If you love reading stories set in the present world, featuring characters that feel real and relatable, chances are you’ve already read contemporary fiction even if you didn’t realise it. But what exactly is contemporary fiction?
In simple terms, contemporary fiction refers to stories that are set in the present time or very recent past, dealing with real-life situations, emotions, and everyday human experiences. These stories feel like they could happen right now or may be happening around us already. #reading #writing #fictionwriting #story #emotion #blog
https://prathamwrites.in/c...

“Sky Is NOT The Limit”: Su-57, S-500, R-37M In Spotlight As IAF Thrilled By Super Success Of S-400 & BrahMos (Part1)

Speaking at the “Katre Memorial Lecture,” a function organised by the Air Force Association at Bengaluru, the Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief, AP Singh made a specific mention of the deterrent capability of the S-400 Air Defence system, and the accuracy of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles that had a game changer role in “Op Sindoor”.

For long, IAF strategy, tactics, and inventories have been designed for offensive strikes against the Western neighbour with whom India has had three full-fledged wars and many shorter skirmishes.

Having a smaller economy and military, Pakistan was conscious and built an air force that is air defence oriented. In recent decades, India has also had to prepare to take on a potential threat from China.

Notwithstanding the known positions, the Indian strikes against both terror and military targets all across Pakistan proved very successful, and Pakistan’s defensive systems could not engage or thwart them.

Op Sindoor saw weapon platforms and armaments belonging to many countries at play. These included the USA, Russia, China, France, and Turkey, among others.

Most analysts have been comparing and analysing the performance of major weapons. This was also of interest to the manufacturing companies and their host countries.

Some of the writings were also part of the narrative building to introduce motivated biases with politico-commercial considerations. Both sides claimed to have shot down each other’s aircraft on the opening round, but since no aircraft crossed the border, or even came close to it, the wreckage, if at all, would have fallen in their own territories, and so proof may have been concealed.

But 3 months after the operation, more facts have come out.

The Air Chief talked of nearly five Pakistani fighter aircraft having been shot down in the air by an Indian S-400. Interestingly, the S-400 achieved its farthest kill ever by destroying a High Value Air asset (HVAA) at nearly 300 kilometres. In addition, at least three F-16s and one C-130 were destroyed during airfield strikes, Air Chief said.

Major Weapons at Play
The proof of the results of the strikes by French Scalp and BrahMos anti-surface cruise missiles, and indigenous SkyStriker loiter munitions (LM) was available from Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) satellite pictures. Israeli Harop, large Loiter Munitions, were also very effective.

The Chinese HQ-9 Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) system, a poor copy of the Russian S-300, could not intercept any of the Indian strikes. Nor did Pakistan claim any aircraft had been shot down using these SAMs, as all claims were being assigned to the much-touted Chinese PL-15 Air-to-Air Missile (AAM).

Pakistan claimed shooting down a few Indian aircraft and attributed all kills to the Chinese PL-15. A few of them landed in India in complete form, perhaps having been fired at ranges outside the envelope or having had technical failures, and will allow India to evaluate the system and technology.

There were also doubts about the variant of PL-15 supplied to Pakistan. The upend variant with China has a claimed range of 180 kilometres. Pakistan was supposed to have the export variant, the PL-15E, with a range of 145 kilometres.

There was a unanimous opinion of all global experts on the good performance of two weapons, the S-400 SAM system and the BrahMos anti-surface missiles (ASM).

Both performed flawlessly. Both are of Russian origin, and both are universally feared (respected) for their range, speed of engagement, and precision. At least 15 Indo-Russian BrahMos missiles were fired. The number of S-400 system missiles fired is still not in the public domain.

Cross-Border Air Strikes
Just to recap, in the early hours of 7 May 2025, India launched air strikes on nine terrorist targets in Pakistan using 24 stand-off weapons. The missiles targeted only the camps and infrastructure of militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, and no Pakistani military or civilian facilities were engaged.

The 23-minute duration initial Indian strikes were reportedly carried out by the Rafale aircraft using SCALP missiles, and Su-30 MKI firing BrahMos cruise missiles as well as the Indian Army’s Indo-Israeli SkyStriker loitering munitions.

Satellite and intelligence photographic proof of the success of strikes was presented to the Indian and Global media.

Pakistan responded with significant drone and missile strikes at Indian military and civilian targets under the operation codenamed Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos.

This included targeting airfields from Kashmir to Gujarat. India negated these strikes with its integrated air defence and counter-drone systems.

The S-400 missile system was deployed, marking India’s first combat use of this missile system. India’s indigenous Akash AD system played a huge role.

Pakistani strikes caused insignificant damage and very few civilian casualties. Meanwhile, the IAF carried out SEAD/DEAD operations, neutralizing Pakistani air defence systems, including the Chinese HQ-9 in Lahore, starting on 9th May.

On 10 May, in response to Pakistani strikes against Indian military targets, the IAF made a major airstrike across the length and depth of the country, targeting a variety of military targets, including airfields, AD systems, weapons, and logistic storage sites.

The “Nur Khan” military airfield at Chaklala, which is just next to the Capital, Islamabad, and the Pakistan Army’s HQs at Rawalpindi were also hit.

Other airfields hit were Sargoda, Rafiqi, Rahim Yar Khan, and radars and storage dumps at Pasrur, Malir, Chunian, Sukkur, Pasrur, and the Sialkot aviation base. India also inflicted extensive damage on air bases at Skardu, Jacobabad, and Bholari in Pakistan.

During its retaliatory strikes on Indian military targets, Pakistan claimed that the BrahMos storage facilities at Beas and Nagrota were destroyed, and that two S-400 systems at Adampur and Bhuj were neutralised.

International media acknowledged that all such claims were false. Immediately after the ceasefire, Indian Prime Minister Modi visited Adampur and addressed the personnel with the S-400 launcher forming the background. A similar visit was made by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Bhuj.

Debt-ridden Pakistan, which was already seeking financial bailout from the IMF, was rattled by the audacity and accuracy of the air strikes, and its Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) called his Indian counterpart on the hotline, requesting a ceasefire.

A new normal had been set between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Similar strikes could be triggered again in case of another Pakistan-backed terror attack.

There was significant cyber warfare. There was also a war of narratives fought across the globe, especially to highlight the success or failure of specific military hardware for commercial reasons.

Turkey had supplied a large quantity of drones to Pakistan. These were used, but caused little damage on the ground. While the two sides were effectively at war, neither side had fully mobilized its ground forces. A fragile ceasefire was achieved around midday on 10 May. India called it a pause in hostilities. But it has held ever since.

India said that 21 of its civilians and five military personnel had died in the conflict. The casualties and the majority of the injuries occurred due to cross-LoC firing.

Pakistan said that 51 of its people had died in the clashes, including 40 civilians and 11 military personnel.

India claimed nearly 130 terrorists had been killed. India got global backing against terror; however, not many were willing to take sides during the conflict.

Few systems got universal praise. These included the S-400 AD System, India’s indigenous Akash AD system, the DRDO 4D (Drone, Detect, Deter, Destroy) counter-drone system, and the BrahMos anti-surface missiles. The French Scalp missile proved extremely accurate and destructive.

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Trump’s troop deployment is a warning sign for what comes next, legal scholars fear.

President Donald Trump’s deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles is stretching the legal limits of how the military can be used to enforce domestic laws on American streets, constitutional law experts say.

Trump, for now, has given the troops a limited mission: protecting federal immigration agents and buildings amid a wave of street protests against the administration’s mass deportation policies. To justify the deployment, Trump cited a provision of federal law that allows the president to use the National Guard to quell domestic unrest.

But Trump’s stated rationale, legal scholars say, appears to be a flimsy and even contrived basis for such a rare and dramatic step. The real purpose, they worry, may be to amass more power over blue states that have resisted Trump’s deportation agenda. And the effect, whether intentional or not, may be to inflame the tension in L.A., potentially leading to a vicious cycle in which Trump calls up even more troops or broadens their mission.

“It does appear to be largely pretextual, or at least motivated more by politics than on-the-ground need,” said Chris Mirasolo, a national security law professor at the University of Houston.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the deployment “unlawful” and said he would sue Monday.

“This is about authoritarian tendencies. This is about command and control. This is about power. This is about ego,” Newsom, a Democrat, said Sunday on MSNBC. “This is a consistent pattern.”

At issue is the president’s authority to deploy the military for domestic purposes. A federal law, the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, generally bars the president from using federal troops — the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force or Space Force — to enforce domestic laws.

But there are exceptional circumstances when the president can use troops domestically. The most prominent exception is the Insurrection Act, which authorizes the president to deploy the military to suppress insurrections, “domestic violence” or conspiracies that undermine constitutional rights or federal laws. At the end of Trump’s first term, some of his most ardent supporters urged and expected him to invoke the Insurrection Act to push aside state election authorities and essentially void the 2020 presidential election results, although he never did so. During his 2024 campaign, he said he would invoke the act to subdue unrest if reelected.

But so far, Trump has not invoked the Insurrection Act. Instead, in a Saturday order, he cited a different statutory provision: a terse section of the U.S. code that allows the president to use the National Guard — but not any other military forces — to suppress the “danger of a rebellion” or to “execute” federal laws when “regular forces” are unable to do so.

Notably, his order did not outright declare the unrest in L.A. to be a “rebellion,” but suggested it was moving in that direction.

“To the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States,” the order said.

California authorities and Trump critics say that local law enforcement was effectively managing the L.A. protests. And despite the National Guard’s purportedly defensive role of protecting federal property and personnel, some experts see the deployment as throwing a lit match into a tinderbox.

If the troops are drawn into violent confrontations, Trump might use the clashes as justification for invoking the Insurrection Act, which would pave the way for active-duty military forces to take more aggressive actions to subdue protesters and engage in law enforcement. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday said Marines could be mobilized to L.A. if unrest continues, writing in a post on X that the troops “are on high alert.”

“The laws in this area are somewhat unsettled and untested,” said Rosa Brooks, a Georgetown University law professor who served as a counselor to the undersecretary of defense for policy under President Barack Obama. “Federalizing Guard troops in this situation — and raising the specter of also sending in active duty military personnel — is a political stunt, and a dangerous one.”

Experts are also eyeing whether the Guard members accompany immigration authorities when they venture away from federal buildings — a move that could signal a willingness to use troops to actively aid immigration enforcement, rather than simply protect agents from protesters.

Trump has fueled the fears of further escalation, actively commenting on the protests while attacking the state’s response.

“Looking really bad in L.A.,” he posted early Monday morning, shortly after midnight. “BRING IN THE TROOPS.” He also called for immediate arrests of any protesters wearing masks and repeatedly described them as “insurrectionists.”

However, when asked by reporters Sunday if the violence amounted to an insurrection, Trump said no.

On Monday, Trump also endorsed the idea of arresting Newsom.

Trump is not the first president to deploy the military over a governor’s objection. But it’s the first time since 1965, when President Lyndon Johnson ordered troops to protect civil rights protesters in Alabama. President Dwight Eisenhower similarly overrode objections from Alabama’s governor, deploying troops to help enforce the desegregation of public schools. When presidents view state and local authorities as being ineffective or recalcitrant, those steps may be justified, some experts say.

“Usually the President calls out the troops with the cooperation of the governor, which happened in LA itself during the Rodney King riots,” said John Yoo, a legal counselor to President George W. Bush. “But there have been times when governors have been tragically slow, as during Hurricane Katrina, or actually resistant to federal policy, as with desegregation, or, arguably, in this case. “

Trump, when speaking about the decision with reporters Sunday, said he warned Newsom a few days earlier of the possibility.

“I did call him the other night,” Trump said. “I said you’ve got to take care of this, otherwise I’m sending in the troops.”

Newsom has railed against Trump’s unilateral action, saying it will inflame rather than ease tensions on the streets and that state and local law enforcement were appropriately responding to the unrest outside federal buildings. Newsom got backup from Democratic governors across the country, who signed a letter calling Trump’s National Guard deployment an “alarming abuse of power.”

“The military appears to be clashing with protesters in the streets of our country. That’s not supposed to happen,” said Elizabeth Goitein, a national security law expert at New York University’s Brennan Center. “It’s such a dangerous situation. It’s dangerous for liberty. It’s dangerous for democracy.”

The promised lawsuit from California will set up yet another high-stakes courtroom test of Trump’s multifaceted bid to expand executive power in his second term.

The last major political fight over the president’s powers to call up the National Guard in an emergency came almost two decades ago, following a decision by President George W. Bush not to activate the National Guard to restore order in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Bush reportedly balked at calling up the National Guard due to the objection of Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and uncertainty over the legality of the president doing so without her consent.

In response, Congress passed an appropriations rider in 2007that explicitly granted the president that authority during “a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or Incident” and in reaction to an “insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy.”

While some legal experts said the measure simply reiterated existing law, an unusually broad coalition — including all 50 U.S. governors — called for repeal of the amendment. And the following year, Congress did repeal it, allowing the law to revert to language in place since the 1950s.

A national from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been arrested after allegedly smuggling biological materials into the U.S. and making false statements to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers about the contents of her packages.

The Department of Justice said Chengxuan Han is charged with smuggling goods into the U.S. and making false statements.

According to the complaint, Han is a citizen of the PRC who is working on her Ph.D. at the College of Life Science and Technology in the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan.

Han allegedly sent four packages to the U.S. from the PRC in 2024 and 2025, containing concealed biological material. The packages were sent to individuals at a laboratory at the University of Michigan.
Han arrived at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Sunday on a J1 visa, when CBP officers conducted an inspection.

During the inspection, Han allegedly made false statements about the packages and the materials she previously shipped to the U.S. CBP officers also discovered the content of Han’s electronic device had been deleted three days before she arrived in the U.S.

After the inspection, FBI agents and agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) interviewed Han. During the interview, Han allegedly admitted to sending the packages and revealed they contained material related to round worms. She also allegedly confessed to making false statements to CBP officers during the inspection.
"The alleged smuggling of biological materials by this alien from a science and technology university in Wuhan, China—to be used at a University of Michigan laboratory—is part of an alarming pattern that threatens our security," U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. said. "The American taxpayer should not be underwriting a PRC-based smuggling operation at one of our crucial public institutions."

Less Than 10 Russian Bombers Destroyed In Ukraine’s “Shock Attack”; Kyiv Mostly Struck Defunct Aircraft: Russian Claims

Ukraine’s recent drone attack on four Russian Air Bases, where scores of bombers were destroyed, not only shocked Moscow but also led to a rewriting of the rules of modern warfare. But, how many bombers did Russia lose?

Firstly, the Ukrainian narrative!

Kyiv used inexpensive drones at the weekend to destroy Russian nuclear-capable bombers worth billions of dollars in an operation carried out after months of planning.

“Spider’s Web” dealt a blow to Russia more than three years after it invaded Ukraine, and the operation will now be studied closely by militaries around the world as a new strategy in asymmetric warfare.

Ukraine said it destroyed $7 billion worth of Russian aircraft parked at airbases thousands of kilometres across the border, mainly Tu-95 and Tu-22 long-range strategic bombers.

While the attacks at Belaya deep in Siberia and Olenya on the Kola Peninsula in the Arctic Circle are unlikely to change the course of the war, they will limit Moscow’s ability to launch long-range missile strikes against Ukraine.

Yohann Michel, a researcher at the French university Lyon-3, said the loss of the aircraft was “a serious blow to Russian offensive capabilities”.

“The main impact could be felt in several weeks’ time with a reduction in the number of sorties by the rest of the fleet” due to difficulties in finding spare parts for the Soviet-era planes, which are no longer in production, he told AFP.

Maxim Starchak, a fellow at the Centre for International and Defence Policy at Queen’s University in Canada, said it would take Russia a long time to replace the lost aircraft.

“Russia is extremely slow and inefficient in developing new aircraft for its nuclear forces,” he told AFP.

