https://english.almayadeen.net/news/sports/denis-rodman-plans-russia-trip-to-secure-griner-release

Denis Rodman plans Russia trip to secure Griner release

Dennis Rodman is planning a trip to Russia in order to attempt secure the release of fellow basketball star Brittney Griner.

The former NBA player told NBC News he "got permission" to travel and hopes to fly out within days. "I'm trying to go this week," he said.

Rodman's plan comes despite the US State Department strongly discouraging Americans from entering Russia.

That said, the US government couldn't secure the release of Griner, an American citizen, since she was arrested at a Moscow airport on 17 February.

Griner, who played for Russian side Yekaterinburg during the WNBA off-season, was detained after cannabis-infused vape cartridges were found in her luggage.

Since Cannabis oil is illegal in Russia, Griner was convicted of drug possession and trafficking. She was sentenced to nine years behind bars after she pleaded guilty to the charges.

On the other hand, Biden claims the Russian court's sentencing of US basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison was "unacceptable."

The US President reiterated that he would "work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue" to repatriate Griner and another detained American in Russia, Paul Whelan.

Negotiations are reportedly underway to swap the two for Russians incarcerated in the United States.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/technology/israeli-spyware-company-nso-group-lays-off-100-ceo-steps-dow

Israeli spyware company NSO Group lays off 100, CEO steps down

NSO Group, an Israeli spyware firm, is laying off 100 of its 750 employees. In addition, NSO CEO Shalev Hulio, one of the firm's three cofounders, will step down from his position to deal with convincing the US authorities to remove NSO from the Department of Commerce blacklist and to find a buyer for the spyware firm.

Hulio will be replaced by COO Yaron Shohat, who has also overseen the current cuts and the streamlining process.

This is not the first time that Hulio has stepped down as CEO. In November 2021, Isaac Benbenisti was appointed CEO to replace Hulio, but he quit after just two weeks because NSO was blacklisted by the US Department of Commerce, and Hulio was forced to resume his position to stabilize the company.

The company has been facing a crisis after it was blacklisted by the US last year for selling software to other countries, which had been used to "maliciously attack" government officials, journalists, businesses, activists, academics, and diplomatic personnel.

It was the first time the US government targeted Israeli cyber firms, which are granted export permits by the Israeli Security Ministry.

NSO Group has been embroiled in a seemingly never-ending spate of extremely prominent controversies. Revelations that it sells its powerful Pegasus spyware to authoritarian regimes, that its products have been used to spy on journalists, activists, politicians, and even potentially world leaders, and accusations that it played a role in Jamal Khashoggi's death have put it at the center of international criticism.

After NSO was sanctioned, Israeli authorities debated whether the Israeli government should contact the Biden administration on the company's behalf.

Initially, Israeli authorities decided against it; however, this decision was reversed, and the Israeli government began pressuring the Biden administration on the subject.

"We told the U.S. that they can’t destroy NSO and that several bad clients don’t mean the company’s products and capabilities are no longer needed," a senior Israeli official told Axios.

The Israeli government also urged the Biden administration that before punishing NSO, it should have explained explicitly what needed to be remedied and given the corporation an opportunity to make the modifications.

NSO recruited two legal firms in the US to work on the blacklist problem independently of the Israeli government.

The attorneys filed an appeal with the Department of Commerce and requested a hearing, which has yet to take place.

According to an NSO representative, the correspondence will continue in writing. The White House is not intervening with the regulatory process in which NSO Group is appealing the listing decision, as per a US official.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/health/new-cancer-treatment-offers-hope-to-patients-out-of-options

New cancer treatment offers hope to patients out of options

A newly discovered cancer treatment can stop the disease from advancing in patients who are resistant to immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that employs the immune system to target and kill cancer cells. It can save lives when other treatment choices, such as surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy, have failed. Treatment cannot, however, benefit all patients, and some tumors can adapt to resist it.

Oncologists in the United Kingdom have discovered that combining immunotherapy with guadecitabine, a novel investigational medicine, can reverse cancer's resistance to immunotherapy. They discovered that patients who were anticipated to die after exhausted all therapy options lived far longer.

The combination of immunotherapy medicine pembrolizumab and next-generation DNA hypomethylating agent guadecitabine slowed the progression of cancer in more than a third of patients enrolled in the early phase 1 trial. The findings were published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer.

The combination could become an effective weapon against different forms of cancer, experts revealed at the Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden NHS foundation trust.

Patients in the trial, from the Royal Marsden and University College London hospital, included those with lung, breast, prostate, and bowel cancer.

Treatment

The study used pembrolizumab and guadecitabine to treat 34 cancer patients, 30 of whom had their tumors analyzed for immune activity and cancer growth. Every three weeks for three years, they had an injection of guadecitabine for four days in a row – and pembrolizumab on the first of those days.

Pembrolizumab is an immune checkpoint inhibitor drug that has already proved successful in treating a range of cancers, including lung and skin cancers. However, tumors can develop resistance to it and some patients who initially benefit will eventually get sicker.

The study lead, Anna Minchom, a clinical scientist at the Institute of Cancer Research and a consultant medical oncologist at the Royal Marsden, said: “Immunotherapy has shown amazing promise in cancer care over the last decade, but it doesn’t work well in all cancers and cancers can often become resistant. This combination might be a way to target their cancer even after it has stopped responding to immunotherapy.”

Guadecitabine may help overcome this resistance, doctors, researchers and scientists involved in the trial have discovered.

37% record no tumor progression

The tumor stopped progressing in 37% of the 30 patients whose cancer activity was studied, during 24 weeks or more. Prior to the experiment, three-fifths of the cohort (60%) were resistant to immunotherapy. Almost four in ten (39%) did not become ill as a result of the drug combination.

The new treatment could help lung cancer patients. Of those resistant to immunotherapy, half had their disease controlled for 24 weeks or more.

A patient from Dorset, Alison Sowden, was diagnosed with lung cancer four years ago and was told she had a year to live, but then received pembrolizumab for three years. She is now free of cancer.

“I know there is a chance that my cancer may come back and develop resistance to treatment, so it is reassuring to know research efforts aiming to reverse cancer’s resistance to immunotherapy are under way,” she said.

“I hope this new experimental drug combination will eventually make it to the clinic and help people who have developed resistance to pembrolizumab.”

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/economics/heating-bill-in-switzerland-predicted-to-grow-by-104-per-mon

Heating bill in Switzerland predicted to grow by $104 per month

Some landlords in Switzerland are already proposing that their tenants pay extra 100 Swiss francs ($104) in anticipation of a further increase in energy prices, Swiss broadcaster RTS reported on Sunday.

Tenants were offered to pay extra 50 francs for a two-bedroom apartment and 80-200 francs for a five-room apartment in order to "avoid any unpleasant surprises," according to RTS. The increase would especially affect the buildings that are heated by oil and gas or that are inadequately isolated, the broadcaster reported, citing local real estate agents.

Electricity prices are expected to increase by 30% for Swiss households in 2023.

Switzerland is one of the most high-risk European countries to suffer from power shortages in the upcoming winter.

The Swiss Federal Council decided on Wednesday that power plant operators could negotiate contracts for the use of backup power plants in the event of an electricity shortage this winter. Swiss authorities have warned that for the first time they may impose restrictions on energy consumption in the coming winter if electricity or gas shortages occur.

Earlier this month, the head of the Swiss Federal Electricity Commission ElCom, Werner Luginbuhl, urged citizens to stock up on candles and firewood due to possible power outages in the country in the coming winter.

The Swiss police chief, Fredy Fassler, warned on Saturday that people in Switzerland may go into riots if energy shortages occur in the upcoming winter.

Since 2021, energy prices in Europe have been rising rapidly following a global trend. After Russia launched a military operation to denazify and demilitarize Ukraine and the imposition of several sanctions packages against Moscow, the energy situation deteriorated considerably, prompting EU countries to search for alternatives to Russian energy supplies.

So far, efforts to address this crisis have been pitiful. For instance, in Germany, recommendations to slow or halt the consumption of gas have already been issued weeks ago in order to stock up for the coming winter.

Last week, it was reported that millions of German lower-income households will find it hard to pay their energy bills this winter amid a sharp rise in gas prices, according to Lukas Ievenkotten, head of the German Renters' Association.

On Monday, German Economy and Climate Action Minister Robert Habeck lamented the entirety of the country's business model, dismissing it as reliant on cheap energy imports from Russia that will never return.

Whereas in France, French President Emmanuel Macron has hosted MBS to discuss the importance of diversifying energy supplies to EU states. But far-right French leader Marine Le Pen urged the EU to put an end to sanctions against Russia.

Yesterday, an NHS chief warned that soaring energy costs will kill more than 10,000 people in the UK this winter; a situation the NHS Confederation referred to as a "humanitarian crisis".

