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Palestinian statehood push undermined US efforts to release Israeli-held funds, envoy says

Alexander Cornwell
Wed, September 10, 2025 

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during an interview with Reuters in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee said on Wednesday that growing international momentum to recognize a Palestinian state directly led to the collapse of U.S. efforts to persuade Israel to release much-needed funds to the Palestinian Authority.

Huckabee said he had been "shuttling back and forth" between the two sides, partly out of concern that worsening economic instability in the West Bank could spark violence, but that momentum towards recognition had hardened Israeli positions.

The Palestinian Authority exercises limited civic rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

"I felt like we were making progress. We weren't quite there yet, but we were talking, and there was progress, and there was understanding of the importance of getting it resolved," Huckabee said in an interview with Reuters in Jerusalem.

When asked whether the Palestinian funds that Israel had blocked from transferring would remain on hold indefinitely, Huckabee said that everything was “frozen in place”.

The Palestinian foreign ministry and a spokesperson for Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the Palestinian Authority, Israel is withholding around $3 billion in revenues. Under a longstanding arrangement, Israel collects customs and import taxes on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.

Those revenues make up a bulk of the Palestinian Authority's budget, which also depends heavily on foreign aid, that pays salaries of police, teachers and other government employees.

The Israeli government has frequently withheld funds owed to the Palestinian Authority, later releasing them partially or in full. As a result, the Palestinian Authority struggles to pay its employees, many of whom receive only partial salaries.

Palestinian officials suspect that the withholding of funds is a deliberate attempt to stifle the economy. They warn it could backfire on Israel by pushing people towards militancy.

Huckabee said that the amount being withheld was significant and that it was inflicting an extraordinary economic pain on Palestinians. However, he insisted that the Palestinian Authority bore some responsibility for encouraging recognition efforts.


RECOGNISING A PALESTINIAN STATE

Britain, France, Canada, Australia and Belgium have all said they will recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, in hopes of advancing a two-state solution with Israel, although London has said it could hold back if Israel were to take steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and commit to a long-term peace process.

The recognition moves have been criticized by the United States.

Huckabee said the Palestinian Authority must also undertake substantial reforms, and he criticized a policy of providing welfare to the families of Palestinians who carried out violent attacks. However, he said security cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority had been maintained.

Huckabee also said that international momentum for recognition of a Palestinian state had not only derailed negotiations over tax revenues but also prompted more declarations by Israeli officials calling for sovereignty over parts of the West Bank.

Finance Minister Smotrich, who opposes Palestinian statehood, has called for the government to declare sovereignty - de facto annexation - over most of the West Bank, which Israel captured along with East Jerusalem and Gaza in the 1967 war.

Huckabee said he was not aware of any U.S.-Israel communication regarding whether Israel should or should not annex the West Bank, a move opposed by past administrations.

When asked about the Israeli government's support for expanding settlements there, which the United Nations and many countries deem illegal, Huckabee replied that the U.S. position was that “Israel has to do what Israel has to do.”

(Reporting by Alexander CornwellEditing by Frances Kerry)

UK PM Starmer and Israeli president clash during 'tough' meeting
Andrew MacAskill and William James
Wed, September 10, 2025 

Israeli President Isaac Herzog visits Downing Street, in London

Israeli President Isaac Herzog visits Downing Street, in London

Israeli President Isaac Herzog visits 10 Downing Street, in London

LONDON (Reuters) - Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he had argued with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Downing Street on Wednesday during a "tough" meeting that covered deep disagreements over recent behaviour by each other's country.

The meeting comes a day after Israel expanded its attacks on Hamas by launching an airstrike aimed at killing the Islamist group's political leaders in Qatar, a British ally in the Middle East, which Starmer condemned.

Israel has been angered by Britain's plans to join several other Western countries, including France and Canada, in recognising a Palestinian state later this month - unless Israel meets conditions including a ceasefire in Gaza.

"Things were said that were tough and strong, and clearly we can argue, because when allies meet, they can argue. We are both democracies," Herzog said at a later Chatham House event.

He said Starmer's plan for Palestinian statehood and his views on humanitarian aid in Gaza had been the root of the disagreement and added that he had invited the British government to undertake a fact-finding mission to Israel.

Starmer's office said the British leader implored Herzog to change course over Gaza, expressing deep concern about the humanitarian crisis and urging Israel to allow in aid and halt offensive operations.

He reaffirmed that the UK and Israel were longstanding allies and said he remains committed to working towards an enduring peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Earlier, the two men briefly shook hands without smiling on the steps of Downing Street before they entered the building.

Starmer also raised with Herzog the Israeli airstrike on Qatar, condemning the incident as "completely unacceptable."

"He said the strikes were a flagrant violation of a key partner’s sovereignty and do nothing to secure the peace we all desperately want to see," a Downing Street spokesperson said.

The Gaza war has strained Israel's relations with Britain and other European countries. Britain has blocked Israeli officials from attending its biggest defence trade show taking place this week.

Starmer is under pressure from politicians in his own party to take a tougher approach to Israel, but he told parliament on Wednesday that diplomacy was needed to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and to get the Israeli hostages released by Hamas.

Herzog's role as Israel's president is mainly ceremonial but he caused anger when he said all residents of Gaza were responsible for the Hamas-led attack on Israel after the October 7 attacks in 2023.

