The opening up of the region due to receding sea ice is “changing the geopolitical landscape,” experts have told Politico
China is preparing to launch a new shipping route along Russia’s Northern coast, via the Arctic to Europe, Politico has reported on Thursday.
The Northern Sea Route (NSR), which runs for thousands of miles through Russia’s Arctic waters along its northern coast, has become more accessible due to receding sea ice and has been hailed in Moscow as an opportunity for new international projects.
On September 20 China is sending the Istanbul Bridge container ship on an 18-day trip with icebreaker escort from Ningbo-Zhoushan port to Felixstowe in the UK. The new route is significantly faster than traditional voyages, which take about 40 days via the Suez Canal, 50 days via the Cape of Good Hope at Africa’s southern tip, and around 25 days via Eurasian railways.
“The Arctic is the first region where climate change is changing the geopolitical map,” Malte Humpert of the Arctic Institute told Politico, adding that the region is “changing the geopolitical dynamics because of resources and access to shipping routes.”
He noted that while most trade still flows through the Suez Canal, Mediterranean and Singapore, the Arctic could soon become an alternative because the voyage is about 40% shorter and faces “a lot less geopolitical uncertainty.”
His comments come as traditional corridors like the Suez Canal have faced piracy flare-ups near the Horn of Africa and missile and drone threats in the Red Sea, pushing some carriers to detour around Africa.
Russia has repeatedly called for international cooperation to develop the Arctic. Earlier this year, President Vladimir Putin outlined goals for the region, including making the Northern Sea Route a central part of the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor and raising cargo volumes to 70–100 million tons by the end of the decade.
He also announced plans to ensure year-round navigation supported by Russia’s exclusive nuclear icebreaker fleet, as well as to expand existing ports such as Murmansk and build new ones along the route.
Putin has further highlighted the vast opportunities for oil, gas, metals and rare earth extraction in the Arctic, calling for joint ventures with foreign partners such as China, India, the UAE and others. He has also pledged to expand development of Arctic cities and promote tourism across the region.
Dr. Khaled Al-Qaddoumi has accused the Jewish state of genocide and called for its suspension from the UN
The international community must sever all economic ties with Israel over its actions in Gaza and should question its membership of the United Nations, the Hamas representative in Iran has told RT.
In an interview released on Wednesday, Dr. Khaled Al-Qaddoumi accused Israel of genocide and undermining peace efforts.
His remarks came amid Israel’s new offensive in Gaza City and following last week’s airstrike on Qatari capital Doha, which killed six people, including a local security officer.
Al-Qaddoumi praised Qatar, which has played a central mediating role between Hamas and Israel since the Gaza war began, as well as Egypt, but said Israel had sabotaged the talks.
“[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu came and killed our leaders and then made a new invasion and he destroyed the residential towers inside Gaza,” he told RT. According to Al-Qaddoumi, Hamas had accepted proposals and was prepared for a full prisoner swap, but negotiations collapsed due to Israeli actions.
He urged the global community to move beyond verbal condemnation of Israel to decisive action and called for a “political decision to make those criminals stop this genocide in Gaza.”
“We should today question the membership of Israel as a member state to United Nations. We should question all bilateral deals with Israel. We should cut all the economic ties,” Al-Qaddoumi urged.
The Hamas envoy welcomed Spain’s recent move to halt defense cooperation with Israel, describing it as the kind of measure needed to increase pressure and open the way for talks. Earlier this week, Madrid canceled more than $1 billion in defense deals with Israeli firms, including contracts for rocket launchers and anti-tank missiles, according to media reports.
At the same time, Al-Qaddoumi criticized the US, accusing the White House of hypocrisy and enabling Israeli aggression. He said that although “everybody was condemning the attack over Qatar” and the “random killing of the common man in the street,” no concrete action followed.
Israel launched its military operation in 2023 in response to the Hamas attack that killed about 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage. Over 65,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, according to local health authorities.
The French leader has filed a defamation suit against US right-wing commentator Candace Owens for alleging Brigitte Macron was born male
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, intend to provide a US court with photographic and scientific evidence that they claim will prove that the first lady is a woman, the couple’s lawyer has told the BBC. The materials will be submitted as part of a defamation lawsuit filed by the Macrons against US right-wing commentator Candace Owens, who has claimed that Brigitte Macron was born a man.
Tom Clare, who represents the Macrons in the case, told the BBC’s Fame Under Fire podcast on Thursday that they wish to disprove the allegations “both generically and specifically.” Owens’ claims regarding Brigitte Macron have been “incredibly upsetting” to the French president, Clare said.
He noted that while the process of proving that she is a woman before the court is in no way a pleasurable experience for the French first lady, “she is firmly resolved to do what it takes to set the record straight.”
The Macrons filed the lawsuit in July in the US state of Delaware, accusing the conservative Youtuber, who has millions of subscribers, of falsely claiming that Brigitte Macron was born male, that the couple are blood relatives, and that Emmanuel Macron is a product of a CIA mind control program.
Owens’ lawyers filed a counter lawsuit, arguing that the case should not have been filed in Delaware, citing high legal costs that the right-wing influencer would incur.
Speaking in July, the right-wing personality doubled down on her claims, adding that she was “fully prepared to take on this battle on behalf of the entire world.”
The rumors about Brigitte date back to at least 2021, when self-proclaimed ‘spiritual medium’ Amandine Roy interviewed independent journalist Natacha Rey, who claimed that Brigitte Macron was born a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux.
The Macrons filed a defamation lawsuit in France and initially won it in 2024, only for the ruling to be overturned on appeal in July 2025 on freedom of expression grounds.
24 years his senior, France’s first lady met Emmanuel Macron when he was 15 and she was his literature teacher at school. The couple got married in 2007.
Prosecutors have claimed Calin Georgescu tried to incite violence after his election win was annulled
Prosecutors in Romania are taking former presidential candidate Calin Georgescu to court. He is accused of plotting a coup after his first-round election victory was annulled last year.
Georgescu, a former UN official, came out on top in the first round of the presidential vote in November 2024, after campaigning on national sovereignty, criticism of involvement in NATO and the EU and opposition to continued military aid for Ukraine.
However, his victory was canceled by the country’s Constitutional Court, citing “irregularities” in his campaign and alleged Russian interference – a claim Moscow has denied. Georgescu was banned from the race altogether, with the re-run of the election in May being won by pro-EU candidate, Nicusor Dan.
Romanian General Prosecutor Alex Florenta said on Tuesday that Georgescu and 21 other people had been indicted for attempting to instigate violence after the cancellation of the election results in December.
The evidence collected during the investigation suggested that Georgescu held a secret meeting with Horatiu Potra, a military contractor who previously operated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and discussed a plan to spark unrest in Bucharest, the prosecutor claimed.
Shortly afterward, Potra was detained by traffic police en route to the capital with “a paramilitary group” of 20 people armed with weapons and explosives, he added.
Georgescu, who quit politics several months ago, has denied any wrongdoing. The date for the trial has not been set yet.
Florenta also claimed that the probe revealed a pattern of hybrid attacks against Romania by Russia over the past year, including cyberattacks, public events, and online disinformation.
Asked to comment on the accusations by journalists on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that they were groundless.
“Let’s recall how Washington accused Russia of meddling in the election, attempting destabilization, and so on. Later, they themselves admitted that all this was not true. It is the same with Romania,” Peskov stressed.
New Delhi, which fought a brief conflict with Islamabad in May, has said it will study the implications of the move
Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan have signed a formal mutual defense pact, further strengthening the decades-long security partnership between the two Muslim nations.
The move comes shortly after an extraordinary joint session between the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in which member states condemned last week’s Israeli attack on the Qatari capital, Doha, which targeted officials from Palestinian armed group Hamas. According to media reports, the incident caused concern among Gulf nations about the ability of the US to guarantee their security.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the defense pact between their countries in Riyadh on Wednesday.
