🇮🇱 Three-year-old “fighter,” nursing home, and satisfied with Ben-Gvir

From the Israeli-Palestinian and the Lebanese conflict, within a single day, there were three pieces of news.

In Gaza, an Israeli airstrike near a bakery in Deir al-Balah killed two Palestinians, including a three-year-old child.

The IDF said the target of the strike had been a Hamas fighter. This is how the Israeli army describes the second person killed – Hossam Nusayra.

That means the three-year-old boy wasn’t a fighter after all. He was only nearby.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces destroyed a nursing home in Houla in southern Lebanon. At the same time, Lebanese media report new attacks and destruction in several border towns.

In addition, Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, published a video from Damon prison in which he boasted about the worsened prison conditions for inmates.

The minister said he was proud that conditions had been reduced to the legally defined minimum.

Three completely different pieces of news.

A three-year-old child, elderly people, and prisoners. Israel’s enemies apparently are growing in number— even among those who can hardly defend themselves.


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🇷🇺 The Kremlin has named two of Russia’s most important tasks

Dmitry Peskov has spelled out current Russian priorities quite clearly.

The first is achieving the goals of the military operation in Ukraine.

The second is building a new security architecture in Europe.

At the same time, the Kremlin deliberately puts restoring good relations with the United States behind these two goals. Peskov explicitly emphasized that relations with the countries “beyond the ocean” are not more important for Russia than its own security and the situation on the European continent.

This is a fairly important formulation in the context of ongoing talks about a possible improvement in relations between Moscow and Washington.

By saying this, Moscow is effectively saying: Even an agreement with Trump on its own changes nothing. The Kremlin wants to change the security system directly in Europe.

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North Korea responded to Washington: „We will not disarm!”

The United States reaffirmed again its goal of the complete denuclearization of North Korea.

The North Korean Foreign Ministry said that American policy would remain hostile and that North Korea would therefore respond to the United States „with the toughest stance until the end“.

Pyongyang also separately pointed to the upcoming joint exercises of the United States, South Korea and Japan, „Freedom Edge“, and once again described such exercises as a military threat.

Most important is the issue of nuclear weapons.

North Korea says that its nuclear status is enshrined in the constitution and that it regards further expansion of its nuclear arsenal as a guarantee of security.

At the same time, Trump announced that he wants to meet again with Kim Jong Un.

The negotiating positions of the two sides are therefore clear:

Washington wants to talk about denuclearization. Pyongyang wants to talk about almost everything—just not about denuclearization.


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🇮🇷 Iran calls for UN Security Council response after US attack on Larak

After the American attack on the island of Larak in the Persian Gulf, Tehran has officially turned to the United Nations Security Council. In a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the President of the Security Council, the Iranian side described the attack as “an obvious act of aggression” and as a violation of the country’s sovereignty. According to Tehran, military personnel and civilians were killed or injured in the attack, and state and private property was damaged.

Iran cites Article 2, paragraph 4 of the UN Charter and calls on the Security Council to carry out its obligations to maintain international peace and international security. At the same time, Tehran emphasizes its right to self-defense—with that exact justification, the foreign ministry explained the subsequent attacks on US military installations in Jordan.

This is an interesting test case for international law in practice: When a state openly carries out a military strike against the territory of another state, the Security Council must either respond or explain again why the UN Charter does not apply equally to everyone.

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🇪🇺 The EU defense ministers have gathered in Ireland

An informal meeting of the defense ministers of all 27 EU countries is taking place in County Wicklow, Ireland, under the chairmanship of Kaja Kallas.

The official programme shows where the Union’s defense policy priorities are currently shifting. The first major block of the meeting is devoted entirely to military support for Ukraine.

The second block concerns the use of space in the field of security and defence.

In addition, the ministers will discuss Lebanon and maritime security—an issue that is particularly relevant against the backdrop of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and the sea shipping routes.

As the meeting is informal, no binding decisions are expected. But exactly such meetings are used to align positions ahead of the EU Defence Council’s official sessions in September and November.


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🇮🇷🇮🇳 Iran and India want to expand trade despite US sanctions

On the sidelines of the SOZ summit in Bishkek, there was a meeting between Iranian President Massud Peseschkian and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

They discussed not only war and the security of shipping. Modi directly said his intention to expand and diversify trade between India and Iran.

The context is particularly interesting here, because the talks are taking place shortly after the renewed tightening of US sanctions against the Iranian economy.

