Another week, and another wave of scandals hitting an increasingly disunified Zelensky government. The Ukrainian President on Sunday took the unprecedented step of slapping sanctions on his own former press secretary.
Iuliia Mendel has lately emerged as a very visible outspoken critic of Zelensky's continued rule, which has run long past his scheduled term - having been extended repeatedly during martial law due to the war with Russia. Zelensky has accused Mendel of echoing Russian propaganda and 'promoting disinformation'.
Iuliia Mendel with President Zelensky, national media file imageShe apparently made herself a target after going on Tucker Carlson's show back in May, where she called out Zelensky, saying "there is no democracy in Ukraine now."
According to an introductory segment of the conversation with Carlson:
During the conversation, Mendel stated that “the only way to support Ukraine today is to push it toward a peace agreement.” At the same time, she called Vladimir Putin “evil” but also accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of being “evil.” According to her, Zelenskyy allegedly “plays a teddy bear for the camera,” but “turns into a grizzly bear when the lights go out” and “destroys people.”
She also had called Zelensky "a dictator" and "the greatest obstacle to peace" in Ukraine - and sought to detail instances where he listened to Western hawks over some of his own officials and derailed a path to peace.
Mendel was the president's press secretary from 2019 to 2021. She was there from the start when Zelensky took office in May 2019.
Russian state media has seized on the headline, detailing that the new sanctions decree "slapped Mendel with personal restrictions including an asset freeze, a ban on transferring capital abroad, and other financial and commercial measures set to last ten years."
"Mendel will also be stripped of state honors indefinitely and have her social media accounts restricted inside Ukraine," the report adds.
🇺🇦🇷🇺 Zelensky Press Secretary Iuliia Mendel tells Tucker Carlson that Zelensky sends his political opponents to the front lines:
“The situation in the country is inhuman because I never would think that my country would be the one where people are grabbed on the streets and… pic.twitter.com/K0icFYSivE
She has since stated: "Sanctions against Ukrainian citizens are unconstitutional, just like many of Zelensky's other decisions. Volodymyr Zelensky uses them against anyone who advocates for peace in Ukraine. I knew that 'high treason' charges were being prepared over my interview with Tucker Carlson."
The development comes amid another unfolding situation impacting top Ukrainian national offices:
Ruslan Kravchenko left Ukraine days after resigning amid a corruption investigation involving officials in his office, as a major confrontation unfolds between the country’s prosecutors and independent anti-corruption agencies.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suspended Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko on Monday, hours after it emerged that he had left the country after resigning amid a major corruption probe that had reached his own office.
Kravchenko crossed the border overnight, according to Ukrainian media citing law-enforcement sources.
The same report underscores that "NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) described Kravchenko’s actions as part of what they called a 'systematic attack' on Ukraine’s independent anti-corruption institutions."
Today they call me pro-Russian. Tomorrow they can call you that too.
Almost everyone who has talked about peace and compromise has been branded, without nuance, “pro-Russian” — by the government, its media, and its experts.Any realistic terms for peace: “pro-Russian”. Criticism… pic.twitter.com/c4GUrGwgnx
This is latest fallout amid several high level corruption probes which have resulted in the dismissals of no less than two top Zelensky aides. There's severe tension also between the defense ministry and national intelligence offices, after a Zelensky-led military leadership shake-up.
Tyler Durden Tue, 09/15/2026 - 05:45Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News,
The "enrichment" we were sold was cuisine, music and vibrant street life. What arrived, in town after town, is a sanitation standard the UN still spends billions trying to wipe out of third world nations.
Open defecation is not a Western urban myth. WHO and UNICEF still count hundreds of millions of people doing it in fields, ditches and open ground. Nigeria sits near the top of the league table. India, despite a national toilet-building drive, still records tens of millions.
When you import the people at scale and refuse to enforce the most basic public standards, you import the habit. The footage is now so routine it has become a genre.
The picturesque village of Broxtowe, Nottinghamshire, has been blessed with the kind of diversity that was only previously seen in London:
Africans defecating in residential streets in the middle of the day ?? pic.twitter.com/GrR5FPCIx3
A children's park is next. Nothing says community cohesion like a man treating a playground as an outdoor latrine and finishing the job by hand.
A man defecates in a children's park. He uses his hand to clean himself. pic.twitter.com/BEcggkUlAq
— David Atherton (@daveatherton) September 6, 2026Truly, the contribution to British civic life is immeasurable.
Notting Hill Carnival has been doing this for years. A resident's doorbell captured carnival-goers treating her property as a trench for shitting and pissing all day. Some even apologised to the camera. Sadiq Khan's London treats the event as a celebration.
This London Resident used her Ring Doorbell Cam to capture dozens of Notting Hill Carnival Goers pissing & shitting on her property all day.
Some even apologised to the camera ??
Sadiq Kahn likes to celebrate this for Londoners. pic.twitter.com/qnXi0HGGtd
Susan Watts, 69, recorded dozens of people using the space by her front door after earlier carnivals and told the Daily Mail the stench left it "like being in a filthy toilet." The council quoted her £75 to jet-wash a private area. Dignity, it turns out, has a surcharge.
THIS IS ENGLAND TODAY. IMPORT THE THIRD WORLD, BECOME THE THIRD WORLD. GOD HELP US ALL ???? pic.twitter.com/zAS3RAMXlI
— aileen B ????????? (@AileenBart60380) August 27, 2026Oxford Street is London's main retail drag. When you have to put up signs telling adults not to defecate on it, the experiment has already failed.
This is displayed on Oxford St. London's main retail thoroughfare. When you have to put up signs saying "don't shit here" something has gone badly wrong. pic.twitter.com/ZviMfaX0on
— m o d e r n i t y (@ModernityNews) February 21, 2026I think this was seen on Oxford Street? I was shocked- l lived in London for 15 years until mid 1990s and never saw anyone shitting in the street far less posters forbidding it.
— Cait Mercer (@MercerCait) February 21, 2026Birmingham now has the same notices.
UK: ??
SHAMEFUL Defecating in the streets is prolific in Birmingham.
It has been said that Britain of old was paved with gold.
Ever since we've been invaded, our streets are paved with SHIT.
Don't be fooled, if our cities were still safe and proud, there would be no need... pic.twitter.com/3jrAq0ua4T
The NHS gets it too. An intoxicated man who has already fouled himself refuses to leave A&E. Staff time, corridor space, and public patience all redirected to a problem that starts with the same refusal to use a toilet.
?INTOXICATED MIGRANT REFUSES TO LEAVE A&E HOSPITAL AFTER PISSING & SHITTING HIMSELF ?
?THIS IS WHY THE NHS IS ON ITS ARSE - ABSOLUTE STATE OF IT! pic.twitter.com/8xZIPGHEMs
Spain and Italy get the same treatment.
Muslim migrant shitting in the streets in Ceuta Spain ?? ?
Welcome to the Islamic enrichment of Europe ? pic.twitter.com/PzK8LF9SdR
A drinking fountain in Spain with the tap used as an anal bidet, on a fixture children drink from.
Migrant washes his ass at a drinking fountain in Spain which kids use to drink. Sources confirm the tap was wedged in between his buttcheeks. Diversity is our strength! ? https://t.co/Uwoc8hwgAl
— Mark Johnson (@Mark_Johnson80) September 11, 2026Rome, once the capital of a vast empire, now the toilet of the world.
Migrant openly shitting on the street.
Rome, Italy.
pic.twitter.com/fel6WSqCTg
Canada is not spared.
Cultural enrichment in Canada means you get to deal with public defecation. pic.twitter.com/nstSF6Jjdw
— Ian Miles (@ianmiles) September 14, 2024Vancouver's own figures are not a vibe. City data and CTV reporting put faeces removals in the first two months of 2025 at 1,870. 2023 saw 19,900 collections. 2024 still logged 17,670.
#REPORT: Vancouver residents are calling for action as "public defecation in the city reaches new heights," with 1,870 human feces removals taking place in the first two months of 2025 alone. pic.twitter.com/NsuPTFppVk
— Canada Proud (@WeAreCanProud) May 7, 2025Business groups run "Poop Fairy" patrols because the municipal programme is too slow.
?NEW
Video surfaces of a bus in Brampton being put out of commission
after someone took a ? on the bus
Why is public defecation 'exploding' in 2025?pic.twitter.com/ElQoE447YZ
The Nigerian government has spent years running campaigns begging its own citizens to stop doing this in public. Billboards, World Toilet Day speeches, a "Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet" drive. Vice President Kashim Shettima said access to toilets is "about dignity, health, and safety."
Nigerian government in their desperate attempt to stop public defecation has launched a campaign urging #Nigerian man to stop defeacating in public. pic.twitter.com/QOo5QPup0L
— PSAFLIVE (@PSAFLIVE) November 13, 2022UNICEF has repeatedly placed Nigeria among the world's worst for open defecation, with tens of millions still practising it.
India remains in the same conversation even after Swachh Bharat. The habit did not vanish because a plane ticket was purchased.
Public Defecation - Is a major problem in countries like INDIA and NIGERIA. pic.twitter.com/0PUJETequ5
— Cornbread Mafioso ?? (@Soulful1865) June 13, 2024The historic town of Cambridge in the UK has already taken the next logical step: if the arrivals prefer squatting and shitting all over the floor, the host city will install facilities to enable just that. Labour-run Cambridge City Council spent nearly £1 million on a Silver Street toilet block that includes squat-style cubicles "preferred by some international visitors," then charges £1 to use them.
Resident Heather Boyd told the BBC: "I certainly think if I'm going to spend £1, I'm not going to squat as well. That is absolutely crazy." Britain spent centuries perfecting the flush toilet. Now taxpayers are paying in order for the third world to squat into a hole.
How culturally enriching. How much these individuals are contributing. The GDP of public health risk, the tourism brochure of a high street that needs pictograms of a squatting figure with a red line through it.
If Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth is meant to reflect London and the UK as it really is, Here's the next statue:
The Gentleman In Blue (Shitting In The Street) - Commissioned by the late Professor Jason Arday. pic.twitter.com/CQptIew9HY
— Mcgregor Mackenzie ??????? (@mcgregormackenz) September 11, 2026Still, it could be worse. And it is.
Tyler Durden Tue, 09/15/2026 - 05:00* * *
Supertanker Explodes After Hitting Mine: IRGCIran's IRGC Navy has late Monday (local) announced that a foreign supertanker exploded when it struck naval mines after attempting to enter an unapproved zone of the southern Strait of Hormuz, Fars reports.
Bloomberg also picked up the reported tanker explosion, providing the following further details:
If the emerging reports are accurate, it contradicts President Trump's recent claims that the strait has been fully de-mined. Reuters in late August noted of a Truth Social post that the president proclaimed "all mines had been detonated or removed from international waters of the Strait of Hormuz and that Iran has been told that any ship or boat placing new mines will be destroyed."
The IRGC Navy stated that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and under its control.
The supertanker “Algaya” (IMO 9325336) was attempting to navigate through a restricted area south of the Strait of Hormuz when it reportedly struck sea mines and exploded. pic.twitter.com/naPVOfazqo
Just as President Trump is appearing to show some desperation concerning soaring energy prices ahead of the midterm elections, and amid growing Republican angst, we witness a return to the 'a deal could return' style headlines which marked earlier phases of the war:
US seeks "Step-by-Step" agreement with Iran, reports ILNA citing Pakistani sources
And the all too familiar pattern that marked early summer...
OIL DROPS TO INTRADAY LOW, BRENT TRADES NEAR $106 A BARREL
Iranian state media is meanwhile suggesting that Washington interfered in what was a planned meeting between Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council states (GCC) toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz. That meeting, which was supposed to happen Monday, was postponed indefinitely - after reports said the Saudis sought to add something untenable to a draft agreement. Tehran is still rejecting that it is 'seeking' new talks with Washington.
Hey @grok, since February 28, 2026, how many times has Our Favorite President said Iran is asking, begging, pleading, or desperate to "make a deal" -- whether on Truth Social, interviews, speeches, press scrums, sitting at his desk in the Oval Office, or any other format pic.twitter.com/E01vUBJG3I
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) September 14, 2026Trump has issued several provocative Truth Social posts throughout the morning...
The next weeks could possibly see a return to Axios' 'negotiations imminent' WH leak tactics, to artificially keep energy prices under control...
Stocks just spiked on this:
US seeks "step-by-step" agreement with Iran, a scenario that could be a prelude to the US entering the path of negotiations, without abandoning military and economic pressure: ILNA reports citing Pakistani sources.
Meanwhile and important indicator of where things actually stand...
#Iran has no plans for talks under current circumstances. As emphasized in the conditions announced to the US, there will be no talks & the Strait of #Hormuz will not be reopened until the war on all fronts ends, the blockade is lifted & Iran's financial resources are released.
— Mohammad Ghaderi | محمد قادری (@ghaderi62) September 14, 2026 Yemen's Houthis Attack Saudi Base, And Take Fire After Major ConquestYemen's Ansar Allah -- also known as the Houthis -- claimed it fired drones and missiles at King Khalid Air Base in southern Saudi Arabia. Dozens of ballistic missiles and drones targeted military infrastructure in the rare and major cross-border attack.
The Houthis say the base suffered direct hits and extensive damage in a "large-scale military operation", though this could not be immediately verified, after the operation which their military spokesman described as retaliation more than 300 Saudi airstrikes across Yemen over most of the past week. Early reports from open source analysts suggest serious damage sustained at the base.
The sprawling base in Khamis Mushait has historically been used at times by US and UK advanced fighter jets, and has hangars that are well-fortified, though it's unknown the degree to which Western assets continue to be stationed there. For example, it was heavily utilized by the Pentagon during the first Gulf War, from where stealth fighters were launched to attack high priority targets in Iraq.
A Houthi spokesman has declared that the ongoing mission's targeting includes "weapons depots and command and control centers that are managing the aggression against our nation and people."
On Sunday, the internationally recognized Yemeni government -- which controls neither the capital nor territory encompassing a majority of the population -- said its air force launched three strikes on Houthi positions in the Taiz region. There were also reports of artillery fire on a Houthi stronghold in Saada province, on the northern border with Saudi Arabia.
Via Institute for the Study of WarIn a blitz that caught the world by surprise, the Houthis late last week achieved an enormous strategic victory by conquering the remainder of Yemen's western coastline it didn't already control -- positioning it to easily enforce its declared blockade against Saudi-related shipping entering or leaving the Red Sea via the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Houthi soldiers also took over Perim Island, which sits in the strait.
As Associated Press noted, the seizure of the new territory puts the Houthis in much closer proximity to US forces:
The Houthis’ advance puts them just 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the U.S. military base in Djibouti, on the other side of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. It’s the main U.S. base in Africa and one of several foreign military bases in Djibouti, including those of China, France and Japan.
The Houthi blockade is positioned as retaliation for the Saudi coalition's siege and blockade of Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. Though the Houthi blockade only targets Saudi shipping, global cargo lines are highly wary of transiting the waterway that's narrower than the Strait of Hormuz. Many are rerouting traffic all the way around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, which requires at least 20 extra days and a lot more money. “Freedom of navigation and international trade in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb are safe and orderly,” a Houthi official told Al Jazeera.
