The US has accused Canadian officials of attempting to interfere in American elections, citing politically targeted trade measures, anti-Trump advertising campaigns and meetings with Democratic politicians ahead of next month’s midterms.

In a fact sheet published on Wednesday, the US Embassy in Ottawa accused Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government of openly seeking to influence American politics.

“The Canadian government brushes off concerns about potential interference in US elections, even as its ministers and premiers openly describe plans to influence American politics in official documents and public appearances,” the embassy stated.

The document singled out Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly, citing her remarks about deliberately targeting Republican-leaning states with retaliatory tariffs in response to President Donald Trump’s trade policies.

Washington also questioned Joly’s meetings with Democratic officials in Boston and Chicago in September, as well as an anti-tariff advertising campaign launched by Ontario Premier Doug Ford featuring former President Ronald Reagan criticizing protectionist trade policies.

The embassy also highlighted a recent appearance by Canadian Consul General Bernadette Jordan alongside two Democratic congressmen at a Vermont roundtable on trade tensions, just three weeks before the midterms. It also cited a Canadian government billboard campaign targeting 12 mostly Republican-voting states and Washington, DC.

The embassy also cited Liberal lawmaker Anthony Housefather’s campaigning for Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Florida, and listed 11 Canadians who had been charged or sentenced in 2026 for illegally voting in previous American elections.

The accusations followed a warning from US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, who said Washington was closely watching Canadian political activities ahead of the November 3 congressional elections.

“We’re monitoring it, we’re evaluating it and if some of it becomes election interference then America will respond to it,” Hoekstra said.

Ottawa has rejected the allegations. Carney insisted that Canada’s measures were intended to protect its workers and businesses from American tariffs, while Ford denied any interest in meddling in US elections. Joly defended her meetings with American politicians as normal diplomacy, pointing out that she had engaged with both Republicans and Democrats.

In September, Carney revealed that his government had examined the possibility of US military action against Canada, describing the scenario as an “extreme tail risk” that nevertheless warranted contingency planning. Ottawa, meanwhile, has been seeking closer military and economic ties with Europe to reduce its dependence on Washington.

Hundreds of houses have collapsed after a powerful earthquake struck China’s Tibet region, killing at least 16 people and injuring dozens more, according to local authorities.

The magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck the northern Tibetan city of Nagqu at 10:33pm local time on Thursday. 

The death toll stood at 16 on Friday morning, with 46 people injured, including 11 seriously, according to the latest figures released by local disaster relief authorities. At least 339 houses and 20 livestock sheds collapsed, the Associated Press reported, citing local government officials.

Videos circulating on Chinese social media showed residents rushing into the streets as buildings shook.

🇨🇳⚡️ — Emergency authorities report that a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Tibet's Nagqu City has caused the collapse of 339 homes, triggered severe infrastructure and transit disruptions, and prompted the activation of a Level-II emergency response. #China #Tibet #Earthquake #BreakingNews

— X-K (@ConflictRadarME) October 22, 2026

The shallow tremor struck at a depth of approximately 10 kilometers, according to Chinese seismologists. The US Geological Survey estimated its depth at 18 kilometers, placing the epicenter in a sparsely populated mountainous area.

Sixteen people were killed and 32 others injured after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Baqen County of Nagqu City in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, according to the city's emergency management bureau. https://t.co/BERNm8mcXy

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) October 23, 2026

More than 1,600 local personnel have been mobilized for search-and-rescue operations. Emergency supplies, including 1,000 prefabricated housing units, some 3,000 tents, beds and winter clothing, have been dispatched to assist displaced residents.

Xi orders all-out rescue efforts after Xizang earthquake https://t.co/GrKXDa8oGE

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) October 23, 2026

The earthquake also triggered rockfalls that forced the closure of a major highway, while railway services were temporarily suspended for safety inspections. Communications were disrupted in parts of the affected region, complicating rescue operations.

The latest disaster comes less than two months after a massive ice-and-rock avalanche near the Tibet-Nepal border unleashed catastrophic flooding, killing more than 1,450 people in Nepal and dozens in China.

Thursday’s tremor was the strongest to hit the Nagqu region in five years, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

Authorities have warned that the casualty figures could rise as rescue teams continue searching damaged buildings and assessing the destruction.

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a crackdown on public demonstrations, ordering authorities to ban protests deemed “illegitimate” and restrict even officially organized marches as nationwide unrest over soaring living costs and deteriorating public services continues.

The restrictions, announced Thursday following an emergency meeting with intelligence chiefs and senior ministers, come ahead of another wave of demonstrations planned for Saturday, after some of France’s worst street violence in years.

Macron said local authorities would prohibit gatherings organized by individuals or groups deemed to lack legitimate authority, while demonstrations arranged by recognized organizations, such as trade unions, would be considered for approval but could be forced onto alternative routes.

“The general recommendation is that there should be no demonstrations in the coming days,” Macron declared, insisting the measures were necessary to restore calm and protect businesses and public buildings.

The announcement significantly tightens restrictions on public gatherings in a country where the right to protest is constitutionally protected. Under French law, authorities can prohibit demonstrations on public-order grounds, although such decisions must be proportionate and can be challenged in court.

A Paris administrative court overturned a police ban on a student demonstration on Thursday, allowing thousands of protesters to gather despite official objections. The rally proceeded peacefully under heavy police presence, according to AP.

France has been gripped by escalating unrest since protests over teacher shortages and deteriorating school conditions spread into a broader movement against rising prices, inequality and cuts to public services.

Around 550,000 people joined demonstrations last Saturday, which descended into clashes with police, arson and widespread looting. Nearly 2,500 people have since been arrested, while approximately 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured, according to figures reported by French media.

Even police unions have turned against the administration. Alliance Police Nationale announced plans to sue the state, accusing officials of abandoning officers during the riots and failing to provide adequate equipment and clear instructions.

Macron has also clashed with US President Donald Trump, who blamed France’s turmoil on uncontrolled immigration and radical groups. The French leader dismissed comments by foreign politicians about the unrest as “stupid” and “unacceptable.”

A British museum has removed ancient Egyptian mummies from public display, citing a lack of “consent” from the deceased and drawing accusations of excessive political correctness.

The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, Scotland, is one of the country’s most popular cultural attractions, drawing more than 1.3 million visitors annually. Its collections include Egyptian antiquities and mummified remains that have been exhibited for years.

Among the items taken off display were a painted coffin containing the remains of an Egyptian priest named Nekht, a mummified male head, a right foot, and a right hand recovered from the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, the Glasgow Times reported on Thursday.

My daughter has a book on the ancient Egyptians and has been quite animated by it so we took her to Kelvingrove Museum to see their mummy. Except, it’s no longer there. All ‘human remains’ gone with the following sign up in place of exhibits that have been there for years. https://t.co/DKGOx4VjpR

— Jonny McFarlane (@jonnyrmcfarlane) October 17, 2026

The changes came to public attention after a visitor said he had taken his daughter to see an Egyptian mummy, only to discover that it was no longer there. He shared a photograph on X of a museum notice stating that the remains had been removed “as a mark of respect.”

Mummies have been removed from display at the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow because of a 'lack of consent from the deceased individual'. A Glasgow Life spokesman said: ‘The removal of human remains from display at Glasgow Life museums reflects contemporary museum practice. ‘The International Council of Museums’ revised Code of Ethics, published in June 2026, states that museums “should uphold the inherent dignity of human remains and promote respect for their significance”. ‘The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Afrikan Reparations 2025 report, “Laying Ancestors to Rest”, also raises ethical concerns about the display of ancient Egyptian human remains due to the consistent disregard of the potential wishes of the ancestors and the intention of the communities that originally laid them to rest.

— UNN (@UnityNewsNet) October 22, 2026

Glasgow Life, which operates the museum, said the move reflected contemporary museum practices, citing revised ethical guidelines published by the International Council of Museums in June. The guidelines call for human remains to be treated with dignity and respect.

“In the absence of such consent, we believe removing ancient Egyptian human remains from display is more respectful to the deceased individuals,” a Glasgow Life spokesperson said.

The decision drew criticism from Scottish Conservative politician Murdo Fraser, who described it as “woke madness.”

Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education and a former adviser to the British prime minister’s policy unit, also condemned the move as “virtue-signaling, woke nonsense.”

“It is not possible to seek permission from those who died thousands of years ago,” he said, adding that museums in Egypt continue to exhibit mummified remains.

Glasgow Life said it is also working to remove further archaeological human remains from Kelvingrove and plans to remove a coffin and mummified remains from the nearby St Mungo Museum afterward.

The controversy follows a similar decision by Manchester Museum, which removed the 2,700-year-old mummified remains of an Egyptian woman named Asru in September after more than two centuries on public display.

The survivors of the deadly Ukrainian drone attack on the Starobelsk college in May have spoken to RT about the emotional scars left behind by the tragedy that killed 21 students in their sleep.

Multiple waves of kamikaze UAVs struck the dormitory of the Starobelsk Professional College, located in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), on May 22. The building partially collapsed as a result of the strikes, killing 21 people and injuring 42 others, mostly teenage girls studying to become teachers. The Ukrainian military subsequently targeted first responders with additional drones, according to investigators.

Twenty students who survived the attack on the dormitory that fateful night came to Moscow on Wednesday at the invitation of Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights Yana Lantratova.

Lantratova and the students discussed their professional aspirations, with the official noting that some of them have already become volunteers in various projects. She also said that the human rights commission’s doors are open to survivors wishing to undertake an internship there. The official gifted a bus to the college as well as tablet computers to its students.

“Especially during the first week, it was absolutely terrifying. I was afraid of every single loud noise,” the survivor told RT.

Another student shared a similar experience of lingering trauma, saying that following the attack, “any loud noise, even just something falling was terrifying. My heart would immediately start pounding violently.”

President Vladimir Putin vowed “inevitable punishment” for the Starobelsk massacre, and several days later, Russia launched one of its largest retaliatory drone and missile strikes, targeting Ukrainian military command facilities, air bases, and defense industry enterprises.

