❗️ A US base at an oil field in Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria came under rocket fire, a local source told Sputnik

As we observe World Cities Day, check out Sputnik Africa's new AfroVerdict episode where the host explores South Africa's Cape Town as an example of urban development.

🇧🇴 The Bolivian government is severing diplomatic ties with Israel, media reports

🇫🇷 What’s Macron Doing in Central Asia?

France may only succeed in boosting ties in Central Asia if Paris accommodates "the interests of Russia and China" in the region, according to Paolo Raffone, a strategic analyst and director of the CIPI Foundation in Brussels.

The expert noted that Macron’s forthcoming trips to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, “should mark the beginning of a new era in France-Central Asia relations,” which Raffoine said might see “the potential rewards in terms of energy security, geopolitical stability, and economic growth.”

Macron is due to visit Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on Wednesday and Thursday, in what reportedly aims to back the two Central Asian countries’ desire to "reinforce their links with Europe”.

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🌐 World Cities Day: What Urbanization Practices Does Cape Town Take Pride In?

🏙 As the international community celebrates World Cities Day on October 31, Annelise de Bruin, Manager of Metropolitan Spatial Planning and Urban Growth Management for the City of Cape Town, South Africa, in an interview with Sputnik Africa, shared what noteworthy practices implemented by Cape Town that can be replicated by cities in South Africa and around the world.

Among the key practices, she cited the way the city manages its development with an emphasis on protecting biodiversity and the environment.

👉 Read to learn more about urban development initiatives in Cape Town!

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🇺🇸 A bodyguard of Democrat Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman forcibly removed lawyer Dan Kovalik from a public campaign event, after he asked the politician about theIsraeli operation in Gaza. Fetterman, who refused to support a ceasefire in Gaza, also was not eager to answer a direct question.

"Within the elected officials, there isn't much of a schism. There's only a couple elected Democratic officials in Congress who are speaking out against the aid to Israel," Kovalik explained. "But amongst the base, I saw that 80 percent of Democrats support an immediate ceasefire."

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🇷🇺 The Russian aerospace forces have conducted airstrikes targeting militant facilities in Syria’s Idlib province and hit two underground hideouts, Vadim Kulit, the deputy head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, said on Tuesday.

"The Russian aerospace forces carried out air strikes on targets of illegal armed groups involved in shelling the positions of Syrian government troops. In the areas of the settlements of Inkzin and Kansafra in the Idlib province, two underground hideouts and a warehouse with components for unmanned aerial vehicles were hit. Up to ten militants were killed," Kulit told a briefing.

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❗️ Russian air defense intercepted 2 Ukrainian UAVs over the territory of the Kursk region, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported

Black swan? Gaza war threatens to upend Biden's European & Asia-Pacific strategy

Washington does not believe that a ceasefire is the "right answer" to the Palestinian-Israeli crisis "right now," as National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby was quoted as saying on Tuesday. Kirby insisted on the necessity to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians and said that Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu was trying to "minimize" civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the number of killed in the region by Israeli strikes has already mounted over 8,500 people.

What does the US want to gain in the Middle East and is it ready for a multi-faceted conflict?

Find out here

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🇺🇸 FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday said that the bureau no longer pays money to moderate content on X (formerly known as Twitter).

"I'm not aware of us paying money to moderate content there [X, formerly known as Twitter] or anywhere else," Wray stated during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing, when asked about the FBI's financial involvement in social media content moderation.

Information released as part of the so-called Twitter Files, shared by reporters in coordination with Twitter CEO Elon Musk, revealed the FBI’s considerable influence over the company and alleged an organized effort by the US intelligence community to exert control over certain information, including the Hunter Biden laptop story.

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Analyst: US ‘shooting ourselves in the foot’ by provoking, escalating crises around globe

The emergence of the latest crisis in the Middle East, which has started in Israel but threatens to draw in several other regional powers, is just the latest in which the US has forcefully asserted its interest in propping up a useful ally against its enemies there. However, it has come as the US is already deeply embroiled in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and has also committed significant resources and effort into a confrontation with China that has not yet exploded into open conflict.

Retired senior security policy analyst Michael Maloof told Sputnik that the US was “shooting ourselves in the foot” by getting itself so deeply embroiled in crises of its own making around the globe, including in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific regions.

