On Wednesday, a squadron of Russian ships, including a frigate capable of firing hypersonic missiles will arrive in Cuba as part of an international partnership program. A nuclear-powered and capable submarine will also be making the trip, along with support vessels.
The decision to send Russian ships to Cuba is giving America a taste of what they do to the rest of the world, international relations and security expert Mark Sleboda told Sputnik’s The Critical Hour on Tuesday.
“I think we can definitely see this as a direct Russian reply to the general US declaration of conducting what it calls ‘Freedom of navigation’ exercises. Although, as far as we know, no one has challenged the freedom of navigation,” Sleboda explained. “They patrol their navy up and down off Russia’s and China’s and Iran’s coast, saber-rattling and threatening as part of their policy of containment.”
The United States has frequently run “military exercises” off the coast of its nominal adversaries, including China, North Korea, Iran and Russia. Earlier this week, NATO kicked off BALTOPS 2024 in the Baltic Sea, the largest exercise in the program’s history.... more below
The US House Oversight Committee has published roughly 20,000 pages of documents from the sex offender’s estate
US Democrats have released an email in which convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein claimed that President Donald Trump was aware of women procured for sex trafficking.
The email is part of some 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein’s estate published by the US House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. The documents include correspondence between Epstein and his close associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking and related offenses.
In a 2011 email, Epstein wrote to Maxwell that a victim, whose name was redacted, “spent hours at my house with him,” referring to Trump. In a 2019 email to journalist Michael Wolff, Epstein said Trump “knew about the girls as he asked (Ghislaine) to stop.”
The documents show Epstein referenced Trump multiple times, calling him “borderline insane,” a “maniac,” and “f**king ...
US President Donald Trump has called on Israel’s president to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a move widely seen as political meddling in favor of an embattled ally, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Israel’s presidential office released a statement on Wednesday, confirming that Trump sent a letter to President Isaac Herzog urging him to dismiss Netanyahu’s legal case.
“I hereby call on you to fully pardon Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been a formidable and decisive War Time Prime Minister,” Trump wrote on social media.
Trump praised Netanyahu’s aggressive policies towards Iran as commendable, framing them as a justification for dismissing the corruption charges.
“While I absolutely respect the independence of the Israeli Justice System, and its requirements, I believe that this ‘case’ against Bibi, who has fought alongside me for a long time, including......more below
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Dozens of Israeli settlers have launched a wide-scale attack on industrial and agricultural facilities in the northeastern sector of the West Bank, sparking major fires and injuring several Palestinians amid a surge of settler violence in the occupied territory.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA, citing local sources, reported that settlers set fire to multiple vehicles, including four trucks belonging to a dairy factory in al-Lada’in industrial zone near the town of Beit Lid east of Tulkarm, and caused damage to the facility itself.
Settlers also destroyed nearby farmland, metal sheds, and tents used by a small Bedouin community living in the area.
Videos posted online show smoke engulfing the area, with Palestinian women heard shouting in the background, and men carrying extinguishers and water buckets scrambling to put out the fires.
Footage shows torched trucks, tents, and metal sheds, and smashed car windows......more below
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