Moldova to elect president in second round on November 3 - CEC chief

Moldova will hold a runoff presidential election on November 3 after none of the candidates won more than required 50 percent of the vote in the first round, with nearly all ballots counted, the head of the country's Central Election Commission said.

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Israel's terms to end bombing of Lebanon handed to US - report

Israel handed over a document containing its principal demands for ending its military assault against Lebanon to Washington several weeks ago, Axios reported.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are to be allowed to engage in "active enforcement" to ensure that the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah is unable to rearm and rebuild its military infrastructure in areas of southern Lebanon that are close to the border, an Israeli official was cited as saying. Israel reportedly also demands that its air force be granted freedom of operation in Lebanese air space.

The paper was purportedly the result of discussions between Israel’s Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trusted confidant, and officials of the Israeli Ministry of Defense and the IDF. The document was handed to the White House ahead of a visit to Beirut by President Joe Biden's envoy Amos Hochstein's on Monday, US and Israeli officials added.

Hochstein is expected to meet in Lebanon’s capital with acting Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, and other Lebanese officials to discuss the Israeli demands. He is expected to advocate for the deployment of at least 8,000 Lebanese troops in southern Lebanon – mostly controlled by Hezbollah – as part of any diplomatic solution to the hostilities, the report added.

The US envoy was also reportedly tasked with pushing through an upgrade to UNIFIL's mandate that would prevent armed groups not under the control of the Lebanese government from being deployed near the border with Israel.

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BRICS Summit in Russia’s Kazan: What’s on Agenda?

The 2024 BRICS Summit, which opens in the Russian city of Kazan on October 22, is a three-day event that was touted by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as "one of the main events on the global agenda."

What are the expectations surrounding the gathering?

🔹 During the event, Russia will propose initiatives outlined within the framework of its current BRICS chairmanship and related to humanitarian, economic, financial, parliamentary, and other fields.

🔹 The summit will consist of two parts, with the first one due to be held under the slogan of "Strengthening Multilateralism for Equitable Global Development and Security," while the second - "BRICS and the Global South – Jointly Building a Better World."

🔹 Participants are expected to discuss the creation of a BRICS digital payment platform, BRICS Bridge, and ways to increase trade in national currencies.

🔹 Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold 17 bilateral meetings with foreign counterparts on the sidelines of the summit, which will start ahead of the official opening of the gathering, on October 21. Putin, in particular, is due to sit down with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to discuss comprehensive strategic partnership.

What is so unique about the summit?

🔹 With more than 30 countries already confirming participation, the summit “could turn into Russia’s largest-ever foreign policy event,” according to Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov.

🔹 In this vein, mapping out clear-cut criteria for admission of new BRICS members and cooperation with partner countries in various formats is expected to be high on the summit's agenda.

Yury Ushakov earlier stressed that Moscow seeks to ensure "the smoothest possible entry of new BRICS members into the group’s existing multi-level cooperation architecture."

In addition to Russia, Brazil, India, China, and South Africa, BRICS – created in 2006 – also includes new members, such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.

🔹 Russia, which has held the group’s rotating presidency since January 1, 2024, adds to "enhancing the role of BRICS in the international monetary and financial system, developing interbank cooperation and expanding the use of national currencies in mutual trade,” according to President Putin.

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❗️The Russian Armed Forces struck Ukraine's energy facilities, military airfield infrastructure, and drone production workshops, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

🇷🇺🪖Key statements from the Russian MoD’s daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:

▪️The Russian Armed Forces hit a temporary deployment point of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine.

▪️Russian air defense forces destroyed three HIMARS rockets and 52 Ukrainian drones.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 350 militants and three depots in the Russian Zapad Battlegroup's combat zone.

▪️The Russian Tsentr Battlegroup struck nine Ukrainian brigades, repelled 14 counterattacks, and the enemy lost up to 430 militants.

▪️The Russian Vostok Battlegroup advanced to more favorable positions, with the enemy losing up to 90 militants.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 55 militants during actions by the Russian Dnepr Battlegroup.

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📹'You are not my king!' Charles III encounters humiliating moment during visit to Australian parliament

Senator Lidia Thorpe unleashed a fiery outburst against the British monarch at Australia’s Parliament House, which stood out as one of the highlights of King Charles III's visit to Australia.

"Give us what you stole from us - our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people. You destroyed our land, you destroyed our lives," shouted Thorpe, as she poured out her anger on King Charles.

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🛰🛰🛰🛰 Vladimir Putin to hold talks with the UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Putin and Al Nahyan will discuss Russian-Emirati cooperation, including its current state and prospects for development, according to the Kremlin. In addition, the two leaders will address current international issues. in particular, the situation in the Middle East and North Africa.

The BRICS Summit will be held in Russia's Kazan on October 22-24. Representatives of more than 30 countries are expected to take part in the international event.

Stay tuned so you won't miss it!

#BRICS2024

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🎥🎥 Vladimir Putin holds talks with the UAE President Al Nahyan

👉Watch the livestream here or follow the link to the Sputnik's website

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🤝 Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold bilateral meetings with almost all the leaders who will arrive at the BRICS summit

"The Russian President will hold bilateral meetings with almost all the leaders participating in the summit," the Kremlin's statement said.

The BRICS leaders will focus on the possible expansion of association at the summit, the statement said.

"It is planned to discuss current international issues with an emphasis on the aggravated situation in the Middle East and the interaction of the BRICS countries and the Global South in the interests of sustainable development," the statement read.

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💬 Pepe Escobar: Date with destiny - BRICS offer hope in a time of war

“The context for what will be decided in Kazan this week is no less than incandescent, as the uncontrolled chaos of the Hegemon’s Forever Wars – from Ukraine to West Asia – has even materially affected the heavy work of BRICS and the necessity to build a new international system of geoeconomic relations practically from scratch,” says veteran international affairs observer Pepe Escobar, commenting on the imminent kickoff of the BRICS bloc’s long-awaited summit in Russia on October 22.

Citing bloc members’ broad agreement on ‘the need for a comprehensive reform of the global financial architecture to enhance the voice of developing countries and their representation’, Escobar stressed that when it comes to existing, Western-dominated institutions, “it remains clear the US has less than zero interest in a profound reform of the IMF, the World Bank and the Bretton Woods system.” Therefore, “Russia and China, especially, are fully aware that what is needed is a post-Bretton Woods.”

Listing off other major initiatives on the agenda in Kazan, including a cross-border payments initiative, the operation of the BRICS’ New Development Bank, dedollarization and the creation of new digital currencies’ related infrastructure, Escobar stressed that in geopolitics too, the summit is expected pump up the BRICS’ international profile, with a special session on Palestine a case in point.

“All of the above is highly significant for the BRICS context because the Forever Wars in West Asia have been seriously interfering with the work within BRICS. And on top of it, the Forever Wars, cold, hybrid, and hot, are in fact essentially directed against three BRICS members, Russia, Iran and China – not by accident described as the Top Three existential threats to the Hegemon.”

“The stakes in Kazan could not be higher. By the end of the week the Global Majority will know whether Kazan will go down in History as the landmark of a new, emerging system of international relations, of if crass Divide and Rule tactics will keep postponing the inexorable demise of the Old Order,” Escobar summed up.

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