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Russia and Ukraine exchanged 230 prisoners of war on Saturday, weeks after Ukraine launched a cross-border attack into the Kursk region of Russia. Kyiv has said one of the goals of the Kursk offensive is to capture Russian soldiers to trade for Ukrainian prisoners of war. Ukraine claims to control over 1,000 sqkm of the Kursk region. Mr Zelensky said that in addition to capturing Russian soldiers, the Kursk operation had other goals he could not disclose. The Ukrainian president said the operation was a preventative strike to deter Russian attacks towards Sumy, a city in Ukraine.

Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, on a visit to Taiwan Saturday said an isolationist policy isn't “healthy” and called on the Republican Party to stand with her country's allies, while still putting in good words for the party's nominee, Donald Trump. Haley, who ran against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, told reporters in the capital, Taipei, that supporting U.S. allies, including Ukraine and Israel, is vital, and she underscored the importance of Taiwan — which Beijing claims as its territory, to be brought under control by force if necessary. “I don’t think the isolationist approach...

Russian commandos quashed a mutiny at a southern Russian prison on Friday, killing the attackers and freeing their hostages, according to the local governor. Inmates claiming to be motivated by radical Islam and armed with makeshift knives and an explosive vest briefly took control of Penal Colony No. 19 in the southern Volgograd region, according to videos posted on social media and verified by The New York Times. The Russian prison service said four guards had been killed and three injured in the attack. Four of the attackers were killed by snipers as the Russian commandos stormed the prison late...

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his strategy for the fall is less geared toward turning out supporters to vote and more focused on ensuring Democrats “don’t cheat” in the general election. "Our primary focus is not to get out the vote, it is to make sure they don’t cheat," Trump said in remarks at a campaign event in Asheboro, N.C., a state that Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign views as competitive this year. “We are going to fight like hell to win this election,” he added. “They are going to cheat like hell to win the election because...

Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Britain of “slowing down” its support for Ukraine as he renewed his appeal for restrictions to be lifted on Kyiv’s use of Western weapons. The Ukrainian president is pushing Britain, France and the US to allow the use of Storm Shadow missiles, which were given to Kyiv by the UK last year, for strikes deep inside Russian territory. On Saturday, he complained that British support for his war effort had slowed down, after Sir Keir Starmer upheld a ban, initially imposed by the Conservatives, on the missiles being used to strike Russia.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Saturday reacted to reports that revived questions about who blew up the Nord Stream pipelines in 2022, saying the initiators of the gas pipeline project should “apologize and keep quiet." That comment came after one of his deputies denied a claim that Warsaw was partly responsible for its damage. Germany was a partner with Russia in the pipeline project. Poland has long said its own security interests have been harmed by Nord Stream. “To all the initiators and patrons of Nord Stream 1 and 2. The only thing you should do today about it...

Russia is “rapidly approaching” a key military hub in eastern Ukraine, a local official has said, as Moscow continues its advances despite Kyiv’s surprise gains in its enemy’s Kursk region. While Pokrovsk is not a major city – about 60,000 people lived there before the war and many have left since the start of the full-scale invasion – it serves as a key hub for the Ukrainian military thanks to its easy access to Kostiantynivka, another military center. Ukrainian troops use the road connecting the two to resupply the front lines and evacuate casualties toward Dnipro. Serhii Dobriak, head of...

Military authorities in the eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk on Friday urged civilians to speed up their evacuation because the Russian army is quickly closing in on what has for months been one of Moscow’s key targets. Authorities said in a Telegram post that Russian troops are “advancing at a fast pace. With every passing day there is less and less time to collect personal belongings and leave for safer regions.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned on Thursday that Pokrovsk and other nearby towns in the Donetsk region were “facing the most intense Russian assaults.”

The Taliban marked the third anniversary of its return to power on Wednesday with a celebration at Bagram Air Base, a former U.S. military stronghold in Afghanistan. ... The parade also showcased military equipment left behind by U.S. and NATO forces, including helicopters, Humvees, and tanks. Troops marched with an array of weaponry, and a motorcycle unit displayed the Taliban flag. In Kabul, pickup trucks filled with men celebrated the takeover, some posing with rifles, while in Helmand province, men carried yellow canisters to symbolize explosives used in past conflicts. Wednesday was declared a national holiday by the Taliban.

BRUSSELS -- Ukraine has stolen the battlefield initiative from Russia with its cross-border offensive into the Kursk region. But its Western backers have, for the most part, remained curiously silent about the surprise move. The move also appeared to surprise many of Ukraine’s supporters at NATO and the European Union. It’s unclear how extensively they were briefed ahead of the offensive, if at all, even though U.S. President Joe Biden insists that he’s been kept abreast of developments since. “I’ve spoken with my staff on a regular basis probably every four or five hours for the last six or eight...

Former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley weighed in on the state of the 2024 race Tuesday as Vice President Kamala Harris gains momentum in key battleground states ahead of the November election. Haley told Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier on "Special Report" Republicans and former President Trump should focus on policy and messaging instead of crowd sizes at rallies, Harris' race, or attacks on her intellect. "You can't win on those things. The American people are smart. Treat them like they're smart," she said. "It's not about her. It's about the American people. Talk to them and let...

A quote from Wyoming's governor and a local prosecutor were the first things that seemed slightly off to Powell Tribune reporter CJ Baker. Then, it was some of the phrases in the stories that struck him as nearly robotic. The dead giveaway, though, that a reporter from a competing news outlet was using generative artificial intelligence to help write his stories came in a June 26 article about the comedian Larry the Cable Guy being chosen as the grand marshal of the Cody Stampede Parade. "The 2024 Cody Stampede Parade promises to be an unforgettable celebration of American independence, led...

U.S. strategic forces prohibit the use of artificial intelligence to authorize nuclear weapons operations even though nuclear-armed adversaries China and Russia may not, the commander of Strategic Command said Tuesday. Air Force Gen. Anthony Cotton, chief of the command based in Omaha, Nebraska, also suggested that U.S. nuclear forces may be increased to maintain deterrence against the rising nuclear threat from the country’s two “near-peer” adversaries. Strategic Command has no plans for a real-life version of the fictional automated nuclear launch system called “war operation plan response,” or WOPR, in the futuristic 1983 movie “WarGames,” the four-star general said. “You...

The Mexican president on Thursday rejected a request from Ukraine's government to arrest Vladimir Putin if the Russian leader defies an international arrest warrant and attends the inauguration of Mexico's next president in October. "We can't do that," President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters at a regular government press conference. "It's not up to us." Ukraine asked Mexico to arrest Putin if he attends the Oct. 1 swearing-in ceremony of President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum. The request, in a statement from Ukraine's Mexican embassy dated Aug. 7, pointed to an arrest warrant issued by the U.N.'s International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Defense Department on Thursday said Ukraine’s attack into a region of Russia this week is not escalatory and is consistent with U.S. policy. Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters that Ukraine is “taking action to protect themselves” in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops entered Tuesday night and are continuing to fight, putting enormous pressure on Russia. The U.S. has a policy of allowing Ukraine to makes strikes in Russia with American-made weapons as long as it is related to a cross-border attack from Russian forces, and Singh said the Kursk attack, even though it involves troops...

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued a warning to the people of Lebanon as both Israel and Hezbollah consider first-strike options amid simmering tensions in the Middle East. ... "We will not allow the Hezbollah militia to destabilize the border and the region," Gallant said. "If Hezbollah continues its aggression, Israel will fight it, with all its might: Remember Nasrallah’s regret following the dangerous and miscalculated adventure he embarked on, in August 2006 - learn the lesson of the past so as not to fall into a dangerous scenario in August 2024." Gallant then recited the Arabic proverb "He who...

A driver in the Mexican border city of Tijuana apparently had the bright idea of connecting his Tesla to an illegal electricity hookup connected directly to a powerline. Not only did the Tesla eventually burst into flames, the blaze was so hot it set a neighboring house on fire. Rafael Carrillo, Tijuana's fire chief, said Tuesday that electric car fires are a problem for the city's firefighters. He said the partially charred hulk of the Tesla might take a couple of days to burn out completely and probably couldn't be moved until then. He said firefighters built dirt berms around...

Don Jr on Kellyanne Conway registering as a foreign agent of Ukraine: “I dont want to comment any further because I’ll get myself in trouble.” And then he proceeds to comment further and destroy her 1:07 video at link To summarize "seems swampy"

— On August 4, 2020, a catastrophic explosion occurred at the Port of Beirut in Lebanon. — The explosion was caused by the detonation of approximately 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical, which had been improperly stored in a warehouse for six years after being confiscated from a cargo ship. — The blast registered as one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, killing at least 218 people, injuring over 7,000, and displacing approximately 300,000 residents. — The explosion caused an estimated $15 billion in property damage, affecting around 77,000 apartments and leaving a significant portion of...

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer strongly condemned an attack Sunday on a hotel housing asylum seekers, describing it as “far-right thuggery" as more violence broke out in several towns and cities across the country in the wake of a stabbing rampage at a dance class that left three girls dead and many more wounded. In a statement from 10 Downing Street on Sunday afternoon, the prime minister vowed that the authorities will “do whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice." “I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, whether directly or those whipping up this action...