🇨🇳 🛰 China successfully launches Yaogan-46 Earth observation satellite into orbit

The satellite was on board a Long March-7A rocket, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) reported.

It will help monitor natural disasters, manage land and water resources, and improve meteorological research.

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🪖🇬🇧 UK fuels Ukraine conflict with Storm Shadow missiles

The British government has resupplied Ukraine with an unstated number of Storm Shadow cruise missiles "to ensure Ukraine is stocked ahead of the winter months," Bloomberg reports, citing sources.

By contrast, Trump recently said that the US does not plan to provide Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Putin said earlier that strikes deep inside Russia using Tomahawk or other long-range weapons will be met with "serious, if not staggering" response.

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🔥Hungary opposes EU plans to pour $400B into Ukraine's reconstruction

🗣"Weapons, reconstruction, pensions, salaries… and once again, Europe is expected to foot the bill. There’s no one else left willing to pick up the tab," PM Viktor Orban said, citing The Economist’s estimate that Ukraine would need $400 billion over the next four years.

Orban accused Brussels of trying to seize Russian assets, take new loans, and impose control over EU governments that refuse compliance.

🔊 “We cannot allow Hungarians’ money to be sent to Ukraine!” Orban wrote on X.

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🇺🇸🪖 Vicious cycle: US military-industrial complex’s not so secret role in fueling the Ukraine crisis

Amid the back-and-forth drama over whether or not the US will deliver Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, it’s always worth keeping in mind that American arms manufacturers are the primary beneficiaries of the “constant flow of weapons” in conflicts globally, says geopolitical analyst Brian Berletic.


💸 Pointing out that the US defense budget is set to hit “an unprecedented $1T” in 2026, the ex-Marine stressed that “this money doesn’t disappear into a blackhole,” but “ends up in the accounts of these massive multi-billion-dollar arms manufacturing corporations, granting them even greater wealth and influence over US foreign policy.”

The foreign policy establishment in Washington can be expected to continue its push to force Europe to foot the bill for arms deliveries to Ukraine, and use misdirection and deceit to buy “time and space to continue escalating,” Berletic summed up.

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🇷🇺💥 Russian FAB-500 bombs decimate Ukrainian special ops base

📹Units of the Ukrainian National Guard’s 14th Special Purpose Brigade were stationed in abandoned buildings in the settlement of Rodinskoye, Donetsk People's Republic.

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🚀 🪖 Theatrics over Tomahawks disguise stark truth: it’s nothing personal, just MIC business

The US military industrial complex (MIC) is the “key lobbyist” here, Russian military expert Alexander Stepanov, a fellow with the Russian Presidential Academy’s Institute of Law and National Security, explains to Sputnik.

🟠 Tomahawk maker RTX is eager to use its vast lobbying network to dispose of “obsolete” stocks of Tomahawks by pawning them off on the Europeans, and then replenishing US stocks.

🟠 It’s “no coincidence” that US military vehicle giant Oshkosh plans to deliver its new Tomahawk-compatible X-Mav missile carrier to Europe, where production facilities have already been prepared, the observer says.

“This whole process is a business process, shielded by political processes aimed at achieving significant geo-economic goals,” including the shackling of Europe to US arms manufacturers via NATO.

“There’s a clear general line: reclaiming total influence in those areas of priority interest where there are resource bases, logistics and markets that need to be controlled,” Stepanov summed up.

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🏥🇵🇱 Polish hospitals halt new admissions as funds run out — reports

Hospitals across Poland are turning away new patients — including cancer cases — after exhausting this year’s public health funding, RMF 24 reports. Some planned procedures are now postponed until 2026.

The National Health Fund (NFZ) has run out of money for the year, forcing hospitals to impose their own limits.

💬 “Some facilities are even restricting services that were never limited before, because they can no longer afford to credit treatment,” said Jakub Kosikowski, spokesman for the Supreme Medical Council.

Even after an emergency injection of zł3.5 billion ($1b), the NFZ still faces a zł10.5-billion ($2.8b) deficit. This year’s total state support for NFZ reached zł31 billion ($8.4b), with some zł1 billion more ($0.3b) expected from bonds on prime minister Donald Tusk’s orders.

Looking ahead, the Health Ministry estimates a 2026 budget shortfall of zł23 billion ($6.2b).

Doctors warn the system is stretched to breaking point — and patients are paying the price.

The image is AI-generated

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🇷🇺🇨🇳 Russian PM Mishustin arrives in Beijing to meet President Xi

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin arrived in Beijing for the second day of his two-day visit to China, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

He is expected to meet President Xi Jinping to discuss expanding the comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation between Russia and China. Priority topics include trade, energy, industry, agriculture, education, and cultural exchange.

On day one in Hangzhou, Mishustin met Premier Li Qiang for the 30th regular meeting of the Russian and Chinese heads of government. Following the talks, both sides signed a series of bilateral agreements.

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🚨📹 BBC caught doctoring Trump speech to fit Capitol riot narrative — reports

The BBC edited Donald Trump’s January 6 2021 speech to make it look like he incited the Capitol Building occupation, The Telegraph revealed.

🎤 In its Panorama program, the BBC spliced together clips many minutes apart to show Trump calling on supporters to “fight like hell” — but cut out his actual words urging them “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

A leaked whistleblower memo said BBC executives ignored internal complaints and defended the misleading edit, which aired alongside video of rioting taken before Trump even began speaking.

That set “a very, very dangerous precedent” — and now the BBC’s own standards advisers are asking whether the corporation can still be trusted to report impartially.

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📉 Do slumping cardboard sales signal a hidden US economic crisis?

Corrugated-box shipments fell to their lowest Q3 level in a decade, hitting 94.9 billion square feet, according to industry data cited by Bloomberg.

Sector analysts say uncertainty is weighing on retailers and consumers, with shipments expected to drop further amid trade wars, tight consumer budgets, and a weak housing market.

Shipments peaked at 104 billion square feet in 2021. The lower Q3 2025 tally may signal trouble ahead as the US heads into the year-end shopping season, when up to 20% of annual retail sales typically occur.

Packaging Corp. of America and other paper-and-packaging majors — including Smurfit WestRock and International Paper — report North American box volumes down as much as 8.7%, with shares falling by double digits.

The packaging slump comes alongside:

🔸 the collapse of three major auto lenders

🔸 an increasingly difficult job market

🔸 mass layoffs in the private sector and an ongoing US federal-government shutdown

🔸 consumer confidence at a six-month low in October

🔸 weakening manufacturing (reflected in lower packaging demand)

The image is AI-generated

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🚨 Ukrainian drones KILL CIVILIANS near Kupyansk

Ukrainian servicemen used drones to kill unarmed civilians from the village of Petropavlovka near Kupyansk (Kharkov region) as they tried to evacuate and reach Russian troops, according to video obtained by Sputnik.

Footage shot from a drone shows a civilian walking along a dirt road, carrying belongings and waving a white flag. The Ukrainian UAV circles, then flies directly into him; an explosion follows. The video then shows the victim lying on the road.

A second civilian walks past the body and is hit in the same way.

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📹 One killed, seven injured in Israeli drone strike between Doueir and Sharqiya, southern Lebanon

🔸 An Israeli drone strike targeted a car on the main road between Doueir and Sharqiya in a densely populated area, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

🔸 The blast sparked a fire that spread to nearby vehicles, leaving one person dead and seven injured, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

Lebanese MP Hani Qubaisi condemned the incident as a “real crime” and urged a unified national stance and diplomatic action at the UN Security Council.

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🇷🇸🗳 Serbian President Vučić announces early elections — reports

President Aleksandar Vučić has announced that parliamentary elections will be held ahead of schedule, citing ongoing protests across the country, Srbija Danas reported.

