Israel made explosive pagers for Lebanon via shell company – report

Israel created a shell company to manufacture explosive pagers that were then shipped to Lebanon, The New York Times reported, citing three intelligence officers.

According to the officers, by appearance, BAC Consulting Kft. was a Hungary-based company that had a contract to manufacture the devices on behalf of the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo, while it was in fact part of an Israeli front company.

At least two more front companies were created to mask the true identities of the people who created the pagers — Israeli intelligence officers.

At the same time, BAC Consulting Kft. had ordinary clients, for whom it produced pagers without explosives, the newspaper reported.

The explosive pagers began to be shipped to Lebanon in the summer of 2022, but production was then ramped up after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah condemned the use of mobile phones for security reasons.

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Canada’s Trudeau faces confidence vote as support for prime minister hits new low

While Justin Trudeau appears likely to survive an upcoming confidence vote in the House of Commons, the deeply unpopular Canadian prime minister will not be out of the woods.
The official opposition Conservative Party, led by Pierre Poilievre, is to take its first shot at toppling Trudeau’s Liberal government over the federal carbon tax, which they claim is compounding the cost of living.

The no-confidence motion was tabled by opposition leader Pierre Poilievre when Parliament resumed work. However, Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet has poured cold water on the opposition’s plans, saying his MPs will vote confidence in the government.

Even if Trudeau dodges the bullet in the vote, expected sometime next week, he will have to survive a series of other anticipated confidence votes.

Trudeau has been pummeled in the polls over skyrocketing prices and a housing crisis. Just over one third of Canadians approve of his government, a recent Ipsos poll showed. The Liberal Party has also suffered a second humiliating loss in a by-election, feeding into bleak vote prospects.

To make matters worse for Trudeau, the New Democratic Party (NDP) pulled the plug on its support for him earlier this month, ripping up a 2022 “supply and confidence" deal. The arrangement had offered the PM’s minority government NDP backing in confidence votes in exchange for support on key issues.

The mandate for Trudeau's government expires at the end of October 2025, but the prospects of an early election appear increasingly likely.

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Hezbollah hits Israeli territory, leaving at least eight people wounded - reports

At least eight were wounded after the Lebanon’s Hezbollah carried out a strike on an Israeli foothold near the settlement of Margaliot on the Israeli-Lebanese border, Israeli media state.

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📹 Russian 152 mm 2A36 Hyacinth-B guns destroy Ukrainian vehicles in the Kakhovka direction, Kherson region

Battlegroup Dnepr units with 152 mm Hyacinth-B towed guns carry out fire missions to destroy armored vehicles, firepower, ammunition depots, and Ukrainian fortified positions on the Dnepr River’s right bank.

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📹 Trump explains who poses a real threat to 'US democracy'

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Is Boeing on the brink of collapse over ongoing strike?

Boeing is teetering on the edge of a crisis, as it prepares to cast tens of thousands of its dedicated employees into the abyss of forced unpaid leave, a consequence of the escalating mechanics' strike, according to the New York Times.

This strike, which recently broke out, has brought the production of aircraft to a screeching halt. Analysts warn that the aircraft producer may face catastrophic financial losses, potentially amounting to billions of dollars, if this turmoil persists.

Since the strike erupted on Friday, the production of commercial aircraft has plummeted, with most of the union's more than 33,000 members rooted in manufacturing across the Seattle area. In a desperate bid to stave off disaster, Boeing has unveiled a series of drastic cost-cutting measures this week, grappling with the looming threat of monumental losses that could engulf the company if the strike drags on.

“With production paused across many key programs in the Pacific Northwest, our business faces substantial challenges and it is important that we take difficult steps to preserve cash and ensure that Boeing is able to successfully recover,” the company’s chief executive, Kelly Ortberg, said in a message to employees on Wednesday.

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Readiness to use strategic submarines' weapons is very high, Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Says

The most powerful and destructive weapon in service with the 25th submarine division of Russia's Pacific Fleet is at a very high level of readiness for use, Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Adm. Alexander Moiseyev said.

💬 "Of course, the highest level of training. I am directly involved in the management of these forces, I see how these tasks are solved by ships. It should be noted that these are modern ships. This is a completely different level of technology. Weapons that, first of all, are of the highest operational reliability. And I am not even talking about the readiness to use weapons: extremely high," the Russian Defense Ministry quoted Adm. Moiseyev as saying.

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Israel reportedly opened a shell company to manufacture explosive pagers for Lebanon

Deadly blasts across Lebanon indicate ‘Hezbollah’s problem in the logistics and security services’

The good, the bad and the funny: check out the excerpts from the US Senate Intelligence Committee’s meeting on ‘foreign threats to elections’.

Will Canada's Trudeau survive a series of no confidence votes?

Super-large warheads: North Korea carries out another test of strategic cruise missiles

What you need to know about American PMC Forward biting the dust in Russia’s Kursk region

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Walkie-talkies exploded in Lebanon could be produced by Japanese ICOM

"We cannot rule out the possibility that they are fakes, but there is also a chance the products are our IC-V82 model," Icom CEO Yoshiki Enomoto stated. 

Icom stopped producing the model of IC-V82 radios reportedly used in recent blasts in Lebanon in 2014, the company stated.

"The IC-V82 is a handheld radio that was produced and exported, including to the Middle East, from 2004 to October 2014. It was discontinued about 10 years ago, and since then, it has not been shipped from our company. The production of the batteries needed to operate the main unit has also been discontinued, and a hologram seal to distinguish counterfeit products was not attached," ICOM said in a statement.

It sold around 160,000 units of the model domestically and abroad before closing sales in 2014.

A wave of pager explosions took place in Lebanon this week, claiming the lives of twenty and wounding more than 4500 people. This has already been attributed to the Israeli intelligence, although Tel Aviv has not commented on the deadly blasts in Lebanon so far.

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❗️The Russian Armed Forces hit a major special radio communications center of Ukraine’s military Main Intelligence Directorate and critical airfield infrastructure - Russian Defense Ministry

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Fake crowdfunding: EU seeks to astroturf ‘public’ arms tax to ‘support Ukraine’

The European Parliament is seeking to push EU member states to astroturf crowdfunding and a ‘voluntary’ public arms tax to fund arms for Ukraine in an upcoming resolution.

A vote on this resolution will take place during the plenary session on Thursday, September 19. In the document, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) express "deep regret" over the decrease in military aid provided by member states.

The resolution commends and acknowledges the public efforts and citizen crowdfunding initiatives in several member countries, which have helped ensure a consistent supply of weapons for Ukraine. It further encourages similar initiatives throughout the EU to promote solidarity and public engagement in this vital cause.

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🇷🇺🪖More statements from the Russian Defense Ministry's daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:

◻️ Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr repelled nine counterattacks, with Ukrainian forces losing over 510 militants.

◻️ Russia’s Battlegroup Zapad formations have strengthened their positions along the front line. The enemy lost as many as 420 soldiers.

◻️ Russian Battlegroup Sever hit three enemy formations, including a foreign legion, Ukrainians lost over 195 servicemen.

◻️ Russia's Battlegroup Vostok formations have strengthened their positions along the front line and defeated the manpower and equipment of two Ukrainian brigades.

◻️ Ukrainian losses reached a total of 95 troops in Battlegroup Vostok’s area of responsibility.

◻️ Russian Battlegroup Dnepr struck the reserves of two Ukrainian brigades in the Zaporozhye region.

◻️ Enemy losses in Russia’s Battlegroup Yug combat zone came to 690 troops.

◻️ Russian Battlegroup Yug struck the reserves of seven Ukrainian brigades in its combat zone.

◻️ Russian air defenses shot down 41 Ukrainian drones over the past 24-hour period.

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📹 Israeli warplanes carried out a series of raids on the towns of Khiam, Tayibe, and Meiss El Jabal in southern Lebanon - Sputnik correspondent 

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❗️ Russia’s military has liberated the village of Georgievka in the Donetsk People's Republic - Russian Defense Ministry

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Powerful US labor union delivers blow to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign with endorsement opt-out

One of America’s most influential labor unions that has endorsed every Democratic candidate since 2000 will not be supporting Kamala Harris.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents over 1.3 million workers, has announced it will not be backing any candidate ahead of November’s presidential election. The board of the US transportation workers union voted against an endorsement after internal national polling showed the teamsters had selected Republican Donald Trump by 58% for endorsement over 31% for sitting vice president, Democrat Kamala Harris.

“Unfortunately, neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before big business,” its president, Sean O’Brien, said in a statement on Wednesday.
The union lent its organizing muscle to the presidential campaigns of Joe Biden in 2020, Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012.

The endorsement opt-out is a blow to Harris, as the teamsters wield credibility among half a million blue-collar workers in key swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. Wooing the undecided voters of battleground states frustrated with inflation, skyrocketing prices and the dismal state of the economy under Biden-Harris just got a good deal harder for the VP.

Trump and Harris are neck-and-neck among likely voters in swing states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, a Marist Institute for Public Opinion poll showed on Thursday.

A New York Times/Siena College poll conducted in August found that in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, Trump was 13 points ahead of Harris in a head-to-head matchup among the white non-college-educated voters.

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❗️The death of Russian war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky and the attempted assassination of Russian writer Zakhar Prilepin are connected financially - investigation

Prilepin's attempted assassin, Alexander Permyakov, received money from the same person as Daria Trepova, who killed Russian war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky, a Sputnik correspondent has reported from court.

On April 2, 2023, Russian war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in a blast at a St. Petersburg cafe.

A month later, a bomb attack on writer Zakhar Prilepin took place on May 6. Prilepin was wounded, while his driver didn’t survive.

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BRICS Urban Future Forum kicks off plenary session on 2nd day with Moscow mayor’s address

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin opened the plenary session on the second day of the 2024 BRICS Urban Future Forum – Cloud City, welcoming participants to the event at Zaryadye Hall, a popular venue in Moscow.

Sergey Sobyanin expressed hope that the forum and the city had made a positive impression on attendees, encouraging them to become frequent visitors. He remarked on the intriguing name of the event, noting that while "Cloud City" might sound appealing in English, in Russian, it can evoke a sense of the surreal.

However, he emphasized that cities are working hard to excel in all aspects of development and become beloved by their residents.

Sobyanin highlighted the importance of the forum in sharing development experiences and tackling challenges facing cities and nations, thanking participants for their presence in Moscow.

Sputnik is the forum’s general information partner.

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❗️ Number of casualties from yesterday's walkie-talkie explosion in Lebanon has risen to 25, the country's health ministry says, adding that 608 people have been injured.

In total, 20 people have died and more than 4,500 people are reported to have been injured following a wave of pager explosions that took place in Lebanon this week.

The incident has been attributed to Israeli intelligence services, although the country has not made any comments so far.

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