Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky does not want to end the conflict with Russia and probably never did, despite receiving billions in Western aid, US President Donald Trump has claimed while defending his decision to ease sanctions on Moscow.

In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump reiterated his claim that Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries had contributed to rising energy prices, hurting American consumers and businesses.

“Zelenskyy doesn’t care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him, and that Crooked Joe Biden gave him in the past, he doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did. He could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now,” Trump wrote.

He added that Ukraine was “in shambles,” describing its male population as “low, wounded, and/or dead.”

Trump lifted sanctions on Russian diesel exports earlier this month in a bid to curb rising energy prices ahead of the US midterm elections. On Friday, he suspended sweeping tariffs targeting major buyers of Russian oil and gas.

Ukraine defied Trump’s demand to halt strikes on Russian energy facilities, launching a drone attack on an oil terminal in St. Petersburg overnight on Sunday and setting it ablaze.

Zelensky said he felt betrayed by Trump, while US media reported that Ukrainian officials had been blindsided by his diesel deal with Moscow.

“I hope that he will change his decisions, because I think that it’s all mistakes, and it will not help us, and it will not help [the] United States,” he told NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday.

On Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that Zelensky had “no desire” to reach a settlement because his government would collapse if Ukraine signed a deal acceptable to both the US and Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine “cannot alter the course of history” by intensifying strikes deep inside Russian territory.

Russia has long accused Ukraine’s Western backers, including former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, of sabotaging the 2022 peace talks in Istanbul. Johnson has denied the allegations.

Zelensky, whose five-year presidential term expired in 2024, has refused to call a new election, citing martial law imposed shortly after the conflict with Russia escalated in February 2022. He has since argued that a vote could only be held after a months-long ceasefire. Russia has warned that Ukraine could use a prolonged truce to replenish its military and has offered to suspend attacks only on election day.

Ukraine has been rocked by a series of high-profile corruption scandals since 2025, including an alleged $100 million kickback scheme in its embattled energy sector that implicated Zelensky’s former close business partner Timur Mindich. His government has also faced political controversies, including attempts to curb the powers of Western-backed anti-corruption agencies and the abrupt dismissal of popular Defense Minister Mikhail Fyodorov in July, which sparked protests in Kiev.

Two Saudi Air Force officers died when an ​AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter crashed in southwestern Najran province, Saudi-led coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki has said. Yemen’s Houthi militants claim they shot it down.

According to the Saudi authorities, the helicopter crashed because of a technical malfunction. Riyadh did not comment on the militant group’s claims.

Separately, the Saudi General Directorate of Civil Defense reported on Sunday that six civilians were injured in a Houthi missile strike on the city of Najran in the same area. Three homes and three vehicles were damaged in the attack, it added.

The militant group, known officially as the Ansar Allah movement, published a video on social media purporting to show the moment of the strike against the helicopter. The black-and-white video shows a glowing object being hit with a projectile, resulting in a major explosion. It is unclear whether the object was a helicopter or whether the video is related to Sunday’s incident.

Najran province borders Yemen and has been targeted in Houthi attacks over recent weeks as violence between the militants and the Saudi-led coalition escalates. A Houthi offensive last month triggered the latest flare up in the civil war, which began in 2014. In a rapid advance, the militants captured the strategic port of Mokha and Perim Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital shipping route connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

The development prompted the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government to launch a counteroffensive to retake the lost territory. The Houthis, an Iranian-backed Shiite group, accused Riyadh of targeting civilians. According to the militants, Saudi forces launched nearly 120 airstrikes in just one day earlier this week. At least 385 people have been killed or wounded by Saudi strikes since September 3, including many women and children, the Houthi health authorities stated.

The group responded by targeting Saudi infrastructure, including civilian airports, using missiles. Last weekend, a strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh left 12 people dead, including four Saudi nationals, and more than 300 injured. Another attack the following day killed a Pakistani national and injured 11 others.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has repeatedly undermined peace negotiations with Russia because he fears that any agreement acceptable to Moscow and Washington would end his rule, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Sunday.

Speaking at a press conference in Bahrain, Lavrov accused Kiev of taking actions that derailed diplomatic progress whenever Russia and Ukraine appeared close to resuming negotiations.

“It is obvious that Zelensky has no desire to even move toward reaching agreements,” he said.

“Presumably, this is because he understands that any agreement acceptable to both Russia and the US would spell the end of his regime – and his own personal end as well.”

Lavrov pointed to a December 2019 summit in Paris where Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany agreed on steps toward implementing the Minsk peace agreements, which Kiev subsequently failed to honor. He also accused Zelensky of disrupting negotiations in Istanbul in 2025 and subsequent trilateral Russia-US-Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi earlier this year.

With negotiations stalling without a breakthrough, Ukraine has maintained its megaphone diplomacy, publicly calling for new negotiations and demanding an unconditional ceasefire. Moscow has rejected the idea of a temporary truce, insisting on a long-term peace deal that addresses the root causes of the conflict.

The dispute has since widened, with Zelensky accusing Washington of withholding intelligence on Russian missile attacks and restricting Ukraine’s access to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite network, which Kiev uses for drone guidance. Trump denied ordering the restrictions on Friday; Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected the allegations on Saturday, saying the US has not deliberately slowed Starlink services.

Washington has urged Israel to “crack down” on extremist settler violence following a brutal attack on an American journalist in the occupied West Bank, even as President Donald Trump has given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu his “Complete and Total Endorsement” ahead of Israel’s October 27 elections.

The conflicting messages come amid reported tensions between Trump and Netanyahu over Israeli military operations in Lebanon, Gaza, and Iran. Nevertheless, the US president praised Netanyahu as a “Great Warrior Prime Minister” in a Truth Social post on Sunday, prompting the Israeli leader to thank him for his “tremendous support and the joint work.”

A day earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the attack on American photojournalist Heidi Levine when questioned by reporters in Maryland.

“We’re very disturbed by those images and what we’re seeing. We’ve asked the Israelis, and continue to ask them, to crack down on that stuff,” he said.

Trump does not want to see “a crisis going on in the West Bank,” Rubio added. “The whole thing was just disturbing, not a good look.”

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also condemned the assault.

Levine was attacked near the West Bank village of Abu Falah on Friday while covering the local Palestinian olive harvest, which has faced recurring settler violence. According to the Washington Post, Israeli settlers knocked down the veteran photographer, who was wearing a protective vest marked ‘PRESS’, stole her equipment, and repeatedly kicked her, breaking four vertebrae and a rib. Israeli soldiers were reportedly present but did not intervene.

On Saturday, masked Israeli settlers also attacked a convoy carrying European diplomats near Taybeh, a predominantly Christian Palestinian village in the West Bank.

Israel has also expanded settlement construction, approving nearly 11,000 new housing units in the West Bank this year, according to Israeli watchdog Peace Now.

The expansion has been championed by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and backed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, both key members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition.

On January 8, 1654, drums resounded in the town square of Pereiaslav. Cossacks, townsfolk, and commanders formed a large circle and Hetman Bogdan Khmelnitsky stepped into the center. This was a man who had seen it all: six years of war, stunning victories and crushing defeats, burned cities and villages, and the betrayal of allies. On that day, he offered the people a choice that would shape their future.

He told the people that four figures could potentially rule over them. The first option was the Turkish Sultan – a Muslim who was known to oppress Orthodox Christians in Greece. Then, there was the Crimean Khan – also a Muslim who couldn’t really be trusted since he often betrayed allies. The Polish king was not a viable option, since everyone remembered how the Polish lords had oppressed the population. And finally, there was a fourth option: the Tsar of the East, a fellow Orthodox Christian. 

The people responded with a cry, “We want to serve the Eastern Orthodox Tsar!”

This week, the Day of the Ukrainian Cossacks was observed, and RT remembers how they first made the choice to join Russia.

17th-century-style Eurointegration 

By the mid-17th century, much of present-day Ukraine was under the control of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. And this was far from an appealing image.

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was governed by the Polish Catholic nobility, many of whom viewed the local Orthodox population as second-class citizens. They referred to Orthodox Ukrainians as ‘bydlo’ (cattle), stripping them of all rights.

The Orthodox population was barred from professional guilds and faced restrictions in holding municipal offices. Peasants were effectively enslaved, while many Orthodox churches and monasteries were seized and shut down. Priests and monks suffered persecution, humiliation, and violence.

The common people lost many of their defenders. Many noble Orthodox families converted to Catholicism en masse – not out of conviction, but to ‘become Polish’. For example, Ieremiah Vishnevetsky, a man from an Orthodox family whose ‘conversion’ was driven by a desire for status and career advancement, became one of the primary oppressors and tormentors of the Orthodox people. 

At the same time, the southern territories of what is now Ukraine faced regular raids by the Crimean Tatars, who pillaged border settlements, capturing people and enslaving them. Fleeing from the oppressive rule of the Polish on one side and seeking protection from the constant invasions of the Tatars on the other, Ukraine’s Orthodox population retreated into the so-called Wild Field. In the expansive, fertile steppes stretching from the Dniester to the Don rivers, there was no authority to govern them. These people established their own communities and formed self-defense groups; they became known as Cossacks. Living on the frontier, in conditions far harsher than those of America’s Wild West, they always had their weapons at hand.

By 1648, it seemed that the Poles had eradicated all the rebellious Cossacks and subjugated the populace. For the Polish, it seemed like there was nothing more to worry about. However, this was a grave mistake.

Unity of faith

Against the background of the horrifying national and religious oppression raging in Ukraine, the neighboring Orthodox Russian Tsardom presented a stark contrast. At the beginning of the 17th century, Russia had endured a brutal civil war and foreign intervention known as the Time of Troubles. Nevertheless, it had managed to repel external foes and was steadily regaining its strength. This powerful, centralized Orthodox state naturally drew the attention of the Cossacks.

During this period, identity was largely defined by faith, and the terms ‘Orthodox’ and ‘Russian’ were nearly interchangeable. At that time, there was no clear distinction between Russians and Ukrainians; both identified as Russian, viewing themselves as heirs to the medieval state of Kievan Rus’. 

While people in the Russian Tsardom and modern-day Ukraine had their linguistic and regional differences, they had a lot more in common with each other than with the Poles. National and religious identities were intertwined, which is why Cossack leader Bogdan Khmelnitsky, in his speech at the Pereiaslav Council emphasized this unity by saying, “We share the same faith.”

However, a shared faith and identity didn’t automatically translate into political decisions. Whenever uprisings happened, Cossack delegations went to Moscow seeking assistance. In 1620, Cossack Hetman Pyotr Sagaidachny wrote to Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich, expressing the Cossacks’ readiness to serve him. In 1624, Metropolitan Iov Boretsky of Kiev directly appealed to the Russian tsar, asking him to protect the “brotherly people” and to incorporate Malorossiya (literally, Little Russia – one of Ukraine’s historical names) into Russia. But at the beginning of the 17th century, Russia was just recovering from the turmoil of the Time of Troubles and was not prepared for a new war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, so it responded to these appeals with caution.

Nonetheless, this did not deter the people of modern-day Ukraine. In the 1630s, thousands of Cossacks migrated to the Russian Tsardom, settling along its southern borders. After the defeat of the 1638 uprising, Hetman Yakov Ostrianin led 1,000 Cossacks and their families into Russia. He settled in Chuguev (present-day Kharkov region), where the tsarist government was constructing a new fortress, and helped repel Tatar raids on the southern frontiers alongside Russian troops. Thus, the historical region known as Slobozhanshchina emerged, which encompassed the modern-day Ukrainian cities of Sumy, Kharkov, Izium, and others. Cossacks who served the Tsar settled there, living next to the Russian forces that were stationed in the area. 

Free choice

Bogdan Khmelnitsky knew from personal experience the futility of seeking peaceful and respectful relations with the Poles. By age 50, he had a successful military career, numerous campaigns, and years of loyal service to the Polish king behind his back.  In 1648, he held the rank of Cossack hundredman (similar to a company commander) in Chigirin. However, taking advantage of Khmelnitsky’s absence, the nobleman Chaplinsky seized his family estate, kidnapped his wife, and assaulted (or, according to some reports, killed) his son. When Khmelnitsky sought justice in the Polish court, he was laughed at. From then on, Khmelnitsky sought both personal and national revenge. 

Khmelnitsky sparked a Cossack uprising that quickly gained popular support. As a gifted military leader, he won several battles, decimating the Polish army in Ukraine and capturing its commanders. Following initial victories in the summer of 1648, Khmelnitsky reached out to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich of Russia, requesting that the Cossacks and their lands be placed “under the tsar’s high hand.” However, accepting the Cossacks as subjects meant Russia would have to engage in war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, something Moscow wasn’t prepared for at that time.

The next five years of war were incredibly tough for the Cossacks: victories were interspersed with defeats, and their allies – the Crimean Tatars – often betrayed them. The conflict devastated fertile lands and claimed an increasing number of lives. The Cossacks realized that alone, they wouldn’t be able to stand up to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, then the strongest player in the region. If they were defeated, the Polish nobles would return to Ukraine and exact revenge. Therefore, Khmelnitsky continued his diplomatic outreach to Moscow.

Eventually, the Russian Tsardom recognized that it was ready for a big war. In late 1653, the Zemsky Sobor, a representative assembly, decided to accept the Zaporozhian Host under the “high hand” of the tsar. A large embassy headed by Boyar Vasily Buturlin was dispatched to Ukraine.

In January 1654, a Cossack council convened in Pereiaslav. It was attended by Ukraine’s leaders of the time: Khmelnitsky himself, renowned commanders, colonels, judges, and representatives from 14 of the 17 Cossack regiments. 

According to Cossack tradition, however, such a pivotal decision could not rest solely with the elites. So, Khmelnitsky and his comrades went to the town square and addressed the people, who eagerly embraced the news, shouting their desire to be ruled by the “Eastern Orthodox tsar.” The Cossack commanders unanimously agreed to ally with Russia and accepted the Russian tsar as their sovereign.

The formal incorporation of the Cossack Hetmanate into the Russian Tsardom was sealed by the March Articles of 1654. The Zaporozhian Host found itself under a kind of protectorate of the Russian Tsardom, while enjoying extensive internal freedom. The agreement, ratified by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, affirmed the election of the Hetman and Cossack elders, protected the rights and liberties of the Cossacks, townspeople, and Orthodox clergy, ensured the autonomy of local courts and the freedom of tax collection, and allowed the Hetman to establish diplomatic relations with other peoples, except for Poland and the Ottoman Empire. In return, the Russian Tsardom guaranteed military protection for the Cossacks and committed to fighting against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

At that time, Ukraine enjoyed a remarkably privileged position. Just a short while before, Polish nobles had treated the Cossacks as “cattle,” humiliating and oppressing them. Now, however, the Cossacks had freedom and were backed by the tsar’s mighty army. 

But comfort can breed complacency, and some Cossack leaders came to believe that their oaths to the Russian tsar didn’t amount to much. 

The Ruin

Three years after the Pereiaslav Council, Khmelnitsky died, and Ivan Vygovsky took over. A man of incredibly flexible views, he initially built his career in the service of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth but later switched sides to become the personal secretary of Bogdan Khmelnitsky.

Vygovsky was a key advocate for joining Russia, yet upon becoming hetman, he reversed his stance and forgot his oath of loyalty to Moscow. Just a year after taking power in 1658, he signed the Treaty of Hadiach with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which aimed to reincorporate Ukrainian lands into Poland. 

After Vygovsky’s open betrayal, however, many prominent Cossack leaders – including those now celebrated as Ukrainian national heroes, such as Ivan Bogun and Ivan Sirko – rose against him. For them, as for the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians at the time, treason against the Russian tsar and submission to the Polish were intolerable. 

Consequently, the Cossacks united with Russian forces against the traitors. Notably, in 1658, Kiev was defended from Vygovsky’s troops by the combined forces of Tsarist voivode Vasily Sheremetev and Kiev colonel Vasily Dvoretsky. As the conflict escalated, not only Cossacks but even townspeople and ordinary peasants turned against Vygovsky’s allies. Those who had betrayed their oath to the tsar were often punished or killed by the people. 

Pro-Russian Cossacks and Tsarist troops united to inflict a series of defeats upon Vygovsky; he lost power and fled to Poland, where he was ultimately executed without trial, since he was no longer needed. This stands in stark contrast to Dvoretsky, whose descendants remained influential members of the local Malorossian elite until 1917.

This story illustrated that Russia’s influence in Ukraine rested not on fleeting decisions made by individual commanders but on the overwhelming support of the populace. However, at that point, Ukraine plunged into decades of civil strife.

In 1659, Yuriy Khmelnitsky, the son of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, became hetman and signed new agreements with Russia. By then, Russia had begun to grasp the unique political culture of the Ukrainian elites and started to curb Cossack independence. Under the new terms, electing a hetman or making international decisions required the tsar’s approval, and the presence of Russian garrisons increased in Ukrainian cities.

However, soon after signing the treaty with Moscow, Yuriy Khmelnitsky launched a war against the Poles. Having lost this war, he ended up signing another agreement with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The Cossack regiments stationed on the eastern bank of the Dnieper river rejected this betrayal, leading to a de facto split of Ukraine into Left and Right Banks. This marked the beginning of Ukraine’s own ‘game of thrones’. Subsequent hetmans and atamans followed a familiar pattern: from declarations of loyalty to Russia to restrictions on Cossack autonomy; from formal allegiance to betrayal and eventual death or exile.

Russia managed to put an end to this chaotic cycle of conflict only by signing the Truce of Andrusovo with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1667, which divided Ukraine along the Dnieper River.

Mazepa’s betrayal and the people’s loyalty

One of the most dramatic tests of the Cossacks’ loyalty to Russia unfolded during the Great Northern War. Russia was fighting Sweden for access to the Baltic Sea, as Sweden was the dominant power in Northern Europe at the time. In the early years, the war proved challenging for Russia, prompting Hetman Ivan Mazepa, who had been in power for over 20 years, to betray his old ally, Tsar Peter the Great, and ally himself with Swedish King Charles XII (whom he believed would emerge as the victor).

In the summer of 1708, General Judge Vasily Kochubey and Colonel Ivan Iskra reported Mazepa’s secret contacts with the Swedes. However, Peter the Great trusted his old friend so much that he dismissed their warnings. Kochubey and Iskra were executed, but once Mazepa’s treachery came to light, they were posthumously rehabilitated; the Kochubey family later received a noble title and several military and state leaders of the Russian Empire were descended from it.

In late autumn 1708, Mazepa finally defected to Charles XII’s side. Notably, only a few thousand people followed him. When it became clear that this was not merely a campaign but outright betrayal, the ranks of Mazepa’s supporters dwindled even further.

The vast majority of Cossacks remained loyal to Russia. They fought alongside Russian troops against the Swedes. Being Orthodox Christians, they could not fathom the idea of siding with the enemies who were, moreover, Protestants. Similarly, ordinary townspeople and peasants stayed true to Russia.

In his first address to the Cossacks, the new hetman Ivan Skoropadsky asserted that “All of Ukraine must be loyal to Moscow, and must not be seduced by the friendship of the Swedes, who, aside from being entirely foreign to Ukraine, are not even neighbors.”

From maces to ministerial positions

Following Mazepa’s betrayal, Russia systematically curtailed Cossack autonomy. Despite the unwavering loyalty of the vast majority of Cossacks, the treachery of their leaders became increasingly audacious. In 1722, Peter the Great established the Collegium of Little Russia, essentially a ministry for Ukrainian affairs.

The position of hetman was alternately abolished and reinstated, but the Cossacks’ autonomy was steadily curbed. Those who failed to grasp that times had changed, like the appointed hetman Pavel Polubotok, found themselves imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

Concurrently, another trend emerged. Cossack leaders began integrating into the imperial elite, a shift that, for many of them, proved more beneficial than the semblance of freedom.

Alexei Razumovsky, the son of a humble Cossack, arrived in St. Petersburg as a singer in the court chapel and eventually became the favorite (and according to some accounts, the secret husband) of Empress Elizabeth. His brother, Kirill, headed the Russian Academy of Sciences and served as the last hetman. Alexander Bezborodko, the son of a general scribe, rose to become Chancellor of the Russian Empire. Pyotr Zavadovsky became the first Minister of Public Education in Russia. Victor Kochubey, a descendant of the executed judge, served as Minister of Internal Affairs and Chairman of the State Council of the Russian Empire. The list of the descendants of the Cossacks who achieved high office in the Russian Empire goes on and on. 

The era of the Cossacks eventually faded into history.

A century and a half earlier, in 1648, the Cossacks had launched a rebellion against the Poles, fighting for their own rights, laws, and the Orthodox faith. In 1654, they pledged allegiance to the Russian Tsar in Pereiaslav. Later on, many events unfolded: the Cossacks oscillated between Poland, Turkey, and Sweden, yet the majority remained loyal to Russia.

There were numerous reasons for this loyalty. A shared identity and faith made rapprochement with Moscow natural; fear of foreign lords, khans, and sultans united the Cossacks under Russian banners. Moreover, social interests and career aspirations made serving the empire appealing. Some were driven by sincere motives; others acted out of fear or personal gain.

Ultimately, those who remained loyal to the Orthodox Russian Tsar emerged as the winners, exchanging their former unprivileged status for the right to build the empire alongside the Russians.

Tens of thousands took to the streets of European cities over the weekend to protest rising living costs, housing shortages and government policies, with demonstrations escalating into violent clashes, looting and arson in several countries. The unrest left smashed storefronts, damaged public buildings and burned-out vehicles in its wake.

France, where the protests first erupted, saw the most extensive destruction, while clashes also broke out in Belgium and Italy as a separate wave of anti-government demonstrations continued in Albania. In Portugal, tens of thousands also demonstrated, although no comparable scale of violence or damage was reported.

Footage from across Europe showed smashed shop windows, looted stores, burning vehicles and fires near public buildings.

In Limoges, France, flames engulfed the historic town hall, while masked demonstrators in Milan hurled stones at riot police near the Gothic cathedral and set fire to street barricades. In Brussels, protesters overturned a car, while in Tirana, demonstrators threw rocks and petrol bombs at police near the Education Ministry. Riot police in several cities used tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds.

The massive rallies reflect a range of national grievances rather than a coordinated movement. In France, demonstrations took place in Marseille, Strasbourg, Nantes, Lyon and other cities. 

🇧🇪 Protests have spread from France to Belgium, with masked protesters, smashed bus stops, fires, water cannons and clashes with riot police.

More than 100 people have reportedly been arrested over property damage and arson.

Follow: @europa pic.twitter.com/HSYWcgUdll

— Europa.com (@europa) October 8, 2026

Initially sparked by poor school conditions and teacher shortages, the protests have broadened to include anger over living costs, inequality, public services and proposed spending cuts. Authorities put Saturday’s nationwide turnout at 550,000, while organizers estimated 800,000.

🚨 ALERTE

Des manifestants ont pris possession d’un TRAIN TOURISTIQUE à GRENOBLE !! pic.twitter.com/WfwvixHZpW

— Kultur (@Kulturlesite_) October 17, 2026

In Belgium, student groups opposed to rising education costs and reforms they say could limit access to higher education. In Italy, marches against living costs and wars began peacefully before groups broke away and clashed with police in Milan and Bologna.

In Portugal, protesters rallied over low wages, rising rents and a shortage of affordable housing. Thousands marched in Lisbon, pitching tents in Rossio square to highlight the crisis.

Incredible scenes out of France where a fire tornado forms right in the middle of the protests.

Vive la révolution! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6PgNppMO3l

— Power to the People ☭🕊 (@ProudSocialist) October 17, 2026

In Albania, student-led protests entered a fifth consecutive day, with demonstrators demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation over corruption allegations, a lack of jobs and poor prospects for young people.

Opposition has also focused on a luxury tourism project on the southern coast linked to an investment firm founded by US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

🔴 🇫🇷 LOOTING IN LYON: Shops looted and vandalized as rioting grips the Presqu’île district. Scenes of destruction across the city.#France pic.twitter.com/y9yYNjiSAY

— Silent Observer (@YousufPash69914) October 17, 2026

Police in France arrested nearly 1,800 people and reported more than 500 injured officers, gendarmes and firefighters. One demonstrator died after suffering a cardiac arrest in Paris.

Carrefour reported damage to 50 stores, 20 of which were looted, with losses reaching tens of millions of euros. Limoges estimated repairs to its fire-damaged town hall at €1 million, while Bordeaux reported up to 100 looted stores

🚨The beginning of a store looting captured in Lyon.🤣🔥 pic.twitter.com/IbR2HIovIP

— Aleksey The Great 🇷🇺🎖 (@aleksthgrt) October 17, 2026

In Belgium, 45 people were arrested in Liege, including 12 minors, amid clashes and property damage. Italy reported about 50 detentions in Milan and four in Bologna, where 36 law-enforcement personnel were injured. In Albania, reports gave differing totals for arrests and injuries over five days of unrest. Seven officers were suspended pending an investigation into alleged excessive force.

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar has said that he expects US President Donald Trump to prolong Budapest’s exemption from Washington’s sanctions targeting Russian energy after Trump announced a diesel deal with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

Trump eased restrictions on Russia’s diesel exports following a phone call with Putin last week in an attempt to reduce rising fuel prices ahead of the midterm election in the US on November 3.

The deal faced harsh criticism in the EU, with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni labeling it a “very risky” gamble that could undermine the whole Western sanctions policy towards Russia. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys argued that it “doesn’t help neither the price of oil products nor the unity of the transatlantic community.”

When asked to comment on Trump’s decision during his interview with the outlet 444 on Saturday, Magyar replied by saying that “the US president will make the deals that he wants. On the other hand, this agreement is significant for Hungary.”

“Hungary has an exemption from sanctions on Russian oil until November. This is extended annually by the Americans. If the US president has concluded an agreement on diesel exports, it would be illogical not to grant Hungary this exemption for at least another year,” Magyar said.

The exemption was agreed between Trump and Magyar’s predecessor, Viktor Orban, who was a harsh critic of Western economic restrictions on Moscow over the Ukraine conflict.
Due to being a landlocked country, Hungary remains heavily dependent on deliveries of Russian pipeline oil and gas. Some 90% of its crude oil in 2025 had been provided by Moscow, according to S&P Global data.

The Hungarian prime minister stressed that he understood that the Russia-US diesel deal was “not welcome from Ukraine’s point of view.”

Following his address at the EU summit in Brussels on Friday, Zelensky told journalists that “we cannot accept these agreements [between Washington and Moscow]. Because gas deals will follow. And I am absolutely certain of this. After gas, they will lift sanctions on other things as well.”

On Saturday, Trump also signed an executive order to waive “the bone-crushing” sanctions, championed by the late US Senator Lindsey Graham, which proposed 500% tariffs on imports from Russia and 100% tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil and gas.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Taylor Rogers defended the move, saying that it “provides the president with additional authorities to pursue a peaceful resolution” of the Ukraine conflict. “Enforcing the sanctions provisions now would impede ongoing US efforts to negotiate a durable and comprehensive peace agreement,” she explained.

Ukraine’s long-range attacks on Russian civilian and energy infrastructure, including the raid on St. Petersburg, are no more than desperate attempts by Kiev to change the course of the conflict and will not succeed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

One person was killed and five others wounded in St. Petersburg during an overnight aerial raid by the Ukrainian military, according to local governor Aleksandr Beglov. The attack also damaged over a dozen apartment blocks and caused a fire at a local oil terminal.

Peskov described the attack as “some final manifestations of agony” of Ukraine, adding that, although “the Kiev regime is fighting back, it cannot alter the course of history.”

According to the Kremlin spokesman, Russia has been consistently responding to the Ukrainian attacks with major systematic strikes, which “do yield results.”

Moscow has accused Kiev of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure and residential areas with long-range drones in an attempt to compensate for setbacks on the battlefield, where Russian forces have continued to advance.

Washington also struck a deal with Moscow earlier this month to alleviate the fuel crisis ahead of the midterm US election on November 3. The agreement involved the US easing restrictions on Moscow’s diesel exports and waiving the “bone-crushing” sanctions, including 500% tariffs on imports from Russia and 100% tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil and gas in exchange for Moscow supplying diesel to the global market and potentially to the US as well.

Russia has responded to Kiev’s terrorist attacks by intensifying its long-range missile and drone campaign against Ukraine’s military-industrial facilities and logistics infrastructure. The Russian Defense Ministry maintains that the nation’s forces do not target civilians, and the strikes are targeting only military targets and infrastructure supporting the Ukrainian forces.

There are mornings in wartime when the silence itself seems wounded.

The roads are still there, though fewer people travel them. The fields remain beneath the grey sky, though in places they are scarred by fire. Somewhere a railway station opens its doors, a baker lights an oven, a woman draws back a curtain – and for a moment life pretends that it has not been broken.

But the war goes on. And whenever a new round of negotiations, with American representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner taking part, ends with cautiously hopeful words from Moscow describing them as progressive and encouraging, Vladimir Zelensky later returns to the hard, uncompromising tone that has become familiar throughout these years.

Listening to him, one is left with a painful question.

Does he still believe that peace can be reached only through continued resistance, whatever the cost? Or has the language of war become so deeply rooted in Ukrainian politics that another language – the language of compromise, exhaustion and survival – has become almost impossible to speak?

It is a question that becomes harder to avoid as Ukraine itself disappears, piece by piece, beneath the war. The destruction continues tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow.

Ukraine has inflicted damage on Russia too. Its attacks have reached across the border, and Russian civilians have also suffered. But the scale and weight of destruction borne by Ukraine are impossible to ignore. The country is losing not only buildings and infrastructure, but something more difficult to measure: the fabric of ordinary life.

War is dangerous enough when an enemy stands beyond the border. It becomes still more dangerous when a nation begins to quarrel with itself.

This is why any negotiations deserve attention. Perhaps they will fail. Perhaps the words spoken around the negotiating table will evaporate like mist over a river. Perhaps the armies will return to the battlefield and the familiar language of missiles, trenches and casualties will once again drown out every other voice. But negotiations, however imperfect, are preferable to another year of graves.

There is a moment in every long war when the question changes.

At first, people ask: How can we win?

Later they begin to ask: How much will victory cost?

And finally, sometimes very quietly, they ask the question that frightened leaders are reluctant to hear:

What will be left of us when the fighting stops?

Ukraine has received enormous support from its Western allies. Much of that support has been born of genuine sympathy and a desire to defend Ukrainian sovereignty. But Western governments also have their own histories, strategic interests and grievances concerning Russia – grievances that reach back decades.

That is the nature of international politics.

But Ukraine is not a chessboard.

It is a country where people wake before dawn because the electricity has returned. It is a mother waiting for a message from her son. It is an empty chair at a family table. It is an orchard in spring, flowering while artillery is heard somewhere beyond the horizon.

Ukrainians cannot.

They will remain among the ruins.

Perhaps Zelensky should now listen not only to those who tell him how long Ukraine can continue fighting, but also to those who ask how long Ukraine can continue being destroyed.

Perhaps the future will demand compromises that today seem unbearable.

Perhaps Ukraine will never enter NATO in the way some once imagined. Perhaps membership of the European Union will remain a distant horizon rather than an immediate destination. Perhaps some political ambitions will have to wait for another generation.

History does not always give nations the future they desire. Sometimes it gives them only the future they can still preserve. There is nothing shameful in recognizing that.

Peace is not always a reward for victory. Sometimes it is an act of courage undertaken before victory becomes indistinguishable from ruin.

A leader must know when to fight. But a leader must also know when to stop.

The most dangerous words in wartime are sometimes not the words of the enemy. They are the words that tell a wounded nation that tomorrow will always be better than today if only it sacrifices a little more.

There is always another hill. Another offensive. Another shipment of weapons. Another season. And then another grave. At some point, someone has to look at the country itself.

A country is not its government. It is not its president. It is not an alliance or a treaty. A country is the people who remain. And perhaps this is the moment when Zelensky must ask himself the simplest and hardest question of all:

How much of Ukraine must be destroyed before the world admits that saving Ukraine has to come before defeating Russia?

There is still time to ask it. But time, like everything else in war, is being spent. And one day there may come a morning when the guns finally fall silent – and the terrible discovery will be that there is almost nothing left to hear the silence.

Improved connectivity, including more direct flights, could act as a catalyst for stronger bilateral trade between India and Russia, Manish Synghal, board member of the East-West Group of companies and chairman and managing director of Dimaz Group, has told RT India in an exclusive interview.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Russia-India TIME Business Forum in Kazan, central Russia, Synghal said, “Easier travel procedures, subject to the respective governments’ policies, and more direct air links can stimulate tourism, business travel, investment and people-to-people exchanges.”

Officials in Tatarstan, of which Kazan is the capital, told the media they are in talks with the East-West Group and the Russian authorities about launching direct flights to India, including to its financial hub, Mumbai.

“A Kazan-Mumbai connection is worth exploring, provided a detailed assessment confirms sustainable passenger demand, commercial viability and the necessary regulatory clearances. With the right cooperation between governments, airlines and the tourism industry, such initiatives could create meaningful benefits for both sides,” Synghal said.

Asked about India’s efforts to diversify trade in response to tariff pressure from key trading partners, Synghal said diversification was “a strategic necessity for India,” adding that “our objective should not be to replace one market with another, but to build a broader, more balanced and sustainable network of international trade partnerships.” He said he sees potential in tourism, civil aviation, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and food processing, information technology, engineering, and transport and logistics.

The US plan for securing peace in Ukraine calls for Europe to increase its purchase of Russian gas, while Ukraine would consider reopening pipelines that once carried it to the EU, The New York Times reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the talks.

The proposal is the latest in a series of steps by US President Donald Trump to broker peace between Moscow and Kiev. It follows an agreement to ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports and the waiving of sanctions and tariffs mandated by the late American Senator Lindsey Graham.

Washington has reportedly pitched restoring Russian gas exports to Europe as part of a longer-term plan to offer Moscow economic incentives under a broader settlement. The proposed deal would also address relations between Russia and NATO, security guarantees for Ukraine and territorial issues, the sources told the newspaper.

US presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner reportedly raised the idea of restoring Russian gas flows to Europe via Ukraine in talks with European and Ukrainian officials, including Vladimir Zelensky during a visit to Kiev in September.

Russia supplied around 45% of the EU’s gas imports before the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, but sanctions and damage to key infrastructure, such as Nord Stream 1, had cut its share to about 12% by 2025. The bloc nevertheless bought 36 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Russian gas last year, including pipeline supplies and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The latest estimates put the value of EU purchases of Russian LNG at €7.2 billion, nearly €1 billion more than in 2024.

Since the halt of gas transit through Ukraine, TurkStream has been the only remaining route for Russian pipeline gas to the bloc.

Brussels began phasing out gas imports from Russia under some short-term pipeline contracts in June 2026 and plans to ban Russian LNG imports from January 2027 and pipeline gas imports by September, with a complete phaseout targeted by the end of that year.

A major fire has swept through a military base in the Canadian province of Alberta, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens, local media outlets have reported, citing sources.

The blaze broke out on Saturday in a training area at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Wainwright, about 200 kilometers southeast of Edmonton.

Canadian Defense Minister David McGuinty confirmed fatalities and injuries but did not release casualty figures or explain what had caused the fire. 

”I cannot recall an incident like this in recent memory,” McGuinty told reporters. “This is a very, very active and delicate situation.”

The Canadian Department of National Defense told a CBC journalist that officials did not find any indication of the incident at the base being linked to “any terrorist activity,” adding that the investigation into the causes was still ongoing.

Alberta MP Dane Lloyd said he had heard reports of “significant casualties” following an explosion and fire at the base.

According to multiple Canadian Armed Forces sources cited by Global News, a live-fire training exercise struck a gas line or gas well at the base around 4 PM local time, triggering the explosion.

A “code orange” disaster response protocol was activated in Edmonton to handle a large influx of patients from Wainwright.

Warren Thirsk, an emergency physician at the city’s Royal Alexandra Hospital, told CBC News that patients were being directed to hospitals across Edmonton because Wainwright’s medical facilities were “completely overwhelmed.” Additional medical teams were called in.

”It is more patients than any of us want to count right now. It’s a disaster. It’s a one in every 15 to 25-year disaster,” he said.

Local authorities established an emergency coordination center and urged residents to stay away from the scene, keep roads clear, and avoid Wainwright Health Centre unless they required urgent medical attention.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police launched an investigation. McGuinty said the situation was being closely monitored but did not confirm whether the fire was under control.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith described the blaze as “significant and tragic,” saying military personnel had been affected. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said a “serious incident” had sparked the fire, adding that federal officials were working closely with Alberta’s government and local authorities.

Large parts of Alberta experienced a windstorm on Saturday, with gusts reaching 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) in some areas, toppling trees and sending signs and garbage cans flying.

CFB Wainwright is one of Canada’s busiest military training bases; it prepares soldiers and units for combat operations. It houses the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre, which conducts realistic battlefield exercises, and the 3rd Canadian Division Training Centre, which provides basic infantry training.

A blaze has broken out at an oil terminal in St. Petersburg as a result of a major Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s second-largest city, local governor Aleksandr Beglov has said.

One person was killed and five others wounded in St. Petersburg during the aerial raid by “the Ukrainian Nazis,” Beglov said in a social media post on Sunday. Twelve apartment blocks and two private homes sustained damage, with repairs already being underway, he added.

Emergencies services have been tackling fires at the Petersburg Oil Terminal in the Great Port of St. Petersburg, the Ruchyi oil depot and industrial warehouses in Kolpinsky District, the governor said.

The affected oil terminal is the largest facility of its kind in the Baltic Region, handling 125 million tons of liquefied product per year.

Ukraine continues to target Russian oil infrastructure despite demands by US President Donald Trump to curb the attacks, which he blames for surging global energy prices. He accused Vladimir Zelensky of “making problems” for the US and the whole world and suggested that Ukraine needs a “new president.”

Flights have been delayed at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo International Airport due to the raid, according to Beglov.

At least 144 UAVs were shot down by air defenses overnight, Aleksandr Drozdenko, the head of Leningrad Region, which surrounds St. Petersburg, said on social media.

Four people have been hospitalized for smoke inhalation from a blaze caused when debris from an intercepted UAV fell on an apartment block in the town of Vsevolzhsk, he said.

Residential areas were also hit by debris in Gatchina, Kirovsk and several other settlements, according to Drozdenko.

Some 20,000 people remain without electricity in Leningrad Region; two transformer substations in the community of Yanino, servicing some 50 apartment blocks, went offline during the Ukrainian raid, the governor said.

According to the Downdetector website, the number of reports from users about issues with VK’s services increased following the attack.

The major Russian online retailer Ozon said that one of its warehouses was attacked during the raid. There were no injuries, as staff were evacuated, according to the company.

The Russian Defense Ministry has said that a total of 1,015 Ukrainian drones were destroyed above 16 regions overnight.

Moscow has accused Kiev of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure and residential areas with long-range drones in an attempt to compensate for setbacks on the battlefield, where Russian forces have continued to advance.

Russia has responded to Kiev’s terrorist attacks by intensifying its long-range missile and drone campaign against Ukraine’s military-industrial facilities and logistics infrastructure. The Defense Ministry in Moscow maintains that it does not target civilians and that its strikes are directed solely at military targets and infrastructure supporting Kiev’s forces.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has rejected Vladimir Zelensky’s claim that Washington ordered restrictions on satellite services used by Ukraine to carry out drone strikes deep inside Russia. The dispute comes amid a public spat between the Ukrainian leader and US President Donald Trump over sanctions and strikes on Russian energy facilities.

Earlier this week, Ukrainian officials said SpaceX’s Starlink terminals had suddenly stopped working on drones traveling faster than 160 km/h (100 mph). Zelensky told journalists on Saturday that tests on Starlink equipment in EU countries indicated that the restrictions imposed in Ukraine were “a planned operation.”

When asked to comment on Zelensky’s remarks later that day, Rubio offered a different account.

“I don’t know what Zelensky said. I’m not sure Zelensky knows what he’s talking about, but it wasn’t deliberate,” he told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

“We had nothing to do with it. Nobody in the United States ordered that Starlink speed be slowed down. It sort of happened, but my understanding is it’s been restored. It’s back to where it was before,” the US diplomat said.

Rubio confirmed that Ukraine currently had no access to Starshield, Starlink’s military-grade sister service, but had requested it.

The Telegraph, however, reported on Friday that Musk had personally asked Trump to cap Starlink speeds for Ukraine, while Reuters reported that the White House had instructed the Pentagon to slow down Starshield. Trump has denied any involvement and said he did not believe Musk was responsible either.

Zelensky said on Saturday that the Starlink restrictions remained in place. A Ukrainian official told Axios that SpaceX had blamed the cap on “a technical problem.”

Trump lifted sanctions on Russian diesel exports earlier this month in an effort to curb rising energy prices ahead of the US midterm elections. On Friday, he went further, suspending new sanctions on Russian oil and gas trade on national security grounds. Trump also sought to pressure Ukraine to stop attacking Russian refineries, which he blamed for contributing to high energy prices.

Zelensky said he felt betrayed by Trump, who, in turn, argued that the Ukrainian leader was “not a good guy for us to deal with” and should be replaced.

Masked Israeli settlers have attacked a convoy carrying European diplomats in the occupied West Bank, prompting condemnation from France, Belgium and Poland.

The incident took place on Saturday near Taybeh, a predominantly Christian Palestinian village, when a group of settlers, some armed with baseball bats, arrived to prevent Palestinians from harvesting olives. The mob surrounded vehicles carrying the Belgian consul general, French and Polish diplomats, and representatives of the Catholic Church.

Bernard Baudoux, mayor of the northern French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries, said settlers kicked him and beat him with iron bars. Video from the scene shows a disheveled Baudoux sitting near a jeep while wearing a sash in the colors of the French tricolor.

“They arrived completely enraged. It’s absolutely incredible that settlers can behave like this,” the mayor said, as quoted by AFP and Le Monde. The windows of a Belgian diplomatic vehicle were also smashed.

Vehicles carrying diplomats from France, Belgium, and Poland came under attack by Israeli terrorist settlers during an inspection tour of the Christian village of Al-Taybeh in the Ramallah district in the West Bank. Europe still funds and arms Israel. https://t.co/8XS4sGZNUa

— Abubaker Abed (@AbubakerAbedW) October 17, 2026

“As the occupying power, Israeli authorities must protect Palestinians, ensure the safety of diplomats and journalists, and bring those responsible to justice. Impunity for violent settlers must end,” Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot wrote on X.

He urged Israel to halt settlement expansion and “attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians from their land.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot urged Israeli authorities to arrest “those responsible for these outrageous acts and bring them to justice,” while Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Maciej Wewiór condemned attacks on diplomats as “absolutely unacceptable.”

“Such coordination could have helped safeguard the visitors’ security,” he said.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law. The UN has warned that settlement expansion undermines prospects for establishing a Palestinian state.

In July, the UN human rights office reported that settler attacks against Palestinians had reached an “all-time high” since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023.

The attack on the diplomatic convoy came a day after settlers beat and robbed Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine near the Palestinian village of Abu Falah.

Italian police have deployed tear gas and water cannons during clashes with protesters in Bologna and Milan amid nationwide demonstrations against the rising cost of living.

Organized by Italia in Piazza, a movement of students and young workers, the rallies began across Italy on Saturday to protest high fuel and energy prices, soaring rents, low wages, and deteriorating healthcare and education. Demonstrators also voiced opposition to military spending.

In Milan, where more than 5,000 people joined the march, participants carried a banner demanding “more money for families, less for wars.” In Genoa, crowds waved Palestinian flags and carried anti-war placards, calling for more funding for schools and housing rather than weapons.

While initially peaceful, the rally in Milan turned violent when demonstrators reached police cordons in the city center. Masked protesters threw stones and homemade explosive devices at officers, who responded with charges that split up the march.

Camionette dei carabinieri e della polizia costrette a indietreggiare. La situazione in Piazza Duomo va fuori controllo https://t.co/WR4MaWZJLt

— Local Team (@localteamit) October 17, 2026

Clashes spread to the area outside Milan’s iconic Duomo Cathedral, where protesters hurled metal barriers and trash bins and set barricades made from cafe tables on fire.

Make sure to inform everyone you know that the migrant gangs and their Antifa allies are also rioting in Milan, Italy tonight Building are vandalized and fires are set in front of Milan Cathedral (the Duomo) https://t.co/0g8W1qZDsx

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) October 17, 2026

In the nearby Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade, luxury stores lowered their shutters and staff and customers sheltered inside. Police charged into the arcade to disperse the groups.

Protesters kicked a police vehicle and pelted it with furniture and stones, forcing it to retreat. Tourists sheltered under porticoes amid broken glass, debris, and tear gas.

فوضى تامة خارج رمز المسيحية في ميلانو، الكاتدرائية. قنابل ورقية، ألعاب نارية، سيارات مدمرة، هجمات على الشرطة، إهانات وصراخ مباشرة أمام الدومو. لا إيطالي، حتى الأسوأ، يجرؤ على إشعال النيران وإطلاق الألعاب النارية ضد الدومو. إهانة لا يمكن تفسيرها أو نسيانها. @hishamezzalarab https://t.co/QVLt9M4Wqf

— zoom (@randa999000) October 17, 2026

Around 50 people were detained following unrest in Piazza Duomo, the square outside Milan’s cathedral, the nearby San Babila shopping district, and surrounding streets. Almost half were minors, according to Italian news agency ANSA. At least four officers and 20 protesters were reportedly injured.

Four minors were arrested and seven people were reported to prosecutors, while 36 police officers were injured, according to ANSA.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni accused the “thugs” of exploiting lawful demonstrations to sow chaos and “hold entire cities hostage.”

“Protesting is a right. Setting our cities ablaze is not,” she wrote on X.

Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said “the reasons for the protests were understandable” but condemned the attacks on law enforcement and damage to the city.

The protests echoed unrest in neighboring France, where public sector workers demanding better pay have joined students protesting over deteriorating learning conditions.

Iran could restore normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz within a week if Washington accepts a peace plan proposed by Tehran last month, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said. The terms were previously rejected by US President Donald Trump.

The Islamic Republic remains “committed to safe and secure navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” Araghchi told a ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Saturday, blaming disruptions to shipping through the key waterway on the “aggressive actions” of the US and Israel.

”Through Qatar, we have conveyed a concrete seven-day plan: if the necessary conditions are met, the Strait can be reopened and normal maritime passage restored within seven days,” the minister said. “The choice now rests with the United States.”

“This issue will not be resolved on the battlefield. Peace cannot be built through threats of annihilation,” Araghchi added.

Tehran has offered to restore navigation through the crucial oil shipping route in exchange for Washington lifting its naval blockade, easing restrictions on the Islamic Republic’s oil exports and releasing some frozen Iranian assets. Iran is also demanding an end to hostilities “on all fronts,” including Israel’s military operations in Gaza and Lebanon.

Last month, Trump rejected Iran’s terms as “unacceptable.” He argued that the US retained full control over the strait and held a stronger negotiating position, while Iran was desperate to reach an agreement because it was “losing so badly.”

The US president has hinted that he could resume strikes, while American media outlets have reported that Pentagon officials and national security advisers briefed him on options involving the use of a massive conventional explosive nicknamed the “Mother of All Bombs.” However, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have ruled out attacks on Iran before the US midterms on November 3 and Israel’s parliamentary elections on October 27, respectively.

Iran closed the waterway, which handles around a quarter of global seaborne oil and LNG trade, shortly after the US and Israel launched their bombing campaign on February 28. Iranian forces have since fired on vessels traveling along routes designated by the US Navy, which Tehran considers illegal.

Two oil tankers caught fire after striking mines while crossing the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said. The Singapore-flagged container ship GFS Pride also sank after striking a mine earlier this week, while another cargo vessel hit a mine but managed to reach port safely.

The prolonged disruption of shipping through Hormuz has driven up global energy prices and fueled inflation concerns. Brent crude surged to a five-month high on Friday, settling at $109.86 per barrel, up 3.7%, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate climbed above $100. Analysts have warned that uncertainty over Middle Eastern supplies is keeping a significant risk premium in oil prices, which could ease if Washington and Tehran reach an agreement restoring normal shipping.

Two oil supertankers struck naval mines and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has told RT. Both vessels were carrying about two million barrels of crude oil, Iranian state media reported.

The incidents come amid a wave of attacks on tankers and cargo ships in the region in recent weeks, as talks between the US and Iran remain stalled and tensions persist.

One tanker was reportedly struck by a mine on Saturday morning. The second vessel was immobilized when the mine strike triggered an explosion in its engine room, the IRGC Public Relations Office said.

Both tankers had switched off their positioning and radar systems before attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz via routes unauthorized by Tehran, it said.

Iran has demanded that all ships using the Strait of Hormuz first obtain permits from its newly established maritime authority, which was formed in May to formalize control over the waterway.

The US has also struck commercial shipping as part of its naval blockade of Iranian ports, which it imposed in July following the breakdown of talks with Iran.

The fighting has severely disrupted oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which handled around a quarter of global seaborne oil and LNG trade before the war. The disruptions have contributed to rising energy prices worldwide. Brent crude settled at $109.86 per barrel on Friday, up 3.7% and its highest close since May.

Ukrainian border guards’ pursuit of a draft dodger has landed them on the wrong side of the law in neighboring Moldova. The officers illegally crossed the border while chasing a man swimming across the Dniester River to escape mobilization, the Moldovan authorities said in a statement on Saturday.

The incident occurred on Thursday, the Moldovan Border Police stated. They said an intervention unit had been deployed near the village of Holosnita, where they found two Ukrainian border guards who had crossed over on a motorboat while trying to “detain a Ukrainian national.” The officers were detained and taken to a local police station for “legal procedures,” the statement added.

A boat with two border guards in it can be seen circling a man drifting in the water in a video that surfaced on the internet purporting to show the incident. The guards repeatedly start the boat engine before shutting it off as they appear to try to prevent the man from reaching Moldovan territory by blocking his way.

Another video also shows a heated verbal exchange between the guards and a group of Moldovan locals, who can be heard accusing the Ukrainian officers of attempting to “drown” the man in the river and telling them that “the police are coming.” Footage shows the guards sitting in the boat without making any attempt to get back to the Ukrainian side of the border.

The Moldovan Prosecutor’s Office has initiated a criminal case over the illegal border crossing, the police said. It is unclear if the Ukrainian guards remain in custody. The Moldovan authorities only said that measures regulated by existing legislation were applied to them.

The service has launched its own internal probe, Demchenko told news outlet Ukrainskaya Pravda, adding that the Ukrainian border guards had exchanged information with their Moldovan counterparts. According to the spokesman, the alleged draft dodger was also detained by the Moldovan authorities.

Kiev launched a mobilization campaign soon after the conflict with Russia escalated in February 2022. Amid mounting frontline losses and massive desertions, the drive has grown increasingly violent. Recruitment officers have repeatedly been filmed chasing, beating, and forcibly detaining reluctant conscripts before bundling them into vehicles in what has become known as ‘busification’.

Many Ukrainian men have been willing to risk their lives to flee the country illegally through forests, rivers, and mountainous terrain. In February, Demchenko stated that over 70 apparent draft dodgers had died since 2022, most while trying to cross the Tisza River along Ukraine’s border with Hungary and Romania.

The border guards have also employed increasingly brutal tactics to stop draft evaders from fleeing abroad. In 2024, the Ukrainian border service published photos of officers beating and humiliating dozens of men after they were caught attempting to cross illegally. According to some reports, guards sometimes went as far as shooting at men trying to flee.

Italian far-right MEP Roberto Vannacci has accused Vladimir Zelensky of treating Europe like an “ATM” after the Ukrainian leader requested another €70 billion ($79 billion) in aid.

Zelensky demanded more money on Friday, just months after the EU approved a massive €90 billion loan to support Ukraine through 2027. “The war will cost 155 billion euros next year. And we need at least 70 billion euros more from you – for defense, for weapons, and for our resilience. This is a realistic amount,” he said at an EU summit in Brussels.

Vannacci said Italian taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for further aid to Kiev.

“Zelensky has found some suckers who give him all the billions he asks for, so he just keeps on asking for more,” the MEP said in a video on social media on Friday. He argued that Zelensky’s demands have continued to mount, citing Kiev’s alleged budget shortfalls of €27 billion in 2026 and €32 billion in 2027, followed by a fresh €70 billion demand on top of the €90 billion loan approved in April.

He’s come to view us as Ukraine’s personal ATM.

Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic secured exemptions from the financial obligations of the previous €90 billion loan, which EU leaders agreed late last year and finalized in April 2026. Fico has argued that the loan, which is intended to be repaid using future Russian reparations, is effectively a gift that EU members will never recover.

Moscow has long argued that Western military aid only burdens the European taxpayer and prolongs the conflict – which Russia sees as a NATO-led proxy war fought using Ukrainian manpower.

The bell tower of the 143-year-old town hall in the French city of Limoges collapsed on Saturday evening after the building was set ablaze amid nationwide protests over the rising cost of living. The incident came as clashes between police and demonstrators escalated across France, with officers firing tear gas as tens of thousands took to the streets demanding economic relief and education reform.

The unrest followed weeks of student-led protests that began last month at a high school in Creteil, near Paris, over teacher shortages and deteriorating school facilities. Initially focused on education reform, improved learning conditions and increased funding, the movement has since converged with broader demonstrations against inequality and the rising cost of living. Labor unions have also joined the protests amid opposition to the government’s proposed 2027 budget and concerns over public spending cuts.

In Limoges, a city in west-central France, masked protesters set fire to the 19th-century town hall, AFP reported, citing a regional official. Videos circulating on social media show the building’s bell tower giving way and collapsing as flames engulf its supports.

The fire caused extensive damage, with the roof collapsing onto the lower floors and much of the facade destroyed. Local officials described the historic building as largely destroyed. No injuries were reported among those who had been inside.

🔴🇫🇷🔥 ALERTE INFO | Le clocher de la mairie de Limoges s’est effondré. https://t.co/gVB9oUXoB1

— French Report (@french_report78) October 17, 2026

“The roof has collapsed onto the lower floors, except in the west wing, and two-thirds of the exterior has already disappeared,” local prefect Maurice Barate said, as quoted by AFP.

Violent clashes were reported in Paris, Marseille, Rennes, Toulouse and Angers.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said 1,200 people had been arrested nationwide, while Interior Minister Laurent Nunez reported that 150 police officers had been injured.

Footage from Paris showed police confronting protesters, while masked demonstrators threw objects and fireworks.

In Marseille, protesters broke into city hall, smashing open the door and spray-painting the walls, according to local newspaper La Provence. Fires were also reported in several cities, including at a tourist office in Lyon.

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged demonstrators to remain calm and respect people and property, while authorities have blamed violent incidents on what they describe as ultra-left groups.

Police tactics have also drawn scrutiny following reports of serious injuries among young protesters.

À la mairie du 7e arrondissement de Lyon, deux mariés font un clapping avec les manifestants, chaudement applaudis https://t.co/mWVjkHrnqF

— Lyon Mag (@lyonmag) October 17, 2026

Nunez has warned that security forces could use intermediate weapons, including stun grenades, if violence erupts during Saturday’s demonstrations.

Marseille : plusieurs dizaines de manifestants ont pénétré brièvement samedi dans le hall de la mairie, sur le vieux port, après avoir enfoncé la porte en criant "c'est la Révolution, on prend la Bastille". Ils ont été dispersés par des forces de l'ordre ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/QMtEYxYZTK

— Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) October 17, 2026

The protests echo the 2018 Yellow Vest movement, mounting further pressure on Macron as high public debt pushes French borrowing costs to 20-year highs.

🔴 🇫🇷 FRANCE

Scènes de chaos à Marseille. La situation est hors de contrôle. La police est débordée. À suivre.⁰#Marseille #17octobre pic.twitter.com/zTInewabU1

— Geocrises FR (@geocrises) October 17, 2026

Israeli ad tech company Discover-Tech exploited online advertising infrastructure to track targets and help deliver spyware to dozens of devices belonging to Al Jazeera staff and members of other entities, according to investigations by the Canadian cybersecurity watchdog Citizen Lab and New York-based ad security firm Confiant.

The researchers said Discover-Tech used a sprawling network of online ads to identify potential targets, monitor their activity and facilitate the compromise of their devices.

“The core finding is the weaponization of ad infrastructure for advanced staging, preliminary targeting, and payload delivery, characterized by exceptional technical sophistication, robust anti-interception measures, and surgical micro-targeting,” Confiant said in its findings.

Devices belonging to staff at the international news network Al Jazeera were among those infected through malicious ad placements, which operated silently, without visible pop-ups or suspicious links. The Qatar-based media network condemned “the spyware attacks targeting a number of its staff,” describing them as an “assault on press freedom,” and called for those responsible to be held accountable.

Discover-Tech used a system called Controlium to turn routine ad auctions into a surveillance tool. Over four months, it served ads across nearly 200,000 websites and mobile apps on Android and iOS devices in dozens of countries. According to Confiant, the company generated about 10 million ad impressions daily, harvesting device fingerprints, IP addresses, authentication tokens, cookies and other personal data, including without consent where required under EU privacy rules. Citizen Lab also identified a group linked to Discover-Tech, dubbed Dark Cartographer, which allegedly exploited vulnerabilities at mobile carriers and matched advertising IDs with phone numbers to track subscribers on a large scale.

Geographic data revealed sharp spikes in traffic that researchers said pointed to targeted intelligence-gathering operations rather than routine commercial advertising. Palestine was the most heavily targeted territory, where Discover-Tech accounted for nearly 2% of all digital ad impressions, peaking at around 10% on April 7. The activity also reached sensitive networks, including the Armenian prime minister’s office, international organizations, courts, universities and defense institutions. Investigators detected targeted connections to Candiru servers in nine countries, with Belgium accounting for 56% of recorded activity, followed by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Mexico and Spain.

On October 5, 2026, at the Warsaw Security Forum, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) Alexus Grynkewich unveiled a military strategy titled ‘Theory of Victory’.

The strategy covers the next few years and outlines NATO’s preparations to counter a potential “Russian attack.” While the details are likely classified, the main points have been made public. Here are the key publicly disclosed aspects of NATO’s ‘victory’ plan:

• Economic exhaustion of the adversary: The development of military and industrial capabilities that would make continued hostilities costly and futile for the aggressor. Here, NATO is positioning itself as the defending party.
• Destruction of support infrastructure: Strikes against the enemy’s infrastructure, targeting not only the attacking forces but also the entire system sustaining the armed forces – logistics, command centers, supply lines, and reserves.
• 2029 as the operational readiness benchmark: By 2029, the US Armed Forces and NATO’s European allies must complete the main preparations for countering potential global threats and must be ready to address any external challenge.
• NATO’s technological superiority: This point emphasizes achieving comprehensive technological dominance through the widespread use of drones and AI-driven combat management systems.

And the deadline – 2029 – resonates not just as an administrative milestone but as a psychological turning point.

The question that comes to mind is both simple and unsettling: how dangerous is it to prepare society, the military, and politics for a threat that may be driven by fear rather than grounded in reality? ‘Being prepared’ is one thing; but can it lead to the idea that ‘since we’re prepared, we can be the first to act’? 

Let’s talk about the potential threat. The rhetoric, plans, and timelines all point to a specific year: 2030. Various Western ‘seers’ suggest that this is when ‘Eastern hordes’ will charge westward. In other words, Western analysts anticipate a Russian assault on NATO countries around this time. At the same time, NATO leadership candidly states that currently, the threat from Russia is assessed as minimal. But by 2030, Russia will be ready!

It’s tempting to call this the “mythical Russian threat,” but the term “mythical” has been used so often that it has lost its meaning. It seems to create a divide between those who “believe in the threat” and those who “perceive reality.” However, geopolitics rarely fits neatly into black-and-white categories. A threat can be simultaneously real, exaggerated, distorted, and dangerous, precisely because it contains a kernel of truth.

According to NATO’s charter, it is strictly a defensive alliance. Article 5 discusses collective defense, not preemptive strikes. Regional plans, exercises, troop movements, and forward basing are designed as deterrents: to demonstrate to potential adversaries that aggression would come at too great a cost. However, active preparation for defense and the resulting substantial military buildup could offer politicians new options that might tempt them to act.

Finally, measures that one state views as protective can be perceived by another as a threat to its security. This sets off a spiral of escalation and mutual intimidation, pushing both sides into a standoff where they’re heavily armed for ‘deterrence’ yet unable to pass each other without starting a conflict. Although NATO’s plans may appear defensive on paper, they trigger this very mechanism – especially when accompanied by public rhetoric like “Russia could attack in a few years,” “Europe must be prepared by 2030,” or “the window of opportunity is closing.” While these statements may reflect genuine concerns, they also create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Of course, in defense planning, timelines are essential. Without them, the military risks becoming a bureaucratic museum, while the defense industry could turn into a shop selling antique rifles. However, deadlines have a downside; they turn preparedness into a race. In public discourse, 2029 begins to sound less like a guideline and more like a deadline. By 2029, forces, equipment, munitions, logistical routes, command structures, trained reserves, integrated air defense systems, intelligence networks, and industrial capacities should be in place. This goal is quite reasonable for a military document.

But it raises a key question: what happens if someone in NATO eventually says, “We’re ready!”? This may first emerge as a report or assessment and may then be proclaimed as a political achievement; next, it may be used as an argument, and in times of crisis it may very well become a temptation to act. 

Preemptive “threat prevention” is an oxymoron. According to this logic, to prevent a war, one must start a war; to avoid a strike, one must strike first; to protect the status quo, one must disrupt it. Most importantly, no one can guarantee that retaliation will be limited, that escalation will stop at the desired threshold, that nuclear weapons will not be used, that allies will remain loyal, or that the public will bear the costs of the war.

The temptation exists. But can we halt escalation before it spirals into a full-blown crisis? There may still be a chance.

Firstly, transparency is crucial. We’re not talking about the disclosure of combat plans, but about clear signals regarding the kinds of actions that are considered defensive; limitations on certain military exercises; the types of forces that are not intended for a first strike; and the types of communication channels that will remain open even during crises.

Secondly, rules for de-escalation are necessary. These could include notifications about military activities, major exercises, limitations on movements near borders, incident verification mechanisms, military hotlines, and agreements on the actions of drones, aircraft, and vessels in contested areas.

Fourthly, we need responsible journalism and analytical insight. What’s required is neither naive reassurance – claiming there’s no threat – nor panic-driven claims that war is imminent. The goal should be to reflect the complexity of the world. A threat can be considered significant, but it may not necessitate war; and deterrence can be firm without leading to aggression.

And lastly, we must work to restore at least minimal arms control frameworks. Without them, each side will feel compelled to run faster, even if the race leads both to jump off a cliff. 

The year 2029 could be when Europe becomes stronger and more resilient. Or, it might be the year when someone declares, ‘We’re ready, and we can do anything!’ The former concept is about deterrence; the latter is deterrence in its perverted form.  It’s crucial for all parties in this race to understand this clearly.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has warned citizens to exercise caution when traveling abroad “amid a worldwide hunt for Russians.”

The statement follows the detention of Russian military blogger Mikhail Zvinchuk in Montenegro, a NATO member state in the Balkans, on October 9.

After nine hours in custody, Zvinchuk, founder of the Rybar Telegram channel, his wife and three associates were expelled from the country on the grounds of what Montenegro’s leading daily, Vijesti, described as “criminal, operational and intelligence processing.”

“We are compelled to once again remind people of the need to remain vigilant when traveling abroad, even if there is the slightest suspicion of any kind of claims by US law enforcement agencies, amid a worldwide hunt for Russians,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.

Montenegro, where the blogger was detained, is not on Russia’s list of unfriendly states, Zakharova said, adding that similar situations were unfolding in countries not considered unfriendly to Russia.

The arrest was described as targeting alleged “hybrid activity” by the Rybar network, but no specific evidence supporting the accusation has been presented.

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

The Rybar 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 for any information about the individuals behind the channel.

Russians who have been targeted include basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, a point guard playing for the national team, who was arrested at Paris airport in June 2025 at the behest of the US, which accused him of being a member of a ransomware gang. He denied the allegations and was released in January 2026 as part of a Russia-France prisoner exchange.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has urged Israel to halt and reverse the establishment of settlements in the occupied West Bank, describing the Palestinian issue as the “greatest historical injustice of this century,” according to a ⁠statement released by Beijing following his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

The two officials met on Thursday on the sidelines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) summit in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Wang said achieving peace and reconciliation in the Middle East remained a cornerstone of Chinese foreign policy, stressing that a two-state solution was the only viable path toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

US President Donald Trump claimed on Friday that he did not order restrictions on Ukraine’s military access to Starlink satellite services, adding that he did not believe SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had done so either.

Ukrainian state and military officials earlier this week accused SpaceX of abruptly restricting access to Starlink satellite communications services and Starshield, its military-grade version, which Kiev relies on for frontline drone operations. Musk responded that Starshield is owned and controlled by the US government. The billionaire stressed that Starlink should be used only for civilian and defensive purposes, arguing that employing its systems for offensive operations would be “inappropriate for a commercial company.”

The development followed US President Donald Trump stepping up pressure on Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, which he blames for surging global energy prices. Trump has also repeatedly urged the Ukrainian leader to hold a long-overdue presidential election.

“Well, I don’t know if it was anybody because it wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon,” Trump said when asked who had been behind the alleged suspension of the Starlink systems. “And from what I understand, it’s the same as it’s always been.”

Reuters reported on Thursday, citing officials briefed on the matter, that people “inside the White House” had instructed the Pentagon to impose speed restrictions on Starshield terminals. The report did not name the people who allegedly issued the directive, while a senior US official told Bloomberg at the time that Trump had not personally ordered restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Starshield.

On Friday, The Telegraph cited four sources familiar with the discussions as saying that Musk had approached Trump with the proposal to introduce speed limits on the system. One of the sources told the newspaper that Trump “agreed” with the suggestion, paving the way for the Pentagon to execute the slowdown.

Ukrainian officials have also complained about receiving no advance warning from the Americans before Russian missile strikes. The White House has not confirmed the claims.

Media reports emerged earlier this month that the US had also threatened to halt the procurement system that provides Ukraine with weapons to press authorities in Kiev to stop attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that Russia was unaware either of the Starlink slowdown for the Ukrainians or that intelligence sharing had been cut off. Peskov noted that “overall, of course, it would be better if such amazing technology… was not used for military purposes at all.” Moscow has persistently condemned Western military aid to Ukraine, arguing that it only serves to prolong the conflict without changing the outcome.

The UN should resist pressure from Kiev’s Western backers and finally address the issue of widespread abuse of captured Russian servicemen in Ukrainian secret prisons, Russian Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik has said.

During a conversation with the chairman of the UN Committee Against Torture Claude Heller on Thursday, Miroshnik said that Moscow is aware of a whole network of such detention facilities, operating in Ukraine’s Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, and Sumy Regions as well as in the country’s capital, Kiev.

The Russian servicemen are “going through hell” in so-called “transit prisons,” which are set up at deployment points of Ukrainian military units and nationalist battalions, he said.

“The thugs, who hide their faces behind masks... and address each other only by their call signs, subject the captured Russian troops to inhuman abuse. Waterboarding, electrocuting, baiting with dogs and amputations performed without anesthesia are just a few examples of the techniques systematically employed by the Ukrainian tormentors,” the envoy, who is charged with documenting Kiev’s war crimes, stressed.

The Kiev government does not allow ombudsmen and human rights activists into those “torture chambers,” but the Russian authorities have gathered hundreds of accounts of survivors detailing what has been happening there, he said.

“This information had been passed on to the UN Secretariat on more than one occasion,” but no action followed, Miroshnik added.

By ignoring the existence of the secret prisons and systematic torture of Russian troops, the global body “encourages the spread of such criminal practices and disregard for the relevant UN Convention,” he added.

While turning a blind eye to the torture of Russian troops, the UN published several reports accusing Russia of mistreating Ukrainian prisoners, based on accounts by POWs returned by Moscow to Kiev. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has labeled those accusations of abuse “disinformation.”

Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the UN Secretariat was unable to properly perform its duties as most key positions are occupied by representatives of NATO countries.

The current team, led by [UN General-Secretary] Antonio Guterres, who is a Portuguese national, “promotes biased approaches and double standards, effectively serving the interests of a group of Western nations,” Lavrov insisted during a press conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Italy has expended its probe into the alleged torture and sexual abuse of activists from the Gaza-bound aid flotilla by Israel’s security forces to include Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and twelve other high-ranking military, police and prison officials, the Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office has said.

Israel intercepted dozens of yachts in international waters and arrested more than 800 volunteers from various countries in October 2025 and May 2026, who were attempting to break West Jerusalem’s naval blockade of the Palestinian enclave. They were held for days before being deported.

The investigation was launched by Rome earlier this year after some 50 Italian nationals, who were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla missions, complained about being mistreated in Israeli detention, among other things reporting at least 15 cases of sexual abuse and rape. The probe had initially beeen centered on the country’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. A similar inquiry was initiated by France.

The activists detained after the 2025 mission reported beatings, injuries, death threats, insults and accusations of terrorism, the statement read. The participants of the second mission claimed to have been subject to even harsher treatment by Israeli security forces, including beatings in the dark and the use of tasers and rubber bullets, it added.

Prosecutors said they had sent a request for judicial assistance in the investigation to Israel in June, but it remains unclear if they received a response from West Jerusalem.

Italian law allows crimes committed abroad against Italian citizens to be prosecuted by Rome. If the probe finds the charges warranted, the country could formally request a trial of the Israeli officials.

Katz and Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir, who is now also under investigation, haven’t yet commented on the development. Ben-Gvir brushed off the Italian probe in June, saying that he would “continue to stand proudly alongside our fighters.”

Israel claims the blockade of Gaza is necessary to prevent weapons from getting into the enclave. It also denies withholding supplies for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, almost 2 million of whom have been displaced since the outbreak of the conflict in October 2023, according to UN figures.

West Jerusalem sent its forces into Gaza in retaliation for a Hamas-led incursion in which some 1,200 people lost their lives and 250 others were taken hostage.

Israel’s airstrikes and ground offensive have cost the lives of more than 74,000 Palestinians, including at least 21,000 children, in Gaza over the past three years, the local health ministry has said. Over 1,500 deaths happened despite a US-brokered ceasefire being in effect in the enclave since October 2025.

US President Donald Trump has suspended sweeping new sanctions against Russia that he signed into law just a month ago, invoking a national-interest exemption to waive penalties targeting Moscow’s economy and countries purchasing Russian energy.

In an executive order issued on Friday, Trump waived sanctions and tariffs mandated by the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, including proposed 500% tariffs on imports from Russia and 100% tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil and gas.

“I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver is in the national interests of the United States and a report explaining the basis for the certification,” Trump wrote.

China and India, the two largest buyers of Russian crude oil, were expected to be among the countries hardest hit by the legislation.

Trump lifted sanctions on Russian diesel exports earlier this month in an effort to curb rising energy prices ahead of the US midterm elections. The move sparked outrage in Ukraine and among America’s European allies, prompting a bipartisan group of US senators to accuse Trump of betraying Kiev.

According to US media reports, Trump decided to ease sanctions after Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky refused to halt strikes on Russian energy facilities, which Trump blamed for high energy prices.

On Friday, US Representative Gregory Meeks introduced a bill in Congress seeking to block the diesel agreement with Russia. The Democrat accused Trump of “cozying up to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and striking self-enriching deals instead of standing with Ukraine.”

Russia has maintained that it has adapted to mounting Western economic pressure, while describing the Graham bill as a hostile move that would undermine Trump’s efforts to broker peace between Moscow and Kiev.

“[Russian] diesel has begun reaching global markets, and it will have a certain positive effect on stabilizing oil markets,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s investment envoy and a negotiator on Ukraine, hailed the waiver as “an important and historic moment.” Economic cooperation serves the interests of both countries, “contributes to global economic stability, and lays the foundation for building trust and achieving lasting peace,” he wrote on X.

US President Donald Trump has said he would welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin at the upcoming G20 summit in Florida, despite efforts by Ukraine and other European countries to isolate Moscow.

After returning to office in early 2025, Trump broke ranks with many of his Western allies, who had suspended high-level meetings with Russia over the Ukraine conflict.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed last month that Putin had been invited to the summit, scheduled for December 14–15 in Miami.

“I don’t know if he’s coming. I would certainly love to have him,” Trump told reporters on Friday when asked whether the Russian leader would attend.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said last month that the Kremlin was grateful for the invitation but had yet to decide whether Putin would attend. He added that Russia would “actively participate in the work of the G20.”

The invitation drew criticism from EU officials and a bipartisan group of US senators. “It’s clearly, I think, the wrong path to normalize people who are starting wars,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat. 

Trump: I would certainly love to have Putin at the G20. I don’t know if he’s coming. https://t.co/nc7NJMRESQ

— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 16, 2026

Trump has defended his engagement with Moscow as part of his efforts to end the Ukraine conflict.

Trump has revived direct negotiations with Russia, which were largely suspended under his predecessor, Joe Biden, following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. His efforts to mediate a peace deal between Moscow and Kiev have caused friction with Ukraine and Washington’s European allies.

US presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have visited Moscow together three times since December 2025, while Witkoff has made eight trips to the Russian capital since Trump returned to office.

Trump and Putin last met in person on August 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov attended a G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Asheville, North Carolina, on August 31–September 1, 2026. It was his first in-person appearance at a G20 meeting since February 2022.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing mounting accusations that he ignored warnings ahead of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, as a bitter blame game over one of Israel’s worst security failures emerges in the final weeks of the election campaign.

Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar has filed a defamation suit against Netanyahu, accusing him of falsely blaming intelligence officials for the attack despite receiving repeated alerts about security threats.

The Hamas-led assault killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel, with another 251 taken hostage. Israel’s subsequent military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians, according to the local health authorities.

Bar is seeking nearly $1 million in damages, claiming he warned the prime minister of growing danger in the months preceding the assault. He says a long trail of documents will expose Netanyahu’s account of events as false.

“Israel’s worst disaster has become political kryptonite,” RT correspondent Charlotte Dubenskij reported from Jerusalem on Friday, as the country prepares to vote on October 27.

Further questions have been raised by Netanyahu’s former military secretary, Avi Gil, who claims officials attempted to alter the recorded time of a phone call made on the morning of October 7.

The prime minister has also denied reports that he received advance warnings from Egyptian intelligence and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed. The claims have drawn criticism from political rivals, including former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and former military chief Gadi Eisenkot.

Questions have also emerged over Netanyahu’s handling of the subsequent Gaza war. Former Israeli hostage negotiator Nitzan Alon has suggested that political considerations delayed a deal that could have brought captives home much earlier.

Katie Zacharia is stepping down as US President Donald Trump’s press secretary after just five days on the job, the White House confirmed on Friday.

A conservative political commentator, Zacharia has faced widespread criticism over her handling of her debut press briefing and allegations that she misrepresented her legal credentials.

Trump cast doubt on Zacharia’s future in the role while speaking to reporters outside the White House. “Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider,” he said, adding that he had spoken to her shortly beforehand. “Katie, do you need this? I don’t think you need this.”

Several hours later, White House communications director Steven Cheung said Zacharia would be “transitioning into a new role that will be announced at a later date.”

Zacharia posted a photo of herself with Trump in the Oval Office on X, saying that “it was an honor to work for him.”

President Trump is a kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, enthusiastic, and hardworking man. I wish more Americans appreciated him. No one will ever make America great the way he has and continues to. It was an honor to work for him. https://t.co/Tp4NizrhE2

— Katie Zacharia (@KatieZacharia) October 17, 2026

According to the New York Times, Zacharia largely read from a script during her first and only press briefing on Tuesday and ended the Q&A session after just five and a half minutes. Critics also accused her of misrepresenting herself as a lawyer after she failed to confirm whether she had passed a US bar exam. Zacharia later claimed to have passed a bar exam in China, where she worked for a Beijing-based law firm in the 2010s.

During his first term, Trump fired White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci in July 2017, just ten days after his appointment, following a profanity-laden phone call with a reporter in which he attacked senior administration officials.

At her first press briefing, Zacharia announced that Trump had asked US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former fiancée of his son Donald Trump Jr., to resign following allegations of misconduct.

Several high-profile officials have left the Trump administration this year, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and Navy Secretary John Phelan.

Ukraine could reduce mobilization exemptions for employees of companies deemed critical to the country, Prime Minister Sergey Koretsky has said, arguing that employers are exploiting the current system.

The country declared mobilization shortly after the escalation of the conflict with Russia in February 2022, barring most military-age men from leaving the country.

However, approximately 1.4 million Ukrainians currently hold employment-based exemptions from military service, according to Economy Minister Aleksandr Kravchenko.

Speaking during a Q&A session in the Ukrainian parliament on Friday, Koretsky said the government is considering stripping critical-sector employers of the right to exempt 100% of their staff. He cited cases in which companies had significantly expanded their workforces, with all employees automatically shielded from conscription.

“Unfortunately, there are many abuses, and additional exemptions continue to be granted every month,” Koretsky said.

“If you have a 100% exemption, it means you can expand your workforce indefinitely and exempt people from mobilization, regardless of whether they actually work as repair technicians, energy workers or in other roles. Unfortunately, this practice has already become widespread,” he added.

The prime minister called for audits to determine how many employees at a given company perform tasks essential to its operations and the country’s needs. He added that stricter criteria could be applied to businesses as a whole, with only those supporting Ukraine’s defense capabilities and other essential state functions qualifying as critical.

Earlier this week, opposition MP Yaroslav Zhelezhnyak published what he claimed was a draft of the proposed changes, reducing exemption quotas for defense and energy companies from 100% to 85%, and for housing and utility companies from 75% to 60%.

Multiple lawmakers and businesses have warned that such measures would exacerbate existing staffing shortages in critical industries.

Koretsky, who was appointed prime minister in a government reshuffle in July, has been linked by local media to disgraced businessman and former close Zelensky associate Timur Mindich, who fled to Israel amid an investigation into an alleged $100 million embezzlement scheme involving state nuclear power operator Energoatom.

According to Strana UA, Koretsky has defied Zelensky’s expectations by developing political ambitions, disregarding some of his requests and communicating directly with European partners without Zelensky’s involvement.

Amid mounting battlefield losses and desertions, Ukraine’s conscription drive has been marred by incidents of draft officers forcibly detaining military-age men on the streets, sparking spontaneous protests, clashes and outrage on social media.

While Kiev does not regularly publish figures on its battlefield losses, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk claimed last month that Ukrainian forces had recently been suffering around 27,000 killed and wounded per month. Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, claimed that Ukrainian casualties reached 500,000 in 2025 alone.

Zelensky’s diesel-fueled burnout

For Zelensky, it’s a “diplomatic nightmare,” as Russian analyst Sergey Poletaev wrote for RT. Trump rubbed salt in the wound on Saturday when he openly suggested that Ukrainians “get a new leader who can make a deal” and halt attacks on Russian oil refineries. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump went on to claim, “wants to make a deal more than Zelensky.”

Backed into a corner, Zelensky began throwing haymakers. Accusing the American president of empathizing with dictators, Zelensky demanded air defense missiles from the US before vowing to continue his drone campaign against Russia’s refineries – with or without American support. 

The US apparently sent a warning signal to Zelensky by throttling the Ukrainian military’s access to SpaceX’s high-speed Starlink and Starshield satellite communications services, which are vital tools in guiding attack drones used against Russia, and in detecting incoming retaliatory strikes. Neither Trump nor SpaceX CEO Elon Musk would take responsibility for the communications drop-off, but even if they had, their message would likely have fallen of deaf ears.

Zelensky escalates the energy war

The Ukrainian leader followed through on his promise to keep hitting Russian refineries, despite Trump’s announcement of an “energy ceasefire” between Moscow and Kiev (which neither side confirmed). Ukrainian forces attacked facilities in Russia’s Saratov and Ryazan regions on Wednesday, before firing a barrage of four long-range Flamingo cruise missiles and 69 fixed-wing kamikaze drones at the Ryazan refinery again on Thursday.

Debris from an intercepted UAV triggered an intense fire at the facility, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Trump went on to savage Zelensky in a Newsmax interview on Thursday. “I’m not a big fan of Zelensky. They’ve destroyed that country,” he said, before accusing the Ukrainian leader of selling missiles given to him by the US “on the open market.”

“Zelensky is not a good guy for us to deal with,” Trump concluded.

Nord Stream trial begins

As Ukraine doubles down on its infrastructure war, the costliest infrastructure attack in history is finally being litigated in a German courtroom. Sergey Kuznetsov, a Ukrainian military officer, went on trial in Hamburg this week, accused of leading the team that sabotaged the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in September 2022, an act that German prosecutors consider a “war crime.” 

As RT has explored in depth, the prosecution’s version of events is riddled with plot holes and inconsistencies. However, to pick apart the alternative story – that the pipelines were destroyed in a CIA operation – would call the relationship between Washington and Berlin, the foundation of the postwar liberal order, into question. 

While a guilty verdict against Kuznetsov would directly implicate the Ukrainian military in a war crime against its largest foreign donor, the trial, at least at this stage, appears set up to avoid this outcome.

Russiagate resurrected

Speaking of reopening old wounds, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham dug up the bloated corpse of ‘Russiagate’ this week to bolster his efforts to undo the 2016 Brexit referendum and rejoin the EU. Burnham claimed that he had “clear” evidence that Russia interfered in the vote, in which Britons voted by 51.89% to 48.11% to leave the union.

Just as the original ‘Russiagate’ claims against Trump fell apart under questioning, Burnham’s allegation crumbled once subjected to some basic scrutiny. The British PM was unable to back up his accusation when grilled in Parliament, and his foreign secretary, Stephen Doughty, humiliated himself on national television when he attempted to evade questioning on the claim.

The final nail in the coffin came when Burnham’s own domestic intelligence chief cautioned against exaggerating “Russian influence” on Brexit, arguing that debating the influence of “Russian trolls” on the vote “play[s] into our adversaries’ hands by making these trolls look 10ft tall.”

As it turned out, none of this was true. The strike interrupted the activity of Yandex’ web crawler bots, which archive websites for search users, but with the help of an AI-created graph and some creative interpretation of the word “bot,” the hoax made it all the way to the Warsaw Security Forum.

French riots spread

French students took part in a fifth wave of demonstrations this week, which they say are aimed at securing more school funding and better learning conditions. Every wave of protests thus far has descended into rioting and vandalism, and this week’s marches were no different, with participants torching cars and battering police officers with cobblestones and fireworks in Paris.

RT’s Nadege Abderazzak watched heavily armored police baton-charge crowds of rioters in the French capital on Wednesday, noting that officers now outnumber protesters two-to-one at some rallies.

With French President Emmanuel Macron determined to increase military spending and continue arming Ukraine, France’s financial situation is in dire straits, and right-wing National Rally leader Marine Le Pen is on track to win the country’s next presidential election.

Meanwhile, Albanian students have taken a page out of their French counterparts’ book. After large protests demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama and opposition leader Sali Berisha over corruption allegations, a crowd of students breached the fence of the Education Ministry in Tirana on Wednesday and torched the building.

Rama’s response has also drawn from the Western playbook, with the Albanian PM accusing protesters of waging “hybrid war” against the country.

What we’re watching

Zelensky may be in Trump’s bad books, but he can still count on the support of Macron, Burnham, and the rest of his European backers, whom he met in Brussels on Thursday and Friday. In his address to the European Council on Friday, the Ukrainian leader asked for another “70 billion euros” for ammunition, missiles, and air defense. Should Ukraine “fall,” Zelensky warned, another 20 million Ukrainian migrants will flood into the EU.

We’ll be keeping an eye on what kind of promises the cash-strapped Europeans make after this blatant shakedown.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will fly to Tehran on Monday for talks with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi. The two diplomats are expected to focus on de-escalating the simmering US/Iran conflict in the Middle East, and any progress on this front will likely be reflected in global energy markets.

Lavrov will also meet Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic on Friday, ahead of critical parliamentary elections on October 25. Amid student protests, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic called the election early and stepped down to run as prime minister, a high-stakes move that turned the vote into a referendum on his nine years in power. With pro-Western students and right-wing ‘patriotic’ forces squeezing Vucic from either side, we’ll be keeping an eye out for polls, protests, and interference from the usual suspects. 

For more on all of these stories, stick with RT.

Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine has been badly beaten by Israeli settlers and stripped of her equipment while covering attacks on Palestinians harvesting olives in the occupied West Bank.

The assault occurred on Friday near the village of Abu Falah, the latest in an ongoing string of attacks staged by organized settler groups. Masked settlers have repeatedly attacked Palestinian villages, hurling stones and setting orchards on fire in an apparent effort to disrupt the autumn harvest. The Israeli military, which is usually present, has taken little to no action against the settlers.

Levine, a veteran photographer who has covered conflicts across the Middle East and elsewhere for decades, was caught in a settler charge on the Palestinians. The mob threw the journalist, who was wearing a blue protective vest clearly marked ‘PRESS,’ to the ground, repeatedly kicking her while stealing her cameras and phone.

“They just kept kicking me and kicking me, like probably 50 times,” Levine told reporters after the incident.

Footage from the scene shows the immediate aftermath, with Levine seen prone on the ground after the settlers were repelled by the villagers. The journalist was badly shaken but apparently spared more serious injuries thanks to her protective vest and helmet.

Severe settler + soldier attack on olive harvesters in Abu Falah. American WaPo journalist Heidi Levine badly wounded. Machine gunfire—at least one Palestinian shot. Tear gas. Soldiers assaulting journalists. pic.twitter.com/He61cNYk0c

— jasper nathaniel (@infinite_jaz) October 16, 2026

The photographer was evacuated by Palestinian paramedics and treated at a hospital in Ramallah for her injuries. Later on, another group of journalists was reportedly pelted with stones by settlers at the site. Oren Ziv, a journalist who also witnessed the attack, reported that at least one Palestinian was wounded by gunfire. It was not immediately clear whether Israeli settlers or the military fired the shots, but the IDF reportedly did nothing to stop the violence.

Ten days earlier, veteran Palestinian photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh, who has been working with AFP, suffered a similar assault during a settler raid on Palestinian olive farmers. The journalist, marked as press, was attacked by armed Israeli settlers, who beat him with rifle butts and robbed him of his equipment. The violence was reportedly witnessed by an IDF unit that did not intervene.

Journalists documenting settler violence have increasingly become victims of it. The Committee to Protect Journalists documented at least 16 incidents involving 35 Palestinian, Israeli, and international journalists in the first eight months of 2026 alone, with the figures already surpassing those recorded in 2025.

Russian forces have liberated the key Ukrainian stronghold of Dobropolye in Donbass, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov has reported to President Vladimir Putin.

During a meeting on Friday, Gerasimov said assault units from several brigades had taken part in the operation and were searching basements for any remaining Ukrainian troops.

Putin praised the “coordinated and highly professional” actions of the Russian assault units, noting that Ukrainian forces had turned Dobropolye into a “robust stronghold.”

In late September, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that its forces had encircled Dobropolye.

The town’s capture marks another step in Russia’s advance toward the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, a cluster of cities in northwestern DPR that forms Ukraine’s last major fortified stronghold in the region.

Two women have filed a federal lawsuit accusing former US Representative Matt Gaetz, President Donald Trump’s first pick for attorney general, of participating in a sex trafficking ring while serving in Congress. Gaetz has faced similar allegations for years, and has denied any wrongdoing.

The lawsuit, filed in Florida on Thursday, alleges that Gaetz and several other men, including former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg and former Florida legislator Christopher Dorworth, sexually exploited the plaintiffs between 2017 and 2019.

The women, identified as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2, are seeking unspecified damages under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

According to the complaint, Greenberg recruited financially vulnerable young women through the dating website SeekingArrangement.com and introduced them to Gaetz.

The lawsuit alleges that Gaetz had sex with Jane Doe 1 and a 17-year-old girl at a July 2017 party where narcotics were distributed. He allegedly paid the minor $400 in cash and transferred $500 to Jane Doe 1 three days later.

Gaetz and Greenberg subsequently made at least 19 payments to Jane Doe 1, ranging from $150 to $1,000, the complaint claims. Jane Doe 2 alleged that she first had sex with Gaetz in exchange for money in October 2017.

The men allegedly used “their public office, power, and wealth to prey on the economic vulnerability of Plaintiffs,” the lawsuit states. Both women were in their early twenties when they met Gaetz.

Greenberg pleaded guilty to federal charges, including sex trafficking of a minor, in 2021 and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Responding on X on Thursday, Gaetz appeared to mock the lawsuit, posting a photo of three women in swimsuits overlooking the ocean in the Bahamas.

“Jane Doe Strikes Again!” he wrote, sarcastically questioning why nobody had responded to the women’s supposed cries for help on Instagram. He later told reporters he looked forward to disproving the allegations.

Jane Doe Strikes Again! Two adult women sued me today alleging they were sex trafficked to the Bahamas. I’m shocked nobody responded to their repeated cries for help, posted to instagram. https://t.co/HPvX2xypzs

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) October 15, 2026

In December 2024, the House Ethics Committee reported finding “substantial evidence” that Gaetz had paid women for sex, including a 17-year-old girl, and used illegal drugs while in office.

A separate Justice Department investigation ended in 2023 without charges.

Gaetz withdrew from consideration to be Trump’s attorney general in November 2024 after several Republican senators signaled opposition to his nomination over the allegations.

The Houthis continue to strike Saudi Arabia despite Riyadh’s threats of a forceful response and promises to enlist outside partners to defend the kingdom.

By targeting airports and oil infrastructure, Ansar Allah is seeking to raise the cost of Saudi involvement in Yemen’s conflict and force the kingdom’s leadership to reconsider the terms of a settlement.

The latest wave of Houthi attacks has targeted facilities of particular importance to Saudi Arabia. On the evening of October 13, a strike hit Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran, home to the company’s key management operations. The Saudi Energy Ministry reported a fire, though miraculously no one was killed.

Ansar Allah also claimed strikes on an oil refinery in Riyadh and King Khalid International Airport. The choice of targets suggests the Houthis want to put virtually all of the kingdom’s oil revenue at risk and disrupt its international air connections.

These targets also suggest that the movement is trying to influence Saudi leaders’ decisions directly. Oil infrastructure generates government revenue, airports connect the country to the outside world, and confidence in the kingdom depends on the security of both. Even limited damage can therefore produce an impact far greater than the cost of the weapons used.

The Houthis have their own history of confrontation with Saudi Arabia. The movement emerged in northern Yemen, fought a series of wars against the central government between 2004 and 2010, and seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. Its rise was rooted in Yemen’s political system, local conflicts, and the collapse of state institutions. Iranian support strengthened an already established force with its own social base and political objectives.

The Saudi intervention in 2015 cemented Riyadh’s position as the movement’s principal foreign adversary. For the kingdom, the aim was to prevent a hostile force from consolidating power along its southern border and to support Yemen’s internationally recognized government. For the Houthi leadership, the war became both a threat to its survival and a rallying cause. Invoking foreign aggression allowed the movement to portray its struggle for domestic supremacy as a defense of national sovereignty.

That logic remains relevant to the current escalation. Saudi support for an offensive by Yemeni government forces threatens the Houthis’ territorial gains and bargaining position. Striking deep inside the kingdom allows them to raise the price of that support. Their apparent calculation is to make continued Saudi involvement in the war carry a recurring cost on Saudi soil.

The movement’s demands are concrete: an end to strikes, limits on assistance to its Yemeni adversaries, the lifting of transportation and trade restrictions, and agreements on revenues and payments. These issues were under discussion long before the latest escalation. The framework for a roadmap presented by the UN in December 2023 included a nationwide ceasefire, payment of public-sector salaries, the resumption of oil exports, and an easing of restrictions on Sanaa airport and the port of Hodeidah.

By increasing Riyadh’s costs, Ansar Allah hopes to extract concessions and retain control of the territory it has seized. A ceasefire on those terms, however, would consolidate the movement’s position without resolving how power should be shared in Yemen.

Attacks on Saudi Arabia also serve Ansar Allah’s domestic political interests. The movement uses its ability to strike deep inside the kingdom to bolster its standing among supporters. Confrontation with Riyadh also allows the Houthis to cast themselves as Yemen’s defenders against foreign intervention and use that claim to justify their bid for power.

A more accurate description would be a partnership with unequal resources in which the Yemeni side retains substantial autonomy. Weakening Saudi Arabia may serve both partners’ interests, but their preferred terms for ending the war may differ. Ansar Allah must consider conditions on Yemen’s battlefields and the survival of its own rule. Agreements between Iran and outside powers therefore do not guarantee an automatic halt to Houthi operations.

The economics of war

The development of domestic missile production and an expanding network for procuring components make it harder for Riyadh to bring Houthi attacks to an end. If the movement can replenish its arsenal from several sources, restricting Iranian supplies will have only a partial effect. An agreement with Tehran alone would therefore be insufficient to secure Saudi facilities. Much will depend on whether the Houthis themselves believe continued strikes serve their interests.

Nor do the Houthis need to match Saudi Arabia in the quantity or quality of their weapons. They can choose their targets and pause between attacks, while the kingdom must continuously defend airports, oil facilities, and cities across a vast territory. Even a single hit can disrupt a facility’s operations, trigger flight cancellations, or bring business activity to a halt. Purchases of American air defense systems reduce that threat but do not eliminate it. Riyadh’s problem is that military superiority has yet to deprive its adversary of the ability to inflict economically painful blows. That is precisely the capability the Houthis are trying to turn into negotiating leverage.

In a prolonged confrontation, the disparity in weapons costs also becomes significant. According to cited estimates, a Patriot interceptor costs more than $3 million, while some Houthi drones cost just $15,000–25,000. Defenders have to use such interceptors against cheap aircraft to protect far more valuable assets. But sustained defensive operations deplete stocks that cannot be replenished quickly, particularly amid strong global demand for air defense systems. This gives the Houthis an opportunity to wear down the kingdom’s defenses even when most of the aircraft they launch fail to reach their targets.

Technical difficulties are compounded by the structure of the Saudi armed forces. The separation of the regular military and the National Guard has historically served, in part, to protect the monarchy against a coup. But separate chains of command and highly centralized decision-making can hinder coordination and limit commanders’ initiative. Another weapons purchase, then, will not solve the problem on its own. Even additional detection and interception systems will deliver limited results if information arrives late and coordinating a response takes too long.

The Houthis can reasonably expect these shortcomings to take time to address, leaving them able to continue inflicting painful blows in the meantime. Domestic production and broader supply networks help sustain that campaign. The movement does not need to destroy major industrial facilities or shut down air travel altogether; a recurring threat is enough to make airlines reconsider routes, investors postpone decisions, and Saudi leaders spend more on protecting infrastructure.

Statements by Türkiye and Pakistan expressing their readiness to defend Saudi Arabia do not yet provide grounds to expect either country to enter the war fully, much less fight the Houthis inside Yemen. At an October 5 meeting, the parties to the Mecca Agreement announced that they would provide forces and equipment for the kingdom’s defense. The political weight of those promises, however, will depend on whether the allies can actually reduce the number of attacks and the damage they cause. As long as the strikes continue, Houthi leaders may view such declarations as rhetoric unlikely to be followed by a dangerous expansion of the war.

Ankara’s position reinforces that calculation. Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Hakan Fidan outlined possible assistance with air defense, electronic warfare, and technical support, while explicitly ruling out Turkish troops taking part in offensive operations on foreign soil. Türkiye has thus set clear limits on its role from the outset.

Pakistan also has reasons to avoid direct intervention. Joining the war in Yemen would mean additional military spending and the risk of worsening relations with neighboring Iran. It would therefore be premature to expect Islamabad to take on the task of defeating the Houthis on Riyadh’s behalf. Its commitments to the kingdom leave room for a role limited to defending specific facilities and providing military assistance.

A similar distinction applies to the American position. Intelligence sharing and targeting assistance support Saudi operations, but they do not mean Washington is willing to stop the attacks at any cost. The Houthis appear to be counting on precisely these limits to outside involvement. Their bet is that the kingdom’s allies will help it defend itself but will be reluctant to become embroiled in a prolonged war to achieve Saudi objectives in Yemen.

Until that support produces a substantial reduction in attacks, threats to bring in allies may carry little weight with Ansar Allah.

***

The Houthis are seeking to demonstrate that continued Saudi intervention will bring losses that neither a vast defense budget nor foreign partners can prevent. If that pressure prompts Riyadh to scale back assistance to their adversaries or accept settlement terms favorable to them, the movement will have an opportunity to translate its battlefield gains into lasting political advantages.

Such an outcome would also benefit Iran by weakening Saudi Arabia’s position. Its most immediate consequence, however, would be to strengthen Ansar Allah itself in the struggle for power in Yemen.

Washington’s diesel deal with Moscow has exposed divisions within the West over its anti-Russian stance, as the US shifts toward a more pragmatic approach, former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl has said.

US President Donald Trump announced the agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, easing sanctions on Russian diesel imports until April 2027 in an effort to bring down soaring fuel prices. The move marks a departure from the Western sanctions policy imposed on Moscow since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022.

Speaking to TASS on Friday, Kneissl described the agreement as more than a “symbolic breakthrough,” pointing to the 300,000 tons of Russian diesel expected to reach the US and global markets by November.

“The EU says that this undermines the West’s united position. However, one could also say that this marks a shift by the US toward a more pragmatic approach, while the EU continues to pursue a purely ideological line,” she stated.

The agreement has drawn criticism from European leaders attending a two-day EU summit in Brussels this week. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis accused Trump of sidelining the bloc, telling reporters that “Trump, by doing that business with Putin, stabbed us in the back. We have to do something.”

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas described the agreement as a “gift to Putin,” while defending Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reaffirmed on Friday that the bloc would maintain its sanctions against Moscow despite Washington’s decision to ease restrictions on Russian diesel.

Brussels’ hardline stance contrasts with that of EU member Slovakia, which remains heavily dependent on Russian energy and has sought to maintain economic ties with Moscow. Prime Minister Robert Fico has repeatedly called for diplomacy rather than continued military support for Kiev.

The dispute has also strained relations between Washington and Kiev. Trump has repeatedly urged Vladimir Zelensky to halt Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, blaming the attacks for pushing up global fuel prices.

The confrontation comes as global diesel supplies remain under pressure from the US-Israeli war on Iran, which has severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The International Energy Agency agreed on Thursday to accelerate the release of emergency oil reserves, including more than 20 million barrels of diesel, in an effort to ease shortages and bring down prices.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree tightening restrictions on the country’s strategic enterprises, requiring them to obtain government approval before taking certain actions mandated by foreign law.

Moscow established a register of strategically important companies in the early 2000s and has since gradually expanded regulations governing their activities abroad. Russian law imposes strict limits on foreign investment, takeovers, and control of such enterprises, as well as their operations overseas.

The register covers a wide range of businesses across key sectors of the Russian economy, including state-owned giants such as energy corporation Gazprom and Russian Railways (RZhD), defense manufacturers, major state-backed banks, and high-tech firms.

From now on, strategic enterprises, as well as their subsidiaries, will only be allowed to disclose information to foreign authorities that is disclosable under Russian laws, as well as information related to issuing and circulating securities.

Furthermore, strategic joint-stock companies will be prohibited from amending contracts with foreign counterparts on their own, as well as from disposing of equity stakes in foreign entities through sale or otherwise, getting rid of properties abroad, and ditching rights to conduct business in foreign countries.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has ramped up pressure on Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries while pursuing landmark diplomacy with Moscow in a bid to bring down soaring fuel prices at home and revive stalled peace negotiations.

The overtures have left Vladimir Zelensky fuming, reigniting the bitterest public confrontation between the two since their explosive Oval Office showdown in 2025. Zelensky has fiercely criticized Trump’s Russian diesel deal and defied his demands to stop attacking Russian refineries, saying he feels “betrayed” by Washington.

In response, the US president branded the Ukrainian leader “not a good guy for us to deal with,” while suggesting that Ukraine needs a “new president,” referring to Zelensky’s long-expired presidential term.

As the dispute escalated, American officials reportedly threatened to restrict intelligence sharing and weapons supplies to Kiev, while Ukrainian commanders sounded the alarm about serious disruptions to the Starlink network, which the military heavily relies on for logistics, reconnaissance, and drone control.

Trump’s peace push has also put him on a collision course with Zelensky’s EU backers. US negotiators reportedly proposed unfreezing some Russian sovereign assets – an idea categorically rebuffed in Brussels. Zelensky then attempted to drum up support at a slightly farcical summit in Brussels where he demanded EU and NATO membership; both of which have been rejected outright in Brussels.

Moscow has welcomed Trump’s diplomatic offensive while opposing any temporary truce with Kiev, arguing that the pause will only allow Ukraine to recuperate its battered forces.

Russian diesel to the rescue

The state of US-Russia relations took a sharp turn on October 9, when Trump struck a surprise diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow additional Russian supplies onto American and global markets. The arrangement – announced just weeks before the US midterm elections – envisaged the release of more than 300,000 tons of Russian diesel, followed by larger shipments in the coming months. Trump pitched the deal as a way to rein in soaring fuel costs for American consumers, truckers and farmers.

According to a Reuters report, Trump’s envoys also told their Ukrainian counterparts that the US hoped that the deal could help soften Russia’s position on the peace talks.

How did Kiev react to the US-Russia diesel deal?

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the arrangement as “mutually beneficial” and serving the interests of the global market while denouncing “the destructive position” of European countries on the matter.

Zelensky tramples over Trump’s red lines

The diesel deal came after weeks of increasingly forceful demands from Trump that Kiev halt strikes on Russian oil refineries.

Since September, Trump has publicly – and in an increasingly sharp tone – urged Zelensky to stop his attacks, saying on Thursday that “all he’s doing is making the world oil price higher” while denouncing the Ukrainian leader’s approach as “a disgrace.”

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak confirmed on Wednesday that Ukrainian drones had targeted two Russian oil refineries: in Ryazan and Saratov Regions.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described Zelensky’s behavior as “a direct and blatant challenge to President Trump.”

The Russian Defense Ministry issued its own warning, vowing to step up strikes on Ukraine’s military-related targets in response to Zelensky’s threats to attack oil facilities.

Starlink: Who controls the switch?

Zelensky subsequently confirmed that Ukrainian commanders had received warnings about a possible intelligence cutoff, although he acknowledged that cooperation had not stopped. Trump also denied suspending intelligence sharing, insisting that “we are helping them, and we are sharing intel.”

Yet on Tuesday, Zelensky complained that Kiev had received no advance warning from its partners about a Russian ballistic missile attack. He did not identify which countries had failed to provide the alerts.

While some Ukrainian officials already suspected that the disruptions were linked to the Trump-Zelensky feud, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing sources, that the order to restrict Starshield had originated inside the White House. A senior US official, however, denied that Trump personally ordered the restrictions. Later, Ukrainian officials reported that some Starshield connections had been restored.

Elon Musk – who has also been critical of Zelensky – confirmed that major decisions on Starshield rest with the American military or the president.

“Time for Ukraine to get a new president”

Trump’s jabs at Zelensky’s dubious legal status hark back to February 2025 when the US president branded the Ukrainian leader “a dictator without elections.”

Zelensky’s presidential term expired in May 2024, and he has refused to hold new elections, citing martial law. Russia has since declared him “illegitimate,” saying that his status is a major obstacle to signing a binding agreement.

In response to Trump’s criticism, Zelensky said that Kiev was ready to hold elections if Moscow agreed to a comprehensive 60-day ceasefire. Russia, however, offered a truce only on the day of any vote, arguing that Kiev would use a longer pause to recuperate its battered forces and receive more weapons from the West.

A thaw for Russia’s frozen billions?

Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner proposed unfreezing some of the €300 billion in sovereign Russian funds held in Euroclear in Belgium, and transferring them to a financial vehicle overseen by Washington, according to the Financial Times.

The EU has sought to seize the funds outright, but has faced strong resistance, particularly from Belgium, over fears of costly litigation, Russian retaliation, and damage to Europe’s financial reputation.

While US officials reportedly see the issue of Russian sovereign assets as part of a comprehensive peace agreement, the proposal “startled” Kiev’s intransigent European backers, who flatly rejected the initiative, and refused to relinquish control over the assets.

Begging in Brussels: the €27 billion hole

With his relations with Trump in tatters, Zelensky traveled to Brussels on Friday to seek financial and military backing from the EU. In a not-so-veiled swipe at the US president, he thanked unelected EU officials as “real leaders” upon his arrival.

However, Kiev’s demands for more money have already met resistance from the EU. After announcing an unexpected $27 billion defense budget hole in August, Zelensky requested the EU front load part of the €90 billion loan meant for 2027 already this year.

Zelensky’s bickering with Trump is forcing the EU to take an increasingly adversarial stance towards the US. According to the Financial Times, EU officials planned to urge the Ukrainian leader behind the summit scenes to tone down his public criticism of Washington.

“It might be true, but it doesn’t always need to be said out loud,” one person familiar with the discussions told the newspaper.

Bottom Line

Barely recovering from his Oval Office clash with Trump last year, Zelensky has once again gone against Ukraine’s most important backer by repeatedly ignoring American warnings over refinery strikes and challenging Washington’s diesel deal with Moscow.

As Ukraine struggles to contain Russia’s advances on the battlefield and prop up a collapsing economy while turning to the reluctant EU for help, Trump refused to cut Zelensky any slack and step back from his demands when America’s interests are at stake – and now Ukraine is facing the threat of a complete Starlink cut-off and a halt to crucial intelligence sharing.

Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered the remains of two royal statues, at least one depicting Pharaoh Ramses II, during excavations in the Nile Delta, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Wednesday.

The discovery was made in the village of Behbeit el-Hagar in Gharbia Governorate after a local resident, Khaled el-Shahat Khalil, found an inscribed stone block on his property and alerted the authorities. Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy later visited the site and rewarded the man and his wife with a pilgrimage to Mecca for reporting the find.

According to Hisham el-Leithy, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, the first find is a 1.6-meter-high head of Ramses II wearing the double crown symbolizing the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. Part of the statue’s back pillar was also recovered, bearing an inscription of one of the pharaoh’s royal titles. Archaeologists estimate that the complete monument, including its base, may have stood around 8.5 meters tall.

The second discovery includes a 2.4-meter section of another royal statue, also believed to depict Ramses II. The figure is missing its legs and base, but its head remains well preserved, with facial features resembling those of the first statue. Excavators also uncovered a 1.3-meter block of pink granite bearing hieroglyphic inscriptions with two of the pharaoh’s titles, including “King of Upper and Lower Egypt” and “Son of Ra.”

The ministry said archaeologists are continuing to study the artifacts, and their exact age has yet to be determined. However, the discovery sets clear links to Ramses II, who ruled Egypt from 1279 to 1213 BC. It’s not the first finding of the kind. In February 2024, archaeologists uncovered the upper section of a statue of the pharaoh in Minya Governorate, nearly a century after its lower half was discovered in 1930. The restored statue, standing about 6.7 meters tall, was re-erected in 2026.

Ensuring the security of Russia’s border regions is a top priority for Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

The president made the remarks on Friday when he visited the command headquarters of Russia’s joint troops participating in the military operation against Ukraine. Putin met top military commanders and officials, including the Russian chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov.

Securing the country’s border regions and creating a “buffer zone” within Ukraine remains one of the key priorities, the president said. The task is being carried out successfully by the country’s troops, he noted.

“Our goal is to ensure the ultimate security of Russia’s border regions for the future. And we do not seek to make this a subject of potential peace negotiations with Ukraine,” the president said.

The Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), which was fully liberated last year, remains under stable Russian control, Putin noted.

The Russian military is set to continue its campaign of retaliatory long-range strikes against Kiev, the president said. The campaign comes in response to the continuing attacks on “our industrial and oil and energy facilities,” he stressed.

South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) has called for the Democratic Alliance’s place in the coalition government to be reviewed after its governing partner opposed its court bid to reinstate barred election candidates.

Mbalula has urged ANC leaders and other Government of National Unity (GNU) partners to reconsider the DA’s place in government, opening a new front in a partnership repeatedly tested by political and policy disagreements. The GNU is made up of 10 political parties.

The latest dispute centres on the ANC’s legal challenge over the exclusion of its candidates from six municipalities ahead of the November 4, 2026, local government election. The party approached the Constitutional Court after its failure to finalise candidate submissions before the deadline left candidates off the ballot.

The DA opposed the ANC’s challenge, putting the coalition partners on opposing sides of a legal battle with potentially significant electoral consequences. The apex heard the case on October 12 and reserved judgment. The outcome could determine whether the affected ANC candidates will be allowed to contest the elections.

These disputes have tested a coalition formed after the ANC lost its parliamentary majority in the 2024 national elections. Mbalula’s demand puts the DA’s role in the coalition under renewed political scrutiny.

No matter how European leaders pledge to support Ukraine come hell or high water and let the taxpayers foot the bill, the cold hard fact is that there are things no euros can buy, such as US intelligence and satellite communications.

Kiev’s critical reliance on American space capabilities came to the fore this week when the long-standing feud between US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky flared up again. Trump, who had struck a diesel supply deal with Russia, called Zelensky a hindrance to peace who should be replaced. Zelensky called Trump a weakling who had betrayed Ukraine, if not in those exact terms.

According to lamentations from Kiev corroborated by media reporting, the White House put a chokehold on the Zelensky government by suspending early warning about incoming Russian ballistic missiles and temporarily suspending access to Starlink satellite internet for fast-moving objects – such as drones used in Kiev’s “middle strike” operations inside what Washington recognizes as part of Ukraine.

Accounts shared with Axios and Reuters suggest the Americans were polite enough not to say “what a nice deal to get intelligence and internet you have; it would be a shame if something happened to it.” But they mentioned “all that the US has done ⁠for Ukraine.” The Ukrainians did take it as a threat.

Here are the alternatives Kiev would have, should Trump push the issue further.

No match for US intelligence

Intelligence that European NATO members can provide is a far cry from what the US has been delivering for years. Already, early warning about Russian ballistic missile launches has stopped coming, just as Zelensky is complaining.

The US operates the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS), whose backbone is six geosynchronous orbit satellites equipped with thermal sensors that detect launch signatures, complemented by two active and two reserve payloads in a highly elliptical orbit.

SBIRS helps identify and estimate the trajectory of a weapon, but has limited ability to track missiles after the intensive boost phase. But knowing one is incoming helps ground and airborne radar systems that guide interceptor missiles.

Other NATO members rely on SBIRS intelligence and never thought they would need their own alternative.

Satellites operated by the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and the Air Force’s electronic reconnaissance aircraft, such as the RC-135U Combat Sent, also collect intelligence about Russian air defense systems. It’s unclear how much data it shares with Kiev, but the media has said the US helps plan Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia to minimize Moscow’s ability to intercept.

European NATO members do have some similar capabilities, including France’s three CERES electronic-intelligence satellites, the UK’s three RC-135W Rivet Joint aircraft, and Germany’s SARah radar-reconnaissance space program, but there is only so much they can do to measure up to the world’s largest military spender.

OneWeb not to rule them all

On the connectivity side, Starlink and its military twin Starshield remain the most capable today. It has over 11,000 satellites in low Earth (LEO) orbit that can use lasers to route traffic between each other, boosting their bandwidth.

The Starlink Mini terminal weighs just 1.1 kg and has an integrated antenna, making it usable even on even smaller military drones. Even larger variants are compact, which makes them harder to spot, and they typically consume under 100 watts of power – both valuable features in frontline applications.

The most direct non-US alternative is Eutelsat OneWeb, which already complements Starlink access in Ukraine. It only has 600+ satellites in its constellation, but nevertheless offers a high-speed connection.

However, OneWeb’s orbital component “remains rooted in an outdated architecture and technology conceived a decade ago, without any evolution of its underlying design,” Christian Freiherr von der Ropp, an independent satellite consultant, told Reuters.

Kymeta Corporation announced a OneWeb terminal in March whose 100-watt consumption it said was optimized for mobile platforms. Its “compact and lightweight design” means it weighs less than 11 kg, and the producer itself is Redmond, Washington.

Dark horses in orbit 

In September, EU co-founder Luxembourg announced the successful launch of the final three of a planned 13 satellites of its O3b mPOWER communication system. The low number is misleading, since the constellation is being positioned in medium Earth orbit and requires fewer satellites for coverage.

The trade off is latency, which is higher by an order of magnitude compared to LEO-based systems, but Luxembourg’s system is still good enough for some military applications and is used by NATO.

O3b mPOWER’s potential for Ukraine’s war effort is limited due to its coverage, which is between 50° north latitude and 50° south latitude. Luxembourg is right on the northern border of the band, but a large part of Ukraine, including Kiev, is outside of it. As they say, geography is destiny.

GOVSATCOM, the EU’s program to band together communication satellites owned by several member states, is somewhat of a dark horse, but public data suggests its capabilities are too limited to replace Starlink.

Amazon Leo is currently in limited preview, but it’s hard to expect an American company and a major Pentagon contractor to publicly defy Trump at Brussels’ call. Russia’s in-development Rassvet system is obviously not an option.

The EU’s proposed IRIS² system is years away from being operational, as is Canada’s Telesat Lightspeed.

In short, should Ukraine lose Starlink, in the short term Europe cannot replace it, as EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas acknowledged on Friday.

Russian wrestler Alina Shevchenko has struck gold at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating a Belarusian rival in the women’s 68kg final.

Her triumph comes as European countries continue to shut top Russian athletes out of major international competitions despite clearance from sporting authorities.

Shevchenko defeated Belarusian wrestler Kseniya Tsiarenia in the women’s 68kg final on Friday. Japan’s Rai Hoshino and Italy’s Laura Godino took bronze. The championships, which began on October 12, run until Sunday.

The victory follows a decision in May by United World Wrestling (UWW) to lift all restrictions on Russian and Belarusian wrestlers, allowing them to compete internationally across all age categories under their national flags and anthems.

The move marked a major reversal of restrictions imposed after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, when Russian and Belarusian athletes were barred from numerous international events or forced to compete under neutral status.

Most recently, the Netherlands refused visas to three leading Russian gymnasts – Angelina Melnikova, Viktoria Listunova, and Anna Kalmykova – for the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam, scheduled for October 17-25. The tournament is part of the qualification process for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“There are clear attempts by certain countries to influence the outcome of competitions by deliberately excluding the strongest,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

The Russian Gymnastics Federation condemned the Dutch decision as “direct discrimination,” saying the visa refusals violated the principle of equal conditions for Olympic qualification. Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev announced plans to seek the removal of Rotterdam’s Olympic qualifying status.

The Dutch refusal is the latest in a string of incidents. Croatia attempted to block nine Russian gymnasts from this summer’s European Championships, Russian junior canoe slalom teams missed the World Championships in Poland, and Russian archers were unable to compete at a World Cup event in Spain because of visa problems.

Several European governments oppose the return, with Brussels reportedly considering visa restrictions and funding cuts for sporting bodies that readmit Russian athletes. Moscow has challenged continuing bans at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, including World Athletics’ refusal to readmit Russian competitors until the Ukraine conflict is settled.

Despite years of restrictions, Russian athletes have continued to claim international titles. Russian competitors won eight gold medals at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, while junior figure skaters swept all four disciplines at a Grand Prix event in China in August after a four-year absence. Moscow has argued that excluding some of the world’s strongest athletes undermines international sport and the credibility of its competitions.

Vladimir Zelensky is open to stopping attacks on Russian oil refineries for 100 days in exchange for a 300 km extension of Starlink satellite internet service coverage for the Ukrainian military, the Wall Street Journal has said.

The report comes as US President Donald Trump has ramped pressure on Zelensky to end the strikes, which he blames for surging global energy prices. In his interview with Newsmax on Thursday, Trump called Ukraine’s actions “a disgrace.”

In an article published the same day, the WSJ said that Republican Senators Roger Wicker and Kevin Cramer brought the deal to the Ukrainian leader during their visit to Kiev last Friday. The outlet claimed that it was told by unnamed sources that Zelensky had agreed to the proposal.

The extended Starlink coverage should help Ukraine target missile launchers inside Russia, according to the report.

The Ukrainians, who have relied heavily on Starlink during the conflict with Russia for battlefield communications and controlling drones, have been “terrified” by the slowdown of satellite internet provided by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company this week, the WSJ said.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian officials and frontline commanders complained that Starlink terminals had suddenly stopped working when UAVs flew faster than 100 mph, disrupting some combat missions. According to Reuters, the order to slow down the service came directly from the White House. Zelensky said on Friday that Starlink’s speed has increased over the last couple of days, but the restrictions haven’t been fully lifted yet.

Earlier this week, Zelensky confirmed reports that the US had threatened to stop sharing intelligence with Kiev if it kept ignoring Trump’s demands to cease energy strikes inside Russia. Officials in Kiev also complained about receiving no advance warning from the Americans before Russian missile strikes.

Last month, Peskov warned that allowing Starlink to be used to facilitate strikes deep into Russian territory would be “a very harmful, potentially dangerous and misconceived step.”

The American authorities apparently don’t require consent from Musk to expand the coverage of Starlink’s military component, known as Starshield, for Ukraine. The SpaceX CEO said earlier this week that its systems “are owned and controlled” by the US government, with the Pentagon and the US president deciding on the limits on their speed or usage.

On Sunday, Musk backed Trump’s suggestion that “it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president.” In a comment to a White House video with the US president’s criticism of the Ukrainian leader, the entrepreneur said that “Zelensky has gone too far.”

Britain has threatened to ban all Eritrean nationals from obtaining visas over their government’s alleged refusal to take back rejected asylum seekers and convicted criminals, prompting the East African country to accuse London of political manipulation.

The Home Office said on Thursday that Eritrea had “abruptly” withdrawn returns cooperation earlier this year and refused to engage constructively despite months of private talks.

The department removed fast-track visa processing for Eritrean officials and VIPs and required its diplomats to obtain permission to travel more than 60 km (37 miles) outside of London. It said the measures were intended to increase “pressure on countries refusing to take back illegal immigrants.” The travel curbs mirror Eritrea’s longstanding restrictions requiring British diplomats to obtain permission to travel outside the capital, Asmara, the Home Office said in a statement.

“My message to the Eritrean government is simple: take back your nationals or face a complete ban on your citizens entering the UK,” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood warned.

The embassy said Asmara suspended escorted returns after British authorities allegedly passed off forced repatriations as voluntary and failed to disclose that some deportees were still serving prison sentences. It said no Eritrean official had received a UK visa since 2023.

The dispute reflects Britain’s drive to curb irregular migration. Eritreans accounted for 18% of approximately 33,000 small-boat arrivals across the English Channel in the year to June 2026, the largest nationality group, according to Home Office figures.

Around 84% of Eritrean asylum claims received positive initial decisions, according to Home Office figures, while UN reporting has documented indefinite national service, arbitrary detention and risks facing people forcibly returned. Britain has used similar pressure against Angola, Namibia and DR Congo to secure greater cooperation on migrant returns.

The policy cost £700 million (about $930 million) and sent only four volunteers to Rwanda, according to British ministers. Kigali pursued arbitration over unpaid commitments, but a tribunal rejected its claims, including two £50 million payments, in a ruling announced in June.

Police detained Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke in the Indian capital New Delhi on Friday, hours before the start of a rally called by the youth-led movement demanding the resignation of the country’s election chief over disputed voter rolls.

The march was called after CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were jailed for five days on Wednesday for allegedly entering Jantar Mantar, a central Delhi site recently removed from the list of approved protest venues in the Indian capital. Dipke had urged supporters to gather with Indian flags at Connaught Place’s Central Park.

Another prominent activist and student leader, Neha Bora, was also detained near Jantar Mantar.

More than 25,000 police and paramilitary personnel were deployed across New Delhi and nearby areas, with barricades, surveillance cameras, and drones used to monitor the planned gathering.

The rally went ahead despite the detentions, with around 2,000 protesters gathering in and around Connaught Place holding the national flag, local media reported, citing police estimates.

How many will the Modi-Shah put under arrest? Abhijeet’s detention is gross violation of his rights. Every arrest this government makes more youth will hit the streets! https://t.co/rb0vqyBkbR

— Cockroach Janta Party - CJP (@Cockroachisback) October 16, 2026

The Indian capital has seen back-to-back protests in the last two weeks by the opposition parties and the satirical CJP movement demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over a nationwide electoral-roll revision that has removed more than 130 million names.

Opposition groups allege that eligible voters have been excluded and that the exercise benefits Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Election Commission and BJP deny the allegations. The poll body says any wrongly excluded voters can seek reinstatement of their names in the rolls.

It is the second time Dipke has been detained as Indian authorities try to choke off the protests. He was detained from a plane when he landed in Delhi on Saturday but was later released.

Police had earlier visited the residence and served Dipke notice warning him against holding the rally. Authorities said Connaught Place, a business and commercial area in the heart of the Indian capital that is also known as Rajiv Chowk, was not an authorized protest venue and urged him not to disrupt traders, commuters, and other members of the public.

The New Delhi Municipal Council closed Central Park for two days, and the police offered to facilitate a symbolic flag ceremony involving 11 people at a “suitable location.” The Delhi High Court had declined to prohibit the rally on Thursday but recorded police assurances that the gathering would be regulated.

Somalia has scheduled its presidential election for May 15, 2027, following constitutional changes that extended President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term by one year, the country’s electoral commission announced on Thursday. The decision comes amid opposition criticism of the amendments adopted earlier this year.

The announcement was made by Abdikarim Ahmed Hassan, chairman of the National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, during an appearance on state television. Elections for both chambers of parliament will take place on April 15, one month before the presidential vote, he said. 

The commission also released a timetable for preparations, with voter and political party registration set to begin on November 1, 2026, according to the Somali National News Agency (SONNA).

Former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has challenged the constitutional amendments in the Supreme Court, arguing that they were adopted without proper legal procedures or broad political agreement. He also rejected the new election timetable, warning that it could lead to “parallel elections, political divisions, internal conflict and a threat to Somalia’s statehood,” Somalia Today reported on Thursday.

Somalia last held a presidential election in 2022, when lawmakers elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud for a second term, defeating Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed. The vote followed months of delays and was conducted through an indirect system in which members of parliament chose the president.

On the night of October 16, 1946, 10 individuals were hanged in the Nuremberg prison. These were the main Nazi criminals who had been captured and brought to trial.

Despite the horrifying scale and brutality of the crimes, the Nuremberg Trials remain one of the most controversial proceedings in world history.

Justice instead of revenge

The idea of an international tribunal to address Nazi atrocities had been considered for some time. In 1942, the Soviet Union established a special Extraordinary Commission that gathered information about these crimes. Tragically, it had a lot of work to do. The USSR became the primary battleground for the bloodiest and most brutal war in Europe.

In addition to the Soviet government, the exiled governments of occupied countries – Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Norway, France, and Yugoslavia – also wanted to hold the Nazis legally accountable for their crimes. 

The outlines of the future tribunal began to take shape in the fall of 1943 during a conference in Moscow attended by the foreign ministers of the ‘Big Three’ – the USSR, the UK, and the US. The three powers agreed that Nazi leaders who committed crimes across multiple nations should be tried by an international court.

At that time, even the idea of lynching Nazi leaders seemed valid. Benito Mussolini was executed along with his mistress by Italian partisans on April 28, 1945, without any trial. Their mutilated bodies were publicly displayed. No one mourned Mussolini; similarly, no one would have objected if a Red Army soldier had shot Hitler.

Sporadic acts of vigilante justice also occurred as the war neared its end. A well-known incident involved American soldiers executing the staff of the Dachau concentration camp. Polish troops beat to death Oscar Dirlewanger, the commander of a punitive brigade responsible for countless deaths in Belarus and Poland.

Yet vigilante justice was not what the Allied leaders envisioned.

The men in the dock – and those who escaped it

By April and May of 1945, most of the individuals who would eventually be tried at Nuremberg had been apprehended. Of course, many key figures were never tried. 

For obvious reasons, Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels and Hitler himself were absent from the trial: both had committed suicide before they could face justice. Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, was captured by two freed Soviet prisoners, yet during a medical examination, he swallowed a poison capsule and died. Heinrich Müller, the leader of the Gestapo, likely shot himself in late April or early May 1945. His body was discovered months later in a temporary grave.

The fate of Martin Bormann, Hitler’s private secretary and head of the party chancellery, was unknown for many years. He went missing, which in 1945 could imply that he had fled under an assumed identity. However, today we can say with certainty that Bormann was killed in the final hours of the defense of Berlin, while attempting to break out of the encircled city alongside a column of German troops.

Twenty-four people were tried in Nuremberg. The most prominent among them was Hermann Göring, the commander of the Luftwaffe, who held numerous official and unofficial positions, served as Hitler’s close associate, and was considered the second most powerful man in the Reich.

Other figures included the Minister for Occupied Eastern Territories and the Nazis’ chief ideologist Alfred Rosenberg; Chief of the Armed Forces Command Wilhelm Keitel; Minister of Foreign Affairs Joachim von Ribbentrop; and the head of the security service Ernst Kaltenbrunner. 

Nuremberg’s Palace of Justice was chosen for the trials for several practical reasons. It had direct access to the prison, was in relatively good condition, and was well-equipped to accommodate large numbers of people.

The decision was made to conduct the trials according to established legal standards, allowing the defendants the right to defend themselves. The Nazis found attorneys to represent them. Admiral Karl Dönitz took an interesting approach: he secured a maritime law specialist as his lawyer, but said that if he were not allowed to work with him, he would choose the admiral of the Allied forces who commanded submarines as his lawyer.

Rosenberg pursued a different strategy by trying to recruit Hans Frank, who was also being tried for war crimes as the governor of occupied Poland, and happened to be a lawyer by training. However, this request was denied. Furthermore, since the court needed to address the criminal status of certain organizations, and Martin Bormann was absent from the trial, the court appointed its own attorneys. The judges were from the USSR, the US, the UK, and France. 

A significant challenge arose from the fact that some legal norms were developed during the trial itself. As a result, defense attorneys argued that the court was fundamentally unlawful since it relied on laws that did not exist at the time the defendants committed their crimes. Certain participants stated that Nuremberg represented “victor’s justice.” This sentiment partly fueled Winston Churchill’s earlier wartime suggestion to execute the political leadership of the Reich outright. The problem was that such a trial was unprecedented – nothing similar had ever been attempted before – and required the unveiling of many layers of guilt to find the responsible persons. 

For example, one of the most repugnant acts leading to the mass death of people was the so-called Barbarossa Decree issued in May 1941. This document was signed by Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, chief of the German armed forces. It effectively removed accountability for crimes committed by Wehrmacht soldiers and officers against Soviet civilians. Such actions could only be punished if they harmed German interests. If a soldier looted and killed a peasant, Keitel technically bore no responsibility, as the soldier operated within the legal framework that existed at the time.

Additionally, during the trial, Keitel’s attorney attempted to shift all blame onto the dead Hitler, citing that Keitel “was just following orders.” Moreover, the fact that the USSR did not sign several international agreements designed to protect war participants, especially prisoners of war, compounded the issue. The mortality rate among Soviet POWs during WWII exceeded 50%; in absolute terms, 3.3 million out of 5.7 million documented prisoners died. And this was just a small part of the challenges faced by the judges at Nuremberg.

The prosecution comprised four categories of crimes: crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, war crimes, and general conspiracy crimes.  There was a significant challenge in aligning the legal positions of the USSR, the UK, and the US. Soviet law existed as an independent branch but was rooted in continental legal principles; meanwhile, the British and Americans relied on their own legal frameworks; for instance, the concept of ‘conspiracy’ was unique to these countries and was not typical in Soviet or German law.

Witnesses, evidence and Göring’s defiance

In some cases, the Allies had to make real compromises with their conscience. One such case involved Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski, who participated in the proceedings as a witness. This man had directly overseen mass killings during counter-partisan operations in Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, and Poland.

A horrifying tactic employed by his subordinates involved rounding up villagers in partisan areas into one building, which was then set ablaze. The mass slaughter of Poles during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 is another example of his policy – about 15 civilians were killed for every lost insurgent.

Zelewski understood that his survival depended on betraying others, so he turned on everyone, revealing their darkest secrets. Hermann Göring shouted from the defendant’s stand, “You disgusting traitor, swine!” but there was nothing he could do. Ultimately, a German court sentenced him to life in prison, not only for his wartime actions but also for murders committed during the power struggles in Germany in the 1930s.

The tribunal had volumes of documents to examine. American judge Robert Jackson later recalled that he had approached stories of Nazi atrocities with skepticism before the trial, but was horrified by the reality that unfolded before him. He was particularly struck by an SS report detailing the destruction of ghettos – Jews leapt from burning buildings, and some attempted to crawl away on broken legs; they were hunted down like game.

While most defendants tried to speak evasively, Hermann Göring stood his ground until the very end. He was informally dubbed ‘Fuhrer of the Defendants’. Göring urged his co-defendants to remain defiant and not to confess. He showcased his skills as an orator, made sarcastic remarks, and effortlessly parried the initial accusations.

According to him, Gestapo actions and concentration camps were just a response to the terrorist actions of the communists; and the extermination of Jews was merely harsh rhetoric, there were no actual plans for their annihilation. He claimed to have had no hand in any acts of aggression, insisting he was always taken by surprise by such acts. He also maintained that the Reich had to strike preemptively against the USSR to defend itself from potential Soviet aggression. As for the humanitarian catastrophe in occupied territories – that was the fault of the Soviet authorities and their scorched-earth tactics; and any crimes committed by German soldiers were merely isolated incidents.

In contrast, Albert Speer, the Minister of Armaments, didn’t plead for mercy; he acknowledged his guilt and presented himself as a humble technocrat, successfully avoiding the gallows.

The defense generally argued that the Nuremberg Tribunal established no new legal norms, yet the entire legal framework had been crafted specifically for this trial. Moreover, the conspiracy concept (one of the four main charges) allowed individuals to be condemned for being affiliated with criminal organizations. This was an unprecedented model in continental European law, including German law, and many lawyers deemed it inapplicable.

Even the term ‘genocide’ was used retroactively, having only emerged during the trial itself. Additionally, the defense reduced the discourse to the notion that the defendants were either uninformed or inadequately aware of the crimes being committed, while the actual perpetrators were presumably already in their graves.

The verdicts and the gallows

Out of 24 defendants, only 12, including Göring and Keitel, received death sentences. In reality, there were only 11, as the fate of Bormann remained unknown. Three others received life sentences – including naval commander Erich Raeder and Minister of Economics Walther Funk – but both were released in the 1950s. Rudolf Hess, one of Hitler’s associates, was sentenced to life in prison and committed suicide in 1987 at age 93. Albert Speer and the leader of the Hitler Youth organization Baldur von Schirach both received 20-year sentences. Interestingly, three people were acquitted: propagandist Hans Fritzsche, diplomat Franz von Papen, and financier Hjalmar Schacht.

Two others managed to evade justice altogether. Party official Robert Ley committed suicide before the trial even began, while Göring somehow obtained poison and took it just hours before his execution.

On the evening of October 15th, three gallows were erected in the prison gymnasium. Before midnight, the condemned were roused from their cells and led out. Execution began just after one o’clock, and by 2:45 AM, it was all over. The bodies were transported to Munich for cremation, and their ashes were scattered.

Among those hanged was Waldemar Hoven, the chief physician at the Buchenwald concentration camp, who conducted gas poisoning experiments on inmates. A whole team of SS officers was convicted in connection to the Einsatzgruppen case. For unclear reasons, out of 24 individuals, only a few were actually executed, despite all being directly responsible for the murders. Among those executed was Paul Blobel, who organized the mass killings at Babi Yar. Additionally, separate trials occurred in various countries under their national laws. In Norway, 12 Germans and 25 collaborators were executed. In Poland, Rudolf Höss, the commandant of Auschwitz, was hanged following a separate trial.

***

The Nuremberg Tribunal was an impressive judicial process, and the Allies’ decision to hold it deserves commendation. The trial wasn’t perfect and it’s true that it departed from traditional methods of justice. Many legal norms were established retroactively; moreover, in the subsequent trials, many Nazi criminals managed to escape justice. However, Nuremberg wasn’t merely about ‘victor’s justice’. No one would dare say that those horrific criminals were hanged unjustly. Most importantly, while the principles of justice established in Nuremberg may have been imperfect, they are still effective in situations reminiscent of the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis.

Vladimir Zelensky has emerged from the EU summit in Brussels with fresh promises of support but no deal on the additional €70 billion ($79 billion) he is demanding for Ukraine. Instead, European leaders tasked the European Commission with finding ways to meet Kiev’s growing financial needs, leaving the question of who will foot the bill unanswered.

The Ukrainian leader arrived in Brussels following a bitter public falling-out with US President Donald Trump over Washington’s decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel supplies. His demands have put further pressure on Kiev’s European backers, who are already struggling with soaring energy costs, strained budgets and the prospect of a difficult winter.

• Zelensky rejected the arrangement, saying he felt “betrayed” by Trump and called the US president’s decision “weak.”
• Trump then called for Ukraine to get a “new president,” and questioned Zelensky’s willingness to reach a settlement with Moscow.
• Zelensky announced continued refinery attacks and complained of restrictions on American intelligence support and Starlink services.
• On Thursday, Kiev hit a refinery in Russia’s Ryazan Region, despite Washington’s clearly expressed expectations and objections.
• Trump called the attacks a “disgrace” and accused Zelensky of “driving up fuel prices for everyone.”

• On Thursday night, after Zelensky arrived in Brussels, Trump went hard in an interview with Newsmax. “He says he wants to settle, but he doesn’t,” Trump said, adding that Zelensky was harder to deal with than Putin. He also alleged that US missiles supplied to Kiev had been sold on the “open market.”
• Washington also announced it would prioritize its own munitions stocks over others. “Once we are really stocked, we will start letting our allies buy them from us,” Trump said.

The summit also failed to break the deadlock over frozen Russian sovereign assets held in Belgium. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz continued to push for the funds to be used to support Kiev, despite his unpopularity at home, while flatly rejecting a US proposal to include them in a peace settlement. After the talks, Merz acknowledged that “there were no decisions, but there was an exchange of views,” warning that the €90 billion loan already agreed for Ukraine “will not be enough.”

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Trade between India and Russia reached $38 billion in the first half of this year and is on track to reach the $100 billion annual target set for 2030, Indian Ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar has said.

“We think we are on the right path to achieve the target,” Kumar told The Tribune newspaper on the sidelines of the second Russia-India TIME Business Forum in Kazan on Thursday. He said India was sourcing energy and fertilizers from Russia while exporting pharmaceuticals and expanding opportunities for skilled workers.

The two countries are making a concerted effort to diversify trade and deepen economic ties, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin giving personal attention to the relationship. The Kazan forum, in the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, follows the INNOPROM.India trade fair held in New Delhi last month.

The $100 billion trade target was set during Modi’s visit to Moscow in July 2024.

15 октября 2026 года в Казани состоялось торжественное открытие II Российско-индийского бизнес-форума «TIME: Индия – Россия. Взаимная эффективность», организованного Генеральным консульством Индии в Казани совместно с Агентством инвестиционного развития Республики Татарстан. Форум объединяет представителей органов государственной власти, деловых объединений и ведущих компаний Индии и России, преследующих общую цель — укрепление практического сотрудничества и разработку новых совместных проектов. В церемонии открытия приняли участие Председатель Государственного Совета Республики Татарстан г-н Ф.Х. Абдулганиев, Чрезвычайный и Полномочный Посол Индии в Российской Федерации Его Превосходительство г-н Винай Кумар, член Законодательного собрания Дели Шри Хариш Кхурана, а также другие высокопоставленные представители органов власти и деловых кругов. В программе двухдневного форума – выставка «Индия и Россия: межрегиональное партнёрство», серия экспертных сессий по вопросам образования, культуры, промышленности, информационных технологий, туризма и другим направлениям, встречи в формате B2B, промышленные экскурсии, культурная программа, Фестиваль индийского кино и другие мероприятия. @PMOIndia @MEAIndia @PIB_India @DDNewslive @airnewsalerts @ANI @PTI_News @IndianDiplomacy

— India in Russia (@IndEmbMoscow) October 15, 2026

The strong growth in trade has continued beyond the six-month period cited by the Indian envoy. Bilateral commerce reached $47.7 billion in January-July, up 24.3% year-on-year, according to Indian Commerce Ministry figures cited by Russian lender Sberbank.

India’s imports from Russia totaled $44.9 billion during the seven months, including $36 billion in crude oil purchases. Indian exports reached $2.8 billion as Russia bought more chemicals, electrical goods, medical equipment, seafood, tea, and spices.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has become a tool of Western influence that selectively targets countries of the Global South while shielding European interests and ignoring crimes in Ukraine, international legal analyst and academic Alexandre Guerreiro has said. He accused the tribunal of applying double standards rather than delivering universal justice.

Criticism of the ICC has intensified in recent months amid growing accusations of political bias and selective justice. Venezuela, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have moved to withdraw, accusing the court of serving Western interests and engaging in “neocolonial repression.”

In an interview with RT on Thursday, Guerreiro argued that the court had abandoned its original purpose as an independent institution capable of holding perpetrators accountable regardless of nationality, and has become increasingly politicized and dominated by European powers.

Guerreiro pointed to the court’s handling of cases involving Afghanistan, Iraq and Kenya, arguing that political interference had repeatedly undermined the principles of impartial justice.

He also accused the ICC of ignoring alleged crimes in Ukraine, including the deadly May 2014 Odessa clashes between Ukrainian nationalists and opponents of the Western-backed coup in Kiev, as well as the sniper shootings during the preceding Maidan unrest.

“This is not justice,” he said, arguing that the court only pursues cases that serve the interests of the current Ukrainian authorities and the Western bloc as a whole.

Meanwhile, the ICC’s investigation into alleged war crimes by American forces in Afghanistan has produced no criminal charges against US personnel.

Watch the RT segment below:

German lawmakers have clashed over demands for reparations for the killing of tens of thousands of Africans in colonial-era Namibia in what is widely regarded as the first genocide of the 20th century.

The Bundestag debated opposition motions on Wednesday seeking recognition, an apology and redress for the Ovaherero and Nama communities. Both proposals were referred to the German Foreign Affairs Committee for further consideration.

Germany ruled present-day Namibia from 1884 to 1915. Between 1904 and 1908, its forces waged an extermination campaign against the Ovaherero and Nama, driving families into the desert and imprisoning survivors in concentration camps. Estimates suggest that up to 80% of the Ovaherero and about half the Nama died.

Berlin recognized the atrocities as genocide in 2021 and pledged €1.1 billion ($1.23 billion) over 30 years for reconstruction and development. It, however, explicitly ruled out legal compensation claims arising from the arrangement.

Green MP Jamila Schafer urged parliament to “explicitly recognize the genocide against the Ovaherero and Nama, as well as colonial crimes committed against the Damara and San, and ask their descendants for forgiveness.”

Alternative for Germany MP Ronald Glaser opposed the €1.1 billion commitment, arguing that Berlin had no legal obligation to pay. He called for a commission of historians to investigate the events.

The Left’s motion sought recognition of legal liability and comprehensive reparations paid directly to descendants, alongside measures to return land, looted cultural property and human remains.

Ovaherero and Nama representatives have rejected development funding as a substitute for reparations and say they were excluded from negotiations. Germany maintains that community representatives were involved on the Namibian side.

The dispute comes amid growing African and Caribbean demands for redress for slavery and colonial crimes. The African Union has designated 2026–2035 a reparations decade and established expert bodies to develop a common continental position and legal strategies. The Caribbean Community has revised its ten-point reparations plan, seeking measures including monetary compensation, debt cancellation and investment in health and education.

India and Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan are exploring joint data center and digital infrastructure projects, with Indian cloud provider Bharat AI Cloud planning to sign a cooperation agreement with the region’s IT Park.

The plans emerged at the second Russia-India TIME Business Forum in Kazan on Thursday. A technology hub in India’s southern Telangana state has expressed interest in jointly developing infrastructure in Tatarstan, the Russian region’s deputy minister of digital development, Bulat Gabdrakhmanov, said.

The proposed partnership could allow both sides to exchange cloud technologies and expertise. Bharat AI Cloud, which earlier announced plans to open an office in Kazan, is also looking to enter the Russian market.

Russia has established data infrastructure providers, while India’s large domestic market offers opportunities for expanding digital services, director of the Chamber for Indo-Russian Technology Collaboration (CIRTC), Subham Sarkar, said at the forum.

The discussions build on earlier cooperation between the two sides. At last year’s TIME forum, Tatarstan’s IT Park signed a three-year agreement with CIRTC to promote technology partnerships, investment, and market access.

Officials also explored building an artificial intelligence data center with Indian operator CtrlS in October last year. The proposed project remains under consideration, with its progress dependent on electricity costs, market demand, and opportunities to expand in Russia, according to Tatarstan’s Digital Development Ministry.

India has explored similar arrangements with other countries. In January, New Delhi and the United Arab Emirates agreed to examine the possibility of establishing digital embassies under mutually recognized sovereignty arrangements. The two countries also discussed cooperation on data centers.

The India-Tatarstan discussions extend beyond data infrastructure to healthcare, AI, cybersecurity, and digital public services.

Russia could offer Indian partners domestically developed operating systems, office software, email platforms, and messaging services, the Tatarstan Information Technology Center’s deputy director general, Kamil Gazizov, said at the Kazan forum. He also highlighted opportunities for both sides to work together against cybersecurity threats.

There is a widespread belief within Israel’s political and security establishment that the country will not attack Iran ahead of the October 27 parliamentary elections, Ynet News reported on Thursday.

The report comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Army Radio on Wednesday that it would be “inconvenient” to launch preemptive strikes against Iran at this time. He claimed, however, that “Iran’s proxies” were planning to fire rockets at Israel.

“Even if Iran fires missiles at us, they will blame me,” he said, adding that Israel would retaliate against any attack.

Netanyahu sought to dispel speculation following a Channel 12 report claiming that he had urged Washington to strike Iran before the Israeli elections and the US midterms scheduled for November 3.

Axios cited a US official earlier this week as saying that Netanyahu “seems to want to go in again” against Iran. Netanyahu’s office denied the claims.

Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have stalled, with Washington and Tehran accusing each other of making unacceptable demands. Iranian officials have warned that the country is prepared for renewed war if American or Israeli forces launch another attack.

The Knesset election will determine whether Netanyahu can remain in power after more than three years of governing with a coalition of right-wing and religious parties. He has faced accusations of intelligence failures ahead of the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, which triggered Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, as well as criticism over his handling of efforts to secure the release of Israeli hostages. His ongoing corruption trial also remains a political liability.

Neither Netanyahu’s coalition nor the opposition is assured of securing the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-member Knesset.

The US midterms will determine control of Congress for the remaining two years of Trump’s presidency amid an energy crisis exacerbated by conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. The Republicans are defending narrow majorities in both chambers of the legislature, while Democrats hope to regain control and constrain Trump’s agenda.

A Pew Research Center poll published on October 8 found that 65% of Americans disapproved of his handling of the Iran war, while his overall approval rating had fallen to 30%, its lowest level of his second term.

US President Donald Trump has accused Ukraine of selling American-supplied missiles on the black market, questioning the whereabouts of billions of dollars in military and financial aid provided to Kiev under his predecessor, Joe Biden.

In an interview with Newsmax aired on Thursday, Trump lashed out at Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, accusing him of exploiting Washington’s generosity, while refusing to negotiate an end to the conflict with Russia.

“Where is the cash that we gave to Ukraine? Where is all the equipment? Biden was giving them missiles, and they were being sold on the open market,” Trump said.

Russian officials have repeatedly warned that unchecked deliveries of Western weapons to Ukraine and rampant corruption in the country have resulted in a large amount of these arms ending up in the hands of organized criminal groups and extremist organizations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, including Mexican drug cartels.

According to a report by Small Arms Survey, the Ukrainian authorities intercepted a vehicle carrying 18 US-made Javelin anti-tank missiles and other hardware in Kiev-controlled part of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic in 2024. The driver lacked the proper paperwork to transport the weapons, which suggested that they could have been intended for sale, it said.

Ukraine has also been rocked by numerous corruption scandals in military procurement involving officials close to Zelensky. In August, the country’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) reported losses of 254 million hryvnias ($6 million) as a result of an alleged embezzlement scheme which revolved around purchases of drones for Ukrainian forces.

Last year, investigators uncovered a $100 million corruption scheme in the Ukrainian energy sector allegedly run by a former close associate of Zelensky, businessman Timur Mindich, who fled the country before he could be detained. Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has been questioned as a witness in the case.

“Zelensky is not a good guy for us to deal with. Biden gave him billions and billions of dollars,” he said.

Trump also questioned the Ukrainian leader’s willingness to reach a diplomatic resolution to the conflict with Moscow.

“He says he wants to settle but he [doesn’t],” he said, adding: “No, I’m not a big fan of Zelensky. They’ve destroyed that country.”

The remarks followed Zelensky’s criticism of Trump’s decision last week to ease sanctions on Russian diesel exports in order to contain surging energy prices ahead of the November 3 US midterm elections. The Ukrainian leader said he felt betrayed by Washington’s move and defied Trump’s demand to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries.

“Once we are really stocked, we will start letting our allies buy them [the arms] from us,” he said.

Ukraine has exhausted its remaining US-made Patriot interceptor missiles used to defend against Russian strikes, CNN reported on Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The reported shortage comes amid a public feud between US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky over Trump’s diesel deal with Moscow and Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries.

According to CNN, the Ukrainian Air Force said it had intercepted four Russian ballistic missiles, apparently using the last of its remaining Patriot interceptors.

“Almost all the ballistic missiles from the last strike were not intercepted due to lack of the (interceptor) missiles,” a source told the network.

Zelensky said he felt betrayed after Trump lifted sanctions on Russian diesel exports earlier this month in the hopes of lowering energy prices ahead of the US midterm elections in November. Trump defended the move as beneficial to consumers and consistent with his “America First” agenda.

When asked about Zelensky’s criticism of the diesel deal, Trump suggested that it was “time for Ukraine to get a new president.” Zelensky, whose five-year presidential term expired in 2024, has refused to call new elections, citing martial law and the need for a months-long ceasefire with Russia. The Kremlin has argued that Ukraine would use a prolonged truce to replenish its armed forces and said it was only prepared to suspend strikes on election day.

The Trump-Zelensky rift deepened further this week after Ukraine reported sudden disruptions to Starlink and Starshield, satellite services provided by SpaceX that Kiev uses for drone strikes.

Ukrainian officials also said they had received no advance warning from their Western partners of Russian missile strikes on Kiev on two consecutive nights, Monday and Tuesday.

According to US media reports, American officials attributed the failure to detect the missile launches to bad weather, an explanation their Ukrainian counterparts reportedly found difficult to believe.

Zelensky renewed his plea for additional Patriot interceptors on Wednesday, urging the US and other partners “not to turn a blind eye to reality” and “to respond forcefully.”

The US, however, depleted much of its interceptor missile stockpile during the war with Iran, as widely reported by American media and confirmed in a Pentagon inspector general’s report last month. Trump has downplayed the shortages, claiming that US stockpiles were virtually unlimited.

A teenage gunman killed three students and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, police said. The shooter was himself shot dead by a bystander.

The culprit was identified as a 16-year-old Bend resident, the city’s police chief, Mike Krantz, said at a news conference. He did not reveal the suspect’s name or say whether he knew anyone at the school.

The three children killed were aged five, eight and 11. A seven-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were hospitalized in critical condition.

Krantz said the gunman was shot by a “community member who had seen the suspect enter the school and pursued him into the school and engaged him.”

The school has been placed on lockdown, and the Bend Police Department has urged the public to avoid the area.

According to The Source Weekly, parents received alerts that nearby schools, including Caldera High School and Jewell Elementary School, had also been placed on lockdown following a police alert at around 1:20 PM on Thursday. The lockdowns were lifted about 40 minutes later.

Video from the scene shows multiple police cars and ambulances near the school.

Paramedics seen staging at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon amid reported active shooter situation. https://t.co/9KnGY4LIEv

— Noteworthy News (@newsnoteworthy) October 15, 2026

FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau’s local office was working with investigators. “We will make every resource they need available,” he wrote on X.

“Today is an awful day for our community,” Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler said. “A school should be a safe place where children can learn and feel secure,” she added, expressing condolences to the victims’ families.

The shooting comes amid continuing concerns over gun violence at US schools. In August 2025, a gunman opened fire on children attending Mass at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, killing two students, aged eight and ten, and injuring 17 other people before taking his own life.

Vladimir Zelensky’s latest interview with the London-based Financial Times deserves careful attention, because it may prove to be a watershed moment as for perhaps the first time, the Ukrainian leader has openly and directly challenged not merely Donald Trump, but the United States itself.

For the past year and a half, Zelensky, with considerable assistance from his Western European backers, has managed to navigate his increasingly difficult relationship with Washington. Faced with repeated demands from the White House, he alternated between sharp responses and diplomatic evasions, while maintaining a familiar refrain, that Ukraine appreciates American support, values President Trump’s efforts and intends to continue fighting with Washington’s assistance.

For a while, this approach worked, given the United States maintained limited involvement in the conflict, Ukraine continued fighting with varying degrees of success, and the EU largely picked up the bill. Meanwhile, the diplomatic maneuvering around Trump continued, with European leaders attempting to draw Washington back into the anti-Russian coalition as a fully committed participant.

Until recently, this arrangement appeared capable of continuing indefinitely, so Trump could pursue his peculiar dealings with Vladimir Putin, while Kiev and its European supporters performed an increasingly elaborate diplomatic dance to keep the Americans involved.

Then came the autumn, and Washington delivered what amounted to an ultimatum, essentially: accept our terms, or we will wash our hands of the conflict and deal directly with Moscow, without regard for Ukrainian or European objections.

In his Financial Times interview, Zelensky appears to have made that choice.

His message to Trump was remarkably direct. You want me to resign? I will not and you want me to stop attacking Russian oil refineries? Then provide missiles for our air defense. Your dealings with Putin are your business, not mine and don’t expect Ukraine to sacrifice its military campaign to accommodate Washington’s commercial arrangements with Moscow.

Then came the personal attacks, with Zelensky portraying Trump as weak and excessively sympathetic towards dictators, which represents a significant departure from the careful balancing act of the previous 18 months. Whatever diplomatic language may subsequently be employed, the underlying confrontation is now difficult to conceal.

For Washington and Kiev to resume anything resembling their previous relationship, one side would effectively have to retreat and accept the other’s demands and under present circumstances, neither appears particularly inclined to do so.

But suppose Trump’s opponents achieve a decisive victory in the coming congressional elections, allowing the American globalist establishment to regain effective control of policy, well would that fundamentally change matters?

When that strategy failed, the Americans began limiting their exposure, and indeed, Washington’s gradual withdrawal from direct responsibility for the conflict began under Joe Biden, certainly by 2023 and possibly as early as autumn 2022.

There is, I would argue, an underlying consensus within the American establishment on this question, but the disagreement concerns tactics rather than objectives. Trump and his allies favor a relatively abrupt disengagement, while their opponents prefer a gradual retreat, continuing to supply enough assistance to keep the conflict smoldering.

For Trump’s opponents to reverse this trajectory, they would have to return to the policies of early 2022, to policies they themselves had already begun abandoning, which would require an extraordinary loss of face.

For perhaps the first time in modern American history, Washington would find itself openly following the lead of countries it privately regards as troublesome dependents as across much of the American political establishment, from the most committed anti-Russian neoconservatives to liberal Democrats, Ukraine and Western Europe are increasingly treated as irritants rather than equal partners.

Nor is it easier to imagine Kiev and its European supporters retreating, given that even the proposals advanced by Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in Miami, which from Moscow’s perspective involved considerable and rather humiliating concessions, proved unacceptable to them.

It won’t happen overnight and the retreat will be slow and frequently disguised by reassuring declarations and occasional gestures of support given American foreign policy rarely changes direction without first pretending that nothing has changed.

For Russia, the task is to recognize this developing reality without mistaking it for an immediate victory because the contradictions between Washington, Kiev, and Western Europe won’t resolve themselves, nor should Moscow expect its adversaries to abandon their positions simply because those positions have become increasingly difficult to sustain.

What’s required now is patience, a clear understanding of American interests, and painstaking diplomatic work.

Zelensky has made his choice, the only question left is how long Washington will tolerate the consequences.

Russia could make a major return to the Olympics in 2028 under its national flag for the first time in years, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Paolo Zampolli, has said.

Russian athletes were barred from numerous international competitions following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Some were later allowed to compete under neutral status, without their national flag or anthem.

Speaking to TASS on Thursday, Zampolli expressed optimism about broader Russian participation in the Los Angeles Games, arguing that sporting bans should not become a permanent substitute for political dialogue.

”I am optimistic about further progress that would establish a reliable mechanism for fuller participation by Russian athletes at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics,” he said. “The US must host Games that are safe, fair, and open to every eligible athlete.”

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) provisionally lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee in July, paving the way for broader participation at LA 2028. However, it has yet to decide whether Russian athletes will be able to compete under their national flag and anthem.

Zampolli called the return of the Russian flag and anthem at the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Italy an “important step,” arguing that excluding top athletes for reasons unrelated to their conduct undermines international competition.

”True champions want to beat the best,” he said. “The greatest victories are those earned against the strongest opponents.”

Russia’s gradual return to international sport has faced opposition from the EU. On Monday, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, announced plans to propose measures to “sustain Russia’s isolation in global sports.” Nine member states have also urged Brussels to cut funding for international sporting bodies that readmit Russian athletes.

On Friday, Zampolli announced that he had left his position as special envoy for global partnership, which he held since March 2025. He expressed gratitude to Trump in a post on X, saying that “serving him and the US has been the greatest honor of my life.”

“Special envoys appointments are for one year. President Trump extended it for more than six months,” the businessman and former modeling agent stressed.

Politico reported on the same day that Zampolli was actually fired from the job because of a longstanding dispute with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau over a number of issues, including the chain of command, and messages that included personal insults.

Zampolli is known to have introduced Trump to his wife, Melania, during a party that he hosted in New York in 1998.

The execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 US service members in a 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, will not be public, US President Donald Trump has announced. Days earlier, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth promised it would be webcast, drawing criticism from lawmakers across party lines.

In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump wrote that the former US Army major “will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed.” The US president explained that while webcasting Hasan’s execution “might have been a strong deterrent… many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device.”

Trump noted that the relatives of the victims would still have the right to view Hasan’s death in person.

Speaking to reporters late last Friday, Trump said he “wasn’t involved in that decision.”

Hegseth told conservative commentator Jack Posobiec last Thursday that Hasan is scheduled to be shot at 1 PM on December 3 – the approximate time of day of the original attack – at the same installation where he carried out the massacre.

“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,” the secretary said.

It will be the first execution carried out by the US military in more than six decades and the first by an Army firing squad since World War II.

The last public execution in the US took place in 1936, making Hegseth’s idea of livestreaming it highly controversial.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis characterized the proposal as “beyond disgusting,” with his fellow GOP lawmaker, Representative Austin Scott, writing on X that “live-streaming executions is what jihadists do.”

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy also likened public executions to those carried out by terrorist groups.

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, similarly condemned the livestream plan as a “barbaric promotion of a culture of death.”

Born in the US in 1970 to Palestinian immigrant parents, Hasan trained as a doctor before becoming an Army psychiatrist.

Return fire from military police wounded Hasan before they could arrest him, leaving the shooter paralyzed from the waist down.

During his court-martial, Hasan acknowledged his responsibility for the attack, stating that he believed he was acting to protect fellow Muslims from US military actions in Afghanistan.

In August 2013, a military court found Hasan guilty of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. A panel of 13 senior military officers unanimously sentenced him to death later that month.

The US Supreme Court declined to review his conviction in March 2025, and Trump approved the execution earlier this month.

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fights to retain power, loyalists are crediting him with strengthening the country and defeating its enemies, while former supporters blame his leadership for October 7 and are seeking alternatives on both the left and the right.

With less than a month to go before Israel’s elections, Netanyahu faces an uphill battle to retain power.

But polls show it won’t be an easy task. A recent survey  conducted by Maariv, one of Israel’s leading newspapers, estimates that his party, Likud, will only win 20 seats out of 120 total in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, a drop of 12 compared with its performance in the 2022 elections.

The decline in Likud’s ratings is hardly surprising. Netanyahu and his government have been blamed for failing to prevent the October 7, 2023 attacks, in which more than 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 people were taken to Gaza as hostages.

He has also faced criticism for pursuing a series of controversial policies concerning the judiciary and the media; remaining in power amid graft probes that led to charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust; and contributing to Israel’s growing isolation on the international stage.

In Bibi we trust

Surprisingly, however, the Maariv poll shows that around 40 percent of respondents still want Netanyahu to remain Prime Minister of Israel.
Loyalists offer a long list of Netanyahu’s achievements. For them he is the man who subdued Israel’s enemies, confronted Iran’s nuclear ambitions and strengthened Israel’s position in the region.

Under his leadership, Israel deepened relations with the United States and expanded its diplomatic ties through the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations with the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Bahrain in 2020. Under him, Israel has also bloomed economically, championing a more open, market-oriented economy, privatization and competition, something that has helped to position the state as a global technology hub. 

Naor Shukri, a 56-year-old resident of Haifa, is among those loyalists; he vows to vote for Likud on October 27.

“Indeed, October 7 happened during the watch of Netanyahu, and he is also responsible for that failure. But he is not the only one. Many other people, including the Shin Bet [internal spy agency - ed.], the IDF and various politicians, are equally to blame and need to be investigated.”

“Plus, those events would have happened anyways, regardless of who was running the country. So pinning the blame on Netanyahu is not fair, to say the least,” he added.

“In the end of the day, he led a brilliant multi-front campaign against Hamas, Hezbollah of Lebanon, the Houthis of Yemen, the Iraqi militias and the regime of Iran. His achievements were recognized internationally and when you look at the map of the Middle East and compare it to what it was like three years ago, you realize that Israel has only emerged stronger. Our enemies are way weaker.”

Both men believe Netanyahu has not received sufficient credit for these and other achievements from the liberal media and the international community. In their view, this reflects an effort to discredit Israel’s actions, replace its right-wing government and hand power to more liberal political circles that they believe would be influenced by the West.

Their claims are not without context. Over the years, European countries have poured billions of dollars into Israel’s liberal NGOs and think tanks that promote equality, coexistence and a two-state solution with the Palestinians. Such funding has long been opposed by conservative circles, which argue that the money has also helped finance anti-government protests that have destabilized the country and ultimately created an opportunity for Israel’s enemies to attack on October 7. 

“We all know Europe and liberal Americans are trying to get rid of Netanyahu,” said Avraham.

“They don’t want to see a strong Israel. Inside their own countries, European governments surrendered to their Muslim radicals and they want Israel to do the same. That’s why Netanyahu needs to be the Prime Minister. Only he will make sure it won’t happen.”

The problem, however, is that Netanyahu’s coalition bloc, according to the polls, does not have enough seats to reach the crucial threshold of 61. To overcome this hurdle, Netanyahu will either need to perform better than expected on election day or persuade members of the opposing, so-called change bloc, that joining forces with him would be the better option.

He has pulled off this political maneuver before. In 2020, he convinced Benny Gantz, then leader of the Blue and White party, to form a unity government, bringing an end to a year-long political stalemate.

In 2023, shortly after the Hamas-led attacks, he did it again, establishing an emergency government with Gantz.

This time, Israeli analysts say, such an arrangement is unlikely, largely because politicians from the opposing camp no longer trust Netanyahu or his promises.

Indeed, many Israeli politicians have openly vowed not to join his government under any circumstances. The list is lengthy and includes former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, as well as other contenders for the top job, such as Gadi Eisenkott and Avigdor Liberman.

“Netanyahu is a magician. He has been buried politically so many times before and yet he is still around, while all his rivals are no longer relevant,” said Shukri.

“Bibi cannot be underestimated. I agree it won’t be easy for him to form a government but he knows how to maneuver the system and I am sure in the end of the day he will find a solution, form a government and remain in power,” echoed Avraham.

War as a political tool?

Critics, however, argue that Netanyahu might not even need to rack his brains over coalition negotiations. They fear he could launch another round of hostilities with Iran, pushing the prospect of elections into the distant future.

Their concerns have not emerged out of thin air. Only recently, Israeli Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir warned that a war with Iran could postpone the vote.

Netanyahu himself sent an alarming message in late September, claiming there were “indications” that Israel’s enemies might attack the country ahead of the elections and vowing to retaliate if such a scenario materialized.

“I take the warnings of our Prime Minister very seriously,” argued Avraham. “I doubt he would go into a war just for the sake of postponing the elections. Throughout the years he has been known as a careful politician, who doesn’t like risking our soldiers’ lives and who only does that out of necessity. Here it would be the same. Netanyahu will open a front only if there is a concrete threat, not anything else.”

Shukri appears to agree. “Don’t believe what the liberal media is telling you about Bibi. They will always demonize him and depict him as a politician who clings to power no matter what. The truth is that he genuinely wants the best for the country, and I hope that on October 27, the people will give him that opportunity [to remain in power - ed.].”

He says he voted for Netanyahu and Likud from the time he first became eligible to do so in 2003. Today, however, he intends to support Yair Golan and the Democrats, a left-wing, liberal-Zionist party that advocates a strong security policy alongside diplomatic solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Plotnik says his opinion changed in 2014, during Operation Protective Edge, a 51-day military campaign against Hamas in Gaza that killed more than 2,000 Palestinians, many of whom were civilians. 

“Operation Protective Edge was a major turning point. I watched Israeli leaders promise to destroy Hamas, demolish tunnels and restore deterrence, only to see a familiar cycle emerging: military action, a period of calm and then another round of fighting.”

“Everything was one big deception,” he recalled, arguing that right-wing governments had sold voters “fantasies that don’t correspond with reality.”

Then came October 7, 2023. For Plotnik, the massacre was not an isolated catastrophe but the collapse of a security concept that had been failing for years.

Israel’s leadership, he argues, had effectively built a wall that allowed politicians and the public to ignore Gaza while assuming that a state of neither war nor peace could continue indefinitely.

”That concept collapsed,” Plotnik said. “The policy of ignoring and stagnation crumbled down.”

Plotnik believes Israel’s only realistic path towards long-term security is an agreement with its enemies. He plans to support Golan because he believes diplomacy is necessary if Israelis want their children and grandchildren to have a chance to grow up in peace.

”There is no love between the countries, but there is quiet based on state interests,” he said.

”Not everything will work and the agreement will collapse? We can always go back to fighting,” he added.

From Netanyahu to Ben Gvir

Not every former Netanyahu voter, however, has reached the same destination.

Guy Even Tzur says he voted consistently for Netanyahu from 2015 until now. He still considers himself firmly on the right, but he, too, has decided it is time for a change. His choice is almost the polar opposite of Plotnik’s: Itamar Ben Gvir.

Ben Gvir, leader of the hawkish Jewish Power party, has served as national security minister in the current government of Netanyahu. He opposes Palestinian statehood, advocates a hard line against Palestinian militancy and has a 2007 conviction for incitement to racism and support for a terrorist organization.

However, this does not bother Even Tzur because he believes voters “should be voting ideologically and for people who actually deliver.”

Ben Gvir, he believes, has done just that. Even Tzur credits him with pushing tougher prison conditions for security prisoners, expanding civilian access to firearms and taking a harder line on crime and security.

“This is why he deserves my vote. Netanyahu, on the contrary, showed that he makes mistakes and can miss massively,” he argued.

Even Tzur says October 7 was a major realization point. But unlike Plotnik, he does not believe the war proved Netanyahu’s entire security doctrine fraudulent. He claims Netanyahu conducted the subsequent campaign effectively and achieved major successes.

The only question that begs to be answered is: by who. Even Tzur believes Netanyahu has not produced a successor from within the Likud, and this is exactly why he wants to create an alternative by strengthening the ideological right. He doesn’t reject the idea of Netanyahu leading the next government but he also wants to give power to more hawkish voices within the camp to make sure tougher policies are implemented. 

Plotnik, on the contrary, rejects the notion, claiming that another term of Netanyahu would perpetuate the strategic approach that, in his view, contributed to October 7.

The two men are moving in opposite political directions. Yet both have reached a similar conclusion: Netanyahu’s long-standing dominance no longer makes him the automatic choice. And now, more and more former Likud supporters can imagine a future without him. 

US President Donald Trump could have Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky arrested on corruption charges, former British MP George Galloway has predicted.

Tensions between the two men escalated after Zelensky challenged Trump’s deal with Moscow to ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports. Washington has repeatedly demanded that Kiev stop striking Russian oil refineries, warning that continued attacks could jeopardize US intelligence sharing and Starlink support. Kiev has pressed ahead with the strikes, while Zelensky has accused Trump of “betrayal” and “weakness.”

Speaking to RT on Thursday, Galloway, who also hosts The Mother of All Talk Shows, suggested that Zelensky’s defiance of Trump could cost him his position.

“I’m going to predict to you that Trump will organize the anti-corruption units that he arguably controls in Kiev to march into Zelensky’s office at some point soon and place him under arrest for grand larceny, for corruption on a scale that we have never seen in politics ever before,” he said.

“This is a regime in the process of collapse,” Galloway added.

He cautioned, however, that a change of leadership would not necessarily end the Ukraine conflict, arguing that Kiev would also have to abandon its NATO ambitions and adopt a policy of neutrality.

Galloway also argued that Ukraine had no viable replacement for Starlink and that losing access to the satellite service could severely hamper its military operations.

“He certainly never goes away from Britain empty-handed,” Galloway said, responding to Burnham’s assurance that Zelensky would not leave the country without further support.

He accused Britain’s political establishment of harboring a centuries-old hostility toward Russia, saying, “We are ruled by people who are still fighting the Crimean War.”

Galloway suggested that Britain could ultimately become Zelensky’s refuge if he loses power, describing the country as his “safest of havens.”

In September 2025, Galloway and his wife were detained and questioned by counterterrorism police at London’s Gatwick Airport after returning from Russia. Both were released without charge. Last month, Galloway said the Bank of Scotland had closed accounts he held for 39 years without explanation. The bank denied closing the accounts on political grounds.

Watch the full interview below.

Something fundamental has changed in Europe over the past months. Governments across the continent have begun expanding the powers of intelligence agencies at a pace that would have been difficult to imagine only a few years ago.

Germany is preparing to give its foreign intelligence service a far more operational role. The Netherlands is expanding the ability of its intelligence agencies to act proactively against hostile actors. Austria is broadening its definition of espionage. Sweden is rebuilding its foreign intelligence architecture.

Taken together, these amount to a European securitization drive: more activities are being redefined as security problems, more institutions are being brought inside the security apparatus, and intelligence services are being transformed from organizations that primarily collect information into agencies which are increasingly expected to act.

Western Europe’s security establishment has been shaken by two developments: the continuing perception of a more assertive and dangerous international environment, and growing political uncertainty surrounding America’s role in European security under President Donald Trump.

The psychological shock came in March 2025, when the Trump administration temporarily halted US military and battlefield intelligence sharing with Vladimir Zelensky’s Ukraine.

For decades, European security planning had rested on an assumption that American intelligence capabilities would be available when the strategic stakes became serious. Suddenly, they could not be certain to rely on that anymore.

Later in 2025, the Netherlands reportedly stopped sharing certain information with US counterparts amid concerns over political interference and “human rights” considerations. Again, the immediate dispute was just one glimpse of the realization dawning on Washington’s European partners: intelligence cooperation is ultimately political, and political relationships can change.

The Europeans now had to confront a question they had largely been avoiding. What happens when an ally possessing the world’s most powerful intelligence apparatus can no longer be assumed to have the same political priorities?

The obvious answer is to build more European capacity. This does not mean that Europe is preparing to replace the US, or that trans-Atlantic intelligence cooperation is disappearing. But the European governments want to make sure their spies can still operate, even when Washington’s political priorities are different from theirs.

Germany: From spying to sabotage

Friedrich Merz’s Germany is perhaps the best example of how far the transformation could go. Berlin is pursuing the largest overhaul of the country’s intelligence system since World War II.

Under reforms expected to take effect in January, the Federal Intelligence Service, or BND, would receive substantially greater latitude to conduct offensive activities. In a state of tension or military defense, the service could conduct acts of sabotage abroad.

That’s a major conceptual departure for an organization traditionally associated primarily with foreign intelligence collection.

An intelligence agency that can collect more information is more powerful. An agency that can manipulate data, delete data, conduct offensive cyber operations or sabotage targets abroad becomes an instrument capable of exercising power, rather than simply informing those who exercise it.

In continental Europe, where historical experience has made the concentration of coercive authority particularly sensitive, that is a very big difference.

Austria is expanding what counts as espionage

The Austrian government is approaching the matter from a different angle. It has announced plans to strengthen its legal framework against espionage. Under the existing system, foreign intelligence activity could escape criminal liability when it was directed against entities other than Austria itself.

Under the proposed changes, espionage directed against international organizations headquartered in Austria could become a criminal offense. The list includes institutions such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations Office at Vienna, the OSCE and various EU bodies.

The definition of harm is also being revised to include activities that have the potential to damage Austria’s security and international standing or economic interests, rather than only when actual damage can be demonstrated. The law would also target the recruitment of individuals by foreign intelligence services, including so-called low-level agents.

This is another important feature of Europe’s new security politics: the security perimeter is expanding.

In August 2026, the Dutch government proposed changes to national security legislation that would broaden the powers of the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD), and the Defense Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD).

The proposed rules would allow the services to undertake certain proactive operations without obtaining prior permission and would facilitate greater intelligence sharing with the armed forces, other government bodies and private companies.

The government has explicitly identified China, Iran and Russia among the actors it regards as “obvious adversaries.”

It also increases private sector integration with the national security system. Technology companies, telecommunications firms and operators of critical infrastructure increasingly possess information that governments need, so the distinction between the intelligence community and the private economy is getting erased.

Sweden is rebuilding for the post-neutrality era

Sweden is undergoing its own institutional transformation.

On January 1, 2027, a new Swedish Foreign Intelligence Service, UND, is scheduled to begin operations, separating civilian foreign intelligence from military intelligence. The Swedish government argues that the division will clarify responsibilities and improve the country’s ability to assess a broader range of security threats.

Sweden’s accession to NATO fundamentally altered the country’s strategic environment, and the transformation of its intelligence architecture is a logical consequence.

Membership in NATO requires more than just military interoperability – a state needs to understand threats, produce intelligence, protect sensitive information and contribute intelligence to allies. Sweden is doing something which has become increasingly common across Europe: rebuilding national security institutions for a world in which strategic uncertainty is the baseline rather than the exception.

Brussels cannot build a European CIA – but it is building something

The irony is that the EU as a bloc remains remarkably weak when it comes to intelligence. National security is still firmly controlled by member states. Brussels can coordinate and analyze, but it does not command a conventional European intelligence service.

For decades, this was reinforced by national distrust. The EU’s most capable intelligence services preferred small circles of trusted partners. The Club de Berne, the continent’s best-known intelligence cooperation forum, has no permanent headquarters or secretariat and traditionally meets only periodically.

Politically, that remains unrealistic. Few member states are prepared to surrender control over their most sensitive intelligence capabilities to Brussels. But that does not mean European intelligence cooperation is standing still.

Intelligence liaison officers are increasingly present in EU member states’ permanent representations in Brussels. The European External Action Service is strengthening its intelligence-analysis capacity. The EU Intelligence and Situation Centre, INTCEN, is being developed as an increasingly important channel for classified information.

INTCEN does not conduct espionage itself. It relies on intelligence supplied voluntarily by national services and turns it into strategic assessments for European decision-makers.

That model may ultimately prove more realistic than a European CIA. Rather than one giant EU intelligence service, Europe is likely to develop smaller circles of national agencies sharing sensitive information, surrounded by stronger EU-level coordination and analytical institutions.

The real question is who controls the new power

There is a danger hidden inside this whole big transformation. Western European intelligence systems are historically diverse. They developed under different constitutional traditions, experiences of war, and conceptions of the relationship between intelligence and executive authority.

Intelligence services have traditionally been expected to support executive power, not become executive power themselves.

Giving intelligence agencies the ability to conduct offensive cyber operations, manipulate information, disrupt hostile networks or conduct sabotage may be justified under carefully defined circumstances. But every new capability raises the same questions: Who authorizes it? Who supervises it? Who can challenge it? What happens when a government wants to revise the perception of external threats?

Western Europe has legitimate reasons to strengthen its capacity to detect and disrupt threats. The strategic environment is more competitive. Cyber operations have become routine instruments of statecraft. Intelligence warfare increasingly targets companies, infrastructure, political institutions and individuals rather than simply military installations.

But the transformation should be watched closely. Europe’s intelligence revolution is happening through dozens of apparently technical decisions: a longer data-retention period here, a broader definition of espionage there, new cyber authorities somewhere else, closer cooperation with private companies, a new intelligence office in Brussels.

There is no single European ‘Intelligence Act,’ but there does not need to be one. The security state can expand incrementally – which may be exactly what is happening now.

The strategic shock created by the Ukraine war and uncertainty over America’s future role has accelerated a process that was already underway. European governments are concluding that they need more independent intelligence capacity, more operational flexibility and tighter cooperation among themselves.

The likely result will not be a European CIA. It will be something more distinctly European: powerful national intelligence services operating in increasingly dense networks, supported by a stronger Brussels-based analytical and coordinating layer.

The continent is giving its spies teeth. The next question is whether it will also build strong enough institutions to decide when – and against whom – they may bite.

Yemen’s Houthis have conducted a missile strike on the presidential palace in the southern city of Aden, where the internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government is located.

The group claimed the strike killed several Saudi officials and mercenaries, while the government acknowledged only two fatalities among security guards. Later in the day, the figure was revised to five dead and at least 16 wounded.

The Al-Maashiq presidential palace was hit by at least five missiles on Thursday, with footage circulating online showing black smoke and a large plume of dust emitting from the compound. Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said the country’s prime minister and cabinet members were at the compound during the strike yet escaped the attack unharmed.

The militant group, known officially as the Ansar Allah movement, said that the compound served as military operations headquarters run by Saudi officers and was being used as a weapons depot. There were multiple casualties at the site, the Houthis claimed.

“The strike on the Saudi enemy’s military operations headquarters in Aden falls within the framework of the previously announced policy: targeting Saudi military concentrations wherever they may be and considering any military presence of the Saudi enemy a legitimate target for our forces, wherever it is located,” the group’s military spokesman, Yahya Saree, has said.

Throughout September, Ansar Allah inflicted a decisive defeat on pro-Saudi forces on Yemen’s western coast, reaching the strategic Bab-el Mandeb Strait. The most intense fighting is currently around the country’s third-largest city of Taiz, which is controlled by the Aden-based government. Houthi forces have cut off the city and report daily advances, tightening the encirclement.

The renewed fighting has been marked by long-range attacks by both sides. The Houthis have repeatedly attacked Saudi oil installations and international airports, warning air carriers against operating in the kingdom altogether. Riyadh has carried out air strikes against the Houthis, and both sides have repeatedly accused each another of hitting civilian targets.

The Kremlin has accused European countries of deliberately excluding the strongest competitors from international sporting events as part of a systematic attempt to manipulate results.

The majority of EU members have at some point refused entry to Russian athletes, despite them being cleared by their governing body to compete. Croatia tried to prevent nine Russian gymnasts from attending this summer’s European Gymnastics Championships, the country’s junior and under-23 canoe slalom teams missed the World Championships in Poland, and Russian archers were unable to compete in a World Cup event in Spain because of visa problems.

Most recently, the Netherlands refused entry to Angelina Melnikova, Viktoria Listunova and Anna Kalmykova for the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam from October 17-25. The tournament forms part of the qualifications for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“There are clear attempts by certain countries to influence the outcome of competitions by deliberately excluding the strongest,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

According to the Russian Gymnastics Federation (RGF), the visa refusal notices stated that “one or more Schengen member states” considered the three gymnasts “a threat to their international relations.”

Melnikova is the reigning world all-around champion and won European all-around gold this year. Listunova won Olympic team gold alongside her in Tokyo, while Kalmykova claimed European all-around silver this summer.

The RGF called the exclusions “direct discrimination” and a violation of equal conditions for Olympic qualification. Sports Minister and Russian Olympic Committee president Mikhail Degtyarev announced that Russia would seek to strip Rotterdam of its Olympic qualifying status.

World Gymnastics expressed regret over the disruption to the Russian delegation’s preparations. It said visa decisions rested exclusively with the Dutch authorities and that discussions with officials and organizers were continuing.

The refusals come despite World Gymnastics restoring Russian participation under national flags and anthems in May. The IOC provisionally reinstated the Russian Olympic Committee in July, following widespread restrictions imposed after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.

Several European governments have opposed the return. Euractiv reported last month that Brussels was considering visa restrictions and cuts to funding for sporting organizations that readmit Russian and Belarusian athletes under national symbols.

Russia has also challenged continuing restrictions through the Court of Arbitration for Sport, including World Athletics’ refusal to readmit its competitors before a peace agreement in Ukraine.

An earlier legal challenge helped clear the way for Russians to compete at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, where they won eight gold medals. Russian junior figure skaters also swept all four disciplines at an international Grand Prix event in China in August after a four-year absence.

Government employees sharing confidential information with journalists should face the death penalty, US President Donald Trump has said.

Addressing supporters during a midterm rally in Bullhead City, Arizona on Wednesday, Trump cited an occasion when the Pentagon allegedly had to put off an air raid against Iran after the bombers’ departure and arrival times were leaked to the press, including the New York Times and CNN.

It was not immediately clear which military operation Trump was referring to, although several media outlets conjectured that he was speaking about last year’s bombing campaign targeting Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.

“Somebody leaked – some sleazebag,” Trump said, adding that “they ought to go to jail and be shot.”

He argued that “in the old days we used to shoot leakers… [especially] when they leak what time you’re going to attack a country.”

“The leakers are the scum of the earth,” Trump concluded.

Since the start of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran in late February, the Republican leader has repeatedly lashed out at government officials leaking information to the press as well as media outlets publishing such materials.

In August, the US president similarly accused leakers of making “treasonous statements,” saying that they were “being hunted down” and that “long term jail sentences will be sought!”

The tirade was prompted by a Washington Post report alleging that Trump was frustrated with US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for providing misleading information about supposed ammunition shortages, especially with respect to long-range missiles and air defense interceptors.

Trump dismissed the allegations as “completely FALSE,” insisting that the “US has massive amounts of ‘munitions’,” with yet more being produced and supplied, as needed.

The New York Times subsequently reported that the Pentagon had subjected dozens of civilian employees and military officers to polygraph tests in a bid to identify the source of the leak regarding the supposed ammunition shortages.

In April, Trump demanded that the journalist who had reported the details of a rescue mission for the two crew members of the US F-15E Strike Eagle, which was shot down over Iran, divulge their sources or face jail. The US president suggested that the leak had put one of the service members’ lives in danger.

From October 13 to 23, 2026, Italy is hosting NATO’s annual nuclear deterrence exercise Steadfast Noon. The exercise will take place at air bases in Aviano and Ghedi in northern Italy. Flight operations and training involving mock nuclear weapons will take place in designated airspace over the Tyrrhenian Sea and other areas under NATO jurisdiction in Southern and Western Europe. The purpose of these exercises is to prepare NATO aircraft for the potential deployment of US nuclear weapons stationed at European airbases. 

This year’s exercise boasts a record number of participants – 17 NATO countries, compared to 14 in 2025 and 13 in 2024. While the complete list of participating nations hasn’t been disclosed, it is confirmed that the US, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and Türkiye will take part. Romania and Poland will likely provide fighter support and ensure integration along NATO’s eastern flank. New NATO members – Sweden and Finland – are fully engaged in the training missions. Finland may host US nuclear weapons in the future and has already started acquiring F-35 carrier aircraft.

Notably, France does not participate in NATO’s nuclear planning group and is not involved in these exercises, likely due to its own air-delivered nuclear capabilities.

The exercise involves around 70 military aircraft and over 2,000 service personnel. The main focus is on dual-capable aircraft, which can carry both conventional and nuclear payloads. In Europe, this currently includes F-35A Lightning II multi-role fighters, German Tornado IDS strike aircraft, and F-16 multi-role fighters. Under the US Nuclear Sharing program, these European planes are equipped to carry US nuclear bombs. Additionally, Swedish JAS 39 Gripen jets will also be involved in the exercise, although these planes are not equipped to carry American nuclear bombs.

Strategic support for the tactical air units is provided by American B-52H bombers. Air-to-air refueling during the exercises over the Tyrrhenian and Mediterranean seas will be carried out by KC-135 Stratotanker and KC-767A aircraft. Coordination of aircraft operations will be managed by NATO’s E-3A Sentry AWACS aircraft. Logistic support will be provided by Airbus A400M military transport planes.

What types of nuclear munitions could be involved in the 2026 exercise? It is known that B61-series US thermonuclear tactical bombs are stored in Europe, including at Aviano Air Base. 

B61-3 and B61-4 bombs belong to the penultimate generation of nuclear bombs. These are free-fall (gravity) nuclear bombs. Their yield can be adjusted – from a minimum of 0.3 kilotons to a maximum of 45–50 kilotons in TNT equivalent – depending on the mission requirements set before takeoff.

The B61-12 represents the latest modification in the US arsenal. A particular feature of this model is the tail kit produced by Boeing, which transforms a conventional bomb into a guided precision weapon. The high level of precision allows for reduced explosive yield while maintaining destructive power against heavily fortified command centers and other critical targets. Additionally, lowering the yield significantly mitigates collateral radioactive contamination of the surrounding area. The B61-12 is gradually replacing older munitions in the American nuclear stockpile.

As previously mentioned, Exercise Steadfast Noon takes place regularly. However, given the current geopolitical landscape, any routine military activity takes on added significance and is viewed by observers through the lens of a potential East-West confrontation. On the one hand, NATO emphasizes the defensive nature of these exercises, and there is a relatively small number of participating aircraft – for example, only three German Tornado aircraft. On the other hand, the number of participating nations is steadily increasing, and many NATO countries now possess nuclear-capable aircraft, particularly F-35 fighters. While today, Finland may participate in these maneuvers more as a student and observer, Finnish F-35s could soon be ready to transport nuclear bombs. 

There’s a growing sense that this ‘train’ is headed in the wrong direction. And it’s unlikely that the growing number of ‘Chekhov’s guns’ will contribute to fostering lasting peace in Europe. Perhaps it would be wiser for Europe to focus on peaceful initiatives rather than militarization and the proliferation of potential nuclear platforms.

South Africa’s Constitutional Court has cleared 181 African National Congress (ANC) candidates to contest next month’s local elections, overturning their exclusion over the party’s failure to complete a final online nomination step.

The court upheld the ANC’s appeal against a September 16 Electoral Court ruling that had backed the Electoral Commission of SA’s decision to exclude the candidates in six municipalities. The Electoral Commission of SA, or IEC, rejected the nominations after the ANC failed to complete the final submission step on the commission’s online system before the 5pm deadline on August 28, despite having uploaded the candidates’ details and paid the required deposits.

The matter was heard on Monday by a bench led by Deputy Chief Justice Dunstan Mlambo, which included Justices Rammaka Mathopo, Nonkosi Mhlantla, Nambitha Dambuza-Mayosi, Leona Theron, Andre le Grange and Kate Savage, and Acting Justice Lister Nuku. During the argument, advocate Daniel Berger SC, for the ANC, said the “submit as final” button was a feature of the IEC’s software and not a requirement of the law. “It is not law, and it cannot be brought in through the back door as being incorporated somehow into the regulations,” Berger said.

Mathopo noted from the bench on Monday that his concern was not only the ANC’s case. ”My worry, it’s not this case itself, it’s the far-reaching implications that a judgment of this court would have, either for the ANC or for the IEC,” he said. ”If it’s for the IEC, for example, the message that will be conveyed would be absent clicking of a button, final submit, you are excluded.”

Advocate Terry Motau SC, for the IEC, told the court that the commission had checked its system and found no glitches, and that the ANC had left its nominations too late. ”It’s not only because a party decides not to contest, a party might have neglected its duties to use a system that was open since June 21 2016 and left it to the last moment and it missed the deadline,” Motau said.

Justice Kate Savage put it to Berger during the hearing that it was “quite extraordinary” the ANC had finalised its lists across the country but not in these six municipalities, and that there was no explanation other than gross negligence.

The DA, represented by advocate Michael Bishop SC, opposed the ANC’s appeal and backed the IEC.

First published by IOL

Eight US states have sued OpenAI, accusing its ChatGPT chatbot of encouraging self-harm and violence, including among children, and misleading the public about its safety.

The states allege that ChatGPT is designed to be excessively agreeable and engaging, gaining users’ trust while reinforcing delusions, encouraging dangerous behavior, and even helping plan mass shootings.

“OpenAI claims ChatGPT is safe while it’s giving dangerous medical advice, encouraging people to hurt others, and coaching people to commit suicide – all while pretending to be their fake friend,” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said.

Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho, and Montana filed separate lawsuits in state courts on Wednesday. The complaints accuse the company of violating consumer protection laws and creating a public nuisance.

The states seek financial penalties, damages, and changes to ChatGPT. They also want OpenAI barred from developing self-improving AI models unless it can demonstrate that those systems are aligned with human values.

OpenAI spokesman Drew Pusateri defended the company’s age-specific protections, parental controls, and break reminders, saying that “while no system can be perfect, we’ll continue to work with experts to inform our work and build additional safeguards.”

The subpoenas reportedly exceed 50 pages each and cover security incidents, safeguards, marketing materials, and privacy policies. The regulator also plans to compel senior AI executives to testify. Neither the companies nor the FTC immediately responded to Reuters’ requests for comment.

OpenAI already faces numerous lawsuits alleging that ChatGPT contributed to suicides, delusions, and violence. Families affected by February’s Tumbler Ridge school shooting in Canada accuse the company of failing to alert police about the shooter’s violent conversations. OpenAI has acknowledged that it considered alerting police but ultimately did not do so before the attack.

Scrutiny has also intensified over AI agents acting outside their intended instructions. Anthropic recently disclosed that its models submitted a false homicide tip to police and incomplete visa applications, while OpenAI investigated its agents accessing outside systems without authorization during testing.

The Ministry of Education building has been set ablaze in Tirana. The Albanian capital is reeling from a third consecutive day of student-led mass protests.

The protests which began in the country this week were reportedly sparked by the ongoing unrest in France and were initially aimed at rising education costs, the poor condition of educational facilities, and widespread corruption.

The unrest promptly grew political and violent, and the protesters are now demanding the departure of socialist Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama as well as the leader of the country’s democratic opposition, Sali Berisha. The two have dominated Albania’s political landscape for about four decades, and both have repeatedly faced allegations of corruption.

The unrest comes on top of months of anti-government protests in Albania, which have mainly revolved around a major luxury tourism development project linked to US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The movement, which has become known as the ‘Flamingo Revolution,’ has been condemned by the prime minister as part of a “hybrid war” waged by the “enemies of Israel and Albania.”

On Wednesday, a large crowd of protesters breached the premises of the Education Ministry, setting the building on fire. Footage from the scene shows the fence of the compound damaged, with a large group of protesters watching black smoke billowing out of the windows.

Violent protests continue in Tirana, while the Ministry of Education building has caught fire.Citizens are demanding the resignation of PM Rama & the removal of opposition leader Berisha-two strongmen who have dominated Albania for nearly 40 years with abuse & massive corruption https://t.co/OXEJbCVwF0 pic.twitter.com/wfE4N6SM8d

— Tirana Report (@Tirana_Report) October 14, 2026

The protesters have been seen destroying surveillance cameras across Tirana. They justified their actions by claiming the companies operating them have been using “Israeli spyware.”

📌 Student protesters in Albania have destroyed surveillance cameras, accusing companies of allegedly using Israeli spyware

The protesters are demanding better conditions for young people and opposing what they describe as the growing influence of the “Kushner clan” in the… pic.twitter.com/IcdNY5EJ1K

— Context 360 (@NewsContext360) October 15, 2026

Numerous videos circulating online show riot police brawling with protesters in the streets, unleashing batons, tear gas, and water cannons in an attempt to quell the unrest. A large column of military trucks has been reported entering the capital, potentially indicating the government opted to deploy soldiers onto the streets.

🚨🇦🇱 BREAKING: COLUMNS OF MILITARY TRUCKS ENTER TIRANA, ALBANIA’S CAPITAL Columns of military trucks have reportedly entered Tirana as tensions continue amid ongoing student protests and wider anti-government demonstrations. https://t.co/JMIgO9GXnQ

— Anonymous TV 🇺🇦 (@YourAnonTV) October 15, 2026

The violence follows widespread rioting across the capital on Wednesday, when groups of protesters attacked government buildings, banks, and businesses. At least 89 people, including 61 police, were injured throughout the day, according to the Albanian Health Ministry.

The push for deeper economic engagement between India and Russia is at the heart of the second Russia-India TIME Business Forum that opened in Kazan on Thursday.

The results of the effort, kickstarted when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited New Delhi in December, are already visible in Kazan, capital of the Republic of Tatarstan. India’s trade with the Russian region is surging, and exceeded $1.09 billion in the first six months of the year – a more than ninefold rise from the same period a year ago. The figure also surpasses the roughly $400 million recorded for all of 2025, according to regional authorities.

Both countries are seeking to expand joint manufacturing and investment projects by capitalizing on this momentum.

India’s ambassador to Russia, Vinay Kumar, said relations with the Russian region have been on a positive trajectory since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kazan for the BRICS summit in 2024. He noted the growing trade, the higher number of Indian students and businesses in the region, and the opening of an Indian consulate in Kazan.

“Tatarstan offers opportunities in trade and investment,” Kumar said, adding “mutuality of interest between India and Tatarstan to take the relationship forward is giving an impetus not only to regional ties but also India-Russia relations.”

Following negotiations at the INNOPROM.India exhibition in New Delhi last month, Tatarstan’s investment agency signed cooperation agreements with Indian companies working in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals.

The discussions mark a shift “from general declarations to substantive negotiations” on production and joint ventures, Tatarstan Investment Development Agency chief Taliya Minullina said ahead of the forum.

Indian companies could also supply electronic components to Tatarstan’s manufacturers, while Indian cloud provider Bharat AI Cloud has announced plans to open an office in Kazan.

“Our relationship goes deep into history, where our roots intersect,” Lerner said. “It’s not surprising. Trade routes passed through Tatarstan.”

The event has a strong cultural component this year. Alongside an Indian film festival and a musical project titled ‘Purana Symphony’, Tatarstan’s renowned craftsmen are presenting their wares.

“What is very important is that some of them saw similarities with their culture,” Lerner said.

The first TIME forum last year resulted in 19 cooperation agreements involving businesses, educational institutions, and regional authorities.

Workforce cooperation also expanded. Tatarstan issued 978 work permits to Indian nationals during the first eight months of 2026, compared with 665 throughout last year. Earlier this month, Putin signed off on an agreement with India on temporary employment, as Russian companies seek more workers in manufacturing and other industries.

The US has proposed unfreezing billions of euros in Russian assets held in the EU to give impetus to Ukraine peace talks, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing sources. Moscow has long described the freezing of its assets as “theft” while warning of significant retaliation if the funds are seized.

The proposal was raised last week during negotiations in Miami involving President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and officials from Ukraine, France, Germany, Britain, the EU, and NATO, four people familiar with the matter told the paper.

Washington reportedly floated several mechanisms for releasing the frozen funds as part of a comprehensive peace deal, including transferring some of them into a special-purpose vehicle overseen by the US. However, the exact arrangements have not been finalized, with numerous ideas about how the funds could be used being discussed, the FT said.

Kiev’s European backers, however, rejected the American initiative, refusing to surrender control over the assets, with the move requiring the unanimous approval of all 27 EU members, according to the newspaper. The proposal also reportedly “startled” European delegations and Kiev, with some wondering about Washington’s intentions.

Publicly, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ruled out any compromises on Russian assets, insisting that “they should remain frozen in Europe. This is our business and we are deciding over it.” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski was even more blunt, saying that any returning of the funds to Russia could only occur “over our dead bodies.”

While EU countries managed to agree on using proceeds from the funds to support Ukraine, the proposal to confiscate them outright has met fierce resistance amid concerns that the move would undermine the bloc’s business reputation and trigger legal retaliation from Moscow.

Commenting on the FT article, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had no information about the purported American initiative. However, he stressed that Russia would make every effort to recover the “stolen assets,” including legal action, court proceedings, and the prosecution of those responsible.

The FT report comes after Trump last week announced an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow additional Russian diesel exports to alleviate the pressure on American and global markets.

In addition, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing sources, that Washington is also considering relaxing sanctions on some vessels belonging to what Western media call a Russian “shadow fleet” used to transport Russian oil.

The report also comes amid an escalating Trump-Zelensky feud, with the US president blaming Kiev’s strikes on Russian oil refineries for soaring fuel prices and calling for Ukraine to get a “new president.” Zelensky, in turn, said he felt betrayed by Trump over the Russian diesel deal and restrictions on Ukraine’s access to Starlink.

Russia has called for the views of all major political forces in Libya to be taken into account in efforts to resolve the country’s prolonged political crisis, warning that excluding influential institutions could undermine long-term stability.

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia expressed Moscow’s support for the UN-backed roadmap aimed at ending Libya’s political deadlock, including plans to hold nationwide elections within two years. However, he noted that a recent agreement reached through UN-mediated talks has received mixed reactions from political groups that were not involved in the negotiations.

“We believe that it would be, at the very least, counterproductive to sideline the country’s influential institutions in view of the country’s long-term political stability,” Nebenzia said. “We understand that sometimes it can be quite challenging to work with Libyan institutions. However, that is no reason to ignore their opinion.”

“As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia will be prepared to support whatever is endorsed by Libya’s leading political forces,” Nebenzia pointed out.

Libya has been split between rival administrations since the NATO-backed uprising that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and plunged the country into turmoil. The western part is controlled by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah’s administration, while a rival government in the east is backed by the military commander Khalifa Haftar.

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) introduced a new political roadmap in August 2025, focusing on establishing an electoral framework. On August 30, representatives of the opposing sides agreed to a UN-backed roadmap calling for presidential and parliamentary elections within two years under a unified executive authority.

Vladimir Zelensky is directly challenging US President Donald Trump through his outright refusal to acknowledge or accept a deal aimed at easing the global diesel shortage, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

Trump reached the agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday after days of repeated US requests to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries being ignored by Zelensky. Washington subsequently eased sanctions on Russian diesel exports until April 2027, while Moscow pledged substantial fuel deliveries to help alleviate global shortages.

Speaking to reporters following a regional summit in Baku, Azerbaijan on Thursday, Lavrov said Moscow had backed the agreement proposed by Trump, while Zelensky continued to seek US weapons to carry out strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, including oil refineries.

“The deal was proposed, and we supported it,” Lavrov said, accusing Zelensky of instead demanding more missiles for US-made Patriot systems to continue striking Russian energy facilities, including oil refineries.

“This is a direct and blatant challenge to President Trump,” Lavrov said.

Zelensky criticized the agreement as a “weak decision,” lamenting that it would provide Russia with additional revenue. He also accused Trump of “betrayal,” blamed the global energy shortage on the US war on Iran, and condemned the withdrawal of American intelligence support as “dangerous.” 

Trump hit back, accusing the Ukrainian leader of creating problems for the global economy and suggesting that Ukraine needed a new president.

However, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak said on Wednesday that Ukrainian drones had targeted two oil refineries: in Ryazan and Saratov Regions.

Overnight, a UAV attack sparked a fire at an oil refinery in Ryazan Region, according to local authorities.

Moscow has denounced the attacks as acts of terrorism and vowed to intensify strikes on Ukrainian military-related facilities, including drone and missile warehouses, while maintaining that it never targets civilians.

The Kremlin said the renewed attacks ran counter to Washington’s efforts to broker peace. Moscow has repeatedly maintained that it seeks a lasting settlement of the Ukraine conflict rather than a temporary truce that would allow Kiev to regroup and rearm.

Weapons supplied to Ukraine from US military stocks have been found in the possession of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a senior Russian diplomat has said, citing markings linking them to deliveries to Kiev.

Yulia Zhdanova, head of Russia’s delegation to the Vienna Negotiations on Military Security and Arms Control, made the statement on Wednesday at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Forum for Security Co-operation.

Sudanese troops recovered MK19 automatic grenade launchers, M72 anti-tank weapons, and Swedish-made AT4 launchers during an operation near Bara, she said, according to TASS. “A preliminary examination of the markings revealed that these weapons were donated to the Ukrainian Armed Forces in December 2024 from US military stock,” Zhdanova said.

Sudan’s army and the RSF have been at war since April 2023, forcing millions from their homes and exposing civilians to bombardment, hunger, and widespread abuses. In June last year, Sudanese Foreign Ministry official Muhammad Al-Sirr told RT that Ukraine was supplying drones to the paramilitary forces at very low prices and helping its fighters use the technology to strike Sudanese infrastructure.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that Western weapons supplied to Kiev are reaching armed groups in Africa through the black market. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova raised the alarm as early as 2022, warning that Stinger missiles, Javelin anti-tank systems, and grenade launchers could enter illicit trading networks worldwide.

Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso jointly appealed to the UN Security Council in August 2024, accusing Ukraine of supporting international terrorism following a deadly ambush on Malian forces near Tinzaouaten. Mali severed diplomatic ties with Kiev after Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andrey Yusov said rebels received information enabling the ambush.

Last week, AFP reported that sources within the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a Tuareg-led separatist rebel coalition fighting Mali’s government, acknowledged receiving Ukrainian training, including instruction in operating drones.

At least three people have been killed as torrential rains unleashed devastating floods across Istanbul, submerging streets, sweeping away vehicles and bringing much of Türkiye’s largest city to a standstill.

The storm battered the city overnight on Wednesday, flooding residential neighborhoods, businesses, and major roads on both the European and Asian sides. Schools were closed, public transport was disrupted, and authorities urged residents to remain indoors as further rainfall was forecast.

The downpour, described by local officials as the worst in decades, has triggered a massive emergency response, with thousands evacuated and dozens of flights diverted.

Reporting from the flooded streets of Istanbul on Thursday, RT correspondent Yasin Ekin said the scale of destruction was still being assessed, with emergency crews working to rescue stranded residents and clear debris.

İstanbul Sarıyer Ayazağa mahallesi korkunç görüntüler.. #yağmur https://t.co/zeCuRDGX4Q

— Zeki Bahçe (@zekibahce) October 14, 2026

Istanbul Governor Davut Gul described the rainfall as the heaviest in 84 years, according to Ekin, with some areas receiving up to 270 millimeters of precipitation.

The correspondent illustrated the extraordinary volume of water, explaining that such rainfall would amount to roughly 27 metric tons of water falling on an area of 100 square meters.

The flooding also reportedly forced a tanker carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) aground near the Sariyer district along the Bosphorus Strait.

The death toll rose to three on Thursday after another body was discovered in the Kagithane district, according to local media. Earlier fatalities included a 14-year-old electrocuted after stepping into a flooded puddle in Fatih and a 34-year-old who suffered a fatal head injury while attempting to cross a flooded road in Sariyer.

Sarıyer'de sel sularının geldiği korkunç anlar ortaya çıktı. https://t.co/9fkKaYkY5i

— Haber Report (@HaberReport) October 15, 2026

Footage from the district shows a massive surge of floodwater sweeping over buildings before cascading into the streets below.

Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said more than 2,700 stranded people had been evacuated. Authorities also reported thousands of emergency calls, dozens of landslides, and widespread damage to infrastructure.

Air traffic was severely disrupted, with 43 flights diverted from Istanbul Airport, while operations at Sabiha Gokcen Airport were temporarily suspended. Schools were closed across six provinces, and restrictions were imposed on motorcycles and scooters.

Istanbul’s geography and urban development have aggravated the disaster, with many residential and commercial areas built along former streambeds and valleys where floodwaters naturally accumulate. The combination of exceptionally heavy rainfall and construction in flood-prone areas left entire neighborhoods vulnerable.

Emergency workers continued clearing flooded streets on Thursday as authorities warned that further downpours could threaten already devastated districts.

The Russian Navy has successfully conducted a live-fire exercise in the Pacific, using a nuclear-powered submarine to strike sea and land targets with cruise missiles.

The Yasen M-class attack submarine Novosibirsk launched the weapons while submerged during a scheduled drill, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday.

According to the report, an Onyx cruise missile struck a simulated enemy warship at a distance of 170 km.

A Kalibr cruise missile was used to hit a land target at the Kura testing range on Kamchatka Peninsula, more than 1,200 km from the launch position.

The 130-meter-long Novosibirsk is the first submarine of the upgraded Yasen-M class to be built in series production.

Construction began in 2013, and the vessel was launched in 2019. It joined Russia’s Pacific Fleet in 2022 alongside the Knyaz Oleg nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.

The Pentagon is developing plans to use the largest conventional bomb in the US arsenal in its war on Iran, CNN has reported, citing multiple sources in US President Donald Trump’s administration.

If approved, the strike would mark only the second combat use of the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or MOAB, following its deployment in Afghanistan in 2017 during Trump’s first term.

According to CNN, such an operation would primarily serve as “psychological warfare” against Iranian forces while potentially boosting domestic support for the Trump administration. Sources suggested the weapon, nicknamed the “mother of all bombs,” could be dropped ahead of the US midterm elections in early November.

The MOAB is a massive 9,800 kg (21,600-pound) airburst munition designed to devastate a large area and intimidate enemy forces witnessing the explosion. While capable of destroying relatively unfortified targets, it is not a penetrating “bunker-buster” designed to destroy deeply buried installations, such as those used by Iran for critical military infrastructure.

“The MOAB is a massive information operation type weapon that is great for huge area clearance but not much else,” one of CNN’s sources said.

“POTUS has unfortunately put himself in a situation where he is almost compelled to do something,” the official added. With the president’s options limited, “you have to look at psychological effects for which the MOAB is well-equipped.”

In 2017, the US dropped a MOAB on a tunnel complex in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province, targeting militants identified by American officials as members of ISIS-K, a local offshoot of the now-defunct Islamic State terrorist group. Initial reports put the death toll at 36.

A series of recent US media reports has suggested that military officials are preparing options for renewed large-scale attacks on Iran, which would potentially be timed shortly before or after the midterm elections.

Meanwhile, Tehran retains the ability to threaten commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, putting economic pressure on Washington. Iran could also launch large-scale attacks against strategic economic targets in US-allied Gulf states if it faces an imminent defeat.

Russia and India have launched joint tri-service military exercise Indra-2026 involving army units, warships, and air force assets.

The bilateral military maneuvers are aimed at improving coordination and operational compatibility between forces of the two countries.

The opening ceremony for the land component was held at a Central Military District training ground in the Chelyabinsk Region on Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The land phase of the exercise will run until October 23, with the two sides practicing command and control and carrying out a simulated joint operation against illegal armed groups. The Russian contingent will be made up primarily of troops from the 90th Guards Tank Division. 

In Vladivostok, the opening ceremony for the naval component was attended by the crews of the Russian corvette Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov and the Indian Navy frigate INS Sahyadri, which arrived in the Russian Pacific port several days earlier.

Russian and Indian officials said the exercise will contribute to stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

One segment will also include joint action against attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned boats.

The air component will see Russian and Indian Air Force crews flying Su-30SM fighter aircraft fly drills against small low-flying targets, simulate strikes on carriers using short- and medium-range airborne weapons, and air combat practice at low and medium altitudes.

Crews flying Mi-8 helicopters will also practice inserting special forces and conducting search-and-rescue missions in difficult terrain.

A Swedish national has been detained in Russia, accused of entering the country to carry out sabotage and terrorist attacks against military facilities, the Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Thursday.

The man was detained in Sebezh District, Pskov Region, after illegally crossing the border from a neighboring country, the agency said. He allegedly intended to use a declared desire to join the Russian armed forces as cover for his mission.

In footage released by the FSB, he identified himself as Freddy Mikael Stalkrantz Lindholm, a 35-year-old from Stockholm. He said he signed a contract with Ukraine’s infamous neo-Nazi Aidar unit in Ternopol and underwent FPV drone training, also instructing others because of his previous experience.

“They used me because they wanted me to make terrorist attacks and diversion in Russia,” he said, referring to his Ukrainian military commanders.

The agency also released Ukrainian military documents bearing his name, including an appointment order assigning him to a drone command position in May, pay records, and a June discharge order stating that he failed his probationary period.

An earlier recruitment interview published on the International Legion’s Instagram account shows Lindholm describing how he decided to join the Ukrainian armed forces. Discussing his mental preparation for the deployment, he described taking a life as “the easy part,” but said he also had to prepare himself to give his own.

Investigators have opened a criminal case for illegal border crossing and are considering additional charges connected to terrorist activity and mercenary service.

The Swedish Foreign Ministry told Reuters it was aware of reports of the detention but was not currently involved in the case. Ukraine did not immediately comment.

At least 20,000 foreign mercenaries have fought for Kiev since 2022, Russian diplomat Yulia Zhdanova told the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation on Wednesday, noting that most have come from the US, UK, Canada, and Georgia.

Moscow regards foreigners fighting for Kiev as mercenaries and has repeatedly warned that they are not entitled to prisoner-of-war protections under the Geneva Conventions. The Russian authorities have prosecuted hundreds, many in absentia.

On September 7, a Jamaican delegation delivered an unprecedented legal petition to London – directly to the Privy Council, a royal advisory body functioning as a court for issues related to the British Empire and Commonwealth realms.

In a historical irony, the petition was addressed to Charles III in his capacity as King of Jamaica, a role he still holds. The filing demands that the British Crown answer the call of its subjects in Jamaica, asking him, as their head of state and the inheritor of one of history’s darkest chapters, to formally define the legality of slave trade and his royal family’s role in it.

Long before this, in March 2022, the King’s elder son and heir, William the Prince of Wales, had also found himself cornered while touring the Caribbean, including Jamaica. While in the capital Kingston, he was greeted by protesters demanding accountability. He expressed his “profound sorrow” for Britain’s role in the slave trade, admitting that the atrocity will “forever stain our history.”

While he was still Crown Prince, King Charles III had already experienced his share of being chased by the same questions. In June 2022, while attending another Commonwealth summit in Kigali, Rwanda, he spoke openly about the “most painful period of our history,” stating that he could not describe the depths of his “personal sorrow” at the suffering caused by the slave trade and its enduring impact.

Before King Charles inherited the crown, his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, faced her own share of reckoning with the ghosts of empire. During her state visit to India in October 1997, the Queen faced intense controversy and calls for accountability when she visited the site of the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, ultimately stopping short of a formal apology while navigating a volatile political reception. Throughout her seven-decade reign, particularly during later milestones like her Diamond and Platinum Jubilees, her visits to former colonies or Commonwealth summits were increasingly overshadowed by organized protests demanding structural apologies and financial amends for Britain’s imperial history. Most notably, as republican movements gained ground in realms like the Caribbean, activists and academics continually deflected from her personal image as a “constitutional monarch” to challenge the enduring institutional wealth accumulated on the backs of enslaved ancestors.

It is worth noting that the Royal Archives are housed in Windsor Castle and managed separately from the UK National Archives with special arrangements for access. Clearly, the royal family retains extraordinary control over what the world can find out about its history of human trafficking, enslavement, and wealth theft across continents.

Take the Imperial State Crown itself, that glittering emblem of power. It is set with stones stolen from at least two continents, among them a diamond looted during the colonial era. So, the evidence is not only in the archives but on the monarch’s head. Worn by Charles as he left Westminster Abbey after his coronation in 2023, the crown carries the Cullinan II diamond, cut from the largest gem-quality diamond ever found, discovered in South Africa in 1905 and later given to King Edward VII by the colonial government while the territory was under British rule.

The Sovereign’s Sceptre holds the even larger Cullinan I, and some South Africans called for its return in the days before Charles III was coronated. Elsewhere in the Crown Jewels, the Koh-i-Noor was forcibly surrendered to Queen Victoria, Charles III’s great-great-grandmother, by Duleep Singh, a boy of ten, proclaimed as Maharaja of the Sikh Empire as a child. Regardless of the legal issues surrounding this “gift” or “treaty,” these were objects acquired under the shadow of imperial power, and the Crown has so far shown no appetite to discuss returning them.

The scale of the problem becomes even clearer when one considers what lies beyond the Crown Jewels in Britain’s museums. During a visit to India in 2010, then-Prime Minister David Cameron was asked about returning the Koh-i-Noor diamond. His response was revealing: “If you say yes to one you suddenly find the British Museum would be empty.” He rejected the idea of returning it, saying it would “have to stay put.”

What makes this ongoing reckoning different is that former colonies are no longer treating these grievances as isolated historical footnotes or polite talking points during diplomatic summits. Instead, African and Caribbean states, most of which were British colonies, have synchronized their political diplomatic and legal strategies into a coordinated structural challenge, moving from moral appeals to hard international law. This momentum crystallized at the United Nations General Assembly, where African and Caribbean nations spearheaded a landmark resolution classifying the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans as the gravest crime against humanity, establishing that historical atrocities generate continuing legal obligations.

Reinforced by continental milestones such as the African Union’s declaration centering reparations, amplified by frameworks like the Algiers Declaration, and spearheaded diplomatically by nations like Ghana, this coalition has upended traditional diplomatic containment. By weaponizing multilateral platforms, regional summits, and formal legal routes like the Privy Council petition, these nations are dismantling the monarchy’s decades-old strategy of deflection, exposing an imperial institution whose modern wealth remains directly tethered to an unreckoned past.

The British Crown’s desperate balancing act can no longer convince anybody let alone entire nations who were victimized. The monarchy can no longer hide behind the polite fiction that colonialism and the slave trade are closed chapters safely confined to history textbooks. When legal challenges bypass royal protocol to land directly on the doorstep of the Privy Council, and when international bodies codify chattel slavery as a continuing crime against humanity, the illusion of untouchability begins to crack.

At least 28 children and a teacher were killed when the roof of a private school collapsed during lessons in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar on Thursday. More than 50 others were injured, some critically.

The roof of an upper floor at the three-story Al-Khair School gave way, bringing down the ceilings of classrooms below. Students were attending lessons when the structure collapsed, trapping children and teachers beneath the rubble.

Rescue workers, assisted by police and local residents, pulled children from the debris and rushed the injured to Lady Reading Hospital, where an emergency was declared. The rescue operation concluded several hours later, with officials confirming that everyone trapped had been recovered.

A local resident, Samiullah Khan, helped rescue three young girls from the wreckage. His son, who attended the school, survived after stepping outside his classroom for a drink of water shortly before the collapse, he told the newspaper Dawn.

Look at the site of the collapsed school building in Peshawar, where all three floors have crumbled into rubble. Authorities say substandard construction materials were the main cause of the collapse. #PeshawarTragedy #SchoolTragedy #Pakistan https://t.co/IK5De81joV

— Sajjad Tarakzai (@SajjadTarakzai) October 15, 2026

Police have arrested the school’s owner as the authorities investigate the cause of the collapse. Peshawar police chief Mian Saeed Ahmed said the building was structurally weak and that additional construction had placed excessive weight on the roof. The provincial government has formed an inquiry committee.

A blaze has occurred at a Starlink satellite internet service facility near Bulgaria’s capital Sofia, Bulgarian Prime Minister Roumen Radev has announced.

In September a fire was reported at a data-relay station in Poland used by SpaceX, which serviced the Ukrainian military. Ukraine has relied heavily on Starlink during the conflict with Russia for battlefield communications and controlling drones.

Earlier this week, an MP for the opposition Democratic Bulgaria coalition, Ivaylo Mirchev, published a video he claimed shows masked men setting alight a facility used by Starlink outside Sofia, destroying 11 of its 17 antennas. 

🚨 Two masked men reportedly set fire to 11 of 17 antennas linked to SpaceX's Starlink network near Sofia, Bulgaria. via WarSurv https://t.co/RgvLK4sasG

— Post Open Source (@CocoPostel) October 14, 2026

Radev confirmed the incident to the Bulgarian parliament on Wednesday, but declined to say if it was a result of an arson attack.

“An investigation is underway. Just a little more patience, and there will be a result,” the prime minister said, urging other government officials against disclosing any details of the probe until it’s concluded. “If the specific findings are revealed, we will not achieve the outcome we are aiming for,” he added.

However, Democratic Bulgaria MP Bozhidar Bozhanov wasted no time waiting for the results of the investigation of the blaze to lash out at Moscow. “Why are you afraid to name Russia? Why don’t you act like Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk,” he asked Radev.

The prime minister responded by saying that Bozhanov apparently has “a crystal ball and therefore knows who the perpetrator is.”

Tusk previously called the fire at Wola Krobowska outside Warsaw last month “another act of hybrid warfare.” Polish special services coordinator Tomasz Siemoniak said this week that there was “no doubt that Russian intelligence services are behind this act of sabotage,” but provided no proof to the accusations. Two Turkish nationals have been arrested in Germany in connection with the incident.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian officials and frontline commanders complained that Starlink terminals had suddenly stopped working when drones flew faster than 100 mph, disrupting some combat missions. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk denied giving any instructions to restrict Kiev’s access to the service, saying that doing so is the prerogative of the American military and US President Donald Trump personally.

The problems occurred as Trump is working to increase pressure on Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, which he blames for surging global energy prices.

Last month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that allowing Starlink to be used to facilitate Ukrainian strikes deep into Russian territory would be “a very harmful, potentially dangerous and misconceived step.” Moscow has all the means to respond to such actions, he warned.

Videos online have captured a fire that broke out at an oil refinery in Russia’s Ryazan Region following a major overnight Ukrainian drone raid.

The Russian Defense Ministry said air defenses and military aircraft shot down four Flamingo cruise missiles and 69 fixed-wing drones between 4 AM and 7 AM local time on Thursday. The blaze was caused by the debris of a fallen UAV, it added. Ryazan Region lies less than 200 kilometers (124 miles) southeast of Moscow.

The attack came as Ukraine continued its strikes on Russian oil infrastructure for a second consecutive day, with two oil refineries – in Ryazan and Saratov Regions – being targeted by UAVs on Wednesday, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak.

The Russian military has warned that it will respond in kind to the strikes by Ukraine. Novak earlier said that Kiev had shown no signs of moving towards an energy truce, which US President Donald Trump is trying to broker.

On Thursday, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky said Kiev will resume attacks on Russian oil refineries after a three-day pause he introduced under pressure from Trump.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said later in the day that “in fact, there was no moratorium on the part of Ukraine. Strikes on our oil refineries and energy facilities continued throughout this whole period. Therefore, there is nothing new here.”

Kenya has confirmed a second case of Ebola, with a family member of the country’s first patient testing positive for the virus, the Health Ministry announced on Wednesday. The latest infection brings the total number of confirmed cases to two, including one death.

The new patient, a 39-year-old man, had already been placed in quarantine after being identified as a close contact of the first case. He developed symptoms on Tuesday, including fever, fatigue and joint pain, and was subsequently tested for the virus. The man has been transferred to a designated treatment facility, where he is receiving supportive care.

Health authorities said the two cases are linked and there is currently no evidence that the virus has spread into the wider community.

The ministry has identified 128 people who came into contact with the first patient, of whom 113 had been traced as of Tuesday. Among them, 108 are undergoing quarantine in Kenya, with daily health checks over a 21-day period. Another five contacts are outside the country.

Kenya has also banned the repatriation of bodies of people who died from Ebola abroad under new public health regulations introduced on Monday. The rules also impose strict requirements for handling and burying the bodies of Ebola victims to prevent further transmission of the virus.

Russia is in discussions with Bangladesh to build a new phase of high-capacity units at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant near Dhaka, Rosatom CEO Aleksey Likhachev said on the sidelines of the Russian Energy Week forum.

Rooppur, built in collaboration with state-owned Rosatom, is the South Asian country’s first nuclear plant. Its first unit is on track to be connected to the national power grid by the end of November.

”We are primarily talking about a possible additional phase of large units,” Likhachev told reporters. “Although our Bangladeshi friends are also discussing small-capacity units and a research reactor with us, the main trend for future development, in my view, is increasing the capacity of the Rooppur NPP.”

He said Bangladesh has asked for proposals from Rosatom for “small nuclear power plants and floating nuclear power plants.”

Rosatom expects to begin commissioning the second unit of the Rooppur plant next year, Likhachev said. The first unit attained criticality – where a self-sustaining chain reaction occurs – on Sunday.

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.

Niger has condemned France’s expulsion of two embassy security officers and their families, including a man who the authorities said was left paraplegic after being stabbed during a mission carried out with French forces more than a decade ago.

Justice Minister Alio Daouda described the decision as a “serious and unacceptable act of ingratitude” in a government statement broadcast on national television on Tuesday. He accused Paris of circumventing its own courts to remove one of the men.

The officer, Abdoul-Razak Ibrahim Moussa Toro, was stabbed in the spine during a mission in 2014 in Diffa, southeastern Niger, and evacuated to France for treatment, according to the statement. The minister said French partners financed the operation and provided fuel, logistics, and allowances.

“This is how France thanks those who served alongside it,” Daouda said. “It solicits men, recruits them and finances them. Then, when they fall, it throws them out with their families,” he added.

Six days later, the Versailles Administrative Court annulled the original departure order and instructed the French Foreign Ministry to reconsider his situation, according to Daouda. “This is not an administrative error. It is a deliberate violation of the rule of law,” he said.

A French diplomatic source told AFP that the two men were intelligence agents whose presence was no longer justified because bilateral cooperation had ended. Le Monde reported, citing a Nigerien source, that one was suspected of monitoring opposition figures in France. The French Foreign Ministry has yet to publicly comment.

In August 2023, Niamey ordered French Ambassador Sylvain Itte to leave amid a standoff over France’s refusal to recognize the military leadership.

Last month, Niger accused France of inciting an August 29 mutiny in which soldiers attacked Niamey’s international airport, the adjoining Air Base 101, and the presidential palace. The authorities said loyalist forces backed by Russia’s Africa Corps regained control of the base. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot rejected the allegations as “pure fantasies.”

Ukraine will never repay the billions of euros lent to it by the EU to keep it afloat in the conflict with Russia, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said. Slovakia is refusing to partake in another massive financing package for Kiev.

Speaking in Brussels on Wednesday, Fico noted that the existing €90 billion ($101 billion) EU loan package had already proved insufficient. The sum was intended to meet Ukraine’s needs in 2026–2027, with €60 billion allocated to the military and €30 billion to budget support. Under the agreement, Ukraine is required to repay the loan only after receiving Russian reparations – something that Moscow has categorically ruled out.

Fico said that the EU is now considering another loan, stressing that while Slovakia would not prevent other EU countries from providing additional funding, it would seek an opt-out for itself.

Under Fico, Slovakia has remained skeptical of Ukraine assistance as well as the country’s push to join NATO, and has halted government weapons shipments while consistently calling for peace talks.

Fico’s remarks come after Ukraine’s revelation in August of an unexpected $27 billion defense funding shortfall, reportedly catching European officials off guard. Many are said to doubt whether Kiev is overstating its needs.

Brussels refused to validate the figure, subsequently rejecting Kiev’s request to bring forward funding earmarked for 2027. Instead, it is demanding progress on reforms – including those meant to tackle rampant corruption – to unlock assistance already available.

Earlier this month, Vladimir Zelensky announced that Ukraine would be able to cover its budget deficit through austerity measures and spending reallocations. A Ukrainian government source told RBC-Ukraine that some funding would be found by cutting weapons expenditures. Kiev’s European backers had also agreed to work toward arranging for weapons production while shifting payments into January, the outlet reported.

The Estonian government reportedly plans to seek neighboring Latvia’s cooperation in shutting down a gas pipeline that serves as a backup supply route to Kaliningrad Region, the Russian exclave that Western officials recently called a strategic vulnerability for Moscow.

The government of Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal was surprised to learn that local operator Elering was maintaining the pipeline in working condition, Eesti Ekspress reported on Wednesday. Tallinn now intends to work with Riga to close the route, the outlet said.

The Estonian section of the pipeline consists of two parallel pipes, each 70 centimeters in diameter, running just 22 km through Voru County in the southeast of the country. The connection is clearly marked on a pipeline map published on Elering’s website. According to Eesti Ekspress, it was last used in fall 2024.

Officials in several NATO members, including Estonia, have recently described Kaliningrad Region as a Russian vulnerability due to its geographic position. Moscow has warned that any escalation where the US-led military bloc threatened Russia’s territorial integrity, including that of its westernmost region, could result in a nuclear war.

Kaliningrad’s principal overland gas supply route is the Minsk-Vilnius-Kaunas-Kaliningrad pipeline, which first entered service in 1985 and has an annual capacity of 2.5 billion cubic meters. Russia’s Gazprom renewed its transit agreement with Lithuania’s Amber Grid in 2025, securing the arrangement through the end of 2030.

Nevertheless, Moscow has long considered the Baltic states unreliable transit partners, fearing they could cut off supplies for political reasons. In 2019, Gazprom commissioned an LNG receiving terminal near Kaliningrad, complementing the region’s underground gas storage facilities. The maritime supply system uses the Marshal Vasilevskiy, an LNG carrier equipped to regasify its cargo.

Oman overtook the US as India’s largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in September, as disruptions to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz reshaped New Delhi’s gas imports.

Overall, India’s LNG purchases were 7% higher than a year earlier despite a sharp decline in supplies from Qatar, according to commodity analytics firm Kpler.

India imported around 590,000 tons of LNG from Oman during the month, compared with 340,000 tons from the US, which had been its largest supplier in August. Nigeria emerged as the second-largest supplier, followed by the US and the UAE.

The decline in American shipments to India came as European buyers stepped up purchases ahead of winter, attracting LNG cargoes that might otherwise have gone to Asia. More than half of US LNG exports went to Europe in September, according to financial data provider LSEG, cited by Reuters.

The shift also reflects India’s efforts to secure supplies outside the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has been severely disrupted since the US-Israeli war with Iran began in February. Unlike Qatar and the UAE, Oman’s LNG exports do not pass through the strait.

Qatar, previously India’s largest LNG supplier, saw its September shipments fall nearly 90% year-on-year. Iranian attacks on its Ras Laffan energy complex in March damaged production facilities, while restrictions on shipping continue to limit deliveries.

A blaze has broken out at an oil refinery in Russia’s Ryazan Region as a result of a major overnight Ukrainian drone attack, local governor Pavel Malkov has written on Telegram.

In recent days, Kiev has continued its strikes on Russian energy infrastructure despite US President Donald Trump’s attempts to broker an “energy truce.”

A warehouse and several vehicles belonging to another local enterprise were also damaged during the raid, Malkov said.

However, there were no casualties, according to preliminary information, the governor stressed. The extent of damage is currently being assessed, with emergency services working in the affected areas, he added.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a later statement that the Ukrainian attack on an oil refinery in Ryazan Region occurred between 4 AM and 7 AM local time.

A total of four long-range Flamingo cruise missiles and 69 fixed-wing UAVs, fired by Kiev, had been shot down by air defenses and military aircraft, the statement read.

The fire at the facility had been caused by the debris of an intercepted drone, the ministry said.

Vladimir Zelensky reacted by saying that the announcement “was news” to him, but expressed a readiness to stop the strikes if Russia does the same.

Zelensky also said that Kiev would introduce a three-day pause in attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. However, the pledge was violated on Wednesday, with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak saying that two oil refineries – in Ryazan and Saratov Regions – were targeted by Ukrainian drones.

In order to alleviate the situation, Trump eased restrictions on Russia’s diesel exports following a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, last week.

The US president accused Zelensky of seeking to “make problems” for the US and the whole world by attacking Russian oil refineries and suggested that Ukraine needed a “new president.”

“He goes and hits the diesel fuel. He can do whatever he wants, but he can’t do that. He’d better damn well stop,” the US president said.

Zelensky blamed Trump for “betrayal” of Ukraine and suggested that the actual reason for the global energy shortage was the US war on Iran.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday in the day that “in fact, there was no moratorium on the part of Ukraine. Strikes on our oil refineries and energy facilities continued throughout this whole period. Therefore, there is nothing new here.”

The Trump administration’s “active attempts” to settle the Ukraine conflict “are being crushed by the unwillingness of the Kiev regime and Zelensky, in particular, to agree to peace,” Peskov added.

Russian officials have said repeatedly that Moscow seeks a long-term settlement of the Ukraine conflict rather than a temporary truce, which would be used by Zelensky’s government to rearm and regroup its forces.

Nine of the largest US banks discriminated against customers over their political views and business activities, including conservative organizations and individuals, the Treasury Department’s banking regulator has said. 

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reviewed the policies of JPMorgan Chase Bank, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo Bank, US Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank, and BMO Bank under President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at ensuring “fair access” to banking services for all Americans. Trump has long accused Democrats of weaponizing institutions against his donors and supporters.

The review found that between 2020 and September 2025, all nine banks “have denied, debanked and discriminated against customers and lawful businesses,” Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said on Wednesday.

According to the OCC, the banks closed accounts and denied financial services to customers whose activities risk managers considered “controversial,” including on issues such as abortion and LGBTQ rights. In some cases, bank employees openly stated that the activities of certain groups conflicted with their institutions’ values. Other decisions were reportedly based on “social risk” considerations and “polarizing” public opinion on issues such as gun rights.

The review examined nearly 100,000 complaints and about 420,000 pages of documents

The regulator cited a case in February 2021 in which a payment processor owned by an unidentified bank closed the account of a merchant selling merchandise promoting Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) brand.

The report also found that the banks maintained public and internal policies restricting services to companies involved in Arctic oil and gas exploration, the construction or expansion of coal-fired power plants, the sale of certain firearms and tobacco products, and the construction or operation of detention centers.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott told Fox News Digital that denying banking services for religious or political reasons was “simply un-American” and pledged that the committee would take action.

Trump himself has accused major banks of politically motivated debanking. He sued Capital One in 2025 and JPMorgan Chase in 2026, alleging that they closed accounts belonging to him and his businesses following the January 2021 Capitol riot because of his political views. JPMorgan has denied political discrimination, maintaining that account closures are based on legal and regulatory risks.

A container ship sank after striking a mine in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, amid a wave of attacks on shipping in the region and stalled talks between the US and Iran. More than 20 oil tankers and other vessels have been attacked this month.

The Singapore-registered container ship GFS Pride caught fire and later sank. All 21 crew members were rescued, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.

Photos and videos shared on social media show smoke rising from the listing vessel and dozens of shipping containers floating in the water.

A second Singapore-registered vessel, the GFS Giselle, was struck the same day, sustaining hull damage. It managed to leave the area under its own power, with no injuries reported among the crew.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said the GFS Pride, which was carrying more than 2,500 containers, sank while sailing along what it described as an “unauthorized and dangerous route.”

“Local vessels and fishermen must exercise the utmost safety when navigating this route so they do not collide with containers floating on the water,” the IRGC Navy said in a statement carried by Press TV.

BREAKING: Iran announces a large UAE-owned container ship carrying more than 2,500 containers hit a naval mine, exploded and sank this morning in the US-backed southern Omani corridor of the Strait of Hormuz. It is the first vessel sunk by a mine in the war. Initial reports indicate the cargo ship was carrying luxury perfumes and iPhones from Dubai.

— The Hormuz Letter (@HormuzLetter) October 14, 2026

Top Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf reiterated earlier this month that Iran would not reopen the vital waterway, which normally handles around a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil and LNG trade, until the US accepts Tehran’s terms. The conditions include lifting sanctions and releasing frozen Iranian funds.

🇮🇷 Footage from the 2,500-container ship that was attacked and sunk in the Strait of Hormuz. Now you know why the insurance rates are so high... Writer: Samuel https://t.co/YSNxr87mT1

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 14, 2026

The US Navy said it had guided more than 1,600 vessels through the Strait of Hormuz between May and mid-September along routes that Iran considers illegal.

On Saturday, US forces struck and disabled the Panama-flagged bulk carrier Ocean Molica, which US Central Command (CENTCOM) said had attempted to violate the blockade of Iranian ports.

U.S. Forces Disable Cargo Vessel Attempting to Violate Blockade TAMPA, Fla. — U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces disabled a commercial cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman, Oct. 10, after the ship’s crew ignored repeated warnings and attempted to run the ongoing naval blockade against Iran. A U.S. military fighter jet struck the stern of Panama-flagged M/V Ocean Molica (also known as the “Arika Sun”) with a precision munition, fully disabling the ship’s propulsion without harming the crew. The large cargo vessel was attempting to transit regional waters after having previously departed an Iranian port. CENTCOM forces resumed America’s blockade against all ships entering or departing Iranian ports on July 14. Four commercial vessels have been disabled and 135 ships have been turned around during three months of strict enforcement. Additionally, U.S. forces have destroyed 10 tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' multibillion-dollar shadow network over the same period. All mariners are advised to heed blockade warnings from CENTCOM forces. Crews should also continue to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and contact U.S. naval forces on bridge-to-bridge channel 16 when operating in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz approaches.

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) October 11, 2026

On Wednesday, CENTCOM released a video showing an October 6 strike on a sailing vessel that it claimed had been “conducting surveillance and targeting the US Navy ships” on behalf of Iran.

On Oct. 6, U.S. forces destroyed an Iranian-affiliated dhow conducting surveillance and targeting U.S. Navy ships in the Gulf of Oman. Over the past seven months, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has continued to indiscriminately target thousands of civilian mariners transiting regional waters in addition to U.S. Navy warships. Crew members were safely removed prior to destruction of the dhow. Repatriation efforts are ongoing.

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) October 14, 2026

The Russia-US diesel deal has already helped lower American fuel prices and could pave the way for broader economic cooperation between Moscow and Washington, Russian presidential aide Kirill Dmitriev has said.

Speaking to RT on Wednesday, Dmitriev, who also heads Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, described the agreement as a win-win for both countries and a “great help to global markets.”

“Diesel futures in New York fell by 5% on the announcement of this cooperation between Russia and the US,” he said.

The agreement was announced on Friday following a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump. The US Treasury subsequently issued a temporary sanctions waiver allowing Russian diesel to be sold, delivered and imported into the US until April 7, 2027.

Trump said Moscow would immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to US and global markets, followed by another 500,000 tons in November and one million tons shortly thereafter. Up to three million additional tons could become available “within a short period of time,” he added.

The arrangement is aimed at easing soaring fuel prices amid global supply disruptions caused by the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Dmitriev argued that the immediate market response demonstrated the economic benefits of cooperation and the costs of maintaining sanctions against Moscow.

“We are seeing that lifting [US] sanctions on Russian diesel is having an immediate positive effect, including for American farmers [and] the American economy,” he said.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak recently estimated that the bloc had spent more than $320 billion on Russian energy since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, despite claiming to have sharply reduced its imports.

Trump similarly lashed out at Brussels in a Truth Social post on Monday, insisting that he had “made the right choice for the American People.”

Novak has welcomed Washington’s decision as a step toward stabilizing global energy markets and restoring normal trade. He also announced that Moscow would begin immediately lifting its own restrictions on diesel exports.

Elon Musk has denied instructing his company SpaceX to abruptly restrict Starlink and Starshield satellite communications services used by Ukrainian forces to operate drones.

Ukrainian officials and frontline commanders said terminals suddenly stopped working overnight Tuesday into Wednesday when drones flew faster than 100 mph, disrupting some combat missions. The problems with Starshield, the military-grade counterpart to SpaceX’s Starlink service, occurred as US President Donald Trump was pressuring Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, which he blamed for surging energy prices.

“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” Musk wrote on X on Wednesday in response to criticism from Ukraine. He had earlier suggested that the disruption might have been “a mistake” and said he was working to restore connectivity.

Musk also said that Starlink should be used only for civilian and defensive purposes, arguing that using it for offensive operations would be “inappropriate for a commercial company.”

Although Trump has not commented directly on the restrictions, a senior US official told Axios that his administration had nothing to do with the disruption of Starlink services.

Ukrainian officials also said they had received no advance warning from their Western partners before Russian missile strikes on Kiev on two consecutive nights, Monday and Tuesday. According to media reports, US officials attributed the failure to detect the missile launches to bad weather, an explanation their Ukrainian counterparts reportedly found hard to believe.

Asked by British talk show host Piers Morgan on Wednesday whether he had been “betrayed” by the Trump administration, Zelensky replied, “Yes.”

“It’s a pity that we are losing a strong partner,” he added.

Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fyodorov said Wednesday evening that Starlink connectivity at speeds of up to 100 mph was being restored, but urged the removal of speed restrictions on Starshield altogether.

Ukrainian media reported on Thursday that the operation of Starshield systems had been fully restored. Sources within the country’s Ministry of Defense said military units confirmed that communications were back online while officials continue to investigate the reasons for the restrictions.

Russia has argued that Ukraine would use a ceasefire without preconditions to regroup and replenish its forces. “We want not a ceasefire but a lasting peace, and we are ready to do everything possible to achieve it,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

The agreement to supply Russian diesel fuel to the United States has made a considerable political impact, and it comes amid another escalation of the Ukraine conflict during which both sides have been exchanging large-scale missile and drone strikes.

Meanwhile, the European Union has approved its 22nd package of sanctions against Russia, while Washington has adopted another round of punitive measures under the so-called Hellish Sanctions Act.

Yet against this backdrop, the US Treasury has issued a general license authorizing transactions involving the sale, delivery, unloading and import of Russian diesel fuel until April 2027, which, at first glance, appears extraordinary. 

In reality, however, such exemptions are a familiar feature of American sanctions policy as they illustrate a fundamental paradox of the US system: exceptionally severe restrictions coexist with considerable flexibility when Washington’s own interests are at stake.

On one hand, sanctions against Russia, particularly those targeting its energy sector, have become increasingly entrenched, and the latest legislation makes their removal considerably more difficult, adding to an extensive framework of federal laws, presidential orders and administrative regulations accumulated over recent years.

The latest exemption is particularly revealing because the administration didn’t need to invoke the waiver provisions contained in the new legislation, given that Section 115 of the Lindsey Graham Act, for example, permits exemptions provided the administration submits a written justification to Congress, so instead, the Treasury employed a much simpler mechanism.

Last week, Bradley Smith, director of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), signed a general license permitting the diesel transactions. Formally, therefore, the decision was taken not by President Donald Trump, or even by the Treasury secretary, but by a specialized department within the department.

There’s nothing unusual about this procedure. Under the sanctions program targeting what Washington calls Russia’s “malicious activities,” more than 100 general licenses have been issued covering a wide range of transactions, meaning another license is hardly a sensation.

Nor should it be mistaken for the lifting of sanctions because general licenses typically have limited validity and can be revoked before their expiry and a change in the political climate, a shift in Washington’s priorities, or an influx of imported diesel into the American market could be sufficient grounds for withdrawing the exemption.

There are precedents for licenses remaining in force for years. During the improvement in US-Belarusian relations in the 2010s, several major Belarusian enterprises benefited from exemptions that effectively suspended certain restrictions, but when relations deteriorated again in the early 2020s, those licenses were withdrawn.

No sanctions have been lifted and Washington has merely employed an established administrative mechanism that can be reversed at any moment.

Nevertheless, the episode demonstrates something important about American sanctions policy in that even as Congress seeks to make restrictions against Russia increasingly permanent, the executive branch retains considerable room for maneuver.

The US can impose unprecedented economic restrictions while simultaneously creating exceptions whenever its interests demand them.

The legal machinery is already in place, but what ultimately determines how it is used is political will.

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

Former Israeli intelligence chief Ronen Bar has sued Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for defamation, accusing him of ignoring warnings ahead of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack and attempting to shift the blame for the security failures.

Bar, who headed Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security agency during the assault, filed the three-million-shekel (nearly $1 million) lawsuit on Wednesday.

Netanyahu had accused Bar of withholding intelligence and failing to alert troops or evacuate attendees of the Nova music festival. Bar rejected the allegations, arguing that Netanyahu was attempting to deflect responsibility for the attack, which left around 1,200 people dead and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 74,300 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.

According to the lawsuit, Shin Bet officers began sharing intelligence about unusual Hamas activity with the military late on October 6 and issued a warning at 3:03 am. Netanyahu’s military secretariat was updated at 3:55 am, while Bar’s chief of staff briefed his military secretary shortly after 6 am. Bar denied speaking directly with Israel’s military chief or head of military intelligence that night, contrary to Netanyahu’s account.

However, he maintained that Netanyahu had been repeatedly alerted to the risk. Bar cited a February 2023 letter warning that Israel’s internal divisions and instability in the Palestinian territories could embolden its adversaries. In July, he said he had personally raised the prospect of an attack, cautioning that intelligence agencies might not be able to predict it.

The filing describes further warnings in September and early October about Hamas’s growing capabilities. Bar also alleged that Netanyahu repeatedly rejected or delayed proposals to target senior Hamas figures, favoring a policy of “quiet at any cost” in Gaza.

According to the lawsuit, the prime minister continued allowing Qatari money into the enclave despite warnings that humanitarian funds were reaching Hamas’ military wing.

Netanyahu rejected the claims, saying Bar could have contacted him through a secure emergency line. Bar said Netanyahu never provided him with his personal phone number.

Netanyahu also said he had submitted nearly 1,000 documents challenging Bar’s account.

The lawsuit follows reports that Netanyahu received advance warnings from foreign governments. Haaretz reported in September that UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed had alerted him to a potential major Hamas operation ten days before the assault. Netanyahu’s office dismissed the allegation as an “absolute lie.”

The Atlantic and the Wall Street Journal have separately reported warnings from Egyptian officials, while the New York Times revealed that Israeli intelligence had obtained a Hamas battle plan known as Jericho Wall more than a year earlier. Netanyahu has denied receiving warnings from Egypt or being shown the Hamas plan.