32rd – 34rd calendar week 2026
Note: Due to the current operation from changing locations, the extent
and depth of the reflections may temporarily deviate from the usual level.
Russian Navy Borei class submarine
20260822-L3856
Russian Navy
Khabarovsk Nuclear Submarine Begins Sea Trials
https://www.deagel.com/news/n000028451
News.The
Khabarovsk nuclear submarine, designed to carry Poseidon nuclear torpedoes ,
has set out to sea, Military Watch Magazine reports. According to the
publication, the submarine was launched on August 17. This marked its first sea
voyage since construction began in 2014. MWM notes that the Khabarovsk can
carry up to six Poseidon submarines. The publication describes them as
autonomous underwater vehicles with nuclear propulsion, which are intended to
provide Russia with an additional strategic means of delivering nuclear
weapons. Unlike conventional intercontinental missiles, these vehicles travel
underwater rather than on a ballistic trajectory. The publication also writes
that the Poseidon's range is approximately 10,000 km, and its use could result
in the formation of a radioactive tsunami. Earlier, the Daily Express
interpreted Russian President Vladimir Putin's remarks about the imminent
completion of the Poseidon submersible as a warning to the West. The
publication writes that the Russian leader thereby emphasized the capabilities
of Russia's nuclear naval arsenal...
20260822-L3856
China’s
‘Canal Project Of The Century’ Build For $10 Billion Nears Launch
https://www.marineinsight.com/chinas-canal-project-of-the-century-build-for-10-billion-nears-launch/
South China’s
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is preparing for the opening of the Pinglu
Canal, an infrastructure project designed to enable direct river-to-sea
transport. The canal spans 134.2 km from the Pingtang River estuary in Hengzhou
along the Qinjiang River to the Beibu Gulf. It is China’s first major
river-to-sea canal project planned since 1949, with an investment of more than
70 billion yuan ($10.37 billion). The canal can handle vessels up to 5,000
tons, and by offering cheaper transit, it aims to boost trade and integrate
industrial supply chains between China and ASEAN member countries...
20260821-L3856
Nord Stream
saboteur suspect caught in Croatia
https://brusselssignal.eu/2026/08/nord-stream-saboteur-suspect-caught-in-croatia/
Germany is
seeking his extradition so that he can be brought before an investigating judge
at the Federal Court of Justice. German federal prosecutors said on Wednesday
that a second Ukrainian suspect in the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage has
been arrested in Croatia. The man, identified only as Vladimir Z. in accordance
with German privacy rules, was detained in the coastal city of Pula by Croatian
police acting on a European arrest warrant issued in June 2024. Prosecutors
described him as a trained scuba diver who formed part of a group that planted
explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines near the Danish
island of Bornholm in September 2022...
20260820-L3855
AUF1 News,
presented by Isabelle Janotka
https://auf1.tv/nachrichten-auf1/nachrichten-auf1-vom-19-august-2026
·
Financial equalization for AfD governments? Green
Party minister causes a stir
·
"Legalizing time theft": Vida union
criticizes demand for longer working hours
·
Israel attacks military base: Was a confrontation with
Turkey imminent?
·
Nord Stream blast: Second suspect arrested
·
Persecution of COVID doctors: Dr. Urmetzer in court
for mask exemptions
·
White coat demonstration against the persecution of
doctors
·
Courageous doctor Dr. Urmetzer: How much people
suffered under masks
·
RKI still wants COVID injections, even for pregnant
women in some cases!
·
Because of BSW course in Saxony-Anhalt: Verdi
disinvites top Berlin candidate
·
Former Fauci advisor pleads guilty: conspiracy to
defraud the government
·
Lower Saxony as a model: these federal states allow
election exclusions
·
Between China and Islamism: AUF1 on the road in
Tajikistan
·
Economic expert Mudlack: What future does Germany have
as an industrial location?
20260820-L3854
Portugal bans
face coverings in public as President signs Chega bill
Portugal has
banned the concealment of the face in public spaces after President António
José Seguro signed into law a bill that originated with the right-wing Chega
party. Seguro promulgated the decree on August 18, according to a note issued
by Belém Palace, the presidential seat in Lisbon. The former Socialist Party
leader beat Chega leader André Ventura in the presidential run-off on February
8. The text prohibits the wearing in public spaces of clothing designed to
conceal or obstruct the face. It also bars coercing anyone into covering their
face on grounds of gender, religion, age or origin...
20260818-L3853
US destroyer left
without power and basic services in South China Sea
The US Navy
destroyer USS Benfold was left without power and unable to manoeuvre
independently for four days during operations in the South China Sea last month
after a generator-related engineering failure, media reported. The breakdown
reportedly knocked out the ship’s galley, toilets, air conditioning and
drinking-water services while temperatures in the region were between 32C and
37C, forcing the guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls to provide hot meals
before the Benfold was towed to the Philippines for repairs.
