Trump vs Harris: No hopes for peace in the Middle East?

“There is a lot of contradiction” in what both US presidential candidates are saying and doing on Middle East-related problems, Elijah J. Magnier, a veteran warzone correspondent and political analyst with over 35 years of experience covering the Middle East and North Africa, tells Sputnik.

“We heard the American administration, both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, saying that they want a ceasefire in Gaza and in Lebanon, but they are supporting the Israelis with all the weapons that Israel needs and the ammunition to support the war on Gaza.”

As for Harris, she is “a professional prosecutor” rather than “a professional politician,” which is why “at the end of the day [if she wins the election], she will fall in the hands of professional people who are the real decision-makers in the [US] administration and not her, to impose on her their view of the situation,” according to Magnier.

On the other hand, “We had [ex-US] President Trump saying that he wants to stop the war on Gaza, but then delivering another information, saying that Israel is too small and needs to be enlarged… Therefore, enlarging Israel means more war on its neighbors. We're talking about Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt.”

When it comes to Biden, he “left so many ambushes on his way to avoid, for example, stopping the war in the Middle East,” the analyst says. “This is why if Trump wins, I don't think he's going to manage to do what he promised - to stop the war in the Middle East and then find a solution for Iran,” on which “both the Democrats and the Republicans imposed sanctions and the Republicans even more.”

“Therefore, at the end of the day, there is an institution in the US and in the administration that both candidates need to abide by the global interest of the US and its allies, and in this case, Israel. This is why things depend more on the new team that is going to rule the US and how far this new team can go,” Magnier concludes.

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Forty years of BAM: The railway that conquered Siberia’s wilderness

The Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) was completed on October 27, 1984, and stands as a monumental feat of Soviet engineering and resilience. Stretching over 4,300 kilometers from Siberia’s heart to the Pacific, BAM connected remote regions, resources, and industries. Built by over two million Soviet workers who faced extreme conditions, BAM overcame challenges from permafrost to vast rivers and mountain ranges. Today, it remains a crucial artery for Russia’s economy, supporting Siberia’s key industries and embodying a lasting legacy of endurance and vision.

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Georgian Dream's win is undisputable and mass protests in Tbilisi are unlikely - analyst

Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili is the only political leader who managed to unite people of different stripes in the country, Arno Khidirbegishvili, general director and chief editor of the Georgian Information and Analytical Agency Geoinform, tells Sputnik.

According to the pundit, Ivanishvili and the Georgian Dream chose a middle path of avoiding confrontation with Russia and maintaining ties with the West and have visibly improved the socio-economic situation in the country which laid the groundwork for the ruling party's election victory.

Regardless of the opposition's threats not to recognize the election outcome, there won't be a new color revolution, Khidirbegishvili believes: there are no reckless revolutionaries among Georgian opposition figures.

The ruling Georgian Dream party has gained 90 of 150 seats in the country's legislature, while the nation's four opposition parties together received just 37% of votes.

According to Khidirbegishvili, that means that roughly 750,000 Georgians align themselves with the West and its Russophobic, LGBT* and homosexual propaganda, as well as its neglect of Christian Orthodox values and desire to open a "second front" against Russia.

"It will always be a time bomb and they will always be a destructive element," he warns.

The analyst draws attention to the fact that it's relatively calm in Tbilisi even though it was earlier expected that the entire Shota Rustaveli Avenue would be blocked by protesters after the election.

"So everything will continue as it was before," he assumes.

Former leader of the 2003 Rose Revolution Mikheil Saakashvili and incumbent President Salome Zourabichvili, who advocated sanctions against the Georgian Dream, are nothing but a "spent force", according to the pundit.

"Saakashvili is unhappy that he remains in prison… Everyone is tired of him," the pundit says, adding that Zourabichvili has likewise outlived her usefulness for the Western-backed opposition.

