In the aftermath of Boris Johnson's "letterboxes and criminals" characterization of Muslim women who wear the burqa, and the calls for censorship of hate speech that resulted, supposedly level-headed social philosopher types have again made the point that censorship of such 'hate speech' will just push those opinions underground and embolden those that hold them. The correct response, indeed the solution to the problem (we're told) is not less speech but more speech; all opinions should be allowed so we can 'get them out there' and debate them and come to a sensible consensus.

This line of argumentation assumes that if racists, and in particular Islamophobes, are allowed to have their say, not only will their arguments be easily exposed for the ignorant diatribes they are, but that it will quickly become clear to all that such people are in the extreme minority in the civilized West. In that way, the theory goes, these people will be effectively silenced without resorting to restricting free speech. But there's a problem.

The problem is that it's not reasonable to suggest that the majority of 'Islamophobes' in Europe today are knuckle-dragging throwbacks to the pre-Enlightenment era who are instinctively suspicious of anything with which they are unfamiliar, hence their Islamophobia. The average Islamophobe in Europe today is, rather, a person who has been paying very close attention to the words and deeds of Western politicians and media pundits over the past 17 years. And what he/she has been hearing from those authoritative sources is that Muslims are terrorists with a rather strong aversion to Western people and their 'way of life'.

An app operated as part of an Israeli government propaganda campaign issued a "mission" for social media users to make comments against Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, accusing him of anti-Semitism.

This is the latest evidence of an Israeli campaign of psychological warfare against the UK's main opposition party.

The Act.IL app on Sunday falsely accused Corbyn of comparing Israel to Nazi Germany in a 2010 meeting which had been resurfaced by The Times last week.

The "mission" was documented in this Tweet by Michael Bueckert, a Canadian researcher who has been monitoring the app since last year.

The reality is very different from the app's claims.

President Donald Trump's enemies helped launch new sanctions against Moscow that were timed to undermine US Senator Rand Paul's bid to mend relations during his trip to Russia this week, former Foreign Service Officer and adviser to Senate Republican leaders, Jim Jatras, told Sputnik.

On Wednesday, the US State Department rolled out two rounds of anti-Russia sanctions over the Skripal affair. The first set will be implemented August 22 and the second round three months later unless Russia agrees to chemical weapons inspections.

Russian Federation Council's Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Konstantin Kosachev on Thursday said the new US sanctions will harm bilateral relations just days after he agreed with Senator Rand Paul to send a delegation to Washington. On Wednesday, Paul said he delivered a letter from Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin's administration about how the two countries could work together in many areas.

"This baseless 'finding' by the State Department, with heavy pressure from [US] Congress, appears to be an attempt to blunt any possible progress towards better relations with Moscow stemming from Senator Rand Paul's visit and his delivery of Trump's letter to Putin," Jatras said on Thursday.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Monday said every Palestinian killed by Israel in the Gaza Strip in the past four and a half months was a member of the Hamas terrorist group, apparently including a number of women and children in his overview of the fatalities.

The defense minister also said the next round of fighting with Hamas was a matter of "when," rather than "if." The current violence has largely subsided since Thursday under a de facto ceasefire agreement.

"Since the start of the 'March of Return' events, Hamas has sustained 168 deaths, 4,348 injured and dozens of terror facilities destroyed," Liberman said, referring to a series of organized protests and clashes along the Gaza border.

A spokesperson for the defense minister's office confirmed to The Times of Israel that Liberman's intention was to state that all 168 people killed were Hamas members.

Thousands of Jews and Israeli Arabs took to the streets of Tel Aviv Saturday shouting 'Equality' and 'Apartheid will not pass' in Arabic and Hebrew and waving Palestinian flags amid fears of discrimination on the basis of nationality following the passage of legislation declaring Israel to be a 'nation-state' and Hebrew its only official language.

"Yesterday we received unequivocal evidence of defiance to the existence of the State of Israel and the necessity of the Nation-State Law," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday.

"We saw flags of the PLO [Palestinian Liberation Organization] in the heart of Tel Aviv. In the heart of Tel Aviv!" Netanyahu emphasized. "We heard slogans in Arabic including 'By blood and fire we will clear Palestine.'"

"Many of the demonstrators want to repeal the Law of Return; they want to abolish the anthem and the flag, and turn Israel into a Palestinian state. It's clearer now more than ever that the Nation-State Law is needed to ensure the future of Israel as a Jewish State," Netanayhu said.

