British state broadcaster the BBC this week ran a major story drumming up the alleged Russia threat and supposed looming retaliatory attacks on UK drone factories supplying Ukraine. The chilly warning purportedly came from a top Russian official – except that the individual in question has not been one in over three decades.

At first glance, the piece titled “UK drone factories may face attacks from ‘unknown sources,’ says Kremlin adviser” looked legit, based on comments made on BBC Newsnight by Andrey Fedorov. The broadcaster presented the interviewee as a heavyweight Russian official, describing him as a “Kremlin adviser” and “Russia’s former deputy foreign minister.”

2018 — US President Donald Trump on Sunday defended his use of the historically charged phrase "mission accomplished" to describe the recent US-led strike in Syria.

The phrase immediately evoked former President George W Bush's premature Iraq victory speech on board the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on 1 May 2003.

A banner proclaiming "mission accomplished" loomed in the background as Bush declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq, a claim belied by the years of hard fighting and the rise of the Islamic State (IS) group that followed. 

Trump resurrected the phrase in a tweet on Saturday after the strikes launched by US, British and French forces in response to an alleged chemical attack by the Syrian government.

AS A MAJOR FLOODING OCCURRED IN NEPAL, TIBET AND CHINA DUE TO THE COLLAPSE OF A GLACIER, WE SHOULD IMPLORE THE HUMAN SPECIES TO MINIMISE TO ZERO ITS CARBON DIOXIDE FOOTPRINT... WE RABBIT ON A LOT ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING ON THIS SITE AND WE SHALL CONTINUE.

THE SIGNS ARE EVERYWHERE: THE SURFACE OF THE PLANET IS WARMING UP WHEN IT SHOULD BE COOLING DOWN SLOWLY TOWARDS AN ICE AGE NATURALLY.

THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, THE HUMAN SPECIES's LEADERS, ARE CRAPPING ON THE PLANET. EVERY OUNCE OF FOSSIL FUEL BURNT IS A STEP IN THE WRONG DIRECTION...

WE SHOULD ALSO REMEMBER THOSE WHO DIED, DIE AND WILL DIE FROM THIS SCOURGE THAT THE MEDIA LIKE THE MURDOCH's TRY HARD TO CONFUSE YOU ABOUT. THESE MEDIA ARE CRIMINALS, EITHER KNOWINGLY OR BY SHEER DECIDED IGNORANCE. WE KNOW THEM, THE CHRIS MURPHY, THE PETA CREDLIN AND THE OTHER IGNORAMUSES IN AUSTRALIA. 

At the just-concluded Second World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, a string of comic moments went viral online: Racing robots slammed into crash pads after the finish line, throwing sparks; obstacle-course robots landed on face-first; weightlifting robots lumbered toward the judges' table with barbells still in hand, sending officials scrambling out of the way. 

Why we’re no longer afraid of robots making fools of themselves

By Zhang Gupeng

From the very first minutes, the anniversary celebrant stunned our editorial delegation with an unexpected confession:

– July 10, 1926, that’s the date of my birth as recorded in my birth certificate. But in the church registry book, a record was preserved that I was born on July 25, 1925. So I was born twice (laughs).

– So you’re actually not 100, but 101?!

– Yes, 101. Both dates were celebrated by the whole village in my hometown.

President of the Association of Russian Diplomats and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Pogos Akopov: “Today the entire developing world is with us”

BY Ksenia Muratshina

Palestinians in the West Bank village of Madama say they fear further violence after Israeli MP Zvi Sukkot smashed a local memorial with a sledgehammer as IDF soldiers stood by. The military later insisted the incident was neither authorized nor anticipated.

A far-right lawmaker known for confrontations with Palestinians and a member of the ultranationalist Religious Zionist party, Sukkot traveled to Madama, south of the city of Nablus, on Tuesday, ostensibly for a tour.

The other night, I watched a documentary called Coup 53, a brilliant treatment of the Anglo–American operation that deposed Mohammad Mossadegh as prime minister of Iran in the year the film notes in its title. 

Taghi Amirani, the director, has produced a superb piece of work, narrated in part by the estimable Steve Kinzer. Aug. 19 marked the 73rd anniversary of Operation Ajax, as M.I.6 and the C.I.A. named their covert assault on Iran’s first democratically elected government. 

Patrick Lawrence: The US Seeing Itself & Others as They Are

Imagine the consequences for the empire’s managers were Americans to understand others and have some grasp of how they look upon the world.

The US-Canada trade war is reaching the bathroom, with tariffs on paper products threatening to push up prices for toilet paper and other everyday essentials for Americans.

Trade talks between the two neighbors collapsed last Friday, with both sides accusing the other of making last-minute changes to a proposed comprehensive deal. US President Donald Trump immediately imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, including wine, cement, plywood, and clothing. Not to be outdone, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed to respond “dollar for dollar,” with Ottawa announcing duties of up to 50% on around 700 American products on Tuesday.

The US military has just announced that it has carried out two more murders on the high seas near South America. This now brings the military’s high-seas murders to more than 200 people.

Mind you, in its announcement, the military did not use the term “murder.” The announcement stated that the military is simply enforcing the US drug war. But make no mistake about it: What the military is doing is engaging in state-sponsored murder, which is ordinarily a felony offense.

More Military Murders on the High Seas

by Jacob G. Hornberger

Beijing — When US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled “Operation Economic Outcast,” threatening damaging new sanctions on countries that refuse to stop doing business with Iran, he didn’t name the one country that could decide its success or failure: China.

Israel will continue building illegal settlements in the West Bank in preparation for a “major” wave of Jewish immigration, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. Israel’s most recent settlement expansion triggered rebukes from its Arab neighbors and Western partners.

“Today, many of our brothers and sisters around the world understand: This is our land and it will remain ours,”Netanyahu said in Jerusalem on Tuesday. “And when I say our land, every Jewish man and every Jewish woman, the door is open. We are waiting for you. We are preparing the door for major Aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel).” 

The US national debt has surpassed $40 trillion for the first time, reaching the milestone months earlier than expected as Washington’s borrowing accelerates amid persistent deficits, rising interest costs, and military spending.

The debt was expected to reach the milestone next year, but it has jumped by $1 trillion since March. For comparison, it took nearly 200 years for total US debt to reach $1 trillion for the first time, in 1981.

Treasury Department figures released Wednesday showed total outstanding debt reaching about $40.05 trillion, equivalent to roughly $119,000 for every person in the country or more than $366,000 per federal taxpayer. The debt has doubled since January 2017, when it stood at roughly $20 trillion.

The head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has travelled to Moscow for unannounced talks, the BBC's US news partner CBS has reported.

John Ratcliffe reportedly arrived in the Russian capital earlier on Tuesday. Neither Washington or Moscow have confirmed the nature of the visit or who he was due to meet.

In-person talks between high-level American and Russian officials are rare.

Flight tracking data confirmed a large US military aircraft travelled to Russia from the US via Latvia on Tuesday. It departed later on Tuesday.

Behind a glass display case at a resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, is a locked box.

Inside it sits a recording of an unreleased Dolly Parton song.

The tune has been kept secret since 2015, when Parton opened the resort as part of her eponymous theme park, Dollywood.

The idea was that nobody would hear it until the country music legend's 100th birthday, more than 30 years later.

"I don't know if I want to live to be 100 or not. But you never know. I might," she joked.

"And if I do, I'm going to be at that opening."