The strike hit a temporary deployment point of Ukrainian forces in Kharkov, killing approximately 40 soldiers, the pro-Russian underground told Sputnik.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

The Lebanese-based Shia movement Hezbollah has launched retaliatory strikes against Israel, but the attacks have not achieved their intended goals, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Avichay Adraee told Sputnik.

"Hezbollah's attacks in response to the assassination of one of their commanders, Fuad Shukr, did not achieve their goals, but they caused minor damage in some civilian areas," Adraee said.

Most of the targets were intercepted, including by the use of aviation, naval and air defense systems, preventing the destruction of targets, primarily those listed in the Hezbollah statement.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Hezbollah delayed its response to Israel's killing of senior commander Fuad Shukr on Sunday in order to allow time for negotiations regarding Gaza, according to the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Nasrallah emphasized that the appropriate response to this act of violence is the very anticipation of retaliation. This expectation, he asserted, compelled both Israel and the supporting US forces to resort to "full mobilization."

He also pointed out that Hezbollah targeted the headquarters of Israel's Military Intelligence Unit 8200 in northern Tel Aviv, as well as the air defense system in Glilot.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

‘Backdoor for Telegram in exchange for freedom’: Why French cops really arrested Telegram’s creator Durov

French authorities charging Pavel Durov with claims that his messaging app Telegram is being used by criminals is merely "cynical." As investigative journalist Lucy Komisar pointed out to Sputnik, "the real facilitator of international criminality is the offshore bank[ing] and corporate secrecy system dominated by the US and the UK."

“Western law enforcement officials say the offshore system is the way drug traffickers, fraudsters, big-time tax cheats and other criminals move their money. It makes their operations possible. It’s how the US moved money in the corrupt Iran-Contra deal. It’s how the CIA moves cash,” she elaborated.

“The UK’s Jersey, the Isle of Man, Guernsey, the Caymans, British Virgin Islands and other venues, the US states of Delaware and Wyoming, as well as European countries Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Switzerland, not Telegram, are the real criminal platforms of the world.”

Yet, the US and its European allies who are eager to crack down on “free platforms on the Internet” are not so keen to take on the offshore system because the latter is “their platform,” Komisar explained.

The real purpose of Durov’s arrest, she suggested, is an attempt to blackmail him “into opening a backdoor to Telegram in exchange for his freedom.”

“The broader implications are an attempt to tighten control of the platforms of the Internet that allow views that challenge the collective West. The European Union is already doing this against X/Twitter, demanding censorship,” she mused. “Durov might give in to a backdoor or censorship to get his freedom. That depends on how draconian the French (and their American sponsors) will be. And it certainly concentrates the minds of other non-compliant internet executives.”

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Just business? Arrest of Telegram CEO possibly meant to elbow out WhatsApp competitor

Though Pavel Durov’s arrest in France is first and foremost a “political action,” it is also an “economic action,” said Valentin Makarov, president of the Russoft association.

“There is WhatsApp and there is Telegram. Lately, Telegram has been beating WhatsApp. So this is a normal reaction from [WhatsApp’s] American owners to stamp out a competitor using political motivation, only via France,” he elaborated during an interview with Sputnik. “And as for France, as [Edward] Snowden said, shame on France.”

Makarov further suggested that, although the French prosecution is currently riding on a "wave of political Russophobia" and may pursue a wide range of charges against Durov—potentially escalating to attempts to imprison him for as long as 20 years—it remains uncertain whether they will ultimately succeed.

"I don't believe it will happen, as there are attorneys present who will vigorously contest their efforts for an extended period," he said, referring to the odds of French prosecutors securing a conviction against Durov.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has ordered an extension of the deployment of two US Navy carrier strike groups in the Middle East, according to the US Department of Defense.

The Pentagon stated that these carriers are positioned in the region to provide support for Israel.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

▪️Is US State Department behind Durov's detention?

▪️‘Backdoor for Telegram in exchange for freedom’ – investigative journo shares her take on Durov’s detention

▪️Telegram CEO’s arrest ‘serves as red flag for those speaking truth to power’

▪️Hezbollah explains why it delayed response to Israel’s killing of its commander

▪️What are Ukraine’s losses during its latest attempts to attack Russia’s Kursk region?

