Under a secret contract with US intelligence agencies, Elon Musk's SpaceX is producing a constellation of hundreds of reconnaissance satellites worth almost $2 billion, according to a report by Reuters.

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🇻🇪 Venezuela's ruling United Socialist Party has nominated incumbent Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as a candidate for an upcoming presidential election scheduled for July, party's vice president Diosdado Cabello said.

"Approved ... President Nicolas Maduro, your party is in front of you, this party now has a candidate," Cabello said during the party's congress meeting.

The Venezuelan presidential election is scheduled for July 28.

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❗️ Niger tears up a military agreement with the US that allows the US Armed Forces to stay in the country, media reported.

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Ukraine has shelled the city of Graivoron in the Russian Belgorod Region. No casualties were reported but 2 private houses caught fire and a social facility was damaged, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

About 10 settlements in the area remain cut off from electricity due to Ukrainian shelling, according to the governor.

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❗️ The Nigerien government terminated the military agreement with the United States, which allows US troops to remain on the territory of the African country, Reuters reported, citing the spokesman for the military transitional government of Niger, Amadou Abdramane.

As a result of a military takeover in Niger on July 26, 2023, President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted and detained by his own guard, led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani.

Following the takeover, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) threatened military action against Niger after that country’s Western-supported leader was thrown out of office by the country’s military leadership, but it quickly opted for sanctions instead.

After Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso announced that they plan to leave ECOWAS, the bloc dropped sanctions on Niger and urged the three nations to remain in the organization.

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Russian air defenses destroyed three Ukrainian drones over the Kaluga region, Governor Vladislav Shapsha said.

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Russian air defenses destroyed a Ukrainian S-200 ballistic missile over the Bryansk region, no casualties were reported, governor Alexander Bogomaz said.

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France will propose a ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict for the duration of the Olympic Games in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron said, adding that Paris is ready to react if the conflict escalates, but will not initiate aggression.

"We will ask for it," Macron said in an interview with Ukrainian TV channels when asked if he would offer Russia a ceasefire for the duration of the Olympics. The Paris Olympics will be held from July 26 to August 11.

He also said he was ready to discuss proposals to de-escalate the conflict in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I will pick up the phone [if Putin calls]. That is my responsibility and I will listen to what he proposes. France's role [in the Ukraine conflict] is to be the 'nerve of the war' ... On the one hand, it is necessary to transfer to Ukraine everything necessary to strengthen its defense capabilities, military equipment, but at the same time to promote de-escalation ... If Putin wants to offer something, I will listen to his proposal," the French president said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed in an interview with Dmitry Kiselev, director general of Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, that he is ready for peace talks with Ukraine, but stressed that he trusts no one and will seek guarantees. He also recalled that the West had repeatedly made promises that were immediately broken.

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One Syrian soldier was injured as a result of an Israeli airstrike in southern Syria, Syrian news agency SANA reported, citing a source in the Syrian Defense Ministry.

The report added that the Israeli armed forces carried out the strike from the Golan Heights on a number of Syrian positions in the south.

Air defense forces shot down several missiles, the report read, adding that some material damage was also caused.

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On thin ice: US falling behind Russia in mobility in Arctic region

As the United States’ armed forces restructure to wage large-scale combat against adversaries like Russia and China, US lawmakers are pressing for renewed attention to an often-overlooked region of the globe.

General Gregory Guillot, who heads up the US’ Northern Command, warned Congress this week that the United States only has one remaining large icebreaker ship while Russia has about 40. Icebreaker ships are designed with a special reinforced shape and increased power to enable them to pierce through polar sea ice, opening up routes for more traditional vessels.

“We do appreciate that the Coast Guard is procuring more icebreakers, but even with those, we will be severely outnumbered,” said Guillot. “That does limit our freedom of maneuver in that region.”

Speculation has emerged the Arctic could represent a major theater of war in future conflicts. Russia would be well prepared for such a contingency, possessing the most powerful icebreaker ships in the world. Russia is so far the only nation to operate nuclear-powered icebreaker vessels.

The US’ lone heavy icebreaker ship, the Coast Guard’s 13,000-ton Polar Star, was commissioned nearly 50 years ago.

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Russia and the Central African Republic are discussing new contracts to develop defense industry cooperation between the two countries, CAR Prime Minister Felix Molua told Sputnik.

"Discussions on this topic have advanced. I am not aware of the details, but I am sure that the defense minister responsible for this topic will probably tell you more. I know that such discussions are taking place," Molua said.

