PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, September 30: The Cornell University gang rape investigation reopens. But first: students and prisoners protest in Iran "in a rare show of dissent". Journalist Evan Gershkovich speaks about his 16 months in a Russian prison. Bonus: what can we do to be less lonely? Fi»»»

Pro-Russian influence operations have caused a surge of 850% in fake news stories mimicking real media brands, according to a report published this week by disinformation specialist, NewsGuard. Out of the 15 most imitated news outlets, eight are French – including FRANCE 24. The Russian disinformat»»»

A 15-meter-high bronze memorial towers over the Amur River embankment: a Soviet soldier swings his rifle butt, smashing a Japanese border marker bearing the Imperial Chrysanthemum emblem – a symbol held sacred in Japan. On September 4 – the day following Victory Day over Militaristic Japan and the »»»

BRUSSELS: Russia has warned NATO that it would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons to defend Kaliningrad should any members of the military bloc try to cut off its western exclave from the rest of the country. The warning sent to NATO echoed statements issued by several Russian embassies in Europe »»»

Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) has called for a formal review that could pave the way for a ban on Alternative for Germany (AfD), as the right-wing party leads national polls following major regional election victories. The push follows the AfD’s sweeping victories in Saxony-Anhalt and Mec»»»

UNITED NATIONS: Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan appeared to be pulling ahead in the race to lead the United Nations after the fourth round of informal polling on Tuesday, a diplomat said. Grynspan, a veteran diplomat who leads the UN trade and development body (UNCTAD) has come top in three of the fou»»»

The Russian Armed Forces continue to strike maritime vessels used for supporting Ukrainian troops, the Russian Defense Ministry reports. "Russian forces continue to strike maritime vessels involved in the interests of the Ukrainian military," the statement read.Russia continues its operation agains»»»

KYIV: Russia hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure in a wave of deadly drone and missile strikes on Wednesday, prompting an urgent call for civil contingencies as freezing winter approaches. Kyiv said it was Moscow’s opening salvo in an expected campaign to try to knock out heating and power as the t»»»

BUCHAREST: The Romanian parliament on Wednesday rejected a pro-European liberal as prime minister, prolonging a political crisis seen as fueling an already rising far right. Liberal European Parliament member Siegfried Muresan failed to get lawmakers’ backing with just 182 of the 233 votes needed t»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Working in the interests of every nation while respecting those interests — this is how Majid Ehsan, president of the Institute of Policy Studies (Islamabad), describes Pakistan's pragmatic foreign policy course in a multipolar Asia. Such a course serves Islamabad's interests, si»»»

MOSCOW: The Kremlin said Wednesday work was under way on rebasing Russian-made missile-defense systems from Turkiye to another country, a move that could pave the way for Ankara to regain access to the US F-35 fighter jet program. Turkiye bought the S-400 air defense systems from Russia in 2017, du»»»

At least five people, including a 14-year old child, have died after Russia launched another round of strikes on Kyiv and its surrounding regions overnight to Wednesday, officials said. Several people were also wounded in the attacks. In Poland, two airports, in Lublin and Rzeszow, were briefly shu»»»

BELGRADE - Serbia's gas arrangement with Russia was on Wednesday extended until the end of this year under the same terms, Srbijagas CEO Dusan Bajatovic told Tanjug. Bajatovic said that, under a deal between Russia's Gazprom and Srbijagas, Serbia would continue to receive Russian gas at the best pr»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in the plenary session of 23rd Annual Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club on October 1, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. "On October 1, Vladimir Putin will take part in the plenary session of the 23rd annual meeting of the Valdai In»»»

BELGRADE - Serbia's caretaker Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said on Wednesday she expected a natural gas arrangement with Russia to be extended later in the day to ensure gas supplies to Serbia at the same or similar prices. "For the Republic of Serbia, Gazprom is a ver»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia and the United States continue dialogue in many areas, including on energy issues, Russian special presidential envoy for economic cooperation with foreign countries Kirill Dmitriev said on Wednesday. "We are moving forward, the dialogue continues in many areas, including »»»

