Articles from ‘Independent News Roundup’

The US has launched a probe into more than 120 American-funded biological labs abroad, including in Ukraine, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told the New York Post on Monday. Russia has consistently raised concerns about Pentagon-backed biological labs worldwide, particularly near its borders and in Ukraine, alleging that they are involved in bioweapons research. · Gabbard said that the move aims to halt risky virus experiments…

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has tightened her control over the EU’s executive branch to the point where the bloc’s leaders and diplomats now view her as too powerful, according to a Bloomberg report. Von der Leyen’s power grab angers EU officials – Bloomberg In power since 2019, von der Leyen has rebuilt the European Commission in her image and become “the face of Europe,” Bloomberg wrote on Tuesday. She has spearheaded…

At least 70 Labour MPs are demanding that Prime Minister Keir Starmer resign, Sky News reported on Monday. This comes after last week’s local elections in which the party came out as the biggest loser, relinquishing more than 1,300 council seats across the country. In addition to dozens of lawmakers calling for Starmer to go, at least three junior members of his government have resigned from their positions, Sky News reports. · Under Labour…

Russia successfully tests the Sarmat Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. · The weapon surpasses all Western analogues and can bypass all air defence systems. · A residential building is hit by a Ukrainian drone in Central Russia after the Victory Day ceasefire proposed by Moscow ends. · Chancellor Friedrich Merz gets jeered as he warns Germans to brace for further social cuts. That's as his approval rating reaches rock-bottom amid Berlin's…

By Andrew Korybko · This could precede Russia and the US cutting a deal over Ukraine, in which case the US would no longer retain this role in terms of Russia’s threat perception, ergo the possible need to recalibrate perceptions ahead of time by having Germany and the EU as a whole replace the US’ traditional role. · It was assessed in late April that “France’s Planned Nuclear Drills With Poland Just Made It Russia’s Top Adversary In Europe”…

By Andrew Korybko · Unless they all get on the same page, and soon, the West risks dividing-and-ruling the SCO. · Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov described the threats facing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) during his speech at the group’s Defense Ministers’ meeting in Bishkek in late April. He began by sharing the backdrop: “In order to maintain global dominance, the United States and the collective West are destroying the…

A new interview released by Tucker Carlson is generating major international controversy after former Ukrainian presidential press secretary Iuliia Mendel made a series of explosive allegations about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the conduct of the Ukraine war, corruption inside the Ukrainian government, and the role of Western media. · Mendel, who served as Zelensky’s press secretary between 2019 and 2021, told Carlson she believed…

Putin's Victory Day remarks naming China, India, and the U.S. as Russia's “partners and friends” have rattled the Obama–Soros network — who convened in Mark Carney's Toronto to launch a “Principled Pragmatism” rebrand and declare Trump's presidency an “interregnum.” By Susan Kokinda · As President Trump prepares to travel to China, this episode argues that Putin's remarks about Russia's “partners and friends” (China, India, and the U.S.) reveal…

Ford Motor Company has filed a new patent application for an advanced biometric identification system aimed at enhancing vehicle security and supporting law enforcement operations. Filed on September 27, 2023 and published near the end of last month, the patent describes a multi-modal system capable of collecting and analyzing biometric data from individuals near or inside a vehicle, with the goal of identifying potential threats in real time. U…

A right-wing Austrian politician has demanded that the country’s Finance Ministry explain how nearly $22 billion in cash and gold was shipped to Ukraine from Austria since 2022 without triggering concerns about money laundering or regulatory oversight. In a statement published on Sunday, Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) Secretary General Christian Hafenecker called out what he described as Vienna’s “two-class justice system” for overlooking massive…