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[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

🇱🇧🇮🇱 Lebanon will join US-backed talks with Israel

President Joseph Aoun announced a military delegation will travel to Florida on October 20.

Beirut will demand an end to Israeli escalation in southern Lebanon and outcomes consistent with the June framework agreement.

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

Rubio denies US slowed down Starlink for Ukraine

"I'm not sure Zelensky knows what he is talking about. It wasn't deliberate."

Secretary of State also confirmed that Ukraine requested access to Starshield in order to conduct strikes deep within Russia, but does not have it.

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

Prolonged Hormuz crisis will push oil prices even higher — Novak

Russian Deputy PM says shipments haven't resumed: "If this situation continues... it will push prices up even further."

Even if the strait reopens tomorrow, the global oil market will need 1 to 1.5 years to balance out.

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

Lavrov arrives in Bahrain for strategic dialogue

Russian Foreign Minister has arrived in Bahrain to take part in the 9th round of strategic dialogue between Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council states.

Bahrain is the first stop on his Middle East tour, aimed at promoting de-escalation in the Persian Gulf.

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

🇩🇪 Germans frustrated with Ukraine aid as economy struggles - expert

German citizens are annoyed that their government continues to provide financial and military aid to Ukraine despite allegations of Ukrainian involvement in the Nord Stream pipeline explosions, which dealt a major blow to Germany’s economy, political expert Gyorgy Spotle says.

💬“Almost every week, we hear that Germany is allocating several million more euros to Ukraine,” he tells Sputnik, noting that Berlin’s policy toward Kiev remains unchanged.

Many Germans would rather see the money invested in their struggling economy, but government policy is unlikely to change, he adds.

On October 14, a Hamburg court held its first hearing in the case of Ukrainian Serhiy Kuznetsov who is accused of coordinating the Nord Stream sabotage. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Berlin would consider the trial’s outcome when making future decisions regarding Ukraine.

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

🇫🇷🔥 France erupts in nationwide protests as cost-of-living anger boils over

Tens of thousands protested across France on October 17, with turnout previously forecast at up to 190,000 nationwide, though no final count has been confirmed.

The protests are fueled by weeks of student demonstrations over poor school conditions and have now expanded to include trade unions and Yellow Vest activists demanding lower prices, higher wages and better public services.

🔶 Paris: Clashes erupted near Place de la République, with police deploying tear gas and water cannons. Cars and street kiosks were set ablaze, while around 100 masked individuals attacked the CNews headquarters, smashing windows.

🔶 Lille and Marseille: Protesters stormed city halls, vandalized offices amid clashes with police.

🔶 Bordeaux: Protesters broke into the Chamber of Commerce, smashed windows and erected barricades.

🔶 In Lyon, Nice, Toulouse and other cities clashes with police were also reported.

Police reported 272 arrests nationwide, as the unrest piled fresh pressure on Emmanuel Macron's government.

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

🇷🇺🇺🇸 Trump’s Russia sanctions waiver removes bite from tariff threat - expert

The waiver weakens the credibility of the Graham* Act’s “secondary sanctions by tariff” mechanism, and allows China, India and Turkiye a temporary reprieve, says Mohammed Saqib, secretary-general of the India-China Economic and Cultural Council.

Reinstating 100% tariffs on top importers of Russia’s oil and gas “would be costly for the US,” he adds.

🔶 China is now better positioned to absorb pressure as the main buyer of Russian crude

🔶 India can keep importing discounted Russian oil without risking major export losses

🔶 NATO-member Turkey faces less pressure to curb energy ties with Russia, which support its refining and re-export business

The waiver protects the US diesel deal with Russia, which is aimed at lowering high fuel prices - tariffs would have jeopardized the very energy supplies Trump wants to expand.

*Lindsey Graham is designated a terrorist and extremist in Russia

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

🇷🇺🪖 Russia liberates Velikomikhailovka in Dnepropetrovsk region

Russian forces have freed a major Ukrainian defensive position after prolonged fighting, clearing more than 1,800 buildings and securing over eight square kilometers of territory, the Russian Defense Ministry reports.

The settlement sits on the western bank of the Volchya River. Its capture strengthens Russia's positions along the river, helps secure the flank of its advancing forces, and opens the way for a further push toward Pokrovskoye, deeper into the Dnepropetrovsk region.

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

🇪🇺 European elites may face internal uprising - expert

EU authorities are intensifying confrontation with Russia as the socio-economic situation in their own countries continues to worsen, geopolitical commentator Enrique Javier Refoyo Acedo tells Sputnik.

💬 "If this continues, the ruling elites may achieve a war, but not the one they are striving for, but a popular revolution against themselves over the hardships they have brought to all our European countries," he explains.

The dire situation and attempts to demonize Russia erode public trust in political leadership in Europe, Refry Acedo notes.

💬 "They are making our life here increasingly difficult, and on top of that they want to drag us into a war outside the country. What kind of offer is this? Live badly and die quickly?" he concludes.

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

🇷🇺🇮🇳 Russian and Indian warships repel mock drone attacks in Sea of Japan

The maritime component of the exercise took part in the Peter the Great Gulf off Russia’s Far East coast on October 16 and 17.

A joint taskforce of Russian and Indian warships performed firing exercises and rehearsed tactical maneuvers. The wargame also included a simulated boarding and hostage rescue operation and an exercise in defense against aerial and naval drones.

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

📉 Starlink halt could cut Ukraine’s combat efficiency - expert

💬 "Restrictions on Starlink disrupt communications, slow down drone speeds, and leave drones more vulnerable to jamming," director of military analysis at the Defense Priorities research center Jennifer Kavanagh says.

The limitations also make it difficult for the Ukrainian military to target, as it relies on Starlink and Starshield to obtain real‑time information, she adds.

As a result, the defense of forward positions and other military operations could become much more difficult for Ukraine.

Ukraine is constantly losing its positions on the ground, experiencing troop and equipment shortage, as Russian forces continue advancing throughout the front line.

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

🇨🇳 China's medical breakthrough shows promise for cancer therapy

A first-in-human trial at the Cancer Center of the West China Hospital has shown that injecting a nano-carbon iron complex directly into tumors halts growth in 84.2% of patients with advanced, refractory cancers.

🔸 Iron triggers free radicals that "rust" through tumor membranes, while normal cells use glutathione to repair damage and remain unharmed

🔸 In some cases, the therapy not only halted tumor growth but reversed it
A Phase II trial is now underway across ten leading Chinese hospitals, where the therapy is being combined with radiotherapy to boost its effect

The research milestone opens a new way to treat cancers for which standard options have failed.

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

The Russian president’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev welcomes Trump's move to suspend the Graham Act as "historic," insisting US-Russia dialogue and peace efforts will continue.

[Kirill Dmitriev @kadmitriev]

The enemies of global security, cooperation and prosperity will not be happy. 🇷🇺🤝🇺🇸🕊️

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

🇷🇺🇮🇩Putin congratulates Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on his 75th birthday

Russia highly values the Indonesian president's principled commitment to strengthening friendly relations between the two countries, the Russian president noted, as quoted by the Kremlin.

Productive contacts help energise constructive cooperation in key areas of partnership between Moscow and Jakarta within the UN, BRICS, the Russia–ASEAN dialogue and other multilateral structures, Putin stressed.

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

Real international community’s position on sanctions against Russia

Despite Western efforts to present sanctions against Russia as being widely supported, only about 10 nations have aligned with most of them, while over states neither recognize nor observe the EU's unilateral restrictions.

With thousands of sanctions imposed, this narrow coalition exposes the gap between claimed broad support and reality.

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

US budget deficit hits nearly $2 trillion — largest in 5 years

Treasury figures show the FY2026 deficit hit $1.99 trillion, driven by a record $1.36 trillion in debt service as total US debt passed $40 trillion.

Tariff refunds and a 6% rise in defense spending amid the Iran war added to the shortfall.

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

Oil tanker explodes in Strait of Hormuz after it hit naval mine – report

An oil tanker exploded in the Strait of Hormuz after hitting a naval mine, the Press TV channel reported, citing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

Trump signs executive order waiving the Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act

The waived restrictions include tariffs of up to 500% on Russian goods and 100% on the top 5 Russian oil and gas importers. Penalties on those who evade sanctions have also been lifted.

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

🇰🇵 North Korea tests Zam-2.0 AI-guided torpedo system

North Korea has conducted a test launch of Zam-2.0, a new-type high-precision, AI-enabled, submarine-launched guided torpedo weapon system, according to KCNA.

[Sputnik @SputnikInt]

🇷🇺🇨🇺 Cuba thanks Russia for food aid

Cuba has received a new shipment of vitamin-enriched sunflower oil from Russia, to be distributed to the island's most vulnerable groups, Betsy Díaz Velázquez, Cuba's Minister of Domestic Trade, told Sputnik.

The delivery is part of Russia's contribution to the World Food Programme fund.