Leonardo Edinburgh factory targeted by pro-Palestine activists PROTESTERS have blockaded the entrance to an Edinburgh weapons factory with links to Israel. Around 100 pro-Palestine activists gathered outside the Leonardo factory on Crewe Road, in Edinburgh, on Thursday morning. They demanded that the firm "drops the F-35 contract" with weapons firm Lockheed Martin, which they said is complicit in Israel's genocide in Gaza as well as attacks on Iran and Lebanon.
https://www.thenational.scot/news/26284508.leonardo-edinburgh-factory-targeted-pro-palestine-activists/https://archive.ph/jbb5ULabour movement leaders urge Burnham to end Diane Abbott's party suspension on first anniversaryMP John McDonnell said: “Andy Burnham says he aims to change the culture of the Labour Party and return the party to a broad church — a pluralist party where people’s views are respected. “A first step would be to restore the Labour whip to Diane Abbott.”
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/labour-movement-leaders-urge-burnham-end-diane-abbotts-party-suspension-first-anniversaryUkrainians protest Zelenskyy’s ouster of his popular defense ministerThe mostly young protesters who took to the streets of Kyiv and other cities to support Fedorov made crude remarks about the current military commander, chanting, “Syrskyi, go away!” and “A European army for a European country!” Kyiv resident Bohdan Huryak said he was “deeply outraged” by Fedorov’s exit.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-defense-minister-reshuffle-fedorov-88083e4381b1690f5048088d75954d3aGermany massively expands federal police powers The German Bundestag last week approved a new law that significantly expands the powers of the federal police by providing the scope to use drones, artificial intelligence, and increased surveillance of telecommunications. The law also makes it easier to incarcerate immigrants due for deportation. The government argued that the law — the first new federal police law in Germany since 1994 — is essential to keep up with technological developments, and the changing nature of threats to public safety.
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-massively-expands-federal-police-powers/a-77993148https://archive.ph/ffCx1China’s Communist Party expels senior member in corruption crackdownMa Xingrui, 66, is one of three members of the current political committee, whose term runs from 2022 to 2027, to be purged in the anti-corruption campaign. The others are military generals. His downfall was confirmed in April, when it was announced that he was under investigation for severe violations of party discipline and national laws, though no details were given.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/chinas-communist-party-expels-senior-member-corruption-crackdown Thousands of Aetas in Tarlac protest land grabbing, PAF harassment Around 3,000 indigenous Aeta residents from five barangays marched in Capas, Tarlac on July 14 to condemn the land grabbing of their ancestral domain and ongoing harassment by the Philippine Air Force (PAF). They marched from Barangay O’Donnell to a checkpoint at the entrance of the Colonel Ernesto Ravina Air Base (CERAB), a military reservation in Barangay Santa Juliana. They mounted the protest to coincide with the PAF’s commemoration of its 79th anniversary.
https://philippinerevolution.nu/angbayan/thousands-of-aetas-in-tarlac-protest-land-grabbing-paf-harassment/Over 500 people feared dead after two Rohingya refugee boats reportedly capsize in Bay of BengalAccording to preliminary information, the two boats left Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine in late June carrying mostly Rohingya passengers, including some who had travelled from refugee camps across the border in Bangladesh, according to a statement from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/over-500-people-feared-dead-after-two-rohingya-refugee-boats-reportedly-capsize-bay-bengalAustralian court upholds censorship of acclaimed pianist for comments about Gaza genocideThe case revolved around the MSO’s extraordinary actions in August 2024. At one of a series of scheduled performances that month, Gillham made comments introducing “Witness,” a composition by Connor D’Netto “dedicated to the journalists of Gaza.” Gillham noted that the murder of journalists was a war crime and referenced the unprecedented number of reporters who had been killed by Israel in the course of its onslaught against the Palestinians of Gaza.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/07/16/wioy-j16.html Iranian press review: Political figures expect continued but limited confrontation with US The Tehran City Council is considering a plan that would require shelters and safe spaces in many buildings across the capital and allow metro stations and public parking facilities to be used as emergency shelters. The proposed plan suggests that officials consider the possibility of continuing military conflicts. … Masih Mohajeri, a cleric and politician close to Iran's reformist political groups, has called for confronting pro-war voices inside the country. … Mohajeri described the governments of the US and Israel as "fascist and racist", arguing that a single military action would not be enough to confront them.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iranian-press-review-political-figures-expect-continued-limited-confrontation-usKurds rally in Turkey's southeast for freedom for jailed PKK leaderSeveral thousand people rallied Sunday in the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakir in southeast Turkey calling for the release of jailed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, an AFP journalist reported. Protesters gathered in a central square in Diyarbakir, chanting slogans in Kurdish, including "Serok Apo" (Leader Apo), in a show of support for the 77-year-old, held on Imrali prison island since 1999.
https://www.newarab.com/news/kurds-rally-turkeys-southeast-jailed-pkk-leaderMoroccan intelligence insider reveals widespread use of Pegasus hacking softwareAlthough NSO Group says Pegasus is sold only to governments to help them track criminals and terrorists, the spyware is alleged to have been used by several countries to target dissidents, journalists, diplomats and politicians. Morocco has long denied using Pegasus to target critics at home or abroad, and has claimed that reporters who have investigated NSO Group were “incapable of proving [the country had] any relationship” with the company.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/jul/16/morocco-intelligence-insider-reveals-widespread-use-hacking-software-pegasusFrom abundance to retreat: what happened to Nile water levels in Sudan?Families have been forced to buy water delivered in barrels, with the price of a single barrel reaching SDG10,000. Many residents are instead relying on salty groundwater from wells including the Musa Abdeen well, the Nour Aldayem factory well, and another located near the water station. The resident said the underlying problem was that the area surrounding the pumps had dried out after the river channel shifted away from the intake points. Authorities have deployed heavy machinery and loaders to excavate a new channel that will allow water to reach the pump wells once again.
https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/from-abundance-to-retreat-what-happened-to-nile-water-levels-in-sudanSenate debate on ruling party’s land ownership bill pushed back after spat Milei government fails to gather votes, postpones upper house debate over land ownership reform bill; Fourth delay for controversial bill that would eliminate restrictions on the foreign purchase of rural land; Comes after spat between Vice-President Villarruel and La Libertad Avanza Senate chief Patricia Bullrich.
https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/senate-debate-on-ruling-partys-land-ownership-bill-pushed-back-after-spat.phtmlhttps://archive.ph/SUTI9Defending its citizens abroad opens up another political front between Mexico’s government and the oppositionNot even the deaths of 17 Mexicans while in the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has brought a pause to polarization in Mexican politics. President Claudia Sheinbaum’s bid to close ranks and call for national unity against the Trump administration, arguing that sovereignty and the lives of fellow Mexicans are at stake, has floundered. The response from parties opposed to the ruling government arrived quickly, but not in the expected way. The opposition has turned the presidential appeal into yet another political front in an international crisis that is only beginning.
https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-07-15/defending-its-citizens-abroad-opens-up-another-political-front-between-mexicos-government-and-the-opposition.htmlhttps://archive.ph/AU2tX