Author: Leroy Manning

Frankfurt, Paris (18/8 – 62.50) Ukraine has scored a series of victories in more than a week since launching a lightning offensive into Russian territory. Now the stakes are rising as its forces prepare to defend their gains and Russia begins to regain its footing. Last week, Ukraine deployed thousands of troops to the Kursk region in western Russia, removing Russian flags from captured towns and taking the initiative from Moscow for the first time in months. On Wednesday, officials in Kyiv said Ukraine would use seized Russian territory as a “buffer zone” to shield its north from Russian strikes.…

“They were plotting to kill a huge number, tens of thousands of people at this concert, I am sure many Americans,” CIA Deputy Director David S. Cohen said “Tens of thousands” of fans were the target of a thwarted terrorist attempt at Taylor Swift’s recent Vienna shows, a CIA official told reporters on Wednesday, Aug. 28. CIA Deputy Director David S. Cohen shared new details of the thwarted terror plot that canceled all three of the 34-year-old pop star’s planned Eras Tour concerts in Austria earlier this month during the annual Intelligence Summit just outside Washington, D.C., reports The New York Times and NBC News. “They…

Leave Trail of 50 Dead in Benue State (Makurdi) In the late hours of Thursday, August 8, 2024, the world was watching the high drama of the Paris Olympics. American pundits were watching Donald Trump’s Mar a Lago Presser. But Akika Tsav, a farmer and resident of Ayati village in Central Nigeria, was watching his world fall apart. Tsav’s peaceful town of Ayati in Benue State, Nigeria, was again heading into mourning. Ayati, a tranquil precinct in Ukum County, Benue State, has been ravaged by wave after wave of jihadist terrorist attacks in recent years. Located 121 miles northeast of…

Washington/Paris/Berlin (12/8 – 28.57). Today is the twenty-anniversary of the sinking of the Kursk. A painful experience. A true shocker. All hands are lost, the shortcomings of the Russian system fully exposed. But today is another experience. Kursk, the region. After ceremonial pageantry by the military commander, it is clear the great Red Army was ambushed. Hoodwinked by the Ukrainians who pulled off a surprise attack, a classic attack which has all the elements of a successful deception operation. Overwhelming strength, speed and first and foremost silence. Deception played a role keeping the Russian pre-occupied. Daily the news a filled…

Tajikistan officially banned the hijab, imposing hefty fines in its latest move to curb Islamic influence. The Central Asian nation of Tajikistan officially prohibited the wearing of hijabs and other “alien garments” this week, as the country’s parliament passed a new bill regulating Islamic clothing and Eid celebrations. The bill, approved by the upper house of parliament, Majlisi Milli, on June 19, comes after years of an unofficial clampdown on the hijab in the Muslim-majority country. Under the new law, individuals wearing hijabs or other banned religious clothing could face hefty fines of up to 7,920 somonis (approximately $700). Companies…

Europe’s new “Iron Lady”, Estonia’s Kaja Kallas, is one of the strongest voices for an uncompromising stand against belligerent Russia. Brussels (30 June – 28). Having grown up under the Soviet occupation of Estonia, Kaja Kallas was urging EU leaders to take the Russian threat seriously long before the invasion of Ukraine On Saturday, the Reform Party chose climate minister Kristen Michal to replace outgoing Kaja Kallas, who is the EU’s new High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The unanimous decision to nominate Michal was made following a closed-door meeting by the party’s governing board only two days after…

Russia has reportedly lost a staggering amount of troops over the past 24 hours along with dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles as bloody fighting takes its toll on Vladimir Putin’s men. Russia lost a staggering 1,740 troops in a single day, the highest tally of casualties for Moscow since the start of the invasion in 2022, according to Ukraine. In the previous 24 hours, Ukraine also claimed Russia had lost 30 tanks and 42 armoured vehicles. Death toll and military hardware statistics are difficult to assess with both sides giving different or little information. However, Ukraine’s armed forces have claimed Russia has so far lost an eye-watering…

Most dismissed retired IDF general Yitzhak Brick’s warning earlier this year of a Hamas invasion. Now Netanyahu wants his advice on how to win. Yitzhak Brick might be the only Israeli military official to see what was coming. And he’s been warning of it for some time. He also does not see a ground invasion of Gaza as the only option. And Israel must prepare for a multi-front war given the situation in the north. Brick cautioned, among other things, of problems with the competence of ground forces and made it clear that the ground invasion does not have to be…

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is on a critical four-day trip Friday that began in Mexico and Ecuador, and later will take him to Colombia and the perilous Darien Jungle to discourage migrants from going to the US. Adams landed Friday in Ecuador where he toured migrant shelters and met Ecuadorian officials. He tried to get immigrants not to make the journey. “We are learning about Ecuadorian asylum seekers who came to America only to realize that they’ve been sold the lie that they will be able to work immediately. As a result, we’ve learned during this trip, that…

The death toll from tornadoes that ravaged the US over the weekend rose to 33, according to local media. More than 60 tornadoes hit eight states from Arkansas to Delaware on Friday night. At least 15 weather-related casualties were reported in Tennessee county. Other deaths were reported in Alabama, Illinois, and Mississippi, along with one near Little Rock, Arkansas, where the mayor said more than 2,000 buildings were in a tornado’s path. At least 52 people have died since March 25 in tornadoes across eight states. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado was a high-end EF3 twister with…