🔸From Echelon to Prism: US intel services could be behind Hezbollah pager detonation — military expert explains

🔸US crackdown on Sputnik, RT is meant to ‘discourage others from speaking out’ and intimidate Americans - journalist

🔸Syrian terrorists and Ukrainian militants form ‘symbiotic relationship’ nurtured by ‘CIA connections’

🔸Collaborators in terror unmasked: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* working hand in glove with Ukraine

🔸Is Macron's resignation imminent?

🔸How does Ukraine try to distance itself from suspected Trump assassin?

🔸Where Tsar Bomb goes boom: Brief history of Russia’s most famous nuclear testing site

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Former US intelligence officer Edward Snowden has suggested that the detonation of pagers in different areas of Lebanon is related to embedded explosive devices, and not a hacker attack.

"If it were overheated batteries exploding, you'd expect many more small fires & misfires," he wrote on X.

Snowden admitted that Israel could be behind the detonation, and accused it of the recklessness of the methods used.

"What Israel has just done is, via any method, reckless... Indistinguishable from terrorism."

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Firefighters rescue baby ocelot during forest fire in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

The feline was sent to a veterinary center for further assistance.

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Collaborators in terror unmasked: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* working hand in glove with Ukraine

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorists have received a shipment of drones from Ukraine, while the Kiev regime has requested experienced fighters in exchange, a source in the Syrian opposition told Sputnik. Meanwhile, Ukrainian spy chief, Kirill Budanov, maintains regular contact with the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* regarding the recruitment of fighters on occupied territories in the Idlib and Aleppo provinces, according to the Syrian newspaper Al-Watan.

Here’s what you need to know about the connections linking the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham jihadists to the Kiev regime:

◾️On September 12, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov highlighted that Ukrainian intelligence emissaries were in the Idlib de-escalation zone, where they were recruiting militants from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

◾️Previously, Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, remarked that the Kiev regime has long sustained contacts with terrorists. This collaboration includes recruiting individuals to carry out attacks against Russian citizens, exchanging information and technology, and employing false flag tactics.

◾️Initial reports regarding the potential presence of Syrian militants in Ukraine surfaced in April 2022. According to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, US agents reportedly facilitated the release of 60 ISIS militants, aged 20 to 25, from prisons controlled by Syrian Kurdish forces. These militants were subsequently transferred to the US base at At-Tanf in Syria, where they underwent training before being sent to Ukraine.

◾️In November 2022, sources in the Idlib province told Sputnik that around 800 terrorist mercenaries left Syria for Ukraine. This transfer operation took place under the cover of night, facilitated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorists, who managed all logistical processes involved. The movement occurred across the Syrian-Turkish border.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra until 2017, is a jihadi terrorist organization that currently controls half of Syria’s Idlib province, as well as parts of Hama, Aleppo, and Latakia provinces. The United States and NATO countries do not classify Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as a terrorist group, instead designating it as part of the so-called Syrian opposition. This classification facilitates contacts with its militants.

Notably, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, the current leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has met multiple times with agents from the CIA and MI6 near the Syrian-Turkish border, according to the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

*Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Jabhat al-Nusra are terrorist organizations outlawed in Russia.

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🖖👽Nothing special

Just a boat in the shape of a flying saucer created by a Vietnamese man

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📹Donald Trump with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office deputies who took the suspect in the assassination attempt on Trump, Ryan Wesley Routh, into custody

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❗️Russian defense forces destroyed 54 Ukrainian drones over Kursk, Bryansk, Smolensk, Belgorod and Orel regions overnight - Russian MOD

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Russian air defenses are repelling a massive drone attack in Tver region

"In Toropets, the Tver Region, the process of extinguishing a fire is underway at the site of the drone debris fall, air defense forces continue to repel a massive drone attack in the skies above the city," the Tver government said on Telegram.

In addition, it was decided to partially evacuate the population from areas where the air defense is working and firefighting is underway.

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EU increases Russian pipeline gas purchases to the highest level since February

The European Union increased the purchases of Russian pipeline gas in July by 1,5 times compared to the previous year - to the value of 665,4 million euros. This was the highest since February, when imports totalled just over a billion euros.

◻️ The main customer was Italy, which increased its purchases by 5 times to 214 million euros. The Hungary and Slovakia also increased imports by 21 percent to 164,2 and 115,8 million euros respectively.

◻️ In contrast, Greece, reduced its purchases in July by 6 percent to 162,1 million euros. Bulgaria by 9.5 percent, to 6.7 million, and the Czech Republic by half, to 2.6 million. Austria traditionally does not publish data on gas purchases.