While it's too little, too late for Riyah's hopes of some kind of big Washington intervention in Yemen, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday met US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper in Jeddah, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) has confirmed. Likely they reviewed the coalition's narrowing options going forward, but President Trump has thus far expressed reluctance to get directly involved militarily, at a moment he's still trying to figure out what's next with Iran.
Iran Diplomacy PostponedCold water has been thrown on flickering hopes for finding an exit from the latest and most dangerous chapter in America's "endless wars," as a highly-anticipated Monday summit of Iran and other Persian Gulf states was postponed.
That bad news follows an eventful several days that saw Yemen's Iran-allied Ansar Allah take control of a large swath of strategic coastside territory. Saudi Arabia's critical east-west pipeline, shut down after a drone attack that originated in Iraq, may be the center of a major hit to global oil supply.
The Monday meeting was set to take place in the Omani coastal city of Salalah, with attendees including foreign ministers of Iran, Oman, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar. Taking a US-friendly line, Bahrain had declined to attend, saying stability "cannot be preserved through a policy of appeasement” and demanding the strait be re-opened without "discrimination, fees or permits." The tiny state that is was home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet also cited its ongoing suspension of diplomatic relations with Iran.
The meeting was going to focus on a proposed arrangement by which Iran and Oman would jointly manage the flow of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic through the vital waterway is at a near standstill, more than six months after the United States and Israel launched a war on Iran. Axios' Barak Ravid, seen by many as a conduit for US-Israeli narratives, reported that Saudi Arabia had submitted amendments to the proposal.
Saudi Arabia: I have an amendment to the strait of Hormuz agreement
Iran & Oman: pic.twitter.com/MVyRmhjxnN https://t.co/mRYxyyWrWD
“At the request of some regional countries and by a joint decision of Oman and Iran, the meeting of foreign ministers of Persian Gulf coastal states, which was planned for Monday, has been postponed to another date,” Iranian foreign ministry official Mohammad Ali Bak told Iran's IRNA. If the meeting comes to fruition, it would be the first one to convene top diplomats from Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council since the war started on Feb 28.
Previously, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said attendees would be presented with route maps and other details about how ships would enter and depart the strait. Importantly, he emphasized that the proposal was not sufficient to actually reopen the strait.
Closure of Saudi Pipeline Set To Remove 4% of Global SupplyA different lifeline was completely closed over the weekend, with no end in sight: Saudi Arabia's east-west oil pipeline was shut down after a devastating attack on a pumping station that seemingly originated with Shiite militias in Iraq. The pipeline was playing a vital role in offsetting the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, by sending oil to Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port on the Red Sea.
Yemen’s Houthis said they struck King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait with dozens of ballistic missiles and drones, targeting hangars, radars, runways and ammunition depots.
They said the attack was retaliation for more than 300 Saudi airstrikes on Yemen over the past five… pic.twitter.com/zt8y1wli4u
Saudi oil traders told Reuters that, unless the pipeline is opened up within days, the kingdom will run out of export stock, removing as much as 4% of worldwide supply from the market. Even before the pipeline-pumping station attack, Saudi inventory had plummeted to its lowest level in 30 years.
Though Saudi Arabia initially called the closure a mere "precautionary measure," some observers have very little optimism about a quick resumption of pipeline flow. One source told Reuters it could take five to six weeks to repair. If you'd imagined the pumping station some small facility, this image should give you a proper orientation to what must be restored "in a few days" to avert a major disruption of global supply:
Overnight, West Texas Intermediate futures leapt by 2.89% to $102.94 a barrel. Brent was up almost as much, trading at $107.56.
* * *
Tyler Durden Tue, 09/15/2026 - 04:55Europe’s roads reveal a striking divide between countries where drivers regularly replace their vehicles and those where aging, secondhand cars remain the norm, according to a new report from ecarstrade.com.
New research from B2B automotive company eCarsTrade compared vehicle fleets across more than 30 European countries and found Luxembourg sitting comfortably at the top of the rankings for the continent’s newest cars.
Nearly 43% of Luxembourg’s registered vehicles are less than five years old, the highest proportion in the study. At the other end of the age spectrum, only about 6% of its cars have been on the road for 20 years or longer. The country also replaces vehicles unusually quickly, with its annual fleet renewal rate topping 10%. Roughly 7% of Luxembourg’s cars are now fully electric.
Belgium ranked second. More than one-third of its cars are less than five years old, while the country added roughly 456,000 new vehicles in 2024. Its fleet renewal rate is about 7.5%, among the strongest in Europe. Electrification is also becoming more prominent: roughly 5% of Belgium’s total fleet is electric, while EVs account for around 28% of new registrations.
Denmark placed third, with approximately 28% of its cars less than five years old and only around 6% at least 20 years old. But Denmark stands out even more when it comes to the transition toward electric vehicles. More than half of new vehicles sold there are fully electric, and battery-powered cars already account for roughly 12% of the country's entire fleet.
The United Kingdom came in fourth. Britain has an especially small population of very old cars, with fewer than 5% of vehicles aged 20 years or more, the lowest share measured in the study. Nearly 2 million new cars were registered in 2024, helping keep the country's annual fleet renewal rate near 6%. EVs represented about 19% of new registrations, although they still make up a relatively small share of all vehicles currently on British roads.
Norway rounded out the top five and remains Europe's standout when it comes to electrification. More than 27% of all Norwegian cars are fully electric, by far the highest share among the countries examined. Even more striking, roughly 88% of new vehicles purchased in Norway are electric. That means the country's existing fleet is rapidly being transformed as older gasoline and diesel vehicles are gradually replaced.
Behind the top five were Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Germany, for example, has roughly 30% of its fleet under five years old, while Switzerland is closer to 25%. The Netherlands has a somewhat older fleet overall, despite having a relatively healthy market for newer vehicles and EVs.
The report says that the opposite extreme can be found in Albania. According to the research, roughly nine out of every 10 vehicles there are at least a decade old, giving Albania the oldest fleet among the countries examined. The disparity highlights a broader economic divide in European car ownership: wealthier Western and Northern European countries generally replace vehicles more frequently, while parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe rely much more heavily on older vehicles and secondhand imports.
That distinction can also make registration statistics somewhat misleading. A vehicle being registered in a country for the first time does not necessarily mean it is a new car. Used cars exported from countries such as Germany and France frequently enter fleets elsewhere in Europe as newly registered vehicles despite already having years of driving behind them.
“There’s a very clear split across Europe when it comes to car ages,” an eCarsTrade auto industry expert said. “Western countries keep replacing their fleets regularly, partly because incomes are high enough to realistically afford new vehicles.”
The researchers pointed specifically to Romania, Poland and Albania as markets where imported secondhand vehicles play a much larger role. As a result, the underlying age of some national fleets may be even greater than headline registration figures initially suggest.
The study, conducted in August 2026, compared more than 30 European countries using three primary measures: the percentage of cars at least 20 years old, the percentage at least 10 years old, and the percentage less than five years old. Those variables were combined into a Fleet Age Score ranging up to 100, with lower scores indicating newer national fleets.
Luxembourg recorded a score of just 1.6, well ahead of Belgium at 13.1 and Denmark at 17.1. The UK scored 18.8 and Norway 18.9, followed by Liechtenstein at 19.6, Austria at 20.8, Germany at 20.9, Switzerland at 23.7 and the Netherlands at 24.1.
Taken together, the numbers show that Europe is not moving toward a newer or more electric vehicle fleet at anything close to a uniform pace. In Luxembourg, frequent vehicle replacement keeps the average car relatively young. In Norway and Denmark, electrification is rapidly reshaping what people drive. Meanwhile, countries that depend heavily on imported used vehicles continue to operate fleets that can be dramatically older than those found just a few hundred miles away.