20260818-L3852
Further study
ordered before decision on new Waitematā Harbour crossing
The
Government has ordered a detailed business case on options for an additional
Waitematā Harbour Crossing before deciding what should be built, with the
Crown taking direct oversight of what Transport Minister Chris Bishop says is
likely to become “the largest and most expensive infrastructure project ever
undertaken in New Zealand.” The work will examine funding, financing and
delivery models, alongside how a new crossing would fit Auckland’s wider
transport network, and will be led by an independent Senior Responsible Officer
reporting directly to ministers and Cabinet. Bishop said the Auckland Harbour
Bridge carries about 170,000 vehicles a day and supports almost $1 billion in
annual economic activity, but weight restrictions, limited public transport
capacity and major future maintenance requirements are increasing pressure for
another crossing...
20260818-L3851
311,257 teens
received second Covid shot after Ministers were briefed on myocarditis risk
A total of
311,257 New Zealand teenagers, approximately 78% of the country’s entire
12–17-year-old population, received a second Covid-19 vaccine dose after
Government Ministers had been explicitly briefed about the heightened
myocarditis risk in younger people, newly analysed official vaccination data
and documents reveal. Information uncovered through Official Information Act
requests shows Government experts had repeatedly raised the risk, particularly
following a second dose, and considered whether vaccination or second doses in
younger people should be deferred. On 4 August 2021, the Covid-19 Vaccine
Technical Advisory Group (CV-TAG) recommended routine vaccination of
12–15-year-olds be deferred pending further review of emerging safety and
effectiveness data, specifically including myocarditis...
20260818-L3850
Media
research identifies over 239,000 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine
Among the
identified dead are 87,749 volunteers, 26,416 recruited prisoners and 19,778
mobilised soldiers. Independent Russian media outlet Mediazona, working with
the BBC Russian Service and a team of volunteers, has confirmed by name the
deaths of 239,350 Russian military personnel in the war in Ukraine. The latest
update, covering the period from the start of the invasion on February 24,
2022, was published on August 14. Among the identified dead are 87,749
volunteers, 26,416 recruited prisoners and 19,778 mobilised soldiers. The total
also includes 7,533 officers, among them 15 generals. Officers made up as much
as 10 per cent of fatalities in the opening phase of the war, a share that had
fallen to between 2 and 3 per cent by November 2024, according to Mediazona.
The count is compiled exclusively from publicly available open sources,
including obituaries, social media posts by relatives, local media reports,
cemetery records and statements by regional authorities. Losses among the forces
of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics are excluded...
20260817-L3849
Artificial
lighting of coastlines, ships, and oil rigs disrupts the natural rhythms of
zooplankton, corals, and fish. Researchers are searching for solutions.
https://pm-wissen.com/plus/licht-aus/
When the sun
sets and the shadow of night falls over the sea, they emerge—by the billions.
From the black depths of the ocean, they rise, meter by meter; bizarre,
translucent creatures. Some paddle through the water with their head-like
antennae, others row with bristly legs. It is the largest animal migration in
the world, and it takes place every night, because only in the dark are the
billions of tiny creatures safe. They are minuscule crustaceans and fish
larvae, some smaller than a millimeter. They rise to the ocean surface to
graze. They devour the tiny microalgae of the phytoplankton, which thrive and
multiply in sunlight during the day. If these small crustaceans and fish larvae
were to hunt for algae in broad daylight, they would be doomed. Fish would spot
them in the blink of an eye and snatch them up. Therefore, these tiny creatures
stay in the dim depths during the day until it is dark and safe enough to swim
upwards. The daily migration of these small crustaceans and fish larvae, the
zooplankton, is a global phenomenon. In the rhythm of day and night, many
millions of tons of living weight rise and fall, not only in the ocean but also
in lakes...
20260817-L3848
High above
the Arctic floats a technological masterpiece.
https://www.horizonte-magazin.ch/2026/06/04/hoch-ueber-den-polen/
Attached to a
sailing ship, the measuring station flies above the Greenlandic fjord. Its
developer is using it to investigate the relationship between melting ice and
cloud formation. With its two masts reaching towards the sky, the schooner
glides serenely among the ice floes of the Ikersuaq Fjord on the southwestern
tip of Greenland. Above the wild Arctic landscape floats a technological
masterpiece: a helium-filled balloon carries the Avatar mini-research station –
stabilized by a wing and attached to the ship by a fine rope. The designer,
Roman Pohorsky, submitted a photograph to the SNSF 2026 photo competition,
immortalizing the maiden flight. In the summer of 2025, the EPFL postdoctoral
researcher boarded the sailing ship Forel, which is traversing the Arctic with
six researchers and six crew members. He meticulously prepared for Avatar's
first test: "I planned an hour and a half for the launch, enough time to
resolve any potential problems." A jammed winch, for example, or a broken
circuit board connector. "In the end, it only took five minutes," the
atmospheric scientist laughs...
20260817-L3847
Hostage of
the state
A Film to
Change a Nation
·
https://gumshoenews.com/a-film-to-change-a-nation/
·
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptiofldwLjk
As many
readers know, for the past eight years I have been volunteering—trying to rescue
children from the State, helping struggling parents survive the ordeal of child
protection, and attempting to shine some light into the closed world of the
Children’s Courts. Some time ago, I realized… The system is so deeply
entrenched, so protected by bureaucracy, secrecy and institutional
self-interest, that it will not reform itself. I have come to believe that
meaningful change will only occur when enough ordinary people understand what
is happening—and when they can no longer look away. This is a problem for all
of us — for all of Australian society. And it becomes a question about the kind
of society we are prepared to live in. So, I have...
