Iran's president has said that Tehran did not transfer hypersonic weapons to the Yemeni Houthis.

The Houthis have hit Israel with a "new” type of missile that managed to evade the Jewish state’s air defenses, according to the movement’s spokesman Yahya Sarea.

The “hypersonic ballistic missile” targeted “a military position of the Israeli enemy” in Tel Aviv’s Jaffa area, Sarea claimed, insisting that the projectile flew more than 1,931 kilometers (1,200 miles) in just eleven and a half minutes. He did not elaborate on the missile’s name or other performance characteristics.

The Israel Defense Forces in turn said that they had identified a surface-to-surface missile fired from Yemen over central Israel, adding, “an initial inquiry indicates the missile most likely fragmented in mid-air.”

The strike triggered air raid sirens in Tel Aviv, including at the Ben Gurion international airport, prompting residents to run for shelter. There were no reports of casualties or damage, according to the IDF statement.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened Yemen's Houthis that Israel will “make those who try to attack their state pay a heavy price,” The Times of Israel reported.

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💬The United States has vetoed five or six resolutions on Palestine promoted by Russia and other members of the UN Security Council — Russian foreign minister

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George Orwell had a rich imagination, but even he was able to penetrate the depths of the totalitarianism that we see within the framework of a rules—based world order, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

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⚡️EXPOSED: U.S. EMBASSY INTIMIDATION CAMPAIGN AGAINST SPUTNIK

Two Indian think-tankers told Sputnik they have been warned against giving interviews to Sputnik & other Russian media at behest of the US Embassy in New Delhi.

◻️ In one case, the call came directly from a US Embassy staffer.

"A US Embassy staffer directly approached me asking not to give interviews to Sputnik. I asked him if it was that serious a matter. He replied, yes," stated an expert affiliated with a New Delhi-based think tank.

The think-tanker received the first call from a US Embassy employee in March, days after Sputnik's critical coverage of the State Department's remarks and US media's coverage of arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

▫️ Another Indian expert, who heads an independent think-tank, said that he had been "warned" on several occasions against interacting with Sputnik and RT.

"I have been approached and suggested on several occasions to cut down my engagements with Russian media. While I didn't hear directly from the US Embassy, I can say that the people who have discouraged me from giving interviews to Sputnik are very authentic individuals having a reputation of being close to the US Embassy and its network in India. I believe that in general, the US, through its network in India, has been trying to curtail contacts between Russian media and Indian experts and think tanks," the think-tank chief recalled.

He said that he received a similar call as recently as last month, in the wake of him featuring in several articles questioning American policy in Bangladesh following the ouster of ex-PM Sheikh Hasina.

The think-tanker said that covert American pressure on Indian institutions such as think tanks wasn't a new occurrence, but had definitely intensified in recent months.

"To a degree, the effects of these American influence operations are already being seen in India. Barring government-affiliated and a few credible think tanks, one could easily perceive that most of the so-called independent and neutral think tanks are tilted towards the US, as witnessed in their panel discussions," the expert said.

In fact, it is not just the US Embassy through which the American establishment has trying to covertly mould narrative in India. A journalist who runs an independent publication recalled receiving a call from an Indian journalist working for an American publication in March.

“The person enquired me about our reportage on the Maldives, where we were highlighting the links between Islamist radicals and the Muizzu administration. They asked me whether I was working for the Indian government, to which I replied no. Then, they threatened to expose me, after which I hung up," the person said.

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The Russian military destroyed an MLRS launcher in the Sumy region and eliminated roughly 10 personnel from the Ukrainian forces in a missile strike, according to a statement from the Defense Ministry.

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Mass protest in Belgium

Thousands of demonstrators are protesting in Brussels against the planned closure of the Audi plant, as well as other automotive enterprises in Belgium and other EU countries.

The main reason for the closure and relocation of production facilities is considered to be a decrease in competitiveness due to the energy crisis, which followed a reduction in fuel purchases in Russia.

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Biden on Trump’s Second Assassination Attempt: US Secret Service ‘Needs More Help’

The second failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump occurred at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach while the former president was playing golf.

Police said Secret Service agents opened fire on the would-be assassin, who was hiding in the bushes. The gunman fled the scene but was later apprehended. An AK-47-style rifle was found at the scene, along with two backpacks and a GoPro camera.