The drones, launched from trucks near air bases deep inside Russia, destroyed or damaged aircraft parked in the open.

Congratulating Ukraine’s Security Service chief, Vasyl Malyuk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said it had taken 18 months of preparation for the 117 drones to be concealed inside trucks near the airbases, and that all the Ukrainian agents had safely left Russia.

Michael Shurkin, a former CIA officer, said Ukraine’s operation was likely to have struck fear into militaries across the world, adding that potential targets for such drone attacks could include refineries, ballistic missile silos or military bases.

“This technology is akin to stealth technology: The threat is difficult to detect both because it emerges near the target and is too small and too low to be picked up by sensors designed to catch aircraft or missiles,” said Shurkin, director of global programs for the consultancy 14 North Strategies.

Ukrainian military analyst Oleksii Kopytko said anyone delivering a pizza or driving a horse-drawn cart could present a danger. “The organisers and main perpetrators are essentially untraceable,” he said.

A French arms manufacturing executive said Ukraine could have even trained AI algorithms to recognize aircraft or guide drones in case of jamming.

“New tools are forcing us to completely rethink defence systems and how they are produced,” said the executive, who asked not to be named.

“It opens up possibilities that we hadn’t even imagined.”

Zelensky “just proved that he and Ukraine are more than able to pull aces out of their combat fatigue sleeves,” said Timothy Ash, an emerging market economist focused on Russia.

The attacks exposed Russia’s air base vulnerabilities, providing a significant morale boost for Kyiv after months of being on the defensive in the conflict.

“The protection of military air bases does not meet security requirements,” said Starchak. “The dispersal of military aircraft across different airfields did not help either.”

Russia’s vast size is also a disadvantage in this regard.

“Usually, the vastness of Russia’s territory is an advantage; you can hide your bombers thousands of kilometres away where they would be safe,” said Michel.

“The problem is that this means you have to monitor thousands of square kilometres, which is simply impossible.”

The attacks dealt a blow to Moscow’s nuclear triad of ground, sea, and air-launched missiles, said Starchak.

If it were possible to target an airbase, it is also possible to hit bases hosting nuclear submarines, Starchak said.

“An attack on long-range aircraft bases is a potential threat to the entire nuclear triad, which can be easily hit, thereby weakening it to the point that it cannot respond with a nuclear strike.”

John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, stated that Ukraine’s operation provided US President Donald Trump with leverage against Russian President Vladimir Putin in their quest for a settlement.

“It is a strong counter to the dubious ‘common wisdom’ that the war is moving inevitably in Moscow’s favour,” wrote the former US ambassador to Ukraine.

Counter Reports
Ex-IAF fighter pilot and Russia expert, Vijainder TK Thakur, believes that Ukraine might have mostly struck “Christmas Trees,” and not combat-ready Bombers.

He writes: What Zelensky touts as an 18-month masterstroke of planning is increasingly looking like a miscalculated, amateur effort.

Ukraine seems to have worked off a flawed assumption: that anything parked on a Russian tarmac was a functional military aircraft. In reality, of the ~200 Tu-95MS strategic bombers the Soviet Union built, Russia’s Aerospace Forces operate only around 60.

The rest—roughly 140—have long been relegated to open-air storage, stripped for spare parts. Ukrainian planners apparently believed these mothballed aircraft would be kept out of sight in hangars, while operational bombers would be conveniently left in the open.

The reality is precisely the opposite: Russia stores both retired and active aircraft out in the open. As a result, most of the Ukrainian drone strikes targeted what are effectively “Christmas Tree” decoys—hulks with no engines, no fluids, and no combat value.

Footage released by Ukraine itself shows hits on A-50s without engines and multiple strikes that triggered no fires, betraying the absence of combustible fluids. A real operational Tu-95MS would at least leak hydraulic or lubricating oil, even if empty of fuel.

Zelensky’s “strategic success” may have been little more than a fireworks show on a junkyard.

The following post by the FighterBomber Telegram Channel (closely linked with the Russian Air Force and the Kremlin), Google translated into English, explains what might have happened.

=== Translated Post ===

“The hohols posted a more detailed video of drone attacks on our five airfields, well, nothing new was added. As I said earlier, the number of destroyed planes is in the single digits. Not in the dozens.

By the will of fate, the overwhelming majority of planes attacked by the hohols were non-flying aircraft from the “iron row”. They could have attacked monuments on pedestals with the same success and effectiveness.

Fuel burns in planes; there is nothing else to burn. But when it burns, even the concrete nearby burns. The holes in the sides directly indicate that they are scrap metal, empty, and without fuel.

Of course, no one refuels faulty, written-off aircraft. They have the fattest layer of tires, because they are parked, the best for a photo report.

You will get tired of carrying tires on an aircraft that flies. Yes, in theory, of course, they can be restored and turned into a combat aircraft, but by that logic, monuments can also be restored. Attacked in Belarus at the beginning of the SVO by the same drone, our A-50, after a hellish explosion and a spectacular video, flew away to Russia under its power a couple of hours later and continued to carry out combat missions a little later.

Here, you only need to count those sides that are burning.” And, unfortunately, quite a few of them burned. And as I said on the stream, our long-range and strategic aviation did not receive critical losses as a result of this attack. But if such a blow is repeated…!

Were there voices among Europeans who opposed colonization, and how were they treated?

European voices who opposed colonization—including activists, missionaries, politicians, writers, and everyday citizens. These anti-colonial Europeans were often marginalized, ignored, or even silenced because their views challenged powerful economic and political interests.

Who Opposed Colonization?
1. Human Rights Activists & Abolitionists
Opposed the brutality, forced labor, and racism of colonial regimes.

Spoke out especially after witnessing atrocities or reading first-hand accounts.

E.D. Morel and Roger Casement exposed King Leopold II’s atrocities in the Congo Free State—leading to international outrage.

2. Anti-Imperialist Politicians & Thinkers
Criticized colonization as morally wrong, economically exploitative, or a betrayal of democratic values.

Some were socialists, liberals, or early feminists who saw empire as oppression.

J.A. Hobson (British economist) argued that imperialism only benefited wealthy elites and harmed the working class.
Bertrand Russell, the philosopher, also opposed empire and war.

3. Christian Missionaries (A Minority)
A few missionaries spoke against slavery, forced labor, and abuses they witnessed in the colonies.

Some defended the dignity and autonomy of African peoples.

John Harris and his wife Alice campaigned against atrocities in Congo and were part of the Congo Reform Association.

4. Writers & Artists
Some European authors criticized colonization in their books and poetry.

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1902) portrayed the horror of Belgian Congo, though it remains debated for its own racial lens.

How Were They Treated?
1. Marginalized or Dismissed
Many were called “unpatriotic” or accused of helping enemies of the empire.

Their work was censored, ignored, or mocked by colonial governments and pro-empire media.

2. Harassed or Imprisoned
Some, like Roger Casement, were even executed (he was hanged for treason after also supporting Irish independence).

Whistleblowers in Africa sometimes lost funding, faced smear campaigns, or were expelled.

3. Influenced Later Anti-Colonial Movements
Though often sidelined, their reports, writings, and activism inspired future African leaders, reformers, and international human rights campaigns.

Conclusion:
Yes, many Europeans opposed colonization—on moral, economic, and political grounds.
But they were often silenced or sidelined by powerful pro-empire institutions.
Still, their voices laid the groundwork for future anti-colonial thought and global solidarity movements.

By Jo Ikeji-Uju
https://afriprime.net/page...

Nordic, Baltic and central European NATO members are committed to Ukrainian membership of the military alliance, the leaders of Poland, Romania and Lithuania said following a summit of the so-called B9 and Nordic countries on Monday.

NATO allies declared their support for Ukraine's "irreversible path" towards membership at last year's Washington summit. But President Donald Trump has since said that prior U.S. support for Ukraine's NATO bid was a cause of the war and has further indicated that Ukraine will not get membership.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's conditions for ending the war in Ukraine include a demand that Western leaders pledge in writing to stop enlarging NATO eastwards, and lift a chunk of sanctions on Russia, Reuters reported last week.

