A series of Soviet-style propaganda posters has appeared on the popular Russian social platform Pikabu following President Donald Trump’s grand announcement of a diesel deal with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

Pikabu is a Reddit-style website where users create entertainment content and share stories, images, and memes. The tongue-in-cheek posters, celebrating a newfound partnership over barrels of fuel, appeared on Saturday in a post titled “Morning Propaganda.”

“American, remember! Your enemy is not Russian – the Russian gives diesel! Your enemy is the Green Rat, who bombs your diesel in Russia!” the first poster reads, apparently referring to Vladimir Zelensky, known for his signature green attire and whose surname is derived from the word for “green” in both Russian and Ukrainian.

“From Russia with diesel,” the second says, giving a fuel-themed twist to the famous James Bond movie title. The poster features a Russian couple in traditional dress presenting a barrel of fuel to an American family.

The budding friendship goes a step further in the third image, which features a happy American family and soldiers from both countries shaking hands in front of a Patriot air defense system.

“Is the Green Rat bombing our diesel in Russia?” the caption asks. “Let’s give our Russian friends a Patriot and protect our values!”

The final poster features the late US Senator Lindsey Graham, a close Kiev ally and co-author of the “bone-crushing” sanctions legislation proposing a 500% tariff on countries importing Russian energy. Graham, who died in July, is depicted in anguish amid flames and devils while a tanker labeled “Russian Diesel” approaches New York.

“Lindsey Graham in hell’s writhing – Russian diesel in America’s arriving!” the caption reads.

US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly blamed Zelensky for driving up fuel prices for American consumers through his stubborn refusal to halt attacks on Russian refineries, has approved a temporary sanctions waiver allowing Russian diesel exports and sales through April 7, 2027.

Trump decided to strike a deal with Putin after Zelensky ignored at least half a dozen requests from Washington to stop attacks on Russian refineries, according to Axios. Zelensky was furious and denounced Trump’s move as a “weak decision.”

“I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president… I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal,” Trump said on Saturday, as Ukrainian negotiators had left the talks with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Miami a day earlier than planned.

US First Lady Melania Trump has expressed a willingness to support humanitarian efforts in the Russian town of Alyoshki, where civilians remain trapped under Ukrainian siege amid severe shortages of food, water, and medicine, Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova has said.

Located close to the front line in Kherson Region, which voted to join Russia four years ago, the town has been largely deprived of basic services for months. Frequent drone attacks and remotely laid mines obstruct aid deliveries and hinder evacuation efforts. Local authorities estimate that between 1,500 and 2,000 residents remain in the town, including elderly people, women, and children.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, discussed the humanitarian crisis during Friday’s phone call and agreed that the commissioner would maintain contact with the US first lady’s office, according to the Kremlin.

Moscow has accused Kiev of deliberately creating the humanitarian crisis through its attacks on civilian supply routes, then exploiting the resulting human tragedy to blame Russia for the disaster.

Lantratova said Ukrainian deliberately destroyed the latest humanitarian convoy, despite its vehicles bearing signs reading “People.” Residents have had to risk their lives bringing essential supplies into the town on foot or by bicycle.

“If the Ukrainians stopped attacking and mining civilian supply routes, it would allow the delivery of necessary aid and the evacuation of those who urgently need it,” she said.

“We will continue to help all residents no matter what their political views are. Human beings are our top priority, and the value of each human life is unconditional,” Lantratova added.

Kherson Governor Vladimir Saldo invited international organizations to visit Alyoshki and assess conditions firsthand, amid accusations that Russia was obstructing humanitarian relief. “Please come and see. Then we can decide together how to resolve this extremely difficult situation,” he said during a briefing on Wednesday.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has also accused Kiev of creating a humanitarian catastrophe, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the situation as critical.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has lashed out at Vladimir Zelensky, siding with President Donald Trump, who has warned that Kiev’s continued attacks on Russian oil refineries are worsening a global fuel crisis and hurting American farmers.

Trump has also called for a change of leadership in Kiev, accusing Zelensky of repeatedly rejecting opportunities to end the conflict and deliberately ignoring Washington’s requests.

“We told him, do whatever you want, but don’t hit the diesel fuel, because there’s a big problem, a big shortage. And what does he do? He goes and hits the diesel fuel,” Trump told reporters outside the White House on Saturday. “He wants to make problems for the world… for our farmers, our ranchers, with diesel fuel.”

“Zelensky has gone too far,” Musk wrote on X on Sunday, directly responding to a White House video of the remarks, which were part of Trump’s broader criticism of Zelensky, including his suggestion that “it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president.”

@RapidResponse47 @POTUS Zelensky has gone too far

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 10, 2026

The latest spat erupted after Washington agreed to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports following a phone call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, a move intended to ease a global fuel shortage that has pushed up prices in the US and elsewhere.

Musk’s criticism carries particular weight given Ukraine’s heavy dependence on Starlink, the satellite internet network operated by his company SpaceX. Since 2022, tens of thousands of Starlink terminals have become central to Kiev’s battlefield communications, drone operations and coordination between military units. A complete loss of Starlink access could severely disrupt those capabilities and potentially trigger a major battlefield crisis.

Musk has repeatedly called for a negotiated settlement between Moscow and Kiev, and resisted Kiev’s attempts to expand its use of Starlink for attacks on Russian territory. In 2022, Musk refused to activate the network near Crimea to support a Ukrainian strike on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, warning that doing so would make SpaceX complicit in a major escalation.

“Elon keeps saying it’s time to make a deal,” an associate of former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov told the magazine.

In an apparent effort to court the billionaire’s favor, Zelensky awarded Musk the Order of Freedom, one of Ukraine’s highest state honors, in August, praising his contributions to protecting lives and strengthening Ukrainian-American relations.

US President Donald Trump has said Washington may join Saudi Arabia’s military campaign against Yemen’s Houthis, signaling a possible reversal of his previous reluctance to intervene directly in the escalating conflict.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Saturday, Trump was asked whether American forces could join Saudi strikes against the Yemeni group, also known as Ansar Allah, following another deadly attack on Riyadh’s international airport.

”We may. We’re going to look at it,” Trump replied. “We just found out about the recent attack. So we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”

"Have you decided whether to join the Saudi strikes on the Houthis?" @POTUS: "We may. We're going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we'll make a decision. We move very quickly." https://t.co/8aUAneK2xB

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 10, 2026

The remarks came after a Houthi strike on King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital killed 12 people and injured another 309, according to updated figures released Sunday by Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). The dead included four Saudi citizens and eight foreign nationals, among them an American. Some of the injured are in critical condition.

The renewed fighting comes as Saudi-backed Yemeni forces have launched a major offensive to retake territory seized by the Houthis, including strategic areas near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The Saudi-led coalition said Friday that it had launched “large-scale operations” against the group, destroying 136 military targets, according to its spokesman.

Trump’s latest remarks mark a potential shift in Washington’s position. In September, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman repeatedly sought US military assistance against the Houthis, but Trump ultimately backed away from authorizing strikes despite preparations for an operation, according to the New York Times.

In March 2025, Trump ordered weeks of US air and naval strikes against Houthi positions, targeting missile launchers, radar installations and other military infrastructure in an attempt to halt attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. However, the campaign ended abruptly in May under an Oman-brokered ceasefire after the Houthis agreed to stop targeting American vessels.

In September, Trump also claimed that the Houthis had contacted Washington seeking to avoid another confrontation with US forces, saying the group “would much prefer not having us involved.” Ansar Allah denied making such contact.

Death row inmate Christa Pike, who was convicted of murder in the US state of Tennessee, has been discharged from a local hospital after surviving a botched execution. The woman was sent back to prison on Saturday, days after regaining her ability to walk and talk after receiving a double lethal injection, her lawyers have said.

Pike, 50, was sentenced to death for the 1995 torture and murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow Job Corps student in Knoxville. Her execution, which was scheduled for September 30, was expected to be the first execution of a woman in Tennessee in more than 200 years.

The inmate did not lose her consciousness after two syringes of pentobarbital were administered and complained about feeling pain in her arm instead. She eventually lost consciousness but could be heard breathing heavily and snoring as well as still had a heartbeat nearly 90 minutes into the execution, prompting an ambulance to take her to a hospital, according to the US media.

On Saturday, Pike was returned to the Deborah K Johnson rehabilitation center, where she had spent 30 years. “She is grateful to the first responders and her medical team for their care in these extraordinary circumstances,” her lawyers said, adding that the woman “is continuing to receive medical care at the prison.” 

The authorities provided no official explanation as to why Pike survived the execution. The New York Times reported earlier, citing medical experts, that Pike probably survived the procedure because the lethal drug leaked into tissue around the insertion sites instead of entering her bloodstream. The woman’s lawyers had previously warned that her medical history, including a blood-clotting condition, and small veins increased the risk that she would experience unnecessary pain.

Pike, then aged 18, was convicted of first-degree murder after she, her boyfriend, and another accomplice lured Slemmer, a fellow student, to an isolated area near the University of Tennessee agricultural campus, where Pike brutally beat her and cut her throat.

Her case became the second botched execution in Tennessee this year. In May, the execution of death row inmate Tony Carruthers was halted after the officials repeatedly failed to establish intravenous access to administer pentobarbital. The governor then granted the man a one-year reprieve as he was returned to death row. The incident raised questions about the state’s lethal injection procedures months before Pike’s execution.

A Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday killed 12 people, including an American citizen, and injured another 309, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) confirmed on Sunday.

The Saudi aviation authority said the fatalities included four Saudi citizens and eight foreign nationals, including two Bangladeshis and one each from the US, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. Some of the 309 injured remain in critical condition, GACA said, adding that the extent of the damage to the airport was still being assessed.

The attack comes almost a week after Yemen’s internationally recognized and Saudi-backed government launched a major offensive to retake territory from the Iran-backed Houthis, including areas near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Saudi-led forces have supported the operation with airstrikes, while the Houthis have retaliated with missile and drone attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh’s international airport.

Footage from Terminal 3 of King Khalid Intl. Airport, Riyadh, following an Ansarallah ballistic missile strike. https://t.co/MoaFKmHR7B

— Tabz (@TabzLIVE) October 10, 2026

A missile struck the building housing two terminals used for domestic flights at the airport, AP reported, citing a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

First video released from the Houthi missile impact site at Terminal 3 of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Debris can be seen scattered on the ground, several people can also be glimpsed lying on the ground amidst the smoke. https://t.co/E0p3whcE24

— MoloMonitor 🇮🇹 (@MoloWarMonitor) October 10, 2026

Videos circulating on social media appeared to show a plume of smoke rising above Terminal 3 following the strike.

Videos shared with us show that around two hours ago, the fire alarm went off at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Blood can also be seen on the ground, along with a large emergency response at the scene. https://t.co/ur6KM0Kpqn

— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) October 10, 2026

At least 316 flights to and from Riyadh airport were cancelled on Saturday, according to data from flight-tracking service Flightradar24. The US Embassy and several other Western diplomatic missions urged their citizens to avoid the airport and warned of major travel disruptions.

Saudi Arabia has led a military campaign against the Houthis since 2015. The hostilities largely subsided following a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022 before flaring up again this July following a strike on Sanaa airport by Saudi-backed Yemeni forces.

Fighting escalated further in September as the Houthis made their biggest territorial gains in years, capturing the strategic port of Mocha and expanding their control along the Red Sea coast and around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital international shipping route.

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a senior official and spokesman for the Yemeni group, also known as Ansar Allah, confirmed responsibility for the strike in an exclusive interview with RT, saying they were intended to force Saudi Arabia to agree to a “comprehensive and permanent peace” and an end to the war and mutual blockade.

Al-Bukhaiti accused Riyadh of destroying Yemen’s civilian infrastructure over the past 12 years, including airports, seaports, schools, hospitals, markets and even wedding and funeral halls. He said the Houthis were now responding in kind to Saudi attacks, but insisted the strikes were intended to pressure Saudi leaders into accepting a lasting peace agreement rather than motivated by revenge.

“Our military operations deep inside the Saudi entity will continue and will not end except by destroying all Saudi infrastructure belonging to the government,” he warned, specifically naming military facilities, airports, ports and other vital installations.

In war-battered southern Gaza, a revived children’s media initiative is helping young Palestinians learn broadcasting skills, continue their education and pursue dreams beyond the conflict, local freelance journalist Rami Al Meghari reported for RT on Saturday.

Established in 2006, Pioneers of Palestine resumed operations earlier this year. The initiative now offers around 180 boys and girls aged eight to 18 television production training and other subjects in a basement studio in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

“My ambition is to become a director,” one student told RT. The studio’s equipment could allow audiences worldwide to see that “Palestinian children have lives and aspirations similar to those of children elsewhere,” she said.

“This activity is something that is remarkable for this group and for the whole community right at this situation of war where the Israeli military continues its actions unabated on the territory from time to time, even after the ceasefire was instated back in October of 2025,” Al Meghari reported.

Israeli strikes have killed at least 1,481 Palestinians in Gaza since the October 10 armistice, according to the enclave’s health ministry.

Watch the full RT report below:

Ukraine should replace Vladimir Zelensky, US President Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House on Saturday, accusing the Ukrainian leader of refusing peace deals with Russia and worsening global diesel shortages.

“I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president,” Trump said.

“Zelensky could have settled this war many times. Many, many times. And he chooses not to,” he said.

Trump also accused Zelensky of ignoring warnings against attacking Russian refining facilities.

“We said, you can do whatever you want to Russia, don’t hit the refineries, because that’s a world problem that’s caused. And he wants to make problems for the world,” Trump said. “And what does he do? He goes and hits the diesel fuel.”

I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal.

Zelensky’s mandate as president expired in 2024, but he has retained power since, citing martial law. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed that this could undermine an eventual peace deal signed with Kiev.

“He should have an election,” Trump told reporters later in the day, reiterating that Zelensky “could’ve solved this war and he could’ve made a deal many times.”

🇺🇸🇺🇦 Trump calls for elections to be held in Ukraine "I think [Zelensky] should have an election" "Zelensky could have solved this war, or he could have made a deal many times" https://t.co/yJkK7X6jv9

— The Other Side Media (@TheOtherSideRu) October 11, 2026

Trump’s statements came a day after his phone call with Putin, during which the two presidents agreed on a deal aimed at easing the global fuel crisis. The US Treasury temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel exports immediately after the conversation.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has confirmed that Moscow is ready to provide the fuel to Washington and other international buyers, and said that exports could be increased to one million tons by December.

Russia will begin lifting its diesel export restrictions ahead of schedule, he said.

My friends and relatives would tell me how lucky I was to work with professional tennis players. People, especially sports journalists, tended to lean over and whisper to me that my job was a dream. I replied, more nightmare than dream.

The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, in Filderstadt, near Stuttgart in Germany, is German tennis’ moment to shine and 15 years ago I was there looking after one of our company’s clients who’d made the final. Sitting in the player’s lounge, having a snack, Danish star Carolina Wozniacki came over for a chat. She was “carbing up” for a semi-final with Poland’s Radwanska, and remarked how one Russian player who’d lost earlier in the tournament was still hanging around and “carbing up.”

Burning out talent

The heavy focus on training and playing has cost more top Russian talent successful careers than lack of funds to play tournaments or anything else. And after 1991, Russian tennis was over the top in this regard. Too many youngsters suffered physical and mental burn out.

“It’s important to remember they are kids,” Russia-born, Serbia Fed Cup team player Vesna Dolonc told us on Capital Sports last year. “Burn out is very real and parents, too, need to take care of it.”

Vesna, a talented Russian junior who chose to play for her father’s country, made the main draw in all Grand Slams and after winning eight professional titles retired in 2017 to focus on coaching. Her view is that there are hugely talented kids and coaches in Russia, though there needs to be focus on the “whole person.”

It’s something that Melik, father of retired Russian tennis ace Margarita Betova (née Gasparyan) pointed out when I worked with his daughter for a short stint in 2011-12.

“They [national team coaches] made her play when she had one leg, when she was barely able to stand and then complain [when] she loses,” he told me at our first meeting.

“The [Russian tennis] federation has not enough money to give all young [players], so everyone kills themselves to win and play, even when they’re hurt.”

That was then, when so many young Russian women who were superb on the junior circuit just fell away before making the top-100. Some players found alternative paths to success and support.

Spreading

Since and including 2011 there have been no fewer than six Russian players in the world’s top-100 at the end of each year. It has steadily increased since 2022, with 13 in the leader list from 2023-25. Ten Russian women are currently in the top-100. And there is an asterisk to put in there.

That does not include Russia-born players who are serving other countries, like Elena Rybakina. The Muscovite was the latest talent to fly the Kazakhstan flag with full funding, coaching, and support team guaranteed. Ditto World number 50, Anastasia Potapova, who switched to Austria, and it seems an annual occurrence when another nation, like Australia, Uzbekistan, or France snap up a graduate of the Russian tennis system.

“There are so many players,” explained Ksenia Pervak, the former world number 37 who switched to Kazakhstan for three years, “so many really good players that if you’re not, like, top, maybe, fifty early, you don’t get the funding.”

A super talented junior who won the Australian Open title in 2009, she succumbed to injuries and wrapped up her career fully in 2017 at the age of just 26.

Changing the system

“There were a lot of us,” Ksenia told me on Capital Sports in 2019, “a whole generation, like, tens of us. But you know, if I was playing as a junior now, it’s totally different.”

Better? I asked.

“So much,” she responded with gusto, going on to explain how the Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) had implemented best practice for coaches, players, and even parents.

One of that “generation,” Ekaterina Bychkova, explained this to a genuinely enraptured audience of students at Russia State Social University in 2020.

“Parents can be a bit crazy, they live out a life through their kids,” she said, offering a few funny stories from personal experience both as a player and coach.

“[The tennis system in Russia] is unrecognizable from when I was a kid. Now, they tell you about nutrition, proper fitness, even sleep. It’s not perfect, but I would have no problem in putting my kid, when I have one, into it,” Ekaterina said, as if predicting the future.

Now a mother, she has enrolled her young son, Mark, into tennis lessons and says he’s loving it.

The RTF seems to have heard what the first generations of post-Soviet players endured. They have, as mentioned above, put in place standards that will evolve and improve with time. The issue with parents is something that was always a great bugbear of mine.

Liudmila Mikoyan, a leading Russian coach who was a successful tour pro and played for her father’s homeland of Armenia, used to advise me on the “crazy mothers.” The ones who have the same clothes and hairstyles as their daughters and perch themselves perilously close to the action.

One of these “crazy mothers” was the reason for the federation to begin considering guidelines. I was there at the Moscow venue, for an International Tennis Federation (ITF) $25k pro tournament when Russian officials genuinely were lost for words and action.

In the second set of a doubles match, the woman’s child kept messing up her forehand volleys close to the net. Exasperated, the mother went down from the balcony overhanging the court during a break between games. She emerged out onto the playing surface, dragging her daughter up from her seat with her, and proceeded to show her how to play the shot correctly.

The umpire called for help, tournament officials arrived, but it was already too late. German player Annika Beck and her mother were standing next to me, watching it unfold. Our chat about my former life in Germany and their hometown of Giessen abruptly halted as the Russian crazy mother was led from the court by the tournament referee, and her teenage daughter barely held back tears.

There are, I’ve been told by Vesna and Ekaterina, occasional outbreaks from parents at training or tournaments, but greatly reduced thanks to RTF guidelines. Alongside better coach education, information for players and parents, and limits on tournament participation to prevent ‘overplaying’, Russia is beginning to blossom into a much better place for kids to play tennis and once the ITF removes the stigma of being born in Russia, we’ll see a lot more home-produced talent winning major tournaments under a Russian flag.

US President Donald Trump’s decision to approve a temporary waiver of sanctions on Russian fuel exports came after Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky ignored multiple requests to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries, Axios reported on Saturday, citing a US official with direct knowledge of the matter.

Trump has persistently blamed Ukraine, and Zelensky personally, for exacerbating the global fuel crisis, accusing authorities in Kiev of deliberately targeting Russian refining facilities and driving up prices for American consumers. Despite repeated warnings from Washington, the Ukrainian leader pledged earlier this month to ramp up the long-range strikes.

“The attacks on the refineries cause pain in Russia, but it causes pain for the US, too,” the US official told the news outlet.

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner reportedly warned Ukrainian negotiators during eight hours of talks in Miami earlier this week that Trump planned to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin and lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports.

The media outlet cited the official as saying that the dispute over the diesel deal emerged as the US mediators conducted constructive talks on ending the conflict with Ukrainian and European diplomats. The negotiations reportedly focused on finalizing security guarantees for Ukraine from the US, Europe, and NATO, as well as new territorial proposals.

The official added that Witkoff and Kushner had presented postwar plans covering Ukraine’s reconstruction, military funding, and budget deficits, while participants discussed Kiev’s potential EU accession, its future relationship with NATO, and a possible postwar security framework between Europe and Russia.

Trump and Putin held a phone call on Friday, shortly after which the US Treasury Department announced a temporary waiver of sanctions on Russian fuel trade, allowing diesel to be sold, delivered, and exported, including into the US, until at least April 7, 2027.

The Kremlin said Moscow was ready to supply oil and petroleum products to global markets, adding that this would benefit the world economy. Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak also confirmed that Russia would lift diesel export restrictions ahead of schedule, with the process to begin “immediately.”

Russia had previously extended restrictions on diesel, ship fuel, and gas oil exports until October 31 to stabilize the domestic market amid seasonal demand from the harvest. Fuel producers are barred from exporting until October 31, while fuel resellers face a ban until January 31, 2027. Gasoline exports are also prohibited until the end of January.

A gunman opened fire at a home in Erie, Pennsylvania, killing at least nine people, according to local law enforcement. Two children are among the victims, the police said, adding that the suspect committed suicide.

The police received a report about a shooting at a residence in the city of Erie in the early evening on Friday, according to the local media. Two women were subsequently found dead outside of the home; the other victims were discovered inside.

The suspect reportedly initially barricaded himself indoors, leading to a standoff with the SWAT teams deployed to the scene, the police department said. A local news media outlet photographer, who was present at the scene, stated that he had heard screams and gunfire at some point during the standoff.

The gunman then took his own life, according to Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah, who said the suspect died from a “self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

Neither the victims nor the suspect have been publicly identified. The motives for the shooting also remain unclear. “Our investigators are working diligently to establish the full circumstances of what occurred,” Lorah said, adding that “it’s going to take some time to put this all together.”

Russia’s most award-winning restaurant is leaving St. Petersburg for Moscow, and the reaction tells you rather more about the relationship between the country’s two capitals than it does about food.

For eight years, we Petersburgers have taken pride in Birch, a celebrated fine-dining eatery, twice named Russia’s best and renowned for its inventive tasting menus and notoriously hard-to-get tables. Of course, most of us stopped going there long ago, once it became largely the preserve of visitors from Moscow, because locals are not generally eager to spend $200 per person on dinner, which is roughly what the basic set menu with non-alcoholic drinks would have cost this year. You also had to pay in advance for a reservation, often months ahead.

A Moscow friend merely laughed when I mentioned the prices. “That’s reasonable,” she said. “Average for the market, really.”

There, in miniature, you have the difference between the two cities.

Birch was brilliant, but increasingly not for us and then came the news that it was closing and moving to Moscow.

I won’t speculate here about the business reasons, given that’s a conversation for people who take fine dining rather more seriously than I do, but what interested me was the reaction of Petersburgers who had never eaten at Birch and had no intention of doing so.

The restaurant worked in much the same way, while you might consider spending that much on dinner absurd, it was comforting to know that you could. Better still, you could complain that “those Muscovites” had taken all the tables, as though you had spent every morning desperately refreshing the booking page.

Now comes the ultimate betrayal as Birch is defecting to Moscow, our ancient rival.

The comments beneath reports of the closure were wonderfully predictable, such as the owner had gone chasing Moscow money and he had been somebody special in Petersburg, but Moscow was full of people like him and let’s see how much they appreciate him there.

The resentment was unmistakable because we simply don’t like it when somebody chooses Moscow over us.

It happens with almost everything, Petersburgers compare restaurants, museums, architecture, public transport, the pace of life and even our respective words for kerbs and needless to say, in this invisible competition St. Petersburg wins almost every category. At least according to St. Petersburg.

Russian writers were comparing the two cities long before any of us arrived. In imperial times, when St. Petersburg was the capital, it could afford to look down on Moscow, but although the capital moved more than a century ago, a certain Petersburg snobbery survived the transfer remarkably well. 

Three hundred years of self-importance aren’t easily erased, but there may be another reason for the difference.

Moscow often feels like a city of arrivals as people move there from every corner of Russia to build careers, make money and seize opportunities, yet many never quite decide that Moscow is home.

When I worked there, I was amazed by colleagues who had lived in the capital for five or seven years but barely knew the city. They still regarded Perm, Krasnodar or wherever they had come from as home and even after 15 or 20 years in Moscow, they would announce that they were “going home” for the holidays.

St. Petersburg works differently, if you live here for a couple of years you begin, almost involuntarily, to become a Petersburger and soon enough you are complaining about Muscovites arriving with their money, occupying the best tables and theater seats, clogging Nevsky Prospekt and pushing up property prices because you have been assimilated.

For affluent residents of both cities, that future has practically arrived already, with a favorite restaurant moving 650 kilometers away an inconvenience rather than a tragedy as lunch in Petersburg and dinner in Moscow is no longer an especially exotic proposition.

For everyone else, perhaps the closer relationship between Russia’s two great cities will eventually bring other benefits and maybe some Moscow salaries will migrate north, while perhaps some Petersburg habits will travel south.

And perhaps, once Moscow and St. Petersburg are connected so closely that the distinction begins to blur, there will finally be no reason for envy or those familiar sidelong glances and we will become one enormous, harmonious urban family.

Although, naturally, St. Petersburg will still be the more beautiful part of it.

This article was first published by the online newspaper Gazeta.ru and was translated and edited by the RT team

A major energy deal reached on Friday to export Russian diesel to the US and global markets, potentially easing an international fuel shortage, is an “immediate win” for both US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Craig Pasta Jardula, host of the daily call-in show “Drive Time,” has told RT.

Both leaders spoke by phone for 90 minutes on Friday after which Trump announced Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel, followed by 500,000 tonnes in November and an additional one million tonnes thereafter.

“I do think these are immediate wins for both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Trump has midterm elections coming up in less than a month, so he can tout this as a victory. One of the biggest concerns in the US is oil prices, so this will boost market confidence at a time when markets have become increasingly unstable,” Jardula said.

Diesel prices affect agriculture, home heating, and trucking costs, and are near record highs, posing a risk for Trump’s fellow Republicans ahead of elections on November 3 that will determine whether they retain control of Congress. US diesel futures fell almost 5% following news of the deal and were trading at $4.64 a gallon.

The Ukraine conflict dominated much of the discussion between the presidents, with Putin briefing Trump on the situation along the front lines and Moscow’s response to Ukrainian “terrorist strikes” on energy infrastructure and civilian targets deep inside its territory.

Putin said Kiev had effectively derailed plans to resume trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the US, which the leaders had discussed holding after Russia’s State Duma elections. Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said Ukrainian drone attacks on polling stations and election officials had fundamentally changed the situation.

Moscow will now reconsider when negotiations can resume, according to the Kremlin aide.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s plan to livestream the firing-squad execution of former Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people at the Fort Hood base in 2009, is set to become an unprecedented event in the nation’s history.

Approved by US President Donald Trump, the plan has drawn bipartisan criticism and condemnation from human rights advocates and religious leaders, who say it risks turning an execution into a public spectacle.

What happened at Fort Hood

The fatal shooting occurred on November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Processing Center in Texas, where troops prepared for overseas deployment. US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a 39-year-old military psychiatrist, opened fire with two semiautomatic pistols, killing 12 service members and one civilian Defense Department employee, and wounding 32 more.

Military police injured Hasan by returned fire, leaving the shooter paralyzed from the waist down before taking him into custody. A US Senate report designated the spree killing as the deadliest terrorist attack on US soil since September 11, 2001.

The man behind the Fort Hood shooting

Born in the US in 1970 to Palestinian immigrant parents, Hasan trained as a doctor before becoming an Army psychiatrist. Before the shooting, he served at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Maryland, where he worked with service members, including those returning from combat zones. By 2009, he had attained the rank of major and was preparing for a transfer to Afghanistan.

Was the shooting part of a wider plot?

Hasan said he had acted in the name of jihad, and witnesses reported that he shouted “Allahu akbar” (“God is greatest”) during the shooting. Authorities examined the attack in the context of Islamic extremism, while the FBI said in the days immediately after the shooting that it had found no evidence of accomplices or a wider terrorist plot. Investigators continued examining the circumstances that led Hasan to carry out the attack.

From conviction to execution date

In August 2013, a military court found Hasan guilty of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. Later that month, a panel of 13 senior military officers unanimously sentenced him to death, ordering his dismissal from the Army and forfeiture of all pay and allowances. Hasan has since been held on military death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Earlier this week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Hasan would be executed by a firing squad of soldiers at Fort Hood on December, 3, at 1 PM – the same time the 2009 shooting began. Hegseth added that the execution would be livestreamed “because people need to understand there’s serious consequences for these types of things.”

Livestream plan draws bipartisan backlash

The plan has drawn criticism from lawmakers across party lines, religious leaders and the United Nations’ human rights office, which warned on Friday that broadcasting the execution would amount to “breach the absolute prohibition of torture.”

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Hasan’s actions could not be condoned but called the livestream plan “a barbaric promotion of a culture of death,” warning that the decision would undermine the nation’s moral fabric.

The last widely recognized public execution in the US took place in Kentucky in 1936, when a convicted murderer was hanged in front of thousands of spectators.

How execution methods vary across US states

Firing squads are one of several execution methods permitted under US law, alongside lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas and, in some jurisdictions, hanging. Execution by firing squad is legal in Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah. Electrocution is permitted in nine states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee. Several states also allow execution by lethal gas, including nitrogen hypoxia, under varying legal conditions, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

If carried out, Hasan’s execution would be the first in the US military since 1961, when Army Private John A. Bennett was hanged. The last known execution by a US military firing squad took place in November 1945. In 2025, South Carolina carried out the first civilian execution by firing squad in the US in 15 years.

Why is the Fort Hood shooter facing a firing squad?

The decision to execute Hasan by firing squad comes amid renewed scrutiny of lethal injection following a botched execution attempt in Tennessee last week. Christa Pike, a death-row inmate, survived after prison personnel failed to administer the lethal injection properly and was taken to hospital in critical condition. Earlier this week, her lawyers said she awoke, stressing that she had pneumonia, a blood clot, couldn’t swallow, and was unable to move her arms or hands.

Israel is angry that the Nobel Peace Prize committee has honored Navanethem ‘Navi’ Pillay, who chaired a UN commission accusing it of genocide in Gaza. Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels would have welcomed the decision, the Israelis said.

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory concluded in September 2025 that Israel was “responsible for the commission of four genocidal acts in Gaza with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.” Israel vigorously disputed the findings of Pillay’s team.

A year earlier, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza, including intentional targeting of civilians and using starvation as a method of warfare.

The UN says that some 1.98 million or 90% of the enclave’s population was displaced due to Israeli military attacks since October 7, 2023, with most of Gaza’s water and sanitation network damaged or destroyed.

Israel sent its forces into Gaza in retaliation for an incursion by Palestinian armed group Hamas, in which some 1,200 people lost their lives and 250 others were taken hostage.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Friday that the 125th Nobel Peace Prize would go to Pillay for “her efforts to promote peace and international law.” The 85-year-old South African lawyer, who was an ICC judge between 2003 and 2008, “has been instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted,” it said.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a post on X later in the day that honoring Pillay was a “grotesque weaponization of an award to legitimize anti-Israel hatred and prejudice.” The jurist was responsible for a “relentless, politically motivated demonization of Israel,” it claimed.

Goebbels was a loyal follower of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany’s propaganda minister between 1933 and 1945, who advocated the extermination of Jews.

The office of the Israeli prime minister suggested that the Nobel committee “has lost its moral compass” by giving the prize “to a bigot who built her career around inventing and propagating blood libels against the one and only Jewish state.”

Pillay, who currently sits on the International Court of Justice (ICJ), denied that she held any bias against Israel.

After being told by journalists that she had been awarded the prize, the jurist recalled that she was surprised when people complemented her on her courage for calling out Israeli actions in Gaza as genocide.

“Why would you need courage to speak the truth? You interpret the law. You look at all the facts, so it’s an impartial decision,” she insisted.

The protests in the Indian capital New Delhi demanding the resignation of the country’s chief election commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, have intensified, with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical youth movement joining the cause on Saturday. 

Delhi’s police have moved to snuff out the protests even before they begin. They detained CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke from inside a plane when he landed in Delhi on Saturday morning. And YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, a known critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was detained from his residence in Gurugram.

Central Delhi has been turned into a fortress. Prohibitory orders are in place and permission for further demonstrations have been denied. Local reports say 20,000 police personnel are now on Delhi’s streets. The capital’s stadiums have been turned into makeshift detention centers. And the internet has been cut. 

Up to 250 long-distance trains arriving in Delhi have been cancelled. Restrictions have been imposed on public transport, including on Delhi’s metro system – prompting India’s Supreme Court to intervene.

The approaches to Jantar Mantar – an 18th century astronomical observatory in central Delhi, which has served as a site for the protests – were sealed earlier this month. 

However, Delhi police have so far avoided the heavy-handed approach they had taken against the CJP in July, when the movement humbled Modi’s government and forced the resignation of federal Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. 

Why does the opposition want the election panel chief to resign?

The opposition parties allege that the Election Commission’s country-wide voter revision exercise is helping Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stay in power, and win elections in state after state.

The Election Commission of India started its special revision of voter lists in the world’s largest democracy last year, starting with the northern Bihar state. The aim was to identify, and remove, the names of dead voters, those who have moved locations, have registered for vote in more than one constituency, or those that simply could not be traced.

About 130 million names have been removed or flagged for removal so far, figures cited by the BJP itself show. If that figure sounds big, remember that India has a 1.4 billion population. The final decisions on removing many of these names are yet to be made. 

However, India’s opposition parties allege that legitimate voters, including people from minority communities and groups less likely to back the BJP, have been removed. 

They claim the name removals means India’s elections are no longer a level playing field. The opposition says the exercise has already skewed the results of state elections held in April, with the BJP and its alliance winning three of the five states.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has gone so far as to call it “vote theft,” arguing that any laws passed by lawmakers elected through “stolen” votes lack legitimacy. Both the BJP and the Election Commission have denied manipulating the rolls for political gain.

The BJP maintains that the exercise is only for removing ineligible voters. Home Minister Amit Shah has said it is also intended to prevent “infiltrators” – an euphemism for illegal immigrants, mainly from neighboring Bangladesh – from voting. 

The election panel contends that any wrongly excluded voters can request to be added back to the rolls, and further appeal any adverse decisions. 

Opposition Congress party leads the charge in Delhi

The Congress-led opposition took the issue to Delhi’s streets earlier this week. The protests received unexpected energy when Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi, led from the front. Dramatic scenes unfolded, with Rahul climbing atop police barricades and waving the national flag, and the siblings then dodging the police and entering the office complex of the state broadcaster All-India Radio in an attempt to reach the Election Commission office next door. 

Police detained them and several other lawmakers briefly on October 6, and again the next day. Cases were filed against them for alleged obstruction and assaults on officers. 

But Rahul Gandhi has remained unfazed and pressed on. He said there were already 45 first information reports (FIRs), the formal complaints that start police investigations, against him. “Every FIR is a medal for me,” he taunted, adding that he wanted the figure to reach 100.

What happens next?

Kumar remains in office. He can only be removed after a parliamentary process and a two-thirds majority vote in both the houses of the Indian Parliament. That seems a bridge too far – the opposition alliance holds just 184 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha.

The opposition’s only other option is to raise the pressure on Kumar through public protests and force him to resign. 

The CJP’s role is crucial. Its last protest was successful because it resonated across India. Can they get the same popular support this time is the key question.

Gyanesh Kumar’s future, and that of the CJP, depend on it

Investors are exaggerating the likelihood of a military confrontation over Taiwan, a senior US diplomat has said.

Michael DeSombre, US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told CNBC on Thursday that investors were “overpricing the risk of something happening across the Taiwan Strait.” 

“Both China and the US don’t want conflict, and we’re able to deter conflict,” he said.

Beijing regards Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory and says it seeks peaceful reunification, although it has not ruled out using force. The self-governing island remains a source of friction between China and the US, which maintains a one-China policy but continues to supply Taipei with weapons.

Experts, however, warn that financial markets may be ill-prepared for the economic fallout of a crisis.

Taiwan dominates global production of advanced semiconductors, supplying chips essential to smartphones, vehicles, and AI systems. A blockade or military escalation could disrupt manufacturing and key shipping routes, sending shock waves through global trade and technology supply chains.

Bloomberg Economics estimated in February that a US-China war over Taiwan could wipe $10.6 trillion, or 9.6%, off global GDP in its first year. The EU would be among the hardest-hit regions, according to British think tank Chatham House.

Johns Hopkins University professor Hal Brands has warned that Beijing could opt for a blockade or customs quarantine rather than a full-scale invasion.

“No one has a good idea how to price in the risk of a US-China military conflict over Taiwan,” he told an investment conference in September, according to Business Today.

Meanwhile, Beijing has repeatedly denounced US arms sales to Taiwan as interference in its internal affairs, demanding that Washington stop the shipments.

Washington approved a record $11 billion arms package for Taiwan last December. Trump has reportedly delayed approval of another $14 billion deal, calling the potential sale a “very good negotiating chip” in talks with Beijing.

US officials have claimed that Xi ordered China’s military to be ready for a potential operation against Taiwan by 2027, although Beijing has not confirmed this.

DeSombre, however, described the Chinese leader as “a very rational actor” who would carefully weigh the consequences of military action.

Israeli attacks have left more Palestinians dead in Gaza as the ceasefire approaches its first anniversary, without bringing an end to the violence.

At least eight Palestinians were killed and several others wounded in Israeli strikes and gunfire across the enclave on Thursday and Friday, according to local medical sources and rescue workers.

On Friday, Israeli troops reportedly shot dead a Palestinian man near refugee camps in central Gaza, wounding several others.

“Two people, a woman and a child, were killed and others were wounded when Israeli aircraft bombed a residential building” in Gaza City, the Civil Defense Service said. Another woman was killed by artillery fire, while a separate fatality was reported in central Gaza.

The US-brokered ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025. Israel has continued to conduct strikes, saying it is targeting militants and accusing Hamas of violating the agreement.

More than 1,450 Palestinians have been killed and over 5,000 wounded since the truce began, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. UK-based aid group Islamic Relief said on Thursday that an average of one Palestinian has been killed or wounded every 90 minutes over the past year, with at least 320 children among those killed.

Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents have been displaced during the war, which has left much of the enclave in ruins. Around 82% of its structures have been damaged or destroyed, according to Islamic Relief, while reconstruction has barely begun.

Netanyahu has also faced scrutiny over reports that he received advance warnings of the October 7 attack but downplayed the threat. Haaretz reported that UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed had warned him of a possible major Hamas operation roughly ten days beforehand. Netanyahu’s office dismissed the allegation as an “absolute lie.” The Israeli leader traveled to Abu Dhabi in late September to seek a denial of the claim that he had been warned.

Ukrainian spy balloons have been spotted over central Russia’s Yaroslavl Region for the first time, according to the regional Security Ministry.

Local authorities said several of the small flying objects were successfully shot down on Friday, urging residents to report anything suspicious that they see in the sky or suspected debris to emergency services.

The balloons “had been launched from the territory of Ukraine,” according to officials. Small reconnaissance balloons can be used to distract enemy air defenses, but they can also serve as reconnaissance platforms, including to pinpoint the locations of air defense systems or help direct strikes against other targets.

Yaroslavl Region has been targeted by Ukrainian long-range strikes in recent weeks. In mid-September, the Russian military shot down 65 drones over the region in a single day during a large-scale drone raid targeting a local refinery.

In September 2025, the Ukrainian military attempted to strike several Russian regions with dozens of meteorological balloons carrying explosives.

The Wall Street Journal claimed in a February article that Kiev had been using high-altitude balloons in attacks on Russia since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022. However, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, such attacks were first detected in autumn 2024, with another surge in reported incidents in late summer 2025.

The recent balloon attacks come as Russia has stepped up strikes on missile and drone warehouses, as well as unmanned aerial vehicle assembly facilities, in response to continued Ukrainian strikes on Russian civilian and energy infrastructure, which Moscow describes as terrorist acts.

On Wednesday, the Russian military targeted a Smart Ammunition facility used to assemble and store FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles, FP-9 tactical ballistic missiles, and components for both weapons, as well as other sites across several Ukrainian regions, including a drone workshop in Kirovograd Region and the JTI Ukraine tobacco factory in Kremenchug, which Russian officials say is used to manufacture small-arms ammunition.

US President Donald Trump’s top envoys have begun two days of negotiations with Ukrainian and European representatives in Miami, focusing on preparations for the coming winter and potential ways to de-escalate the Ukraine conflict on terms that would be acceptable to Moscow.

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff described Friday’s discussions as “constructive,” saying American representatives had discussed prospects for a “lasting peace” with Kiev and its most hawkish European backers, including Britain, France and Germany, as well as officials from the European Commission and NATO.

The talks covered “near-term measures related to winter preparedness,” including energy resilience and grain exports, as well as longer-term security guarantees, post-war reconstruction and Ukraine’s potential accession to the EU, according to Witkoff.

“The exchange was productive and helped identify areas for further exploration ahead of the United States’ next engagement with Russia,” he wrote on X.

Today, representatives from the United States, the E3, the European Commission, Ukraine, and NATO met in Miami and held constructive discussions on potential avenues to de-escalate and conclude the war with Russia ahead of winter and advance efforts toward a durable and lasting peace. The discussions covered a broad range of issues, including near-term measures related to winter preparedness (energy resilience, grains exports), security guarantees, as well as longer-term arrangements for Ukraine’s and Europe’s security to prevent future conflicts, and support Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction and economic prosperity, including EU accession. The exchange was productive and helped identify areas for further exploration ahead of the United States’ next engagement with Russia. Participants reaffirmed their shared commitment to continuing diplomatic efforts toward a sustainable peace that strengthens security and creates opportunities for lasting stability and prosperity.

— Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (@SEPeaceMissions) October 9, 2026

The negotiations were scheduled to continue on Saturday, and no concrete agreements or breakthroughs have been announced so far.

The US delegation is led by Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, while Kiev is represented by Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff, Kirill Budanov, foreign intelligence chief Rustem Umerov, deputy chief of staff Sergey Kislitsa and senior lawmaker David Arakhamia.

The talks follow reports that Witkoff and Kushner were preparing to present “new ideas and proposals” aimed at breaking the diplomatic deadlock. According to Axios, the pair could travel to Moscow later this month for further talks with Putin.

One proposal under consideration reportedly involves a partial ceasefire covering strikes on energy infrastructure, amid growing anxiety among Kiev’s European backers over the economic and energy consequences of the conflict.

“They are all nervous about the winter. It will be a tough winter if the war does not stop,” a US source previously told AFP.

Zelensky lashed out at Trump, effectively accusing Washington of stabbing Kiev in the back by striking a separate diesel deal with Moscow. Zelensky branded the move “a weak decision by strong partners” and accused the US of using talks with the Ukrainian delegation in Miami as a “smokescreen” while negotiating with Putin behind Kiev’s back.

Trump has repeatedly pressed Zelensky to halt Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, blaming them for worsening a global diesel shortage and driving up fuel prices for American consumers. According to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, Trump promised Putin that he would convey Moscow’s position to the Ukrainian delegation in Florida.

Paris and Berlin are contradicting each other on the fate of a much-heralded joint main battle tank development project. French Chief of Defense Staff General Fabien Mandon has claimed Germany withdrew from the program, while the German government says the opposite.

Known as the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS), the project was launched back in 2018 with the aim of replacing both the French Leclerc and German Leopard 2 main battle tanks. It was a collaboration between the Amsterdam-headquartered KNDS – the EU’s largest tank maker – the German Rheinmetall weapons manufacturing giant, and the French Thales industrial group. Berlin even purchased a 40% stake in KNDS in June, with another 40% held by Paris, when the project was still in full swing.

On Thursday, Mandon told French lawmakers that the plans for the project had essentially fallen through. “The outcome isn’t good. We had hoped to build a future tank in cooperation with the Germans, but unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the Germans have withdrawn from the project,” he said during a hearing on next year’s budget.

A German Defense Ministry spokesperson denied that claim, stating that Berlin merely wants to “adjust” the program to include the “lessons” of the Ukraine conflict. “We remain committed to equal partnership in the MGCS and are focusing on future technologies for armored combat,” the official said, according to Reuters.

Madon himself stated in a press release published after the hearing that an industrial proposal submitted in early 2026 “was incompatible with the need to replace the current tanks by 2037,” prompting Berlin to opt for a national effort to replace its Leopard 2 tank.

The general also maintained that a decade of work had “not been in vain” and the MGCS project was not scrapped but rather “pushed back to the late 2040s.” Paris would now launch its own national development of “an interim” replacement for its Leclerc tanks, he added.

The total cost of the project remains unclear, although a French parliamentary budget report suggested that Paris authorized a total of €212 million ($237.3 million) for the program over 2025 and 2026. The German government has not published any specific figures related to the project’s funding, but said in 2024 that the two partners were “each contributing 50% of the costs.”

Another major Franco-German armament program collapsed just months ago. Dubbed the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), it aimed to produce a next-generation fighter jet by 2040. The venture failed in June after an estimated €3.2 billion in sunk R&D costs due to irreconcilable disputes between aircraft makers Dassault and Airbus.

Police in Lansing, Michigan, are investigating whether a serial killer is responsible for the deaths of five men found along a short stretch of a river trail in the city over the past year.

The victims, aged between 22 and 70, were all believed to be homeless. Their bodies were discovered along a 1.5-mile (2.4-km) section of the trail near downtown Lansing between October 2025 and August 2026.

”One question that we are being asked is ‘Do we have a serial killer in Lansing?’” Police Chief Robert Backus told reporters at a recent briefing.

”What we need the public to know is that we are investigating all of these cases. They are all active investigations, and we are looking at the idea or the possibility that these may be related cases.”

Four victims suffered apparent blunt-force injuries to the face, while the fifth was stabbed. Three deaths have been ruled homicides, one remains undetermined, and the cause of the fifth has yet to be established.

Edward Smith has been charged with murder in connection with the August 20 stabbing of Daniel Lusk, 22, but police have not linked him to the other deaths. Another victim, Louis Woodruff, 57, was found injured on August 30, after Smith’s arrest, and died on September 1.

A lack of witnesses and limited surveillance footage have hampered the investigation. Police have stepped up patrols and deployed mobile surveillance cameras along the trail, while social workers are reaching out to homeless residents to help them secure housing.

Serial killings are rare in the US, accounting for less than 1% of all murders according to the FBI. One of the country’s most high-profile recent cases involved Rex Heuermann, arrested in July 2023 in connection with the Gilgo Beach murders in New York. He was sentenced to life in prison this June after admitting to killing eight women.

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has lashed out at US President Donald Trump over his decision to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports, accusing Washington of striking a deal with Moscow behind Kiev’s back.

Zelensky described the move as “definitely unfair,” “definitely not partner-like” and “a weak decision by strong partners,” effectively portraying it as a stab in the back just as Ukrainian negotiators and Kiev’s European backers were meeting American officials to discuss a potential peace settlement in Miami.

In a voice memo sent to Western journalists on Friday, Zelensky suggested Trump had used talks with Ukrainian negotiators as a “smokescreen” while pursuing a separate agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“You know, it looks like a happy birthday present for Putin. It looks absolutely terrible,” he told Axios in a separate phone interview, referring to the Russian leader’s 74th birthday earlier this week.

Q: Zelenskyy said you're weak because of the Putin deal. He just criticized you TRUMP: Who said that? Q: Zelenskyy. He said you're weak TRUMP: Okay. *walks away* https://t.co/niHd2ynoVP

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 9, 2026

Trump initially ignored journalists’ questions about Zelensky calling him “weak” but later brushed aside the criticism, defending the agreement as necessary to ease soaring fuel prices.

Reporter: President Zelensky said that this is a weak move by a strong partner that will only prolong the war. Trump: We need oil for the world and this is diesel, which is what we need. So we're very happy to get it. https://t.co/8clgGPbJvv

— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) October 9, 2026

“We need oil for the world and this is diesel, which is what we need. So we’re very happy to get it,” the US president said.

The US Treasury subsequently issued a six-month sanctions waiver allowing Russian diesel exports, as Washington seeks to contain a global fuel shortage exacerbated by the US-Israeli war on Iran and Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries.

Trump has repeatedly blamed Kiev – and Zelensky personally – for worsening the global fuel crisis, accusing Ukraine of deliberately knocking out Russian refining capacity and driving up prices for American consumers.

Trump doubled down earlier this week, arguing that the main driver of soaring US fuel prices was no longer the disruption of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, but Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has similarly linked the strikes to a broader global “energy shock.”

Despite Washington’s repeated warnings, Zelensky pledged last weekend to intensify long-range strikes on Russian oil facilities. A senior Ukrainian official told the Financial Times on Friday that Kiev would ignore Washington’s deal with Moscow and “will burn their refineries.”

Frustrstion and anger in Kyiv tonight over Trump's diesel deal with Putin. Zelenskyy blasts Trump, calling the move "weak." A senior Ukrainian official tells me Kyiv will continue its long-range drone strikes on Russia's energy facilities "We will burn their refineries."

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) October 9, 2026

The fuel shortage has become an increasingly pressing domestic issue for Trump ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. US diesel prices surged to record highs above $6.50 per gallon in September, with prices in California exceeding $8 in some areas.

Putin confirmed following Friday’s conversation that Russia was prepared to supply oil and petroleum products to American and global markets, expressing confidence that the move would have a positive effect on the world economy.

Macron sends a nuclear message

When France’s military test-fired its latest nuclear-capable ballistic missile, the submarine-launched M51.3, on Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron chose to milk the spectacle for every last drop of propaganda value. “To be free, we must be feared,” he said. “And to be feared, we must be powerful.”

The launch, Macron said, was intended as “a clear message… for wherever it must be received.”

The missile may have splashed down in the north Atlantic, but the message was received “loud and clear” in Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the following day. “Problems should be resolved through dialogue, not demonstrative missile launches,” but Russia will take “all necessary measures” to protect its strategic security, Peskov added.

This domestic turmoil isn’t unique to France, nor is it something that can be fixed with minor policy tweaks. As RT examined on Friday, mass migration has already pushed European housing, security, and welfare systems to the breaking point. With native Europeans set to become minorities in their own countries in the coming decades, the social and political consequences could be deadly.

Germany’s enemies within

France is not the only European power gearing up for conflict abroad while its political and economic foundations disintegrate at home. Germanys’ foreign intelligence chief opened the week with a warning to lawmakers: Moscow is waging “a shadow war” against Europe, and “Germany is in danger ​of becoming embroiled in a violent conflict with Russia.”

The Kremlin views accusations of “shadow war” and “hybrid war” – which are unprovable by nature – as “hastily cobbled-together provocations,” designed to serve “Kiev and the militaristic wing of the European political class.”

However, the German government can’t trust the loyalty of its own intelligence agents. Former spymaster August Hanning was charged with treason and espionage this week, in what appears to be the country’s worst spy scandal since the Guillaume affair of the 1970s. 

German prosecutors aren’t revealing which foreign services Hanning allegedly collaborated with, but as RT explored in the latest installment in our ‘Wired for War’ series, all the signs point to Israel’s Mossad.

Russia reminds Zelensky what it’s capable of

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky is also on shaky ground this week. “Disappointment” and “shame” are now the most common feelings Ukrainians associate with him. US President Donald Trump blamed him for the worldwide diesel fuel shortage while Zelensky doubled down on silencing his critics, stepping up his long-range strikes on Russian oil refineries. 

He soon learned that Russia always responds. Russian forces pounded data centers, logistics hubs, weapons depots, and missile factories across Ukraine this week, including production plants of Ukraine’s flagship ‘Flamingo’ cruise missiles. “People in Ukraine should blame only the head of the Kiev regime for this. It is Zelensky who bears full personal and political responsibility for it,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. 

The strikes continued all week, as Zelensky prepared to fly to Miami for a meeting with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Friday. Witkoff and Kushner were bringing “new ideas and proposals” aimed at resolving the conflict. The two could travel to Moscow later this month for another round of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Although Zelensky’s situation at home may be deteriorating, he can still count on the support of his backers in Europe. Russian military blogger Mikhail Zvinchuk, who has been sanctioned by Ukraine and the EU over his war reporting, was detained in Montenegro on Friday. Zvinchuk founded the ‘Rybar’ Telegram channel, and was reportedly preparing to film a report on Montenegro’s plans to align its visa policy with EU standards. To the country’s pro-EU government, that now counts as “hybrid activity.”

‘Muslim NATO’ triggers article 5: Saudi Arabia calls for backup 

Saudi Arabia’s renewed conflict with Yemen’s Houthis is not going well for Riyadh. After conquering a swathe of new territory along the Red Sea coast and the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the Houthis declared Saudi airspace a “theater for military operations” this week, and struck Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport multiple times to make their point.

After an emergency meeting on Monday, Pakistan and Türkiye decided to deploy military forces to Saudi Arabia – the first deployment of the newly-formed “Muslim NATO.” Britain has also agreed to provide air-to-air refueling for Saudi warplanes; France is sending troops, radar, and air-defense systems; and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former jihadist, is reportedly considering entering the conflict on the Saudi side. 

RT examined why the long-dormant Saudi/Houthi conflict is flaring up again, and compared the manpower, resources, and weaponry that Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and the Houthis bring to the table, as the government prepares for a ground offensive against the militants.

India hits a wall with Washington

A spat over work permits has driven another wedge between New Delhi and Washington. After US Vice President JD Vance lashed out at eight US and Indian tech giants for using H-1B visas to hire “indentured servants” from India over American workers, India’s Foreign Ministry slammed Vance for his “deeply offensive” comments.

“Resorting to terminology that carries painful historical and colonial legacy connotations is deeply offensive,” the ministry said. 

At the same time, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has accused Indian “oligarchs” of wielding undue influence over the country’s telecoms regulators, as his bid to introduce Starlink internet access to the Indian market remains stalled. India’s Communications Ministry called his allegations “baseless and misconceived,” but Musk doubled down on Thursday, asking whether telecoms and media tycoon Mukesh Ambani was “the real boss of India?”

And finally…

BRICS could face its biggest political test yet, however, if Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva loses his upcoming runoff election against Flavio Bolsonaro, son of imprisoned former President Jair Bolsonaro. Should Bolsonaro win, he is likely to pull Brazil into the orbit of the US, where Trump has made no effort to conceal his hostility toward BRICS.

Russian analyst Fyodor Lukyanov broke down what a Bolsonaro victory would mean for the multipolar project, and with two weeks to go until the runoff election, we’ll be keeping a close eye on Brazil.

Israel is now formally in campaign mode. The Knesset dissolved on July 17, and voters go to the polls on October 27, 2026. A week later, on November 3, American voters decide the composition of Congress.

The overlap is almost exact, and it has turned the relationship between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump into something closer to a competition than an alliance. What helps one man survive politically threatens to sink the other.

Netanyahu needs Iran to dominate the Israeli campaign. His best path back to power runs through a public that feels an immediate security threat and a prime minister positioned as the only leader capable of ordering military action at scale. Trump needs the opposite: proof to American voters that a long war is over, that gasoline prices are falling, and that no more Americans are dying for someone else’s fight. The result is a near-perfect zero-sum bind. A new round of escalation could hand Netanyahu a path to victory while costing Republicans their House majority. A negotiated end to the conflict could hand Trump a signature achievement while leaving Netanyahu exposed to hostile polling and an unresolved domestic reckoning.

On paper, Netanyahu’s position looks weak. The Knesset has 120 seats, a governing coalition needs 61, and any party must clear a 3.25% threshold to enter parliament at all – meaning the real battle isn’t just for vote share but for keeping allied parties above the line.

As of October 8, 2026, Israeli polling presents a mixed picture, with neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the Zionist opposition securing a parliamentary majority in the latest surveys. A Channel 13 poll published on October 7 put Netanyahu’s bloc at 55 seats, the Zionist opposition at 50, and Arab parties at 15. The Yashar party of former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot and Netanyahu’s Likud were tied at 20 seats each, although Eisenkot retained a personal lead as the preferred prime minister, with 44% support against Netanyahu’s 40%.

A Channel 12 poll published on October 5 showed a different balance: 49 seats for Netanyahu’s bloc, 54 for the Zionist opposition and 13 for Arab parties. Yashar led Likud by 23 seats to 21, while Eisenkot led Netanyahu by 41% to 38% on suitability for prime minister.

A summer survey on whether Netanyahu should even run again found that 61% of Israelis opposed his participation in the upcoming election, while 35% supported it. Among Jewish respondents, 57% opposed another candidacy and 39.5% supported it.

None of this makes his defeat inevitable, because the opposition’s real problem is forming a coalition. Eisenkot, the Bennett-Lapid alignment, Avigdor Liberman’s party, and the left could plausibly out-poll Netanyahu’s bloc and still lack a workable majority without leaning on Arab parties, an arrangement much of the Jewish opposition leadership is unwilling to commit to publicly. A Netanyahu bloc stuck around 50 seats doesn’t automatically mean a change of government; it leaves room for him to peel off defectors, split rivals, or force a repeat election.

His current partners – the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism, along with the far-right Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism – are disciplined blocs, but keeping them requires continuing to push yeshiva exemptions from military conscription, expanding executive influence over the judiciary and media, and holding a hard line on the Palestinians. Those same moves alienate the center, military reservists, and secular Israelis. The conscription fight in particular has repeatedly brought the coalition to the brink of collapse, and in its final weeks before dissolution the outgoing Knesset pushed through several contested measures on conscription, judicial authority, and media regulation.

Security remains the one lever capable of reshaping the campaign overnight. On the normal political agenda, Netanyahu has to answer for the October 7, 2023 intelligence and defense failure, the strain of prolonged reserve-duty mobilization, a difficult economy, and years of domestic polarization. A fresh war pushes all of that into the background and reframes the election as a referendum on wartime leadership.

The pattern has already played out once. After what Israelis broadly regarded as a successful twelve-day war with Iran in summer 2025, Likud’s support hit its highest point since the 2022 election. But by July 2026 the party had slid back down to roughly 21-24 seats.

Israeli public opinion is a genuine paradox here: war-weary, yet unwilling to accept a settlement seen as premature. Only 38% of respondents believe Israel’s security position has actually improved since the war with Iran. Polling from the Institute for National Security Studies finds 43% believe the war ended without a clear result, 37% consider Iran the winner, and just 15% consider Israel the winner. Separately, 66% viewed the US-Iran memorandum signed in June as unfavorable to Israel, and a majority of Jewish respondents have said ending the war on its current terms is incompatible with the country’s security interests.

This paradox gives Netanyahu an opening to argue the war produced nothing decisive because Washington called off the pressure too early. New war with Iran, in this framing, is finishing an unfinished job: dismantling nuclear infrastructure, ballistic missile production, IRGC command targets, and the logistics networks supporting Iran-aligned militias.

Such an escalation could pull wavering right-of-center voters back from Eisenkot and Bennett toward Likud. But Eisenkot himself is a former chief of staff with his own security credentials, which means a strike alone won’t be enough – Netanyahu needs a fast, unambiguous result he can credibly claim as his own achievement.

A drawn-out or inconclusive operation would do the opposite. Israelis are already skeptical of what has been achieved so far; further destruction, extended mobilization, and strikes on the home front risk changing the question from “is Netanyahu decisive enough” to “why, after years of fighting, has this government still not delivered lasting security.”

There’s an economic constraint layered on top. The Bank of Israel’s forecast projects 4% GDP growth in 2026, a budget deficit of 4.9% of GDP, and public debt near 69% of GDP – but that assumes no new war with Iran and a cooling of hostilities in Lebanon. The central bank has warned that a proposed defense-spending increase of up to 25 billion shekels (about $8.1 billion) would push up the deficit, debt, and inflation simultaneously. A new war could therefore improve Netanyahu’s electoral standing while it undermines the macroeconomic recovery his government depends on.

Netanyahu needs to persuade Trump of three things: that any diplomatic pause gives Tehran time to rebuild its missile and nuclear capacity; that limited strikes around the Strait of Hormuz don’t resolve the underlying strategic problem; and that any agreement must include dismantling enrichment capacity, removing stockpiled material, capping the ballistic missile program, and weakening Iran’s regional proxies.

Israel’s regional strategy much more than just Iran, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Yemen, strategic competition with Türkiye, and preserving military superiority amid the possible sale of F-35s to Ankara. Trump’s agenda is even wider: freedom of navigation, energy prices, the relationship with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, expanding the Abraham Accords, and casting himself as the president who ended the war. Israel remains a central ally in that picture, but no longer the only crucial player.

A new war is dangerous for Trump

At home, however, election math is pulling Trump in the opposite direction. Republicans are defending an extremely narrow majority in the November 3 midterms. The House currently stands at 218 Republicans to 214 Democrats, one independent, and two vacancies. The Senate split is 53 Republicans to 45 Democrats and two independents caucusing with Democrats – and of the seats up for election, 22 are held by Republicans against just 13 held by Democrats, which is obviously structurally unfavorable for the Republicans.

A war with Iran is itself an electoral liability. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found only about a third of Americans support it, against 62% opposed. Roughly 69% of respondents, including 40% of Republicans, say Trump has failed to explain the operation’s objectives. Earlier Pew and Quinnipiac surveys told a similar story, with 59% to 60% calling the use of force a mistake or not worth the cost.

For American voters, the war’s most tangible effect is the price at the gas pump. Disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and volatile oil prices pushed the average gasoline price above four dollars a gallon; EIA data puts the national average at $4.35 as of October 5, after peaking near $4.56 in the spring. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index slipped from 88.6 in August to 81.9 in September, the lowest since 2014.

Congress has already registered the discontent. On July 23, the Republican-controlled House passed a resolution demanding an end to military action against Iran without congressional authorization, 214 to 208, with four Republicans crossing party lines. The measure is largely symbolic, but it demonstrates how easily the Iran question could split a majority that already has no margin for error.

Two paths forward

The immediate choice facing both leaders has changed from whether to start a fresh offensive or pursue a peace deal, to whether the current pause can survive the election season. On October 8, Trump said the US would not attack Iran before the November 3 midterms, while keeping the blockade in place and describing talks with Tehran as productive. That in turn puts a publicly declared American timetable around Netanyahu’s room for maneuver before Israel’s October 27 vote. It does not amount to a peace agreement, guarantee Israeli restraint, or rule out a response to a new attack.

Escalation remains a risk, but it can no longer be presented as an equally likely, openly US-backed campaign strategy before the elections. Axios reported on October 7 that the Pentagon had ordered preparations for possible renewed combat. If fighting resumes, Netanyahu could try to rally voters around wartime leadership, but the electoral benefit would depend on the outcome. A brief operation with demonstrable gains might help Likud; missile retaliation, civilian losses, and renewed mobilization could instead reinforce doubts about his government’s ability to deliver lasting security.

A diplomatic breakthrough could still improve Trump’s position, especially if it makes shipping safer and brings sustained relief at the pump. Its effect on Netanyahu would depend on the terms. An agreement seen in Israel as leaving Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities insufficiently constrained could expose him to criticism from both rivals and his own right-wing partners. A settlement with credible restrictions and verification could give him an achievement to defend. In either case, a quieter security environment would leave more room for the domestic issues already shaping the campaign: accountability for October 7, ultra-Orthodox conscription, and the confrontation over the judiciary.

The shared-success option rests on sustained pressure producing enforceable concessions without another regional escalation. Both leaders could claim credit for such an outcome. But negotiations, implementation, and verification are unlikely to fit within the remaining days before the election, and neither Washington nor Jerusalem has control over Tehran’s response. A pause that holds through the votes may still leave the central disputes unresolved and renewed fighting possible afterward.

The US Treasury Department has announced a temporary sanctions waiver on the Russian fuel trade amid skyrocketing global prices. The move allows the sale, delivery, offloading, and import of Russian diesel, including to the United States, until at least April 7, 2027.

The announcement came after President Donald Trump announced a major agreement with Moscow, following a Friday phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 Tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 Tons immediately thereafter,” Trump stated in a Truth Social Post, adding that Moscow could provide up to 3,000,000 tons of additional diesel “within a short period of time” depending on the state of its refineries, which have recently been under constant threat of long-range Ukrainian strikes.

Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak also confirmed that Moscow would be lifting diesel export restrictions ahead of schedule. The process will be started “immediately,” the official told TASS.

“Russia welcomes US steps aimed at stabilizing the global energy market and gradually restoring normal energy trade, and stands ready to coordinate future actions to create a more predictable and healthy market,” the deputy prime minister stated.

Under the existing restrictions, fuel producers have been barred from exporting fuel until the end of October and non-producers were banned from doing it until January 31, 2027. A total ban on gasoline exports is in place until the end of January as well.

The development comes as the global markets are still reeling from the supply disruptions linked to the US-Israeli war with Iran. Russell Hardy, the CEO of Vitol – one of the world’s largest oil trading companies – warned earlier this week that the market had burned through much of the stock that previously helped absorb disruptions. There aren’t any more inventories to drain in the West,” he stated on Wednesday.

Last week, G7 countries agreed to release 100 million barrels of crude and refined products from emergency stocks, beginning with diesel to curb the soaring prices as the Trump administration demanded Europe do more to deal with the issue.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump held a 90-minute phone conversation on Friday, discussing the Ukraine conflict, a major agreement on Russian diesel supplies, the crisis surrounding Iran, and prospects for broader cooperation between Moscow and Washington.

Trump described the exchange as “highly successful,” announcing that Russia had agreed to supply millions of tons of diesel fuel to American and global markets in an effort to ease soaring energy prices.

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said the conversation was friendly and substantive, revealing that Trump had rearranged his schedule to speak with Putin following the Russian leader’s 74th birthday.

Here are the key takeaways from the conversation, according to statements by both leaders and the Kremlin’s detailed readout.

Millions of tons of Russian diesel for the US

The most immediate result of the talks was a major energy agreement under which Russia will increase diesel exports to the US and global markets, potentially helping alleviate an international fuel shortage.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak subsequently confirmed that Moscow would begin lifting its diesel export restrictions ahead of schedule, reiterating the announced volumes and clarifying that exports could eventually reach 3 million tons per month, while assuring that Russia’s domestic market would remain fully supplied.

The US Treasury also issued a temporary sanctions waiver covering Russian diesel shipments until April 7, 2027.

Trump predicted that the agreement, together with Washington’s claimed control of the Strait of Hormuz, would bring diesel prices down rapidly, particularly benefiting American farmers, truckers and consumers.

Kiev ‘derailed’ peace talks

The Ukraine conflict dominated much of the discussion, with Putin briefing Trump on the situation along the front line and Moscow’s response to Ukrainian “terrorist strikes” on infrastructure and civilian targets deep inside Russian territory. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow retained the initiative and remained committed to its objectives, while expressing readiness for a lasting diplomatic settlement.

Moscow would now reconsider when negotiations could resume, according to the Kremlin aide. Trump reportedly promised to convey Russia’s position to Ukrainian representatives meeting with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Miami.

Iran diplomacy ‘not exhausted’

Putin stressed that a negotiated settlement with Tehran remained possible, citing his October 8 meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Turkmenistan.

Moscow also reiterated its offer to accept highly enriched Iranian uranium as a potential way out of the nuclear deadlock. Trump welcomed Russia’s involvement in diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis, Ushakov added.

Melania’s humanitarian mission

Putin personally thanked First Lady Melania Trump for her efforts to reunite children separated from their families during the Ukraine conflict.

Closer ties – and another summit?

The leaders expressed satisfaction with existing communication channels between their administrations, intelligence services and other government agencies, agreeing to maintain cooperation.

Asked whether the two presidents had agreed to meet in person, Ushakov said no specific summit had been discussed. However, he suggested that the upcoming APEC summit in China could provide an opportunity for another encounter if both leaders attended.

The Kremlin aide also declined to disclose whether Washington had offered any concessions in exchange for Russia’s agreement to supply diesel, suggesting that American officials might provide further clarification.

Birthday wishes and hockey diplomacy

Officials subsequently arranged the call around Putin’s trip to Turkmenistan and the time difference between Moscow and Washington, with Trump postponing some previously scheduled engagements.

The US president opened the conversation with birthday wishes and greetings from Melania. The leaders also found time to discuss sports, with Trump praising Russian hockey star Alexander Ovechkin’s contribution to the game.

Mikhail Zvinchuk, the founder of the Russian military Telegram channel Rybar, announced on Friday that he, along with his wife and team, was being flown back to Russia.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed in a comment to TASS that the Russian nationals had been released and were awaiting their flight.

It followed their detention for eight hours in Montenegro by the country’s police and domestic intelligence agency in the coastal town of Risan due to “national security” concerns, as reported by local media.

He said that his team was detained at around 7 AM, the day after asking official permission to film a documentary at the Serbian Orthodox Cetinje Monastery.

However, instead of receiving a response from the bishop they had contacted, Zvinchuk said police arrived the following morning, searched their belongings, and confiscated their filming equipment without any official record or procedure.

The Rybar channel thanked Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second European Department, and Russia’s ambassadors to Montenegro and Serbia for their help in resolving the situation.

Montenegro, a country of fewer than 650,000 people, has been seeking EU membership since 2008. The Balkan country joined NATO in 2017 despite protests from opponents who recalled the military bloc’s 1999 bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, of which Montenegro was then a part alongside Serbia.

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit held in Turkmenistan on October 9, 2026 delivered a forceful answer to those who have spent years predicting its demise. As it marks its 35th anniversary, the organization brings together countries with different priorities and is drawing interest even beyond the former Soviet Union. The biggest surprise at this year’s summit was not simply the Iranian president’s attendance at a gathering traditionally reserved for Commonwealth leaders, but Masoud Pezeshkian’s proposal to establish a ‘CIS+1’ format. Tehran signaled its readiness for sustained cooperation with an organization whose work had been confined to relations among former Soviet republics. In doing so, Iran gave the Commonwealth fresh momentum, proposing to broaden its agenda beyond the post-Soviet region.

Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov had good reason to describe the CIS’s 35th anniversary as an important historical milestone. The summit in Turkmenistan bore out that assessment.

More than a Soviet afterthought

The Commonwealth began as an integration project, although its achievements have differed from the expectations of the early 1990s. It helped preserve the agreements underpinning trade, transportation links, and cultural and social ties after the breakup of a shared state. New borders cut across economic networks built over decades. The CIS enabled many of those connections to adapt to the realities of national sovereignty. Businesses retained access to customers and suppliers, while people could continue working, studying, and staying in touch with loved ones in neighboring countries. It is in these everyday arrangements that the value of the CIS becomes clear.

Competing visions of the Commonwealth’s future emerged in its earliest years. Ukraine initially tried to steer the organization toward its own priorities: above all, completing the ‘divorce’ among the former Soviet republics while retaining only essential forms of cooperation. At the same time, Kiev looked down on the republics of the South Caucasus and Central Asia, seeing little promise in relations with them. Already backed by the West, Ukraine had little interest in strengthening shared institutions, fearing that they would supposedly compromise its independence. Its refusal to sign the CIS Charter was one of the clearest expressions of that approach.

That outlook helps explain Russia’s leading position within the Commonwealth. Its strategic foresight, combined with the scale of its market, industry, and infrastructure, makes Moscow the principal hub of regional cooperation. Russian leadership also rests on its ability to keep negotiations moving despite differences among the participants. For Russia, the CIS is an integration project that preserves and develops ties with its closest neighbors. Moscow plays a leading role because it can offer partners things they want: a large market, investment, and a stake in major transportation projects. Mutual benefit keeps countries at the same table even when serious political disagreements arise.

The economic ties that keep the CIS together

Economics remains the most compelling argument for the Commonwealth. At the summit, Vladimir Putin announced that Russia’s trade with CIS countries exceeded $110 billion in 2025. Behind that figure are export earnings, factories kept busy, and deliveries of essential goods. A change in rhetoric cannot erase the importance of the Russian market to its partners. Russia, in turn, has an interest in stable neighbors and cooperation across production networks. Amid external restrictions, trade among these countries helps sustain economic activity and gives businesses a wider choice of suppliers.

One of the most important achievements of the CIS has been its network of free trade agreements. This should not, however, be portrayed as a single set of rules applied uniformly across the former Soviet Union. Participation varies from one agreement to another, and exemptions and restrictions remain. That is what gives practical significance to Moscow’s call in Turkmenistan to remove trade barriers. The next phase of integration should make it easier for businesses to operate by reducing border delays, making payments more predictable, and aligning product requirements. Designating 2029 the Year of Transport Connectivity sets a direction for that work.

Iran opens a new chapter

Against that backdrop, Iran’s arrival is especially striking. For the first time, an Iranian president attended a meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State as a special guest and proposed a mechanism for cooperation. An organization repeatedly dismissed as having outlived its purpose has attracted the interest of a major power outside its traditional geographic reach. That is what makes Iran’s move so significant. The relationships built within the Commonwealth have value in their own right for an outside partner. The CIS’s further development can therefore draw on new areas of cooperation that enhance its international standing.

The CIS+1 proposal fits within the CIS Plus framework established in Dushanbe on October 10, 2025. Pezeshkian proposed putting Iran’s relations with Commonwealth countries on a lasting, practical footing. For now, the initiative still needs an organizational structure. But its political significance is already clear: Tehran sees the CIS as a suitable forum for coordinating shared interests. The Commonwealth gains an opportunity to expand cooperation without requiring an outside partner to join the organization. Iran gains a channel for working with several countries at once whose decisions affect its trade and transit routes.

A foundation for closer economic ties is already in place. A comprehensive free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and Iran took effect on May 15, 2025. CIS+1 would allow cooperation to be discussed with a broader group of countries. For Russia, it offers a way to connect different strands of its Eurasian policy. For Tehran, it would complement preferential trade terms with transportation and investment agreements. The format would not automatically extend free trade to every partner, but it could help coordinate projects among countries with different integration commitments.

The political significance of Iran’s participation was evident in the October 8 meeting between Vladimir Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of events in Turkmenistan. Taken together, Tehran’s participation in the broader gathering and its talks with the Russian president offered a public demonstration that Iran is not internationally isolated. It still has partners and opportunities to discuss the development of those relationships at the highest level. That matters for a country facing military, sanctions, and diplomatic pressure.

Putin reaffirmed Russia’s willingness to help resolve the situation in the Middle East and spoke positively about bilateral relations. According to him, Russian-Iranian trade grew by more than 21% in 2025. Pezeshkian thanked Moscow for its stance, including at the UN, and emphasized his interest in speeding up joint projects. The talks showed that discussion of the regional crisis had not pushed economic cooperation off the agenda. They also demonstrated Russia’s ability to bring partners together and address the most pressing international problems with them. Iran, for its part, showed that attempts to isolate it had deprived Tehran of neither political support nor opportunities for economic cooperation.

The choice of Turkmenistan as the summit’s host is also telling. Ashgabat’s policy of permanent neutrality has not prevented it from working actively within the CIS or welcoming Commonwealth leaders. Participation allows the country to develop cooperation with its neighbors while maintaining its own foreign policy course.

In the Turkmen resort of Avaza, participants also discussed a problem whose consequences are already being felt by the Caspian’s coastal states: falling sea levels. The retreating shoreline is creating difficulties for ports and shipping while threatening fisheries and tourism. For Avaza itself, where substantial sums have been invested in hotels and resort infrastructure, the issue concerns the future of the entire coast. The Caspian environmental summit held alongside the CIS gathering therefore deserves attention in its own right. Addressing this problem will require a joint effort. No single country can solve it alone, and the decisions made will affect the preservation of the sea, port operations, and the future development of coastal cities.

The results of the summit in Turkmenistan give grounds to speak of a new stage in the Commonwealth’s development. The CIS endures because its participants need economic ties and a forum for reaching agreements, while Iran’s arrival confirms the organization’s appeal beyond its existing membership. Russia retains its leading role in bringing countries together and gains an opportunity to broaden the reach of our integration efforts through cooperation with outside partners. Iran’s initiative still has to move from proposal to concrete decisions. But the central shift has already taken place: the anniversary summit discussed not only how to preserve the Commonwealth, but how to expand its possibilities. Many in the West expected the CIS to fall apart. The summit in Turkmenistan showed the opposite: the organization is alive, functioning, and extending its reach.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an instrument of neocolonialism designed to exploit Africa, Liberian politician Emmanuel Gonquoi has said.

Speaking to RT on Thursday, Gonquoi, a commander from the Economic Freedom Fighters of Liberia, urged African nations and developing countries to abandon The Hague-based court, accusing it of serving Western interests rather than delivering impartial justice.

“It is about time for African nations and developing countries to withdraw from the ICC because the ICC has been controlled as an instrument for neocolonialism,” he said.

Established in 2002 under the Rome Statute, the ICC is tasked with prosecuting genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression, and relies heavily on the cooperation of its 125 members. However, some of the world’s most powerful states, including the US, China, India, and Russia, reject its authority.

The court has long faced accusations of disproportionately targeting Africa and selective justice. Five countries – Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad, and Venezuela – have initiated withdrawal proceedings, raising concerns about its future.

Gonquoi argued that African leaders face prejudice at the court, claiming they are effectively presumed guilty before their cases are heard. He also accused Western powers of influencing judicial outcomes to advance their political interests.

“What we see in the Netherlands is not a globalized justice forum,” he said, describing the ICC as a system set up to “exploit Africa” and prevent African leaders from making decisions that benefit their own countries.

Watch the full interview below.

British sailors are drilling to fend off potential drone attacks against £4 billion ($5.3 billion) Vanguard-class subs using fire hoses as the only onboard “air defense weapon,” The Sun has reported.

The hoses, known as “center fed reels” are placed on submarine decks as a precaution when the vessels are moored at the British naval base Clyde in Scotland, the UK’s most sensitive military site, the tabloid reported on Thursday, citing anonymous sources. The equipment has pistol-grip nozzles that would allow sailors to direct water at approaching drones.

“You have to use what you’ve got,” the tabloid cited one of its sources as saying.

The Royal Navy’s four Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarines are the only British platforms equipped to carry and launch Trident II nuclear missiles, which deliver the UK’s only operational nuclear weapons. According to The Sun, the Navy insists that layered defenses, including “physical barriers, patrols, surveillance, monitoring, and counter-drone capabilities,” protect the subs.

The report comes as the Royal Navy is facing what a former senior commander has described as its worst crisis in 350 years.

West described the number of ships the Navy has as “pathetic.” The fleet has just five operational frigates and no amphibious assault ships, while former Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government retired four frigates, two assault ships, two tankers, and a nuclear-powered submarine during his time in office, The Sun reported in July.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed claims that Moscow wants to attack NATO and has accused Western European leaders of escalating tensions with Moscow, pointing to their statements about preparing for a possible war with Russia in 2029 or 2030, repeated military exercises in the Baltic Sea, and attempts to detain Russian vessels. “This is all escalation,” he said last week.

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has slammed Kiev city authorities for an “almost complete failure” to protect the capital’s critical infrastructure from Russian attacks, escalating his longstanding feud with Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, who blames central government corruption.

In a social media post on Friday, Zelensky reported “extensive damage” to power grids following Russian strikes and criticized delays in strengthening infrastructure defenses across Ukraine, singling out Kiev for failing to take the necessary precautions.

His remarks came a day after Klitschko urged residents to consider temporarily leaving the capital, warning that the city was in “survival mode” as winter approaches.

In an interview with AFP on Thursday, Klitschko said Kiev was stockpiling food, drinking water and fuel. He urged residents with friends or relatives outside the capital to consider staying with them temporarily. However, he ruled out a full evacuation.

Speaking to AFP, Klitschko again blamed some of the shortcomings in Kiev’s winter preparations on Zelensky’s government. Rejecting accusations that city officials had fallen behind, he argued that “finding scapegoats won’t make people warmer.”

In a separate interview with Germany’s Bild published on Wednesday, Klitschko criticized corruption scandals linked to Zelensky’s administration, warning that wartime graft was “a real poison” for Ukraine.

The dispute comes amid escalating long-range strikes between Russia and Ukraine. Last week, Zelensky pledged to intensify attacks on Russian oil refineries, prompting Moscow to announce expanded strikes on Ukrainian military and defense-industrial facilities and supporting infrastructure, including in Kiev.

Klitschko warned that even extensive preparations might prove insufficient if the capital’s air defenses failed to repel further strikes.

Zelensky acknowledged a “big deficit” in air defenses on Thursday, appealing to Western backers for more interceptor missiles ahead of winter. Multiple media reports have linked shortages of Patriot interceptors in US and allied stockpiles to the US-Israeli war with Iran.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) disproportionately targets Africans while failing to hold perpetrators of war crimes elsewhere accountable, Nigerian investigative journalist David Hundeyin has told RT.

Hundeyin questioned the court’s record, claiming that Africans account for more than 90% of those prosecuted under the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC. “It’s either crimes against humanity only happen in Africa, or Africans are disproportionately targeted by the ICC,” he said. The journalist disputed the ICC’s impartiality, asking whether it has become an instrument of selective justice.

Hundeyin said the ICC could be considered “useless or toothless” at best, or, at worst, a tool used specifically to target Africans.

Established in 2002, the court is tasked with prosecuting genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and aggression, and relies heavily on the cooperation of its 125 members. However, some of the world’s most powerful states, including the US, China, India and Russia, reject its authority.

The court has long faced accusations of selective justice and political bias. Chad recently notified the UN of its decision to withdraw from the ICC, accusing the tribunal of disproportionately targeting countries in Africa. The Chadian Foreign Ministry claimed that nine of the 13 investigations it counted concerned African states, describing the court’s effectiveness as “limited and uneven.”

The native population in several European countries could become a minority within the next two decades if current demographic trends continue, according to a new model projecting the long-term effects of migration and declining birth rates.

Meanwhile, European governments continue to portray migration as an investment in the future, even as local communities grapple with high housing costs, overstretched public services, and persistent failures in border enforcement.

Who is doing the counting?

The Demography Dashboard was published earlier this week by the Institute for Remigration (IFR), run by Austrian activist and author Martin Sellner. He campaigns for sharply reducing immigration and encouraging or enforcing migrant departures, with the aim of preserving native majorities.

The model uses official national population statistics to project how migration, births, and deaths could change Europe’s population. It generally carries forward migration levels averaged over 2015-2024 and holds birth and death rates constant.

When will Europeans become a minority in their own country? The IFR Demography Dashboard answers that question - and shows how remigration could change the course. https://t.co/alL0saMOhb

— Institute for Remigration (@remigrationinst) October 5, 2026

Its “migrant” category includes arrivals from Africa, the Middle East, and elsewhere, as well as other European countries, both inside and outside the EU. Depending on the country, it also includes locally born descendants and people who have acquired a national passport. Citizenship alone does not remove someone from the category: Germany, for example, counts people who were born without German citizenship or have at least one parent who was.  

“Native” generally means people without that migration background, but the definitions vary. Britain’s calculation uses ethnicity instead – White British and White Irish people count as native, while all other ethnic groups fall into the model’s migrant category, regardless of birthplace or passport.  

A generation of change

Switzerland is projected to cross the dashboard’s 50% threshold first, in 2038, from a modeled migrant-background share of 41.2% in 2026. Belgians will become a minority in their own country in 2044, Germany will cross the threshold a year later, and Sweden a year after that (2046). Their modeled immigrant starting shares were respectively 36.6%, 32%, and 36.8%.

The UK is also expected to reach that threshold in 2053, starting at 27.2%, while Spain follows in 2057, from a 25.4% base. For France, the dashboard cites a separate study projecting a similar shift around 2050 under its high-migration scenario.

More arrivals, fewer affordable homes

Across Europe, immigration has added demand for housing and public services that were already struggling to cope. Spain and Ireland are stark examples of governments admitting newcomers without ensuring there are enough homes and infrastructure.

In Spain, immigration-driven population growth has outpaced housing construction, while soaring rents have pushed residents into the streets. The eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her Madrid home of 70 years last month has become a rallying point for sprawling protests across the country. The woman died on October 7.

Immigration is the main driver of housing demand in both Ireland and Spain. It is long past time government slowed the pace of worker and student visa issuance to ease housing demand growth. It should not be controversial to say demand needs to managed, and it is certainly not anti-immigration never mind anti-immigrant.

— Dan O'Brien (@danobrien20) October 6, 2026

In Ireland and Britain, taxpayer-funded accommodation for asylum seekers has fueled resentment among residents struggling to rent or buy. Ireland’s purchase of Dublin’s Citywest Hotel for asylum accommodation prompted protests over the loss of a local amenity in an area already short of facilities.

Britain’s asylum accommodation contracts, meanwhile, are projected to cost £15.3 billion ($21.2 billion) over a decade, more than triple the original estimate. Private providers have amassed substantial profits while communities face added pressure on housing and services.

Security failures

The influx of migrants to Europe over the past decade has also contributed to a major security debate, sharpened by attacks involving people who should already have been removed, or whose dangerous behavior was known to the authorities.

Deadly suspected terrorist attacks have taken place in France, Germany, and Britain involving migrants, exposing failures in screening, monitoring, and deportation enforcement.

Foreign nationals accounted for 42.9% of identified violent-crime suspects in Germany in 2025, disproportionately represented even as recorded violent crime declined, according to police figures.

New video released of the illegals t3rrorizing Paris. (Legal) French citizens / passengers of the subway were trapped as they’re attacked by the fighting age men whom President Macron & his husband imported. Is this what the EU leaders wanted for the first world? https://t.co/O9vYsyJW8l

— The Beringer Project (@BradBeringer) October 2, 2026

Crackdown on dissent

Drawing attention to the issue, however, has been effectively banned in some European countries. In Britain, the overzealous crackdown on “anti-migrant sentiment” has extended to criminally prosecuting locals for social media posts opposing uncontrolled migration, or even something as mundane as waving the British flag in public.

Former French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour has also faced prosecution over his immigration rhetoric. In September 2025, France’s highest court upheld a €15,000 fine for racial insults and inciting hatred over a speech in which he described immigrants as “colonizers” and Muslim clothing as the “uniforms of an occupation army.”

Growing backlash

The authorities, however, have frequently responded by condemning the protests rather than addressing their complaints. Ahead of May’s London march, the British prime minister accused its organizers of “peddling hate and division.”

Meanwhile, parties promising tighter controls have continued to gain public support. In Germany, an October 3 poll put the right-wing AfD at 30%, well ahead of the governing CDU/CSU’s 18%.

Washington’s warning

Europe’s immigration policies have also drawn criticism from abroad. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked the approach, accusing European leaders of “destroying your heritage” through migration policies adopted in the name of being politically correct. His administration has put border restrictions and deportations at the center of its own approach.

Speaking in Athens on Wednesday, he accused Western governments of opening borders while surrendering sovereignty to global bureaucracies. He criticized the fashion of prioritizing the “global community over one’s own people” and called for cooperation to secure Europe’s borders against mass migration.

Orders to leave, little effect

European governments have increasingly promised tougher migration controls, but enforcement continues to lag. In the second quarter of 2026, EU countries issued around 110,000 orders to leave, while fewer than 37,000 people were actually returned outside the bloc.

Appeals, missing documents, and countries refusing to take people back have repeatedly delayed removals, while European governments’ own asylum laws have created further bureaucratic barriers to deportations.

Moving detention abroad has offered no simple solution either. Britain abandoned its Rwanda scheme in 2024 after spending nearly a billion dollars only to ultimately relocate four volunteers. Italy’s attempts to offshore asylum processing to Albania were also blocked by the courts, which allowed Rome to use just one of the centers to hold migrants awaiting deportation.

The pressure has also exposed divisions within Europe’s supposedly border-free Schengen area. Germany, France, Austria, and several other members have reinstated checks on travelers arriving from neighboring countries, citing migration and security concerns. Following the Ceuta crisis, Italy also reinstated border checks on all air and sea routes from Spain, with Madrid responding in kind.

Another senior commander of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has defected to the Sudanese army, bringing around 300 fighters and 30 military vehicles with him, The Sudan Times reported on Thursday.

Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Azraq al-Fanjari, who identified himself as commander of the RSF’s Special Tasks Group, announced his departure in a video circulated on Thursday. He described the conflict as a “futile war.”

“I, Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Azraq al-Fanjari ... announce my resignation and withdrawal from all military duties and responsibilities within the ranks of the Rapid Support Forces,” he said. Fanjari apologized to Sudanese families who had lost relatives, been displaced or suffered during the fighting.

The move comes as Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has ruled out negotiations with the RSF, pledging to continue military operations until the paramilitary group is defeated. “We say it again: We have no negotiations with anyone, we are not speaking with anyone, and we have nothing to do with anyone,” Burhan said on Tuesday during a visit to Northern State.

Sudan’s conflict erupted in April 2023 following months of tensions between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF. 

Several senior RSF commanders have switched sides since 2024. Abuagla Keikal, commander of the Sudan Shield Forces, defected in October that year, followed by Major General Al-Nour Ahmed Adam, known as Al-Nour al-Qubba, in April 2026 and Ali Rizqallah, also known as Al-Savana, in May 2026.

Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of sending troops deep into its territory and warned that it must defend itself against an “all-out invasion,” escalating a confrontation between the former allies.

Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos alleged that Eritrean forces, including mechanized units, had advanced up to 60 km into Tigray. His October 8 letter was addressed to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and circulated to other UN Security Council members, Reuters reported Friday. The letter described the incursion as a “blatant act of aggression” and sought international support for Ethiopia’s right to self-defense.

Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Gedion briefed UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed on what it called Eritrea’s “continued aggression,” demanded the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean forces and urged a “clear and principled UN response.”

In separate talks with senior UN officials, Ethiopian State Minister Berhanu Tsegaye alleged direct Eritrean military involvement “across different fronts along the border” and called for the UN to unequivocally condemn the “flagrant violations of sovereignty.”

On Sunday, the government-allied Tigray Peace Force announced it had retaken Mekelle following the TPLF’s withdrawal. The TPLF said it had decided to “temporarily leave” and operate from another location while continuing military operations.

Conflict monitor ACLED reported suspected Ethiopian drone strikes against Eritrean forces near the border town of Adigrat on Wednesday and Thursday. A resident told Reuters that explosions continued overnight into Friday.

Ethiopia has accused Eritrea, Egypt, and Sudan of supporting the rebel alliance. The three countries have rejected the allegations. Last week, Addis Ababa expelled ten Eritrean diplomats and closed its embassy in Asmara, prompting Eritrea to sever diplomatic ties. Eritrean troops previously backed Ethiopia’s federal army during the 2020-2022 Tigray war, which ended with the Pretoria peace agreement.

