🇺🇳🇵🇸 The United Nations Security Council will vote on Thursday on Palestine's bid to become a full member state of the UN, AFP reported, citing multiple diplomatic sources.

In early April, Palestine submitted a letter requesting that the consideration of its application to become a full member state of the UN be renewed. On April 8, the UN Security Council referred a renewed consideration of Palestine's 2011 application for UN membership to its Committee on the Admission of New Members.

The admission of new members to the UN is decided by the General Assembly upon the Security Council’s recommendation, which requires favorable votes from at least nine of the 15 members of the council and no vetoes from the five permanent members (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and Russia).

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US media ramps up Neo-McCarthyism as election approaches

“It's poppycock. I think the British call it bollocks,” said former intelligence analyst Ray McGovern of mainstream media’s warnings of alleged Russian influence in the US’ upcoming election. “My diplomatic friends from the State Department say ‘male bovine excrement.’ It seethes from The New York Times.” McGovern, a reformed ex-CIA officer, made the claim on Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program.

“As ludicrous as all this stuff is with prominent congresspeople saying ‘the Russians are coming’... it’s nothing to laugh [at],” said McGovern. “If Biden decides to up the ante in Ukraine to prevent a definitive loss to the Russians before the election, I dare say at least a good segment of American society will have been so conditioned by this Russiagate stuff that they will support this kind of thing. And who knows what that will do to the rest of us.”

McGovern recalled the sworn testimony of security firm CrowdStrike’s head Shawn Henry in 2018 that it had found no evidence of Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee’s email system in its investigation of the issue – a fact conveniently ignored by media outlets that continue to run jingoistic Russiagate stories at the behest of US intelligence agencies.

US Senator Chuck Schumer once cautioned former President Trump about the power of US intelligence. “Let me tell you, you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday of getting back at you,” the lawmaker warned. Years later it was revealed the CIA had spied on Trump’s campaign: an illegal abuse that was met with no consequence.

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“Justice delayed is justice denied,” an American human rights lawyer Dan Kovalik described the latest development in the Abu Ghraib case.

Three Iraqi victims were finally given their day in court on Monday after waiting for nearly two decades regarding human rights abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.

“Ultimately, photos were exposed of prisoners stripped naked, people, you know, they would make a pyramid of naked prisoners. And then, the soldiers would, you know, take selfies in front of that, and people who were, stood up on pedestals and made to at least believe that they were hooked up to electric shocks—and dogs [were also] sicked on people, and people's families [were] threatened and [people were] sexually abused,” the human rights lawyer told Sputnik’s Fault Lines program.

Eleven low-ranking US soldiers were convicted and jailed for their roles in the Abu Ghraib torture scandal. Former President Barack Obama had promised to investigate and potentially prosecute any Bush-era officials responsible for the torture but failed to do so.

“Torture has been part of the CIA's program since its inception,” said Kovalik, when asked about the lack of accountability. “There are still CIA black sites around the world where people are being tortured as we speak, and this is all part of the US' attempt to rule the world. And part of that is dehumanizing people.”

Kovalik suggested that many Americans who follow the mainstream news cycle are not thinking of this case which was first reported in 2004.

“The US takes the position that the US has immunity in the world. It's not a party to the Rome Statute in the International Criminal Court. It says it's not even subject to the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. It does not want justice for its crimes, particularly those committed abroad, and I don't think you're going to see that justice anytime soon," Kovalik emphasized.

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The US Army is struggling to update a piece of equipment that’s been a staple of militaries since the 16th century.

British newspaper The Telegraph reports the Pentagon has been attempting to create a next-generation howitzer since the early 1990s. The Army’s current iteration of armament, the M-109, dates back to 1963.

🔻 The service’s first attempt, dubbed the Crusader, first emerged as a more ambitious concept that was revised after the Cold War ended. Army contractor United Defense attempted to complete the design for a decade before it was canceled by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, citing cost overruns.

🔻 A new concept then emerged as part of the Army’s Future Combat Systems, a program that proposed a lightweight howitzer operated by radio control. But realities of electronic warfare made the concept unworkable while drone attacks call for weaponry that’s more armored instead of less.

🔻 The Army’s third crack at updating the howitzer, the Extended Range Cannon Artillery, featured a long barrel capable of striking targets farther away, but testing revealed the barrel was less durable, susceptible to catastrophic explosions upon firing, and the concept was once again scrapped.

Russia has meanwhile excelled in the technology, utilizing the 2S3 Akatsiya, the 2S19 Msta-S, and the 2S5 Giatsint-S. The truck-mounted 2S43 Malva, in service since last year, features a “fire assault” mode allowing the howitzer to obliterate a target with multiple projectiles moving along different trajectories. The armament is one of a number of pieces of Russian military technology that have wowed observers throughout the ongoing special military operation.