20260815-L3846
Calls for
holistic approach
https://www.fijitimes.com.fj/calls-for-holistic-approach/
THE Fiji Navy
is calling for greater focus on preventing maritime emergencies, saying
search-and-rescue efforts should not rely only on responding after people get
into trouble at sea. In an interview yesterday, Fiji Navy Commander Timoci
Natuva said the navy was often at the back end of the response and that more
needed to be done before incidents occurred. “For search-and-rescue, we have to
take, just like drugs, a holistic approach to addressing it,” he said. He said
greater awareness in the islands was needed, including ensuring people consider
weather conditions and take appropriate action before going out to sea.
Commander Natuva said the next priority was the response itself, including how
quickly and accurately information is passed to the relevant agencies. “The
co-ordination and having the assets ready to deploy, having the right funds to support
those operations.” He said funding had been difficult during the last two
search-and-rescue operations in the Lau waters because they came towards the
end of the financial year...
20260815-L3845
China
Develops Unique Aircraft Carrier Doctrine to Counter U.S. Navy in the Pacific
https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/china-unique-aircraft-carrier-doctrine-counter-us
Recent
assessments of the China’s aircraft carrier program has indicated that it is
increasingly developing around a different strategic concept to that of the
U.S. Navy, with the People’s Liberation Army Navy expected to use carriers as
components of a broader regional military system, rather than replicating the
American model of globally deployed carrier strike groups. Brendan Mulvaney,
director of the China Aerospace Studies Institute observed to this effect:
“Just because they have the same kinds of equipment doesn’t mean they will use
it in the same way as the U.S.” He argued that China’s strategic objectives,
missions and operational challenges are fundamentally different from those
faced by the United States, meaning Beijing is likely to develop its own
solutions. The United States developed its carrier doctrine primarily around
the ability to project air power across enormous distances, with its carrier
strike groups operating operate thousands of kilometres from the continental
United States and provide a mobile source of combat aviation without requiring
access to foreign air bases. China faces a very different geographic
environment, with the Navy’s most important potential operating areas lying relatively
close to China’s coastline. The Taiwan Strait, East China Sea, South China Sea
and western Pacific are all within reach of extensive Chinese land-based
military infrastructure...
20260815-L3844
Former
Cambridge professor at centre of plagiarism row found dead
https://dailytelegraph.co.nz/news/former-cambridge-professor-at-centre-of-plagiarism-row-found-dead/
Former
University of Cambridge professor Jason Arday has died aged 41, days after
resigning amid allegations of plagiarism and scrutiny over claims about his
achievements. Emergency services found Arday unresponsive at an address in
Battersea, south London, on Friday, with police saying his death was unexpected
but was not considered suspicious. Arday, who became Cambridge’s youngest Black
professor in 2023, had denied plagiarism while acknowledging errors in his
academic work. He resigned last week, saying intense public scrutiny and
personal criticism had taken a heavy toll. The controversy sparked widespread
national debate in the UK over academic standards, accountability and
university governance...
20260813-L3843
Hanwha Makes
$1.2 Billion Bid for Austal USA
https://gcaptain.com/hanwha-makes-1-2-billion-bid-for-austal-usa/
South Korea’s
Hanwha has made a preliminary offer worth up to $1.2 billion to acquire Austal
USA, potentially giving the Korean defense giant control of one of the largest
U.S. naval shipbuilders as Washington pushes to expand domestic shipbuilding
capacity. Hanwha Defense USA confirmed Monday that it submitted a preliminary,
non-binding offer to acquire Austal’s U.S. operations, with any transaction
subject to due diligence. “Hanwha Defense USA has made a preliminary,
non-binding offer to acquire Austal’s U.S. business,” spokesman James Hewitt
said. “Hanwha has made it a priority to significantly contribute to revitalizing
American shipbuilding and is exploring a range of options to expand our
footprint in the United States…
20260813-L3842
Japan tells
Iran Hormuz transit should be free of additional fees: Takaichi
Japanese
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday stressed the importance of not
imposing fees on passage through the Strait of Hormuz in phone talks with
Iran's president, as the trade artery has been effectively closed amid stalled
U.S.-Iran negotiations. Speaking to reporters at her office in Tokyo, Takaichi
said she also conveyed "deep concern" to Iranian President Masoud
Pezeshkian over the situation in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on the opposite side
of the Arabian Peninsula, asking Iran to strongly urge the Tehran-aligned
Houthi rebels in Yemen to exercise restraint. Yemeni authorities said Tuesday
that the Houthis, who declared a "maritime blockade" in July
targeting Saudi Arabian vessels, carried out a deadly attack on a cargo ship in
the strait, which has become an alternative route for crude oil transport amid
the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The talks between Takaichi and
Pezeshkian were the first since June and the fourth since the U.S.-Israeli war
on Iran began in late February. Although a close ally of the United States,
Japan has traditionally maintained amicable ties with Iran...
20260813-L3841
U.S. Navy
Conducts Pearl Harbor’s First Air Cushion Landing Craft LCAC Operation Since
2018.