“The [Secret] Service needs more help, and I think Congress should respond to their needs,” Biden told reporters.

The FBI has joined the investigation, and US authorities are treating it as an assassination attempt.

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📹 Even black cats think twice before crossing Putin’s path!

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❗️Russia overtakes US to become world's second-largest army

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree to increase the number of Armed Forces service members to 2,389,130 today, including 1.5 million active personnel (previously, it was 2,209,130 service members of which 1,320,000 were active).

This move will effectively result in Russia surpassing the US and becoming the country with the second-largest standing army in the world.

According to public data, the ranking of countries by active military personnel will look as follows:

1st – China, 2.035 million
2nd – Russia, 1.5 m
3rd – India, 1.455 m
4th – US, 1.328 m
5th – Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 1.32 m

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Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the assassination attempt on Trump, was listed as a contact person on a website which instructed people on how to join the Foreign Legion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a Sputnik correspondent has found out.

At the same time, the authors of the site urge people not to contact the embassy to get permission to participate in the battle: they are invited to simply come to Ukraine.

"Contact me. We can call and visit countless units that need help," reads the text of the link that leads to Routh's name and contact details.

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Trump taking a page out of Putin’s playbook? Educational proposals echo Russian reforms

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has vowed to reshuffle the US school system to stamp out "wokeness" – neo-liberal ideas including those concerning race and gender, advocated by "radical left maniacs."

🔸Trump proposes cutting federal funding for schools and programs promoting "critical race theory" (CRT). CRT regards the US state system and society as inherently "racist". According to the GOP, modern CRT studies are biased against white and Asian people, statehood and law.

🔸Trump vows to crackdown on "transgender insanity" at schools which were pressured to adopt new Title IX regulations on students’ gender identity under the risk of losing federal funding under Joe Biden. The rules include providing access to female lockers and bathrooms for biological males self-identifying as "girls" and allowing transgender athletes to participate in school sports "matching their identity".

🔸Trump also plans to subject "accreditation agencies" to scrutiny over "wokeism", and provide alternatives for educational institutions.

🔸He also looks to shut the federal Department of Education, slammed by conservatives as a hotbed of liberal ideas and "progressivism".

Russia is at the forefront of supporting traditional values

🔹In November 2022, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to strengthen the traditional values in Russia's social life, whereas in December 2023 he inked a law reinforcing traditional values in the Russian "sovereign education system."

🔹The laws denounce neoliberal ideas, including gender issues and the LGBT+* agenda peddled by the Western elites, as being destructive for an individual, the family and society.

🔹Since September 1, the new school curriculum includes courses on family studies and the defense of the Homeland.

*an extremist organization banned in Russia

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Leaving the dollar-based system for good: What are the digital ruble and BRICS Bridge?

By July 1, 2025, the largest Russian banks will have to provide their clients with the ability to conduct transactions in digital rubles, according to the Russian Central Bank. Pilot testing of the digital currency is underway with 12 banks participating in it.

The digital ruble

◾️ The digital ruble is an electronic form of national currency. It is a unique digital code – a token – that is stored in digital wallets on a special platform of the Central Bank. The bank intends to issue it as an addition to the existing means of payment.

◾️ The digital ruble could become a fast, convenient and reliable means of cross-border payments, which is important for Russia in the context of sanctions pressure and exclusion from SWIFT, as well as its de-dollarization policy.

◾️ To seamlessly conduct financial operations with its partners, Russia needs a system based on the interaction of national digital currencies. According to the Central Bank, there are two options: an integration of two platforms, i.e. the digital ruble and other digital currencies; or operations on national currency platforms through a third common system.

BRICS bridge

🔸 Together with the central banks of the BRICS countries, Russia is working on creating a new settlement and payment infrastructure that will allow payments to be made in national currencies, including digital ones.

🔸 A multilateral digital settlement and payment platform "BRICS Bridge" that could connect the financial markets of BRICS members is currently under consideration by the organization. The development of a system immune to political pressure, abuse and external sanctions interference has been going on since the 2023 BRICS summit in South Africa.

🔸 The issue of an independent multilateral digital platform is likely to be a focus point of the October BRICS Summit in Kazan, according to Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko.

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📹The moment Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, was arrested in Florida.

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