The EU has vowed to pursue the imposing of severe restrictions on Russia and some nation-members have recently launched a campaign to ban Russians from entering the Schengen zone.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/economics/india-russia-discussing-accepting-each-others-payment-system

India, Russia discussing accepting each other's payment systems

India and Russia are holding discussions regarding the possibility of mutually accepting the national RuPay and Mir payment systems, according to the Deccan Herald, adding that ATMs in India and Russia could soon accept Mir cards, likely also clearing the way for the Indian RuPay payment system.

A source knowledgeable of the topic divulged that mutual acceptance of the Mir and RuPay banking cards were brought up during a visit between India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, and Ministry o Industry and Trade Denis Manturov. The meeting took place from August 17 to 18.

In July, the deputy chair of Russia's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, called for switching to new payment methods, for instance using national currencies, such as the Russian ruble, the Chinese yuan, the Indian rupee, without ruling out creating a new reserve currency for BRICS members.

Launched in 2017, Mir is a Russian banking system, meaning both "peace" and "world" in the language. With the West's current isolation measures of Russia, Iran, Cuba, and other countries from the SWIFT banking system, friendlier alternatives have been on the rise in a bid to combat the West's economic hegemony and aggression.

Last week, the Iranian finance ministry's banking and insurance department said that Iran could join Mir payment system within months of when talks between Tehran and Moscow reach a conclusion. This, according to Qorban Eskandari, the department's head, could be in the very near future.

South Korea and Turkey, in addition, have also joined Mir, and several former Soviet republics benefit from its services. The United Arab Emirates and India may also join Mir in the future.

Last February, Russian banks were excluded from the SWIFT interbank payment system by the decision of the European Commission and its allies. The maneuver was intended to hit the country's banking network and its access to funds via SWIFT, which is pivotal for the smooth transaction of money worldwide.

>> Iran said to use MIR payment system last week. This week, India gets connected. Will China be next? Brazil or South Africa?

>>17427397

In his next chapter, he will wear an orange jumpsuit and living in a tiny place with bars for a door. That is, if he doesn't get the rope.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/economics/euro-back-below-parity-vs-dollar-again

Euro back below parity vs dollar again

The euro briefly dipped below parity against the strong dollar on Monday and was trading at five-week lows, driven down by fears that a three-day stoppage in European gas supply later this month may deepen an energy crisis.

After Russia announced late Friday a three-day halt to European gas supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline at the end of this month, the euro bore the brunt of the selling pressure versus the dollar. The currency fell to as low as $0.99945, its lowest level since mid-July, and was last down 0.4% on the day.

"The euro's fair value has been damaged by the energy shock - meaning that euro/dollar is not especially cheap even at these levels," said Chris Turner, global head of markets at ING.

Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel explained that the German economy, which is among the most vulnerable to disruptions in Russian gas supply, is "likely" to enter a recession this winter if the energy situation worsens.

In numbers

The US dollar index, which measures the currency against six rivals including the euro, rose to 108.47 – its highest since July 15.

It rose 2.33% last week, its largest weekly rise since April 2020, amid a chorus of Fed policymakers emphasizing the importance of doing more to rein in decades-high inflation.

Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin stated on Friday that there is an "urge" among central bankers for faster, front-loaded rate rises. Money markets currently indicate 46.5% odds for another supersized 75 basis point rate hike at the Fed's next meeting on Sept. 21

Economists in a Reuters poll lean toward a 50 basis-point increase with recession risks on the rise. Benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields briefly rose above 3% on Monday for the first time since July 21.

As yields came off their highs, the dollar edged down against the yen and was a touch lower on the day at 136.81.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/haaretz:-israel-concealing-archives-of-nakba-civilian-killin

Haaretz: "Israel" concealing archives of Nakba civilian killings

Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed Monday that members from the Security Ministry ordered the sealing of historical documents containing proof of “Israel’s” nuclear project and the mass killings of Palestinians as well as the destruction of their homes, during the Nakba.

The newspaper said that the Ministry’s security department "ordered documents moved into vaults that dealt with Israel’s nuclear project and foreign relations. But they also sealed hundreds of documents containing testimony from army generals about the killing of civilians, the destruction of villages, and the expulsion of Bedouin.”

