This article contains descriptions of physical and sexual violence, which may be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

Ukrainian men detained by Russian and Russian-affiliated forces, including prisoners of war, regularly report that their captors, including penitentiary staff, engaged in sexual violence. Reports include rape, threats of rape, forced penetration with foreign objects, electric shocks to genitalia, and other forms of torture like those Lakhno experienced. The abuse is said to punish, intimidate, demoralize, or extract confessions.

. . .

A military psychologist who worked at Sanzhary Hospital, a Ukrainian state-run facility for former POWs, told me that about 80% of the former detainees she assisted had experienced sexual violence in Russian captivity.

. . .

Yet, the options for help are limited. Upon returning to Ukraine, POWs are entitled to four to eight weeks of government-funded medical and psychological treatment. While services are available, Ukrainian groups say they are far from sufficient.

MBFC
Archive

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says Israeli attacks have killed 77 so far today, as army jets continue non-stop bombardment across the country, including in the suburbs of the capital Beirut.

Israel says “more than 20” Hezbollah members were killed alongside Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday.

At least 3,661 people have been killed in Haiti in the first half of this year amid the “senseless” gang violence that has engulfed the country, according to the United Nations.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Friday that the death toll between January and June – which included 100 children – showed that last year’s “high levels of violence” had been maintained.

JERUSALEM (AP) — With Israel’s defense minister announcing a “new phase” of the war and an apparent Israeli attack setting off explosions in electronic devices in Lebanon, the specter of all-out combat between Israel and Hezbollah seems closer than ever before.

Myanmar’s military coup leaders have urged their opponents to put down their weapons and start political dialogue, in a surprise move that was swiftly rejected.

The State Administration Council (SAC), as the military has styled itself since seizing power in February 2021, urged the ethnic armed groups and People’s Defence Forces (PDF) fighting against military rule to give up what it described as the “terrorist way” and start political dialogue.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Every day at 7 a.m., President Andrés Manuel López Obrador strolls onto a stage in Mexico’s National Palace, clad in a smart suit and tie, and peers out at a room of bleary-eyed reporters and social media personalities. “Buenos días, look alive!” the 70-year-old leader calls out in a gravelly voice.

TOKYO (AP) — The person chosen Friday to lead Japan’s governing party, and become prime minister next week, is a veteran politician with deep policy experience, a taste for curry and anime — and big challenges ahead of him as he tries to unite a fractious party and hold off an opposition eager to capitalize on recent corruption scandals.

Shigeru Ishiba has long been popular with voters but has often struggled to win over his conservative fellow Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers.

Egypt’s foreign minister, Badr Ahmed Mohamed Abdelaty, accused Israel of bringing the region “to the brink” and blamed only that government for not reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, despite the several efforts of some countries of the region.

In the early morning of September 26, Sudan’s army launched a major offensive to capture the capital Khartoum from the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel arrived in the Mexican capital on Sunday to attend the inauguration of Claudia Sheinbaum, who will be inaugurated on October 1.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — China and Russia got their turns at the U.N. General Assembly podium on Saturday, but — per usual — their top leaders didn’t speak. Instead, they turned to their foreign ministers, WANG YI and SERGEY LAVROV.

U.S. government legal actions targeting a network of Russian influence last week have exposed shortcomings in the country's laws designed to tackle the malign influence of foreign agents, experts told the Kyiv Independent.

. . .

The U.S. Justice Department indicted Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, two RT employees, on charges of violating foreign agent and money laundering laws for funding a news network out of a Tennessee LLC called Tenet Media. The outlet funded a roster of “independent” U.S. social media figures known for commentary critical of NATO and Western support for Ukraine.

. . .

As with many of the sanctions that the U.S. has put out against Russians over the past two and a half years, they don't mean much more than an annoyance for the sanctioned.

MBFC
Archive

Not for the first time, there are mixed messages emanating from the Kremlin. The Russian president said he supports Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, while the Kremlin’s extensive propaganda machine is apparently very much behind Donald Trump.

. . .

Putin's comments, delivered with a wry smile, are at odds with multiple reports and intelligence assessments that have concluded Russia's propaganda machine has backed Trump since the 2016 U.S. presidential election and is working to help him get reelected this fall.

. . .

For a better understanding of the Kremlin's hopes for the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, a more accurate picture can be gleaned from looking at Russia's state propaganda operations.

MBFC Archive