❗️❗️❗️Terrorism in the Sahel: "Ukraine is a pawn of the West," the Burkinabe prime minister states

The UN's reaction to Kiev’s support for Sahel terrorists is long overdue, because the organization "is dominated by the West," Burkinabe Prime Minister Apollinaire Joachim Kyelem de Tambela told Sputnik Africa.

💬 "The Western countries are behind Ukraine. So, anything that goes against Ukraine's interests goes against their interests because Ukraine is a pawn of the West in this affair. So that's why it's not working," the prime minister stressed.

Burkina Faso and the other countries of the Alliance of Sahel States have called on the UN Security Council to take measures against Kiev, as a matter of “principle,” he added.

💬 "Even if the condemnation doesn't come, at least we will have taken action and we will have noted the failure of the UN in meeting its obligations," Kyelem de Tambela said.

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Following a vote, the French National Assembly rejected the motion of no confidence against the new government led by Michel Barnier, which was proposed by the left-wing bloc "New People's Front."

Out of the required 289 votes for the motion to pass, 197 deputies voted in favor.

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Ukraine’s gaseous threats to scrap gas transit deal with Russia hide lack of alternatives

“The fact that transit will not be extended in the sense of the current contract does not mean it will be excluded in principle. This is a form of Ukraine inflating its self-importance,” Stanislav Mitrakhovich, a senior expert at Russia’s National Energy Security Fund, told Sputnik, commenting on Ukraine’s announcement that it would not extend the Gazprom-Naftogaz agreement facilitating the transit of Russian gas to Central Europe.

The only other real option Ukraine has if it doesn’t want to see its vast Soviet-era pipeline infrastructure fall idle is to import gas from the EU – which makes no sense, given Ukraine’s economic and security predicament, and the unenviable state of its transportation and distribution systems, the observer said.

“Therefore, there’s more than a 90% probability that transit will continue. The current contract will not be extended, but another one will be concluded involving the purchase of Russian gas on the Russian-Ukrainian border,” the analyst said, noting that a similar scheme has already been implemented on oil deliveries via the Druzhba oil pipeline.

As for talk of Ukraine creating a Baumgarten, Austria-style “Eastern European energy hub,” this too is just an attempt by authorities in Kiev to inflate their self-importance and “makes no economic sense” without Russian gas, the observer said.

The same applies to proposals to pump Azerbaijani gas through Ukraine, as the former does not have the volumes to fill Ukrainian infrastructure, sending its existing output to Europe via Georgia and Turkiye-based infrastructure, according to Mitrakhovich.

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◻️ Patrick Pasin: Russia went to protect Donbass as Ukraine was bombing civilians

◻️ Humanitarian crisis in Gaza only getting worse as Israel's war goes on

◻️ What to know about Iran’s nuclear potential amid Israeli threats to strike

◻️ Ukraine’s gaseous threats hide lack of alternatives

◻️ Who's the biggest military spender?

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🇮🇱🇮🇷 The US has made it clear that it is not seeking war with Iran and intends to obtain clarity from Israel regarding its plans for a military response to Tehran’s missile strike, the Pentagon said.

“We will not speculate on what that response will be,” a Pentagon press office representative said, shutting down questions about possible US support for hypothetical offensive actions by the Israeli army on Iranian territory.

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‘We Must Stand With Israel’: The One Thing Trump and Kamala Agree On

There isn't much common ground between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, but one notable agreement in their rhetoric is that the US is bound to support for Israel no matter what.

“Here at home, I will defend our American Jewish population. I will protect your communities, your schools, your places of worship, and your values,” Trump asserted.

“I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself,” Harris stressed.

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Iran, China, Russia & Islam – America’s Fabricated ‘Forever’ Foes?

White House administrations may come and go, but Washington consistently defines its threats and enemies, often vaguely.

“These are not our friends; these are our enemies. These are not people that understand niceness,” Trump once remarked about China.

While labeling a foreign state as a “threat” is one thing, targeting an entire religion goes too far. “I think Islam hates us. There’s a tremendous hatred there,” the former president once stated.

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Journalist Liam Cosgrove: This administration has financed a genocide in Gaza for the last year and every day you’re up there denying it

State Department representative Mathew Miller: There’s plenty of places in Washington where you can give a speech

Cosgrove also pointed out that despite an escalation of nuclear risk, the US keeps arming Ukraine. His remark, however, went unanswered

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🇮🇱☢️🇮🇷 High-stakes showdown: What aftermath could Israel face if it gambles on hitting Iran’s nuclear sites?

Hawks in Israel have not dismissed the possibility of launching an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in response to Tehran's missile barrage. "Everything is on the table… Israel has capabilities to hit targets near and far - we have proved it," Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told reporters.

What are the possible consequences?

"In the event of [Israeli] strike on [Iranian nuclear facilities], it would be, first and foremost, a disaster for Israel and its allies... I will say, in general, it will be a big Middle East war... And when America steps back from all of this, it will be a big problem, that will threaten the destruction of Israel itself," Evgeny Mikhailov, veteran Russian military observer and political analyst, told Sputnik.

◻️ The effect of explosives on the nuclear materials stored at Iran’s facilities likely possessing low-enriched uranium would pose a massive public health risk going beyond the country’s borders.

What other issues prevent Israel from conducting such strikes?

◻️ The IDF’s munitions used to target Hezbollah and Hamas tunnels would be ineffective against Iran’s highly reinforced nuclear facilities.

“The only conventional weapon that could plausibly achieve this is the American GBU-57A/B massive ordnance penetrator, which can only be carried by large US bombers like the B-2 Spirit,” stated an analytical report published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

◻️ Israel would need to use about 100 aircraft for such an operation (almost a third of its 340 combat-capable aircraft), according to a US Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.

◻️ Reaching Iran’s nuclear sites would involve flying over the sovereign airspace of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Syria and possibly Turkiye, posing diplomatic hurdles.

◻️ The distance to the Iranian sites in question is more than 1,000 miles (1609 km), requiring tricky refueling mid-air.

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How Western politicians capitalize on climate change fearmongering

Humanity has forfeited its opportunity to limit global warming to below 1.5°C due to the inability to reduce carbon emissions, Professor Jim Skea, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), informed the British press, claiming "it's too late" to save the UK and Europe from overheating, but efforts should be made to stay below 2°C this century.

Is it the first time when it's "already too late"?

◻️ In September 2024, UN General Secretary António Guterres said the "world is in dangerous waters", "people alive today could witness sea levels rise by meters" due to the climate change.

"The threat of climate change is existential, and it is happening in the here and now," stated UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in his September 2024 speech at the United Nations General Assembly.

◻️ "The climate crisis is accelerating at pace," Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, stated in July 2024.

◻️ In April 2024, Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, said the humanity literary has just two years to save the planet;

"Anyone who willfully denies the impact of climate change is condemning the American people to a very dangerous future," claimed US President Joe Biden in November 2023.

◻️ "If we don't get serious about climate change today, it will be too late for our children to do so tomorrow," then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson highlighted at COP26 in November 2021.

◻️ In February 2021, UK environmentalist and campaigner Sir David Attenborough said "it's already too late" to avoid severe climate change during the United Nations' Security Council (UNSC) session on climate;

◻️ In April 2018, Mayer Hillman, a senior fellow emeritus at University of Westminster’s Policy Studies Institute, told the Guardian that "we are doomed" and it's too late to stop climate change.

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France’s Mirage-2000s bound to be destroyed on the ground or in Ukraine’s skies, military expert affirms

"The Mirage-2000 does not possess any supernatural capabilities," Dmitry Kornev, a military expert and founder of the Military Russia portal, told Sputnik. "Accordingly, these jets can be countered using the same resources that the Russian Aerospace Forces currently possess."

The pundit cast doubt on the much-touted new arms package:

◻️ It remains unclear as to how many Mirage fighter jets Ukraine will receive. France is unlikely to supply the Kiev regime with more than 10 to 12 jets, according to Kornev.

"The fourth generation jet is rather capricious; the Mirage will require careful handling and time to learn how to operate it," he pointed out.

◻️ Operating and maintenance costs for Ukraine will skyrocket, given that it will have to operate different NATO warplanes, including F-16s and Mirage-2000s;

◻️ The delivery of the Mirage 2000 aircraft will not alter the balance of power on the front lines. Earlier, in June, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to supply the Kiev regime with Mirage 2000-5 combat jets and to train 4,500 Ukrainian military personnel.

Ukraine is set to receive the first batch of upgraded Mirage-2000 fighter jets from France in the first quarter of 2025, according to French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu. The defense chief also noted that training for operating and maintaining these jets is already in progress.

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