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🇮🇷 Hormuz negotiations postponed — oil prices rise again The meeting planned for today between Iran and the Arab Gulf states in Oman was postponed literally on the eve of the meeting. Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi explained the decision by citing the need to reach a regional consensus; the Iranian side said that some countries in the region had requested the postponement. No new date has been set so far. The discussions were supposed to cover far more than the cessation of attacks on ships. Iran and Oman had prepared a draft for a new shipping regime through the Strait of Hormuz, including changes to shipping routes and a greater role for Tehran in regulating passage. The postponement of the meeting, together with the continuing attacks on ships and the shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline, has already hit the market: oil prices rose by more than 3%. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 Pressure on Merz is mounting — only 14% consider him a suitable chancellor Extremely unpleasant figures have come in for Friedrich Merz: According to a recent INSA poll, 78% of respondents no longer consider him a suitable federal chancellor. Only 14% responded positively. At the same time, the AfD is at 29% in one of the current polls, while the CDU/CSU remains at 20%. The problem for Merz is no longer limited to poll numbers. Following the CDU’s heavy defeat in the election in Saxony-Anhalt, criticism of the chancellor has already intensified within his own party, and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the election will not take place until September 20, the CDU is polling at around 7% ahead of the election. Against this backdrop, the party leadership is increasingly forced to publicly defend the chancellor and his course. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇷🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦 Moscow does not rule out Russia—US—Ukraine negotiations The Kremlin confirmed that Moscow does not rule out resuming the trilateral Russia—US—Ukraine negotiating format. Dmitry Peskov stressed, however, that discussing a specific location and a specific date for a meeting would still be premature at this point. Later, presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov clarified that the possibility of resuming contacts with Kyiv, including specifically in a trilateral format, had been discussed by Putin with the American negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Moscow and Washington had also agreed to continue contacts at the presidential level, as well as work through the American mediators. These are not new negotiations yet, but the format itself is once again on the working agenda of Moscow and Washington. After months of talks through mediators, the sides are at least discussing the possibility of bringing Russia, the US and Ukraine back to the table. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The latest Yemen war developments: the Houthis capture Mount Kahbub, rival forces move along the coast, fighting continues in Marib, and government forces attack east of Al Bayda. The Houthis also claim strikes toward locations in Saudi Arabia. video link: https://youtu.be/WiizLsC3W_0?si=VsnE_hba2K9Xi37z

🇩🇪 Germany’s tax authorities have reached the crematoriums The Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) has ruled that money from the sale of metals remaining after a cremation constitutes income for the crematorium and is subject to taxation. These include, among other things, dental gold, jewelry, and metallic components of medical prostheses. A municipal crematorium handed them over to a recycling company and directed the proceeds to charitable causes — in particular, to support hospices and pay for the burials of people with low incomes. The tax authorities were not convinced. The BFH ruled that the metals were directly connected to the crematorium’s commercial activity, meaning that the proceeds from their sale constituted business income. The fact that the money was subsequently passed on in full to charitable causes does not change this. The result is an almost perfect tax story: A person has already died, been cremated, and the gold from the ashes has been donated to charitable causes — yet the tax office still found where it could collect taxes. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇬🇷🇺🇦 Greece offered Ukraine Patriot missiles — but under one condition According to Verkhovna Rada deputy Ruslan Horbenko, Athens offered Kyiv missiles for Patriot systems whose service life is nearing its end. In return, however, Greece demanded that no tankers belonging to Greek shipping companies be attacked in Russian ports. Horbenko claims that negotiations have been under way for about six months, but Kyiv refused to accept such a condition. The Ukrainian side’s response was extremely diplomatic: The missiles could either be handed over to Ukraine without additional conditions or be scrapped, dismantled for spare parts, or “turned into trailers and worn around one’s neck.” There has so far been no official confirmation of such a deal from Athens — the story is known only from the words of the Ukrainian lawmaker. Yet the very question is remarkable. When one receives weapons, money, and equipment in huge packages from allies over several years, one apparently quickly gets out of the habit of saying “please.” 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇪🇺 The debt of the eurozone’s largest economies continues to rise According to official Eurostat data, government debt at the end of the first quarter of 2026 amounted to 138.9% of GDP in Italy, 117.6% in France, 109.1% in Belgium and 101.6% in Spain. Over the course of a year, the figure rose by 4 percentage points in France, 3.1 in Belgium and 1.7 in Italy. Overall, eurozone debt increased from 87.2% to 88.9% of GDP. The higher the debt, the more clearly the cost of servicing it becomes apparent: Italy’s interest payments, for example, already amount to around 3.9% of GDP. All this is happening against the backdrop of an economy that has almost ground to a halt: In the first quarter, eurozone GDP grew ⁠by just 0.1%. Old, low-interest loans must gradually be replaced with new ones at higher interest rates, while Europe is simultaneously planning a significant increase in defense spending. Debt is growing much more reliably than the economy that has to bear its costs. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇷🇺 Russia is converting the “Geran” drones to jet propulsion Russia has begun using the new jet-powered “Geran-4” and “Geran-5” much more extensively. As the Financial Times writes, the new devices are considerably faster than the earlier propeller-driven “Gerans,” more resistant to electronic warfare, and increasingly resemble cheap cruise missiles in their capabilities. According to Ukrainian assessments cited by the newspaper, it is currently possible to intercept around 60% of the jet-powered drones — significantly fewer than the older models. At the same time, the nature of the attacks is also changing. More and more attacks are targeting energy supplies, transport, industry, ports, and logistics — that is, facilities on which the ability of the Ukrainian economy and military to continue the war depends. Large combined attacks make it possible to overload air defenses simultaneously with cheap devices and use more expensive missiles against selected targets. It seems as though the focus is gradually shifting from simply mass-produced cheap drones to mass-produced cheap high-speed strike weapons. For air defense, the difference is fundamental: significantly less time remains for detection and interception. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

What lies behind U.S. tech giants’ calls to slow down AI Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei called for slowing the development of the most powerful AI models. The idea was supported by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Google DeepMind head Demis Hassabis. ⚪️Industry leaders sense that public distrust of corporate “self-regulation” is growing, and are therefore acting preemptively, notes Anna Sytnik, CEO of the ANO Colabоратория. This will allow them to become not objects of regulation, but its co-authors.

⚪️The initiative has not only political but also economic overtones, believes Alexander Kugaevskikh, associate professor at ITMO University’s Faculty of Software Engineering and Computer Engineering. The slowdown in AI development by U.S. companies indicates that the market is expecting the “AI bubble” to burst. But investors are being presented with this as a security threat.

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“Convicted criminals remain free because there are no envelopes in Berlin” The absurd reality of the German capital, comrades. For several weeks, the Berlin public prosecutor’s office was unable to send the criminals to prison. Why? In Germany, orders to begin serving a prison sentence are sent in special yellow envelopes. And there was … a shortage of them. How could it have come to this in the first place? In March last year, the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany approved a new format for the form on the envelopes—they added a new checkbox to it. And apparently, the public prosecutor’s office had stocked up on new envelopes in time … but they were “completely used up after just two weeks.” And there has still been no new delivery—“because of the high demand from other authorities.” Reliable German democracy—it even protects you from prison. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Latest developments in the war between #Russia and #Ukraine as of the morning of September 14 - Subtitled The Russian army is advancing in the vicinity of #Novogrigorievka in #Druzhkovka. The Russian army is advancing in the vicinity of #Zemlyanki in #Kharkov. The Ukrainian army is advancing in #Dubrava in #Liman. The Ukrainian army is advancing in the vicinity of #Novopavlovka in #Dnepropetrovsk. video link: https://youtu.be/pfyuGrbDxXM?si=Gvt7W13QFIAgFjkJ

🇨🇳 China Takes Its Anti-Corruption Campaign Beyond Its Borders Beijing is preparing a new law to combat cross-border corruption that would effectively extend China’s anti-corruption jurisdiction to foreign assets, business transactions, and companies. The draft Anti-Cross-Border Corruption Law has already passed its first reading, and the public consultation will continue until September 26. The law is intended to bring the investigation of foreign corruption schemes, the repatriation of assets, the pursuit of fugitive suspects, and international cooperation together within a single system. The document works in both directions. China not only wants to investigate corruption cases abroad, but also to acquire legal instruments to block foreign investigations and take countermeasures against foreign anti-corruption authorities. For international companies, this means a new level of risk: firms operating simultaneously in China, the EU, the United States, or Singapore could face conflicting requirements regarding data transfers, internal investigations, and cooperation with authorities in different countries. China is gradually building its own version of extraterritorial law. Such instruments were previously associated primarily with the United States — now Beijing clearly wants to have access to the same legal levers beyond its borders. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds reached its highest level since 2023—4.9% per annum. The indicator is approaching its highest level since the period preceding the 2008 global financial crisis. ⚪️The main reason for the rise in yields is expectations that high inflation and higher interest rates will persist in the United States, said Olga Belenkaya, head of macroeconomic analysis at Finam. ⚪️Yields are also being affected by rising oil prices as a result of the protracted conflict in the Middle East and the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Experts believe that the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds will remain high through the end of the year. Our channel: Node of Time EN

A NATO officer was dismissed from service over an affair with a woman who was born in the USSR. The NATO commander allowed his lover onto naval bases. According to The Telegraph, citing court documents, the Spanish officer met Yanina White on a dating app. The officer served at the English naval base "Northwood." His task was to track the movements of Russian submarines and ships. According to the court documents, White met the Spanish officer at the "Northwood" base. In addition, the commander invited White to another restricted facility—the naval base in Portugal. After that, "security problems" allegedly began at the base. According to Yanina White, she did not have access to classified data or facilities at the base in Portugal and simply relaxed by the pool. The woman also said that she had become a victim of discrimination because she was born in the Soviet Union. 📸 Pictured: Yanina White Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇮🇱🇱🇧 Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon were supposed to continue in Rome — but have already been postponed until October The next round of direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, mediated by the United States, was originally scheduled to take place in Rome as early as next week. However, a spokesperson for the US State Department said that the formal round had been postponed until October. The Israeli side cited scheduling problems as the reason, although the postponement comes at the same time as the Israeli elections and Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm. The actual negotiation mechanism has therefore not been halted: The ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon to the United States are expected to meet in Washington and continue discussions on implementing the framework agreement — Hezbollah’s disarmament and the IDF’s gradual withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Earlier, dividing the further process had been discussed: the political track in Rome, and the military issues in the United States. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇱🇹 NATO scrambled fighter jets against a flock of birds Another “air threat” was detected in Lithuania yesterday: unidentified objects appeared on radar screens in the Vilnius area. An alarm was raised in the country, ⁠the airport was temporarily closed, and NATO scrambled a fighter jet. After verification, it turned out that although the Russian threat had wings this time, it had neither engines nor a warhead. It was a flock of birds. The airport was reopened after 38 minutes. The European early-warning system for detecting threats is gradually reaching a new level. The Swedes have already tried to search for Russian submarines where the source of suspicious noises turned out to be herring. Now Lithuania, with NATO’s support, has mastered intercepting migratory birds. If the pace of escalation remains unchanged, snow could quite officially be declared a Russian threat by winter. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇵🇱 Sikorski proposed “aggressive” exercises near Kaliningrad to NATO Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski ⁠proposed that NATO increase military activity around Kaliningrad Oblast in order to force Russia to redeploy some of its forces from the Ukrainian front there. Speaking at the YES Conference in Kyiv, he said that there were currently “practically no troops” in the Russian exclave and proposed conducting such “aggressive exercises” that Moscow could not be sure of the alliance’s intentions. When directly asked whether he was proposing the capture of Kaliningrad Oblast, Sikorski answered no. The statement was noted in Moscow. Dmitry Peskov ⁠said that Russia was taking the necessary measures to ensure the security of Kaliningrad Oblast against the backdrop of calls to intensify NATO exercises near the region. This produces a rather peculiar logic of de-escalation: conducting enough “aggressive” military exercises along Russia’s borders to make Russia fear a possible attack and begin redeploying troops. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Good morning, dear friends! ☕️🙂 🔥 Kasli: How Cast Iron Could Look Finer Than Porcelain Friends, Monday is a good day for new discoveries. Today we are travelling to the Southern Urals, to a small town where, for almost three centuries, heavy cast iron has been used to create objects that look more like delicate jewellery. Welcome to Kasli and its famous artistic castings. 🏭 From Cannonballs to Delicate Art The story began in 1747, when the Tula merchant Yakov Korobkov founded an ironworks in the Southern Urals. For a long time, the plant mainly produced iron goods, as well as cannonballs and shells before the War of 1812. However, the local cast iron proved to be particularly well suited to fine moulds. Combined with suitable moulding sands, this enabled the plant to begin producing artistic castings in 1843. Thus, the heavy material began to be transformed into openwork plates, chandeliers, caskets and sculptures. ⚙️ How “Lace Made of Cast Iron” Is Created The process was time-consuming and required the highest precision. First, a sculptor created the model. The moulder then made the mould, into which molten cast iron was subsequently poured. However, the actual fine work only began after the casting had cooled. Each piece was finished, smoothed and refined by hand. That is why even two castings made from the same model could differ slightly from one another – each piece bore the signature of its master. 🏆 Triumph in Paris Kasli’s great moment came in 1900 at the World’s Fair in Paris. For the exhibition, the masters created an entire cast-iron pavilion – a multi-storey structure based on a design by the architect Evgeny Baumgarten. The pavilion looks like carved lace made of metal: openwork walls, arches and countless finely crafted details. The work was honoured with a high award at the Paris World’s Fair and made Kasli artistic casting known internationally. 🗡️ “Russia Is Not for Sale!” At the entrance to the pavilion stood Nikolai Laverezki’s sculpture “Russia” – a female figure with a sword, symbolising the country. A famous story is associated with the Paris exhibition: the pavilion was to be sold together with its fittings, but they did not want to give up the sculpture “Russia”. According to tradition, the following words were even uttered: “Russia is not for sale!” Whether these words were actually spoken exactly this way can hardly be established with certainty today. The story itself, however, became a firm part of the legend surrounding the Kasli pavilion. 🔥 The Pavilion’s Second Life After the Revolution, the pavilion was dismantled. Some of its elements were lost, while others survived. In the 1950s, its extensive restoration began. Art historians and Kasli masters searched for original parts and reconstructed missing fragments using old photographs and historical models. In 1958, the pavilion was fully reassembled. Today, it is one of the best-known exhibits at the Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts and is regarded as one of the most impressive examples of Kasli artistic casting. Give a ❤️ if you liked it! 📍 Coordinates of the location (map point) available here 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

After copper prices hit record highs on Western commodity exchanges, the metal began to lose value: the decline was triggered by reports that the United States might pause the introduction of new import tariffs on the metal. Expectations of new tariffs supported the premium of copper prices on the U.S. COMEX exchange over LME prices, which reached $400–600 per tonne in the summer, and encouraged shipments of the metal to the United States. Experts believe that even without new tariffs, fundamental factors—rising demand for the metal, a supply deficit, and problems with launching new mines—will continue to support prices. At the same time, analysts allow for a correction if demand from the technology sector changes or China’s economy slows. What price level for the metal could prove sustainable, and is there a copper bubble in the market—RBC investigated. Our channel: Node of Time EN

The U.S. National Security Agency is embarking on a major reorganization, The Washington Post reports, citing current and former officials. The initiative calls for the creation of five new directorates within the agency, which will focus on artificial intelligence, China, cybersecurity, support for combat operations, and global intelligence, the newspaper’s sources said. In their view, the new organizational structure will better reflect the NSA’s current and future priorities. The initiative is expected to be implemented starting in mid-October, with "full operational capability" to be reached by mid-January 2027. Our channel: Node of Time EN