'People do not feel safe': Beirut's vice mayor condemns terrorist attack

Mohamed Said Fatha, Beirut's vice mayor, expressed deep sorrow over the recent pager detonations in the Lebanese capital, emphasizing the human toll of the tragedy.

"Unfortunately, it's bad news. We have been shocked by this event and hope that all the injured will recover and [may those killed] rest in peace," Fatha told Sputnik on the sidelines of the BRICS Urban Future Forum in Moscow.

Every day, the people of Beirut face uncertainty and the threat of violence. "People do not feel safe and they are not relaxed," he added, acknowledging the struggles of ordinary citizens.

Fatha reassured the public that the city is doing everything it can to help those affected, offering aid and shelter to those in need. "We are ready to provide them with houses if they do not feel safe. That's what we can do."

The vice mayor condemned the attack as an act of terrorism, noting that it targeted not just Hezbollah members but innocent civilians as well. "Some baby, some woman" were among the injured, adding a poignant reminder of the human cost of such violence.

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Russophobe and hypocrite: Who is going to become EU’s new chief diplomat

Estonia’s former Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is poised to become the European Union’s new High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and succeed Josep Borrell, a diplomat who famously called to resolve the Ukrainian conflict on the battlefield rather than at the negotiating table.

Here are some facts about the bloc’s future top diplomat and her accomplishments:

🔸Kaja Kallas became the first female prime minister in Estonia’s brief history in 2021 when the collapse of the previous cabinet necessitated the creation of a coalition government with the Reform Party she was leading at the time. She cemented her position in 2023 with the Reform Party’s triumph at the parliamentary election.

🔸Whatever statesmanship skill Kallas possesses apparently was not enough to fix the serious economic problems Estonia has been facing in recent years, with the budget deficit this year being expected to reach 3.8% of the country's GDP, while Estonia’s debt is poised to reach 23% of GDP (as per IMF estimates).

🔸Kallas is an outspoken Russophobe whose antagonistic stance towards Russia earned her the “new Iron Lady” moniker in Western media – a reference to the late Margaret Thatcher. She is an active advocate of military support for Ukraine and anti-Russian sanctions.

🔸Despite that, in August 2023 local media revealed that Kallas’ husband Arvo Hallik had a stake in a logistics company that kept doing business with Russia. While Hallik was quick to promise to sell his share, Kallas simply insisted that she was not aware of the company’s ties to Russia.

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🇨🇺The mayor of Cuba's Havana won the World Innovation Award in category 'Partnerships for the Goals' at the 2024 BRICS Urban Future Forum.

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Israel and US behind two waves of blasts in Lebanon to divert attention from Gaza genocide - expert

"Israel's primary objective is to deflect attention from its responsibility for the massacres and genocide occurring in Palestine and to shift the global public agenda," Mehmet Rakipoglu, a researcher with the London-based think tank Dimensions for Strategic Studies, tells Sputnik, referring to a new series of explosions in Lebanon.

After a massive pager detonation, the Middle Eastern country faced another wave of blasts on September 18. Earlier in the day, a Lebanese source told Sputnik that devices other than pagers had exploded in different parts of the country on Wednesday. Lebanese Labor Minister Mustafa Bayram called the blasts "a deliberate crime and a terrorist act" by Israel in an interview with Sputnik.

"The second critical issue is related to Israel's intelligence failures on October 7, 2023," Rakipoglu continued. "This lapse revealed a significant weakness in Israeli intelligence capabilities. Through these attacks, assassinations, and strikes against Hezbollah, Israel is aiming to restore its diminished intelligence reputation."

Speaking to Sputnik on Tuesday, military analyst Alexei Leonkov alleged that US intelligence services could be behind the explosions, referring to their advanced surveillance tools and ability to remotely interfere with the work of communication devices. The US has been developing this capability since the 1960s, when it kicked off the Echelon spying program, the expert noted. In 2013, ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden shed light on new instruments employed by American spooks.

Rakipoglu echoes Leonkov by saying that the US could have had a hand in the recent sabotage attack against Lebanon and Shiite movement Hezbollah.

"I'm definitely sure that the United States has some finger on it," the researcher said. "Now that since the US has been a partner during this Israeli genocide, the war on Gaza and also in Lebanon."

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Once a mayor, always a mayor: Welcome address by the Chair of the Jury

At the World Innovation Awards Gala Ceremony, Kuala Lumpur Mayor Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif expressed her gratitude to the Mayor of Moscow for hosting the 2024 BRICS Urban Future Forum.

Reflecting on her experiences, she shared that this was her fifth visit to Moscow, having first visited as the Mayor of Penang Island and later as the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme.

Now, she returns as the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur, humorously noting, "Once a mayor, always a mayor."

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🇶🇦Director of Qatar's Doha Municipality Mansour Ajran Al Buainain won the World Innovation Award in category 'Good Health and Well-Being' at the 2024 BRICS Urban Future Forum.

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❗️Vladimir Putin accepted the proposal of the Russian Foreign Ministry to sign a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement with Iran

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Why’s the US shelling out over $400 mln to rebuild a WWII-era Pacific island airfield?

The US Air Force is reclaiming an old airfield in the Pacific “as it prepares for a possible future fight with China,” a US media report said.

The airfield in question is located on Tinian island, and Washington is reportedly spending $409 million in efforts to “deter, or defeat, the Chinese military.”

Washington’s current enhancements are aimed at boosting the airfield's capacity for routine and contingency operations in support of missions in the vast Indo-Pacific theater.

In August 1945, Tinian’s North Field launched the two infamous US bombers that dropped nukes on Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing over 200,000 civilians.

Why do US hawks see Tinian as strategically important?

🔹Tinian is one of the Northern Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific, the US’s westernmost frontier, along with Guam;

🔹Tinian’s strategic importance stems from its proximity to Tokyo and China (less than 1,500 miles away from both);

🔹The island is 1,500 – 1,700 miles from the Taiwan Strait, and the East and South China seas;

🔹It’s already been used for military purposes, during WWII, the island housed two active airfields.

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Russian-Chinese Pacific Patrol-2024 drills beat expectations and will become annual event

The active phase of the Pacific Patrol-2024 joint drills by Russian and Chinese ships in the Peter the Great Gulf in Russia’s Primorsky region started on September 18.

During the exercises, Russian and Chinese coast guards practiced joint the search and detention of a rogue vessel from sea and air.

The participants also performed joint artillery firing and tested their crew’ readiness to carry out rescue operations for vessels in distress.

The drills’ success prompted both sides to decide to hold such exercises on an annual basis, increasing their complexity and intensity.

“One year they [Chinese coast guard] come to us [Russia], next year we go to one of the ports of the People's Republic of China at their invitation and meet our friends and colleagues there,” said Admiral Roman Tolok, head of the Coast Guard Department of Russia’s Border Guard Service. How did the drills go?

🔸China’s coast guard received information that a vessel under a made-up country of Oceania flag had entered the Sea of Japan through the Korean Strait and was approaching Vladivostok;

🔸According to mock operational data, its crew members had been previously involved in smuggling weapons, ammunition and military equipment. There was also “evidence” that the vessel had uncrewed boats;

🔸Russia and China decided to conduct a joint air and ship search for the vessel suspected of illicit activity;

🔸Three Russian and two Chinese coast guard ships then formed an operational team to stop the “criminals” from Oceania.

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🔸Israel and US behind two waves of blasts in Lebanon to divert attention from Gaza genocide - expert

🔸More communication devices explode across Lebanon: What is known so far?

🔸Ancient junk or useful tool? Who uses pagers in this day and age?

🔸Why’s the US shelling out over $400 mln to rebuild a WWII-era Pacific island airfield?

🔸Intel's woes prove US steadily losing innovation & tech leadership

🔸Putin: 'Russian women are the soul of Russia'

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🇧🇭The World Innovation Award in category 'Clean Water and Sanitation' went to the Bahraini sheikh, Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa at the 2024 BRICS Urban Future Forum in Moscow.

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🇹🇷The mayor of Turkiye's Ankara won the World Innovation Award in category
'Affordable and Clean Energy' at the 2024 BRICS Urban Future Forum in Moscow.

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🇮🇳Deputy Chief Minister of India's Karntaka won the World Innovation Award in category 'Decent Work and Economic Growth' at the 2024 BRICS Urban Future Forum in Moscow.

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US Senator Mark Warner thanks Meta* for deleting Russian media accounts

"I want to thank Meta, and I hope our committee's interest in this subject helped move you yesterday when you guys decided to take down RT and related Russian influence operations. I want to thank Microsoft for being forward leaning and publicly sharing information on, again, some of the Russian activities," he said at the US Senate Hearing With Top Tech Executives on Foreign Threats To Elections 2024.

*banned in Russia for extremism

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🇮🇷The mayor of Iran's capital Tehran received the World Innovation Award in category 'Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure' at the 2024 BRICS Urban Future Forum in Moscow.

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Meta* removes over 200 groups linked to Russia, China, and Iran, Nick Clegg says

"In fact, we have removed over 200 such networks since 2017, including networks from Russia, Iran, and China. We remain committed to stopping these threats, and we are constantly improving and evolving our defenses to stay ahead of our adversaries," President for Global Affairs at Meta, during the US Senate hearing with top tech executives on foreign threats to the 2024 elections.

*banned in Russia for extremism

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Warner unveils the ‘foreign adversary club’: China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea make the cut

Speaking at the US Senate hearing with top tech executives on foreign threats to the 2024 elections US Senator Mark Warner identified China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea as "hostile states" towards the United States.

"We are not cherry picking these adversaries. These are nation states that are in the law of our country - China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, others - have been designated as foreign adversaries," he said.

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🇦🇿The World Innovation Award in category 'Reduced Inequaities' at the 2024 BRICS Urban Future Forum in Moscow went to the mayor Baku, Azerbaijan's capital.

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