Olympics Ban Ukrainian Athlete for Helmet Depicting Athletes Killed by Russia

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Ukrainian skeleton pilot Vladyslav Heraskevych, 27, was banned from the 2026 Winter Olympics on Thursday, just minutes before his event was due to begin, because he insisted on wearing a helmet covered with images of athletes killed by Russia’s invasion of his country.

Heraskevych said he accepted the ban as the “price of our dignity,” but he insisted his helmet did not actually violate the rules set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and he noted that other athletes have been allowed to express political opinions at the Winter Games.

“U.S. figure skater, Canadian freeskier, Israeli skeleton athlete who is also here today, they didn’t face the same things,” he said. “So suddenly, just a Ukrainian athlete in this Olympic Games will be disqualified for this helmet.”

In an interview on Thursday after the IOC announced its decision, Heraskevych said he felt “emptiness” because he was banned over “an interpretation of the rules which I do not agree with.”

“I was at many funerals when I was in Ukraine and it’s a truly terrible tragedy that young people at such a young age were killed for nothing. Because of their sacrifice, we’re able to be here today, and I want to honor them, and I want to honor their families,” he said. (Read more from “Olympics Ban Ukrainian Athlete for Helmet Depicting Athletes Killed by Russia” HERE)

Orbán Calls Ukraine an ‘Enemy’ in Speech

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has labelled Ukraine, which is under attack by Russia, an “enemy” of his own country.

“The Ukrainians must stop constantly demanding in Brussels that Hungary be cut off from cheap Russian energy,” the right-wing populist said in an election campaign speech in the western Hungarian city of Szombathely on Sunday.

“As long as Ukraine does this, it is our enemy,” he added, according to the state news agency MTI.

Orbán is considered Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in the European Union, and his country is highly dependent on Russian gas and oil supplies. Unlike the other EU countries, Hungary has not made any serious efforts under Orbán to free itself from its dependence on Russian energy.

Parliamentary elections are due to be held in Hungary on April 12. For the first time in his 16 years in office, Orbán faces a strong challenger. (Read more from “Orbán Calls Ukraine an ‘Enemy’ in Speech” HERE)

Israel Accepts Health Authorities’ Gaza Death Toll Is Broadly Accurate, Saying 70,000 Have Died

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Israel’s military has accepted the death toll compiled by health authorities in Gaza is broadly accurate, marking a U-turn after years of official attacks on the data.

A senior security official briefed Israeli journalists, saying about 70,000 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli attacks on the territory since October 2023, excluding those missing.

It is the first time Israel has publicly estimated the toll from the war in Gaza. Previously the government and military had only provided figures for militants Israel claimed to have killed.

Gaza health authorities said the direct toll from Israeli attacks had exceeded 71,660 people, with at least 10,000 presumed buried in the rubble of bombed buildings.

For more than two years, Israeli officials and media had attacked the Palestinian figures as “Hamas propaganda” and dismissed them as “not accurate”. (Read more from “Israel Accepts Health Authorities’ Gaza Death Toll Is Broadly Accurate, Saying 70,000 Have Died” HERE)

Muslim Official Says Working Too Hard Can Turn People Gay

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Zulkifli Hasan, Malaysia’s minister for religious affairs, said Tuesday that work stress can push people into homosexuality — a claim that triggered a wave of online mockery and criticism.

In a written reply submitted to Parliament of Malaysia, the minister listed “work stress” as one of several supposed drivers of LGBT behavior while answering a question from opposition lawmaker Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff, according to the South China Morning Post.

“Societal influence, sexual experiences, work stress and other personal factors come under this category [of possible causes],” Zulkifli said in the parliamentary response, the Morning Post reported. (Read more from “Muslim Official Says Working Too Hard Can Turn People Gay” HERE)_

Trump Warns Iran: Make Nuclear Deal or Face ‘Far Worse’ Attack as ‘Massive Armada’ Nears — ‘Time Is Running Out’

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President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that “a massive armada” led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is moving toward Iran and that the regime’s “time is running out” to make a nuclear deal — or face a U.S. strike far worse than the one carried out last summer.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump said the armada is “moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose,” describing it as a larger fleet than the force previously sent to Venezuela and one “ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary.”

Trump urged Tehran to “come to the table” and negotiate a deal, warning that time is “truly of the essence,” and making clear that failure to do so would bring severe consequences.

The warning explicitly referenced past military action. Trump said Iran ignored an earlier demand to make a deal, which was followed by “Operation Midnight Hammer,” adding that “the next attack will be far worse.”

Operation Midnight Hammer refers to the June 22, 2025 U.S. strikes at the end of the 12-day war, when B-2 bombers dropped 12 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators — bunker-buster bombs — on Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility, while a U.S. submarine fired 30 Tomahawk missiles at the Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. (Read more from “Trump Warns Iran: Make Nuclear Deal or Face ‘Far Worse’ Attack as ‘Massive Armada’ Nears — ‘Time Is Running Out’” HERE)

Major Christian Church Delivers Win For Liberals

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The Church of England (CoE) confirmed Sarah Mullally as its first female archbishop Wednesday.

Mullally’s appointment to the position of archbishop was first announced in October. The Anglican Communion has “tens of millions of members,” according to the CoE’s official website.

The archbishop of Canterbury “[leads] the vision and direction of the Church of England,” according to the CoE’s website.

Mullally has expressed liberal stances on certain biblical issues.

“Our eyes have been opened to the harm we have done, especially to LGBTI+ people,” Mullally said during a debate on blessings for same-sex relationships, according to The Pink News. (Read more from “Major Christian Church Delivers Win For Liberals” HERE)

China’s Population is Collapsing, Enormous 17% Decline in Births this Past Yea

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Last week, Beijing’s release of China’s national birth count for 2025 left demographers stunned.

The national birth total plummeted by over 17% from 2024 to 2025, the PRC disclosed.

That sort of precipitous drop is almost never seen in stable modern societies, where births tend to inch up or down from one year to the next.

A decline of this magnitude qualifies as a demographic shock of the sort typically associated with dire calamities like famine or plague — a sign that a disaster or convulsion is taking place.

And these are only the latest readings from the astonishing birth crash that’s commenced under Xi Jinping’s rule: a drop by over half in just eight years that shows no sign as yet of abating. (Read more from “China’s Population is Collapsing, Enormous 17% Decline in Births this Past Yea” HERE)

Reports: Iran Crackdown Among Deadliest in Modern Times; 36,000+ Dead, Hospital Executions, Stuffed Alive in Body Bags

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A two-day crackdown that new reporting says killed as many as 36,500 Iranians — a death toll placing it among the deadliest short-term mass killings documented in modern history — followed an order by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to mercilessly crush nationwide protests “by any means necessary,” including accounts of wounded civilians executed inside hospitals, living victims stuffed in body bags, and a surgeon who described the scenes as a “nightmare” unlike anything he had seen.

A wave of major investigations published Sunday provides the clearest account yet of how the Islamic Republic responded after protests that began on December 28, initially sparked by merchant strikes in Tehran before spreading nationwide amid economic collapse and political repression.

Among the most chilling new revelations, The Media Line reports that Iranian security forces shoved wounded protesters — still alive — into body bags, transported them to forensic facilities, and executed those who showed signs of life.

The outlet cited testimony from the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, which documented the case of a young protester who survived by pretending to be dead inside a body bag, hearing gunshots as security forces executed wounded civilians who moved or moaned. The survivor remained motionless for three days, escaping only after families stormed the facility in search of loved ones.

A forensic medicine specialist in Tehran told the outlet that wounded protesters were piled atop one another in hospital corridors, transferred alive to morgues, and placed in body bags, describing brutality by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps so severe that many healthcare workers suffered psychological shock. Medical staff reported seeing bodies with oxygen tubes, ECG leads, and catheters still attached — evidence, they said, that patients were removed mid-treatment and left to die or executed. (Read more from “Reports: Iran Crackdown Among Deadliest in Modern Times; 36,000+ Dead, Hospital Executions, Stuffed Alive in Body Bags” HERE)

Foundational American Ally Approves Chinese Super-Embassy In Capital

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The UK’s Labour Party-controlled government has approved plans for China to build a sprawling new embassy complex in central London, despite warnings from lawmakers, security officials, and Chinese dissidents who say the project poses serious national security risks.

British Housing Secretary Steve Reed formally signed off Tuesday on the 600,000-square-foot complex at Royal Mint Court, near the Tower of London and the city’s financial district. The approval comes just days before Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to visit China — the first by a British prime minister since 2018 — to boost diplomatic and economic ties with Beijing.

Critics have long warned that the embassy could be used for intelligence gathering or to monitor and intimidate Chinese nationals and dissidents living in the UK.

“Labour’s greenlighting of the Chinese Embassy has gifted the Chinese Communist Party a launchpad for economic warfare in the heart of London,” Alicia Kearns, the shadow minister for national security and safeguarding for the opposition Conservative Party, wrote on X following the decision. “What message does it send to the CPC which has committed cyber attacks, attempted to attack our parliament, and intimidates those who sought refuge here?”

China purchased the site in 2018 for roughly £255 million. The historic property, once used to mint Britain’s currency, faced repeated delays and legal challenges. Local authorities initially rejected the embassy plans in 2022 over safety and security concerns, prompting Beijing to pressure the UK government. (Read more from “Foundational American Ally Approves Chinese Super-Embassy In Capital” HERE)

Iran Accused of Killing 16,500 in Sweeping ‘Genocide’ Crackdown, Report Says

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Iranian protesters are facing their deadliest days yet as security forces unleash mass killings and executions in a sweeping crackdown some have labeled “genocide,” new reports say.

According to The Sunday Times, a report compiled by doctors entrenched in the region and reviewed by the outlet, estimates that security forces have killed at least 16,500 protesters and injured more than 330,000 others.

The report also described the violence as an “utter slaughter,” warning that the true toll may be even higher due to restricted access to hospitals and the near-total shutdown of communications.

Most of the victims, the report says, are believed to be under the age of 30, underscoring the heavy toll on Iran’s younger generation as the regime intensifies its efforts to crush dissent.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei acknowledged Sunday that “several thousands” have been killed since protests erupted Dec. 28. (Read more from “Iran Accused of Killing 16,500 in Sweeping ‘Genocide’ Crackdown, Report Says” HERE)