Russia is concerned over media reports saying that Israel may use chemical weapons in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), Permanent Envoy to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Alexander Shulgin said.

Addressing the 28th Session of the Conference of the States Parties, Shulgin said Russia was "worried over media reports" and, in this light, he called on Israel to ratify the CWC as soon as possible.

Israel is one of four countries which are not parties to the CWC, alongside Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has accused his Greek counterpart of politicizing a longstanding dispute over Greek antiquities held in UK museums, saying the leader only sought to “grandstand” on the issue.

Speaking during a contentious Prime Minister's Questions in the UK Parliament on Wednesday, Sunak explained his decision to cancel a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis earlier this week, claiming he had agreed not to focus on the return of the 5th-century antiquities, known as the Elgin Marbles.

“When it was clear that the purpose of the meeting was not to discuss substantive issues of the future but rather to grandstand and relitigate issues of the past, it was inappropriate,” he said.

Hamas, an Islamic movement that controls Gaza, is believed to have a network of tunnels that is 500 kilometers (310 miles) long. It features command rooms and training grounds, bunkers, and meeting rooms and is connected to a sophisticated ventilation system and a steady water and electricity supply.

It’s been more than 50 days since Israel launched its Swords of Iron operation aimed at eliminating Hamas, following the group’s deadly attack on the country’s southern communities, which has claimed the lives of more than 1,400 people and injured thousands of others.

Key locations, including Gaza’s parliament and the court and police headquarters, have already been captured by the IDF. The main, and the largest hospital of Gaza city – Shifaa – has also been taken. Israel believes the medical complex boasts a sophisticated tunnel system, with gathering rooms and bunkers, where some of the hostages might have been kept.

Shifaa is only one element of the puzzle, however, according to Israeli intelligence. Based on reports, the city has some 1,300 tunnels whose overall length stands at 500 kilometers – a hundred kilometers longer than the metro system of London. 

Americans could pay up to $451 billion to care for migrants who entered the US illegally, but have been released into the country or escaped from custody, according to a new report due out Monday from House Republicans and obtained exclusively by The Post.

“Every day, millions of American taxpayer dollars are spent on costs directly associated with illegal immigration and the unprecedented crisis at the Southwest border sparked by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ policies,” the House Homeland Security Committee interim staff report states.

“Only a small fraction is ever recouped from the taxes paid by illegal aliens, with the rest falling on the shoulders of American citizens and lawful residents,” it adds.

A report quietly published by the UK Government department known as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shockingly reveals people aged 18 to 49 who have received four doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are up to 318% more likely to die of any cause than unvaccinated people aged 18 to 49.

A young fan of the Kansas City Chiefs, who was accused of wearing "blackface" after donning a Native American headdress and face paint at an NFL game, has been revealed to be of Native American descent.

In an article titled "The NFL needs to speak out against the Kansas City Chiefs fan in Black face, Native headdress," Carron J. Phillips of Deadspin accused the young child, Holden Rumanta, of engaging in racist behavior. However, it has now come to light that Holden is actually Native American and was simply showing support for his favorite team by wearing the team's colors of red and black, along with a headdress that resembled the Chiefs' logo from the 1960s and early '70s.

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives (“HOR”) of the Republic of the Philippines passed a resolution to reject the World Health Organisation’s (“WHO’s”) amendments to the International Health Regulations (“IHR”) adopted by the World Health Assembly (“WHA”) on 27 May 2022.  Additionally, the resolution rejected proposed amendments that are “currently being negotiated in secret” by the WHA and due for adoption by member states in May 2024.

Immediately following the passing of this resolution, Representative S. Dan Fernandez, who submitted the resolution to the HOR and is also the Chairman of the Public Order and Safety Committee, notified WHO in writing that the Philippines House of Representatives rejects the IHR amendments adopted in 2022.

Residents of villages in Ireland have resorted to establishing barricades and road checkpoints around their communities to prevent the government from relocating asylum seekers to the area.

Locals of Dromahair in County Leitrim took the drastic measure to cordon off the village on Friday amid rumors the Department of Integration was planning to bus in dozens of foreign nationals without prior agreement by community leaders.

According to the Irish Examiner, three checkpoints were erected on roads around the village and members of the Dromahair Concerned Residents Association manned the roadblocks and checked cars as they sought to enter the area.

