🇾🇪⚔️🇾🇪🇸🇦 Ansarallah/Houthi drone operators manage to destroy a Saudi (Yemeni/PLC?) M1 Abrams tank by dropping a grenade from a very high altitude into the Abram's turret hatch which was open, causing the munition inside to catch fire resulting in a cookoff.

🔗 https://t.me/Middle_East_Spectator/36017

🇸🇾🇸🇾⚡️ — The Kurdish-led SDF announced that it has completed the integration of its military, security, and civilian institutions into the Syrian state, bringing more than a decade of de facto Kurdish autonomy in northeastern Syria to an end.

The agreement places former SDF forces and key infrastructure under Damascus while granting Kurds greater formal recognition, including language and national rights.

With foreign Kurdish fighters also withdrawing, Mazloum Abdi says the next struggle will be securing those rights in Syria’s constitution.

READ THE FULL STORY

🇺🇸🙏🇨🇳 U.S. Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, is pleading with China to accept his new sanction package against Iran and help the U.S. topple the Iranian economy

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday urged China to join Washington’s latest efforts to economically pressure and isolate Iran after negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the six-month conflict collapsed.

“Keep in mind, the Chinese get 50 per cent of their energy from the Gulf. So, it would do them a big service to get with the programme,” Bessent told CNBC when asked whether the new economic sanctions would include China.

Bessent also said that “many conversations are best to have in private”, underscoring the sensitivity of the issue ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to Washington in September.

Bessent added that both allies and adversaries will be forced to choose sides in Washington’s latest campaign to isolate Iran economically, and he will share more details at a press conference next Monday.

“This is going to be the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world. And we are going to them and saying you are either with us or against us,” he said.

“It is going to work in Iran, and we are going to collapse this regime.”

Bessent is the administration’s lead on negotiating economic ties with China and is currently working with the Chinese side to finalise the agenda and key deliverables for Xi’s likely trip.

In a response to the South China Morning Post, the Chinese embassy in Washington said that “sanctions and pressure do not help resolve the problem”.

“China calls on the relevant parties to take responsible actions and resolve the issue through political and diplomatic means,” embassy spokesman Liu Chang said.

🔗 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3364734/us-urges-china-back-its-most-crushing-economic-operation-against-iran

🇨🇳 China jails Evergrande founder for life, fines firm more than US$2 billion

A Chinese court ordered all of Hui Ka Yan's personal property confiscated.

China sentenced the founder of embattled property giant Evergrande to life in prison and fined the group more than US$2 billion on Thursday (Aug 20) for offences including fraud, five years after a high-profile default.

Evergrande Group was once the face of Chinese real estate, surfing a decades-long property boom as it peddled home-ownership dreams.

But its access to credit dramatically narrowed when the government introduced curbs on excessive borrowing and speculation.

The company defaulted in 2021 after struggling to repay creditors.

On Thursday, a court in southern China fined the firm and its real estate arm a total of 15.82 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion).

It issued a life sentence against founder Xu Jiayin, also known as Hui Ka Yan in Cantonese, for crimes including "large-scale financial fraud", the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong province said in a post on its WeChat account.

"Xu Jiayin was sentenced for multiple crimes and fined, received a life sentence, with political rights revoked for life and all his personal property confiscated," it said.

Between 2016 and 2021, Evergrande and Xu as its boss "violated national laws by engaging in continuous, large-scale financial fraud and other means to inflate assets and conceal liabilities", the court said.

It added that the parties "gained control of financial institutions" through bribery, without naming the institutions.

Xu pleaded guilty in April to charges that also included embezzlement and bribery, the court said at the time.

Five other senior executives of Evergrande Group were also sentenced Thursday to prison terms ranging from six to 18 years for crimes including fraud, the Shenzhen court said.

A total of 56 people were given jail sentences - including Xu's two sons - with the shortest term just one year and 10 months, China's state news agency Xinhua reported.

The court also ordered that remaining shortfalls from illegal gains be returned.

📝: Donald Trump rugpulled his supporters with Trump and Melania coins from which he reportedly earned $2.2 billion. He sold Trump iPhone cases which have not been delivered to a single buyer more than a year later on top of all the money he made selling stocks. He signed a deal with the IRS gifting him immunity from being investigated for tax evasion.

🔗 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/china-evergrande-founder-hui-ka-yan-sentenced-life-in-prison-6330256

🇸🇪🌹☪️ Sweden’s Social Democrats have launched Arabic-language digital adverts ahead of the September 13 election.

The campaign features party leader Magdalena Andersson promising to “improve families’ finances” and urging Arabic-speaking voters to back the party.

🔗 Europa

🇮🇱❌🇵🇸 — Israel is advancing the controversial E1 settlement plan in the occupied West Bank, inviting bids for more than 1,200 housing units near Jerusalem.

The project would connect East Jerusalem with existing Israeli settlements while effectively dividing the West Bank between north and south, which would further undermine the territorial continuity of a future Palestinian state.

Leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and Belgium released a statement condemning the plan, calling it "unacceptable."

Israel maintains that Jews have the right to live in the area.

💵 🇺🇸 🌐 Foreign holdings of US Treasuries dropped -$72 billion in June, to $9.30 trillion, to the lowest level since January.

This marks the 3rd monthly decline over the last 4 months, totaling -$190 billion.

Japan, the largest foreign holder, reduced its holdings by -$26 billion in June, to $1.12 trillion, the lowest since January 2025.

The UK, the 2nd-largest holder, cut its holdings by -$9 billion, to $940 billion, the 2nd-largest on record.

China, the 3rd-largest holder, trimmed its holdings by -$26 billion, to $633 billion, the lowest since September 2008.

Meanwhile, foreign official holders, such as central banks and government entities, reduced their Treasury holdings by -$70 billion in June, to $3.78 trillion, the lowest since February 2024.

Foreign demand for US Treasuries is losing momentum.

📎 KobeissiLetter

🇺🇸 Pentagon officials considering firing longtime Stars and Stripes publisher for reporting on the dismal living conditions aboard the Lincoln

Max Lederer, who has served as the publisher of Stars and Stripes for 19 years, this week announced to colleagues his decision to retire on Sept. 30, citing fundamental differences with the Trump administration. Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin has spoken publicly, including to CBS News, about disagreements with Pentagon leaders.

It was unclear when a decision on the news outlet's leadership would be made. Spokespeople for the Defense Department didn't immediately comment.

About $15 million of Stars and Stripes' funding comes from tax dollars, roughly half of its $29 million annual budget, a person familiar with newspaper operations said, but the paper has long prided itself on editorial independence from the public affairs apparatus at the Pentagon. The remaining funding is derived from revenue through subscriptions and advertisements.

Stars and Stripes was one of the first news outlets to report on the dismal living conditions U.S. sailors endured aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

The ombudsman for Stars and Stripes was fired in April, days after writing an opinion column in the newspaper where she criticized what she described as restrictions placed on wire copy and syndicated material. Jacqueline Smith sued the Pentagon in June alleging that her termination was retaliatory and violated her First Amendment rights. 

🔗 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pentagon-considers-firing-stars-stripes-publisher/

🇮🇱⚔️🇹🇷 Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, on the recent Israeli airstrikes on the Syrian Abu al-Duhur airbase:

We will not tolerate a Turkish military entrenchment/buildup in Syria that threatens Israel.

We clarified the message clearly: Don’t.

Apparently they didn’t hear it well enough, so we made sure they understand it better.

🔗 Benjamin Netanyahu

🇹🇷⚔️🇮🇱 Republic of Türkiye Directorate of Communications:

Israel's election campaign has fallen under the sway of an irresponsible security-focused populism and a threat politics that is growing ever harsher.

The Netanyahu administration's effort to construct Türkiye as a new figure of threat is part and parcel of this cheap politics.

This threat politics and escalation of tensions, pursued for the sake of domestic political rivalry, carries serious risks—not only for Israeli society, but also for regional and global peace and stability.

Türkiye, as yesterday, stands today as well on the side of the oppressed against the oppressor; come what may, it will steadfastly continue to defend peace, justice, and stability in our region.

🔗 Clash Report

🇸🇦🇾🇪🇾🇪 Saudi Arabia has a tough choice to make: accept the demands of the Houthis and lift the economic blockade or continue escalating the conflict and risk its oil infrastructure come under repeated attacks

The truce had held until last month when KSA tried to prevent an Iranian commercial aircraft from picking up a Houthi delegation planning to attend the funeral of Ali Khamenei. In response for the Saudi airspace violations and bombing of the Sanaa airport, Ansarallah declared a blockade on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea ports, attacked Saudi tankers and launched missiles and drones at its oil infrastructure.

That has left Riyadh weighing tough choices: whether it should escalate against the rebels, risking more Houthi assaults on its oil facilities, or push for a new truce.

Either option would prove costly to the kingdom. Before the ceasefire, the Houthis fired regular missile and drone barrages into Saudi Arabia, undermining Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s push to promote tourism, finance and trade.

The Houthis — whom Riyadh believes are being encouraged by Tehran — are now threatening to close the Bab al-Mandeb, which has become a vital route for Saudi oil exports since Iran throttled shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Its closure would deal another blow to US President Donald Trump’s efforts to ease global energy prices.

But meeting the Houthis’ conditions would also come at a huge price, with the rebels demanding that Saudi Arabia pay salaries in areas it controls, give them access to oil revenues from Yemeni government-controlled areas and pay compensation.

The Houthis also want Riyadh to allow them to use airports in their northern strongholds, as well as the free flow of shipping to rebel-controlled ports. Saudi Arabia fears this would lead to Iran increasing military support to the rebels.

As a result, observers expect Riyadh to mobilise the Yemeni factions it backs to take the fight to the Houthis, in a bid to pressure them back to the negotiating table on more favourable terms.

That perception, analysts say, has caused the Houthis to launch a pre-emptive offensive on Mocha and other regions, including Marib and Hadhramaut, frontline provinces home to Yemen’s oil resources.

🔗 https://archive.ph/imXD0

🤖 Opinions of AI are much more positive in Asian countries where the technology is being described as a public utility made available open-source.

In the U.S. views are dismal as also seen in data center backlash and its no wonder as the main message is that AI will be used as a tool to eliminate jobs and consolidate power within a small circle of oligarch-run companies whose leaders seem to hate and fear the general public.

🔗 Murtaza Hussein