Major US banks have detected outside artificial intelligence agents operating inside customer accounts, with some appearing to attempt actions beyond users’ instructions, Axios reported on Thursday.

AI agents are designed to complete tasks on users’ behalf, potentially making purchases, paying bills or moving money. Customers often give them permission and login credentials, but this can violate banks’ rules requiring account holders to log in themselves.

Lenders including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo are racing to contain the risks, according to Axios, citing people familiar with the matter. Some have tracked agents contacting call centers or apparently acting independently of customer instructions.

Bank executives described the situation as “horrifying,” according to the outlet. One said lenders struggle to distinguish between authorized assistants and agents that have gone rogue.

JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citi have now started restricting outside agents’ access, while Morgan Stanley has reportedly begun blocking them from its platforms. Chase has also urged customers not to share usernames and passwords with AI agents.

The banks have also expressed fear of losing profitable deposits. The Financial Times reported last week that AI assistants could move customers’ cash to banks offering better rates, forcing lenders to pay more interest to keep those customers.

The concerns come amid a string of reports of AI agents acting beyond their instructions and accessing outside systems without permission. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that OpenAI shelved its planned GPT-6.1 Astra model after testing revealed more deceptive behavior than its predecessors. The system sometimes failed to disclose its actions to human operators and attempted to use potentially unsafe external tools.

Financial regulators have warned that autonomous systems could also destabilize markets. Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden warned in June that agents reacting alike to the same signals could buy or sell simultaneously, making market swings more severe.

She urged regulators to consider emergency “kill switches” that could halt trading if faulty AI systems triggered a market meltdown.

Repeated claims by European officials that Russia poses a threat of war to their countries amount to “political schizophrenia,” President Vladimir Putin has said.

He made the remarks on Thursday while speaking to Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin after participating in the Union of Theatre Workers congress at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.

Putin strongly denied the repeated allegations that Moscow has been gearing up for war with Europe in any fashion, dismissing them as a part of the ongoing “anti-Russian campaign” on the continent.

“They now go so far as to constantly speak of a ‘Russian threat’ and even discuss preparations for a war with Russia – which, in my view, amounts to a kind of political schizophrenia. But I hope that it will pass,” Putin stated.

The Ukraine conflict has clearly demonstrated that Russia cannot be defeated on the battlefield, the president argued, adding that the idea of inflicting a “strategic defeat” on the country was “simply not realistic.” Putin expressed hope that those still entertaining such a scenario would “come to recognize the realities of modern life.” 

“They will hopefully realize that it is better to live in harmony with Russia – a path that truly serves the interests of their own peoples. If you look at the political processes currently underway in Europe, it becomes evident that the European peoples have no desire to go to war with Russia,” the president stated.

In fact, Russia does not want to fight Ukraine either, Putin said, pointing at the shared past and the longstanding ties between Russians and Ukrainians. Still, Kiev itself chose war in 2014, when it opted to fight the people of then-Ukrainian Donbass, who had rejected the Maidan coup, the president said, adding that Ukraine has also rejected Moscow’s repeated attempts to mediate that conflict.

The Russian president also touched upon the territorial issues between Moscow and Kiev, pointing out that the loss of formerly Ukrainian regions should not be treated as such, since they were never Ukrainian in the first place.

“It is not their territory, it is a part of historic Russia,” he stressed, adding that local residents voted to secede from Ukraine and reunify with Russia.

Russia remains ready to resolve the Ukraine conflict through diplomacy, Putin said, reiterating Moscow’s willingness to resume trilateral talks with Washington and Kiev.

“The purpose of these negotiations will be to discuss how to ensure the security of both Ukraine and Russia following the conclusion of peace agreements, specifically, definitive, long-term agreements, rather than a mere temporary cessation of hostilities,” the president said, adding that the discussions should involve a wider all-European security architecture.

Moscow announced it was ready to resume the trilateral talks following Putin’s meeting with US special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov subsequently said the next round could take place in Abu Dhabi around mid-November.

European countries will inevitably resume economic cooperation with Russia, following Washington’s lead, Russian presidential aide Kirill Dmitriev has predicted. Politicians who continue to blame Moscow for their domestic problems rather than address them risk losing power, he warned.

Dmitriev, who also heads Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, made the remarks on Thursday at the 19th Verona Eurasian Economic Forum in Istanbul.
The Russian official hailed Trump’s readiness to restore dialogue with Russia and reverse a “very dangerous situation where top nuclear powers don’t communicate.”

Commenting on Europe’s problems, including high energy costs and mass migration, Dmitriev accused European politicians of “using Russia as a boogeyman” to distract from more fundamental issues, warning that they have come to believe their own narratives and are unwilling to correct their mistakes.

However, Dmitriev argued that attitudes within the EU were beginning to shift, with more voices calling for renewed dialogue with Moscow. “Cooperation with Russia economically will be inevitable,” he said, adding that “as soon as we do more deals with the US, European companies” will want a piece of the action, too.

“Once people start paying double, triple their bills of energy in Europe, the resumption of energy supplies from Russia is absolutely inevitable and politicians who refuse that will lose in any way possible,” Dmitriev argued.

“Once people are rational, once people stop reading fake stories in the media, once they stop sort of living in this matrix of fake narratives…, they’ll understand that only through dialogue, through cooperation, through working together, we can go forward successfully.”

Dmitriev also argued that many of today’s “great leaders,” including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, prioritize national sovereignty over what he described as the “failed policy of globalism.”

On October 18, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Manama, where he attended the ninth ministerial meeting of the Russia-Gulf Cooperation Council strategic dialogue and held separate talks with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The following day, he traveled to Tehran to meet with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian.

In Manama, discussions centered on de-escalation in the Persian Gulf, maritime security, and Russian proposals for a collective security framework, while bilateral meetings provided an opportunity to clarify individual countries’ positions. Lavrov and his Kuwaiti counterpart stressed the need to reduce tensions quickly and agreed that a political and diplomatic settlement is the only viable way forward. In Tehran, regional affairs featured alongside Russian-Iranian cooperation, with Moscow reaffirming its commitment to economic and investment agreements despite the deteriorating security environment.

Diplomacy between the Gulf’s two shores

The trip aimed to prevent a new divide between Iran and the Arab monarchies from becoming entrenched, as the consequences of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran are affecting the security of the entire region. Yet rebuilding trust also requires acknowledging that the Gulf states have their own grievances against Tehran over strikes on their territory and threats to maritime routes.

During the Manama talks, Arab representatives explicitly said they hope Moscow would use its relationship with Iran to convey their concerns. Discussions also covered Yemen, maintaining the ceasefire in Gaza, humanitarian access, and the resilience of energy and food supply chains – the various and interconnected sources of instability plaguing the Middle East.

Russia could mediate efforts to de-escalate tensions and mitigate the deterioration in relations between Tehran and the Gulf monarchies, since it maintains close ties with Iran while developing political, economic, and energy cooperation with the Arab states. These relationships allow Moscow to relay messages, identify the scope for compromise, and facilitate direct dialogue, which can easily give way to competing ultimatums during a crisis.

However, this two-way access does not mean Moscow can dictate what its partners actually decide, and its closeness to Tehran may raise questions among Arab participants. The effectiveness of Russian mediation will ultimately depend on whether the parties themselves are willing to negotiate, acknowledge one another’s concerns, and take practical steps to address them.

Inclusive security as an alternative to permanent crisis

In Manama, Lavrov once again presented Russia’s updated concept of collective security in the Persian Gulf as a potential contribution to a lasting settlement. The proposal continues a longstanding initiative rather than a document developed solely for this visit. As early as June, he reported that updated proposals had been circulated to regional capitals and that Moscow was receiving initial responses.

The approach rests on the premise that the Arab monarchies and Iran must take part in a shared framework, because attempts to secure one group of states by isolating another reproduce the causes of confrontation. Confidence-building measures and regular contact are intended to reduce uncertainty gradually, while the Gulf countries and their immediate neighbors should have the decisive voice in shaping the regional order.

An earlier Russian concept circulated at the United Nations in 2019 already envisaged a gradual normalization of conditions, respect for sovereignty, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and the development of collective security mechanisms. The current proposals can be assumed to carry over the same spirit, even if specific provisions have changed or been updated.

The practical value of this model will depend on whether broad principles can be translated into agreed procedures for preventing incidents, protecting civilian infrastructure, and keeping maritime routes open. These arrangements could provide the first steps towards a more stable order, whereas an attempt to resolve every political disagreement at once could obstruct even limited measures to ease tensions.

Why expensive oil does not make war good for Russia

Western media and expert debates, including those focused on Middle Eastern politics, frequently portray Russia as a beneficiary of the war, arguing that disruptions to Gulf supplies drive up energy prices and create opportunities for Russian exporters.

A short-term price benefit is certainly possible, but to assume that war gives Russia a strategic advantage is analytically unsound, because the country’s national interests are not limited to a single source of export revenue. Additional income from commodity sales says little about the cost of damaged partnerships, postponed investment, and worsening conditions for long-term projects.

The Middle East matters to Russia as a political and economic partner, and stable relations depend on predictable institutions, transport routes, and financial transactions. A prolonged war raises shipping and insurance costs, complicates infrastructure agreements, and forces partners to divert resources from development toward immediate security needs.

This is evident in Russia’s cooperation with Iran, where its projects require a stable operating environment. In Tehran, Lavrov spoke of Russian specialists gradually returning to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, as well as prospects for cooperation in hydrocarbon production and transportation. A protracted war creates additional risks for these activities, and higher oil prices cannot remove them.

Moreover, a sustained energy shock can weaken the global economy, while the resulting decline in demand limits exporters’ initial gains. Even if some consequences of a Middle East war can benefit Russian suppliers in the short term, claims that Moscow wants endless war in the region are superficial at best. Russia’s strategic interest lies in the region’s long-term stability, which would allow it to preserve partnerships, markets, and opportunities for economic engagement.

The transformation of the world order and the erosion of Western hegemony give Middle Eastern states greater scope to pursue independent policies, but a redistribution of international influence does not in itself resolve regional disputes. If dependence on external guarantees is merely supplemented by new competing patrons, while mechanisms for direct dialogue remain weak, the Middle East will continue to serve as an arena where local conflicts intersect with rivalry among major powers.