The U.S. Navy
conducted the first in-port Landing Craft, Air Cushion operation at Pearl
Harbor since 2018 on August 2, 2026, using the Wasp-class amphibious assault
ship USS Essex (LHD 2) and two LCACs from Assault Craft Unit 5. The operation
also marked the first time Essex had conducted LCAC well-deck operations while
pier-side, showing that the ship can remain docked while still moving heavy equipment
and supplies across the harbor. The evolution took place between Kilo Pier and
Ford Island at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam following Rim of the Pacific 2026
and involved LCAC 81 and LCAC 90. Beyond the eight-year milestone, the
operation demonstrated an additional logistics option for U.S. Navy and U.S.
Marine Corps forces operating across the Indo-Pacific, where ports, roads, and
conventional transport routes could become congested, damaged, or unavailable
during a crisis...
20260811-L3840
Signals to
China: British Navy Cuts Internet Access to Surface Drones
Cameras from
a third-party manufacturer on British Navy surface drones were sending vital
signs to China. As a result, their internet access was cut off. The British
Navy shut down the internet connection of cameras on surface drones after it
was discovered that they were continuously communicating with an IP address in
China. The British Telegraph reported this, adding that the signals were
described as "heartbeat signals." The British Ministry of Defence has
assured the public that it has no evidence "that sensitive data or systems
were transmitted abroad." Nevertheless, the incident has raised concerns
that the cameras may have endangered personnel of elite forces. The British
manufacturer has reportedly already admitted to the discovery...
20260811-L3839
What Is the
Next Weapon? The Rise of the Adaptive Military Ecosystem
Every
generation of warfare produces a defining weapon, but history shows that
weapons themselves rarely determine victory. The decisive advantage belongs to
the societies capable of creating the organizations, industries, and human
expertise necessary to transform new technologies into sustained military
power...
20260811-L3838
The Pacific
Phenomenon El Niño
https://www.weltderphysik.de/mediathek/podcast/el-nino/
El Niño is
part of a circulation pattern that occurs in both the atmosphere and the ocean.
Researchers refer to it as ENSO, which stands for El Niño-Southern Oscillation.
The phenomenon takes place in the tropical Pacific Ocean between Indonesia and
South America—on the other side of the globe from Europe's perspective. By
"coupled," Daniela Domeisen means that the atmosphere and the ocean
constantly influence each other: if one of these components changes, the other
reacts and also changes.
20260810-L3837
A Taboo
Product Suddenly Enhances the Effect of Blood Pressure Lowering Drugs
In a recent
study, researchers from London used an everyday product, generally considered
extremely harmful to health, and achieved a measurable effect on the heart. A controlled
experiment showed that manipulating the oral environment with a taboo product
increases the bioavailability of cardioactive substances. Scientists have
stumbled upon a surprising phenomenon: Sugary chewing gum, the bane of every
dentist's existence, could enhance the blood pressure-lowering effect of
beetroot juice. In a small study, the blood pressure of healthy test subjects
dropped slightly when they chewed sugary gum after drinking the juice. The
sugar-free version had no effect. However, this sweet chewing gum is not a new
miracle cure for high blood pressure. But the result reveals an interplay
within our bodies: What we eat changes the chemistry in our mouths and directly
influences how efficiently the body produces heart-protective messenger
substances...
20260808-L3836
World’s First
Self-Driving Robot Aboard A Ship Could Soon Enter Holds Too Toxic For Seafarers
A
self-driving robot has completed the world’s first autonomous shipboard
demonstration, showing it can operate inside vessel areas where hazardous
conditions may make access difficult for crew members. Hyundai Motor and Kia’s
mobile robot platform MobED was tested aboard the multipurpose vessel HYUNDAI
DUBAI during a demonstration conducted with Korean Register, HMM, HMM Ocean
Service and Goseong Engineering in Changwon, South Korea. The trial examined
whether a land-based autonomous robot could function reliably in a moving ship
environment affected by vibration, movement and changing surfaces...
20260808-L3835
UK DragonFire
laser system shoots down high-speed drones during trials
·
More Images: https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=38057d684074d37
The UK’s
DragonFire laser weapon system has shot down high-speed drones in new trials
conducted at the UK Ministry of Defence’s Hebrides range. Following the
successful trials, the UK government has awarded a GBP 316 million contract to
MBDA UK to accelerate the deployment of the system. The trials included drones
flying at over 400 mph and included a UK first of above-the-horizon tracking,
targeting and shooting down such drones. The laser system possesses the
precision to strike a £1 coin from a distance of one kilometre and is priced at
only GBP 10 per shot. This method is more economical when compared to
conventional missile systems, which can exceed hundreds of thousands of pounds
per shot. By 2027, DragonFire is set to be installed on a Royal Navy Type 45
destroyer, achieving this milestone five years ahead of the initial schedule...
20260808-L3834
70 Ships
Trapped in Persian Gulf as Iran-U.S. Conflict Nears Six Months
At least 70
ships remain trapped in the Persian Gulf nearly six months into the Iran-U.S.
conflict with more ships now being stalled after the ceasefire between the
countries broke down. The memorandum of understanding implemented from June 18
to July 8 between Tehran and Washington created the opportunity for many of the
stranded ships to finally exit the Persian Gulf after being stuck for months,
Bridget Diakun, maritime intelligence and research director with London-based
Lloyd’s List Intelligence, said during a Thursday webinar. However, not all
were able to escape before the ceasefire was called off. Of the approximately
70 ships remaining in the gulf, 29 are tankers. At the beginning of the
conflict, there were 160 tankers trapped. During the MOU period, ships also
entered the Persian Gulf. There are now 65 ships that entered during that time
that have not left, Diakun said. The Strait of Hormuz saw an uptick in transits
last week, but Diakun cautioned that it could be an outlier...
