Vladimir Putin has said Russia will use all weapons at his disposal if it considers it has come under direct attack in its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad. Addressing the Valdai foreign policy forum, Putin insisted Russia was not threatening anyone and merely responding to statements by Western leaders that Moscow was preparing for war in 2029 or 2030. Throughout this week, Russia has accused Nato of preparing to blockade its territory, which borders Lithuania and Poland, warning that it would even be prepared to use nuclear weapons if the West tried to cut off Kaliningrad from the rest of Russia. Nato has sought to calm the situation, stressing it is a defensive alliance and urging Moscow to stop its nuclear threats. Western allies have faced a surge in so-called hybrid warfare incidents blamed on Russia, particularly in Poland and the Baltics in recent months.

Britain is in talks with EU partners to release additional strategic fuel reserves, including diesel, if needed, the BBC understands. The talks come after President Donald Trump threatened to ban diesel exports from the US in a bid to reduce record prices at the pumps for Americans. Diesel prices in the UK also hit record highs this week and are hovering just under 200p per litre, according to motoring organisation the RAC. The US is a vital supplier of diesel to the world, exporting between 1.2 and 1.5 million barrels per day, with experts warning a ban on shipments abroad could put further pressure on prices in other countries. We're thinking about it very seriously, Trump said of an export ban at the weekend.

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Western militaries are undermining Ukraine's defence, experts say Share Western militaries are undermining Ukraine's defence, experts say on social media Mundane regulatory problems in Kyiv and unimaginative institutional thinking in Europe's militaries are holding up joint weapons production. And that is undermining Ukraine's battlefield performance and leaving Europe's armed forces unprepared for modern warfare. Those are the conclusions of a new report from the Centre for Statecraft and National Security (CSNS) at King's College London, and experts who spoke to Al Jazeera. Kyiv receives weapons, Western partners receive know-how. That formula has led to at least 180 business-to-business partnerships between Ukrainian and foreign partners, but 22 percent of them are stalled, according to the report, Beyond Aid: Making Ukraine Defence Cooperation Work.

Two Russian drones have hit one of Kyiv's main bridges, bringing public transport in the Ukrainian capital to a halt and signalling a new stage in Moscow's attacks. The Pivdennyi or Southern bridge came under fire as a metro train was travelling across. Passengers described how dust from a blast wave entered their carriage through the ventilation system. The Pivdennyi bridge is one of the main arteries across the Dnipro river dividing western and eastern Kyiv. Kyiv's bridges had not been hit before Thursday's strikes - and despite a dramatic explosion close to a main support section, city authorities said preliminary checks did not find any critical damage to the structure.

Is the war entering a new phase? Russian drone hits school in Ukraine's Kyiv as Moscow presses air assault Share Russian drone hits school in Ukraine's Kyiv as Moscow presses air assault on social media A Russian drone has struck a school in Kyiv, officials said, as the Ukrainian capital endured another day of bombardment. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said children and staff were hiding in shelters when the drone hit and there were no immediate reports of casualties during the attack on Thursday. In a statement on Thursday, Ukraine's nuclear safety watchdog said a Russian drone hit the grounds of a nuclear research facility in Kyiv on Wednesday, causing a fire but leaving the facility's test reactor undamaged. "The fire that resulted from the attack was quickly extinguished. There were no injuries," the regulator said in a statement, adding that the reactor was not damaged and had been shut down since 2022.

Amazon Alexa Devices Are Already on Sale, but the Deals Aren't All as Good as They Look Amazon raised prices across its devices in August. Here are the early device deals ahead of Prime Day that are still worth it--and which aren't. Amazon's Prime Day has returned for its fall edition, and the Amazon Alexa-powered devices are already on sale. But are the sales actually any good? There's already the question of whether you want Alexa in your house, and now it's a question of whether the sales are more of a mind game than a real discount.

Only two of five vehicles finished the race around a notoriously difficult Formula 1 track, exposing what happens when autonomous systems meet blind corners, sensor failures, and physics. The grandstands erupted with shock as engineers clutched their heads in the paddock. One driverless race car, produced by the company PoliMove, slammed into Unimore's slowing vehicle in an event held by the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL). At the famous racing track in Imola, Italy, Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, both cars crashed in an area called Rivazza. This is the circuit's final sequence, made up of corners that are notoriously difficult to navigate.

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