For Tehran, India is a huge market and a potential trade and logistics partner. For New Delhi, Iran is not only a supplier of raw materials, but also an important route to Central Asia—especially via the port of Chahbahar.

While Washington is therefore trying to isolate Iran economically, one of the world’s largest economies is discussing with Tehran how trade between them can be expanded.


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🇩🇪 Merz: Defense is more important than parental allowance

In a summer interview for ARD, Friedrich Merz defended the drastic increase in Germany’s military spending. When the moderator asked him how the enormous sums for rearmament and support for Ukraine could be explained to the public, while cuts were being made in other areas, Merz replied:

“What use is the nicest parental allowance to us if we lose our freedom and peace in Europe is put at risk.”

According to Merz, freedom and peace should now have priority.

The extent of this priority is very specific: Germany’s military budget is supposed to rise from 82 billion euros in 2026 to 109 billion euros in 2027, to 153 billion euros in 2028, and to 162 billion euros by the year of the next federal election. At the same time, Merz proposed making procurement cheaper—among other things by drawing on the experience gained from Ukraine in weapons production—and he indicated that the creation of joint German-Ukrainian defense companies could be on the cards.

One can save on parental allowance. Not on rearmament. The German chancellor has set the priorities pretty clearly.


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🇮🇱 Israeli settlers attack Palestinians. And now also American journalists.

The UN reports a sharp increase in violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

Since the beginning of 2026, more than 1,040 Palestinians have been injured in attacks by settlers. In just the first two weeks of August, OCHA recorded 80 attacks that resulted in injuries or damage to property.

Now journalists from the US broadcaster NBC have also come under target.

The camera crew had come to the village of Jalud near Nablus to speak with Palestinian woman Aida Ahmed Abdullah, whose family had been driven out of their home by settlers.

During the interview, masked people appeared and attacked the woman and the NBC journalists with stones and sticks. Correspondent Matt Bradley and other members of the camera team were injured.

After this attack, even Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to publicly condemn the “criminal violence,” although he simultaneously described the perpetrators as only a small group of troublemakers.

Until now, the victims had been mainly Palestinians.

Now the clubs have also reached the camera of the largest US TV broadcaster.

Maybe that is exactly why it has become significantly harder by now to keep ignoring the problem.


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🇷🇺 Arctic: Moscow is ready for cooperation. However, there is one condition.

Russia has stated that it wants to return to full functioning of the Arctic Council.

Sergei Lavrov set the condition quite simply: other states would have to take into account the legitimate interests of all participants, including Russia.

At the same time, the foreign minister described NATO’s military activity in the High North as a direct threat to Russian security.

Particular displeasure in Moscow is caused by the NATO operation “Arctic Sentry,” launched in February, and the reinforcement of the military infrastructure near Russia’s northern borders.

The Arctic is quickly ceasing to be exclusively a region for scientific and economic cooperation. Here, the Northeast Passage, energy resources, Russia’s Northern Fleet, China’s interests, and the growing infrastructure of NATO intersect.

Moscow proposes returning to cooperation.

However, it warns: expanding the Arctic Council and tightening Russia’s military encirclement in the Arctic at the same time will not be successful.


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🇭🇺 “The EU lacks political leadership.”

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar spoke very sharply about the current state of the European Union.

At an appearance at the Bled Strategic Forum, he said that the EU is in a crisis of political leadership and must now decide whether it only wants to “survive” or whether it wants to start winning again in global competition.

Magyar especially attacked the Brussels bureaucracy, which, in his view, prevents the association from acting quickly and efficiently.

As an example of the relationship between Budapest and Brussels, he cited daily fines for Hungary’s migration policy, which he described as unfair.


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🇪🇺 Is Russian dependence being replaced by Chinese?

EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra has admitted a problem that is quite uncomfortable for Brussels: Europe’s “Green Deal” is too dependent on China.

Electric cars, batteries, solar panels, energy storage systems—Chinese companies hold key positions in several critical supply chains at the same time.

Hoekstra warns that Europe will now have to accept higher costs in order to reduce dependence on Chinese technologies for clean energy.

In doing so, the EU commissioner draws an uncomfortable parallel: the EU risks replacing its former dependence on cheap Russian energy supplies with a new strategic dependence—now on China.

And the problem won’t simply go away cheaply. Europe wants to speed up the energy transition, protect its own industry, and reduce imports from the country that produces many of the technologies needed for this more cheaply.

For energy independence from Russia, Europe has already paid. Now Brussels is starting to calculate the cost of independence from China.