Asked earlier on Wednesday why he was meeting Herzog, Starmer said: "I will not give up on diplomacy, that is the politics of students."

Wes Streeting, who is health minister in Starmer's government, said this week that Israel's handling of the war in Gaza was leading it to "pariah status".

Starmer also hosted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, where they agreed there would be "absolutely no role" for Hamas in the future governance of a Palestinian state.

Britain has promised to recognise a Palestinian state ahead of the U.N. General Assembly later this month unless Israel meets four conditions, including ending the war in Gaza and allowing more aid into the Palestinian enclave.

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill, William James and Sam Tabahriti; Editing by Gareth Jones and Daniel Wallis)

Israel’s latest attack deals another blow to Trump’s tarnished international credibility

Analysis by Stephen Collinson, 

CNN
Tue, September 9, 2025 


President Donald Trump delivers remarks during an event in Washington, DC, on September 8. - Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters


Assuming President Donald Trump’s claim that he couldn’t stop Israel’s strike on Hamas officials in a Qatar residential district is true, he’s just suffered another devastating blow to his international credibility.

Trump hurriedly made clear that Tuesday’s raid, which killed five Hamas members but not the top team negotiating a new US ceasefire plan for Gaza, was not his decision and that he’d rushed to inform Qatar when he learned of it.

“I’m not thrilled about the whole situation,” Trump said as he went for dinner at a Washington, DC, steakhouse. “It’s not a good situation … we are not thrilled about the way that went down.”

That seemed a rare Trumpian understatement.

The strike — in which Israel ignored profound implications for vital American interests — is a new embarrassment for Trump at a time when he’s also being taken for a ride by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who grinned through their summit in Alaska, then escalated attacks on Ukrainian civilians.

Trump seems sincere in his desire to be a global peacemaker, and if he succeeds, he could save many lives and leave a valuable legacy. He returned to the White House in January insisting he’d quickly end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. But eight months later, both are even more bloody. And Putin, China’s leader Xi Jinping and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi openly defy him.

Events in the Middle East are unlikely to do much to hurt Trump’s political fortunes at home, as his crime crackdown plays out amid worries about a slowing economy. But Israel’s attack in broad daylight in Doha could be ruinous to his self-image as a hard-power-wielding strongman who is feared abroad.

That’s because the strike flagrantly trampled the sovereignty of a vital US ally that hosts the largest US base in the Middle East and was negotiating with Hamas at the behest of the White House on a plan Trump predicted would soon yield a deal.

Not only was this a personal affront to Trump, but it also puts Netanyahu’s goals over the critical security priorities of the United States — even after the last two US administrations rushed to defend Israel from two sets of attacks by Iran. CNN reported that some White House officials were furious that it took place after one of Netanyahu’s advisers, Ron Dermer, on Monday met Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff but made no mention of an operation sure to humiliate the US president.

“The attacks take place at a very sensitive moment in the ceasefire negotiations where the Trump administration, the president, and his envoy Witkoff have made clear that the president is looking for a comprehensive ceasefire, the release of all hostages, prisoner exchange and moving forward and ending the war in Gaza,” former US ambassador to Israel Edward Djerejian told Richard Quest on CNN International.

“Israel is not obviously paying much attention to US national security interests,” said Djerejian, who served in eight administrations, starting with that of President John F. Kennedy and ending with that of President Bill Clinton.

Smoke rises from an explosion in Doha, Qatar, on September 9. - AP

Huge ramifications for US foreign policy

The reverberations of the strike seem certain to end any hope of a negotiated peace to end Israel’s war in Gaza — one reason why it may have recommended itself to Netanyahu. There may be horrific ramifications for the remaining Israeli hostages who are still alive after nearly two years of torment in tunnels under Gaza.


It’s also the latest evidence that the Israeli prime minister places more importance on the total eradication of Hamas — a potentially impossible task — than the hostages’ return. And the almost certain result is an intensification of Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip, which has already killed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians and alienated most of Israel’s foreign allies.


For the United States, there are also serious ramifications.

► The fallout could sour the relationship between the US president and the Israeli prime minister and sow distrust between Israel and its vital ally the United States.

► It will shatter any credibility that the Trump had in posing as a distant mediator between Israel and Hamas and may cause Qatar to pull out of peace talks. The emirate’s prime minister accused Israel of conducting “state terrorism.”

► Some US observers accuse Qatar of playing a double game by hosting Hamas leaders. But Doha will see the attack by America’s closest Middle East ally as a betrayal after its years working to advance US diplomatic priorities, not just in the Middle East, but in hostage release deals beyond the Middle East as far away as Afghanistan and Venezuela.

► There could also be adverse consequences for Trump’s personal and political interests in the wider Arab world, which he energetically pursued during the first Gulf trip of his second term, including a lavish welcome in Qatar.

► And the administration’s hoped-for expansion of the first-term Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and some Arab states — and which is key to Trump’s push for a Nobel Peace Prize — is now more distant than ever.

► Leaders of other states in the Gulf, a thriving business and leisure hub, will wonder — if Israel can strike with impunity at Qatar, under the noses of the US garrison — whether they will be next.

