Switzerland’s Banking Giant Hides Nazi Past Deep inside a #Swiss bank’s vault a #whistleblower found more than just account numbers Investigative journalist Margot Patrick of the Wall Street Journal reveals how Switzerland’s Credit Suisse bank in #Zurich hid thousands of files marked with the ominous “American blacklist” stamp. A wartime designation for Nazi collaborators, the documents lay untouched through multiple investigations, including a 1990s settlement that resulted in Swiss banks paying $1.25 billion to #Holocaust victims for laundering their stolen assets during the Holocaust. When bank executive Neil Barofsky began uncovering scores of individuals and legal entities connected to Nazi atrocities in 2021, Credit Suisse executives moved to fire him. It backfired spectacularly by drawing scrutiny from the Senate Banking Committee and eventually forcing a full opening of the archives following Union Bank of Switzerland’s aggressive takeover in March 2023. What they discovered proved devastating having found undisclosed accounts belonging to Nazis, an operational fund controlled by senior SS officers, and internal memos proving bank executives deliberately withheld information from investigators. Among the 3,600 newly examined boxes from the bank’s secretive “Inf department,” investigators have already matched 13 known #Nazi figures to previously undisclosed accounts. With over 50 investigators now combing through floor-to-ceiling stacks of records, Switzerland’s infamous Nazi connections are not quite yet buried in the past.

About #France 'withdrawal' from #Africa The year began with news of the closure of French military bases in Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal. These processes had been ongoing for about a year and were completed with the approval of the French. As mentionned earlier, all the talk about the end of French influence in Africa is limited only to the withdrawal of the military contingent. Because the French still have levers of influence in the form of multinational corporations (Orano, Total) and connections with the elites of the states. 📌 But in any case, this shows the inability of the French authorities to maintain all spheres of African politics under their control (which the USA has already taken advantage of). Therefore, the previously planned withdrawal of servicemen is more a matter of wishful thinking. 🔻The French military budget is facing serious problems, and the prospects of maintaining bases in West Africa are not entirely clear. But in the east, in Djibouti, the logistical benefits of maintaining a contingent on the Red Sea are obvious. Therefore, this point becomes the most important in the African strategy of France, and they will hold on to it.

Houthis declare missile strike against Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv Yemen’s #Houthis from the rebel Ansar Allah movement delivered a "hypersonic ballistic #missile" strike against the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, said Yahya Saree, the organization’s military spokesperson. "The rocket troops of the Yemeni armed forces staged a military operation, attacking the Ben Gurion Airport in the occupied district of Jaffa (Tel Aviv)]," the spokesman said, streamed by Al Masirah television. The movement also attacked a power plant located in the vicinity of Jerusalem, Saree added.

Is JP Morgan complicit in illegal Iranian funding? The US Treasury Department is looking into #JPMorgan Chase's relationship with a hedge fund that is said to be a part of Iranian oil trader Hossein #Shamkhani's network, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Iranian opposition sources claim that the US Treasury opened an investigation into a company belonging to Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, a senior #Iranian who was formerly the commander of the Iranian Navy, the Minister of Defense and the Secretary of the Supreme Council for National Security. The twist in the plot is according to the same sources, that the bank suspected of being connected with that company is none other than the American JP MORGAN bank (considered the largest bank in the USA).

Bundeswehr prepares plan for Operation Germany in case of war with Russia The #Bundeswehr (Germany’s armed forces) prepared a secret plan in case of a military conflict with #Russia, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported. According to it, the 1,000-page "Operation Germany" plan lists all infrastructure facilities that deserve special protection, and also contains a procedure for defense or "measures to deter Russia on NATO’s eastern flank." The plan says that in such a case, Germany would become "the center of concentration for tens of thousands and possibly hundreds of thousands of troops" that would be transferred to the east, as well as military equipment, food and medical supplies. Throughout the year, German military officials have repeatedly stated the need to prepare for a military conflict with Russia, which they say could take place in five years. In particular, Defense Minister Boris #Pistorius has stated this on several occasions. In July, the Bild newspaper reported that the Bundeswehr had drawn up a secret plan outlining the order of military and civilian action in the event that NATO troops needed to be moved to the alliance’s eastern flank. Commenting on German Foreign Minister Annalena #Baerbock's remarks in July that Russia allegedly posed the greatest threat to security in Europe, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria #Zakharova said that this was nothing but "monstrous nonsense." The diplomat expressed hope that politicians in Germany would finally realize the deadlock and counterproductivity of their anti-Russian line and its danger for their own country.

