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Iran War Updates: U.S. to unveil new sanctions Trump said would hit Iran with an “economic D-Day”– www.cbsnews.com
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The South Korean military said Monday the U.S. canceled a large, joint military exercise that had been scheduled to take place next month due to force limitations amid the war with Iran.

The Ssang Yong (Twin Dragons) exercise is a joint amphibious landing drill conducted regularly since 2012 by the South Korean Navy and Marine Corps alongside U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. British and other allied forces have taken part in previous years.

A spokesperson for the South Korean Marines said its U.S. counterparts had notified the force in June that “due to the situation in the Middle East,” the U.S.’s ability to deploy forces for the exercise was constrained this year.

The news of this year’s Ssang Yong drills being called off came a week after the U.S. cut short another major joint military exercise with South Korea, on President Trump’s orders, fueling concern in Seoul, and in Japan, that Washington is becoming a less dependable ally in the face of rising threats from North Korea and China.

Canada retaliates against U.S. tariffs with dollar-for-dollar levies– www.washingtontimes.com
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Canada is retaliating against President Trump’s 50% tariffs on Canadian products, threatening a dollar-for-dollar counterattack beginning Sept. 8.

The U.S. imposed tariffs on about $20 billion worth of goods from its northern neighbor following the collapse of trade negotiations. In response, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced he’s suspending talks and implementing retaliatory tariffs.

“Late last evening I instructed our negotiators to return to Ottawa. We cannot accept what the U.S. has offered, and we will not give what they have asked,” he said in a Saturday statement. “Canada will match the U.S.’ new tariffs dollar for dollar in order to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families, and businesses.”

He added that in the coming days, “we will release the details of these new tariff measures, which will come into force the Tuesday after Labor Day.”

Canada’s new tariffs will target steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics.

Washington “asked too much and offered too little,” Mr. Carney said.

Australia news live: PM, premiers and chief ministers sign firearms agreement; Sarah Hanson-Young scathing on Malcolm Roberts’ gay rights comments | Australia news– www.theguardian.com
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State and territory leaders and the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, have agreed to further tighten national gun laws in a meeting in Sydney.

Albanese said federal government intelligence would be shared with state and territory law enforcement agencies as part of the deal, and that only Australian citizens would be allowed to hold gun licences.

The push comes after the deaths in December’s antisemitic shooting at Bondi Beach and as the federal government’s national buyback plan falters due to low take-up by the states. Only NSW and the ACT have signed up so far.

Albanese said 3D printed gun technology would be banned, along with sharing of materials about their production.

CIA chief travels to Moscow for unannounced talks, US media reports– www.bbc.co.uk
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The trip is thought to be Ratcliffe’s first trip to Russia as CIA director, although he has maintained contact with his intelligence counterparts in Moscow.

John Foreman, who served as a British military attaché to Moscow between 2019 and 2022, told Radio 4’s PM programme that the visit could be focused on “escalation management” given speculation recent drone activity in Germany could be linked to Russia.

He said: “The Americans don’t normally send such a high ranking official to Moscow unannounced at short notice unless something is up.”

Foreman said the trip could also concern the release of US detainees currently being held in Russia.

Ratcliffe played a role in negotiations for the release of Russian-American citizen Ksenia Karelina, who was jailed in Russia for over a year after being accused of providing support to Ukraine.

Satellite Images Reveal Possible Cause Behind Devastating Nepal Flash Floods– www.ndtv.com
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In a preliminary satellite analysis, Planet Labs released images that reveal visual evidence of the destruction caused by floods in Nepal that killed at least 46.

Several others, including 108 Indians, are missing, as the flash flood hit Nepal on Wednesday, washing away villages and many project sites in a region bordering Tibet.

Nepal’s disaster authority (NDRRMA) described that a chunk of snow and rock broke off near the glacier zone on the Nepal-China border, about 20km northeast of the Rasuwagadhi border crossing.

That avalanche either fell into a glacial lake or blocked the river channel, and the resulting surge, carrying glacial ice, meltwater and debris — “glacier-inclusive flood” — swept down the Lhende Khola into the Bhote Koshi river.

Donald Trump earns more in last two years ‘than previous 60 combined’ | World | News– www.express.co.uk
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Donald Trump’s personal wealth has ballooned, reportedly earning more in the last two years than the previous 60 combined. The US president has seen his net worth go from £1.73 billion in 2024 to £4.81 billion in 2026.

Roughly 26% of Trump’s wealth comes from “pre-existing real estate and golf” ventures. But the overwhelming majority comes from cryptocurrency, with the total going up by a staggering 183% in two years.

