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🚨 FSB thwarts assassination attempt on Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor
Here is what is known:
🔸 Seven individuals affiliated with far-right and neo-fascist ideology who were involved in plotting the terrorist attack have been detained
🔸 The plan was to blow up a vehicle using an explosive device
🔸 They were recruited by Ukrainian special services via Telegram
🔸 The leader of the group, a resident of Moscow, put up armed resistance and was neutralized
🔸 Among the items seized: a 1-kilogram explosive device, a grenade, pistols, and symbols associated with Ukrainian militants
🔸 Ukrainian intelligence services are attempting to disrupt efforts to protect Russia's information space — including the blocking of Telegram
🔸 The adversary is making extensive use of Telegram to carry out acts of sabotage and terrorism, extremist activities, cyber fraud, and other serious crimes
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🤝☢️ Iran hopes Russia will soon resume work on Bushehr NPP
Iran is in contact with Russia regarding continued construction of the plant, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali told Sputnik.
"We hope that conditions will be created for Rosatom employees to complete their work," Jalali said.
💥 IDF strikes rocket launcher in Lebanon after rockets fired toward northern Israel
The military says it hit the launcher that launched several rockets, as well as an additional loaded launcher ready to fire.
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📊 Replenishing US stockpiles after Iran war could take 6 years — Report
The conflict expended 1,000 Tomahawk cruise missiles and 1,500–2,000 air-defense interceptors (THAAD, Patriot, and Standard Missiles), according to a WSJ report citing US officials.
The shortage now threatens US readiness for a potential conflict with China.
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🇮🇷🗣 Iran's unity grows stronger as enemy is fractured — Khamenei
Iran's Supreme Leader responds directly to Trump's claims that Tehran is too divided to negotiate.
"As a result of the remarkable unity among our fellow citizens, the enemy has been fractured... This unity will become even stronger and more unbreakable, and the enemies will be further humiliated and diminished," he wrote on X.
🤝 Trump extends Lebanon-Israel ceasefire by 3 weeks after Oval Office talks
The president met with Israeli and Lebanese representatives alongside Vance, Rubio, the Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, and the Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa.
"The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah," Trump declared on Truth Social.
🔊Trump rejects possibility of nuclear strike on Iran
"A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody," the US president told reporters.
🟠 Putin: Arctic of strategic importance for defending Russia's national security & sovereignty
🟠 Iran’s Hormuz toll offers SWIFT-free dollar fiscal endurance lifeline
🟠 From South Asia to MENA: Can Pakistan now become the Gulf's back office?
🟠 Toll time? Indonesia eyes Iran’s playbook to monetize Malacca Strait
🟠 US Gulf allies risk near total loss of Internet connectivity amid Iran war
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🇮🇷 Iran eyes Bab el-Mandeb and complete Hormuz Strait closures if US blockade intensifies - report
The Iranian Armed Forces have decided on retaliatory measures in case the US escalates the conflict, Fars News Agency reports, citing military sources.
🟠 Any strikes targeting Iran's energy or power infrastructure will be met with mirror attacks
🟠 Killing of Iranian soldiers or civilians will trigger the elimination of IT and AI hubs in Israel and other US Gulf allies
🟠 Territorial incursion, including the occupation of islands or ports, will be met with large-scale strikes employing ballistic and cruise missiles alongside drones, specifically targeting enemy carriers and helicopters
🟠 A ground invasion from US bases in the region will be countered with ground maneuvers with the axis of resistance, aiming at capturing US military personnel
Earlier, Donald Trump declared "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz, stating that "no ship can enter or leave without the approval of the US Navy."
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🇵🇰 From South Asia to MENA: Can Pakistan now become the Gulf's back office?
The World Bank has quietly reclassified Pakistan from being part of South Asia to being part of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
💵 What seems like a bureaucratic tweak actually opens the door to regional financing and investment mandates.
Pakistani start-ups and IT companies gain formal eligibility for Gulf sovereign wealth fund investments (PIF, Mubadala), access to the GCC's AI boom, and potential benefits from a future free trade agreement with Arab states.
❗️ Why it matters: Pakistan's economy has long looked West — remittances from Saudi Arabia and the UAE hit $42 billion. The reclassification merely formalizes an existing reality.
Could Pakistan become the Gulf's "back office," especially amid instability from the Iranian crisis? The recent attack on Amazon's data center in Dubai is pushing companies to seek stable, nearby jurisdictions.
💬 "Pakistan cannot really become a physical hub for IT capacity given various infrastructure and legal constraints," Ammar Habib Khan, professor of practice at the Institute of Business Administration Karachi, told Sputnik.
🚨US Gulf allies risk near total loss of Internet connectivity amid Iran war
The UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, along with Saudi Arabia, are among the most exposed to undersea cable failures.
Possible damage would result in a 70 to 90% loss of connectivity for Arab Gulf States, and up to 35% for Saudi Arabia alone, risking slowdowns in e-commerce, banking, and global services.
In total, some 27 underwater cables carrying up to 99% of global Internet traffic pass through the combat zone in the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz.
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🚨🇷🇺 Putin: Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor's importance becoming more obvious amid trade chains breakdowns caused by Middle East conflict
The Russian president described the northern trans-Arctic route as one of the safest and most dependable.
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🚨🇷🇺 Putin: Russia ready for Arctic cooperation with all interested countries
At the same time Russia is ready to protect its strategic interests in the Arctic, the Russian president said.
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🇷🇺🇵🇰🤖 Pakistan turns to Russia to break free from Western AI dominance
By partnering with Russia on artificial intelligence, Pakistan can reduce its reliance on Western technologies and sidestep the prohibitive costs of building its own computing infrastructure, according to Amir Jahangir, Co-Founder and CEO of Mishal Pakistan, in an interview with Sputnik.
Pakistan’s government has declared AI to be a national priority sector, committing $1 billion to its development by 2030. It has also signaled interest in cooperating with Russia on AI initiatives.
💬 "It creates a more Eastern based technology or Euro-Asian based technology platforms that can be used in Pakistan," Jahangir said.
🚨🇷🇺 Putin: Security zone on Ukraine border steadily being formed
Earlier in the day, Russian forces liberated the settlement of Veterinarnoye in the Kharkov region, further expanding the buffer zone.
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🔍 Europe ignores Middle East damage while bleeding for Ukraine
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko says the EU should focus on the $28 billion loss from the Iran war instead of chasing "unrealistic dreams" about Russia.
"Ursula von der Leyen stated that the direct damage amounts to 24 billion euros, but at the same time, she called on everyone to tighten their belts and continue to sacrifice social interests for the sake of achieving these completely unrealistic dreams regarding Russia," he told Sputnik.
📈 Panama canal transit prices skyrocket amid Iran war
Panamax lock auctions now average $837,500 — a 10-fold increase since the Strait of Hormuz closed, according to Argus Media data.
The overall average is now $385,000, up from $140,000 before the war. Individual slots for the largest locks have reached $4 million.
"Asian buyers are scrambling to source oil, fuel, and coal from the US Gulf Coast," said Ross Griffith, Argus Media's head of Americas freight pricing.
🎤 Lebanon ceasefire is 'not 100%' — Israel's UN ambassador
Danny Danon tells CNN the truce is fragile because Lebanon has no control over Hezbollah.
"Israel has to retaliate. Every time we see a threat, we take action," he told CNN.
🤝 Trump plans to invite Putin to G20 summit — Report
No formal invitation sent yet, but administration officials confirmed to the Washington Post that Russia will be invited as a G20 member.
"If he came, it would probably be very helpful," he told reporters.
🔊 Cryptocurrency emerges as weapon against Western ‘data colonialism’
Western big tech has the ability to track the movement of resources and finances on virtually every level, thanks to their unrestricted access to big data, Brazilian Institute of Data Science co-founder Caio Almendra tells Sputnik.