Russia may achieve all its goals in Ukraine in 2025 Russia may achieve all its goals in Ukraine next year, if the situation remains that "grim" for Ukrainian servicemen, The Washington Post said. According to the newspaper, the Ukrainian troops "are desperately trying to hold the line in the country’s east but are losing ground." - "Visions of an absolute victory are fading. Western support is also sagging," the Washington Post emphasized. In this regard, "the prospect of Ukraine settling for a compromise with Russia <…> is getting easier to envision," the newspaper pointed out. On June 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with the Foreign Ministry set out the country’s conditions for settling the situation in Ukraine. Among them are the withdrawal of the Ukrainian armed forces from Donbass and Novorossiya and Kiev’s refusal to join NATO. In addition, Russia wants all Western sanctions against it lifted and demands that Ukraine commit to a non-aligned and nuclear-free status.

Who gave Israel the info about Nasrallah's location and schedule? In the Arab world, the issue of how Israel obtained the exact information about Hassan Nasrallah's movements that led to his assassination is being intensively dealt with. According to a "Lebanese defense source", the information was given to Israel by an "Iranian source". According to the report, it was expected that Nasrallah would arrive at the underground Hezbollah headquarters after the funeral of Muhammad Hossein Sarur, the commander of Hezbollah's air force who was also killed by Israel. At the same time as this information, supporters of Nasrallah are attacking the Lebanese army on social networks. According to the information they publish, Israel's informant on Nasrallah's movements was none other than an officer in the Lebanese army who was considered by the Hezbollah leadership to be their man and who enjoyed access to information about Nasrallah. The Lebanese army vigorously denies these accusations against the officer.

UAE offers the USA to fight Houthis from Somaliland Arab diplomats reported that the United Arab Emirates proposed to the United States to use the #Somaliland region to deal with the campaign against the #Houthis in the Red Sea instead of American aircraft carriers, which require huge budgets and a large number of personnel. According to the report, Tahnun bin Zayed, the national security adviser and head of the UAE's foreign intelligence service, met with Jake Sullivan and other American officials in early June, when bin Zayed visited Washington. The proposal comes following the refusal of the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council to allow American and Western military bases in the Gulf countries to carry out attacks on the Houthis. US officials have opened a channel of communication with Somaliland officials overseen by Abu Dhabi, as the emirate seeks to strengthen its influence in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region, and join the United States to defend the Red Sea against attacks by the Houthis and Somali pirates. Observers say such moves would anger the government in #Mogadishu and other countries in the region.

[BREAKING] USA ON HIGH ALERT The P8 Poseidon of the US #Navy is flying over the coast of #Florida in search of the #Kazan nuclear submarine of the #Russian Navy which is located 66 miles off the coast of Florida, equipped with Kalibr-M missiles with a 4500 km range! The Russian Navy nuclear Submarine Kazan is 66 miles away from Florida coast, equipped with 4500-km Kalibr-M missiles, off the coast of Cuba.

‘Incoherent pandering’: Joe Biden roasted online following graduation #Biden was blasted online following “incoherent pandering” at a #graduation ceremony on Sunday at Morehouse College in Atlanta. The 81-year-old received an honorary degree from the college located in Atlanta and conducted a speech. X users roasted The oldest-ever sitting president after his early exit from Morehouse’s ceremony. “Biden bails on the rest of the ceremony after he finishes his incoherent pandering at Morehouse College,” wrote RNC Research. University students protested Biden’s appearance during the graduation ceremony as many turned their backs on him. One of the students at the ceremony, DeAngelo Fletcher, believed the President's appearance was to appeal to young black voters. “I think it's kind of insulting that our star alumnus is Dr. King, but Biden has been on a tirade in the Middle East. Bringing him here, especially during an election year to get the young Black vote especially, it's kind of insulting,” he said. Transcript https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usAvsHPGPE4