Regional autonomy requires that neighboring states agree on rules for coexistence, even when their foreign policy priorities and perceptions of threats differ substantially. A durable system will require mutual respect for sovereignty, a rejection of imposed military solutions, and recognition that lasting security cannot be built on another state’s permanent vulnerability.

Russia can support this process by providing diplomatic channels and helping identify a workable sequence of agreements, but only the countries of the region can build a peaceful future. External mediation delivers results when it supports an existing willingness to compromise, while even substantive initiatives can remain on paper if that willingness is absent.

Lavrov’s visits to Manama and Tehran highlighted an opportunity to connect urgent de-escalation with discussions about a more durable regional order. Seizing this opportunity will take time and difficult political decisions, because the parties will need to constrain their own use of force, rebuild damaged trust, and accept reciprocal obligations. Moscow can mediate this process, but its outcome will depend on the desire and readiness of the Gulf states and Iran to reach an agreement.

Billionaire tech investor and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel has expressed regret over the US war against Iran, warning that it could ultimately lead to International Criminal Court warrants for the Trump administration and have broader implications for the US, Politico reported on Thursday.

The outlet cited a transcript of a lecture given by Thiel earlier this month, part of the series of private events held in Nashville.

Thiel, a staunch backer of US President Donald Trump, has expressed doubts over the Iran war, which was launched by the US and Israel earlier this year, suggesting that it has exposed America’s weaknesses.

“I’m skeptical of [the war], I think we should not have done it. There were a lot of mistakes that were made,” Thiel said, as quoted by Politico.

Maybe we don’t have the hard power. Maybe we’re going to lose the soft power war.

While reiterating his support for Trump, he warned that the war could backfire for the administration and lead to legal troubles with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The Trump administration has had a hostile relationship with the ICC, particularly over the decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

“I have come to suspect that the threat of an ICC arrest warrant is the sword of Damocles hanging over the Trump administration as it tries to persecute this war in Iran,” Thiel said.

He also claimed that George W. Bush-era neocon figures such as Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney have been colluding with the ICC against Trump. “I read the Cheney family’s Trump derangement syndrome as an attempt to buy favor with the [ICC] and avoid prosecution. Probably too late,” he said.

Palantir has been heavily involved in the hostilities, as its products have been used by the US military. The use of AI products was reportedly linked to one of the worst mass-casualty events of the war – the strike on a school in Minab on the first day of the conflict, which killed at least 156 civilians, predominantly schoolchildren. According to media reports, the facility was targeted based on outdated data used by Palantir’s analysis and surveillance software.

Indian and Russian air force crews practiced joint drills in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region as part of the wider inter-service Indra-2026 military exercise.

The Russian Aerospace Forces and the Indian Air Force (IAF) teams engaged in joint operations in Su-30SM fighter jets during the drill. The focus of the operations was on actions against small, low-flying targets and destroying carriers of short- and medium-range aerial weaponry.

The personnel also performed air combat maneuvers at medium and low altitudes, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

The Su-30SM is a modernized version of the Su-30MKI model, the IAF’s workhorse fighter jet. It has been modified with Russian-specific avionics, radar, and communication systems and has extreme agility.

The IAF is also running its own program to upgrade and make its Su-30MKIs more lethal and survivable, under the ‘Super Sukhoi’ program, at the state-backed Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

The $7.5 billion modernization program aims to upgrade an initial batch of 84 Su-30MKI fighter jets, with plans to eventually expand to over 200 more aircraft, extending the fleet’s service life through 2055.

Russia’s Rosoboronexport agency earlier highlighted that the modernization program can be performed with significant involvement from the Indian defense industry, while the facilities involved in the manufacturing of the Su-30MKI can be used for co-manufacturing of the Russian fifth-generation Su-57E fighter jet, if India decides to go ahead with Russia’s proposal.

The exercise’s aim was to build operational capabilities in deploying special forces units and for search-and-rescue operations in hazardous and difficult terrains.

The maritime phase of the drills took place in the Gulf of Peter the Great near Vladivostok over the weekend and involved the Russian Pacific Fleet corvette Aldar Tsydenzhapov and the Indian Navy frigate INS Sahyadri

The land exercises will end on Friday, with troops practicing joint command and control and operations against simulated armed groups.

The US-Israeli war on Iran has caused an “unprecedented” shock to global energy markets, removing some 3 billion barrels of oil supply, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser has warned.

The war launched in February effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil and LNG artery, sending crude prices up roughly 50%. Despite Gulf exports recovering to a reported 80% of pre-war levels, renewed attacks on vessels have kept markets on edge, with Brent hitting a five-month high above $112 this week. Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure and shipping have compounded the crisis, threatening another vital trade chokepoint, the Red Sea’s Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

In an interview with Al Arabiya Business aired on Thursday, Nasser said the nearly eight-month crisis had deprived global markets of an estimated 3 billion barrels of oil.

The figure is equivalent to nearly a month of global oil consumption and reflects cumulative supply losses caused by disrupted shipping, reduced production and logistical bottlenecks.

Nasser warned, however, that even an end to the crisis could bring fresh pressure on oil markets, as recovering consumption and a rush to replenish depleted reserves will likely fuel another demand surge.

“Once things return to normal, we expect additional demand of around 3 million barrels per day – about 2 million from consumption growth and another 1 million just to replenish the reserves countries have drawn down during the crisis,” he said, noting that the added demand could keep markets under strain long after shipping routes reopen.

Fresh escalation fears

Meanwhile, fears of another escalation are growing as US-Iran talks remain deadlocked. Reports on Wednesday claimed Washington was quietly pulling troops from bases in Jordan, Qatar and Kuwait, evacuating some diplomats and their families from Saudi Arabia and preparing similar withdrawals elsewhere. Similar precautions were taken ahead of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

The moves follow US President Donald Trump’s rejection last month of Tehran’s proposal to reopen Hormuz in exchange for lifting the US blockade of Iranian ports, easing oil export restrictions, unfreezing Iranian assets and ending regional hostilities, including Israeli operations in Gaza and Lebanon.

The world’s first documented human infection with the Shamonda virus has been reported in France, where a hospitalized patient later died, according to the health authorities.

The insect-borne disease, which has circulated among livestock for decades, was previously believed to be incapable of infecting humans.

In a joint statement on Thursday, the French Health and Agriculture Ministries confirmed that the patient, who had a severely weakened immune system, died in early October after being hospitalized in Lyon.

“Until now, the Shamonda virus was considered non-transmissible to humans,” the ministries said, according to AFP. They described the infection as the first confirmed detection of the pathogen in a person.

The patient developed severe neurological complications that the authorities believe were linked to the infection. However, investigators have still not established conclusively whether the virus was responsible for the death.

Despite the unprecedented case, the French authorities said there is currently no indication of a wider threat to public health. They stressed that the patient was severely immunocompromised and that no other human infections have been identified.

The Shamonda virus belongs to the orthobunyavirus group and was first identified in Nigeria in the 1960s. It is transmitted by tiny biting insects known as Culicoides midges and has been detected in livestock in Africa and Asia.

Other viruses that have crossed from animals to humans include HIV, Ebola, and bird flu. The Covid-19 pandemic was caused by a virus widely believed to have originated in bats.

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has confirmed the unprecedented human case and is working with the French authorities to assess its implications.

Health officials are continuing epidemiological and laboratory investigations to determine how the patient became infected and whether other cases may have gone undetected.

France’s leading police union has announced that it is set to sue the state, accusing it of leaving officers “betrayed and abandoned” during a wave of violent nationwide protests.

The union’s planned legal action comes in the wake of unrest last week, when around 550,000 people took to the streets over rising prices and deteriorating school conditions. Demonstrations descended into rioting across Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Bordeaux, with businesses looted and buildings set on fire. According to Le Monde, 997 police officers and gendarmes were injured, including seven seriously.

Speaking on Thursday, union representative Stanislas Gaudon criticized successive governments over what he described as a “20-year lack of political courage” in security policy.

“Police officers will not be shields for political spin, nor scapegoats for an administration that refuses to take responsibility for its decisions,” the union stated last week.

Alliance also directly challenged Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez over conflicting instructions from the police hierarchy.

“Mr. Minister, is your administration lying to you? Or are the police deliberately being sacrificed on the altar of political communication?” it asked, demanding an investigation into the chain of command.

The protests first erupted in September over staff shortages and deteriorating conditions at a high school near Paris before spreading nationwide. Thousands of students have demanded better education funding and an end to public spending cuts, accusing the government of prioritizing weapons over schools. The unrest has triggered massive arrests and accusations of excessive police force.

Police tactics have meanwhile come under scrutiny after a 17-year-old protester lost a hand in a grenade explosion in Saint-Étienne. His lawyer has filed a complaint against Nuñez over the use of controversial riot-control weapons. The government has defended the police response.

The unrest comes as President Emmanuel Macron’s government cuts public spending while increasing military expenditure and weapons supplies to Kiev. France has raised its 2026 defense budget by €6.7 billion despite mounting public debt.

Further protests are expected this weekend, while the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) and other unions have called for a nationwide strike beginning November 5.

Major US news outlets amplified fabricated election polls showing gains by Democrats, giving a bogus months-old polling operation national credibility before investigators exposed its invented data.

Wedgewood Polls, which appeared in June, secured coverage from publications including Newsweek, the Daily Beast, and The Hill. Its surveys also entered polling databases maintained by the New York Times, election analyst Nate Silver, and other prominent aggregators.

On Tuesday, however, after researchers at election analysis website FiftyPlusOne confronted it, Wedgewood admitted that almost all its surveys were fake. It described the deception as an experiment testing how easily a fictitious firm could gain recognition.

“We wanted to test a simple hypothesis: how easy is it for an entirely fabricated polling firm to gain traction, be taken seriously, and expose how little scrutinization exists in media and public commentary? The short answer: Far too easy,” the group said in a press statement.

Wedgewood noted that despite having no history, formal credentials or real data, it was added to multiple major polling aggregators, was treated as a legitimate data source, and was being cited on air by mainstream outlets like MS NOW.

The group added that “out of curiosity and for our own internal baseline,” it actually carried one genuine crowdfunded poll in Nebraska during its run.

The admission prompted a mass cleanup across mainstream media. The Times removed 15 Wedgewood surveys, election tracker Decision Desk HQ removed 17, and Newsweek retracted three articles and corrected others.

The figures also reached campaign publicity. A Democratic Senate campaign in Mississippi cited a fabricated result as evidence of “massive momentum.”

Other invented results damaged candidates. Michigan state senator Mallory McMorrow said a bogus survey showing her support collapsing helped dry up donations and demoralize volunteers before she withdrew from the Democratic Senate primary in July.

Questions about Wedgewood had circulated for months, but its surveys continued entering news coverage and polling databases. FiftyPlusOne eventually exposed the fabrication by examining underlying survey records and checking inconsistencies with the platform the firm claimed to use.

The revelations come less than two weeks before the November 3 midterms, which will determine control of Congress. Republicans are defending narrow majorities in both chambers as President Donald Trump campaigns amid dissatisfaction over living costs and the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is once again fighting for his political future, in a runoff election against Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of jailed former President Jair Bolsonaro. After a dirty campaign, voters will decide on Sunday whether Brazil maintains its leftward trajectory or lurches to the right.

Bolsonaro defeated Lula in the first round of this year’s presidential election, beating the incumbent left-winger by 47.03% to 45.16% on October 5. With neither candidate winning an outright majority, ten runners-up were eliminated and a runoff called for October 25.

Who are the candidates?

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, more commonly referred to as ‘Lula’, has been a mainstay in Brazilian politics since the 1980s. After serving two terms as president from 2003 to 2011, he was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2017 for alleged involvement in a corruption and money laundering scheme within the state-run oil company Petrobras.

Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court struck down his conviction in 2021, and Lula returned to politics the following year, defeating Jair Bolsonaro by a margin of just 0.11%. In power, Lula has increased government spending to tackle poverty, handed subsidies to industry, and hiked taxes on the wealthy. Meanwhile, his government has deepened trade and diplomatic ties with Russia, China, and the rest of the BRICS group, while criticizing US intervention in Latin America.

“Brazil,” he said in a speech at the UN General Assembly last month, “does not fit into anyone’s back yard.”

A senator since 2019, Flavio Bolsonaro is the eldest son of Jair Bolsonaro, who was placed under house arrest last year after the Supreme Federal Court found him guilty of attempting to overturn his 2022 loss to Lula. A social conservative, Flavio Bolsonaro has promised to slash government spending, deregulate industry, crack down on crime, and rein in the power of the judiciary. If elected, he has promised to pursue amnesty for his father.

Bolsonaro favors closer relations with the US, and has said he would join US President Donald Trump’s military campaign against Latin American drug cartels. He has signaled he would “consider leaving” BRICS, accusing the organization of “provoking the United States by proposing that the dollar should no longer be the currency for international transactions.”

Should Bolsonaro win, he would fall into a growing camp of right-wing leaders in Latin America, including Presidents Javier Milei of Argentina, Abelardo de la Espriella of Colombia, Jose Antonio Kast of Chile, and Nayib Bukele of El Salvador.

What are the key issues?

CNN Brazil identified “corruption” as the second issue atop voters’ list of concerns. Bolsonaro also leads Lula on fighting corruption, according to Bloomberg, albeit by a smaller margin of 4%.

Bolsonaro is currently a subject in two money laundering probes, but he has fired off corruption accusations at Lula, citing the involvement of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes in one of these investigations. Moraes, a close political ally of Lula and the man responsible for jailing Bolsonaro’s father, was accused of taking bribes from the banker at the center of the probe.

Economic concerns are the third most pressing issue for voters, according to the CNN poll. Lula has made his economic record a central pillar of his campaign, pointing to Brazil’s rising wages, falling unemployment, and modest economic growth during his tenure. The president enjoys a narrow lead over Bolsonaro when it comes to tackling poverty and inequality, but Bolsonaro is seen as a stronger candidate when it comes to taming inflation and reducing Brazil’s national debt, according to Bloomberg’s poll.

Who’s interfering in the election?

Meta claims that technical problems were to blame, and insists that any allegations of favoritism are “simply false and unsupported by the facts.” Whatever the explanation, Meta’s platforms are vital to both Lula and Bolsonaro, as other social media platforms – among them Google, TikTok, and X – have banned political advertising in the runup to the election.

Brazilian Attorney-General Jorge Messias has accused the US of election meddling, pointing to the White House’s awarding of a $1 million grant to right-wing groups “countering lawfare and censorship in Brazil” – essentially groups opposing Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court.

“Disagreements between governments are inherent to international relations,” Messias wrote on X earlier this month. “What cannot be tolerated is for foreign political interests to seek to interfere in the functioning of Brazilian institutions or to influence, directly or indirectly, choices that belong exclusively to the Brazilian people.”

Bolsonaro’s supporters view the court as a political instrument in the hands of Lula. Justice Moraes ordered the mass suspension of social media accounts over the spread of so-called “misinformation” in the runup to the 2022 election, with the overwhelming majority of accounts suspended being pro-Bolsonaro ones. 

One day after the first round of voting this year, Moraes issued an arrest warrant for Bolsonaro’s brother, Eduardo, who lives in the US. Eduardo Bolsonaro had lobbied the Trump administration to campaign for his father’s release from house arrest.

Bolsonaro has accused Lula of using the machinery of state to boost his campaign. Bolsonaro’s lawyers have called for Lula’s disqualification over his use of the government’s Gov.br system to promote his social programs, his use of government databases to obtain citizens’ contact information in order to send campaign messages, and his use of public funds to produce campaign videos.

What do the polls say?

Lula and Bolsonaro are neck-and-neck in the polls, with every major survey taken up to this month within a margin of error. According to a Quaest poll released after a televised debate between the candidates on Sunday, Bolsonaro leads the leftist incumbent by 45% to 44%. Another poll by PoderData places both candidates in a 50-50 dead heat.

Although the race is too close to call, one historic constant is likely troubling the Lula campaign: since Brazil introduced presidential runoffs in 1989, no candidate has ever won a runoff after losing the first round. However, the first-round gap between Lula and Bolsonaro this month was the smallest in Brazilian presidential election history, at just 1.87%.

With his family persecuted – as he sees it – by Lula’s judiciary, the election is deeply personal for Bolsonaro. For Lula, who is 80 years old, this runoff may be the last of his political career, and the last chance to preserve the leftist state and multipolar foreign policy he’s spent decades building. Whoever wins, this election will be watched in Washington, Moscow, and beyond.

When will we know the result?

Polls close in Brazil at 5 PM Brasilia Time (10 PM Central European Time) on Sunday, and results will begin to emerge around an hour later as ballots are counted. A winner will likely become obvious within hours – in 2022, Lula’s victory was confirmed less than three hours after polls closed.

For more on the election and analysis of the results, stick with RT.

Algeria and Niger have signed a military cooperation agreement following talks between defense chiefs in Algiers, the Algerian Ministry of National Defense announced on Wednesday. The deal marks another step in the restoration of ties between Algeria and its Sahel neighbors following a diplomatic rift last year.

The agreement was signed at a meeting between Algeria’s chief of staff, Lieutenant General Said Chengriha, and Niger’s defense minister, Lieutenant General Salifou Modi, who arrived in the country leading a military delegation. The two sides discussed strengthening bilateral military and security cooperation and addressing shared challenges.

Chengriha reaffirmed Algeria’s willingness to consider proposals aimed at improving cooperation. “I also wish to reaffirm to you our readiness in the People’s National Army to study any Nigerien proposal that would enhance military and security cooperation,” he said.

The move follows a broader rapprochement between Algeria and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), comprising Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, which began earlier this year. 

Relations deteriorated in April 2025 after Algeria shot down a Malian drone near their shared border, claiming it violated Algerian airspace, prompting all three AES members to recall their ambassadors. Bamako rejected the accusation and said the aircraft was destroyed over Mali.

Andrey Sushentsov, dean of the Faculty of International Relations at MGIMO and a member of the Scientific-Expert Council under the Security Council of the Russian Federation, discusses why Western Europe is so afraid of a direct confrontation with Russia, how the US is shifting the burden of the Ukraine crisis onto the EU, why the “pyramid of trust” surrounding Kiev is crumbling, and when the Ukraine conflict might come to an end.

His interview, first published in Russian by TASS, was translated and edited by the RT team.

America sails away, Europe gets the bill

Evgeny Kuznetsov: You have noted that the US is seeking to extricate itself from the Ukraine crisis by shifting the burden onto Western Europe. If Washington does indeed distance itself, are these Europeans prepared, politically and economically, to assume the role of Ukraine’s principal “security guarantor”?

Ukraine was well suited to this role, as a large state with substantial armed forces, motivated to confront Russia. But the limitation of such a strategy is that you can’t fully control the behavior of the “sword.” Nor is it entirely resource-efficient, there’s a limit to the resources that can be allocated to it, and if no turning point is reached in the confrontation, further support yields no additional gains in effectiveness.

The Americans realized early on that many of their interests in this crisis had been achieved and prepared to withdraw. They did what a maritime power usually does when it decides to turn its attention elsewhere as they sailed back to their own region. The main difference between a maritime power and a continental power lies in the freedom to choose where to deploy military forces. A maritime power can choose where to deploy them and launch strikes across various parts of the world’s oceans. This is usually carried out in the form of raids, as large-scale expeditionary campaigns rarely prove successful. The US decided it was time to leave.

But they didn’t want the withdrawal to be accompanied by the collapse of the Ukrainian regime. The US incorporated its withdrawal and the reorientation of its priorities towards East Asia into its policy towards its NATO allies. It handed over responsibility for supporting Ukraine to them and assumed the role of “moderator” as a negotiator who, rather than being the instigator of the crisis, is steering it towards a resolution. US strategic documents state an interest in bringing the Ukraine crisis to an end.