“This agreement, which reflects the shared commitment of both nations to enhance their security and to achieving security and peace in the region and the world, aims to develop aspects of defense cooperation between the two countries and strengthen joint deterrence against any aggression,” the joint statement by Riyadh and Islamabad read.
According to the deal, any attack against Saudi Arabia or Pakistan “shall be considered an aggression against both,” it stressed.
India, which fought a four-day military conflict with Pakistan in May following a terrorist attack on tourists in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, said it will “study the implications of this development for our national security as well as for regional and global stability.”
New Delhi was aware of security ties between Riyadh and Islamabad and knew that a defense pact between them had been in the works, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal wrote on X.
A senior Saudi official told Reuters that the deal with Pakistan was “a culmination of years of discussions. This is not a response to specific countries or specific events.”
Saudi Arabia’s relationship with India “is more robust than it has ever been. We will continue to grow this relationship and seek to contribute to regional peace whichever way we can,” he added.
Military ties between Riyadh and Islamabad date back more than half a century, with thousands of Saudi officers receiving training in Pakistan. The defense partnership remains active through training programs and joint exercises.
Reporter Matt Gutman said he aimed to highlight the ‘contrast’ between the killing and Tyler Robinson’s affectionate texts to his partner
ABC News correspondent Matt Gutman has apologized for a report in which he described “very touching” text messages between the alleged killer of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk and his transgender partner.
Utah County Attorney General Jeff Gray had read some of the messages while announcing charges against Tyler Robinson, accused of fatally shooting Kirk at Utah Valley University.
“I want to protect you, my love,” Robinson allegedly told his partner.Gutman described the messages as “a very intimate portrait” and “very touching.” He described Robinson as “a very human person” and said there was a “heartbreaking duality” in the case, pointing to Robinson’s high academic record.
Following a backlash, Gutman posted an apology on X.
”Yesterday I tried to underscore the jarring contrast between this cold blooded assassination of Charlie Kirk … and the personal, disturbing texts read aloud by the Utah County Attorney at the press conference,” Gutman wrote on Wednesday. “I deeply regret that my words did not make that clear.”
“Let there be zero doubt here: I unequivocally condemn this horrific crime,” he said.
Kirk, a conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed during a university appearance earlier this week. Authorities say Robinson was arrested and charged after evidence, including texts and surveillance footage, allegedly linked him to the crime.
The killing has triggered reactions across the political spectrum, with some on the left openly expressing approval.
Since the shooting, several individuals have faced disciplinary measures over social media posts that appeared to celebrate or mock Kirk’s death.
MSNBC ended its relationship with analyst Matthew Dowd after he linked the killing to Kirk’s rhetoric. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s show was pulled off the air indefinitely following comments he made about the assassination.
Other organizations, including Nasdaq, the US Secret Service, United Airlines, Fox Sports, and the Washington Post have also taken action against staff.
US Vice President J.D. Vance has called on the public to report individuals who praise or joke about the killing to their employers.
The move comes a week after the assassination of conservative organizer Charlie Kirk
US President Donald Trump has announced that he is officially designating the left-wing Antifa movement as a terrorist organization.
The decision comes a week after the assassination of conservative podcaster and organizer Charlie Kirk during his college speaking tour. Senior Republican officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance, have attributed the murder to “left-wing extremism.”
“I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. Patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Wednesday evening.
He added that those funding Antifa should be “thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices.”
🚨 "I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. Patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION…" – President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/irLHCkrX1n
Antifa, short for “antifascists,” is an umbrella term for black-clad, masked left-wing activists who often violently disrupt conservative demonstrations and clash with right-wing protesters, as well as with police.
The movement gained national attention during the 2020 George Floyd unrest. Antifa members have also been accused of participating in riots and carrying out ambush attacks on conservative figures and journalists.
