fredag 7 augusti 2026
Trump's USA Iran War
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey in New Defense Pact
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey have signed a NATO-style defense pact, CNN reports.
The agreement, which was signed in Mecca on Friday, states that an attack on one of the countries will be considered an attack on all.
This means that Saudi Arabia has two of the heaviest Muslim military powers in its corner. Turkey has NATO's second-largest military and Pakistan is the only Muslim nuclear-armed country.
The defense pact risks drawing Pakistan and Turkey into the Iran war, which they have so far kept at arm's length, CNN reports.
As the war progresses, the oil-rich Gulf states have increasingly begun to doubt Washington's ability to protect them.
Expert: Shows a completely new geopolitical reality
The new security pact between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey is remarkable, not least because Saudi Arabia and Turkey have previously been on different sides in several important regional conflicts. This is what Middle East expert Alexander Atarodi tells SVT Nyheter.
– It shows that the security policy landscape in the Middle East has now changed to such an extent that the countries are ready to reevaluate their view of each other, and actually their entire foreign policy doctrine.
For Turkey, it may be that they are unsure about the future role of the United States in NATO, Atarodi continues.
With his “anarchist foreign policy”, Donald Trump has managed to reshape the entire global security order in just 1.5 years, he notes.
Trump defends Hegseth: "He's one of my best"
After the summer's media reporting that Donald Trump is starting to lose patience with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the president has come out to Hegseth's defense.
In a phone interview with NBC News, Trump says that the Defense Secretary is a "smart guy" and "one of my best". In a post on Truth Social last night, he adds that everything Hegseth has done as Secretary has been "extraordinary".
The president accuses the Washington Post of being behind unfounded rumors. Yesterday, the newspaper reported, citing sources, that Trump berated Hegseth at the Camp David retreat because of the US's weapons shortage.
"Their false 'reporting' is treasonous", Trump writes.
NBC notes that several Republicans have been critical of Hegseth and that the Iran war is unpopular among voters.
EU sanctions against Russian business leaders
The EU is putting five Russian business leaders in the defense and arms industry on its sanctions list, announced EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
The five head companies that, among other things, manufacture equipment for the military and components used in ballistic missiles, according to the European Council.
Kaja Kallas writes on X that "every new attack on Ukraine is another reason for Europe to tighten its thumbscrews on Russia" and states that the EU must continue to increase pressure on Moscow until the war ends.
In the US, the Senate voted through a new sanctions package against Russia and Iran, which, according to NBC News, will punish those who buy Russian oil and gas and also means new sanctions against Russian leaders and oligarchs.
According to the news channel, however, it is uncertain whether the package will be voted through in the House of Representatives.
Russia's response to the drone: Elaborate provocation
The information about the armed drone found at Leipzig-Halle airport is "an elaborate provocation" with the aim of blaming Moscow. This is the opinion of Russia, whose embassy in Berlin denies any involvement.
The drone was found on Tuesday evening, near four Ukrainian transport planes, at least one of which was loaded with military equipment.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Wednesday that "we are dealing with a hybrid attack scenario" and both Ukraine's ambassador to Germany and several experts pointed to Russia as responsible.
Russia has been silent on the issue, but on Friday the Russian embassy in Germany wrote that the incident "clearly" serves Ukraine's purposes. The embassy instead expresses concern about "a new wave of anti-Russian hysteria" while claiming that "hybrid attacks from Moscow do not exist."
Ebola Outbreak
The Most Dangerous Thing About Ebola: It's Not as Dangerous Anymore
Paradoxically, the scariest thing about the ongoing Ebola outbreak in East Africa is that the new strain of the virus is not quite as deadly, writes the Wall Street Journal.
Earlier variants of Ebola were at first glance more dangerous: those who got sick often died quickly. The new variant survives longer in those affected before they get sick and thus has time to spread to many more.
– Viruses that are extremely deadly often tend to limit their own spread because they quickly kill or make their hosts unable to pass on the infection, says medical doctor Peter Bai James.
No Ebola outbreak in history has spread as quickly and widely. On Friday, the death toll from the current outbreak in Congo-Kinshasa rose to over 4,000.
Health workers strike amid deadly outbreak
Several health workers in the hardest-hit area of Congo-Kinshasa have launched a strike amid the deadly Ebola outbreak, Al Jazeera reports.
Government salary payments have been delayed, while staff are putting themselves at risk every day. Mother-of-four Kayimpa told CNN that she has not received a single salary payment, despite working at the hospital for months.
“We are risking our lives for the people,” she says.
The country’s communications minister, Patrick Muyaya, admits that administrative difficulties have led to delayed salaries, but promises that everyone will get their money.
More than 4,000 people have died in the country during the ongoing Ebola outbreak.