❗️A Ukrainian drone dropped ammunition on the territory of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant; the plant facilities are not damaged, the operational services of the region told Sputnik.

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⚡The Russian forces repelled three Ukrainian attempts to break through the state border in the direction of the Kursk region.

Ukrainian losses amounted to 50 militants and three tanks, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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❗️Key statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the State Council Presidium on the issue of export development:

◾️BRICS countries' contribution to global economy exceeds that of the G7 and continues to grow

◾️Russia is an active participant in international trade despite the difficulties faced by business

◾️World trade and the global economy are actively changing, with countries in the Global South emerging as leaders

◾️The markets of the future are currently being formed in the world based on strong strategic partnerships

◾️Putin called Western elites' actions against Russian financial institutions and payment systems hostile

◾️Russia has managed to solve the problem of settlements to a certain extent

◾️Russia's non-raw material exports grew by 5% in seven months, to $89.8 billion

◾️Russia has already become one of the world's leading exporters in food supplies

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More statements by the Russian Defense Ministry on Ukraine's incursion into the Russian Kursk region:

▪️Ukrainian losses amounted to over 300 militants and seven pieces of military equipment, including two Leopard tanks.

▪️One Ukrainian soldier was taken prisoner during an unsuccessful counterattack in the Kursk region.

▪️Ukrainian forces lost over 17,000 soldiers during the fighting in the Russian Kursk region.

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❗️The head of the IDF's Northern Command has announced a new phase of Israel's military campaign on the Lebanese border, calling on forces to be ready for "maneuver and action".

In addition, the IDF have decided to mobilize two reserve brigades to carry out tasks on the northern front.

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At least 10 people have died and more than a hundred have been missing after heavy rains caused several rivers to burst their banks in Chiang Rai province, Thailand.

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❗️The IDF says they attacked 60 targets in Lebanon belonging to Hezbollah intelligence infrastructure

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What are Ukraine's financial prospects?  

Ukraine's public debt will amount to 101.8% of GDP by the end of 2025, Ukrainian media reports.

According to the analysis, it plans to attract $34.8 billion in external loans. 

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov admitted that Kiev is dependent on Western partners for more than 80% of its military needs.

"Today, international military assistance is the basis of our assistance... We are more than 80% dependent on our partners. We work with the European Union, NATO, SAG-U (the Security Assistance Group of Ukraine), EUCOM (the European Command of the US Armed Forces), the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany and a dozen other countries in a bilateral format on a daily basis," Umerov said.

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A ten-year-old girl who got lost in the woods in Louisiana, US, has returned home, thanks to a thermal imaging drone that tracked her down.

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📹 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has a "very busy schedule" during the high-level week at the UN General Assembly, with many officials seeking a meeting with him, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin told Sputnik.

"Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, who heads the Russian delegation, has a very busy schedule. He has many multilateral events and bilateral meetings on the schedule," Vershinin said.

Many officials are seeking an opportunity to communicate with Lavrov on the UNGA sidelines in New York, Vershinin added.

Such meetings enable Russia to promote "true multilateralism" based on international law and the UN Charter "in their entirety and interrelation," Vershinin said.

"This is our principled approach and we will adhere to it," the deputy foreign minister said.

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The USNS Big Horn, the only US Navy oil replenishment ship stationed in the Middle East to support Israel, ran aground off the coast of Oman on Monday, according to US officials who spoke to CBS News.

The ship sustained significant damage leading to partial flooding and is now being escorted by tugboats to a nearby port for a thorough inspection.

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Top dog no more: Britain loses status as one of world’s industrial leaders

With the UK already facing a veritable exodus of the wealthy due to the policies of Keir Starmer’s government, the country’s industrial sector is not faring any better.

A number of prominent enterprises across the country have suffered serious setbacks in recent months, with industrial production sinking to the previously unseen lows.

◾️ An Indian steel manufacturer is shutting down its blast furnaces in Port Talbot, Wales as the company commissioned a new massive blast furnace in India. This move may cost the UK some 4,000 jobs, according to local media, as the blast furnaces are expected to be replaced by electric arc furnaces for steel recycling.

◾️ Chinese-owned British Steel is also moving to shut down its blast furnaces in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, as the UK government pushes to have them replaced with electric arc furnaces – all part of London’s war on carbon emissions.
*Shipbuilder Harland and Wolff (the company that, among other things, constructed the Titanic) confirmed last week that it is going to be placed into administration amid the apparent lack of orders.

◾️ Britain has lost its place in the top 10 manufacturing countries of the world, ranking only 12th after being surpassed by nations such as Mexico, Italy, France and Russia. Back in 2000, the UK ranked 5th and its current fall from the top 10 is the first since the Industrial Revolution, The Telegraph mournfully notes.


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51 people killed and 223 wounded as a result of Israeli strikes in Lebanon on Wednesday, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry

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Price of Nord Stream’s destruction revealed?

The group responsible for the terrorist attack on the Nord Stream pipelines was primarily composed of civilians and was orchestrated by Roman Chervinsky, a former officer in Ukrainian special services, according to German media.

Reports indicate that the operation's price tag was approximately $300,000, allegedly funded by private sources.

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Race for Africa: Biden to visit Angola as the nation's ties with China are burgeoning

US President Joe Biden will visit Angola from October 13-15 to “strengthen ties” with Africa and counter China’s growing influence. Biden's agenda includes discussing economic issues, such as the expansion of the 1,300 km Lobito Corridor railway project to connect the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, with Angolan President Joao Lourenço.

Lobito Corridor: Western project to squeeze China out

🔸 The Lobito Corridor linking Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia and Tanzania is pushed by the US to curtail China's influence in southern Africa.

🔸 The corridor is designed to run through mineral-rich DRC which boasts large deposits of gold, cobalt, lithium and copper to provide access to the US and Europe to Africa's rare earths and reduce the West's reliance on China for critical mineral supplies.

🔸 Since 2022, over $3 billion has been dedicated by the US to the corridor's development.

🔸 On September 24, Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted a Lobito Corridor Roundtable with the African nations participating in the project.

China's strategic cooperation with Angola and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Africa

🔸 Since the 2010s, China and Angola have been developing cooperation including within the BRI project.

🔸 The total investment by Chinese companies in Angola has exceeded $24 billion, according to the Chinese Embassy in Angola. The embassy said China supported up to 2,800 km worth of railway restoration; 20,000 km of roads development; and the construction of 100,000 housing units.

🔸 Angola is China's eighth-largest oil supplier. In March, the China National Offshore Corporation started talks with the nation on joint oil exploration.

🔸 China and Angola jointly implement agricultural projects, as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Angola António Francisco de Assis told the Chinese press on September 9.

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