👨‍🚀 🇺🇸 🚀 NASA Says Boeing Starliner Astronauts May Fly Home on SpaceX in 2025

🔶️ The agency had insisted for a couple of months that it was confident that Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore would return on Starliner.

🔶️ For weeks, NASA has downplayed problems experienced by Starliner, a Boeing spacecraft that took two astronauts to the International Space Station in June. But on Wednesday, NASA officials admitted that the problems with the spacecraft were more serious than first thought, and that the astronauts may not travel home on the Boeing vehicle, after all.

🔶️ The agency is exploring a backup option for the astronauts, Suni Wiliams and Butch Wilmore, to hitch a ride back to Earth on a vehicle built by Boeing’s competitor SpaceX instead. Their stay in orbit, which was to be as short as eight days, may extend into next year.

🔶️ The announcement adds more headaches and embarrassment to a troubled year for Boeing, an aerospace giant that has billions of dollars of federal contracts in defense and space and that builds commercial jets flown around the world. In addition to the substantial woes faced by the company’s civil aviation division, Boeing announced on Thursday that it was writing off $125 million spent on the Starliner program, adding to $1.5 billion of earlier unexpected costs.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/07/science/boeing-starliner-nasa-spacex.html

https://archive.ph/4lmfu

🇮🇷🕊🇮🇱 — 📰 Politico: Iran might be second-guessing its Israel attack

➡️ Iran may be rethinking launching a multi-pronged attack on Israel, U.S. officials say.

➡️ The Biden administration has in recent days worked through diplomatic channels, bringing in its Middle East allies to lobby Tehran to reconsider moving forward with a military attack on Israel. They’ve warned Iran that a massive strike would only inflame tensions and risk a direct confrontation between the two countries, two senior U.S. officials said.

➡️ The administration has also urged Iran to rethink its reaction to the blast that killed Hamas leader ISMAIL HANIYEH, because his death appears to be the result of a remote-controlled bomb that had been placed in his Tehran guesthouse in a covert operation, rather than as part of a larger attack.

➡️ Now, Tehran is increasingly on board with Washington’s thinking, though it initially denied it, the officials said. Both were granted anonymity to speak freely about sensitive intelligence assessments.

🔗 Link
https://archive.is/EYFDm

🇷🇺💣💥 — 🇷🇺Monarchist billionaire and Tsargrad TV founder Konstantin Valerievich Malofeev, which in 2017 was placed on the international wanted list by Ukraine, asked on Telegram for the use of nuclear tactical bombs by the Russian Armed Forces against Ukraine following its military operations in Kursk region:

"HOW MUCH IS IT POSSIBLE?

The war came to the Kursk region. This is no longer shelling or an attack by saboteurs, but a planned army operation to seize strategically important equipment and territory, developed in Kyiv and approved in Washington.

The enemy took control of more than a dozen settlements. On the way to their goals, the Armed Forces of Ukraine spared neither women, nor children, nor doctors, nor shrines. The enemy purposefully attacked the churches of the Gornalsky monastery, Orthodoxy, which from time immemorial had united the Russian world.

The Nazis from the Ukrainian Armed Forces have no chance of success. Russia knows well what it means to defeat the Nazis at Kursk. However, the local success clearly encouraged Kyiv, which means that similar attacks will be repeated. The red line has once again been crossed, the population and infrastructure of the Central Russian regions of Russia are in danger. We do not have the right to abandon our own in trouble.

We can and must deliver a truly powerful retaliatory strike, which will force the West to stop supporting Ukraine and thereby put an end to the Northeast Military District.

Russia's tactical nuclear weapons have waited their time — they should become the weapon of Victory. The military command will determine the specific point of impact, give the civilian population 48 hours and finally end this war.

History completes another circle. 79 years ago, in the August days, the Americans demonstrated their nuclear power over peaceful Japanese cities and thereby ended World War II. Now the demonstration of Russian nuclear power over military and infrastructure facilities should prevent a third world war.‌‌"

🔗 Source:

🇺🇦📞🇲🇽— 📰 Al-Arabiya: Ukraine demands Mexico arrest Putin if he attends inauguration of new president
https://x.com/AlArabiya_Brk/status/1821394929890861205

🇬🇧👮❌🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧 —📰 British Media, Sky News on Twitter/X:

"The fears of extreme right disorder were abated."

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley speaks after 100 anticipated far right protests largely failed to materialise last night.

