https://www.sott.net Signs of the Times: The World for People who Think. Featuring independent, unbiased, alternative news and commentary on world events. en-us Original content Copyright 2026 by Signs of the Times/Sott.net. For other content, see our Fair Use Policy at www.sott.net. Sun, 04 Oct 2026 06:44:49 +0000 https://www.sott.net/images/sottlogo_rss.jpg SOTT.net https://www.sott.net https://www.sott.net/article/508707-Lavrov-on-the-Russian-character His insights contextualize their strategic culture, that they're pragmatic, sometimes optimistic to the point of implied naivete, and also tend not to proactively address latent crises. Lavrov shared some insight into his people's character while speaking in early September at his alma mater, the Russian Foreign Ministry-run Moscow State Institute of International Relations, which is more popularly known across the world by its Russian abbreviation MGIMO. The first point of relevance that he made was that "Every time we make an agreement with someone, we do so guided by pragmatism. Certain emotions may be part of the deal from our side given the strength of our character." He then importantly added that "We love fairy tales and fables, and Russian literature, which teach us humanity. Pragmatism is, of course, always there. We do not cut any deals without pragmatism or a balance of interests." His last point of insight into Russians' character was when he said that "You know that it... https://www.sott.net/article/508707-Lavrov-on-the-Russian-character Sun, 04 Oct 2026 02:26:16 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508706-Despicable-Kiev-regime-now-recruiting-training-ORPHANS-for-military-service Apparently, the Ukrainian neo-Nazi regime is beginning to recruit young orphans, seeking to indoctrinate them into accepting death on the battlefield - just like their parents. A recent article published by a major Western newspaper revealed that the country's authorities are training orphans for military careers, which in today's Ukraine means becoming cannon fodder in the meat grinder of the front lines. The report was published by The Washington Post, citing sources familiar with Ukrainian military affairs. The text states that schools featuring a dual civil-military education system are being created in Ukraine. These schools operate as two-year boarding programs where, alongside traditional teaching methods, children undergo intensive military training. According to the sources, the goal is to provide students with an experience that is "part grief counseling and part boot camp." Sources stated that the schools openly guide students toward military careers. https://www.sott.net/article/508706-Despicable-Kiev-regime-now-recruiting-training-ORPHANS-for-military-service Sat, 03 Oct 2026 21:51:34 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508705-California-and-6-other-states-sue-Trump-admin-over-funding-cuts-to-immigration-race-projects California and six other states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Wednesday after it moved to cut federal funding for programs involving immigration, race, and gender ideology. The White House said the programs are not in the national interest. The states accuse the administration of withholding federal funds approved by Congress, including about $810 million the White House moved to cancel before the fiscal year ended. Comment: Why so mad? That's chump change for the DEI/NGO industry. The lawsuit is the latest move in a battle between President Donald Trump and Congress over control of the nation's spending. https://www.sott.net/article/508705-California-and-6-other-states-sue-Trump-admin-over-funding-cuts-to-immigration-race-projects Sat, 03 Oct 2026 21:35:30 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508704-UBS-analyst-sounds-alarm-on-Europes-razor-thin-gas-buffer-as-winter-looms-One-month-until-drawdown UBS energy analyst Nayoung Kim warned about a growing vulnerability in Europe's natural gas market on Thursday: with less than a month before seasonal withdrawals begin, storage levels remain well below historical norms for this time of year, leaving the continent with a smaller buffer against winter demand and supply disruptions. Kim wrote that despite optimism this week over improved Hormuz flows (read the Goldman report), which has kept energy prices in check, top LNG exporter Qatar shipped just four cargoes in September, compared with 25 a month before June 2025 and an average of around 30. Force majeure has also been extended into November or early December for some buyers. The final countdown to Europe's NatGas drawdown period is underway, with EU gas storage standing at just 71.50% full as of the end of the week, well below the 15-year average of around 88% for this time of year. https://www.sott.net/article/508704-UBS-analyst-sounds-alarm-on-Europes-razor-thin-gas-buffer-as-winter-looms-One-month-until-drawdown Sat, 03 Oct 2026 21:18:35 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508703-Failing-Canada-and-Britain-put-the-blame-on-Trump-Putin-and-white-Supremacy Commie Canada and the dis-United Kingdom should be renamed the "Dumb and Dumber" of the British Commonwealth. King Charles III's North American prime minister, Mark Carney, ran to The New York Times last week to talk about his military combat preparations against the United States in the event that President Trump crosses Lake America and liberates Canada from its delusional leaders. What a showboating dunce. The U.S. singlehandedly sustains Canada's economy and national security, yet the tiny central banker huffed and puffed in a hilariously Napoleonic display of fake strength. In the same interview with the failing Times, Con-man Carney outlined his intent to integrate Canada's economy with that of China and the European Union and to replace the U.S. Dollar with a China-linked global reserve currency. Rhetorically defending Canada's sovereignty while insulting his U.S. benefactor, Little Mark Carney explained how he would subjugate his socialist nanny-state to Chinese Communist... https://www.sott.net/article/508703-Failing-Canada-and-Britain-put-the-blame-on-Trump-Putin-and-white-Supremacy Sat, 03 Oct 2026 20:55:37 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508702-Top-US-officials-discuss-renewed-war-in-Iran-Yemen-intervention-Report Saudi forces launched a fresh wave of airstrikes on Yemen's capital, Sanaa, on Saturday, as fires were reported at an Aramco refinery in Riyadh. US President Donald Trump's senior national security team held an unannounced meeting at Camp David on 2 October to discuss renewing the war in Iran and developments in Yemen, Axios reported, citing three US officials. Vice President JD Vance chaired the hours-long Friday session, attended by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, special envoy Steve Witkoff, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine. A similar meeting took place in June 2025, just days before Israel launched an unprovoked war on Iran. The US joined the 12-day war, bombing three Iranian nuclear facilities. Friday's meeting comes as Trump considers whether to resume large-scale strikes on Iran amid stalled talks. "Now I have to make a decision: either Iran signs the deal, or it won't