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Russian air defenses downed several Ukrainian drones near the Slavyansk oil refinery in the Russian Krasnodar region. But one of the drones crashed and caused a fire, according to the Telegram channel of the operational headquarters of the region.

"Another attempted terrorist attack by the criminal Kiev regime. At night at around 3 a.m. [Moscow time] several UAVs tried to attack the Slavyansk refinery. According to the EDDS of the Slavyansk district, the drones were neutralized, but as a result of the downing of one of the apparatuses there was a fire," read a Telegram message.

It was clarified that the fire has now been extinguished.

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Russian air defenses shot down two Ukrainian drones near the city of Domodedovo in the Moscow region which were heading towards Moscow. No injuries or damage were reported per preliminary information, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin wrote on Telegram.

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Native American lawsuit in New York sheds light on dark aspect of US history

A lawsuit by the indigenous Onondaga Nation against the US government is drawing attention to America’s colonial past and its ongoing disregard for the rights of indigenous people.

“If we don’t admit that those things have happened, how do we move forward together?” asked Joe Heath, a lawyer for the Onondaga tribe as it files suit against the United States at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The indigenous nation hopes to receive recognition of the theft of its historical territory and a say in environmental policy in their historic lands, which are despoiled by 24 polluted Superfund sites.

The doctrine of discovery, a colonial-era legal concept granting European explorers the right to take indigenous lands, was cited by the US Supreme Court as recently as 2005 in a ruling against another New York tribe. Today, the same sense of ennoscriptment is observed as the United States fashions itself as a global arbiter and enforcer of morality.

From the legacy of African slavery, Manifest Destiny, Jim Crow and the Monroe Doctrine right up to American exceptionalism and the dictates of foreign policy neoconservatives, the United States has insisted on enforcing its will on others. Should a country with such history be allowed to lecture others? The modern struggle for a multipolar world promises to finally answer that question in favor of the oppressed.

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Russian air defenses destroyed a Ukrainian drone in the Ramenki District and another in the Stupinsky District of the Moscow region. Both were reportedly heading towards Moscow. No injuries or damage were reported per preliminary information, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin wrote on Telegram.

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Four Ukrainian drones attacked the settlement of Oktyabrsky in the Belgorod region, dropping explosive devices. The incident resulted in no casualties but damaged power and gas supply lines, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram.

Emergency services are expected to restore the supply lines soon.

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Russian air defenses destroyed a Ukrainian drone near the city of Kaluga, no casualties or damage were reported Kaluga region Governor Vladislav Shapsha said.

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The topic of the possible entry of South Ossetia into Russia is being discussed in close coordination with Moscow, South Ossetian Parliament Chairman Alan Alborov told Sputnik.

"We are discussing all these issues in close coordination with the Russian Federation, taking into account our bilateral relations and agreements," Alborov said when asked about the possibility of holding a referendum on this topic.

The two parties pursue a joint coordinated foreign policy, Alborov said, noting that South Ossetia will become part of Russia when the governments of South Ossetia and Russia come to this idea.

On August 26, 2008, following Georgia's armed aggression against Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Russia recognized the independence of the two breakaway regions. The two republics were subsequently recognized by Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Syria.

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Russian air defenses wiped out four Ukrainian drones in the Yaroslavl region. No injuries or damage were reported per preliminary information, Governor Mikhail Yevraev wrote on Telegram.

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Feeling strain of war, Israel considers connoscripting ultra-Orthodox Jewish population

Ultra-Orthodox Jews have long been exempted from military service in Israel as young members of the religiously conservative community devote themselves to study of the Torah in schools known as yeshivas. But that policy may change as Israeli society feels the strain of the country’s months-long operation in Gaza.

“There are not enough soldiers,” said opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid at a Thursday rally in Tel Aviv. “And at the same time there are 66,000 young and healthy members of the Haredi community, at enlistment age, who are not joining.”

The issue is a conundrum for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who counts many conservative and ultra-Orthodox Jews among his political coalition. But polling shows most Israelis oppose the community’s exemption, and Netanyahu’s opposition has hammered him over the issue.

Israel’s economy has been battered in recent months as a portion of the workforce has been called up to fight in Gaza. The prospect of war against Hezbollah in Lebanon threatens to place even more strain on the IDF. Additionally, some half a million Israelis have reportedly fled the country since last October’s Hamas attack.

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