🇮🇱 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.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺🇺🇳 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.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺 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.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

US President Joe Biden on Saturday called the killing of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah by Israel a "measure of justice," claiming the movement's leader was responsible for killing hundreds of Americans.

"Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror. His death from an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians," Biden said in a statement released by the White House.

Biden added that the United States supported Israel's right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Palestinian movement Hamas, the Houthis and "any other Iranian-supported terrorist groups."

Earlier, during his speech at the UNGA, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov called Israel's attack on Lebanon a political assassination and inhumane, noting that, in Moscow's view, Washington was at least aware of the preparation for the terrorist act.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s speech to the General Debate of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly:

◻️ Lavrov condemned Israel's attack on Lebanon as inhumane, stating that Moscow believes Washington was at least aware of preparations for the terrorist act.

◻️ Russia urges countries proposing peace initiatives on Ukraine to address the root causes of the conflict.

◻️ From the UN podium, Lavrov emphasized the futility of "suicidal attempts" to fight for victory against a nuclear power like Russia.

◻️ Russia is not closing itself off from dialogue with the West and has proposed the idea of an architecture of equal and indivisible security in Eurasia.

◻️ The "Pact for the Future," prepared under the UN's auspices, is merely a well-worded declaration developed under Western control without the involvement of all member states.

◻️ It is not too late to breathe new life into the UN, but this can only be achieved by rebuilding trust based on equality – not through out-of-touch summits and declarations.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Zelensky’s ‘pie in the sky’ long-range missile hopes slow-walked by Washington - Ex-DoD Analyst

“I think Zelensky had a ‘pie in the sky’ goal of trying to get the US to give committed support, militarily, financially to get long-range missiles approved. I don’t think he fared very well,” ex-senior DoD security policy analyst Michael Maloof told Sputnik.

That's how Maloof summed up Volodymyr Zelensky’s trip to Washington this week, and his departure without a US go-ahead for long-range strikes at targets deep inside Russia using NATO missiles – which President Putin recently warned would put NATO and Russia into a state of war.

Zelensky’s hosts in Washington “were polite and listened to him, but there’s too much at stake at this point,” Maloof said, stressing that granting the self-proclaimed Ukrainian president’s request would require direct US intelligence and other support, something the DoD is likely wary of providing.

A big part of the problem for Zelensky is that the US is now so deep into the 2024 presidential campaign “that everybody is distracted by it,” according to Maloof, with the Biden-Harris White House likely seeking to avoid making “any decisions that will have long-term impact,” or prove unpopular among voters as support for further Ukraine aid fades.

“Clearly, Trump has an entirely different idea and approach than Harris and Biden have toward support for Ukraine. And I think that if he were to win, it would have a dramatic impact on…any future decision-making toward what arms Ukraine does have,” Maloof said. “Trump agreed to meet with [Zelensky], but he made it clear that he would be talking to President Putin. And he has a relationship there.”

On the other hand, a Trump-proposed peace plan is murky at this stage, the ex-DoD insider said. “I think he’s not clear on what his goals are to achieve this peace that he keeps talking about. It’s not going to be solved ‘in 24 hours.’ And it’s going to be much more complicated than he envisions at this point.”

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Israel preparing for limited ground operation in Lebanon, US media reports citing US official

Israel is reportedly gearing up for a limited ground incursion into Lebanon, despite having eliminated around 30 top Hezbollah leaders in recent weeks.

According to a senior US official, Israel has turned down ceasefire proposals, including temporary ones, and continues to target sites believed to house long-range missiles. Despite repeated calls from the Biden administration for a diplomatic solution, Israel remains firm in its stance, opting to intensify its military efforts.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️Russia is not increasing its strategic offensive weapons arsenal, at least as long as the New START Treaty remains in effect, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Yemen’s Houthi-led armed forces claimed they targeted Ben Gurion Airport in Israel with a ballistic missile as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was arriving from the US.

