancel Jr., a 22-year-old retired US Marine, was also killed in Ukraine in April as per his mother.

Cancel had been hired by a private military company to fight in Ukraine.

Alexander Drueke, 39, and Andy Huynh, 27 — both US military veterans from Alabama — are believed to have been kidnapped near Kharkov by pro-Russian insurgents.

It is worth noting that up to 100 US citizens have qualified for participation in military activities in Ukraine, including Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, the AP news agency has recently reported, citing Ukrainian Defense Attaché Maj. Gen. Borys Kremenetskyi.

Since the beginning of the Russian special military operation, the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington has received about 6,000 inquiries on voluntary services, launching an examination of the potential US recruits, according to the report.

Late in February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the formation of an "international legion," which would reinforce the combat capabilities of the Ukrainian forces. Later, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba confirmed that the entry of these militants into Ukraine "will be simplified to the maximum extent possible."

Russia’s special operation in Ukraine has given US citizens the pretext to be recruited to fight in Ukraine.

A small embassy in Washington became a recruiting center. Diplomats are working at a townhouse in the Georgetown section of the city, fielding thousands of offers from volunteers looking to fight against Ukraine, while working to secure weapons.

The US militants hungry for war represent just a tiny fraction of the international mercenaries that have flowed into the country.

>>16788047

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/in-2024-its-trump-vs-pence—dueling-rallies-held-in-arizona

In 2024, it's Trump vs. Pence - dueling rallies held in Arizona

Donald Trump and his vice president Mike Pence held dueling rallies on Friday in Arizona for an upcoming Republican party election which will project a prediction for the 2024 elections, in which Trump will be running.

This comes a day after a hearing on the US Capitol riots saw a White House security official admit that members of Pence's Secret Service detail feared for their lives as rioters stormed the building.

Trump has slammed Pence for his "failure" to block the certification of the 2020 election results. They are both running for the presidency in 2024. Trump's aides have been responsible for the rioting - however, Pence stressed that the overturn attempt would be illegal.

On January 6, 2021, Trump wrote on Twitter that Pence "didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country."

On Thursday, administration officials testified that the tweet put fuel on the fire and turned the public against Pence.

On Friday, former top Trump adviser Steve Bannon was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the January 6 panel. On the same day, former Trump administration Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark was held on charges of acting in "dishonesty" about sending a letter to Georgia state officials with false statements and interfering with justice after the 2020 election. Clark was the person whom former US President Donald Trump sought to appoint as attorney general to overturn the 2020 elections.

>> If Pence runs, Potus will bulldoze him in a blink.

>>16788087

>>16788138

site working perfectly fine for me.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/kherson-authorities-say-us-specialists-behind-himars-attacks

Kherson authorities say US specialists behind HIMARS attacks

US specialists are behind the recent attacks launched by Ukrainian forces against the Kherson Region using the US-supplied multiple rocket launcher HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), according to deputy head of the Kherson regional military-civil administration Kirill Stremousov.

Earlier this week, Ukrainian troops attacked the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric power station and the Antonovsky Bridge, which spans the Dnieper River in Kherson Region. Air defense shot down at least a dozen HIMARS missiles used in the attacks.

"It is not Ukrainian nationalists who are behind the shelling of the Antonovsky bridge. These are specific actions of the Americans. American specialists who have arrived in Ukraine are firing at the bridge," Stremousov told Sputnik, adding that the bridge will be restored in any case, military and civil engineers are already working on it.

He stated that pontoon crossings across the Dnieper river could be set up within a few hours if necessary.

Stremousov told Sputnik earlier this week that the Kherson Region was beefing up its air defense system in response to increased missile attacks from the Ukrainian army.

Ukrainian troops have been shelling Kherson's residential districts more frequently in recent weeks. Ukrainian forces used the US-supplied multiple rocket launcher HIMARS to target the city of Nova Kakhovka earlier this month. As a result, a hospital and several residential buildings were damaged, and several people died.

The Kherson region and the majority of the Zaporizhzhia Region of Ukraine are now under Russian military control as a result of a special operation launched on February 24 after the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics requested Russian assistance amid intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops.

Local military-civil administrations have already been established in the two regions, which have announced plans to hold referendums on Russian membership.

A Russian source revealed that two HIMARS, supplied by the US to Ukraine, are currently deployed near the Kherson Region, while the rest are deployed in the Donbass region. According to the source, out-of-staff NATO personnel are in charge of the use of HIMARS systems in Ukraine, based on information received from the Ukrainian military.

The Pentagon has promised Kiev more than 20 HIMARS, 12 of which have already been delivered.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/ansar-allah:-saudi-arabia-provides-facilitations-to-israelis

Ansar Allah: Saudi Arabia provides facilitations to Israelis

The Ansar Allah movement strongly condemned Saudi Arabia for allowing "Zionist elements to desecrate the sacred Islamic rites in Mecca and Medina," stressing that "the facilitations provided by the Saudi regime to the Jews come at a time when millions of pilgrims are barred from performing the Hajj."

In a statement, the movement added that "the visit of the Zionist channel's correspondent to Mecca and Mount Arafat, as well as other sacred sites, is a flagrant attack on Islamic sanctities and a provocation to Muslim feelings."

The statement came after Israeli Channel 13 journalist, Gil Tamary, toured Mecca while he was making a report on his provocative tour as the first Israeli correspondent in Mecca.

The Yemeni movement urged "Islamic peoples to take serious positions and build an effective popular movement against the Saudi regime and its malicious policies."

Tamary's provocative tour sparked outrage on social media, leading to widespread condemnation across the Arab and Muslim world.

In a different context, Saudi Arabia announced last week opening its airspace for all civil air carriers for overflying, including Israeli ones, which is widely considered as the latest step in the path of normalization between the kingdom and the settler regime.

At the time, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that Biden welcomed and commended the opening of the Saudi airspace to all civilian air carriers, adding that it was the US President's persistence and diplomacy that resulted in this step.

It is noteworthy that former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Joseph Westphal, considered Monday that Riyadh and "Tel Aviv" normalizing ties are "inevitable", urging Biden to mend his relationship with the kingdom during his upcoming trip to the Gulf state.

He said that Saudi Arabia and the Israeli occupation have been working closely together in technology, cyberspace, economy, and security, hinting that Riyadh and "Tel Aviv" would grow closer soon.

>>16788270

I thought it was the Aliens turn.

>>16788296

Is that Zelenski kicking Macron? kek!

>>16788326

Only Putin? What about the rest?

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/fp:-the-us-middle-eastern-allies-want-russia-at-the-table

FP: The US' Middle Eastern allies want Russia at the table

An article written in Foreign Policy claims that Russia is militarily weak, contrasting the revelation with the fact that although many countries do not seek military assistance and security from Russia (as opposed to its American counterpart), they do want Russia at the table - that includes countries in the Middle East.

The world today is heading towards an increasingly multipolar system - a polarized mechanism that has exhibited itself ever-so-clearly, particularly after the beginning of Russia's war in Ukraine against NATO. In light of Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia and occupied Palestine, Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to meet his Turkish and Iranian counterparts in Tehran.

Within this context, although Russia and Turkey have been bumping heads in Syria (recalling the Tehran meeting over the Astana peace process), they have common interests regarding countering US and NATO influence in Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

When it comes to the Middle East in particular, few regional countries want to make a choice between Washington and Moscow, or even Beijing. Although US allies have taken security guarantees aplenty, and lots of weaponry, the US have created anything but regional stability. Because of this, Gulf countries are not so willing to compromise their relationship with Russia - most recently, Saudi Arabia could be taken as an example.

One of the objectives on Biden's list in his visit was to get Riyadh to pump more oil - however, that did not work; Saudi de facto Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed that additional oil output by Riyadh depends on market conditions and agreement by OPEC+, with Russia being the most important out of all the "Plus" members.

The article remarks, "Mohammed bin Salman will continue to play hard to get while seeking more U.S. concessions, particularly in the way of arms and economic deals." Riyadh has lost confidence that Washington has contributed to security in the region, with MBS bringing up the US' failed 2003 invasion of Iraq and the failed 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Another example articulated was Egypt, where President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi also refused to isolate Russia, with Moscow being Cairo's largest supplier of weapons between 2017 and 2021.

Russia and Egypt, alongside the United Arab Emirates, collaborated in Libya with General Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army.

Although not many are requesting Russian military assistance, its vital importance as a global energy distributor and an economic power cannot be neglected nor dismissed.

>>16788383

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/surge-in-middle-east-oil-exports-to-europe:-bloomberg

Surge in Middle East oil exports to Europe: Bloomberg

Crude oil shipments from the Middle East to Europe have increased by 90% since January, as the EU avoids Russian oil due to sanctions, according to Bloomberg, citing vessel-tracking data.

Pumping volumes from the Middle East to Europe have nearly doubled so far this year, according to the report.

According to Bloomberg, more than 1 million barrels per day were pumped through Egypt's Sumed pipeline from the Middle East, primarily Saudi Arabia, to Europe in the first three weeks of July. Another 1.2 million people arrived via the Suez Canal, mostly from Iraq.

This is 90 percent more than what Europe received from the region in January, the month before Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine, which was quickly followed by EU sanctions against Moscow, including Russian energy supplies, according to the news outlet.

The EU imposed new sanctions on Russia in early June, including a partial embargo on Russian oil deliveries by sea.

In response, Moscow offered a discount on oil, which India and China quickly snapped up. Both countries have increased their purchases in recent months.

While Europe may have found a replacement for Russian oil in the Middle East, Bloomberg analysts warn of the consequences if the oil embargo is not lifted by the end of the year.

The embargo includes a prohibition on insuring shipments of Russian oil to buyers worldwide, which Bloomberg reports could cause problems for overall oil shipments and increase competition for supplies from the Middle East.

Saudi oil import from Russia doubles

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, more than doubled the amount of Russian fuel oil it imported in the second quarter to feed power plants to meet summer cooling demand and free up the Kingdom's own crude for export as per trade data and analysis.

Russia has been selling fuel at reduced prices as a result of batches of draconian Western sanctions following the war in Ukraine.

The increased sales of fuel oil to Saudi Arabia, which is used in power generation, highlight the challenges US President Joe Biden is facing as his administration seeks to isolate Russia and reduce its energy export revenues, not to mention courting MBS to increase Saudi oil output.

>> So much for clean energy.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/bahrain-king-dismisses-minister-for-refusal-to-normalize-wit

Bahrain king dismisses minister for refusal to normalize with "Israel"

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa dismissed Friday the President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, who is also part of the royal family, for refusing to shake hands with the Israeli ambassador to Bahrain and for refusing to Judaize old neighborhoods in Manama, the Bahraini capital.

Bahraini sources revealed that the king did not wait for Mai to return from her official visit in Albania to dismiss her, but rather did it right away. Replacing Mai, Khalifa bin Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa was appointed.

On June 16, 2022, US Ambassador Stephen Bundy held a memorial service in his home for his father, to which Sheikha Mai was invited, but not alone - the Israeli ambassador to Bahrain, Eitan Na'eh, also received an invite.

During the filming of the service, and as they were introduced to shake hands, Sheikha Mai withdrew her hand and refused to shake Na'eh's hand. She left the ambassador's house, and requested the embassy not publish any image of her at the event.

Recently, the former minister refused to Judaize old Manama neighborhoods, such as Bab Al-Bahrain and Al-Mutanabbi Street, including the Jewish Synagogue located on Sasa'ah Avenue.

Last year on November 30, Mai hosted at the Sheikh Ibrahim Center historian and pro-Palestinian Ilan Pappe, who stresses on the abolition of the "Zionist racist settler colonialism of Palestine," a blow to normalization with "Israel" in Bahrain.

Mai had worked in culture and media for over 20 years, and has always been a controversial figure in the kingdom.