A helicopter transporting President Ebrahim Raisi encountered an accident earlier on Sunday in the East Azerbaijan province. | According to initial reports, some of the President’s companions aboard the helicopter have managed to make contact with central authorities, raising hopes that the incident may end without any fatalities. ● The President’s convoy consisted of three helicopters. While two of these, carrying various ministers and officials, successfully reached their destination, the helicopter carrying President Raisi faced difficulties. ● Among those reported to be with President Raisi was Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian. Rescue operations are currently underway, and further details on the condition of the passengers are awaited.

■ ‘Humanity is with Raeisi’: People worldwide pray for Iranian president’s safety (PressTV)
■ Official: Exact location of Iranian President’s helicopter crash identified (Iran Front Page)
■ BREAKING: Iranian president missing in helicopter crash on Azerbaijan border, presumed dead (BNE IntelliNews)
■ BREAKING: Iranian president feared dead after helicopter crash (Politics Nigeria)
■ DEVELOPING: Search underway after helicopter carrying Iran's leader crashes (TRT World)
■ Helicopter carrying pres. Raeisi crashes in East Azarbaijan (Mehr News)
■ What we know so far on Iranian President Raisi's helicopter that made a "hard landing" (The Star, Kenya)

Dmitry Medvedev (Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council) (Дмитрий Медведев) |If it goes on like this, the guaranteed sanitary zone will be somewhere on the border with Poland...Or in Poland itself | After all, the retarded NATO strategists sincerely want Russia to control almost all of Ukraine. That is why they are giving the Banderite authorities more and more long-range weapons. ■ And it is not the first time that President Putin has said that to live peacefully our country will have to create a sanitary zone, within which the neo-Nazi regime will not be able to attack objects on the territory of Russia (including, of course, all the lands returned to our state). It is not difficult to calculate that if the Kyiv regime uses Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG missiles with a range of at least 550 kilometers and with a distance of 429 kilometers between Belgorod and Kyiv, practically the entire central and a significant part of the western territories of former Ukraine will fall within such a sanitary zone. Ukraine falls within such a sanitary zone. In other words, there should be Russia everywhere (550 km plus another 70-100 km to be sure). ■ Otherwise, the safety of our towns and villages cannot be ensured. Even if we imagine that some document has been signed with Kyiv (or rather - with Washington), any new Bandera half-wit with missiles is quite capable of violating it. The consequences are obvious. ■ If it goes on like this, the guaranteed sanitary zone will be somewhere on the border with Poland. Or in Poland itself. And this is quite dangerous. All the more so because non-strategic nuclear weapons, which our country has announced exercises with, are a very broad term. Such weapons (tactical or non-strategic), as everyone knows, include nuclear charges significantly exceeding the power of Little Boy and Fat Man. ■ So calculate well the range of what you allocate to the Nazis, gentlemen.(Translation: DeepL + Grammarcheck: Grammarly)

■ Ukraine SitRep: Kharkiv Incursion Forensics - Attacks On Russia And Russian Revenge (Moon of Alabama)

Israeli Minister of Security Yoav Gallant urges Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reject the establishment of military rule in Gaza due to its severe consequences, including strategic, security, and economic costs. | Israeli Minister of Security Yoav Gallant held a press conference yesterday, urging Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to announce that he would not establish military rule in the Gaza Strip and to deeply discuss the issue of the "day after." ● According to Haaretz, his words did not come from nowhere, as the establishment of military rule in Gaza is an alternative under consideration by Netanyahu, and it enjoys the support of the far-right. [...] This marks the second time Gallant has taken such a step: warning Netanyahu, with the public as a witness. During the last upheaval in the government, Gallant called for an immediate halt to legislation due to a "clear and immediate" threat to state security, stating that "the threats around us are significant, both near and far." ● This time, according to Haaretz, the minister warned of the dangerous and frightening plan that is currently under serious consideration, emphasizing that it is...

💬 "...a bad and dangerous alternative for Israel, strategically, security-wise, and militarily," and that "as a state, we face a multi-faceted security threat with specific resources and Israeli military rule in Gaza will become Israel's primary security effort in the coming years at the expense of other arenas, as well as costing lives, victims, and a high economic price."

■ Israeli leadership split over plans for governing Gaza after war with Hamas: reports (New York Post)
■ Israeli Political Crisis Deepens as IDF Failures Prompt Cabinet Resignation Threat (Sputnik News)

Warsaw’s new policy is aimed at ensuring the “neutrality” of public offices | Poland’s capital has instructed civil servants not to display crucifixes and other religious symbols at Warsaw City Hall, sparking backlash from conservative groups. ● According to the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper, officials will not be permitted to hang crosses or crucifixes on the walls or keep them on their desks. Government employees will still be allowed to wear crosses while at work, however. ● The new rules are part of a broader set of regulations aimed at combating various forms of discrimination. Officials have been instructed to use gender-neutral language, address people by their preferred pronouns, and not discriminate against same-sex couples. “Warsaw is the first city in Poland to adopt such a document,” City Hall spokeswoman Monika Beuth said. ● Some politicians and religious groups have argued that such regulations are inappropriate in a predominantly Catholic country.

■ Georgian parliament passes ‘foreign agent’ bill, prompting US anger, new protests | After passage on third reading, the bill now goes to President Salome Zourabichvili, who has said she will veto it, but her decision can be overridden by another vote in parliament, controlled by the ruling party and its allies. The law would require organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence, imposing onerous disclosure requirements and punitive fines for violations.

Robert Fico was hospitalized with gunshot wounds on Wednesday | Fico was attacked on Wednesday in the central Slovak city of Handlova. When he approached a group of spectators, one person pulled out a handgun and shot the politician several times at close range. Fico was rushed to the hospital, and the assailant was detained on the spot. ● Kalinak, who also serves as defense minister, spoke to the news channel TA3 outside the Roosevelt Hospital in Banska Bystrica, where Fico is being treated. He remained cautiously optimistic about the prime minister’s recovery.

💬 “He is in stable condition, but the four gunshot wounds have caused extensive injuries,” Kalinak said. He added that Fico had undergone additional surgery, and that there still could be complications. “In any case, his condition is very serious.”

■ UPDATE: 19 May, 2024 10:00: Fico’s condition ‘no longer life-threatening’