"In response to the injustice of the Palestinian people and the crimes of the Zionist enemy in Gaza and Lebanon, the missile force in the Yemeni Armed Forces launched an operation targeting Jaffa Airport, called Ben Gurion by Israel, during the arrival of the criminal Benjamin Netanyahu,” Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman General Yahya Saree said. “The operation was carried out with a C-type Palestine II missile."

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

The Israeli Defense Minister is holding a meeting with military officials regarding the expansion of military operations in Lebanon, the Israeli ministry reported.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Netanyahu: Hezbollah leader's assassination was necessary for Israeli success

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a necessary step to achieving Israel's current objectives.

Commenting on the killing, Netanyahu stated that earlier this week he had concluded that previous strikes on Lebanon would not be sufficient.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

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

◻️ Zelensky’s ‘pie in the sky’ long-range missile hopes slow-walked by Washington - Ex-DoD Analyst

◻️ Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s speech to the General Debate of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly

◻️ Why is voter ID controversial in the US?

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

◻️ UK PM Starmer’s freebies row: gift that keeps on giving

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

What is Hezbollah and how is it organized?

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on September 27. Hashem Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah's executive council, has been named as Nasrallah’s most likely successor.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claims that it has decapitated Hezbollah's chain of command, including Chief of Staff Fuad Shurk, Radwan Force commanders Ibrahim Aqil, Jawad al-Tawil and Abu-Hassan Samir, Southern Front commander Ali Karaki and his subordinates Sami Taleb Abdullar (Netzer Unit), Mohammed Nasser (Aziz Unit) and Abu Ali Reda (Badr Unit).

What is Hezbollah's structure?

◻️ Hezbollah, a Shiite Lebanese movement, has both military and political wings. The group has a significant presence in the Lebanese parliament and government.

◻️ The organization is ruled by the secretary general, who oversees the seven-member Shura Council – the movement's central decision-making authority with five sub-councils responsible for Hezbollah's major activities.

➖ Judicial Council, a court, is headed by Mohammad Yazbek

➖ Political Council, responsible for political advice to Shura, is headed by Ibrahim al-Amine al-Sayyid

➖ Executive Council, which coordinates Hezbollah's civilian activities including communications, education, health, economics and trade unions, is headed by Hashem Safieddine

➖ Parliamentary Council, which oversees the group's parliamentary and political activities, is headed by Mohammad Raad

➖ Jihad Council, which coordinates Hezbollah's military activities

◻️ Reports say that Hezbollah’s guerillas number between 40,000 and 100,000. The group's military wing includes missile, naval, logistics, intelligence and counterintelligence units, air defense, missile defense and special forces:

➖ the elite al-Hajj Radwan Force is a special operation forces unit

➖ the External Security Organisation (ESO), widely known as Unit 910, is said to be the organization's clandestine intelligence wing

◻️ Since the 1980s, Hezbollah has created a network of 15 charitable and social institutions. The main institutions are:

➖ The Martyrs' Fund (Mu'assasat al-Shahid), which provides social support to the families of killed militants

➖ "Civil defense centers", responsible for dealing with accidents and emergencies

➖ "Jihad al-Bina" responsible for restoration of destroyed housing and infrastructure, as well as social housing and road repair

➖ "Al-Imdad" — a social services charity

◻️ Hezbollah is active in Lebanon and the wider Middle East. Some reports claim there is evidence of Hezbollah operations in Africa, the Americas and Asia.

◻️ Hezbollah emerged in 1975, during Lebanon’s civil war. It has fought against Israel over decades and provided support to the Palestinian resistance.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

So long "snowflakes" and "wokeisms": Gen-Z growing more conservative in US and Europe

US pollsters have revealed a clear new trend: Gen Z-ers of all races are more conservative than older age groups, including their parents.

◻️ The latest Harvard Youth Poll has found that more 18-to-24-year-olds identified as conservative than their peers aged 25-29 (by five percentage points among men, and three percentage points among women). Moderates still represent the largest chunk in both age groups.

◻️ "It's rare for a group of Americans that young to be more conservative than their immediate predecessors," Axios wrote, commenting on the study in a September 28 report.

