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Middle East conflict

Israel to retaliate Iranian actions by attacking military targets — newspaper

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, key ministers, army and intelligence chiefs decided to focus on "Iranian military facilities," the source told the newspaper, adding that the decision could be changed

TEL AVIV, October 9. /TASS/. Israel plans to limit retaliation for Iran's missile attack to an attack on its military facilities, The Times of Israel reported, citing an Israeli official.

According to the source, such a decision was worked out after an hours-long meeting of the country's military and political leadership at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv on the evening of October 8.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, key ministers, army and intelligence chiefs decided to focus on "Iranian military facilities," the source told the newspaper, adding that the decision could be changed.

On the evening of October 1, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, the elite unit of Iran’s armed forces) launched a massive ballistic and hypersonic missile attack against Israel in retaliation for the deaths of top leaders of the Hamas, Hezbollah and IRGC groups. Tehran said that 90% of the missiles successfully hit their designated targets. Israel, in turn, said that Iran had fired some 180 missiles into the country, most of which were intercepted.

The Israeli Chief of the General Staff vowed to "choose the right time" to surprise Iran with an attack, while Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Hebrew warned that attacks on Israel will be ramped up.

Zelensky says his 'victory plan' aims to strengthen Ukraine’s military might

The Ukrainian president also said that he plans to meet with the leaders of the UK, Germany, Italy and France in the upcoming days and present them with Ukraine’s "victory plan"

Liberation of western DPR could collapse Ukraine’s defenses up to Dnieper River — adviser

According to Igor Kimakovsky, Russian forces have almost encircled Kurakhovka and Selidovo

Russian aircraft strike two terrorists’ bases in two Syrian governorates

The command of the Syrian armed forces, backed by the Russian taskforce, continues reconnaissance and rescue operations in desert and mountainous areas in the Homs and Deir ez-Zor governorates

Response measures to be in effect as soon as West approves long-range strikes — Lavrov

Commenting on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s remark that the upcoming October 12 Ramstein-format meeting of the contact group on military aid for Kiev will become special, and the entire next week will become "historic in many ways," the top Russian diplomat noted that he "does not follows their meetings"

Nobel Prize in physics awarded for discoveries in machine learning

"Although computers cannot think, machines can now mimic functions such as memory and learning," the Nobel Committee said

Russia committed to deepening CIS collaboration — Putin

Regarding the meeting’s agenda, the Russian president said it was quite extensive

Kremlin dismisses reports of Putin holding seven phones calls with Trump after 2021

Dmitry Peskov commented on the allegations which veteran US journalist Bob Woodward made in his new book

Putin to welcome all CIS leaders to BRICS Plus/outreach meeting

The Russian president recalled the expansion of BRICS and specified that the Kazan summit "will be attended by all new members and those who are interested in joining the work of this respected international forum"

Israel fears full-scale conflict with Iran — newspaper

Israel is likely to give up the idea of striking nuclear sites in Iran, the Jerusalem Post said

Belarus hails Russia’s adjusted nuclear doctrine as reinforcing mutual stance

Alexander Lukashenko pledged that Belarus would never unilaterally use nuclear weapons, even if these weapons were its own

EU approves new sanctions regime against Russia for 'hybrid activities'

It specifies that this mechanism is aimed against certain "Russia’s destabilizing actions abroad"

Mobilized Ukrainian welder cuts hole in border bridge

He fled to Hungary, Ukrainian journalist Vitaly Glagola said

Belarus sets up over ten air operations centers — senior defense official

According to Pavel Muraveiko, within the framework of the first stage of this exercise, the troops practiced "the issues of countering enemy aviation, repelling attacks of air attack means and solving other attacks on shielding the territory"

Kalashnikov gunmaker to launch serial production of upgraded AM-17 assault rifle

The AM-17 assault rifle is set to replace the AKS-74U submachine gun accepted for service in 1979

