🇰🇵 North Korean FM Choe Son Hui will visit Russia and Belarus — Reports

Pyongyang's top diplomat will travel to both countries following official invitations from their foreign ministries, KCNA reports.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹 ASEAN Summit begins as Trump lands in Kuala Lumpur

The 47th ASEAN Summit opened in Kuala Lumpur moments before President Trump's arrival — with a historic moment captured by Sputnik.

The flag of Timor-Leste was raised alongside member states for the first time, marking its official accession to the Association after years of waiting.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🗣 Hamas signals potential disarmament if occupation ends, demands major aid increase

Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya stated the group's weapons are "linked to the existence of the occupation" and would revert to a Palestinian state if it ends, Al Jazeera reports.

The group will begin searching for Israeli captives' bodies in new areas Sunday and accepts UN forces as ceasefire monitors.

Al-Hayya emphasized that Gaza needs 6,000 aid trucks daily — not the current 600 — accusing Israel of acting "as if we are still in the middle of a war."

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

✍️ HISTORIC MOMENT: Timor-Leste signs ASEAN accession document

Leaders of ASEAN member states formally signed the declaration on East Timor's admission to the bloc in a ceremonial moment captured by Sputnik.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇹🇭🤝🇰🇭 Trump unveils details of Thai-Cambodia peace deal

Trump is speaking in Kuala Lumpur ahead of the signing of the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords.

Here are the terms:

🟠 Both countries are agreeing to cease all hostilities and work to build good neighborly relationships

🟠 Eighteen Cambodian prisoners of war will be released

🟠 Observers from ASEAN countries, including Malaysia, will be deployed to make sure that the peace prevails and endures

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇺🇸🇰🇭🇹🇭 Trump announces signing a 'MAJOR' trade deal with Cambodia, 'very important' critical minerals agreement with Thailand

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇰🇭 🏅 Cambodia nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨📹 Thai PM Anutin Charnvirakul & Cambodian PM Hun Manet sign a peace deal overseen by Trump

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨 Putin visits command post of United Group of Forces — Kremlin

🔊 The president held a meeting attended by Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and commanders of the groupings involved in the special military operation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

👉 All participants gave the Supreme Commander-in-Chief a detailed report on the situation along the line of contact.

Putin received a separate report on the Kupyansk and Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) directions. Up to 5,000 Ukrainian servicemen are encircled in the Kupyansk area and about 5,500 in the Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) area.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨 KEY DETAILS OF CHIEF OF THE GENERAL STAFF GERASIMOV'S REPORT TO PUTIN

🔸 Tsentr battlegroup completes encirclement of enemy forces near Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) and Dimitrov, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to President Putin

🔸 Zapad battlegroup has encircled Kupyansk, seized a crossing over the Oskol River, and blocked the Ukrainian grouping in the area

🔸 According to Gerasimov, the Zapad battlegroup is completing the liberation of Yampol, while Volchansk is said to be 70% liberated.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨 Putin: Russia tested advanced weapon prototypes during strategic nuclear forces exercise

The Russian Armed Forces carried out training and combat launches involving all three components of the country’s strategic nuclear triad during the drills held earlier this week, he said.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨 Putin: Tests of the Burevestnik missile completed

The Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile is a UNIQUE system with no analogues in the world, he said, adding that the key testing objectives have been successfully achieved.

🔸 The Burevestnik test, which took place on October 21, saw the missile cover a distance of 14,000 kilometers — and that is not the limit, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to the President.

🔸 According to Gerasimov, the Burevestnik demonstrated its capability to bypass missile defense systems.

🔸 Putin noted that significant work still lies ahead before the missile can be placed on combat duty.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨 Putin: Ukrainian forces use civilians as human shields

🔹 Ukrainian soldiers are being shot in the back [by the Ukrainian army], making it difficult for them to surrender, Putin said during a meeting with Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov

🔹 He called for prisoners to be treated in accordance with Russian and international law

🔹 The president also stressed that assistance must be provided to local residents during the clearing of territories from Ukrainian forces to help them evacuate to safe areas. Ukrainian formations, he said, are using civilians as human shieldsHe called for prisoners to be treated in accordance with Russian and international law

🔹 Putin instructed that all necessary measures be taken to ensure the safe surrender of Ukrainian servicemen, noting that the Russian army has historically treated defeated opponents with mercy and will continue to do so

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇨🇳🇺🇸 US, China reach trade framework - Bessent

The US and China reached a “very successful” framework for the upcoming leaders’ summit, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after two days of talks in Malaysia.

China’s top trade negotiator Li Chenggang and VP He Lifeng are sitting down with Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Malaysia.

The talks aim to ease tensions after Donald Trump threatened to slap new 100% tariffs on Chinese goods starting November 1, in response to Beijing’s expanded export controls on rare earth materials and key manufacturing inputs.

👉 Bessent made it clear that the White House might delay imposing new tariffs until after Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet in South Korea to allow them time to resolve trade spat-related issues.

👉 China earlier reiterated its call for “equal” trade talks, with Chinese FM spokesman Guo Jiakun stressing that “tariff wars and trade wars are not in the interests of any parties.”

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇺🇸🇧🇷 Trump meets Brazil’s President Lula da Silva

The event is taking place during Trump’s visit to Malaysia. This is the first official meeting between the two leaders since the start of the crisis triggered by the US 50% tariff on Brazilian products.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🔸 Putin: Tests of nuclear-powered Burevestnik missile completed

🔸 Russian Gen Staff updates Putin on situation on the battlefield

🔸 Trump unveils details of Thai-Cambodia peace deal

🔸 Timor-Leste joins ASEAN as 11th member

🔸 Hamas signals potential disarmament if occupation ends

🔸 Trump slaps Canada with 10% tariff hike over 'fraudulent' ad

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨🇷🇺 Not everyone wants Russian–American summit to take place – Kremlin

Other statements by Peskov:

🟠 Trump’s sincere desire to achieve a settlement of all acute crises, including around Ukraine, evokes only positive feelings

🟠 Trump was the first to say that there is no point in holding a summit in Hungary yet, Putin agreed with him

🟠 Putin and Trump cannot meet just for the sake of meeting and wasting time; preparation is needed

🟠 There is understanding between Russia and the US that it would be good not to delay the Putin–Trump meeting

🟠 A lot of groundwork is required to prepare the foundation for a future Putin–Trump summit

🟠 It’s wrong to talk about the cancellation of the Putin–Trump summit

🟠 The process of preparing the Putin–Trump meeting is complex

🟠 There was no clear agreement on the dates of the Russia–US summit

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

💸 Russian assets frozen in the US: how much and where?

US officials have supposedly greenlit the EU’s illegal use of frozen Russian assets to buy American weapons for Ukraine, and are considering “leveraging” Russian assets stuck in the US for similar purposes, officials have told Reuters.

Of the estimated $300B in Russian Central Bank assets frozen abroad after 2022, just $5B is thought to be trapped in the US (FT, Dec 2023).

There’s no publicly available breakdown of which US banks hold the assets, or their form (gold, currency, T-bills, etc.). The assets are known to be held by “custodian banks.”

Recent legal decisions have shed light into a silent banking war:

🟠 JPMorgan Chase saw $155.8M in funds in Russia frozen in 2024 after Russian state-backed banking giant VTB sought damages over $439.5M in blocked funds

🟠 The same year, JP Morgan and the Bank of New York Mellon had $372M in assets in Russia frozen over the illegal “expropriation” of MR Bank – a Ukrainian Sberbank subsidiary

🟠 Goldman Sachs saw $36M in assets in Russia frozen in 2023 after Russia’s Otkrytiye Bank accused it of refusing to honor a $6.4M swap contract

In April 2024, President Biden signed the REPO Act into law, allowing him to confiscate Russian Central Bank, RDIF and other Russian state assets at will. The US has yet to use the dubious law, but lawmakers have since proposed its expansion via a EU-style interest bearing account scheme.

Bad idea

Targeting Russian state assets trapped in the US would:

🟠 undermine the lofty dream of peace negotiators of unlocking hundreds of billions of dollars in investment opportunities

🟠 risk Russian retaliation, including tit-for-tat seizures of US assets in Russia (a last resort measure)

🟠 potentially mean a halt to Russian exports of critical and strategic minerals (uranium, titanium sponge, palladium, nickel, rhodium, fertilizers) which the US continues to buy

🟠 undermine confidence in US financial institutions as a safe haven for global capital

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇸🇰 Slovakia won’t partake in EU’s Ukraine aid schemes – Fico

💬 "As the head of government, I reject Slovakia's participation in any financial scheme aimed at helping Ukraine cope with the war and military expenses," Slovakian PM Robert Fico told reporters.

He noted that different variants have been proposed, including suggestions to contribute funds directly or sign a loan guarantee for Ukraine, which Fico said it would never be able to repay.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt