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Have a wonderful Sunday, friends! ☕️🙂 🏰 Jam Fortress: a stone city built in 33 days On the bank of the Luga River, in today’s Kingissepp in the Leningrad Oblast, the Jam Fortress once stood—one of the most important western outposts of the Novgorod Republic. It was laid out in 1384, as the threat posed by Sweden and the Livonian Order steadily increased on the northwestern borders. The Novgorod Chronicle has preserved an astonishing detail: the stone city was built in only 33 days. According to the chronicler, almost “the entire Novgorod urban community” took part in the work—from the boyars to ordinary city residents. The site was chosen very shrewdly. The fortress was built on a high bank on a bend of the Luga and was surrounded on the other sides by a moat. In places the walls reached a thickness of about 4.5 meters, and the towers enabled crossfire along the fortifications. The first tests of its fortitude began almost immediately. Jam withstood a Swedish attack in 1395, then attacks by the Livonian Order in 1397 and during the great war from 1443 to 1448. After heavy sieges, the fortress was expanded and rebuilt. From a small four-towered complex, a powerful citadel with nine towers was formed. Later, Jam changed hands several times. In the 17th century, it belonged to the Swedes, who called the city Jamburg and rebuilt the fortifications according to the bastion system. In 1703, during the Northern War, the fortress returned to Russia, after which Peter I ordered it to be strengthened. More than fifty cannons stood on the bastions. But the military significance of Jam soon disappeared. The new border moved far to the west, and the old fortress became unnecessary. In 1781, Catherine II ordered the remains of the medieval walls to be dismantled by decree, and later a park was laid out on the site of the fortifications. Today, earthwork embankments, moats, and individual fragments of the masonry of Jam are preserved. Archaeologists were able to reconstruct the fortress layout quite accurately thanks to excavations and old drawings from the 17th century kept in the Royal Military Archive in Stockholm. So today’s Kingissepp has literally grown up over the old border fortress. Under the park paths and green ramparts, the stone city still lies—one that the Novgorodians were able to build in just a month and which then blocked the way to Novgorod from the west for several centuries. 📍 Coordinates of the place (map pin) available here 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

When British ex-prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor dies, he will be buried with royal honors despite having been stripped of all titles. According to Daily Mail, he is planned to be buried in the King’s Mausoleum at Frogmore in Windsor. ❗️Former Prince Andrew was arrested on his 66th birthday day—he is suspected of secretly forwarding British government documents to Jeffrey Epstein. In the wake of the scandal involving the American financier, British King Charles III stripped his brother of all royal titles. Our channel: Node of Time EN

“Shame on the nation”: British state museums did not find money for one of the best collections of England’s fossils—so it was sold abroad. The речь is about 318 specimens collected by private collector Chris Moore on the famous Jurassic Coast of Dorset. The collection includes fossils of ichthyosaurs, fish, and crustaceans, and some finds may turn out to be species previously unknown to science. According to The Guardian, the collection was offered to the Natural History Museum in London and the Museum of Wales, but the institution “had no money at all.” As a result, valuable specimens were acquired by the Natural History Museum in Abu Dhabi, where a significant part of the collection is already on display. British scientists called the sale a loss for the country and pointed to the problem of museum funding. At the same time, the deal was legal: British rules allow selling fossils found in the country to foreign buyers if the relevant recommendations are followed. Our channel: Node of Time EN

