🌱 Iran War Inadvertently Cuts Global 2026 Fossil Emissions, Analysis Finds — WaPo

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🇬🇧 Men held in major incident near RAF base as homes evacuated

A major incident has been declared and homes have been evacuated in a village near an RAF base which hosts the United States Air Force.

Several men have been arrested on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act, Gloucestershire police said. An army explosive ordnance disposal team is currently examining a number of vehicles.

Residents in Whelford, near RAF Fairford, have been taken to a leisure centre while investigations continue, police said. A cordon is currently in place in the area and officers say they believe the incident is contained.

The base has been recently used to deploy American bombers since the country's conflict in Iran began on 28 February.

In March this year, after then prime minister Sir Keir Starmer granted permission for "defensive" US action against Iranian missile sites from UK bases, four American bombers landed at RAF Fairford and the US started using British bases for "specific defensive operations".

A large emergency services presence has been seen in the area, including a Hazardous Area Response Team.

Gloucestershire Police said: "A number of properties are currently being evacuated in the Whelford area following the declaration of a major incident.

"It follows the arrest of several men on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act.

"We are working closely with our partners and are enacting the well-rehearsed plans we have in place."

Police said the men were arrested early on Sunday morning.

A spokesperson for the US Air Force said its personnel based at RAF Fairford "remain vigilant".

🔗 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqrm99mm9l84o

🇮🇷❌🇺🇸 — BREAKING: Iran’s IRGC Navy announced that they captured a second U.S. military underwater drone in the Strait of Hormuz following a coordinated operation involving intelligence surveillance and electronic warfare.

The IRGC identified the seized vessel as an advanced REMUS 600 unmanned underwater vehicle that was conducting espionage operations. The drone is now in Iranian custody, with specialists working to recover its data.

🇮🇷❌🇺🇸 — WATCH: Iran's IRGC Navy released footage of the REMUS 600 unmanned underwater vehicle that they seized in the Strait of Hormuz.

🇺🇦🇪🇺 Ukraine used up all of the EU funds it received this year far ahead of schedule. The EU Commission is struggling to understand how

The EU state news outlet, EURACTIV, reported earlier this week that EU officials are still scratching their heads as to how did the Ukrainian government manage to spend the 90 billion EURs it received from Brussels and declare a 23.5 billion EUR ($27 billion) shortfall for the remaining months of 2026.

Ukrainian president, Vladimir Zelensky, claims that the $27 billion shortfall will be used to cover the salaries of soldiers and other military-related expenses and will not go towards repairing damaged infrastructure needed by civilians or subsidise Ukrainian farmers.

These explanations have stoked suspicions in some EU capitals about the size – and urgency – of Kiev’s funding needs, especially given that the demand comes just weeks after Zelensky’s government was accused of widespread corruption by its recently ousted defence minister.

“I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but the repeated resignations and dismissals of government officials over corruption allegations paint a rather unsavoury picture coming out of Kiev,” said one senior EU diplomat.

Ukraine's seemingly careless spending might come back to haunt it as the same EU diplomat told EURACTIV that European governments are unlikely to hurry and approve a new round of funding as most of the EU's governments are cash-strapped and there is an ongoing struggle between fiscal-conservative governments in the EU led by Germany and those in favor of massive public spending led by France over the size of the EU's budget for 2028-2034.

The European Commissioner for the Economy, the Lithuanian Valdis Dombrovskis, is sympathetic to Kiev and is ready to provide the money requested by Kiev citing Russia's sustained missile campaign against Ukrainian logistics units, gas stations, locomotives and port facilities, however the source of the funding is unclear as Belgium resists the idea of using Russia's frozen assets to fund the war while other EU capitals are weary of using the EU's budget again to lend money to Kiev, sacrificing other projects in the process.

🔗 https://www.euractiv.com/news/europe-struggles-to-pin-down-ukraine-funding-shortfall/

🇩🇪🗳 New election poll for the next federal election, AfD is the leading party across the entirety of Germany

📝 Eugyppius: Everyone talks about CxU/AfD numbers when these new polls drop, but the real thing to notice is the steady drop in right-bloc (CDU-CSU-AfD) share, now down from 51%+ to 48%; and the growing left bloc (SPD + Greens + Linke), now approaching 40% from a previously steady 37%.

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🇮🇷⚔️🚢 The IRGC-linked Fars News Agency claims the IRGC Navy struck 19 ships in the past two days while trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz

This uptick in Iranian antiship missile attacks comes after the U.S. resumed strikes on Iranian-linked oil tankers.

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🇩🇪✡️ German anti-semitism campaigner linked to former Mossad intelligence role

Munich-based anti-semitism campaigner Guy Katz, a professor at Munich University of Applied Sciences who has become a prominent figure in Germany's political and media discourse on Israel and anti-semitism, has a background in Israeli intelligence, according to a MintPress News investigation.

Katz has founded or co-founded several organizations focused on combating anti-Semitism, including "Anti-Semitism? Not in My Name!", Dach Gegen Hass and the Munich branch of Run For Their Lives.

He has addressed the Bavarian parliament, worked with German police and universities on anti-Semitism training, and led a pro-Israel rally in Munich attended by around 30,000 people on 6 October 2024.

In October 2025, he also interviewed former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. MintPress says his alleged intelligence background has received little attention in German and international coverage of his public activities.

According to the investigation, Katz identified himself as a former Mossad agent during a 2023 lecture at the University of Nairobi, where he discussed what he described as Mossad's "art of releasing an agent."

Professional profiles have also described him as a former Israeli intelligence officer, while Katz has promoted a lecture titled "Communicating Like a Mossad Agent," which he says is based on real stories and lessons for managers.

MintPress links this background to Katz's prominent role in German campaigns against anti-Semitism and his activism against pro-Palestine protests and speech.

🔗 The Cradle