exist any longer," the president commented... https://www.sott.net/article/508702-Top-US-officials-discuss-renewed-war-in-Iran-Yemen-intervention-Report Sat, 03 Oct 2026 20:43:23 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508701-The-Final-Frontier-goes-to-war-The-militarisation-of-space Space is becoming an increasingly contested domain as major powers expand military capabilities, satellite infrastructure, and counterspace systems, while the U.S. Golden Dome initiative reshapes strategic stability and raises new questions about the future of space governance. On 14th September 2026, US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink confirmed that the US has "on-orbit" weapons capable of safeguarding the US against hostile actions. It is most likely a part of the implementation of the 2025 US National Security Strategy (NSS), which says: "The United States must at the same time invest in research to preserve and advance our advantage in cutting-edge military and dual-use technology, with emphasis on the domains where U.S. advantages are strongest. These include undersea, space, and nuclear, as well as others that will decide the future of military power, such as AI, quantum computing, and autonomous systems, plus the energy necessary to fuel these domains." In December... https://www.sott.net/article/508701-The-Final-Frontier-goes-to-war-The-militarisation-of-space Sat, 03 Oct 2026 20:42:47 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508700-Iran-has-legitimate-right-to-civilian-nuclear-program-China Responsibility for the stalemate over Tehran's nuclear program lies with the US, UK, Germany, and France, Beijing has said. Iran has the right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program as a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Beijing has said. China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, Sun Lei, made the statement to the General Assembly on Thursday: "As a non-nuclear-weapon State party to the Treaty on the NPT, Iran should honor its commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, and its legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy should be respected." The debate followed a vote in September in which China and Russia blocked a resolution submitted by the US to extend the mandate of a UN sanctions watchdog panel on Iran sanctions. https://www.sott.net/article/508700-Iran-has-legitimate-right-to-civilian-nuclear-program-China Sat, 03 Oct 2026 20:42:05 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508699-The-government-is-keeping-a-list-of-people-who-question-their-policies Social media posts criticising government policy are being monitored and investigated by officials, Metro can reveal. Negative X and Reddit posts from unsuspecting Brits, attacking the UK's anti-terror programme Prevent, were added to a database of critical online comments. Metro has obtained a list of nearly 80 critical posts found and logged by the Standards and Compliance Unit (StaCU), which oversees Prevent, between March 2024 and February 2025. One campaign group whose tweet was recorded in the database said the revelations raised 'serious questions about freedom of expression and the right to dissent and protest' in the UK. https://www.sott.net/article/508699-The-government-is-keeping-a-list-of-people-who-question-their-policies Sat, 03 Oct 2026 20:25:59 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508698-After-36-years-in-space-Hubble-reaches-200000-orbits-while-watching-a-supernova-appear-multiple-times-in-space More than 36 years after launch, Hubble marks 200,000 orbits while following a distant explosion transformed by a massive galaxy cluster. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has completed its 200,000th orbit around Earth while observing a distant supernova whose light has been distorted by a massive galaxy cluster. The milestone marks more than 36 years of continuous operations for an observatory that has transformed humanity's view of the universe. The telescope reached the achievement on Sept. 19, after traveling more than 5 billion miles (8 billion kilometers) around Earth since its launch aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in April 1990. During that time, Hubble has carried out more than 1.7 million observations, studying everything from nearby stars to distant galaxies. The milestone came during an ongoing observation campaign focused on the galaxy cluster MACS J0417 and a distant stellar explosion called Athena. The observations are connected to one of Hubble's major scientific... https://www.sott.net/article/508698-After-36-years-in-space-Hubble-reaches-200000-orbits-while-watching-a-supernova-appear-multiple-times-in-space Sat, 03 Oct 2026 20:16:43 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508697-Winning-New-York-Times-tosses-out-climate-change-and-tries-to-rebrand-it-energy-security Call it energy independence, resilience, security... anything but Net Zero and Climate Change Climate is such a dirty word now, that even the Headquarters of Globalist lefty communication (The New York Times) is telling their team to abandon it. The Untermenschen have figured out that the climate battle is a really just a class war and they are the victims. They've also realized renewables are not cheap and the oceans are not boiling. Every time the politicians mention the C word, the crowd jeers. So in true lying-style the people who've been working to save the planet will just drop the term they've spent 30 years eulogizing, in favour of some other amorphous phrase. Just call it "energy security" they say as if random power, backed by explody batteries, and armed with Chinese chips was ever secure. It's how they work. They never change the policy, they just change the language. And if they repeat "energy security" mindlessly enough times it makes it harder for those worried about... https://www.sott.net/article/508697-Winning-New-York-Times-tosses-out-climate-change-and-tries-to-rebrand-it-energy-security Sat, 03 Oct 2026 17:24:27 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508696-Huge-flood-flips-cars-and-rips-through-Madrigueras-Spain-5-6-inches-of-rain-in-JUST-3-hours A huge flash flood has ripped through Spain as horrifying images show cars being flipped and streets underwater. A 102-year-old woman has died and 90 people have had to be rescued following the flash floods on Friday in Madrigueras in Albacete, Castile-La Mancha, central-eastern Spain. Madrigueras is around 148 miles from Benidorm and 120 miles north-west of Alicante. 