Feather Star from Jurassic Period Named after President Zelensky

"Ausichicrinites zelenskyyi, the first Jurassic comatulid (feather star) from the African continent, has been named in honor of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the sixth and current president of Ukraine.

Feather stars are members of the order Comatulida, the most diversified lineage of crinoids.

Also known as comatulids, they are also the only living crinoid group that is globally distributed in both shallow- and deep-water settings." SciNews

Russia closing in on power plant

"Russian forces appear to be closing in on Ukraine’s second-biggest power plant northeast of Donetsk, British intelligence has said." AlJazeera

Russia warns it could stop oil exports

"Russia will stop global oil exports if the West’s proposed price cap makes it unprofitable to continue production, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told Russia’s Channel One on Thursday.

“If these prices which they are talking about are lower than the costs for oil production… naturally, Russia will not ensure the supply of this oil to the world markets, which means that we simply will not work at a negative profit,” he explained, as cited by TASS." RT

 

UK to sanction Russian oil and coal

"London has added oil and coal to its list of banned Russian imports, according to a notice to exporters published by the UK’s Foreign Trade Ministry on Thursday." RT

Hungary foreign minister in Moscow for gas supply talks

"Hungary’s foreign minister has arrived in Moscow where he wants to talk about ensuring gas supplies for his country and finding a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine." AlJazeera

Gas price in Europe drops as Russian pipeline resumes deliveries

"European natural gas prices fell by 6.5% in early trading on Thursday following the restart of gas deliveries via Russia’s Nord Stream 1 pipeline, after scheduled maintenance." RT

South American trade bloc snubs Zelensky

"South America’s Mercosur trade bloc has declined a request by Ukrainian President Vladimir
Zelensky to speak at its summit, host nation Paraguay said on Wednesday, according to the AFP news agency.

Mercosur members Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay failed to reach an agreement on whether to invite the Ukrainian leader, Deputy Foreign Minister, Raul Cano said, albeit refusing to name the countries that opposed the move." RT

Cuba blackouts bring misery amid sweltering heat

"Long and frequent blackouts coupled with sweltering summer heat are bringing misery to
many in Cuba, which has been suffering power outages for months amid rising oil prices and a deepening economic crisis. And things are unlikely to get better any time soon, with the government warning there is no short-term solution to the problem." France24

Ukrainian refugees sent to Russia

"Nearly 2 million Ukrainians refugees have been sent to Russia, according to both Ukrainian
and Russian officials. Ukraine portrays these journeys as forced transfers to enemy soil, which is considered a war crime. Russia calls them humanitarian evacuations of war victims who already speak Russian and are grateful for a new home.

An Associated Press investigation based on dozens of interviews has found that while the picture is more nuanced than the Ukrainian government suggests, many refugees are indeed forced to embark on a surreal trip into Russia, subjected along the way to human rights abuses, stripped of documents and left confused and lost about where they are." AP

Biden Tests Positive for Coronavirus - quadruple-vaxxed

"President Joe Biden tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday morning, the White House revealed, just hours after returning from a trip to Massachusetts.

The White House said Biden, age 79, is only experiencing “very mild symptoms” and is fully vaccinated and boosted with four shots of the coronavirus vaccine." Breitbart

 

Russia Plans 'Annexation Votes' For Captured Ukraine Territories By Mid-September

"President Vladimir Putin's plan for captured territories in Ukraine is to absorb them into the
Russian federation by staging referendums as early as September.

"Officials are preparing to organize votes in areas currently controlled by the Russian military and any others its troops are able to seize in coming weeks, three people said," the report indicates. The goal is to conduct referendums on joining Russia by Sept. 15, two of the people said, asking not to be identified because the issue is sensitive." ZeroHedge

Record heatwave threatens EU food security

"A record heatwave in some of Europe’s key farming regions has put this year’s corn harvest at risk, Bloomberg reported.

Corn crops are in the midst of flowering and adverse weather can lower the number of kernels that ultimately fill with grain. Temperatures in some areas of Europe have reached as high as 47 degrees Celsius, with Spain, France, Greece and Portugal particularly affected.

The EU normally imports large volumes of corn, which is mainly used as animal feed, from Ukraine, but this year the shipments have been constrained by the conflict. According to Bloomberg, this has driven up prices, with Paris corn futures up 11% in July and trading at a record for the time of year. Sunflower and soybean fields are also at risk from the hot, dry conditions, the publication adds.

Europe’s wheat harvest has also been affected by the unusually hot weather. Last week France, the EU’s top wheat exporter, said its soft-wheat output will drop by about 7% this year, to below the five-year average.

This comes amid reduced supplies of wheat and other grains from major producers Russia and Ukraine, amid the ongoing conflict between the countries. Other leading exporters, such as India and Kazakhstan, have restricted or banned their grain exports, citing domestic food security. The developments have triggered warnings of a possible global food crisis." RT

Russia starts building Egypt’s first nuclear power plant

"Russian state-owned Rosatom has begun construction on the El Dabaa nuclear power plant. 
The construction is financed jointly by Moscow and Cairo, with the Russian government providing 85% of the $30 billion cost in the form of a state loan. The rest will be funded by Egypt with financial backing from private investors." RT

Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska pleads for more US aid in Congress address

"Ukraine’s first lady beseeched lawmakers Wednesday to ramp up US support for
Ukraine, displaying images of civilian victims of Russian airstrikes and warning that Moscow’s invading forces are “destroying our people.” 

“This is Lisa. I met this girl before Christmas,” Olena Zelenska told members of Congress, remembering the youngster as a “cheerful, playful little rascal.”

“Lisa was only four years old, she’s no longer with us,” the first lady went on, as brutal pictures of the child after she was killed earlier this month by Russian missile were shown on a screen." NYP

Ukraine Dumping Its Gold Again?

"A mysterious operation that took place under the cover of night that sources claimed at the
time saw Ukraine's gold reserves loaded on an unmarked plane, which reportedly took the gold to the US (for safekeeping?).

In the following few months - after we reported this outbound flow - Ukraine's official (IMF-sourced) holdings of gold collapsed..." ZH