Russians Appear to Gun Down Surrendering Ukrainian Soldiers, Disturbing Drone Footage Shows

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Russian troops appeared to ruthlessly shoot dead three Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered on their knees in a disturbing front-lines execution captured in drone footage, according to a report Friday.

The soldiers had placed their hands on their heads on a road after their trench was overtaken near the war-torn city of Pokrovsk in late August, according to Ukrainian drone footage obtained by CNN.

Seconds later, they’re shown suddenly falling to the ground face-first as dust rises — a sign Russian troops had opened fire instead of taking them prisoner, according to the outlet. . .

“If prisoners of war surrender, if they show that they surrender, if they are without weapons in their hands, then summary execution is a war crime,” Andriy Kostin, the prosecutor general of Ukraine, told CNN.

The incident is part of a pattern of harrowing executions in recent months — and is an example of the Russian military’s relentlessly brutal tactics as they advance in Ukraine’s eastern region, Ukrainian officials told the outlet. (Read more from “Russians Appear to Gun Down Surrendering Ukrainian Soldiers, Disturbing Drone Footage Shows” HERE)

WATCH: Putin Announces Endorsement in America’s 2024 Presidential Election (VIDEO)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin took time away from orchestrating his military campaign against Ukraine to confirm his endorsement of a candidate in America’s 2024 presidential election. . .

While Putin’s voice on the video is significantly muted, an interviewer is speaking.

“If we can name a favorite candidate it was, it used to be Joe Biden,” she quotes. “But now he’s not participating in the election campaign.” (Read more from “WATCH: Putin Announces Endorsement in America’s 2024 Presidential Election (VIDEO)” HERE)

Kim Jong Un Executes 30 Officials Over Floods in North Korea That Killed 4,000: Report

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un ordered up to 30 officials to be executed over their alleged failure to prevent massive flooding and landslides in the summer that resulted in the death of some 4,000 people, according to South Korean media.

An official under Kim’s regime said between 20 to 30 leaders in North Korea had been charged with corruption and dereliction of duty, with the state sentencing them to capital punishment, TV Chosun reported.

“It has been determined that 20 to 30 cadres in the flood-stricken area were executed at the same time late last month,” the official told the outlet. . .

The North Korean Central News Agency previously reported that Kim ordered authorities “strictly punish” the officials after catastrophic flooding hit the Chagang Province in July, claiming about 4,000 lives and displacing more than 15,000 people.

The officials who were executed were not identified, but the report noted that Kang Bong-hoon, the Chagang Province Provincial Party Committee Secretary since 2019, was among the leaders dismissed by Kim in an emergency meeting during the flooding disaster. (Read more from “Kim Jong Un Executes 30 Officials Over Floods in North Korea That Killed 4,000: Report” HERE)

Authorities Search For Answers As Country’s Classic Churches Keep Burning Down

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The Church of the Immaculate Conception went up in flames Monday in yet another instance of a French church burning to the ground, leading to speculations on the origins of their destruction.

The church burnings highlight the tensions brewing in France’s secular and multicultural country, and its immigration policies have come under increased scrutiny. Weak church structures, bias against Christians and mass immigration have all been brought up as potential factors in the onslaught of church burnings.

The church of the Immaculate Conception was nestled in the northern French town of Saint-Omer, and its bell tower collapsed from the fire. Prosecutors announced Tuesday that police arrested a man in relation to the incident, LeMonde reported.

A Saint-Omer prosecutor told Agence France-Press the man was known for previously committing “similar acts.”

France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin stated in a Twitter post Monday that an investigation was underway to “determine the exact origin of the fire.” (Read more from “Authorities Search For Answers As Country’s Classic Churches Keep Burning Down” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Helicopter Crash Which Killed Iran President Ebrahim Raisi Reportedly Caused by Climate Conditions

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The May 19, 2024 helicopter crash which resulted in the death of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and seven others was caused by climatic and atmospheric conditions, an official investigation concluded, The Associated Press (AP) reported.

The Supreme Board of the General Staff of the Armed Forces released its final report attributing the crash primarily to the springtime climatic conditions in the region, according to AP. The report detailed that the helicopter encountered a sudden and dense fog, which caused it to collide with a mountain, according to the outlet.

Officials confirmed there were no indications of sabotage affecting the helicopter’s parts or systems. Raisi and his foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, were among the eight fatalities in the crash, which occurred in a remote mountainous area in northwestern Iran, AP reported. There were no survivors found at the scene during the search and rescue operation.

It was previously reported that the crash occurred as Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian were traveling from Azerbaijan, where they attended the inauguration of a dam with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. In response to the tragedy, the Iranian cabinet convened an emergency meeting, according to the state news agency IRNA. (Read more from “Helicopter Crash Which Killed Iran President Ebrahim Raisi Reportedly Caused by Climate Conditions” HERE)

Zelensky Demands Using U.S. Weapons on Targets in Russia

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The war in Ukraine continues to rage on two-and-a-half years after Russian forces breached their neighbor’s borders. The protraction of the conflict has only made a Russian victory—through a favorable settlement or Ukrainian surrender—more likely, though it will come at a much higher cost to the Russians than originally anticipated by both Moscow and Washington. The simple truth is that Russia has more men, more resources, and is not reliant on the goodwill of Western benefactors.

While continued aid from the United States keeps the Ukrainian war effort afloat, that aid has come with certain strings attached. U.S. weapons given to Ukraine, for example, cannot be used to strike targets within Russian territory.

Whether Ukraine has upheld its end of the bargain is unlikely. Ukraine has privately received permission from President Joe Biden to use U.S. weapons in strikes on Russia in the past. Now, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is looking to negotiate, not with Russia but with the United States and other benefactors, to permanently loosen those restraints.

While Zelenskyy has made a habit of making this request, he did so again fervently on Monday after Russia launched one of its largest drone and missile strikes of the campaign so far.

In a video statement posted to X on Monday, Zelenskyy said the Russian strike “involv[ed] over a hundred missiles of various types and around a hundred ‘Shaheds’ [attack drones].”

(Read more from “Zelensky Demands Using U.S. Weapons on Targets in Russia” HERE)

Biden’s Afghanistan: Taliban Bans MMA

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The Taliban terrorist organization ruling Afghanistan confirmed on Wednesday that it had formally banned mixed martial arts (MMA), a sport that began thriving in the country in the final years before the fall of Kabul in 2021.

The edict banning MMA followed the publication of an extensive decree last week by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice listing a host of new prohibitions on the private lives of Afghans. The decree officially banned women from showing their faces or using their voices in public and mandated beards and “Islamic” haircuts on men, among other restrictions.

MMA was a nascent sport in Afghanistan when, following the disastrous decision by leftist American President Joe Biden to extend the 20-year Afghan War beyond an agreed-upon May 2021 deadline, the Taliban seized control of Kabul and the Afghan federal government. The Taliban has remained the uncontested ruling power in Afghanistan since, although it has not received formal recognition as such from any other country nor from the United Nations.

The Agence France-Presse (AFP) confirmed the MMA ban with Taliban officials on Wednesday.

“It was found that the sport is problematic with respect to sharia and it has many aspects which are contradictory to the teachings of Islam,” the Taliban’s sports agency said in a statement. “That’s why this decision has been made to ban mixed martial arts in Afghanistan.” (Read more from “Biden’s Afghanistan: Taliban Bans MMA” HERE)

Telegram’s CEO Charged in France, Banned From Leaving Territory

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Telegram’s founder Pavel Durov was charged by French prosecutors for the alleged illegal use of his platform on Wednesday.

He faces six charges and has been ordered to remain in French territory, Politico reported. He has been detained in the country since Saturday after being arrested in Paris at Le Bourget Airport.

Durov’s bail is set at 5 million euros — or $5.56 million, CNN reported. Additionally, Durov must report to the French police station two times each week, according to CNN. . .

France’s Tribunal Judiciare De Paris announced Durov’s 12 charges pertaining to Telegram’s moderation policies on Monday according to a press release. The document listed allegations that Telegram was complicit in illegal activities, among them the alleged distribution of child pornography and “organized fraud.”

He is also been charged for allegedly refusing to cooperate with authorities.

(Read more from “Telegram’s CEO Charged in France, Banned From Leaving Territory” HERE)

WATCH: China on Verge of Starting a War With Its Neighbors, Including U.S. Allies

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The People’s Republic of China is on the verge of starting a war with its neighbors, and by extension the U.S., as it increases its aggression in a series of situations, close calls, over the past week.

The U.S. Naval Institute reported Monday that China violated Japanese airspace after it flew a Y-9 electronic intelligence aircraft over the Danjo Islands in the East China Sea, which is part of Japan’s territorial waters.

Japanese officials stated in response to the violation, Self-Defense Forces launched two fighter jets from its Western Air Command, and issued notices and warnings, and further released a protest against the airspace violation.

Japan’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Masataka Okano, summoned the Chinese ambassador to the Foreign Affairs of Japan, strongly urging the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prevent any further recurrences.

According to Japan’s National Institute for Defense Studies’ 2024 China Security Report, China viewed the U.S. as a threat to its Chinese Communist Party after the Cold War, however, China avoided confrontation and instead worked on promoting cooperation between the two nations. (Read more from “WATCH: China on Verge of Starting a War With Its Neighbors, Including U.S. Allies” HERE)

China Poised to Cut Off U.S. Military From Key Mineral as America’s Own Reserves Lay Buried Under Red Tape

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China is planning to restrict exports of a key mineral needed to make weapons while a U.S. company that could be reducing America’s reliance on foreign suppliers is languishing in red tape, energy experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Chinese government announced on August 15 that it will restrict exports of antimony, a critical mineral that dominates the production of weapons globally and is essential for producing equipment like munitions, night vision goggles and bullets that are essential to national security, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Perpetua Resources, an American mining company, has been navigating red tape for years to develop a mine in Valley County, Idaho, that could decrease reliance on the Chinese supply of antimony, but the slow permitting process is getting in the way, energy experts told the DCNF.

It can take years to secure all the necessary approvals and permits to develop a mine like the one Perpetua Resources is trying to operate. One of the key permitting laws in place is the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which also applies to federal land management actions and the construction of certain public infrastructure projects like highways.

“After six years of planning and early engagement, we began the [NEPA] permitting process in 2016. We are now eight years into NEPA,” a Perpetua Resources spokesperson told the DCNF. The company is hoping to extract antimony from the largest known deposit in the U.S., and Perpetua Resources’ development could also produce millions of ounces of gold as well. (Read more from “China Poised to Cut Off U.S. Military From Key Mineral as America’s Own Reserves Lay Buried Under Red Tape” HERE)