20260808-L3833
OCCAR signs Horizon
Mid-Life-Upgrade Contract Amendment No. 2
The OCCAR-EA
Director, the Chief Executive Officer of EUROSAM GIE, and the Chief Executive
Officer of NAVIRIS have signed Amendment No. 2 to the Horizon Mid-Life-Upgrade
(MLU) contract. This amendment incorporates the contractual, technical and
commercial updates required to support the next phase of the Horizon MLU
Programme and to ensure the timely continuation of the planned modernization
activities for the four Horizon-class frigates operated by the French and
Italian Navies. The primary objective of Amendment No. 2 is to introduce all
contractual changes necessary to enable the start of works onboard the First
Italian Ship (FOC IT), scheduled to commence at the end of September. The
amendment provides the contractual framework required to launch these
activities while maintaining programme coherence and ensuring alignment with
the operational requirements of the Participating Nations. The Horizon MLU
Programme continues to address system and equipment obsolescence issues through
the design, development and onboard integration of advanced capabilities…
20260808-L3832
Meloni
rejects Sánchez ultimatum to lift Schengen checks
https://brusselssignal.eu/2026/08/meloni-rejects-sanchez-ultimatum-to-lift-schengen-checks/
Rome has tied
any review of the suspension to intelligence warnings of a fresh mass crossing
attempt at Ceuta. he Italian Government has said it will not withdraw the
border checks it imposed on travellers arriving from Spain, rejecting a
deadline set by Madrid and refusing to reconsider the measure before August 15.
Prime
Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office said in a statement on August 7 that Italy
“does not accept ultimatums or impositions from abroad” on national security
and border control.
Palazzo Chigi
said the suspension of Schengen rules for third-country nationals arriving from
Spain would remain in place at least until August 15 and until security and
terrorist risks to Italy were ruled out entirely.
Only once
Rome was certain there would be no further wave of irregular arrivals heading
for European territory could the decision be revisited, the statement said.
The Spanish
Government had earlier given Italy until the end of August 9 to lift the
checks, warning it would otherwise adopt “proportionate measures” to protect
the interests and dignity of Spanish citizens.
Madrid argued
that the decision taken on August 1 rested on grounds incompatible with the
Schengen Borders Code and said the controls had disrupted thousands of
passengers at the height of the summer season.
Spain has
also stressed that Ceuta lies outside the Schengen area under a special regime,
meaning none of those who reached the enclave could have travelled onward
freely.
Italian interior
minister Matteo Piantedosi said the suspension was a temporary measure
permitted under EU treaties, adding that Rome would look again at its position
after August 15.
He said the
checks were selective and aimed at non-EU nationals and dismissed the Italian
opposition’s reaction as overblown, suggesting a government led by socialists
was treated as untouchable.
Spanish
intelligence services had themselves judged credible an online appeal for a
repeat mass crossing on August 15, Piantedosi said, making it difficult to
argue that the grounds for the measure had disappeared.
Rome insisted
the row did not damage its relationship with Spain and said it remained willing
to pursue constructive dialogue with Madrid.
Italian
border authorities would meanwhile do everything possible to ease passage for
Spanish and other European citizens, who are not covered by the air and sea
controls, the statement added.
Italy
notified the European Commission of the checks on August 3 and said they would
run until August 31, with the option of renewal. Home affairs commissioner
Magnus Brunner has said the measure must be proportionate.
Some 72,000
migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta in late July, according to figures
given by Spanish interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska. At least 75 people
died attempting the crossing.
20260807-L3831
The German
Navy: Between Upheaval and Decline
https://haintz.media/artikel/deutschland/die-bundesmarine-zwischen-umbruch-und-niedergang/
The German
Navy is currently undergoing a comprehensive transformation process, which
includes the modernization of its equipment. But even if the ambitious plans
are fully implemented, the question remains whether it can meet the demands of
modern naval warfare in time. Ambitions versus limited resources. Germany faces
a significant shortage of production capacity to prepare for a regional
conflict. The Navy continues to suffer from a marked imbalance of power,
particularly a lack of modern ships and submarines that still need to be built.
Nevertheless, the Naval Command has repeatedly signaled its readiness to become
active throughout the operational area of the GIUK gap
(Greenland–Iceland–United Kingdom) from 2029 onwards. This leaves the German Navy three
years to modernize its fleet. The fleet development plan “Navy Course 2025” and
the “Target Vision for the Navy from 2035 onwards” do not foresee the
technological modernization of the entire fleet until 2035. Until then, the
command will only have access to the “older half of the fleet,” which must
first undergo accelerated operational readiness training. The intended goals…
20260807-L3830
T-2000
Voyager offshore in a gale, drone video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GVF8-fAj0I
Hats off to my
crew for flying the drone and recovering it whilst undertaking recent sea
trials with Voyager, not an easy task from the boat offshore during a gale. We
captured some great drone footage of her running fast in some fairly rough
conditions. Here’s the full video of the day...
20260807-L3829
Quick
Take…the Fauci Diaries and the Lab Leak renaissance
https://off-guardian.org/2026/07/29/quick-take-the-fauci-diaries-and-the-lab-leak-renaissance/
Dr Anthony
Fauci is testifying in front of congress today. Waiting for him, teeth bared,
is his nemesis Rand Paul, armed with incriminating e-mails and (allegedly)
extracts from Fauci’s personal diary, written between 2019 and 2022. Suddenly,
everybody is talking about Covid’s mysterious origins again. Familiar names and
phrases, like the Wuhan Institute of Virology and “gain of function” are doing
the rounds once more. “It was natural”, say some. “It was a lab accident”, say
others. “They released it on purpose,” chorus a third group. My position – and
the OffG position – has been clear for years: There was no Covid virus. It didn’t jump from a bat, or leak from a lab
and it wasn’t a bio-weapon, because it never existed. This is the only logical
interpretation of the evidence. The evidence of fore-knowledge and planning
obviously rules out an accident or natural occurrence. Unless you want to argue
that the greatest psy-op of all time – involving actors in every section of
civil society at every level of authority in almost every country on Earth –
started by accident. And the refutation of the bio-weapon thesis is a simple
question: What’s the point of a bio-weapon that doesn’t do anything? “Covid”
had near-identical death rates to seasonal flu, the majority of “Covid cases”
never even had symptoms. Is this what they spent billions researching? Is it
not more likely the disease was a creation of testing protocols and
propaganda...
20260807-L3828
Europe begins
to react to the Ceuta invasion, but not with one voice
Source: newsletter@brusselssignal.eu
Nothing
exposes the architecture of a union like the moment it has to move. Europe is
moving now, in the manner of a convoy whose vehicles have taken different roads
out of the same junction. Interior ministers found common ground on August 4 on
everything a communiqué can hold: Faster returns, tougher action against
smuggling networks and early-warning tools including social media monitoring.
The letter that forced the meeting had carried 22 of 27 signatures, with France
and Portugal withholding theirs. Magnus Brunner, Commissioner for Internal
Affairs and Migration, delivered both halves of an impossible brief. He saw no
direct connection between Madrid's amnesty and the enclave, called the measure
"definitely not a good signal for the rest of Europe" and conceded it
was a national competence — a scheme built for 500,000 that has drawn nearly
1.2 million applications. Rome did not wait for the verdict. Italian airports
began routing passengers off Spanish flights into separate arrival lanes on
August 1, the mandatory notification to Brussels following two days later,
while France reimposed checks along its own Spanish frontier...
20260806-L3827
Indonesian Navy
Debuts Kamikaze USV During Major Exercise
The
Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) deployed a one-way attack (kamikaze/suicide) unmanned
surface vessel (USV) for the first time during a major inter-service exercise in
Dabo Singkep, Riau Islands. The exercise also saw the navy launching a
loitering munition from a warship and firing two C-705 anti-ship missiles. The
USV features an angular grey hull with a raised section at the rear. A
mast-mounted optronic sensor sits above the raised section, likely providing
electro-optical imagery for remote navigation, target identification, and/or
terminal guidance. The two openings in the upper rear section appear consistent
with engine exhaust outlets, suggesting the USV uses an internal combustion
engine...
20260806-L3826
Germany, the
paradigm of a Europe adrift
Source: newsletter@brusselssignal.eu
The German
model was Europe's standing proof that prosperity, cheap power and public order
could be secured by careful administration rather than hard choices, and half
the continent arranged its politics around that assumption. It is now being
audited in public, and the figures are declining to co-operate. Industry is
shedding about 15,000 posts a month, a situation Federation of German
Industries (BDI) director general Tanja Gönner calls "critical", with
some 266,000 manufacturing jobs gone since 2019 and 124,100 of them in 2025
alone. Much of the loss is silent, arriving as posts left unfilled rather than
redundancies announced, and entry-level vacancies for young people fell 42 per
cent last year against the five-year average...
20260806-L3825
White House Pushes
Congress to Build Warships and Non-Combatants Overseas
Reports
coming from Korea are that the Trump administration is pushing back on the U.S.
Congress while calling for building two warships and two non-combatant support
ships for the U.S. Navy overseas. While it does not specifically specify South Korean years for the projects, the
reports are being linked to earlier statements by Donald Trump in favor of
South Korea’s shipbuilders. The White House and U.S. Navy have repeatedly
expressed frustration about the problems in the domestic shipbuilding industry
and the delays in building ships for the U.S. Navy. Donald Trump has outlined a
plan for a large build-up for the Navy led by his vision of a new generation of
battleships. The Korean news agency Yonhap reported in June that Donald Trump
had a conversation with South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung on the sidelines
of the G7 summit in France. He reportedly asked, “Can you quickly build 10 U.S.
warships?...
