The airport in the southwestern Russian city of Makhachkala was shuttered on Sunday night after a crowd of protesters swarmed the tarmac, Russia's federal aviation agency Rosaviatsiya said.

The Russian Interior Ministry's regional office said a criminal probe had been launched into the incident on accusations of rioting. Those inciting riots and inciting ethnic hatred will be held criminally liable, the ministry added. The Dagestan authorities said they would limit traffic on the highway leading to the airport.

Police promptly took the situation under control, the Dagestan government said on social media shortly after the security breach was reported. All trespassers were removed from the runway.

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US rejection of geopolitical realism makes world even more dangerous than it was during Cuban Crisis

This week marked another anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the October 1962 standoff between the USSR and the USA which nearly triggered a global nuclear war. Why are the tensions between Moscow and Washington in today’s world potentially even more dangerous than they were even the dark days of October 1962?

Sputnik spoke to a leading Russian US politics expert and a Canadian military historian to find out

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Retired US General Robert Adams sounded a note of pessimism early Sunday when asked by US media for his thoughts on Israel’s ongoing military action in the besieged Gaza Strip.

“I think it’s going to be what I would consider nearly impossible, to destroy Hamas, to eliminate their capability to do harm to Israel and Israeli people, while simultaneously protecting what some people have estimated as to be a million Palestinians who are in harm’s way and they can’t get out of harm’s way,” said Adams in an interview on US television.

Adams also noted the difficulty of Israel’s objective given the complex urban terrain of Gaza.

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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese did not ask US President Joe Biden to facilitate the release of Australian journalist and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during his visit to Washington, saying the issue does not necessarily require the president's intervention.

"Joe Biden doesn't interfere with the Department of Justice — Joe Biden is a president who understands the separation of the judicial system from the political system. That's an important principle," Albanese told Australian media.

The prime minister said it was time to bring the matter to a conclusion, but "not necessarily" through a presidential intervention, according to the report.

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At least 43 people died in the Mexican state of Guerrero when Hurricane Otis, a devastating Category 5 storm, hit the country's Pacific coast this week, Governor Evelyn Salgado said Sunday.

"There have been 43 confirmed deaths: 33 men and 10 women," Salgado wrote on social media. Another 36 individuals were reported as having sustained injuries.

The state authorities are busy distributing humanitarian aid and restoring services to the affected population, she added.

Additionally, more than 10,000 families in Acapulco and nearby Coyuca de Benitez have been interviewed to gauge the damage. To date, residents have gone days facing food and water supply shortages - supermarkets have even been looted.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳 Sergei Shoigu arrived in China, where he will speak at the Xiangshan Security Forum, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported

🇺🇸 The House of Representatives is considering separating emergency military funding for Israel from that for Ukraine and US border security, House Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul said.

A Republican-sponsored bill that aims at decoupling aid to Israel from other issues is slated to hit the floor this week. If passed, it will see the US funnel $14.3 billion to Israel and unlock supplies of equipment from US stockpiles.

"What we want to do is — because the need is so urgent now in Israel — is to start with Israel first as a separate measure, and we will have that on the House floor this week," McCaul told in a televised interview.

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📹 Russian artillery eliminated strongholds, shelters and assault groups of the UAF

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🇨🇳 China will continue to deepen strategic cooperation and coordination with the Russian armed forces, said the deputy head of the Central Military Council of the People's Republic of China.

China is ready to develop relations with the US military based on the principles of mutual relations and peaceful coexistence, the official added.

🇷🇺 🇨🇳The model of interstate relations between Moscow and Beijing can be called exemplary, said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

The circle of friends and like-minded people of Russia and China, who do not want to be drawn into the confrontational agenda imposed by the West, is constantly expanding, the minister added.

❗️ Key statements by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Xiangshan security forum:

▪️ The West has openly set its sights on inflicting “strategic defeat” on Russia in the hybrid war unleashed against Moscow;

▪️ The West is using Ukraine as a battering ram in an attempt to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia;

▪️ The West assigns Ukraine the role of expendable material;

▪️ The situation in the zone indicates the futility of NATO’s plans to undermine Russia’s security;

▪️ The line of Western countries to escalate the conflict with Russia carries the threat of a direct military clash between nuclear powers;

▪️ Having provoked an acute crisis in Europe, the West is seeking to spread the conflict potential to the Asia-Pacific region;

▪️ The Western concept of the “indivisibility of the security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific region” is intended to justify the appearance of NATO forces in Asia.

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❗️ Two Ukrainian unmanned boats were discovered in the Black Sea, and the area of discovery was hit by fire, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported.

A set of anti-mine and anti-sabotage measures is being carried out on the outer roadstead of Sevastopol Bay, the ministry added.

❗️ More statements by Sergei Shoigu:

▪️ The military biological activities of the United States are gaining momentum, with a network of laboratories deployed in Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and South Korea;

▪️ The exchange of information organized by the United States with South Korea about missile launches is aimed at deterring Russia and China;

▪️ Western accusations regarding Russia’s alleged lowering of the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons are groundless;

▪️ Russia's withdrawal of ratification of the Treaty does not mean the destruction of this regime of military-strategic balance.

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🇷🇺 Russia remains ready for discussions on the post-conflict resolution of the Ukrainian crisis and further coexistence with the West, Shoigu said, adding that in order to create a fair and multipolar world order, it is necessary to update the international security architecture.

🇷🇸 Serbia has been resisting pressure to impose sanctions on Russia for about two years, which solidified its international reputation as a free and independent nation, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday.

They have not yet 'brought the Tsar to the fence' [idiom, at the end of one's rope] on this issue, when this happens, I will not hide it from the people, and I will tell the people. But by doing so, Serbia has strengthened its reputation as a free and independent country that pursues its own policy, Vucic told a Serbian media.

The Serbian authorities have repeatedly pointed to growing pressure from the West over Belgrade's independent decision-making on the matter of sanctions.

"Don't forget — we are the only country in the whole of Europe that has not imposed sanctions against Russia for a little short of two years already. Although it seemed impossible … I only worked to protect the country and to pursue a responsible and serious policy," the Serbian president said.

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🇺🇸🇮🇱 US House speaker plans to vote on stand-alone Israel aid bill

House Speaker Mike Johnson also noted that this measure could receive support from both Democrats and Republicans.

Last week Joe Biden asked Congress last week to approve a $106 billion security package that couples $61.4 billion in additional assistance for Ukraine with another $14.3 billion in aid for Israel.

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🇷🇺🪖 Russian kamikaze drone hits Ukrainian troops near Klescheevka in Artemovsk area

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🪖 Ukraine lost over 90,000 servicemen killed and wounded since start of counteroffensive on June 4, Sergey Shoigu says

▪️Ukrainian forces lost around 600 tanks and about 1,900 armored vehicles

▪️ Ukrainian counteroffensive failed to achieve significant success on the battlefield

▪️ The Russian Army will continue to "methodically and confidently" carry out assigned tasks in the special military op zone

▪️ Russian forces will continue to ensure the safety of civilians

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🇷🇺 Riots at Makhachkala airport were "operated" from Ukraine, Dagestan region head Melikov says

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🇵🇸🇮🇱 IDF says it hit more than 600 Hamas targets in the past few days

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🇵🇸🇮🇱 IDF says it continues to expand ground operations in Gaza Strip

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