◻️ "Young Black voters are becoming more conservative than their parents," NPR wrote in August. The Black Voter Project’s 2024 national survey, quoted by media, indicated that the highest percentage of African Americans that say they're going to vote for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump comes from among the 18- to 29-year-old age cohort. The age group also seems to be far less supportive of Democrats than their elder peers.

◻️ In March, US journalist Rachel Janfaza, who is studying Gen Z behavior prior to the 2024 election, wrote in her blog that "Gen Z teens are twice as likely to identify as more conservative than their parents than millennials were 20 years ago," citing new data sets from Gallup and Walton Family Foundation.

◻️ On September 4, Newsweek pondered how the right-leaning trend among the youth could affect Kamala Harris's election odds. Previously, youngsters and African Americans mostly tended to vote Democratic. Around 41 million Gen Z Americans will be eligible to vote in November.

◻️ The newspaper pointed out that the rise of the right-wing youth politics is also observed in other countries, including Germany, the UK, France, Portugal, Belgium and Finland, as well as Tunisia.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Hezbollah will rise stronger: Nasrallah's death will strengthen resistance

The assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has sparked a wave of reactions from political figures and analysts, each expressing the significance of his legacy and the implications of his death for Lebanon and the wider region.

◻️ Samer Al-Toum, a Lebanese politician and member of the Strong Lebanon bloc, stressed that while Israel may have found a breach in Lebanon's security it would be wrong to assume that resistance has lost its strength. “After today, it is more important for the Lebanese to preserve national unity, which, before the martyrdom of Hassan Nasrallah, was incomplete, but is now the key to our security,” Al-Toum told Sputnik.

◻️ Vera Yamin, a member of the political bureau of the Al-Marada movement, spoke about Nasrallah's enduring legacy. “Even if he is physically absent, his legacy will always be considered in any future roadmaps,” she said. Yamin told Sputnik that the resistance will continue, as it always gives rise to new leaders, and now is the time to turn sorrow into justified anger against the enemy.

◻️ Jamal Wakim, a professor at the Lebanese University, dismissed the notions that internal strife could arise in Lebanon. “The opposition may rejoice, but they will not be able to change the balance,” he said. Wakim noted that Hezbollah is now facing several challenges and must find the strength to rebuild its leadership and local capabilities.

◻️ Hassan Fadaam, a member of the Iraqi parliament, declared that Nasrallah's martyrdom symbolizes victory for the resistance. He warned that Israel's aggression against Lebanon would not go unnoticed. “Iraq has committed to stand by Lebanon, and the coming days will be difficult for Israel,” Fadaam told Sputnik.

◻️ Alaya Hassan, an expert on Iran, remarked that Israel resorts to assassinations when it faces significant challenges. “The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has given a signal to all resistance movements to prepare for a new phase,” Hassan told Sputnik, adding that Hezbollah’s structure remains unshakable and the resistance will soon choose new leadership.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Van Gogh is under attack once again. Environmental activists have thrown tomato soup on the artist's paintings at a gallery in London.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇬🇼 🇷🇺 Guinea-Bissau has received an invitation to the next BRICS summit

The  West African country will attend the BRICS summit that is to be held in Russia's city of Kazan in October, Guinea-Bissau's Foreign Minister Carlos Pereira told Sputnik.

Pereira noted that Guinea-Bissau's president, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, may also visit Russia this year.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Ukraine is EU 'collapse factor' – independent journalist

Financial support for Ukraine will be a key factor in the final collapse of the viability of the European Union, independent Irish journalist Chay Bowes posted on X.

"The single biggest factor in the collapse of the EU as a viable economic and political power is a country that was never, and will never be a member. It basically reveals the reality that the EU was never about the welfare of its members," Bowes wrote.

On December 14, 2023, the European Council decided to launch negotiations on the future membership of Ukraine and Moldova in the European Union. In June 2022, the EU granted Ukraine candidate country status. However, the bloc has repeatedly said the decision is largely symbolic.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt