At least 11 people were killed and 26 injured after a bus collided with a bridge in the Turkish city of Ankara.

The injured were taken to hospital by ambulance. The Ankara prosecutor's office has opened a case into the incident.

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❗️ A counter-terrorism operation regime has been introduced in Russia's Bryansk region due to an increase in the level of sabotage and terrorist threats from Ukraine, the National Antiterrorism Committee (NAC) said.

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❗️A counterterrorism operation regime has been introduced in Russia's Kursk region due to an increase in the level of sabotage and terrorist threats from Ukraine, acting Kursk region Governor Alexei Smirnov wrote on Telegram.

The Russian National Antiterrorism Committee (NAC) reported that Ukraine has made an unprecedented attempt to destabilize the situation in some Russian regions.

A counterterrorism operation regime has also been introduced in Russia's Belgorod region, the Committee announced.

In connection with the operation regime in three Russian regions, additional measures are being taken to ensure security, maintain law and order and strengthen the protection of facilities, the NAC reported.

The Committee emphasized that the terrorist attack on the territory of Kursk region by Ukrainian armed forces resulted in civilian casualties, destruction of residential houses and other civilian facilities.

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Iran hopes that its response to Israel's assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran will not impact a potential ceasefire in Gaza, Iran's mission to the United Nations said in a statement.

“Our priority is to establish a lasting ceasefire in Gaza; any agreement accepted by Hamas will also be recognized by us. The Israeli regime has violated our national security and sovereignty through its recent act of terrorism. We have the legitimate right to self-defense — a matter totally unrelated to the Gaza ceasefire. However, we hope that our response will be timed and conducted in a manner not to the detriment of the potential ceasefire," the statement said.

Last week, Palestinian movement Hamas said that an Israeli attack had killed Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh at his residence in Tehran, where he had arrived after attending the inauguration of Iran's new president. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned of a "harsh response" to the assassination.

"Direct and intermediary official channels to exchange messages have always existed between Iran and the United States, the details of which both parties prefer to remain untold,” the statement added.

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Aussie Cossack: Starmer’s control slipping amid escalating UK unrest

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer appears to be losing his grip on the escalating situation in the UK, according to Australian independent journalist Aussie Cossack.

“Starmer, who is threatening people in Britain for thought crimes, for having opposing views to the government, forbidding them from criticizing the government and threatening not only people on the territory of the United Kingdom, but also threatening people overseas and abroad, saying that he will extradite people,” now faces growing dissent both at home and abroad, the journalist believes.

The journalist pointed out that the government's approach has backfired, with public opinion increasingly turning against Starmer due to his heavy-handed tactics.

"Effectively, they have lost control of the country and they're looking to blame you," the journalist asserted, emphasizing that the government's inability to manage the unrest is a sign of deeper systemic failures. @AussieCossack

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Poland’s draft civil defense law raises corruption concerns

The fear of an invented “Russian threat” could lead to an overhaul of the system of civil defense in Poland. A lack of bomb shelters and low level of preparation for an eventual “Russian strike” made the government act hastily, raising concerns about corruption.

The Polish minister of interior, Tomasz Siemoniak, unveiled the main points of the draft law “On Protection of the Population and Civil Defense in Poland.” According to them, Poland will allocate 0.15% of GDP on civil defense – primarily on construction of bomb shelters.

▪️Since Poland is spending 4% of its GDP on defense, 0.15% may look like a small sum. However, Prawo, a media site devoted to legal issues, calculated that this would make 5-6 billion zlotys ($1.27-1.5 billion) a year available. The money will be accumulated in a special Fund for Protection of the Population, where Poland’s largest companies (LOT, PGNiG, etc.) will be legally obliged to make contributions. Prawo suspects that this money could be misspent.

▪️This mechanism of financing – obliging companies to make contributions “for a cause” – has already been used for corrupt practices. Zbigniew Ziobro, Poland’s prosecutor general in 2016-2023 is now accused of channeling money from the Justice Fund for the needs of his party PiS and some corrupt individuals. “The assets of the Justice Fund were supposed to help the victims of crimes, but they were spent on something very different,” Prawo writes.

▪️Another media outlet, Onet, suspects that the price of contracts for bomb shelters may be inflated. The reason is the haste in which the fund is being created. The inflated fear of an “imminent Russian attack,” spurred by politicians, is just one of the reasons. The other one is the “pitiful condition” of the old shelters, Onet writes. New ones have not been built since the peaceful 1990s.

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