The Iranian people are the greatest threat to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) , according to Brent Sadler , a senior fellow in naval warfare at The Heritage Foundation.

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Air pollution comprises a complex mix of particulate and gaseous agents, including fine particles (PM2.5 and PM10), ozone, nitrogen oxides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, that penetrate the respiratory system and exert systemic effects. In men, chronic exposure disrupts spermatogenesis and impairs semen quality through oxidative stress, endocrine perturbation and direct genotoxicity. Elevated reactive oxygen species overwhelm antioxidant defences, leading to lipid peroxidation of sperm membranes and DNA strand breaks. Airborne toxins can also act as endocrine disruptors, altering testosterone synthesis and disturbing the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis. Epidemiological studies have documented declines in sperm concentration, motility and normal morphology among populations residing in heavily polluted regions, with evidence of seasonal variation correlating with peaks in ambient pollutants. Animal experiments corroborate these findings, demonstrating compromised testicular histology and reduced fertility indices. The global burden of subfertility linked to air pollution underscores the need for regulatory measures and targeted interventions to safeguard male reproductive health.

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Whether Germany is spending too much on defense has become the most polarizing economic and political debate in the country , following the Cabinet's July 2026 approval of a sweeping, defense-heavy ⁠2027 draft budget . Under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, core defense spending is set to jump by more than a third from €82.2 billion in 2026 to €109.7 billion in 2027 . This historic pivot aims to fast-track Germany's NATO commitment to reach 3.5% of GDP by 2029 .

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In the space of 10 days in late April 2026, insurgents in Pakistan purportedly carried out 27 attacks in the country’s southwest province of Balochistan, killing at least 42 military personal. Then, on May 11, authorities announced that a suicide bombing plot on the capital, Islamabad, had been foiled. Authorities arrested a girl over the incident – a nod to militants’ increasing use of young Baloch women to carry out attacks.These incidents represent the latest flaring up of a long-running insurgency in Pakistan’s largest province and home to around 15 million people.

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U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday evening that he does not know whether Washington and Iran are returning to a full-fledged war, but told reporters that Iran “badly” wants to make a deal to cease escalating hostilities in the Middle East.Trump flew back to Washington, D.C., via the U.K. on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One as he departed the U.K.’s Mildenhall Air Force Base, the president said American forces had “just hit [Iran] very hard.”

“I say we hit them 20 to 1 – every time they hit us, we’re going to hit them 20, and we did it last night,” he said. “They did a little something today, but it was really retribution for last night … when they hit, we hit back much harder.”

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Stocks rose on Thursday, bolstered by a jump in semiconductors and a fall in oil prices, as equity markets tried to recover in spite of renewed U.S.-Iran tensions.The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.30% to 26,206.89, while the S&P 500 rose 0.81% to 7,543.64. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 139.02 points, or 0.27%, to 52,487.41.The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) climbed 2.5%, led by a 4.5% gain in Micron Technology’s stock. Sandisk’s stock also popped 7.6%.European stocks also bounced back on Thursday as investors monitored renewed tensions in the Middle East, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index closing up 0.8%.

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Ceasefire collapses: Exchanges of fire between the US and Iran over the past several days thrust the Middle East into a renewed state of volatility. Iran’s state media reported more strikes over Thursday, but the US has not confirmed it was responsible for the most recently reported attacks.

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A federal judge blocked the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) demands for the identities and personal information of thousands of people who helped run the 2020 election in Georgia’s Fulton County, calling the request “unreasonable.”U.S. District Judge William Ray II, an appointee of President Donald Trump, said the DOJ’s attempt to force Fulton County to divulge the election workers’ names, home addresses, emails and phone numbers through a subpoena was “staggering.”

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Through a shadowy network of online recruiters, Russia has quietly assembled a pipeline funneling thousands of Africans from nearly every country on the continent into the front lines and factories supporting Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine. These were not the destinations the young Africans thought they had signed up for. Many were looking for jobs, training, or opportunities abroad. Drawn by promises of life-changing salaries, they instead found themselves trapped in a war far from their home countries.

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Pressure on Maine Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner continues to mount following allegations of sexual assault. The mass withdrawal of support follows an in-depth report by Politico that included an admission by his ex-girlfriend, Jenny Racicot. She accused Platner of raping her in a 2021 incident.

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