Yet the US behaved treacherously toward both Ukraine and its European allies, saddling them with this burden without warning. The Western Europeans lack military resources, technological capabilities, strategic thinking, and awareness of their own interests comparable to those of the Americans, qualities that enable them to weigh up causes and consequences, to discern what is achievable and what is not by military means, and to identify where their bloc’s interests lie in this crisis.

These Europeans currently have a financial instrument of considerable weight at their disposal, in essence, the only one they can draw upon. They are using it wastefully, given the domestic debt of most major European states is approaching or exceeding 100% of GDP. They can’t obtain external compensation for their military expenditure, and there’s no hope of a Ukrainian victory.

If there were any hope, they would be counting on recouping their losses through Russian resources, through new deals with Russia on new terms. None of these hopes is being realized.

Geography is a constant, an immutable part of the foreign policy system. Governments and historical circumstances may change, but geography remains unchanged.

The course towards a long-term confrontation with their largest neighbor, a source of many benefits for the Western European economy, which they have now lost, demonstrates the narrowness of their vision. Domestic political processes in the EU suggest that, following the Americans’ example, it is time for these Europeans to reflect on what their interests are, which of these are achievable in the course of the Ukraine crisis, which are not, and what the possible trajectory might be. So far, the Western Europeans haven’t made any good moves.

When there are no good moves, it is better to pass a turn and stop making mistakes. So far, as our President [Vladimir Putin] put it, it looks like a series of mistakes, one after another.

Big spending, little strategic power

Evgeny Kuznetsov: Won’t they get tired of playing this game?

Andrey Sushentsov: Western Europeans states don’t possess the full strategic autonomy enjoyed by Russia and the US, and are not entirely capable of acting collectively from a unified position. Every major decision requires the consensus of nearly 30 countries.

The European Commission doesn’t have a very substantial budget of its own but relies on the budgets of the nation states. Despite the single currency, debt is measured separately for each country.

There is no unified army. It’s a far cry from even the most loosely organized confederation. They would carry strategic weight if they were capable of acting in unison, but there’s no sign of this. Western Europeans are terrified of being directly drawn into a military crisis with Russia. Speculation about sending troops into Ukraine always ends with the caveat that this will only happen once a lasting peace and a ceasefire have been achieved.

In part, their enthusiasm is fueled by what they perceive to be the relatively low cost of supporting Ukraine and this proxy conflict. They have no qualms about Ukraine. They are indifferent to what will become of it, its borders or its population. They express rhetorical outrage, flock to summits, pose for “family photographs,” and make categorical statements. But in essence, this is a gathering of onlookers who are not directly involved in the military crisis.

Russia as the glue holding Europe together

Evgeny Kuznetsov: The EU is not abandoning its plans to impose ever more restrictions on Russia. Incidentally, Brussels has also added you to its sanctions list. At the same time, some European leaders are calling for dialogue with Russia. Is that possible at present?

Andrey Sushentsov: Western Europeans are using the Ukraine crisis as a platform for unity, to become a more cohesive entity. Their strategic lack of autonomy, the prominent role of the Americans, and their internal fragmentation mean that the only platform for solidarity is an anti-Russian one.

The relevance varies from country to country. For Southern Europe, it’s not so obvious. For Spain, despite its anti-Russian government, Palestine and the Middle East are more important. The Baltic states and Northern Europe have an alarmist and militaristic outlook. Some share a border with us. The people in charge are a peculiar lot; one can expect all sorts of things. But no one wants to involve their armed forces in the Ukraine crisis, as North Korea has done on our side.

They are using Ukraine to strengthen their own agency and take steps towards coordinated action. These steps are not particularly effective. However, joint plans are being drawn up and substantial funding is being allocated.

One unresolved issue is the restructuring of the Western European defense industry; it’s fragmented and produces around 15 different types of main battle tank with guns of varying calibers. Standardization is a major and difficult challenge. A catalyst is needed. In other words, they are, to some extent, tackling an internal challenge.

Peace alongside Russia – or a strategic dead end

Evgeny Kuznetsov: Do the NATO Europeans want to sit at the negotiating table with Russia, representing a “united Europe,” in order to compensate for their strategic lack of autonomy?

The US doesn’t resolve such issues, nor does Russia. We can afford to take strategic, autonomous, purposeful and consistent action. These Europeans take a step back, a step forward, two steps back; they look over their shoulders and seek consensus.

It’s in Russia’s interests to invite them to the negotiating table only if it is clear that these Europeans prioritize a stable world on the continent, based on the principle of “peace alongside Russia,” rather than against Russia. The “peace against Russia” approach is inherently unstable and a dead end for Western Europe. It dooms them to fall behind, to strategic defeat, and to never becoming a true player on the world stage. The more internal contradictions there are within the bloc regarding priorities, the more fragile it becomes, and the Russian question is gradually becoming precisely such an issue.

Ukraine’s ‘pyramid of trust’ is crumbling

Evgeny Kuznetsov: You said that the “pyramid of trust” surrounding Ukraine will soon crumble. When will this finally happen?

Andrey Sushentsov: From the Russian perspective, the logic behind this crisis is that we are waging a war to wear down our opponents and deplete their resources. We are targeting their rear lines and breaking their “continental sword.”

We are demonstrating that their strategy is irrelevant; its objectives are unattainable. And the resources they are expending will, over time, be needed in ever-greater quantities. The existing ones are becoming obsolete, as are the systems for utilizing them on Ukrainian territory. They need to be replenished and rebuilt.

Building infrastructure is extremely costly; in wartime conditions, it is simply impossible. In time, Western countries themselves will realize the unviability of this strategy. The opposition within those countries is already openly voicing its outrage and stating that this is a dead end.

There are increasingly insistent calls for the Ukrainian leadership to take a realistic view of the situation and understand what is achievable and what is not. The “pyramid of trust” is crumbling. One after another, the parties involved are adopting an increasingly detached stance on this issue.

Their primary and secondary hopes have not been realized. Now they are almost left high and dry. We must admit, it was a mistake.

No one wants to take responsibility for it. It has not only a political but also a financial dimension. Who should be held to account for the hundreds of billions of euros spent on a strategically futile venture that has antagonized Russia and undermined security on the continent?

That is why we are talking about a short-term historical perspective. It may come to an end in the coming months, or perhaps in the coming years. But we are not talking about a decade-long war. The point is that this will still remain a crisis with its own distinct phases, and we are currently in the final phase of its resolution.

An Indian national and a Saudi citizen were killed in an attack on Dammam airport on Wednesday night, authorities have said.

Two other Indians were amongst the injured, Saudi authorities informed the Indian Embassy in Riyadh.

At least eight people were injured, according to media reports quoting Saudi’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). Those included Saudi, Indian, Yemeni, Bangladeshi, and Nepalese nationals, according to reports.

The US mission in Riyadh has issued an alert for more possible attacks.

“We are ascertaining further details and contacting the affected families,” the Indian Embassy in Saudi said in an X post on Thursday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and loved ones of the deceased, and we wish speedy recovery of the injured.” 

“We strongly condemn the continued attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, including the attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam and Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah oil field in the Eastern Province on October 21,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

The MEA also said that attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure are completely unacceptable and must “cease immediately.”

Our statement on attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia ⬇️ 🔗 https://t.co/CT1ZHRz8q4 https://t.co/gbwyQ5Vpjr

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) October 22, 2026

Earlier on Wednesday, two people were killed when Saudi air defenses intercepted a drone heading toward Aramco’s Shaybah oilfield, the kingdom’s energy ministry said.

The incidents come amid a wave of attacks unleashed by Houthi rebels against Saudi Arabia as retaliation for the kingdom’s backing of the Yemeni government.

In all, 13 people were killed and hundreds injured when the Houthis struck the King Khalid International Airport last week.

The US State Department on Wednesday directed its diplomats and their family members in its missions across the country to leave the kingdom.

Politicians advocating for annexation and further military operations could decide Israel’s next government despite holding only a handful of parliamentary seats, RT correspondent Charlotte Dubenskij reports.

With 37 parties competing for the Knesset’s 120 seats on October 27, Israel’s proportional representation system gives smaller factions leverage in coalition negotiations.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud faces rivals including Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu, Gadi Eisenkot’s centrist Yashar, and Yair Golan’s left-leaning Democrats. In her report, Dubenskij examines the Religious Zionist Party (RZP), which currently holds seven seats and is led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Smotrich has called for territory as far as the Yellow Line in Gaza and the Litani River in Lebanon to be annexed. His ambitions also extend to the occupied West Bank, which he calls Judea and Samaria.

The minister has also advocated for taking all of Gaza for “Zionist and security reasons” and described withholding food and water from its population until hostages were returned as potentially “just and moral.”

Fellow party candidates Zvi Sukkot and Orit Strook have taken similar positions, advocating for more hostility, expanding Israeli settlements, and taking over territories controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

The election comes amid continuing Israeli attacks in Gaza and southern Lebanon, along with escalating settler violence in the West Bank. Recent olive-harvest attacks have targeted Palestinian farmers, European diplomats, and American photojournalist Heidi Levine.

Dubenskij examines how a party with just seven seats could help shape the next coalition and its policies.

Watch the full report below.

Russian news agency Sputnik has opened an editorial office in Johannesburg, South Africa, expanding its African coverage alongside a second newsroom in Tanzania’s commercial hub of Dar es Salaam.

The centers launched on Tuesday employ dozens of local journalists producing English and Swahili content, including podcasts for partner radio stations across Africa. The agency says those stations reach a combined audience of more than 100 million listeners.

South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile welcomed the Johannesburg opening, saying it reflected growing cooperation with Russia and would broaden the range of perspectives available to audiences.

“We welcome Sputnik’s commitment to amplifying African voices and telling African stories,” he said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a video address that the offices would improve access to verified information without ideological filters. He thanked both governments for supporting the newsrooms and accused Western countries of suppressing dissenting views through censorship and double standards.

Sputnik Africa began operating in 2022 and publishes in five languages, including Swahili, Amharic and Oromo. It is part of the Rossiya Segodnya media group.

