Chinese Spy Stole U.S. Missile Blueprints

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A dual US-Chinese national pleaded guilty on Monday to stealing American missile secrets.

Chenguang Gong, a 59-year-old engineer, transferred more than 3,600 files from an unnamed “research and development company” in Los Angeles, where he worked, to personal storage devices last year, according to the US Department of Justice.

Among the transferred files, which were found at Gong’s home in Southern California, were “blueprints for sophisticated infrared sensors designed for use in space-based systems to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles”, according to the Justice Department.

There were also blueprints for sensors that can enable military aircraft to “detect incoming heat-seeking missiles and take countermeasures”, such as by jamming the missiles’ infrared tracking ability.

The transfer also included documents relating to the development of “next generation” sensors, which can detect low observable targets as well as the blueprints for the “mechanical assemblies”, which were used to house and cool the company’s own sensors. (Read more from “Chinese Spy Stole U.S. Missile Blueprints” HERE)

Merger of European-U.S. Satellite Companies Raises Fears of Chinese Access to Military Communication

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The proposed merger between European satellite service provider SES, a major Pentagon space contractor, and Virginia-based Intelsat is raising national security concerns over SES’ strategic partnership with a Chinese state-linked satellite company, according to national security experts.

The $3.1 billion merger announced in April was followed a month later by SES reaching a strategic partnership with China’s AeroSat Link for an international airline inflight internet service program.

AeroSat Link is a subsidiary of state-run China Satellite Communications Co. Ltd., known as ChinaSat, that is part of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC).

Both ChinaSat and CASC are identified as Chinese military companies, and both were sanctioned by the Treasury Department in the past based on national security concerns.

Luxembourg-based SES operates a network of nearly 70 satellites in two different orbits, along with ground infrastructure that provides video and data services to 99% of the world’s population, according to the company website. (Read more from “Merger of European-U.S. Satellite Companies Raises Fears of Chinese Access to Military Communication” HERE)

Trump: Indonesia Agrees to Pay 19 Percent Tariff, Open up Market to U.S. In Trade Deal

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President Donald Trump revealed some details of his trade deal with Indonesia on Tuesday while speaking with reporters on the South Lawn of the White House.

According to the president, Indonesia has agreed to a 19 percent tariff on its imported goods into the United States, while the United States will not pay any tariffs in the Indonesian market and will have “full access” to it.

“I spoke to their really great president, very popular, very strong, smart, and we made the deal. We have full access to Indonesia, everything. As you know, Indonesia is very strong on copper, but we have full access to everything,” Trump said, also going on to highlight “valuable earths” in the country.

“We will pay no tariffs. So they are giving us access into Indonesia, which we never had. That’s probably the biggest part of the deal. And the other part is they are going to pay 19 percent, and we are going to pay nothing,” he added. (Read more from “Trump: Indonesia Agrees to Pay 19 Percent Tariff, Open up Market to U.S. In Trade Deal” HERE)

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Iranian Official Claims Israel Used ‘The Occult and Supernatural Spirits’ during 12-Day War

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Abdollah Ganji, former editor of the IRGC-linked newspaper Javan, told his 150,000 followers on X that a “strange phenomenon” had taken place during the 12-day war.

A senior Iranian official claims that Israel deployed “the occult and supernatural spirits” during its war with Iran, Iran International reported on Friday.

Abdollah Ganji, former editor of the IRGC-linked newspaper Javan, told his 150,000 followers on X/Twitter on Wednesday that a “strange phenomenon” had taken place during the 12-day war.

“After the recent war, a few sheets of paper were found on the streets of Tehran containing talismans with Jewish symbols,” he wrote. “In the first year of the Gaza war, news had also leaked about Netanyahu meeting with occult specialists.

(Read more from “Iranian Official Claims Israel Used ‘The Occult and Supernatural Spirits’ during 12-Day War” HERE)

Women Who Claimed Brigitte Macron Was a Man Are Cleared of Defamation

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Two women who made false claims that Brigitte Macron was born a man were cleared of defamation charges on Thursday.

The theory peddled by Natacha Rey, a self-described journalist, and Amandine Roy, a clairvoyant, has become fodder for American conspiracy theorists.

The French first lady and her brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux, brought charges against the women last year.

Ms Rey and Ms Roy were found guilty of defamation in September and ordered to pay 8,000 euros (£6,900) in damages to Mrs Macron and 5,000 euros (£4,300) to her brother.

However, on Thursday the Paris court of appeal overturned the conviction as they said the 18 pieces of video called into question by Mrs Macron’s lawyers did not constitute defamation but fell in line with good faith and free speech. (Read more from “Women Who Claimed Brigitte Macron Was a Man Are Cleared of Defamation” HERE)

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Fresh Claims That King Charles’ Uncle and Mentor Lord Mountbatten Raped Numerous Boys

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A new book has raised fresh claims that Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, Lord Mountbatten, sexually abused and raped multiple young boys at a children’s home before his death in 1979.

Lord Mountbatten, known as Dickie, was linked to the Kincora Boys’ Home in Belfast by former resident Arthur Smyth, who named Prince Philip’s uncle as his alleged abuser in 2022, as part of legal action against institutions in Northern Ireland for breach of duty of care and negligence.

And in 2019, a secret dossier compiled by the FBI on British statesmen during World War Two and the Suez Crisis described King Charles’ uncle and valued mentor as a ‘homosexual with a perversion for young boys’, which made him an ‘unfit man to direct any sort of military operations’.

Now a new book by journalist Chris Moore, Kincora: Britain’s Shame – Mountbatten, MI5, the Belfast Boys’ Home Sex Abuse Scandal and the British Cover-Up, details allegations from four previous residents of the home against the aristocrat including Smyth, who has labelled the godfather of King Charles, the King of Paedophiles.

Sharing his story for the first time, Richard Kerr claims he was trafficked to a hotel near Mountbatten’s castle with a fellow teenager named Stephen, where they were allegedly assaulted in the boathouse. He also casts doubt on his friend’s apparent suicide later that year. (Read more from “Fresh Claims That King Charles’ Uncle and Mentor Lord Mountbatten Raped Numerous Boys” HERE)

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UK Gov’t Urges Young People to Have More Children Amid Plummeting Birthrates

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British Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has urged more young people to consider starting families amid the demographic crisis facing the United Kingdom.

While young people in the West, particularly young women, have long been pushed towards focus on their careers rather than family formation, there is growing recognition that plummeting birthrates cannot merely be addressed by turning to the importation of millions of foreigners, which hitherto has been the knee-jerk reaction of government in most Western countries.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that in 2023, the British fertility rate fell to 1.44 children per woman, a record low since the government began tracking such figures in 1938 and far below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman.

This coincided with increased female participation in the workforce, in conjunction with growing difficulties for young adults to get on the housing ladder, which has been exacerbated by the mass migration policies imposed on the country by both Westminster establishment parties.

While Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously said that he would not “tell people how to live their lives” in terms of having children, top cabinet minister Bridget Phillipson said this week that the government should seek to help young people have more children. (Read more from “UK Gov’t Urges Young People to Have More Children Amid Plummeting Birthrates” HERE)

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U.S. Missile Defenses Heavily Depleted in Shielding Israel: Report

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The U.S. drew down a significant portion of its advanced anti-missile system to bolster Israel’s defense against Iranian aerial attacks during a 12-day conflict in which Israel and the U.S. struck nuclear facilities and Iran retaliated with missile launches, according to defense news outlets and independent analysts. . .

Israel has long relied on the Lockheed Martin developed Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, known as the THAAD battery, for shielding against ballistic missiles from Iran or its proxy groups such as the Yemeni Houthis.

The U.S. military operates seven THAAD batteries. An eighth, getting integrated into the Missile Defense Agency, is capable of tracking hypersonic missiles. The THAAD deployment to Israel is part of a broader challenge where supporting allies in conflict zones means using resources that could affect military readiness and future deployment.

During the recent Israel-Iran conflict, the United States used an estimated 15 to 20 percent of its global THAAD missile interceptor stockpile, incurring unprecedented costs exceeding $800 million, according to the Bulgarian Military News and Military Watch Magazine outlets. (Read more from “U.S. Missile Defenses Heavily Depleted in Shielding Israel: Report” HERE)

South Korea Detains Americans Trying to Send Food, Bibles to North Korea

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South Korean police detained six Americans on Friday caught with over 1,000 bottles carrying rice, Bibles, and American money that they reportedly intended to send across the sea to North Korea.

The incident is the largest scale of its kind in years, since leftist former President Moon Jae-in began cracking down on missionary activities targeting the repressive communist state as part of its campaign to ingratiate Seoul with the rogue regime. While Moon’s successor, Yoon Suk-yeol, was a hardline conservative during his term, he did not lift many of the restrictions imposed on individuals seeking to send political leaflets, religious material, or humanitarian aid towards Pyongyang.

Yoon was recently impeached following an attempt to impose martial law in December and replaced this month by the winner of a special election, currently President Lee Jae-myung, another leftist who has promised to increase engagement attempts with the North.

According to the South’s Korea JoongAng Daily, the six Americans were found carrying over 1,300 plastic bottles filled with rice, Bibles, USB sticks featuring foreign media banned in North Korea, and American money and admitted to engaging in missionary work. Missionaries often use plastic bottles in this manner as they float and easily travel across the sea via currents into rural, impoverished areas of the North.

Authorities did not name the individuals in question, identifying them only as men “in their 20s to 50s” who had entered the country two to three months ago with American passports and did not speak fluent Korean. Authorities stated that they did not have and would not pursue an arrest warrant for the men, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, as the activities the men were engaging in did not rise to the level of public security threats meriting an arrest. South Korean maintains exceptionally positive relations with the United States and, following an especially volatile six months in which five presidents took helm of the country, its government is likely to consider aggressive law enforcement action against American missionaries needlessly aggravating of a delicate situation. (Read more from “South Korea Detains Americans Trying to Send Food, Bibles to North Korea” HERE)

If Iran Blocks Strait of Hormuz, What Will Happen to U.S. Energy Costs?

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Iran is reportedly weighing blocking a key commercial choke point known as the Strait of Hormuz, a move that could drive up energy costs in the U.S. and across the globe, according to energy sector experts who spoke with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Israel began to bombard Iran to eliminate the Islamic Republic’s ability to build a nuclear weapon on June 13, and the U.S. carried out “Operation Midnight Hammer” on Saturday night, bombing three of Iran’s nuclear facilities. While Iran’s parliament has reportedly voted to close the Strait of Hormuz in a retaliatory move to choke the world’s oil supply in response to the American strikes, the U.S. is well-positioned to combat the inevitable energy cost spike that would follow if Iran succeeds, sector experts told the DCNF.

“The escalating conflict between Iran and Israel is already putting upward pressure on oil and natural gas prices—and that pressure will intensify if the Strait of Hormuz is blocked,” Trisha Curtis, an economist at the American Energy Institute, told the DCNF. “This kind of disruption would send global prices higher and tighten supply chains. Fortunately, the U.S. is well-positioned to respond — our domestic production strength and growing export infrastructure make American oil and natural gas increasingly indispensable to global markets.”

Iran does not have the legal authority to halt traffic through the strait, meaning it would need to usurp control through force or the threat of force, according to legal scholars and multiple reports. The Iranian parliament’s reported move to block the Strait on Sunday awaits final approval by Iran’s Supreme Council, according to Iran’s Press TV.

The Strait is only 35 to 60 miles wide and connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean, flowing past Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. The thoroughfare is vital for global trade, as tankers carried one fifth of the world’s oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz in 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. (Read more from “If Iran Blocks Strait of Hormuz, What Will Happen to U.S. Energy Costs?” HERE)