Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov announced that an agreement had been reached with the Central Bank on the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign trade. He stated this following the results of the strategic session “Increasing the efficiency of the economy and ensuring equal conditions for doing business,” RIA Novosti reports .

In the first half of 2025, Russian courts suspended over 25 thousand criminal cases for reasons not related to the search or illness of the accused. This was reported by the analytical publication “To Be Precise” with reference to statistics from the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court. For comparison: in 2019 there were only 648 such cases. The increase is explained by amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, which allow cases to be suspended if the defendant goes to the front.

Three blood-sucking mosquitoes were found in Kjos, Iceland in early October, the first time the insects have been found in the country. The discovery was reported by entomologist of the Icelandic Institute of Natural History Mattias Alvredsson, RÚV TV channel reports . Before this, Björn Hjaltason spoke about the discovered mosquitoes in the Facebook group “Insects of Iceland”. On the evening of October 16, he noticed an unusual “fly” on the bait that he uses to attract insects.

The court fined Krasnodar lawyer and blogger Evgenia Tutushkina 30 thousand rubles for publishing a video on Instagram that the authorities considered advertising. RBC reported this, noting that this is the first known case of application of the law banning advertising on the websites of “undesirable” and “extremist” organizations. The owner of Instagram, Meta Corporation, is recognized as extremist in Russia and is banned.

Russian tax authorities have launched large-scale audits of citizens with financial assets in the United Arab Emirates. Lawyers familiar with the situation told RBC about this. The Federal Tax Service checks owners of bank and brokerage accounts, as well as companies. More than a hundred similar cases are known that affected both tax residents of the Russian Federation and non-residents.

Hamas has always maintained that it does not intend to disarm completely, but has now become more fragmented, which increases the risk of possible provocations. Against this background, the American side’s fears that hostilities in Israel could resume seem entirely justified. The New York Times wrote about this the day before, and on Tuesday, October 21, US Vice President J.D. Vance is scheduled to arrive in Israel.

The Council of the European Union has “agreed on its negotiating position on the draft regulation to phase out imports of Russian natural gas.” According to the resulting press release , the governing body foresees a legally binding, gradual ban on supplies of both pipeline and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia, with a complete prohibition starting Jan. 1, 2028. According to the draft, Russian gas supplies delivered under new contracts must be banned starting Jan.

State Duma deputies on Tuesday, October 21, in the second reading adopted a bill that provides for the conscription of citizens for military service throughout the entire calendar year. Several amendments were added to it for the second reading, one of which obliges conscripts to appear on an electronic summons no later than 30 days after it appears in the relevant register. Information about this appeared in the document database of the lower house of parliament.

Доступно на русском Very long-lasting sanctions The U.S. imposed its first sanctions on Iran shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, in response to the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the prolonged hostage-taking of its staff. Other Western countries, however, were slow to join the effort. It was only in the 2000s, when Iran was suspected of developing nuclear weapons, that Europe decided to take part in the pressure campaign.

The Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) said AI chatbots are "unreliable and clearly biased" when providing voting advice, warning of such a threat to democracy eight days before national elections, The Guardian reports . The four chatbots the agency tested "often suggest the same two parties, regardless of the user's question or request," according to the report, released ahead of the Oct. 29 election.

The U.S. imposed its first sanctions on Iran shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, in response to the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the prolonged hostage-taking of its staff. Other Western countries, however, were slow to join the effort. It was only in the 2000s, when Iran was suspected of developing nuclear weapons, that Europe decided to take part in the pressure campaign. In turn, the Iranian regime openly asserted its right to enrich uranium.

Russian police have begun using the Moscow metro’s facial recognition technology to catch draft evaders, the civic group Grazhdansky Alyans Rossii (“GAR”; lit. “Civil Alliance of Russia”) reports . The organization said a 19-year-old man who had previously sought its legal assistance was detained after being recognized by the city’s “smart cameras.” “We had appealed his spring draft order out of court.

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, accused Israel of violating the truce, speaking at the opening session of the Shura Council, the country's legislative body, Al Jazeera reports . He noted that the Gaza Strip is turning into an uninhabitable zone. According to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health, at least 80 people have been killed and 303 wounded by the Israeli military since the ceasefire came into force on October 10.

The leader of the Japanese ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Sanae Takaichi, was elected prime minister of the country in a vote in parliament on Tuesday, October 21. She will be the first woman to hold this position. The Japan Times newspaper writes about this. Takaichi received 237 votes (out of 465), beating her rival, the leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Yoshihiko Noda. 149 votes were cast for the latter.

Ownerless residential buildings, apartments and rooms in the “LDPR”, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, occupied by Russia, can be transferred to the ownership of the regions. The corresponding initiative was approved by the government commission on legislative activities. The Vedomosti newspaper writes about this with reference to sources. According to the draft initiative, housing for which there are no valid title documents or the owner cannot be identified can be recognized as ownerless.