Poland, Romania and Lithuania said on Monday, after a meeting of Nordic, Baltic and Eastern European leaders in the capital of Lithuania, that the region remains committed to the path towards Ukrainian NATO membership, and called for further pressure on Russia, including more sanctions.

"We stand firm on Allied decision and commitment regarding Ukraine's irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership. Ukraine has the right to choose its own security arrangements and to decide its own future, free from outside interference," they said in a joint statement released on behalf of all meeting participants.

The meeting, held ahead of a NATO summit at The Hague later this month, included Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Slovakia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

How does Tehran get Israelis to betray their homeland?

Last week, news broke of the arrest in Israel of two 24-year-old Israelis, Roy Mazrahi and Almoog Attias, on charges of spying for the Islamic Republic of Iran's intelligence services.

The two were childhood friends, residents of the town of Nasher near the Israeli port of Haifa, had become addicted to gambling and amassed a lot of debt, the Jerusalem Post reported.

According to the report, Mazrahi met an unknown person through an Internet group, who offers him good money in exchange for doing seemingly irrelevant and harmless things. This young Israeli sees the situation as an opportunity to escape his financial crisis.

At first, Mazrahi was asked to photograph the areas around his home and then document the sales sign of a car dealership. His next assignment was to burn a note containing a message against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

As the missions went on, police said, they found more dangerous aspects, and Mazrahi realised at some point that his employers were Iranian. On another mission, he moved a briefcase, which he thought contained a bomb, from place to place.

Then came the main mission. He bought CCTV cameras and rented a room in a hotel in Tel Aviv, along with Almoog Attias, who had been attracted by the same unidentified person. The two then went to the village of Kfar Ahim, the residence of Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz in the south of the country.

Their mission was to install the camera facing the entrance road to Mr. Katz's home, which was not successful due to the presence of security forces.

Israeli defence officials told the court that the CCTV work was part of a larger operation to assassinate Katz.

However, although Roy Mazrahi and Almog Attias are the latest reported case of such espionage operations, several other cases had already been recorded. In fact, almost every few weeks, there is a new report of Israeli citizens being recruited as spies by Iranian intelligence forces.

According to a report by Israel's Internal Security Agency (SHINBET), espionage cases in Israel will increase by about 400 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year.

The detention of Roy Mazrahi and Almoog Attias was the 20th case linked to espionage for Iran's intelligence services in Israel in the past year, and Tehran appears to be seizing the opportunity of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in their efforts to recruite Israeli citizens, said Maor Goren, head of the security department of the Israeli police's National Crime Combating Unit (Lahav 433). Spying has increased in the country.

Who do Iran's intelligence services target?
Although the stories of the cases vary, there are clear patterns in all of them, the Jerusalem Post reported. The targetted persons are all facing financial difficulties and looking for a shortcut way to pay off their debts. Many of these people are immigrants who have recently arrived in Israel and have less national and patriotic belonging than older Israelis.

Yossi Mellman, an expert on espionage affairs and author of the book “Spies Against Armageddon,” said, “Most of the people being recruited are worthless and from the fringes of Israeli communities. But the worrying thing is that a country that is constantly calling for the destruction of Israel has been able to infiltrate its society.”

He said of the reason for the success of the Islamic Republic of Iran: “This is linked to the social collapse of Israel in recent years. The society has lost its sense of solidarity and cohesion. Even the government is only concerned with its own survival. People say to themselves that now that government officials are working for Qatar, why not work for Iran?”

Maor Goren stressed, however, that many of the people who contact Iranian agents cut off contact after a while, and then brief the police.

The method of recruiting forces by the intelligence services of the Islamic Republic of Iran is also relatively simple and does not require complex planning or macro-investment. Iranian agents mostly carry out the recruitment process through social networks and with simple messages.

According to the report, Iranian agents typically target specific groups such as fundamentalist orthodox Jews opposed to Zionism, new immigrants, former criminals, and ordinary citizens mired in financial hardship. Some of those detained were immigrants from former Soviet states, and this may have led to a general distrust of certain strata of society. In fact, social media has given Iranian agents access to a part of Israeli society that was previously unavailable or unknown to them.

How do the intelligence services of Iran operate?
According to the Jerusalem Post, the Islamic Republic of Iran's intelligence services have contacted Israelis via WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram, LinkedIn, Instagram and X, promising large sums in exchange for doing simple things such as photographing specific locations or people or writing graffiti. They have also occasionally published private detective search ads to gather intelligence from Israeli officials. Iranian agents have also launched phishing campaigns to collect information from Israeli citizens in the form of surveys.

In none of the recruitment methods has there been a sign of Iran at first, and most intrigued Israelis have said they did not know at first that they were working for Tehran.

Israel's Internal Security Agency (SHINBET) has had a successful performance in deterring the actions of Iranian agents, and so far it appears that no serious damage has been done to Israel's security. However, spying operations continue and many may still have not been identified.

Some critics of Israel's legal system believe that the punishment for the perpetrators attracted is too light, and that a few years in prison is not a deterrent for people who have engaged in such acts in exchange for receiving sums of money. Also, the exposure and detention of these individuals has no particular consequences for Tehran. Iranian agents are only waiting for the next victim to respond to their message.

In another case, Moshe Attias, an 18-year-old from Yabneh in central Israel, received such a message: “Thank you for contacting Iranian intelligence. Message the user account below to speak to our experts on Telegram.”

Mr. Attias had received about $1,800 in his digital wallet for documentation from the hospital in Maier, where Naftali Bennett, the former Israeli prime minister, was hospitalized. He identified himself as a relative of Mr Bennett and gave information, including details of the security measures adopted at the site, to Iranian agents.

Yossi Mellman commented: “Getting this close to Mr Bennett is an achievement for the Iranian agents and it shows that they are still continuing their actions. But their influence in Israel is still negligible compared to Israel's influence in Iran.”

In August last year, Israeli police detained Moti Maman, a 73-year-old Israeli citizen on suspicion of plotting to assassinate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to the indictment, he travelled secretly to Iran twice to meet with Iranian relations and requested $1 million in advance payments in Iran to carry out the assassination.

“Moti Maman had told his contacts that he had no access to high-level officials and had offered to target the mayor of Aka or Nahariya,” Mellman said.

He was sentenced to ten years in prison for espionage and plotting assassinations last month.

Cash for info - but is it worth it?
Last year, an Iranian intelligence network focusing only on Jewish immigrants from the Caucasus region managed to attract a couple through an Israeli citizen from Azerbaijan. According to the indictment, the couple received $600 a day for gathering information about potential targets, including surveillance of Mossad's main headquarters.

A seven-member network dubbed the “Haifa Cell” is also accused of imaging dozens of military bases, Iron Dome systems and other strategic targets across Israel in exchange for $500 to $1,200 per mission.

According to the indictment, one of their surveillance targets was Navatim Air Base, which was later targeted by an Islamic Republic of Iran missile attack.

Not everyone attracted by Iranian agents, of course, is Jewish. Last October, seven Palestinians living in East Jerusalem were detained on suspicion of planning to assassinate a nuclear scientist and the mayor of one of Israel's major cities.

To date, Iran's intelligence efforts in Israel do not appear to have achieved much success. Because no senior Israeli official has been assassinated, and even if on occasion live and simultaneous information has been passed to Tehran, this information appears to have been superficial and did not lead to any specific action.

However, as Yossi Mellman warns: “We are ignorant of what we don't know, and the most worrying thing is that some Israelis are willing to betray their homeland for a fistful of dollars.”

Israeli ambassador: The two-state solution is over. We are no longer willing to jeopardise our security. (Part 1)

Contrary to her combative image, Tzipi Hotovely, Israel’s ambassador to the UK, is softly spoken and seems slightly anxious. The night before this interview, she appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored, where the host shouted at her about the body count in Gaza. The embassy is wary of a rematch.