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Russia has created multi-purpose transport robots designed, in particular, to evacuate the wounded from the battlefield, this and other promising developments were presented to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the Ministry of Defense reported.

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US admits Russia is winning, but lies why — US billionaire investor

"The reason is not congressional inaction over further funding. The reason is that Russia has more manpower than Ukraine; it produces more artillery than the West; and it has air superiority," American entrepreneur David Sacks wrote on X.

Sacks also pointed out that even if the Ukraine funding bill is passed, it won't change the outcome of the conflict.

"What it will do is line a lot of pockets, perhaps for the final time, which is the real objective here," he added.

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Israeli Counterattack: decision made, but timing uncertain

The Israel Defense Forces have finalized their decision on how to respond to Iran's attack, however, they have not yet determined the timing, as reported by The Jerusalem Post, citing sources.

While the newspaper acknowledges that the IDF is resolute and committed to retaliating, the Israeli authorities have not settled on the specific timeframe for the attack.

"Because the timing is still variable and due to all the necessary complex preparations, the current decision could change."

As per the article, speculated options for the attack include:

▪️Striking Iranian nuclear facilities
▪️ Targeting drone or ballistic missile facilities directly involved in Iran’s strike
▪️ Assassinating specific individuals or punishing IRGC officials abroad and their collaborators
▪️ A combination of the above options along with a significant cyber attack.

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❗️The strike was targeted port infrastructure near Odessa, roads are blocked off, only ambulances are allowed through, a pro-Russian underground coordinator told Sputnik.

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The head of Zelensky's office, Andrei Ermak, expects that Ukraine will receive security guarantees from the United States, akin to those enjoyed by Israel

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⚡️Russia has begun withdrawing its peacekeepers from Nagorno-Karabakh, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed.

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Ukrainian forces lost the positions they had occupied during the summer counteroffensive near the village of Urozhayny, the head of the Zaporozhye public movement "We are together with Russia" Vladimir Rogov told Sputnik.

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New York Times’ Gaza war memo ‘apologetic to Israel’ – report

NYT journalists covering Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip were instructed to restrict the use of the term “genocide” and to avoid using the phrase “occupied territory” when describing Palestinian land, according to a copy of the newspaper’s memo obtained by The Intercept.

The memo’s authors also warn the journalists against using the word “Palestine” and the term “refugee camps”, which were recognized by the UN and accommodate hundreds of thousands of registered Gaza refugees. Additionally, the guidance instructs the reporters to refrain from using the word “fighters” when mentioning the October 7, 2023, ambush on Israel conducted by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which led to the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

In this vein, The Intercept cited unnamed NYT newsroom sources as saying that although the memo is presented as an outline for maintaining objective journalistic principles in reporting on the Gaza war, some of the document’s contents show evidence of the newspaper’s adherence to Israeli narratives.

“I think it’s the kind of thing that looks professional and logical if you have no knowledge of the historical context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. But if you do know, it will be clear how apologetic it is to Israel,” one of the sources pointed out.

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❗️ Russian forces shot down 191 Ukrainian drones and six US-made MGM-140 ATASMS operational-tactical missiles — Russian MoD

🇷🇺🪖 More statements from the daily briefing of the Russian Defense Ministry on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️In the DPR area, Ukrainian troops lost up to 480 soldiers and one tank over the past day;

▪️ In the Avdeyevka area, Ukraine lost up to 330 military personnel;

▪️ Near Kupyansk, Russian troops repelled four counterattacks.

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🔥 Direct hit: tank crews from Buryatia destroy Ukrainian stronghold near South Donetsk

The crews of the T-72B3 tanks of the Vostok group of troops from Buryatia continue to provide fire support for the actions of the assault units in the South Donetsk region.

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Biden's strategy for Iran is nonexistent, according to Politico's columnist Nahal Toosi

When probing the Biden administration's stance on Iran, Toosi discovered that even US officials are at a loss, with one official admitting, "A lot of people inside the administration ask that same question."

Toosi pointed out, "I have an answer for them: There is no Biden strategy for Iran."

US officials, however, indicate that their objective is to "keep it on low boil on all fronts — nuclear, regional, whatever," a statement that Toosi interpreted as a conflation of the terms "tactics" and "strategy" by US policymakers.

The article underscored the distinction by stating, "So when policy wonks use words like 'containment,' 'de-escalation,' 'deterrence,' and 'risk management' to describe Biden’s approach to Iran, I hear only tactics, not strategies."

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💥 Soldiers of the 1430 Guards regiment in the Zaporozhye area are mastering a new universal robotic platform for a ground-based unmanned vehicle.

The device is utilized for transporting ammunition and for mine clearance.

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