📹 Security has been tightened around the Capitol in Washington ahead of Netanyahu's visit

On July 24, the Israeli prime minister will address US Congress. Pro-Palestinian activists have vowed that hundreds of thousands of people will march to the White House to demand Netanyahu's arrest.

Police cars are now patrolling Capitol Hill and barricades have been erected around the area.

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🤔 All opinions are equal, but some are more equal than others

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz uniquely commented on the closure of Compact magazine in the country, saying that freedom of the press is important, but there are opinions that are prohibited.

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✈️ A Russian Su-27 was scrambled to escort an RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft and two RAF Typhoon fighter jets belonging to the UK over the Black Sea, the Ministry of Defense said.

As the Russian fighter approached, the foreign military aircraft made a turn away from the border, the department noted.

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Greed and enmity in Paris: Strikes imperil Olympic Games

The lofty plans of the French government for the grand opening of the Olympic Games in Paris have hit a snag, due to their citizens’ well-known penchant for protesting and striking.

As the games are held during the period when people in France traditionally enjoy their summer holidays, many of the workers who are now having to work - instead of relaxing - have figured they should be paid extra.

🔸A union called Force Ouvriere (FO) that represents over 10 percent of the staff at Paris-based airport operator ADP, filed a strike warning on Jul 22, the day of the Olympic Games’ opening ceremony.
Despite reaching a supposed deal last week to prevent a walkout, FO has insisted that what was offered to them amounted to "partial and modest gains." Citing "a feeling of discontent" among the workers it represents, the union demands the previously agreed bonus of 300 euros to be increased to 1,000 euros, as well as what AFP describes as “other pay steps.”

🔸The French Union of Performers affiliated with the General Confederation of Labor (SFA-CGT), rejected on July 23 an offer of about 120 euros extra, for the “lowest-paid performers” from the games’ organizing committee, according to local media reports. The offer in question was made after the union, which represents about 10 percent of the dancers involved in the opening ceremony, threatened a strike if the pay disparities between dancers are not rectified.

🔸Earlier this year, French public sector workers, including security forces, nurses and train drivers, demanded extra pay for having to work during the Olympic Games that are being held during the traditional summer holidays in the country. The strike threats have resulted in offers of one-off payments, as high as 1,900 euros per person, to the disgruntled workers.

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Lack of faith in dollar — Russian Deputy Foreign Minister

On the sidelines of the G20 development meeting, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin delved into the reasons the US dollar is losing its position as the most powerful world currency:

"Definitely, there is a certain lack of faith in the dollar in the world because of various actions taken by the US government, including sanctions, electoral sanctions, and many other things... And definitely, the situation around the US debt, which exceeds or is close to 35 trillion dollars, is a huge depressing factor for those who trusted or believed in the dollar before," Pankin stated. 

He also pointed out that sanctions by individual countries against Russia do not reflect the point of view of most world states and international organizations:

"Illegal unilateral sanctions were taken by certain states, but not by international organizations. There is not a single international organization like the UN, or any other of global nature and universal membership, which has taken sanctions against Russia; so, we continue to participate in those organizations," he said.

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Americans ‘no longer trust the establishment’ as Biden remains ‘greatest domestic threat to US’ (Part 1/2)

The recent attempt on Donald Trump's life, Joe Biden's decision to withdraw from the presidential race, and Kamala Harris' bid for the presidency have significantly shaken the political landscape in the US, leaving many to wonder what the future holds in store for the country.

Here's what American pundits interviewed by Sputnik think about the situation.

🗣 Noah Khrachvik, political analyst and co-director at the Midwestern Marx Institute: “What I personally feel now is what most Americans feel - fear, anger, a sense of growing unease in the ever-increasing certainty that the people in charge have failed us utterly and still think we’re stupid enough to believe it when they tell us how wonderful they’re doing… The American people no longer trust the establishment, and it is plain to see when even the mainstream media must throw a nod to conspiracies or come up with their own in order to try to continue kicking the political football around.”

🗣 David T. Pyne, an EMP Task Force scholar and former US Department of Defense officer: “I have long believed that President Biden constitutes the greatest domestic and likely national security threat the US has ever faced. Furthermore, he is clearly incapable of executing his duties as president in terms of his increasingly obvious mental disabilities, even as he continues to push the limits of Russian redlines in terms of arming Ukraine with long-range missiles… Biden is right. Democracy is on the ballot, but it is his regime who has been trying to destroy America’s constitutional republic and subvert and overturn our democratic election system.”

🗣 John Tures, political science professor at LaGrange College in Georgia: “It seems the shooter sought to kill Trump or Biden, most likely to try and start a civil war. That thankfully hasn't happened. Most people of different political ideologies are still talking to each other, and it is still business as usual at our city and college. But when people talk, it's almost always about politics.”

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Сonspiracy theories about Biden fuel ‘political polarization’ in US as Americans turn ‘tribal’ (Part 2/2)

The recent events of an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Joe Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race, and Kamala Harris's announcement to run for president have caused significant upheaval in the US political scene.