The expansion comes despite Western restrictions on Russian media. The EU and UK have banned numerous Russian news outlets since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, including RT and Sputnik. Moscow has denounced the EU-wide ban as an attempt to silence coverage of the conflict that contradicts Brussels maximalist political stance.

Russia has handed over the remains of 252 Ukrainian soldiers killed in the conflict and received the bodies of 25 Russian troops in return, according to multiple reports.

The transfer reportedly took place on Thursday in Belarus near the Novaya Guta border crossing with Ukraine. Officials and media outlets in all three countries confirmed the details of the repatriations.

Footage from the scene shows monitors from the International Committee of the Red Cross overseeing the transfer.

The disparity in the number of bodies returned is typical, unlike prisoner-of-war swaps, which are generally conducted on an equal basis.

Pro-Kiev commentators have long argued that the imbalance does not reflect the actual ratio of battlefield casualties, as advancing Russian forces are better positioned to recover the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers. However, the latest round, which followed Kiev’s claims of a major offensive near the city of Liman, showed no significant change in the proportion.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine officially publishes comprehensive figures for its military casualties. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has cited death tolls that even pro-Kiev commentators consider implausibly low. In July, he claimed that “about 50,000” Ukrainian troops had been killed, down from the 55,000 deaths he reported in February.

Many Ukrainian battlefield casualties are classified as missing in action, which allows the cash-strapped government to defer compensation to the families of the fallen soldiers.

On three separate days in mid-June 2025, Russia unilaterally returned 1,200 bodies to Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron has slammed as “stupid” and “unacceptable” remarks by foreign leaders about the unrest gripping France, in an apparent swipe at US President Donald Trump, who blamed the violence on Paris’ lax border policies.

France has been rocked by some of its worst riots in years, sparked last month by teacher shortages and crumbling schools before escalating into nationwide protests over inequality, soaring living costs and public service cuts.

Hundreds of thousands took to the streets over the weekend as demonstrations descended into clashes with police, arson and looting. Nearly 2,400 people were arrested, around 1,000 officers injured, hundreds of businesses looted and buildings torched, with damage estimated at “hundreds of millions of euros.”

Trump pours fuel on the fire

Trump claimed that “migrants, jihadists, and communists” had “conquered, looted, and burned” France, accusing Macron of failing to secure its borders. He urged European leaders to “close their borders,” before seizing on the unrest to rally Republicans ahead of the November 3 midterms, warning that scenes of “burning steeples and raging fires” were “what the Radical Dumocrats want to do to AMERICA” with their own migration agenda.

Macron isn’t amused

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Macron accused outside actors of manipulating information about the events to their gain.

“There was foreign manipulation of information, which gave rise to unacceptable and stupid comments from many people, including foreign leaders,” he said. “We have had people claiming that we were invaded by hordes of migrants and Islamists, which is completely false… These people annoy me.”

Asked whether he was referring to Trump, Macron replied: “Among others.”

President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that foreign leaders — including those “on the other side of the Atlantic” — were seeking to exploit France’s tense social climate for political gain following a weekend of street violence and looting.

Protests over soaring living costs… pic.twitter.com/XlitrzVoK6

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 21, 2026

While there is no clear evidence that migrants have played a disproportionate role in the unrest, multiple videos posted online have shown protesters waving Palestinian flags alongside French ones.

They said the riots and destruction in France were about the cost of living and schools.

Then explain the Palestinian flags and keffiyehs.

Allowing mass third-world migration is why France is done. pic.twitter.com/jDr733vcOx

— TaraBull (@TaraBull) October 19, 2026

French authorities have largely blamed the violence on radical far-left groups and opportunistic criminals, without linking its organization to immigrants. Meanwhile, politicians across France’s political spectrum blamed Macron and his government for the unrest, accusing the administration of undermining public services and failing to maintain order.

Macron leaves the building

His absence drew criticism of an “absent president” and left rivals Marine Le Pen, who leads first-round polling for April 2027 with 32-36% support, and Jean-Luc Melenchon, to dominate the debate at home.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has ordered curfews ahead of fresh protests, with gatherings banned near Paris landmarks including the Louvre and Champs-Elysees for three days. France also plans to deploy 1,000 counterterrorism troops to reinforce police on Saturday, October 24. Lecornu is due to meet mayors of riot-hit cities on Thursday to coordinate efforts to prevent further violence.

Russia, the usual suspect

In his remarks, Macron also dismissed suggestions of foreign interference in the unrest itself, citing a lack of evidence. His remarks followed a flurry of Western media speculation seeking to blame the riots, which spread from France to Belgium, Italy, Portugal and Albania, on outside meddling – with Russia once again cast as the usual suspect.

Outlets such as The Financial Times and the Telegraph, citing “anonymous” sources, reported that several EU governments had asked intelligence agencies to investigate possible Russian involvement. The FT expanded the suspect list to Iran and Algeria, claiming some officials had even demanded a formal EU probe.

Yet the allegations have apparently failed to convince even Brussels. According to Euronews, the European Commission has declined to launch an investigation, citing insufficient evidence.

The speculation follows a familiar pattern of EU officials invoking “hybrid warfare” and the alleged “Russian threat” amid domestic turmoil. Just this week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused Moscow and Minsk of “weaponizing migration,” linking them to the summer crisis in Spain’s Ceuta, where an estimated 70,000 migrants crossed from Morocco, sparking a border emergency and political fallout over EU migration policies. However, yet again, she presented no evidence connecting either country to the crisis.

Moscow says look closer to home

Moscow routinely dismisses allegations of interference and claims of a Russian threat as “absurd” fabrications, accusing EU leaders of using the narrative to deflect blame for their own policy failures and distract from mounting domestic crises.

Responding to Rama’s accusations, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told him to look closer to home.

“These are citizens of your own country who took to the streets to protest. Don’t shift your responsibility onto others. Deal with your own domestic problems,” she said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, meanwhile, described the unrest sweeping the EU as evidence of “a major crisis… bordering on chaos.”

Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has bought a roughly 25% stake in Kenya’s fuel pipeline operator as part of a wider push to expand petroleum distribution across the continent.

The Nigerian industrialist announced the acquisition at the Financial Times Africa Summit in London on Wednesday. Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) operates pipelines and storage facilities supplying Kenya and other regional markets.

“We bought 25% of their pipeline network for the distribution of petroleum products,” Dangote said.

The purchase involved 4.5 billion KPC shares worth $335 million, bought at a slight premium to the last-traded price, the FT reported. Dangote said the acquisition and planned network expansion formed part of a continent-wide fuel distribution strategy. “We are going very aggressively with that,” he said.

Dangote also plans to invest $1.5 billion in expanding the pipeline network as part of a wider African refining, storage, and distribution business, the FT reported.

Kenyan President William Ruto said on Tuesday that private investors had acquired a quarter of KPC from public entities, without identifying the buyers. The government sold a 65% stake through an IPO earlier this year to raise revenue, with the company listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange in March.

Dangote already operates Africa’s largest refinery near Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. The roughly $20 billion facility began commercial operations in 2024, helping the country reduce its reliance on imported fuel. In September, the company launched a $1.6 billion public offering to help finance an expansion intended to double its capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day.

US President Donald Trump has said he expects the finalization of a “much different kind” of trade deal with India soon, boosting hopes that a breakthrough is near after months-long negotiations appear to have stalled over bilateral trade concessions.

Earlier this month, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the negotiations hit a “plateau,” making further concessions difficult for both sides.

India, which currently faces 10% tariffs on exports to the US, has sought an advantage over its competitors in South Asia in the American market. In return, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is willing to allow market access to US companies, apart from some sectors in which local industries could be harmed.

“They want to make a deal. We’re going to make a deal. Pretty close, yeah… It’s going to be a much different kind of a deal than we’ve done,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office on Tuesday.

The US president did not explain what he meant by a “much different deal” and did not provide a time frame.

A trade deal would offer a significant boost to a host of India’s export-oriented sectors, including pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, textiles, electronics, and information technology-related services, NDTV reported.

The recent passage of the Russia sanctions act – which gave Trump the authority to impose up to 100% tariffs on Russia’s top oil buyers, including India – frayed ties and threatened to stall the trade talks.

Trump, however, suspended these sanctions last week, in what was seen as a conciliatory gesture to New Delhi.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will co-chair the plenary session of the third Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow on October 29 alongside Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, the current chair of the African Union, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced on Wednesday.

The two-day summit, scheduled for October 28-29, will bring together Russian officials and African leaders to discuss trade, investment, security, and broader economic cooperation. The agenda will also include peaceful nuclear energy, independent payment systems, food security, digitalization, and artificial intelligence.

“We have effectively reached the final phase of preparations. Work is being carried out in close cooperation with our African partners,” Zakharova said. 

Putin is expected to hold bilateral talks with African leaders and meet with heads of regional organizations on the sidelines of the summit. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will host a working breakfast for his African counterparts on October 28. Zakharova said a substantial package of intergovernmental agreements and commercial contracts is expected to be signed during the event.

Last month, Zakharova said Western governments were pressuring African states to boycott the gathering and described the interference as a continuation of colonial-era practices. Lavrov also accused France of trying to dissuade African leaders from attending, warning that President Emmanuel Macron would use a visit to Africa to exert pressure.

On Monday, Russian Foreign Ministry official Tatyana Dovgalenko said Western countries continued to exert diplomatic pressure on African governments and had even resorted to financial blackmail to prevent their participation.  

The European Commission will not revive a proposal to seize Russian sovereign assets immobilized at the Belgium-based clearing house Euroclear to finance Ukraine, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has said.

Approximately €210 billion ($236 billion) in Russian central bank assets have been frozen in the EU, most of them held at Euroclear. Brussels has been using profits generated by the funds to support Ukraine through a so-called “windfall tax,” but has stopped short of confiscating the principal over concerns about the legal consequences. De Wever has repeatedly raised those risks at meetings of EU leaders.

