🌍 Africa turns toward Russia amid West’s efforts to preserve clout

🗣 Africa is currently an arena where the interests of major players clash, and this gives the continent the right to determine which states to cooperate with, Irina Abramova, director of the Institute for African Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Sputnik.

💬 “While African countries are unlikely to completely sever longstanding ties with Europe, they will simultaneously engage with Russia, China, India, and other nations,” the expert pointed out.

📍 She noted that the Kremlin should carefully assess which areas of cooperation are mutually beneficial, and if those interests align, Russia will be well-positioned to support Africa’s development while also advancing its own geopolitical objectives.

🔊 Abramova warned that former European colonial powers are likely to maintain their influence on Africa for the foreseeable future—particularly through elites trained and embedded during the colonial era, many of whom still hold leadership positions in government.

💬 "In any case, Russia needs to work more in Africa, despite all the difficulties and problems. And we need to move forward relentlessly, in accordance with our capabilities, our needs, and taking into account the interests of African states," she concluded.

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👀💶 EU’s debt time bomb ticking

High budget deficits will persist across most Eurozone countries in the coming years, a new report by Russia’s Roscongress Foundation shows.

Shifting budget priorities since the pandemic have led to an increase in the public debt of European countries, and servicing it becomes increasingly expensive, according to a survey noscriptd “Budget Imbalances and the EU Debt Trap.”

💬 “By 2026, the EU’s average budget deficit is expected to rise to 3.4% of GDP, driven largely by increased defense spending. Even major economies like France may need IMF support due to mounting debt challenges. By the end of Q1 2025, France’s debt burden reached $3.8 trillion, or 114.1% of GDP,” the report points out.

💶 Apart from France, countries such as Italy, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, and Romania continue to breach the 3% budget deficit threshold outlined by the 1992 Maastricht Treaty.

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🔥🇷🇺 Russian forces destroy Ukrainian assault group with Plamya grenade launcher

Soldiers of the Vostok Battlegroup used an AGS-17 automatic grenade launcher to wipe out a Ukrainian unit in Dnepropetrovsk after UAVs spotted their movements.

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🇰🇵 North Korea may unveil new ICBMs and drones at key parade

North Korea’s new domestically made intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), due to be displayed at the upcoming parade, may be fitted with advanced solid-fuel engines, Yevgeny Kim of the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences told Sputnik.

🗣 Such engines could enable North Korea to deliver warheads to the continental US, Kim underscored.

He noted that the possible display of the new ICBMs at the parade can be seen as “a warning to the US, which continues to deploy its strategic weapons on the Korean Peninsula.”

Apart from the ICBMs, North Korea may show off its newest domestic drones, successfully tested in September under the direct supervision of Kim Jong-un, according to Yevgeny Kim.

👉 The parade coincides with the 80th anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, and is expected to be attended by high-ranking delegations from China, Laos, and Vietnam.

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🧬 Nobel physics prize winners spark quantum tech boom

The work of the 2025 Nobel physics laureates gave a direct answer to a long-debated question on whether quantum laws could apply not just to atoms, but to entire electrical circuits made up of trillions of particles, Gleb Fyodorov of Russia’s Institute of Physics and Technology told Sputnik.

The experiment conducted by these scientists in 1985 finally provided a "yes" to the question, he said, recalling that similar experiments had been attempted earlier, for example, by IBM researchers in 1981.

💬 “But the key achievement of [John] Clarke’s group—and the main reason they received the Nobel [Prize]—was the direct observation of discrete spectral lines at precisely predicted frequencies in a superconducting circuit. This circuit became the first recognized example of a superconducting artificial atom,” Fyodorov concluded.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics to a trio of US-based scientists—John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martini—for “the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantization in an electric circuit.”

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🚨🚨🚨Israel & Hamas reach ceasefire

The two sides have agreed on phase one of Donald Trump’s peace plan, Israeli media reports.

