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🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸Trump just brought out the BIG tariff list
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🇮🇷 Breaking: Iran closes its airspace in fear of American attack - Mehr News Agency
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Rudel with a model of a T-34 shortly before the battle of Kursk, 1943.
Following the war, Rudel published his memories as a Stuka pilot. His book allows the reader to get an interesting inside into the operations of Stuka pilots on the Eastern Front and the transformation that they experienced during the war.
As the tide turned, Stuka pilots became a kind of firefighter force along the frontline. Instead of flying ahead of their forces to pave the way for them, they had to do their best to confine enemy breakthroughs. Often flying attack after attack without a break. Near the end, the few remaining attack planes even had to sneak through the German airspace to hide from American and Soviet planes.
🇨🇳China has unveiled three large barges designed to create a mobile pier or bridge from offshore to shore. These barges can link together to form a 2,700-foot causeway, allowing vehicles and troops to move from ships to land without needing a traditional port or beach.
Features and Strategic Implications:
• Built near Guangzhou, the barges have retractable stilts that anchor into the seabed for stability.
• Each barge extends bridges to link to others and to the shore.
• Satellite imagery shows practice drills involving civilian ferries and cargo ships unloading alongside them.
• These barges could help China overcome one of its biggest logistical challenges in any invasion of Taiwan: the lack of enough naval vessels and suitable landing points.
• The western Taiwanese coastline is rugged and well-defended; these barges offer flexibility to land elsewhere, including less fortified areas.
Iran celebrating the 2500th anniversary of the Persian Empire in 1971.
The formation that you can see here is known as "sparabara" ≈ shieldbearers. These soldiers were armed with wicker shields and linen armor, which were suited to protect the wearer against arrows. Behind them stood rows of archers.
This tactic was perfectly adapted to Eastern warfare. However, as soon as it was met by the heavily armored hoplites, which sought the conclusion in close combat. The thin shield and the short spear made the sparabara no match for the Greek citizen.
USA-Iran-Russia
Russian MFA: "We warn against attacks on Iran's nuclear infrastructure. Bombing Iran's nuclear infrastructure will have repercussions for the entire region."
USA-Iran-Israel
Israel Channel 14: "A large-scale attack on Iran will soon begin, an attack unprecedented since World War II."
Breaking!
We're thrilled to announce the return of Admin Soult! A long-standing member of our community since its founding days, Soult brings a wealth of experience and a balanced, neutral perspective on various conflicts. Get ready for insightful discussions and valuable insights from a trusted voice!
USA-RUSSIA
Russia says it hasn’t received any direct message from Trump to Ukraine about stopping the war only vague attempts to 'find a scheme.' Ryabkov also says that U.S. proposals for resolving the conflict don’t address its root causes and that while Russia takes them seriously, it has its own priorities.
USA-IRAN
B-2 “Spirit” Long-Range Strategic Stealth Bombers at Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, a little more than 2,000 miles from Iran.
Set of Christoper Nolan's "Odyssey" - they are using Viking ships
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Skanderbeg, born Gjergj Kastrioti in 1405, was an Albanian nobleman and military commander who became one of the most celebrated figures in Albanian history. He initially served as an Ottoman vassal, having been taken hostage as a child and trained in the Ottoman military, where he earned the title "Skanderbeg," a blend of "Iskander" (Alexander) and "Beg" (a Turkish honorific). However, in 1443, he abandoned the Ottomans during the Battle of Niš and returned to Albania, where he united Albanian princes and launched a decades-long resistance against Ottoman rule.
His greatest accomplishments stem from his remarkable military leadership, as he successfully defended Albania against numerous Ottoman invasions despite being vastly outnumbered. Skanderbeg’s strategic brilliance shone in battles like the defense of Krujë in 1450, where he repelled a massive Ottoman siege led by Sultan Murad II, and his victories at Albulena in 1457, which showcased his ability to outmaneuver and defeat much larger forces. Over 25 years, he maintained Albanian independence, turning the region into a formidable Christian stronghold in the Balkans amidst the expanding Ottoman Empire.
Skanderbeg is known today as a national hero of Albania, celebrated for his unyielding resistance to Ottoman domination and his efforts to preserve Albanian identity and autonomy. His legacy endures as a symbol of defiance and unity, with his military tactics often compared to those of legendary commanders, earning him admiration across Europe during his lifetime and beyond. He died in 1468.
USA⚡️IRAN
"Iranian military commanders have been asked to prepare to carry out a pre-emptive strike against Diego Garcia, before the US attacks Iran from there," - The Telegraph.
Iran
Iran’s IRGC is claiming to have attacked and seized two oil tankers today in the Persian Gulf, which they claim were part of a “fuel smuggling network” in the Gulf. The two tankers, identified as STAR l and VINTAGE, were captured during a naval operation by the IRGC earlier today, with 25 crewmembers being arrested while the tankers are transferred to an oil port in the city of Bushehr, where their fuel will be offloaded and seized by Iran. One of the tankers is believed to be owned and operated by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), while the other is currently unknown.
During World War II, on April 16, 1945, the USS Laffey, an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, faced a ferocious kamikaze assault while stationed at Radar Picket Station No. 1, approximately 30 miles north of Okinawa. The attack began in the morning when radar detected numerous enemy aircraft, and over the course of an intense 80-minute ordeal, the ship was targeted by a total of 22 kamikaze planes. These Japanese pilots, determined to crash their aircraft into the destroyer, came in waves, employing various tactics such as diving from high altitudes, skimming low over the water, and approaching from multiple directions to overwhelm the ship’s defenses.
Despite the relentless onslaught, the crew of the USS Laffey fought valiantly, managing to shoot down nine of the attacking kamikaze planes with the aid of their anti-aircraft guns and support from nearby Allied fighters, including Corsairs and Wildcats. However, six kamikaze aircraft succeeded in striking the ship, crashing into various parts of the destroyer and causing severe damage. In addition to these direct hits, four bombs struck the Laffey, dropped by kamikaze or conventional bombers during the assault, further compounding the destruction. The impacts ignited fires, destroyed gun mounts, jammed the ship’s rudder at a 26-degree angle to port, and left the vessel shrouded in smoke and flames.
The human toll was devastating, as 32 sailors lost their lives during the attack, either killed instantly by the crashes and explosions or succumbing to the resulting fires and injuries. Despite the overwhelming damage and loss of life, the USS Laffey’s crew, under the determined leadership of Commander Frederick Becton, refused to abandon ship, with Becton famously declaring he would never give up as long as a single gun could fire. Their resilience earned the destroyer the nickname "The Ship That Would Not Die," and after emergency repairs, the battered ship was towed to safety, eventually returning to the United States.
Porsche is thinking about restarting military production.
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Fighterbomber reports the loss of a Tu-22M
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A simulation of what this would look like at full scale was released.
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🇺🇦🇷🇺
More footage of Ukrainian drones striking Russian targets in Crimea: Three landing craft and a Tor air defense system were hit.
Once again, Russian air defenses failed to intercept the drones.
Sea lions on the California coast are reportedly displaying strange behavior, likely due to a harmful algae bloom impacting the region, according to marine researchers.
The sea lions are likely being poisoned by domoic acid, a neurotoxin within the algae blooms, which they ingest through the fish they eat, according to marine experts. Ingesting domoic acid can cause amnesic shellfish poisoning in humans and marine mammals, according to the Marine Mammal Care Center.
There have been reports of the marine mammals acting aggressively in some cases, and in others, they appear lethargic, Jeni Smith, rescue supervisor at SeaWorld San Diego, told ABC San Diego affiliate KGTV. Smith described one sea lion who appeared to be "star-gazing."
RJ LaMendola said he was surfing when he was attacked at Oxnard State Beach in Ventura County, California, by a "demonic" sea lion that bit him and dragged him off his board, he wrote on Facebook on Friday.
USA-Iran-Russia:
Russia's Special Envoy to the Middle East says Moscow is ready to mediate between the US and Iran.
🇷🇺 Destruction of a Ukrainian Btr 4e in the Kharkiv direction
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Finland
Finland announces it’s withdrawing from the Ottawa Treaty which bans the use of anti-personnel mines.
In an ongoing press conference, the government also announced that Finland is gradually increasing its military spending from 2.3% this year to 3% in 2029.
France and Algeria Relaunch Ties
Presidents Macron and Tebboune agreed to restore security and migration cooperation.
The joint historian commission on colonial history will resume, with findings due by summer 2025.
France’s justice and foreign ministers are set to visit Algiers to advance judicial and economic cooperation.
The two sides also discussed revising Algeria’s EU partnership, seen as unbalanced by Algiers.
USA-China
The US sanctions Chinese officials responsible for attempting to restrict access the Tibet region.
🇩🇪🇺🇸 Where’s the gold? Germany’s conservatives sound the alarm over reserves in the US
Can the United States be trusted with Germany’s gold?
[S]ome politicians in Germany are worried that what was for decades seen as one of the world’s most reliable storehouses might not be so secure after all.
Germany holds the world’s second-largest gold reserves, and keeps 37 percent of them — some 1,236 metric tons, worth €113 billion — in the vaults of the New York Federal Reserve. Those holdings of precious metal guarantee that, should the need ever arise, the Bundesbank has access to something it can change into U.S. dollars (or any other hard currency).
The very idea that they might not be safe would have been considered ridiculous from 1945 ... until a couple of weeks ago. But the certainties of Germany’s postwar existence have been turned on their head and — as the recent scrapping of a notorious cap on public borrowing showed — the unthinkable is suddenly very thinkable indeed. All the more so given evidence of U.S. President Donald Trump’s willingness to push the limits of his powers and assert presidential primacy over the judicial system.
German tabloid Bild, owned by POLITICO parent company Axel Springer, reported on Thursday that outgoing Christian Democratic Union (CDU) lawmaker Marco Wanderwitz is one of those concerned.
Already in 2012, Wanderwitz had unsuccessfully requested to inspect the gold holdings as part of an effort to pressure the bank to either take a more active role as a custodian, or to repatriate it to Germany.
“Of course, the question now arises again,” Wanderwitz said in comments reported by Bild.
https://www.politico.eu/article/gold-germany-conservatives-sound-alarm-over-reserves-usa/
Civil air patrol Cessna getting intercepted by an F15 during a no fly zone exercise over Florida
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Russia
Between April and July the biannual conscription will take place. President Putin signed a decree ordering the conscription of 160.000 men.
The previous fall conscription (2024) drafted 133.000 recruits.
During the spring 2024 conscription called up 150.000 men.
The increase to 160,000 follows the recent extension of the conscription age from 27 to 30.
By russian law, conscripts cannot be deployed to active combat zones unless they sign a contract for professional military service. However, some reports suggest conscripts are pressured to sign contracts.
Lithuania
The Lithuanian public is fundraising for the families of the American soldiers who lost their lives in a swamp while take part in military exercises in Lithuania.
Russian tomfoolery
The Kremlinn issued a statement on the French Courts decision banning Marine Le Pen from running on the next Presidential elections
The Russian Federation says it deplores "the violation of democratic norms" in France
😂