◻️ Overall, the EU bought 3,95 billion euros worth of pipeline gas from Russia in the seven months, which is 24 percent less than in the same period last year. At the same time, the association also reduced purchases from other suppliers - by 45 percent to 17.3 billion euros. As a result, Russia's share of European pipeline gas imports increased to almost 19 percent from 14% a year earlier.

Russia has repeatedly stated that the West has made a serious mistake by refusing to buy hydrocarbons from Russia, and will fall into a new, stronger dependence due to higher prices. Those who have refused supplies are still buying more expensive oil and gas through intermediaries and will continue to buy Russian oil and gas.

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⚡️ Hezbollah pledges retaliation for the pager attack

Hezbollah will respond to Israel for massacre, committed against Lebanese people, the movement said in a statement on Telegram.

This comes after at least 11 people were killed and more than 4,000 were injured as a result of the mass pager explosion across Lebanon on Tuesday.

Hezbollah also said it "will continue, as in all the past days, its blessed operations to support Gaza".

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Experts weigh in on possible accomplices behind Lebanon's deadly pager attack

The US could be behind the deadly pager attack in Lebanon, in which at least eleven people were killed and 4,000 more wounded, military expert Ali Hamie told Sputnik.

He also pointed the finger at Israel and a company that manufactured the pagers, which were detonated, suggesting that without coordination between Tel Aviv and a pager manufacturer, the attack would not have occurred. Israel has not yet commented on the attack.

“The operation was carried out simultaneously [across Lebanon], which means that the perpetrator collaborated with the pager manufacturer, who handed over the codes or decoding systems for the pagers to the Israeli side,” Hamie said. 

The attack shows “we are at severe electronic warfare,” he pointed out, not ruling out that the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah “may conduct a counter-cyber operation in the coming hours or days.”

Hamie was echoed by Lebanese lawmaker, Kasem Hashem, who is a member of the Development and Liberation bloc. The latter also blamed Israel for the attack in an interview with Sputnik.

This is part of the expansion of Israeli aggression against Lebanon, with cyber warfare remaining one of the most dangerous types of tactics used by Israel, possibly an accomplice in the attack, according to Hashem. 

“No doubt, Hezbollah will respond to the attack, especially given the fact that it targeted the whole of Lebanon and was not limited to a certain area,” Hashem concluded.

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Russian army defeats US PMC detachment in the Kursk region

💬 Russian forces have defeated a number of Ukrainian brigades, a unit of the Ukrainian Special Operations Command (SOC), and a detachment of the US private military company (PMC) Forward near Sudzha in Russia's Kursk region, destroying several hundred pieces of equipment, a commander of one of the Akhmat special forces detachments with the call sign 'Aid', told Sputnik.

"The private military company Forward (the American private military company Forward Observation Group) came in - it's not some foreign legion of Georgians or Poles who got lost on a curve, it is specifically trained professional military," Aid said.

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💬 Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on mass detonation of pagers in Lebanon: this requires investigation and international attention to the matter.

At least 11 people were killed and more than 4,000 were injured as a result of the mass pager explosion across Lebanon on Tuesday.

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Moscow hosts BRICS Urban Future Forum

🔸 The 2024 Cloud City BRICS International Innovation Forum kicks off in Moscow on September 18 in a two-day event that brings together more than 5,000 participants from over 30 countries. 

🔸 The event, also known as the BRICS Urban Future Forum, is attended by managers, entrepreneurs, urbanists, as well as members of the scientific community and public organizations from former Soviet republics, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. 

They will participate in the discussion "with political and business decision-makers to help identify growth areas and create synergies among BRICS cities, organizations and companies", according to the forum’s website.

🔸 This year’s forum is being held under the “Harmonious Development: The Future of BRICS Megacities” slogan. One of the goals is to promote leadership practices of Moscow city management to foreign markets.

Sputnik is the forum’s general information partner.

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◻️ Hezbollah vows retaliation against Israel for wave of deadly pager blasts

◻️ Who could be the accomplices behind the deadly pager attack that rocked Lebanon?

◻️ Russian commander reveals fate of private US military company daring to set foot on Russian soil

◻️ What’s known about the connections linking the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* jihadists to the Kiev regime

◻️ EU imports of Russian pipeline gas soar to highs not seen since February

*Terrorist organizations banned in Russia

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Are the Houthis now hooked up to Starlink?

Elon Musk has released a map showcasing the coverage that Starlink is already offering across the Arabian Peninsula - available in Yemen now.

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❗️The city of Energodar, located near the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, faced a mass drone attack. However, the drones failed to reach the nuclear station's facility. the plant's communications director told Sputnik.

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