NATO's 75-year bloody legacy

Today marks the 75th anniversary of a legal document that would forever alter the landscape of global politics. On August 24, 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty, commonly known as the Washington Treaty, was officially enacted following the completion… pic.twitter.com/UVHHGuZUrp

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) August 24, 2024

■ NATO's Bloody Legacy in 90 Seconds (Sputnik News)
■ US Military Veteran: Putin Outplayed US Neocon Plan to Balkanize Russia (Sputnik News)

The bill outlaws any religious organizations considered to have ties to Moscow | Vladimir Zelensky has signed a law that calls for the banning of any religious group suspected of having ties to Russia. It threatens to effectively shut down the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) – the largest faith-based organization in the country. ● The Ukrainian parliament introduced the legislation earlier this week; it is expected to take effect in 30 days. After that, all the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and all affiliated religious organizations will be outlawed. ● The UOC will have nine months to sever all ties with the ROC, despite the Ukrainian church having already declared full autonomy from the Moscow Patriarchate in 2022, following the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict. ● After signing the legislation on Saturday, the country’s Independence Day, Zelensky released a video address stating that “Ukrainian Orthodoxy is today taking a step towards liberation from Moscow’s devils.” [...] Moscow has condemned Ukraine's crackdown on religious communities; the Holy Synod of the ROC issued a statement on Thursday comparing the new legislation with Soviet-style repression and other historical persecutions of Christians.

■ Kiev’s Plan To Ban The Ukrainian Orthodox Church Shows How Insecure It Is About National Identity (A. Korybko)
■ The country will be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah (Dmitry Medvedev)

Kyiv wants donors to lift restrictions on using long-range weapons to hit targets inside Russia, which they’ve imposed to lessen the threat of the war escalating. | Kyiv wants donors to lift restrictions on using long-range weapons to hit targets inside Russia, which they’ve imposed to lessen the threat of the war escalating. [...] Kyiv is pushing hard for donors to lift restrictions on using long-range weapons to hit targets inside Russia — a ban imposed by countries like the U.S. and the U.K. out of fear of crossing Russian leader Vladimir Putin's red lines. However, Ukraine's ongoing invasion of Russia undermines that argument.

■ Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 911 (Al Jazeera)
■ Russia Warns US Close To Making ‘Fatal’ Miscalculation Over Ukraine (Antiwar.com)(June 3, 2024)

■ The Ever Widening War (Paul Craig Roberts)
■ Mission Creep: The role of four NATO countries in the preparation of the attack on Kursk (Semyon Boykov)
■ World War III: “A NATO invasion of nuclear Russia is currently underway.” (Peter Koenig)

Yitzhak Brik, the former commander of Israeli military colleges and a long-serving army ombudsman, believes that his country would not survive a prolonged war on Gaza and beyond. | As Gaza ceasefire talks continue to stall thanks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hardliner stance and deliberate obstruction, some Israeli and Western analysts warn that things could easily take a grim turn for Tel Aviv. ● Despite the Israeli army relentlessly pounding Gaza for the past 10 months, killing more than 40,000 people, there are no signs that Hamas under new political leader Yahya Sinwar plans to surrender. The Palestinian resistance group continues to hold hostages and launch hit-and-run attacks on the occupying forces.

💬 "The country really is galloping towards the edge of an abyss. If the war of attrition against Hamas and Hezbollah continues, Israel will collapse within no more than a year," wrote Yitzhak Brik, a former top Israeli general, who served in different capacities in the army for decades, in a Haaretz article.

● Overnight Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 37 Palestinians, mostly in south and central Gaza. Medical sources say at least 32 of those killed have arrived at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
● Israel’s military issues fresh orders for residents to evacuate neighbourhoods in northern Gaza amid intense Israeli attacks in the north, centre and south of the Palestinian territory.
● White House says talks in Cairo to reach Gaza ceasefire have been “constructive”, but all sides must come together to implement proposed deal as US delegation plans to meet with mediators again on Sunday to try and close negotiation gaps.
● A 10-month-old baby in Gaza is now paralysed due to polio – the first case in the enclave in more than 25 years – the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees has confirmed.
● UN official says Palestinian children are “paying the heaviest price” as Gaza faces critical humanitarian aid shortages and spike in malnutrition.
● At least 40,265 people have been killed and 93,144 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 and more than 200 were taken captive.

■ Live blog: Overnight Israeli attacks in Gaza kills 14, including children (TRT World)
■ IOF bombard Gaza, kill 11 Palestinians after striking their home (Al Mayadeen)
■ Seven civilians injured in Israeli aggression on Syria (Al Mayadeen)

The former Democrat cited Ukraine, free speech and a “war on children” as his reasons | Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced he would back Republican candidate Donald Trump and end his independent run for president, but only in swing US states. The son of Senator Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy first tried to challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination last April. Faced with obstruction within the party, he announced a third-party bid last October.

■ Trump accepts Kennedy endorsement (RT.com)
■ Democrats’ Lack of Outreach to RFK Jr Shows Party’s Arrogance, Elitism - Analyst (Ted Rall/John Miles)