Speaking at the National Stadium in Belgrade, Vučić stated that the exact date will be decided by the competent authorities “in accordance with the Constitution and the law.”

💬 “Taking into account the demands of the protesters to hold elections earlier, and respecting those demands, even though they represent a significant minority, we will fulfill them — elections will be held early,” Vučić said.

According to Srbija Danas, the vote could take place before the end of the year, even though the current parliamentary term is set to expire in December 2027.

Mass student and opposition protests have continued for a year following the collapse of a station canopy in Novi Sad, which killed 15 people. Demonstrators are demanding full transparency over the reconstruction project, prosecution of officials involved, and the release of detained protesters.

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🇾🇪⚔️ Yemen vows ‘painful’ response to any new Israeli attack — official

Yemen is ready for any future round of fighting with Israel, and its retaliation will be “painful and more severe than before,” Tawfiq al-Humairi, an advisor to the Yemeni Ministry of Information in Sana’a, told Sputnik.

💬 “Yemen does not accept the threats made by Israel through Netanyahu... Our options are wide to punish all aggressors, and our preparations exceed what has come before,” al-Humairi said.
“Netanyahu is looking for cover to continue violating the region — but we will not allow it.”

Al-Humairi emphasized that Yemen’s readiness is driven by its “cause of the nation and its holy sites,” adding that “responses will come in the field.”

His statement follows Netanyahu’s remarks describing the Houthis as a “major threat to Israel.”

Earlier, Ansar Allah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said his forces had launched 1,835 missiles and drones at Israeli targets and ships linked to Israel, targeting 228 ships since late 2023 in response to the Gaza war.

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🇺🇸⚔️🇲🇽 US eyes new military front — this time in Mexico

The Trump administration is preparing a covert military mission against drug cartels inside Mexico, NBC News reported, citing current and former US officials.

According to NBC News:
🔹 The plan involves US troops and CIA officers conducting drone strikes on cartel leaders and drug labs under Title 50 intelligence authority.
🔹 Training for the operation has already begun, though deployment is not yet imminent.
🔹 Officials say the US could act with or without Mexico’s consent.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected the idea:

💬 “We reject any form of intervention or interference. Mexico coordinates and collaborates, but does not subordinate itself.”

The mission would mark a major expansion of US military operations in the region — following Washington’s recent strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats near Venezuela that killed 64 people, without proof of wrongdoing, according to the report.

NBC noted that the plan reflects Washington’s broader pattern of using military force across Latin America under the banner of “fighting cartels.”

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❌✈️ US flight delays expected as air traffic control shortages worsen amid shutdown — reports

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Sunday that flights across the United States could face delays or cancellations as staffing shortages at air traffic control centers spread nationwide due to the ongoing government shutdown, ABC News reported.

💬 “We will delay, we will cancel, any kind of flight across the national airspace to make sure people are safe,” Duffy told ABC’s This Week while a ground stop was in effect at Newark Liberty International Airport.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, nearly half of all major ATC facilities are now understaffed. Controllers are required to work without pay until the shutdown ends.

Duffy warned that “if the government doesn’t open in the next week or two, we’ll look back as these were the good days, not the bad days.”

He confirmed that the Trump administration is exploring “whatever dollars we can” to support critical operations but noted that “it becomes really challenging to find dollars” when the government remains unfunded.

ABC News also noted that Duffy defended President Trump’s approach in the standoff with Democrats, saying the administration had already passed a clean funding bill and accusing Democrats of using the shutdown as leverage.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳 Russian PM Mishustin meets President Xi in Beijing

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is holding talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Mishustin is in China on a two-day official visit. Earlier, he met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Hangzhou, where both sides signed several documents following talks.

According to the Russian government, the discussions are expected to focus on strengthening the comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation between Russia and China, with priority on expanding trade, energy, industry, agriculture, education, and cultural ties.

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