Additionally, the report outlined that “The sealed materials in the Yad Ya’ari archive deal mainly with 1948 and involve the Arab villages of Tantura, Al-Dawayima and Deir Yassin, and elected officials. These include documents in Polish from the late 1940s and early ‘50s that were not authorized for publication and belong to Israel Barzilai, who was health minister and leader of the Mapam party.”

Adding that, "Those who stood behind the operation [concealing archives] are members of the MALMAB (responsible for security within the security establishment), a secret agency whose work and budget are secret."

The investigation revealed, according to the newspaper, that the members of the apparatus “worked without any legal authority, even in some cases they hid documents that the military censorship authority had previously allowed to be published, and sometimes even transferred them to document vaults whose contents were made public.”

After the revelations, Haaretz wrote that the chair of the subcommittee, which deals with issues pertaining to the Security Ministry and its units, MK Michal Rozen, “convened meetings to discuss the matter over the past year.” The media outlet added that during these meetings "it came to light that government representatives did indeed go to archives and lock away documents that were not classified, documents that the ministry’s security department has no authority to conceal."

According to information made public by Haaretz, Rozen and the chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, MK Ram Ben-Barak did request that the archives be made public. In a statement to the Israeli media outlet, they said that “The ministry never had the legal authority to lock away the documents. […] Portions of our history cannot be concealed just because it’s unpleasant to reveal them. The public has a right to know our past with full transparency.”

Furthermore, the Israeli report showed that the request of the officials was, in fact, denied by those in charge. The report read:

“[Security] Ministry officials were vehemently opposed to the demand of Rozin and the chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, MK Ram Ben-Barak, to disclose the documents. A compromise was finally reached, proposed by MK Eitan Ginzburg, that the [government] archivist would send a letter to archives asking them to check whether the concealed documents could be published, in coordination with the [government] archive.”

Israeli government archivist Ruti Abromovich, according to Haaretz, sent a letter to a reduced chain of public archives asking them to submit records from the period of the regime's establishment that were kept locked away in vaults per MALMAB's orders for review by the Government Archives.

According to the report, Yaacov Lozowick, the government archivist from 2011-18, argued that “the authority to classify documents, including in the army archive, lies solely with the State Archives and not other archives, whether public or private,” adding that “the fact that the letter was only sent to a few archives raises questions because he believes the Defense Ministry examined hundreds of archives.”

The Haaretz report concluded that if "Israel" admitted in the sessions "that the documents were hidden without authority, why did it not insist on their immediate disclosure? With what authority does the [government] now say to the archives that they should bring the materials for inspection, while the [government] did not have the authority to hide them in the first place?"

>> Crimes against humanity.

>>17427461

Even the lottery is cheat.

>>17427482

We truly are living in the Matrix

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/exclusive:-iranian-father-reveals-painful-abuse-in-abu-ghrai

Exclusive: Iranian father reveals painful abuse in Abu Ghraib prison

"I was visiting [the Shrine of] Imam Hussain, and I have no political affiliation - what did I do? What was my crime for them to violate, torture, and destroy me?" said Mohammed Belandian, an Iranian torture survivor of Abu Ghraib, who still relives his pain 19 years later. "I wake up terrified every night."

With an aura laden in anxiety, trembling hands, and a face perspiring in sweat and perpetual disappointment which has brewed over the course of almost two decades, Belandian, an Iranian national, narrates a gut-wrenching tale, in an exclusive Al Mayadeen interview, about the period of time that changed his life forever. The interview was conducted by Al Mayadeen correspondent in Tehran Bissan Tarraf.

Belandian, who worked a routine job of dyeing carpets, was arrested by US forces and taken to Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, simply for the fact that he was Iranian. The Abu Ghraib torture prison is one of the US’ most flagrant and notorious violation scandals which had affected the lives of many innocent Iraqis.

In the interview, with visibly troubled body language and distressed health conditions, Belandian begins recollecting: "In 2003, I traveled to Iraq to visit the holy shrines in Karbala and Najaf; my last visit was to the city of Kadhimiya. One night, I went out for dinner, during which I started hearing gunshots. The restaurant owner told me not to go anywhere, but I had no understanding of the Arabic language – I thought he was telling me to exit immediately."

Upon making his way out, a dismayed Belandian was met by the US Army patrolling the streets of Baghdad: "One policeman asked me: 'Where are you from?' I told him, 'I’m Iranian.'"

And thus, Belandian found himself in Abu Ghraib; what was once supposed to be a spiritual visit to holy shrines turned into almost two years of terrorist accusations, torture, and abuse.

