From Italy and the World

China is providing technology and equipment to Russia that is increasingly important to Moscow’s war in Ukraine, according to a newly released report compiled by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.  The report is unclassified and largely cites open-source data and western press reporting to support its claims. But it…

CNN  —  Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private military company, was spotted inside Russia on Thursday for the first time since he led an armed rebellion against the Russian military last month. Prigozhin was seen in St. Petersburg, meeting with an African dignitary on the sidelines of the Russia…

Jerusalem CNN  —  Israel’s minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, on Thursday joined a group of Jewish Israelis in visiting what is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary, drawing condemnation from Palestinian authorities and Israel’s neighbors. “This morning I…

CNN  —  After two months of painstakingly slow progress on the battlefield, Ukraine appears to be ramping up its counteroffensive, deploying thousands of extra troops to the southern front and signaling a new phase of the operation, US and Russian officials said. Ukraine has committed more forces to the southeast…

CNN  —  A summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and African leaders began in St. Petersburg on Thursday, with a far lower turnout than previous years. Just 17 heads of African states are attending this year, the Kremlin has confirmed, less than half of the 43 heads of state that…

Heavy fighting continues in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, especially around the village of Robotyne, where Ukrainian forces have been trying to break through heavily mined Russian defensive lines, according to Ukrainian and Russian accounts. “We came close to Robotyne. Have not yet entered the settlement itself. Fighting continues in trench…

CNN  —  Here’s some background information about the Berlin Wall, which enclosed West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, in an attempt to prevent East Germans from fleeing to the West. It became a symbol of East/West relations during the Cold War. The Berlin Wall began as a border of barbed…

CNN  —  One person died and several others were wounded after a large fire broke out on a cargo ship in the North Sea off the Netherlands, the Dutch coast guard said. Rescue boats and helicopters were used to get the 23 crew members off the ship after some had…

London CNN  —  The United Kingdom’s government has been heavily criticized for underestimating Russia’s Wagner private military company (PMC) for nearly a decade, despite it posing a major threat to the country’s interests, in a report by the UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee published Wednesday. “For nearly 10 years, the…

US intelligence officials have warned that Russia is building a drone-manufacturing facility in country with Iran’s help that could have a significant impact on the war in Ukraine once it is completed. Analysts from the Defense Intelligence Agency told a small group of reporters during a briefing on Friday that the drone-manufacturing facility…

CNN  —  The United Nations has said that Russian accounts of a rocket attack on a camp holding Ukrainian prisoners of war in July 2022 are not supported by the evidence. More than 50 Ukrainian prisoners were killed in the strike that year on a detention center in the town…

CNN  —  Moldova has summoned the Russian ambassador in Chisinau after a media report surfaced alleging the embassy installed spying devices on its rooftop, according to the Moldovan foreign ministry. It comes after the Insider media outlet and Moldova’s Jurnal TV reported this week after a joint investigation that 28…

CNN  —  Here is a look at the life of J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series. Birth date: July 31, 1965 Birth place: Gloucestershire, England Birth name: Joanne Rowling Father: Peter Rowling, aircraft factory manager Mother: Anne (Volant) Rowling, lab technician Marriages: Neil Murray (December 26, 2001-present);…