"...one shouldn't put one's trust in speeches like that from the gentlemen, for on such occasions the gentlemen liked to say agreeable things, but they had little or no significance and, once uttered, they were forgotten for all time, but admittedly, on the very next occasion one got caught again in their trap."

With these words Kafka described the modern condition, each one of us trapped in the sticky web of technology and deceit designed to manipulate us to act and think against our selves, to accept the role of monkeys offered bananas in a cage, surrendering the struggling to escape it.

The most dangerous element of that technology is the constant and increasing flood of images of war, of "terror," of cities destroyed, cultures erased, entire progressive socio-economic systems torn apart, or threatened with destruction, not by the "terrorists" but by the states that declared their "war on terror," by the states that in reality created the terror in all its forms; the worst being the constant threat of instant and universal annihilation in a nuclear war.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn used his spot on the Glastonbury festival's main Pyramid Stage to hit out at "elites" that doubted his party's election campaign, and reminded supporters of their power to affect change in the UK.

Fresh from an election in which Labour unexpectedly gained seats, Corbyn addressed thousands of festival goers at Worthy Farm, Somerset on Saturday.

After thanking event organizer Michael Eavis for providing the setting, Corbyn opened with a short message for US President Donald Trump: "Build bridges not walls."

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's ultimatum to Qatar threatens a wider regional war pitting key allies of the US against each other.

In July 1914 warmongers in the Habsburg government sent an insanely worded ultimatum to Serbia. Emperor Franz Josef I - 84 and in poor health - did nothing to restrain them, whilst they were actually egged on by the Habsburg empire's powerful but wilful ally, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.

The result was a geopolitical catastrophe which brought about the end of the Habsburg empire.

US rules out "land-grab" in Syria; says Syria 'welcome' to defeat ISIS and free Deir Ezzor.

Colonel Ryan Dillon, the spokesman for the US led Coalition against ISIS, has spoken of the Syrian government today in more positive terms than any other US official since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011.

Specifically Dillon is reported to have said that the US led anti-ISIS Coalition is purely focused on destroying ISIS, and that to the extent that the Syrian government also acts to destroy ISIS that is welcomed by the US led Coalition and by extension by the US:

If it looks like they are making a concerted effort to move into ISIS-held areas, and if they show that they can do that, that is not a bad sign. We are here to fight ISIS as a coalition, but if others want to fight ISIS and defeat them, then we absolutely have no problem with that.

Saudi Prince Khalid Bin Farhan al-Saud, who lives in Germany, has revealed what he claims are the US conditions for helping Mohamed Bin Salman to become King of Saudi Arabia before his father's death, thenewkhalij.org reported on Friday.

Writing on Twitter, Khalid said that he had received the information from an informed source within Saudi Arabia's ruling family.

The alleged conditions include "absolute obedience to the US and Israel and carrying out whatever they ask him to do." Three other conditions, claimed Khalid, are stated in return for helping Bin Salman take the throne before the death of his father: "Working to settle all Gaza residents in north Sinai as an alternative homeland and Saudi Arabia along with the UAE will afford the needed funds; getting rid of Hamas and whoever supports it; and getting Sanafir Island from Egypt."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Turkey will never allow the establishment of a state in northern Syria, state-run Anadolu Agency reported Saturday.

"Nowadays, there is some negative progress in Syria. If that would cause any threat to our borders, the world should know that we would react the same as we did in Operation Euphrates Shield," Erdogan said during a speech in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa late Friday.

Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield last August to wipe out the Islamic State (IS) militants and stop the advance of Syrian Kurds in northern Syria. The operation ended in late March.

"In case of even the slightest threat against our country, we will do what's necessary without consulting anyone," Erdogan said.

The president also warned the United States to cut its ties with the People's Protection Units (YPG).

"We told our strategic allies to build cooperation with us in the fight against IS but they choose to operate with terror groups," he said.

Turkey considers the YPG Syrian affiliates of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and European Union.

However, the US supports the YPG as its ally on the ground in combating the IS in Syria, a policy that has caused tensions between Washington and Ankara.

Thousands of demonstrators formed a human chain around the American embassy in the South Korean capital, Seoul, to register their disapproval of the US-built THAAD missile defense system in their country.

According to organizers, 3,000 people attended a march through the center of Seoul, holding signs that read 'Koreans hate THAAD' and 'Yes to peace talks,' as well as banners directed at US President Donald Trump.

"The deployment of THAAD, which is unnecessary for the defense of the Korean Peninsula, should be pulled back," said one of the speakers at the rally, quoted by local news outlet Yonhap. "The South Korea-US summit to come next week should be a venue where the review of the THAAD deployment should be assured."

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in and Trump are due to meet for the first time in Washington next week, with THAAD expected to dominate the agenda.

The Arab states which isolated Qatar earlier this month aren't seeking regime change in the country but rather, an attitude change and want all their recently delivered demands to be fulfilled by Doha, Anwar Gargash, UAE's foreign minister has said.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Egypt and several other nations suddenly announced that they were severing diplomatic ties and transportation links with Qatar on June 5, accusing the Gulf monarchy of financing terrorism and meddling in the internal affairs of other countries.

On Thursday, the four nations presented a rigid 13-point ultimatum to Doha, giving the country a ten day deadline to comply if it wants the air, land and sea blockade lifted.

Gargash told reporters that the Arab Gulf states are seeking "behavioral change" and not "regime change" from Qatar, AP reported. Doha risks being banished from the Arab family if it fails to fulfill the demands of the quartet, he emphasized.

"The alternative is not escalation, the alternative is parting of ways, because it is very difficult for us to maintain a collective grouping," Gargash said as cited by Reuters.

The minister said a diplomatic solution remains a priority, but added, that Kuwait's mediation efforts were undermined by the leaking of the ultimatum's text.

"The mediators' ability to shuttle between the parties and try and reach a common ground has been compromised by this leak. Their success is very dependent on their ability to move but not in the public space," Gargash said.

AP has obtained a copy of the Arab demands "from one of the countries involved in the dispute," revealing that Qatar, among other things, is being pressured to cut ties with Iran, stop its support for Muslim Brotherhood and other radical groups, shut down its Al Jazeera broadcaster, close a military base housing Turkish troops on its territory and pay a fine.

Following months of legal wrangling and public protests, Egypt's president approved the transfer of the isles of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia, with opponents accusing the government of selling territory in exchange for Saudi subsidies.

"President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has ratified the maritime demarcation agreement between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," read a statement from the cabinet office. The handover of the two uninhabited islands, initially announced in 2016, was approved by parliament on June 14, amid heated scenes both inside and outside the chambers.

Cairo and Riyadh say the islands are located in Saudi territorial waters and were leased to Egypt in 1950, at the behest of the Saudi authorities, as Egypt was better placed to use the isles to control Israel. The two rocky outcrops guard the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba, Israel's only access point to the Red Sea and all southern maritime trade routes.

The islands were occupied by Israel during two conflicts and were last returned to Egypt in 1978, as part of the Camp David Accords, the peace treaty between the two countries that endures to this day.

Opponents of the handover say the islands were first granted to Egypt by a treaty signed between the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire in 1906, at a time when modern-day Saudi Arabia did not even exist as a state. They charge that Riyadh's claims came much later and say the handover was agreed following years of talks and, pointedly, forms part of a $23 billion aid and investment package signed between Saudi Arabia and Egypt in April last year.

The exploits of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has triggered a trend where a growing number of state and non-state actors are eager to leak top secret US documents to the media and the public in pursue of glory, money or "whatever," the CIA director has said.

"I think there is a phenomenon, the worship of Edward Snowden, and those who steal American secrets for the purpose of self-aggrandizement or money or for whatever their motivation may be, does seem to be on the increase," Mike Pompeo said in an interview with MSNBC news.

The US intelligence and cyber security services now need to work overtime to keep American secrets safe. Despite past failures, for now, the US government agencies seem to be on top of things.

"We have an important obligation to perform counterintelligence that is protecting secrets that America steals from somebody stealing it back from us. And there have been failures," Pompeo admitted. "It's tough. You now have not only nation states trying to steal our stuff, but non-state, hostile intelligence services, well-funded - folks like WikiLeaks, out there trying to steal American secrets for the sole purpose of undermining the United States and democracy," Pompeo said, noting that President Donald Trump is committed to stopping the leaks.