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NYC bodega worker has his murder charges FINALLY dropped after he stabbed gangster in self-defense during attack over price of a bag of chips
New York City prosecutors are seeking to drop murder charges against a bodega worker for fatally stabbing a man who physically attacked him over a bag of chips. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office on Tuesday asked a judge to drop the charges against 61-year-old Jose Alba, who said he was acting in self-defense in the stabbing, court filings show. Bragg had faced intense backlash after charging Alba, including criticism from the city's mayor, who said the bodega worker was clearly justified in defending himself.
https://www.sott.net/article/470064-NYC-bodega-worker-has-his-murder-charges-FINALLY-dropped-after-he-stabbed-gangster-in-self-defense-during-attack-over-price-of-a-bag-of-chips

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London: Metropolitan Police asked to investigate British citizens joining Israeli military
London's Metropolitan Police have been asked to investigate reports of Britons joining the Israeli army and becoming complicit in the ongoing persecution of Palestinians in occupied territories. London's Metropolitan Police were asked to open an investigation into British citizens who joined the Israeli army and committed war crimes against Palestinians. The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) sent the request to a special war crimes unit on June 1 following reports that Brits were being recruited by Israel to take part in military operations through the Mahal volunteer programme.
https://www.sott.net/article/470065-London-Metropolitan-Police-asked-to-investigate-British-citizens-joining-Israeli-military

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Floods wreak havoc in Nigeria
At least 4 people have died and hundreds have been displaced after severe flooding in the state of Yobe in northeastern Nigeria. Flooding has affected other areas of the country since June 2022. Yobe State State Emergency Management Agency in Yobe (SEMA) reported 4 people died, several were injured after floods in the state from 17 July 2022. Dozens of homes have been damaged or destroyed forcing around 100 households to move to emergency accommodation in public buildings. Floods also ravaged infrastructure, farmland and livestock across 12 communities in Gulani and Gujba LGAs. A bridge was destroyed, leaving four communities in Gulani Local Government Area (LGA) isolated. Food stores were also damaged, with many communities losing valuable food reserves. Heavy rain caused damage in the state capital Damaturu on 26 June. Streets were flooded and buildings collapsed. Emergency teams rescued at least 17 people trapped from collapsed buildings. All 17 were treated for injuries at a...
https://www.sott.net/article/470066-Floods-wreak-havoc-in-Nigeria

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Gender activists seek to prevent identifying human remains as 'male' and 'female'
Activists attempting to tear down the so-called "gender binary" are now coming for archaeology, the scientific study of human history and prehistory through the analysis of artifacts and remains. An essential practice in archaeology is to determine the sex of human remains through measurements of a skeleton's pelvis, skull, and other sexually dimorphic traits. This is important for understanding many cultural and functional ways societies structured themselves according to gendered roles. Activists now want to disrupt this essential classification process, arguing that since we don't know how these skeletons may have self-identified in life, it is immoral to "assign" them genders in the present. In their imagination, individuals born hundreds of years ago may have "identified" as something other than their biological sex.
https://www.sott.net/article/470067-Gender-activists-seek-to-prevent-identifying-human-remains-as-male-and-female

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7 pit bulls maul 71-year-old to death in Fresno area of Houston
A 71-year-old man was mauled to death by several stray pit bulls Monday in the Fresno area, Fort Bend County Sheriff Eric Fagan announced during Tuesday's news conference. The family identified the victim as Freddy Garcia. The attack happened in the 4300 block of Mark Terrace Lane. Fagan said Garcia was walking to a store when he was viciously attacked by seven pit bulls. He was flown to a hospital via Life Flight, where he was pronounced dead.
https://www.sott.net/article/470068-7-pit-bulls-maul-71-year-old-to-death-in-Fresno-area-of-Houston

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Russian activist jailed for 10 years for organizing 2020 protest against lockdown
A court in Russia's southwestern city of Rostov-on-Don has sentenced opera singer Vadim Cheldiyev to 10 years in prison for his role in organizing a massive rally against anti-coronavirus restrictions in the entertainer's native North Ossetia region in 2020. Comment: He was an opera singer. He quit to return to his hometown of Vladikavkaz, capital of North Ossetia, in 2019, to open a charity for the poor. Russian state security must have had an eye on him since then because this video report about his charitable turn mentions that he was 'interviewed about his political beliefs' in 2019. The Rostov regional court on July 19 also sentenced co-defendants Ramis Chirkinov and Arsen Besolov to eight and 8 1/2 years in prison, respectively. Cheldiyev was found guilty of the distribution of false information about the pandemic, extremism, hooliganism, organization of mass disorder, and attacking a law enforcement officer.
https://www.sott.net/article/470037-Russian-activist-jailed-for-10-years-for-organizing-2020-protest-against-lockdown

