Articles from ‘Independent News Roundup’

Retired US Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor says the Ukraine conflict may be entering a more dangerous phase, with Russia increasingly convinced that neither Ukraine nor its European supporters can reverse the military balance. He argues Moscow's willingness to wait for diplomacy is fading, while warning that direct NATO involvement could dramatically escalate the conflict. INR Report: Based on an August 18, 2026 interview with retired US Army…

A manufactured “debt bomb” panic is the next play against Trump before the midterms. Barbara Boyd unpacks Scott Bessent’s Hamiltonian plan—sovereign credit for production, not speculation and why Wall Street and London can’t even comprehend it. Barbara Boyd · As headlines warn of a $40 trillion U.S. debt and a “bond market explosion,” Barbara Boyd argues a manufactured financial panic is being used to attack President Trump ahead of the…

Los Angeles County recorded its highest number of flea-borne typhus cases in 2025, with 220 confirmed diagnoses and almost nine in ten patients reportedly hospitalised. The rise has renewed debate over homelessness, sanitation, rat control and whether public-health authorities are adequately containing a preventable disease INR Report: Based on reporting by Tyler Durden for ZeroHedge, published 21 August 2026. Read the original report HERE · …

OpenAI has temporarily slowed development of some of its most advanced artificial intelligence systems after researchers identified cybersecurity capabilities serious enough to trigger its internal safety framework. The development raises a larger question: as AI systems become increasingly autonomous and powerful, are voluntary safeguards enough? INR Report: Based on reporting by Frank Bergman for Slay News, published 21 August 2026. Read the…

Vladimir Putin tells a United Russia assembly that Russia’s unity and determination will be key to victory on the battlefield. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s forced mobilisation continues, with clashes between recruitment officers and civilians captured by a Western journalist. In China, a former property tycoon has been jailed for life over fraud, prompting comparisons with the 2008 global financial crisis, when few senior figures faced punishment.

The Netherlands' privacy regulator has imposed an €825 million penalty on Uber over automated decisions that could cut drivers off from their income. The case raises a much larger question as algorithms and AI increasingly make decisions affecting people's jobs: when must a human remain responsible? INR Report: Based on reporting by RT, published 22 August 2026. Read the original RT report HERE · €825 Million Penalty · The Dutch Data…

Dozens of Ukrainian soldiers sent to Germany for military training have reportedly deserted rather than return to their units, according to an investigation by German weekly Die Zeit. The accounts provide another window into Ukraine's growing manpower difficulties as the war enters its fifth year INR Report: Based on reporting by RT, citing an investigation by German weekly Die Zeit, published 21 August 2026. Read the original RT report HERE · …

Ukraine’s latest corruption investigation is widening beyond the original Energoatom scandal, with investigators examining an alleged scheme to disguise criminal proceeds and use them to fund bail for former minister Herman Galushchenko. Secretly recorded conversations have also raised questions about senior figures inside President Vladimir Zelensky’s administration INR Report: Based on an opinion column by historian Tarik Cyril Amar for RT…

Ukrainian pop star Olya Polyakova has broken with the country's wartime political consensus, asking whether Ukrainians are living in a “concentration camp” and condemning forcible mobilisation from the streets. Her comments have prompted both fierce criticism and public support, while reopening questions about civil liberties, conscription and dissent during wartime. INR Report: Based on an opinion column by historian Tarik Cyril Amar for RT…

European political polling is pointing towards a potentially significant shift away from the traditional centre-right and centre-left establishment. But labelling dissatisfied voters “pro-Russian” risks overlooking a much simpler explanation: they may be rejecting policies they believe are no longer serving them. INR Report: Based on an opinion column by Rachel Marsden for RT HERE · Europe's political establishment may be facing a growing…