Check out the full interview

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❗️ The Khimprom organized crime group, which has created a drug distribution network in Ukraine and Russia, with the help of “voluntary military formations” supplies drugs to units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a source in the Russian special services told Sputnik

🇺🇸 Biden will veto the bill on aid to Israel if the House of Representatives passes it, he believes that Republicans will politicize the issue, the White House said.

The White House opposes splitting the request for aid to Israel and Ukraine in the House of Representatives and believes it will have global consequences, the statement said.

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The UK-based Just Stop Oil climate group had 31 of its activists charged by the police after organizing a protest against oil and gas production in front of the country's parliament, Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday.

On Monday, the police arrested more than 60 Just Stop Oil activists taking part in a slow march outside the UK Parliament.

"This afternoon 31 people have been charged; 14 have been remanded in custody while a further 17 have been bailed to court," the Met said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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IDF must 'moderate expectations' of Gaza op, prepare for long urban warfare

As Israeli ground forces severed all communications into and out of the Gaza Strip and launched a massive assault late last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared a “third stage” of the war with Hamas.

Earl Rasmussen, an international consultant and retired US Army lieutenant colonel with over 20 years of military service, told Sputnik on Tuesday that while the IDF could learn a great deal from the experience of recent urban warfare battles (in the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Mosul and the DPR city of Mariupol) the Gaza Strip presents a number of unique challenges as well, including the high level of support militant groups like Hamas enjoy among the population.

Check out he full interview

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🇺🇸 New US House Speaker Mike Johnson intends to hire former Trump administration White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah to help lead the lawmaker’s communications efforts, Politico reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.

Johnson tapped Shah to serve as his deputy chief of staff for communications, the report said on Tuesday.

Shah served as deputy press secretary and deputy assistant for former US President Donald Trump. After leaving the White House, Shah worked as an executive at the Fox Corporation.

Shah is expected to help develop Johnson’s communication operations, as well as lead messaging for House Republicans, the report said.

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The French police have deployed 10,000 officers to guard Jewish sites after multiple instances of anti-Jewish vandalism, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Tuesday.

"In line with President Emmanuel Macron's order, 10,000 police officers are deployed to guard 950 sites where the Jewish community is present, including schools, synagogues and cultural centers," Darmanin told the French parliament.

The French Interior Ministry has registered 857 antisemitic incidents since the start of Palestinian-Israeli conflict escalation on October 7, which, Darmanin said, is more than in the entire year of 2022.

In Paris and its suburbs of Saint-Ouen and Aubervilliers, the blue Stars of David were spray-painted on the walls of several residential and office buildings with Jewish residents, French media reported on Tuesday.

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The United States and Israel are looking into various options for dealing with a possible post-Hamas Gaza, which may include placing the enclave under temporary United Nations oversight or deploying a multinational force to maintain security, Bloomberg News reported citing sources.

The report said on Tuesday that a multinational presence in Gaza could include armed forces from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

However, according to the report, President Joe Biden believes deploying a small group of US troops to Gaza could be politically risky.

The United States is far from making a decision on whether it would back sending US troops to Gaza to help maintain security in a post-Hamas environment, the report said.

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US Senator John Barrasso said on Tuesday that Border Patrol agents recently caught migrants coming through the US-Mexico border with explosive devices the size of cannon balls.

"We have just returned from our southern border and it is painfully clear that with Joe Biden's open border policy, our country is really at an increased threat for a terrorist attack," Barrasso said during a press conference. "A couple days before we got there alert border agents were able to seize immigrants carrying with them IEDs, explosive devices really tailor made for terrorism. They were the size of cannon balls."

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) did not immediately respond to Sputnik's inquiry on this matter.

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Egypt has placed dozens of tanks and armored vehicles near the Rafah checkpoint on the border with the Gaza Strip, an Israeli newspaper writes when publishing this photo.

The publication claims that Egypt did this because it “fears an influx of tens of thousands of refugees” due to the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The Palestinian telecommunications company, meanwhile, announced a communications blackout in the Gaza Strip, and an Arab TV channel reported that the Israeli army was attacking the administrative center of Gaza from 5 directions.

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❗️ The governor of Sevastopol announced an air raid alert.

Earlier it was reported that vehicle traffic on the Crimean Bridge was temporarily blocked.