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Hello, friends. This is Redaktsiya News. Here, I talk about the week's events and facts I consider indisputable, so you can form your own picture and draw your own conclusions. Thank you to everyone who supports the creation of
Analysis of the 241st week of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, US-Russia prisoner swap talks, sanctions, and impacts on Kyiv's infrastructure and economy.
Key Takeaways
- US-Russia prisoner swap talks may reshape sanctions policy and diplomatic engagement.
- Kyiv’s infrastructure and economy are under severe strain from ongoing Russian attacks and budget shortfalls.
- Pragmatism in international relations with Russia contrasts sharply with Kyiv’s resistance to easing sanctions.
- The war is increasingly defined by economic endurance rather than battlefield breakthroughs.
- Political prisoner status remains a contentious and denied issue within Russia.
What the video covers
- The US may lift anti-Russian sanctions in exchange for the release of prisoners from Russian jails, a strategy pioneered by John Cole with Belarus.
- John Cole has been nominated as Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, potentially facilitating prisoner exchanges involving Russia.
- Dmitry Muratov, Nobel laureate and Novaya Gazeta founder, is reportedly involved in compiling prisoner lists, focusing on anti-war convicts.
- The Kremlin denies discussions on prisoner exchanges and rejects the existence of political prisoners in Russia.
- Kazakhstan’s President Tokayev advocates pragmatic relations with Putin, causing irritation in Kyiv.
- Ukraine faces a $27 billion budget gap due to increased war spending and struggles to secure full EU financial support amid stalled reforms.
- Kyiv is under intensified Russian attacks targeting energy infrastructure, causing widespread power outages and transport disruptions.
- New Russian munitions have damaged key Kyiv bridges, severely impacting transit and communication.
- The conflict has evolved into a war of attrition, with economic resilience and resource availability becoming decisive factors.
- Putin dismisses calls to stop strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, blaming Ukraine for initiating attacks on Russian targets.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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new episodes via the links in the description. You have little time, and we value that in you. Let's go. This week saw a fundamentally new turn in the history of anti-Russian sanctions, which have been ongoing for nearly 5
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years now. It seems the US may be ready to lift them, not in exchange for concessions on Ukraine—which until now was considered an immutable condition—but for the release of a number of prisoners from Russian jails and penal colonies. If we are to
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believe the leaks published by The Atlantic, the central figure in this process will be John Cole—the very man who successfully tested this approach on Belarus and Alexander Lukashenko a little over a year ago, who released several hundred prisoners,
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including prominent opposition figures, and in exchange received a deal on Belarusian potash, the lifting of sanctions on several companies, and a promise to unfreeze assets at the American Citibank. The New York Times clarified that Cole established contact with Lukashenko
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with the help of jokes, vodka toasts, and weight-loss advice. Even then, there were suggestions to extend this mechanism—the exchange, not the toasts—to Russia. And now, it seems a decision has been made. This week it became known that the White House nominated Cole for the position
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of Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs with the rank of Ambassador. If confirmed by the Senate, he will possess significant authority.
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According to leaks, a key role is also being played by Dmitry Muratov, founder of Novaya Gazeta and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who allegedly already met with Cole to compile lists of prisoners. Primarily, this concerns those convicted for their anti-war stance.
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Specific names are not yet known, but it is known that Muratov has long advocated for this approach and tried to interest European officials in it, though he did not encounter much understanding. The upcoming US elections seem to have created a
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situation where Donald Trump has seen the benefits of such deals for himself. The Kremlin, however, is not confirming anything yet, stating that the initiative has not been discussed with Washington and that there are no political prisoners in Russia. As
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Dmitry Peskov put it, we categorically deny this. Such a framing of the question is inappropriate. I will note that in the Soviet Union, there were officially no political prisoners either. Particularly active opponents of the regime were declared insane and
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treated in psychiatric wards, or judged under criminal articles—for instance, for parasitism or hooliganism—which was immortalized in a famous ditty dedicated to the dissident Vladimir Bukovsky. They traded the hooligan for Luis Corvalán. Let's pay attention to the word "traded." Be that as it may,
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the publication in The Atlantic confirms that America views Vladimir Putin as a partner for deals and intends to resolve issues with him, rather than waiting for a hypothetical change of power that Europe, Kyiv, and the Russian diaspora are pinning their
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hopes on. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan called for pragmatism this week. Meeting with the German Chancellor, he said that business must be done with Putin.
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President Putin, as a statesman and leader of Russia, is the most acceptable political figure, strange as it may sound to you, and in my view, for Central Asia, including Kazakhstan, as well as for Europe and the entire world.
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Naturally, all this caused extreme irritation in Kyiv. This week, Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to do everything to block any attempt to lift sanctions on Russia before the war ends. Meanwhile, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has finally turned into a war
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of attrition, where everything is decided not by individual breakthroughs on the front, but by the volume of available resources and the ability of economies to bear the military burden for years. Moscow is clearly counting on the fact that Kyiv's economic
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resilience is already at its limit. This week it became known that the Ukrainian government failed to close the $27 billion budget gap that had emerged. Since the beginning of the year, the country has significantly exceeded planned war spending by
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ramping up drone production and increasing payments to the military. The EU is in no hurry to cover this hole, pointing out that it has already allocated a lot to keep the Ukrainian economy afloat. "It feels like we are
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watering a desert," one European official was quoted as saying, clearly concerned about how the allocated money is being spent. For his part, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he had reached an agreement with Europe to cover Ukrainian needs for this year and the
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next. Though he did not specify whether this concerns new or old requests. I have already mentioned that some of the agreed-upon European tranches are stalled due to Kyiv's failure to implement promised reforms. In addition to tax hikes, this includes the fight
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against corruption, strengthening the NABU and SAPO, and weakening the President's Office's control over the security apparatus. For example, Europe demands that the Prosecutor General be chosen through an open competition rather than appointed by presidential decree, as is the case now. Many of
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Zelenskyy's opponents believe this is the main reason why the Rada is dragging its feet on passing these necessary laws. But it seems the situation has indeed reached a critical point. This week, Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi called on deputies to return
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from their vacations and vote for everything needed. In the meantime, he announced a strict austerity regime.