20260806-L3824
Europe
remains invaded
·
Source: newsletter@brusselssignal.eu
Apparently,
emergencies in Europe now end by press conference, while the soldiers still
working the hills of Ceuta, and the men still hiding in them, have not been
consulted. Spanish interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska has declared the
situation "almost entirely reversed", nearly all of those who crossed
having been returned to Morocco and the death toll rising with each body
recovered along the coast. Days after that, the Legion and the Regulares were
still working the beaches and hillsides of the enclave behind armoured
vehicles, the temporary stay centre was holding far beyond its capacity, and
rooms were being let by the night to those still in hiding. Prime Minister
Pedro Sánchez has blamed a Supreme Court ruling which found that migrants
arriving by swimming cross no physical containment element and so cannot be
summarily returned, a reading he said trafficking networks had turned to their
own advantage. Members of the court have called that accusation indecent,
describing a political failure rather than a judicial one and saying Morocco
had presented Sánchez with a bill whose contents they could not identify, while
the Popular Party has tabled a text in the Congress of Deputies to rewrite a
provision drafted for pressure on fences rather than by sea...
20260806-L3823
It's not
immigration, it's an invasion
·
Source: newsletter@brusselssignal.eu
Invasion is
the word Spain's own Civil Guard associations reached for, and the objection to
it has been that it is intemperate rather than that it is inaccurate. Pedro
Sánchez, arriving at the Tarajal crossing after the fact, called what had
happened a violation of Spanish territorial integrity, which is the same
accusation in a register the Spanish Government can survive. Around 60,000
people entered a city of some 84,000 over recent days, on the estimate of Ceuta
President Juan Jesús Vivas, and at least 72 died in the attempt, drowning past
the fence or crushed in the surge at the breakwater. Madrid refused a national
emergency, blamed a Supreme Court ruling of July 8 that barred summary returns
at sea and sent in an army detachment tasked with securing the city rather than
the frontier. Paris did not wait to be asked. French interior minister Laurent
Nuñez ordered controls on the Spanish border reinforced without delay and
activated a rapid border intervention force created in 2023 for the Italian
frontier, so that the European border hardened fastest last week was the one
running through the Pyrenees between two member states...
20260805-L3822
Ceuta crisis
sparks online speculation over Israel’s role in pressuring Spain
The emergency
in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta has sparked an intense online debate
over Israel’s possible role in efforts to punish Madrid over its outspoken
support for Palestine. The speculation intensified after social media users
resurfaced articles published earlier this year by pro-Israel analysts who
argued that Israel and the US should aid Morocco over its claim to Ceuta and
Melilla as a means of pressuring Spain. Israeli sources revealed that in March,
Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, called on
Morocco to organise a new “Green March” into the Spanish enclaves. Writing for
the US-based Middle East Forum, Rubin suggested that Moroccans approach Ceuta
and Melilla with bulldozers, cross into the territories unarmed and raise the
Moroccan flag. He framed the proposal as a response to what he portrayed as
Spain’s anti-colonial hypocrisy. A separate article published by the Israeli
outlet Ynet in April recommend that Israel could use its influence in
Washington to help Morocco “recover” Ceuta and Melilla. The author, Middle East
Forum fellow Amine Ayoub, presented support for Rabat’s territorial claim as a
means of punishing Spain for challenging US and Israeli policies...
20260805-L3821
Indian vessel
sinks after Red Sea attack off Yemen, all 14 crew rescued
An Indian
vessel sank after coming under attack in the Red Sea by an explosives-laden
boat off Yemen’s western coast, with all 14 crew members rescued, Yemen’s
government-aligned National Resistance Forces announced on Tuesday, Anadolu
reports. The forces’ December 2 news agency said the Faize Noore Oliya was
attacked while sailing about 13 nautical miles south of Al Hudaydah, in the Red
Sea, causing it to sink. The agency did not give details about the
circumstances of the attack or identify the party responsible. It said the
Yemeni Navy and Coast Guard carried out a joint rescue operation that saved all
14 crew members, including 13 Indian sailors and one Yemeni. No casualties were
recorded, and the crew members were transferred to a safe location where they
received medical assistance, the report added. The outlet did not specify the
vessel’s flag or ownership, identifying it only as an Indian ship. No group had
claimed responsibility for the attack as of 1415GMT...
20260805-L3820
Strong Cargo Demand
Offsets Rising Costs for ONE
https://www.marinelink.com/news/strong-cargo-demand-offsets-rising-costs-541746
Ocean Network
Express (ONE) reported a profitable first quarter for fiscal 2026, overcoming
higher fuel costs and geopolitical disruptions through strong cargo demand,
disciplined capacity management and rising freight rates, while continuing to
invest in fleet modernization under its long-term ONE2030 strategy. For the
quarter ended June 30, 2026, the Singapore-based container carrier generated
revenue of $4.54 billion, EBITDA of $707 million and EBIT of $76 million,
resulting in a net profit of $31 million. The carrier transported 3.26 million
TEU during the quarter at an average freight rate of $1,300 per TEU. While
profit declined from the same period a year earlier, ONE characterized the
results as demonstrating resilience in a challenging operating environment
marked by escalating fuel prices and continued instability in the Middle East.
