🇬🇧 UK’s Truss defends economic plan

British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Thursday defended her divisive economic plan and shrugged off the turmoil it has stirred in financial markets, saying she’s willing to make “controversial and difficult decisions” to get the UK economy growing. In her first public comments since her Conservative government announced billions in unfunded tax cuts last Friday that drove the pound to record lows.

She spoke after the Bank of England took emergency action Wednesday to stabilize UK financial markets and head off a crisis in the broader economy after the government spooked investors with sweeping tax cuts that many see as benefiting the wealthy, to be paid for by a surge of public borrowing. The government says it will set out a more detailed fiscal plan on Nov. 23. Many economists say deep spending cuts are inevitable.

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⚡️ US, Allies Discussing New Military Aid Package to Kiev - Austin

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday that the United States is discussing with allies a new military aid package to Kiev, including training of the Ukrainian military.

"As you've seen us do over time, we have continued to look for ways along with our international partners to provide additional security assistance to Ukraine. Whether this assistance is in the form of actual equipment or other logistical support or training, we continue to evaluate what will be needed and make provisions to provide that security assistance, and so, that will be ongoing," Austin told a joint press conference with Philippine Defense Secretary Jose Faustino in Hawaii.

Austin added that the US will not speculate about the length of the conflict in Ukraine.

"In terms of how long the conflict will last, don't want to speculate either. What I will tell you is that we will continue to support Ukraine, as you've heard our president say, for as long as it takes," Austin said.

🏛 House approves scaled-down bill targeting Big Tech dominance

The House approved sharply scaled-down legislation targeting the dominance of Big Tech companies by giving states greater power in antitrust cases and increasing money for federal regulators. The bill also would increase filing fees paid by companies to federal agencies for all proposed mergers worth $500 million or more, while reducing the fees for small and medium-sized transactions. The aim is to increase revenue for federal enforcement efforts.

The broader antitrust package would restrict powerful tech companies from favoring their own products and services over rivals on their platforms and could even lead to mandated breakups separating companies’ dominant platforms from their other businesses. Under the bill, companies seeking approval for mergers would have to disclose subsidies they received from countries deemed to pose strategic or economic risks to the United States — especially China.

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📺 Trevor Noah to exit ‘Daily Show’ after seven years

The comedian, who came out of near anonymity to take over the program from Jon Stewart in 2015, plans to exit the flagship Comedy Central series after a seven-year tenure that saw him transform it for a new generation of viewers who are more at home on social media than they are cable outlets and broadcast networks.

In announcing his departure, Noah explained that his decision was driven in part by an eagerness to resume touring the world as a standup comedian. “I miss learning other languages, I miss going to other countries and putting on shows,” he said.

Comedy Central has several potential replacements for Noah on its roster, that includes mainstays such as Desi Lydic, Roy Wood Jr., Ronny Chieng, Michael Kosta and Dulcé Sloan.

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⚡️The Pentagon is preparing to deploy a command center in Germany to monitor and manage the support Ukraine is receiving from the United States and its EU and NATO allies, the New York Times writes, citing sources

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📹 Russian airborne troops destroyed Ukrainian forces and equipment with the help of quadrocopters which had found Ukrainian positions

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⚡️Foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet on October 2 in Geneva - Armenian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik

Follow our LIVE UPDATES on the Nord Stream situation

⚡️Russian Security Council Secretary on explosions at Nord Stream: US is main beneficiary, primarily economic

⚡️⚡️Lavrov: EU lost its autonomy, suffers enormous losses from what US dragged it into

📌Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev’s latest statements:

▪️It's categorically contraindicated to allow the US and its allies to join projects on the availability of water resources for different countries;

▪️The current Afghan authorities are still euphoric from their victory over the US;

▪️The prevention of weapons spreading from Ukraine to other regions requires the combined efforts of the special services of the Commonwealth of Independent States;

▪️The US ability to maintain its hegemony is becoming more limited, but Washington is actively trying to destabilise different countries;

▪️The management systems created by the Taliban in Afghanistan are unstable; there are contradictions within them;

▪️The main goal of the Anglo-Saxons remains to ensure their strategic and economic superiority over others;

▪️The current geopolitical situation in the world is unpredictable

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⚡️EU should impose price cap not only on pipeline Russian gas but also on Russian LNG imports, EU Energy Commissioner says

⚡️23 killed, 34 injured in Ukrainian strike on civilian convoy near exit to liberated part of Zaporozhye region, local authorities say

⚡️ Russia already has materials that point to the role of the West in organizing and carrying out explosions on the "Northern Streams", Russian Foreign Intelligence Chief Sergei Naryshkin says

⚡️⚡️Russian Foreign Intel: Nord Stream blasts are 'int'l terrorist act' with West hiding the culprits

📹 A resident of the LPR describes how Ukrainian forces intentionally shelled a granary

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❗️Heavy gunfire was heard from the main military camp of the capital of Burkina Faso and some residential areas, Reuters reported.

The military blocked access to administrative buildings and the national television station, which stopped broadcasting, according to Reuters journalists

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🇷🇺 Mariupol and Donetsk were decorated with Russian flags on the eve of the signing of agreements on the entry of the new territories into Russia

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⚡️Kremlin on Nord Stream emergency: this act of state terrorism cannot do without serious international investigation

⚡️Kremlin will consider shelling of new territories after their entry into Russia as aggression against it, Kremlin spokesman Peskov says

📹Footage of Pantsir self-propelled anti-aircraft gun and missile systems performing the capture and destruction of Ukrainian unmanned aerial target

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