*the LGBT movement is banned in Russia as extremist

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📹 Critical infrastructure and residential buildings in several neighborhoods of Beirut's southern suburbs were damaged during Israeli airstrikes overnight

Sputnik's video shows the aftermath of the raids.

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▪️Trump vs Harris: No hopes for peace in the Middle East?

▪️Protesters interrupted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu chanting "shame on you"

▪️Trump vs Harris: How NATO’s stance on Russia could change?

▪️2024 BRICS Summit showed collapsing Western hegemony – experts

▪️Trump vs Harris: What’s for Ukraine after US presidential election?

▪️Assassination attempt on Bolivian ex-president, Evo Morales

▪️Beneath the waves: The technology and risks behind global internet cables

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'All is fair in US presidential campaign'

Just a week before the election, a photo of Kamala Harris in a McDonald's uniform started doing the rounds online, adding fuel to an ongoing partisan debate over her claim that she once worked at McDonald’s as a student.

Though tracing the photo’s origin has proven tricky, Snopes has confirmed it’s indeed a fake. As it turns out, the woman in the photo is actually someone named Suzanne Bernier.

Whether the poorly done photoshop was an attempt to boost Harris’ “relatable” factor or, conversely, to discredit her, we may never know—but it certainly has the internet buzzing.

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🇷🇺🥇Russian army ranked world’s strongest by US magazine 

Russia has the strongest military in the world, a US News and World Report magazine ranking has shown. 

“Various attributes and nations were presented in a survey of nearly 17,000 people from across the globe from March 22 to May 23,” according to the news outlet. 

The US army has a second-place spot on the ranking, with the Israeli military coming on its heels. 

The top-ten list of the world’s strongest armies also includes China, South Korea, Iran, the UK, Ukraine, Germany, and Turkiye.

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Trump vs Harris: Does it make any difference for China?

Both US presidential candidates regrettably “not only have virtually indistinguishable policies regarding China, they have demonstrated during their respective time in office a bipartisan commitment to escalating tensions” with Beijing, Brian Berletic, a geopolitical analyst and former US Marine, tells Sputnik.

The candidates “present this singular continuity of agenda with their own respective spin – Donald Trump in a more nationalistic manner, and Kamala Harris by linking it to upholding the US-led ‘international order’.”

Washington “has continuously encouraged separatism on the island province of Taiwan by first stationing, then expanding the presence of US troops on Taiwan itself, and rapidly transforming the US military including the entire US Marine Corps to fight a future war with China off its own coasts over Taiwan, internationally recognized as Chinese territory.”

Both candidates plan to continue using Taiwan as a “pressure point” to provoke tensions between China and nations “the US still exercises considerable influence over, including Europe, Australia, and the Philippines, according to the analyst.
He insists that Biden’s steps would not have been possible without the actions Trump took “to prepare the stage.”

“Regardless of who wins the election this November, the steps taken during the Biden administration will allow this [China-related] policy to be pursued even further and in the same direction - toward escalation.”

Further militarization of the Asia-Pacific has been unfolding, Berlectic adds, referring to the creation of the Quad group, which took place under Trump. “Under the Biden administration, it was expanded along with the creation of AUKUS. Both groupings represent efforts toward what could be characterized as a ‘Pacific NATO’," as per the analyst.

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🇬🇪 Europe reacts to the results of Georgian elections:

🇨🇿 Czech Foreign Ministry: The Czech Republic is concerned about reports on the parliamentary elections in Georgia.

“The Georgian authorities should respect democratic values and stop actions that threaten the European alignment policy of Georgia,” the statement says.

🇬🇧 The British Foreign Office has called on the Georgian authorities to investigate possible violations in the conduct of the elections.

🇪🇺 Josep Borrell called on Georgia's political forces to dialog and government reforms by "the basic principles of European integration."

🇭🇺 Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will visit Georgia on October 28-29 at the invitation of the Georgian Prime Minister. Earlier, Orban congratulated the ruling Georgian Dream party on its “stunning” victory.

