International Glance
The presence of two secret Israeli bases in Iraq may have led to the death of a shepherd who discovered them, according to an investigation by The New York Times (NYT).
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Israel set up a covert outpost in Iraq’s western desert during the conflict with Iran. The site was reportedly used to support air operations and housed special forces units.
According to the report, installations were built shortly before the war began in February and were later used during an attack in March on Iraqi troops who had nearly uncovered the site.
Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that the Israeli military deployed rescue teams and commando units to the forward position, tasked with extracting downed air crews from inside Iran if necessary.
Iraqi farmer killed to hide evidence of two Israeli bases in country: Report
SBU Hits Moscow Defense Plants and Crimea Airbase in Joint Drone Raid
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), in tandem with the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), has claimed operational responsibility for a highly destructive weekend air campaign that bypassed the Russian capital’s elite air defenses and heavily degraded occupied infrastructure in Crimea.
In a statement published to the intelligence agency’s official Telegram channel on Sunday, May 17, SBU Head Major General Yevhenii Khmara confirmed that specialized drone operators from the Center for Special Operations “Alpha” managed to simultaneously hit heavily fortified domestic manufacturing assets and frontline military airfields.
While the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have neutralized over 550 Ukrainian drones across 14 separate regions overnight, SBU flight logs and corresponding ground telemetry confirmed that precision munitions cleanly hit several highly sensitive targets inside the Moscow region.
Violence, trauma and rising crime rates: How Israel's wars of aggression are hitting home
Something dangerous is happening within Israeli society, and it could have consequences for the entire region.
Since the beginning of the genocidal war in Gaza, Israeli society has consciously created a broad consensus around a violent discourse centred on revenge - one that encourages war not only against Palestinians, but across the region as a whole.
Almost every public opinion poll finds overwhelming support for the war, and very little criticism of the continuous chain of crimes committed over the past two-and-a-half years. But this culture of revenge and violence has also turned inwards, affecting Israeli society itself.
Research increasingly reveals the psychological and social costs of the war, amid the spread of violence into every sphere of Israeli society.
As early as 1968, a year after the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, Jewish philosopher Yeshayahu Leibowitz published a foundational essay in which he coined the notion that “occupation corrupts”.
France Ready to Partner With Ukraine on Anti-Ballistic Missile Defense
France has pledged to broaden its defense commitment to Ukraine by offering specialized technical and operational cooperation to counter Russia’s intensifying use of ballistic weaponry.
The announcement followed a high-level telephone consultation between President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday, May 16.
Writing on his official Facebook page, President Zelensky explicitly framed the development as a major milestone for Ukraine’s heavily strained air defense architecture.
“I thanked Emmanuel for his principled condemnation of Russian strikes on our cities and communities. These attacks make very clear what Russia is and why we all need to strengthen our collective defense against all threats. France is ready to work on anti-ballistic capabilities. This is a strong decision and an important step. We also discussed boosting our ability to repel Russian attacks right now,” Zelensky noted.
Maldives Suspends Search For 4 Italians In Underwater Cave After Military Diver Dies
Maldivian authorities on Saturday suspended the search for the bodies of four Italian divers believed to be deep inside an underwater cave, after a military diver died during a perilous mission to try to reach them.
The group of five Italian divers is believed to have died while exploring a cave at a depth of about 50 meters (160 feet) in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday, according to Italy’s Foreign Ministry. The recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 30 meters (98 feet).
Maldives presidential spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef said the search was suspended after Mohamed Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian National Defense Force, died of underwater decompression sickness after being transferred to a hospital in the capital.
Mahudhee will be buried with military honors in a funeral attended by President Mohamed Muzzu on Saturday night. The diver was part of the group that had briefed Muizzu on the rescue plan when he visited the search site on Friday.
Putin to visit Chinese leader Xi Jinping days after Trump’s trip to Beijing
Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on a two-day trip to Beijing next week, the Kremlin said Saturday.
The announcement comes less than 24 hours after U.S. President Donald Trump finished his own state visit to China, where he also met Xi to discuss trade and the U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran.
In a statement, the Kremlin said that Putin’s trip, planned for May 19-20, had been scheduled to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Sino-Russian Treathttps://thehill.com/homenews/ap/ap-international/ap-putin-to-visit-chinese-leader-xi-jinping-days-after-trumps-trip-to-beijing/?tbref=hpy of Friendship.
It said that the two leaders would discuss bilateral relations as well as “key international and regional issues” and economic cooperation.
Relations between China and Russia have deepened in recent years, particularly since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 left Moscow shunned on the global stage and heavily reliant on Beijing for trade due to Western sanctions.
Leaked Documents Show Cisco Systems’ Deep Relationship with Israeli Security State
Cisco Systems is one of the most consequential—yet least visible—corporations in Silicon Valley. The San Jose-based networking giant, with a market capitalization in excess of $270 billion and annual revenue of $56.7 billion in 2025, manufactures the routers, switches, firewalls, and communications platforms that run the internet’s infrastructure, as well as many of its worldwide corporate, government, and military networks.
Cisco makes a point of publicly highlighting its commitment to corporate social responsibility, and building “an inclusive future for all” in the dozens of countries around the world in which it operates. Yet the company’s aggressive pursuit of contracts with the Israeli government and military—a small yet growing part of its global business—has led to accusations that behind this sunny facade the networking giant is profiting from genocide.
A new set of leaked documents—provided to Drop Site by whistleblowers disturbed by the company’s operations in Israel—shows Cisco’s deep and growing collaboration with the Israeli military and intelligence establishment in its regional wars and the genocide in Gaza.
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