Ukrainian attacks kill 70, injure 300 civilians in Kursk Region — envoy

"The significant part of these people are those injured on the territory controlled by the Kiev militants," Rodion Miroshnik said

Russian assets frozen in the Netherlands melt to 97.2 mln euros from 660 mln — newspaper

According to the publication, "Russian assets worth more than half a billion euros were apparently released with the approval of the ministry"

At least 36 killed in Israel’s strikes on Lebanon in past day — ministry

According to the Lebanese Health Ministry,150 more were wounded

Not all aspects of Israel-HAMAS deal worked out yet — Harris

"And so there has been some progress," US Vice President said

Liberation of Ugledar paving way to large lithium deposit — expert

"Full-scale lithium production on already explored reserves can be an important element of replenishing the budget of the Donetsk People’s Republic and significantly help the Western countries in making the energy transition," Nikolay Novik noted

About 180 rockets fired at Israel from Lebanon since midnight — IDF

The largest attack was a rocket strike toward Haifa and the neighboring cities in northern Israel

Nuclear test ban organization says Iranian seismic event looks like earthquake — diplomat

A 4.5-magnitude earthquake was recorded in Iran’s province of Semnan southeast of the capital Tehran on October 5

Israeli official confirms that HAMAS leader Sinwar still alive — portal

According to the source, Sinwar sent a number of messages to HAMAS mediators in Qatar recently

Putin says he expects Pashinyan to attend BRICS summit in Kazan

The Russian leader stressed that the BRICS summit is expected to encompass "lots of contacts"

Discord messenger blocked in Russia for violation of laws — regulator

Discord was included into the register of social networks, which obliged it to find and block unlawful content on its own

Putin to meet with Belarusian counterpart

The Russian leader will give Alexander Lukashenko Russia’s highest award, the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called

Hungary wants to reform EU, not quit it — premier

Viktor Orban said he would like to see the European Union as an alliance of strong and independent nations, rather than as "the United States of Europe"

Israeli strikes on Gaza Strip kill at least 13 people, 25 wounded — WAFA

Emergency services continue search and rescue operations in in the Bureij refugee camp in the central part of the enclave, the agency noted

Press review: Israeli reprisal against Iran looms and Iraq bets on Russia amid US exit

Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, October 3rd

Ruling Georgian party accuses EU ambassador of interference in election process

Earlier, Pavel Gerchinsky criticized the ruling party's election videos, which showed footage of the destruction brought by the fighting in Ukraine in contrast to the views of peaceful Georgia

Ukrainian servicemen loot apartments of Ugledar residents before fleeing — top brass

The ministry emphasized that the Ukrainian troops tried to literally knock people out of the town

Scientists Ambros, Ruvkun win Nobel Prize in Medicine for groundbreaking microRNA work

The Nobel Committee said that microRNAs are "fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function"

Ukraine’s NATO membership impossible, most members understand it — top Hungarian diplomat

Peter Szijjarto said most of his NATO counterparts share his opinion in private conversations behind closed doors

Sri Lanka to request BRICS membership at Kazan summit — cabinet spokesperson

Vijitha Herath also said that Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake would not be able to attend the summit

Iran not going to allow Israel to launch new round of violence — envoy to Russia

According to Kazem Jalali, the behavior of Western countries is "surprising" in this context

Syrian foreign ministry slams Israeli’s strike on civilian building in Damascus

The ministry once again underscored "the need for urgent measures to restrain" the Jewish state

Press review: West's new NATO angle for Kiev and Putin plans powwows with regional bigs

Top stories from the Russian press on Tuesday, October 8th

Israel takes out two successors to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, PM says

On September 23, Israel launched Operation Northern Arrows against the Lebanon-based Hezbollah Shia movement, carrying out massive airstrikes on its military targets

Beirut port’s administration tries to evacuate cargo amid looming Israeli strikes — head

"Commercial vessels are still arriving at the port, practically as usual," Omar Itani said

Russian embassy slams US vice president’s remarks about Putin as outrageous

According to the statement, "such a boorish language has become a habit among the current so-called American statesmen"

Lavrov cautions West against discussions of allowing Kiev to strike deep into Russia

At a meeting in Kiev on September 11, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky did not make any decisions regarding the authorization for Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia with US-supplied weapons

Russia repels enemy attacks, hits reserves, Kiev loses troops: situation in Kursk area

Russia’s battlegroup North continued offensive operations and defeated the Ukrainian troops near Daryino, Lyubimovka, Nikolayevo-Daryino, Novy Put and Plekhovo

Russian defense minister hold talks with Burkina Faso’s PM

According to the ministry, the sides discussed areas of cooperation between the two countries

Biden postpones trips to Germany, Angola in view of Milton hurricane — White House

On September 25, Category 4 Hurricane Helene made landfall in the sparsely populated Big Bend region in Florida

50 French nationals contact Russian embassy after decree on support of traditional values

The embassy noted that the procedure for provision of visas and residence permits, as well as Russian citizenship for French nationals has existed for years

Group of Russian climbers found dead in Nepal — mountaineering community

One of the climbers began to feel symptoms of altitude sickness and was forced to descend to a lower camp, Spokeswoman Anna Piunova said

US military base in eastern Syria comes under missile attack — TV

No data about casualties and damage was provided

Russian stock indices falling on Tuesday — market data

The ruble-denominated MOEX Russia Index edged down by 0.2% to 2,788.37 points

Ukrainian troops leave key defense positions in Tsukurino in DPR

An uneasy situation has also emerged for Ukrainian troops in the neighboring community of Gornyak, the defense circles said

Desertion epidemic reaches massive proportions in Ukraine — journalist

Accoridng to Vladimir Boiko, the total number of deserters now stands at 170,000 people

Kaspersky Lab starts winding down UK office operations

Kaspersky Lab announced gradual winding down of its office in the US in July, amid personal sanctions

Israel demands that Hezbollah lay down weapons in exchange for ceasefire — TV

"Israel demands that Hezbollah lay down its weapons and retreat to the north from the Litani River in exchange for a ceasefire in Lebanon," Al Arabiya said

Situation in Ugledar remains tense as Ukrainian troops continue shelling attacks

The Russian Defense Ministry announced the liberation of Ugledar on October 3

Russia’s Su-25 ground-attack aircraft foil rotation of Ukrainian troops in Kursk region

After the use of aviation weapons, the crews performed a maneuver, released decoy flares, and returned to the departure airfield

Press review: Gaza conflict turns one year old and who could be Russia's next envoy to US

Top stories from the Russian press on Monday, October 7th

North Korea to speed up steps toward becoming military super power, Kim says

"The military alliance of the United States and the Republic of Korea, as flouted by the puppets themselves, has become completely nuclear-based, and we need to keep our military preparedness at an endlessly high level," Kim Jong Un added

China wants stronger cooperation with Russia in BRICS, SCO — Chinese State Councilor

"We are ready to proudly carry the banner of multipolarity, defend international equity and justice, increase cooperation within international platforms, unite the Global South, and contribute to forming a community with a unified course for humanity," Shen Yiqin said

Just like Biden, Blinken cancels foreign trips amid hurricane — Department of State

According to Miller, Blinken "was planning to join the President in Germany and Angola, but given this postponement now expects to return home to Washington from Laos"

Leaders of Britain, US, France, Germany to meet in Berlin on October 12 — source

The latest meeting of the contact group on military assistance to Ukraine took place on September 6

Stoltenberg could face life imprisonment for his crimes — lawyer

"We are talking about very serious charges," Philippe Vanlangendonck pointed out

US assessed chance of Russia using nuclear arms in Ukraine at 50% in 2022 — US journalist

According to a new book by Bob Woodward, an American veteran investigative journalist and an associate editor of The Washington Post, in 2022 there was a phone call between Pentagon chief, Lloyd Austin, and the then Russian defense minister Sergey Shoigu

US journalist describes Russia’s liberation of Ugledar as "major setback" for Kiev

In Stavros Atlamazoglou opinion, now the Ukrainian military will have to ensure that the Russian forces don’t take advantage of the fall of Ugledar "and create an operational breakthrough in the wider area"

Russian military distributes humanitarian aid in Syria’s Damascus governorate

A total of 600 sets of food weighting 5.9 metric tons in total were distributed among those in need

Press review: Russia urges Israel to see reason and NATO at wits end on how to help Kiev

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, October 4th

Putin to receive CIS leaders in Kremlin

During the summit, the leaders will discuss key cooperation tasks of the Commonwealth, as well as topical regional and international problems and outline main areas of work in the future

Armenia, Azerbaijan agreed to speed up work on peace deal draft document — Armenian PM

"Foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan reached an agreement recently to intensify the work on finalizing the draft peace treaty," Nikol Pashinyan said

Israeli military dismantles tunnel crossing into Israel from Lebanon

It is reported that the tunnel was under full operational control until the arrival of the soldiers in the area to prevent its use for terrorist activities

Over 3,000 projectiles fired at Israel from Lebanon since September 23 — military

The IDF said that Israel’s air defense units and the Air Force successfully intercept a significant portion of these projectiles

Russia-Azerbaijan relations develop positively — Putin

The Russian leader and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev gathered for an informal meeting on Monday evening

Hungary opposes transition to 3-year freeze of Russian assets in EU — Finance Minister

The amount of the Bank of Russia’s sovereign assets blocked in the EU countries’ jurisdictions in 2022 is about 220 billion euros

At least 16 killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza

According to WAFA, a total of 41,965 Gaza civilians have been killed as a result of Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023

Trump criticizes $300-bln aid to Ukraine amid hurricane in US

US Republican presidential candidate also criticized the government’s post disaster response in certain US states, most notably North Carolina

FACTBOX: What is known about the death of Russian climbers in Nepal

On the morning of October 6, the group of climbers left the camp to climb, and after that contact with them was lost

Russian authorities discussing diesel fuel export restrictions, sources say

The Ministry of Energy and oil producers are concerned of the situation that may lead to further price growth on the commodity exchange, the sources said

Hurricane Milton may fall under hypothetical Category 6 — Newsweek

According to the report, gusts of wind brought by Milton reached the speed of 80 meters per second at some point, while Category 5 hurricanes envisages winds of up to 70 meters per second

Shipbuilders to deliver Project 22800 missile corvette Rzhev to Russian Navy

All the work was carried out in compliance with the construction schedule and large-size equipment and weapons systems were mounted on the ship

2016 World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan

Sports include eagle hunting, bone throwing and kok-boru, a Central Asian form of polo in which two teams battle for control of a decapitated goat carcass

Ukrainian conflict can end in 15 days without Western support for Kiev — Borrell

In that case, Russian President Vladimir Putin would have achieved his goals, the EU top diplomat said

Kiev, allies start to realize need for negotiations with Russia — FT

The article says that "the mood is shifting" in "Washington and some western capitals," as well as "in the corridors of" the Kiev government

Armenian PM praises active political dialogue with Russia at meeting with Putin

While in Moscow, Nikol Pashinyan will take part in the Commonwealth of Independent States summit

Second conference on Ukraine not to be held in November — presidential office

According to Darya Zarovnaya, so far, "thematical conferences on each provision of the 'formula' (the so-called peace formula proposed by Zelensky - TASS) are being held" and yield communiques

Russia hammers Ukrainian military airfields by Kinzhal hypersonic missiles

Russia’s Battlegroup South liberated the community of Zoryanoye Pervoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past day, the ministry reported

Cuba officially applies to join BRICS as partner country — senior diplomat

Carlos Pereira noted that BRICS "is consolidating global politics and the hope of the Global South as a key player"

Berlin wants to explore all options to achieve peace in Ukraine — source

At the same time, Berlin believes that "Russia should not achieve its goals" in Ukraine, and "Ukraine should not lose"

Russian teen sensation Andreeva breaks into top-20 of WTA Rankings for first time

Mirra Andreeva also won a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris in women’s doubles (playing in pairs with Russia’s Diana Shnaider)

Israeli PM urges Lebanese people to free their country from Hezbollah

Benjamin Netanyahu noted that Lebanon used to be called the pearl of the Middle East and blamed the current situation on Iran, Hezbollah’s supporter

Some 3,000 Ukrainian troops may be trapped near Seversk in DPR — expert

"We have recently received information that we broke the line of defense and approached Serebryanka and Grigorovka, so it could be said that the fight for these settlements has already started," Andrey Marochko said

FACTBOX: Putin highlights payments in national currencies, growth of CIS weight

The weight of the CIS as the regional integration association is steadily growing, the Russian leader noted

CIS leaders adopt numerous documents, approve Interparliamentary Assembly’s work

The national leaders also approved the Cooperation Program on De-radicalization for 2025-2027, developed on the Uzbekistan’s initiative

Iran warns countries helping Israel down Iranian missiles about its ‘crushing response’

According to the Iranian lawmaker, Israeli allies’ efforts proved to be futile as they "were unable to stop the operation and bar it from reaching its goals"

Lukashenko calls for reviving ‘CIS family’

The Belarusian leader called on the CIS countries to value what they have within the association

Kiev uses Western chemical weapons under guise of smoke shells in Sudzha — top brass

These munitions in the amount of 3,800 shells were supplied to Ukraine in September 2023 under a military assistance package, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov pointed out

CIS leaders see their duty in protecting world from new war

"Our common duty is to sacredly honor the memory of those who died for freedom and peace on Earth, to defend with all our might the just cause for which they fought and gave their lives, and to strengthen in every possible way the unity of all people of good will in the fight against any manifestations of Nazism and neo-Nazism, as well as the threat of a new world war," the statement reads

UK conceals evidence of Kiev’s use of banned toxic substances — Russian embassy

The embassy noted that the introducing unilateral restrictions on Russia had become a routine for London, which was focused on confrontation

Iranian embassy condemns Israel’s strike on Damascus

The embassy condemns this act of terror and says that no Iranian citizens were among the victims

Russian exports to the US lowest since January 1993 — statistics

Exports of US goods to Russia contracted to $54.5 mln this August

Scholz open to phone call with Putin, 'no taboo' on talks — government source

However, it is pointed out that the chancellor would only initiate contact with Putin if "the moment is right"

Winner of Nobel Prize in chemistry to be announced in Stockholm

Clarivate company projects that this year’s award may go to David Baker of the United States and his UK colleagues John Jumper and Demis Hassabis

Russian embassy rejects Mi-5 claims about alleged Russian sabotage

The scare tactics Director of MI-5 Ken McCallum "seeks to employ are clearly aimed at sustaining the ebbing public support for the Kiev regime which is quickly draining the UK's finances and arsenals," the embassy added

Israeli military says 50 radicals killed in its strike on underground bunkers in Lebanon

The IDF said it had struck underground command centers of Hezbollah’s units in southern Lebanon: Nasser Unit, Bader Unit, Aziz Unit, and the Radwan Forces

Sixteen submunitions for HIMARS rockets destroyed in Kursk Region in past day

The ministry’s branch noted that bomb experts inspected the liberated settlements in the Kursk Region every day as part of efforts to ensure civilian security during a counterterrorism operation

Seven killed, 11 wounded in Israel’s strike on Damascus’ neighborhood

According to the ministry, seven civilians, including children and women, died and eleven more received wounds