Final Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev Dies at 91

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Mikhail Gorbachev, who ended the Cold War without bloodshed but failed to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union, died on Tuesday at the age of 91, Russian news agencies cited hospital officials as saying.

Gorbachev, the last Soviet president, forged arms reduction deals with the United States and partnerships with Western powers to remove the Iron Curtain that had divided Europe since World War Two and bring about the reunification of Germany.

When pro-democracy protests swept across the Soviet bloc nations of communist Eastern Europe in 1989, he refrained from using force—unlike previous Kremlin leaders who had sent tanks to crush uprisings in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968.

But the protests fuelled aspirations for autonomy in the 15 republics of the Soviet Union, which disintegrated over the next two years in chaotic fashion.

Gorbachev struggled in vain to prevent that collapse. (Read more from “Final Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev Dies at 91” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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Russian Forces ‘Under-Manned’ as Ukraine Begins Counteroffensive: U.K.

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Russian forces are likely “under-manned” in Kherson, the U.K. Ministry of Defense has said, as Ukraine on Monday said it had started its counteroffensive in the southern region of the country that was taken by Moscow in the early days of the war.

Ukraine has been carrying out strikes on bridges in the region, key supply lines for the Russian army from the occupied Crimean Peninsula to southern Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said Monday that they have been using the U.S.-supplied HIMARS weapons to carry out successful strikes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also vowed to take back Russian-held Crimea and Kherson. The Black Sea peninsula has been occupied by Russia since it illegally annexed the region in 2014.

Kyiv on Monday said its forces had “broken through” Russian defenses, while the latter’s military said it had successfully repelled an offensive by Ukrainian troops, who suffered “heavy losses.” Newsweek has not been able to independently verify these claims. (Read more from “Russian Forces ‘Under-Manned’ as Ukraine Begins Counteroffensive: U.K.” HERE)

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Air Force Sees ‘Incredibly’ Large Missile Buildup by China

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China‘s military is engaged in a large-scale expansion of both nuclear and conventional missiles described in a U.S. Air Force Air University report as “incredibly” large and rapidly increasing.

The report by the China Aerospace Studies Institute at the university said the People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force, formerly the 2nd Artillery, is expanding both in the sophistication of its missiles and size of its arsenal. The growth in both missiles and launchers was based on increasing numbers of Rocket Force brigades and highlights the rapid buildup.

From 1980 to 2000, the PLA added four new missile brigades, including three armed with the latest weapons. (Read more from “Air Force Sees ‘Incredibly’ Large Missile Buildup by China” HERE)

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Biden Announces Additional $3 Billion Security Package to Ukraine

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The U.S. will ship Ukraine $3 billion worth of missiles, artillery rounds and drones in the latest military aid package intended to help Kyiv defend itself following Russia’s invasion six months ago.

The package includes six more National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) and munitions; up to 245,000 rounds of 155 mm artillery ammunition; and up to 65,000 rounds of 120 mm mortar ammo, Pentagon officials told reporters on Wednesday.

Colin Kahl, the Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense for policy, said the latest Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) program represents a multiyear investment to help Kyiv fend off Russia.

“We will stick with Ukraine over the long haul,” Mr. Kahl said.

The latest plan represents a change in the way the Biden administration has helped supply Ukraine’s forces. In the past, the Pentagon pulled military equipment from its own stock to supply Ukraine with lethal hardware. Under USAI, the government will be able to procure Ukraine’s needs directly from private industry suppliers. (Read more from “Biden Announces Additional $3 Billion Security Package to Ukraine” HERE)

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Car Bomb Kills Daughter of Highly Influential Russian Known as ‘Putin’s Philosopher’

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The daughter of a highly influential Russian philosopher who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin was killed over the weekend by a car bomb. . .

[Daria] Dugina is the daughter of Aleksandr Dugin, 60, a self-educated philosopher who has a jingoistic mindset when it comes to foreign policy and his desire for Russia to expand its borders.

The New York Times reported that he is often referred to as “Putin’s philosopher” or “Putin’s brain.” Dugina shared her father’s views and was widely viewed as a propagandist working in the media. (Read more from “Car Bomb Kills Daughter of Highly Influential Russian Known as ‘Putin’s Philosopher’” HERE)

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Biden, World Leaders Discuss Need for Ukraine Nuclear Plant Inspection

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President Joe Biden spoke to the leaders of close allies about the tense situation surrounding the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine, according to the White House.

With international concerns about the nuclear power plant being the epicenter of a major disaster escalating in recent weeks as both Russian and Ukrainian forces accuse each other of shelling the plant, Biden spoke with President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, affirming “their continued support for Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself against Russian aggression,” said a readout from the White House press office on Sunday.

“They also discussed the situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, including the need to avoid military operations near the plant and the importance of an IAEA visit as soon as feasible to ascertain the state of safety systems,” the readout added. Iran’s nuclear program and stability in the Middle East were also discussed, per the readout.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned earlier this month that shelling the plant is “suicidal” and expressed hope that the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, will be able to access the plant. (Read more from “Biden, World Leaders Discuss Need for Ukraine Nuclear Plant Inspection” HERE)

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Stunning Data From Canada: Vaccinated Are Dying at Much Higher Rate Than Unvaccinated

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Vaccinated people are now more likely to be hospitalized or die from Covid, even after adjusting for fact they’re older than the unvaccinated, according to official government estimates from the Canadian province of Manitoba.

In May, the most recent month for which figures are available, only 9 percent of Covid deaths and 14 percent of hospital admissions in Manitoba occurred among unvaccinated people, even though they are 17 percent of the population.

Manitoba, which has about 1.4 million residents, also provides figures that are adjusted for the fact that vaccinated and boosted people tend to be older.

Those show that in May, vaccinated but unboosted people were about 50 percent more likely to be hospitalized or die of Covid than unvaccinated people. People who had received boosters had roughly the same risk of hospitalization or death as the unvaccinated.

(Red is unvaccinated, green is vaccinated, blue is boosted. See how the green bar is higher? That means vaccinated people are more likely to die of Covid. Otherwise, everything is fine.)

(Read more from “Stunning Data From Canada: Vaccinated Are Dying at Much Higher Rate Than Unvaccinated” HERE)

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Four U.S. Tourists Among Seven Victims Shot by Arab Terrorist in Jerusalem

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An Arab resident of eastern Jerusalem shot seven people, including four American citizens, near Jerusalem’s Old City overnight Saturday, before turning himself in to police after an intense hours-long manhunt.

Amir Sidawi, 26, was arrested at a police station in Jerusalem after coming there of his own will with the gun he used to during the terror attack.

The previous night, Sidawi had opened fire on groups of Israelis on a bus in a parking lot near the Western Wall, injuring passengers on and off the bus as well as a pregnant woman sitting in a nearby car. The victim, 35, was evacuated to a local hospital where she underwent an emergency C-section.

She and her newborn are in critical condition.

Four of the other victims were U.S. citizens, members of a Satmar Hasidic family from Brooklyn, NY, who were visiting Israel as tourists. (Read more from “Four U.S. Tourists Among Seven Victims Shot by Arab Terrorist in Jerusalem” HERE)

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Afghan Father Whose Teen Fell From U.S. Cargo Plane: ‘I Blame the Americans’

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As the first anniversary of the disastrous US pullout from Afghanistan approaches, a victim of one of its most gruesome tragedies finally has a name.

Zabi Rezayee, 17, was one of the desperate civilians who clung to the landing gear and wheel covers of a US Air Force C-17 as it taxied down the runway of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 16, 2021 — only to fall to his death on the tarmac, his father told the Sunday Times of London.

And Zabi’s brother Zaki, 19, who joined his attempted escape from the Taliban, has not been heard from since, said Mohammed Rezayee.

“I’m hurting, I’m angry, but there’s nothing I can do,” Rezayee, 42, said. “I’ve buried one son and I don’t even know if the other one is dead or alive.”

Horrifying cell-phone videos of the young men who grabbed hold of the giant cargo plane on take-off, then dropped helplessly to the ground as it gained altitude, gripped the globe as America’s war in Afghanistan came to its chaotic and ignominious end. (Read more from “Afghan Father Whose Teen Fell From U.S. Cargo Plane: ‘I Blame the Americans’” HERE)

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At Least 300 TikTok Employees Worked for Chinese State Media: Report

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A new report found some overlap between hundreds of employees at TikTok’s parent company ByteDance and Chinese state media outlets.

Forbes surveyed hundreds of LinkedIn profiles for the tech firm’s employees, finding at least 300 workers had previously held positions in Chinese state media – and 15 of them currently work for both.

“Fifteen indicate that current ByteDance employees are also concurrently employed by Chinese state media entities, including Xinhua News Agency, China Radio International and China Central/China Global Television,” the report said. The U.S. State department has labeled these organization as “foreign government functionaries.”

TikTok has come under increased scrutiny as U.S. officials continue to warn of the national security threat the app poses: FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr in June called on the CEOs of Google and Apple to remove the app from their stores, citing reports that suggest the app harvests “swaths of sensitive data.”

“TikTok is not what it appears to be on the surface. It is not just an app for sharing funning videos or memes. That’s the sheep’s clothing,” Carr wrote. “At its core, TikTok functions as a sophisticated surveillance tool that harvests extensive amounts of personal and sensitive data.” (Read more from “At Least 300 TikTok Employees Worked for Chinese State Media: Report” HERE)

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