Belandian was falsely accused of bombing the Baghdad Hotel. In prison, he appealed to his captors, frantically telling them where he was at the time of the bombing, and that he had nothing to do with it – to no avail.

A digit, rather than a soul

Under racist premises and an erroneous accusation and sentence, Belandian was thrown into Washington’s hell-hole of a prison, becoming one of many victims of US occupation and aggression. The prisoners were dehumanized in every way possible.

The prisoners had no names - they were identified by numbers instead, he revealed: “After giving me the number, they put it in my hand like a bracelet. They told us it should stay in your hands." Immediately ascribing into a mere digit rather than a soul, Belandian wore his number for a year and 7 months.

Speaking to Tarraf, the former prisoner revealed the torture methods he had endured and witnessed. Clearly distressed and troubled, Belandian speaks of his trauma, seeming to relive it over and over again – this time facing a camera.

Tarraf notes that she has cried watching American-directed Hollywood films, but this is a different kind of feature, a horror-film-turned-reality. She observed that he was very much tense, and angry, sitting with his fists clenched throughout the interview, where he spoke of what many are afraid to speak of.

False hopes, military dogs, evil laughter and bearing the prick

In the interview, Belandian narrated how the soldiers tortured him with hope at times, making false promises to release him eventually only to be met with disappointment and endless agony. This was continuously followed by nothing but more torture.

At times, the American soldiers would strip him of his clothing, baring him, offering him as a meal to the dogs: This is literal and unexaggerated.

"A black dog bit my leg, gouging out my flesh… While the blonde dog did not leave me. The American soldier threatened me that if I block the dog, he would kill me.”

As the dog approached Belandian, instilling terror and fear in his wake, Belandian’s nervous system shut down and he fainted, after which they sent over an American woman who, in all laughter and pleasure, shamelessly inflicted pain by stitching his leg with no anesthetic.

Pointing to an image during the interview of an American woman with her thumbs up beside his wounded body, he said: “At that time, they sent me an American woman. She started stitching my leg with needles without anesthetic, laughing and saying to me: You bear the pain."

This wouldn't mark the first time American soldiers laugh as they torture… or even murder.

Part 1

>>17427504

“One day I went out at night to get some fresh air and I heard an explosion at that time. It targeted the same tent that I was in," he said. “All my fellow prisoners were murdered and their bodies were ripped to shreds… Three American soldiers were standing and looking at the bodies while laughing.”

Holding up the photographs, he described an episode where a soldier, wearing his combat boots, stood on his broken ribs which were severed from repeated beating, demanding that Belandian crawls to his room while the soldier was on his back.

“I can’t describe to you the severity of the pain,” he remarked.

American soldiers raped women… and men

Addressing rape and sexual abuse, Belandian revealed bitter memories of the deliberate, systemized ‘rape cells’ that were installed in Abu Ghraib.

“I used to always hear the screams of a girl who was being tortured in front of her brother and father… her brother's name was Allawi," he recalled. "I used to hear her father and brother beg the American soldiers to stop torturing her…"

Describing the systemic use of rape as a torture method in the women's cells, Belandian said: “At the opposite end of my cell, there was a solitary confinement cell for women. I could hear their screams and their voices begging the soldiers to stop raping them.”

Belandian recounted when a US soldier threatened him that if he does not take all his clothes off, he would shoot him: “One night, I heard dogs coming from all the cells… Suddenly they opened the door of my cell and the US soldier forced me out and asked me to take off my clothes. When I took some time to do it, he aimed his weapon at me and said to me furiously: Take off your clothes…"

Tarraf had a myriad of questions about rape, an excruciating torture method cemented and affirmed by numerous testimonies of Abu Ghraib survivors. However, Belandian was speaking in front of his wife and two daughters, and thus the correspondent refrained from raising such a question.

She said, “In his eyes, I felt there was something missing: There was someone looking for safety, someone who wanted to tell the whole world: America has violated me.”

The correspondent also noted that Belandian’s complexion was flushed red, only to learn that he suffers from respiratory problems due to cold flashes he sustained during detention.

Part 2

>>17427510

From trauma to truth

Abu Ghraib, today, is called the Baghdad Central Prison, and it is located in the city of Abu Ghraib, 32 km from Baghdad. The detention facility is notoriously known for Washington's and the international coalition’s use and abuse.

Images exposing the Abu Ghraib torture scandal were publicized on February 6, 2016, after judicial pleadings lasted 12 years since the crime was brought to light in 2004.

The most prominent images, in relation to this interview, are the two images of when Belandian was visibly frightened after being attacked by a dog, in addition to the other photo where his wound was sown with no anesthetic.

The interview marks the first time Mohammed Belandian testifies to an Arab media outlet that he, in fact, was the man in these world-famous photographs, valiantly exposing the true face of “American democracy.”

Before the heart-breaking experience, Belandian had a carpet-dyeing job that put the bread on the table for his family. However, today, he is unable to consistently work due to his dysfunctional respiratory system after he had been released.

Despite the pain and woes, Belandian strives to share his story with the world, to be a living witness and testament to the truth about 'US democracy', despite Washington paying billions of dollars to brand itself as humanity’s savior and the beacon of peace and humanity.

"These people do not enjoy humanity. Americans do not recognize others as human beings; they only recognize themselves as the only humans, - if they believed in humanity, they would not have committed all these crimes."

Belandian refuses to be just a mere number, with everything done to him to perish from generation and on. He pushes his narrative forward to shake the conscience of the world, and to tell his truth – with all the courage he has been able to muster.

Part 3 - End

>> This is horrible.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israel-fears-military-escalation-is-on-high-alert:-israeli-m

'Israel' fears military escalation, is on high alert: Israeli media

Israeli media reported that “Israel” is worried that Hezbollah would carry out another "provocation" before the possible signing of an indirect maritime border agreement between “Israel” and Lebanon.

However, Israeli media didn’t give any information regarding what kind of “provocation security officials believe Hezbollah will carry out."

On July 2, the Lebanese Resistance movement Hezbollah released a statement on the three UAVs sent on a recon mission over the Karish gas field, before being shot down by Israeli occupation forces.

“Israel will give up a segment in the heart of the sea as part of the talks, while Lebanon will forgo an area close to the coast," Israeli Channel 12 reported without citing a source for the information.

Israeli mounting fear comes just a few days after Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah threatened the Israeli occupation over its attempts to forcibly extract gas from the contested region, warning, "If Lebanon does not obtain the rights demanded by the Lebanese state, we are heading toward an escalation whether or not the nuclear agreement is signed."

"The focus in Lebanon must be on Karish and the Lebanese [maritime] border, as well as the US mediator that is still wasting time amid a time constraint," he stressed.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-media:-shin-bet-chief-meet-with-egyptian-intelligenc

Israeli media: Shin Bet chief meet with Egyptian intelligence chief

Israeli media reported that Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet intelligence service, went to Cairo on Sunday to meet with the head of the Egyptian Intelligence General, Major General Abbas Kamel, and a number of Egyptian officials.

Bar is visiting Egypt amid reports of strained ties between "Israel" and Egypt in the wake of an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire to end recent Israeli aggression on Gaza.

For its part, the official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said the head of Egyptian General Intelligence Abbas Kamel canceled his planned visit to "Israel" protesting against the deterioration of relations due to the last military operation in Gaza. The Israeli authority added that "Bar is expected to return to Tel Aviv tomorrow."

The Israeli newspaper, "Haaretz", said in a previous report that there is tension prevailing in relations between Egypt and "Israel".

The newspaper said the statement published by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid's office, regarding the phone conversation between him and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the day after the ceasefire in Gaza, did not address, according to the Egyptian side, El-Sisi’s request to curb the Israeli army’s operations in the West Bank.

It added that the Israeli statement was limited to mentioning the Israeli Prime Minister's thanks for the Egyptian efforts that were made to reach a ceasefire, and noting that El-Sisi raised only the Palestinian issue during the phone call.

The same newspaper pointed out that the continuous Israeli escalations in the West Bank have angered the Egyptians.

It is noteworthy that Egypt sponsored understandings, which were reached on August 7, for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, ending three days of Israeli aggression on the Strip, during which civilian sites and others of the PIJ were targeted.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/scholz-wants-no-escalation-of-war-yet-more-weapons-to-ukrain

Scholz wants "no escalation of war", yet more weapons to Ukraine

According to the German news outlet NTV, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz claimed that his focus is aimed at “ensuring that there is no escalation of the war,” following the comments of retired Bundeswehr general Klaus Wittmann who accused him of a lack of “leadership” and of appearing intimidated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

This weekend, Scholz emphasized during a traditional ‘open-doors day’ that Germany is currently “in the process of supplying the most modern and efficient equipment,” referring to recent multiple deliveries of self-propelled ‘Gepard’ anti-aircraft guns and PzH 2000 howitzers.

