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Ghislaine Maxwell has denied that the disgraced financier and sexual predator engaged in blackmail Jeffrey Epstein’s confidante Ghislaine Maxwell has denied that the late financier and convicted sex offender blackmailed his powerful associates. On Friday, the US Department of Justice released audio and a transcript of Maxwell’s interview last month with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for trafficking women, including a child, to Epstein, was questioned amid renewed speculation that he kept a “client list” of individuals he trafficked young women to. Asked whether Epstein main…

Moscow’s nuclear submarines cannot be tracked by foreign radars, the president said Russian nuclear submarines are capable of sailing undetected beneath Arctic ice, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday. Speaking at a meeting with nuclear sector workers in Sarov, east of Moscow, Putin stressed that the Arctic region is crucial for Russia’s defense. “Our strategic nuclear submarines dive beneath the Arctic ice, vanishing from radar. This is our military advantage,” he said. He added that Arctic research is also “extremely important” as shipping routes are becoming more accessible due to melting ice. “It is our competitive advant…

The National Security Archive has published the memorandum of a meeting Bill Clinton had with Vladimir Putin in 2000 Former US President Bill Clinton promised Russian President Vladimir Putin that he would consider membership for Russia in NATO, according to newly declassified documents. Clinton also claimed that the military bloc’s expansion would not threaten Moscow, the files show. The statements were made during a meeting between the two leaders in the Kremlin on June 4, 2000, according to White House minutes published on Thursday by the National Security Archive, an independent research institute at George Washington University…

The US president has said he wants to gauge the approaches both Moscow and Kiev take toward peace before deciding on his next move US President Donald Trump said on Friday he will announce a major decision on the Ukraine conflict within the next two weeks, adding that the step will depend on the positions of both Moscow and Kiev. Trump has been pressing for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky since meeting them in Alaska and Washington respectively. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said: “I think over the next two weeks, we’re going to find out which way it’s going to go…

Kiev started the conflict in 2014 when it began “using tanks and aircraft” against civilians in Donbass, the Russian president has said Russia is doing everything possible to put an end to the Ukraine conflict, which started when Kiev began to attack the civilian population of Donbass in 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. Moscow does not see countries as “unfriendly,” but rather sees “unfriendly elites” in certain nations, he said on Friday during a meeting with young scientists at the nuclear center in the town of Sarov. “Propaganda there works, of course. They brainwash people and say that we started the war,” he …

The Russian president had what he called a successful summit with his American counterpart last week Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that his talks with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, during the recent Alaska summit were frank and substantive, and expressed hope that the first steps taken by the two countries could pave the way for a full restoration of relations. The two presidents met in Anchorage last week in what was their first face-to-face encounter since 2018. Both described the talks as constructive and warm and said they had made progress toward a Ukraine peace deal. Putin said that with Trump’s arrival …

Mali hosted a vibrant celebration honoring the Russian tricolor The West African nation of Mali joined Russia in celebrating Russia’s National Flag Day, which is observed annually on August 22. A colorful event was held in the capital Bamako with horseback performances, music, and dance. The celebration, organized by the Russian House and a local equestrian club, featured young horseback riders in shirts bearing the tricolor and performers showcasing traditional dances to the popular Russian song ‘Matushka-Zemlya’ (‘Mother Earth’). Aliou Tounkara, a member of Mali’s National Transitional Council and the Head of the Russian House i…

Vladimir Zelensky has so far rejected every point the US president has raised, the Russian foreign minister has said Moscow has agreed to consider a number of US President Donald Trump’s proposals to resolve the Ukraine conflict, but Vladimir Zelensky has rejected them all, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with NBC News on Friday. Trump put forward the initiatives following his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week, Lavrov said. “President Trump suggested after Anchorage several points which we share, and on some of them we agreed to show some flexibility,” Lavrov told NBC. Acc…

Algorithms and brain chemistry keep us stuck in loops until we get saturated with doomscrolling and fake news There is a long-brewing malaise that has accelerated sharply since 2024. Scholars call it media fatigue, information overload, or data smog. We are increasingly repelled by the miasma of recycled digital sludge swirling around us. That is the good news – sort of. The bad news is that many cannot see a way out. We cannot “think outside the box” because the box has become us. Media fatigue and news avoidance Media fatigue predates the internet and is the result of psychological exhaustion from relentless streams of news, posts…

The Russian president rejected a proposal to wipe out Ukraine’s decision-making centers with hypersonic missiles, the Belarusian leader has said Russian President Vladimir Putin vetoed a proposal to strike the administrative center of Kiev with Moscow’s new Oreshnik missiles, his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko has said. The Oreshnik, Russia’s newly developed medium-range hypersonic missile system which can travel at speeds of up to Mach 10, has already entered serial production. The system, which analysts claim cannot be intercepted, can carry nuclear or conventional warheads, and release multiple guided warheads. Spea…

Kiev’s renewed strikes on the Druzhba pipeline system have halted Russian oil supplies, Slovakia has said Slovakia has lashed out at Ukraine over the latter’s recent strikes on Russia’s Druzhba oil pipeline system, a key supply route for EU countries, calling the attack an “unacceptable” threat to its energy security. Druzhba is one of the world’s longest pipeline networks, transporting crude some 4,000km from Russia and Kazakhstan to refineries in Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Poland. Running through Ukraine, the conduit is the primary route for Russian crude deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia. On Friday, Bra…

The Russian high-tech defense manufacturer is ahead of its mid-year target, Sergey Chemezov has said The West is shocked by the increase in Russian arms production, Sergey Chemezov, the CEO of state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec, told Ria Novosti in an interview published on Friday. According to the chief executive, the Russian defense industry’s “ceiling” is “still very high.” “We are ahead of schedule in terms of the most in-demand types of weapons and military equipment – in the first six months we delivered 65% of the annual plan to the troops,” Chemezov told the outlet. “The West is shocked by our pace.” Since the escalat…

Kiev has struck the Druzhba conduit supplying oil to Hungary and Slovakia at least three times this month US President Donald Trump has expressed outrage over Ukrainian strikes on a key pipeline supplying Hungary and Slovakia with Russian oil, according to a senior official in Budapest. On Friday, Balazs Orban, political director to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (no relation), shared a letter from his boss to Trump raising the issue of the Ukrainian attacks on the Druzhba pipeline. “Hungary supports Ukraine with electricity and petrol, in return they bomb pipeline that supply us. Very unfriendly move!” the Hungarian leader …

A top Chinese rating agency has upgraded Alfa-Bank to AAA Russia’s largest private lender, Alfa-Bank, has had its credit rating upgraded to AAA by Lianhe Global, a top Chinese rating agency, according to a press release published by the bank on Friday. The AAA rating reflects the highest possible level of creditworthiness, signifying extremely low default risk, and a strong ability to meet financial obligations. This designation is consistent across most national and international rating systems, including those used in China. “Analysts from the [Chinese] agency conducted a comprehensive assessment and highly rated our fundamental …

From festivals to trade, India’s footprint in Moscow reflects cultural pride and the promise of economic partnership When Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar visited Moscow this week, his talks with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov and other officials were not limited to trade, energy exports, investment projects and coordination in multilateral forums. The public remarks made by officials from both sides noted the growing interest that people of both countries show in each other’s culture, cinema scene, and even cuisine. Days before Jaishankar landed in the Russian capital, thousands of people h…

Sources claim the operation is part of a high-profile investigation involving classified documents The FBI has raided the home and office of John Bolton, the renowned foreign policy hawk and a former national security adviser to US President Donald Trump, multiple outlets reported on Friday. The New York Post, which first broke the news, said the searches are part of a high-profile probe into the handling of classified documents. Bolton, notorious for his advocacy of regime change as a US foreign policy tool, served under Trump for 18 months during his first term before being fired in September 2019. Trump later called him a “nutjob…

Woody Allen will take part in a public talk amid continued Western attempts to cancel Russian culture Award-winning US filmmaker Woody Allen will take part in Moscow International Film Week, according to the event’s website. Kicking off this Saturday, the festival is expected to feature dozens of foreign participants. The event has attracted a large number of international attendees despite a wave of ‘cancel culture’ targeting Russian art and Western attempts to isolate the country’s creative community. The four-time Oscar winner, director and screenwriter will participate in the film week online, hosting a special session titled L…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has held talks with Japanese businesses as part of efforts to attract new markets amid US tariff challenges South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has met with several Japanese businesses in the renewable energy and auto sectors on the sidelines of the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development Summit (TICAD9) in Yokohama, Japan. This comes as Ramaphosa has embarked on a strategic mission to enhance South Africa’s economic landscape and diversification strategy by courting Japanese businesses in light of the recent 30% upsurge in tariffs to the US market. Japan is one of the major investors …

MAX is set to become the country’s go-to communications app as authorities take steps to reduce reliance on foreign tech platforms Russia’s new messenger app MAX will have to be pre-installed on electronic devices sold in the country, according to a directive published on the government’s website this week. The move is part of a push Moscow is making to strengthen its digital sovereignty by reducing reliance on foreign technology platforms. MAX will become mandatory starting September 1, according to the directive signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Tuesday, and will replace VK Messenger as the default Russian communicatio…

Russia and numerous experts have said the idea that the bombing was carried out by a small unit is improbable Italian media have released what they claim to be more details of the investigation into the Nord Stream pipeline bombing, alleging it was executed by a former Ukrainian serviceman and six accomplices. Nord Stream, which carried Russian natural gas to Germany and Western Europe via the Baltic Sea, was sabotaged in September 2022 by underwater explosions near Denmark’s Bornholm Island. Moscow has dismissed as “ridiculous” the theory that a small group could have carried out the attack. On Friday, Open.Online and Il Fatto Quo…

Refiners in the Asian nation are profiteering from Russian oil and perpetuating the Ukraine conflict, Peter Navarro has alleged India does not need to import Russian oil and is behaving like a “laundromat” for the Kremlin, US President Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro has claimed. Talking to reporters on Thursday, Navarro said he expects 25% punitive tariffs on Indian imports to take effect as planned on August 27 due to the South Asian nation's continued oil purchases from Russia. Navarro’s comments came hours after Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said New Delhi is “perplexed” with the logic of the US tariffs. “…

Ibrahim Mahamadu, popularly known as Bakoura, had led the terror group in the Lake Chad Basin since 2021, according to Niger’s military Soldiers from Niger’s army have killed a leader of the Boko Haram jihadist group, the West African country’s military announced on Thursday. The “notorious” Ibrahim Mahamadu, known as Bakoura, was neutralized during a “surgical operation” on Shilawa Island in Niger’s Diffa region, in the Lake Chad Basin near Niger’s borders with Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon, last week, according to a Nigerien Armed Forces statement. “Very early in the morning of August 15 an air force fighter aircraft launched thre…

The path that once secured stability for Finland is being repackaged. Stubb’s version offers Ukraine only one thing: endless war as a NATO outpost At the Washington summit on Monday, one guest stood out. The extended session of Euro-Atlantic leaders – hastily convened at the White House right after Donald Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Zelensky – brought together the usual heavyweights: the US, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and the heads of NATO and the EU. Yet seated at the same table was someone who, at first glance, hardly seemed to belong in that club of power brokers: Finland’s president, Alexander Stubb. To an outsider, it m…

Two suspects had attempted to assassinate Russian officials and were plotting further attacks, the FSB has said Russian law enforcement has broken up a Ukrainian intelligence cell in Donbass that was responsible for attempted assassinations of Russian officials and was planning further attacks, the Federal Security Service (FSB) has said. In a statement on Friday, the FSB said it had uncovered “an agent group of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR)” operating in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). The group included two Russian nationals, aged 38 and 28, who were allegedly involved in car bombings in March and Decem…

Berlin has begun testing open source tools to replace Microsoft software in pursuit of digital sovereignty Germany is considering abandoning Microsoft software in favor of open-source alternatives, Bild has reported. The move has come as countries across the world seek to boost their digital autonomy and reduce dependence on American technology firms. Germany’s Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs has confirmed that it intends to increase the use of European solutions and open-source software in government operations, according to the report, which was released on Wednesday. In a statement to Bild, the ministry said it is already t…