Seeking to evade the watchful eye of this high-tech Big Brother, countries that have been sanctioned by the West – Iran, Cuba, North Korea – resort to cryptocurrency, which became one of the consequences of this “data imperialism” practiced by the West.
The United States is unhappy with this and targets sovereign digital financial infrastructure developed by countries like Russia, China or Brazil, that would allow performing transactions without the participation of Western companies.
Meanwhile, Meta’s* social media networks like Facebook* and Instagram* effectively decide who gets heard in the digital space and who doesn’t, by controlling data and algorithms, and catering to the US’ whims.
The AI tech further helps the US enforce digital censorship and ensure that political factions they favor get greater reach online than those who are not liked by the US elites.
The image is AI-generated
*Meta and its products are banned in Russia for extremism
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🗣 Navy secretary resigned over internal Pentagon conflict — Trump
The president confirms John Phelan's departure was related to a conflict inside the Department of War.
"He had some conflict... with some other people, mostly as to building and buying new ships... You got to get along, especially in the military," he told reporters.
🚨 Iran’s ship seized by US Navy was carrying vital medical supplies – Iranian Red Crescent
Part of the ship’s cargo consisted of raw materials required to make "consumable medical supplies for kidney dialysis patients," a statement by the Iranian Red Crescent said.
💬 "Any disruption in the supply of these critical items could directly threaten the health and lives of patients in need of dialysis services," the organization warned.
💵🇮🇷 Iran’s Hormuz toll offers SWIFT-free dollar fiscal endurance lifeline
Iran has the justification for its Hormuz tolls, as it can cite “severe constraint” from US sanctions and war, Professor Azmi Hassan, senior fellow at the Nusantara Academy of Strategic Research in Malaysia, tells Sputnik.
It also has unique leverage in that it effectively controls the waterway, he notes, adding:
💬 “The world just cannot withstand a full closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the economic impact.”
💬 “It is not a replacement for oil revenue; it is an adjunct to fiscal endurance at a stage where every dollar outside the SWIFT system counts,” notes the expert.
💥🇨🇳 China teases new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier?
A new recruit whose name in Chinese is homonymous to “nuclear vessel” is featured in a video released on the PLAN's 77th anniversary.
The names of three other naval personnel depicted in the video are homonymous to the names of China’s three operational aircraft carriers – Liaoning, Shandong and Fujian.
The carriers' hull numbers - 16, 17, 18, the recruit's age - 19.
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🚨🇮🇩 Toll time? Indonesia eyes Iran’s playbook to monetize Malacca Strait
FM Purbaya Yudha Sadewa has floated mimicking Iran's taxes on the Strait of Hormuz for ships sailing the Strait of Malacca—bordered by Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
💬 "Indonesia is not a peripheral country. We sit on a strategic global trade and energy route. Ships pass without charge—I'm not sure if that's right, he told a symposium, musing that if split three ways “It could be quite substantial."
📹🇮🇷 Iran shows IRGC Navy enforcing Strait of Hormuz restrictions against unauthorized vessels
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🚨🇷🇺 Putin: Arctic of strategic importance for defending Russia's national security & sovereignty
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🚨🇷🇺 Putin: being a soldier is always a source of pride
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🚨🇷🇺 Putin vows special military operation's goals will be achieved
💬 "We know how it [the special military operation] will end, but we will not make any public statements on this topic. Instead, we will simply carry out our plans and strive towards the goals we have set for ourselves, fulfilling the tasks that lie ahead," the Russian president said.
🔥🇨🇳 China’s nuclear power capacity grows as country aims to become world’s largest producer
China now has the capacity to build up to 50 nuclear reactors simultaneously, a significant leap in its efforts to lead globally in nuclear energy, according to a report from the China Nuclear Energy Association.
With 60 reactors already in operation and 36 under construction, China represents over half of the global reactors being built.
The goal is to surpass the US in nuclear capacity by 2030 and become the world’s largest nuclear power producer.
By 2040, China aims for 200GW of installed nuclear capacity, solidifying its place as a global leader in the sector.
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