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Ireland's gov't takes aim at its farmers threatening '30% carbon cut' that will force farmers to reduce herds
A young Irish farmer has taken aim at Climate Minister Eamon Ryan's strict carbon emission targets which will require a reduction in the national herd - after the Minister said he hopes to see the legally binding targets for cuts in emissions signed off this month. The Green Party leader is demanding a 30% carbon cut to be imposed on the agriculture sector, and claimed that the targets, although being met with opposition, are needed for climate reasons, as well as for the restoration of 'water quality and biodiversity', as he warned that we "cannot lose our environment" despite building opposition to the proposed cuts from farmers. Comment: 'Water quality and biodiversity' are admirable goals, but how does the Green Party leader suppose people will eat in the short term? The leader of the Greens has previously claimed that farmers will be provided with alternative sources of income and will be financially rewarded for taking on practices aimed at reducing greenhouse gases. Comment:...
https://www.sott.net/article/470055-Irelands-govt-takes-aim-at-its-farmers-threatening-30-carbon-cut-that-will-force-farmers-to-reduce-herds

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Man dies trying to help neighbour attacked by own dog in Noëlville, Ontario
An elderly man is dead and his neighbour is in hospital after a dog attack in Noelville on July 14. Nipissing West OPP issued a short news release July 19 with some details about the incident. Just after 12 p.m. on July 14, OPP officers received a call for service from a residence on St. David Street in Noelville. The OPP said the owner of a mixed breed dog was attacked by his own animal, suffering such serious injuries the person had to be airlifted to hospital in an ORNGE helicopter. When asked for more information by Sudbury.com, OPP Const. Rob Lewis said the dog was a "pitbull-type" dog.
https://www.sott.net/article/470069-Man-dies-trying-to-help-neighbour-attacked-by-own-dog-in-Noelville-Ontario

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Court rules UK plan to hit net zero target for emissions too vague
The UK government's plan for reaching net zero emissions was unlawful because it provided insufficient detail for how the target would be met, a judge ruled in a high-profile climate case on Monday. Kwasi Kwarteng, secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, launched the so-called net zero strategy last year. But neither he, nor the minister who approved the strategy on his behalf, knew how each individual policy would contribute to achieving the legally binding target, and therefore could not properly assess the credibility of the plan, Justice David Holgate said. That was a breach of the government's obligations under the Climate Change Act, the judge said. A detailed and quantified explanation of how the policies would achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 was important for holding ministers to account and for "transparency", the judge said. Comment: Bojo recently specifically changed the rules so that ministers do not have to be transparent and,...
https://www.sott.net/article/470070-Court-rules-UK-plan-to-hit-net-zero-target-for-emissions-too-vague

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Weather extremes: As western Europe burns, thunderstorms, epoch-making hail, floods and sub-average temperatures hit Russia
The downside of the intense heat wave that is affecting Europe. The intense heat wave that has affected and is still affecting a large part of Central Western and Northern Europe has had opposite consequences on the other side of the continent. The scorching air that from the African latitudes has pushed up to Scandinavia has kept active a flow of colder currents on the far east of Europe and in particular on Russia where for days the temperatures have overall been below average, albeit slightly. But cooler-than-normal weather was not the only noteworthy event, where these cold currents came in contrast to the heat. One of all that affected the city of Lipetsk in European Russia, literally covered by hail that fell from the sky with an air temperature dropped during the event up to 9 ° C. A similar situation affected the city of Olkovatka, also in southern Russia, while the city of Nizhny Novgorod was hit by a violent flash flood.
https://www.sott.net/article/470071-Weather-extremes-As-western-Europe-burns-thunderstorms-epoch-making-hail-floods-and-sub-average-temperatures-hit-Russia

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Climate Change dictates are self destructive - but also part of a bigger agenda
For many years we have been anticipating the implementation of far reaching and transformative restrictions on industry and agriculture in the name of "climate change" initiatives, and now it would seem the time has come for the fight to commence. The first major battleground is clearly Europe, as individual nations follow the emissions dictates if the centralized EU government, crushing their own economies while in the midst of a self induced energy crisis. It seems like madness, but there's a bigger agenda at play here. Today, a farmer's rebellion is rising across Europe as the actual producers of the food that keeps the public alive are being demonized for refusing to work under conditions that would essentially bankrupt them. European emissions rules are not just about carbon, though that is a big focus. Rather, the rules include other natural gases including methane and nitrogen which are a byproduct of large farming operations. The nitrogen restrictions alone are set to...
https://www.sott.net/article/470072-Climate-Change-dictates-are-self-destructive-but-also-part-of-a-bigger-agenda

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Worshipping Dead Horses
Europeans see a collision with Russia is a growing probability. That does not seem to have occurred to President Biden. Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus, known to history as Caligula, ruled as the Emperor of Rome from A.D. 37 to 41. For those who are unaware, Caligula, the great grandson of Rome's first emperor, the brilliant Augustus Caesar, squandered the enormous wealth of the Roman State, declared himself to be a god, appointed his favorite racehorse to serve in the Roman Senate, and according to some sources, considered deifying the animal. After a little less than four years in office, Caligula was removed. Rome's citizens, as well as its legions, were spared the indignity of having to worship a dead horse. Americans and Europeans are not so lucky. Determined to fight his proxy war with Russia to the finish, Biden is losing the fight in Ukraine and his favorite, deified horse, NATO, is on life support. The only things sinking faster than Biden's approval ratings are the...
https://www.sott.net/article/470073-Worshipping-Dead-Horses

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Largest summer sea ice extent since 2008 traps arctic ships - Coldest July airmass in 70 years blows through the Bering Strait.
The mainstream are heat-chasers. They report only on stories that fit the AGW Party agenda. This cherry-picking leads to a painfully misinformed public when it comes to the climate - which is exactly where they want us. It usually stands, however, that if the MSM goes silent on a particular locale then it's probably because that particular locale isn't 'behaving' as they would like. A case in point today: we have the Arctic and Greenland refusing to play ball. Earth's most-northern reaches are actually experiencing persistent and long-lasting COOLING, which is far more telling than a brief burst of heat in, for example, Western Europe, which, 1) is forecast to be over before it's even really begun, and 2) can be tied to entirely natural forcings - namely low solar activity and a violently 'buckling' jet stream flow (more on that below).
https://www.sott.net/article/470074-Largest-summer-sea-ice-extent-since-2008-traps-arctic-ships-Coldest-July-airmass-in-70-years-blows-through-the-Bering-Strait

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Weather extremes: As western Europe burns, thunderstorms, epoch-making hail, floods and sub-average temperatures hit Russia
The downside of the intense heat wave that is affecting Europe. The intense heat wave that has affected and is still affecting a large part of Central Western and Northern Europe has had opposite consequences on the other side of the continent. The scorching air that from the African latitudes has pushed up to Scandinavia has kept active a flow of colder currents on the far east of Europe and in particular on Russia where for days the temperatures have overall been below average, albeit slightly. But cooler-than-normal weather was not the only noteworthy event, where these cold currents came in contrast to the heat. One such event hitthe city of Lipetsk in European Russia, literally covered by hail that fell from the sky with the air temperature dropping during the event up to 9 ° C. A similar situation affected the city of Olkovatka, also in southern Russia, while the city of Nizhny Novgorod was hit by a violent flash flood.
https://www.sott.net/article/470071-Weather-extremes-As-western-Europe-burns-thunderstorms-epoch-making-hail-floods-and-sub-average-temperatures-hit-Russia

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Reading the Runes of War
Putin's policy of cleansing the Augean Stables of 'predatory western capital' is music to the ears of the Global South, Alastair Crooke writes. Of course, the conflict, to all intents, is settled - though is far from over. It is clear that Russia will prevail in the military war - and the political war too - by which is meant that whatever emerges in Ukraine after the military action is complete will be dictated by Moscow on its terms. Plainly, on the one hand, the regime in Kiev would collapse were it to have terms dictated to it by Moscow. And, on the other hand, the entire western agenda behind the Maidan coup d'état in 2014 would implode, too. (This is why an off-ramp, short of a Ukrainian rout, is next to impossible.) This moment thus marks a crucial point of inflection. One American choice might be to end the conflict - and there are many voices calling for a deal, or a ceasefire, with the understandably humane intent of ending the pointless slaughter of Ukrainian young men...
https://www.sott.net/article/470075-Reading-the-Runes-of-War