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📹🇺🇸 Kamala Harris, current vice president of the United States since 2021, says she will "chart a new way forward" for the country at the Community Rally in PA.

Previously, when asked what she would have done differently than Biden over the past four years, Harris answered, “Not a thing that comes to mind."

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🇮🇱🇵🇸 Evidence of Israel's use of 'white phosphorus' sent to ICC - Palestinian leader's aide

According to Mahmoud al-Habbash, "millions of people" have witnessed Israel's use of white phosphorus in numerous wars in the Gaza Strip.

"Documented evidence and information have been provided confirming Israel's war crimes and genocide in the Gaza Strip, including the use of internationally prohibited weapons," al-Habbash said at the 16th BRICS summit in Kazan.

Israel denied these accusations and refused to cooperate with the ICC.

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Assange’s father: world's 'center of gravity' shifted toward BRICS

The "center of gravity" in the world has shifted toward BRICS, the organization is at the forefront of the world economy, demography and culture, John Shipton, an Australian activist and the father of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, told Sputnik.

"I think, as for Russia and the BRICS, it was great seeing the skill with which Russia and China and India, each having very distinct and ancient cultures, temporized bringing those cultures together to form the BRICS, international non-western power bloc. So, in my feeling, the center of gravity in the world has moved towards the demographic, economic and cultural centers of the world," Shipton said.

Last week, Shipton attended the BRICS summit in Kazan, where the results of Russia's chairmanship of the organization in 2024 were summed up. According to the activist, he enjoyed the trip to Kazan, and his brief acquaintance with Tatarstan and Tatar culture was "surprisingly good and pleasant."

#BRICS2024

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No party wins majority in Japan parliamentary elections

Parliamentary elections in Japan have left the country in uncertainty after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party gained only 215 mandates, down from 279, while the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan won 148 seats, up from 98 previously.

According to the Japanese Constitution, now the parties have 30 days to figure out a grouping that will govern.

The results of the elections have already caused the yen to fall to a three-month low as analysts are preparing for long political disputes over the formation of a government and possibly a change of leader, according to media reports.

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❗️Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu has headed to the UAE, where he is expected to meet with President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss international security and cooperation, the Russian Security Council said.

Shoigu is expected to be received by the UAE president to discuss international security, and bilateral cooperation in the political, trade, economic and military-technical spheres. The agenda also includes issues of interaction between law enforcement agencies and the special services of Russia and the UAE.

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Musk vows to cut US budget spending by $2 trillion if Trump wins

US entrepreneur Elon Musk has promised to cut US budget spending by at least $2 trillion if Republican candidate Donald Trump wins the presidential election in November.

Musk was one of headliners of Trump's campaign rally held at the Madison Square Garden arena in New York.

Fellow billionaire entrepreneur Howard Lutnick, who delivered an energetic speech just before Musk, asked him how much the country's budget spending, which amounts to $6.5 trillion, could be cut.

"I think we can do at least two trillion," Musk replied.

Trump previously said that he was ready to offer Musk a position in the US government if he wins the election. According to Trump, Musk would like to participate in optimizing the work of the American government.

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🔸Hungarian PM Orban to visit Georgia amid EU’s concerns over country’s elections’ results

🔸Evidence of Israel's use of 'white phosphorus' sent to ICC - Palestinian leader's aide 

🔸Russia’s army is world's strongest, US magazine’s ranking shows

🔸Japan's parliament hung after elections

🔸Assange’s father explains shift of world’s ‘center of gravity’ 
  
🔸VIDEO: Consistency isn’t Kamala’s strong point

🔸Trump vs Harris: Does it make any difference to China?

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Hebrew account of Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei blocked on X

The social media account of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, posting in Hebrew on platform X, was blocked just one day after it was launched.

The message now indicates that the account is suspended when attempting to view Khamenei's post on X.

Over the weekend, Khamenei posted in Hebrew that Israel made a mistake by attacking Iran and hinting at a possible Iranian response to the strike on its territory.

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