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Russians on the Day of Reunification of the new regions with Russia. "I am glad to congratulate you, all citizens of our country, on the Day of Reunification. This holiday has become the embodiment of our people's irrepressible aspiration for the resto»»»

Sputnik brings you a live broadcast from Moscow, Russia where Russian President Vladimir Putin is addressing Russian State Duma deputies following elections. Russian State Duma elections were held on on September 18-20, with Russian authorities noting unfriendly nations tried intervening into the e»»»

Russia’s strikes on data centers such as De Novo aim to disrupt the infrastructure underpinning the state, the military and the economy, retired Colonel Rustem Klupov, a decorated military intelligence veteran, tells Sputnik. The military analyst clarifies that:data centers store and transfer vast »»»

Five young men from London who were caught near a British airbase heavily used by the US in its war against Iran have triggered a media frenzy across the London establishment's mainstream media. The so-called “Fairford incident” lit up the British deep state media echo chamber. However, what was in»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Diplomats are trying to remind the hotheads in Europe of the fundamental documents of Russia in response to outrageous statements on Kaliningrad, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. On Kaliningrad Situation"You and I have repeatedly heard statements from Poland and»»»

Future Food Forum: 750 CEOs gather as UAE food sector rethinks planning and supply Dubai: With global shocks a constant threat, UAE food businesses are being encouraged to plan over months rather than years. The message came at the eighth Future Food Forum, a two-day event at Le Meridien Dubai that»»»

BusinessUnited States of America'Super Intelligence': Is Trump right to rename AI?Nik MartinDonald Trump thinks the name artificial intelligence sounds "fake" and has ordered US agencies to use "Super Intelligence" instead. Yet, tech firms and researchers have little reason to play along. https://p»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergei Naryshkin on Wednesday described his contacts with the leadership of the CIA as good. "They are good," Naryshkin said in a comment to Russian media.CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow on August 25. Kremlin spokesma»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian armed forces have liberated the settlement of Shabelnoye in the Kharkov region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. "During decisive offensive operations within the encirclement, the settlement of Shabelnoye in the Kharkov region has been liberated," the m»»»

One took the train while the other drove. The train arrived about four minutes earlier. Abu Dhabi: Same start point. Same end destination. Two ways to get there. Two friends set out from Dubai to Abu Dhabi to put Etihad Rail's new passenger service to the test. Dmitrii Mednikov took the car, and hi»»»

A FlyDubai aircraft signaled an emergency and, after some time, made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. The initial version, which was reported by many media outlets, was that the incident might have been a hijacking or seizure of the aircraft, but this version was ruled out after the landing. A»»»

Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan Adylbek Kasymaliev met with Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights Yana Lantratova, the Cabinet’s press service reported. The sides discussed the rights and interests of Kyrgyz citizens living and working in Russia, as well as migration and social »»»

Trade ministers of the Group of 20 are meeting in Milwaukee for two days of talks on Wednesday, but US President Donald Trump’s tariffs are expected to hang heavy over the talks. "Don't expect any breakthroughs," an analyst watching the event said. G20 trade ministers are set to open talks Wednesda»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian armed forces hit the De Novo data processing center in Kiev during an overnight massive strike, which is one of the main points for exchanging internet traffic in the interests of the armed forces of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. Overnight, »»»

QNA Toronto Minister of State for International Cooperation HE Dr. Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad has reiterated Qatar’s support for all international efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Russia-Ukraine crisis through dialogue and diplomatic means. She emphasised Qatar’s continued convi»»»

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has decided to cancel the release of its latest agentic model Astra 6.1 because it did not meet safety standards. Rival AI firm Anthropic, meanwhile, is dedicating a large majority of its IPO prospectus to laying out the risk factors associated with AI, according»»»

Record US production reshapes global crude trade and strengthens Washington’s clout The United States has cemented its position as the world’s largest oil producer, with output rising sharply since the shale boom and reaching a new record high, according to Energy Institute data compiled by Our Wor»»»

Council of Europe calls US a ‘valuable contributor’ as it exits GRECO WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has withdrawn the United States from a top European anti-corruption watchdog as it forges ahead with plans to disengage from international and multilateral organisations that it accuses of exc»»»

OpenAI will not release its latest artificial intelligence model, Astra 6.1, after internal tests found it fell short of safety standards, the maker of ChatGPT confirmed on Monday. The decision came ahead of a meeting of AI leaders at the White House Tuesday convened by US President Donald Tru»»»

Military escorts and rerouted tankers sustain Hormuz oil lifeline amid Iran pressure Gulf oil producers are moving far more crude through the Strait of Hormuz than many expected possible, using US Navy-backed workarounds to keep one of the world’s most important energy corridors operating despite I»»»

LONDON (AP) — A surprise decision by the U.K.'s counterterrorism police to release five suspects on bail during an investigation into a suspected bomb plot at a U.S.-operated air force base in England has deepened questions and uncertainty about the incident. Police confirmed Tuesday that no explos»»»

A journalist who has spent more than 20 years investigating Russian leader Vladimir Putin and who is recognised as perhaps Russia's finest investigative journalist has told FRANCE 24 that Putin's aim with the war in Ukraine is simply to prolong his power inside Russia. Roman Badanin has just publis»»»

DAKAR: At least 34 civilians were killed in seven incidents during joint military operations in Mali by the army and Russia's Wagner mercenary group between June 2023 and December 2025, Amnesty ‌International said in a report on Tuesday. The human rights organization documented the deaths of 34 peo»»»

Several ships well known in Russian Arctic ports are suspected of involvement in weapon deliveries from North Korea. In mid-May 2026, the Japanese Joint Staff reported that two Russian warships were escorting a fleet of six cargo ships en route to North Korea. The ships were identified by NK Pro, a»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian forces carried out strikes in the Black Sea against a dry cargo ship with military equipment intended for the Ukrainian armed forces, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. "A dry cargo type naval vessel with military equipment for the armed forces of Ukraine was h»»»

Poland’s energy deputy minister, Konrad Wojnarowski, said cybersecurity is essential to every energy source and to the country’s broader security, citing disinformation and threats from foreign services, including Russia. He called for investment in renewables and nuclear power, while maintaining d»»»

BELGRADE - A total 4,346,691 foreign tourists, the majority of whom were Turkish citizens, visited Serbia in 2025, staying in the country for an average 2.8 days, according to figures released by the national statistical office RZS. The visitors generated a total 12,282,212 overnight stays, mostly »»»

Sputnik brings you a live broadcast from Moscow, Russia, where Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding a meeting with former President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik and current Prime Minister Savo Minic. Dodik last visited Russia was in May 2026 to take part in events marking the 81st anniv»»»

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that Russia launched a wave of overnight strikes across Ukraine, hitting two foreign-flagged vessels in the Black Sea and targets in Kyiv. The strikes come as Russia ramps up its pressure campaign intended to make Ukraine buckle under near-constan»»»

The European Commission says it will not compromise on protecting the EU’s external borders, but will also respect human rights, while declining to specify if a new emergency rule could suspend people’s basic right to asylum. The vague statements by Magnus Brunner, the EU home affairs commissioner,»»»

Russia-US contacts on the issue of “irritants” will take place soon, with the timing being coordinated, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on the sidelines of the 23rd annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club. He noted that circumstances would eventually compel the United Sta»»»

BusinessNorth KoreaNew North Korea bridges build on strong China, Russia ties Don HuhTwo recently opened bridges are expected to ease trade and transport between North Korea and its powerful neighbors. The new connections come as Pyongyang builds strategic ties with China and Russia. https://p.dw.c»»»

MOSCOW: A Russian military plane crashed in the far eastern region of Amur on Tuesday, killing six crew members and leaving another injured, the Russian defense ministry said. Russian Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic bomber/missile carrier crashed in Amur Oblast, Far East Russia.Its six crew-members have »»»