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Russia raises alarm about Ukrainian ‘dirty bomb’

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Russia has requested an emergency discussion at the United Nations Security Council later today on the provocation with the use of a “dirty bomb” in Ukraine.

The topic of Kiev’s possible use of a “dirty bomb” — a low-power nuclear munition which Russia will be accused of detonating — looks like a scenario of a geopolitical thriller.

Igor Kirillov, Head of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces of the Russian Armed Forces, outlined a detailed scenario of what means are being used to complete preparations for an unprecedented provocation that threatens to escalate the Ukrainian conflict to the highest point.

His sensational exposure is based on a number of theories.

The first point is that Kiev has obtained the required production base and scientific potential to create a “dirty bomb”.

Up to 1.5 thousand tonnes of enriched uranium is contained in spent nuclear fuel pools at three operating Ukrainian nuclear power plants — Yuzhno-Ukrainskaya, Khmelnitsky and Rivne.

Add to this, the radioactive waste storage facilities of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant with the large quantity of uranium-235 and plutonium-239 — the main components of the nuclear charge.

According to Kirillov, two Ukrainian organisations that have received an order for the production of a “dirty bomb” are already completing work on its creation.

Secondly, according to a representative of the Russian Ministry of Defence, Great Britain, a country of the Big Five leading nuclear powers, actively helps Ukraine in creating a “dirty bomb”.

The office of Ukrainian President Zelensky maintains contacts with London to obtain British technologies that should allow Ukrainian scientists using Ukrainian materials to bring the creation of a “dirty bomb” to the end.

The third point is that the purpose of detonating a nuclear munition is to accuse Russia of using weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine.

This should present Moscow as the main source of global evil in the eyes of the part of the world that does not support the war of sanctions — countries such as China, India, Brazil. These poles of the non-Western world should be presented with an “iron argument”: allegedly, Russia used nuclear weapons in Ukraine. In this regard, any further refusal to join the Western coalition against Moscow cannot be justified. Russia should finally become a pariah state living in complete isolation.

And finally, the fourth point. All forces and means of the Russian Ministry of Defence are ready to perform tasks in conditions of radioactive contamination.

The statement made by Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov became doubly sensational as it for the first time named the main external mentor or prompter of Kiev in his efforts to create a “dirty bomb”.

This prompter is not Washington but London.

Thus, Britain showed its ambitions to seize the palm from the US in global anti-Russian crusade, demonstrating its readiness to take such a radical desperate step, which Washington would hardly dare to take.

It is not surprising that during the marathon of telephone conversations with defence ministers and representatives of the top military leadership of the leading Western powers, which began on Sunday and continued on Monday, the Russian military leadership most actively communicated with the British side.

First, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu discussed the situation with British Defence Minister Ben Wallace, and then Deputy Defence Minister Valery Gerasimov had a difficult conversation about the “dirty bomb” of Ukraine with the Chief of the Defence Staff of the British Armed Forces Tony Radakin

“What the United States of America should do now, what Britain and France should do now — they should postpone all their business, they should sit down for the materials that the Russian side voiced and transmitted during telephone conversations, publicly analyze it. Under their direct leadership — I’m talking about the Anglo-Saxon duo now — a monster has grown up that pushes this world to the most dangerous line,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

The first reaction of the West turned out to be monosyllabic: we don’t believe it. According to their logic, most likely, it is Moscow itself, not Kiev, that might detonate the “dirty bomb”.

But why? Why would Russia, which has hundreds of real warheads, all of sudden choose to detonate “a bomb for the poor”?

Well, If you believe that all the evil in the world comes from Russia there is no need to analyse anything. Everything is already clear in advance.

Business

PM Modi meets Keir Starmer in Mumbai for strengthening India-UK ties

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Mumbai, Oct 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed UK Prime Minister Keri Starmer at Raj Bhavan and held a meeting as part of the process to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries.

The Ministry of External Affairs shared photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“Together for stronger India-UK ties…,” posted Randhir Jaiswal, the MEA spokesperson, on X.

Earlier, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said his meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer here further deepened trade and economic partnership for mutual prosperity between the two nations.

Starmer arrived in India for a two-day visit on Wednesday, accompanied by the biggest-ever trade delegation from the country to India.

“Delighted to call on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Discussed avenues to further deepen India-UK trade and economic partnership for mutual prosperity,” Goyal posted on X social media platform.

Goyal earlier met Peter Kyle, the UK’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with a view to moving forward with the operationalisation of the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and doubling the bilateral trade by 2030.