142 liters per square meter of rainfall was recorded in just three hours prompting the activation of a large-scale emergency response plan. Footage online and released by police shows cars stacked on top of one another and being swept away in the town centre by a powerful torrent of water. A 102-year-old woman was found dead inside her home where floodwater had risen to more than three feet, according to local media reports. https://www.sott.net/article/508696-Huge-flood-flips-cars-and-rips-through-Madrigueras-Spain-5-6-inches-of-rain-in-JUST-3-hours Sat, 03 Oct 2026 14:19:28 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508695-Lightning-strike-kills-shepherd-in-Iraq A Syrian shepherd was killed by lightning in Sharazoor district south of Sulaimani, and a woman was injured in a separate strike in Choman, local health and civil defense officials told Rudaw. Saman Sabir, head of the emergency department at Rashid Beg Hospital in Sharazoor, said lightning struck the 24-year-old herder in the Zirayan area after midday. Sabir said the man was dead before he reached hospital. Burns and wounds on his body were severe, he said. The shepherd was from Syria and had been working in Zirayan, Sabir told Rudaw. In Choman, in Erbil's Soran Independent Administration, a 50-year-old woman was hurt when lightning hit near a house in Delzi village before noon, Soran Civil Defense spokesperson Rewend Maghdid said. Maghdid said the loud strike left her briefly unconscious. Medical teams took her to Choman Hospital. Doctors later said her condition was good and that she was expected to leave within hours. Rudaw also reported two other lightning deaths Friday in the... https://www.sott.net/article/508695-Lightning-strike-kills-shepherd-in-Iraq Sat, 03 Oct 2026 11:19:30 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508694-Lightning-kills-German-tourist-on-Rhodes-Greece A 58-year-old German woman tourist died after lightning struck near a beach on Greece's Rhodes island on Friday, October 2. Her 62-year-old husband suffered minor injuries in the incident at Lothiarika, near Lardos. The couple were walking on sandy ground near the shoreline when the lightning struck. They had arrived on Rhodes several days earlier for a vacation. Preliminary accounts suggest they had been swimming shortly before the incident. An ambulance crew reached the scene and found the woman without a pulse. Emergency personnel took both tourists to Archangelos Health Center. Medical staff confirmed her death and gave her husband first aid. Authorities continue to investigate the precise circumstances. https://www.sott.net/article/508694-Lightning-kills-German-tourist-on-Rhodes-Greece Sat, 03 Oct 2026 10:12:11 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508693-Astronomers-detect-radio-signals-coming-directly-from-an-exoplanet-for-the-first-time There's no proof of other life beyond Earth yet, but scientists are constantly looking out and listening for signs that we're not actually alone in the Universe. Now, a team from the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian and the University of Oregon has announced an important first: A radio signal coming directly from an exoplanet (a planet outside the Solar System). Previously, radio detections in planet-hosting systems couldn't be unambiguously localized to the planets rather than the stars they're circling. However, this isn't aliens trying to get in touch. It's the signal coming from the exoplanet's auroras, created by charged particles interacting with atmospheric and magnetic field conditions to release energy. Earth has auroras too, which show up as the northern and southern lights. "Although auroral radio bursts are observed in Solar System planets and in some ultracool dwarfs, no radio detection has previously been unambiguously localized to an extrasolar... https://www.sott.net/article/508693-Astronomers-detect-radio-signals-coming-directly-from-an-exoplanet-for-the-first-time Sat, 03 Oct 2026 04:00:12 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508692-War-returns-to-Ethiopia-Horn-of-Africa-edges-closer-to-the-abyss Barely four years after the Pretoria Agreement formally ended one of the deadliest wars of the twenty-first century, serious fighting has returned to northern Ethiopia. As we begin October, Tigrayan forces have seized the airports at Mekelle, Aksum, and Shire, launched coordinated attacks into neighboring Afar and Amhara regions, and declared themselves once again in a state of full-blown war with the federal government in Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian military responded with drone strikes, artillery, and claims to have killed or captured hundreds of attackers. Flights were suspended, telecommunications disrupted, and civilians in Tigray began stocking food and cash in anticipation of another blockade. In March of this year I warned in these pages that "the Horn of Africa is ready to explode," pointing to unresolved territorial disputes, incomplete implementation of the Pretoria deal, military buildups, and the dangerous realignment of forces around Ethiopia, Tigray, and Eritrea. That... https://www.sott.net/article/508692-War-returns-to-Ethiopia-Horn-of-Africa-edges-closer-to-the-abyss Fri, 02 Oct 2026 22:06:14 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508691-Riots-rock-France-pressure-mounts-on-Macron-Le-Pens-election-odds-surge Social unrest spreading across France, described by the government as "urban violence," is adding to pressure on President Emmanuel Macron and the political establishment. Alternative media outlets have characterized the rioters as "migrant" youths. Dramatic footage posted on X shows burning schools and torched buses and has propelled Marine Le Pen of the right-wing National Rally higher in the latest Polymarket betting on the next presidential election. https://www.sott.net/article/508691-Riots-rock-France-pressure-mounts-on-Macron-Le-Pens-election-odds-surge Fri, 02 Oct 2026 21:49:04 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508690-Destruction-of-US-spy-satellite-shrouded-in-mystery A mysterious breakup of a decades-old American spy satellite has sent debris hurtling through low-Earth orbit, with the U.S. Space Force now tracking the fragments for potential threats to other spacecraft, according to Space-Track. The satellite, known as USA 32, came apart on September 13 at approximately 5:13 p.m. ET, according to U.S. Space Forces-Space. Officials have not publicly determined what caused the nearly 40-year-old spacecraft to suddenly fragment. "All tracked debris are being incorporated into routine conjunction assessment screenings to support spaceflight safety," U.S. Space Forces-Space said in a notice. "No immediate threats have been identified; further analysis is ongoing." USA 32 had been circling Earth since the final years of the Cold War. https://www.sott.net/article/508690-Destruction-of-US-spy-satellite-shrouded-in-mystery Fri, 02 Oct 2026 21:20:05 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508689-Fairford-and-FlyDubai-Fatuous-False-Flags The failure of the Fairford "terror plot" and the FlyDubai "hijacking" show that the public's willingness to believe official narratives has shrunk significantly. Rather than abandoning the plainly nuts Fairford narrative, Burnham and his government are doubling down on the claim it is an Iranian terror plot. It remains quite possible the men were indeed fuel thieves, simply stealing fuel from farms. They appear to have been equipped for fuel theft and all they were carrying was petrol. It is worth a footnote that there is a very real history of US military personnel, and indeed British personnel, selling military fuel from bases. Stolen red diesel meant for HMS Bulwark fuelled fairground rides throughout England, which I think is rather lovely. But if the Fairford Five were fuel thieves, farms are more probable as the target. We should pause here to acknowledge that USAF Fairford