Protesters have expressed their discontent in recent days at the possibility of new arrivals to the town, citing security and the saturation of public services as their primary concerns.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken came a away from a NATO meeting of foreign ministers on Wednesday with the conclusion that the alliance is holding strong on supporting Ukraine, despite the avalanche of negative reports on how Ukrainian forces are fairing on the battlefield.

He told a press briefing there is "no sense of fatigue" among NATO allies and they are remaining firm. "We must and we will continue to support Ukraine," he said following the NATO meeting in Brussels. 

12 Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) wrote to the World Health Organisation demanding “conclusive and unambiguous evidence” that International Health Regulations (“IHR”) amendments “adopted” by the World Health Assembly in May 2022 were correctly executed by way of a majority vote.

Should Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus fail to send the required proof by 30 November, the MEPS declare that the IHR amendments “adopted” in May 2022 are null and void.

On Tuesday, Member of the Netherlands Parliament Wybren van Haga wrote to the World Health Organisation’s (“WHO’s”) Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to inform him that the 2022 amendments to the International Health Regulations (“IHR”) are subject to the formal approval by the Dutch Parliament.

“I notify you, in my capacity as Member of Parliament, of the reservation that the 2022 [IHR] amendments require the approval of the Dutch government before the 2022 amendments can enter into force in The Netherlands,” he told Tedros.

Angela McLean, the Government's Chief Scientist, told the Covid Inquiry that the U.K.'s 'circuit breaker' lockdowns in 2020 cut Covid infections. That's not what the data show, say Carl Heneghan and Tom Jefferson.

Moscow did not get enough votes from Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) members on Wednesday to stay on the Executive Council after May 2024.

The 41-member board is elected to two-year rotating terms by the 193 member states, “with due regard to the principle of equitable geographical distribution, the importance of chemical industry, and political and security interests,” according to the OPCW. 

Of the five seats allocated to the Eastern Europe region, four are currently held by NATO members: Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Romania. When Moscow’s mandate expires in six months, along with those of Tirana and Sofia, the grouping will be joined by Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine.

Elite green billionaire funders are mobilising their forces to promote the idea that climate ‘reparations’ must be paid by the countries that were first to industrialise. Ahead of today’s opening of the latest COP in the United Arab Emirates, the Guardian claimed new analysis had revealed that the U.K. was responsible for almost twice as much “global heating” as previously thought when its colonial history was taken into account. This “first of its kind” analysis by Carbon Brief claims to offer “thought-provoking fresh perspectives on climate justice”.

Professor Dame Jenny Harries, who now heads up the UK Health Security Agency, said the evidence that coverings reduced transmission is 'uncertain' because it is difficult to separate their effect from other Covid curbs.

She also told the UK's Covid inquiry that government advice on how to make a mask using two pieces of cloth was 'ineffective'.

Studies showed at least three were needed for even a small effect on the spread of viruses, Dame Jenny said.

Meanwhile, she warned advice for the public to wear masks during the pandemic may even have given people a 'false sense of security' that they could reduce their risk of becoming infected if they wore one while mixing with others.

The following is a ranking of all banks in the United States in terms of "Derivatives". This comparison is based on data reported on 2023-06-30.

Webmaster addition: Derivatives are the weapon of mass destruction for the global banking system!

Israel and Hamas have extended the Qatari-brokered ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that Tel Aviv vowed would never happen. Former United Nations (UN) weapons inspector and US Marine Scott Ritter argued that the outcome was a political victory for the Palestinian resistance movement.

Israel has lost both the political and military battle in the Gaza Strip, says a leading geopolitical commentator.

Israel and the Hamas Islamic resistance movement that governs the besieged Palestinian enclave reportedly agreed on Tuesday to extend the four-day ceasefire, brokered by Persian Gulf Arab state Qatar, for another two to three days.

Exchanges of captives will continue during that extension, with Hamas releasing 20 Israelis taken prisoner during its October 7 raids into southern Israel. The number of Palestinians to be freed was not reported, but Israel had previously released 180 women and children from its jails in return for 61 Israeli civilians and roughly 20 foreigners held by Hamas.

Former US Marine Scott Ritter told Sputnik that the bombing and ground invasion had been unsuccessful when measured "by Israel's own standards."

Kiev authorities are preparing a military provocation against Poland in the event of a critical decline in Western support, Acting Kherson Region Governor Vladimir Saldo has told Sputnik.