Here's what American experts shared with Sputnik regarding these developments.

🗣 Prof. David Woodard, Clemson University political scientist and former political consultant for Republican congressmen: “This removal of Biden will be a topic for years to come. I still think that it builds more resentment than admiration with the great body of the electorate. Biden would be more remembered by history if he had continued right through the end to defeat… Biden didn't have to face the music of his presidency, he opted out.”

🗣 Pastor Mark Burns, personal friend of Trump, former member of The White House evangelical council, former US congressional candidate, and founder of The NOW Television Network: “We've witnessed the attempted assassination of former President Trump, a sitting president and nominee resign, and a vice president seemingly thrust into the fore of a high stakes political chess match. Yet, we've only just begun. Moreover, the thing everyone is waiting for with baited breath is whom will actually emerge as the Democrat Party's actual nominee to vie against Donald J. Trump.”

🗣 Quardricos Driskell, adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Political Management of George Washington University, policy influencer and federal lobbyist: “To be clear, the heightened scrutiny and conspiracy theories about Biden exacerbate the already significant political polarization in the country… It jeopardizes our international standing and leaves more Americans of all demographics angry, upset, disempowered, and disillusioned, creating increasingly concentrated echo chambers of greater conspiracies and potential violence. We become tribal without any concern or care for the other.”

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❗️Clinical studies of a cancer vaccine may begin in Russia in the fall of 2025, said Russian microbiologist and academic Alexander Ginzburg.

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❗️Peace process is preferred option for resolving conflict in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, but it remains uncertain about the motives behind Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba's recent statements and hopes to receive clarifications soon.

However, the issues surrounding Zelensky's legitimacy and the ban on holding talks with Moscow currently pose significant obstacles to advancing the peace process, according to the Kremlin spokesman.

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💬In fact, the whole country, with its millions of people, supports Donbass and Novorossiya, Vladimir Putin said.

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Why Ukraine plans to station F-16 jets at Starokonstantinov airfield and how could Russia respond?

A military airfield near the western Ukrainian city of Starokonstantinov apparently has the correct infrastructure to house the West’s F-16 fighter jets Ukraine is due to receive, Viktor Litovkin, a retired Russian Army colonel and military analyst, tells Sputnik commenting on reports about the possibility of these warplanes being stationed there.

It seems the Soviet-era Starokonstantinov facility has been well-prepared to receive the F-16s, which typically need an advanced airfield, fitted with not just a runway, but a commander's tower, radar stations as well as small plants for production of high-pressure air and purification of aviation kerosene as well, Litovkin says.

Additionally, there should be hangars or warehouses for storing ammunition, air-to-air missiles and air-to-surface missiles, plus concrete hangars for warplanes so that they are not destroyed on the ground in case of an enemy attack, according to the Russian analyst.

All this infrastructure may currently be in place at the Starokonstantinov airfield, the expert suggests.

Russian aviation repeatedly hammers the Starokonstantinov airfield as well as others, which means that Moscow's top brass is aware of Ukraine's intentions and is keeping a watchful eye on those airfields, the analyst explains.

The main goal of the airstrikes is to destroy the facilities and prevent the F-16s from being deployed on Ukrainian territory, Litovkin points out. He added that Russian forces most likely use the powerful Iskander missiles during the airstrikes to do maximum damage to the Ukrainian military airfields, including the Starokonstantinov facility.

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Kamala Harris' awkward foreign policy knowledge

John Kerry, Susan Rice, and other figures in the Democratic foreign policy establishment are backing Kamala Harris for president, highlighting "her international leadership," despite some controversy surrounding past statements on foreign policy and international relations. Here are some of them:

◾️Lamest explanation of Russia-Ukraine tensions
In March 2022, Kamala Harris in one of the podcasts tried to “explain” what happened between Russia and Ukraine:

“Ukraine is a country in Europe. It exists next to another country called Russia. Russia is a bigger country. Russia is a powerful country. Russia decided to invade a smaller country called Ukraine so basically that's wrong.”

◾️ Laughable Polish border crisis?
Just several weeks after her word salad on the Ukrainian crisis was served, Harris was asked about the worsening Ukrainian refugee situation in Polish border towns during a press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda. Instead of responding, the US vice president awkwardly laughed.

◾️'Not helpful' sky observer
In 2023, after the US shot down a Chinese weather balloon, which was mistaken for a spy device, Harris explained that it "wasn't helpful" for US-China relations.

◾️No further elaboration needed?
As tensions in the Middle East escalated following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, Harris delivered later that month a succinct yet somewhat cryptic message to Iran: "Don't." It's a concise directive that certainly leaves room for interpretation.

◾️'Shrimp and grits' instead of Hamas ceasefire
In May, when Harris was asked for her thoughts on the Hamas ceasefire deal with Israel, she replied bizarrely off-topic: the vice president said "Shrimp and grits," pointing to her takeout bag.

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