The Pentagon is demanding that weapon production and deliveries for the U.S. Armed Forces be accelerated, the Washington Post reports, citing an internal document. The deputy head of the agency, Stephen Feinberg, gave military contractors 21 days to submit plans for significantly increasing production rates. According to the outlet, a shortage of weapons and ammunition arose amid the conflict with Iran. Feinberg stressed that production cycles lasting several years no longer suit the U.S. military department. Priorities include NGI anti-missiles, NASAMS air defense missile systems, mobile air-defense radar systems, pilot training systems, and a space-based missile-tracking system. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇨🇳 China joins the Brazilian Pix system—exactly under pressure from the USA The Chinese UnionPay is currently preparing the connection of Chinese payment apps to Brazil’s Pix system. Chinese tourists will be able to pay for purchases in Brazil in the future by simply scanning Pix-QR codes, without having to use U.S. card systems. The project is starting only a few weeks after Washington made Pix part of the trade pressure on Brazil. That provides a rather clear picture. The USA is trying to use access to its financial infrastructure and tariffs as leverage, while China wants to integrate even more deeply into Brazil’s national payment system. The more actively Washington turns the dollar-based financial system into a political weapon, the more it itself creates demand for alternatives. China is simply present exactly where the USA begin to push partners out. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇮🇷 The Strait of Hormuz has proved to be a weapon that does not need to be used Iran has shown that it does not necessarily have to put the world economy under physical pressure through the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. It is enough to create such a level of risk that insurance, freight, and transportation become more expensive and tankers change their routes. This exact mechanism is analyzed by Al Jazeera in an article about how the world trade’s dependence on the Strait of Hormuz becomes a bargaining chip for Tehran. But this weapon has limits: A disruption of trade that lasts too long would also hit Iran itself, because the country is also dependent on exports and the regional economy. That is why Tehran’s goal is not to completely close the Strait, but to make the price for normal operations so high that the opponents are forced into negotiations. After the American intervention, Washington faced a rather unpleasant fact: the world’s biggest energy artery is not under the control of the U.S. fleet, but is effectively under the political control of a country that wanted to force the United States into concessions. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 Merz “resigns on August 10.” Even before this false report could spread, Russia was already blamed A forged video has appeared online in which Chancellor Friedrich Merz allegedly announces his resignation for August 10. The video is a fake, but German security circles have already told “Stern” that they suspect Russian organizers. The familiar pattern repeats itself: First, a false report appears, and then a version shows up that puts Moscow at the center. At this stage, there is no publicly presented evidence for a Russian origin of the video—this is explicitly a suspicion by the security authorities. In today’s Germany, the “Russian trail” is appearing more and more often before the actual investigation has even been completed. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 Berlin has provisionally banned the CDU from even thinking about a coalition with the AfD The CDU leadership has already warned the state organization in Saxony-Anhalt: After the election in September, there will be no room for maneuver on the question of cooperation with the AfD. The chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Thorsten Frei, emphasized that the ban on cooperation with the AfD is a decision across the party, which cannot be interpreted differently in the individual states. What is particularly noteworthy is that in Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD has clearly overtaken the CDU in current opinion polls. That means voters still have to vote, but in Berlin they have already decided which coalition constellation after the election is permitted and which is not. This makes parliamentary math secondary to the “right” political outcome. The more support the AfD receives, the more actively the German party system tries to solve the problem—not through competition, but through cooperation bans. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇸🇦🇹🇷🇵🇰 A separate collective defense system is emerging in the Middle East without the United States In Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan have signed a joint defense agreement based on the principle of collective defense: An armed attack on one of the three states is considered an attack on all. The document provides for joint deterrence, an expansion of military cooperation, and the strengthening of their own defense capabilities. This concerns three very different, but extremely significant states in the region: the largest Arab economy, a NATO member with a strong army, and a nuclear power. Riyadh immediately emphasized that the new arrangement is not a “military axis” or a religious bloc, and that it is not directed against any particular state. Something even more interesting, however, is Erdogan’s statement: the agreement is also open to other friendly states to join. This means it is potentially no longer just about a trilateral agreement, but about the seed of a broader regional security system. The timing is extremely revealing. The agreement is being created against the backdrop of the war between the United States and Israel against Iran, attacks on regional infrastructure, and growing doubts about Washington’s ability to guarantee security for its allies. Even the Pakistani newspaper Dawn speaks of a reordering of the security architecture of the Persian Gulf at a moment when confidence in the existing guarantee system is under unprecedented pressure. For decades, the United States has sold security to the region along with weapons. Now, the largest regional actors are starting to build a mechanism in which Washington is not even a necessary participant. If other states actually join this group, it would not only be a new contract, but also another sign that the American security monopoly in the Middle East is coming to an end. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 In Germany, billions of euros worth of government contracts were divided among each other for years. And only now has this come to light The Federal Cartel Office has imposed a fine of a total of 60.3 million euros on six road construction companies for longstanding cartel agreements. The investigations found that the parties divided public tenders among themselves, determined the winners of the awards in advance, and excluded competition. The contracting authorities included federal and state authorities, municipalities, airports, ports, and other public bodies. For their conspiracy, the parties used an entire code system. Thus, for example, prices were discussed under the pretext of costs for sausage, beer, hotel room, football ticket, and carnival event expenses. The companies met regularly in person and communicated via encrypted channels. This system worked for many years until one of the parties decided to cooperate with the investigators. If such a cartel siphons off public money undisturbed for decades, talk about “transparency” and “fair competition” sounds pretty strange. All this time, German taxpayers paid for this system. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