🔗 Sky News (@SkyNews)

🇬🇧👮‍♂️📞🇬🇧 — PSNI appeals for loyalist paramilitaries to help end "racist Belfast rioting", reports Belfast Telegraph

➡️ Paramilitaries have refused to use their influence to end racially-motivated street disorder.

➡️ PSNI community officers have been in contact with senior loyalists to ask if they would help restore calm in south Belfast following several nights of violence.

➡️ However, they have hit a brick wall, with all those contacted refusing to intervene.

➡️ A senior loyalist told the Belfast Telegraph: “We didn’t start this, we aren’t behind it, and we aren’t about to take ownership of it.”

➡️ On Saturday anti-immigration protesters, who had earlier attended a rally at Belfast City Hall, took part in a rampage through the streets, with Muslim businesses attacked and three police officers injured.

➡️ There was further trouble on Monday night.

➡️ To date, five people have been arrested, the youngest being just 15. Police fired plastic baton rounds during disturbances on Saturday and again on Monday evening in loyalist Sandy Row.

➡️ With further anti-immigration protests planned for Friday, there are fears the violence could spread.

🔗 Link
https://archive.is/DqhEz

🇹🇷❌🎮 — 📰 Turkiye Today: Roblox banned in Türkiye following nationwide Instagram block

➡️Roblox, the widely popular online gaming platform, is banned in Türkiye on Wednesday, a move that comes in the wake of a nationwide block on Instagram. This decision has intensified discussions on digital freedom and content moderation practices within the country.

➡️ Türkiye’s Roblox ban was primarily motivated by reports of inappropriate sexual content on the platform, which was perceived as exploiting children, according to a Directorate of Communications official.

➡️ Additional issues have led to Türkiye’s ban on Roblox included claims that Roblox hosted virtual parties promoting homosexuality and that “robux,” the platform’s virtual currency, was being distributed by bot accounts to encourage children’s involvement in these activities.

➡️ The official also noted significant challenges in monitoring and regulating content on Roblox, contributing to the decision. The Adana Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office initiated an investigation into these matters, which ultimately led to the nationwide restriction.

🔗 Link

🇹🇷❌🌐💻 — Turkey blocks access to 27 popular VPN services amid tightening internet restrictions, reports Internet Freedom NGO

➡️ Turkey has expanded its crackdown on internet access by banning 27 popular Virtual Private Network (VPN) services, according to the Freedom of Expression Association.

The list of banned VPN services comprises:

Proton,
Surfshark,
TunnelBear,
WARP,
Psiphon,
CyberGhost,
IPVanish,
Hotspot Shield,
Nord,
Express,
Private Internet Access,
HideMyAss,
VPN 365,
PureVPN,
ZenVPN,
Private Tunnel,
Secure VPN,
SurfEasy,
Snap,
Turbo VPN,
HideMe,
Rely VPN,
Speed VPN,
VPN Unlimited,
Hola VPN,
Touch VPN and
Super VPN.

➡️ VPNs, which allow users to bypass government-imposed internet restrictions by encrypting their online activities, have been a popular tool for Turkish citizens to access blocked websites and social media platforms.

➡️ Critics argue that the ban on VPNs is a further step towards curbing online freedom and silencing dissenting voices. Human rights organizations and digital rights groups have expressed deep concern over the impact of these restrictions on free speech and access to information.

🔗 Link
🔗 Link

🇷🇺🤝💸❗️ — 🇷🇺 Russian State Media, RIA Novosti on Telegram:

Putin signed a law allowing foreign trade settlements and exchange trading in cryptocurrency under experimental legal regimes from September 1.

The Central Bank is already discussing the terms of the experiment with the Cabinet of Ministers and businesses, and expects the first payments to be made before the end of the year.

https://news.1rj.ru/str/rian_ru/256549

🇷🇺🤝💸❗️ — 🇷🇺 Russian State Media, RIA Novosti on Telegram:

Putin signed a law that will legalize cryptocurrency mining in Russia from November.

Legal entities and individual entrepreneurs included in the register of the Ministry of Digital Development will be able to engage in mining.

Russians who are not individual entrepreneurs will be able to mine digital currency without being included in the register, if they do not exceed the energy consumption limits set by the government.

https://news.1rj.ru/str/rian_ru/256543

🇷🇺YouTube has completely stopped opening in many regions of the Russian Federation, local publics report.

Monitoring services confirm a large-scale failure.

Let us recall that in recent weeks, YouTube's work has slowed down in the Russian Federation, and the authorities have allowed it to be completely blocked.