Russian Troops Liberate Progress, Yevgenovka in Donetsk People’s Republic - MoD

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Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr liberated Progress and Yevgenovka villages in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said on Sunday.

"Units of Battlegroup Tsentr have liberated the settlements of Progress and Yevgenovka in the Donetsk People's Republic through active combat operations," the ministry said.

Battlegroup Zapad defeated formations of three Ukrainian brigades and repelled a counterattack, resulting in losses of up to 540 Ukrainian soldiers, the MoD stated.

"The Ukrainian armed forces lost up to 560 servicemen, a tank, a US-made M113 armored personnel carrier and two vehicles [in battles with Russia's Battlegroup Yug]," the ministry also said in a statement.

As a result of operations by Russia's Battlegroup Vostok, Kiev lost up to 140 soldiers in the past 24 hours, along with a US-made M113 armored personnel carrier, five vehicles, a UK-made 155mm FH-70 howitzer and a 152mm D-20 gun-howitzer, the statement read.

Russia's Battlegroup Sever repelled two counterattacks in the area of ​​the settlements of Volchansk and Glubokoye in the Kharkov region in the past 24 hours, with Kiev losing up to 205 soldiers and an ammunition depot, the MoD concluded.

Russia’s Battlegroup Center liberates two communities in DPR over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup North inflicts 205 casualties on Ukrainian army over past day

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Russia’s Battlegroup Center liberated the communities of Progress and Yevgenovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Sunday.

"Battlegroup Center units liberated the settlements of Progress and Yevgenovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic in active operations," the ministry said in a statement.

Russia’s Battlegroup North inflicts 205 casualties on Ukrainian army over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup North struck three Ukrainian army brigades and inflicted roughly 205 casualties on enemy troops in its area of responsibility over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Sunday.

"Battlegroup North units inflicted damage on manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 115th mechanized, 92nd assault and 71st infantry brigades in areas near the settlements of Volchansk, Tikhoye and Velikiye Prokhody in the Kharkov Region. During the last 24-hour period, they repelled two counterattacks near the settlements of Volchansk and Glubokoye in the Kharkov Region. The enemy lost as many as 205 personnel. An ammunition depot was destroyed," the ministry said in a statement.

Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicts 540 casualties on Ukrainian army over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicted roughly 540 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed a US-made armored vehicle in its area of responsibility over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Sunday.

"Battlegroup West units improved their forward edge positions and inflicted casualties on formations of the Ukrainian army’s 116th mechanized, 117th territorial defense and 1st National Guard brigades in areas near the settlements of Tabayevka and Kupyansk-Uzlovoi in the Kharkov Region and Krasny Liman in the Donetsk People’s Republic. They repelled a counterattack by an enemy assault group near the settlement of Torskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said in a statement.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to 540 personnel, a US-made Stryker armored personnel carrier and 16 motor vehicles, the ministry specified.

In counterbattery fire, Russian troops destroyed two US-made 155mm M777 howitzers, a Polish-made 155mm Krab self-propelled artillery system, a 155mm Bogdana self-propelled artillery gun and two Anklav-N electronic warfare stations, it said.

In addition, Russian forces destroyed eight ammunition depots of the Ukrainian army, the ministry said.

Russia’s Battlegroup South strikes five Ukrainian brigades over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup South struck five Ukrainian army brigades and inflicted roughly 560 casualties on enemy troops in its area of responsibility over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Sunday.

"Battlegroup South units gained more advantageous positions and inflicted damage on manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 24th and 54th mechanized, 79th air assault and 46th airmobile brigades and 12th Azov special operations brigade [outlawed in Russia as a terrorist organization] near the settlements of Kurakhovo, Katerinovka, Konstantinovka, Serebryanka and Verkhnekamenskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic. The Ukrainian army’s losses amounted to 560 personnel, a tank, a US-made M113 armored personnel carrier and two motor vehicles," the ministry said in a statement.

In counterbattery fire, Russian troops destroyed a US-made 155mm M109 Paladin self-propelled artillery system, a US-manufactured 155mm M777 howitzer, a US-made 155mm M198 howitzer, a British-made 155mm FH70 howitzer, two 152mm D-20 howitzers, a 152mm Msta-B howitzer, a US-made 105mm M119 artillery gun and an Anklav-N electronic warfare station, it specified.