The African Union has urged restraint, while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for dialogue to resolve the disputes between the Horn of Africa states and prevent further escalation.

Pope Leo is tapping into public fears of artificial intelligence to distract people from the Catholic Church’s latent child sex abuse scandals, Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel has claimed. The gay US tech billionaire also accused former President Barack Obama of exploiting opposition to AI for political gain.

The remarks come as AI developers themselves warn that the technology could soon spiral beyond human control. OpenAI chief Sam Altman and xAI owner Elon Musk have backed calls to slow the development of increasingly powerful AI models after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned that rogue systems could seize control of vast swathes of the internet within months, causing hundreds of billions of dollars in damage.

During a series of closed-door lectures in Nashville, Thiel singled out both leaders while stepping up his warnings about the Antichrist, a prophesied figure traditionally associated with deception and opposition to the teachings of Jesus. Thiel has argued that such a figure could exploit fears of AI and other catastrophic threats to halt technological progress and impose a heavily regulated “one world government.” His remarks, delivered on September 28 and October 5, were revealed by Politico on Thursday.

“Many people know that AI is politically unpopular and want to leverage that to boost their own popularity,” Thiel said. “Both Obama and the pope fall into this category. Obama knows the Democrats have no ideas, but they can at least oppose AI.”

The openly gay Republican surveillance company billionaire went on to accuse Leo XIV of using the debate over AI to shift attention away from decades of sexual abuse scandals within the Catholic Church.

“He needed something politically popular to distract from the church’s child sex abuse scandals, and he found it in AI,” Thiel said, referring to the pope’s first encyclical, published in May.

Leo XIV has made AI a major focus of his papacy, warning about the dangers of unchecked development and its impact on human dignity, individual freedoms and the concentration of power.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has also called for government regulation, warning that AI in the hands of malicious actors could trigger events causing “a billion deaths.” Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton has similarly warned that increasingly powerful systems could eventually escape human control, with catastrophic consequences for humanity.

NATO has asked Moscow “not to worry” about the US-led military bloc’s upcoming nuclear warfare drills, despite weeks of escalated war rhetoric from its member states, which are ostensibly preparing their populations for a war with Russia. 

NATO’s forces will practice responding to launch orders, flying mock nuclear delivery sorties, and maintaining communications under the stress of nuclear war during its ‘Steadfast Noon’ exercises from October 13 to 23. The drill will involve 17 of the bloc’s 32 member states and will not involve live nuclear weapons.

This year alone, bloc forces have run three separate exercises on the borders of the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, after which Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski suggested a further buildup of NATO forces in the area in order to keep Moscow “uncertain of what we will do.”

The Kremlin issued a stern warning in response, stating that Russia is “ready to use all its arsenal, including nuclear weapons, to defend its territory if NATO countries try to isolate Kaliningrad.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and European governments insisted in recent weeks that Russia is waging a “hybrid war” against the West. The accusations are by their nature unprovable, and have been described by analyst Thomas Fazi as a form of “hybrid warfare” against the European public, in which “Europeans are being subjected to a sustained campaign of cognitive or psychological warfare aimed at conditioning them to believe that Europe is under attack from Russia.”

NATO’s nuclear policy director, Nassima Barrows, told Politico on Thursday that the fact that the drills are held every year should serve as “a clear message to nations like Russia that there is no need to worry.”

Russia read the message “loud and clear,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded, adding that Russia will take “all necessary measures” to protect its national security.

During his speech at a session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna on Thursday, Russian envoy Dmitry Polyansky reiterated that Moscow “threatens no one and has no intention of attacking anyone.”

At the same time, however, the country “cannot ignore the development of plans by NATO for a direct military clash with Russia, nor the bloc’s simulation of scenarios involving a military-political blockade of Kaliningrad Region,” he stressed.

“Our response to any unfriendly moves will be swift,” Polyansky said, urging NATO not to test Russia’s patience or push the European continent “toward the point of no return.”

India has accused US Vice President J.D. Vance of making “deeply offensive” comments, after he described foreign workers as “indentured servants” while announcing Washington’s suspension of a key green-card sponsorship process for major technology companies, including several Indian IT firms.

“Resorting to terminology that carries painful historical and colonial legacy connotations is deeply offensive,” India’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Vance made the comments at a White House news conference on Thursday, accusing eight tech companies of replacing American employees with lower-paid foreign workers. The suspension covers new and pending applications under the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) process for Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Capgemini.

PERM is a key step for employers seeking to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency, or green cards. New Delhi defended Indian professionals as highly educated and skilled contributors to the US economy and innovation sector. It also pointed to generations of immigrants whose labor and enterprise have helped build American prosperity.

Statement on announcement made by the US Department of Labour ⬇️ 🔗 https://t.co/FZawXUTqcl https://t.co/67vMRyJ5EF

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) October 9, 2026

It said skilled-worker mobility benefits both economies by supporting innovation, research, competitiveness, and job creation in the US, adding that Washington’s latest measures “do not advance the shared ambitions of both countries.”

The sharp Indian reaction comes as trade talks between Washington and New Delhi are deadlocked, with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying Monday that it is “very difficult” for both sides to make further concessions.

French riot police have deployed tear gas and water cannon, as well as charging with batons against crowds of young protesters in central Paris.

Student demonstrations and labor union protests continued for a fifth week on Thursday over anger at underfunded schools, teacher shortages, and planned government spending cuts.

The unrest began in mid-September at a high school in Creteil, near Paris, where students protested unfilled teaching posts. The movement subsequently spread nationwide, with demands for smaller classes, improved school facilities, and more funding for public education. The demonstrations have also coincided with labor union rallies against proposed budget cuts aimed at reducing the deficit.

Videos circulating online show violent clashes between thousands of protesters and riot police in the French capital. Officers wielded batons and deployed water cannon and tear gas in an effort to break up the raging crowds of young people.

Manifestation lycéenne et étudiante : premières tensions à paris sur la place de la Bastille, charge des forces de l'ordre et usage de gaz lacrymogène pour disperser la foule. pic.twitter.com/y4pvPfzz2Q

— CLPRESS / Agence de presse (@CLPRESSFR) October 8, 2026

The French government said Thursday that 24 high schools across the country had sustained significant damage during the protests. The authorities also reported that 375 schools were fully or partially closed on Thursday. The Justice Ministry has estimated the cost of repairing the damaged school buildings and street infrastructure nationwide at several million euros.

Manifestation lycéenne et étudiante : la tension ne retombe pas sur la place de la Bastille, les forces de l'ordre font usage d'un canon à eau face aux manifestants. pic.twitter.com/eSuQdXQXVP

— CLPRESS / Agence de presse (@CLPRESSFR) October 8, 2026

According to the Interior Ministry, 71,500 people took part in demonstrations across the country, including 24,500 in Paris. The CGT trade union, however, put the turnout at more than 130,000, nearly twice the official figure.

Manifestation lycéenne et étudiante : retour au calme sur la place de la Bastille, mais des tensions persistent dans les rues adjacentes avec des charges des forces de l'ordre et l'usage de grenades lacrymogènes. pic.twitter.com/190zLzPssC

— CLPRESS / Agence de presse (@CLPRESSFR) October 8, 2026

Protests are being fueled by the government’s proposed 2027 budget unveiled last week, which would increase education funding by €1.2 billion ($1.35 billion) while eliminating another 1,588 teaching posts. Education Minister Edouard Geffray has defended the planned cuts, citing a decline in student numbers.

Manifestation lycéenne et étudiante : tensions toujours en cours place de la Bastille, nouvelle charge des forces de l'ordre et usage de gaz lacrymogène pour repousser les manifestants. pic.twitter.com/ZPQpJwyLZO

— CLPRESS / Agence de presse (@CLPRESSFR) October 8, 2026

Labor unions oppose the wider austerity plan, which calls for €43 billion in savings in 2027. The planned measures include freezing public-sector wages and most pensions, holding social benefits at current levels, and reducing funding for public services, prompting unions to warn that low-income households and public-sector workers would be hit the most.

Manifestation lycéenne et étudiante : situation très tendue sur la place de la Bastille. Affrontements, charges des forces de l'ordre et usage de gaz lacrymogène pour disperser les manifestants. pic.twitter.com/jbQhRaN3lV

— CLPRESS / Agence de presse (@CLPRESSFR) October 8, 2026

A broader wave of protests across Europe has seen demonstrations on issues ranging from education funding and budget cuts to housing costs and living standards. Student protests have also occurred in Belgium, Italy and Greece, while tens of thousands rallied in Spain over housing affordability and evictions. Although they are not part of a coordinated Europe-wide movement, the protests reflect growing public discontent over government policies across the continent.

The first unit of Bangladesh’s first nuclear power plant will be connected to the power grid at the end of November, the CEO of Russia’s Rosatom, Aleksey Likhachev, said in Dhaka on Friday.

Likhachev made the announcement at a meeting with Bangladeshi Minister of Science and Technology Fakir Mahbub Anam, where key issues relating to the project were discussed. The fuel-loading at the facility began in April.

The Rooppur nuclear plant, Bangladesh’s most expensive infrastructure facility, has heavy backing from Russia. Moscow is financing $11.9 billion in state loans for the project, which is estimated to cost up to $12.8 billion.

”Of course, we still have some to work here,” Likhachev said. “Our specialists are not only building, but standing shoulder to shoulder, working with operators in Bangladesh to ensure effective and safe operation of the plant.

”All the final decisions will be made by the government of Bangladesh, the people of Bangladesh,” he added. “We are aiming for around the end of November.”

Russia is providing equipment, nuclear fuel, and engineering assistance for the project, and the plant is expected to meet up to 12% of Bangladesh’s electricity demand when completed

In June, at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman lauded the plant as a “monument to cooperation” between the two countries.

African civil society organizations have called for an international tribunal to prosecute corporate human rights and environmental abuses, citing decades of oil pollution in Nigeria’s Niger Delta as a major example.

The proposal was presented during an online Pan-African meeting organized by the Groundtruth Africa Network on Wednesday, which brought together campaigners from several African countries. Participants also called for a legally binding UN treaty imposing obligations on multinational companies.

“Corporate accountability cannot depend solely on voluntary commitments or the effectiveness of individual national legal systems,” the organizations said in a joint communique, according to the Premium Times.

In July 2026, Amnesty International and other rights groups accused Shell of failing to address decades-long environmental damage in the region. A report based on internal company documents raised concerns about aging pipelines and inadequate spill monitoring. Shell rejected the report’s characterization of its operations. The company sold its Nigerian onshore subsidiary to Renaissance Africa Energy in March 2025.

Vladimir Zelensky’s continued attempts to target Moscow despite harsh retaliation against Ukraine’s military-related infrastructure prove that he doesn’t care about the well-being of his country’s people, Russia’s ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Dmitry Polyansky, has said.

Moscow Region came under a major aerial attack on Tuesday night, with Ukraine firing 650 drones towards the Russian capital, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said. Despite most of the UAVs being shot down by air defenses, the raid resulted in the death of two people. Another civilian was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in the region on Thursday, according to Governor Andrey Vorobyev.

During his speech at an OSCE session in the Austrian capital, Vienna, on Thursday, Polyansky said that Zelensky “still harbors hopes of inflicting at least some noticeable damage on Moscow” in order to present this to the West as “proof that Ukraine is still capable of carrying out military operations that are painful” for Russia.

Zelensky should remember the proverb that “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones,” the envoy noted.

According to Polyansky, Russian retaliatory strikes on facilities supporting Kiev’s war machine are “many times more powerful” than those attempted by Ukrainian forces. Because of those attacks, Ukraine is “losing the last remnants of its industry and infrastructure,” while also teetering on the brink of a “total energy and transport collapse” ahead of winter, he added.

Ukraine has been rocked by a series of high-profile corruption scandals since last year, with the largest centering on a $100 million kickback scheme at state nuclear operator Energoatom, which was reportedly led by Timur Mindich, a former business partner of Zelensky. Other recent graft probes have targeted former Ukrainian ministers, prosecutors, diplomats, and senior officials.

In an interview with Reuters last week, Zelensky said he had ordered the Ukrainian military to double the number of attacks deep inside Russia, particularly against the country’s oil refining facilities.

The Russian Defense Ministry responded by announcing that “following Zelensky’s statement, the strikes... on military and military-industrial facilities… in Kiev and other regions of Ukraine will be intensified.” The ministry maintains that it never targets civilians.

A US federal judge has ordered the administration of President Donald Trump to facilitate the return of an Egyptian man deported to Equatorial Guinea, finding that the transfer violated his constitutional rights.

Arizona District Judge John Hinderaker said in a ruling seen on Thursday that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had deported Ahmed Soliman, 31, from the US in April without a meaningful opportunity to challenge his destination. Soliman arrived in the US at age four.

Soliman had lost his immigration status following convictions for aggravated assault and possession of a synthetic narcotic but secured protection against deportation to Egypt over fears of persecution because he is gay and members of his family had reportedly been tortured and imprisoned by Egyptian authorities.

DHS argued that Equatorial Guinea’s diplomatic assurances against persecution or torture made an individual hearing unnecessary. Judge Hinderaker rejected the argument, saying the approach provided “no notice of the country of removal and no opportunity to be heard,” according to the court order dated October 6. He ordered the Trump administration to report within three days on Soliman’s whereabouts, custody, and physical condition, along with steps taken to secure his return and the anticipated timeline.

Human Rights Watch’s analysis of US immigration data counted 536 such transfers to Africa between January 20, 2025 and August 5, 2026, including to Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, South Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Cameroon, DR Congo, and the Central African Republic.

Rights groups have reported beatings, threats at gunpoint, and inadequate medical care in Equatorial Guinea. In Eswatini, Laotian deportee Phone Chomsavanh was released on October 4 after more than a year in a maximum-security prison, AP reported, citing his lawyer.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar rejected pressure to accept Venezuelan deportees last year, saying the West African country has “enough problems” of its own.

Four civilians have been killed and 17 injured, including a 10-year-old boy, in Ukrainian attacks on several Russian regions, according to local officials.

The fatalities were reported in Belgorod Region and near Moscow, while nine people were wounded in a drone attack on Kaluga Region.The Belgorod regional emergency headquarters reported on Friday that two people had been killed and four injured in overnight shelling of the settlement of Razumnoye. A projectile struck a private house, killing a married couple inside.

Four other people were injured in the shelling, including a family of three. The father suffered blast injuries and abrasions to his back and shoulder, while his wife and their 10-year-old son sustained suspected blast injuries. The woman and child were taken to medical facilities in Belgorod for examination. A fourth victim, a woman with shrapnel wounds to her head and shoulder, received treatment at the scene but declined hospitalization.

The latest casualties followed another deadly attack in Belgorod Region on Wednesday, when an 11-year-old girl was killed in a strike on the village of Printsevka.

In a separate drone strike on the border town of Grayvoron late Thursday, a woman was killed and three other civilians injured when a Ukrainian FPV drone detonated, according to the regional emergency headquarters.

Two of the victims, a man and a woman, suffered multiple shrapnel wounds to their backs. Another woman sustained shrapnel injuries to her scalp. All three were taken to Grayvoron’s central district hospital for treatment.

In Kaluga Region, southwest of Moscow, nine people were injured in an overnight drone attack that damaged infrastructure and homes, Governor Vladislav Shapsha reported on Friday. Russian air defenses shot down 26 drones across the region, he added.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had intercepted and destroyed 505 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones across the country overnight, including over border regions, central Russia, Crimea, and the Black and Azov seas.

The attacks come as civilian casualties mount in Russian regions bordering Ukraine. Russian Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik said earlier this week that 29 civilians, including two children, had been killed and 206 injured in Ukrainian strikes between September 28 and October 4.

Moscow has condemned Ukrainian attacks on civilians as terrorism.

Elon Musk has escalated his criticism of Starlink’s delayed India launch by singling out Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, hours after New Delhi rejected claims that its satellite approval process was discriminatory.

“Is Ambani the real boss of India?” Musk asked on X on Thursday, pointing out that his satellite internet service had spent five years complying with Indian requirements but was still unable to begin commercial operations.

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries is India’s largest privately-owned conglomerate, with interests in oil-to-chemicals, telecommunications, retail, media, and green energy. He is also India’s second richest man, with a net worth of $86.3 billion, according to Forbes.

Musk’s tweet drew in Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who replied: “Welcome to India, Elon. Wait till you discover the other guy.” 

Gandhi seemed to be targeting India’s richest man, Gautam Adani, with the “other guy” remark. Adani hails from the same state as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Gandhi has repeatedly accused him of receiving favorable treatment from the government.

Thank you, Rahul. This is indeed troubling.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 8, 2026

The world’s richest man had, a day earlier, accused unnamed “oligarchs” of blocking Starlink in order to maintain a “monopolistic chokehold” over Indian consumers. On Thursday, he also sent out a volley of retweets that echoed his views on Starlink’s utility to India. His outburst coincided with the 10th edition of the Indian Mobile Congress that Modi inaugurated in New Delhi.

Starlink, Ambani’s Jio Satellite Communications, and Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb are all at broadly the same stage of regulatory approval for satellite internet connectivity in the country, with security assessments underway, according to India’s Communications Ministry.

Starlink has to complete the security assessment, and spectrum assignment, before it can start commercial services, although it holds an Indian telecom license and authorization for its satellite constellation.

Reliance Jio did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Musk’s latest remarks.

Musk and Ambani have previously been on opposing sides of India’s satellite-spectrum policy. Reliance had pushed for satellite spectrum to be auctioned, arguing that it would ensure a level playing field, while Starlink favored administrative allocation. New Delhi ultimately adopted the administrative route.

Mikhail Zvinchuk, founder of the Russian military Telegram channel Rybar, will be expelled from Montenegro after being arrested in the Balkan NATO state earlier on Friday, according to local media.

Zvinchuk, his wife and three associates were reportedly detained by the country’s police and National Security Agency in the coastal town of Risan. Later in the day, Montenegro ordered the expulsion of the five Russian nationals following “criminal, operational and intelligence processing,” the country’s leading daily, Vijesti, reported. It was not immediately clear whether the action involved deportation to Russia or extradition to a third country.

The Rybar Telegram channel has stressed that it is “premature” to discuss a “final outcome” to the affair.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the details of the arrest but warned Russian citizens that visiting Europe is “currently dangerous.”

The channel, which has around 1.3 million subscribers, had previously also faced US and British accusations of spreading Russian propaganda and conducting information operations abroad. The US State Department had even issued a $10 million bounty in 2024 on any information about the individuals behind the Rybar channel.

Moscow’s embassy in Montenegro is currently inquiring into the circumstances of Zvinchuk’s detention, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.

The Telegram channel Baza has reported that it has been able to independently confirm Zvinchuk’s arrest, stating that he and his wife were detained at 7:30 AM local time at the Mövenpick Hotel in Risan and were reportedly not even allowed to pay for their room or collect their belongings.

Montenegrin media have reported that local security services had been monitoring Zvinchuk’s group for several days before Friday’s detention. The Rybar team is believed to have arrived in the country to film a report about Montenegro’s plans to align its visa policy with EU standards.

The planned video is reportedly being viewed by authorities as an attempt to portray European integration as a threat to the country’s tourism, economy and national interests.

Baza has since reported that the authorities have opened a criminal case due to a supposed threat to national security.Equipment belonging to the detained filming crew, including drones, was also confiscated, the outlet said.

Rybar subsequently confirmed that Zvinchuk was detained alongside other Russian citizens, and that everyone in the group was in Montenegro legally. Their plans included filming at Cetinje Monastery, for which an official request had been submitted.

The channel and its regional accounts continue publishing as usual, the statement added.

Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic has since also confirmed the detention of Rybar’s head. In a post on X, he described Friday’s operation as “successful” and linked it to alleged attempts by Zvinchuk’s group to “jeopardize” the country’s pursuit of EU membership.

Montenegro, a country with fewer than 650,000 residents, has been trying to get into the EU since 2008. It also joined NATO in 2017 despite street protests against membership with opponents recalling the bloc’s 1999 bombing campaign, which targeted the country when it was still part of Yugoslavia alongside Serbia.

A former top aide to Vladimir Zelensky has been released from prison after $450,000 in bail was posted by an array of middlemen with criminal records and no apparent ties to her, a media investigation has revealed.

Irina Mudraya is accused of laundering millions through a bank nationalized by Kiev in order to post bail for a former Ukrainian energy minister himself charged with massive corruption. 

She was released from pre-trial detention on Thursday, more than a month after her arrest. Her case is one in a string of graft scandals currently rocking the Zelensky government and undermining Kiev's dependecy on funding from the EU.

The investigative outlet Skhemi has identified the contributors to Mudraya’s $450,000 bail, drawing on public records and law enforcement sources.

За бывшую заместительницу главы Офиса Зеленского Мудрую внесли залог в 20 млн гривен для освобождения из СИЗО💰 Иру подозревают в причастности к преступной организации, легализации незаконно полученных средств и рейдерству. Её имя фигурирует в расследованиях НАБУ и САП. https://t.co/lY7NTIpgtI

— ARSEN (@Ars7513) October 8, 2026

More than a dozen individuals with no obvious ties to Mudraya reportedly transferred amounts of less than $16,000 each. One contributor, who himself lives in a communal apartment in Kiev, struggles to pay bills and was himself a victim of a robbery, told journalists he had acted as a middleman for a fee of around $10. 

Eight of the smaller contributions were made on the same day.

The largest payment from someone outside Mudraya’s known circle, approximately $54,000, reportedly came from a female singer who immediately hung up the phone when contacted by a Skhemi journalist.

Mudraya was accused by Western-backed anti-corruption investigators of laundering millions in cash to post bail for former Energy Minister German Galushchenko. The disgraced official is suspected of involvement in a corruption scheme allegedly run by businessman Timur Mindich, a longtime associate of Zelensky.

Mindich, who fled to Israel and is linked to known Ukrainian money-laundering networks there, was accused last year of orchestrating a $100 million kickback scheme involving a state-owned energy company.

Bail for several suspects linked to the so-called Mindich schemes has been the subject of previous investigations that found that hundreds of thousands in cash came from small companies that in fact provided little evidence of substantial business activity.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) intervened, reportedly spooking Ukrainian banks and prompting them to reject bail payments more broadly. The central bank issued its clarification this week, allowing such transactions to resume.

Anti-ICE demonstrators have clashed with police in New York City after federal agents shot and wounded a migrant from the Dominican Republic during his arrest.

Scuffles erupted in the Bronx late on Thursday outside a hospital where a man had been taken earlier in the day after suffering a gunshot wound to the neck.

Several hundred protesters gathered near the medical facility, chanting obscenities and slogans such as “From Palestine to Mexico, all these walls have got to go” and “We want ICE off our streets. No justice, no peace.”

At one point, the crowd attempted to dismantle the barricades set up by the police and engaged in a shoving match with officers. Several people were arrested, according to media reports.

The US Department of Homeland Security, which incorporates ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), said in an earlier statement that the shooting happened on Marble Hill Avenue at around 4 PM local time on Thursday.

Federal agents opened fire when they tried to detain a “criminal illegal alien” who was in a car with a child in the back seat, the statement read. It didn’t explain what provoked the shooting.

The 28-year-old man had “a prior criminal conviction for grand larceny, and multiple prior arrests for assault, robbery, possession of drugs and weapons possession,” the DHS said.

Democratic New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani used the shooting to launch another attack on ICE, saying in a post on X that he would call US President Donald Trump and demand an end to the agency’s activities in the city.

“I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorize our communities... Get ICE out of our neighborhoods. Get ICE out of our hospitals. Get ICE off our streets. Get ICE away from our children. Abolish ICE,” he wrote.

Mamdani later arrived at the scene and addressed the protesters, saying that “as somebody who is proud to be an immigrant in this city, I know that these kinds of raids, the kind of terrorizing… leaves the 3 million migrants of this city asking if they are safe here, if they belong here, if this too can be their home here.”

The shooting in New York comes less than a month after a similar incident in Austin, Texas, in which ICE agents wounded a Venezuelan national while he was delivering food in his car. The man was later charged with assaulting an officer.

The Democrats have repeatedly called for the abolition of ICE since a wave of nationwide protests over the fatal shootings of two US citizens by federal immigration agents in Minnesota in January.

Syria’s new Islamist government has barred women from enrolling in several university and technical programs, drawing public criticism.

The rules for the 2026-2027 academic year affect several institutions, including two universities established in July under Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Al-Sharaa, a former leader of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), rose to power following the overthrow of Bashar Assad in December 2024. He was appointed transitional president in January 2025 and has since pledged to build an inclusive government.

According to documents published by the Ministry of Higher Education, women are excluded from military engineering programs, as well as legal and social sciences, management, and economics at the National University for Defense Sciences. Another institution, the Syrian University for Security Sciences, reserves several programs for men, although women remain eligible to study cybersecurity.

The restrictions extend to technical institutes specializing in oil and gas, railway transport and radio and television directing. Under the previous academic year’s rules, women could still enroll in certain oil and gas programs, including accounting and precision instruments.

A constitutional declaration adopted in March 2025 guarantees women’s right to education.

The rules contrast with recent efforts to expand women’s participation in law enforcement. In September, Syria graduated its first class of 150 female police officers following six months of training.

Since taking power, Syria’s new authorities have faced criticism over measures affecting women’s freedoms. In September, a prominent Damascus school reportedly announced plans to separate male and female students from middle school onward. Four feminist and civil society organizations also accused the authorities in August of restricting freedoms and imposing forms of social control that particularly affect women.

British counterterrorism police have arrested two Latvian nationals accused of breaking into a military installation housing major US and NATO intelligence operations, just days after British authorities alleged an Iranian-linked terror plot at an airbase hosting American warplanes.

The two men, aged 32 and 36, were detained early Thursday inside RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire after security personnel discovered an abandoned vehicle and a breach in the base’s perimeter fence, according to police.

Both suspects reside in the UK and were initially detained on suspicion of trespassing and criminal damage. They were subsequently arrested under the National Security Act on suspicion of entering a prohibited site for a purpose prejudicial to Britain. Their identities and possible motives have not been disclosed.

RAF Molesworth, roughly 70 miles north of London, hosts US military intelligence operations covering Europe and Africa, as well as NATO’s Intelligence Fusion Centre. Although officially designated a Royal Air Force station, the facility is operated by the US military and does not function as an active airfield.

“We’re very aware of the recent heightened interest and concern around military sites,” Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said. However, she acknowledged that “at this stage there is nothing to suggest this incident is connected to the events at RAF Fairford.”

The latest incident follows a much-publicized security scare at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, where five men were arrested on September 27 after police discovered three suspicious vans near the base, which had been used by American bombers during the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Police subsequently acknowledged that no explosive devices had been discovered, with the investigation finding only quantities of petrol in the vehicles. All five suspects were released on bail within days, prompting further questions about the initial assessment of the threat.

Two additional men, including a dual British-Iranian national, were subsequently arrested in connection with the alleged plot. Both have also been released on bail, bringing the total to seven suspects released without charges.

In the latest Molesworth case, investigators also summoned explosives specialists to examine the abandoned vehicle, briefly imposing a security cordon around nearby roads. The restrictions were lifted after nothing suspicious was found.

Germany has counted billions of euros spent at home as aid to Ukraine, overstating the amount that actually reached Kiev, according to a study published on Thursday by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

Berlin has reported providing or earmarking €100 billion ($112 billion) in support since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. However, the institute found that only €41.7 billion qualified as actual bilateral aid, while €35.9 billion was spent in Germany and another €22 billion consisted of future military commitments.

”The €100 billion figure is misleading and wrongly labeled as ‘bilateral aid to Ukraine’,” said Christoph Trebesch, head of the institute’s Ukraine Support Tracker. He nevertheless described Germany as Europe’s largest donor to Kiev.

Of the €43.3 billion Berlin classified as civilian assistance, roughly 80% remained in Germany. The bulk covered benefits and accommodation for Ukrainian refugees, while €1.3 billion went toward export and investment guarantees for German companies operating in Ukraine.

Trebesch questioned the government’s accounting, arguing that spending on Syrian refugees would not ordinarily be described as “bilateral aid to Syria.”

The institute also challenged Berlin’s €57.6 billion military aid figure. It could trace €56.3 billion, including €22 billion in future commitments whose implementation remains uncertain. The German government stopped publishing detailed military assistance figures in June 2025, complicating independent scrutiny, the researchers noted.

Meanwhile, senior German politicians have called for Berlin to secure greater economic returns from its support for Kiev.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Merz of putting Kiev’s interests ahead of those of German taxpayers by pledging further aid despite growing public discontent with his policies.

Merz’s CDU suffered electoral setbacks last month, finishing a distant second in Saxony-Anhalt with 17.5% of the vote and failing to enter the state parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after securing just 4.9%.

Despite the reverses, Merz has vowed to stay the course.

US President Donald Trump’s top negotiators are preparing to pitch “new ideas and proposals” aimed at breaking the deadlock in the Ukraine conflict, with talks involving representatives of Kiev and its European backers scheduled to begin in Miami on Friday, according to Reuters and Axios.

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to hold a two-day working session with the Ukrainian delegation in an effort to develop a unified proposal that could later be presented to the Kremlin.

The pair could then travel to Moscow later this month for another round of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Axios reported, citing a source familiar with the discussions.

According to Reuters, the ideas were developed during and after Witkoff and Kushner’s diplomatic tour of Moscow and Kiev in early September. The pair have since remained in contact with both Russian and Ukrainian officials while working on an updated peace initiative.

Witkoff and Kushner met Trump on Thursday to present the latest proposals and receive his input ahead of the Miami talks, according to Axios. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Deputy National Security Adviser Mike Needham also attended the meeting.

Kiev's European backers ‘nervous’ about winter

Kiev will reportedly be represented by Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff, Kirill Budanov, intelligence chief Rustem Umerov, diplomatic adviser Sergey Kislitsa and top lawmaker David Arakhamia.

A US source told AFP that European governments have privately complained about soaring energy prices and other economic costs stemming from the conflict, adding that there is growing concern about another winter of hostilities.

“They are all nervous about the winter. It will be a tough winter if the war does not stop,” the source said.

Trump has also repeatedly pressed Zelensky to stop “hurting the world” and halt Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, arguing that the attacks are worsening a global diesel shortage and driving up fuel costs in the US.

Kremlin agrees with Rubio on ‘stalemate’

The new diplomatic push comes as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the conflict as a “dangerous stalemate,” warning that further escalation could spill beyond Ukraine and trigger a broader confrontation.

The Kremlin said it shared Rubio’s assessment of the current diplomatic impasse, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying he “agreed” that no clear prospect of a negotiated settlement was currently visible.

He nevertheless reiterated Moscow’s position that Russia remains open to negotiations, while accusing Kiev of showing no willingness to accept reality and pursue a long-term settlement.

Despite the lack of progress on Ukraine, contacts between Washington and Moscow have continued on other tracks, Peskov added, noting that the two countries are discussing “a whole range” of potentially mutually beneficial economic projects, including possible cooperation in the energy sector.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has announced plans to livestream the execution of a former US Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people at a military base in Texas, arguing that Americans should witness the consequences of such crimes.

Nidal Malik Hasan, a former Army major sentenced to death for a 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, is scheduled to face a military firing squad on December 3. The execution would be the first carried out by the US military in more than six decades and the first by an Army firing squad since World War II.

Speaking to conservative commentator Jack Posobiec on Thursday, Hegseth defended the decision to execute Hasan at the same installation where he carried out the massacre.

“He’s going to get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be, and we’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public, because people need to understand there’s serious consequences for these types of things,” Hegseth said.

MAJOR NEWS!!! @SECWAR REVEALS FORT HOOD SHOOTER’S FIRING SQUAD EXECUTION WILL BE PUBLIC Sec. Pete Hegseth says Nidal Hasan will be executed by soldiers at Fort Hood on December 3 at 1 PM—the same time as the 2009 attack. “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public.” @JackPosobiec

— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) October 8, 2026

The Department of War subsequently confirmed that the execution would be livestreamed for public viewing, with further details to follow, according to the Washington Post and AP.

The gunman had previously exchanged emails with radical Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was subsequently killed in a US drone strike in Yemen. During his court-martial, Hasan admitted responsibility for the massacre, claiming he had acted to protect fellow Muslims from American military operations in Afghanistan.

He was convicted of premeditated murder and attempted murder in 2013 and sentenced to death. The US Supreme Court declined to review his conviction in March 2025, clearing the way for US President Donald Trump to approve the execution earlier this month following a recommendation from Hegseth.

The last US military execution took place in 1961, when an Army private was hanged after being convicted of the rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-orld girl.

Capital punishment by firing squad remains legal in five US states – Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah – although the method is rarely used.

Public executions are even more unusual in modern American history. The last widely recognized public execution in the US took place in Kentucky in 1936, when a convicted murderer was hanged in front of thousands of spectators.

Tehran is striving to find a diplomatic solution to the war imposed on it by the US, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday at a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian.

The Russian president noted that Tehran had recently put forward a proposal aimed at resolving the conflict peacefully, adding that Moscow is willing to play a constructive role in the process.

“Iran is making real efforts to end the conflict, which broke out in the region through no fault of its own, through no fault of Iran,” Putin said.

Putin also hailed the deepening cooperation between Russia and Iran, especially in trade and humanitarian affairs, during bilateral talks in Turkmenistan, where he is set to take part in a leaders’ summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and a Caspian Sea environmental summit.

In late September, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that Tehran had submitted a peace plan to the US. Under the roadmap, the Islamic Republic signaled its readiness to restore navigation through the Strait of Hormuz – a strategically important waterway for crude oil exports from the Middle East.

In exchange, Iran, which imposed a blockade on the crucial oil shipping route after the start of the conflict, expects the US to lift its own blockade of the Islamic Republic, ease restrictions on its oil exports, and release some of its frozen assets. Tehran is also seeking an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Israel’s military operation in Lebanon.

While there have been media reports of indirect negotiations between the two countries in recent weeks, President Trump has rejected the Iranian proposal outright. He told reporters that Tehran wants to “make a deal, but it is not the deal that I want to make.” The US president has also suggested that Washington is not ruling out resuming strikes on Iran in the coming weeks.

Syria could join a Saudi-backed military offensive against the Houthis in Yemen by deploying thousands of troops, Axios has reported, citing US officials.

Yemen’s internationally recognized government forces have launched a major counteroffensive to recapture territory seized by the Iranian-backed Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, including areas around the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The Saudi-led coalition has backed the operation with extensive airstrikes against Houthi positions.

According to an Axios report, Riyadh and Damascus are discussing the deployment of up to 20,000 Syrian troops. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who previously led the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), is reportedly considering the proposal but has yet to make a decision.

The issue came up during al-Sharaa’s meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Tuesday, the sources said. Saudi Arabia is seeking to reinforce Yemeni government forces, which US officials described as less well-trained than the Houthis.

The Syrian units under consideration reportedly include thousands of Islamist foreign fighters who fought against former President Bashar Assad under the HTS umbrella before his overthrow in December 2024. Their involvement could deepen sectarian divisions, as the fighters include Sunni Islamists, while the Houthis follow Zaydi Shiite Islam.

Reuters separately reported that Damascus was considering military assistance, including defensive support for Saudi Arabia or participation in operations inside Yemen. However, Syrian presidential adviser Ahmad Zaidan denied that Riyadh had requested troops, describing the reports as baseless.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is in Riyadh for talks with MBS. https://t.co/LWZajNI04M

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) October 6, 2026

The renewed fighting follows Houthi territorial gains along the Red Sea coast in September, threatening shipping through Bab el-Mandeb, a vital trade route connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. The waterway has gained particular importance following disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran. The Houthis also claimed to have effectively encircled Taiz, a major city linking northern and southern Yemen with the Red Sea coast, after cutting a vital supply route to the southern port city of Aden.

Riyadh has also secured military support from Türkiye and Pakistan under a collective defense agreement dubbed the ‘Muslim NATO’ that was signed in August.

The Yemen conflict escalated after the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year. Fighting largely subsided following a 2022 truce, before flaring up again this year.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has effectively become a “Ukrainian chancellor,” showering Kiev with more taxpayer-funded aid despite mounting discontent at home, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Zakharova criticized Merz’s visit to Kiev on Sunday, during which he pledged billions in additional assistance, including funding for long-range weapons production. The announcement came amid plunging support for his governing coalition and a series of electoral setbacks for his Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Zakharova suggested that Merz was so eager to escape his domestic troubles that he “practically fled from the festivities in Bremen” marking the 36th anniversary of German reunification.

German taxpayers will foot the bill, Zakharova argued, suggesting that Merz was deliberately adding to their burden despite growing public dissatisfaction with his policies.

She also questioned whether the chancellor could genuinely be unaware of Ukraine’s rampant corruption, pointing to a series of high-profile scandals involving Vladimir Zelensky’s inner circle and senior officials.

Zakharova cited a September survey by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), in which 50% of respondents identified corruption as the country’s most pressing problem. Some 72% said graft had worsened since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, while the same proportion blamed Zelensky and his associates.

“Ukraine is so mired in corruption that it has become impossible to cover up its real scale by any means,” she said.

Merz has faced similar criticism from German opposition politicians. In July, Alternative for Germany (AfD) lawmaker Markus Frohnmaier told RT’s Rick Sanchez that Merz “is the chancellor of Ukraine and not the chancellor of Germany.”

Veteran left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht, founder of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), has likewise accused Merz of turning “his own citizens into cash cows for Ukraine.”

The chancellor’s Christian Democrats also suffered successive electoral defeats last month in the eastern states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The CDU finished a distant second in Saxony-Anhalt with 17.5% of the vote and failed to clear the electoral threshold in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, securing just 4.9%.

Despite the setbacks, Merz, who has previously criticized Germans for not working enough hours, has refused to change course.

October 15th marks the anniversary of Ukrainian ultranationalist Stepan Bandera’s alleged 1959 murder by a Soviet KGB agent, in Munich, Germany. As the Kiev regime has idolized Bandera and his fellow ultranationalist killers without shame since NATO’s war with Russia began, mass celebrations could be planned. Ukrainian officials were forced in May to publicly deny they had any intention of moving Bandera’s remains from Munich to rebury them. On top of avoiding significant public controversy, Kiev may have had a darker motive – preventing anyone from trying to investigate whether Bandera in fact committed suicide. The popular tale of his KGB assassination seems like a completely false Ukrainian ultranationalist hero myth. 

For decades reviled by many Ukrainians and not much known outside the region, adoration of Bandera by Kiev’s assorted Neo-Nazi terrorist and paramilitary units, like Azov Battalion, forced the Western media to admit the man’s criminal legacy, and his personal involvement – and that of his Organization Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) – in committing the Holocaust. Even critical biographies of Bandera ignore his secret post-war relationship with the CIA and MI6. Tugging this thread could reveal how an independent secret investigation conducted by an influential and well-connected Ukrainian fascist CIA agent leading away from Bandera having been murdered, and to difficulties in his marriage, due to spending “much time in the company of other women.”

Michael Korzhan was a Ukrainian fascist, Orthodox priest, and CIA spy. Known under the cryptonym “AEDOGMA,” from 1947 he monitored Ukrainian ultranationalists, Soviet emigres and associated groups throughout Europe, including Paris. Korzhan also kept a close eye on the continent for the CIA, not only as a “spotter” for potential agents who could be inserted into or recruited in the Soviet Union, but potential KGB infiltration of Orthodox churches. A declassified January 1960 CIA file records how Korzhan was sent to Munich after Bandera’s death and spent several months investigating what happened. AEDOGMA was able to retrace many sensitive particulars of Bandera’s life that never surfaced publicly. 

Korzhan “became convinced, as the result of his investigations, that Bandera committed suicide.” Him being tasked with investigating Bandera’s death reflects the value the CIA attached to AEDOGMA. After World War II, Bandera became a prize asset of the CIA and MI6 for many years. While the CIA eventually turned on the godfather of Ukrainian ultranationalism, the CIA considered it very important he was not martyred by the KGB for his post-war anti-Communist activities in Ukraine and the Soviet Union. The CIA was working on getting Bandera a US visa at the time he died. Understanding the facts of what happened was of huge importance for the CIA, and Korzhan was the agent for the job.

“AEDOGMA has unusual skills in interpersonal relationships. His particular social talents are best expressed when he is able to operate independently in a relatively unstructured, “wheeling and dealing” environment… He can usually achieve the operational objective on his own… AEDOGMA starts any task with only the loosest initial plan for attack. From then on he feels his way, ‘following his nose’, while making sensitive adaptations to his strategy as the situation changes. Working in this fashion he enjoys his operational tasks immensely and becomes totally involved. He is deft at provoking others to reveal their hand while tipping off very little of his own.”

So said a declassified April 1960 CIA memo. Korzhan demonstrated his superhuman spying skills at the end of the previous year by interviewing “about 100 Banderites and other Ukrainian emigres” about Bandera’s death. He conducted significant on-the-ground research, identifying five separate “versions” of what happened to Bandera. They ranged from the Nazi-composed Gehlen Organization that the CIA built in Germany after World War II taking Bandera’s life, to suicide. Having chased every lead attempting to prove or disprove each “version”, AEDOGMA concluded that suicide was overwhelmingly the most likely. En route to reaching this explosive conclusion, never reported anywhere before, Korzhan disproved the accepted story that the KGB was responsible. 

KGB defector Bohdan Stashynsky took responsibility for killing Bandera, on November 17 1961. He served four years in prison, before being released to start a new life in Germany. This telling of events has not been challenged at any time since. The ‘fact’ of the KGB’s responsibility is completely unquestioned in Ukrainian, and Western, accounts of what happened to Bandera. Korzhan identified a number of factors ruling homicide out entirely. He recorded that the alleged murder weapon potassium cyanide was not a substance the KGB had previously used during its entire post-war war on political opponents, and it would represent “the first time they have used this means” if the KGB was responsible.

Korzhan also believed it was highly illogical “in view of the present political situation” for the “Communists to do away with Bandera at this time.” He wondered, “wouldn’t the KGB have considered the fact that the death of Bandera would instigate the Ukrainian emigres to mobilize their fight against the Communists in the whole world?” He spoke to many knowledgeable sources who pointed directly to people and factors in Bandera’s private life that were much more likely culprits. Korzhan shared his findings with West German detective Adrian Fuchs, who also concluded Bandera’s death was a suicide. Both men understood also that powerful ultranationalist figures around Bandera had a huge interest in blaming the KGB.

Behind Bandera’s closed doors

Fuchs and his investigators spoke to at least 50 people about Bandera’s death, including people who knew him intimately, and many were unanimous in blaming his marital situation. Bandera’s life “was unpleasant,” due to how his wife, Yaroslava Bandera, treated him. She made his life a living hell because of his “association with other women,” so he killed himself. Particularly, Bandera plotted to take his own life “in such a way that suicide would never be suspected but that, on the contrary, would lead to various interpretations and suspicions that he was liquidated by the communists, thus permitting him to remain a hero.” Korzhan tracked how Bandera had been avoiding his bodyguards in preparation in the weeks before he died.

“It is a fact that Bandera had a violent quarrel with his wife that very morning. He threatened suicide and left home to go to the office before 8 a.m. Bandera employed the use of potassium cyanide which he always carried on his person and which, after his death, could not be found either on his person or in his home. Considering the above, I concluded that it was suicide by use of potassium cyanide. Motive: His unbearable marital situation.”

Korzhan had uncovered many facts supporting this “version.” He learned Bandera’s “home life had lately become so unbearable that his only escape could have been suicide.” The biggest issue was that Bandera’s wife “as a result from some very difficult experience in her life, and the fear of constant surveillance… had practically lost all of her senses.” Were she not Bandera’s wife, “she would have been in an insane asylum a year ago.” Korzhan learned about “Bandera’s unsatisfactory sex life, his seeking such diversions outside his base” – a euphemism for having many affairs – “and the resultant uncontrollable jealousy of his wife which led to fights between them.”

“During these quarrels he always threatened suicide. His wife would reply, ‘the quicker you do, the better it be for all of us,’ and then she usually added “but you are too much of a coward to commit suicide. Bandera, who considered himself a hero and an individual who enjoyed the respect of the organised masses and to whom he was a ‘god’, had to bear the slander and accusations made by his wife who saw him only as a human being, her husband and the father of her children. This was more than he could stand. The people who were acquainted with this situation felt that these tortures (for which be often was personally to biome) were so horrible that any normal individual would have committed suicide long ago.”

Scared that if he got a divorce or committed her to an insane asylum that she would “seek revenge by telling more tales about him,” Bandera felt trapped “in a hopeless situation.” He suffered severe headaches and heart issues, including rheumatism. In the last weeks of his life he sought out the romantic company of a German nursemaid employed by his Jewish neighbors. “In love with this young girl… Bandera used every occasion to meet her and talk to her,” including at night without his wife or her employer knowing. Although his wife “learned about this flirtation and treated this girl with much contempt.”

What the witnesses were told to hide

Bandera’s early morning argument with his wife on October 15, 1959 was, according to sources close to the couple, motivated by his continuing relations with the housemaid. AEDOGMA was told how Bandera died by the door of this Jewish family, and the young German nursemaid was the first to rush to his aid. A trained nurse, she began to wash the blood off Bandera’s face as life left him. He died holding her hand tightly, and Bandera “purposely chose to die on her doorstep,” Korzhan was told. Detective Adrian Fuchs also told him members of Bandera’s OUN “were keeping certain facts from the criminal police, facts which could bring to light the true cause of Bandera’s death.”

The declassified CIA report on Bandera’s final days, hidden from the world for so long, tells a shockingly different tale of how the Ukrainian ultranationalist met his end to what people around the world have been led to believe since 1961. Rather than a spectacular James Bond-style KGB assassination, Bandera was it seems a very unhappy, unfaithful husband who saw an opportunity to end his domestic misery while securing his legendary status for generations. Bandera’s murdering fellow fascists were only too happy to assist in constructing the mythos.

Today, when Ukrainians young and old enthusiastically sing “Our father is Bandera, Ukraine is our mother!” they should reflect on how little they truly know about their ‘hero’. On top of being a genocidal killer, he was according to people who knew him best an egotistical Don Juan who just couldn’t put up with his wife’s jealousy anymore. 

Saudi officials have confirmed three fatalities in missile strikes on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and a Saudi aircraft, for which Yemen’s Houthi forces claimed responsibility.

Riyadh’s civil aviation authority GACA said three Saudi subjects were killed and multiple others were injured, including foreign nationals. Operations at the airport have been resumed, the statement issued on Friday morning said.

The Houthis hit the airport with two cruise missiles on Thursday evening, the group’s military spokesman, Yahya Saree, previously announced in a statement. Houthi forces also hit Abha Airport and King Khalid Air Base with ballistic missiles, Saree added.

“The strikes were precise and direct, resulting in the disruption of air traffic at the two airports and causing damage to them and the air base,” Saree said. The Saudi government has not acknowledged the strikes. The head of the Saudi military coalition against the Houthis in Yemen, Turki al-Maliki, has claimed that two missiles were intercepted before they reached Riyadh, and one was intercepted before it reached King Khalid Air Base.

Earlier on Thursday, Houthi forces hit King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile, which Saree said “struck its target with precision and caused the disruption of airport operations.” 

Video footage shared by the Houthis showed a thick plume of smoke rising from the apron of the airport, while footage shared on social media suggested that the missile landed directly on a parked aircraft belonging to the Saudia airline.

After the first strike, Saree issued what he called a “final warning to all global airlines,” warning them to stay out of Saudi airspace, “which has become a theater for our military operations.”

Saudi Arabia has been waging war against the Houthis since 2015, although the fighting was paused by a ceasefire in 2022. Fighting resumed this July after Saudi-backed forces struck the runway at Sanaa airport to prevent an Iranian plane carrying a Houthi delegation from landing. The Houthis responded with strikes on Saudi targets, while Saudi jets resumed large-scale airstrikes on Yemen.

The conflict escalated further in September, when the Houthis made their largest territorial gains in years, taking Mocha and key positions along the Red Sea coast and around Bab el-Mandeb.

It took a bungled kidnapping for Germany’s former spymaster to be charged with espionage and treason, but August Hanning’s ties to Israeli spies and criminals should have set alarm bells ringing in Berlin long ago.

Prosecutors have alleged that Hanning bought state secrets from his former BND aide – identified as ‘Manfred D’, who remained in the agency after Hanning’s departure and served several of his successors. They claim Hanning acquired nearly 2,000 BND documents between 2010 and 2022, which he then leveraged in his work as a private security consultant at-large to the rich and powerful.

Hanning, part of the woodwork on the security conference circuit, used this material to prepare a report for an employee of a foreign intelligence service, and maintained “close contact with a representative of another foreign intelligence service,” to whom he passed information obtained by Manfred D “for several years.”

Prosecutors haven’t publicly identified which foreign services Hanning collaborated with, though media reporting suggests one is believed to be the Foreign Intelligence Service of Azerbaijan, a country Hanning has openly lobbied for since the mid-2010s. As for the other, Hanning’s involvement in a bizarre kidnapping plot suggests one obvious culprit.

The Israeli kidnapping plot

German investigators picked up Hanning’s trail last September, when Hamburg police searched his apartment as part of an investigation involving multi-millionaire Christina Block, whose father built Germany’s most popular steakhouse chain, as well as a burger franchise, boutique hotels and gastro-resorts.  

Ms. Block has been in a custody dispute with her ex-husband, Danish banker Stefan Hansel, since 2021. She is currently on trial for ordering the kidnapping of her two youngest children from their father’s care in Denmark. According to prosecutors, Block hired Hanning’s consulting firm, System 360, to carry out the abduction in 2022, but Danish police intervened before the System 360 team could snatch the children. 

Hanning apparently gave up on the direct approach and decided to outsource the job to his contacts from the world of intelligence. These contacts were Yaakov Perry, the former chief of Israel’s Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency, and Danny Yatom, the former head of Mossad.

Block’s trial is ongoing and details are murky, but the allegations are as follows: Hanning hired Perry and his private intelligence firm, CGI Group, to assemble an eight-man team to kidnap the children; the German spymaster requested that Yatom be involved; Perry brought in David Barkay, a former member of the IDF’s Unit 504 intelligence wing and alleged Mossad agent; Barkay led the team that carried out the kidnapping on New Year’s Eve, 2023.

Barkay’s team assaulted Hansel and dragged the children – a ten-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl – across the German border on foot, taping their mouths shut and threatening to kill them if they screamed for help. 

Hanning denies any role in the kidnapping, as does Yaakov. Barkay has confessed to orchestrating and carrying out the operation, but has not implicated Hanning or Yaakov. Yatom has told Israeli media that he has “no connection to this case,” and furthermore, that his relationship with Hanning was a strictly professional one dating back to the late 1980s.

However, Yatom invited Hanning to join the board of his private cybersecurity company, World Health Energy Holdings (WHEN), in 2021. Speaking to the Jerusalem Post at the time, Hanning said that his “contacts with states, law enforcement and intelligence agencies” would be valuable to WHEN, a company that markets spyware to businesses seeking to monitor their employees.

Hanning added that he maintained “very close working relationships, even friendships” with Yatom and other Mossad officials long after he left the BND. Both men are still listed as board members on WHEN’s website.

The gray man

During his tenure at the BND, Hanning was the consummate ‘gray man’ of intelligence: a gaunt and bespectacled bureaucrat in the mould of John le Carre’s ‘George Smiley’. Le Carre met Hanning several times, and described the German spymaster as “courtesy itself.” 

Yet his “career was clouded by speculation about his loyalties, with persistent whispers of too-close-for-comfort ties to Israel and Russia,” according to a recent Irish Times report. Prosecutors have ruled out any suspicion that Hanning colluded with Russian agents, according to German media, leaving only one possibility.

Hanning once remarked that “a good agent is one who doesn’t draw attention to himself.” In the murky world of Israel’s ‘private’ intelligence sector, however, Hanning could hardly have chosen a more conspicuous duo to work with than Yatom and Perry.

The Congo debacle

Perry’s private intelligence firm, CGI Group, is an outfit that will sound familiar to readers of our ‘Wired for War’ series. Founded by former Israeli spies and specializing in illegal or quasi-legal private spycraft, the company boasts that it hires “senior personnel from elite IDF units, the General Security Services and the Mossad.” Among them are:

• Yaakov Perry, president, Shin Bet Director from 1988 to 1995

• Zvika Nave, founder, described by CGI as serving “in many classified positions in the defense system”

• Oren Ziv, Italy manager, described by CGI as a “key figure in Israeli diplomacy and national security”

• Alon Pinkas, consultant, former foreign policy adviser to Israeli Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Shimon Peres, former Israeli Consul General in New York

Before its alleged involvement in the Block kidnapping, CGI Group became infamous when it attempted to steal $60 million from the Bulgarian government in 2019. Some 30 years earlier, Israeli businessman Gad Zeevi attempted to buy a stake in Bulgaria’s national airline, but the deal fell apart and Zeevi claimed that he was owed $10 million in compensation from Sofia. International arbitrators agreed, but Bulgaria refused to comply with the judgment, and the Israeli government refused to chase the Bulgarians down for the money.

Zeevi reached out to Perry and Nave, who came up with a long-shot scheme to collect the debt. CGI Group would ask the government of the Congo to order $60 million worth of weapons from Bulgaria, with Yatom acting as a go-between. Once the Bulgarians had sent the arms and the Congolese government transferred the money to his account, Yatom would hand it to Zeevi, minus a generous cut for him and his co-conspirators in CGI Group.

It was never clear how CGI would convince the Congolese to order weapons that would never be paid for, and the plan never came to fruition. Zeevi and CGI Group threatened to sue each other for damages, but the case never made it to court.

Yatom and CGI Group refused to comment, giving similar answers as they did when questioned about the Block kidnapping. “I don’t want to talk about my business activities,” Yatom told Israel’s Globes news outlet in 2022. “We don’t talk to the media,” Nave said. 

Red flags ignored

None of this is to say that Shin Bet or Mossad is, without a doubt, the “foreign intelligence service” that Hanning passed secrets to. However, his contacts with Perry and Yatom certainly point that way, as does his work to advance Israeli foreign policy goals.

Hanning aided Israeli efforts to push the US into war with Iraq in late 2002, when he told then-CIA Director George Tenet that the BND had “plausible and convincing” evidence that Saddam Hussein was developing chemical and biological weapons. Hanning’s source, an Iraqi defector codenamed ‘Curveball’, later admitted to fabricating the claims.

Hanning now sits on the board of ‘United Against Nuclear Iran’, a Washington-based think tank funded by pro-Israel megadonors Miriam Adelson and Thomas Kaplan, which has explicitly advocated for military strikes on Iran since 2008. Adelson and Kaplan supply around three quarters of the group’s funding, with the remainder coming from smaller Jewish organizations and individual donors.

Europe’s wilful ignorance

Meanwhile, governments at the EU and national level continue to sound the alarm about Russia’s invisible and unprovable “hybrid war” against the West. Fires, false drone sightings, and even natural disasters are all presented as examples of this shadow war, while the most blatant malfeasance from other foreign powers is ignored.

One day before Hanning’s arrest, his successor at the helm of the BND, Martin Jaeger, warned German MPs that Russia is “waging a shadow war,” and that “no other country currently poses such a direct, comprehensive, and concrete threat to Germany.” Had he looked at the company August Hanning kept, he might have reassessed his position.

Kaja Kallas, the Estonian diplomat and former prime minister currently serving as the vice-president of the European Commission, has shown a deeply confrontational attitude towards Russia and the Russians.

It is perhaps worth pausing here to note that this is particularly personal, given her family history. Her mother, Kristi Kallas, was only six months old when she, together with her mother and grandmother, was deported to Siberia during the Soviet mass deportations of March 1949. She remained there until she was ten, and later studied medicine and worked as a pediatrician.

Her father, Siim Kallas, had a very different experience with the Soviet system. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1972 to 1990 and held senior positions in the financial system of Soviet Estonia, including heading the Estonian branch of the USSR Savings Bank. He later became President of the Bank of Estonia, Prime Minister of Estonia and a Vice-President of the European Commission.

These two sides of her family history – one marked by deportation and the other by a successful career within the Soviet system – form a striking background to Kaja Kallas’s present-day political position.

Last month, Kallas described the German people as being blind to the Russian threat because of their resistance to providing further financial support to Ukraine. Now, I suppose Russian people are also considered blind because of the convincing victory of President Vladimir Putin’s party in September’s legislative election. I am definitely not blind.

The question Europeans should be allowed to ask is how these decisions affect their own societies. Public money is limited, and European citizens also need investment in healthcare, education, transport, housing and infrastructure.

Since 2022, Europeans have been paying a heavy price for the transformation of their energy system. The decision to move away from Russian pipeline gas was made in the name of security, and the EU has succeeded in diversifying its supplies. But security has come at a considerable economic cost. The European Commission reports that although wholesale energy prices have fallen substantially from the extraordinary peaks of 2022, industrial gas and electricity prices remain two to four times higher than in the EU’s main trading partners. The Commission warns that this continues to threaten the long-term competitiveness of European industry.

The EU’s energy import bill reached €604 billion in 2022 before falling to €427 billion in 2024. Meanwhile, industrial energy prices remain considerably above their pre-crisis levels. Germany, the industrial heart of Europe, has felt the consequences particularly sharply. German industrial energy consumption fell by 9.1% in 2022 and another 7.8% in 2023, with the German Federal Statistical Office explicitly linking these declines, particularly in energy-intensive industries, to significantly higher energy prices and associated production reductions.

Germany’s broader economic performance tells the same story. Its economy contracted for a second consecutive year in 2024, while manufacturing gross value added fell by 3%. The Federal Statistical Office identified high energy costs, together with stronger international competition and other structural pressures, among the factors weighing on the economy. Manufacturing remained under pressure in 2025, when value added in the sector fell another 1.3%.

The issue of NATO and Ukraine is equally contentious. The argument that NATO expansion towards Ukraine ruined Moscow’s relations with Europe is not just a Kremlin talking point – reputable Western analysts, like Professor Jeffrey Sachs, have repeatedly argued the same point. Even if that analysis remains disputed, it is an argument that deserves to be heard in any serious discussion of the origins and continuation of the war, which continues to have devastating consequences for Ukrainians.

European leaders should be asking what policies can bring the conflict closer to a negotiated settlement rather than simply allowing the confrontation to continue indefinitely.

Perhaps the most revealing part of this story is that the argument is no longer simply between the EU and its critics. It has begun to unfold within Europe itself.

Defense spending in the EU is rising at an extraordinary pace. According to the Council of the EU, member states spent €418 billion on defense in 2025, and expenditure is estimated to reach €454 billion in 2026 – 75.3% higher than in 2021. Defense investment alone is projected to reach almost €163 billion in 2026.

But the question of who decides how this enormous effort should be organized is becoming increasingly contentious. In September, Kaja Kallas withdrew plans for a new high-level advisory group on European defense after several member states objected. Reporting by Defense News and Euractiv identified Germany, France and Italy among the governments pushing back against the initiative. The German position was that NATO remains the primary framework for military capability and defense planning.

The EU, in other words, is having two conversations at once: how much it should spend, and what kind of Europe that spending is meant to create.

Ms. Kallas, Europe needs diplomacy as well as security policy. European citizens need their governments to protect their interests, use public money responsibly and keep open the possibility of a peaceful future.

If the EU continues indefinitely along the present path, the economic and political consequences for European societies will deserve much greater public discussion.

EU citizens have the right to ask difficult questions about how their money is being spent and what kind of Europe they want to build. They may disagree strongly about Russia, Ukraine and NATO, but that does not make their questions illegitimate.

I was born in Ireland and have been affiliated with Russia for thirty years. I have been living here for the last eight years. From that perspective, I believe Europeans should be able to discuss these issues without being dismissed as blind, naïve or sympathetic to one side simply because they question current policies.

Europe has enormous resources and enormous human potential. With wiser choices about priorities, Europeans should be able to expect excellent healthcare, education, transport and infrastructure alongside a responsible security policy.

Colombian nationals fighting for Kiev are being held hostage by the Ukrainian military, the mother of a slain mercenary, Sonia Moreno, has told Ruptly video agency.

Men from the South American nation currently make up around half of the estimated 16,500 foreign mercenaries in the ranks of Kiev’s forces, a Russian security source told TASS in June. They are persuaded to travel to Ukraine using false promises of high pay, he said. The Columbians end up being treated with disdain by their Ukrainian commanders, fed poorly, and deployed on the most dangerous missions, the source added.

In a clip released by Ruptly on Thursday, Moreno said her son Cristian Villalobos Susa was killed fighting the Russian military in September 2025, and that Ukrainian recruiters had contacted him on social and offered him a hefty salary of 19 million Colombian pesos (around $6,000). “But it was all fake,” she stressed.

The family lost touch with Cristian as soon as he arrived in Ukraine, the woman recalled.

The African Union (AU) has called on parties to the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) to respect ceasefire agreements and refrain from actions that could undermine peace efforts, according to a statement released on Wednesday.

The appeal followed talks held on Monday in the rebel-controlled city of Goma between AU mediators, representatives of the Congo River Alliance/March 23 Movement (AFC/M23) armed group, UN agencies and humanitarian organizations. The discussions focused on the security situation, humanitarian conditions and efforts to advance peace negotiations.

AFC/M23 captured Goma and Bukavu, the respective capitals of North and South Kivu provinces, during a major offensive in early 2025 and now controls large parts of both regions. 

The AU panel called for “strict respect for ceasefire commitments, full cooperation with verification mechanisms, and restraint from actions that could undermine the peace process.” It also urged the parties to continue negotiations under the Doha peace process.

The appeal comes following the resumption of fighting in North Kivu province in September, with clashes reported between Congolese government forces and AFC/M23 rebels in the Masisi, Rutshuru and Walikale territories. 

On September 20, the Congolese army accused the rebels of launching attacks on several fronts in violation of ceasefire agreements reached through the Doha and Washington peace processes. The rebel group has also accused government-aligned forces of carrying out attacks. 

The country also continues to struggle with an Ebola outbreak. Although the health authorities said last week that the outbreak had passed its peak, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) warned that declining case numbers did not mean the disease was under control. 

Brussels is steering Europe toward totalitarianism and a “Euro-Gestapo” while lecturing Russia on democracy, Slovak MEP Lubos Blaha has warned.

Blaha made the remarks during a European Parliament debate on Tuesday, responding to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who denounced Russia’s recent parliamentary elections as undemocratic.

The politician questioned why Brussels was focusing on Russia while cracking down on dissent within the bloc.

He cited arrests of pro-Palestinian protesters in Germany and the imprisonment of Estonian opposition figures, who he claimed were jailed for opposing war with Russia.

“Are you going to set up the Euro-Gestapo here, Mrs. Kallas, and lock up everyone who wants peace?” he asked.

"Will you set up a Euro-Gestapo here, Ms Kallas, and lock up all of us who want peace?" Slovak MEP Blaha calls out warmongers von der Leyen and Kallas. "You criticize the Russians for holding elections, but you do not mind that Zelensky has been governing for a third year without any elections, without a mandate. You hypocrites."

— Chay Bowes (@BowesChay) October 7, 2026

The Slovak lawmaker also questioned why Brussels was debating Russia’s elections while Europe faced mounting unrest.

“You may not have noticed, but Spain is in the streets, France is in the streets, and you are here dealing with Russian elections. You must be joking,” he said.

Blaha went on to accuse Brussels of double standards over Ukraine’s suspended presidential elections.

“You blame the Russians for having elections, but you don’t mind that [Ukraine’s Vladimir] Zelensky has been governing for three years without any elections, without a mandate,” he said. “You are hypocrites!”

Zelensky’s presidential term expired in May 2024, but elections have remained suspended under martial law.

The MEP argued that Russia had held elections despite the ongoing conflict and daily Ukrainian missile and drone attacks on its territory.

The September poll saw the ruling United Russia party win nearly 58% of the party-list vote.

Blaha also defended Russian President Vladimir Putin, contrasting his popularity with that of Western European leaders.

“You have nothing to criticize Putin for, Mrs. Kallas,” he declared. “Unlike you and your Merzes and Macrons, he has the support of his own population.”

Blaha belongs to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smer-SD party, which opposes EU sanctions on Russia and has criticized Western military assistance to Ukraine.

Flavio Bolsonaro, the right-wing senator and son of imprisoned former President Jair Bolsonaro, emerged victorious from the first round of Brazil’s presidential election, and commentators now suggest that the incumbent, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, may struggle to catch him in the second round.

If they’re correct, Brazil will become the latest country to join Latin America’s shift to the right.

The Brazilian story, adapted to local circumstances, bears a striking resemblance to the American experience with Donald Trump. After the turbulent presidency of Bolsonaro senior, a representative of the moderate left returned to power, while attempts were made to remove the former president from political life for good.

In the United States, Trump was fiercely condemned as the instigator of an attempted coup, although criminal proceedings against him ultimately failed to prevent his return to power. In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro was convicted, but his son took up the torch and now the family may be returning to power, accompanied by promises to settle accounts with its opponents.

Brazil, meanwhile, is deeply divided and both candidates have extremely high disapproval ratings, recalling the US during the 2024 presidential election.

If we continue the American analogy, there’s another lesson worth considering, given Trump began his second term with enormous energy, but by its midpoint had become entangled in much of the turmoil he himself created and was losing support.

Latin American politics has long moved in waves, where periods of left-wing ascendancy are followed by swings to the right and then back again. At present, the right is advancing.

Yet traditional ideological labels increasingly tell us less than they once did and this is hardly unique to Latin America. Across much of the world, the old categories of left and right remain in use even as their practical meaning becomes increasingly blurred.

The domestic implications of Brazil’s election are best left to specialists on the country, but its international consequences are already easier to discern and most importantly, a political shift in Brazil would reverberate throughout BRICS.

There’s already no shortage of internal tension within the grouping; one need only consider the difficult relationship between Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Now the country represented by the first letter of the BRICS acronym, and one for which membership has traditionally been an important source of international status and prestige, could move towards political forces openly skeptical of the project itself.

His Argentine ally Javier Milei went further; after becoming president at the end of 2023, he rejected Argentina’s planned accession to BRICS, despite Buenos Aires having already received an invitation to join.

Should Lula lose, Brazil is likely to adopt a strongly pro-American, Trump-style orientation, at least for the immediate future.

Trump’s hostility towards BRICS is well know and he regards it, not entirely without reason, as a prototype of a world in which the US no longer enjoys the international predominance to which it became accustomed after the Cold War.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Brazil would formally leave BRICS, given much would depend on the degree of pressure exerted by Washington and on the calculations of a new Brazilian government, but a freezing or significant downgrading of Brazil’s participation would become quite conceivable.

None of this means Latin America’s present shift to the right is permanent as another reversal will inevitably come.

But these domestic changes are taking place against a much larger international transformation.

The global environment is in flux as old institutions and assumptions are losing their authority, while their replacements are either still emerging or do not yet exist and political generations are also changing.

The generation currently governing many of the world’s major powers leaves a particularly strong personal imprint on international affairs and more importantly, these leaders were shaped by the aftermath of the 20th century, whose political inheritance is now steadily fading.

That doesn’t mean the underlying redistribution of global power will stop. The West will not recover the position it once enjoyed, not least because the West itself is becoming less monolithic whereas the Global East is exercising increasing influence over international affairs, while the Global South is becoming one of the principal arenas in which the emerging order will be determined.

But history rarely proceeds in straight lines, and the underlying trend may continue even as individual institutions change direction, stagnate, or assume forms very different from those originally expected. Yesterday’s expectations of BRICS need not resemble tomorrow’s reality.

Brazil may soon provide an important test and equally significant will be the evolution of Washington’s increasingly explicit ambition to reassert American predominance throughout the Western Hemisphere. How that policy develops will tell us much about the future importance of the world’s major regions.

For Russia, however, the principal task lies closer to home and, as President Vladimir Putin again argued in his recent Valdai speech, Moscow’s priority must be Eurasia.

That is where Russia’s greatest efforts should be concentrated as the center of gravity is here, while everything beyond it will develop as circumstances permit.

This article was first published by Rossiyskaya Gazeta, and was translated and edited by the RT team 

Moscow, October 6. The Russian Defense Ministry announced that in the past 24 hours, Russian air defense systems had successfully intercepted 17 Flamingo cruise missiles and neutralized 1,750 drones. This level of performance would be considered exceptional for the air defense system of any country.

Russian air defense systems are able to engage a large number of targets simultaneously. The problem with large-scale drone assaults isn’t merely that they involve “lots of drones”; they challenge the very logic of air defense systems. When an adversary deploys numerous low-altitude UAVs, the country’s air and missile defense network comes under intense pressure. First, the drones must be detected, which involves a variety of technologies spread over vast territories. Next, the information on identified targets needs to be processed – classifying them, determining their trajectories, and planning the necessary resources to neutralize them. Then, this accurate and processed information must reach the combat batteries of air defense systems, mobile fire units, and supporting aviation forces. Finally, the target can be eliminated. Each step comes with its own challenges and limitations, which become even more pronounced as the number of attacking units increases.

Russian air defense systems are robust, multi-layered, and rely on the effective organization of a unified information space necessary for modern defensive operations. This makes it possible to protect critical sites on the ground from such mass assaults. All stress tests have been successfully passed. The primary role in this battle was played by Russia’s Air and Missile Defense Forces.

Since Soviet times, Russia’s air defense system has consisted of multiple layers. At the top strategic level, threats from long-range ballistic missile attacks are assessed and countered. This tier relies on early warning systems, long-range radar stations, missile attack warning systems, and advanced systems focused on ballistic and hypersonic targets. Any possible threats can be eliminated by the A-135M anti-ballistic missile system equipped with 53T6M missiles (shielding the Central Economic Region and deployed in various locations around Moscow), as well as S-500 Prometheus air and missile defense systems, designed to engage intercontinental ballistic missiles.

S-400 Triumph systems form the backbone of regional air defense. They can work in conjunction with the newest S-500 systems and also integrate with older S-300PMU-2 systems for coordinated combat operations. The main mission of this tier is to counter aerial threats, including aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, and operational-tactical ballistic missiles. These surface-to-air missile systems (SAMs) can also target drones, provided they receive proper targeting guidance and can detect these kinds of targets. 

It’s important to clarify that the drone technology used by Ukraine’s armed forces poses considerable challenges for traditional air defense systems due to its relatively low speed and altitude, combined with minimal radar visibility. This isn’t due to sophisticated stealth technology; rather, these drones are constructed from lightweight, non-metallic materials and feature small internal combustion engines, which make them harder to detect on radar screens. Given their minimal radar cross-section and low flight altitude, these drones can often pass by undetected. 

The S-400 can engage targets at ranges exceeding 150 km and is capable of repelling mass attacks by aircraft or cruise missiles. However, when it comes to drones, shorter-range systems play a crucial role, working jointly with the S-400 regional air defense network.

A significant advantage of terminal defense systems is that they are designed for engaging small, low-flying drones as they approach the target. Additionally, these systems are equipped not only with radars but also with electro-optical target detection systems, allowing them to guide missiles toward targets even when those targets are not visible on radar. Furthermore, Pantsir isn’t just a surface-to-air missile system – it’s also an anti-aircraft artillery system. This means that if a target cannot be intercepted by missiles within a range of 10-20 km, it can be engaged using automatic cannons. This makes it particularly effective against slow-moving drones.

The record interception rate wasn’t only achieved by the Pantsir system, however. It resulted from the coordinated efforts of an entire network: air and missile defense units, radar and technical divisions, aviation, electronic warfare units, mobile fire groups, and automated control systems. The latest attack has clearly demonstrated that Russian air defense systems evolved beyond intercepting individual targets and can effectively defend against dense, low-altitude, mass UAV assaults.

Mobile units and aviation step in

To deal with slower drones, new air defense structures – known as mobile fire groups (MFGs) – are being employed extensively. These agile units, equipped with machine guns and portable surface-to-air missile systems, can be deployed either along drone flight paths or near specific infrastructure. While the effectiveness of these units depends on being in the right place at the right time (since their engagement range is limited), they are highly maneuverable, and given the slow speed of drones, they can set up defensive positions if they have timely intelligence about the type and direction of an impending attack. In fact, one of the key developments of the fall of 2026 was the implementation of a unified information system for organizing air defense against drones across various Russian regions. Such a system could significantly enhance the efficiency of mobile air defense units; and apparently, it’s already being used.

Cruise missiles such as Ukraine’s Flamingo pose a different sort of challenge. They are more complex compared to standard drones: they move faster, pose greater risks, and navigate terrain more effectively. In this case, Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft like the A-50M become indispensable; they monitor the air situation against the backdrop of the Earth’s surface and can direct interceptor aircraft toward targets. Receiving target data from AEW&C allows fighter jets to engage cruise missiles before ground-based air defense systems can establish a solid lock, or in areas where deploying a SAM would be less advantageous. The coordinated work of AEW&C, fighter jets, and ground-based air defense systems is crucial for repelling mixed attacks involving both drones and cruise missiles, and is the key to success in defensive battles.

Challenges or opportunities?

When it comes to combating drones, challenges certainly exist. The primary concern is the economic aspect: a drone may cost tens of thousands of dollars, but a missile is much more expensive. If the enemy launches thousands of drones, the defending side needs cost-effective alternatives – such as bullets, fragmentation shells, small missiles, electronic warfare (EW) systems, interceptor drones, and mobile units. This opens up avenues for the evolution of air defense systems.

Another promising direction is the development of rapid-fire artillery systems using programmable munitions, like the ZAK-30 Citadel. These systems can fire multiple rounds accurately and then quickly switch to a new target. Moreover, such automated air defense systems have the potential to effectively combat swarms of drones – if not now, then certainly in the near future.

Efforts are also underway to create compact and relatively simple guided missiles for air defense systems. Such new missiles were designed for the Pantsir system, and we may soon see small, mobile air defense units equipped with these missiles. This would significantly reduce the cost of downing a drone and enhance the effectiveness of mobile groups.

Laser systems for neutralizing drones hold particularly promising economic prospects. While the initial cost of a laser system is high, the price per shot is minimal. Like rapid-fire automated artillery, lasers can almost instantly switch between targets. This makes them highly useful for countering drone swarms.

Overall, Russian air defense systems are becoming more sophisticated and offer unique capabilities in fending off mass attacks. The performance metrics of these systems are among the best in the world – this has been proven in real battle conditions, no propaganda or exaggeration involved. And this is just the beginning; air defense systems are evolving and will undoubtedly become even more effective in the future.

Ukrainian drones have targeted a major industrial hub in the Siberian city of Omsk, as Kiev carried out another UAV raid inside Russia.

Omsk Region Governor Vitaly Khotsenko confirmed the attack on Thursday, saying Russian air defenses had intercepted most of the incoming UAVs.

“One drone reached the northern industrial hub. Emergency services are working at the scene,” he wrote on Telegram, without providing details regarding any casualties or damage.

The northern industrial hub is home to several major petrochemical facilities, including the Omsk Oil Refinery, Russia’s largest. The area was previously targeted by Ukrainian drones in July, when several UAVs reached the site.

Operated by Gazprom Neft, the refinery has an annual processing capacity of more than 20 million tons of crude oil and is located approximately 2,500km from the Russian-Ukrainian border.

Russian Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik said that Ukrainian attacks took the lives of 29 civilians, including two children, and wounded another 206 between September 28 and October 4.

Moscow has repeatedly described Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets as acts of terrorism. The Russian Defense Ministry has vowed to intensify strikes on Ukraine’s military and military-industrial facilities and related infrastructure in response to Vladimir Zelensky’s threats to expand attacks on oil refineries.

The ministry has since reported large-scale strikes on Ukrainian facilities involved in producing and storing long-range weapons, including sites linked to the domestically developed FP-5 Flamingo missile.

White employees at the BBC earn less than their ethnic minority colleagues in six of seven salary grades, according to the British broadcaster’s 2025/26 annual report. The figures have raised new questions about the corporation’s drive to promote ethnic minority staff and its possible impact on pay.

According to the BBC’s 2025/26 pay gap report, highlighted by The Telegraph on Wednesday, black, Asian, mixed-race and other ethnic minority employees earn 13.2% more in median hourly pay than white colleagues in the lowest salary band. Even among the broadcaster’s most senior executives, the gap stands at 5.3%.

White employees came out ahead in just one category, where their median hourly pay was 0.6% higher. Across the BBC as a whole, however, white staff still earned 0.7% more, largely because they held a greater share of the highest-paid jobs.

The corporation has set a target for ethnic minorities to make up 20% of both its workforce and senior leadership. The BBC insists these are goals rather than quotas and says they have no bearing on pay decisions.

Former UK Culture Secretary John Whittingdale questioned the BBC’s pay practices, telling The Telegraph that the broadcaster “ought to be paying staff entirely on the basis of the value and merit they contribute for the job they are doing.”

The broadcaster has faced repeated scandals over unequal pay. In 2020, journalist Samira Ahmed won a landmark employment tribunal case after judges found that she had been paid less than male presenter Jeremy Vine for equivalent work.

In 2024, four female BBC presenters accused the corporation of sex and age discrimination following a shake-up of its news division. In November 2025, the BBC disclosed six internal equal pay cases, including two appeals.

The BBC has rejected suggestions that the latest figures demonstrate unequal treatment, saying it is “committed to fair and equal pay for all.”

South Africa is stepping up efforts to manufacture medicines and pharmaceutical ingredients locally to reduce reliance on imports and strengthen its ability to secure critical medical supplies during future health emergencies, the government has said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, accompanied by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Professor Blade Nzimande and Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, toured the FuturePharma facility at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria. The facility is expected to strengthen South Africa’s pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities by helping researchers move technologies from laboratories towards large-scale production and commercialisation.

The move towards greater domestic production is aimed at giving South Africa stronger control over the availability of essential medicines while building local pharmaceutical capacity.

According to GCIS, one of the major objectives of the facility is to close the gap between scientific discoveries and medicines or pharmaceutical technologies that can be produced commercially. ”It will provide researchers, innovators and industry partners with access to specialised infrastructure and expertise to advance technologies towards manufacturing, while supporting technology transfer and skills development,” GCIS added.

The facility is also expected to form part of South Africa’s preparations for future pandemics and other major public health emergencies. The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the risks countries face when they are heavily dependent on international supply chains for medicines, vaccines and other critical health products.

First published by IOL

Washington has reportedly pressured several governments to withdraw their support for a conference organized by an EU-funded “anti-disinfo” NGO that designated the US a potential source of foreign disinformation.

The event host is EU DisinfoLab, one of Brussels’ info-gatekeepers deployed to scapegoat and smear dissidents opposing the bloc’s political course. The NGO notoriously launched its career by labeling online critics of French President Emmanuel Macron as “Russophiles.”

Organizers of the #Disinfo2026 conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, reportedly classified the US as a “foreign information manipulation and interference” (FIMI) actor, according to two news outlets with insider sources in Brussels. The EU normally uses the term to describe alleged malicious online activities by geopolitical rivals such as Russia and China.

By the time the conference opened, the logos of the EU’s diplomatic service, the European External Action Service (EEAS), and the foreign ministries of Canada and Lithuania had disappeared from all material, leaving only the French Foreign Ministry and the Vilnius city administration.

Politico cited the US State Department and cables instructing American embassies to convey Washington’s objections.

“Labeling the United States a ‘FIMI threat’ – a term normally reserved for describing influence operations of adversaries – undermines shared goals and should alarm those involved,” officials told the outlet.

Experts in (spreading) disinformation

The Russiagate hoax, involving a concerted campaign by former US President Barack Obama and his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, to falsely claim US President Donald Trump was somehow compromised by links to Russia, helped fuel the emergence of an industry of self-described experts in combating online disinformation and misinformation. Critics have accused such organizations of serving as proxies for government-backed censorship that authorities cannot impose directly.

The NGO’s research identified alleged “Russian bots” and “French Russophile” Twitter accounts supposedly fueling public outrage over the affair. Critics questioned its methodology, prompting the organization to publish detailed information about the accounts it had studied, including those of opposition politicians Jean-Luc Melenchon and Marine Le Pen.

In 2022, the Belgian Data Protection Authority (APD) fined EU DisinfoLab €2,700 ($3,000) and its lead researcher, Nicolas Vanderbiest, €1,200 ($1,300), while formally reprimanding both. The regulator, which investigated the case in cooperation with France’s data protection authority, the CNIL, found that the researchers had unlawfully processed personal data revealing political opinions and exposed users to potential discrimination through political profiling.

It’s a small disinfo world

EU DisinfoLab’s leadership reflects the close ties between the Western “counter-disinformation” industry and government-backed infowarfare operations.

Board member Emma Le Mesurier is the widow and former colleague of James Le Mesurier, a former British Army officer who helped establish the White Helmets in Syria. The Western-funded group aided jihadist forces in overthrowing President Bashar Assad.

Fellow board member Andy Pryce is a veteran British diplomat who launched and led the Foreign Office’s program intended to thwart Russian strategic communications. His name also appeared in the “UK Cluster” of the Integrity Initiative, a British-funded media manipulation project exposed by the leak of its internal documents in 2018.

Laser-focused away from Western disinformation

The EU DisinfoLab annual conference program includes a yoga session and discussions of “identity-based disinformation” and “Russia’s global information war.” Cases of debunked Western disinformation, plentiful as they are, received little attention.

One example was the alleged Russian attempt to jam the navigation system of a plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over Bulgaria last year. The story unravelled when Bulgarian authorities said their monitoring systems had detected no GPS interference, contrary to statements by EU officials.

A similar case last month involved a claim that a Russian drone had nearly struck a plane carrying Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, which Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store stated during a joint press conference. However, Moldovan authorities later clarified that Zelensky’s flight from Chisinau to Oslo had merely been briefly delayed by a drone alert. The drone in question crashed some 160 km from the airport.

India has issued a new warning to its citizens about joining the Russian military, where dozens are believed to be serving. Moscow has confirmed it is identifying Indians in the combat zone, who will then be returned to their homeland.

Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Wednesday that 69 Indian nationals remain with the Russian armed forces while once again warning Indians against joining the Russian military.

“We have been following up with the Russian authorities for updates on the whereabouts of 69 Indian nationals who remain with the Russian army,” Jaiswal said.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its estimate of annual human plague infections in the country, lowering it from seven to five.

On Wednesday, the CDC amended its Plague Maps and Statistics page, which now states: “An average of five human plague cases are reported each year in the United States.” The previous version, dated March 2025, cited seven cases annually, although its own year-by-year data already showed an average of approximately five.

The agency has not provided an explanation for the revision.

According to the CDC’s current data, there were a total of 131 plague cases across the US between 2000 and 2025, 17 of which were lethal. The highest number of cases dates back to 2006 (17) and 2015 (16). In the latter case, four people died – the highest annual death toll during the period.

According to the CDC, plague first reached the US in 1900 aboard rat-infested steamships, sparking outbreaks in port cities. The last urban epidemic occurred in Los Angeles in 1924-1925. Since then, infections have largely been confined to rural western regions, particularly New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado, as well as parts of California, Oregon, and Nevada.

Only pneumonic plague, which affects the lungs, can spread from person to person through respiratory droplets, typically requiring close contact. Such transmission has not been confirmed in the US since 1924, although the CDC investigated a possible instance in Colorado in 2014. In July 2025, a man in Arizona died from pneumonic plague after exposure to infected cats.

At least two additional cases have been recorded in 2026, according to the CDC’s provisional data. A patient in Arizona recovered after treatment, while a woman in New Mexico died from the disease in June.

Unlike in medieval times, plague can now be cured with widely available antibiotics. However, early diagnosis and treatment are critical, as untreated plague can rapidly become fatal, particularly in its pneumonic form.

The update comes amid a frenzy in Western media over what they described as a suspected case of pneumonic plague in Russia’s Irkutsk Region. Some reports claimed that a 28-year-old employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute died on October 2 after developing pneumonia of unknown origin.

Russian health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor acknowledged the death but said extensive testing had found no evidence of infection associated with her laboratory work and insisted there was no epidemic risk. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that the overwhelming majority of media reports about the incident were “false information.”

On Tuesday, Rospotrebnadzor also offered the US assistance in combating outbreaks of infectious diseases, citing recent measles cases and other infections.

“Russia has extensive practical and scientific experience in ensuring epidemiological safety both domestically and abroad… Russia is ready to provide the US with specialists, laboratory equipment, and highly effective diagnostic and preventive tools, which could help revive joint Russian-US efforts to protect public health from infectious threats,” the agency said.

Russian truckmaker KAMAZ has signed a contract reportedly worth about $51.5 million to supply vehicles to Mali, as the landlocked West African country seeks to strengthen its transport network and secure essential supplies.

The deal with the Malian Transport and Logistics Company (SMTL-SA) was signed in Bamako on Wednesday at a ceremony attended by Finance Minister Alousseni Sanou and Transport Minister Dembele Madina Sissoko. Malian broadcaster Kati24 put its value at above 30 billion CFA francs.

In a press release on Thursday, KAMAZ said the contract falls under an intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Mali and aims to expand the country’s capacity to transport food and industrial goods. “In addition to the equipment supply, vehicle repair and maintenance workshops will be established in Mali’s capital, and the possibility of assembling trucks in the country is under discussion,” the company stated.

According to the statement, the parties also discussed spare parts, technology transfer, and training Malian technicians in Kazan, the capital of Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan. KAMAZ did not specify vehicle numbers, models or delivery dates.

KAMAZ already has a supply history in Mali, which Russian state-owned industrial conglomerate Rostec listed among the truckmaker’s African markets in 2023.

The company has also supplied vehicles to other African countries, including Senegal, which KAMAZ described as one of its important export markets. It supplied 167 vehicles to the country, mainly KAMAZ-5460 tractor units for transporting containers from the port of Dakar, and trained Senegalese drivers and mechanics in 2021.

The latest agreement adds to Mali’s growing economic ties with Russia in recent years as part of efforts by the transitional authorities of the Sahel nation to assert control over strategic industries. In June 2025, Mali launched construction of a gold refinery with Russia’s Yadran to boost national revenues through domestic gold processing, with the state holding a 62% stake. The refinery project followed disputes with Western mining companies, including Canada’s Barrick and Australia’s Resolute Mining, over alleged unpaid taxes and the implementation of a new mining code aimed at increasing state revenues and ownership.

On October 7, the African Union officially launched the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) in Mauritius, giving the continent its own institution for assessing African sovereigns, companies, and financial institutions. AfCRA is not intended to replace Moody’s, S&P, or Fitch, but to introduce an African source of authority into a system that has long helped determine the price at which African countries can borrow.

On the surface, this is a technical event about ratings and capital markets. But the questions underneath it are political. Who decides whether an African country is a safe place to lend money? Who decides what interest that country should pay? And why should judgements made by institutions far outside the continent carry such enormous weight over the price of African development?

The AU says AfCRA will rate African sovereigns, sub-sovereigns, companies, and institutions. It is designed as a private-sector-driven, self-funded body, with governments barred from owning shares, and is meant to complement rather than simply replace the established global agencies. That may sound modest. In fact, it touches one of the unfinished questions of African independence.

A sovereign credit rating impacts directly the price of money. A government borrowing to build a railway or refinance debt enters a market in which investors judge the possibility of repayment, and ratings shape that perception. A lower rating can mean a higher yield demanded by investors and can influence the borrowing conditions facing banks and state-owned companies. An apparently technical judgement can therefore become a very material question: How much of the wealth produced by a country must be transferred to creditors simply to obtain capital?

The AU says Africa’s external debt-service payments rose from $61 billion in 2010 to $163 billion in 2024. UNDP research published in 2023 estimated that African countries could save up to $74.5 billion in excess interest and foregone financing if sovereign ratings were based on less subjective assessments. One does not have to accept every estimate, or conclude that every downgrade of an African country is unfair, to recognize the scale of the issue.

African states have real weaknesses: unsustainable debt, commodity dependence, narrow tax bases, incomplete statistics, corruption, and vulnerable currencies. An African agency that concealed these realities would destroy its credibility. But that does not make the existing system neutral. Ratings combine measurable indicators with judgements about institutions, reserves, and policy credibility. UNDP has identified foreign-currency bias and insufficient recognition of informal activity among the structural problems affecting African assessments.

Critics dispute that this amounts to systematic bias. That disagreement is precisely why Africa needs its own analytical capacity. The point is not to guarantee a better grade; it is to stop being the object being graded.

This is where the question of liberation enters. Political sovereignty answers the question: Who governs? Economic sovereignty asks a harder question: Who controls the conditions under which development is possible?

Colonial rule, while occupying territory, organized economies. Railways ran from mines and plantations to ports, commodities moved outward, manufactured goods moved inward, and financial authority remained elsewhere. Independence changed the political map, but much of that economic geography survived. Africa still exports raw materials, imports much of its machinery, and often borrows in currencies it does not control. Rating agencies did not create that structure, but they operate inside an architecture shaped by it.

This is why AfCRA is more important than whether it awards one country BBB instead of BB. It begins to contest who has the authority to interpret African economic reality. The AU says one objective is to strengthen Africa’s voice in global financial governance. Ratings agencies possess credibility that is itself is a form of institutional power.

AfCRA will still operate inside international capital markets. But changing who is authorized to produce credible judgements inside a system can still alter the balance of power within it. Financial independence is built by accumulating alternatives. A continental ratings agency challenges who defines risk. Regional payments systems reduce dependence on external channels. Local-currency finance reduces exposure to currencies controlled elsewhere. Development banks, monetary funds and, eventually, deeper monetary integration push the challenge further.

Africa has been discussing this architecture for decades. The 1991 Abuja Treaty envisaged deeper economic integration. The 1999 Sirte Declaration, adopted at a summit hosted in Libya and strongly influenced by Muammar Gaddafi’s campaign for a more united Africa, called for accelerating the institutions of the African Economic Community. The AU’s Constitutive Act later provided for an African Central Bank, an African Monetary Fund, and an African Investment Bank.

The AU still describes the intended purpose of the African Central Bank as creating a common monetary policy and eventually a single African currency. This history matters because Gaddafi’s argument about African unity was never only diplomatic. He pushed the question towards the material foundations of sovereignty. Could Africa be genuinely independent if its trade, reserves, borrowing, and development remained structurally dependent on financial institutions and currencies centered elsewhere?

There is a popular claim that Libya was preparing a gold-backed pan-African dinar that would displace the dollar and the CFA franc. That specific claim remains disputed and should not be treated as established fact. What is firmly documented is the wider project: Gaddafi’s pressure for continental union, the Sirte process, and the institutional agenda for an African central bank, monetary fund, and investment bank. The historical question is whether political unity can survive without economic and monetary power.

The same question now appears in another form through BRICS. The bloc has not created a common currency, and predictions of an imminent replacement for the dollar are exaggerated. But it is widening room for maneuver. In 2024, 43.5% of New Development Bank approvals were denominated mainly in Chinese renminbi and South African rand. The 2025 BRICS Rio Declaration also called for further work on cross-border payments and greater interoperability among payment systems.

These are attempts to create optionality, and optionality is where dependence begins to weaken. A country with only one lender accepts the lender’s conditions. A country with several credible sources of finance has bargaining power. The same is true of currencies, payment systems, markets, and rating institutions.

AfCRA belongs in that wider movement. It does not abolish Moody’s, S&P, or Fitch, but it introduces an African source of recognized judgement into a field where Africa has had little institutional power. That can influence how African risk is discussed, what data are considered, and which assumptions are challenged.

Still, cheaper borrowing cannot be the final objective. Africa does not need liberation from expensive debt so that it can accumulate more cheap debt. The deeper question is what borrowed capital produces.

There is a profound difference between borrowing to finance consumption, recurrent deficits, or an extractive enclave that exports most of its value, and borrowing to build power generation, railways, fertilizer plants, machine industries, food-processing capacity, and regional supply chains. The first can reproduce dependency. The second can expand the productive base from which future repayment and development become possible.

That is why financial liberation and productive liberation cannot be separated. And neither can be separated from African unity.

Fifty-five fragmented states, many with small domestic markets and colonial trade patterns, will always negotiate from a weaker position than an integrated continental economy. A mine in one African country should be able to supply a factory in another, financed by African capital, transported on African infrastructure, sold across an African market and paid for through African financial systems. And that is actually the economic content of Pan-Africanism.

National sovereignty has limits when capital, production, trade, and finance operate at continental and global scale. For Africa, sovereignty has to rise to the continental level. The African Continental Free Trade Area enlarges the market; African payment systems can reduce dependence on third currencies; development institutions can mobilize savings towards African priorities. And AfCRA adds another capacity: to interpret and price African economic reality.

None of these institutions should be romanticized. AfCRA can fail. If governments pressure it for favorable ratings, it will lose credibility. If it simply reproduces the methodologies of the established agencies with African personnel, its political significance will be limited. And if African ruling classes speak about financial sovereignty while continuing capital flight, raw-material dependency, and unproductive borrowing, the language of liberation becomes another slogan.

Its credibility may even require the agency, at times, to rate an African government more harshly than the established agencies. Independence is not demonstrated by giving Africa better marks. It is demonstrated by producing better analysis.

The launch in Mauritius should therefore be seen for what it is: one institution in a much larger struggle over economic power. African liberation was never completed by lowering colonial flags. It requires control over production, trade, finance, and the circulation of wealth. A fragmented Africa can ask for better treatment. A united Africa can create alternatives.

And that is where financial reform begins to become liberation.

The political opposition in Italy has accused Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s ruling coalition of attempting to rewrite the election rules in a bid to remain in power, over a controversial reform that would award bonus parliamentary seats to winning alliances in next year’s general election.

The new bill has cleared three confidence votes in the lower house of parliament, with the final secret ballot scheduled for Thursday. It passed on Wednesday by 228 votes to 144, bringing the government closer to securing ultimate approval for the overhaul.

The reform would replace Italy’s current electoral system, which combines directly elected constituency seats with proportional representation, with a fully proportional system that rewards the winning coalition with additional seats if it secures at least 42% of the vote.

“Fear, lies, contempt, and failure. These are the characteristics of an electoral law passed at the last minute in the final year [of the parliamentary term],” Anna Ascani of the opposition Democratic Party said, according to ANSA.

The reform would replace Italy’s current system, which combines directly elected constituency seats with proportional representation, with a proportional system that rewards the winning coalition if it secures at least 42% of the vote in both chambers.

The winning alliance would receive a bonus of 105 parliamentary seats – 70 in the lower house and 35 in the Senate. If no coalition reaches the threshold, or different alliances win the two chambers, seats would be distributed proportionally without the bonus.

Meloni has rejected claims that the reform is designed to benefit her coalition, insisting it would ensure political stability regardless of who wins. “I don’t think it’s a law that serves the center-right, but whoever wins the elections will have the numbers to govern,” she said in June.

The overhaul has also raised concerns within Meloni’s own coalition. Some lawmakers fear the new rules could instead benefit a united center-left opposition or smaller rival parties, according to the Financial Times.

The bill has already passed the Senate and faces its final hurdle in the lower house, with Italy’s next general election due in 2027.

India was the world’s second-largest arms importer in 2025, partly aided by a historically large naval buildout, according to a Russian think tank that tracks weapons purchases and military expenditures.

The South Asian nuclear power has been rapidly building up its armed forces following a brief clash with neighbor Pakistan last year, triggered by a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. 

India’s identified military imports were worth $6.97 billion, or 5.83% of the global total, and the country is projected to retain the position through 2029, the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of World Arms Trade (CAWAT) said.  

Poland came in first with $11.91 billion, while Australia was narrowly behind India at $6.96 billion.

Among the major Indian deliveries cited by CAWAT was the Russian-built frigate Tamal, which joined the Indian Navy in July 2025. Two more Project 11356 frigates are being built at India’s Goa Shipyard with assistance from Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport.

India also commissioned the Vaghsheer, the sixth and final Kalvari-class submarine built by state-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders under license from France’s Naval Group. The six-submarine program was valued at $3.6 billion, according to CAWAT.

CAWAT projects global arms imports at almost $633 billion over the 2026-2029 period, up 52.5% from in the preceding four years. The center expects Europe to take a larger share of global demand during the period.

Benin has renewed its demand for the return of 35 cultural artifacts and archival materials held in France, including a sacred statue taken during the colonial era, Benin Web TV reported on Tuesday.

President Romuald Wadagni raised the issue during talks with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday. The requested objects include a carved wooden divination tray at the Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac Museum, a statue of Gou, the Vodun god of iron and war, and the throne of King Toffa of Porto-Novo.

The statue of Gou was taken to France during its conquest of Dahomey in the late 19th century. Benin had previously sought its return under former President Patrice Talon, but the sculpture was not among the objects handed back by France in 2021.

Benin could receive an initial response from Paris by mid-October, RFI reported on Wednesday, citing informed sources. Further discussions are expected to determine whether France will return all 35 objects or only some of them.

France previously returned 26 royal treasures to Benin in November 2021. They had been seized by French troops during the conquest of the Kingdom of Dahomey in 1892 and were held in French museum collections for more than a century.

African countries have repeatedly called for the return of cultural artifacts taken under colonial rule. Nigeria has secured agreements with European countries, including Germany, for the restitution of the Benin Bronzes looted by British troops in 1897.

In June, three Swiss museums returned 18 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, including 14 from the University of Zurich. The handover followed a formal request submitted by the Nigerian authorities in 2024.

Maria del Carmen Abascal, the 87-year-old woman whose eviction sparked massive housing protests across Spain, has died in a Madrid hospital after a protracted legal battle with a real estate firm over the home she had lived in for seven decades.

Her death was announced by the Madrid Tenants’ Union, prompting hundreds of protesters in Madrid’s central Puerta del Sol square to hold a minute of silence for Abascal, widely known as ‘Maricarmen’.
Abascal became a symbol of growing anger over Spain’s housing crisis, where the average rent has almost doubled over the past decade, with protests often blaming investment “vulture funds” – such as Blackstone and BlackRock – for the trend.

The protests erupted in force on September 23, when riot police dispersed hundreds of activists attempting to prevent Abascal’s removal from her Madrid apartment, with images of an elderly woman being taken away on a stretcher fueling public outrage.

An 87-year-old pensioner whose eviction sparked protests in Madrid is now being allowed to return home. Last week, police evicted Maricarmen Abascal on a stretcher from her home of more than 70 years. https://t.co/Kdz2eDwbSI

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) September 29, 2026

Three days later, tens of thousands marched through the Spanish capital, establishing a camp in Puerta del Sol square and sparking a major political crisis.

Abascal’s family first rented the apartment in 1956, with the tenancy passing from her father to her mother and eventually to her. In 2018, the real estate company Urbagestion purchased the property and later challenged her right to remain. Following a lengthy court battle, the company offered her a new rent contract at around €1,600 ($1,800) per month, compared with the roughly €500 she had previously paid from her monthly pension of €1,400.

Abascal’s cause of death is unclear, but multiple local media outlets reported that her physical condition had worsened amid the legal battle.

Commenting on her death, the Madrid Tenants’ Union called Abascal’s situation “a turning point in the history of this country.” 

“Speculation costs lives, and today rent profiteering has finished killing our colleague Maricarmen,” the union’s spokeswoman said.

Some of the messages laid at an impromptu memorial read, “it’s not a death, it’s a killing,” and “the fight will continue.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also weighed in, expressing condolences. “All my affection to Maricarmen’s family and loved ones. A hug also to everyone who today feels this loss as our own. Rest in peace,” he wrote on X.

The Spanish have struggled with soaring rent costs for years, with 26% of renters spending at least 40% of their income on housing and utilities, according to government figures. Meanwhile, A 2024 investigation by the nonprofit Civio identified more than 185,000 rental properties held by large corporate landlords in the regions surveyed, around half linked to US banks and investment funds.

US giant Blackstone controlled nearly 19,600 rental properties, while BlackRock has indirect exposure through its stake in Ares Management, another major investor in Spanish housing.

The protests sparked a major political upheaval in Spain. After parliament rejected emergency housing decrees, Sanchez called a snap general election for November 29. His government subsequently approved a revised 21-measure package, including stronger eviction protections, rent controls and restrictions on speculative property purchases, though it has yet to be ratified.

The African Union (AU) has launched its first credit rating agency in a move it says will advance economic sovereignty, amid longstanding accusations of bias against the continent by Western rating agencies.

The Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA), unveiled on Wednesday in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, where it will be headquartered, will assess governments, financial institutions, and businesses. The AU says it will operate independently, with governments barred from owning shares.

The initiative follows years of complaints against Moody’s, S&P Global, and Fitch, the dominant Western rating agencies, over their treatment of African borrowers, particularly downgrades during crises. Credit ratings influence borrowing costs and investors’ willingness to lend.

AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf described AfCRA as an “important pillar” in Africa’s efforts to build a stronger and more resilient financial architecture.

“The agency will provide African and international investors, as well as economic partners, with reliable, independent and technically rigorous analysis of African economies and credit risk,” he said, according to an AU statement.

A 2023 UN Development Program study estimated that less subjective ratings could save African countries up to $74.5 billion. The AU says the continent’s external debt service rose from $61 billion in 2010 to $163 billion in 2024.

Ghana’s Finance Ministry accused Moody’s of “institutionalized bias against African economies” after a February 2022 downgrade. It said the agency, which cited Ghana’s mounting liquidity and debt challenges, omitted critical information and relied on an analyst who had not visited the country. Last year, Kenyan President William Ruto said global agencies had “deliberately failed Africa,” blaming flawed models and outdated assumptions for inflated borrowing costs.

Several countries outside Africa have also questioned the fairness of global credit ratings or called for alternatives. In 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a Eurasian rating agency to provide “absolutely objective” assessments. India’s Finance Ministry alleged systemic bias in sovereign ratings in 2021, while China’s Finance Ministry called a Fitch downgrade “biased” in April 2025.

South Korea has announced that it is recalling its ambassador from Ukraine amid an escalating diplomatic row between the two countries.

The move comes after Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky publicly announced Kiev’s transfer of two North Korean prisoners to Seoul during his address to the UN General Assembly in September. South Korea has insisted that the arrangement was supposed to remain secret, but the Ukrainian authorities have denied that such a precondition existed.

The servicemen in question were reportedly captured in January 2025 in Russia’s Kursk Region, where North Korean troops helped Russian forces repel a Ukrainian incursion.

The government in Seoul “hopes that various issues between the two countries will be resolved amicably and will continue consultations with Ukraine to achieve this,” the statement read.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga previously tried to downplay the spat with Seoul, calling it a “diplomatic misunderstanding” and said he was working to resolve it.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung warned last week that “if the Ukrainian government continues to refuse acknowledging the facts and issuing a public apology, we will take additional measures.”

Lee also accused Zelensky’s government of attempting to “bring war to the Korean Peninsula” through its actions.

The transfer of North Korean nationals to South Korea could escalate tensions between the two countries, which technically continued to be at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. Pyongyang hasn’t yet issued any official comments on the matter.

South Korea has provided Ukraine with humanitarian and financial assistance since 2022, pledging another $100 million in July, but has stopped short of supplying weapons.

Elon Musk has blamed “certain oligarchs” for holding up the launch of his satellite internet service Starlink in India to maintain their “monopolistic chokehold” on the Indian people. New Delhi has rejected the suggestion that its satellite approval process was unfair.

The SpaceX CEO made the remarks on the social media platform X, which he also owns, on Wednesday while responding to a post arguing that India needs Starlink to connect areas beyond the reach of conventional networks. The post said 11,256 Indian villages still lacked 4G coverage as of May.

“Unfortunately, we are being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people,” the world’s richest man wrote, adding “You can guess who they are.” 

Apart from Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb, backed by the Bharti Group, and JIO Satellite Communications, backed by Reliance Jio, hold the Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) license in India.

Unfortunately, we are being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people. You can guess who they are … This is a crime against the people of India!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 7, 2026

Reliance Jio is owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, the second richest person in the country. Bharti Group is owned by billionaire Sunil Mittal. Reliance Jio is also planning its own network of around 1,600 low-Earth-orbit satellites, which could become a direct rival to Starlink’s constellation.

India’s Communications Ministry said in response to Musk’s post that all three licensed operators are at broadly the same regulatory stage, with security assessments underway, and called claims of discriminatory treatment “baseless and misconceived.”

📹 Hope Musk Is Listening: PM Modi Says India’s Data Is Already Cheap Speaking at India Mobile Congress, he highlighted 🇮🇳’s expanding telecom infrastructure and falling data costs, saying smartphones have now become “gaming consoles” for millions. Starlink chief Elon Musk on Wednesday said his service would bring “high-speed, affordable Internet” to Indians who cannot afford current prices or lack a connection.

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 8, 2026

Starlink’s wait to begin commercial operations in India has lasted four years. The company received its telecom license in June last year but still needs the remaining security clearances and spectrum assignment before services can start. Starlink Business Operations Vice President Lauren Dreyer said at the India Mobile Congress on Wednesday that the company has built 20 gateway sites with hundreds of antennas and designed its operations around India’s security requirements.

Lithuania has tightened temporary protection rules for Ukrainian men subject to military service, becoming the latest EU member state to impose new conditions as Kiev struggles to replenish its depleted armed forces.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly urged European governments to facilitate the return of military-age men to help sustain the country’s war effort. Kiev barred most military-age men from leaving Ukraine after the conflict with Russia escalated in February 2022 and later lowered the minimum mobilization age from 27 to 25.

On Wednesday, the Lithuanian government approved rules requiring Ukrainians liable for military service to prove they have fulfilled their obligations to qualify for temporary protection. Existing beneficiaries who have continuously retained their status are exempt. Around 52,000 Ukrainians currently hold temporary residence permits in the Baltic country.

Other European countries have already tightened their policies. Poland has scaled back certain welfare benefits, healthcare, and accommodation for Ukrainians, while Norway and Switzerland have limited protection for applicants from Ukrainian regions they consider relatively safe.

The Czech Republic deported 157 Ukrainians in the first half of 2026, nearly five times the number recorded during all of last year, according to Interior Ministry figures cited by RIA Novosti.

Despite tightening restrictions on Ukrainians living in the bloc, EU governments continue to channel billions to Kiev. The European Commission announced another €2.9 billion ($3.25 billion) disbursement last week, while €60 billion of its planned €90 billion loan package for 2026-2027 is earmarked for military spending.

Kiev is continuing its controversial mobilization campaign, including the practice dubbed ‘busification’, in which recruitment officers forcibly take men from the streets to enlistment centers, often sparking clashes and protests.

Moscow has accused Kiev of fighting “to the last Ukrainian,” arguing that Western governments are prolonging the conflict by continuing to supply weapons and financial assistance.

The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has secured the office of state parliament president in Saxony-Anhalt, with its successful candidate claiming he received backing from members of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in a historic first.

Despite emerging as Germany’s most popular party in recent polls, the AfD has for years been subjected to the so-called ‘firewall’ policy, under which mainstream parties refuse to cooperate with it.

The largest opposition faction in the Bundestag, the AfD campaigns on an anti-immigration platform and is highly critical of the German government’s support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.

The party won last month’s regional election in Saxony-Anhalt with 43.8% of the vote, narrowly falling short of an absolute majority in the regional legislature. Merz’s CDU finished a distant second with 17.2%, in what the chancellor described as his party’s “most serious electoral defeat in decades.”

Ahead of the secret ballot, representatives of the left-wing Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) announced that they would support Rausch. Together, the AfD and BSW hold 44 seats.

Rausch, however, received 48 votes, with 29 lawmakers voting against him and five abstaining. The result means he secured four more votes than the combined AfD-BSW total, although the secret ballot makes it impossible to establish who cast them.

The CDU parliamentary leadership had advised its lawmakers to abstain, while the SPD, the Greens, and The Left said they would vote against Rausch in keeping with the firewall policy.

Following his victory, Rausch said he believed CDU lawmakers had backed him. Asked directly whether he had received CDU votes, he replied: “Yes.”

“The era of political ‘firewalls’ should be a thing of the past,” Rausch proclaimed.

AfD co-chairs Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla similarly declared that the “years of ostracism against our party have finally come to an end today,” and called on the CDU to cooperate with the AfD.

Following the party’s victory in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s regional election in September with 38.2% of the vote, the SPD renewed calls for a formal review that could pave the way for a ban.

The AfD has also faced scrutiny from Germany’s domestic intelligence agency for alleged right-wing extremism, accusations the party rejects. Some regional branches, including in Saxony-Anhalt, have been subjected to particularly extensive monitoring.

Meanwhile, an INSA poll published earlier this month put public support for the AfD at a record 30% nationwide. Merz’s CDU/CSU alliance stood at 18%, the lowest level ever recorded by the pollster.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has delivered a blistering attack on open borders, globalism and the erosion of national sovereignty in Europe, warning from the ancient heart of Athens that the West risks sliding into “atrophy, servitude and decline.”

Speaking on Wednesday from the Pnyx, the ancient assembly site beneath the Acropolis, Rubio argued that Western governments had spent decades dismantling the very principles that had made their civilization successful.

“‘Nationalism’ became a dirty word,” Rubio said. “So we tore down our monuments, we condemned our own history, and in too many places we taught our children to be ashamed of the countries they would inherit.”

“In the process we opened our borders, and outsourced our industry, and allowed our militaries to wither and to decay,” he added.

Rubio contrasted the globalist approach embraced by much of the European political establishment with the Trump administration’s “America First” doctrine, arguing that governments have an obligation to put their own citizens above international institutions.

“It has become fashionable today to believe that enlightened foreign policy means prioritizing the global community over one’s own people,” he said, insisting the ancient Greeks understood that there was “nothing selfish or wrong about loyalty to your nation” or defending its interests “above all else.”

US Vice President JD Vance has previously warned that Europe risks committing “civilizational suicide” through uncontrolled migration and curbs on free expression. At the Munich Security Conference last year, he argued that the continent’s greatest danger came not from Russia or China, but from an internal retreat from democratic values. The administration formalized much of that critique in its 2025 National Security Strategy, which warned that Europe faces potential “civilizational erasure.”

Rubio nevertheless stopped short of calling for a rupture with Europe. Instead, he urged the continent to follow Washington’s nationalist turn, praising Greece as a “model ally” and saying there were already signs of a broader shift.

Rubio declared that the US, under Trump, had already chosen the “unapologetic pursuit of national power,” including reindustrialization, securing critical supply chains, rebuilding the military and seeking dominance in artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, weapons, space and other strategic industries.

The West, he warned, is now at an “inflection point,” with decisions made over the next decade potentially determining whether it remains at the center of global power or accepts a future of decline.

The European Union is exploring ways to raise taxes on US tech giants such as Apple, Meta, and Google without provoking retaliation from Washington, the Financial Times has reported.

The discussions come as Brussels seeks to avoid a new trade confrontation with US President Donald Trump while raising revenue amid contentious negotiations over the bloc’s next long-term budget and spending pressures at home.

The European Commission is considering a broader corporate levy that would apply to all companies operating in the EU rather than explicitly targeting Big Tech, the FT reported on Wednesday, citing six officials familiar with the discussions.

”Some [EU] capitals are opposed to a pure digital tax because they don’t want to upset the Americans,” an EU official told the FT. “The solution is to expand [the tax] to cover pretty much all the big companies.”

The levy, known as the Corporate Resource for Europe (CORE), would require companies operating in the EU with annual revenue above €100 million ($112 million) to pay a fixed yearly contribution, raising an estimated €6.8 billion annually from 2028 to 2034. Officials are reportedly considering raising the threshold and contributions to focus the tax on the largest corporations.

CORE is one of five proposed revenue sources expected to collectively raise around €60 billion a year from 2028. The package requires unanimous approval from EU member states.

An Iowa city council meeting erupted into controversy after opening with a Satanic invocation that ended with the words “Hail Satan,” prompting a local pastor to demand that officials “reverse this curse.”

Matt Dalbey, an Ottumwa resident and former city council member, delivered the invocation at Tuesday’s meeting under a policy allowing residents of different religions and belief systems to open council proceedings with a prayer or reflection.

Dalbey began by addressing a “dark father” and invoking what he called the “Luciferian impulse” before concluding: “It is done. Hail Satan.”

The invocation immediately drew objections from New Life Center pastor Rick Bick, who interrupted the proceedings.

“That was a curse put on the city,” he said. “Most of you know that, and we need to just stop and reverse it… ‘Hail Satan’ is not welcome here.”

Dalbey’s invocation was permitted under a policy adopted by the council in January. The measure states that Ottumwa, a city of some 25,500 people, seeks to respect “the diversity of both organized and unorganized religious denominations, as well as other faiths, belief systems, or the lack thereof.”

Council member Cara Galloway had specifically warned that a Satanic invocation could happen when she cast the only vote against the policy in January. “Opening with an invocation means allowing viewpoints that may not reflect our own,” she said, warning that selectively objecting to one now could expose taxpayers to legal liability.

The recording of the meeting had drawn more than 12,000 views on the city’s YouTube channel by Wednesday afternoon, making it the most-watched video ever posted there.

Dalbey is scheduled to deliver another invocation at the council’s November 3 meeting. He told the Ottumwa Courier that the prayer is used by the Satanic Temple of Iowa, of which he is a member, but “has nothing to do with the belief in a satanic deity.” The organization describes itself as non-theistic.

Iranian strikes forced US troops to effectively abandon a major military base in Kuwait during the opening stages of the US-Israeli war on Iran, according to newly released footage and accounts from American servicemen obtained by CBS News.

Videos shared by American soldiers in breach of the Pentagon’s strict media policy show several drones nosediving into Camp Buehring, a major US Army staging facility roughly 40 km from the Iraqi border, as well as damage to buildings and military equipment. CBS said it authenticated the recordings using embedded metadata and imagery of the aftermath.

The installation came under repeated attack by Iranian ballistic missiles and drones after hostilities began on February 28. A US service member also told CBS that Iranian F-5 fighter jets flew missions against the base “so close to us I could see their helmets.”

Most of the roughly 7,000 troops stationed at Camp Buehring had already been dispersed before the war under what the Pentagon called its “get off the X” strategy, aimed at moving personnel away from fixed positions vulnerable to Iranian retaliation.

“They hit us bad,” one serviceman told the outlet. “It was horrible... We had to abandon the base.”

The remaining troops eventually fled the base and established improvised forward operating outposts in the Kuwaiti desert, where they remained for weeks. No US personnel were killed, although several were injured, including two who were struck by lightning during desert sandstorms.

The Pentagon declined to comment directly on the CBS report, instead referring the outlet to remarks made by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in March, when he acknowledged that more than 90% of American personnel had been moved away from US regional bases.

The revelations come days after an Associated Press investigation raised separate questions about US preparations elsewhere in Kuwait. An Iranian drone struck an American operations center at Port Shuaiba on March 1, killing six soldiers and wounding dozens in what remains the deadliest known single attack on American troops during the conflict. Some of the wounded said troops initially treated each other with basic first-aid supplies and had to use Google to locate the nearest hospital in Kuwait City. The Pentagon has maintained that its medical response was appropriate.

As the damage mounted, the Pentagon tightened control over images emerging from the region. After an Iranian missile and drone strike on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on July 17 killed three US service members, CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper warned troops against filming strike sites, claiming that publicly posted footage was helping Tehran assess the accuracy and effects of its attacks. US allies hosting American bases have likewise imposed strict bans and penalties on filming military sites and strike aftermaths, making independent footage of Iranian attacks increasingly rare.

Iran has threatened to block what it calls “illegal” traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, saying it retains full control of the passage despite US claims to the contrary.

The waterway is one of the world’s most important energy routes, normally carrying around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. Traffic through the strait has been severely disrupted since the US-Israeli war on Iran began in late February, driving up energy prices. Brent crude was trading at around $101 a barrel on Wednesday, compared with roughly $72 before the conflict.

Mohammad Reza Naqdi, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander and adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, said on Wednesday that several transit routes through the strait along Oman’s coast would soon be closed.

Naqdi said the routes had been created by blasting and damaging rocky passages and were being used by small boats to carry oil through the waterway before transferring it to tankers. He described the shipments as “smuggling” and argued that they were too limited to show that traffic through Hormuz was returning to normal.

Iran has previously offered to reopen the strait if Washington eases military pressure and lifts its blockade of Iranian ports.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a sharply different assessment on Wednesday, saying the strait is “open” and that Iran had “lost complete control” of Hormuz.

”There’s almost as much oil flowing out now as there was before this conflict began,” Rubio told reporters.

Regional crude exports have rebounded significantly. A seven-day moving average reached 18.3 million barrels per day on September 30, according to provisional Kpler data cited by Reuters. The figure includes oil shipped through routes other than Hormuz.

Security risks in the strait remain high. The Panamanian-flagged tanker On Peace was hit by a projectile near Oman on Tuesday, injuring 12 crew members, according to the Indian authorities. No group has claimed responsibility.

The US gave in to pressure from the EU, which has openly gloated about undermining the Anchorage understandings and declared them “buried,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

The top diplomat made the remarks on Wednesday while speaking at a press conference following a ministerial meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s position that the Anchorage initiative had ultimately been derailed by European nations.

”Our conscience is clear, not to mention the fact that we fully accepted the United States’ proposal last August, which was made during the summit… in Alaska,” he stated.

It is not our fault that the Americans could not withstand the unprecedented and brazen pressure from Europe, which later proudly declared that it had buried Anchorage.

US President Donald Trump hosted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, last year, with the two leaders reaching an understanding on how the Ukraine conflict could be settled.

While Moscow has portrayed the outcome of the summit as an “agreement,” despite some “nuances” remaining, Washington has repeatedly disputed that characterization. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously said that there was “a proposal in Alaska, but there was no agreement.”

While the US has displayed a declining commitment to the “understandings,” Trump has never explicitly declared the framework dead. Last month, Washington attempted to revive negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, but the process stalled once again amid continued long-range strikes by Moscow and Kiev.

According to Lavrov, Russia agreed to a Washington-proposed trilateral meeting with Ukraine, which was expected to be held after the recent Russian parliamentary elections. Kiev, however, actively attempted to disrupt the polls and launched a massive attack while voting was underway.

”We made it clear that, under these circumstances, we want to know what proposals exactly [Vladimir] Zelensky’s negotiators would bring. This is very important to us, and the American side has taken our arguments with understanding,” the foreign minister added.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas and other Palestinian resistance organizations launched an attack out of the Gaza Strip and into Israel under the code name “Al-Aqsa Flood.” Israeli and Western mainstream media and politicians rapidly labelled this a massive act of terrorism and flooded the world with tales of horrific atrocities allegedly perpetrated by the Palestinians, such as sadistically murdering children and women and committing mass rape.

We now know that these atrocious tales were lies calculated to generate domestic and international outrage against the Palestinian resistance and Palestinians in general. They were part of the same poisonous Israeli narrative that labeled these people “Amalek” – a reference to a perversely “exemplary” genocide in the Old Testament – and denied that they were human beings. They were taking steps, in other words, to start a genocide.

These atrocious propaganda lies were made up and spread by, for instance, Israel’s Zaka activists and Western mainstream journalists, such as the New York Times, high public officials such as the UN’s Pramila Patten, and activists. For instance, former Meta executive Sheryl Sandberg acted as a Zionist propagandist, who chose to rely on Israeli disinformation.

In reality, there were no mass rapes, there were no sadistic baby murders by beheadings or in microwave ovens, no pregnant woman was found killed with a headshot, with her baby stabbed and still attached to the umbilical cord. It “simply didn’t happen,” as a detailed investigation by Israeli newspaper Haaretz found.

The core of this offensive targeted Israel’s Gaza Division, which, according to high-ranking Israeli officers was “overpowered.” In the process, Palestinian resistance fighters killed and captured Israeli military personnel. While Israel’s propaganda has done its best to obfuscate this fact, these actions were neither “terrorism” nor hostage-taking but legitimate acts of armed resistance under international law.

The Palestinian fighters also attacked a music festival as well as several settlements. There, according to an Amnesty International summary in early 2024, they did commit crimes, including the deliberate killing of civilians and the taking of hostages, that is, civilians, not soldiers, whose capture makes them POWs and not hostages. A crime, in any case, is a crime even if it’s only realistic to recognize plenty of mitigating circumstances in the immense injustice, dispossession, and often sadistic and humiliating violence Palestinians have suffered from Israelis over decades.

Honesty also dictates that we take three key facts into account: First, the leader of the pro-Israeli UAE, has revealed that he warned Israel’s leader Benjamin Netanyahu personally of Hamas’s plans. In a similar vein, Qatar’s leader claims that Hamas was ready to free all civilian hostages immediately after the attack (which would have left it with only military prisoners). Yet the Israeli leadership ignored the warning and rejected the offer to free all civilians.

It’s almost as if it wanted the attack to happen, as a pretext to initiate a massive ethnic cleansing-by-genocide campaign, and for the civilian hostages to stay in Gaza, as a pretext for  continuing that campaign.

And finally, a simple point all too often drowned out by Israeli and pro-Israeli propaganda: A legitimate military force does not lose its overall legitimacy – or that of its goals – even when some of its members commit crimes. If that were the case, most armies in this world would have to be dissolved because none of them have a history entirely free of crimes. Armed Palestinian resistance is fundamentally legitimate under international law – and morally, too, obviously – and remains so. In fact, in the future, the outnumbered, outgunned, and abandoned Palestinian defenders of Gaza will be remembered as heroes, as they should.

Things are different, as a matter of fact, if we look at the actions of the Israeli military since October 7. Unlike with anything that individual Palestinian resistance fighters may have done, in the case of Israel’s euphemistically mis-labeled Defense Forces – a “citizen army [and] representative sample” of Israeli society – we are looking at a clear case of a whole, large organization deliberately and enthusiastically dedicated to committing every war crime and crime against humanity in every book, including ethnic cleansing and genocide.

Because that is a precise description of what Israel has been doing to the Palestinians of Gaza – and not only – since October 7, 2023. It is also by now the consensus among honest observers, including the global community of genocide experts. This, indeed, has been the most public genocide in human history, despite Israeli attempts to seal Gaza off and mass murder its journalists under false pretexts.

The nature and extent of Israel’s crimes is obvious and exceedingly well documented, and that is a very important thing. Humanity owes an enormous debt of gratitude to those Palestinians and others who have undertaken the harrowing task of compiling and analyzing the evidence, such as, to name only a few, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese or the tireless staff of the Electronic Intifada.

What needs at least as much attention is what the Gaza genocide says about our world as a whole: namely that genocide is not only possible – it was before – but can take place over years and in full view of the global public, with the active support of most of the establishments of virtually the entire West and the passive acquiescence of the elites of most other countries.

In a more or less sane world, fulfilling its obligations under the short and clear UN Genocide Convention of 1948 – it bears recalling – the Israeli genocide perpetrators would long have been stopped by a combination of diplomatic, economic, and, of course, military intervention. That would have been the minimum of what both international law and basic ethics obviously demand.

Yet, instead, we live in a world, where – apart from the Palestinian resistance itself – only a handful of states and political organizations have done anything at all to interfere with Israel’s mass murder campaign: Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Ansarallah – the Houthis – in Yemen.

But failure to act has been only part of this real-life horror story. In the West, many governments and mainstream establishments, including in the media and academia, have pro-actively supported Israel. This is a shameful history of criminal collaboration and complicity still to be written. Indeed, in the worst cases, such as the elites of the US, the UK, and Germany, complicity seems too weak an expression: they are better described as genocide co-perpetrators.

The obvious inference from this state of the world is that international law does not matter. There is no more devastating attack on the very idea of international law and a law-based order than the impunity of Israel and its accomplices. Benjamin Netanyahu, with an International Criminal Court warrant to his name, has been able to brazenly deny his and his country’s crimes at the recent UN General Assembly and even repeat the Amalek reference, as Craig Mokhiber has pointed out. Outside, meanwhile, his critics were being arrested.

Annalena Baerbock, in her time as one of Germany’s most embarrassing foreign ministers ever, also justified, shielded, and supported Israel; she has just finished her ill-begotten sinecure as the UN General Assembly’s president and made a lateral move to an absurdly undeserved position at Columbia University. The examples could be multiplied endlessly: the elites of the West, including American presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump, have devastatingly compromised themselves by their complicity with Israel. And yet, they keep thriving.

Now add the fact that Israel has not “only” been committing the Gaza genocide. It has also escalated ethnic cleansing terror in the West Bank, invaded Syria and Lebanon, attacked Yemen, participated in and triggered brutal assaults against Iran that have also tanked the world energy economy, and, in general, has followed its usual modus operandi of assassination, subversion, torture, rape, and relentless aggression. And yet it faces no discernible consequences beyond ludicrously inappropriate, purely symbolical measures at best and, of course, massive continued support.

Meanwhile, those in the West who dare be human and show their solidarity with the Palestinians and other victims of Israel and its accomplices and co-perpetrators are harassed, beaten up by police, arrested, and blacklisted.

What the Gaza genocide has shown with respect to the world as a whole is simple: Those who rule us will go much farther, much more shamelessly and openly than most of us, even the pessimists, used to be able to imagine. More importantly, they will get away with it, and they will let each other get away with it. Gaza is not an exception. It is a harbinger of a world of horrors. Resistance is not an option; it is the only one.

A former Australian Catholic bishop has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison for sexually abusing two young indigenous men over the course of a decade. 

76-year-old ex-bishop Christopher Saunders is one of the most senior Australian clerics to be convicted in a series of scandals that have shaken the Catholic Church for decades. In August, Saunders was found guilty on 13 out of 19 sexual abuse charges pertaining to two accusers he victimized between 2008 and 2019. 

Saunders narrowly dodged a harsher punishment, with all the charges related to his alleged sexual relations with minors flopped in court. Four charges related to the alleged abuse of a child younger than 13 were dropped on the first day of his trial, while he was acquitted of six further charges involving a 16-year-old child.

All the crimes were perpetrated by Saunders when he led the remote Broome Diocese between 1996 and 2021, when he resigned from the position over allegations of sexual misconduct. While the territory of the diocese covers an area larger than France, it has a population of only some 50,000, predominantly indigenous people.

The scale of sexual misconduct by the ex-bishop was likely significantly greater than the crimes he was convicted of. The Church’s internal report was leaked to Australia’s Seven Network and indicated that Saunders likely sexually assaulted at least four and groomed a further 67 indigenous minors and young men.

The sentencing has been welcomed by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, with its president, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, insisting it reflected the gravity of the crimes committed.

“To each victim and survivor who courageously revealed what they had endured, we want to say this: We are sorry for the pain and suffering that was inflicted on you. We are sorry that your trust was so directly and profoundly betrayed by a leader of the Church,” Costelloe said in a statement.

Europe’s leaders have grand plans – spend more on weapons, prepare for war, and tighten citizens’ belts. The people have more immediate concerns however, like finding somewhere to live, keeping their jobs, and getting an education. Across France, Germany, Spain, and other EU states, the widening rift has started to spill into the streets.

Recent weeks have seen housing marches across Spain, student riots and public-sector strikes in France, and demonstrations against military recruitment and industrial job cuts in Germany. Immigration has added to the anger over housing and overstretched services, while the prospect of conscription has young Germans asking whose wars they are expected to fight.

The demands differ, but a recurring complaint unites them – aside from those simply looking for an excuse to wreak havoc: governments aren’t listening. Instead of putting domestic problems first, European leaders are telling their constituents to accept less and sacrifice more, while committing billions to preparations for a suicidal war with Russia. That’s despite Moscow and even Europe’s own intelligence services repeatedly saying there is no imminent threat.

Spain: Priced out and fed up

Spain’s housing crisis has pushed tens of thousands into the streets. After years of soaring rents, the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her home of 70 years in Madrid last month turned into a rallying point for those sick of being priced out of their homes and the government’s failure to tackle the housing affordability crisis. 

Rents in Spain have almost doubled over the past decade as immigration-driven population growth has continued to outstrip housing construction. The population, excluding migration, has meanwhile only continued to decline.

The pressure is even more visible in Ceuta, Spain’s North African enclave, where around 72,000 people crossed from Morocco in late July into a territory with roughly 84,000 inhabitants. Although most returned, thousands remained, overwhelming accommodation and straining public services.

Residents have taken to the streets demanding stronger border controls and faster deportations, accusing Madrid of abandoning them. Protests have escalated into clashes with police, while angry locals have torn down makeshift migrant camps.

France: School’s out

France has also been gripped by overlapping protests over wages, spending cuts, public services, and school conditions. Teachers, healthcare workers, firefighters and transport staff have joined numerous strikes in recent weeks, while a growing student movement has added school blockades to the disruption.

Around 266,000 people joined demonstrations nationwide on Tuesday. More than 6,500 have been arrested over three weeks, while hundreds of students and police officers have been injured, including a 15-year-old who lost his hand to a police grenade and a 16-year-old who reportedly lost sight in one eye after being hit by a rubber bullet. 

As the movement has grown, violent groups have joined the protests, torching buses, attacking emergency workers, and damaging schools. Across France, 24 schools have been burned or ransacked.

France: The cuts keep coming

The student demonstrations came on the heels of wider protests that have gripped France for weeks, with public-sector workers protesting a squeeze on wages and services, compounded by soaring fuel prices. 

Other demonstrations have also challenged continued funding for Ukraine, with protesters arguing that the money should go toward hospitals, education, and lower fuel taxes. 

Separate rallies in more than 20 cities have also opposed a bill that could give police shootings the presumption of legality, which critics say would make officers harder to hold accountable.

Germany: Factories shrink, the military grows

Around 45,000 students joined protests in some 100 cities and towns in late September, carrying banners reading ‘We won’t fight in your wars’ and ‘Education instead of bombs’.

The government meanwhile is pressing ahead with plans to expand the armed forces to more than 260,000 active troops and 200,000 reservists by 2035 to align with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s fixation on creating “Europe’s strongest conventional army.”

Young men are already required to register for potential service, but politicians have been pushing for a return to conscription if voluntary recruitment fails to fill the ranks.

Tens of thousands of automotive workers have also protested sweeping job cuts and threats to factories. Volkswagen, for example, plans to shed 100,000 jobs across its brands, while other manufacturers are cutting production or moving it abroad.

Germany’s industrial woes have been further compounded by the loss of cheap Russian energy, which helped make its manufacturers competitive. Higher energy costs, US tariffs, and Chinese competition are now squeezing businesses and threatening jobs across the sector.

More guns and more fear

Even with streets burning and protesters demanding relief, European leaders have not let the turmoil distract them from their military ambitions.

In Germany, Merz and NATO chief Mark Rutte smiled and waved through boos and chants of “murderers” and “blood on your hands” after the military bloc received the Westphalian Peace Prize last week. Inside the ceremony, officials praised military strength as the foundation of peace.

Those priorities are also taking shape in Brussels’ budget negotiations. Germany and five other EU states have demanded cuts to the bloc’s next budget, pushing to sacrifice funding for farmers and poorer regions in favor of ever-growing military spending.

The urgency is being justified by the supposed threat of a future Russian attack. However, Moscow has repeatedly denied any such plans, while even Finland’s president has admitted that his intelligence services see no imminent military threat. 

A major escalation in Yemen has brought Saudi Arabia back into military confrontation with the Iran-backed Houthis, ending years of relative calm as tensions rise across the Middle East.

Much of the fighting has taken place along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and around the strategically important Bab el-Mandeb Strait, following major Houthi territorial gains and a Saudi-backed counteroffensive. The waterway has become increasingly important as the US-Israeli war on Iran disrupts regional trade and energy routes, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz.

Who are the Houthis?

The Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, are a Zaydi Shia armed and political movement that emerged in northern Yemen in the 1990s. Their traditional stronghold is the mountainous province of Saada along the border with Saudi Arabia. The movement emerged in opposition to Yemen’s central government and Saudi and US influence.

They now control much of northern and western Yemen, including areas where most of the country’s population lives.

The Houthis are backed by Iran and describe themselves as part of the Tehran-aligned “Axis of Resistance.”

Over years of fighting, the group has developed an arsenal of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones capable of striking Saudi Arabia and ships in the Red Sea.

How did Yemen’s civil war begin?

In 2014, the Houthis seized Sanaa and forced the internationally recognized Yemeni government from the capital. Saudi Arabia intervened the following year at the head of a military coalition seeking to restore the government and counter Iran’s growing influence.

Years of fighting failed to dislodge the Houthis. A UN-brokered truce in 2022 sharply reduced hostilities and cross-border attacks, and although it formally expired after six months, hostilities remained limited for several years.

Fighting resumed in July, when Yemeni government forces struck the runway at Sanaa airport to prevent an Iranian plane carrying a Houthi delegation from landing. The delegation was returning from the funeral of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic at the end of February. The Houthis blamed Saudi Arabia for the airport strike, declared the de-escalation over, and retaliated against the kingdom.

Why is Saudi Arabia involved?

Yemen shares a long border with Saudi Arabia, making the conflict a direct security concern for Riyadh. The Houthis have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to strike deep inside the kingdom.

The Saudi-led coalition said on Monday that 100 fighter jets were taking part in Operation Dawn of Yemen, providing air cover for government forces, and claimed to have destroyed 324 “high-value” Houthi targets. Hundreds of fighters have reportedly been killed on both sides since then.

The Houthis have responded with missile and drone attacks on Saudi cities, airports, and military facilities.

What does the Iran war have to do with it?

The US has not resumed direct strikes against the Houthis, but American and regional officials reportedly said that Washington is providing Riyadh with intelligence, target identification, and operational planning.

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Türkiye activated the collective-defense provisions of their Makkah Alliance for Defense for the first time on Monday in response to attacks on the kingdom. The pact, sometimes dubbed the ‘Muslim NATO’, was signed in August and commits all three members to respond if any one of them comes under attack.

Who else is involved?

The forces fighting the Houthis are themselves divided. Yemen’s internationally recognized government relies heavily on Saudi Arabia, but government-aligned formations have different political and regional loyalties.

Western countries are also providing military support to Riyadh. The UK has deployed an RAF Voyager tanker to provide air-to-air refueling for Saudi defensive operations, while France has announced the deployment of troops, radars, and air-defense systems to help protect Saudi energy infrastructure around Yanbu, a major Saudi oil-export hub on the Red Sea.

Why does Bab el-Mandeb matter now?

Bab el-Mandeb is a narrow strait between Yemen and the Horn of Africa connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Ships traveling between Asia and Europe through the Suez Canal normally have to pass through it.

The strait has become especially important since the US-Israeli war on Iran disrupted shipping through Hormuz on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia can bypass Hormuz by moving crude from its eastern oil-producing regions through the East-West pipeline to Yanbu on the Red Sea.

The pipeline was shut after drone attacks in September that Riyadh blamed on Iraqi militias but has since resumed operations, with flows reportedly reaching 5.8 million barrels per day.

How does it affect global energy markets?

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser has warned that the world’s supply cushion was “scarily thin,” saying nearly 3 billion barrels of regional supply had been lost since the war with Iran began and that depleted stocks could take up to two years to rebuild.

The pressure has been even greater on refined fuels. Nasser said diesel and other fuel prices had risen more sharply than crude. G7 countries agreed last week to release 100 million barrels of oil and refined products from emergency reserves in an effort to ease the squeeze.

What happens next?

Yemen’s government has set a goal of restoring its authority across the country, including retaking the Houthi-held capital, Sanaa. Fighting remains intense, however, with the Houthis launching missiles and drones at Aden International Airport on Wednesday as clashes continued elsewhere.

The conflict is worsening Yemen’s long-running humanitarian crisis. Some 184,000 people had been displaced by the latest fighting as of October 4, according to the International Organization for Migration. The WHO said last week that 838 people had been killed and more than 3,600 injured since August.

Diplomatic efforts are continuing, with the UN urging support for a political settlement and de-escalation.

Russia has also urged restraint and expressed readiness to help mediate if requested. The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Moscow was watching the escalation “with concern.”

On October 7, 2023, Israel faced a horrific attack when Hamas killed over a thousand of its citizens and took hundreds of hostages. This atrocity can never be justified.

But there is another fact that we cannot ignore: Israel’s overconfidence and conviction of superiority over its adversaries led to the country’s most catastrophic security failure. Three years later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government still has no convincing answer as to how the ensuing war is supposed to secure a safer future for the country.

More firepower, no endgame

The Israeli leadership’s main takeaway from the October 7 tragedy was the need to strike earlier, harder, and deeper. Deterrence gave way to destruction and elimination – first of the adversaries’ military capabilities, then of their leaders. The war expanded beyond Gaza, engulfed Lebanon, and finally escalated to a direct confrontation with Iran. Aggression became the guiding principle of regional policy. Yet, the tragedy also demanded a reassessment of the adversary, a sober evaluation of the country’s intelligence, and governmental accountability. Force can punish an enemy, but it cannot rectify the errors that made the attack possible in the first place.

Here, we clearly see the main contradiction of Netanyahu’s policy. Israel can destroy command centers, eliminate commanders, demolish infrastructure, and occupy territory. However, it is incomparably more difficult to shape neighboring societies in a way that would prevent the threat from re-emerging. The government expanded its military objectives but never defined a realistic political outcome. Who will govern Gaza? What kind of international recognition will that authority rely on? How can the daily lives of Palestinians be restored? What will ensure the safety of Israelis once the army withdraws? As long as there are no answers to these questions, every victory necessitates yet another military operation. 

It’s true that the loss of leadership disrupts command structures, severs ties, and hinders the restoration of military capabilities; however, the outcome must be judged by the state of the organizations and the country itself following these strikes. Iran retained its operational capacity; on March 8 – barely a week after the assassination – Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Ali Khamenei, was elected as the new Supreme Leader. The death of the leader did not lead to the collapse of Iran, as both Israel and the US had hoped.

Nothing drives people to become militants like the loss of loved ones and the destruction of their homes and lives. Those who have survived deadly attacks on their families have nothing to lose; such people seek protection, revenge, or at least a sense of purpose – and militant organizations step in to provide all this. Moreover, Hamas and Hezbollah are structured not as armies with a vertical chain of command, but as networks comprising a military wing, social services, schools, charitable activities, family and community ties. A slain commander can be replaced, but such an environment cannot be easily destroyed by bombs.

History has already demonstrated this. Hezbollah emerged in response to the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon; following the 1992 death of its leader, Abbas al-Musawi, Hassan Nasrallah took the helm and strengthened the movement. Hamas lost its founder, Ahmed Yassin, in 2004, yet won the parliamentary elections in Gaza just a couple of years later. Neither Hamas nor Hezbollah may regain their former strength anytime soon: they suffered great losses, and their supply and command capabilities have been crippled. Yet their story does not end with a list of slain commanders; it lives on in those who remain amidst the ruins.

On the third anniversary of October 7, the situation in Gaza reveals the same disconnect between military pressure and political outcomes. The October 2025 agreement secured the return of the surviving hostages, and by January 2026, the bodies of the deceased had also been brought back from Gaza. However, Hamas has not been disarmed (despite Netanyahu describing it as largely disarmed), and the transition to a new governance structure has yet to begin. Israeli strikes continue, and the army reportedly controls about two-thirds of the territory. While Israel retains immense coercive power, it has been unable to establish a sustainable order. 

The external aspect proved particularly difficult to handle. In the wake of October 7, Israel was naturally seen as a nation that had endured a horrific attack; everyone sympathized with it. Later, however, the image shifted: the world saw a devastated Gaza, a displaced population driven from place to place, and a humanitarian catastrophe. Now, facing another rainy winter, hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza are living in overcrowded camps where torrential rain floods their tents, or in buildings at risk of collapse. The longer this catastrophe drags on, the less people are willing to believe the explanation offered by Israel – that its actions are merely self-defense. 

People all over the world have openly started expressing hostility toward Israel. Such a level of hatred would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. In the spring of 2026, Pew Research Center surveyed residents of 36 countries: on average, 67% held a very negative view of Israel, while only 25% viewed it favorably. Attitudes have deteriorated even in countries that sympathized most with Israel – such as the UK, Italy, Poland, and Australia. While criticism of the government’s actions does not equate to justifying Hamas, global anti-Semitism has risen due to the conduct of Netanyahu and his far-right ministers – Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, who publicly express hateful, dehumanizing statements. 

The Middle East has become less predictable. The weakening of Iran’s allies has shifted the balance of power but failed to establish recognized rules of coexistence. Regional states are seeking additional external security guarantees and are ramping up their military capabilities. The direct confrontation between Israel and Iran has expanded the scope of potential targets and the number of parties involved in the conflict. Israel’s tactical advantage exists alongside the heightened vulnerability of the entire regional system.

Russia’s stakes in a fractured Middle East

Russia is primarily concerned with Iran’s stability. Tehran is important both as an independent partner and as a participant in Eurasian transport, trade, and energy networks. Strikes on Iranian infrastructure and disruptions to its foreign trade directly affect Russian interests. The North-South Corridor is gaining importance as an alternative transport route, yet it is simultaneously becoming more dependent on Iran’s ability to keep ports, roads, and border crossings operational. Increased demand for the route does not automatically guarantee an increase in its capacity; the war increases the need for connectivity while complicating the task of maintaining it.

For Moscow, these changes meant that it had to negotiate the terms of its military presence with the new authorities. Agreements reached in August 2026 regarding Russian facilities demonstrate that it is still possible to maintain relations. Exercising regional influence now requires greater flexibility and less reliance on a single political partner.

The economic consequences for Russia are also mixed. Disruptions in Middle Eastern oil supplies could keep global prices high and boost export revenues. However, a protracted war also drives up transport and insurance costs, disrupts payment settlements, and dampens economic activity in countries with which Russia is developing ties. Amidst this turbulence, Moscow’s role is growing. Russia is a major player in the global energy market, a partner in coordinating oil policy, and an independent diplomatic force that maintains contact with opposing sides.

Cooperation with Moscow enables the Persian Gulf states to expand their options and reduce reliance on US security guarantees. Diplomatically, the crisis offers Russia an opportunity to champion a more consistent approach to security. Its support for Palestinian statehood and opposition to strikes against sovereign nations resonate with many non-Western partners. However, political influence is only achieved when a country’s stance is backed by practical action. Moscow needs to maintain channels of communication with Iran, Israel, and Arab nations, facilitate agreements, and safeguard its own projects.

Netanyahu’s policy has failed to ensure long-term security. Despite Israel’s military achievements, the stated objective – long-term security – hasn’t been met, and the costs of the risky venture continue to rise. Three years on, Israel finds itself more capable of delivering strikes, yet less able to convince its neighbors – and even its allies (such as the Trump administration) – that its policies are paving the way to an acceptable future. As long as Israel substitutes these objectives with continued reliance on coercion, the consequences of the war will be felt far beyond its borders.

Outrage over the alleged killing of a woman by a US Marine in Okinawa has erupted in Tokyo, where protesters marched on the US Embassy demanding an end to the American military presence in Japan.

The demonstrations follow the arrest of Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, suspected of strangling Anna Yagi, 39, at a hotel on the island on Saturday and stealing her belongings. Ballard has denied the allegations.

Okinawa is home to several major US military installations and tens of thousands of American service members.

Footage from Tuesday’s rally shows demonstrators carrying placards demanding justice for Yagi and calling for US forces to leave Japan, before marching outside the embassy under a heavy police presence.

“Neither the US military nor the embassy has offered a proper apology. It is only natural to be angry about this,” one protester said.

Another demonstrator said resentment over crimes involving US personnel had accumulated over decades and accused the authorities of ignoring repeated demands to remove American bases.

“It is truly infuriating that the presence of these bases leads to women being killed or raped like this. I cannot forgive it,” the protester said.

The case has reignited a decades-old dispute over the concentration of US military facilities in Okinawa. The prefecture accounts for just 0.6% of Japan’s territory but hosts around 70% of the land exclusively used by US forces in the country.

Crimes involving American personnel have repeatedly fueled opposition to the bases. In 1995, the abduction and rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl by three US servicemen triggered mass protests. In 2016, former Marine and US base worker Kenneth Franklin Gadson raped and murdered 20-year-old Rina Shimabukuro and was later sentenced to life imprisonment.

Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has reiterated his rejection of negotiations with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), vowing to continue the military campaign against the group.

Burhan, who also chairs Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, made the remarks on Tuesday during a visit to the Amri area in the country’s Northern State.  

“We say it again: We have no negotiations with anyone, we are not speaking with anyone, and we have nothing to do with anyone,” Burhan said, according to the Sudan Tribune.

The army chief also reiterated the military’s intention to continue its campaign against the RSF. “We tell the rebels among you that we are coming to you with force,” he said. “We want to uproot the enemy and eliminate it completely.”

Burhan has repeatedly rejected negotiations with the RSF during the conflict. In May 2024, he said, “there will be no negotiations, no peace, and no ceasefire” until the RSF was defeated. In April this year, he again ruled out talks with the paramilitary group or its supporters.

Sudan’s conflict erupted in April 2023 following months of tensions between the SAF and the RSF. 

On Sunday, US senior adviser for Arab and African affairs Massad Boulos met with Burhan in Egypt. “The United States stands ready to support all efforts leading to a comprehensive dialogue among the Sudanese political forces, leading to a preliminary road map of the future of the Sudan,” Boulos said. The meeting, however, followed a dispute over Burhan’s planned trip to the UN General Assembly in New York last month, when the US did not issue him an entry visa. Foreign Minister Mohieldin Salim Ahmed Ibrahim had to address the gathering on his behalf.

In his address, Salim called for international pressure on foreign parties supporting the RSF, saying peace would require the paramilitary group to be disarmed and weapons to remain under the control of state institutions.

Ethiopia’s parliament has re-elected Abiy Ahmed as prime minister for another five-year term, two weeks after armed groups formed an alliance to overthrow his government amid renewed fighting in the country’s north.

Abiy was sworn in on Monday at the inaugural session of the newly elected House of Peoples’ Representatives after his ruling Prosperity Party won a sweeping majority with 438 seats in elections held in June. Addressing lawmakers, Abiy expressed his government’s readiness to confront threats and protect its national interests.

“Getting tripped up by an obstacle once is natural, but stumbling repeatedly is not normal,” he said, urging unity and greater preparedness for domestic and external challenges.

Fighting has since intensified between federal troops and TPLF forces, which seized airports in Tigray’s regional capital, Mekelle, and the cities of Axum and Shire, disrupting commercial flights. On September 24, the army said it had killed 272 rebel fighters and wounded 260. Federal troops and allied fighters retook Mekelle and its airport last weekend, while the TPLF vowed to continue fighting. More than 720 patients wounded in the conflict had been admitted to hospitals in Korem, Alamata and Shire as of September 25, according to Doctors Without Borders.

During his address following reelection, Abiy renewed his pledge to secure maritime access for landlocked Ethiopia through dialogue and mutually beneficial arrangements. That ambition has strained relations with Eritrea over its Assab Port and with Somalia over Ethiopia’s 2024 coastline deal with Somaliland, which Mogadishu condemned as a violation of its sovereignty. A Turkish-mediated agreement later that year eased the dispute with Somalia.

The West should abandon the thought that the Ukraine conflict will cause Russia to collapse like the USSR did in 1991, foreign affairs expert and RT contributor Fyodor Lukyanov has said.

Lukyanov, a program director at the Valdai International Discussion Club, moderated a more than three-hour-long session with Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of the club’s annual forum last week.
Putin said at the event the current tensions with the US and EU stem from the fall of the Soviet Union. Since then, Moscow has repeatedly tried to build good relations with Western countries, but their leaders have persisted in doing “everything they could to truly isolate and further break apart Russia itself,” Putin stressed.

During his appearance on RT’s East Meets West podcast with Olga Bataman and Tara Reade, Lukyanov said that “there are a lot of grounds on our [Russian] side to believe that we can win… by military means” in the conflict with Kiev.

“Paradoxically, Ukraine has the same idea based on another calculation, based on the expectation that the Western support will not stop and that on “a very traditional, old, good belief that Russia at some point will suddenly collapse,” he said.

Lukyanov said that he has already given up explaining to his American and European interlocutors that Russia is “different” and that it “will not collapse as the Soviet Union, but people in the West and now in Ukraine, they still believe it’s possible.”

The analyst also suggested the EU’s current hostility towards Russia should be explained by its leader’s trying to “find a way how to consolidate societies” amid “enormous” political, economic and social problems experienced by the bloc as a whole and its individual member-states.

They seek “to blame someone else and to find a menace which, as during the Cold War, can unify Europe,” he stressed.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has praised Iceland for allowing Washington to “project power” from the North Atlantic island nation into the Arctic.

Iceland is strategically positioned to help the Pentagon monitor Arctic airspace and conduct missions tracking Russian submarines in the Atlantic, not unlike Denmark’s autonomous territory of Greenland, which US President Donald Trump had notoriously threatened to annex. The US president and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen have signed an agreement to substantially increase Washington’s military presence there.

On Tuesday in Iceland, which joined NATO when it was created in 1949, Rubio praised Rejkyavik for allowing “the US military to project power using your land, your air, your sea, giving us a critical outpost for monitoring clandestine behavior and deterring our adversaries.”

Rubio and Gunnarsdottir both played down the diplomatic incident at their joint press conference.

”We’re not talking about social media posts,” Rubio said, while Gunnarsdottir said the two governments “are looking forward, not backward.”

.@SecRubio on Trump social media post depicting U.S. acquisition of Iceland: "We're not talking about social media posts, I'm here, we're here meeting with a country...everything's very positive in our relationship." https://t.co/ZVA5q5Bjq1

— CSPAN (@cspan) October 6, 2026

Long also apologized last year after joking that Iceland could become the 52nd US state, with himself as governor. A petition urging Gunnarsdottir to reject his posting as US ambassador reportedly gathered around 2,000 signatures.

The US first established a presence in Iceland during World War II, taking over from British forces in 1941. A 1951 defense agreement signed under the banner of the newly created NATO cemented Iceland’s role during the Cold War.

Rubio’s visit was designed to highlight decades of cooperation and the legacy of the Cold War. He and Gunnarsdottir met at the same venue where US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev held talks in 1986 on nuclear arms.

Washington’s ability to project military power worldwide is currently strained, with substantial assets tied down in the Middle East supporting the war with Iran. Rubio said the smaller US role in the joint Northern Viking exercise earlier this year reflected the need to “allocate resources” in response to current events and was not an “enduring decision” to reduce Washington’s attention to Iceland.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed Russia’s gratitude for India’s readiness to make a strong contribution to resolving the Ukraine conflict while speaking to RT, responding to reports of a three-part peace proposal from New Delhi.

”The Indian side is really ready to make a strong contribution” toward resolving the conflict, Peskov said, adding “we are grateful to our Indian friends for such readiness and for those ideas that are being expressed.”

Peskov did not refer directly to Delhi’s reported three-part plan or endorse its individual elements. The conflict is now in its fifth year.

Moscow’s comments follow recent reports in India about New Delhi shifting gears on an issue that has vexed US President Donald Trump and his negotiators for more than two years. Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said Monday that India has moved beyond simply advocating for peace and is now holding conversations with both Moscow and Kiev.

Indian media have reported, citing diplomatic sources, that New Delhi’s proposal seeks to halt attacks on energy facilities and other infrastructure, keep grain and energy moving through Black Sea ports, and stop strikes on commercial shipping.

It was reportedly discussed during Jaishankar’s visit to Kiev last month. Ukraine has separately acknowledged receiving an Indian ceasefire proposal. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga described it as the “most comprehensive” among the four initiatives received by Kiev, the others being from Türkiye, Egypt, and the US.

New Delhi’s conversations began with Black Sea shipping safety and have expanded to grain and energy exports and possible agreements on halting attacks, Jaishankar said Monday.

”This will require dialogue and diplomacy. There have to be negotiations,” he said, describing the discussions as ongoing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised India’s efforts last week, saying Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeatedly brings up ending the conflict and has “very good ideas” to find mutually acceptable solutions. He thanked Modi for his desire to seek an end to the conflict through peaceful means.