Answering potential critics, Netanyahu added that "Israel is a Jewish and democratic state. The personal rights of citizens are protected perfectly well in the Basic Law and by other laws."

Arab Israelis make up roughly a fifth of Israel's population of close to 9 million. Critics of the Nation State Law, which was enacted late last month by Israel's parliament, the Knesset, fear the law may lead to discrimination based on ethnicity and religion, and undermine Israel's status as a democratic state. Supporters of the law say it is largely a symbolic law enshrining the country's status as a Jewish state.

The trial in the US of Paul Manafort, a struggle to uncover 'Russian collusion', makes constant headlines. In Ukraine, however, the lobbyist has no cases or charges against him, ex-president Viktor Yanukovich's lawyer has told RT.

Donald Trump's former presidential campaign manager Manafort has been investigated by FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office as part of his grand probe into alleged 'Russian collusion' during the 2016 US election. So far, however, all accusations against him revolve around alleged laundering of more than $30 million in funds from undeclared lobbying activities in Ukraine. The political consultant had been reportedly working in the turbulent country between 2006 and 2015, helping not only deposed president Yanukovich and his Party of Regions, but also the current Ukrainian leader, Petro Poroshenko.

"As an attorney, as a lawyer, I can say that the court will have to decide whether or not he is guilty. Only courts have that right - to determine guilt or innocence," attorney Vitaly Serdyuk said. "I can only hope that Paul Manafort will not fall victim to the political games surrounding the election of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the US," he added.

The attorney stressed that the Ukrainian legal system has no questions for the lobbyist regarding his activities in the country.

In a rare statement Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has lashed out at the country's authorities, accusing them of poorly handling internal issues. The mismanagement is even worse than US sanctions, he said.

"It is not that the sanctions do not play a role; but a major part of the situation is the result of [government's own] actions," Khamenei said, according to Irna, as he was addressing thousands of Iranians in Tehran on Monday.

The supreme leader added that if Tehran acted "better and stronger" itself US sanctions would have not been so harmful.

The US reinstated certain economic sanctions against Iran last week, with President Trump promising more to come in November.

Moscow will continue selling off its holdings of US Treasury securities in response to the new penalties Washington is ready to introduce against Russia in the near future, according to Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.

The minister added that the government will stick to the plan of moving away from the US dollar for international trade, as it recently proved to be a "risky" payment method.

"I do not rule it out," Siluanov said in an interview with Rossiya 1 TV channel.

"We have significantly reduced our investment in US assets. In fact, the dollar, which is considered to be the international currency, becomes a risky tool for payments."

In 2010, Russia was among the top-10 holders of US debt at over $176 billion. With several rounds of US sanctions targeting Russia since 2014, Moscow began selling off its holdings to below $100 billion by October 2017.

Over the recent months the Central Bank of Russia dumped 84 percent of its remaining holdings of US Treasury securities due to concerns about a wide range of risks, including financial, economic and geopolitical. The country's holdings declined from $96.1 billion in March to just $14.9 billion in May.

In the latest threat to the US-UK special relationship, the US' top diplomat in Britain has called on London to back its pressure on Iran, warning of "serious consequences" for businesses who flaunt Washington's sanctions.

Accusing Iran of "squandering its money on proxy wars and malign activities abroad," US Ambassador Woody Johnson's op-ed in the Sunday Telegraph asked the UK to "use its considerable diplomatic power and influence" to join the US "as a united front" in its effort to secure "a genuinely comprehensive agreement" on Iran ending its nuclear program.

Reiterating a threat made by his boss, US President Donald Trump, on Tuesday, Johnson added that:

"The President has been explicit: any businesses that put their commercial interests in Iran ahead of the global good will risk serious consequences for their trade with the US."

Washington cannot dictate trade rules to others, Germany's economy minister said, adding that his country should be more assertive and defy American sanctions - particularly by investing more in Iran.

"We don't let Washington dictate [their will] on trade relations with other countries," German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier told Bild newspaper on Saturday. He said the US sanctions on Iran are one instance in which America's neglect of its partners are clearly shown.

Therefore, Germany and other European countries should feel free to pursue improved relations with Tehran.

"German businesses can continue to invest as much as they want in Iran," Altmaier said, adding, however, that "many companies depend on loans from banks, most of which refinance themselves in the US - and it creates problems."

Altmaier's words come after the Trump administration imposed a second round of sanctions targeting Iran's purchase of US dollars, despite pleas from some world powers. Earlier this year, Washington slapped Tehran with sanctions aimed at curtailing trade as well as the energy and shipbuilding industries.