Rising bunker costs, driven largely by the regional conflict, significantly
increased operating expenses, while higher ship-related costs also weighed on
earnings. These headwinds were partially offset by stronger cargo volumes and
improving freight rates across key trades…
Govt honours Lomaiviti Princess 12 crew for life-saving sea rescue
20260804-L3819
Six Medical
Professionals Rescued After Missing at Sea -
Near Fiji’s
Lau Group, Transferred for Medical Assessments
Six medical
professionals who were reported missing at sea in the Lau Group have been found
safe, the Republic of Fiji Navy confirmed tonight. The group was located about
11 nautical miles southwest of Lakeba and rescued by the inter-island vessel
Lomaiviti Princess 12 after an extensive multi-agency search and rescue
operation. The Navy said all six were
taken aboard Lomaiviti
Princess 12 and are being transferred for medical assessments. No further
details on their identities, condition or how long they had been adrift were
provided in the Navy statement, which thanked mariners and vessels operating in
the area for their prompt response and support during the search. Special
recognition was given to the captain and crew of Lomaiviti Princess 12 for
locating and successfully rescuing the missing group. The Navy also acknowledged
the coordinated efforts of government agencies, search teams, local communities
and individual volunteers whose combined response it said was instrumental to
the successful outcome. “This incident demonstrates the importance of
cooperation, vigilance and coordination amongst agencies and mariners,” the
statement said…
20260804-L3818
El Niño to
intensify next month as Fiji faces strong winds and rough seas
As the UN
warned a “strong El Niño” is set to intensify from next month, Fiji’s weather
services and frontline workers found themselves confronting immediate hazards
this week — from a national strong-wind alert and rough seas to a near-fatal
maritime incident that has health staff demanding better transport and safety
for outreach work. The World Meteorological Organization on Friday flagged an
El Niño event that forecasts sea-surface temperature anomalies to exceed 2.9°C
in key regions, with UN Secretary‑General António Guterres
saying: “El Niño is strengthening, adding fuel to a planet already on fire with
scorching heat domes, apocalyptic wildfires and record hot seas.” Locally, the
Fiji Meteorological Service issued a Strong Wind Alert for parts of the country
and all Fiji waters, warning residents to secure loose items and mariners to
avoid unnecessary travel as conditions produce rough and potentially dangerous
seas...
20260803-L3817
Navy awards
$76.6 billion for Virginia, Columbia-class submarines
The U.S. Navy
announced that it is awarding contracts for another round of ballistic missile
and fast-attack submarines. The Defense Department is granting a collective
$76.6 billion to General Dynamics Electric Boat for five Columbia-class
submarines and to both General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls
Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding for nine Virginia-class submarines to be
built in the coming years. “This historic investment underscores the
department’s continued commitment to undersea superiority and the
recapitalization of our nuclear triad,” said Vice Adm. Robert Gaucher, director
of submarine programs. “By securing the continuous production of both the
Columbia and Virginia classes, we ensure we will continue to deliver the world’s
most lethal, survivable and resilient combat platform...
20260803-L3816
The Federal
Reserve Cartel. The Roundtable and The Illuminati
https://www.globalresearch.ca/federal-reserve-cartel-part-iii-roundtable-illuminati/5818582
...Rhodes
founded De Beers and Standard Chartered Bank. According to Gary Allen’s expose,
The Rockefeller Files, Milner financed the Russian Bolsheviks on Rothschild’s
behalf, with help from Jacob Schiff and Max Warburg. In 1917 British Foreign
Secretary Arthur Balfour penned a letter to Zionist Second Lord Lionel Walter
Rothschild in which he expressed support for a Jewish homeland on
Palestinian-controlled lands in the Middle East. The Balfour Declaration
justified the brutal seizure of Palestinian lands for the post-WWII
establishment of Israel. Israel would
serve, not as some high-minded “Jewish homeland”, but as lynchpin in Rothschild/Eight
Families control over the world’s oil supply.
Baron Edmond de Rothschild built the first oil pipeline from the Red Sea
to the Mediterranean to bring BP Iranian oil to Israel. He founded Israeli General Bank and Paz Oil.
He is considered by many the father of modern Israel...
20260803-L3815
US Navy
deploys GARC uncrewed surface vessel in first live-fire training exercise
The U.S. Navy
is rapidly advancing its unmanned surface fleet. Just a little over two weeks
after U.S. Central Command utilized three Corsair unmanned surface vessels to
strike a submarine and ship maintenance facility at the Bandar Abbas naval base
in Iran, marking the “first time American forces have employed sea drones in
combat operations,” the Navy confirmed its first live-fire training exercise of
its Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft uncrewed surface vessel. Two former
U.S. warships, the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu and the cruiser USS
Mobile Bay, were sent below the seas off the coast of Hawaii during a live
sinking exercise, or SINKEX, event during the biennial Rim of the Pacific
exercise. On July 24, the Navy released footage of the sinking, including the
USV targeting the hull of the USS Peleliu...
20260803-L3814
We’re Being
Plunged Into Dystopia When We Could Be Living In Paradise
It’s not just
all the war, injustice, ecocide and dystopia that hurts. It’s knowing it didn’t
have to be this way. It’s knowing what could have been. It’s funny the things
that get to you when you’ve been at this for a while. Today the thing that
smacked me upside the head and made me lay my face in my hands for a minute was
a viral video clip of Canadian politician Bill Oliver accidentally reading out
text from the AI chatbot which had authored his speech before the New Brunswick
legislature. “Public confidence in the office of an advocate matters,” Oliver
said while reading from his prepared statement, before blurting out “Here’s a
more natural, flowing version of that section that reads like a legislative
speech rather than a series of short points...
***