A Lithuanian citizen born in 1984 was detained in Vilnius for setting fire to the door of the Ministry of Defense building. The fire was extinguished within an hour, writes Delfi. LRT, citing the fire service, clarifies that a man set fire to the doors of an unused entrance from the courtyard. The arsonist was discovered by CCTV cameras installed near the building.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced the cancellation of his visit to the BRICS summit. Associated Press reports . The reason for the cancellation, he said, was an “accident” as a result of which he injured his head in the occipital area. The president's office did not disclose details of the injury, but said that doctors advised the Brazilian president not to go on long trips. Lula da Silva will take part in BRICS via video link.

Pro-Iranian Internet resources and social media accounts have released top-secret American intelligence data on Israel's preparations for an attack on Iran, Axios reports, noting that the information leak may be an attempt to undermine the IDF operation, the purpose of which is to avenge the massive Iranian missile attack on October 1.

Rosfinmonitoring added 26-year-old Alexander Matkheev to the list of terrorists and extremists with a diagnosis of mild mental retardation. This was reported by the publication “People of Baikal”. In April, Matkheev from the village of Osa, Ust-Orda Buryat District, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was found guilty of planning to join the “Freedom of Russia” legion and disseminating information about it on VKontakte.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, during the first telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, expressed gratitude to Moscow for its willingness to supply gas to his country in the upcoming winter season. The politician spoke about this in his video message published on his Instagram page.

Igor Pushkarev, who headed the capital of Primorye from 2008 to 2017, signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense and will go to war with Ukraine, a source close to the ex-mayor told the Kommersant newspaper and was confirmed by lawyer Ruslan Omelchenko. In April 2019, Pushkarev was sentenced to 15 years on corruption charges.

On October 20, presidential elections and a constitutional referendum on European integration are being held in Moldova. It is expected that the main struggle will unfold between the current head of state, representative of pro-European forces, Maia Sandu, and socialist Alexandru Stoianoglo, who enjoys the support of the pro-Russian Party of Socialists (PSRM). For both events to be considered valid, the turnout for each of them must exceed 33.3%. Polling stations will close at 21:00.

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported on the destruction of 110 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles by air defense means on the night of October 20. The attack was repelled in seven Russian regions. According to the military department, 43 UAVs were shot down over the Kursk region, 27 over Lipetsk, and 18 over Oryol. In the Nizhny Novgorod region, air defense systems shot down 8 drones, in Belgorod - 7, in Bryansk - 6. Another drone was destroyed over the Moscow region.

CORRUPTION Prosecutors' Business Bank: Tracking the offshore money laundering scheme of Zheleznyak and Leontiev Andrey Zayakin 20 October 2024 As discussions about the misappropriation of funds from Probusinessbank resurface, The Insider offers an analysis of the key events, drawing on numerous previously unpublished interviews with Zheleznyak and Leontiev conducted by the author four years ago.

As discussions about the misappropriation of funds from Probusinessbank resurface, The Insider offers an analysis of the key events, drawing on numerous previously unpublished interviews with Zheleznyak and Leontiev conducted by the author four years ago.

A resident of the Moscow region village of Zaprudnya, Taldom urban district, killed his neighbor in response to a remark about loud music. This was reported by Moskovsky Komsomolets. A 51-year-old resident of the village of Zaprudnya, who was listening to music loudly, was reprimanded by his 42-year-old neighbor. After this, an argument ensued between the men, and they went out into the street to sort things out. As a result, the 51-year-old man stabbed his neighbor in the thigh.

The IDF press service reported an air force strike on the command center of Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters in Beirut on the morning of October 20. An underground weapons workshop also came under attack. According to the IDF, three Hezbollah militants were killed. Among them is the senior commander of the southern front of the Shiite group Abass Salama. According to the Israeli military, he led the fighting in the Bint Jubail area and was responsible for multiple attacks on Israel.

An opposition march “Georgia chooses the European Union” took place in Georgia. According to Paper Kartuli, “thousands of people” gathered at Freedom Square in Tbilisi. The march participants came out with flags of Georgia, the European Union, Ukraine, as well as opposition parties and associations. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who is actively opposing the adoption of repressive laws that would distance Georgia from joining the European Union, was also seen among the protesters.

In the village of Rassvet, Rostov Region, participants in the war in Ukraine, at a meeting with children from the Rainbow kindergarten, presented them with a model of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, destroyed by Russian troops. Information about this was discovered by Astra in a kindergarten group on VKontakte. It is reported that ten children were accepted into the ranks of the Youth Army.

Corruption Andrey Zazakin 20 October 2024 In connection with the new wave of discussion of the history of the Probusinessbank funds, The Insider publishes its analysis of key episodes of what happened, built on numerous, previously not published interviews with Zheleznyak and Leontyev, which the author of this text spent 4 years ago.