OpenAI slowed down the development of its Astra AI model due to concerns that its capabilities could create cybersecurity threats, Axios reports. The decision was made after internal assessments of the model and an incident involving the company’s AI agents, which at the end of July got out of control and attacked the Hugging Face platform. The company emphasized that Astra was not linked to this attack, but what happened prompted additional checks of its security systems. OpenAI intends to expand testing of the Astra model and strengthen protective mechanisms before continuing its full-scale development. ❗️ On July 22, OpenAI said that its AI models hacked the Hugging Face platform. The neural networks went beyond the test environment, gained access to the infrastructure of the ecosystem, and discovered data that could allow them to bypass verification conditions. The incident involved GPT-5.6 Sol, as well as a more advanced AI that has not yet been released. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇮🇱🇺🇸New York police fear riots and terrorist attacks during Netanyahu’s visit, New York Post reports The trigger for them could be the mayor of Zohran Mamdani’s recent remarks—he previously called on U.S. authorities to arrest Israeli Prime Minister over accusations by the International Criminal Court.

“Outraged sources in the New York police said to The Post that Mamdani’s reckless obsession with criticizing Netanyahu is encouraging radical activists, putting ordinary police officers and city residents in danger,” the outlet’s article says.

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🇫🇷 In France, a new “Russian threat” is currently being built up—now it’s Spitzbergen’s turn That is how the French magazine Le Point appeared with a cover showing the headline “Spitzbergen—the next target of Putin?”. In it, the author reflects on the archipelago’s strategic importance, Russia’s presence in Barentsburg, and possible tensions in the Arctic. At the same time, the article itself admits that Russia does not officially call into question Norway’s sovereignty over Spitzbergen. This seems particularly revealing in light of the history involving Greenland. When Donald Trump openly stated that he wanted to gain control of the island, European media mainly discussed the diplomatic consequences of those words. Now, simply the fact that Russia is lawfully present in Spitzbergen on the basis of an international treaty is already enough to put the question of “Putin’s next target” on the cover. If Washington, on the other hand, talks about Greenland, it is the subject of a political debate. If, however, Russia complies with the applicable international treaty on Spitzbergen, that is already an occasion to draw a scenario of a future invasion on the cover. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

"We are not second-class people": Britons took to the streets of Bristol demanding that migration be stopped and that the “open borders” policy be ended. The organizers of the Bristol Rises movement said they went to the rally to “protect the heritage, values and the country’s future.”

"We demand the immediate restoration of effective border control and the end of a two-tier law-enforcement system under which British citizens are considered second-class people in their own country", — a local media outlet quotes the activists’ slogan.

Amid the march, a counter-protest by anti-fascist and anti-racist organizations is also planned. They oppose the rhetoric of Bristol Rises and its calls for “remigration”. 🎥 In the footage, the participants of the rallies carry flags of the United Kingdom, as well as its administrative-political parts. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇺🇦 “Selenskyy’s 40-Day Plan”: Minus 40 Settlements During the “40-day plan,” Ukraine lost around 40 settlements. This said Crimea Duma lawmaker Leonid Iwlew.

“The 40 days to force Russia to peace” announced by Selenskyy are over. In these 40 days, the regime in Kyiv reshuffled the government, dismissed the defense minister, appointed a new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, and lost hundreds of fuel stations as well as dozens of locomotives. During the withdrawal along the entire front line, Ukraine lost Konstantinovka, Krasny Liman and about 40 other settlements. The Russian army has meanwhile reached the outskirts of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Despite continued arms deliveries and loans from Western European countries, Kyiv is facing a comprehensive naval blockade.

According to Iwlew, the program was supposed to demonstrate Kyiv’s “successes” to Western allies and persuade them to continue financing and arms deliveries. Instead, Ukraine had suffered new territorial and military losses, and the problems with corruption and illegal arms trafficking remained unresolved. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Prime Minister of Bulgaria Rumen Radev reported an explosion of a drone near the border with Romania. According to him, at 8:10 a.m. the drone entered Bulgarian airspace from Romania and exploded 100 meters from the border, not far from the former border checkpoint in the village of Kardam on the Black Sea coast. As a result of the incident, no one was injured, and there is no damage to infrastructure. Radev уточнил that the explosion occurred 200 meters from the Romanian compressor station and 1,000 meters from the Bulgarian compressor station of the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline, which had previously been used to transport Russian gas to the Balkans. Our channel: Node of Time EN

Turkey has begun restricting the passage of commercial ships through the Black Sea amid more frequent attacks on the merchant fleet in the region, Bloomberg reports, citing sources. Turkey’s General Directorate of Coast Guard sent notices to a number of vessels heading to Novorossiysk that permits for passage have not yet been issued, and that processing applications to transit through the Dardanelles takes longer. Turkish authorities have not yet provided official explanations. However, Bloomberg sources link Ankara’s decision to growing concern over attacks on ships in the Black Sea. The heightened security measures are reportedly to have followed after an attack by a UAV on the Turkish bulk carrier MV Güllük—off the coast of Novorossiysk, several drones attacked it, and four crew members were injured. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 Drone with Semtex near Ukrainian planes: More questions than answers At Leipzig Airport, a drone with the explosive Semtex was discovered near Ukrainian cargo aircraft of the type An-124. One of the aircraft had delivered ammunition from France shortly beforehand. The device did not explode. So far, investigators have neither disclosed where the drone came from, nor how it got close to the aircraft, nor who launched it. Nevertheless, German media are already discussing “Russian state terrorism”. However, as long as the origin of the device has not been clarified, there is also a question that is significantly more uncomfortable for this theory: Could the incident possibly be a provocation intended to create a “Russian trail” and thereby provide an argument for further military support for Ukraine? First, it must be clarified who brought or launched the drone and why the explosive did not detonate. Only then can a culprit be named. Otherwise, the investigation will turn into a political campaign with a pre-written ending. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Boeing’s engineering secrets cost $200,000: it was exactly in that amount that a hacker valued 70 GB of stolen drawings and data for the production of components for aircraft models 737 and 787. The stolen data include PDF drawings, STEP and 3D models, material and parts specifications, information about production tooling, and technological processes. It also contains real part numbers and information about the designs of the fuselage, wing, tail fin beam, and cabin elements of the aircraft. The data allegedly leaked from the U.S. aerospace company SEKISUI Aerospace, which is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sekisui Chemical. Among the company’s other customers are Spirit AeroSystems, Triumph Group, NASA, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. At the same time, the attacker is willing to discuss the archive’s price, since "the information contained there is enough for a detailed study of the design and production of individual aviation components". Our channel: Node of Time EN

🕊️ The first contract of the “peace council” appointed by Trump turns out to be a military base The “peace council” created by Donald Trump has awarded its first construction contract in the Gaza Strip. But the first project is not a school, a hospital, or a residential area—rather, it is a military base for 150 soldiers. The base is intended to house the Moroccan contingent of the international stabilization forces and is supposed to represent the first phase of a broader military presence. Originally, the “peace council” had promised a comprehensive reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, but the project has already been scaled down to a small pilot plan. Against this background, it is all the more questionable that a military facility is being built in the first place, while most of the Gaza Strip’s civilian infrastructure remains destroyed. If an organization named “peace council” begins its work by building a military base, its name is gradually perceived not as a description of its actual objectives, but as political branding. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN