📆 On June 14, 1891, the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway began, which became the longest railway not only in Russia, but throughout the world.
🛤 Its length (from Moscow to Vladivostok) is more than 9 thousand kilometers. After its construction, for the first time in the history of Eurasia, anyone could quickly get from the European part to the Asian part.
🇷🇺 Today, the railway continues to play a key role in the Russian transport system. It is being upgraded and expanded to meet modern requirements.
Trans-Siberian Railway has 20 subjects of Russia and 5 federal districts, and it also crosses 3901 bridges on its way.
An Israeli company BlackCore ran digital interference operations targeting elections in France, the US, Scotland, Angola and Togo, according to Viginum, France's official disinformation watchdog.
🇫🇷 French case
In March 2026, BlackCore targeted 3 mayoral candidates from France's hard-left party, La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), in Marseille, Toulouse and Roubaix.
The smear campaign used fake websites, AI-generated images, and hundreds of inauthentic social media accounts to falsely accuse candidates of criminal allegations, including sexual assault and rape.
French prosecutors have opened an investigation. The charges include espionage, electoral interference, and online terrorism offences.
🌍 Global network
🏴 Viginum identified 256 fake accounts that generated 1,400 coordinated comments attacking Scotland's First Minister John Swinney.
The attacks focused precisely on his pro-Palestinian position. Swinney had described the situation as a "man-made humanitarian catastrophe" and suggested genocide might be unfolding in Gaza.
🇺🇸 In New York, the target was Zohran Mamdani, a self-described socialist and open Palestine supporter who won the 2025 mayoral election. BlackCore interfered using the same "modus operandi" seen in France.
🇦🇴🇹🇬 French officials confirmed BlackCore ran operations in Angola and Togo, though specific targets and methods remain undisclosed.
🔍 Who Is BlackCore?
Before the company wiped its entire online presence following media inquiries, BlackCore described itself as "an elite influence, cyber, and technology company built for the modern era of information warfare".
It claimed to provide governments and political campaigns with "cutting-edge strategies, advanced tools, and robust security to shape narratives".
The company's digital footprint was traced to servers in Britain, Germany, Finland and Lithuania. It presents itself as a private contractor. The question of who paid for these operations remains open. 🤢 Diplomatic fallout
France has formally requested an official explanation from Israel.
"I do not doubt for a single instant that if a French private group, from French soil, had engaged in foreign digital interference in Israel, they would have done the same to its ambassador on site," PM Sebastien Lecornu put it directly.
The Israeli embassy in Paris said it was waiting to receive details from the French probe and denied any intention to interfere in French politics.
The United States created the so-called “rules-based order,” but breaks it with impunity as those norms were always meant for “other people,” popular Indian journalist Palki Sharma has told RT.
Washington
has always taken a capricious attitude towards complying with that
system, Palki Sharma told RT India in the weekly ‘India, Russia and the
world’ podcast.
“The US made the rules, but did the US
follow those rules? I think it’s as mythical as the US Army fighting
aliens in Hollywood films,” she said. “The US has always bent rules to suit itself.”
Sharma
said the US remains the biggest military power in the world and its
largest economy, and it is miles ahead of competitors in technological
advancement.
“What has cracked is this veneer of invincibility. The world has begun to entertain ideas that there could be an alternative,” she said.
“The
dollar will remain the big currency for the foreseeable future. But the
very talk of de-dollarization unsettles Washington,” she noted.
Whether the US acknowledges it or not, the wars it has entered “have shown them the limits of their military power.”
“You can drop bombs left, right, and center and yet not win,” she said, citing the conflict with Iran, which “the US is losing as I see it.”
“The
Americans thought that Iran will be a Venezuela. Iran is not a
Venezuela. You cannot go and abduct their president or kill their
president and then have the rest of the system succumb,” Sharma, whose show ‘Vantage’ is popular in India, said.
Iran
has prepared for this eventuality for more than two decades, she said
of the US-Israeli attacks on the country. Tehran is definitely bruised
and battered, “but in terms of the political outcomes of this war, Iran has emerged stronger.”
She pointed out that India’s ties with Russia have stood the test of time. “The relationship with Russia has endured because there is a [level of] maturity,” she said.
The rise of China as a dominant force can’t be wished away, she said. “There is no other manufacturer like China that can deliver on the scale at which China does,” Sharma said.
1. “Polio” was never a fixed diagnosis — it was a label that changed.
2. Change the definition… and you change the numbers.
3. In the 1950s, the criteria for “polio” became much stricter.
4. That
alone reduced how many cases could be counted. If someone got the polio
shot, they would no longer diagnose “polio” when they became paralyzed.
5. Paralysis didn’t suddenly stop — it got renamed.
In
Wadi Al-Fann, AlUla, stands one of Saudi Arabia’s most striking natural
wonders — the Fish Rock. Nearly 200 meters long, the colossal sandstone
formation resembles a giant sea creature stranded in the desert,
captivating visitors with its surreal silhouette. When images first
surfaced online, many speculated it was a fossilised prehistoric fish,
sparking fascination and myth. Experts, however, point to erosion.
According to the Royal Commission for AlUla, ancient rivers once shaped
the rock as they flowed across Gondwana 500 million years ago. Today,
Fish Rock remains a powerful symbol of AlUla’s timeless landscapes and
geological heritage.SPA
1/8
AlUla,
in northwestern Saudi Arabia, is a land of extraordinary natural beauty
and deep history. For thousands of years, its famed oasis, framed by
dramatic sandstone mountains, has sustained diverse flora, fauna, and
thriving human communities. What makes AlUla truly unique is its
geological legacy, showcasing three distinct eras of Earth’s past. The
oldest formations, the Precambrian Arabian Shield rocks, are layered
with sediments deposited over millions of years. These layers preserve a
permanent record of ancient environments, including fossilised plants
and animals, offering remarkable insights into Earth’s evolution while
shaping AlUla’s breathtaking and timeless desert landscape.
2/8
Elephant
Rock, AlUla’s most iconic natural wonder, rises 52 meters into the
Arabian sky, resembling a giant elephant with its trunk rooted to the
ground. Unlike the nearby Nabataean tombs of Hegra, carved by human
hands, this sandstone colossus was sculpted by wind and water erosion
over millions of years. Surrounded by golden sands and other majestic
formations, Elephant Rock dominates the landscape — a timeless reminder
of nature’s artistry and the enduring power of the desert.
Shutterstock
3/8
In
AlUla’s Sharaan nature reserve, mushroom-shaped rocks stand as striking
natural wonders. The most famous formation, sculpted over millions of
years, owes its shape to erosion, where wind wears away the softer lower
layers of sandstone more quickly. Covering 1,500 square kilometres of
red-rock canyons, desert valleys, and seasonal wildflowers, the reserve
is dedicated to protecting and restoring AlUla’s fragile ecosystem.
Conservation efforts are underway to help native flora and fauna reclaim
their natural habitat.
4/8
Among
the monumental tombs of Hegra, near Jabal Al Ahmar, stands Face Rock — a
sandstone formation resembling a human head gazing across the desert.
Like many of AlUla’s natural wonders, it was shaped by centuries of
erosion. Sunrise and sunset are the best times to visit, when shifting
light enhances the illusion and makes the rock appear to glow from
within. This striking landmark captivates visitors and photographers,
offering a magical glimpse into AlUla’s timeless landscape.
5/8
The
Arch (also known as Rainbow Rock). Its bridge-shaped structure, which
resembles a rainbow flanked by two clouds, is a rare sight. Enthralled
by this sprawling display of sandstone, don’t miss spotting
semi-precious desert diamonds on-site.
6/8
The
Dancing Rocks are so-called because these formations are sculpted by
nature to appear as if they are swaying in unison. Located in the
Raggasat Valley, the rocks dance together, slightly removed from the
surrounding rock formations. This place is famous for hiking activities
and the dune buggy experience.
7/8
In
the remote desert areas of AlUla, find stark, black volcanic rock and
inactive volcanoes which stand atop sandstone and are surrounded by seas
of golden sand to make for truly dramatic, other-worldly sights. Some
of those areas are visitor-friendly, with guides to experience hiking
around the top of a volcano. Khaybar, the neighbouring Oasis in the
south of AlUla, is well known for its two famous sites: The White
Volcano and the Black Volcano.
8/8
Lava
flows- the earliest human activity is evidenced in AlUla in Harrat
Uwayrid and elsewhere in northwestern Saudi Arabia in Harrat Khaybar.
These important volcanic areas comprise two of the largest in Saudi
Arabia. Harrat Khaybar includes a spectacular 100-kilometre-long vent
system containing lava domes, tuff rings, basaltic cones and the Jabal
Qidr stratovolcano. The dramatic lava flows of volcanic events can be
seen across the region.
Anglo-Saxon offshore machine: How US & UK built the world's biggest tax havens
At least $26 trillion — roughly one-third of global GDP — is stashed in offshore accounts worldwide.
While, governments lose an estimated $480 billion in tax revenue every year, the money, which belong to billionaires, multinationals, and oligarchs, sits untaxed.
Here's how the two Anglo-Saxon powers deliberately built and expanded the system: 👇
▪️The first offshore drilling began in 1896 off Summerland, California, built by early oil operators using wooden piers.
▪️The modern offshore era started in 1947 in the Gulf of Mexico, when Kerr-McGee together with Phillips Petroleum and Stanolind Oil & Gas drilled the first platform in open water.
🤔 How it works
▪️A shell company has no real operations, but exists only on paper. Wealthy individuals set them up in jurisdictions with low taxes and strict secrecy.
▪️Money moves through layers of entities across multiple countries. Eventually tax authorities cannot trace the true owner.
💸 Who benefits
▪️The richest 0.1% of the global population hold 80% of all untaxed offshore assets. That is roughly $2.84 trillion.
▪️Western elites are deeply embedded: US political figures and major corporations appear prominently in the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers — two massive data leaks that exposed how the wealthy hide money offshore.
♟ The architects: London and Washington
▪️The City of London sits at the centre of a global spiderweb of offshore jurisdictions. British Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man) and Overseas Territories (Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Bermuda) funnel trillions back to London.
▪️ Combined, these British-linked havens manage over $11 trillion in assets.
▪️The United States — now the world's largest provider of financial secrecy — has since overtaken Britain, according to the Tax Justice Network.
▪️Washington demands foreign banks report on American account holders (FATCA). But it refuses to share similar information about foreign accounts held in the US.
🔒The main havens
📍British Overseas Territories: Cayman Islands (70% of the world's hedge funds), British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Gibraltar.
📍British Crown Dependencies: Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man.
📍US domestic havens: Delaware, Wyoming, Nevada
😱 Until the US and the UK close their own loopholes, the world's wealth will keep disappearing into the same Anglo-Saxon vaults.
🇸🇾 Syrian dirty war was always about energy pipelines: Hormuz crisis just proved it
👉 Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa (aka Nusra Front leader Abu al-Julani) just said the quiet part out loud, declaring that the Iran war revealed Syria’s “strategic location” as “a safe corridor and alternative route” for energy exports from the Gulf to Turkey and the Mediterranean.
🔴 Iraqi oil is already flowing west via Syrian ports (3-month, 650k tons per month contract agreed in late March), per Sharaa. Damascus’s “Four Seas” project will transform Syria into a regional energy hub linked to the Gulf, Med, Black and Caspian seas, he says.
🔴 The timing of the comments is telling: The US announced this week that it’s completed the withdrawal of American troops from Syria, selling out the Kurds after spending a decade working with them to rob Assad of control over Syria’s vital oil, gas and food-producing regions and prevent rebuilding.
Pipeline plans come full circle
♦️ The US, Mossad, Turkish and Gulf monarchies-sponsored dirty war against Assad that began in 2011 was sparked in part to overthrow a government that rejected plans to become a regional energy transit state.
♦️ In 2009, Assad vetoed a $10B, 30-40 bcm Qatari pipeline to pump natural gas from the Gulf to Europe. The CIA ramped up support for the Syrian opposition immediately.
♦️ In 2016, RFK Jr. revealed a direct link between the dirty war and the vetoed pipeline.
💬 “If completed, the project would have had major geopolitical implications. Ankara would have profited from rich transit fees. The project would have also given the Sunni kingdoms of the Persian Gulf decisive domination of world natural gas markets and strengthen Qatar, America’s closest ally in the Arab world.”
📌 In 2012, a DIA report declared that the establishment of a “Salafist principality” in Syria was “exactly” what the US, Gulf states and Turkey wanted “to isolate the Syrian regime” from Iran. Pundits assumed at the time the agency was talking about ISIS. Strategically, the term applies to Sharaa just as well.