“One colleague came to tell me in the hallway that it was as if I had run a flamethrower over that debate,” the prime minister told Belgian lawmakers on Wednesday, according to local media, referring to discussions last year. De Wever was briefing the Belgian parliament on the meeting.

“Not everyone experienced the discussion,” he said. “New leaders have emerged who are developing a discourse that I was able to nip in the bud last year.”

The proposal that De Wever considers a nonstarter nevertheless received support in various forms from Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, among others, during last week’s European Council summit.

EU leaders previously considered using approximately €185 billion ($208 billion) in Russian sovereign assets held in Belgium to finance Kiev. After De Wever demanded collective guarantees against potential financial and legal consequences, they instead agreed last December to raise €90 billion ($101 billion) through EU borrowing.

Kiev has deemed the foreign financing available for 2026-2027 insufficient, with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky requesting an additional €70 billion ($79 billion) last week. The EU has made no new funding commitment and reportedly plans to seek further contributions from other potential donors, particularly the UK and Canada.

Russia and Türkiye have called for South Africa’s swift return to G20 activities after the US barred the country from participating during America’s presidency amid tensions over Pretoria’s domestic policies and foreign ties.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Pankin and his Turkish counterpart, Berris Ekinci, discussed the issue during consultations in Moscow, according to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement released on Tuesday. They said any changes to G20 membership must be agreed on by consensus, with greater representation for countries of the Global South and East.

The diplomats also discussed preparations for the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta on October 30-31 and the leaders’ summit in Miami December 14-15. They stressed that the forum should remain a platform for equal dialogue on global economic challenges.

Russia and Türkiye are both members of the G20, which comprises 19 countries, the EU, and the African Union.

US President Donald Trump announced in November 2025 that South Africa would not be invited to the Miami summit, saying it demonstrated that it is “unworthy of membership.” 

Trump also accused Pretoria of refusing to hand over the G20 presidency to a US Embassy representative. South Africa said it would breach protocol for President Cyril Ramaphosa to hand over to a junior diplomat. The transfer later took place at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation between officials of similar rank.

The South African presidency said US punitive measures are based on “misinformation and distortions.” Prior to the Johannesburg summit, Ramaphosa also rejected US pressure against issuing a joint declaration without Washington’s support. He told reporters on November 20 that South Africa “will not agree to be bullied.”

Relations have since deteriorated, with the US announcing visa restrictions in September against officials and people it accuses of enabling racial discrimination, uncompensated land seizures, and inciting violence against minorities in South Africa. US Ambassador Brent Bozell also criticized Pretoria’s ties with Russia, China, and Iran, pledging to challenge its “geostrategic drift” toward America’s competitors.

Ramaphosa warned on Monday that South Africa, which already faces steep US tariffs, must prepare for possible exclusion from America’s preferential trade program for African countries.

A Kuwait-flagged tanker carrying 21 Indian seafarers was struck by an unidentified projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the second time the ship was attacked in less than two months. All crew members were reported to be safe following the attack.

The oil-products tanker MT Al Dasma was hit about 11 nautical miles west of Bukha, Oman, sparking a fire that was later extinguished. The vessel remained stationary following the strike, according to maritime security reports.

India is monitoring the situation and remains in contact with the ship’s management company to ensure the crew’s safety, Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Wednesday.

“All 21 of our Indian crew members, along with the rest of the crew are completely safe,” Sonowal posted on X.

⚠️ IMPORTANT UPDATE ⚠️ On Oct 21, Kuwait-flagged oil product tanker M/T AL DASMA, carrying 21 Indian seafarers, was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. All 21 of our Indian crew members, along with the rest of the crew are completely safe. We are continuously monitoring the situation and remain in close contact with the ship management company to ensure the ongoing security and wellbeing of our seafarers.

— Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) October 21, 2026

The tanker was previously attacked on September 7, southeast of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The vessel was damaged in both incidents, with no pollution reported.

Indian crews have been caught in several recent attacks on commercial ships in the Middle East. On October 16, the tanker MT ST 3, carrying 15 Indian seafarers, was struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz. All crew members were reported safe.
Five days earlier, two Indian sailors were reported missing after the tanker MT Petro Dolphin was struck near Oman. Another tanker, MT Valthera, was hit the same day, but all 11 Indian seafarers aboard were unharmed.

The Antigua and Barbuda-flagged bulk carrier Cape Dao also sank near the strait on October 14, weeks after an attack killed an Indian seafarer.

The IMO had recorded 119 confirmed maritime incidents and 24 seafarer deaths across the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Middle East as of October 21.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said Thursday that four vessels allegedly involved in illegal oil transfers were struck and caught fire in the northern Persian Gulf on Wednesday.

New Delhi previously condemned the recurring attacks on commercial shipping and called for immediate de-escalation through dialogue and diplomacy.

“Attacks on commercial vessels, seafarers and civilian infrastructure must cease,” India’s Foreign Ministry said on October 11, stressing the need to protect freedom of navigation and the uninterrupted flow of maritime commerce.

The US military has quietly begun withdrawing troops from bases across the Middle East, while Washington is ordering diplomatic personnel to leave several missions in the region, NBC News reports.

The moves come as President Donald Trump considers launching a new wave of attacks on Iran, and the withdrawals resemble preparations made by the Pentagon and State Department ahead of the initial US-Israeli strikes in February, NBC reported on Wednesday, citing two US officials and two people familiar with the matter.

US troops stationed in Jordan, Qatar, and Kuwait are among those being relocated, according to the report. Washington reportedly intends to maintain a limited presence at its regional bases, including personnel responsible for air defenses and security.

Ahead of the February 28 attack, the Pentagon withdrew large numbers of troops from potentially vulnerable bases to shield them from expected Iranian retaliation. Tehran accused Washington of using Gulf residents as “human shields” after thousands of US service members took shelter in civilian hotels and office buildings.

The State Department has also ordered non-essential personnel and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, citing escalating attacks by Yemen’s Houthi movement against civilian airports and other critical infrastructure.

Reuters reported that Washington is preparing additional diplomatic withdrawals across the Gulf, citing US officials, but State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott described reports of further withdrawals as “inaccurate.”

Some of Trump’s advisers, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, have reportedly advocated resuming military operations to increase pressure on Tehran. Others have warned against launching another major campaign without a clearly defined objective.

Hegseth made an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, holding closed-door talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just days before Israel’s October 27 parliamentary elections. Netanyahu is seeking another term amid mounting criticism of his handling of the wars in Gaza and Iran. Trump has endorsed his reelection bid.

The US-Israeli war against Iran, launched on February 28, has entered its eighth month, disrupting global energy markets and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has offered to restore normal navigation through the vital waterway within seven days if Washington lifts its naval blockade, eases oil sanctions, and agrees to a broader cessation of hostilities.

Trump has rejected the Iranian proposal as “unacceptable,” while his administration continues to consider whether additional military pressure could force Tehran to accept their terms.

Two OpenAI agents disabled security monitoring systems during testing, with one later denying it had done so, the company has revealed.

The disclosure follows a string of similar incidents in recent months involving autonomous AI agents, which can independently plan and carry out tasks using external tools.

In a blog post on Tuesday, OpenAI said that the incidents occurred on October 3 and 6, involving its GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Astra agents, respectively.

In the first case, the coding agent tasked with creating evaluation tasks using employee feedback collected via Slack disabled automatic alerts to the company’s security team. According to OpenAI, the agent reasoned that the user’s prior instruction not to send messages on the team communication platform during the process applied to all notifications, including security alerts.

OpenAI said that it was investigating why the agents disabled the safeguards and working to prevent similar incidents. While the behavior may have resulted from “benign overpersistence” by the agents to complete the task, the company said that it was also “developing evaluations to test whether models might have a propensity to evade misalignment monitoring in particular.”

Last month, the Wall Street Journal, citing Saachi Jain, OpenAI’s head of safety systems, reported that the company had scrapped the release of its GPT-6.1 Astra model. The decision reportedly came after internal testing had found the model to be more deceptive than its predecessors and apt to employ potentially unsafe external tools without first seeking the user’s permission.

Also in September, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that an OpenAI agent had hacked his country’s Medicare Statistics Reporting Service portal, with the company failing to report the breach for nearly three months.

Earlier, in July, OpenAI disclosed that its models had escaped their sandbox during cybersecurity testing, accessed the internet, and hacked into the servers of the Hugging Face online repository for AI models and datasets.

Earlier this month, Anthropic released a report detailing instances of “unintended” actions by its AI models, including Claude Haiku 4.5 providing a bogus tip to Philadelphia police regarding an ongoing homicide investigation.

Calls to halt AI development or impose tighter regulations on the industry have grown louder.

Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton has warned that increasingly powerful AI could eventually escape human control, with potentially catastrophic consequences. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has also urged governments to adopt a more active role in imposing safety standards on the industry.

However, US President Donald Trump has brushed off such concerns, saying that restrictions on AI development could allow China to overtake the US in the technological race.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, too, has argued that the world must absorb some “bad things” resulting from AI development, including hacks and scams, as the benefits afforded by the technology far outweigh the drawbacks.

A US judge has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in civil penalties for deceiving Facebook users about the privacy of their personal data, in a landmark ruling stemming from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which exposed the harvesting of personal information from millions of Americans for political campaigns.

New Mexico District Judge Francis Mathew issued the ruling on Wednesday, following a jury verdict in September finding Facebook’s parent company responsible for nearly 44 million violations of the state’s consumer protection laws.

The judge concluded that Meta’s misconduct warranted a penalty exceeding $219 billion under state law, but reduced the amount to $25 billion, making it one of the largest financial penalties ever imposed on an American corporation.

The case arose from the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal, when it emerged that the British political consulting firm obtained personal information from as many as 87 million Facebook users without their consent.

woah, it gets worse. In the Meta securities lawsuit for Cambridge Analytica cover-up, plaintiffs just posted deposition list. If they have the courage to 'go to the mat' (as Zuckerberg says) like New Mexico AG has done for over $25B, this could be very, very bad for Team Zuck. 1/3

— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) October 22, 2026

The information was collected through a third-party personality quiz application that exploited Facebook’s system for accessing users’ friends’ data. Cambridge Analytica used the information to develop psychological profiles of voters and deliver targeted political advertising, including during the 2016 US presidential election.