So I put her at ease by calling Piers “history’s greatest monster”, causing her to laugh and relax. The problem with coverage of Gaza is that emotions run so high, every discussion ends up feeling like an interrogation – and the Israelis push back with force. What outsiders often forget is that beneath the rhetorical fireworks lies a deep pain.

Speaking at her embassy, flanked by UK and Israeli flags, with a bust of Golda Meir (the fourth prime minister of Israel) watching in the corner, Hotovely tells me “everyone in Israel is traumatised” by the events of Oct 7 2023. On that date, Hamas – which controls Gaza – invaded southern Israel, murdering and kidnapping more than a thousand people.

“We, as Israelis, have been through terror attacks in our coffee shops, on our buses, on our streets, but never in the past did we feel like our houses were not safe.” This is their new “vulnerability: the feeling that you cannot protect your own children”.

But foreign governments – even allies like Britain – are concerned about the safety of Palestinian children too: used as human shields by Hamas, and some killed in Israeli airstrikes.

How do you fight a terror group that rejects all the accepted rules of war?

‘October 7 was a watershed moment’
Hotovely, 46, wears regal purple and leans forward as she speaks, injecting urgency into the conversation. Her parents, Gabriel and Roziko, migrated to Israel from the former USSR and raised Tzipi in Rehovot, an attractive city south of Tel Aviv. Conservative and religious, she studied and practised law before gaining attention as a pundit. In 2009, she was elected to the Knesset – its youngest deputy at the time – as a member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, and went on to serve as minister for transport, science, foreign affairs and settlements. She lives with her husband, Or Alon, and their three daughters.

When she was appointed ambassador to London in 2020, some British Jews objected, labelling Hotovely too controversial for such a sensitive role. But perhaps that was the idea. Many states are shifting their diplomatic style from emollience to advocacy. Since October 7th, Hotovely has become a formidable presence in the media and on campuses , vigorously defending her government against accusations she often describes as “a blood libel” – against Jews as well as Israelis.

I begin by asking the mood of her citizens 19 months on from the Hamas pogrom. “I think that October 7th was a watershed moment… all across Israel. No one can say in Israel that he’s the same person after.” She sometimes finds “less sympathy among people around the world” – some governments still live in the mentality of “October 6th” – but Israelis have been shown “that if you have a jihadi, Islamist terrorist group that wants to destroy you on your doorstep, at the end of the day, it’ll end up in a massacre.” Think of it as living next-door to the “Third Reich”.

“Just this morning, we heard about […] a 15-day-old baby who died in a terror attack”: Israeli Ravid Haim, born by emergency C-section after his mother, Tzeela Fez, was shot and killed. Around 58 hostages remain in Hamas’s hands. To recover them, the Israeli army has launched “Operation Gideon’s Chariots” – aiming to seize control of the Gaza Strip, push the population south and cripple the enemy’s military.

“The aims of the war are very clear to Israel,” explains Hotovely, “Hamas shouldn’t exist as a political leadership and with military power after we finish.” Hamas “doesn’t care about human life […] doesn’t care about their own people’s life”.

Hence it has embedded its fighters in a network of tunnels “six floors down […] bigger than the London Tube”, and deliberately located beneath civilian areas. “They wanted to make sure Israel will be blamed” when civilians are killed during Israeli attacks. “We don’t call it collateral damage. We really care about human life. We don’t want anyone who’s innocent to get killed. That’s why we make sure that all Palestinians can move to a safe zone.”

But the UK Government has condemned the civilian impact of “Gideon’s Chariots”. Israel imposed a blockade on humanitarian aid and commercial supplies on March 2 – now lifted – that Foreign Secretary David Lammy called “morally unjustifiable, wholly disproportionate and counterproductive”; he cancelled talks on a trade deal and summoned Hotovely to the ministry to explain her government’s actions.

Lammy, she says, was wrong: “Israel’s policy from the beginning of the war was to deliver aid to Gaza.” Some “25,000 trucks of aid got into Gaza. This is not a starvation programme, this is actually a flooding Gaza with aid programme […] The reason why it had to stop was because it was being looted only to feed the terrorists” or “to sell the aid that people were supposed to get for free”.

I ask whether this is an example of Israel alienating its friends with such brutal logic. Hamas steals food – that’s bad; anyone would want to stop it. But if Israel cuts off food altogether, isn’t the outcome even worse for innocent civilians?

“If there is lack of food,” Hotovely replies, “I can understand your argument”, but the Israelis calculated that there was enough aid already within the Gaza Strip to pause deliveries while they build a “new mechanism” for distribution, not overseen by the UN. This would be the American-run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, now operating in Gaza – accused of being partisan and insufficient, and there have been riots at its deliveries. “That was just the first day,” she corrects, “it’s been improving and I keep on monitoring it as ambassador.”

‘A clash of civilisations’
What about Labour’s other charge – that “Gideon’s Chariots” has driven up the death toll? I cite the case of Dr Alaa al-Najjar, a Palestinian doctor whose home was hit in an Israeli strike, killing nine of her 10 children. “How does that make you feel?”

“I’ll tell you how it makes me feel. It makes me feel how tragic the situation is that Hamas built this infrastructure that is hurting his own children. I have a lot of sympathy to human life. As a Jew, as an Israeli, we value life very much. Unfortunately, our enemies don’t […] I think it’s a clash of civilisations [...] I find that Western people find it very hard to believe that on the other side, there are people who are using their own children as human shields,” but they do.

Dr al-Najjar wasn’t using her own children as a shield though, was she? “No, I didn’t say that, but I said Hamas built all its terrible infrastructure within the population, in the schools, in the hospitals... Are we doing our best to make sure that population civilians will be out of harm? Yes, we are. We give them messaging before we strike… Now, think about it. Do you think the UK would have continued living next to a terror organisation that is a threat to your children in Kent? Or in London or in Liverpool? I don’t think so.”

I point out that it isn’t just non-Israelis who are turning against the war. Ehud Olmert, a former prime minister of Israel, and member of Likud, is now at odds with Netanyhu, writing that the conflict is one of “devastation, indiscriminate, limitless, cruel, and criminal killing of civilians.” He has concluded that his country “is committing war crimes”. What does Hotovely say to him?

“It is a lie. Yes, it is. It is a pure lie.” The Israeli Defence Forces “work with all the mechanisms of our international law experts” and the country is “fighting with one hand tied behind our back” because it always defers to lawyers. “Olmert is completely doing a political statement to hurt the government… It’s coming from very political reasons, not to do with what’s happening on the ground.”

President Vladimir Putin’s conditions for ending the war in Ukraine include a demand that Western leaders pledge in writing to stop enlarging NATO eastwards and lift a chunk of sanctions on Russia, according to three Russian sources with knowledge of the negotiations.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the deadliest European conflict since World War Two and has shown increasing frustration with Putin in recent days, warning on Tuesday the Russian leader was “playing with fire” by refusing to engage in ceasefire talks with Kyiv as his forces made gains on the battlefield.

After speaking to Trump for more than two hours last week, Putin said that he had agreed to work with Ukraine on a memorandum that would establish the contours of a peace accord, including the timing of a ceasefire. Russia says it is currently drafting its version of the memorandum and cannot estimate how long that will take.

The European Union's trade chief said the 27-member bloc is committed to securing a trade deal with the US based on "respect" not "threats".
It comes after US President Donald Trump threatened to slap a 50% tariff on all goods sent to the US from the EU.

"The EU's fully engaged, committed to securing a deal that works for both," EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said.
"EU-US trade is unmatched & must be guided by mutual respect, not threats. We stand ready to defend our interests."
Trump expressed impatience with the pace of ongoing EU-US trade negotiations.

Writing on social media, Trump said: "Our discussions with [the EU] are going nowhere," adding that there would be no tariffs for products built or manufactured in the US.

"I'm not looking for a deal - we've set the deal," he told reporters later, before immediately adding that a big investment in the US by a European company might make him open to a delay.

Israel has retrieved thousands of items belonging to the country’s most famous spy after a covert operation in Syria.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared some of the 2,500 items from the Syrian archive relating to Eli Cohen, an Israeli spy who infiltrated the political echelon in Syria, with Cohen’s widow. Sunday marked 60 years since Cohen was hanged in a square in Damascus.

The items recently spirited into Israel include documents, recordings, photos, and items collected by Syrian intelligence after his capture in January 1965, letters in his own handwriting to his family in Israel, photographs of his activity during his operational mission in Syria and personal objects that were taken from his home after his capture.

Suitcases of items brought to Israel included worn folders stuffed with handwritten notes, keys to his apartment in Damascus, passports and false identification documents, missions from the Mossad to surveil specific people and places, and documentation.

We are Defined by Our Actions-
We do not need to proselytize
either by our speech or by our writing.
We can only do so really with our lives.
Let our lives be open books for all to study.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he's fired "some" White House National Security Council officials, a move that comes a day after far-right activist Laura Loomer raised concerns directly to him about staff loyalty.
But Loomer during her Oval Office conversation with Trump urged the president to purge staffers she deemed insufficiently loyal to his “Make America Great Again” agenda, according to several people familiar with the matter.

“Always we’re letting go of people,” Trump “People that we don’t like or people that we don’t think can do the job or people that may have loyalties to somebody else.”

Loomer appeared to take credit for the firings in a post late Thursday on X, writing, “You know how you know the NSC officials I reported to President Trump are disloyal people who have played a role in sabotaging Donald Trump?” She then noted that “the fired officials” were being defended by Trump critics

Chinese artificial intelligence startup Zhipu AI unveiled a free AI agent on Monday, joining a wave of similar launches in China's increasingly competitive AI market.

The product, called AutoGLM Rumination, can perform deep research as well as tasks including web searches, travel planning, and research report writing, CEO Zhang Peng said at a lunch event in Beijing.
The agent is powered by Zhipu's proprietary models, including its reasoning model GLM-Z1-Air and foundation model GLM-4-Air-0414. The company claims GLM-Z1-Air matches rival DeepSeek's R1 in performance while running up to eight times faster and requiring only one-thirtieth of the computing resources.

AI agents are systems designed to make decisions and execute a range of tasks autonomously.
The launch follows a surge in Chinese AI product releases after DeepSeek shook the industry earlier this year with a model that it said operated at substantially lower costs than U.S. rivals.

We do not need to proselytize
either by our speech or by our writing.
We can only do so really with our lives.
Let our lives be open books for all to study.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

📌 HOPE (Believing in a brighter future)
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope."
🔹 Simple Life Explanation:
Your life is like a book God is writing. Even if one chapter is tough, the next one is full of hope and blessings.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the European Union was born to "screw" the United States, laying bare his hostility to the longtime US partner as he detailed new tariffs.

Trump's month back in the White House has been marked by soaring friction between Washington and its European allies, with the United States abruptly shifting gears on support for Ukraine and Germany's likely next leader urging Europe to seek take greater control of its own defense.

"Look, let's be honest, the European Union was formed in order to screw the United States," Trump
"That's the purpose of it, and they've done a good job of it. But now I'm president," Trump said.
The European Commission shot back that the European Union is "the world's largest free market" and has been "a boon for the United States."

Former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt, writing on X, said Trump had a "seriously distorted view of history" as the EU was "actually set up to prevent war on the European continent."

Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President Lai Ching-te told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners.
The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Chinese-claimed Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties.

In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties.
Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff's message on Jan. 1's World Day of Peace, pointed to Francis' comments that worldwide challenges like food crises and climate change should be jointly addressed and not merely viewed as isolated acts of charity.
"I hold this view in high regard. I therefore earnestly hope that international organisations will stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons," Lai said.

A power cable linking Finland and Estonia under the Baltic Sea suffered an outage, prompting an investigation, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said.
Writing on X, Orpo said that power transmission through the Estlink-2 cable stopped Wednesday and that authorities were “investigating the matter.” He said the interruption would not affect electricity supplies in Finland.

Estonian network operator Elering said there was enough spare capacity to meet power needs on the Estonian side, public broadcaster ERR said on its website.
Authorities have been on edge about undersea infrastructure in the Baltic. Two data cables, one running between Finland and Germany, the other between Lithuania and Sweden, were severed in November.
Germany's defense minister said officials had to assume the incident was “sabotage," but without providing evidence or saying who might have been responsible. The remark came during a speech in which he discussed hybrid warfare threats from Russia.

A map shown during the draw for the 2026 Fifa World Cup has been criticised by Ukraine as an "unacceptable error" after it appeared to exclude Crimea as part of the country.
The graphic - showing countries that cannot be drawn to play each other for geopolitical reasons - highlighted Ukraine but did not include the peninsula that is internationally recognised to be part of it.

Crimea has been under Russian occupation since 2014 and just a handful of countries recognise the peninsula as Russian territory.
Ukraine Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhy said that the nation expects "a public apology".
Writing on X, Tykhy said that Fifa had not only "acted against international law" but had also "supported Russian propaganda, war crimes, and the crime of aggression against Ukraine".

He added a "fixed" version of the map to his post...

Among the countries that cannot play each other are Ukraine and Belarus, Spain and Gibraltar and Kosovo versus either Bosnia and Herzegovina or

Justin Trudeau says Syria can now revel in a new chapter, after the Middle Eastern country's former president fled on Sunday. The Canadian prime minister took to social media, noting Syria will be free of terrorism and suffering after half a century of the Assad family's rule.
"The fall of Assad's dictatorship ends decades of brutal oppression. A new chapter for Syria can begin here — one free of terrorism and suffering for the Syrian people," Trudeau wrote in a post on X.

Trudeau added that Canada is closely "monitoring this transition," writing in his post that "we urge order, stability, and respect for human rights."
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also spoke on the incident on Sunday, telling a news conference that Canada should stay out: "Assad was a puppet for the tyrants of Tehran. He has carried out genocides against the Sunni people in his own country. ... We don't know who will replace him, but I don't think we should get involved in that mess."

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he strongly condemns Iran's latest attacks on Israel, adding that France has mobilised military resources in the Middle East.In a statement released Wednesday, Macron reiterated France's demand that the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah cease its terrorist actions against Israel and its population.

The French president also insited that Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity be reinstated in strict compliance with United Nations Security Council resolutions.

This comes as Iran said that its missile attack on Israel was over – barring further provocation – while Israel and the US have promised to retaliate against Tehran's escalation as fears of a wider war intensify.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has also called for an immediate regional ceasefire, writing on social media: "The dangerous cycle of attacks and retaliation risks ... spiralling out of control".

The Moment Trump Realized the Debate Wasn’t Going Well for Him
Emerging details behind the first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump suggest that by the second commercial break, Harris was totally in control—and Trump knew he was blowing it.

As soon as the stagehands announced that the duo were clear for the four-minute commercial break, Trump lunged off the stage and away from the former prosecutor, letting a heavy sigh escape his pursed lips.
While he was gone, Harris reportedly spent half of the break writing nonstop on her sheet of paper, only pausing to fix her hair.

“She then reviewed what she wrote for the next minute, making a few tweaks, before putting the pen down and looking out around the room with her hands folded in front of her. She took a sip of water from a glass placed under the lectern,”

Trump reemerged behind the podium with 30 seconds to air. The candidates did not look at each other, until the program resumed.

Venezuelan security forces surround Argentine embassy after opposition members take refuge inside.
Venezuelan security forces surrounded the Argentine embassy in the capital Caracas on Friday after two opposition members took refuge inside.

The pair joined four other Venezuelan opposition figures who have taken refuge in the embassy this year.

One of the men, Pedro Urruchurtu, the international coordinator for opposition leader María Corina Machado, wrote on X that there were patrols of hooded and armed

The other, former deputy Omar González, also posted on X, writing: “They cut off the electricity service to the Argentine embassy in Caracas, which is currently besieged by agents of the Sebin (Bolivarian National Intelligence Service).”

A statement issued by Vente Venezuela, a movement led by Machado, described the situation as a “siege.”

We hold Nicolás Maduro responsible for this siege against our leaders who are taking refuge in the embassy,”

With Court Victories, Conservatives Push Back on Biden Policies
After rewriting Title IX regulations to include protections for gender identity, President Joe Biden told trans students: “We see you.” When he announced in April his latest executive actions to waive student loan debt, he proudly proclaimed that “this relief can be life-changing.”

And standing in front of a group of immigrant advocates in June, Biden boasted that he had used the power of his presidency to provide a new path to legal status for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens — ending fear and uncertainty for a half-million people.

“We can fix that,” Biden said. “And that’s what I’m going to do today: fix it.”
In all three cases — and a long list of other executive actions — Biden’s promises of progress and relief have been stymied by aggressive legal challenges led by conservative activists, lawmakers and Republican state attorneys general. Their efforts to disrupt the president’s agenda have often been bols

What role do startups and the gig economy play in reducing unemployment?
By Ugo Ikeji

Startups and the gig economy have become increasingly influential in shaping the modern workforce, playing significant roles in reducing unemployment.

Role of Startups in Reducing Unemployment
1. Job Creation
Startups are known for their rapid growth and innovation, leading to the creation of new job opportunities.
Unlike established companies, startups often expand quickly and require a diverse range of skills and talents.

New Positions: Startups often create jobs that didn’t exist before, ranging from technical roles in software development to creative positions in marketing.

Local Employment: They contribute to local economies by creating jobs in communities that may otherwise lack significant employment opportunities.

2. Innovation and New Markets
Startups drive innovation, which can lead to the development of new industries and markets.

Tech and Non-Tech Sectors: While tech startups are the most visible, many non-tech startups also create jobs in fields like healthcare, education, and environmental services.

Ancillary Jobs: The growth of startups can lead to ancillary job creation in supporting industries, such as logistics, legal services, and retail.

3. Flexibility and Diversity
Startups often offer flexible working conditions, attracting a diverse workforce including part-time workers, freelancers, and remote employees.

Inclusive Employment: This flexibility can provide job opportunities for individuals who may struggle with traditional 9-to-5 roles, such as parents, students, and people with disabilities.

Skills Development: Working in startups can offer extensive learning opportunities, helping employees develop a broad skill set that enhances their future employability.

Role of the Gig Economy in Reducing Unemployment
1. Immediate Employment Opportunities
The gig economy provides quick and accessible job opportunities for those in need of immediate income.

Low Entry Barriers: Platforms like Uber, TaskRabbit, and Fiverr offer jobs that often require minimal qualifications or upfront investment.

Short-Term Income: Gig work can provide a temporary solution for those who are unemployed, helping them earn money while searching for permanent positions.

2. Supplemental Income
For many, the gig economy offers a way to supplement their income from traditional employment.

Part-Time Gigs: Individuals can take on gig work outside of their regular jobs to earn additional income, helping them manage economic instability.

Diverse Opportunities: Gig work spans various fields including delivery services, freelance writing, graphic design, and home repairs, allowing workers to find gigs that match their skills.

3. Empowerment of Independent Workers
The gig economy empowers individuals to become their own bosses, promoting entrepreneurship and self-employment.

Control Over Workload: Gig workers can choose the amount of work they take on, which helps in balancing personal and professional lives.

Skill Utilization: It allows individuals to monetize a wide range of skills, from driving and tutoring to creative and technical abilities.

Combined Impact on Unemployment Reduction
1. Dynamic and Resilient Workforce
The synergy between startups and the gig economy contributes to a dynamic and resilient workforce.

Adaptability: Workers can transition between gig work and startup employment, gaining varied experience and reducing long-term unemployment risks.

Economic Resilience: During economic downturns, the flexibility of the gig economy and the innovative nature of startups can provide alternative employment options, mitigating the impact of job losses in traditional sectors.

2. Support for Economic Growth
Both startups and the gig economy play crucial roles in stimulating economic growth.

Increased Productivity: Startups often introduce efficiencies and new technologies that increase overall productivity.

Consumption and Demand: As people gain employment through startups and gig work, their increased purchasing power stimulates demand for goods and services, further driving economic growth.

Conclusion
Startups and the gig economy significantly contribute to reducing unemployment by creating diverse job opportunities, fostering innovation, and providing flexible work arrangements. Their roles in offering immediate employment, supplementing incomes, and empowering independent workers are vital in today’s evolving economic landscape.
Through these mechanisms, they not only address unemployment but also drive broader economic growth and resilience.

How Many Ways Do You Look After Your Body?
A simple way to take stock of your body-directed kindness and unkindness.

KEY POINTS-
Lists are a powerful way to bring structure into our thinking.
Bringing about change benefits from a rich understanding of the status quo.
Making a list of “ways I look after my body” is a simple strategy for combining the two.

It sometimes feels like there’s no escape from body advice. From the obviously toxic to the apparently benevolent, it’s hard to take a step online or indeed offline without coming up against someone’s ideas about how to make yourself look or feel better.

Yes, this post can probably not avoid being just one more example. But it’s about something that has been useful and intriguing for me in its simplicity, these past few weeks. And, crucially, it’s the kind of advice that stops at “here’s something to help you decide whether you want to do anything differently” rather than presuming to know that “you should do this differently”—which is almost always misguided.

It started with a Zoom chat with a friend who’s recently had a health crisis involving hospitalization. I found myself asking him, at some point in the middle of our conversation, “How much do you feel you’re doing to look after your body at the moment?” A few days later, in a yoga class, I found myself having the thought “Doing this would be good for him." Immediately after that, I thought, “maybe I should start a list of ‘ways I look after my body.’”

As soon as I got home I started my list, and immediately lots of (15 or so) big, little, and medium-sized things came to mind. I found it interesting how many things were on it and how varied they were: from plenty of hot tubs to very little caffeine. Then the next morning, journaling briefly about it, it occurred to me to add a companion list of “ways I expect too much of my body.” I did that and there was only one thing on it (later expanded to two), but it was a big one—more all-pervading than many of the looking-after examples. (Not to be coy about it: It was “Long working hours at the laptop.”)

Since then I’ve also added a couple of other sub-lists: “neutral/mixed things” and “things I might like to do more of.” And I’ve kept adding little dribs and drabs to the main positives list, as things that were too small or automatic to be noticeable immediately have been pulled into noticeability by the fact that there is now a place they can live.

I often think about, and feel gratitude for, how much my thinking is supported by written and spoken language—by letting the thoughts be externalized on paper or screen or in soundwaves. I know I’m the kind of person who depends on writing to do most of my complex thinking, but the basics of “extended cognition” are true for us all. Andy Clark is a British philosopher who’s spent a lot of time thinking about how thinking doesn’t stop at the skull. He offers a dense but rather lovely few sentences on what he calls the “cognitively pregnant unfolding” of gesture as a process of thought when we’re writing and thinking at the same time:

It is not always that fully formed thoughts get committed to paper. Rather, the paper provides a medium in which, this time via some kind of coupled neural-scribbling-reading unfolding, we are enabled to explore ways of thinking that might otherwise be unavailable to us. […] If we allow that the actual gestures (not simply their neural pre- or postcursors) form part of an individual’s cognitive processing, there seems no principled reason to stop the spread where skin meets air. (Supersizing the Mind, p. 126)

Making a list is a simple way of crystallizing thoughts by externalizing them. Even making a shopping list, you can feel this happening: Your inchoate sense of all the things you probably need to stock up on turns into a neat enumeration as you write, and then the result does double duty as a memory aid once you get to the shop (and triple duty by giving you the satisfaction and the visualized sense of completion that comes from crossing all the things off when you find them). So reality is being efficiently encapsulated and ordered in list-writing-as-thinking—of course by oversimplification (you’ll often forget something, and you’ll often not even think beyond the confines of your usual suspects), but everything has its costs.

We love lists because they do all kinds of cognitive jobs, really efficiently. A Psychology Today post by Robert Kraft gives a run-down of some of the cognitive roles that lists play. The most relevant in this context are perhaps the following four:

the way they support memory by allowing each new item on the list to act as a retrieval cue for the next
the way they mesh with our preferences for serial processing (the brain is a massively parallel processor, but we often funnel parallel into pseudo-serial for simplicity)
their simplicity and efficiency in both initial creation (a list is already a list when it has about three things on it), revisions (you can easily add more things later without lots of reworking as you’d do in extended prose), and use (a single glance gives you a quick gist)
the satisfaction of seeing something that almost immediately looks finished (however few things are on it, a list doesn’t tend to scream “incomplete”)

So, the structural simplicity of lists may well be valuable in many contexts. And when a list is employed in the way I stumbled across here, to explore a) present reality in b) an open-ended way that nonetheless c) has an “angle” to it, it may really come into its own.

If we want to change anything, understanding the starting state intimately is usually crucial. And even if we don’t want to change anything, intimate understanding tends to be important for protecting what’s already good.

One of the most popular coaching models is the GROW model:

Goal: What do you want?
Reality: Where are you now?
Options: What could you do?
Will: What will you do?
It’s a powerful framework that can be adapted to innumerable contexts where change is sought. It’s easy to neglect any of the four elements, but neglecting R is perhaps most easily done, because it feels least forward-looking: We might assume that the client knows their own reality so it won’t get us anywhere to linger with it. But it often happens that this patient and curious kind of lingering, combined with an interesting yet open-ended question like “How many ways do you look after your body right now?”, can yield insights that mean the O and the W, and maybe also the G itself, will be enriched. Funny to think how much a little list might do.

In the second part of this post, we’ll explore why the idea of looking after our bodies might matter oddly much, given what an unassuming phrase it is.

COGNITION-
5 Science-Backed Ways to Write Clearly.
If you want to become a better writer, ignore the lore and follow the science.

KEY POINTS-
We read sentences written with active voice faster and comprehend content better than passive sentences.
Studies document that we read and recall sentences with less effort when they turn content into micro-stories.
Pronouns as subjects send readers backward, but readers comprehend sentences through prediction.
Action verbs activate the brain's motor systems, creating semantic richness and enabling rapid comprehension.

Most writers assume they write well. Yet most writers grapple with the reality of writing as a black box.

That is, we know that writing works, but we’re a bit fuzzy on what makes readers grasp the meaning of some sentences instantly and without noticeable effort, while we find others difficult to understand after repeat re-readings. And contrary to popular belief, clear writing has virtually nothing to do with content, sentence length, or writing style.

Instead, we perceive sentences as clear when they map onto the methods our reading brains use to make sense of writing. Knowing the most important ones, including the below, could help make you a better writer.

1. Active voice makes sentences easier to read.

In dozens of studies, researchers have found that readers comprehend sentences more rapidly when sentences reflect the causal order of events. Two factors determine these outcomes.

First, human brains naturally perceive cause and effect, a likely survival mechanism. In fact, infants as young as six months can identify cause and effect, registered as spikes in heart rate and blood pressure.

Second, English sentence structure reflects causes and effects in its ordering of words: subject-verb-object order. In key studies, participants read sentences with active voice at speeds one-third faster than they read sentences in passive voice. More significantly, these same participants misunderstood even simple sentences in passive voice about 25 percent of the time.

As readers, we also perceive active sentences as both shorter and easier to read because active voice typically makes sentences more efficient.
Consider the difference between the first sentence below, which relies on passive voice, and the second, which uses active voice.

Passive: Among board members, there was an instant agreement to call for a pause in negotiations.

Active: Board members instantly agreed to call for a pause in negotiations.

2. Actors or concrete objects turn sentences into micro-stories.

We read sentences with less effort—or cognitive load—when we can clearly see cause and effect, or, “who did what to whom,” as Ina Bornkessel-Schlesewsky puts it.

Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of South Australia, used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), to spot brains reacting to meaning and word order in sentences. Unsurprisingly, when the subjects of sentences are nouns clearly capable of performing actions, readers process sentences with greater speed and less effort. For actors, writers can choose people, organizations, publications—any individual, group, or item, intentionally created, that generates impact.

In addition to our unconsciously perceiving these sentences as easy to read and recall, we can also more readily identify actors in sentences. Furthermore, these nouns enhance the efficiency of any sentence by paring down its words. Take the examples below:

Abstract noun as subject: Virginia Woolf’s examination of the social and economic obstacles female writers faced due to the presumption that women had no place in literary professions and so were instead relegated to the household, particularly resonated with her audience of young women who had struggled to fight for their right to study at their colleges, even after the political successes of the suffragettes.

Actor as subject: In A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf examined social and economic obstacles female writers faced. Despite the political success of the suffragettes, writers like Woolf battled the perception that women had no place in the literary professions. Thus Woolf’s book resonated with her audience, young women who had to fight for the right to study at their colleges.

3. Pronouns send readers backward, but readers make sense of sentences by anticipating what comes next.

Writers typically love to use pronouns as the subjects of sentences, especially the demonstrative pronouns this, that, these, those, and it, believing that these pronouns help link their sentences. Instead, pronouns save writers time and effort—but significantly cost readers for two likely reasons.

First, readers assume that pronouns refer to a singular noun, rather than a cluster of nouns, a phrase, or even an entire sentence. Second and more importantly, when writers use these pronouns without anchoring nouns, readers slow down and frequently misidentify the pronoun referents. In fact, readers rated writing samples with high numbers of sentences using demonstrative pronouns as being less well-written than sentences that used actors as subjects or pronouns anchored by nouns.

Pronoun as subjects: [Katie Ledecky] estimated that she swims more than 65,000 yards—or about 37 miles—a week. That adds up to 1,900 miles a year, and it means eons of staring at the black line that runs along the bottom of a pool.

Actor as subject: [Katie] Ledecky swims up to 1,900 miles a year, mileage that entails seeming aeons of staring at the black line that runs along the bottom of a pool.

4. Action verbs make sentences more concrete, memorable, and efficient.

For years, old-school newspaper and magazine editors urged writers to use action verbs to enliven sentences.

However, action verbs also offer readers and writers significant benefits in terms of their memorability, as revealed in one study of readers’ recall of verbs. Of the 200 verbs in the study, readers recalled concrete verbs and nouns more accurately than non-action verbs.

In fact, when we read concrete verbs, our brains recruit the sensory-motor system, generating faster reaction times than abstract or non-action verbs, processed outside that system. Even in patients with dementia, action verbs remain among the words patients can identify with advanced disease, due to the richness of semantic associations that action verbs recruit in the brain.

Non-action verbs: That the electric trolleys being abandoned in Philadelphia were greener and more efficient was not an insight available at that time.
Action Verbs: Philadelphia scrapped its electric trolleys, decades before urban planners turned to greener, more efficient forms of transport.

5. Place subjects and verbs close together.

Over the past 20 years, researchers have focused on models of reading that rely on our understanding of sentence structure, a focus validated by recent studies.

As we read, we predict how sentence structure or syntax unfolds, based on our encounters with thousands of sentences. We also use the specific words we encounter in sentences to verify our predictions, beginning with grammatical subjects, followed by verbs.

As a result, readers struggle to identify subjects and verbs when writers separate them—the more distance between subjects and verbs, the slower the process of identifying them correctly. Moreover, readers make more errors in identifying correct subjects and verbs—crucial to understanding sentences—with increases in the number of words between subjects and verbs, even with relatively simple sentence structure.

Ironically, as writers tackle increasingly complex topics, they typically modify their subjects with phrases and adjective clauses that can place subjects at one end of the sentence and verbs at the opposite end. This separation strains working memory, as readers rely on subject-verb-object order in English to understand the sentence’s meaning. Consider, for example, this sentence from an online news organization:

In Florida, for instance, a bill to eliminate a requirement that students pass an Algebra I end-of-course and 10th-grade English/language arts exams in order to graduate recently cleared the Senate’s education committee.

On the other hand, when we place the subject and verb close together and use modifiers after the verb, we ease readers’ predictions and demands on working memory:

In Florida, the Senate’s education committee recently cleared a bill to eliminate two graduation requirements: an Algebra I end-of-course and 10th-grade English language arts.

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