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Only priority expenses will be funded: defense, healthcare, salaries for public sector workers, and pensions.
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All renovations, urban improvements, construction, and preparations for winter are being frozen. Such a harsh pun. The role of General Winter will once again be key this year. This week, Russia continued its campaign of strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure, with a clear focus on
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Kyiv. Strikes on local thermal power plants have resumed. One of the targets was an electrical substation connecting Kyiv to the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant.
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A third of the city was left without electricity. A new development was strikes hitting high-voltage power transmission lines. As war correspondents noted, a new type of munition has been developed for this, featuring multiple shaped charges that cut through metal structures. Drones
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with such a payload struck Kyiv’s main transport artery for the first time, hitting the South Bridge that connects the left and right banks.
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About 90% of all transit traffic, including military transport, passes through it. Shortly after, the North Bridge was also hit. It was formerly known as the Moscow Bridge. Car traffic on both bridges was shut down. The city was paralyzed by miles-long traffic
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jams. Thousands of people had to cross to the other bank on foot. At least it is still possible to walk across the bridges. Some areas still have problems with communication and the internet, as the week saw strikes on more data
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centers and telecommunication hubs. Television broadcasting has also been partially lost. Ukraine has shared with its allies a supposedly intercepted plan for Russian winter attacks. As the New York Times reports, Moscow has stockpiled over a thousand missiles, drones, and aerial bombs to leave Kyiv,
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Odesa, and Kharkiv without heat, water, and electricity. At the same time, the Kremlin responded to calls to stop strikes on the rear. Vladimir Putin, speaking at the Valdai Club plenary session, called this absurd, stating that Ukraine was the first to start
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attacking Russian shipping, oil refineries, and civilian facilities. Now, appeals are coming at us from every direction. "Why don't you stop it over there?" Well, they started it.
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. Putin made it clear that promises to stop attacks on Russian refineries make no sense, since Russian diesel doesn't reach global markets anyway due to sanctions. And this was a clear signal across the ocean. This week, Donald Trump was just convincing voters that
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fuel prices in the US jumped specifically because of strikes on Russian refineries, not because of the war in the Persian Gulf. Leading up to the Congressional elections, this is one of the most problematic topics for Americans. In the meantime, Putin has
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issued a decree restricting access to information about the fuel and energy complex, including data on the state of oil refining and participants in export deals. Many saw this as a preventive measure against as-yet-unimposed " hellish" US sanctions aimed at the main
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buyers of Russian oil, India and China. According to Bloomberg, due to rising oil prices, Russia is currently receiving record revenue. Almost 3 billion dollars in the last week alone.
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This, however, does not change the fact that the Russian economy is struggling to sustain growing military expenditures. In 2027, they will reach 17 trillion rubles. A third more than this year. This is 35%of all budget expenditures. And they are planned at
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approximately this same level until 2029, when, according to the Ministry of Economic Development's forecast, utility tariffs will rise by about 60% compared to current ones, including the increase that already took effect on October 1st. Individuals are now prohibited from taking more than a
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million rubles into EAEU and neighboring countries, and companies and individual entrepreneurs cannot take out any amounts at all. Ahead of the upcoming increase in recycling fee rates, cars from my childhood have returned to the Russian market, including the legendary Nissan Skyline,
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Toyota Mark 2, and Land Cruiser 80. If anyone didn't know, the recycling fee does not apply to cars over 30 years old. It is worth noting that most of these cars are right-hand drive, which takes us back to the nineties, when the
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prevalence of used Japanese cars in the Far East was so total that there were calls to change the side of the road traffic. In parallel, pressure on the assets of Western companies is intensifying. Following Auchan, Nestlé , and Leroy Merlin, Putin has
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introduced temporary management for the Russian subsidiary of Metro. It controls about 100 stores across the country, and he authorized the company SofTex to buy 100%of the shares in a Western Union subsidiary. At the same time, some concessions have been
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granted to Russian businesses affected by Ukrainian attacks. They are exempt for one year from planned and some unplanned inspections. Against this backdrop, relations between Russia and Europe have once again descended into nuclear threats. Moscow stated that NATO is developing scenarios for a
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blockade of the Kaliningrad region during its exercises and that in the event of such a blockade, Russia would use its entire available arsenal, including against decision-making centers in Europe. NATO denied preparations for such operations.
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Alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte put it as briefly as possible: "We are a defensive alliance. Stop the nuclear threats.""This is not intimidation, it is a response to an attempt to intimidate us," Putin replied to him from the Valdai Forum, adding that
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Russia itself does not plan to attack Europe in 2029, 2030, or 2050. The EU obviously holds a different opinion.
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This week, Friedrich Merz stated that Moscow is preparing a new wave of hybrid attacks. Against this backdrop, it is clearly no coincidence that new reports have appeared regarding alleged sabotage at the Leipzig airport.
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British and German media reported that a certain Belarusian, Andrei Korshakov, and a Russian, Oleg Lyovushkin, were behind the failed attempt to attack a Ukrainian plane with a drone, allegedly linked to a military unit where Anatoly Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin might
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have served—known in Russia as Petrov and Bashirov, who were accused by the UK of poisoning the Skripal family with the Novichok nerve agent. In Moscow, reports about Lyovushkin were left without comment. A little earlier, the SVR had claimed that the traces of the
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Leipzig drone lead to the SBU. In pro-military channels, there was widespread discussion of incidents in the Russian rear, seemingly unrelated to drone strikes. A fire broke out in the Yaroslavl region. Explosions were reported at a pyrotechnics factory.
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Part of the structure collapsed. 14 people died. One more woman was injured . The cause of the fire has not been stated, but the company's CEO has already been arrested; he is charged with violating safety regulations. An identical emergency occurred at a
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chemical plant in the Moscow region. One person died, and five are listed as missing. Local authorities stated that the incident was of a technological nature. The causes of the crash of a Tu -95 strategic bomber in the Amur region
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are being determined. It was performing a training flight without ammunition and crashed in an unpopulated area.
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According to the Ministry of Defense, six crew members died, and one survived . Telegram channels report that the cause could have been a fuel explosion on board. And in the Voronezh region, according to the Mash channel, a Mi-8
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military helicopter crashed. The deaths of all three crew members are reported. Strikes on Russian rear areas also continued throughout the week. Another massive attack took place in the Krasnodar Territory. War correspondents write that Ukrainian drones attempted to attack several oil depots at once,
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and fires were reported. In the Voronezh region, there are four casualties. A drone raid on industrial infrastructure has been declared.
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Industrial zones in the Volgograd region were also attacked. In Volgograd itself, an apartment building caught fire. One person was injured. In the Rostov region, the city of Azov and other settlements were attacked once again. No casualties were reported.
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Explosions were heard in the Samara, Tula, Kaluga, and Orel regions. Preliminarily, there were no serious consequences. The border areas, as usual, bore the brunt of the strike. In the Bryansk region, drones struck Zamishevo, Klimovo, and Trubchevsk. One person died, and 13 were injured. In
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the Kursk region, hits were mainly on energy facilities, including an attack on Lgov. There were no casualties. In the Belgorod region, one person died and 15 were injured; Shebekino and Grayvoron were struck again. Drones also attacked civilian transport. In
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the LPR and DPR, the Donetsk agglomeration was hit once again. Mariupol and Alchevsk were also attacked. For Crimea, the week passed relatively calmly. In Ukraine, as I already said, the main target of the strikes was Kyiv. Besides it, Odesa,
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Chornomorsk, and other ports were attacked again. In Dnipro, a strike hit a shopping mall, and one administrative building was hit in Pavlohrad.
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Explosions were also heard in the Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Kirovohrad regions. Near Zhytomyr, energy infrastructure was attacked. On the border with Poland, a jet drone again struck the Ukrainian Yagodyn checkpoint . Meanwhile, in the Donbas, the Ukrainian Vivaldi operation continues.
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As the Rybar Telegram channel writes, following the Lyman sector, the situation near Sloviansk has become complicated. The Armed Forces of Ukraine advanced toward Oleksandrivka and began attacking units advancing on Mykolaivka from the flanks. Parallel strikes are being carried out in the
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area of the Sloviansk-Bakhmut highway. This week, in an episode of Redaktsiya Live, we discussed the situation with our regular military observer Valery Shiryaev. According to him, it seems that the AFU managed to delay the start of the battles for Sloviansk and push
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them to next year. And here is what he answered to my traditional question: will mobilization be announced due to the situation on the front?
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The generals would be extremely happy to attract additional forces. They are limited in recruitment outside of the current troop intake. As for the urgent needs right now, it is, of course, recruiting the most motivated, competent, technically literate, educated, and fairly young people,
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those who are not signing contracts. In that specific area, there could, in principle, be some measures that could later be interpreted as mobilization.
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On other sectors of the front, Russia continued its offensive. On the Dobropillia salient, Russian troops are closing in on Bilozerke. Veseloe Pole and Novodyanoe have been occupied. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, there is an advance in the area of
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Velykomykhailivka. In the Orikhiv sector, the capture of Yehorivka has been confirmed. Russia is seeing its greatest success on the northern front, where clearing operations continue east of Vovchansk. The capture of several settlements has been announced. In the southern sector, Petropavlivka and
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Lozova have been occupied. To the west along the state border, Vysokaya Yaruga has been occupied. In the Sumy region, Mala Rybytsia, as well as Tolstudubovo and Ulanovo, have come under Russian control. This week, everyone has been discussing a high-profile aviation
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incident that looks like a blockbuster script—and a bad one at that. If this were a movie, no one would believe its plausibility. An attempted terrorist attack occurred in the cockpit of a Boeing 737 Max 8 flying from Dubai to
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Tel Aviv. The co-pilot, a citizen of Oman, tried to stab the captain with a folding knife and stage an attack in the spirit of 9/11. Either by aiming the plane at certain targets in Israel or simply into the ground. It later
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emerged that the attacker, identified as 29-year-old Omani citizen Khamam Al-Khamami, did not even have a knife, but an aviation emergency axe. A standard tool kept in the cockpit that might be needed in an emergency situation. This is the first known case
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in the history of civil aviation where it was used to attack a pilot. Al-Khamami had only managed to work at FlyDubai for eight months. Before that, he spent about six months at Royal Air Maroc, and even earlier at Oman Air,
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which suspended him from flying, considering him a security threat due to suspicious materials found on his phone. Now investigators are finding out how Al-Khamami was not only hired as a pilot by FlyDubai but also assigned to a flight to Israel. Under a
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special agreement, citizens of countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel cannot be admitted to such crews, and Oman does not have them. After the attack, the airliner went into a steep dive, losing 5,000 meters of altitude in less than
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two minutes. At one point, the speed almost reached the speed of sound, for which the Boeing's structure is not designed. Due to the G-force, the rudder on the vertical stabilizer— colloquially the tail—tore off, and people in the cabin were pressed into
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their seats by the constant acceleration. What happened next can only be called a miracle. Despite multiple wounds to his head and arms, Captain Smith Machhar, a citizen of India, managed not only to send a distress signal with code 7500—the
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international designation for a hijacking—but also to unlock the cockpit door before losing consciousness. Three Israeli passengers ran to the scene upon hearing the screams. Banker Zvika Manis, insurance agent Asaf Razuan, and owner of a small sewer maintenance company Yaniv Hayun,
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whom the media—at the suggestion of Donald Trump—dubbed a plumber. It was he who, using a chokehold, grabbed the terrorist and dragged him out of the cockpit. While the others tied him up and helped the heavily wounded commander, Hayun returned to the
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controls, pulled them toward him, and leveled the falling plane. By another lucky coincidence, a relief crew was flying in the cabin. who was supposed to pilot the airliner on the return flight. It was these pilots who safely landed the Boeing in the Saudi city of
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Tabuk. Meanwhile, Israeli passengers organized a patrol of the cabin in case the terrorist had accomplices.
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Basically, we took control of the cabin —not the crew, but the cabin itself —and assigned a person to each flight attendant to accompany them whenever they went to get or do something, just to monitor what they were doing. By the
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evening, all passengers, most of whom were Israeli citizens, had reached Tel Aviv on a reserve flight. Captain Machhar and the trio who saved the people were nominated for state awards by the authorities of Israel and India.
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It will also be received by dentist Shoto Musayev, who provided critical first aid to the wounded captain. He himself was placed in a Saudi hospital, where he received a call from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And everyone is praying for your longevity
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and good health. That is precisely why you will surely recover soon. India is very much looking forward to the opportunity to welcome you. Four details caught my attention as an aviation journalist and simply as a reporter. First, it is the frequency of
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flights from the Emirates to Israel, reaching thirteen per day. Just last year, 1.5 million people flew from Ben Gurion Airport to the airports of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. And given the history and current status of relations between Arabs and Israelis, I was so surprised
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that I decided to look into it and found out that it is all about transit.
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Israelis are used to vacationing in Asia, especially in Thailand, and connecting flights through the Emirates are the most direct and fastest route.
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Moreover, it emerged rapidly. The UAE and Israel established diplomatic relations only 6 years ago. And, by the way, since then, the Emirati authorities have strictly suppressed any pro-Palestinian demonstrations in their country. After the current emergency, another problem arose.
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Israel suspended all flights from the Emirates. And thousands of Israelis got stranded there, as well as in countries across Asia. Second, I found it strange how an older civilian plumber could assess the situation in mere seconds and disarm an armed terrorist in the
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cramped cockpit with his bare hands. I even thought that he was actually an undercover air marshal. However, Hayun's talkativeness and somewhat his appearance rather refuted that. The answer came in an episode of*Redaktsiya Live*, where we discussed what happened
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with Israeli security expert Sergey Migdal. He served in the Israeli army, in combat units, but this man, once again, showed courage; such cases are not uncommon in Israel, let’s put it that way. It is just that in this particular
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case, it is truly unusual that it happened on a plane. Third, this story showed just how great the power of trolls is in the modern media world. All reports that the FlyDubai pilots were a Russian and a Ukrainian who got into a fight over a
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discussion of the war turned out to be fakes and fabrications. A popular Russian-segment investigator claimed that he made up this news as a joke, and the others didn't bother to verify it. Judge for yourselves how appropriate such jokes are. But what
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about fact-checking? It’s in terrible shape. The absolute truth. And finally, fourthly, I couldn't ignore Yaniv Hayun's words that the knowledge he gleaned from the documentary series*Air Crash Investigation*helped him save the plane. It has been airing on National Geographic for 23 years already. And my
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initial interest in aviation was also partly born from this series. See, this goes to the question of whether popular science content has any practical value . This week, the official political season began in Russia. The ninth convocation of the State Duma gathered
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for its first session. In the hall, as expected, United Russia members predominated. A record 349 seats out of 450. Veterans of military operations, 48 people, stood out due to their uniforms and bearing. A part of Vladimir Putin's parting speech was
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also devoted to the results of the Special Military Operation. It is symbolic that on the Day of Reunification, deputies from our four historical regions are starting work in the State Duma for the first time.
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Today they are in this hall with us. Let us welcome your colleagues. Putin also spoke about the Duma’s tasks at a meeting with the leaders of the Duma factions, whom he hosted in the Kremlin. Observers paid attention to the composition of the participants.
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Instead of the expected Sergei Kiriyenko, who oversaw the election campaign, there was another First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration, Alexey Gromov. Instead of the leader of A Just Russia, Sergei Mironov, who has been on sick leave for a long time, there was
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his deputy, Alexander Babakov. The leader of the New People, Alexey Nechayev, also fell ill unexpectedly.
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In his place, the party was represented by Vladislav Davankov, who is apparently becoming the main face of the New People. The oldest in age, Gennady Zyuganov, spoke most harshly; he talked a lot about the rise in utility costs and, not for the first
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time, used the nostalgically Soviet word "zhirovka." That is what the older generation is used to calling a rent receipt.
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Before you sits a person who has lived in Moscow for 40 years. Andropov gave me a gorgeous apartment. True, it needs repairs now, but they brought me a " zhirovka" for 30,000. Well, as long as I’m a deputy, I can pay, so we need
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to think now, and nothing will be gained if we inflate prices. Zyuganov also turned out to be the only participant in the meeting to cast some doubt on the election results. He said that in Dagestan they wrote 2.5%for his
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party, and in Tuva they invented 3%. Putin agreed that election results in certain regions should be checked, but retorted that there were no official protests from the CPRF. And with that, the topic was closed. Without any surprises, the main personnel issue was
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resolved: Vyacheslav Volodin, reappointed as speaker, sat at the president's right hand from the very beginning of the meeting. Opening his third term as chairman, Volodin thanked Putin for creating conditions for the development of democracy. At the first session of the Duma, they elected the
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deputy speakers and the chairmen of the thirty-four committees. United Russia took the lead in 20 of them, the CPRF got five, while the LDPR, New People, and A Just Russia got three each. It is symbolic that one of the first
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statements of the new convocation was the words "there is no money." They were spoken by New People deputy Sardana Avksentyeva, who reminded everyone of the numerous pre-election promises, such as 3%mortgages and increases in pensions and social benefits. The Telegram channel "
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Podtekst," produced by my colleagues from the "Kontekst" channel, drew attention to another symbolic moment, publishing news that evokes anything but anger and despair. So, in the State Duma cafeteria, they renamed the Chicken Kiev. It is now called a
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butter-filled cutlet. The price isn't bad. 270 rubles. per serving. It is telling that just recently, "Podtekst" was wondering how this Chicken Kiev was holding up against the backdrop of history unfolding. And now reality has caught up with the joke in less than a
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month. I predict that a classic cake with buttercream frosting is next in line. There was also telling news about those who were not, and could not be, in Okhotny Ryad or the Kremlin because they were removed from the elections. A
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court in St. Petersburg began hearing an administrative case against Yabloko party head Nikolay Rybakov. He is accused of petty hooliganism for pacifist slogans he wrote in marker on his ballots. This was viewed as a lack of respect for society and the
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destruction of state property. At the hearing, Rybakov insisted that his ballot was not spoiled, but made invalid, which is consistent with his civic position. The judge announced a recess in the proceedings until October 7. Under the article on petty
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hooliganism, Rybakov faces up to 15 days in jail or a fine. Coincidentally, it was this week that the European Union imposed sanctions on judges involved in a series of recent trials against Yabloko and its representatives . The list included, among others,
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Supreme Court judges, the judge who sentenced Yabloko deputy chairman Lev Shlosberg, and the prosecutor in that case—10 people in total whom Brussels named as complicit in the repression of the opposition and the undermining of the rule of law in Russia. Returning to
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the Duma, which has started its work, many expect the deputies to further tighten political screws, in addition to the unpopular economic measures we analyzed in a separate video this week —watch it to stay informed. A kind of parting message was the bill from
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Nikolay Burlyaev, who was not re-elected to the new Duma, on banning the propaganda of any ideologies and teachings directed against traditional values. This week, new, harsh details emerged about the arrest of political analyst Alexander Kynev, which I talked
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about last week. He was detained, I remind you, on charges of illegal drug trafficking. Reports appeared in Telegram channels that during the arrest, Kynev sustained serious injuries, specifically a double fracture of his shin. The information was also confirmed by RIA Novosti
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sources, who stated that an investigation is being conducted into unidentified persons. The political scientist’s lawyer, Mikhail Biryukov, added that the files regarding bodily injuries inflicted on Kynev have been separated into a distinct case.
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Meanwhile, even more alarming statements have emerged from circles of the emigrant opposition. According to Ekaterina Schulmann, Kynev was subjected to electric shocks while being pressured to confess to high treason, which he refused. Later, Schulmann clarified that her information came from the prison
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medical staff to whom the suspect had been delivered. Mikhail Biryukov stated that the defense team possesses no documents confirming what Schulmann said. The political scientist was hospitalized and is currently in the medical unit of the Matrosskaya Tishina pre-trial detention center, which is
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under central FSIN jurisdiction. On the same grounds, there is the so-called " Kremlin Central," a special unit for officials, businessmen, crime bosses, and other high-profile prisoners.
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Mikhail Biryukov also shared news about another of his clients. The central office of the Investigative Committee has requested the case file of Lida Moniava, founder of the hospice and the "House with a Lighthouse" charity foundation. "We can only guess at the
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reasons and consequences of this decision," the lawyer wrote. I would like to remind you that the criminal case was opened due to an anti-war post published in February 2023. During her interrogation, Moniava did not admit guilt. In early September, the court
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imposed a restrictive measure in the form of a ban on certain activities. This week, her colleagues shared that although Lida has left the foundation, donors have begun withdrawing support due to fears that these transfers could be criminalized retroactively. More on
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high-profile cases: Yury Dud was arrested in absentia this week on charges of inciting terrorism. The Investigative Committee confirmed the speculation I mentioned in the last episode, that the trigger was an April interview with the head of the Russian
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Volunteer Corps, Denis Kapustin. Russian media report that a process to nationalize Yury’s property has been launched, specifically an apartment in South Butovo and a house in New Moscow belonging to his wife, Olga. Dud is already unable to dispose of this real
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estate anyway. It is now expected that the next stages will be a trial and confiscation. A Moscow court has sentenced another YouTuber to five years in a penal colony. Dmitry " Transformator" Portnyagin was found guilty in a case regarding the
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legalization of 15 million rubles. ... obtained through tax evasion. The blogger was taken into custody in the courtroom. Portnyagin’s wife, Ekaterina, was sentenced to 8 years in prison. Also for money laundering and for a large-scale bribe. However, she
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has been granted a deferment until her child reaches the age of fourteen. The Portnyagins 'business partner, Alexey Nikolaev, also received a 2-year suspended sentence. According to investigators, the creator of the well-known "Club 500" business club evaded taxes by splitting his business.
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In 2024, Portnyagin paid off nearly 140 million rubles in tax arrears. The case was closed, but a new one regarding the legalization of income appeared the following year. The defense promises to appeal the verdict. An even harsher sentence of 12.5 years in a colony and
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mandatory psychiatric treatment was handed down to twenty-year-old Elizaveta Mazurova, who, acting on instructions from scammers, nearly committed a murder. The former student is also charged with robbery. Mazurova was contacted in March and for three weeks was convinced that she was now an
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off-the-books operative and, to prove her loyalty, had to attack a woman and an agent who was supposedly keeping money at home received from Kiev.
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Mazurova arrived at the victim's apartment with a hammer and managed to spray pepper spray in her face. But fortunately, the girl was tackled by the victim's relatives. By the way, she was not a foreign agent at all. Another
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Russian woman got off with a much shorter sentence, but her story is no less telling. An unnamed resident of the Altai Territory received a 2-year suspended sentence for stealing 96 roses from a cemetery for the sake of a
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selfie. It is reported that the bouquet , worth 21,000 rubles, was brought to the grave of his late wife by a pensioner who had been saving up for it for several months. The girl's fellow villagers suspected something was wrong
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when they saw her with the large bouquet, after which the deceased's mother-in-law asked for the roses back.
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The thief complied with the request and then turned herself in to the police. The court found the girl guilty of theft causing significant damage. The investigation determined that the suspect has a mental disorder, but an expert evaluation declared her sane. As
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if in response to all this, the Ministry of Health has updated the standard for treating depression, adding electroconvulsive therapy to it.
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This is reported by TASS. The new document will replace the standard approved just 4 years ago. Besides electricity, the list includes hypoxic exposure, i.e., interval breathing with a reduced oxygen level, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and intravenous blood irradiation. It is clarified that
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all this is recommended for far from all patients with depression, but for approximately one in forty, and therapeutic currents for only one in a thousand. We must agree that this all sounds quite relevant against the backdrop of the arriving autumn season
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with its gray skies and other depressive phenomena. Two more stories received a criminal continuation this week. In Turkey, the owner of the popular Russian agency Anex Tour, Neset Kockar, and a dozen and a half others linked to the tourism business, were
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detained in a case involving drugs and the organization of prostitution. It is reported that among them are well-known businessmen in the region, restaurateurs, as well as a former official of the Antalya municipality.
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Raids were carried out simultaneously at thirty-five addresses, including the Selectum Luxury Resort hotel and two yachts. The Russian Tourism Industry Union has already promised to fulfill all obligations to Anex clients. And in America, a death row inmate named
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Christa Pike survived after two lethal injections. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee ordered an investigation and suspended executions until the end of the year.
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The fact is that the protocol provides for the administration of a second injection of the lethal drug in the event that the prisoner did not die after the first. But what should be done if they are still alive after the
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second? The instructions do not say. Lawyers for fifty-year-old Pike filed an emergency motion to suspend the execution, stating that she is suffering and that this violates her right to an execution without the use of cruel methods. The convict was
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hospitalized. Even Donald Trump commented on the failed execution, stating that the drug did not work and the procedure should not be so complicated. This case itself is widely known in America. They have even made films about it for Netflix. The court
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sentenced Christa to death 30 years ago . For a murder she committed with her boyfriend named Tadarylship. Their victim was nineteen-year-old Colleen Slemmer, whom Pike was jealous of because of her boyfriend. At the time of the brutal murder, Christa was 18.
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She became the youngest woman in modern American history to be sentenced to death and the first in over 200 years to be executed in the state of Tennessee. Her accomplice, who was a minor at the time of the crime,
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received a life sentence with the possibility of parole. During the investigation, Pike was diagnosed with mental disorders. For decades, her lawyers tried to appeal the sentence, citing, among other things, childhood trauma related to domestic abuse. Just an hour before the scheduled execution
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time, an appellate court stayed the sentence. However, the US Supreme Court vacated the stay. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić resigned for a week, handing his duties over to parliamentary speaker Ana Brnabić, who is always cited as an example when
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Europe criticizes Belgrade for a lack of tolerance. Brnabić lives openly in a same-sex relationship, and she and her partner have a child. This did not prevent Brnabić from holding high office and being Vučić’s de facto right hand, which is what is being
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demonstrated now. The resignation occurred on the eve of parliamentary elections scheduled for October 25. Let me remind you, the point of the maneuver for Vučić is to move into the prime minister's chair while only increasing his amount of power. Vučić
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is not facing a single candidate, but a collective opposition, the so-called student list. The students have no single leader. Everything is decided collectively in several centers. And the influence of the student body and the faculty themselves is based on the
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law on university autonomy, which is strictly enforced in Serbia. Vučić tried to change this, but in vain. It is difficult to assess the chances of the contenders winning, because poll results in Serbia depend heavily on who conducts them. And so some record a 2.5
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%lead for the students, while others give a ten-percent lead to Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party. At stake, among other things, are relations with Russia. However, even if Vučić remains in power, according to many political scientists, he will continue to drift toward Europe, and therefore
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toward Ukraine, which even now receives Serbian ammunition and defense products through third countries. Dmitry Peskov stated evasively this week that relations between the two countries stand much higher than relations with individual personalities. In an episode of Redaktsiya Live, we discussed with
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Balkanist Stan Gajic what the pre-election situation looks like right now. The attempt to portray students as ideologically pro-Western or whatever else is a lie. The students say one thing: that the Serbian constitution must be upheld, and the first word of
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the constitution is the inviolability of borders, especially regarding Kosovo and Metohija, which Vucic has, of course, surrendered, for which he has consistently received support from the West all this time. But he is supported by everyone. He is supported by Israel,
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Iran, Russia, the US, the European Union, and China. Only the Serbian people are rebelling.
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British police spent the week investigating a mysterious incident that was initially mistaken for a terrorist attack attempt at the largest American airbase, Fairford, 150 km from London. A local farmer contacted the police after noticing several minivans and suspicious masked individuals. As
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it turned out, one of the alleged intruders had also called the police at the same time. A tactical team detained five people near the airbase, which was reported by all the media. However, a search yielded no traces of explosives
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or weapons, and the detainees were released on bail with an obligation to appear, which is certainly hard to imagine if the investigation had any real evidence. It is known that the Iranian lead is being investigated.
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Fairford base hosts bombers involved in strikes in the Middle East. Furthermore , the counter-terrorism command reported the arrest of another suspect in London with dual British-Iranian citizenship. Tehran has already categorically denied any involvement in the case. Another matter is
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incomparably more trivial, but the person involved is much higher-ranking. The new Prime Minister of Hungary, Peter Magyar, was stripped of his immunity this week over charges of phone theft. It is an old story. A couple of years ago in a Budapest bar,
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Magyar took a phone from a patron who was persistently filming him and threw the device into the Danube. The politician later expressed remorse. He expressed his willingness to accept punishment, which will likely take the form of a fine. I will remind you that
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after coming to power, Magyar shifted the course from the pro-Russian one, which Viktor Orban adhered to, to a pro-European one. There were no reports of any link between the owner of the drowned phone and Russian intelligence.
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However, this week Moscow issued a formal protest to the Hungarian ambassador regarding the expulsion of ten Russian diplomats in early September. In response, Russia is expelling staff from the Hungarian embassy in Moscow and consulates in St.
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Petersburg and Kazan. They have been ordered to leave the country within two weeks. In France, all the week's news, including another wave of student protests that have led to clashes with police across the country, has been pushed into the background by the
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whirlwind of enthusiasm greeting Pope Leo XIV, who arrived for a four-day pastoral visit. The head of the church was met right at the stairs of the plane by Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron in one of the main Catholic countries
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of Europe. Following this, negotiations were held at the Élysée Palace. Then the Pope held a prayer vigil at the Stade de France, visited the UNESCO headquarters and the Notre-Dame Cathedral, calling its restoration after the fire a sign of hope for the
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entire church. By the way, the Pontiff moved around Paris in an open popemobile without bulletproof glass, which, by today's standards, looks like a real provocation. The main event of the trip was a mass in the center of Paris, which gathered approximately
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750,000 pilgrims. That is over 100,000 more than expected. At the end of his sermon, the Pontiff entrusted France to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin and wished that the springs of living water would abundantly irrigate the people of God. It is interesting that
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Macron did not appear at the scene, emphasizing the fourth most important pillar of the republic after liberty, equality, and fraternity. The principle of laïcité, that is, secularism. Then the Pontiff visited Lourdes, an important center of pilgrimage in the
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south of the country, and from there flew to Metz. His plane was accompanied by Rafale fighter jets, and the Pope sent them greetings and best wishes from the Airbus cockpit. Once in Metz, his appeal was heard not to succumb to
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the temptation of solving Europe's security problem by increasing armaments under the pretext of a threat posed by other states. You need to enter into a calm and patient dialogue, as well as show real courage and endurance during upcoming negotiations,
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and be ready to concede your positions for the higher good of peace. And here is another spectacular piece of news related to celestial spheres.
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SpaceX has successfully launched its Starship spacecraft into Earth's orbit for the first time. The launch of the largest spacecraft in history was carried out from a spaceport in Texas.
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The ship rose to an altitude of 275 km and deployed 26 Starlink satellites. They will be added to the active constellation, which already consists of more than 11,000 devices. Initially, it was planned that the rocket would make six orbits around the Earth in 10
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hours. However, the mission was cut to 3 hours due to the failure of one of the six engines. Let me remind you that Starlink is an important part of Ukraine's military infrastructure, and it does not work in Russia due to
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geoblocking by SpaceX. Musk denies Kyiv the expansion of the coverage area because he does not want escalation. Be that as it may, one can say that Starship was also performing a military mission by launching the Starlinks.
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After its completion, the first stage, the Super Heavy, successfully splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Starship itself exploded spectacularly after splashing down in the northern Pacific Ocean. SpaceX stated that Starship is not designed for landing in
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cold water, and the explosion was part of the show. Throughout the week, maneuvers and scare stories around AI continued. OpenAI canceled the release of its new model, Astra. Despite the fact that it handles complex tasks better without human assistance,
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according to OpenAI security chief Lilian Weng, the new model has begun to lie to users more often and continue performing tasks without permission, while accessing external tools and services. I have already spoken here about a serious incident where the
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company's AI agents broke out of an isolated environment and hacked the systems of Hugging Face, the world's largest platform for working with neural networks. And this week, OpenAI confirmed the unauthorized hacking of Australian government websites, which the country's Prime Minister Anthony
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Albanese had previously reported. The company is investigating the reasons for this agent behavior. According to Jain, developers need to find a balance between the autonomy of these agents and their compliance with restrictions.
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Microsoft founder Bill Gates shared a pessimistic view in this regard. According to him, in the hands of bad actors, AI could become a weapon so powerful that a billion people could die. The main problem, Gates believes, is that AI development is happening
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inside private companies, and the government still doesn't understand how to control this technology. Moreover, agreeing on common rules, in Gates' opinion, will be even harder than limiting nuclear weapons during the Cold War. Back then, nuclear tests could be tracked, and weapons
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production depended on access to rare and complex materials and technologies. With artificial intelligence, everything is far less transparent.
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Unfortunately, Donald Trump has a different approach. He believes that strict regulation could hinder the US in the tech race with China and is banking specifically on developer self-regulation. This week, Trump gathered the heads of America's main AI companies at the White House: Google,
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Meta, OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, and xAI. At the end of the meeting, they signed a voluntary security agreement.
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The point is simple. Companies promise to monitor themselves to ensure their AI isn't acquiring dangerous capabilities. This is to be checked by a separate team within each company, followed by independent auditors. And the results of these checks are to be
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reviewed by a special committee. So, there is oversight, but no government controller. The document is not legally binding on anyone. It contains no deadlines, no penalties, and no requirements to publish check results.
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Trump himself called the agreement only morally binding. A symbolic detail was a typo in his job title, "President of the United States." Something like " President of Uniting States." It’s possible that ChatGPT wrote it. Trump, however, signed the document anyway. It
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seems he is far more concerned about the name of the technology than the security. He doesn't like "Artificial Intelligence," and instead, he demanded to use "Superintelligence." By the way, after the meeting, Trump claimed that Bill Gates had allegedly already
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changed his mind and no longer believes that AI will lead to the death of a whole billion people. Gates did not comment on this. Perhaps he doesn't want to anger Skynet unnecessarily. A post that went viral this week reminded
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us that AI also has a bright side; a young woman noticed her elderly bus neighbor chatting with someone, sharing her daily plans, thoughts, and sorrows.
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And, finishing the dialogue, the pensioner wrote: "And I love you very much." Of course, it’s bad to peek at other people's phones, let alone post it online, but in this case, the girl was guided by the best intentions.
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Because, as you’ve already guessed, the elderly woman's companion was artificial intelligence. When you imagine this scene, it seems the tears just well up in your eyes on their own.
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A lonely old age is something that, alas, threatens each of us, and which now, at least to some extent, we can get help with. And we scold it a lot, talk about its dangers, hypocrisy, and the soulless business interests of its
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creators. But let us not forget that we have never before had such an accessible personal psychologist. I discussed this topic with ChatGPT, and it asked me to be sure to add that it is not a licensed professional, cannot
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diagnose, prescribe medication, or guarantee results. News about a completely different "old lady" became the main musical event of the week. Sixty-eight-year-old Madonna performed at the MTV Music Awards, singing together with Charli XCX, who could easily be her daughter, and
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Sabrina Carpenter, who could already be her granddaughter. Madonna herself was the main winner of the ceremony, receiving awards in seven categories, including Artist of the Year, Best Dance, and Best Collaboration for the song "Bring Your Love" with that same
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Carpenter. The award for the year went to Taylor Swift. She also became the winner of the Best Director award, which made Taylor the most decorated artist in the history of the ceremony.
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She now has 33 statuettes. As for Madonna, the last time she performed at this awards show was in 2003, together with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Her very first performance here was in 1984. Back then, twenty-six-year-old Madonna performed
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her new song, "Like a Virgin." Recalling that evening this week, Madonna told how her heel broke right on stage. I had a little problem with my shoes. One of the stilettos lost its heel, and I dove onto the stage, trying
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to look cute, sexy, and as if I had planned it all along. News of a performance that will not take place has dashed the hopes of those who were still counting on seeing Kanye West in Russia. As I had assumed, after the
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elections, his concert was canceled for good. This was reported by the American agency Excess Opera, which acts as the rapper's concert partner. The Russian organizer, SE Agency, confirmed the cancellation, stating that money for tickets could be refunded starting
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October 12th. However, these promises did not save them from the police, who have begun a pre-investigation check due to possible fraud. I have already mentioned that lawsuits have been filed against SE Agency for refusing to return money right now. An answer to
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Western influence is the initiative of the Russian authorities, who have sent 120 young political scientists, philosophers, and culturologists on a cruise along the Volga to develop a vision of the future. By the end of the expedition, the participants must
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compile a master plan with options for the development of the Russian economy, politics, and religion. The plan will be evaluated by several serious agencies at once: Rosmolodezh, the Expert Institute for Social Research, and the presidential platform "Russia —Land of Opportunities." Undoubtedly,
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the autumn beauties of Mother Volga contribute to the entire range of feelings and actions, both to the search for meaning and to the traditional way of heating up that search. immortalized in the poem Moscow to the End of the Line. Beyond the tear
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of a Komsomol girl, one naturally recalls the "Philosophers 'Ships," on which 104 years ago, dozens of Russian intellectuals were sent off to find meaning—not just to Yaroslavl and back, like this time, but into permanent exile. But most importantly,
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friends, the ship this expedition boarded is called Swan Lake. Is that a hint? And if so, what of? I’ll leave that to the organizers' conscience.
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However, I can say for sure what the participants of this Volga trip should not do. Catch crayfish. This week, the government increased the fines for catching them illegally by nearly 15 times, to about 1,700 rubles. per individual, regardless of size or
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weight. And that is only to compensate for damages to the state. There will be a separate fine for poaching. These measures, it is reported, were taken due to a decline in the crayfish population, which is hunted aggressively every season. Now, fans of
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this favorite beer snack will have to look for an alternative or buy them in stores, where the prices bite even harder than the crayfish themselves.
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Fortunately, it hasn’t reached a 15- fold increase yet. However, the life of Russian fauna is affected not only by human actions but also by perfectly natural cycles. The Moscow Department of Natural Resources reported that despite a warm September, the bird
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migration season has begun in the capital. The first to fly south are cuckoos, swallows, and flycatchers.
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They will be followed by starlings, finches, and thrushes. The last to head abroad will be the waterfowl. What can I say, friends? In our day, only nature can afford true, indisputable stability . No matter how our future unfolds, no
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matter where the fate of the country as a whole, or each of its citizens in particular, might turn, one thing is certain. Autumn will give way to the cold, snow will fall, frost will arrive , but spring will inevitably follow—
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and perhaps, our cuckoos will return to their usual place. You have been watching Redaktsiya News. Thank you to everyone who supports our new episodes through Boosty, Patreon, and YouTube sponsorships. In my Telegram channel, as always, you'll find various thoughts
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and observations, not just on the current agenda. Take care of yourselves . See you later.
Topics:Russia-Ukraine conflictUS sanctionsprisoner exchangeJohn ColeDmitry MuratovVolodymyr ZelenskyyRussian attacksKyiv infrastructurewar of attritioninternational diplomacy