Trump launched his “Official Trump” ($TRUMP) meme coin in January 2025, days before his inauguration. It went onto the market with a valuation of £11.26 billion, it is now worth £339 million, a 97% drop.

But this didn’t hurt Trump, who never directly invested in the coin. Instead, he was paid a 1% to 5% transfer fee every time a $TRUMP meme coin was bought or sold.

Steven Ratner, a former Obama staffer and journalist, called the increase “unprecedented in scale and source”. He said: “Obama’s wealth grew from royalties on books written before office — and Bush’s mostly from a sports‑team stake from over a decade prior. Most of Trump’s new billions are from deals made in office.”

Flawed Appellate Decision Upholding an Online Parental-Consent Mandate Merits Reversal | American Enterprise Institute– www.aei.org
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A federal appellate court recently rejected First Amendment and vagueness challenges to an Ohio parental-consent statute that limits minors’ access to social media platforms “reasonably anticipated to be accessed by children.” The Sixth Circuit’s divided decision in NetChoice v. Yost is an unusual setback for NetChoice, an internet trade association that won a similar battle in June. The appellate court’s ruling vacates a 2025 lower court opinion blocking enforcement of the statute, which forbids Ohioans under age 16 from creating accounts on regulated platforms unless they obtain verifiable parental or guardian consent.

Yost, in which the two judges who sided with Ohio didn’t always agree with each other, is troubling for several reasons. One is its exceedingly deferential interpretation—in Ohio’s favor—of the evidence about harms platforms supposedly cause minors. As Techdirt’s Mike Masnick explained, “The first few pages of the decision are nothing but cherry-picked, out-of-context horror stories about what social media does to kids—with no mention of the substantial corresponding evidence that the picture is far more complicated than that.”

Another problem is how Judge Eric Clay determined Ohio’s statute survived the typically fatal strict scrutiny standard of judicial review. He did so by arguably misinterpreting and dubiously distinguishing the US Supreme Court’s formidable Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association decision. I’ve previously explained that the Court in Brown applied strict scrutiny to invalidate a California parental-consent statute restricting minors’ access to violent video games.

‘Intimidation’: French Warship Accused of Opening Fire to Threaten MP– www.breitbart.com
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A senior British politician accused the French government of attempted intimidation after a warship made a close pass and commenced a live firing exercise unannounced while he was observing migrant boat crossings in the English Channel.

Conservative Party home affairs spokesman Chris Philp was joined by government-adjacent news outlets on a hired boat in the English Channel on Wednesday morning to record interview pieces about the boat migrant crisis, but was interrupted by a small French warship engaging in what was said to be a live firing exercise. Philip called the shooting an apparent attempt at intimidation by the French, given the sea was otherwise clear of craft, the firing only took place as the French warship was at its closest point of approach to the British boat, and there was no warnings broadcast by radio beforehand.

British state media the BBC, which was interviewing Philp at sea as the firing commenced, caught in their footage the French patrol boat P676 Flamant passing approximately 300 meters to starboard while the Conservative politician delivered a piece to camera, and as the firing began. Coastal patrol boats of the Flamant type, which are mainly for coastal constabulary duties, carry no fixed naval weapons systems but can embark machine guns, and in this case the firing exercise was reported to be a French officer discharging a handgun at a towed target.

Philip told the BBC that the shooting in close proximity to his boat where there was plenty of sea room to exercise elsewhere “felt to me like an attempted intimidation to stop us covering migrant crossings”. He told the broadcaster:

It is extraordinary that the French Navy will fire live rounds to defend their waters against a visiting British politician but cannot bear to do anything about stopping illegal Channel crossings.

If France showed people smugglers half the seriousness they showed me, the boats would stop.

Instead, the French wave them through and pass them off to the British coastguard so it’s our problem.

Iran releases sick video on ‘where and how’ to kill Melania Trump | World | News– www.express.co.uk
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A horrifying video released in Iran has sparked outrage after the clip detailed “how and where” to kill First Lady Melania Trump. In the footage, a narrator speaking Farsi discusses “plots” while images show Mr and Mrs Trump on a map, detailing their code names and the precautions the Secret Service takes to secure the streets along their motorcades.

The narrator claims that “the documents used in this video are the result of extracting information from several anonymous security networks and satellite images”. They also propose a potential poisoning plot that could be executed by “freedom fighters” with access to locations the First Lady frequently attends.

The footage implies that Mrs Trump’s “love of fashion” reflects her vulnerability, even suggesting potential bribery schemes tied to her shopping patterns.

Billboards have also appeared on bridges and structures throughout Tehran, Iran, calling for the deaths of Mr Trump and his family members. One featured images of his children, Ivanka and Barron, alongside his wife.

All three were shown with their eyes closed, with the word “KILLED” in red across the top. It added: “Hey, Terrorist! Get ready to die.”

Army tests ‘Hammer of the Gods’ system overseas for first time– www.foxnews.com
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NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

The U.S. Army on Sunday revealed it has tested a new warfare system overseas designed to covertly scramble the navigation signals used by enemy precision weapons, making it harder for adversaries to accurately strike targets from long distances while avoiding detection.

The electronic system, dubbed “Hammer of the Gods,” was tested at sea off the U.S. West Coast for the first time in mid-July as part of the Project Convergence Capstone 6 (PC-C6) experiment.

While land-based versions have been demonstrated over the past two years, the exercise marked the official debut of the maritime variant, the Army said.

The portable signal disruptor can reportedly blind enemy to several precision-guided weapons such as long-range artillery, guided missiles and cruise missiles.

The Hammer of the Gods was tested overseas for the first time in mid-July. (U.S. Army)

The radio signals specifically jam positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) signals, including GPS data, that precision weapons rely on to navigate accurately.

Without reliable PNT data, weapon accuracy drops sharply, increasing the likelihood of delayed missions and missed targets.

The system also creates a resilient communications network that allows friendly forces to stay connected despite heavy electronic jamming.

Trump might pause Blanche nomination as GOP senators object to IRS settlement– www.latimes.com
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The high-stakes nomination of Todd Blanche to be attorney general has turned into a clash of wills between President Trump and two Senate Republicans whose political careers he claims credit for ending.

After a vote on Blanche’s nomination was delayed over concerns raised by two lame-duck Republican senators, the president said Thursday he might put Blanche’s nomination on hold rather than meet their demands.

Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) have indicated that they will vote to support advancing Blanche’s nomination only if the Justice Department provides written assurance that it has completely abandoned a controversial $1.8-billion “anti-weaponization” fund created as part of a settlement between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service and will limit the scope of tax audit immunity granted to Trump, his sons and a business.

Those provisions were part of a proposed settlement of a $10-billion lawsuit Trump filed against the IRS, which is part of his administration.

“The opposition to such a high-ranking executive branch nomination from within Republican ranks is quite unprecedented,” said Phil Brest, who was a top Democratic staffer for the Senate Judiciary Committee during the nominations of Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr and Merrick Garland, who each served as attorney general.

Lawyer for GOP Rep. Max Miller’s ex-wife files for restraining order as abuse allegations against congressman swirl– www.cbsnews.com
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The ex-wife of Republican Rep. Max Miller asked a court Thursday to issue a restraining order blocking the two-term Ohio congressman from contacting her lawyer, as her allegations that he assaulted her — which Miller denies — continue to plague his contentious reelection campaign.

Miller pledged on Sunday to stay in the race as he vehemently denied the recent allegations that have swirled against him.

“I’m not getting out of this race, and I’m winning in November,” Miller said.

In court filings, ex-wife Emily Moreno alleged that Miller has repeatedly had physical and verbal altercations with her attorney, Andrew Zashin, after recent court hearings in an ongoing custody battle. The pair already have court-ordered restraining orders against each other. They share a young daughter after a brief marriage that began in 2022 and ended in June 2025.

After a May court hearing, Moreno alleged that Miller insulted Zashin’s fiancée in front of witnesses at an Ohio courthouse, and alleged that after a hearing this week, the congressman physically grabbed Zashin and another attorney.

U.S. investigating if Iran was behind cyberattack on water systems in 7 states, including Minnesota and Michigan– www.cbsnews.com
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Malicious cyber activity affected technology at water systems in at least seven states this week, including Minnesota and Michigan, forcing some utilities to switch to manual operations as state and federal authorities dig into who is behind the attack, CBS News has learned.

Investigators are probing to determine whether the activity is the work of Iranian hackers, according to U.S. officials and sources familiar with the incident. Sources cautioned that since they had not definitively attributed the attack, their assessment could change as additional technical evidence is collected. They are also probing whether the actor could have attempted to appear Iran-based as a way of stirring the pot amid the ongoing U.S. conflict with Iran.

The FBI reported incidents in “at least seven states” but didn’t identify them. On Saturday, Michigan joined Minnesota in reporting cyberattacks on the state’s water systems but an official said all systems were operating “safely.”

Dale George, the director of communications at the state’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, told CBS News in a statement that the state received “a small number of reports from Michigan communities indicating activity consistent with what federal agencies described.”