More to be supplied soon

Scholz promised that - without indicating any clear timeline - that even more weapons “will be there soon", apparently referring to the long-promised deliveries of an Iris-T SLM anti-aircraft missile system and a Cobra artillery radar.

Half of the German population has expressed its opposition to delivering heavy arms to Ukraine, per a poll conducted by the German Institute for New Social Answers. Berlin vowed in June to send Kiev one Iris-T unit for free, but Ukraine requested at least a dozen of the most advanced air-defense systems and has offered to purchase the rest directly from the manufacturer, even as Germany’s armed forces reportedly do not have a sufficient supply of those for themselves. According to previous reports, Kiev is anticipated to receive the first supply no earlier than November.

Germany also affirmed a Cobra artillery radar to Ukraine last month, reportedly due for delivery in September. According to German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, Kiev has already signed the contract for the materials and troops should be starting training for “this highly complex system.”

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Germany has joined the frenzy of Western sanctions against Russia, with its most recent one coming into effect last month, and supplied Ukrainian forces with a significant amount of weapons. Scholz has however faced criticism in Germany over supposedly not doing enough to support Ukraine from both his fellow coalition members, including Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, as well as the ex-Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin, Andrey Melnyk, who even labeled Scholz an “offended liverwurst” over his refusal to visit Kiev in May.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/uk-dock-workers-union-threatens-further-strikes

UK dock workers' union threatens further strikes

A trade union warned on Monday of future strikes at the UK's largest container port if pay demands are not satisfied, threatening to disrupt the supply chain further.

Workers at the Felixstowe port in southeastern England launched an eight-day strike over salaries on Sunday, in the latest industrial action as decades-high inflation intensifies in the country's cost-of-living crisis.

They claim that the wage offer they got does not keep up with inflation, which has risen above 10% and involves a one-time lump sum payment.

"If we don't achieve what we're trying to achieve, there will be more strikes," Robert Morton, national officer for the Unite union, told Sky News.

"We've been asking for a minimum of the rate of inflation," Morton said. Nearly 2,000 unionized employees at the port in eastern England, including crane drivers, machine operators, and stevedores, are involved in the first strike at Felixstowe since 1989.

It comes amid a wave of strikes over salary and working conditions across the UK, with railway workers the most recent to go on strike on Thursday and Saturday this week.

The walkout follows Covid and post-Brexit workforce constraints that have already impacted the UK supply chain. Morton acknowledged that additional strikes at Felixstowe would mean "the supply chain will be severely disrupted" while saying the strike will end as soon as the port agrees to meet for negotiations.

The Port of Felixstowe said in a statement Friday that it was "disappointed" the walkout had gone ahead and called its offer of salary increases of on average eight percent "fair". It said it "regrets the impact this action will have on UK supply chains".

UK postal workers on strike

Two weeks ago, Royal Mail workers voted to begin a four-day strike to protest against low salaries, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) representing the interests of employees said. 97.6% have voted to go on strike, the Union said.

The workers are striking against low paid wages amid the rising inflation, whereas the CEO is paid £750,000 a year and took a £140,000 bonus a few weeks ago and shareholders received dividends worth £400 million.

After failed attempts of negotiating an offer that involved a 5.5% pay increase, the CWU tweeted that the Royal Mail is lying about their pay "offer".

This comes in light of a falling British economy, as a result of the energy crisis.

A research note published by Christopher Dembik, head of macro analysis at Saxo Bank, showed that the UK is "more and more looking like an emerging market country," according to a CNBC report. The expert cited a number of key signs as causes for this decline in the economy, including political unrest, trade interruptions, an energy crisis, and sharply rising inflation.

Dembik said that “What Brexit has not done by itself, Brexit coupled with Covid and high inflation have succeeded in doing,” adding that “The UK economy is crushed.”

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israel-not-bound-by-iran-nuclear-deal:-lapid-to-macron

'Israel' not bound by Iran nuclear deal: Lapid to Macron

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid told French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday that “Israel” opposes a return to the Iran nuclear deal and will not be bound by it if one is reached.

"The prime minister made clear to the president that Israel opposes a return to the deal and would not be obligated by such an agreement. Israel will continue to do everything to prevent Iran from attaining a nuclear capability," as per Lapid's office.

Earlier today, Axios reported that tensions are mounting in the relation between the Israeli occupation and the United States amid reported progress in efforts to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal.

White House officials have been trying to reassure their Israeli counterparts that there have been no new concessions to Iran, Axios said citing US officials.

However, senior Israeli officials said Thursday that the Israeli occupation Prime Minister Yair Lapid told the White House that the EU draft goes beyond the 2015 deal and crosses the Biden administration’s own red lines.

Axios cited one Israeli official as saying, "We are not reassured. We are very concerned." But Lapid has no intention of going against Biden over the Iranian nuclear deal, said the news website.

"Our policy is not to reach a public confrontation with the US like the one that has taken place in 2015. We will not ruin the relationship with the Biden administration like Netanyahu did with Obama," a senior Israeli official indicated.

It is noteworthy that Israeli national security advisor Eyal Hulata will meet with his American counterpart Jake Sullivan in Washington next Tuesday, as Israeli officials expect more tough discussions.

In 2015, Iran signed the JCPOA with the P5+1 group of countries (the United States, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom - plus Germany) and the European Union.

It required Iran to scale back its nuclear program and severely downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief, including lifting the arms embargo five years after the deal's adoption.

However, in 2018, the US, under Trump, abandoned its conciliatory stance on Iran, withdrawing from the JCPOA and implementing hardline policies against Tehran. In April 2021, the parties to the agreement began negotiations to restore the nuclear deal in Vienna.

>> Meaning they can do whatever they want, then they will ask the States to clean their mess and come to their rescue, even if it means starting ww3

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/gantz-warns-any-hezbollah-attack-on-karish-gas-field-may-mea

Gantz warns any Hezbollah 'attack' on Karish gas field may mean war

The Israeli occupation said on Monday that any "attack" by Hezbollah on the Karish offshore platform could spark war after the Lebanese party warned to "sever" the occupation's hands if it infringes on Lebanon's rights and natural resources.

The warning from the Israeli occupation Security Minister Benny Gantz comes amid lengthy indirect US-mediated negotiations between Lebanon and "Israel" to settle a dispute over their maritime border.

Tensions spiked in June when a production vessel chartered by the Israeli occupation arrived near the Karish offshore gas field, which Lebanon says is within contested waters.

On July 2, the Lebanese Resistance movement Hezbollah launched three unarmed UAVs of various sizes toward the disputed region of the Karish gas field on a reconnaissance mission. The mission was completed and the message was delivered.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned on August 9 that "the hand that reaches for any of this wealth will be severed."

Asked if any attack by Hezbollah against the Karish platform could lead to war, Gantz claimed, "Yes, that could trigger a reaction."

"Leading to several days of fighting and to a military campaign. We are strong and prepared for this scenario, but we don't want it," the Israeli Minister told 103 FM radio station.

Gantz said extraction from the gas field would begin "when it is ready to produce," insisting on "Israel's" illegal claims to Karish.

"Israel is both ready to protect its assets and ready to reach a deal with the Lebanese government, via American mediation, on the Sidon deposit," he claimed in reference to another gas field known in Lebanon as Qana.

The Israeli Minister said, "I believe that in the future, there will be two gas platforms. One on our side, one on theirs. And I hope that we do not have to go through another round of confrontations before then."

Gantz's remarks come as Israeli media reported on Sunday that "Israel" is worried that Hezbollah would carry out another "provocation" before the possible signing of an indirect maritime border agreement between "Israel" and Lebanon.

However, the media failed to present any information regarding what kind of "provocation security officials believe Hezbollah will carry out."

On Friday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah underlined that "If Lebanon does not obtain the rights demanded by the Lebanese state, we are heading toward an escalation whether or not the (Iranian) nuclear agreement is signed."

It is noteworthy that on Saturday, a Lebanese official source confirmed that Lebanon and "Israel" are close to reaching an agreement on the demarcation of the maritime borders.

In a statement to Sputnik, the source said, "We are very close to reaching an agreement on the demarcation of the maritime border with Israel, and we have been informed that the answer the US mediator Amos Hochstein will carry from the Israeli side in response to the Lebanese proposal is positive, and he will soon return to Beirut."

The source added that "the border demarcation issue will be concluded in September."

Will world cup take place in Qatar or something happens and it will be canceled?

>>17427903

Is Jonas spouse a He or a She because in this picture it looks a lot like a He.

>>17427923

Was doing some local research and I landed on one of my own. Damn! To think this one is hailed as a sex symbol by our local swamp.

>>17427957