First German-UK defense pact since WWII followed by Moscow warning
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STARCOM moving from Colorado to Central Florida
STARCOM, or Space Training and Readiness Command, is being relocated from Colorado to Brevard County. The move will bring hundreds of members to the area.
STARCOM, or Space Training and Readiness Command, is being relocated from Colorado to Brevard County.
This trains the new recruits for the United States Space Force.
Officials spoke today about what this means for Florida, saying Brevard County and the Space Coast have a long and historic partnership with Patrick Space Force Base, and the move will bring hundreds of members to the area.
STARCOM prepares the service members known as guardians to develop superior space capabilities.
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Hamas says Israel rejected ceasefire deal releasing all captives in Gaza
Abu Obeida, the longtime spokesperson of the Qassam Brigades, said in a nearly 20-minute prerecorded video released on Friday that the group had in recent months offered a “comprehensive deal” that would release all captives at once. He said it was rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right ministers. Hamas favours a deal that guarantees an end to the war, a withdrawal of Israeli forces, and entry of humanitarian aid for besieged Palestinians. At least 41 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces on Friday, medical sources confirmed to Al Jazeera. More than 58,667 Palestinians have been killed and 139,974 others wounded since the start of the war in October 2023, including at least 7,843 killed and 27,993 injured since Israel broke the last ceasefire in March.
Abu Obeida, the longtime spokesperson of the Qassam Brigades, said in a nearly 20-minute prerecorded video released on Friday that the group had in recent months offered a “comprehensive deal” that would release all captives at once – but it was rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right ministers.
“It has become clear to us that the government of the criminal Netanyahu has no real interest in the captives because they are soldiers,” he said, adding that Hamas favours a deal that guarantees an end to the war, a withdrawal of Israeli forces, and entry of humanitarian aid for besieged Palestinians.
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If Israel withdraws from this round of indirect talks held in Qatar, Abu Obeida said, then Hamas does not guarantee a return to any partial deals, including a 60-day deal currently under discussion that would see 10 captives released.
Hamas is still holding 50 people in Gaza, about 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Mourners pray near to the bodies of Palestinians who were killed in Israeli strikes, during their funeral at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, July 18, 2025 [Hussam Al-Masri/Reuters]
In his first video message since early March, Abu Obeida also said Hamas fighters are “ready to continue a long battle of attrition” and will keep up ambushes across Gaza with the aim of killing or capturing invading Israeli soldiers.
He slammed the leaders of Arab and Islamic nations, as well, for their inaction in face of the “genocide” being committed by Israel, saying, “Your necks are burdened with the blood of tens of thousands of innocents who were betrayed by your silence.”
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The comments come as the talks in Doha have not led to any results as Israel insists on maintaining and expanding military control over Gaza, including the Morag Corridor and the new Magen Oz Corridor that respectively separate Rafah and Khan Younis in the south from the rest of the enclave.
As soldiers continue to block humanitarian aid to the besieged population and kill starving Palestinians at sites run by the controversial GHF, Israel is also advancing with plans to build a concentration camp on the ruins of Rafah despite international criticism.
At least 41 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces on Friday, medical sources confirmed to Al Jazeera.
Latest figures by Gaza’s Ministry of Health show that more than 58,667 Palestinians have been killed and 139,974 others wounded since the start of the war in October 2023, including at least 7,843 killed and 27,993 injured since Israel broke the last ceasefire in March.
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The ministry added that an “unprecedented” number of starved people of all ages, including children, are arriving at emergency departments of the few hospitals left partially standing in Gaza in a state of extreme exhaustion and fatigue.
‘Welcome home’: Soldier laid to rest in Georgia 75 years after going missing in action in Korea
Army Cpl. Anthony Konze went missing during the Korean War in 1950. His remains were turned over to American authorities in 1954. Konze was buried in a military cemetery in Hawaii among the Unknowns. Last year, his remains were identified and he was laid to rest at Georgia National Cemetery in Canton. Most of the mourners present at the burial were born after Konze died. The service was held at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
Channel 2’s Berndt Petersen was there for the solemn occasion.
Born in Brooklyn in 1930, Konze went missing during the Korean War in 1950. His remains were turned over to American authorities in 1954, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
Since identification wasn’t possible, he was buried in a military cemetery in Hawaii among the Unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. But last year, his remains were identified.
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“We thank you for being here today, as we gather with a deep reverence to welcome home one of our own,” U.S. Army Battalion Chaplain Jeffrey Herron said at the service for Konze.
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“It was the greatest Christmas present we could have gotten, to know he had been identified,” said Konze’s sister, Dominica Jones.
The remains of Army Cpl. Anthony Konze were carried in for his burial service at Georgia National Cemetery in Canton.
“It’s my privilege. I’ve served — since I’ve been doing this — in over 800 services,” said Patriot Guard Riders member Olga Noel. This nonprofit group provides escorts for services of military members and first responders.
Most of the mourners present at the burial were born after Konze died. They say anyone who gives their life in the cause of freedom deserves this honor.
“This hero — long unknown — now rests once more on American soil. We pause to say with solemn gratitude, welcome home Corporal Konze. Welcome home,” Herron said.
Konze’s name is etched on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.
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Russia says NATO threatens WWIII in latest deterrence plan that could take down Kaliningrad ‘faster than ever’
Russian officials on Friday clapped back at a recently announced Nato deterrence plan that to looks to unite the alliance’s ground response capabilities. Moscow particularly worried about the vulnerabilities posed by its highly militarized exclave – Kaliningrad. One official warned that a deterrence strategy announced this week amounted to “a plan to unleash World War III with a subsequent global standoff [and] no winners” The strategy, dubbed the “Eastern Flank Deterrence Line” and announced by the U.S. general on Wednesday, illustrates how NATO is rethinking its defensive strategy against the region’s chief threat – Russia. The plan looks to enhance ground-based capabilities and utilize military-industrial interoperability, specifically in the Baltic region, to effectively counter and eliminate the threat posed by Russia based on lessons learned from the war in Ukraine. Russia expert and adjunct senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Peter Doran, told Fox News Digital, “Putin wants to close it. We must keep it open. It’s Putin’s gap”
Warnings rang out from the halls of the Kremlin as one official warned that a deterrence strategy announced this week by U.S. Army Europe and Africa commander Gen. Christopher Donahue amounted to “a plan to unleash World War III with a subsequent global standoff [and] no winners.”
“An attack on the Kaliningrad region will mean an attack on Russia, with all due retaliatory measures stipulated, among other things, by its nuclear doctrine,” chairman of the Russian Parliamentary Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky told the East 2 West media outlet.
Commanding General, U.S. Army Europe and Africa General Christopher Donahue delivers a speech to the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) conference, at Church House, Westminster on Wednesday, June 18, 2025.
Russia Threatens West With ‘Preemptive Strikes’ As Nato Looks To Deliver Patriots ‘As Quickly As Possible’
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Slutsky further claimed that NATO poses a “threat to global security and stability” after Donahue, in explaining the new capabilities being rolled out by the U.S. and NATO militaries, said the alliance has the ability to “take down” Kaliningrad using ground-based operations “in a timeframe that is unheard of and faster than we’ve ever been able to do.”
The strategy, dubbed the “Eastern Flank Deterrence Line” and announced by the U.S. general on Wednesday at the Association of the U.S. Army’s inaugural LandEuro conference in Wiesbaden, Germany, illustrates how NATO is rethinking its defensive strategy against the region’s chief threat – Russia.
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The plan looks to enhance ground-based capabilities and utilize military-industrial interoperability, specifically in the Baltic region, to effectively counter and eliminate the threat posed by Russia based on lessons learned from the war in Ukraine.
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While Donahue was not directly threatening Kaliningrad, his comments highlight the vulnerability that the territory – which is situated between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea and completely cut off from mainland Russia – poses to Moscow.
Participants in a high-intensity training session, seen at the end of the exercise at the Nowa Deba training ground on May 6, 2023, in Nowa Deba, Poland.
Putin Mum On Trump’s 50-Day Ultimatum, Kremlin Officials Claim Russia ‘Didn’t Care’
Renewed focus has been brought to a sparsely populated strip of land known as the Suwalki Corridor, also known as the Suwalki Gap, which runs less than 60 miles in length and marks the Lithuanian-Polish border.
But the strip of land is also the only possible direct route between the Russian territory of Kaliningrad and that of ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarus.
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“It’s Putin’s gap. It’s our corridor,” Russia expert and adjunct senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Peter Doran, told Fox News Digital. “Putin wants to close it. We must keep it open.
“All eyes in the Baltic States are focused on a potential military threat in the next few years, whereby Russia would reconnect the land corridor to Kaliningrad,” Doran highlighted. “That’s what has got a lot of people paying attention to Russia’s military force posture in the Baltic region.”
Donahue’s comments regarding NATO’s increased capabilities in the Baltic region not only didn’t go unnoticed by Russian leadership, but they highlighted the significant focus there is on the small Russian territory.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ((L) looks on a map with a new ferry route that will allow trains to travel between the Kaliningrad exclave and the rest of Russia without traversing other countries, as they must when traveling by land.
“Kaliningrad is Russian territory, and such threats are essentially a declaration of war,” Sergei Muratov, who serves on the Russian parliamentary committee on defense and security, told the East 2 West outlet.
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Muratov said a full-scale war with NATO would be a very “different conversation” from the current war in Ukraine.
“None of them are ready for this,” he added.
Fox News Digital could not immediately reach U.S. European Command for comment.
