RUSSIA WARNS OF WORLD WAR III IF UKRAINE JOINS NATO: REPORT

The admission of Ukraine to NATO could result in a third world war, the deputy secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Alexander Venediktov, told the state TASS news agency in an interview on Thursday.

"Kyiv is well aware that such a step would mean a guaranteed escalation to a World War Three," TASS cited Venediktov as saying.

"Apparently, that's what they are counting on - to create informational noise and draw attention to themselves once again."

Venediktov also repeated a Russian position that the West, by helping Ukraine, indicated that "they are a direct party to the conflict".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced a surprise bid for fast-track membership of the NATO military alliance at the end of September, after President Vladimir Putin held a ceremony in Moscow to proclaim the four partially occupied regions as annexed Russian land.

US AND SAUDI ARABIA CLASH IN PUBLIC OVER OIL CUT, RUSSIA

The United States and Saudi Arabia traded barbs Thursday over last week’s OPEC+ oil output cut, with Washington accusing Riyadh of knowingly boosting Russian interests.

The Saudi-led OPEC+ cartel — which includes Russia — angered the White House by cutting production by two million barrels a day from November, raising fears that oil prices would soar.

Saudi Arabia issued a rare press release on Thursday, shrugging off accusations it was “taking sides in international conflicts” as Russia’s war in Ukraine rages on.

But US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby quickly fired back, saying that Saudi Arabia knew the cut “would increase Russian revenues and blunt the effectiveness of sanctions. That is the wrong direction.”

The United States has vowed to re-evaluate ties with the oil-rich kingdom since the cut, which was widely seen as a diplomatic slap in the face for Washington.

President Joe Biden traveled to Saudi Arabia in July and met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — with the two greeting each other with a high-profile fist bump.

Biden had previously vowed to make the country an international “pariah” following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“The Saudi Foreign Ministry can try to spin or deflect, but the facts are simple. The world is rallying behind Ukraine in combatting Russian aggression,” Kirby said in a unusually strong statement.

Other OPEC+ nations “felt coerced to support Saudi’s direction,” he added.

'BAN OK IF...': EUROPE'S TOP COURT SAYS COMPANIES CAN PROHIBIT HEADSCARVES AT WORK

Brussels: Europe's top court on Thursday said that general ban on headscarves at work can be allowed as long as it does not discriminate against employee.

The court was hearing a case concerning a Muslim woman who was told she could not wear a headscarf when she applied to do a six-week work traineeship at a Belgian company.

Citing a neutrality rule, the firm said that it does not allow any head covering on its premises, be it cap, beanie or scarf. After hearing the matter, a Belgian court sought advice from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

The Luxembourg-based CJEU said that the ban is okay as long as there is no direct discrimination.

"The internal rule of an undertaking prohibiting the visible wearing of religious, philosophical or spiritual signs does not constitute direct discrimination if it is applied to all workers in a general and undifferentiated way," Reuters quoted judges.

Last year, the CJEU had said that European companies were allowed to prohibit headscarves in order to project an image of neutrality.

Home to Europe's largest Muslim minority, France prohibited the wearing of headscarfs in state schools in 2004.

IN TALKS WITH ERDOGAN, PUTIN PROPOSES BUILDING ‘GAS HUB’

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday told his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Moscow would consider developing a “gas hub” in Turkey, with Russia’s supplies to Europe disrupted by Ukraine-related sanctions and leaks at key pipelines.

“Turkey has turned out to be the most reliable route for deliveries today, even to Europe. We could consider the possibility of creating a gas hub in Turkey for supplies to other countries,” the Russian leader told Mr. Erdogan at a face-to-face meeting in the capital of Kazakhstan.

Mr. Erdogan has aimed to retain open dialogue with Russia and Western countries since the start of Russia’s invasion, despite an array of differences including conflicts in Syria and elsewhere.

“It would be a platform, not only for deliveries, but also for determining [gas] prices,” Mr. Putin said at the meeting with Erdogan, adding that: “Today these prices are exorbitant and we could normally regulate this without any political overtones”.

Gas prices have rocketed since the beginning of Russia’s war and Europe has struggled to find alternative energy supplies after Russia strangled deliveries.

After talks, Erdogan defended Turkey’s ties with Russia. “While Turkey and Russia’s steps will disturb certain circles, they will make less developed countries happy,” he said, referring to a deal he helped broker paving the way for Ukrainian grain deliveries across the Black Sea.

RUSSIA THREATENS TO QUIT GRAIN EXPORT DEAL

Moscow has submitted concerns to the UN about an agreement on Black Sea grain exports, and is prepared to reject renewing the deal next month unless its demands are addressed, Russia’s Geneva UN ambassador said on Thursday. UN officials are due in Moscow on Sunday to discuss the renewal of the agreement. Asked if Russia might withhold support for the deal’s renewal, Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s ambassador said: “There is a possibility... We are not against deliveries of grains but this deal should be equal, it should be fair and fairly implemented by all sides”.

‘GOALS IN UKRAINE CAN BE ACHIEVED VIA TALKS’

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying on Thursday that the goals of Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine were unchanged, but that they could be achieved through negotiations. The comments to the Russian daily Izvestia were the latest in a series of statements this week stressing Moscow’s openness to talks — a change of tone that follows a run of humiliating defeats for Russian forces as the war nears its ninth month. “We have repeatedly reiterated that we remain open to negotiations to achieve our objectives,” Peskov told the paper.

IRAN PRESIDENT ACCUSES U.S. OF ‘DESTABLISATION’ AMID PROTESTS

Iran’s President on Thursday accused the U.S. of conducting a “failed policy of destabilisation” targeting his nation, as Iranian protesters continued to call for the downfall of its rulers despite a violent and wide-ranging crackdown.

President Ebrahim Raisi has repeatedly dismissed the unrest sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman in policy custody as a purported Western plot. His latest remarks came after protests erupted in cities across Iran on Wednesday. “The Iranian nation has invalidated the American military option and, as they themselves have admitted, brought the policy of sanctions and maximum pressure a humiliating failure,” Mr. Raisi said on Thursday to a conference in Astana, Kazakhstan.

“Now, following America’s failure in militarisation and sanctions, Washington and its allies have resorted to the failed policy of destabilisation.”

ELON’S MUSK TO FUND TWITTER DEAL

Elon Musk now has his own musk: the Tesla founder said he has launched a new fragrance called “Burnt Hair’ and sold $1 million worth of the perfume in days. “Please buy my perfume, so I can buy Twitter,” he wrote on the platform on Wednesday. Musk is expected to complete a $44-billion takeover of Twitter by the end of the month. If he fails to do so, atrial for a breach-of-contract suit in the on-again-off-again deal will take place in November. Musk said on Wednesday night he had already sold 20,000bottles of the scent. “With a name like mine, getting into the fragrance business was inevitable — why did I even fight it for so long!?” he joked. His Twitter bio now describes him as a “Perfume Salesman”. An ad for the perfume shows a ruby red bottle with the name engraved on the front in script. The tagline reads, “The Essence of Repugnant Desire. ” Each bottle retails for $100.

‘KAMIKAZE’ DRONE USE BY RUSSIA RAISES CONCERNS

The Kyiv region of Ukraine was hit by an airstrike early on Thursday that is believed to have been delivered by so-called kamikaze drones, a regional official said, adding to concerns about Russia’s increasing use of the selfdestructing weapons. There were no injuries, according to the region’s governor, Oleksiy Kuleba, but the use of such weapons has left many people on the edge. Kuleba said on the Telegram app that three “kamikaze,” or self-destructing, drones had been used in the attack.

Russia has been deploying dozens of Iranian-made drones as part of a scaled-up offensive on civilian and infrastructure targets far from the front lines. Ukraine’s military saidthis week that its air defences were managing to shoot down asignificant number, but not all, of the drones. Britain’s defense ministry saidthe drones were not fulfilling Russia’s aims, because they are “slow” and “easy to target”. But they are causing destruction.

‘IRAN DRONE SALE FLOUTS UNSC RESOLUTION’

France’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that any sale of Iranian drones to Russia would be a violation of the UNSC resolution that endorsed the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers. It said it was coordinating with its EU partners on how to respond.

REPORT: BOMB THREAT AT NORWAY GAS PLANT

A bomb threat against a natural gas processing facility in central Norway forced the site’s evacuation and briefly halted operations, police said, adding later that the threat wasn’tcredible. The incident came amid heighten security on key energy, internet and power infrastructures following last month’s underwater explosions that ruptured two natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea that were built to deliver Russian gas to Germany. The blasts and ruptures happened in international waters off Baltic coastline of both Sweden and Denmark but within countries’ exclusive economic zone.

LEBANON FAILS TO ELECT PRESIDENT

Lebanon’s Parliament on Thursday failed for a second time to elect a successor to President Michel Aoun, with some lawmakers boycotting the vote meaning the quorum was not reached. Only 71 out of 128 lawmakers attended Thursday’s session. Parliament speaker Nabih Berri called for another vote on October 20.