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Durov won’t bend to Western governments like Zuckerberg, that’s why he faces charges - scholar

"The French justice system has deliberately twisted the spirit of the law to formulate excessive charges against Durov. It is clear that this is a pretext," Jacques Sapir, director of studies at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS) in Paris, told Sputnik.

The charges brought by the French authorities against Pavel Durov stem from his refusal to censor his Telegram instant messaging service, according to the pundit. Sapir contends that it is unjust to accuse the Telegram founder of complicity in terrorism, drug trafficking, and child pornography - particularly in light of the content that permeates other social networks.

"His case is similar to all the measures that are currently being taken in Western countries that are infringing on freedom of expression," he said.

Sapir suggests that the main difference between Durov and Mark Zuckerberg, whose Instagram* "has a massive child exploitation problem", is that Zuckerberg censors free speech and apparently provided Western governments with a backdoor access to user data, as Elon Musk implied on August 25.

"This is one more step, after the long prosecutions against Julian Assange and those against Snowden, in a long list of attacks on freedom of expression in Western countries," Sapir said.

According to the pundit, what should be regarded as mere administrative offenses are being reclassified as serious crimes based on dubious motives and reasoning. Consequently, he stated, social networks are now facing criminalization.

The French scholar believes this trend will further elevate the significance of social networks that originate outside the Western world and may uphold freedom of expression.

*banned for extremism in Russia

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Telegram team issues first statement on its founder’s arrest, calls out absurdity of accusations against Durov

“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” the statement published on the official Telegram channel said.

“Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act — its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe,” the channel said.

“Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as means of communication and as a source of vital information. We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all,” the statement concluded.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Telegram founder Pavel Durov, who is detained in France, had his detention extended on Sunday evening, French media reported.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Gaza ceasefire talks have concluded without reaching an agreement as both Israel and Hamas rejected several proposals put forward by mediators, British media reported citing Egyptian security sources.

Hamas claimed Israel has reneged on its promise to withdraw troops from the Philadelphia Corridor and has introduced additional conditions, such as screening displaced Palestinians as they return to the more densely populated northern areas of the enclave when the ceasefire begins.

“We will not accept discussions about retractions from what we agreed to on July 2 or new conditions,” Hamas official Osama Hamdan told the group’s al-Aqsa TV outlet Sunday.

The Hamas delegation departed from Cairo Sunday after holding discussions with mediators, according to senior official Izzat El-Reshiq. He claimed the group reiterated its demand that any agreement must include a permanent ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹 A possible meteorite fell from the sky and broke into pieces near the city of St. Francis Bay in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, with users on social media sharing video of the object.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Ukraine desperately begs Belarus to move troops further away from border

Belarus is “concentrating a significant number of personnel, in particular special operations forces, weapons and military equipment ... in the Gomel region near Ukraine's northern borders,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website, citing the country's intelligence service.

The ministry claimed Kiev was not going to take any hostile action just two weeks after Ukraine launched drones towards Belarussian territory. The Kiev regime called on Minsk to withdraw troops from the Ukrainian border “at a distance exceeding the range of fire systems available to Belarus.”

On August 9, “about ten” Ukrainian drones were shot down over the territory of Belarus while other ones were destroyed by Russia over its territory, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said. The Belarusian leader called the attack a provocation, noting that it would not go unanswered. To strengthen the border Lukashenko ordered Belarus's Defense Ministry to increase its military presence in the country’s southern regions bordering Ukraine.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Russia and Pakistan are negotiating on the deliveries of liquefied natural gas for Islamabad's long-term needs, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told Sputnik.

"Pakistan has long been cooperating with Russia in the energy sector. We are pleased with how the recent talks between the two sides on energy cooperation went. Our countries are also discussing LNG deliveries for Pakistan's long-term energy needs, and these talks will continue," she said.

"Last year, a contract was signed for energy supplies. The first ship delivered 100,000 tonnes of oil to Pakistan in test mode last year. We are very pleased with this cooperation," Baloch added.

In July, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told journalists that the issue of LNG deliveries to Pakistan had been discussed during a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Astana on the sidelines of the SCO summit. In addition, Novak said that Russia had already supplied Pakistan with 7 million barrels of oil.

Pakistani Energy Minister Muhammad Ali reported last year that the country was discussing signing a long-term contract with Russia on the supply of its oil, and was considering volumes of 0.7-1 million tonnes per year.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt