🔸Israel launches massive strikes on southern Lebanon, continues crack down on Al Jazeera

🔸‘Crisis’ in Navy submarine program latest sign of decline of US military power

🔸Scholz's SPD wins Brandenburg elections, AfD close behind

🔸When reality kicks in: Macron flipflops on future relations with Russia

🔸UK defunds Confucius Institutes in latest example of Western anti-China freakout

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❗️In his address to the participants of the Russian Energy Week forum, Russia's President Vladimir Putin noted that in the new geopolitical realities, cooperation in the energy sector should serve to strengthen national economies. 

He also said that a meeting of BRICS energy ministers will be held on the sidelines of the forum. During the negotiations, it is necessary to agree on the principles of a fair energy transition, and outline ways to strengthen the role of BRICS in the global energy dialogue.

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There is a week left till the end of the fiscal year in the United States, which means it's time for lawmakers and the administration to once again scare each other with the prospect of a government shutdown.

Republicans in Congress have already proposed a temporary budget to avoid the so-called shutdown. The 45-page document suggests extending the government's funding at the current level until December 20. At the same time, it has been proposed that the US Secret Service (after two unsuccessful assassination attempts on Trump) be allocated more funds than provided for in the previous budget; and if necessary, "to carry out security operations, including those related to elections."

The leader of the Democratic minority in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, said that his party would consider the proposal.

"Congress is now on a bipartisan path to avoid a government shutdown that would hurt everyday Americans," Jeffries stressed.

The document may be considered next Wednesday. The current budget ends on September 30. If Congress does not agree, then government funding will be suspended after that date, leading to a shutdown just a month before the US presidential election.

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Israel prepares to for all-out war with Lebanese Hezbollah — report

The IDF plans a ground offensive that would include the capture of a buffer zone comprising a few miles of territory north of the Israeli-Lebanese border, the Economist reports, citing military sources.

Israeli forces have already deployed a second division, that was in Gaza, to the north to get ready for the operation. 

On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces said it had carried out mass strikes on Hezbollah facilities in Lebanon. Earlier on Sunday, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem announced the group has entered a new phase of confrontation with Israel.

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🇮🇷Iran's IRGC orders ban on 'any type of communication devices' — report 

After the organized pager and walkie-talkies blasts in Lebanon, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has called on its members to stop using any type of communication devices, Reuters reports, citing Iranian security officials.

The media outlet also adds that the IRGC has been conducting an inspection of all devices, not only communication ones. 

Earlier, a wave of pager explosions took place in Lebanon last week, claiming the lives of 20 and wounding more than 4,500 people.

Lebanese authorities and Hezbollah have accused Israeli intelligence services of carrying out the series of coordinated explosions of electronic devices. Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate, although Tel Aviv has denied accusations about the deadly blasts in Lebanon so far.

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❗️Israeli warnings have been sent to Lebanese citizens, including the Information Minister, urging them to evacuate certain locations, according to local media.

Israel has carried out massive attacks on alleged Hezbollah targets inside Lebanon.

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📹 The footage shows an army regiment from the Chinese army's Xinjiang Military Region conducting a large-scale refuelling of military equipment in the field.

The refuelling was carried out in a single line, in two parallel lines and in a circle.

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Shielding the future: Turkiye’s Akkuyu equipped with monumental protective dome

💬 "Russian and Turkish specialists have installed in working position the outer containment dome at the first power unit of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant under Rosatom construction in Turkey. This is the last element of the containment shell. The dome's weight is 147.6 tonnes with a diameter of 34.7 meters [113.8 feet]," the company said.

The dome will enhance the reliability and safety of the reactor building. Constructed from reinforced concrete, the outer protective shell is designed to withstand earthquakes measuring up to nine on the Richter scale. Once completed, the walls of the dome will have a thickness of 1.5 meters.

"The next construction stage will be covering the metal structure of the outer containment shell with high-strength concrete. It will allow us to commence the installation of heat removal system equipment," the design company said.

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❗️Ukrainian forces lost up to 600 militants in the area of responsibility of the Russian Yug battlegroup.

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

🔸The Russian Sever combat group hit the formations of two Ukrainian brigades in the Kharkov region. Ukrainian losses amounted to 105 soldiers;

🔸The Russian Tsentr battlegroup repelled nine Ukrainian counterattacks; the enemy lost up to 440 militants;

🔸Ukrainian forces lost up to 140 militants in the area of responsibility of the Russian Vostok combat group;

🔸The Russian Zapad group repelled four counterattacks of Ukrainian troops. Ukrainian losses amounted to 450 militants;

🔸Russian air defense systems shot down an ATACMS missile, a HIMARS projectile, two Hammer bombs, three Neptune missiles, and 35 drones of the Ukrainian armed forces.

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SCO matters in Asia, makes US-run QUAD look like anemic midget - analyst

“The SCO [Shanghai Cooperation Organization] is what really matters in Asia these days, including Russia, Iran, India, most of the “Stans”, with Belarus, Afghanistan and Mongolia in the breech, while 14 other Asian and African nations are participating as observers. It makes America’s QUAD look like an anemic midget,” Jeff J. Brown, author of The China Trilogy, told Sputnik.

His comment comes on the heels of the recent QUAD summit in Delaware, which consists of Australia, India, Japan, and the US, who agreed to expand military logistics cooperation.

Japan and Australia are “loyal Yankee vassals, thus they are fully onboard” when Washington “makes demands”, Brown, who is also editor at China Rising Radio Sinoland and co-founder and curator of the Bioweapon Truth Commission, pointed out.

During the summit, the four also discussed the Open Radio Access Networks, which Brown said “integrate mobile and radio networks, making them compatible across platforms.”

“The real winner will be Washington, as it will be able to access undiscovered signal, communication and intelligence information from Japan, Australia and India, more than these latter may get in return. That’s how American ‘cooperation’ works,” he noted.

On China castigating the Quad for undermining regional security, Brown said that Beijing “has to protest for international and national respect, because that is a part of geopolitical sparring.”

The expert described the QUAD as something that “has always been an awkward and unnatural Cold-War-esque alignment that the US wants to use to keep Beijing on its toes.” “The QUAD is all about finding avenues to challenge China, but after this summit, I don’t think Beijing is going to lose any sleep,” Brown concluded.

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American-style freedom of speech: Europe edition

After the EU deputy asked in the chamber whether EU is "at war with Russia", and said that prolonging the war will "not help Ukrainians", his microphone was "suddenly" cut off. 

The Leader of the French Patriots Party Florian Philippot points out that the EU Parliament answered the deputy's question, saying that the EU prolongs the conflict in the name of Ukraine, which wants to join "free Europe", not Russia "where there is no freedom of speech!"

Quite ridiculous, huh?

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An Irish mercenary, Robert Deegan, who fought on the side of the Ukrainian armed forces, was eliminated in Ukraine, the Irish Times reported.

Robert Deegan, 29, was born in Newbridge, Ireland, and previously served in the Defense Forces’ elite Army; his father also served in the Army Ranger Wing, the Irish Times reports.

In Ukraine, Deegan became a member of Stugna Special Unit. According to the newspaper, in October 2022, while on active duty, he was caught up in an improvised explosive attack and, as a result, lost an eye. He was evacuated and sent back to Ireland. After medical treatment, he returned to the Ukrainian frontline.

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A wave of desertion is growing in the special forces of Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk direction, Russian law enforcement agencies told Sputnik.

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TSMC and Samsung mull building $100 billion chip plants in UAE – report

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Samsung Electronics are discussing the construction of huge production complexes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Wall Street Journal has quoted unnamed sources as saying.

Top executives from TSMC, one of the world’s largest chipmaker, and Samsung, a maker of smartphones, TVs and memory chips, recently visited the UAE to discuss the construction of megafactories there, projects that could cost more than $100 billion to complete, according to the sources.

They added that the discussions are still in the early phases amid concerns that existing major technical and political hurdles could prod the two companies to scrap their plans.

The developments come amid growing competition between the US and China to prevail in the global chip industry, which may grow to $1.4 trillion in revenue by 2030.

According to the White House, the US currently produces roughly 10% of semiconductor-related global goods, while China accounts for at least 15%.

The Biden administration earlier required licenses for those companies that export chips to China using US tools or software, no matter where they're made in the world. China retaliated by restricting exports to the US of rare metals, such as gallium and germanium, which are used to manufacture semiconductors.

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❗️50 people were killed and more than 300 injured as a result of today's Israeli Air Force strikes in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Emergency Center said.

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