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Largest summer sea ice extent since 2008 traps arctic ships - Coldest July airmass in 70 years blows through the Bering Strait
The mainstream are heat-chasers. They report only on stories that fit the AGW Party agenda. This cherry-picking leads to a painfully misinformed public when it comes to the climate - which is exactly where they want us. It usually stands, however, that if the MSM goes silent on a particular locale then it's probably because that particular locale isn't 'behaving' as they would like. A case in point today: we have the Arctic and Greenland refusing to play ball. Earth's most-northern reaches are actually experiencing persistent and long-lasting COOLING, which is far more telling than a brief burst of heat in, for example, Western Europe, which, 1) is forecast to be over before it's even really begun, and 2) can be tied to entirely natural forcings - namely low solar activity and a violently 'buckling' jet stream flow (more on that below). Summer Frosts In The Highlands Of Portugal & Spain, As Record Heat Sweeps Italy: Low Solar Activity & A ‘Meridional’ Jet Stream, Explained
https://www.sott.net/article/470074-Largest-summer-sea-ice-extent-since-2008-traps-arctic-ships-Coldest-July-airmass-in-70-years-blows-through-the-Bering-Strait

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The power troika trumps Biden in West Asia
The presidents of Russia, Iran, and Turkey convened to discuss critical issues pertaining to West Asia, with the illegal US occupation of Syria a key talking point. The Tehran summit uniting Iran-Russia-Turkey was a fascinating affair in more ways than one. Ostensibly about the Astana peace process in Syria, launched in 2017, the summit joint statement duly noted that Iran, Russia and (recently rebranded) Turkiye will continue, "cooperating to eliminate terrorists" in Syria and "won't accept new facts in Syria in the name of defeating terrorism." That's a wholesale rejection of the "war on terror" exceptionalist unipolarity that once ruled West Asia. Standing up to the global sheriff Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his own speech, was even more explicit. He stressed "specific steps to promote the intra-Syrian inclusive political dialogue" and most of called a spade a spade: "The western states led by the US are strongly encouraging separatist sentiment in some areas of the...
https://www.sott.net/article/470076-The-power-troika-trumps-Biden-in-West-Asia

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Fires threaten Athens' hillside suburbs for second day
Nearly 500 firefighters struggled to contain a large wildfire that threatened hillside suburbs outside Athens for a second day Wednesday, after hundreds of residents were evacuated overnight. At least two people were hospitalized with breathing problems and minor burns, while local officials said several houses had been burned in the fire around Mount Penteli, 25 kilometers (16 miles) northeast of the Greek capital. "The conditions are very challenging. The priority was to safeguard human life, critical infrastructure and private property," Fire Service spokesman Yiannis Artopios said. He said winds of up to 80 kilometers per hour (50 mph) were making air support difficult for fire crews.
https://www.sott.net/article/470077-Fires-threaten-Athens-hillside-suburbs-for-second-day

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UK armed forces introduce ban on use of sex workers abroad
Britain's armed forces have introduced a ban on the use of sex workers abroad for the first time as part of an attempt to stamp out sexual exploitation and abuse across the military. Personnel found to have engaged in what the Ministry of Defence describes as "transactional sex" face the prospect of dismissal - and they could also be prosecuted if in countries where prostitution is illegal. It is the first time a consistent prohibition across all three services has been introduced, ending a patchwork of policies and reflecting what the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said on Tuesday was a change in social attitudes. Speaking at the Farnborough airshow, Wallace said he could not immediately explain why the policy had taken so many years to implement.
https://www.sott.net/article/470078-UK-armed-forces-introduce-ban-on-use-of-sex-workers-abroad

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UK inflation hits new 40-year high of 9.4% as cost-of-living crisis deepens
U.K. inflation hit yet another new 40-year high in June as food and energy prices continued to soar, escalating the country's historic cost-of-living crisis. The consumer price index rose 9.4% annually, according to estimates out Wednesday, slightly above a consensus forecast among economists polled by Reuters and up from 9.1% in May. This represented a 0.8% monthly incline in consumer prices, exceeding the previous month's 0.7% rise but remaining short of the 2.5% monthly increase in April.
https://www.sott.net/article/470079-UK-inflation-hits-new-40-year-high-of-9-4-as-cost-of-living-crisis-deepens

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Lavrov: US and UK want 'real war' between Russia and EU
The US and UK want to escalate the Russia-Ukraine conflict into a larger confrontation between Moscow and members of the European Union, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday in an interview with RT and Sputnik. "Our American counterparts, British counterparts... with active support from Germans, the Polish and the Baltic states, they really want to turn this war into a real war and start a confrontation between Russia and European states," Lavrov told RT's editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan. The Western governments are "keeping Ukraine from any constructive steps" towards a peace settlement, Lavrov argued. "[Ukraine is] not just [being] pumped with weapons. They are forced to use these weapons in an increasingly riskier way."
https://www.sott.net/article/470080-Lavrov-US-and-UK-want-real-war-between-Russia-and-EU