“The meeting marked a significant step towards operationalising the India-UK CETA, with both Ministers agreeing to reposition the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) to oversee its implementation and delivery,” according to the Commerce Ministry statement.

Both sides underlined their commitment to ensuring swift, coordinated, and results-oriented implementation of the Agreement, aimed at realising its full potential for businesses and consumers in both countries. The ministers reaffirmed their shared ambition to double bilateral trade by 2030, leveraging the complementarities between the two economies in areas such as advanced manufacturing, digital trade, clean energy, and services.

Emphasising the transformative scope of CETA, they discussed ways to maximise its benefits through regulatory cooperation, addressing non-tariff barriers, and promoting supply chain integration. The highly productive Commerce Secretary and Director General-level meeting set the tone for the Ministerial meeting, which laid a strong foundation for a full day of engaging and forward-looking discussions.

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Business

World Bank flags rising poverty levels in Pakistan

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New Delhi, Oct 8: The World Bank has expressed serious concern over Pakistan’s economy as the country has failed to reduce poverty despite massive loans injected by the IMF.

The current model of growth has failed to ameliorate the conditions of the poor, and the headcount ratio (HCR) has surged to its highest level of 25.3 per cent in the last eight years, which is a 7 per cent increase in HCR since 2023, the World Bank report states.

Instead of concentrating on rural development to reduce poverty, the Pakistan government has been focused more on increasing defence expenditure.

The World Bank report titled “Reclaiming Momentum Towards Prosperity: Pakistan’s Poverty, Equity and Resilience Assessment” released on September 23, mentions that even the country’s aspiring middle class (constituting 42.7 per cent of its population) is “struggling to achieve full economic security”.

Pakistan’s once-promising poverty reduction trajectory has come to a troubling halt, reversing years of hard-fought gains.

After dramatically reducing poverty from 64.3 per cent in 2001 to 21.9 per cent in 2018 — declining by 3 percentage points annually until 2015 before slowing to less than 1 percentage point per year — recent compounding shocks have pushed poverty rates back up to a projected 25.3 per cent by 2023-24, the report states.

The economic model that delivered early wins has reached its limits, with 14 per cent of the population in 2018 remaining vulnerable to falling back into poverty when faced with shocks.

Compounding crises — Covid-19, economic instability, devastating floods, and record-high inflation—have further exposed systemic weaknesses, leaving many in low-productivity activities and unable to cope with these challenges, the report points out.

Bold policy reforms are now essential to address structural imbalances, prevent sliding back into poverty during shocks, and tackle the persistent challenges in remote areas. In this context, this Poverty, Equity, and Resilience Assessment , the first since the early 2000s, looks at how poverty has evolved in Pakistan by combining traditional and non-traditional data, offering detailed analysis and strategic direction on the country’s efforts and challenges to reduce poverty and promote equity.

This comprehensive assessment aims to provide a roadmap for policymakers and stakeholders to address poverty and equity challenges in Pakistan effectively, the report added.

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International News

Rahul Gandhi begins 4-nation South American visit

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New Delhi, Sep 27: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has embarked on a South American tour, during which he is scheduled to interact with political leaders, university students, and members of the business community across four nations.

The Congress media and publicity department, incharge, Pawan Khera, announced the development on Saturday but refrained from disclosing the names of the countries LoP Gandhi will be visiting.

In a post on X, Khera wrote, “Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Shri Rahul Gandhi, has embarked on a visit to South America. He is scheduled to engage with political leaders, university students, and members of the business community across four countries.”

According to the party, this marks LoP Gandhi’s first overseas visit in September and will deepen democratic, trade, and strategic ties, building on historical India–South America cooperation and Global South solidarity.

During his visit to Brazil and Colombia, LoP Gandhi is expected to interact with university students, hold meetings with presidents and senior leaders across multiple countries, strengthening democratic and strategic ties, the party said.

He is also expected to engage with business leaders to explore opportunities as India seeks to diversify trade and partnerships in the wake of US tariffs, it also said.

Earlier this month, he travelled to Malaysia, although the Congress had not issued an official statement regarding that trip. The visit sparked several questions and also drew criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP took a dig at his foreign trips and BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya shared a photograph of Gandhi, claiming that he was vacationing in Malaysia.

Taking to X, Malviya posted, “Rahul Gandhi has slipped away yet again — this time on a clandestine vacation in Langkawi, Malaysia. Looks like the heat and dust of Bihar’s politics was too much for the Congress ‘Yuvraj’, who had to rush off for a break. Or is it another one of those secret meetings that no one is supposed to know about?”

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