Tyler Durden Tue, 09/15/2026 - 04:15Authored by Dave DeCamp via Antiwar.com,
US Africa Command announced on Friday that its forces launched another airstrike in Somalia as the Trump administration continues a record-breaking bombing campaign in the country, which receives virtually no coverage in US media.
AFRICOM said the strike was launched on September 8 and targeted al-Shabaab in the vicinity of Quumbi, a village about 50 miles northeast of the southern port city of Kismayo,
As usual, AFRICOM offered no other details about the strike, and there were no statements from US-backed forces about military operations in the area that day.
"Specific details about units and assets will not be released to ensure continued operations security," AFRICOM said.
According to AFRICOM's numbers, the attack brings the total number of US airstrikes in Somalia this year to 81, higher than any other year prior to 2025, when President Trump oversaw 124 AFRICOM airstrikes, breaking the previous annual record of 63 that he set in 2019.
The US has also been conducting an air war against an ISIS affiliate in Somalia's northeastern Puntland region, and Drop Site News recently reported that a US strike was carried out in the region on September 3, though it has not been claimed by AFRICOM, suggesting that not every US attack is being announced.
According to numbers from New America, an organization that tracks the air war and also counts airstrikes that are reported but not claimed by the US, the September 8 strike would bring the total number of US bombings in Somalia this year to 83.
The US has been involved in Somalia for decades and has been fighting al-Shabaab since the George W. Bush administration backed an Ethiopian invasion in 2006 that ousted the Islamic Courts Union, a Muslim coalition that briefly held power in Mogadishu after taking the city from CIA-backed warlords.
Al-Shabaab was the radical offshoot of the Islamic Courts Union, and its first recorded attack was a suicide bombing in 2007 that targeted Ethiopian troops occupying Mogadishu. It wasn't until 2012 that the group pledged loyalty to al-Qaeda. The ISIS affiliate in Puntland started as an offshoot of al-Shabaab and first emerged in 2015.
Tyler Durden Tue, 09/15/2026 - 03:30Britain has a strange labor problem: the people who have spent decades working increasingly aren’t leaving, while the people trying to begin their careers increasingly can’t get in, according to Bloomberg.
More than 1.7 million people over 65 are now employed in the UK, the highest level on record. Meanwhile, youth unemployment is hovering near a decade-plus high, and nearly one million people between 16 and 24 are neither employed nor in school.
The demographic shift is dramatic. About two decades ago, there were roughly 10 working young people for every employed person over 65. Today there are only about two.
Some of this is simply good news: people are healthier, living longer and have more opportunities to work flexible schedules. But money is clearly part of the equation too. Rising living expenses have pushed some retirees back into the workforce and encouraged others to postpone retirement.
That becomes more consequential when companies aren’t creating many new positions. The Bank of England has described Britain as having a “low hire, low fire” labor market. Companies aren’t necessarily conducting massive layoffs, but they’re also reluctant to expand payrolls. When older employees remain in their jobs longer, fewer vacancies naturally work their way down the ladder.
Bloomberg writes that AI could amplify the problem. Graduate positions as a percentage of available jobs have reportedly been cut in half since 2022. Instead of building large teams of junior employees, companies can increasingly give experienced workers AI tools and ask them to produce more.
As one employment expert put it, some companies are effectively saying, “we just want to get rid of some junior staff and replace them with AIs.”
Working from home could be contributing as well. Junior employees require more training and supervision, something that becomes considerably more difficult when employees and managers aren’t regularly sitting together.
The end result is almost backwards from the traditional labor-market cycle. Britain has record numbers of retirement-age people still collecting paychecks at precisely the same time that an unusually large number of young people can’t find their first one.
Tyler Durden Tue, 09/15/2026 - 02:45