“It’s a pretty big bill for the Israelis to have conducted this strike,” retired Admiral James Stavridis, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, told CNN’s Kasie Hunt. He added that Netanyahu has “been in power forever by US standards. And over time, he’s gotten very comfortable in doing exactly what he wants to do.”

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the scene of a shooting in Jerusalem on September 8. - Ronen Zvulun/AFP/POOL/Getty Images

Israel insists it acted alone

Many US analysts will interpret Israel’s attempt to kill negotiators considering a US peace plan a day after they met with Qatari government officials as new proof that Netanyahu wants to prolong the war. The prime minister has succeeded in postponing inevitable investigations into the security lapses after the October 7 attacks on Israeli civilians by Hamas in 2023. And his personal legal woes can be kept off the boil as long as he stays in power atop his far-right coalition.

Israel’s justification for the strikes was that it will pursue terrorist leaders wherever they are. Netanyahu has waged war on multiple fronts throughout the region, and conducted devastating strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon; Houthis in Yemen; and Iran. He said Tuesday that the “days when the heads of terror enjoyed immunity anywhere are over.”

Many Israelis viewed the Hamas attacks nearly two years ago not just as a strike against Israel but also as the most heinous attempt to wipe out Jews since the Nazi Holocaust. Yet many also now oppose the total warfare on Gaza waged by Netanyahu and are desperate to see the return of the hostages after a negotiated settlement.

Netanyahu was quick to make clear that the attack on Doha was a “wholly independent Israeli operation,” seeking to offer Trump some diplomatic cover. But the Middle East loves conspiracy theories. And the US faces a hard sell over its claim that it knew nothing as Israel got 10 fighter jets and their munitions — possibly American-made F-35 planes — within range of the target.

Some will suspect that Trump gave a green light, or at least tacitly condoned the attacks. The White House, however, said that the US military in Qatar alerted Trump, and he ordered Witkoff to tip off the Qataris. But the government in Doha said it only got a heads-up when the attack, which caused panic in the capital, was already over.

The White House damage-control effort does seem to bolster Trump’s claim that he couldn’t do anything to halt the strike.

“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard in bravely taking risks with us to broker peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

It was exceedingly rare criticism of Israel from the Trump administration. The president later said on Truth Social that “this was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me.” Trump also said he’d ordered Secretary of State Marco Rubio to finalize a defense cooperation pact with Qatar.

A Qatari Boeing 747 sits on the tarmac of Palm Beach International airport after President Donald Trump toured the aircraft on February 15. - Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images

How Trump’s new Air Force One complicates his response

There are geopolitical reasons to take the president’s comments at face value. But there is a complication. Trump earlier this year accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar to serve as a new Air Force One in violation of any previous understanding of presidential ethics. How can Americans therefore be convinced that he’s acting on his perception of their vital security interests on this matter — and not his own desire to pay back Qatar for the personal gift of a jet worth hundreds of millions of dollars?

That aside, Trump’s credibility with Qatar will need serious repair work.

What of the US security umbrella supposed to be provided by its vast Al Udeid Air Base in the desert outside Doha? It didn’t prevent a deeply humiliating violation of Qatari sovereignty by an enemy the US would like them to engage. By extension, how can other Gulf states and other US allies worldwide be sure that Trump’s security guarantees will be any more airtight than they were for Qatar?

The attack on Qatar will also cement an already widespread belief throughout the Middle East that Trump lacks any influence over Netanyahu despite the leverage of US defense sales to Israel and its vital role in the Jewish state’s defense. There was no public talk from the White House on Tuesday about consequences for the Israeli leader.

The loss of Trump’s credibility is especially critical since the new US peace plan envisages the release of Israeli hostages by Hamas in Gaza in return for a ceasefire. Trump would then guarantee to Hamas that Israel would stick to the deal while negotiations continue. Tuesday’s attacks in broad daylight in Doha suggest that’s an empty promise.

So yet again, Trump’s self-proclaimed role as the president of peace is thrown into question. And his foreign policy team’s understanding of ruthless global strongmen was left badly exposed.

 CNN.com

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Canada is evaluating ties with Israel after Qatar attack, foreign minister says

David Ljunggren
Wed, September 10, 2025 

UN conference to work towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, in New York


OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada is evaluating its relationship with Israel after the attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar, foreign minister Anita Anand said on Wednesday, in the latest sign of unhappiness with the Israeli government.

Anand reiterated that Canada considered the attack to be unacceptable, especially given Qatari attempts to facilitate peace in the Middle East.

Anand made her comments when asked whether Canada might follow the lead of the European Commission, which said it would propose the suspension of trade-related measures in a European Union agreement with Israel.

"We are evaluating our relationship with Israel," Anand told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the ruling Liberal Party in Edmonton.

Asked specifically whether Canada was considering any kinds of sanctions against Israel, she replied: "We will continue to evaluate our next steps."

Canada has noticeably hardened its line on Israel under Prime Minister Mark Carney, who replaced Justin Trudeau in March. Carney announced in July that Canada would recognize Palestinian statehood, angering Israel.

Trudeau was generally supportive of Israel's campaign against Hamas, while occasionally criticizing actions of the Israeli military.


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Carney on Tuesday condemned the Israeli airstrike, calling it "an intolerable expansion of violence" that risked escalating conflict throughout the region.

