Headline

Ukraine Worries Iran-Israel War Will Boost Russia’s Aggression

Published

3 months ago

June 19, 2025

Editor

Fighting between Iran and Israel could deflect global attention from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and even bolster Kremlin’s war effort, Ukrainian officials say.

Israel launched a massive bombing campaign on Iran last week that prompted Tehran — a close ally of Russia — to strike back with missiles and drones.

The conflict has pushed up the price of oil — a key revenue stream funding Russia’s invasion.

“For Ukraine, the challenge is the price of oil, because if prices remain high for a long time, the Russians will earn more,” a senior Ukrainian political source told AFP.

However, Kyiv has welcomed Israeli attacks on a country that has directly aided and provided weapons to Moscow for its own strikes on Ukraine.

The campaign has left several high-ranking Iranian military officials dead and put pressure on Tehran’s military capacity that is likely to limit the practical support it can provide to Russia.

“The Iranian regime is Russia’s ally, so the more they lose, the better,” the Ukrainian source said.

“Overall, Israel is doing the whole world a favour. That is a fact,” the source added.

The possibility of weaker support and attention from Washington, however, concerns Kyiv.

The administration of US President Donald Trump, Israel’s closest ally, has made it clear that its security priorities are the Middle East and Asia, with Europe lower on the list.

– ‘Iran is our enemy’ –

This could mean further Russian advances on the battlefield or deadly aerial attacks will meet with a muted reaction from a White House that already sees the Ukraine conflict mainly as a European problem.

Kyiv’s efforts to lobby for more support from Washington have been complicated by tense relations between Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian leader.

Zelensky recently conceded to journalists that war between Iran and Israel carried risks for Kyiv.

“No one is claiming to have a relationship more important than America and Israel, but we would like to see the aid to Ukraine would not be reduced because of this,” he said.

He referred to Israel’s war in Gaza that was sparked by a deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas, as a precedent for this.

“It was a factor that slowed down assistance to Ukraine,” he added.

In an interview with US media, the Ukrainian leader said at the beginning of this month that Washington could send “20,000” missiles needed by for Ukraine to shoot down Russian drones to the Middle East instead.

Senior officials in Zelensky’s office told AFP after the outbreak of the war in Gaza that it had spurred Ukraine to focus on developing its own arms industry.

Russia has rained down thousands of drones and missiles on Ukraine since it launched its full-scale invasion early in 2022, including Iranian-made and -designed projectiles.

Israel has claimed to have attacked production sites in Iran, which has also launched silos of missiles at Israel that now cannot be sent to Russia for attacks on Ukraine.

“Let’s hope that the corresponding production or transfer (of weapons) to the Russians will decrease. This helps Ukraine,” Zelensky said.

The British defence ministry said Iran’s supply of weapons to Russia could slow as a result of Tehran’s war with Israel.

But it said global focus on the Middle East could overall help Moscow.

“Russia almost certainly perceives some benefit in the conflict as it distracts international focus from its war against Ukraine,” it said on social media.

Moscow also produces its own drones and missiles, and has received projectiles from North Korea.

Ukrainian military analyst and blogger Sergiy Sternenko was among voices to issue caution against celebrating the attacks on Iran.

“Do not rush to get too excited about the strikes on Iran. Of course, Iran is our enemy, and we wish these pigs the worst. But fighting in the Middle East will inevitably lead to higher oil prices,” he wrote.

AFP

Headline

Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Is Dead

Published

1 hour ago

September 23, 2025

Editor

The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdulaziz, has died at the age of 82.

According to a statement from the Royal Court, the revered cleric passed away on Tuesday morning.

Born in Mecca in November 1943, Sheikh Abdulaziz rose to become one of the most influential religious authorities in the Kingdom.

He served as head of the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta, as well as the Supreme Council of the Muslim World League.

Headline

Antitrust Trial: US Asks Court To Break Up Google’s Ad Business

Published

1 day ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

Google faces a fresh federal court test on Monday as US government lawyers ask a judge to order the breakup of the search engine giant’s ad technology business.

The lawsuit is Google’s second such test this year, following a similar government demand to split up its empire that was shot down by a judge earlier this month.

Monday’s case focuses specifically on Google’s ad tech “stack” — the tools that website publishers use to sell ads and that advertisers use to buy them.

In a landmark decision earlier this year, Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that Google maintained an illegal grip on this market.

Monday’s trial is set to determine what penalties and changes Google must implement to undo its monopoly.

According to filings, the US government will argue that Google should spin off its ad publisher and exchange operations. The DOJ will also ask that after the divestitures are complete, Google be banned from operating an ad exchange for 10 years.

Google will argue that the divestiture demands go far beyond the court’s findings, are technically unfeasible, and would be harmful to the market and smaller businesses.

“We’ve said from the start that DOJ’s case misunderstands how digital advertising works and ignores how the landscape has dramatically evolved, with increasing competition and new entrants,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.

In a similar case in Europe, the European Commission, the EU’s antitrust enforcer, earlier this month fined Google 2.95 billion euros ($3.47 billion) over its control of the ad tech market.

Brussels ordered behavioral changes, drawing criticism that it was going easy on Google as it had previously indicated that a divestiture may be necessary.

This remedy phase of the US trial follows a first trial that found Google operated an illegal monopoly. It is expected to last about a week, with the court set to meet again for closing arguments a few weeks later.

The trial begins in the same month that a separate judge rejected a government demand that Google divest its Chrome browser, in an opinion that was largely seen as a victory for the tech giant.

That was part of a different case, also brought by the US Department of Justice, in which the tech giant was found responsible for operating an illegal monopoly, this time in the online search space.

Instead of a major breakup of its business, Google was required to share data with rivals as part of its remedies.

The US government had pushed for Chrome’s divestment, arguing the browser serves as a crucial gateway to the internet that brings in a third of all Google web searches.

Shares in Google-parent Alphabet have skyrocketed by more than 20 percent since that decision.

Judge Brinkema has said in pre-trial hearings that she will closely examine the outcome of the search trial when assessing her path forward in her own case.

These cases are part of a broader bipartisan government campaign against the world’s largest technology companies. The US currently has five pending antitrust cases against such companies.

AFP

Headline

Google Faces Court Battle Over Breakup Of Ad Tech Business

Published

1 day ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

Google faces a fresh federal court test on Monday as US government lawyers ask a judge to order the breakup of the search engine giant’s ad technology business.

The lawsuit is Google’s second such test this year after the California-based tech juggernaut saw a similar government demand to split up its empire shot down by a judge earlier this month.

Monday’s case focuses specifically on Google’s ad tech “stack” — the tools that website publishers use to sell ads and that advertisers use to buy them.

In a landmark decision earlier this year, Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that Google maintained an illegal grip on this market.
Monday’s trial is set to determine what penalties and changes Google must implement to undo its monopoly.

Google will argue that the divestiture demands go far beyond the court’s findings, are technically unfeasible, and would be harmful to the market and smaller businesses.

In a similar case in Europe, the European Commission, the EU’s antitrust enforcer, earlier this month fined Google 2.95 billion euros ($3.47 billion) over its control of the ad tech market.
Brussels ordered behavioral changes, drawing criticism that it was going easy on Google as it had previously indicated that a divestiture may be necessary.

The trial begins in the same month that a separate judge rejected a government demand that Google divest its Chrome browser, in an opinion that was largely seen as a victory for the tech giant.

That was part of a different case, also brought by the US Department of Justice, in which the tech giant was found responsible for operating an illegal monopoly, this time in the online search space.
Instead of a major breakup of its business, Google was required to share data with rivals as part of its remedies.

The US government had pushed for Chrome’s divestment, arguing the browser serves as a crucial gateway to the internet that brings in a third of all Google web searches.
Shares in Google-parent Alphabet have skyrocketed by more than 20 percent since that decision.

Judge Brinkema has said in pre-trial hearings that she will closely examine the outcome of the search trial when assessing her path forward in her own case.

These cases are part of a broader bipartisan government campaign against the world’s largest technology companies. The US currently has five pending antitrust cases against such companies.