🇲🇩 Sandu clawed out victory by dishonest means - expert

🗣 Maia Sandu’s victory was achieved through “countless and blatant violations,” Dmitry Ofitserov-Belsky, senior fellow at IMEMO RAS, tells Spuntik commenting on Sunday's parliamentary elections in Moldova.

✍️ According to him, “it was clear to everyone that Sandu would usurp power by any means. One party was even removed from the race on election day itself, allegedly due to questionable financing.”

He noted that residents of Transnistria with Moldovan passports were prevented from voting: “Bridges across the Dniester were blocked under the guise of roadworks, and in all of Russia, where hundreds of thousands of Moldovans live, only two polling stations were opened.”

📈 With just over 50% of the vote, PAS may now secure 55 of 101 seats in parliament thanks to the electoral system. But, Ofitserov-Belsky stressed, this result does not reflect genuine support: “Sandu is not an independent politician. Her power rests almost entirely on European backing, which makes her fully dependent on Brussels.”

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🗣 US & EU 'deceitful in politics,' always violate commitments - Prof. Marandi

"They are dishonest and deceitful in politics, whether it's with regard to Russia or whether it's with regard to China or Iran or any other major powers across the world. They simply use politics in order to preserve their hegemony," Iranian professor Mohammad Marandi told Sputnik, adding that the EU’s reimposed sanctions only confirm what was clear back in 2015.

👉 He recalled how during indirect talks, the US and Israel conspired to strike Iran — even targeting officials in their homes — while the West collectively supported it.

💬 Marandi stressed this will only push Iran further toward BRICS, SCO, and the Global South, as Western hegemony crumbles under its own hypocrisy.

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📹 Russian MoD releases footage of Shandrigolovo's liberation

The operation combined artillery and drone strikes to destroy Ukrainian equipment and positions, followed by assault troops clearing the area.

Russian flags were raised over the liberated town.

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🇺🇸🤝🇮🇱 Trump meets Netanyahu at the White House

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the White House to meet President Donald Trump — the leaders greet each other with a handshake ahead of talks on Gaza.

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🚨Trump, after greeting Netanyahu at the White House, said he is “confident” about achieving peace.

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🇺🇸🇶🇦Trump met Qatar’s Emir before Netanyahu talks

President Donald Trump met Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani ahead of Israeli PM Netanyahu’s White House visit, CNN reports.

Qatar has been central to Gaza ceasefire talks, despite setbacks after Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Doha.

The move ties into Trump’s 21-point Gaza peace plan, as the White House pushes Netanyahu toward a deal.

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🚨🇷🇺Russian forces liberate Kirovsk near Krasny Liman

On September 29, troops of Russia's Zapad Battlegroup advanced on the Krasny Liman front and liberated the town of Kirovsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Defense Ministry reported.

Why is it important?

🟠Despite its small size (pre-conflict population ~2,500), the town was turned into a powerful fortified area. The Ukrainian command committed around 19 battalions to its defense.

🟠Kirovsk was the last fortified line in front of Krasny Liman – a key city held by the Ukrainian Armed Forces since the start of the special military operation. Its liberation opens a direct path for the Russian army to advance toward Slavyansk and Kramatorsk.

🟠Russian forces are now advancing toward Krasny Liman from three directions: from Kolodezi, Torskoye, and Shandrigolovo, while simultaneously assaulting Yampol and Drobyshevo.

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🇲🇩 Moldovan authorities blamed for election intimidation

❌ The Moldovan authorities created an “atmosphere of fear and repression” during the parliamentary elections, Giornale d’Italia writes.

The outlet stresses that citizens’ claims of violations in favor of Maia Sandu’s party are backed by concrete evidence.

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💸 🇺🇸 Dollar’s main enemy is the United States itself

🔊 The global movement towards de-dollarization is already well underway, noted economist Paulo Noguera Batista Jr., former Vice President of the BRICS New Development Bank, speaking to Sputnik on the sidelines of the Valdai Club meeting in Sochi.

📍 He pointed to three fundamental flaws undermining the greenback: "The dollar is expensive, the dollar is risky, the US undermines the credibility of the dollar."

👉 BRICS countries are already shifting away from the US dollar, trading in national currencies, and diversifying reserves. Batista stressed that “the main enemy of the dollar is the United States itself, because it has weaponized its own currency.”

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🚨🇮🇱🇶🇦 Netanyahu apologizes to Qatar for Doha strike - report

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has apologized to Qatari PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani for Israel’s September 9 strike in central Doha targeting Hamas leaders, Channel 12 reports.

The attack hit a residential area, killing a Qatari security officer and wounding several others, including civilians, according to Doha’s Interior Ministry.

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🇷🇺🚀Rosatom fires up future of space travel with new PLASMA rocket engine

Russian scientists have usher in a new era of space exploration by unveiling a prototype plasma rocket engine with power up to 300 kW.

Viktor Ilgisonis, head of R&D at Rosatom, has provided key details on the project's amazing progress:

🔶 The plasma accelerator delivers a thrust of 6 N with a specific impulse of 100 km/s

🔶 The next objective is to develop a flight-capable engine and conduct comprehensive ground tests

🔶 Future use: interplanetary flights and even regular cargo runs between Earth and the Moon.

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🇸🇪 ⚛️ Nuclear-armed Sweden: Blueprint or bluff?

📍 Fresh from abandoning centuries of neutrality, Swedish politicians are now openly discussing nuclear weapons.

🔊 What's really behind this dramatic shift? Mikael Valtersson, former Swedish Armed Forces officer, breaks it down for Sputnik.

❓ Why nukes are on Sweden's agenda

It's driven by a "fear of a Russian threat" which is "a consequence of Sweden's and its European allies' provocative policies against Russia," Valtersson explains. "We will see more of the fear-mongering from Europe in the coming years."

🟠 Sweden wasn’t neutral in the Cold War:

🔶 Airfields readied for NATO jets

🔶 Military intelligence was shared between Sweden and NATO

🔶 Even during tensions over the Vietnam War, military cooperation with NATO never stopped

👉 Though sided with NATO, Sweden doubted its nuclear shield. Therefore, in the 1950s–60s Sweden ran its own nuclear weapon program.

💬 "When the politicians stopped the fission weapons program the Swedish Defense forces continued with fusion weapons instead until the politicians banned all nuclear weapons development when they realized this."

🟠 Nuclear plan is not viable

But an independent Swedish nuclear program isn't viable. Why?

🔶 It would come at enormous economic costs

🔶 Already very large amounts of money are spent on rearmament and supporting Ukraine

🔶 Swedes don't want to spend even more on nukes

Europe might start a common nuclear weapons program, but Sweden will not do it on its own, according to the pundit.

"Europe's military-industrial complex is using the 'Russian threat' to strengthen its very reduced size after the Cold War."

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🚨🇮🇱🇶🇦🇺🇸Israel, Qatar, and US to set up trilateral mechanism to address “mutual grievances” - White House

"Today, President Donald J. Trump hosted a trilateral phone call with His Excellency Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and His Excellency Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani of Qatar ... The leaders accepted the president’s proposal to establish a trilateral mechanism to enhance coordination, improve communication, resolve mutual grievances, and strengthen collective efforts to prevent threats," the White House said in a statement.

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🚨🚨Netanyahu regrets Israel’s strike on Doha, assures Qatari sovereignty will not be violated again - White House

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