Russia is holding its first parliamentary election since the war in Ukraine began, with 10 parties competing. Some view the vote as a sham, while others see it as a chance to strengthen nationalism; President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party is expected to retain its majority in the Duma.

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Russia has opened its first parliamentary election since invading Ukraine, with no antiwar party allowed on the ballot. As voting began, Ukraine launched a large drone barrage against Moscow and other Russian regions, while Russia said most of the incoming drones were destroyed.

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Russia is holding its first parliamentary elections since the Ukraine war. With only parties loyal to Vladimir Putin allowed to run, the vote is being portrayed as nothing more than a veneer of democracy.

Russiaparliamentary electionsVladimir Putin

Russians began three days of voting on Friday in the country’s first wartime parliamentary election. With virtually no opposition, the contest is almost certain to reinforce the Kremlin’s political dominance.

Russiaparliamentary electionKremlin

The Kremlin warns that a sweeping US bill imposing additional sanctions on Russia could hinder efforts to settle the Ukraine issue. As Russian parliamentary voting begins, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres backs possible trilateral talks during the 2026 UN General Assembly high-level week, while the EU proposes Ukraine for a planned European Security Council.

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Russian Central Election Commission Deputy Chairman Nikolay Bulayev said Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, along with the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, are now fully integrated into Russia’s election system. He said elections are being held under extremely challenging conditions, with measures taken to help residents and others exercise their right to vote.

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Italy’s defence minister on Friday urged a stronger naval presence in the Red Sea to safeguard merchant shipping, as concerns grow that the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital waterway, is threatened by the widening Middle East conflict.

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French President Emmanuel Macron says Russia’s hybrid threat against Europe and France has intensified. He has ordered a plan to protect critical infrastructure and defence-industry sites, warning that recent attacks targeting France will not go unanswered.

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Macron has ordered the development of a plan to protect France’s critical infrastructure against what he calls “Russian hybrid attacks.”

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A bell rang on Friday at the square of the 9.18 Historical Museum in Shenyang to mark the 95th anniversary of the September 18 Incident, which marked the beginning of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

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Northeast China commemorated the 95th anniversary of the September 18 Incident with sirens, bell tolls and a moment of silence. A ceremony was held at Shenyang’s 9.18 Historical Museum, which also received newspapers and periodicals from 1931 to 1945. Japanese scholars and peace activists held a Tokyo symposium urging reflection on wartime responsibility and the accurate preservation of history.

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An 8,000-metric-ton shipment of imported thermal coal reached Guigang, Guangxi, through the Pinglu Canal on Thursday, formally opening a new river-sea transport channel for power generation. The route from Qinzhou Port bypasses the Pearl River Delta and shortens the journey by 280 kilometers, improving supply-chain resilience and vessel turnover.

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The Pinglu Canal began operations on Wednesday, with Nanning Customs supervising 1,679.8 metric tons of import and export cargo on its first day. Customs prepared clearance plans and declaration guidance for key companies while supporting trials of rail-sea-water multimodal transport through the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

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Officials said a suicide attacker drove a car packed with explosives into a police facility in northwest Pakistan on Friday, while officers and their families were praying at a mosque inside. At least 16 people were killed and 57 wounded.

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A powerful blast struck a mosque near a building housing police offices in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 15 people and injuring 56, according to police and rescue officials.

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Several people have reportedly been killed in an explosion at a mosque near a police complex in northwest Pakistan. Authorities say a vehicle packed with explosives rammed the complex gate and detonated, followed by gunfire and a second suicide blast.

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A bombing at a police compound in Pakistan killed 16 people and wounded more than 50, according to the headline.

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The lone holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy’s triple-murder trial told NewsNation that, despite intense backlash over his decision, he had no doubts the Massachusetts mother knew what she was doing when she killed her three children.

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Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party won a sweeping victory in Saxony-Anhalt last week and could soon take power. It wants to pursue measures including a deportation task force and revised history lessons in schools, echoing some policies enacted by U.S. President Donald Trump.

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Explosive excerpts from Earl Spencer’s forthcoming memoir depict then-Prince Charles as cold-hearted behind the scenes on the day Princess Diana died. Spencer writes that Charles sounded “giddily elated, like a lottery winner.” Buckingham Palace has issued a rare, strongly worded denial.

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