"According to the data received from our sources in Ukraine, we are talking about a provocation involving an attack with Western or [Ukraine's] own converted missiles, on the parts of which they want to put Russian markings to further blame Russia.

"They will be ready to do so when they feel that the West has reduced support so much that the front for the Kiev regime is ready to collapse. It could happen in the very near perspective," Saldo said.

The official added that it is difficult to assess the likelihood of implementing such a "crazy" plan and the West's reaction to its implementation.

"The United States will immediately realize what really happened. And in Poland, for example, an official investigation has recently confirmed that the murder of two Polish citizens had been committed by a Ukrainian missile. So, it is not certain whether West's decision-making centers will fall for such a provocation. However, there is no doubt that Kiev is capable of such madness," Saldo said, adding that Kiev authorities have "completely lost their political reason."

Russia calls on the Israeli authorities to make sure that Christians and all other religious communities are equally protected under the law, including their places of worship and property, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

She pointed out that the Russian Foreign Ministry drew attention to the conflict surrounding the so-called "Armenian Gardens," known as the "Cows' Garden" in the Old City of Jerusalem, which "became the subject of legal proceedings between the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and one of the pro-settlement Israeli organizations." "Without waiting for the outcome of the litigation, its [Israeli] representatives began preparations for the construction of a hotel on the disputed site, which led to clashes between local Armenians and Jewish radicals," she said.

The British government was asked to spend an estimated $3 billion in funds seized from sanctioned Russian businessman Roman Abramovich in Israel rather than Ukraine, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday. The money came from the sale of Chelsea football club, which used to belong to the tycoon. He had himself pledged the proceeds to victims of the Ukraine conflict.

With the billions still untouched, alternative spending proposals have been floated, according to sources cited by the paper. One insider claimed that Abramovich was concerned that his clout with Moscow would be eroded, should the funds go to Ukraine.

Spending the money for humanitarian causes in Israel in the wake of the October 7 raid by Palestinian militant group Hamas would solve the impasse, the source told The Telegraph. Previously, Abramovich had also suggested using funds to help victims of the February earthquakes in Türkiye, according to the report.

Israel intends to settle score with Qatar for its support to Hamas once the emirate’s mediation role in the hostage exchange is over, says Joshua Zarka, Israeli Foreign Ministry Deputy Director General on Strategic Affairs.

"We will settle score with Qatar, who played its role in everything that is connected to the strengthening of Hamas and its legitimization. We need [Qatar] for the matter of return of the abductees, but, once this process is over, we will come to them for answers," Zarka said on the Israeli army radio.

Sometimes Israel’s crimes are so horrific that at first you don’t even understand what you’re looking at. You just stare at it trying to make sense of what you’re seeing for a bit, like you would if you suddenly saw a space alien or a leprechaun or something.

It happened to me yesterday when I was watching a Sky News report about a teenage boy who was shot by Israeli forces in Jerusalem for celebrating the release of Palestinian prisoners in the hostage negotiations with Hamas. I was watching it thinking to myself, I must be misunderstanding what I’m looking at. I know that Israel does gross things, but surely the story here isn’t that they shot a kid for being happy about something.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gone down in history as the "butcher of Gaza," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

"Since October 7, our brothers and sisters in Gaza have been subjected to the most treacherous attacks in human history. Their mosques have been bombed. Their schools have been reduced to rubble. The refugee camps where they have sought shelter have been deliberately targeted. Netanyahu has went down in history as the butcher of Gaza," the Turkish president said in a speech to parliament.

He went on to promise that Ankara "will not forget the lack of response from Western countries, with the exception of one or two states." "We will try to hold them accountable with all available means. We support our brothers and sisters in Gaza with all our might. The most important topic of our contacts is the war in Gaza," Erdogan added.

A human rights organisation has called on the global community to independently investigate why five Palestinian children were allegedly left to die in the Al-Nasr Hospital in Gaza after staff were forcibly evacuated by the IDF. 

The Switzerland-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (Euro-Med) said it was able to 'confirm that it documented the discovery of five infants dead and in a state of decomposition' in a neonatal ward of the Al-Nasr Hospital. 

The human rights monitor, which is headed up by former UN special rapporteur Richard Falk, said that the babies were left to die three weeks ago after staff were made to leave the hospital by the IDF, which attacked the hospital and surrounded it with its tanks. 

Sickening, but heavily censored, footage first shared by Arabic-language news channel Al Mashhad, shows five bed filled with what are allegedly the bodies of infant children.