is falsely designated RAF Fairford, itself a propaganda lie, just like "RAF Lakenheath" or "RAF... https://www.sott.net/article/508689-Fairford-and-FlyDubai-Fatuous-False-Flags Fri, 02 Oct 2026 20:47:41 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508688-Not-bluffing-Russia-ready-to-use-all-weapons-including-nuclear-if-Kaliningrad-attacked Now it's no longer just high-ranking Kremlin officials saying it, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has now directly weighed in amid the ongoing nuclear threat tit-for-tat involving European officials. Speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow on Thursday, he warned the Western allies to cease their escalation in Ukraine, stressing he's willing to use "all weapons" in the Russian arsenal in the scenario that Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad comes under attack. "The drills in the Baltic Sea, following one another... Then the attempts to arrest our ships and vessels. All this is an escalation. And then we began to hear statements regarding the Kaliningrad region," Putin said. "If it comes to direct attack against the Russian Federation, in this case on Kaliningrad and possibly some other territories, of course the issue of using all weapons in our country's arsenal will inevitably and unavoidably emerge on the agenda. This is unavoidable," he asserted in a warning that... https://www.sott.net/article/508688-Not-bluffing-Russia-ready-to-use-all-weapons-including-nuclear-if-Kaliningrad-attacked Fri, 02 Oct 2026 20:16:27 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508687-US-blocks-consensus-on-UN-pandemic-preparedness-declaration-over-sovereignty-and-WHO-concerns The Trump administration withheld support from a proposed United Nations pandemic preparedness declaration, citing unresolved pathogen-sharing negotiations and contested language, leaving the nonbinding document without the consensus expected at a Sept. 25 General Assembly meeting. The United States joined several countries that raised objections during a high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly. The Trump administration said portions of the proposed declaration remained unacceptable because they referred to unresolved international negotiations and contained terminology the United States considers insufficiently defined. The dispute unfolded during the second U.N. high-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, held at U.N. headquarters in New York during the General Assembly's 81st session. The gathering had been expected to culminate in approval of a political declaration developed through intergovernmental negotiations. Instead, objections by the... https://www.sott.net/article/508687-US-blocks-consensus-on-UN-pandemic-preparedness-declaration-over-sovereignty-and-WHO-concerns Fri, 02 Oct 2026 20:13:37 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508686-Why-America-keeps-losing-wars America has become an imperial power that aims to invade and dominate the weak countries. This tendency has created global insecurity and led America to lose wars. In terms of natural resources and firepower, America dominates like no other country. It has the largest and most flexible military, the most weapons, and the most devices to spy on and kill people from afar. At this point, it would seem American soldiers can win any war. But since 1945 America has fought a lot of wars and lost almost every one of them. In Vietnam, eventually communist forces unified all of Vietnam. America's decades-long and hugely costly intervention in Afghanistan ended with the Taliban back in power. America's quick and easy invasion of Iraq eventually turned into a mess with a protracted and expensive effort to rebuild the country and restore some sort of order. American superiority during the wars didn't really solve anything. There was obvious American frustration with the futility of the wars... https://www.sott.net/article/508686-Why-America-keeps-losing-wars Fri, 02 Oct 2026 20:12:00 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508685-Zelensky-lashes-out-at-Ukraines-Western-backers The EU is not doing enough to assist Kiev in the conflict with Moscow, the Ukrainian leader has claimed. Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky, who is dealing with a major hole in his country's budget and high-profile corruption scandals in his government, has criticized Kiev's Western backers for their reluctance to provide him with more money. Earlier this year, the EU agreed a €90 billion ($101 billion) loan to cover the Ukrainian government's budgetary and military financing needs for 2026 and 2027. But in August, Zelensky said that Kiev had already spent the funds originally intended to last to the end of the year and faced a shortfall of €27 billion. The announcement came after the Ukrainian leader's 40-day PR pressure campaign on Russia, which involved long-range strikes on energy and civilian infrastructure, failed to deliver the desired results and triggered a harsh response by Moscow. In an interview with the Financial Times published on Friday, Zelensky complained that the acute... https://www.sott.net/article/508685-Zelensky-lashes-out-at-Ukraines-Western-backers Fri, 02 Oct 2026 20:08:16 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508684-EU-coldly-kills-Zelenskys-2027-membership-demand Ukraine's January deadline is impossible and Kiev will receive no privileges or shortcuts, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos has said. The EU has rejected Vladimir Zelensky's demand that Ukraine be admitted to the bloc by January 2027, with Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos saying Kiev must meet all membership requirements and will receive no exemptions. Speaking to Italy's Corriere della Sera ahead of an enlargement policy review scheduled for next week, Kos said getting into the club depended on reforms rather than political deadlines. "Accession is based on merit: it's clear that this date is not possible," she said, noting that the January date had been set only by Zelensky. Kos acknowledged that Kiev views membership as a security guarantee and said helping Ukraine was the EU's "duty." However, she stressed that candidates need to meet demanding requirements on the rule of law, economic convergence, and adoption of EU legislation, and that there are "no privileges or... https://www.sott.net/article/508684-EU-coldly-kills-Zelenskys-2027-membership-demand Fri, 02 Oct 2026 20:06:56 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508683-The-Shift-US-Senate-rejects-resolution-requesting-report-on-Israeli-violence-in-West-Bank The Senate blocked Van Hollen's resolution seeking a State Department report on the killing of nine Americans in the West Bank, despite 84% public support. Meanwhile, Troy Jackson's Maine Senate campaign faces scrutiny over its handling of Gaza. This week, the Senate voted on Resolution 852, a straightforward piece of legislation that simply requested the State Department provide a formal report on human rights conditions in the West Bank. It was introduced by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). The text of the resolution points out that since January 2022, at least nine U.S. citizens have been murdered by Israeli settlers or the Israeli army in the illegally occupied West Bank, including Omar Assad, Shireen Abu Akleh, Tawfic Abdel Jabbar, Mohammad Khdour, Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, Amer Rabee, Sayfollah Kamel Musallet, Khamis Ayyad, and Nasrallah Abu Siyam. It notes: "The killings of these Americans in the West Bank have been met by a lack of accountability from the Netanyahu government and... https://www.sott.net/article/508683-The-Shift-US-Senate-rejects-resolution-requesting-report-on-Israeli-violence-in-West-Bank Fri, 02 Oct 2026 20:04:12 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508682-Bibis-Bad-Week It's been a busy week for things not happening. On Sunday, we were treated to a "terrorist bomb plot" that didn't actually happen. In the US, the media is in full witch-hunt mode over an alleged gang-rape that, increasingly, looks like it didn't happen. And just yesterday, there was an "attempted hijacking"...that probably didn't happen. That's the golden rule for big media stories: 1. It probably didn't happen. 2. If it did happen, it didn't happen the way they say it happened. The story of the attempted hijacking is quite fascinating, not least because it took so long for anyone to officially declare what actually happened. First it was an accident, then a fist fight between the pilots (whose nationality kept changing), and then it was an attempted hijacking by the co-pilot, bravely prevented when the passengers stormed the cockpit. Now, I was under the impression you couldn't "storm" a cockpit on most jet airliners these days, and hadn't been able to basically since 9/11, but... https://www.sott.net/article/508682-Bibis-Bad-Week Fri, 02 Oct 2026 19:28:48 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508681-Sex-chromosomes-drive-how-bodies-deal-with-cancer-heart-health-and-longevity A new review published in Science brings together growing evidence that the X and Y chromosomes do much more than determining biological sex. They also shape how cells function, age and respond to disease. Differences in health between men and women have long been attributed mainly to sex hormones such as estrogen and testosterone. However, genes on the X and Y chromosomes also play a direct role, working both on their own and alongside hormones. The review was co-led by University of Arizona Cancer Center physician-scientist Dr. Dan Theodorescu and Dr. Dena B. Dubal of the University of California, San Francisco. It describes how sex chromosomes influence immunity, metabolism, brain aging, cancer and heart disease, and what this could mean for diagnosis, treatment and the design of clinical trials. "X and Y chromosomes are often thought of as simple determinants for biological sex, but their role in human health is much larger," said Theodorescu, one of the study's corresponding... https://www.sott.net/article/508681-Sex-chromosomes-drive-how-bodies-deal-with-cancer-heart-health-and-longevity Fri, 02 Oct 2026 17:40:50 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508680-SOTT-Earth-Changes-Summary-September-2026-Extreme-Weather-Planetary-Upheaval-Meteor-Fireballs The Sun fired its last real shots of September in the opening days of the month: an M3.0 flare on the 2nd, followed by an M1.2 on the 4th and an M1.0 on the 5th. Nothing else reached M-class for the remaining twenty-five days. A minor G1 geomagnetic storm on the 8th was the only disturbance of any consequence at Earth, and on the 18th the solar disk went completely blank, one of only a handful of spotless days so far this year. The monthly sunspot number dropped to 64.9, down eleven points from August's 76 and well below July's 78.1. A C8.6 flare on the 30th came close to the M-class line, but the direction of travel is clear: Solar Cycle 25 is sliding away from its peak... we might see the impact this winter. That slide and what's building in the Pacific are two sides of the same process. The three strongest El Niños of the modern record, 1982-83, 1997-98 and 2015-16, all arrived as the Sun was winding down or bottoming out, and the current event is following the same script.... https://www.sott.net/article/508680-SOTT-Earth-Changes-Summary-September-2026-Extreme-Weather-Planetary-Upheaval-Meteor-Fireballs Fri, 02 Oct 2026 16:09:27 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508679-55-year-old-man-died-after-being-attacked-by-bear-in-Romania A 55-year-old man died after being attacked and seriously injured by a bear in a field outside the built-up area of Cuciulata, Brașov County. The incident was reported on Wednesday, September 30, through a 112 emergency call. The victim was originally from the village of Comăna. Police officers from the Hoghiz Rural Police Section were notified at around 12:50 p.m. that a person had allegedly been attacked by a wild animal. A medical team arrived at the scene, but the man's injuries were extremely serious, and doctors pronounced him dead. According to the information available, the man was in the field with his wife. The woman reportedly managed to flee and take refuge in the car, from where she called 112. The victim's body was transported to the forensic medicine unit for an autopsy, which will help establish the exact cause of death. Police have opened a criminal investigation and are conducting inquiries under the coordination of the case prosecutor to clarify the circumstances... https://www.sott.net/article/508679-55-year-old-man-died-after-being-attacked-by-bear-in-Romania Fri, 02 Oct 2026 15:31:32 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508678-Five-waterspouts-at-once-in-Iskenderun-Gulf-Turkiye Five waterspouts were observed simultaneously over the İskenderun Gulf in Turkey. The weather phenomenon was captured over the sea beneath a dense cloud. https://www.sott.net/article/508678-Five-waterspouts-at-once-in-Iskenderun-Gulf-Turkiye Fri, 02 Oct 2026 15:23:37 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508677-Severe-storms-trigger-flash-floods-in-Crete-Greece-with-one-dead-and-vehicles-submerged An elderly farmer has died and several others have been injured after severe thunderstorms triggered flash floods on the Greek island of Crete. An urgent red alert has been put in place until Sunday by the country's meteorological service, as the island continues to be battered by the extreme weather. The widespread floods have caused significant damage to roads, properties and farms and forced the closure of several schools across the island. A livestock farmer, in his eighties, was found dead on Thursday afternoon after he was reportedly swept away by floods in the Rethymno region. Local media have reported that a couple were also hospitalised after a bridge in the region of Rethymno collapsed, causing their car to fall into the riverbed. https://www.sott.net/article/508677-Severe-storms-trigger-flash-floods-in-Crete-Greece-with-one-dead-and-vehicles-submerged Fri, 02 Oct 2026 14:57:56 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508676-Flash-floods-hit-Taif-Saudi-Arabia-after-heavy-rain https://www.sott.net/article/508676-Flash-floods-hit-Taif-Saudi-Arabia-after-heavy-rain Fri, 02 Oct 2026 14:46:34 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508675-The-future-of-Euro-Russia-The-potential-rise-of-a-hyperpower