During the last 24-hour period, Russian troops destroyed two ammunition depots of the Ukrainian army, it said.

Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicts 385 casualties on Ukrainian army over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup Center repelled three Ukrainian army counterattacks and inflicted roughly 385 casualties on enemy troops in its area of responsibility over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Sunday.

Battlegroup Center units "inflicted casualties on formations of the Ukrainian army’s 28th, 31st and 32nd mechanized and 142nd infantry brigades in areas near the settlements of Dimitrov, Novogrodovka, Dzerzhinsk, Belaya Gora and Zhelannoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic. They repelled three counterattacks by enemy assault groups. The Ukrainian army lost as many as 385 personnel and five motor vehicles," the ministry said in a statement.

In counterbattery fire, Russian troops destroyed two US-made 227mm M270 MLRS rocket launchers, two 122mm D-30 howitzers, two 100mm Rapira anti-tank guns and a US-manufactured AN/TPQ-50 counterbattery radar station, it specified.

Russia’s Battlegroup East inflicts 140 casualties on Ukrainian army over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup East struck three Ukrainian army brigades and inflicted roughly 140 casualties on enemy troops in its area of responsibility over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Sunday.

"Battlegroup East units improved their frontline positions and inflicted damage on manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 72nd mechanized, 102nd and 104th territorial defense brigades in areas near the settlements of Ugledar in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Gulyaipole and Novodarovka in the Zaporozhye Region," the ministry said in a statement.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to 140 personnel, a US-made M113 armored personnel carrier, five motor vehicles, a British-made 155mm FH70 howitzer and a 152mm D-20 howitzer, it specified.

Russian troops also destroyed three ammunition depots of the Ukrainian army, it said.

Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr strikes three Ukrainian army brigades over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr struck three Ukrainian army brigades and inflicted roughly 100 casualties on enemy troops in its area of responsibility over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Sunday.

"Battlegroup Dnepr units inflicted casualties on formations of the Ukrainian army’s 128th mountain assault, 141st infantry and 35th marine infantry brigades in areas near the settlements of Rabotino in the Zaporozhye Region, Tyaginka and Ponyatovka in the Kherson Region," the ministry said in a statement.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to 100 personnel, two US-made 155mm M777 howitzers, two 152mm D-20 howitzers and a 122mm D-30 howitzer, it specified.

In addition, Russian troops destroyed an ammunition depot of the Ukrainian army, it said.

‘My baby girl was born on the street’: A traumatic birth in Gaza

Alaa with Nimah less than 24 hours after she was born [Courtesy of Alaa al-Nimer]

By Maram Humaid

Every morning, Alaa al-Nimer wakes up to bathe her six-month-old daughter, Nimah. There is no running water – there hasn’t been for many months – and the water she uses sparingly is collected from distribution points close to a relative’s house in Gaza City’s northern Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood. Despite the hardships Alaa and her family now endure, she is determined to treat her green-eyed daughter to a daily bath.

The 34-year-old mother of three says her daughter’s smile is a “balm for her soul” during a time of “darkness”.

Every morning, Alaa al-Nimer wakes up to bathe her six-month-old daughter, Nimah. There is no running water – there hasn’t been for many months – and the water she uses sparingly is collected from distribution points close to a relative’s house in Gaza City’s northern Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood. Despite the hardships Alaa and her family now endure, she is determined to treat her green-eyed daughter to a daily bath.

The 34-year-old mother of three says her daughter’s smile is a “balm for her soul” during a time of “darkness”.

But her birth was more traumatic than Alaa could ever have anticipated.

“My baby girl was born on the street,” she explains shyly.

She describes it as the most difficult day of her life.

Displaced more than 11 times Alaa and her family – her husband, Abdullah, 36, and their sons, Mohanned, seven, and Yamen, five – have been on the move almost since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October.

After Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on October 7, in which 1,139 people were killed, Israel has launched a war on Gaza that has killed more than 39,000 people.

When their home in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood was targeted in October, the family first moved to a relative’s home and then to neighbours’ homes.

“[We were] displaced more than 11 times,” Alaa says with a tired voice.

Her family had decided to remain in northern Gaza despite Israeli forces instructing people to move south.