Original article source: Russia says NATO threatens WWIII in latest deterrence plan that could take down Kaliningrad ‘faster than ever’
Brazil police raid ex-President Bolsonaro’s home, fit ankle tag, citing flight risk concern amid criminal trial
Police in Brazil swoop on the home and political headquarters of Jair Bolsonaro. They ordered the former president to wear an electronic ankle tag, barring him from speaking to foreign officials or approaching embassies. The restrictions, ordered by Brazil’s Supreme Court, were motivated by concerns he would flee the country. He is on trial over an alleged plot to overturn the results of the 2022 presidential election to remain in power. The raid came as US President Donald Trump tried to force his current Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to end the criminal trial against his predecessor. Trump last week threatened Brazil with tariffs of 50% starting August 1, according to a letter posted to his social media platform, Truth Social. The letter linked the tariff threat to what he described as a “witch hunt” trial against Bolsonari, a close ally of the U.S. US State Department has not yet responded to CNN’s request for comment on the letter, which was posted on Friday.
The restrictions, ordered by Brazil’s Supreme Court, were motivated by concerns that Bolsonaro would flee the country, amid his trial over an alleged plot to overturn the results of the 2022 presidential election to remain in power. Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing.
Federal police also accused Bolsonaro and his son, Eduardo, of conspiring with the US government to impose sanctions against Brazilian officials, according to court documents. That action, the court said, “would directly benefit his father and financier, Jair Messias Bolsonaro.” CNN has reached out to the US State Department for comment.
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Federal police also seized an unspecified amount of US dollars in cash.
Speaking outside the police station Friday, Bolsonaro called the ankle tag “supreme humiliation” and said that he “never thought of leaving Brazil.”
“The suspicions (of me leaving the country) are an exaggeration… damn it, I’m a former president of the republic – I’m 70 years old,” he said.
Bolsonaro added that police seized “about 14,000 US dollars” and claimed the money was for personal use, adding he had the receipts to prove it.
The raid came as US President Donald Trump tried to force his current Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to end the criminal trial against his predecessor by threatening crippling tariffs on the country.
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Trump last week threatened Brazil with tariffs of 50% starting August 1, according to a letter posted to his social media platform, Truth Social.
In the letter, Trump linked the tariff threat to what he described as a “witch hunt” trial against Bolsonaro, a close ally.
Brazil’s Supreme Court on Friday accused Bolsonaro and his son Eduardo of working with the US to impose the tariffs.
The court documents highlighted a confidential meeting Bolsonaro had with a US State Department official and highlighted Trump’s letter as an “offensive” and “clear threat” to Brazilian sovereignty.
Brazil’s former President, Jair Bolsonaro, arrives to the State Secretariat of Penitentiary Administration headquarters in Brasilia on Friday. – Adriano Machado/Reuters
In an interview with Reuters on Friday, Bolsonaro denied that anyone lobbied the US to sanction Brazilian authorities working on his case.
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“There isn’t any lobby to sanction an authority,” Bolsonaro said.
Speaking exclusively to CNN Thursday, da Silva, who is widely known as Lula, said that Trump’s threats had broken away from “protocol” and argued that his predecessor’s fate cannot be part of trade negotiations.
“The judiciary branch of power in Brazil is independent. The president of the Republic has no influence whatsoever,” he said, adding that Bolsonaro “is not being judged personally. He is being judged by the acts he tried to organize a coup d’etat.”
Lula added that Trump would be standing trial in his country if the actions he took during the January 6 insurrection had been committed in Brazil.
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On Friday, Trump posted a letter to Bolsonaro on Truth Social, in which he suggested the former Brazilian leader was the victim of an “unjust system” and said that he would be “watching closely.”
Bolsonaro posted Trump’s letter on his official X account and thanked Trump for his support with “eternal gratitude,” in a subsequent video.
Bolsonaro had previously appeared to be preparing for the outcome of his trial and dismissed the idea that he might be considered a flight risk, saying: “I’ll face the process.”
“I’m not considering doing anything, I’m not considering anything, nothing at all,” he said, adding: “I’m not a criminal, the criminal is the one persecuting me.”
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Bolsonaro could face more than four decades behind bars if found guilty of masterminding the coup.
He is among 34 people charged with five crimes, including attempting the coup. Part of the coup plot, prosecutors allege, involved a plan to potentially assassinate Lula, his vice president and a minister of the Supreme Court.
Brian Winter, executive vice president of Americas Society and Council of the Americas, told CNN that, for Brazil, the US is not as significant a trading partner as say, China.
“Brazil only sends about 11% of its exports to the United States,” Winter said. “That’s half what Brazil sends to China, and for some of Brazil’s exports – not all, but for some of them – they can find other markets besides the United States.”
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“The question is, if this keeps escalating, could President Trump use measures that are even more painful, such as financial sanctions against large groups of people?” Winter asked, noting that Trump previously threatened, among other things, a travel ban on Colombian citizens during a disagreement with the Colombian government over migrant flights.
“It’s possible that President Trump could continue to escalate this in a way that could eventually produce considerably more pain for the Brazilian government and for the Brazilian people,” Winter said.
This story has been updated.
CNN’s Duarte Mendonca and Marcelo Medeiros contributed reporting.
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