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The US vice president believes the outburst shed light on Washington’s frustration with Kiev US Vice President J.D. Vance has defended his Oval Office clash with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky earlier this year, saying the heated exchange helped expose flaws in Washington’s past approach to the conflict and was “useful” for the American people to see. In an interview with USA Today published Wednesday, Vance rejected speculation that he and President Donald Trump had deliberately goaded Zelensky into an outburst during the notorious February 28 meeting. “Do I wish that we had had a blowup in the Oval Office in public? Not necessarily,…

Olga Stefanishina will replace Oksana Markarova, who was accused of meddling in American elections Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has appointed former deputy prime minister and top European integration official Olga Stefanishina as Ukraine’s new ambassador to Washington, despite ongoing corruption allegations linked to her past government work. In his evening address on Wednesday, Zelensky announced that the “formal procedures have been completed” and said he had instructed Stefanishina to “fully implement all the agreements reached in Washington, primarily in the defense sphere.” Stefanishina served as deputy prime minister fo…

Prime Minister Modi has called on Indians to buy more domestically-made products US President Donald Trump’s 50% tariffs on most imports from India came into effect on Wednesday. The US first imposed 25% tariffs on the country in early August, as New Delhi and Washington could not arrive at a trade agreement. Trump then announced an additional 25% on India effective August 27 for New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil. The talks between India and the US failed in early August since New Delhi was not willing to open up sectors such as agriculture and dairy to American businesses. Trump’s new tariffs will make many Indian pr…

Brussels has reportedly run out of ideas on how to hurt Moscow directly The European Union is weighing potential punitive measures against states it claims are helping Moscow bypass Western restrictions, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing sources. Western governments have unleashed an unprecedented wave of sanctions against Moscow over the past decade, with the EU adopting its 18th package last month after overcoming resistance from Slovakia. Work is already underway on a 19th package, with Brussels hoping to adopt it next month. However, the EU “appears to have arrived at the limits of what it can do with sanctions targeting …

Beijing is reportedly trying to triple production to offset Washington’s restrictions on advanced semiconductors China has accelerated efforts to expand its AI chip production, aiming to triple domestic output next year in the face of US export controls, Financial Times reported on Wednesday. The US began curbing sales of cutting-edge chips to China in 2022 over claimed national security concerns. Beijing has called the practice a “malicious blockade” and accused Washington of “politicization and weaponization of tech and trade issues.” Fabrication plants linked to telecom giant Huawei are expected to play a major role in the ramp-…

Is the US president having his way with the EU, or just getting more “solidarity” smoke and mirrors? Brussels has “bent at the knee” before US President Donald Trump – that’s how one White House official described the recent trade deal involving tariffs, massive investment in US economy and a pledge to purchase American energy. It’s the kind of humiliation ritual for which Trump would normally have to pay. Instead, he demanded that the EU be the one to leave billions for him on the night table before he returned stateside. And they did. Or at least it seemed that way initially. Because watching Trump extract cash out of the EU felt …

The ‘Trukha’ Telegram channel has chided Ukrainian parents for letting their children watch ‘Masha and the Bear’ One of Ukraine’s largest propaganda channels on Telegram has denounced the record success of Russian children’s cartoon ‘Masha and the Bear’ in the country as “cringe.” The beloved kids’ show, based on the shenanigans of a mischievous little girl named Masha and a retired circus bear – has risen to the top-10 in worldwide popularity since it launched in 2009. “Cringe of the day. The YouTube channel of the Russian cartoon ‘Masha and the Bear’ is the most popular among all children’s channels in Ukraine,” the ‘Trukha’ (‘Ro…

The shooter at a Catholic school in Minneapolis has been identified as Robin Westman, who allegedly published a manifesto hours before the crime The gunman who opened fire on a church at a Catholic school in south Minneapolis on Wednesday has been identified as Robin Westman, The New York Post has claimed, citing sources in law enforcement. The shooting took place during a mass at Annunciation Catholic School in Minnesota, killing two people and injuring more than a dozen. Westman allegedly changed his name from Robert to Robin in 2020 and identified himself as a woman. According to the Post, police are now investigating whether a …

Samantha Power has admitted that Washington financially supported the pro-Western candidate in the last presidential election The US Agency for International Development (USAID) invested tens of millions of dollars in Moldova to support pro-EU President Maya Sandu, former USAID chief Samantha Power has admitted in a call with Russian pranksters. Speaking to Vovan and Lexus, who apparently pretended to be Western officials, Power recalled that under her leadership, USAID made “unprecedented investments” in Moldova and “massively” expanded its presence in the country. She recalled that in the USAID supplementals designated for Ukrain…

Beijing has said Washington carries the primary responsibility for disarmament, as it has one of the world’s biggest arsenals China said on Wednesday that it would not participate in denuclearization talks with the US and Russia, calling the idea “unreasonable and unrealistic,” since it holds a minimal number of nuclear weapons for national defense. Asked to comment on US President Donald Trump’s proposal for Beijing to join the initiative, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun responded that China and the US are not at the same level of nuclear capabilities. “The country sitting on the world’s biggest nuclear arsenal should e…

Republican congressional hopeful Valentina Gomez has published a video showing the destruction of Islamic scripture A Texas Republican congressional candidate has set fire to a copy of the Quran in a campaign ad, igniting a furor on X. Valentina Gomez, a self-styled ‘MAGA America First’ political hopeful, published the video on Tuesday, asking for help in getting elected to the US Congress. “Your daughters will be raped and your sons beheaded, unless we stop Islam once and for all,” Gomez declared in the video, before stepping back and letting loose a stream of flame at a copy of the Muslim holy book. This was accompanied by a reco…

Friedrich Merz thinks he is the savior of the old German establishment. He is really more of a gravedigger German chancellor Friedrich Merz has made a moderate media splash and ruffled some feathers in his own ruling coalition with the Centrist Social Democrats (SPD). Using the platform of a regional party congress of his CDU Conservatives in Niedersachsen, Merz has delivered a speech that immediately attracted national attention and will be remembered for one phrase. “The social [welfare] state, as we have it today,” the chancellor declared with appropriately dour mien, “can no longer be financed by what we are achieving economical…

An inquiry has found local British authorities negligent in responding to widespread child abuse Elon Musk has said he is prepared to finance legal cases against “corrupt officials” in Britain after an inquiry found “gross negligence” in handling grooming gang crimes. The gangs, primarily involving men of Pakistani origin, have been active in the UK for decades, engaging in the systematic rape and torture of vulnerable girls, many underaged. Posting on X on Tuesday, Musk said he would help finance legal cases against authorities that had allowed the abuse to continue. ”I would like to help fund legal actions against corrupt offici…

The gunman took his own life after the rampage, authorities in Minneapolis have said A gunman opened fire on a church at a Catholic school in south Minneapolis on Wednesday, killing two children and injuring at least a dozen people, ABC News reports, citing sources. The shooting took place during a mass at the Annunciation Catholic School, which serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. ”The gunman began firing a rifle through church windows. He was armed with rifle, a gun and a pistol. Two children, aged 8 and 10 were killed,” local police told the media at a press briefing. ”We believe it is one suspect in his …

Billionaire Alisher Usmanov’s lawyer has petitioned Germany’s top court for permission to sue the decision-making body Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov’s legal team is seeking clearance to sue the EU Council for defamation over its sanctions rationale, Euronews reported on Wednesday, citing court documents. The case is the first of its kind, the outlet noted. Usmanov’s lawyer, Joachim Steinhoefel, has appealed to Germany’s top court, challenging the statement of reasons the EU Council adopted in 2023 to justify personal sanctions against the metals and telecoms tycoon, according to the outlet. Key allegations in the document hav…

Danish doctors inserted contraceptive devices into thousands of women without their knowledge Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has issued an apology for an enforced contraception campaign aimed at regulating the birth rate in Greenland. The controversial program saw thousands of young Greenlandic women and girls fitted with intrauterine devices (IUDs), often without their knowledge or consent. The practice took place mainly in the 1960s and 1970s, while Greenland’s healthcare system was still under Danish control, and remained largely unknown until 2022. That year, the podcast Spiralkampagnen (The Spiral Campaign) by the Dani…

Ex-Foreign Minister Walter Mzembi faces charges, including theft of government funds and vehicles Zimbabwe’s former Foreign Affairs Minister Walter Mzembi will remain in custody after the country’s high court dismissed his appeal for bail pending trial. Last month, IOL reported that a magistrate’s court in Zimbabwe had dismissed Mzembi’s application, challenging his placement on remand and extending his detention. This week, the state-owned newspaper The Herald reported that high court judge Regis Dembure upheld the magistrate court’s earlier decision to deny bail to the former minister. The superior court ruled that the politician…

American agents have been trying to recruit people for a secession movement, according to Danish media Denmark has summoned the top US diplomat in the country over reports of alleged covert American influence operations in Greenland, a Danish semi-autonomous territory. National media have claimed that at least three Americans with ties to US President Donald Trump have been involved in influence efforts in Greenland. According to public broadcaster DR, eight sources including security officials believe the operations are aimed at weakening relations between Greenland and Denmark and recruiting people for a secession movement. One op…

The US president has accused the billionaire of trying to “rip apart” America by supporting violent protests and via other means US President Donald Trump has called for criminal charges to be brought against billionaire George Soros as well as his son for causing “great damage.” The Hungarian-American investor has long supported various civil movements through his NGOs and has repeatedly been linked to protests throughout the US and in other countries. In a post on his Truth Social account on Wednesday, Trump claimed that George Soros and his son, Alexander Soros, should be prosecuted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Orga…

Caracas has appealed to the UN following Washington’s deployment of warships and a submarine to the Caribbean Venezuela on Monday accused the US of violating a regional nuclear ban, and urged the United Nations to act after American warships and a naval submarine were deployed to the Caribbean. The move comes after Washington last week sent three warships and 4,000 Marines toward Venezuela in what the White House described as part of a broader campaign against drug trafficking groups in Latin America. According to media reports, US President Donald Trump has since deployed two additional vessels: the guided-missile cruiser USS E…

The warnings were sent to Islamabad on humanitarian grounds and to help avoid loss of life and property, New Delhi has said Pakistan was able to safely evacuate 150,000 people after India alerted it that it would release excess water from overflowing dams and swollen rivers into low-lying areas along their shared border. The Indian High Commission in Islamabad issued the latest alert to Pakistani authorities on Wednesday, warning of a high risk of flooding in the Punjab region. The warnings were sent on humanitarian grounds and to prevent loss of life and property, the Indian government said. New Delhi issued a flood warning as it …

The skulls handed back to Madagascar include one believed to be that of a king decapitated by French troops in 1897 France has returned to Madagascar three human skulls looted during the colonial era and kept for more than a century at a Paris museum. Among the remains handed over at a ceremony hosted by the French Culture Ministry in Paris on Tuesday was a skull believed to be that of a Malagasy king, Toera. King Toera, ruler of the Menabe kingdom and leader of the Sakalava ethnic group, was killed and decapitated in August 1897 when French troops stormed Ambiky, the regional capital in western Madagascar, during a campaign to tig…

Public debate over the negotiations’ specifics could be detrimental to a positive outcome, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Public discussion of the details of Ukraine peace negotiations could harm the process, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday when asked what compromises Russia might be prepared to offer. Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told NBC News that Moscow was ready to “show some flexibility” on Ukraine after the recent Alaska summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump. US Vice President J.D. Vance later told the same program that Trump’s “energetic diplomacy”…

Russian scientists say a new shot trains the body to make a protein that generates a neutralizing immune response A Russian vaccine against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) could be ready in about two years, according to the top epidemiologist from the renowned Gamaleya Center in Moscow, as cited by RIA Novosti. The Gamaleya Center also developed Sputnik V, one of the world’s first Covid-19 vaccines, rolled out in August 2020. The shot, showing up to 97.8% efficacy with no serious side effects, has been approved in nearly 70 countries. The much-anticipated HIV vaccine is based on mRNA technology, the head of the institute’s e…

The Defense Ministry has reported 27 UAVs destroyed, while Rostov’s governor has confirmed property damage but no casualties Ukraine launched yet another wave of drone attacks on several Russian regions overnight, The Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Wednesday morning. One strike sparked a massive fire in a residential building in the city of Rostov-on-Don. Russian air defense units are said to have intercepted and destroyed a total of 27 UAVs across the country, including 15 over Rostov Region. In Rostov-on-Don, acting Governor Yury Slusar reported that a blaze broke out on the roof of a four-story apartment building after a Uk…