“It was a matter of principle,” Alaa says. “We realised that no place was safe.”

On one occasion, Israeli tanks surrounded the building they were staying in and opened fire. Alaa, her sons and about 25 other people who were inside escaped through an opening created when a shell struck the building earlier in the war. She describes their escape as “miraculous”.

But it was the middle of winter and Alaa was eight months pregnant. She walked eastward for four hours in the cold with her children to escape the tanks. At the time, her husband was elsewhere with his elderly mother, who has difficulty walking. Alaa, her sons and the people from the building took detours to reach the Old City, where they sheltered in a shop near a mosque until it was safe to return.

Nimah at two months of age with her brothers, Yamen, far left, and Mohanned [Courtesy of Alaa al-Nimer]

‘Please, is there anyone?’

Alaa desperately hoped the war would end before she was due to give birth. “I never imagined going into labour during the war,” she says.

She was at her sister-in-law’s house when she first started to feel labour pains. “I tried to lie to myself,” she says, by insisting she wasn’t about to give birth. But the pain grew worse.

It was after 10pm on a wet, cold January night, and Alaa could hear the sounds of Israeli bombs landing nearby.

She called her mother and sister who were staying nearby while her husband went to look for a car to take her to the hospital. Alaa waited on the street. Her labour progressed quickly, but due to the lack of fuel and the late hour, Abdullah couldn’t find a car, and the communication networks were too weak to call for an ambulance.

Alaa stood on the side of the street, screaming for help. She remembers praying and thinking: “Please, God, not now. I want to be in the hospital.” She was terrified for her baby’s life.

But by the time her husband returned, she was already giving birth. Her mother and sister also arrived, running to her in shock. Abdullah caught his daughter’s head in his hands and shouted out for scissors to cut the umbilical cord, which her cousin who arrived with Alaa’s brother brought out from a medical kit.

Desperate to find medical care for his wife and newborn daughter, Abdullah eventually managed to find a car to take them to a maternity hospital 5.5km (3.4 miles) away. Alaa climbed in with her baby and her mother while her husband and brother ran ahead of them.

But the car stopped after just a few metres. It had run out of fuel.

“The street around me was completely dark. There was no one in sight,” Alaa recalls.

“My cousin carried the baby girl, wrapping her in his coat against the cold, and walked quickly in front of us, fearing for her life. He guided us with the flashlight on his mobile phone, saying, ‘Turn right, then left’ to guide us.”

Alaa was bleeding. Her mother and sister walked alongside her, crying.

“My mother walked in the middle of the street, screaming, ‘Please, is there anyone? Is there any car to take us? Please, we have a newborn baby girl and her mother just gave birth.’

“But there was no answer.”

They walked for about an hour before they found a minibus to take them the short remaining distance to the hospital.

“We got into the car, crying with both joy and fear,” Alaa says.

At the door to the hospital, a doctor was waiting, informed by Alaa’s husband and his brother who had arrived before them.

“The doctor took me in her arms and immediately took me to the maternity ward,” Alaa recalls.

Nimah, now six months old [Courtesy of Alaa al-Nimer]

A healthy baby and a spoon of halwa

When she woke the next morning and the doctors told her her daughter was doing well, Alaa says her “happiness was indescribable”.

“I believe God was with me,” Alaa reflects.

Amid the joy of learning that her daughter had survived the harrowing birth, Alaa recalls a small moment when a cousin offered her a cup of fresh orange juice squeezed from an orange she had picked from some nearby land and kept hidden.

“It was the first and last time I had fresh juice during the war,” she says.

Then there was the small box of halwa her husband had put in her birth bag.

“Every day before I gave birth, I checked the bag to make sure it was still there,” she recalls.

That day she took a deep breath before savouring the first spoonful. “I had forgotten what it tasted like during the war,” she says.

Six months have passed since then, and Nimah is healthy. Alaa continues to breastfeed due to the lack of baby formula and food, even as she herself is unable to eat properly, given the food shortages.

Nimah has begun to laugh and coo, and everyone in the house in Sheikh Radwan adores her. But her mother is sad that she was born and is growing up in such difficult circumstances.

Alaa’s family has felt the full force of this war. Her children must survive on a quarter of a loaf of bread each day, and the family mourns Alaa’s 26-year-old brother, also named Alaa, whose body was found near their bombed-out house at the end of December.

