China Summons US Ambassador Overnight, Says Washington "Must Pay The Price"

"China has announced the foreign ministry has summoned US Ambassador to China Nicholas
Burns in order to "protest" Pelosi's landing in Taiwan, where she's due to meet with Tsai Ing-wen in the morning." ZH

6 Ukrainian HIMARS systems destroyed

"Russia had destroyed six U.S.-made HIMARS missile systems since the beginning of the
conflict in Ukraine, Interfax reported." Interfax

China Blasts 'Severe Violation' Of Sovereignty As Pelosi Becomes Highest US Official To Visit Taiwan In 25 Years

"A WSJ correspondent notes "Taiwan's Foreign Ministry is hosting a live stream of a
welcoming ceremony for a very special, albeit unnamed, guest at Taipei Songshan Airport." Meanwhile, regional reporting says a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force Su-35 fighter jet(s) is crossing the Taiwan Straight." ZH

Germany Vows "Will Help Taiwan" If China Attacks, While Russia Blasts "Purely Provocative" Pelosi Visit

"German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Tuesday at a moment all eyes are on US
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Air Force plane reportedly en route to Taiwan, "We do not agree with a situation where a big neighbor attacks a small one, while violating international law. And this also applies to China."

She pledged that "in case of aggression from China, Germany will help Taiwan" in the statement. Like in Ukraine over the past months, once 'neutral' Germany has grown much more active on the foreign policy front in following Washington and the UK's more bellicose and interventionist stances of late." ZH

Minibus carrying evacuees bombed

"A Russian anti-tank missile launched on a minibus carrying evacuees from Russian-occupied Kherson region in southern Ukraine to central Ukraine's Kryvyi Rih region has killed two people " MT

U.S. kills al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri in drone strike

"The United States killed al Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahri in a drone strike over the
weekend, an operation that included tracking him down through his family, a senior administration official confirmed to reporters.

The strike, carried out by a CIA-operated Air Force drone, occurred at 6:18 a.m. Sunday local time in Kabul as the al Qaeda leader stood on the balcony of his house, the official said." MS

U.S. fears Russia is using a ‘nuclear shield’ in Ukraine

"U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke of fears over a nuclear accident in Ukraine. He
told reporters late Monday that there are “credible reports” that Russia “is using this plant as the equivalent of a human shield, but a nuclear shield in the sense that it’s firing on Ukrainians from around the plant.” CNBC

French Volunteer: I Witnessed Bucha Frame-Up

"French writer Adrien Bocquet traveled to Ukraine twice in April on missions to deliver
humanitarian aid, medical equipment, and medicines. He visited both the Polish-Ukrainian border and the Kiev suburb of Bucha, observing Russian prisoners being tortured and killed and Ukrainian fighters setting the stage for a false flag frame-up of civilian massacres.

The writer alleges to have witnessed the torture and murder of Russian POWs in a hangar in the northern part of Bucha in early April when the Ukrainian military had regained control of the city.

 “When I talk about murder and torture, I am talking about the murder and torture of the Russian military. Officers were the first to be executed. I heard shouts when the ‘Azov men’ asked who the officer was. As soon as they got the answer, they immediately shot that person in the head....When we entered Bucha by car, I was in the passenger seat. And as we drove through the city, I saw bodies of people on the sides of the streets, and at the same time I saw people's bodies being taken out of trucks and laid out next to the bodies lying on the ground to give the effect of mass killings,”” Bocquet said." Sputnik

Ukraine targets supply routes to weaken Russian troops in Kherson

"Ukrainian forces shelled the Antonovsky bridge overnight with US-supplied rockets,
targeting a main crossing linking Kherson to the Dnipro River’s southern bank and the rest of the region, which is now almost entirely controlled by Russia." France24

First ship carrying Ukrainian grain leaves port under July deal

"The first cargo ship carrying Ukrainian grain left a Black Sea port in southern Ukraine on
Monday under a deal enabling the safe passage of food-carrying vessels." MSC

Zelensky Thanks Biden For Fresh $550M In Military Aid

"Another Monday, and another massive military aid package for Ukraine approved by the Biden administration - this time with a price tag just over half-a-billion dollars.

"The United States is greenlighting another military assistance package to Ukraine, sending $550 million in ammunition for advanced rocket systems and other equipment to the country to fight the Russian invasion," The Hill reports of the approved transfer. Ukraine's President Zelensky was quick to thank the White House, curiously adding this brings the Ukrainian forces "closer to victory". " ZeroHedge

Iran vows to build nukes if provoked, turn NY into ‘hellish ruins’

"Iran has reportedly threatened to build nuclear warheads and warned that it has the capability
to turn New York into “hellish ruins” — amid stalled efforts to reinstate a nuclear deal between the county and world powers.

Two Telegram channels with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps posted a 2-minute video that vowed to quickly start building nuclear bombs if the “US or Zionist regime make any stupid mistakes,” according to Iran International.

The video claims secret underground facilities in Fordow, near Qom, are close to working to turn the Islamic Republic into a nuclear power — and warned that its “peaceful nuclear program” could morph into a weaponized one with ease." NYP

Ukrainian grain tycoon killed in Mykolaiv shelling

"Grain tycoon Oleksiy Vadaturskyy and his wife, Raisa, died in the attack, according to a
statement from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Vadaturskyy was the founder of Mykolaiv-based Nibulon, one of Ukraine's largest grain producing and export companies.

Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said cluster munitions blew out windows and destroyed balconies. "Mykolaiv was under mass shelling today. Probably the strongest one of all time," he said in a statement." CNN

Greece Calls on EU ‘Ally’ Germany to Halt Attack Submarine Sale to Hostile Turkey

"The Greek government has called on Germany to halt the sale of attack submarines to
Turkey, arguing that the sale could upset the naval balance of power in the region as tensions with the Islamist-led country remain high." Breitbart

Zelensky orders civilians to evacuate Donetsk region

"Zelensky said fighting in the region was intense. "The more people leave Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill," he said." BBC