social demographic · culture

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Italian court sentences ex-highway chief to 12 years’ jail over Genoa bridge disaster

S7

An Italian court on Thursday sentenced the former head of motorway operator Autostrade per l’Italia to 12 years for his role in a deadly bridge disaster eight years ago. Giovanni Castellucci was found guilty of vehicle homicide and negligence related to the collapse of the bridge in Genoa that killed 43 people in one of the country’s worst infrastructure disasters. The courtroom was packed with relatives of those who plunged to their deaths when the Morandi Bridge – part of a key highway...

4 days ago

natural disaster · natural disaster

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Can Malaysia’s PAS deliver the votes in Negeri Sembilan despite Johor wipeout?

S7

Malaysia’s largest Islamist party was wiped out in Johor’s state election last weekend, but PAS is now trying to turn that defeat into bargaining power. Its argument is that supporters who had no PAS candidate to vote for helped deliver a landslide victory to Barisan Nasional (BN), the coalition led by Umno, its long-time rival for Malay-Muslim voters. The two parties have spent years competing for influence among Malaysia’s Malay majority, but they have also explored cooperation when it serves...

4 days ago

geopolitical · geopolitical

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Washington is ready to 'upend the rules-based world order' HRW chief says

S6

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Human Rights Watch executive director Philippe Bolopion says the Trump administration has "launched an all-out assault on human rights" at home and abroad. He calls the Fort Bliss ICE detention centre a "human rights catastrophe" and warns Washington is ready to "upend the rules-based world order".

4 days ago

military · geopolitical

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Zelenskyy explains decision to replace Fedorov: there are problems and there is no unity

S6

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, commenting on the planned changes at the Defence Ministry, has acknowledged that Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi have been unable to work together effectively and that problems on the battlefield, in military brigades and with mobilisation remain unresolved.

4 days ago

military · geopolitical

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JD Vance says Epstein had connections to CIA and Mossad

S9

JD Vance says Epstein had connections to CIA and Mossad Submitted by Oscar Rickett on Thu, 07/16/2026 - 11:59 US vice president tells podcaster Joe Rogan there is an 'extremely well-funded' Israel-linked campaign to derail Iran negotiations US Vice President JD Vance speaks at This is the Turning Point Tour at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, US, April 14, 2026 (Reuters) Off The paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein was connected to the “highest levels” of US and Israeli intelligence, JD Vance said on Monday. “He clearly had connections to the upper, the highest levels of American intelligence,” the US Vice President told podcaster Joe Rogan, in relation to Epstein. “He clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence.” Told by Rogan that “most people think he was Mossad”, Israel's external intelligence agency, Vance replied: “Mossad or CIA or some other deep state, whether in America or Israel or some other country… or both.” The vice president, who describes himself as “an OG Epstein conspiracy theorist”, said that Epstein’s connections were to what he described as “elements of the Israeli deep state that were left of centre”, most notably former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak. “It wasn’t like he was super connected to the right of centre of Israeli politics,” Vance said. There has been much speculation about whether Epstein was working for Israeli, US or even Russian intelligence. The convicted sex offender, who hosted a slew of rich and powerful people on his private island and was connected to former US president Bill Clinton, pro-Israel billionaire Les Wexner, British politician Peter Mandelson and Queen Elizabeth’s son Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, appeared to have accumulated a vast amount of compromising information over many years. 'There are certain influencers in America who are being paid in order to attack the deal [with Iran]' - JD Vance Asked earlier this year whether they considered Epstein to have been a Mossad asset, an advisor to the Indian government told Middle East Eye: “100 percent”. There is, though, no categorical proof that Epstein worked actively for an intelligence agency. The Epstein files do, however, document the financier’s funding of Israeli groups, including Friends of the Israeli Defence Forces, and the settler organisation the Jewish National Fund, as well as his ties to members of Israel’s overseas intelligence services. An FBI memo produced by the bureau’s Los Angeles field office in October 2020 reported that one of its sources had come to believe Epstein “was a co-opted Mossad agent”. According to the document, the disgraced paedophile was described as having been “trained as a spy” for Israel’s intelligence service. Israel-backed campaign to derail US-Iran deal In his interview with Rogan, Vance – who appeared to be positioning himself as a successor to Donald Trump and a presidential candidate in 2028 - described a “very discreet extremely well-funded campaign to try to derail the negotiation and try to derail the derail the deal” with Iran. Vance has spearheaded negotiations with Iran, resulting in the memorandum of understanding signed by the two counries last month. The deal has fallen apart and the US and Iran are once more exchanging strikes. “There are certain influencers in America who are being paid in order to attack the deal,” he said, mentioning funding that came from Israel. The vice president referenced a Time magazine article from this week that details an “Israeli influence operation targeting the MAGA base”. Brad Parscale, a digital advisor on Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign, is reportedly being paid $1.5m a month to run this operation. According to Vance, the Time article “lists a bunch of people who have quite literally been paid by a former Trump campaign person, who is himself paid by certain elements within the Israeli government, and those people are attacking me quite viciously.” “They want to continue the military campaign.” Speaking to Joe Rogan, US Vice President JD Vance said that some officials within the Israeli government are trying to manipulate American public opinion to derail the peace negotiations and prolong the war on Iran “indefinitely” pic.twitter.com/gFxuj8OL08 — Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) July 16, 2026 “I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there have been people within the Israeli government who are trying to, like, actually shift us away from that policy because they want to continue the military campaign,” Vance said. The vice president said that "that are people... who are super-hawkish in the American sysetem who have attacked the deal and frankly in some ways tried to derail the deal. And what I always say to those people is, what is your proposal?" Vance described himself as “the reasonable moderate” in “this massive pro-Israel, anti-Israel debate in the United States of America. He said he had been widely accused of being an antisemite, “which is insane”. When asked if he thought the US would have engaged in the most recent war with Iran were it not for Israeli influence, Vance said, “yes, yes I do.” “I think the president, separate from any influence from Israel, believes very strongly, and again I agree with this, that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon,” Vance said. “The idea that Donald Trump is being blackmailed is crazy to me,” he said, when asked by Rogan if Israel was using the Epstein files – or some other compromising information – to get Trump to do what they wanted. Epstein Files News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

