August 3, 2026

03 World

US, Gulf Allies Launch Strikes On Iranian Proxies Following ‘Surprise’ Attack On US Base trendingpoliticsnews.com
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The United States and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday evening conducted joint precision airstrikes targeting Iran-backed militias in Eastern Iraq. The strikes follow a “surprise” missile attack on a U.S. base in Jordan earlier in the day.

According to a statement from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), U.S. and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple logistics and weapons sites. CENTCOM described the targets as belonging to Iran-aligned groups that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had directed to carry out attacks on U.S. forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.

Tuesday’s operation was launched in response to more than 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks over the preceding 72 hours. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense stated that its air defenses had intercepted and destroyed several drones launched from Iraqi territory that targeted petroleum facilities in the Eastern Province and Riyadh regions.

Saudi Arabia’s statement framed the strikes as precise and targeted actions against objectives linked to those attacks, conducted in coordination with CENTCOM, and emphasized the kingdom’s right to self-defense while stating it does not seek escalation.

Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), an umbrella organization that includes Iran-backed groups integrated into Iraq’s security structure, reported that the strikes hit headquarters and facilities in multiple locations, including Baghdad and sites in other provinces. The PMF said at least 20 of its members were killed and 32 wounded, with damage to buildings and facilities.

Netanyahu Will Attend UN General Assembly in New York City legalinsurrection.com
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed he will attend the UN General Assembly in New York City in September.

I figured Netanyahu would, even though communist Mayor Zohran Mamdani threatened to arrest him and encouraged people to “protest” him.

Netanyahu told Sean Hannity:

But I’m definitely going there. I’m going to speak the truth in front of this, you know. There’s just hate spewing elected official who’s pitting one group of New Yorkers against the others. He’s turning them against New York Jews. I mean, what, are we in the 1930s? What is this? You know, so much hate, so many lies.

U.S. walks out on UN meeting following France’s human rights criticism – National globalnews.ca
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U.S. diplomats walked out as their French counterparts were speaking at the United Nations on Monday after America’s close European ally criticized the Trump administration’s human rights record.

The surprise move during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine followed U.S. opposition to giving U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk another four-year term. The reappointment on Friday got overwhelming support, including from France.

The U.S. walkout reflects not only the more strained relations between President Donald Trump and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, but also wider tensions between the U.S. and Europe. These include questions over Trump’s commitment to NATO, possible changes to U.S. troop deployments in Europe, and Trump’s desire to control Greenland, which belongs to NATO member Denmark.

Trump has complained that Europeans, who weren’t consulted, did not help the U.S. during the Iran war. Amid the tensions, Macron has taken a lead in trying to build up Europe’s military and ensure a nuclear umbrella as one of the continent’s two nuclear powers, along with Britain.

Khanna: Call to Arrest Netanyahu ‘Not Talking About Americans Who Are Subject to Our Own Law’ www.breitbart.com
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On Tuesday’s broadcast of CBS’s “The Takeout,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said that “We should not allow people in our jurisdiction who have an arrest warrant by the ICC.” But this isn’t a danger for Americans because “They don’t have any American arrest warrants. This is not talking about Americans who are subject to our own law. But that seems to be a consistent principle of international law, and I’d apply it to Putin like I’d apply it to Netanyahu.”

Khanna said, “Now, my view on Netanyahu is the same as my view on Putin, if you have a warrant for your arrest by the ICC, and you’re coming here — not to the U.N., because the U.N. has its own rules — but you’re coming to the United States, then you should be arrested. We should not allow people in our jurisdiction who have an arrest warrant by the ICC.”

He added, “People say, what about Americans? They don’t have any American arrest warrants. This is not talking about Americans who are subject to our own law. But that seems to be a consistent principle of international law, and I’d apply it to Putin like I’d apply it to Netanyahu.”

John Thune Isn’t Bowing to Trump’s Pressure: ‘Show Me How This Ends’ time.com
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“If I thought there was a path to getting a result, I’m all for it,” Thune told reporters this week.

The Senate is racing toward an August recess with a packed to-do list that seems doable: a sanctions bill targeting Russia, a stopgap funding measure to keep the government open through Election Day, movement on a catch-all reconciliation bill, and a bunch of nominees, including one that on Wednesday seemed to inch closer to giving Trump an up-or-down on his imperiled pick for Attorney General. But Trump says the upper chamber should not leave town until it gives him the SAVE America Act, his voting bill. He also wants the Senate to change its threshold for moving most legislation from 60 votes to 51 votes, ending the delay machine of the filibuster. 