Iran pledges Hamas support as Trump promotes Gaza disarmament plan– www.foxnews.com
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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called Hamas’ newly elected leader to congratulate him and pledge Tehran’s continued support for the group’s cause, Hamas said Monday — as President Donald Trump promotes a landmark agreement intended to strip the terrorist organization of its weapons and power in Gaza.

Pezeshkian congratulated Khalil al-Hayya on his election as head of the group’s political bureau and told him Iran would continue supporting the Palestinian cause, according to a Hamas statement posted in Arabic, and reviewed by Fox News Digital.

“We are with you, and we support you in every action you take, despite the attacks we are facing,” Pezeshkian said, according to Hamas’ account of the call.

Israel says it has serious concerns with Hamas disarmament deal– abcnews.com
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TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel has shared “serious security concerns” with the White House regarding the proposed disarmament deal with Hamas, an Israeli official said as Israeli strikes overnight and into Sunday evening killed at least 17 people, including children, in Gaza.

The remarks by Doron Spielman, spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, were some of the first public comments since U.S. President Donald Trump announced the agreement.

Spielman told The Associated Press that Israel’s intelligence assessment is that Hamas remains committed to rebuilding its military rather than genuinely demilitarizing. He said the Israeli military would not withdraw from Gaza — where it controls more than 60% of the territory — before Hamas disarms.

Iran furiously hits back at Donald Trump claim with ‘US aggression’ warning | World | News– www.express.co.uk
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Iran has furiously hit back at earlier claims from Donald Trump that new talks are imminent over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s foreign Minister, Esmaeil Baghaei said the regime was merely holding talks with Oman in order to establish a temporary safe route through the Strait of Hormuz.

He stated that there were no plans either to receive a delegation or to send one. He also noted that an agreement with Oman, despite its location along the strategic waterway, would not by itself be sufficient to facilitate the waterway’s reopening. Earlier, Donald Trump asserted that talks with Iran were scheduled to take place that day and claimed that Washington and Tehran had reached an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route that Iran has largely restricted since the outbreak of the conflict.

Speaking on board Air Force One on Sunday, he said Iran “knew the extent of the attack because they saw it forming”, adding: “We are talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon.”

Blanche withdraws Trump fund plan in writing, ahead of AG confirmation vote– www.bbc.co.uk
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Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche has formally withdrawn President Donald Trump’s plan for a fund that could have been used to compensate people prosecuted over the US Capitol riot by Trump’s supporters in 2021.

The move clears the way for Blanche to be confirmed by US senators to his job on a permanent basis.

Trump’s Republican Party previously lacked the votes for this to happen because a pair of senators were not sufficiently satisfied by verbal assurances from Blanche that the planned fund was dead.

In a post on X late on Sunday, external, Blanche said he had “met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions”.

Graphics card prices jump by up to 20% in China as shops stockpile Nvidia and AMD GPUs– www.techspot.com
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Ripple effect: Just when it seemed like graphics card prices couldn’t get much worse, the memory crisis has delivered another unpleasant surprise. Nvidia and AMD GPU prices have surged in China, with some models rising by as much as 20% in a single week and premium cards now selling for almost 60% above their official MSRPs.

Distributor lists from MSI and Colorful reveal the increases. MSI raised the RTX 5080 Shadow 3X OC and Ventus from 9,999 yuan ($1,477) to 11,999 yuan ($1,773), a 20% jump in seven days. Its RTX 5070 Ti Shadow 3X OC rose 19.5%, while the RTX 5090D V2 increased 13%. What’s worse is that these cards were already well above their suggested prices before the latest adjustment.

Comparing the new figures with Nvidia’s Chinese MSRPs makes the situation look even worse. MSI’s RTX 5070 Ti Gaming Trio OC is now 54% above the base MSRP, while the RTX 5080 Gaming Trio models are around 57% higher. Colorful’s RTX 5080 Vulcan W OC is priced at 13,199 yuan ($1,949), 59% above MSRP, and its RTX 5070 Ti Vulcan W OC carries a similar 58.7% premium.

The increases aren’t just limited to Nvidia. A market snapshot showed Radeon cards climbing across Chinese retailers, with some RX 9000 models seeing double-digit increases. AMD reportedly warned Asus, XFX, Sapphire, and other partners earlier this month that its GPU-and-memory bundles would become 10% more expensive.

The culprit is, of course, the continuing rise in GDDR6 and GDDR7 costs, combined with more expensive PCBs, coolers, and packaging. Nvidia supplies board partners with GPU and memory kits, so higher VRAM costs are passed directly to manufacturers. Reports claim the latest adjustment adds around 600 yuan ($89) to 8GB cards, 900 yuan ($133) to 12GB models, and 1,200 yuan ($177) to 16GB products.

A new poll shows the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has a bigger bounce for his party than expected, with Labour now leading reform in the latest political polls. Labour took the lead by four over Reform. It is the first lead it has had since March 2025. Restore Britian was not offered as one of the choices in the poll.

Poll shows Labour ahead of Reform UK for first time since Burnham became PM – UK politics live | Politics– www.theguardian.com
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Labour has regained its lead over Reform UK in More in Common polling, Luke Tryl, its director, says.

Here are the figures it has released today.

Opinion poll Photograph: More in Common

Tryl says:

Our latest voting intention sees a cross over. Labour move ahead by 4. Their first lead since March 2025 & highest share since Nov 24

He also says the Greens are on their lowest share of the vote since Zack Polanski became leader.

This is the first poll to show Labour ahead of Reform UK since Andy Burnham became PM. Other polls last week showed Labour narrowly behind Nigel Farage’s party, or Labour and Reform UK neck and neck.

For much of the past year, Reform UK has had a lead of 10 points or more over other parties in most opinion polls. Here are the figures from the Politico poll of polls tracker.

AI Capability Races Ahead of the Business Payoff | American Enterprise Institute– www.aei.org
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The state of the AI revolution can be confusing. At times, it can seem as if the latest artificial intelligence models are showing huge capability increases. One example is when two OpenAI models broke out of the lab, accessed the internet, and broke into another AI company. Or, as a Wall Street Journal headline put it, “The Day the Bots Broke Loose.”

But then you might come across another headline from the Wall Street Journal: “Big Companies Are Starting to Hire Again, Defying Predictions of AI Wipeout.” And from that piece:

The push to expand head count, at least modestly, is a reversal from the prevailing corporate messaging during much of the AI era. Major employers largely held back on adding people due to economic uncertainties or a belief that artificial intelligence could shoulder more tasks on the job. But some executives say the costs and limitations of AI now demand that more people be added; others want to hire people back following layoffs.

Venezuela Quake Toll Passes 5,500, Operation Blessing Provides 70,000+ Meals and More– www.cbn.com
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It’s been just over a month since the June 24 earthquakes devastated Venezuela. The death toll is now above 5,500 as teams removing debris continue to find bodies.

The government is estimating the total damage at $19.6 billion so far. That includes $9 billion in destroyed or severely damaged homes.

More than 23,000 people are living in temporary locations. CBN’s Operation Blessing is on hand to help those who’ve lost their homes.

Theiris Dellimore was living on the street after the quake. Authorities told her the home was too dangerous to live in, that parts of it could collapse.

The Operation Blessing team provided Theiris and her family with a tent, mattresses, food, and hygiene supplies. Now, she says, they’re safe from the rain and the cold at night.

“Gracias. First of all, thank you. May God continue to bless you so that you can continue to bless Venezuela so that you can continue to help us. We’re just getting started. We still have a long way to go. Don’t forget about us,” she said.

Firefighters in France hold back vast wildfire as heat returns to test their grip– abcnews.com
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Firefighters have kept a vast wildfire in southwest France from advancing overnight, extinguishing flare-ups near Atlantic coast dunes before returning heat and drier air threatens to test their hold on the blaze

LEGE-CAP FERRET, France — Firefighters kept a vast wildfire in southwest France from advancing overnight Tuesday, extinguishing flare-ups near Atlantic coast dunes before returning heat and drier air threatened to test their hold on the blaze.

The fire remained stabilized at 6 a.m. after a calm night and the burned area was unchanged at 420 square kilometers (162 square miles), the Gironde prefecture said.

Several flare-ups were detected overnight north of Le Porge and in dune land north of Cap Ferret but were brought under control by firefighters, authorities said.

The areas lie along the Atlantic coast west of Bordeaux, where crews have battled the blaze since it erupted near Saumos last week.

Russia charges Telegram founder with aiding terrorism and puts him on wanted list– abcnews.com
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Russia’s main domestic security agency said Wednesday that Pavel Durov, founder of the messaging app Telegram, has been charged with “aiding terrorism” and put on an international wanted list.

Telegram’s administration has not removed “numerous channels, chats and bots” that are “actively used by Ukrainian intelligence agencies, terrorist, and extremist organizations to prepare and coordinate acts of sabotage and terrorism, mass murder, and cyberfraud” in Russia, the agency said in a statement Wednesday,

The Federal Security Service is also known as the FSB,

Charges against Durov come as Russia restricts Telegram, one of the most popular messaging apps in the country. Durov earlier this year announced that the Russian authorities opened a criminal investigation against him and accused them of fabricating pretexts to restrict access to Telegram as part of an attempt to “suppress the right to privacy and free speech.”