Valentin Roci, 27, told Basildon Crown Court he had re-entered the UK on a dinghy after already being arrested and deported in 2024. He claimed he had forced to deal drugs to pay off a £4,000 debt to the smuggling gang. But Judge Shane Collery KC told Roci he didn't believe him as the Albanian had already been caught possessing drugs a year prior. He ordered the drug-dealer be deported for a second time and the cash he was carrying be donated to charity.
"Depleted, disillusioned": Israeli army's manpower crisis worsens ahead of Gaza City takeover
The exhaustion and disillusionment facing the Israeli army have threatened to “complicate” Tel Aviv’s plans for the upcoming assault to seize and occupy Gaza City, according to soldiers and officers cited by the New York Times (NYT) on 28 August.
“It’s not clear how many of them will return to the fight,” NYT highlighted.
The report notes how a growing number of Israeli army reservists have not been showing up for service.
Around a dozen officers and soldiers told NYT that there are “depleted and exhausted units,” adding that 40 to 50 percent of their comrades were “not turning up for duty.”
https://thecradle.co/articles/depleted-disillusioned-israeli-armys- manpower-crisis-worsens-ahead-of-gaza-city-takeover
US Announces Plan To Arm Ukraine With Thousands of Long-Range Cruise Missiles
Ukraine will receive thousands of Extended Range Attack Munition missiles in a deal that will be funded by the US and several of its European allies.
The Trump administration has announced that it approved an $825 million weapons deal that will arm Ukraine with thousands of Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) air-launched missiles, which can hit targets up to 280 miles away, a significantly further range than other missiles that the US has sent into the proxy war.
https://news.antiwar.com/2025/08/28/us-announces-plan-to-arm-ukraine- with-thousands-of-long-range-cruise-missiles/
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CALIFORNIA FACES HIGH PUMP PRICES AS PHILLIPS 66 SHUTS ITS LA REFINERY
Phillips 66 will begin shutting down its 139,000 bpd Los Angeles-area refinery as soon as next week, sources told Reuters, moving forward on a closure plan announced last year. Units at the plant will idle in phases through Q4 2025, with the facility permanently offline by year-end.
The decision isn’t a surprise—Phillips 66 said in October it would exit the site, citing “market dynamics.” But it comes with fallout: about 600 employees and 300 contractors will lose their jobs by December, with only a handful reassigned to the company’s marine terminal. The company insists it will support workers through the transition, though local officials remain worried about the economic hit.
California, meanwhile, is staring at a bigger problem. Between Phillips 66’s LA facility and Valero’s Benicia refinery, scheduled to close in 2026, the state is set to lose roughly 17% of its refining capacity. That’s a dangerous haircut in a state already paying the nation’s highest pump prices. Analysts warn that by late 2026, California gasoline could top $8 a gallon if supply disruptions collide with fewer in-state refineries.
https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/california-faces-high-pump-prices- phillips-66-shuts-la-refinery
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Germany's Ruling CDU Party Targets Afghan & Syrian Benefit-Recipients In Push To Cut "Unsustainable" Welfare Budget
Germany’s ruling CDU/CSU bloc is demanding stricter limits on welfare, with party leaders pointing to high rates of reliance on the citizen’s allowance among Afghans and Syrians.
Deputy parliamentary group leader Mathias Middelberg said job centers must do more to place these groups into work, stressing there is “still considerable potential for catching up in terms of taking up employment.”
“Just 100,000 more people in work instead of relying on the citizen’s allowance could, depending on wage levels, relieve the federal budget in the low single-digit billion range every year,” the lawmaker told Bild. According to government figures cited by Middelberg, 52.8 percent of Syrians and 46.7 percent of Afghans in Germany rely on the citizen’s allowance, while only 36.7 percent of Syrians and 37 percent of Afghans hold jobs subject to social security contributions.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/germanys-ruling-cdu-party- targets-afghan-syrian-benefit-recipients-push-cut
Israeli Army Carries Out Landing Op Near Damascus, More Airstrikes
The Israeli military carried out a series of airstrikes as well as a landing operation in Syria Wednesday night, coinciding with ongoing negotiations for a security deal between Tel Aviv and Damascus.
“About 10 kilometers from the opening of the Damascus International Fair attended by President Sharaa, three Israeli warplanes took turns bombing Rif-Dimashq (Damascus countryside),” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.
Following the attack on Wednesday, Israeli ground forces were flown into the area via helicopter to carry out a raid on the site. The details of the landing operation are “not yet known,” a government source told Syrian state media outlet SANA.
Syrian army sources told AFP the landing operation lasted two hours, and that Israeli forces left the area afterwards. Six Syrian soldiers were killed in an attack on the same area on Tuesday.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israeli-army-carries-out-landing- op-near-damascus-more-airstrikes
Under 25 And Earning $1 Million: The New AI Job Market
The job market for new graduates is sluggish. In June, unemployment for recent college grads was 4.8%, compared with 4% for all workers, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
But there’s one big exception: AI talent. Young professionals in their early 20s with machine-learning skills are commanding extraordinary pay. Some are earning $1 million a year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/under-25-and-earning-1-million-new-ai- job-market
Switzerland at boiling point: Fears country could face autumn of riots as anger spills onto streets after spate of police-related deaths including migrant teen killed while fleeing officers
Switzerland may face more scenes of violence next week following two nights of rioting, according to one of the country's top sociologists. Dramatic riots erupted in Lausanne, Switzerland, over the weekend after a migrant teen was killed in a scooter crash while fleeing the police.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15045211/Switzerland-riots- police-migrant-teen-killed.html