“John Thune should not allow the United States Senate to ‘leave town’ until it passes The Save America Act or, far better still, TERMINATES THE FILIBUSTER, where Republicans can then quickly pass everything they ever dreamed of, including a full and deep throated SAVE AMERICA ACT, the Budget, and the ever looming Debt Ceiling disaster, 1929!” the President wrote on his social media platform. “The Dumocrats will do it on day one, and can’t believe how lucky they got with this Senate leadership.”


How Mexico Locked In Its Militarized Police State warontherocks.com
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In 2021, Andrew Ivey wrote, “‘I Have Other Data’: The Guardia Nacional and the Entrenchment of Mexico’s Militarization’,” where he warned Mexico was headed toward a militarization trap. Five years later, amidst increased pressure from the Trump administration and the election of a new Mexican president, we asked Andrew to revisit his arguments…

Has formalizing militarization in the Constitution changed anything in practice?The constitutional change locks in what was already happening on the ground, but also goes a little further. It’s right to note the transition from de facto to legal and formal military control. The National Guard is also under the control of the Secretariat of Defense, which is headed by an active-duty general. Guardia officers and troops are even educated in army universities.

The consequence of fully militarized federal-level policing means that future post-Sheinbaum governments will have very few — if any — opportunities to create alternative policing institutions. The constitutional change has locked Mexico into a path of militarization that frankly is much deeper than other large democracies in the region.However, it remains an open question if the Guardia can be retrained and repurposed. Though the Guardia is in the Secretariat of Defense’s educational system, attending the same schools, it could very well be that their curriculum is more police-like, or perhaps even gendarmerie-like, than soldier-like. That would be one significant step away from relying on soldiers and marines for public security, and even then, it would remain to be seen how a force educated in the military system, instructed and

California’s largest AI data center is suing for access to 287 million gallons of Colorado River water a year www.techspot.com
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A hot potato: Once again, an AI data center is embroiled in controversy. This time, it’s not land, electricity, or tax breaks under the spotlight, but water – specifically, water from the Colorado River. And the company behind the facility is suing to get it.

Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing (IVCM), the company behind what could become California’s largest AI data center, is suing the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) after the publicly owned utility rejected its application for water.

The proposed $10 billion, 950,000-square-foot, 330-megawatt facility would require roughly 750,000 gallons per day for cooling, or about 287 million gallons annually.

That amount equals around 880 acre-feet, just 0.03% of IID’s 3.1 million-acre-foot annual entitlement. However, the Colorado River is Imperial Valley’s only source of fresh water and supplies between 35 million and 40 million people across the West. Federal officials are preparing new operating rules as reservoirs remain under pressure from prolonged drought and weak runoff.

Developer Sebastian Rucci argues that the project wouldn’t increase overall demand. IVCM has leased 160 acres of nearby farmland and plans to stop irrigating it, redirecting roughly the same amount of water to the data center.

The Trump administration is preparing to activate a nearly billion dollar worldwide influence campaign designed to counter China’s advance. Part of this campaign will include funding the rebuilding of critical infrastructure, like international underseas communications cables, to assure China doesn’t come in to do the job for them.

US looks to boost anti-China spending worldwide, documents say abcnews.com
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WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is preparing to ramp up funding by hundreds of millions of dollars for programs designed to counter China’s growing influence around the world, after it had put a halt to many of those initiatives last year during a flurry of budget and personnel cuts.

The administration notified Congress late last week that it intends to spend $175.8 million to replace outdated and aging undersea telecommunications cables in the Caribbean and Central America to prevent China from moving in. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the notification on Monday.

The administration has expressed deep concern about China’s activities in the Americas, pushing back on Chinese ownership of ports at either end of the Panama Canal, infrastructure projects funded by China’s Belt and Road initiative in the region, and Chinese investment in the telecommunications sector.

A State Department official said China’s economic activities in the Western Hemisphere pose risks to U.S. national security and prosperity. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly to the subject and spoke on condition of anonymity, said China’s offerings may seem cheaper but in the end wind up being more expensive due to cost overruns, hidden maintenance fees and poor performance.

The underseas cable funding appears to be part of a broader push to restore support for initiatives aimed at blunting Chinese influence globally that would cost many hundreds of millions of dollars more. That is even as President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping put on a show of cooperation and Xi prepares to visit the U.S. this fall.

A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Japan on July 28, 2026. The epicenter was near Uto, which is on Kyushu Island. The earthquake caused widespread damage to buildings, including a partial collapse of a mall. As of right now, there are 34 dead and 124 injured. More than 10,000 people have been displaced.

Japan earthquake LIVE: Many feared dead as mall collapses after Kumamoto tremor | World | News www.express.co.uk
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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has urged people to evacuate to a safe location if they deem it necessary, following the devastating earthquake.