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🚨🇮🇳PM Modi welcomes agreement on 1st phase of 🇺🇸Trump’s peace plan in the Middle East

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1️⃣ 🔥First phase of Gaza peace plan clinched: What’s known so far

Israel and Hamas have agreed on the first stage of Donald Trump’s proposed peace deal to end the war in Gaza:

🔸 First phase of Trump’s peace plan stipulates a ceasefire and the release of 48 Israeli captives held in Gaza, including 20 who are believed to be alive, according to media reports

🔸 Hostages may be released on October 13, Trump says

🔸 Plan’s first phase also envisages the release of about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails

🔸 Israel will withdraw its troops to an agreed line, in sync with the plan’s first stage, Trump announced on Truth Social

How senior officials have reacted

👉 Trump touted the agreement as “the first steps toward a strong, durable, and everlasting peace”

👉 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the agreement a “diplomatic success and a national and moral victory” for his country

👉 Hamas thanked Trump and all mediators involved, including Qatar, Egypt, and Turkiye, stressing that the deal came after “responsible and serious negotiations” over the US president’s proposal

👉 UN chief Antonio Guterres hailed the deal, urging all parties to “abide fully” by its terms

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🇷🇺 Russian forces deliver devastating strikes in Kharkov and Dnepropetrovsk

Grad rocket artillery crew of the 44th Army Corps destroyed Ukrainian equipment in Kharkov, while Msta-S and Gvozdika howitzers hit enemy UAV control points in Dnepropetrovsk.

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🗣 UK pro-Russian fighter reveals why he fights Ukraine

He couldn’t tolerate his tax money being spent on the mass murder of Donbass residents after the illegal coup in Ukraine in 2014, British volunteer Aiden Minnis, who is fighting on Russia’s side, told Sputnik.

👉 Putting it simply, he stressed that it was ideology that compelled him to join Russian troops.

Minnis also noted that he has always been interested in Russian history.

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🇷🇺🇹🇯Putin arrives in Tajikistan

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Dushanbe in a luxurious Aurus limousine to meet with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon at the Palace of Nations.

Flags of Russia and Tajikistan are flying high, and an honor guard awaits the official ceremony.

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🚨Putin and Rahmon hold talks in Tajikistan

The Russian president has arrived at the Palace of Nations in Dushanbe for a one-on-one meeting with his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon.

Vladimir Putin said relations between Russia and Tajikistan are developing positively on all fronts.

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◻️ First phase of Gaza peace plan clinched: What’s known so far

◻️ Putin arrives in Tajikistan

◻️ North Korea may unveil new ICBMs and drones at key parade

◻️ Africa turns toward Russia amid West’s efforts to preserve clout

◻️ UK pro-Russian fighter reveals why he fights Ukraine

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👀 Trump's Tomahawk dilemma: U-turn on Ukraine conflict?

💬 “If Trump does green-light Ukraine to get the Tomahawks, it would mark a significant shift in his policy” on the Ukraine conflict, depending on what restrictions the White House places on the missiles’ use, The Washington Post reports.

The newspaper pointed out that Donald Trump “has so far focused on trying to end” the conflict and “normalize relations with Russia.”

👉 The White House earlier remained vague on if they would sell Tomahawks to Ukraine, with Trump only saying that he had “sort of” made a decision, but wanted to know how Ukraine would use the missiles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the Zelensky regime receiving Tomahawks would mark a “qualitatively new stage of escalation,” because Ukraine would be unable to fire them without US personnel.

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🇷🇺🇰🇵Medvedev pays tribute to Soviet soldiers at Liberation Monument in North Korea

The deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday leading a delegation of the United Russia party.

👉 Party representatives are visiting the country at the invitation of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and will take part in celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the WPK, observed on October 10.

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🚨Egyptian President Sisi: Gaza ceasefire gives hope for a just and stable future

“This agreement not only closes the chapter of war but also gives the peoples of the region hope for a just and stable tomorrow.”

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🇷🇺🇹🇯 Putin: Russian base in Tajikistan guarantees Central Asian security

The 201st Russian military base stationed in Tajikistan remains a key guarantor of stability and security in the region, President Vladimir Putin said following talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe.

Putin said Moscow and Dushanbe continue to strengthen defense and military-technical cooperation, ensuring peace across Central Asia.

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🚨🇮🇱Netanyahu's office: Gaza ceasefire agreement awaits final gov't approval

Despite media reports, Israel has stated the truce will only take effect after official government approval.

Once approved, the 72-hour implementation clock starts ticking. A decision is expected this evening.

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🇷🇺🤝🇹🇯 Russia & Tajikistan strengthen strategic partnership and alliance

Vladimir Putin and Emomali Rahmon have signed statements deepening ties between the two countries in:

💊 Healthcare
⚙️ Energy
⚔️ Security

Highlights include:

👉 Legal status of internal affairs and migration authorities

👉 Medical examination procedures for Tajik citizens

👉 Cooperation between Russia’s National Guard and Tajikistan’s National Guard

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