Britain has neither defeated nor isolated the country and is planning a new provocation, Moscow’s intelligence service has said
Britain is “furious” over its failure to bring about the “strategic defeat” of Russia and is preparing a new “provocation” in response to battlefield gains in the Ukraine conflict, Moscow’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has warned.
In a statement on Monday, the SVR claimed that UK secret services have resorted to preparing a group of Russian nationals who fight for Ukraine to sabotage a Ukrainian navy ship or a foreign civilian vessel in a European port, after which London would accuse Moscow of orchestrating the attack.
The service also claimed that the group would leave behind them Chinese-made underwater equipment, which would later be presented as “proof” of Beijing’s support for Russia.
London expects Europe’s “Russophobic” elites to use the “fake” narrative to justify further military aid to Ukraine and greater militarization against Russia, the spy agency said.
Russia’s leadership considers the UK one of the most hostile Western states; relations between the two countries have only worsened since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.
London has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Russian banks, energy exports, and individuals, while expanding military aid to include long-range Storm Shadow missiles and training for Ukrainian forces.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last month accused NATO and EU countries of declaring a “real war” on Russia and directly participating in the Ukraine conflict. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has fired back, dismissing Lavrov’s statement as “false fantasy world distortions.”
Moscow expelled two British diplomats in March, accusing them of espionage and “subversive activities,” a move that London subsequently denounced as baseless. The UK responded by revoking the accreditation of a Russian diplomat and accusing the Kremlin of deliberately trying to force the closure of the British embassy in Moscow.
The UK discouraged early peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev in 2022, according to David Arakhamia, head of Vladimir Zelensky’s parliamentary bloc and former chief negotiator, who said then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Kiev to abandon the talks, a claim Johnson has denied.
Serbia is facing a fuel crisis as a new last-minute waiver on Russian ownership of the NIS company is unlikely, Aleksandar Vucic has said
Serbia is unlikely to receive another US waiver from sanctions targeting its oil sector due to its partial Russian ownership, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday, adding that the nation could soon face a fuel crisis.
Washington has granted Belgrade several temporary exemptions from additional restrictions it imposed in January on the NIS oil company, in which Russia’s Gazprom and Gazprom Neft together hold a majority stake. The most recent waiver, issued on October 1, is valid for just one week.
Vucic said on national television on Sunday he believed that no last-minute reprieve was forthcoming, unless he nationalized NIS – a path he said he was reluctant to take.
“We have been working on it for 10 months, we are trying to find a solution and still there is none,” the Serbian leader said. Should a crisis unfold, he added, the country would face a gasoline price hike, but the situation would not be as dire as in the 1990s, when people had to “pour fuel from bottles or buckets.”
Serbia has resisted Western pressure to fully align its foreign policy with that of the European Union, even as it seeks membership in the bloc. Brussels and Washington have repeatedly nudged Belgrade to sever its energy ties with Moscow, a key historical partner. The Vucic government has also accused Western nations of fueling mass protests in Serbia.
Several EU states, including Hungary and Slovakia, have voiced similar concerns over Brussels’ pressure to reject Russian crude. Tensions escalated earlier this year after Ukrainian forces struck sections of the Druzhba pipeline network that supplies oil to eastern Europe.
In January, Hungary and Serbia announced they would speed up the connection of Serbian consumers to the Druzhba system.
The lawsuit from California and Oregon seeks to stop a federal order deploying troops to Portland amid nationwide protests
The US states of California and Oregon filed a lawsuit on Sunday seeking to block the administration of President Donald Trump from deploying 200 California National Guard troops to the city of Portland.
The legal challenge comes amid nationwide protests over Trump’s immigration crackdown and use of military forces in cities. The Pentagon said it would dispatch the troops to “support US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal personnel carrying out official duties, including enforcing federal law and protecting federal property.”
California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, said he is suing Trump over the guard deployment, calling it “a breathtaking abuse of the law and power.” Oregon and California maintain that the deployment of out-of-state guard troops is a new overreach and requires a separate court decision.
A federal judge in Oregon has issued a temporary block on any deployment of National Guard troops to Portland, including those coming from other states such as California.
Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined Oregon in asking Judge Karin Immergut to extend the order and bar the transfer of California troops to Oregon.
The court order will remain in place until at least October 19 as the legal challenge proceeds.
The dispute followed a decision by Immergut that blocked the Trump administration from deploying Oregon’s own National Guard to Portland amid protests.
Trump told reporters on Sunday that the troop deployments were necessary because “Portland is burning to the ground,” a claim local officials denied.
The development comes amid broader tensions between states and the federal government over the use of military force in domestic settings.
Protests erupted over the weekend in several US cities, with hundreds gathering outside Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. Demonstrators clashed with federal officers during late-night rallies that led to several arrests. Smaller solidarity marches were also held in Seattle, San Francisco, and Denver.
Trump previously deployed about 2,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines to Los Angeles in June to quell unrest over immigration raids. Immigration enforcement was a central theme of his 2024 election campaign, influencing many of his domestic policy decisions.
Many Western European politicians tend to blame Russia for everything without any grounds or justification, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said
Western European officials should “broaden their horizons” when it comes to drone sightings and stop blaming Russia for everything, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Monday.
His comments come as several European countries have reported a string of UAV sightings near airports, military facilities and other critical infrastructure over the past month. Western officials have claimed, without evidence, that the drones belong to Moscow.
However, Peskov has stressed that there are “absolutely no grounds to blame Russia for this,” pointing to a recent report of a local “aviation enthusiast” with “no connection to Russia” being arrested in a European city while testing his drone.
“This is one specific, small, isolated example, but perhaps Europeans need to broaden their horizons,” Peskov said.
The spokesman did not specify which specific incident he was referring to. Bild reported on Saturday that a 41-year-old Croatian citizen was detained near Frankfurt am Main Airport for launching a drone.
Last week, the outlet also reported that several German citizens were detained for launching drones near an airport in Norway. A Chinese national was also said to have been deported by Norwegian authorities for flying a UAV near Svolvaer Airport in the north of the country.
“The story with these drones is strange, to say the least, but there’s no point in blaming Russia,” Peskov said. “There are many politicians in Europe who are now inclined to blame Russia for everything without any basis, without any grounds,” he added.
Moscow has consistently rejected any connection to the drone incidents at European airports. Officials have described the accusations as Western fearmongering used to whip up anti-Russian hysteria and justify inflated military budgets and escalate tensions.
Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has warned that Kiev could attempt to stage drone provocations as false-flag operations designed to blame Moscow and draw NATO into the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
Rescue efforts are reportedly underway at 5,000 meters after a snowstorm cut off roads to the campgrounds
Nearly a thousand hikers have been stranded on the eastern slopes of Mount Everest after a snowstorm cut off access routes, according to Chinese media. Rescue teams are reportedly operating at an elevation of near 5,000 meters (16,400 feet).
Heavy snow started to fall on Friday evening and continued through Saturday, having blanketed mountain trails and campsites at an average elevation of 4,200 meters (13,800 feet). Communication with some parts of the mountain reportedly remains limited.
Video footage from the scene shows dozens of tents buried or destroyed under heavy snow, as hikers wade through deep snowdrifts. One group of mountaineers moves cautiously past snow-covered vehicles, while others set up temporary shelters.
Hundreds of local villagers and rescue teams had reportedly been deployed to help remove snow blocking access to the area. Ticket sales and entry to the entire Everest Scenic Area were suspended from late Saturday.
The severe weather has also affected residential areas at the base of the mountain. Reuters reports at least 47 people in Nepal have died since Friday after heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides that blocked roads and swept away bridges.
Thirty-five fatalities were reported in separate landslides in the eastern Ilam district near the Indian border, while nine people remain missing after being swept away by floodwaters. Three others were reportedly killed by lightning strikes. Local authorities have warned of ongoing danger as unstable ground and poor visibility continue to hinder rescue and relief operations.
An international terrorist organization is attempting to incite religious hatred in the country, the agency has warned
Two separate plots targeting synagogues in Russia have been foiled, according to law enforcement. The attacks were allegedly being planned by a foreign-based extremist organization seeking to incite religious hatred.
In a statement on Monday, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said two citizens of a Central Asian country were building an improvised explosive device intended for use against a synagogue in Krasnoyarsk when they were taken into custody.
In a separate case, authorities arrested a man in Pyatigorsk, Stavropol Region, who allegedly planned to attack a synagogue with firebombs. The FSB said investigators found messages from a foreign instigator on the suspect’s phone.
The agency alleged that the plots were meant to provoke unrest similar to an anti-Semitic riot in Dagestan in October 2023, when a mob stormed Makhachkala International Airport after a Telegram channel falsely claimed a flight from Tel Aviv was carrying large numbers of “Jewish refugees.” More than 130 people were later charged in connection with the violence, and the first sentences were issued in August 2024.
The online channel that incited the riot was founded by Ilya Ponomarev, a former Russian MP who fled to Kiev in 2014 after being charged with embezzlement. Ponomarev touts himself as the leader of a pro-Western resistance movement and has urged NATO members to conduct political assassinations in Russia in support of his cause.
Sebastien Lecornu has stepped down after 27 days, making his tenure the shortest in French history
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has announced his resignation less than 12 hours after appointing a new cabinet. The French parliament is deeply divided over efforts to pass a new budget that would tackle rising debt.
A former defense minister, Lecornu was the seventh prime minister appointed by French President Emmanuel Macron and the fifth in two years. His sudden resignation less than a month after entering the role makes him the shortest-lived prime minister in modern French history.