“My child was born from the heart of death,” Alaa says. “But since that day, hope has not left my heart.”

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Trump tells Christians they won't have to vote after this election

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told Christians on Friday that if they vote for him this November, "in four years, you don't have to vote again. We'll have it fixed so good, you're not gonna have to vote."

It was not clear what the former president meant by his remarks, in an election campaign where his Democratic opponents accuse him of being a threat to democracy, and after his attempt to overturn his 2020 defeat to President Joe Biden, an effort that led to the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump was speaking at an event organized by the conservative group Turning Point Action in West Palm Beach, Florida. Trump said: "Christians, get out and vote, just this time. "You won't have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine, you won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians."

He added: "I love you Christians. I'm a Christian. I love you, get out, you gotta get out and vote. In four years, you don't have to vote again, we'll have it fixed so good you're not going to have to vote," Trump said.

Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung did not directly address Trump's remarks when asked to clarify them.

Cheung said Trump "was talking about uniting this country," and blamed "the divisive political environment" on the attempted assassination of Trump two weeks ago. Investigators have yet to give a motive for why the 20-year-old gunman opened fire on Trump.

In an interview with Fox News in December, Trump said that if he won the Nov. 5 election he would be a dictator, but only on "day one", to close the southern border with Mexico and expand oil drilling. Democrats have seized on that comment. Trump has since said the remarks were a joke.

If Trump wins a second term in the White House, he can serve only four more years as president. U.S. presidents are limited to two terms, consecutive or not, under the U.S. Constitution.

In May, speaking at a National Rifle Association gathering, Trump quipped about serving more than two terms as president.

He referred to the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, the only president to serve more than two terms. The two-term limit was added after Roosevelt's presidency.

"You know, FDR, 16 years - almost 16 years - he was four terms. I don't know, are we going to be considered three-term? Or two-term?" Trump asked the NRA crowd.

Trump's remarks on Friday pointed to the need for both parties to energize their base voters ahead of what will likely be a closely fought election. Trump has enjoyed loyal support from evangelicals in the past two elections.

The race has abruptly tightened after the decision by Biden to end his reelection bid and with his vice president, Kamala Harris, becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Recent opinion polls show Trump's significant lead over Biden has been largely erased since the torch was passed to Harris.

Jason Singer, a Harris campaign spokesperson, in a statement did not directly address Trump's remarks about Christians not having to vote again. Singer described Trump's overall speech as "bizarre" and "backward looking".

Israel Terrorists bombs targets in Lebanon – media

Emergency personnel inspect an area in Majdal Shams after a rocket attack on the area on July 27, 2024 [Ammar Awad/Reuters]

Israel Terrorists carried out airstrikes against multiple targets in southern Lebanon, multiple news outlets reported in the early hours of Sunday.

The reported that Israel Terrorists airstrikes came after Israel accused Hezbollah killing 12 civilians in the Golan Heights.

Hezbollah chief spokesman Mohammed Afif told The Associated Press that the group “categorically denies carrying out an attack on Majdal Shams.” It is unusual for Hezbollah to deny an attack.

The strike at the soccer field, just before sunset, followed earlier cross-border violence on Saturday, when Hezbollah said three of its fighters were killed, without specifying where. Israel’s military said its air force targeted a Hezbollah arms depot in the border village of Kfar Kila, adding that militants were inside at the time.

Hezbollah said its fighters carried out 10 different attacks using rockets and explosive drones against Israeli military posts, the last of which targeted the army command of the Haramoun Brigade in Maaleh Golani with Katyusha rockets. In a separate statement, Hezbollah said it hit the same army post with a short-range Falaq rocket. It said the attacks were in response to Israeli airstrikes on villages in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon's government, in a statement that didn't mention Majdal Sham, urged an “immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts” and condemned all attacks on civilians.

A Palestinian boy walks past the rubble of a school destroyed in an Israeli airstrike on Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip on Saturday [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo]

We have just received reports of Israeli air attacks on several locations across southern Lebanon.

Explosions have been heard in the southern city of Tyre and surrounding areas.

Three villages close to the border have also been hit. These “frontline villages” have been repeatedly hit during the course of the ongoing confrontations between the Israeli military and Hezbollah.

What we have at the moment is that there have been a series of air attacks in a number of locations in southern Lebanon. We still do not know how significant the target was at this point.

What is not clear is if this is the promised response by the Israeli terrorists military following that rocket attack in the town of Majdal Shams, in the occupied Golan Heights.

Israel Terrorists and Hezbollah have been trading fire since Oct. 8, a day after Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel. In recent weeks, the exchange of fire along the Lebanon-Israel border has intensified, with Israeli airstrikes and rocket and drone attacks by Hezbollah striking deeper and farther away from the border.

Majdal Shams had not been among border communities ordered to evacuate as tensions rose, Israel’s military said, without saying why. The town doesn’t sit directly on the border with Lebanon.

Israel is heavily striking Lebanon right now!! pic.twitter.com/p8kP7kMJxw

— ari 𓂆 (@falastinerkive) July 27, 2024

The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and the commander of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, Aroldo Lazaro, released a joint statement on Sunday, calling “the parties to exercise maximum restraint and to put a stop to the ongoing intensified exchanges of fire.”

The escalation “could ignite a wider conflagration that would engulf the entire region in a catastrophe beyond belief,” they said.

Deadly attacks on Deir el-Balah, Golan Heights

Israeli Terrorists forces attacked a school that was being used as a field hospital and a shelter in central Deir el-Balah, killing at least 30 people, including 15 children. The attack overwhelmed Al Aqsa hospital, with a doctor describing “catastrophic” scenes there.

A rocket attack on young people playing football in the occupied Golan Heights killed at least 12 people from the Druze community. Israel blamed Hezbollah, but the Lebanese group denied all responsibility.

Physician says Gaza schools attacked ‘over and over again’

Tanya Haj-Hassan, a paediatric intensive care physician, says Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital has again been overwhelmed by the number of people wounded in Israeli attacks, this time after a school was hit in Deir el-Balah.

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French bishops condemn Olympic ‘mockery of Christianity’

A scene from the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 26, 2024 © X / @OlympicsParis

The Bishops’ Conference of France has denounced the organizers of the Olympic Games over an LGBTQ-themed parody of the Last Supper during the event's opening ceremony. The organizers have claimed that the performance reflected their “values and principles.”

The ceremony, which took place in central Paris on Friday night, concluded with a troupe of drag queens, homosexuals, and transsexuals posing at a table, as Jesus Christ and his apostles appeared in Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’.

A giant serving dish was then wheeled out in front of the table, from which emerged a mostly naked man made up to resemble Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and festivity.

Throughout the performance, a male dancer’s exposed testicles could be seen behind the table.

“This ceremony unfortunately included scenes in which Christianity was mocked and ridiculed, which we deeply regret,” the Bishops’ Conference said in a statement on Saturday.

“We thank the members of other religious denominations who have expressed their solidarity with us,” the statement continued. “This morning we think of all Christians on all continents who have been hurt by the exaggeration and provocation of some scenes.”

“wonderful moments of beauty, joy, rich emotions, and was universally praised,” a statement from the French Bishops’ Conference said.

“However, this ceremony unfortunately included scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity, which we deeply regret,” the bishops said.

The ceremony was condemned by Christians and conservatives around the world. Bishop Robert Barron of Minnesota called the performance a “gross mockery of the Last Supper,” while Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini declared that “opening the Olympics by insulting billions of Christians across the world was a really bad start” for France.

While they did not refer to specific scenes, the ceremony featured a segment entitled “Festivity” which began with a group sat at a table, including several drag queens, which was reminiscent of the Last Supper, the final meal Jesus is said to have taken with his apostles. It was set to music by lesbian activist DJ Barbara Butch

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk described the spectacle as “extremely disrespectful to Christians,” while tech entrepreneur Dr. Eli David wrote that “even as a Jew,” he was “infuriated by this outrageous insult to Jesus and Christianity.”

Olympic organizers have defended the opening show. “We imagined a ceremony to show our values and our principles so we gave a very committed message,” Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet told reporters on Saturday. “The idea was to really trigger a reflection. We wanted to have a message as strong as possible.”

“Our idea was inclusion,” added Thomas Jolly, the ceremony’s artistic director. “We wanted to talk about diversity. Diversity means being together. We wanted to include everybody.”