He said last month that Israel's plan to take control of Gaza City was "wrong". (This story has been corrected to clarify that Mark Carney took over as prime minister in March, not January, in paragraph 6)

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Nia Williams)



Canada 'evaluating' relationship with Israel after Qatar attack: Foreign affairs minister

CBC
Wed, September 10, 2025



Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand and Minister of National Defence David McGuinty respond to questions at the Liberal caucus meeting in Edmonton on Wednesday. Anand reiterated that Canada saw Israel's attack on Qatari soil unacceptable. (Amber Bracken/The Canadian Press - image credit)More


Canada's foreign affairs minister said Wednesday that Ottawa is "evaluating" its relationship with Israel in the wake of that country's attack in Qatar — but wouldn't expand on what that evaluation entails.

"We are evaluating the relationship with Israel. Of course, the attack yesterday on Qatar was one that was unacceptable. It was a violation of Qatari airspace. There were deaths on the ground at a time when Qatar was trying to facilitate peace," Anita Anand told reporters at the Liberal caucus retreat in Edmonton.

"There are many moving pieces in the Middle East right now. And at the rock bottom, Canada's position is that we need to work for peace in the Middle East and we need to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza."

Anand made the comments when asked about European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announcing plans to seek sanctions and a partial trade suspension against Israel over the war in Gaza.

The minister was asked to clarify her comments, specifically if Canada would seek similar measures. Anand said the government "will continue to evaluate our next steps."

A spokesperson from Anand's office told CBC News that the minister's comments were meant "in the sense that the government is constantly monitoring the situation and will continue to evaluate ways to push for a ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian aid and the release of all hostages."

Israel attacked Hamas headquarters in Qatar on Tuesday, killing five of its members as the group's top figures gathered to consider a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel Defence Forces said in a social media post on Tuesday that it was targetting Hamas's senior leadership.

The attack sparked sweeping condemnation from Western leaders, as Qatar has served as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas throughout the nearly two-year-long war.

Prime Minister Mark Carney called the attack "an intolerable expansion of violence and an affront to Qatar's sovereignty" in a statement on Tuesday.

Even U.S. President Donald Trump, seen as one of Israel's staunchest allies, distanced himself from the Israeli strike in Qatar.

"This was a decision made by [Israeli] Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me. Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America's goals," Trump wrote in a social media post on Tuesday.

Netanyahu said Tuesday that the Doha strike was in retaliation for the deadly shooting attack at a Jerusalem bus stop Monday and an attack on Israeli forces in Gaza that killed four soldiers.

On Wednesday, Netanyahu again defended the strike and threatened further action against Qatar.

"I say to Qatar and all nations who harbour terrorists: you either expel them or you bring them to justice," Netanyahu said. "Because if you don't, we will."

Trump had sought to ease tensions between the U.S. allies — including by assuring the Gulf nation that there would be no more such strikes on its soil.

The war in Gaza has already left Israel increasingly isolated internationally, with many of its Western allies calling for it to end the war and do more to address the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, parts of which are experiencing famine.

The strike in Qatar further widens Israel's campaign against Hamas, which launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage, prompting a military campaign by Israel on Gaza that has killed more than 60,000 people.

The 27-nation European Union is deeply divided in its approach to Israel and the Palestinians, and it's unclear whether a majority will be found to endorse von der Leyen's call for sanctions and trade measures.

Several countries, including Canada, are planning on officially recognizing a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly this month.

Ukraine says Russian missile that hit government building is packed with US and European parts

Ivana Kottasová, Daria Tarasova-Markin, Victoria Butenko, 

CNN
Tue, September 9, 2025 


Components found in the Russian Iskander missile that hit a government building in Kyiv on Sunday. - Defense Intelligence of Ukraine

A Russian cruise missile that hit a government building in central Kyiv on Sunday was filled with dozens of foreign parts, including chips and other electronic components made in the United States, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.

The Iskander 9M727 missile that struck the building did not explode, most likely because it was damaged by Ukrainian air defenses, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Ukraine’s presidential commissioner for sanctions policy, said on Tuesday.

Vlasiuk released photographs of the damaged missile, as well as a list of components that have been previously found in identical missiles.

The list includes 35 parts manufactured by American companies, including Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, Altera and others, as well as components made by Japanese, British and Swiss companies.

Serial numbers show that some of these parts were manufactured years ago, but some are listed as having been made recently, including after the start of Russia’s unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Many Western countries, including the four named in the list published by Vlasiuk, have imposed strict sanctions and export controls on such components to stop them from being used by Russia.

But Moscow has found ways to evade these.

A Ukrainian government building was damaged on Sunday during a Russian aerial assault on the city. - Alina Smutko/Reuters

CNN has reached out to the companies listed by Vlasiuk for comment.

Infineon Technologies, the German company that now owns American-based Cypress Semiconductor – one of the manufacturers listed – told CNN that it has taken “extensive measures” to ensure its items don’t end up in Russia.

A spokesperson for the company said Infineon Technologies has stopped all direct and indirect shipments to Russia and that it has tools in place to ensure compliance among its customers.

“(If) we get tangible evidence that companies with which we have a business relationship are doing trade with Russia, we terminate the delivery and demand clarification from the company in question,” the spokesperson said.

However the company produces around 30 billion chips every year, which the spokesperson said makes it “difficult to control sales throughout the entire lifetime of a product.

Other companies listed by Vlasiuk did not respond to CNN’s questions.

Texas Instruments has previously said that it stopped selling products into Russia and Belarus in February 2022 and that any shipments of its chips into Russia are illicit and unauthorized.

Vlasiuk said that even though this particular missile still included dozens of Western-made parts, it contained fewer such components compared to missiles analyzed earlier in the war.

“There are fewer components from Europe and the US, and more from Russia and Belarus,” he said, adding that the Ukrainian government had informed its allies about the parts discovered “for sanctions response.”

Debris of a missile that hit central Kyiv on Sunday. - Defense Intelligence of Ukraine

Most of the foreign parts found in the missile are so-called dual use components, meaning they were originally designed for civilian use, but can also be used for military purposes.

These include American chips made to be used in household electronics, smart devices or gaming gadgets, repurposed for in Russian guided bombs, missiles and drones.

Despite efforts by US firms to prevent Moscow from using their products, an inquiry by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations found last year that US-made components “continue to guide and power the Russian weapons that kill Ukrainians daily.”

The subcommittee said companies based in other countries, including China, Kazakhstan and others, have been able to purchase these parts and then sell them to Russia.

CNN.com




A Russian Iskander missile struck Ukraine's Cabinet building, but photos indicate its warhead failed to detonate

Matthew Loh
Tue, September 9, 2025


Russia struck Ukraine's Cabinet building with an Iskander-launched cruise missile on Sunday.

But photos showed its remnants in a structurally intact room, indicating it didn't do its job.

Ukraine says it was one of nine cruise missiles launched amid Russia's latest massive drone wave.

Russia struck Ukraine's Cabinet headquarters with a cruise missile on Sunday, but photos show that while the weapon crashed into the building, its warhead likely failed to detonate.

Ukrainian officials said that an Iskander-launched cruise missile had hit the government building during Russia's latest wave of drone and missiles, its largest since the war began.

New photos of the site show what appears to be the remains of the missile in a battered but structurally intact room, indicating that its warhead didn't trigger.

While it's unclear what payload the missile was carrying, the incident could signal a reliability issue with one of Russia's advanced precision weapons. However, such failures can happen with missiles in wartime.

Katarina Mathernova, the European Union's ambassador to Ukraine, posted the images to social media on Monday after visiting the building.

One of the photos captured a large, round piece of wrecked metal with turbine blades, closely resembling a turbojet or turbofan engine used by Russia's cruise missiles.

Another piece of the debris was labeled in Cyrillic as "Filter FT-1," a reported component of the TRDD-50 engine that's known to power the Russian Iskander-K missile.

The photo posted by Mathernova shows the apparent remains of an Iskander-K cruise missile.Facebook/Katarina Mathernova

The photos also showed a breached wall in the Cabinet building where the missile likely entered, along with the charred remains of parts of the headquarters.

The internal damage likely stemmed from a fire that Ukrainian authorities said broke out after the missile hit the building. Local media reported that the missile's fuel tanks started the blaze.

Mathernova's photo appears to show the point where the Russian missile breached the building.Facebook/Katarina Mathernova

But, apart from its scorched interior, the Cabinet building remained mostly structurally intact. Ground-launched Iskander-K missiles generally carry warheads with a mass of 450 to 500 kg, or 990 to 1,100 pounds.

"Only thanks to the missile failing to fully detonate, the entire building was not reduced to rubble," Mathernova wrote. "And thanks to the rapid action of Ukraine's amazing rescue services — true heroes — the fire was contained to the three floors, before it would swallow the rest of the building."

European and Ukrainian officials have condemned the missile strike on the Cabinet building as a sign that Russia continues to act in bad faith despite courting ceasefire talks with the US. The Iskander-K's missile variants, the 9M728 and the newer 9M729, are precision-guided munitions.

"The evidence of this existential battle is right in front of us: Putin is deliberately targeting the country's lifelines — its government, its energy, its people," Mathernova wrote.

Andriy Yermak, chief of staff for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Monday that he had spoken to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the strike.

"These strikes kill civilians, including children, and destroy our infrastructure," Yermak wrote in a post on X. "For the first time, the enemy attacked the building of the Government of Ukraine — Iskander missile strike."

Ukraine's air command said the Iskander-K missile was one of nine cruise missiles launched by Russia on Sunday, as part of a massive wave of long-range exploding drones and decoys. Kyiv said its air force detected at least 810 drones that night.

Russia has regularly attacked Ukrainian cities with its Iskander launchers, and is often accused of using them to target infrastructure and civilian areas.

In August 2023, one of its most high-profile strikes with the launcher involved a hit with an Iskander-M ballistic missile that killed seven people at a landmark drama theater in the city of Chernihiv.

Business Insider

NATO allies held Article 4 consultations after Russian drone incursion. Here's what that means

The Associated Press
Wed, September 10, 2025 


General Wieslaw Kukula, center, chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces during at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister for an extraordinary government meeting, following violations of Polish airspace during a Russian attack. in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland via AP)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk holds an extraordinary government meeting at the chancellery, with military and emergency services officials, following violations of Polish airspace during a Russian attack in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland via AP)ASSOCIATED PRESS



BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO allies swiftly held talks Wednesday on the incursion by multiple Russian drones into Polish — and alliance — airspace and the shooting down of some of the weapons by Polish and Dutch fighter jets.

The consultations at NATO headquarters were part of a regular meeting of ambassadors from the alliance's 32 member states known as the North Atlantic Council, but Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told Parliament that they came under Article 4 of the treaty that founded NATO in 1949 in the aftermath of World War II.

The incident in Poland came three days after Russia’s largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the war began.

Article 4 can put urgent matters on the agenda

Article 4, the shortest of the NATO treaty’s 14 articles, states that: “The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened.”

Bob Deen, an analyst at the Clingendael think tank in The Hague, said the article is “designed to promote better coordination and understanding within the alliance on external threats. It gives all allies the opportunity to urgently put certain threats or developments on the agenda of the North Atlantic Council.”

Article 4 is increasingly invoked

Poland previously requested such consultations early in Russia’s war on Ukraine. They do not automatically lead to any action under Article 5 of the treaty, which is NATO’s collective security guarantee, with allies pledging that an attack on one member of the alliance constitutes an attack on all.

“Article 4 gets invoked relatively rarely but increasingly in recent years; Turkey alone invoked it five times between 2003-2020 in the context of Syria and Iraq,” said Deen in emailed comments in response to questions from The Associated Press. “Eight allies invoked it in 2022 shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Poland has triggered it once in 2014 ... after Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea.”

Poland first invoked Article 4 on March 3, 2014, “following increasing tensions in neighboring Ukraine, as a result of Russia’s aggressive actions,” according to the NATO website. And Warsaw joined Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia in requesting consultations on Feb. 24, 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

This doesn’t necessarily mean a step toward Article 5

Deen said that Article 4 is related to Article 5, but is “not necessarily a ‘stepping stone.’”

UFO hearing: Newly released video appears to show US missile bouncing off object

LUIS MARTINEZ
Tue, September 9, 2025 


A never-before-seen video released Tuesday by a member of Congress appears to show a U.S. military Hellfire missile bouncing off a bright, shiny object that was being tracked off the coast of Yemen on Oct. 30, 2024.

The video was released at a House Government Oversight subcommittee hearing into Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), which is the military's term for UFOs.

During the hearing Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) played a video that he said "I've been given" and that he claimed was taken by an MQ-9 Reaper drone.



The overhead video showed a fast-moving object moving in a straight line above the waves in the waters off the coast of Yemen and captured what Burlison said was a Hellfire missile fired by another Reaper drone that appeared to strike the object.

"I'm not going to explain it to you, you'll see exactly what it does," said Burlison as the video clip was played.

The video showed what appeared to be an impact, but the object seemed to continue on its same trajectory.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images - PHOTO: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) witnesses testify before the House Oversight Committee's Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets at the Capitol, Sept. 9, 2025.More

Pentagon's UFO report finds over 700 new cases, with 21 the agency could not explain

"This is when it's zoomed out, you can still see it traveling," said Burlison who did not provide details of how he had obtained the video.

At the time that the video was purportedly taken, the waters off Yemen were an active combat zone as U.S. Navy ships and aircraft protected commercial shipping lanes from missiles and drones fired at shipping vessels by the Houthi militants in Yemen.

U.S. Navy ships were regularly shooting down Houthi missiles and drones that posed a threat to them or commercial vessels.



'It's coming right for us!': Witness tells Congress of UFO sighting
BBC128

The video raises several questions: Did it capture a potential attack on ships? Did the object pose a threat to U.S. Naval ships operating in the combat zone?

"The public should be seeing this stuff, and why you're not allowed to, I don't know," said George Knapp, an investigative journalist, who was a witness at Tuesday's hearing alongside others identified as whistleblowers of military UFO incidents.

Public's UFO obsession has experts, others sorting what's fact, what's fiction

"That's the Hellfire missile smacking into that UFO and just (bouncing) right off," he said, commenting on the video. "And it kept going."

"It kept going," Burlison agreed, "and it looks like the debris was taken with it."

"Yeah. What the hell is that?" Knapp added.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images - PHOTO: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) journalist George Knapp testifies before the House Oversight Committee's Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets at the Capitol, Sept. 9, 2025.More

Burlison said he was not going to speculate on what the object was in the video, but asked "Why are we being blocked from this information consistently?"

A U.S. defense official told ABC News "we do not have anything to provide on this" when asked to authenticate the video and the time and location it was allegedly taken.

Asked to comment on the video, a DOD spokesperson said: "I have nothing for you."

The Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) continues to investigate UAP reports filed by military personnel, some of them going back decades.

While it has been able to explain some high-profile reports, there are still many cases that have been unexplained and has not found that any of the incidents are of an extraterrestrial origin.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images - PHOTO: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) witnesses are sworn-in before testifying to the House Oversight Committee's Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets at the Capitol, Sept. 9, 2025.More

Newly-released DoD video purportedly shows Navy pilot's encounter with UFO

The new video is similar to a 2015 video that came to be known as the "Go Fast" video that showed a fast moving object appearing to fly at a high rate of speed above the waves in the waters off of California.

AARO analysts later determined that the video had captured an optical illusion involving a weather balloon and that the high rate of speed captured by the sensors aboard a Navy F/A-18 fighter jet was due to parallax and the angle from at which the camera viewed the object.

AARO officials have said previously that some of the older incidents remain unexplained because there was not enough data gathered by high-tech military sensors at the time. Newer incidents provide more data, because of the increased sophistication of sensors, that analysts can use to review them.

At the end of the hearing, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) replayed the video and asked the panelists if they were scared by what they saw in the video. All said yes with the exception of Knapp, who replied that he was happy that the video had been released.

  

 

Why teens defy—and how parents can help

New research shows that teens heed warnings about risky behavior more when parents model their own values and show understanding.

University of Rochester

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Adolescence is a period when some teenagers begin experimenting with risky or rule-breaking behaviors such as skipping school, drinking, lying, or staying out past their curfew. When parents find out, their natural response is often to warn their child: Continue with the behavior and you’ll incur stricter rules, less freedom, and the loss of privileges.

On the surface, this response seems a reasonable attempt to deter further misbehaving. But how do teens actually experience these warnings—and why do some comply while others become even more defiant?

A team of US and Israeli researchers—among them University of Rochester psychologist Judith Smetana—set out to find answers. The resulting study, published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, concludes that the way teenagers receive their parents’ warnings depends less on the message itself and more on whether they see their parents as genuinely living up their own purported values.

If parents model their values consistently in everyday life and appear satisfied and vital while acting on their values, their warnings are more likely to be perceived by their teenagers as caring guidance. If not, teens often experience the warnings as an attempt to control them, which can spark defiance. But the researchers also discovered that while authentic parental values reduced defiance, they did not, by themselves, lead teens to stop their risky behaviors. The warnings proved most effective when parents took the time to understand their teens’ perspectives.

“Parents really have to ‘walk the walk’ and act on their values if they want their teens to behave responsibly,” says Smetana, an expert on adolescent-parent relationships.

The science behind motivation

The study, Smetana points out, builds directly on a famous Rochester construct—the highly influential, evidence-based framework for motivation, called self-determination theory (SDT), which was formulated in the 1970s and 1980s by Rochester psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan.

According to SDT, people have three basic, intrinsic psychological needs:

• Autonomy—the need to feel free from control so one can realize one’s authentic preferences
• Competence—the need to feel capable
• Relatedness—the need to feel connected and respected by others

When parenting actively supports these needs, adolescents feel motivated and understood. But when parents’ behaviors hinder these needs—what Deci and Ryan call “need thwarting” (where a person’s basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are actively undermined)—teens may feel pressured, powerless, or disconnected, which can trigger resistance and rebellion.

“The idea of ‘need thwarting’ leading to defiance is drawn directly from self-determination theory, as is the very important notion of autonomy-supportive parenting, which is widely used in studies of parenting,” says Smetana.

Modeling values while parenting

Smetana and her team focused specifically on one parental factor called “inherent value demonstration” that can influence how warnings are received. For example, a parent who stresses the importance of kindness, volunteers regularly, and treats others respectfully—and appears satisfied and energetic while doing so—would be seen as high in value demonstration. In contrast, parents whose actions don’t match their words would be perceived as low in value demonstration.

The team surveyed 105 Israeli adolescents, average age 15, who had engaged in at least one problem behavior in the previous month. Each teen reported the most serious behavior their parents had discovered and then rated how their parents reacted—whether through warnings or by trying to understand their child’s perspective. The teens also shared how these reactions made them feel: Did they experience the reactions as supportive or as controlling? Did they feel motivated to stop, or did they feel defiant? Finally, they rated how much their parents generally demonstrated their values in daily life.

The findings were clear: When parents were perceived as low in value demonstration, their teens were much more likely to experience their warnings as “need thwarting.” But when parents were perceived as high in value demonstration, their warnings were more likely to be seen as protective and the teens experienced the warnings as “need supporting.” Teenagers in these families were less defiant and felt more supported, even if the warnings included unpleasant consequences, such as the loss of privileges.

Stopping teens’ risky behaviors

The researchers discovered that while authentic parental values reduced defiance, they did not, by themselves, lead teens to stop their risky behaviors.

“We were surprised to learn that even children who perceived their parents as demonstrating their values in their everyday behavior experienced their parents’ warnings as frustrating and insensitive to their basic psychological needs,” says lead coauthor Avi Assor at Israel-based Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. “We thought that because parents’ warnings referred to potentially harmful problem behaviors, children who appreciate their parents as good models of virtuous behavior may not experience these warnings as insensitive to their needs.”

Instead, the team found that the only parenting reaction linked to actually stopping the problem behavior was “perspective taking”—when parents tried to understand their child’s feelings and reasons. This empathic approach seemed to prompt reflection, making it more likely that teens reconsidered and stopped their risky actions.

In short: Putting yourself in your teenager’s shoes may be your best bet in trying to keep your child safe.

The researchers for this study came from Ben-Gurion University, Achva Academic College, Clark University, University of Rochester, and the University of Haifa.

 

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Journal

Journal of Youth and Adolescence

DOI

10.1007/s10964-025-02196-7 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Parents Value Demonstration as a Determinant of Youth Experiences and Responses to Parents’ Warnings Following the Onset of Risk Behavior

 

AI model helps boost pandemic preparedness

Scripps Research breakthrough reduces antibody discovery time from weeks to hours, potentially revolutionizing pandemic response and therapeutic development.

Scripps Research Institute

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image: 

Scripps Research scientists used a graphical neural network-based structure building tool, ModelAngelo, to discover monoclonal antibodies (bottom) from polyclonal antibody responses produced after mouse vaccination (top).

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Credit: Scripps Research

LA JOLLA, CA—Scientists at Scripps Research have developed a novel method that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced imaging techniques to more accurately and efficiently identify therapeutic antibodies to treat infectious diseases.

The breakthrough method, published in Science Advances on August 15, 2025, reduces the time needed to identify protective antibodies from weeks to under a day—while offering a scalable approach that minimizes data bottlenecks and accelerates research. This advancement could transform how researchers develop treatments for influenza, HIV and other infectious diseases, particularly during health emergencies where rapid response is critical.

“This represents a paradigm shift in how we discover antibodies,” says study senior author Andrew Ward, professor in the Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology at Scripps Research. “By harnessing AI to analyze the structural details of immune responses, we can now identify the most promising therapeutic candidates in mere hours, with better success rates than traditional methods. This could be game-changing for pandemic preparedness and therapeutic development.”

Finding the needle in a haystack

Antibodies play a critical role in the immune system because of their ability to latch onto and neutralize bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. These large, Y-shaped proteins are naturally produced by the immune system, but can be engineered as treatments for cancer, autoimmune disease and infections. They’re among medicine’s most important therapeutic tools, comprising more than 200 approved drugs worldwide due to their safety and effectiveness in treating diverse diseases.

However, traditional antibody discovery methods are labor-intensive and time-consuming, requiring researchers to screen thousands of candidates individually to find those that bind to the right targets and still provide enough protection. This is because when the body encounters a threat like a virus, it produces a huge, diverse array of antibodies—but only a select few are able to target vulnerable spots that can neutralize the pathogen or provide therapeutic benefit. Sorting through this complexity has historically been a major bottleneck in drug and vaccine development.

AI meets advanced microscopy

Researchers have recently developed a potential solution to this problem by combining two powerful technologies: cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM), which uses an electron beam to capture images of antibodies binding to their targets at near-atomic resolution, and ModelAngelo, an AI tool that builds molecular models from the cryoEM images and predicts which antibodies could provide protection. Leveraging these two technologies, Ward and his laboratory analyzed the structural patterns of antibody responses, and then used ModelAngelo to identify the most compatible antibodies from its database. This method, known as Structure-to-Sequence (STS), builds on previous findings from Ward’s lab that leveraged cryoEM to rapidly map all of the antibodies elicited by an infection in a matter of days.

“What’s exciting about this method is that it removes much of the guesswork from antibody discovery,” says first author of the study James Ferguson, a staff scientist in the Ward lab. “Instead of randomly screening thousands of antibodies, we can look directly at the immune-response structure and identify the ones that are binding to functionally important sites. ModelAngelo then helps us find these antibodies in genetic databases with remarkable precision.”

To demonstrate real-world therapeutic potential, the team tested the antibodies identified by ModelAngelo in animal models to see how well they protected against influenza. The researchers found that the antibodies identified with the ModelAngelo-powered STS pipeline showed significant protection from the virus—indicating that this method could be a powerful tool to identify the most protective antibodies against disease.

Preparing for the next pandemic

The implications extend far beyond influenza. The method’s speed and accuracy make it particularly valuable for responding to emerging infectious diseases, where rapid development of treatments can save lives.

“The integration of AI with immune response analysis not only accelerates vaccine development but also enhances our ability to respond swiftly to emerging pathogens,” Ward noted. “By streamlining the discovery of protective antibodies, this pipeline paves the way for faster, more targeted therapeutics in the face of future global health threats.”

To build upon their work, the research team has initiated collaborations with labs across Scripps Research to continue studying how ModelAngelo could revolutionize therapeutic antibody development. Ward and his lab envision a future where their method is able to support evolving health challenges, ultimately bringing life-saving treatments to patients faster than ever before.

In addition to Ward and Ferguson, authors of the study, “Functional and epitope specific monoclonal antibody discovery directly from immune sera using cryoEM,” are Sai Sundar Rajan Raghavan of Scripps Research; Garazi Peña Alzua of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Disha Bhavsar of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Jiachen Huang of Scripps Research; Alesandra J. Rodriguez of Scripps Research; Jonathan Torres of Scripps Research; Maria Bottermann of MIT and Harvard; Julianna Han of Scripps Research; Florian Krammer of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Medical University of Vienna; and Facundo D. Batista of MIT and Harvard.

This study was supported by the Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (CEIRR) contract # 75N93021C00014), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai institutional funds (F.K.), and by the National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health Award Number P01 AI136621 (A.B.W.).

About Scripps Research

Scripps Research is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institute ranked one of the most influential in the world for its impact on innovation by Nature Index. We are advancing human health through profound discoveries that address pressing medical concerns around the globe. Our drug discovery and development division, Calibr-Skaggs, works hand-in-hand with scientists across disciplines to bring new medicines to patients as quickly and efficiently as possible, while teams at Scripps Research Translational Institute harness genomics, digital medicine and cutting-edge informatics to understand individual health and render more effective healthcare. Scripps Research also trains the next generation of leading scientists at our Skaggs Graduate School, consistently named among the top 10 US programs for chemistry and biological sciences. Learn more at www.scripps.edu.

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Journal

Science Advances