4 days ago

geopolitical · geopolitical

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French PM goes to Rabat in crucial visit for bilateral ties

S6

The French Prime Minister along with a retinue of officials has arrived in Morocco. The choice for his first overseas trip is significant - as Paris looks to turn a diplomatic rapprochement into a broader strategic partnership with Rabat. If all goes well - Morocco's Mohammed VI could potentially visit France. New French investments and partnerships — particularly in the defence and civil nuclear sectors— are on the table.

4 days ago

military · geopolitical

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Iran strikes US base in Jordan as American bombardment continues

S9

Iran strikes US base in Jordan as American bombardment continues Iran 's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it struck a US base in Jordan as American strikes continued to hit the country. The IRGC said it carried out the Jordan attack in retaliation for a strike launched from the base that hit "the vicinity of a children's cancer hospital". US bases and facilities in Kuwait , Bahrain and Jordan were also targeted by Iranian drone strikes. Meanwhile, seven hours of US raids on Wednesday hit dozens of targets, with the Iranian army saying seven personnel had been killed in a missile strike at a barracks close to the southeastern city of Iranshahr. An Iranian military spokesman warned that Iran would "crush" regional infrastructure if the United States attacks Iran's key facilities. Read more: Iran strikes US base in Jordan as American bombardment continues Aircraft fly in formation over the USS George HW Bush in the Arabian Sea on 30 June (US Navy/AFP)

4 days ago

geopolitical · geopolitical

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Argentina come from behind to beat England 2-1

S6

The defending champions strike again. Led 1-0 after Anthony Gordon opened the score for England, Argentina kept believing and turned the game on its head. Guided by Lionel Messi, Lionel Scaloni's men sealed a 2-1 victory after an injury-time winner saw them book a spot against Spain in the final. England manager Thomas Tuchel opted to defend after taking the lead, a choice that backfired as the Three Lions' time in the United States comes to an end.

4 days ago

geopolitical · geopolitical

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France adopts bill legalising assisted dying for adults

S6

French lawmakers on July 19 adopted a bill ​that will create a legal right to assisted dying for adults with incurable illnesses, capping an intense ethical and political debate. The law would enable patients suffering from incurable and life-threatening illnesses to request lethal medication under strict medical supervision. The text will now be presented to the constitutional court, which has up to a month to approve it.

4 days ago

geopolitical · geopolitical

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Japan: Growing number of young workers revive culture of corporate machismo

S6

In Japan, a new generation of office workers is reviving a bygone corporate culture. Around the world, Gen-Z has garnered a reputation as delicate, even reticent employees. A growing cohort of young Japanese salarymen - and women - are embracing a work culture some are calling "corporate machismo" - a hard-charging, zealous approach to business that some see as the key to the country's post-World War 2 economic boom.

4 days ago
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