The Daily Populous

Monday July 27th, 2026 evening edition

image for Pentagon reports more than 600 Iran war casualties in quiet database update

The Pentagon updated its official war casualty database over the weekend, adding more than 140 wounded service members.

According to the updated database, the official toll for the earlier phase of the US-Iran war, known as Operation Epic Fury, now stands at 14 service members killed and more than 400 wounded in action.

These figures have been a point of contention after the Pentagon previously reduced the totals from 18 deaths and 482 wounded that had been recorded just days earlier.

The dispute comes after the collapse of the ceasefire with Iran and the resumption of near-daily airstrikes beginning on 6 July.

Analysts and officials have questioned whether casualties from the renewed fighting should be counted separately from Operation Epic Fury, a move that would be unprecedented.

The Trump administration has argued that the April ceasefire with Iran paused the clock on 1 May for the conflict’s initial period.

View image in fullscreen Reporters raise their hands to ask questions during a briefing on the Iran war with Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon in Washington DC on 16 April. »

The solarisation of Pakistan’s energy economy

Authored by ember-energy.org
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Residential electricity demand has risen by a third (32%) in just two years, driven almost entirely by distributed solar.

This suggests that residential solar is overwhelmingly about meeting new electricity demand, which in turn is being stimulated by solar itself.

Almost a fifth (18%) of Pakistani households now have solar: 7 million of the country’s 40 million households, representing 16.9 GW of capacity. »

Putin Urges Russian Society to Embrace Ukraine War as Casualties Reach 1.4 Million — UNITED24 Media

Authored by united24media.com
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Russian leader Vladimir Putin called for Russian society to be “imbued” with the importance of the war against Ukraine, presenting public commitment to the war as a national priority, according to The Moscow Times on July 27.

Russia must “imbue the consciousness of our society… with the importance of the cause” the servicemen serve, Putin said, according to The Moscow Times.

On July 13, he ⁠endorsed a proposed television show about drone warfare, praising efforts to popularize the war among Russian audiences. »

Russia uses sexual torture as systematic weapon against Ukrainian men: Report

Authored by timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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Russia uses sexual violence as a weapon against Ukrainians, WSJ report.

Russian forces have used sexual violence as a systematic weapon of war against Ukrainian men, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation.The report, based on testimony from Ukrainian prosecutors, UN investigators and interviews with former prisoners of war, found that sexual torture of male Ukrainian soldiers and civilians has become a core Russian tactic since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.Before he left for the front line, Serhii Boychuk told his wife he didn't want to be taken alive. »