Hezbollah has announced its first attack on Israel since confirming the death of the movement's leader Hassan Nasrallah

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Iranian Airlines suspends flights to Lebanese capital Beirut, Tasnim News Agency reports

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Russia denounces Nasrallah assassination, holds Israel responsible for escalation

Moscow strongly condemns the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, warning that it may have serious consequences for Lebanon and the entire Middle East. Russia calls on Israel to cease fire, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

”We strongly condemn yet another political assassination committed by Israel,” the statement said. “This act of force is fraught with further dramatic consequences for Lebanon and the entire Middle East. Israel could not have been unaware of the danger but proceeded with this step – the killing of Lebanese citizens, which will almost inevitably provoke a new wave of violence.”

“Therefore, the full responsibility for the subsequent escalation lies with them," it added.

The Foreign Ministry called on Israel to cease fire in light of Nasrallah’s assassination.

"We once again urgently call on Israel to immediately cease hostilities. This would stop the bloodshed and create conditions for a political-diplomatic settlement,” the statement argued. “In the current explosive situation, responsible members of the international community must do everything in their power to prevent the region from descending into a full-scale armed confrontation."

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Big Apple's rotten core: NYC Mayor Adams' case echoes previous scandals

Indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams claimed that the Justice Department went after him because he criticized President Joe Biden’s immigration policies. The White House rejected the accusations.

Adams was indicted on September 25 on five federal charges of alleged bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations.

US prosecutors say the charges date back to 2014. Adams has denied wrongdoing and insisted he will not resign.
While Adams is the first sitting NYC mayor charged with a federal crime, the US has seen many city government corruption scandals in its history.

✅ At least eight US mayors have have been convicted of corruption over the past 20-plus years, including Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon, Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon, and Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

✅ Abraham Oakey Hall, the Big Apple's Democratic mayor from 1869 to 1872, was tried three times on grift charges but acquitted. Mayor James Walker, another Democrat who ruled the city between 1926 and 1932 and was forced to resign over corruption allegations. Democratic Mayor Edward Koch (1978-1989) was criticized for allowing cronyism and corruption in the city's agencies, but was never charged personally.

✅ More recently, Democrat Bill de Blasio was ordered in 2023 to pay $475,000 by a city ethics board for misusing public funds while serving as NYC mayor. He faced several fundraising scandals during his tenure.

De Blasio's NGO Campaign for One New York came under federal investigation for possible campaign finance violations in 2016. Between 2019 and 2021, the $1.25-billion mental health program ThriveNYC founded by De Blasio and his wife came under scrutiny over spending, effectiveness and lack of goals.

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An airstrike has been reported in the southern Laylaki area of the Lebanese capital Beirut, near the city's international airport.

A video circulating online shows a column of smoke rising into the sky, with an airplane in the background approaching the airport for landing, almost simultaneously with the attack.

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Nasrallah’s death a ‘devastating blow’ that will trigger further violence – Beirut-based scholar

The assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah delivered “a devastating blow to Hezbollah” and the Iranian-led Axis of Resistance alliance which will inevitably escalate tensions and violence in the region, veteran Lebanese Middle East affairs observer Dr. Imad Salamey told Sputnik, commenting on the implications of the Shia militia leader’s death in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut.

“Nasrallah was not only the face of Hezbollah, but also a figure of immense symbolic and strategic importance within the broader Iranian-led regional alliance. He has been instrumental in Hezbollah’s military and political successes against Israel, its support of the Syrian regime, and its backing of the Houthis in Yemen. His death represents a major moral and leadership setback, leaving a vacuum that’s difficult to fill,” Salamay, an associate professor of political science and international affairs at the Lebanese American University, said.

Nasrallah’s death also comes against the background of the “substantial” damage done to Hezbollah in the wake of last week’s pager attacks, the professor recalled, noting these attacks “disrupted Hezbollah’s command and control capabilities, creating significant challenges for the group to regroup and reestablish its operational structure.”

Accordingly, while Hezbollah “remains a potent force, it will take some time for it to recover from these setbacks, both materially and strategically.”

In the short term, Dr. Salamay expects Nasrallah’s assassination to result in a sharp spike in attacks on Israel by Hezbollah and its allies to try to exact revenge, and more broadly, to potential “shifts in regional alliances, a recalibration of Iran’s strategies in Lebanon, and possibly more aggressive Israeli policies aimed at capitalizing on Hezbollah’s weakened position.”

The IDF’s dubbing the attack on Nasrallah “New Order” is also a likely reference to Israel’s ultimate goal of reshaping “the political and security dynamics in Lebanon and the broader region,” according to the academic.

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❗️Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called Israel's attacks on Lebanon inhumane, adding that the killing of Palestinian civilians with US weapons should be immediately stopped.

Lavrov stated that Russia believes Washington was at the very least aware of Israel's recent attacks on Lebanon.

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The US and the UK are preparing Europe for a suicidal adventure against Russia, stated Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during his speech at the UN General Assembly.

Lavrov also emphasized the futility of "suicidal attempts" to fight for victory against a nuclear power like Russia.

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🇷🇺 Russia urges countries proposing peace initiatives on Ukraine to consider the necessity of addressing the root causes of the conflict, stated Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during his speech at the UN General Assembly.

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🇮🇱 The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) conducted another "precision strike" in the Dahiyeh area of Beirut, where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed on Friday, according to the IDF press service.

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🇷🇺🇺🇳 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during his speech at the UNGA called Israel's attacks on Lebanon inhumane, adding that the killing of Palestinian civilians with US weapons should be immediately stopped.

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🇷🇺 Russia urges countries proposing peace initiatives on Ukraine to consider the necessity of addressing the root causes of the conflict, stated Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during his speech at the UN General Assembly.

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