🗣️American Political Elites Need Another Middle East War

“The United States is deliberately risking and even triggering World War Three because it realizes that the United States is losing its military power”, Prof. Michael Hudson, economist and former Wall Street analyst, told the New Rules podcast.

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🇮🇱 The Israeli defense minister says he believes that the current operation in the Gaza Strip should become the last one, adding that it may take months to achieve its goals.

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🇺🇸🇷🇺 An American Poseidon reconnaissance plane was spotted flying over the Black Sea, within range of the Crimean port of Sevastopol.

Some analysts have suggested that that the plane could potentially have been assisting Ukrainian forces target their missile attacks against Crimea.

Russian air defense systems reportedly shot down Ukrainian missiles.

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🇮🇱🇵🇸 Latest updates on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict:

▪️The Israeli defense minister says he believes that the current operation in the Gaza Strip "should become the last one", adding that "it may take months to achieve its goals."

▪️The US sees a prospect of significant escalation in the Middle East and an increased risk of attacks on its forces in the region, the Pentagon chief said.

▪️Hezbollah's intervention in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will lead to unprecedented destructive consequences for Lebanon, Netanyahu said.

▪️The death toll in the Gaza Strip has reached 4,651, including 1,873 children, 1,023 women, 187 elderly people and 14,245 wounded, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said, adding that the death toll in the West Bank has risen to 90 since October 7.

▪️The number of Gazans who have left their homes due to the escalating conflict has reached 1.5 million, the Gaza authorities said.

▪️The IDF said that the number of prisoners held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip has increased to 212.

▪️The Israel Defense Forces announced the arrest of 450 Hamas members in the West Bank since the escalation began.

▪️The IDF has published 307 names of killed soldiers since the start of the escalation.

▪️Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a telephone conversation with the head of the political bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, and discussed the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and the possibility of providing medical assistance to the injured, the Turkish presidential administration said.

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🇪🇺📉 Investors seek sky-high yields to cover default risk as Europe’s economic crunch worsens

According to Intercontinental Exchange Bank of America index data cited by business media, euro-denominated junk bond yields are at a seven-year high amid fears that a further slowing of economic activity, combined with sky-high central bank interest rates put in place to fight inflation, could make many borrowers unable to meet their obligations.

The average gap between high-risk corporate debt and bonds offered by governments has widened to an average of more than 18 percentage points, nearly triple the rate they were at the start of 2022, before the Ukraine crisis escalated into a full-blown NATO proxy war with Russia, when the spread stood at as little as 6.7 percent.

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❗️Airports in Damascus and Aleppo were targeted by seven Israeli Air Force warplanes - three F-15 and four F-16 fighters, the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria confirms

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🇺🇸⚔️ US THAAD and Patriot deployment escalates risks of Mideast war: here's why

The Pentagon has announced plans to send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) mobile anti-ballistic missile system and an undisclosed number of Patriot batteries to the Middle East.
Sputnik turned to former US Office of the Secretary of Defense security policy analyst Michael Maloof to get a better sense of the broader regional picture.

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🇺🇸🚘 US auto loan defaults surge as car owners struggle amid soaring rates

Rising interest rates are causing financial strain for many US car owners, making loan payments harder to afford. This reflects economic uncertainty, especially regarding consumer spending.

Fitch Ratings reported that in September, the proportion of high-risk auto loan recipients at least 60 days behind on their loans had risen to 6.11 percent. This is the highest figure recorded since data tracking began in 1994, with the previous peak registered in April.

Nonetheless, the surge in delinquency among car owners has been observed, resulting from dwindling tax returns, a volatile job market, and the ongoing challenge of soaring inflation.

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🎰 Ukraine's dangerous bet on US ATACMS is a 'gamble with civilians' lives'

The US President Joe Biden administration's decision to send ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) missiles with cluster munitions to Ukraine disregards the longstanding human suffering caused by these indiscriminate weapons, Titus Peachey, a member of the US Cluster Munition Coalition Steering Committee and former chair of Legacies of War, told Sputnik.

Peachey acknowledged that deploying cluster munitions violates international humanitarian law because they cannot differentiate between military targets and civilians. He further characterized the dangers of their use. Experts from GLOBSEC, in conjunction with the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, have determined that nearly 30 percent of Ukraine's landmass is marred by mines and unexploded ordnance. This has tragically transformed once thriving areas into zones of apprehension and danger.

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🇷🇺❄️🇨🇳 NATO gets chills over prospective Russian-Chinese military cooperation in Arctic

Russia’s plans to build a major new shipping artery between Asia and Europe through its territorial and exclusive economic zone waters in the Arctic has sparked serious concerns from Washington and its allies, with US officials proposing so-called “freedom of navigation” patrols through the area to prevent Moscow from enjoying sole control.

Growing Russian-Chinese cooperation in the Arctic poses risks to the Western alliance, Admiral Rob Bauer, chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, has said.

💬“We know there are military scientists on board these ships,” Bauer told a US business media outlet, referring to China’s increasing commercial and scientific interest in Russia’s Northern Sea Route project. “They haven’t said they won’t go there militarily.”

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🇷🇺🇮🇷Russia and Iran are plotting a course to cut trade tariffs down to zero by early 2024, Iran-Russia Joint Chamber of Commerce member Kambiz Mirkarimi has indicated.

Speaking to local media on Sunday, Mirkarimi said that he expects outstanding customs, tariffs, and competitive market issues between Iran, Russia, and other members of the Eurasian Economic Union to be settled before the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2024).

Mirkarimi’s comments add weight to Belarusian media reports from Saturday that Iran and the EEU (whose members include Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan) plan to sign a new free trade agreement by the end of the year, with draft work on the pact said to be complete and ready for signature.

The new free trade pact will replace an interim agreement forged in 2019, which expired last year but was renewed until a new agreement could be signed.

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🇺🇸🇷🇺 The US forbade Ukraine to make peace with Russia in March 2022 — former German chancellor

Ukraine was ready to make peace with Russia and give up its plans to join NATO during negotiations in March 2022, but eventually abandoned the idea due to pressure from the United States, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told the German newspaper.

💬 "The only people who could settle the war against Ukraine are the Americans. During the peace negotiations in March 2022 in Istanbul with [then-Ukrainian chief negotiator] Rustem Umerov, the Ukrainians did not agree on peace because they were not allowed to. They first had to ask the Americans about everything they discussed," Schroeder said in an interview with the newspaper on Saturday.

The former German chancellor said that Kiev had contacted him in 2022 to learn whether he could mediate talks with Russia, after which he had meetings with Umerov and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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🗣 The only condition for the cancellation of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip is a situation in which Hamas releases all prisoners and surrenders unconditionally, IDF spokesman said

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🇮🇱🇵🇸 Ceasefire will not be introduced in the Gaza Strip despite the efforts of the United States and Qatar to free over 200 hostages taken by Hamas, US news broadcaster reported, citing a senior Israeli official

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#IsraelHamasWar May Prompt India to Acquire Russia’s S-500

🇮🇳 India should draw lessons from the failure of the Israeli ‘Iron Dome’ Defense air defenses by looking into alternatives other countries are ready to offer, believes Major General (Dr) Ashok Kumar, VSM, (Retd).

“India must now insist on the S-500 missile system from 🇷🇺 Russia, as it can handle the incoming threat better,” he says.

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🇮🇱 The Israeli army reported hitting over 320 targets in Gaza in the past 24 hours

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🗣 Israel did not hear words condemning the Palestinian Hamas movement at the ''peace summit'' held in Egypt, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Kaabiya shared with Sputnik

💬 “We were not among the participants in this summit, but we followed it closely, and we did not hear strong condemnation from these countries, of the act of terrorism that occurred on October 7. These countries, of course, know that terrorism poses a danger not only to Israel,” Kaabiya stated.

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🇮🇱🇵🇸 Latest updates on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict:

▪️ The only condition for the halt of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip is a situation in which Hamas releases all prisoners and surrenders unconditionally, IDF spokesman said;

▪️ There will be no ceasefire in the Gaza Strip despite efforts by the United States and Qatar to free over 200 hostages taken by Hamas, US news broadcaster reported, citing a senior Israeli official;

▪️ 14 trucks carrying humanitarian aid arrived in Gaza, said Martin Griffiths, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator;

▪️ The Israeli army reported striking more than 320 targets in Gaza in the past 24 hours;

▪️ 200,000 Israelis have reportedly been displaced by the ongoing conflict.

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🇺🇸🇬🇷 The US Air Force has begun using the Eleusis airbase near Athens for operations in the Middle East, and local residents are preparing a protest rally

The American base on Crete cannot handle the increased traffic, so new airfields are being used, Greek media report.

Trade unions and social activists in Attica who oppose the conversion of Eleusis into a military base have decided to hold a rally on the evening of October 25.

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🗣 Prominent former Israeli figures, including ex-Prime Minister Ehud Barak, have voiced their concerns about Netanyahu's leadership during the crisis, as reported by British media

Barak described the Hamas attack as "the most severe blow Israel has suffered since its establishment." He expressed doubt in Netanyahu's ability to lead in the aftermath of such a devastating event

These criticisms come in the wake of growing concern within Israel about the government's efforts to secure the release of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

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Joe Biden's $106 billion supplemental request to Congress to provide additional security assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and other nations will mostly benefit American defense companies, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said

Biden's supplemental request includes $61.4 billion for Ukraine, half of which is to provide Kiev with weapons and replenish US weapon stockpiles. The package also proposes $14.3 billion for Israel, which includes $10.6 billion for security assistance such as air and missile defense support and industrial base investments, according to the White House document.

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