She said: “Power outages and fires have occurred in some ​areas, and there has also been damage to roads and bridges and the collapse of buildings.

“I ask everyone ‌to take action to protect themselves, including evacuating to a safe location.”

She added: “I have instructed relevant ministries to assess the damage, work closely with local government under the policy of putting human life first, wholeheartedly work on the disaster emergency response, and provide information to the people regarding tsunamis and evacuation.”

 

A new poll shows the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has a bigger bounce for his party than expected, with Labour now leading reform in the latest political polls. Labour took the lead by four over Reform. It is the first lead it has had since March 2025. Restore Britian was not offered as one of the choices in the poll.

Poll shows Labour ahead of Reform UK for first time since Burnham became PM – UK politics live | Politics www.theguardian.com
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Labour has regained its lead over Reform UK in More in Common polling, Luke Tryl, its director, says.

Here are the figures it has released today.

Opinion poll Photograph: More in Common

Tryl says:

Our latest voting intention sees a cross over. Labour move ahead by 4. Their first lead since March 2025 & highest share since Nov 24

He also says the Greens are on their lowest share of the vote since Zack Polanski became leader.

This is the first poll to show Labour ahead of Reform UK since Andy Burnham became PM. Other polls last week showed Labour narrowly behind Nigel Farage’s party, or Labour and Reform UK neck and neck.

For much of the past year, Reform UK has had a lead of 10 points or more over other parties in most opinion polls. Here are the figures from the Politico poll of polls tracker.

A new bill has been introduced in Britian that will legalize euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide. The bill is the same as the one that failed in 2024. This is just the latest effort to legalize the creation of a suicide industry that eventually enables the state to nudge economic liabilities towards death.

The Radical Bill to Legalize Assisted Suicide in Britain is Back www.lifenews.com
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The following message was sent out by Not Dead Yet UK:

By now you’ll know that the assisted dying bill is back.

On 17 June, Labour MP Lauren Edwards introduced a new version of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. MPs will vote on whether it should proceed at its second reading on 11 September 2026. That’s less than two months away.

So what’s new?Honestly? Not much.

This is the same bill Kim Leadbeater brought forward in 2024 — the one that spent months being picked apart in the House of Lords, generating more than 1,300 amendments before running out of time in April. The bill fell not because it was defeated, but because Parliament was prorogued. Now it’s back, with two minor Lords amendments incorporated.

The first is a technical Wales amendment. Because delivering health services is devolved to the Welsh Government, the bill now requires the Senedd to give its approval before Welsh Ministers can set up the regulations for assisted dying in Wales. It’s a constitutional housekeeping change. It doesn’t alter what the bill actually does.

The second concerns people with eating disorders. This one is more serious. During the Lords debates earlier this year, peers raised concerns that someone with anorexia could potentially stop eating — deliberately — in order to reach the six-month terminal threshold and qualify for an assisted death. A minor amendment was added in the Lords to address this. But experts who work with people with eating disorders say it doesn’t go far enough. The loophole, they argue, remains. We agree.

AI Capability Races Ahead of the Business Payoff | American Enterprise Institute www.aei.org
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The state of the AI revolution can be confusing. At times, it can seem as if the latest artificial intelligence models are showing huge capability increases. One example is when two OpenAI models broke out of the lab, accessed the internet, and broke into another AI company. Or, as a Wall Street Journal headline put it, “The Day the Bots Broke Loose.”

But then you might come across another headline from the Wall Street Journal: “Big Companies Are Starting to Hire Again, Defying Predictions of AI Wipeout.” And from that piece:

The push to expand head count, at least modestly, is a reversal from the prevailing corporate messaging during much of the AI era. Major employers largely held back on adding people due to economic uncertainties or a belief that artificial intelligence could shoulder more tasks on the job. But some executives say the costs and limitations of AI now demand that more people be added; others want to hire people back following layoffs.

Iran releases sick video on ‘where and how’ to kill Melania Trump | World | News www.express.co.uk
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A horrifying video released in Iran has sparked outrage after the clip detailed “how and where” to kill First Lady Melania Trump. In the footage, a narrator speaking Farsi discusses “plots” while images show Mr and Mrs Trump on a map, detailing their code names and the precautions the Secret Service takes to secure the streets along their motorcades.

The narrator claims that “the documents used in this video are the result of extracting information from several anonymous security networks and satellite images”. They also propose a potential poisoning plot that could be executed by “freedom fighters” with access to locations the First Lady frequently attends.

The footage implies that Mrs Trump’s “love of fashion” reflects her vulnerability, even suggesting potential bribery schemes tied to her shopping patterns.

Billboards have also appeared on bridges and structures throughout Tehran, Iran, calling for the deaths of Mr Trump and his family members. One featured images of his children, Ivanka and Barron, alongside his wife.

All three were shown with their eyes closed, with the word “KILLED” in red across the top. It added: “Hey, Terrorist! Get ready to die.”

Hundreds of Ukrainian Drones Target Moscow in Overnight Blitz www.themoscowtimes.com
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Nearly 400 Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow and the surrounding region overnight, local authorities said Tuesday morning, as a separate strike in the southwestern Belgorod region injured at least 19 people, according to officials.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 390 drones had been tracked in the skies above the wider Moscow region since Monday night, noting that “most” of them were intercepted. He did not report any damage or injuries.

Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov said an apartment building in the town of Chekhov, located around 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of the Russian capital, was hit in a drone attack. Local authorities said the building’s facade and two apartment units were damaged, but added that there were no casualties.

Air defense systems downed “a few dozen” Ukrainian drones elsewhere in the Moscow region, including in Podolsk, Domodedovo and Kolomna, Vorobyov said.

Netanyahu heads to US for first Trump meeting since Iran war www.channelnewsasia.com
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JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday (Jul 28) for the first time since the start of the Iran war, over which they have publicly disagreed.

Relations between Netanyahu and Trump have occasionally appeared strained in recent months, but both have sought to tone things down.

Tuesday’s meeting is expected to be dominated by the war, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, as Washington says it wants to give negotiations a chance.

Israel has not taken part in the latest round of hostilities between the United States and Iran, which flared earlier this month after an April ceasefire collapsed.

Tuesday’s meeting will be the eighth between the leaders since Trump’s return to office last year, as well as their first in-person talks since the war began.

“This is a great privilege, but it is also a great responsibility,” Netanyahu said before departing Israel on Monday.

Venezuela Quake Toll Passes 5,500, Operation Blessing Provides 70,000+ Meals and More www.cbn.com
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It’s been just over a month since the June 24 earthquakes devastated Venezuela. The death toll is now above 5,500 as teams removing debris continue to find bodies.

The government is estimating the total damage at $19.6 billion so far. That includes $9 billion in destroyed or severely damaged homes.

More than 23,000 people are living in temporary locations. CBN’s Operation Blessing is on hand to help those who’ve lost their homes.

Theiris Dellimore was living on the street after the quake. Authorities told her the home was too dangerous to live in, that parts of it could collapse.

The Operation Blessing team provided Theiris and her family with a tent, mattresses, food, and hygiene supplies. Now, she says, they’re safe from the rain and the cold at night.

“Gracias. First of all, thank you. May God continue to bless you so that you can continue to bless Venezuela so that you can continue to help us. We’re just getting started. We still have a long way to go. Don’t forget about us,” she said.

The First Waves of Amphibious Assault Will Be Unmanned warontherocks.com
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In the Pacific War, the U.S. Navy’s underwater demolition teams prepared the way for U.S. and allied amphibious landings on enemy-held islands. Through beach reconnaissance, obstacle breaching, mine clearance, and other missions, these teams paved paths for the first waves of amphibious assaults conducted by naval task forces and subsequent landings by marines and soldiers throughout the island hopping campaign 

These critical first steps of an amphibious operation were incredibly risky in World War II. And the underwater demolition teams, which were the predecessors of the Navy SEALs, were understandably proud of their work. The Marine Corps prided itself on being first to hit the beach. And when marines did hit the beach, they often arrived to find signs left by the underwater demolitions team saying, “Welcome Marines.” 

Precision strike weapons make such operations more perilous than ever. There may never be an American servicemember preparing or landing with the first wave of an opposed amphibious assault again. And it may be robots welcoming marines and soldiers to the beach in these future fights.  

Firefighters in France hold back vast wildfire as heat returns to test their grip abcnews.com
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Firefighters have kept a vast wildfire in southwest France from advancing overnight, extinguishing flare-ups near Atlantic coast dunes before returning heat and drier air threatens to test their hold on the blaze

LEGE-CAP FERRET, France — Firefighters kept a vast wildfire in southwest France from advancing overnight Tuesday, extinguishing flare-ups near Atlantic coast dunes before returning heat and drier air threatened to test their hold on the blaze.

The fire remained stabilized at 6 a.m. after a calm night and the burned area was unchanged at 420 square kilometers (162 square miles), the Gironde prefecture said.

Several flare-ups were detected overnight north of Le Porge and in dune land north of Cap Ferret but were brought under control by firefighters, authorities said.

The areas lie along the Atlantic coast west of Bordeaux, where crews have battled the blaze since it erupted near Saumos last week.