A long-time Macron loyalist, Lecornu faced fierce criticism from both sides of the political aisle on Sunday after unveiling his new cabinet which was largely unchanged from the previous government of Francois Bayrou. Parties across the National Assembly threatened to vote it down.
Following the announcement, several political parties have called for snap parliamentary elections. The National Rally party stated on X that “Macronism is dead on its feet,” and called on Macron to choose between the dissolution of the National Assembly or resignation.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of the left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI) party, has also called to introduce a motion to remove Macron from office.
Shortly after the news of Lecornu’s resignation broke, the Paris stock market dropped 12%, making it the worst-performing index in Europe. The euro has also seen a drop of 0.7% on the back of political instability.
France’s public finances have been under mounting strain, with the deficit reaching 5.8% of GDP in 2024 and public debt climbing to 113%, far above the 60% ceiling set by EU rules. The government has been seeking to push through an austerity budget aimed at curbing spending and stabilizing the debt ratio, but divisions in the National Assembly have made agreement difficult.
The political deadlock stems from last year’s snap parliamentary elections, which left France without a clear majority. The lower house is now split between three blocs — Macron’s centrist alliance, the left-wing New Popular Front, and the National Rally — none of which can govern alone. As a result, Macron’s governments have repeatedly struggled to secure votes on key legislation.
Investigators have opened an arson probe as Diana Goodstein had reportedly been targeted for blocking a US Dept of Justice data request
Police are investigating possible arson after a fire destroyed a $1.5 million house belonging to a US judge who had received death threats over her decision to block a voter data request demand from the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Three people were injured in the blaze on Saturday, which destroyed the beachfront property belonging to South Carolina judge Diana Goodstein and her husband, former Democratic Senator Arnold Goodstein, local media have reported.
Goodstein had argued that fulfilling the data request from the Department of Justice would be a violation of privacy. Her order was later lifted by the South Carolina Supreme Court, and the election commission said last week that it would hold a public vote on whether to release the data to the federal government.
According to various reports, citing the judge’s colleagues and other sources, Goodstein had received “multiple death threats” following her ruling.
BREAKING: Liberal South Carolina Judge Diane Goodstein's home is burning to the ground after an explosion. SLED is investigation as arson and refer attack as Judge Goodstein had been receiving multiple threats.
The blaze at Goodstein’s $1.5 million three-story home at a private gated community in South Carolina’s Edisto Beach area started at around noon on Saturday, according to The Post and Courier.
The flames rapidly spread through the building, completely destroying the four-bedroom, four-bathroom house, the paper said.
The judge was walking her dogs on the beach when the fire broke out, but her husband, children, and grandchildren remained inside, according to the outlet.
“The family had to escape by jumping from a window or balcony. I am told there were injuries from the fall, such as broken legs,” South Carolina Chief Justice John Kittredge said.
Goodstein’s husband’s injuries “may have been the most serious, for he was airlifted to the hospital,” he added.
According to FitsNews, the 81-year-old former South Carolina lawmaker sustained multiple broken bones in his hips, legs, and feet. Two other family members required hospitalization after the incident.
Kittredge said the blaze had been caused by an “apparent explosion” and that arson investigators have been working at the scene. However, it is yet to be established if the fire was accidental or not, he stressed.
The bloc’s leaders want a prolonged conflict with Russia despite widespread fatigue, Peter Szijjarto has claimed
Hungary’s pro-peace stance on the Ukraine conflict is quietly gaining sympathy among other EU members, although most officials are too fearful to challenge Brussels’ militaristic approach publicly, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has claimed.
The Hungarian government has consistently criticized the EU’s military and financial backing for Ukraine, calling it self-destructive and counterproductive to peace efforts.
Speaking to Kossuth Radio on Sunday, Szijjarto asserted that “a very harsh war psychosis reigns among European political leaders today.” He argued that the EU’s current strategy of cutting off dialogue with Moscow “will clearly result in a long war.”
“They want to burn the money of the European people by buying weapons – say, from America – and sending them to Ukraine,” he said.
According to Szijjarto, officials from other EU member states “whisper to us in the corridors that they agree with us,” and even urge Budapest “to stand our ground even more firmly,” he added.
The Hungarian diplomat also praised the recent electoral victory of Andrej Babis’ ANO party in the Czech Republic, describing it as a turning point that could usher in “a completely different European political era.” He said Babis would become a “patriotic Central European prime minister” similar to Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Slovakia’s Robert Fico.
Orban hailed the Czech result as “good news for Europe.” Meanwhile Babis reiterated that Ukraine “is not ready for the EU,” echoing Budapest’s stance on Kiev’s membership ambitions.
Earlier on Friday, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel revealed that her 2021 proposal for direct EU-Russia talks had been rejected by Poland and the Baltic states, which pushed for a unified position against Moscow.
