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An airstrike killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib, Iran's president said, confirming the latest assassination of a top Iranian official Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed in a post on X that the country's Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib had been killed. The country's state television reported that Khatib had been killed by Israel. Israel said earlier it had "eliminated" Khatib. Khatib, who was responsible...

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Riga (Latvia) has dismantled an organized crime group involving public officials suspected of wrongdoing in public procurement procedures for the acquisition of IT systems by state institutions. Twenty suspects were detained yesterday, including public officials. A total of 57 house and company searches were carried out yesterday with the support of Europol, the...

Just a few days ago, The Economist argued that if the war went badly in Iran it would badly affect Israel. Here is the text, well worth reading HERE. But for readers in a hurry, here are the first and last paragraphs: <<“If you take out Saddam—Saddam’s regime—I guarantee you that it will have enormous positive reverberations on the region,” Binyamin Netanyahu testified...

Sri Lanka has announced that all Wednesdays will now be public-sector holidays in an effort to conserve fuel, as the country braces for potential shortages linked to the ongoing US and Israeli conflict with Iran. We must prepare for the worst, but hope for the best”, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said during an emergency meeting with senior officials on Monday. In...

Despite mounting pressures from the United States, Poland will not deploy military forces to Iran amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday.  Tusk insists that Poland has other priorities now: security challenges closer to home. Speaking ahead of a government meeting, Tusk stated unequivocally that Poland “does not plan any expedition to Iran”, adding...

The markets are starting the new week with a fairly clear message: the energy crisis has returned to the forefront of the global stage. Central banks have a difficult task in deciding what to do with the interest rates as initial plans to lower them to boost growth now look implausible, while “stagflation” - economic stagnation accompanied by high...

Videos show Andrew and Tristan Tate surrounded by crowds in Hong Kong as onlookers take selfies with the influencers Hong Kong lawmakers have said Andrew and Tristan Tate cannot be extradited to the UK or Romania – where they face prosecution – without formal requests from those governments, as the notorious influencer brothers continued their visit to the city, the...

We are witnessing a historic moment in the relationship between the European allies of the US and the Trump administration: as never before, the leader in Washington is simply sent packing, despite insisting. As never before, Donald Trump is put in the situation of insisting, of repeating his appeals mixed with threats, pseudo-requests mixed with reprimands. But to no effect! This...

While tourists scramble to escape the war zone, Israelis are flying back into it Israeli airports are pretty quiet since the war with Iran broke out, commercial aviation has slowed to a trickle, and anyone who wants to leave Israel — which has absorbed hundreds of ballistic missiles, rockets and drones — has to navigate a maze of uncertainty. Tourists...

US bitcoin spot ETFs (Exchange-traded funds) recorded $763 million in net inflows last week helping to push prices higher. Strategy, the largest bitcoin treasury company by total holdings, also disclosed another significant purchase of 17,994 bitcoin for approximately $1.28 billion. Looking ahead, the Federal Reserve meeting this week could be pivotal to a breakout, or indeed a correction from the...