Tyler Robinson, the man charged with Kirk’s murder, had reportedly held left-leaning and pro-LGBTQ views, according to officials.
Prosecutors said he confessed to killing Kirk in text messages to his transgender romantic partner. “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” Robinson allegedly wrote shortly after Kirk was shot.
Three died and two others are in critical condition following a shootout while investigating a suspected domestic incident
Three US police officers were fatally shot while serving an arrest warrant in York County, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday.
Two other officers were wounded and remain in critical condition, while the suspected shooter was killed, officials said.
The officers had reportedly intended to arrest the shooter “after a charge of stalking and criminal trespass was filed Wednesday in York County,” according to CNN, citing law enforcement sources.
Police were dispatched to Haar and Emig roads in Spring Grove, a farming community but how the shooting unfolded remains unclear.
A neighbor told local news station WGAL that he heard at least 30 gunshots and saw two officers lying on the ground at a farmhouse.
🚨 BREAKING: MULTIPLE officers have been shot in York County, PA
Per preliminary reports, three have been shot, and at least one is being medevaced
Governor Josh Shapiro has expressed condolences to the officers’ families, saying, “This is an absolutely tragic and devastating day for York County and the entire commonwealth.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said federal agents were on the ground assisting local law enforcement.
Would the US sacrifice New York for Paris? From Europe to Asia, Washington’s alliances are fraying
Whether we like it or not, the history of international politics is a near-continuous chain of violence between states. Rarely has this violence been aimed at total conquest or permanent subjugation. More often it reflects a state’s instinct for survival – the attempt to build a system where security does not depend solely on self-defense, but on recognition by others. That logic is especially clear when outside protection begins to fade.
For decades, the United States has provided such protection, shaping a world in which some states survived not because of their own balance with neighbors, but because Washington made their survival a strategic interest. Today, however, America’s reach is shrinking. Even its most privileged allies must consider unfamiliar ways of surviving in hostile regions. The results may be unpredictable, but the trend is inevitable – and it offers hope that regional balances will replace the distortions of the late 20th century.
The Middle East shows this most clearly. Israel, Washington’s most intimate partner, demonstrates the limits of US protection. Despite having diplomatic relations with many neighbors, the Israeli government cannot resolve its core problems without recurring to force – strikes against Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Yemen, and even Qatar. Its intelligence apparatus, extensive as it is, functions more as an instrument of war than of diplomacy.
These operations may yield tactical gains and impress domestic audiences. But they do little to convince neighbors that coexistence is possible. Israel today appears more isolated than ever. That isolation drives it toward desperate measures: military actions along almost its entire frontier, in the hope that constant pressure will eventually buy regional recognition.
Unlike Europe, Israel has long been shielded from existential risk. None of its neighbors possesses the nuclear arsenal that Russia holds over NATO, nor are they likely to do so soon. This is what has made the Middle East, from Washington’s point of view, a relatively “easy” theater for projecting a global presence. Arab states and Iran, for all their hostility, have never achieved unity sufficient to threaten Israel’s existence. The inability of the region to coalesce after the October 2023 terrorist attack, or following Israel’s strike on Iran in June 2025, confirmed this peculiarity.
Europe presents the opposite case. Here, hostility toward Russia raises questions that cut to America’s own survival. No serious strategist has ever believed the US would trade New York for Paris. NATO bases and deployments may reassure Western Europeans, but they do not alter this reality. In Asia, the problem is similar: Japan and South Korea remain heavily dependent on Washington, but the rise of China alters the balance. What was once a manageable Cold War front now risks a confrontation with a nuclear-armed peer. Small wonder Tokyo and Seoul openly debate nuclear options of their own.
Against that backdrop, Israel’s uniqueness stands out. Its survival does not risk American destruction. For Washington, this makes it a safer bet than Europe or Asia. For Israel, it means dependence on US support is less precarious than for allies who could drag America into nuclear war.
Still, the cost is visible. Israel remains unable to achieve even the simplest foreign-policy goals without resorting to arms. Decades after the modern Middle East balance took shape, there is still no autonomous regional order. Arab states and Iran, despite occasional solidarity, prefer to maintain their own fragile equilibrium rather than unite against Israel. For them, war would be more destructive than enduring Israeli strikes.
For Israel, however, this creates a vicious circle. Unable to gain recognition by diplomacy, it turns again to force – not to conquer or destroy, but to compel others to accept it as an indispensable element in the regional balance. In practice, this makes Israel resemble less a conventional state than an armed organization dependent on external patronage.
This behavior is hardly unique. European history is filled with states that relied on violence to secure recognition in an anarchic order – Russia from the 16th to 18th centuries, Germany in the 19th. When law and institutions break down, military pressure becomes the only available language. Israel today is simply the latest example.
The United States thus faces an awkward truth. Its closest ally is locked in a cycle of permanent confrontation, unable to settle into a regional balance without the use of arms. Europe is more dangerous still, because any confrontation with Russia touches directly on America’s own survival. Asia, with China’s rise, is drifting toward the same category.
If Washington cannot impose order abroad, its allies must increasingly provide for themselves. That means more independent maneuvering, more local balancing, and – inevitably – more violence. For some, like Japan or South Korea, this may mean nuclear ambition. For Israel, it means the endless use of military pressure to compensate for diplomatic impotence.
The chain of violence in international politics will not end. But the distortions of the US-led order – where entire states survived only by grace of American interest – may. The Middle East, Europe, and Asia are all shifting toward harsher but more balanced systems.
For Israel, this means greater isolation, even as it clings tighter to US patronage. For Europe, it means the exposure of NATO’s guarantees as paper-thin. For Asia, it means the emergence of nuclear independence among Washington’s allies.
In every case, the choice for the United States grows more difficult. Its allies are no longer safe wards, but dangerous burdens. And as they adjust to survival on their own terms, the distorted picture of the past half-century may finally give way to a world of genuine balances – violent, unstable, but less dependent on illusions.
This article was first published by Valdai Discussion Club, translated and edited by the RT team.
Retired Admiral Robert Burke has been sentenced to six years for awarding a government contract to a firm in exchange for a cushy job
Retired US Navy Admiral Robert Burke has been sentenced to six years in prison and slapped with a hefty fine for bribery, federal prosecutors have announced. The 62-year-old was found guilty of awarding a government contract to a company in exchange for future employment at the firm.
The four-star admiral was once the second-highest uniformed officer in the Navy, commanding its forces in Europe and Africa. In a statement on Tuesday, prosecutors said that in May a jury found Burke guilty of bribery and conspiracy, and several other related crimes.
According to the document, the admiral used his position to ensure that the company, identified in the media as Next Jump, was awarded a government contract for providing workforce training to Navy personnel in 2021. A previous multimillion-dollar contract with the company had been terminated two years prior as it had been “poorly received,” prosecutors said.
It was revealed that Burke had privately met with Yongchul Kim and Meghan Messenger, the co-CEOs of the firm, who offered to provide the commander with future employment with the company in exchange for his patronage. According to officials, the new $355,000-contract envisaged the provision of “basically the same programming that had failed two years earlier.”
After his retirement from the Navy in 2022, the admiral started working at Next Jump at a yearly starting salary of $500,000 and a grant of 100,000 in stock options, the statement read.
US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro accused the commander of “turning four stars into dollar signs and trading duty for a corporate payday.”
The admiral’s attorneys said they would appeal his convictions, describing his conduct as a “tragic deviation from his well-established character at a time of immense professional and personal stress at the twilight of a demanding forty-year career.”
They also noted that the $500,000 salary and stock options Next Jump had offered as compensation were “substantially below what a retired four-star admiral could command in the private sector,” implying that the scheme made little sense.