German-Russian relations today appear to have reached a dead end. Germany supports Ukraine, sanctions Russia, and treats Moscow as an enemy. Russia, in turn, sees Germany as part of a hostile Western bloc. It would be easy to look at this situation and assume that the hostility will last for generations. History gives us little reason to make such an assumption. Alliances change. Governments fall. Wars end. Yesterday's enemy can become tomorrow's partner. The older geopolitical argument is simple. Britain spent centuries trying to prevent one power from dominating continental Europe. After 1945, the United States became the main Western power on the continent and built its Cold War strategy around containing the Soviet Union. Germany stood at the center of that division. The western part of Germany emerged from the American, British, and French occupation zones, while the eastern part emerged from the Soviet zone. Germany itself became the frontier between the Atlantic world and... https://www.sott.net/article/508675-The-future-of-Euro-Russia-The-potential-rise-of-a-hyperpower Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:41:15 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508674-Netanyahu-is-embracing-Israels-isolation Netanyahu's speech at the UN General Assembly was not directed at the world, but Israelis. He was trying to convince them that Israel doesn't need to change, as long as it stands united against the world — and lives by the sword. Benjamin Netanyahu's address to the United Nations General Assembly last week sounded more like a speech marking the end of an era than one opening a new chapter. Perhaps behind it was an awareness that this could be the last time he stands on that podium as Israel's Prime Minister. With the approach of Israel's elections, set for October 27, Netanyahu's political future has become inseparable from the way he addresses Israelis and the world. Yet his speech appeared directed primarily at his electoral audience at home, with little regard for the international community. Netanyahu did not come to New York to offer a new political vision, propose a way out of the war, or present a vision for the region's future. He came above all to defend his standing in... https://www.sott.net/article/508674-Netanyahu-is-embracing-Israels-isolation Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:28:00 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508673-Chinas-Ice-Silk-Road-Why-being-first-through-the-Arctic-matters As Beijing turns the Northern Sea Route into a working shipping business, it is quietly redrawing the map of who controls global commerce, leaving India and others scrambling to catch up. Melting ice and a burning Middle East have handed China a new trade lane - and a head start. As Beijing turns the Northern Sea Route into a working shipping business, it is quietly redrawing the map of who controls global commerce, leaving India and others scrambling to catch up. Every great trade route in history has rewarded whoever mapped, secured and normalised it first - Venice on the spice routes, Britain on Suez and the United States on the post-war Pacific. China now wants that role in the Arctic, and it has moved with unusual speed to claim it. The trigger has been the Middle East. With Houthi attacks disrupting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Iran war straining the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices pushed past $100 a barrel after tanker strikes on July 23, 2026, and shippers grew warier than... https://www.sott.net/article/508673-Chinas-Ice-Silk-Road-Why-being-first-through-the-Arctic-matters Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:27:37 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508672-Iran-hails-US-withdrawal-from-Iraq-as-historic-victory The 23-year American stay only brought "terrorism and instability," the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has said. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has welcomed the US withdrawal from Iraq, adding that the Americans should also leave all other countries in the region. On Wednesday, the Pentagon announced that the last American troops had departed from Iraq after being there for 23 years. In its statement yesterday dedicated to the US pullout, the IRGC said that it "congratulates the proud nation of Iraq... and the revolutionary fighters of the Islamic world on this historic victory." The US lost a total of 4,419 troops in Iraq, according to the Pentagon. The Watson Institute at Brown University has estimated that the invasion cost American taxpayers some $2.8 trillion dollars. "These figures show America's heavy and disgraceful defeat," the IRGC statement read. https://www.sott.net/article/508672-Iran-hails-US-withdrawal-from-Iraq-as-historic-victory Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:27:07 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508671-Panic-Fever As 2026 ebbs away, all of Europe is running a panic fever in the face of the creeping realization that the Americans intend to leave them to their own devices against the Russians — and, worst of all, against each other. As for fighting the Russians, this is the plain reality: if the handful of intrepidly willing European nations were to start tomorrow, in earnest, to assemble the necessary forces and accoutrements for 21st century high-intensity battle, they could not, in five years, organize, outfit, and deploy an army of even 100,000 combat effectives — a number which would be swallowed up by a war for which their experience, training, tactics, arms, and logistics are woefully ill-prepared. And even if they could assemble a rag-tag multi-national mob of 100k, they would be unable to position and sustain such an army to do anything. The Russians can strike any target in Ukraine, much of Poland and Romania, and even well into Germany from Kaliningrad and Belarus. A European army... https://www.sott.net/article/508671-Panic-Fever Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:26:30 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508670-The-war-narrative-who-is-it-good-for-Absolutely-everyone-in-power EU leaders prepare for 2030 while collecting pensions. The BBC asks if we're "psychologically ready." If you spend your time in both the English and Russian language internet realms, then you have been bombarded over the last few years with messaging about the 'upcoming war with Russia' or from the Russian perspective the 'upcoming war against us'. Seemingly once a week some sort of major EU figure makes some sort of move or statement implying that 'the big one' is on the horizon. Stubb put up a massive fence in Finland. Lithuania and Latvia have also fenced up. Polish leadership says they are fully capable of defeating Russia when the time comes and that here citizens need to store jam in their cellars for the war effort starting now. Germany is preparing hospital facilities for taking one thousand casualties per day. Is that an optimistic or pessimistic estimate? I am not sure. And now the BBC is leading with a dramatic headline that made big waves on both the English and Russian... https://www.sott.net/article/508670-The-war-narrative-who-is-it-good-for-Absolutely-everyone-in-power Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:26:28 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508669-NASAs-Mars-camera-captures-rare-geological-features-across-a-vast-alien-landscape A new view of Mars reveals unusual layered deposits that may preserve clues about the planet's changing ancient climate. A striking Martian landscape filled with coral-like patterns is offering scientists a new window into the planet's distant past, with observations from HiRISE revealing layered deposits that may record long-term environmental changes on Mars. The high-resolution camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured the unusual formations, which researchers are studying for evidence of ancient climate processes. A Martian Landscape Shaped by Layers of Time The unusual deposits are located in Arabia Terra, one of the oldest and most heavily studied regions on Mars. From orbit, the terrain displays intricate textures that resemble coral reefs, with winding ridges, repeated layers, and irregular patterns spread across a large area. These formations are not biological structures, but geological features created through billions of years of planetary processes. The... https://www.sott.net/article/508669-NASAs-Mars-camera-captures-rare-geological-features-across-a-vast-alien-landscape Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:20:24 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508668-The-frighteningly-accurate-predictions-the-1973-movie-Soylent-Green-made-about-the-2020s Comment: Spoiler alert! If you've never seen the very prescient and seemingly predictive Soylent Green, you may wish to watch it first. Watching Soylent Green in 2026 is an odd, uncomfortable experience. While the movie is already supposed to be off-putting, realizing that some of its darkest predictions have become reality in recent years makes the experience rather surreal. What's stranger is that the movie takes place in exactly 2022, which is around the time some of these predictions have materialized in real life. And, although we're far from the film's catastrophic scenario, we're clearly being pushed in that direction through careful social engineering. Of course, this 1973 movie is not a perfect mirror of our day and age. Despite its attempts at looking futuristic, Soylent Green remains quintessentially 1970s, and its star, Charlton Heston, brings that distinct "old school movie star" aura that doesn't really exist anymore. https://www.sott.net/article/508668-The-frighteningly-accurate-predictions-the-1973-movie-Soylent-Green-made-about-the-2020s Thu, 01 Oct 2026 17:58:03 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508667-The-AI-bird-flu-scenario-they-just-published-and-already-have-a-policy-for Backyard flocks and compute locked in one fell swoop A month ago, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall laid out a scenario in Foreign Affairs. She is not a science fiction author. She was White House Homeland Security Adviser from 2021 to 2025. She coordinated the response to the 2024 H5N1 (Bird Flu) outbreak in US dairy. She wrote: In the foreseeable future, a terrorist group with minimal skills could access a jailbroken AI model... The group could use the model to design a new strain of H5N1 avian influenza that is more lethal and more easily spread from animals to humans than existing strains. Connecting remotely to one of the new generation of fully equipped, contract-for-service "cloud" labs, it could anonymously arrange for the virus to be built and tested and then sent to a biomanufacturing facility to be produced at scale. From there, the group could stealthily disperse the new strain through air-handling systems at major livestock farms across the United States. Before long, the... https://www.sott.net/article/508667-The-AI-bird-flu-scenario-they-just-published-and-already-have-a-policy-for Thu, 01 Oct 2026 17:11:48 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508666-Winter-hits-Inner-Mongolia-High-Arctic-plunges-refreeze-surges Winter Hits Inner Mongolia Winter has arrived abruptly across northern China, with Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, hit by its first widespread snowfall. Snow began across Hulunbuir's northern and western forest districts on Sept 29-30, blanketing Genhe and falling through Hailar. Temperatures have crashed with it. Across northern Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, northern Shaanxi, North China and eastern Northeast China, temperatures fell 6 - 10C (11 - 18F) on Sept 30, with local plunges of 12 - 16C (22 - 29F). The freezing line is pushing south into northern Hebei. Reinforcing the chill will be a second air mass on Oct 3-4, which is forecast to knock another 8 - 10C (14 - 18F) off temperatures across swaths of northern China. https://www.sott.net/article/508666-Winter-hits-Inner-Mongolia-High-Arctic-plunges-refreeze-surges Thu, 01 Oct 2026 13:45:42 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508665-Flash-floods-hit-Lota-Chile This Wednesday, the commune of Lota, in the Biobío region, suffered the effects of a phenomenon known as flash floods , or sudden floods. "The amount of water that has fallen is an impressive amount, which unfortunately has collapsed several sectors of our commune in a short time," said the mayor of Lota, Jaime Vásquez. Flash floods: sudden floods in Lota BioBioChile consulted with meteorologist Elio Brufort, from the Meteorological Directorate of Chile, who explained that the term flash floods comes from English and means sudden flooding. "This usually occurs when intense rainfall happens in a short period of time, sometimes in less than six hours. And that is precisely what the frontal system that passed through the Biobío region left behind," he explained. He explained that the frontal system brought rainfall of varying intensity, but concentrated in a period of less than six hours. This, he noted, contributed to the increased flow of rivers and, at the same time, to the... https://www.sott.net/article/508665-Flash-floods-hit-Lota-Chile Thu, 01 Oct 2026 13:01:51 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508664-Four-thousand-pages-of-plans-none-for-peace-NATOs-insane-provocations-toward-war Everything is ready to explode In Copenhagen, before the chiefs of staff of the 32 countries of the Atlantic Alliance, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone chose the words with which to address the European public. As chairman of NATO's Military Committee since January 2025, he announced: "The Alliance has 4,000 pages of plans for its eastern flank. These plans cover every scenario from a minor crisis or an intervention on our territory to the invocation of Article 5 and subsequent actions. Military personnel, systems, and weapons are ready." Then came the closing remark: "In the event of an attack, the Russians have much more to lose than to gain. This is absolutely certain. And that is what constitutes deterrence." The admiral intended this to be a reassuring message. Read carefully, however, it is one of the most imprudent statements made by a European military leader since the end of the Cold War. It is worth breaking it down piece by piece. https://www.sott.net/article/508664-Four-thousand-pages-of-plans-none-for-peace-NATOs-insane-provocations-toward-war Wed, 30 Sep 2026 19:38:54 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508663-India-backs-Palestine-at-BRICS-while-arming-Israel As host of this month's BRICS summit, India endorsed some of its strongest language yet on Gaza, but its factories, including state-owned arms makers, continued to supply Israel's war machine. On 12 September, the BRICS bloc, whose members now include Egypt, Iran and the UAE, adopted a 45-page, 140-paragraph New Delhi Declaration in the Indian capital. Its Gaza passages, paragraphs 30 to 34, condemned starvation as a method of warfare, opposed the forced displacement of Palestinians, and noted the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in South Africa's genocide case against Israel. India chaired the summit and signed the declaration with the other 10 members. Palestinian Ambassador to India Abdullah Abu Shawesh later congratulated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on hosting the summit and welcomed its references to Palestine. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry in Ramallah welcomed it too, but stressed that words had to be followed by practical... https://www.sott.net/article/508663-India-backs-Palestine-at-BRICS-while-arming-Israel Wed, 30 Sep 2026 19:38:06 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508662-President-Trump-bribes-the-people President Trump, speaking at the Republicans' midterm convention, pledged that if Republicans maintained control of the Congress in the November election every adult American will receive 5,000 dollars from the government. President Trump said that the government could afford the estimated 1.3 trillion dollars cost "because we've done so well and because our country is making so much money." The truth is the economy is not doing well. Prices are rising faster than incomes. And, thanks to the Iran War, the price of diesel fuel has reached an average of over six dollars a gallon. This increases shipping costs, thus further increasing many prices. The national debt now exceeds 40 trillion dollars, which is one reason why interest on Treasury bonds is at the highest level since 2007. President Trump claims the 5,000 dollars payments can be financed with tariff revenue. The truth is that the government has not collected nearly enough tariff revenue to finance these payments. https://www.sott.net/article/508662-President-Trump-bribes-the-people Wed, 30 Sep 2026 19:34:07 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508661-Boston-Mayor-Michelle-Wu-paying-illegals-575-to-become-organizers-and-US-born-residents-are-excluded Boston taxpayers are funding a program that teaches immigrants how to organize, lobby city officials and advocate for political change, then hands participants $575 for completing it. Illegal immigrants are eligible, while U.S.-born Boston residents are not. The Immigrants Lead Boston program, operated by Mayor Michelle Wu's Office for Immigrant Advancement, is a 10-week course for what the city calls emerging immigrant leaders. Candidates must be Boston residents, at least 18 years old and immigrants. Separately, the city states that interested applicants are encouraged to apply "regardless of their immigration status." So an illegal immigrant living in Boston can apply for the taxpayer-funded program and its $575 scholarship, while a U.S.-born resident cannot qualify under the city's stated requirement that candidates be immigrants. https://www.sott.net/article/508661-Boston-Mayor-Michelle-Wu-paying-illegals-575-to-become-organizers-and-US-born-residents-are-excluded Wed, 30 Sep 2026 19:04:06 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508660-Americas-Greenland-deal-has-a-radioactive-backstory A Cold War mission near Thule ended in radioactive fallout and exposed the risks behind Washington's military presence on the Arctic island. The US, Denmark, and Greenland have signed a new agreement to expand American military activity on the island. Washington calls Greenland vital to its security, but an expanded military presence also raises an older question: What risks does the Arctic island take on in return? The agreement builds on a defense partnership dating back to 1951. That history includes an episode that brought the risks of Washington's Cold War strategy into sharp focus: An American mission over Greenland that ended in a nuclear disaster. The nuclear patrols over Greenland In the 1960s, in the middle of the Cold War, the US Air Force launched Operation Chrome Dome. This mission implied keeping bombers armed with nuclear weapons on continuous airborne alert, ready to strike the USSR if necessary. If you've seen the film 'Dr. Strangelove', you'll remember that Major... https://www.sott.net/article/508660-Americas-Greenland-deal-has-a-radioactive-backstory Wed, 30 Sep 2026 18:55:33 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508659-Archaeologists-just-discovered-the-lost-city-that-was-there-first-before-Paris Julius Caesar made mention of a fortress in writings from nearly 2,000 years ago. Its location was a mystery — until now. Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: Archaeologists revealed a 65-foot-long wall buried under a teaching hospital next door to the cathedral of Notre-Dame.Experts believe the find is from Lutetia, a Gallo-Roman settlement that was the predecessor of modern Paris.The physical evidence of Lutetia confirms historical writings and may settle debate about its original location.In 50 B.C.E, Julius Caesar wrote about a fortified settlement at a spot along the Seine River where Paris is located today. And now, archaeologists may have finally found it. The discovery could settle a centuries-old argument: where exactly did Gallic Lutetia, the first settlement in what is now Paris, stand? Crews excavating the courtyard of the Hôtel-Dieu teaching hospital — just across the Rue d'Arcole from Notre-Dame — uncovered a Gallo-Roman wall of stone and timber roughly... https://www.sott.net/article/508659-Archaeologists-just-discovered-the-lost-city-that-was-there-first-before-Paris Wed, 30 Sep 2026 17:35:54 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508658-US-Ambassador-sparks-firestorm-after-telling-Greek-Minister-Washington-can-topple-any-government US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle has set off a firestorm of diplomatic controversy over unusually blunt remarks centered on Greece's government and US policy. It also raised questions of US covert 'influence operations' and regime change activities. The words issued by the former Fox News host were picked up by The Wall Street Journal, which described that the alleged remark was made during a March dinner in Athens. Greek Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou was said to be at the gathering, which quickly became tense. A discussion ensued over the impending collapse of Romania's government. Guilfoyle pronounced that the United States had a role in influencing the crisis. She reportedly then said, "We can do that to any country we want. We can do that here." https://www.sott.net/article/508658-US-Ambassador-sparks-firestorm-after-telling-Greek-Minister-Washington-can-topple-any-government Wed, 30 Sep 2026 16:51:50 +0000