Mike Prysner, the US veteran who gave this speech, has been arrested by the Capitol Police while peacefully holding red tulips in solidarity with the Iranian people.

[RT]

The Ditch:

After failing to publish data on Irish companies granted licences for military exports to the US and Germany because of “a new IT system”, the Department of Enterprise has now confirmed the licences increased by tens of millions of euros between 2024 and 2025.

It has granted licences for more than €16 million worth of exports to the US so far this year during the war on Iran.

[RT]

Today, the Israeli army held memorial ceremonies on the ruins of the Tulkarm refugee camp in the West Bank after displacing its residents and destroying the camp.

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The Arab American Civil Rights League says it is laying the groundwork for a federal class-action lawsuit, arguing that U.S. citizens lost homes and property in Lebanon as a result of U.S. foreign policy, namely through U.S. backing of Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign in southern Lebanon.

[RT]

In March, Leonardo UK signed a major contract worth more than $1.3 billion with the Ministry of Defence. As a result, Leonardo UK will build 23 AW149 helicopters.

One aspect of the new deal between Leonardo and the Ministry of Defence that ought to have been scrutinised by the media but wasn’t concerns the revolving door between the public sector and arm companies.

Nigel Colman, managing director of Leonardo Helicopters UK, was previously head of the Joint Helicopter Command in the Royal Air Force. According to his LinkedIn page, he stepped down from that post in April 2023 – just a few months before assuming a senior position with Leonardo UK.

Between 2015 and 2020 (when he began leading the Joint Helicopter Command), Colman worked for the Ministry of Defence.

That raises ethical questions about whether he used contacts or knowledge acquired while working in the public sector to help win a deal for a weapons maker.

[RT]

A report by James O’Keefe exposes that a U.S. Army official identified as Andrew Hugg, a branch chief in nuclear chemical surety at the Pentagon, was recorded in a hidden-camera video leaking classified information to a "stranger".

[RT]

The Syrian president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, attended the opening ceremony of a basketball arena in Damascus.

During the ceremony, there was a dance performance to an explicit American song.

Usually, opening ceremonies for sporting events present the traditions and culture of the country.

However, in Arab arenas, they turn to what is most vulgar in Western culture and imitate it.

Conservatives in all countries take pride in their values and showcase them, except Arabs.

If they do, they are labeled as extremists.

And if they don’t, well, there is no difference between them and the rest.

For Muslims, it’s simple, either you lose your identity in your own homelands, or say goodbye to iPhones, TikTok trends, trade, SWIFT and UN

Afghans chose the latter.

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