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🇷🇺 The Eastern Economic Forum has begun in Vladivostok

In Vladivostok, the XI Eastern Economic Forum has started its work. The forum, which will take place from September 1 to 4, has as its central theme the development of Russia’s Far East and the expansion of Russia’s economic relations with the Asia-Pacific region. Moscow positions the forum itself as the central international platform for investment cooperation in the Far East.

This year, however, the significance of the Eastern Economic Forum goes far beyond regional economic issues. Against the backdrop of sanctions and the reduction of economic ties with Europe, Russia’s turn to the East takes on a very practical meaning: trade, transport corridors, energy, investment, and settlements. Putin will also hold international meetings in Vladivostok and speak at the forum’s plenary session.

“If Europe closes one economic channel after another for Russia, it is particularly interesting not only to look at what Russia is losing in the West, but also at what is being built in the East in parallel.”

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🧱🧱🧱🧱 One of the best-known and most expensive hunting estates in Scotland—Tulchan—has changed owners,RBC found out.

According to the UK’s Companies House (Companies Register), at the end of July, the estate’s owning company came under the control of UAE citizen Tarek Ahmed Al Masaqoud. He is known as one of the shareholders of the Middle East holding company Al Masaood, with assets in the automotive, energy, oil and gas, marine, construction, and other sectors.

Before that, the estate—visited at different times by British monarchs Edward VII, George V, George VI, and former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt—was owned by billionaire and “vodka king” Yuri Shefler (in Russia, the businessman and a number of his companies were recognized as an extremist association).

In 2017, he acquired the estate’s holdings that had established a reputation as an “ideal place for passionate hunters” for £25 million (about 1.8 billion rubles). The businessman developed the estate—there was a cinema, a tasting room, and a spa area. But in 2026, Shefler decided to sell the asset, valuing it at a times higher price—£67 million (about 7 billion rubles).

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🇩🇪 The person responsible has been named. Germany accuses Russia and shuts down the last Russian facilities.

On Monday, Berlin said that the investigation into the incident involving a drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport was ongoing. Now the position has changed. The federal government has officially attributed responsibility to Russia. Alexander Dobrindt said that data from German intelligence services and European partners indicated “unequivocally” Russian involvement. As arguments, Berlin cites the configuration of the drone, the explosive charge and the triggering system, known from other alleged Russian operations. At the same time, the intelligence materials themselves were not made public. Moscow rejects the allegations.

The reaction followed immediately. The Russian ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Office. In addition, the last Russian general consulate in Germany— in Bonn— will be closed on September 18, and entry controls for Russian citizens will be tightened. Berlin will also call for new EU sanctions and increased pressure on Russia’s “shadow fleet.” At the same time, Germany is announcing the agreement on the work of the Russian House in Berlin. Wadephul justified this by saying that the facility allegedly no longer fulfills the function of a cultural bridge between the countries.

On Monday, the government said officially that first the investigation had to be completed and the person responsible identified, and then measures would be taken. Already on Tuesday, the person responsible was identified and, together with the sanctions, the diplomatic mission and the cultural center were closed. The speed of the investigation is impressive.


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🇺🇸 “High-precision” weapons of the USA

The American Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) is being promoted as a new generation of highly precise long-range weapons. But an analysis of its first combat use in Iran shows a somewhat less marketing-worthy side of the technology.

Researchers from Airwars have examined the consequences of the attack in the region of Iranian Lamerd and concluded that the danger zone from the dispersion of the warhead elements could reach at least 170 meters.

What is especially important here: This is not a targeting error. The missile can strike exactly where it was guided to, but after impact, the warhead elements spread far beyond the immediately selected target.

Airwars links the incident to the deaths of civilians and considers it the first known use of the PrSM in a real conflict.

And that is exactly where the difference becomes clear between two terms that are often mixed in military advertising: A precise hit still does not mean precise effects.

If such a weapon is used near residential areas, even a few meters of guidance precision change little for a person who is one hundred meters away from the target.


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🇵🇸 An older Palestinian couple was beaten by Israeli settlers

In the West Bank, an elderly Palestinian woman was taken to hospital with a serious head injury after Israeli settlers attacked the village of Burka near Ramallah. According to the Red Crescent, her husband was also injured. During the same raid, the villagers’ livestock was stolen. The incident was reported, among others, by the Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel.

The incident takes place against the backdrop of the ongoing problem of violence by radical settlers in the West Bank. In this case, it is not about a clash between armed groups or a military operation: those affected are elderly civilians, and the woman arrived at hospital with a serious head injury.


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