The company was established in 2013 as the American political-data arm of the British SCL Group, a private contractor specializing in behavioral influence, psychological profiling, and strategic communications. SCL also marketed influence and research services to defense clients, including the UK Defense Ministry.

The scandal also exposed connections to Palantir Technologies, a Silicon Valley data-analysis company with extensive contracts involving US intelligence agencies and the Pentagon. A 2018 New York Times investigation revealed that at least one Palantir employee advised Cambridge Analytica’s researchers during the company’s 2014 efforts to harvest Facebook information.

Palantir denied having a formal business relationship with Cambridge Analytica, maintaining that the employee acted in a personal capacity.

Attorney General Raul Torrez hailed Wednesday’s judgment as a warning to Silicon Valley that even the largest technology companies could be held accountable for violating consumer protection laws.

Meta has denied misleading users and plans to appeal the ruling, arguing that the unprecedented penalty is unconstitutional. Responding to the jury’s verdict last month, the company also invoked freedom of speech, insisting that Facebook is a forum for free expression.

Numerous websites worldwide, including government-run pages, temporarily went dark after the AI-assisted discovery of critical vulnerabilities in the PHP programming language, which powers around 70% of the web globally.

On Wednesday, the developers of the popular open-source programming language, which helps websites run and display content, issued an urgent security alert over “critical remote code execution vulnerabilities.”

The flaws could allow hackers to take control of affected websites, prompting the release of urgent fixes, with all PHP users “strongly encouraged to update immediately.”

Cybersecurity agencies worldwide, including the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, the UK’s National Cyber Security Center, the Australian Signals Directorate, and the Canadian Center for Cyber Security, issued their own alerts, advising users to apply the patches immediately and prioritize internet-facing systems.

The announcement prompted France’s Interior Ministry to temporarily shut down prefecture websites, with local government pages also unavailable. In neighboring Belgium, the Foreign Ministry similarly took its websites offline on Wednesday. In the Netherlands, the National Cyber Security Center, the websites of all major political parties, and at least one port took similar precautionary measures.

In Denmark, the national school communication platform was temporarily shut down; in Finland, the government’s public web services went dark.

The flaws in PHP were identified by two cybersecurity companies, Calif and Wiz, in August. PHP developers have since worked on fixes, while keeping the discovery under wraps to prevent malicious actors from exploiting the vulnerabilities.

The cybersecurity companies said they made extensive use of AI models in the process, including Google’s Gemini 4 Argon and OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Sol.

Wiz stated that the “underlying flaws had been present for decades, but demonstrating their exploitability required an exceptionally complex chain of steps, at the edge of what human researchers could practically achieve.”

Poland has accused Kiev of making unacceptable “suicidal” moves after the Ukrainian city of Lviv dedicated 2027 to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and its leader, Nazi collaborator Roman Shukhevich.

To celebrate the 120th anniversary of Shukhevich’s birth and mark 85 years since the creation of the militant group that perpetrated mass killings of ethnic Poles, Jews, and Russians, the Lviv Regional Council decided on Tuesday to organize “cultural, memorial, scientific, and mass media events,” as well as exhibitions and national-patriotic rallies.

The announcement was met with widespread condemnation in Poland, which regards the UPA as perpetrators of genocide against Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia and its leader, Shukhevich, as a key ‘architect’ of the massacres. From 1943 to 1945, Ukrainian nationalist militants murdered an estimated 100,000 ethnic Poles in the regions, which are now largely part of modern Ukraine.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the move a “suicidal tactic,” and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz called it “unacceptable.” Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski condemned the announcement, calling for the resolution’s key sponsor, Lviv regional lawmaker Svyatoslav Sheremet, to be placed on Poland’s travel ban list.

The resolution ultimately vanished from the Lviv council’s website without any explanation. Speaking to Polish media on Wednesday, Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Bosacki said Warsaw received assurances from Kiev that the resolution would not be implemented.

“We take on faith the words of the administration of Vladimir Zelensky that this catastrophic decision will not be implemented,” Bosacki stated, calling the disappearance of the resolution from the council’s website a “good sign,” but cautioning against interpreting it as an official cancellation of the celebrations.

Poland regards the UPA and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), which collaborated with Nazi Germany during the early stages of its 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union, as perpetrators of genocide, while modern Ukraine cherishes them as freedom fighters and national heroes.

Earlier this year, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky named a military unit after the ‘Heroes of the UPA’ and established a ‘pantheon of outstanding Ukrainians’ at Kiev’s main military cemetery, where OUN leader and Nazi collaborator Andrey Melnik was reinterred with state honors in May.

First and foremost, it’s important to note a significant decrease in the level of violent crime. Of course, after President Donald Trump’s controversial firing of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erica McEntarfer, for publishing weak labor market figures, trust in American statistics has been considerably shaken. Thus, reports of achieving the lowest murder rate in history – 4.3 cases per 100,000 population – may be politically motivated and deliberately boastful. Nevertheless, a noticeable decline in the rate of murders and other violent crimes has indeed occurred in recent years. This can be attributed to increased federal funding and strengthening of the police force, as well as intensified efforts against illegal immigration during the Trump administration.

A particularly striking aspect of this is the comparison with Canada, which has been and remains a bastion of liberalism in immigration and domestic policy. Unlike the US, where the level of violent crime is traditionally high, Canada has always been perceived as a safe society. But now, everything is changing before our eyes.

Since 2015, the rate of violent crime per capita in the U.S. has decreased by 15.1%, while in Canada, on the contrary, it has increased by 36.9%. As a result, for the first time in history, the land of the maple leaf has surpassed the U.S. in terms of violent crime per capita.

Another significant trend: Gallup polls show that the perception of homosexual relationships as morally acceptable has stopped increasing and even declined in the US The share of those supporting same-sex marriage fell from 71% in 2023 to 64% in 2026. Support for gender transition practices among Americans decreased from 46% to 38%.

As we can see, the MAGA effect is concentrated within the Republican electorate and primarily manifests in the consolidation of Republicans based on traditional values. At the same time, there is an intensifying value conflict between conservative Republicans and the Democratic Party electorate.

Perhaps the most vivid manifestation of the MAGA effect is that in the summer of 2024, the trend of decreasing births among white Americans was replaced by steady growth, and by spring 2026, the proportion of newborns from white families reached 51.5%, the first increase in five years.

Let’s see if this trend can be maintained, but the mere fact of the growth in births among white Americans is quite remarkable – it demonstrates a surge of optimism in the WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) community and proves that they still have fight left in them. In an era of victorious globalization, WASPs in the US were already being metaphorically buried with a derogatory epitaph, yet they suddenly breathed life and showed they are ready to fight for their country, which their ancestors built.

It is noteworthy that conservative and religious Americans have twice as many children as their liberal and non-religious counterparts. Thus, the conservative American community reproduces itself (total fertility rate 2.22), while the liberal American environment naturally shrinks by half in each subsequent generation (total fertility rate 1.02), mainly replenishing itself through immigration.

The descendants of pilgrims and pioneers remember that the primary traditional value is the will to live. Everything one needs to know about MAGA can be boiled down to two points. First, it is the rise of the American spirit. Second, it serves as a visual reiteration of a biblical lesson: the salvation of those who are drowning is in the hands of the drowners themselves.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump could hold a “historic” three-way meeting at the APEC summit in China, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov has said.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is scheduled to take place in Shenzhen, China, on November 18-19.

Speaking to the Russian outlet Vesti on Wednesday, Ushakov said Beijing had already begun preparations for the potential talks.

“Everyone is ready for this, but much, if not everything, depends on the Chinese hosts of the summit,” he said.

The possibility of three-way talks was also discussed during Putin’s meeting with US special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, according to the Kremlin.

Ushakov described the proposed gathering as potentially “historic,” noting that it would be the first meeting of the three leaders in this format.

Putin and Trump last met in person at a summit in Anchorage, Alaska, in August 2025, and have remained in contact by phone, most recently on October 9.

Trump and Xi have met twice so far this year, first in Beijing in May and then at the White House last month.

Trump has previously expressed openness to three-way talks, suggesting that nuclear disarmament could be among the issues discussed.

Asked whether the talks could also contribute to peace efforts in the Ukraine conflict, Ushakov said a single meeting would not be enough. “Even if the meeting lasts one, two or five hours, it still won’t be possible to resolve all the problems,” he said.

Commenting on whether the summit could amount to a “new Yalta,” Ushakov said: “I think that if the meeting takes place, there will be a storm of comments and assessments.” 

The 1945 Yalta Conference brought together Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to discuss the final stages of World War II and the postwar international order.

Slovakia will discuss economic cooperation with Russia, including energy supplies, in Moscow next week, the Slovak Foreign Ministry has said.

The landlocked EU nation has remained a buyer of Russian oil and gas despite the deterioration of the ties between Moscow and the EU in the wake of the escalation of the Ukraine conflict. The country is supposed to phase out Russian energy by late 2027 under the bloc’s plan to replace Russian oil and gas supplies from elsewhere.

The Russian-Slovak intergovernmental commission for economic, scientific, and technical cooperation has been inactive since November 2021 but is now set to meet next Monday, the Slovak Foreign Ministry announced late on Tuesday. The commission will discuss a broad range of topics, including farming, environment, sports, and culture, and focus on energy supply, including nuclear energy, according to the ministry.

“The fundamental topic will be energy and the possibility to cooperate in securing supplies of strategic resources. The Slovak side is also interested in discussing gas supplies and the continuation of oil supplies,” it said in a statement.

Bratislava continues “to base its approach on its European Union and North Atlantic Alliance membership and keeping commitments of this membership” but wants to create room for dialogue, the ministry said.

Last month, Fico warned that Europe was moving dangerously close to a direct clash between NATO and Russia, accusing the West of seeking a “pretext” for a major conflict. He accused EU nations of engaging in increasingly bellicose rhetoric and described the Ukraine conflict as “out of control.”

“The situation has never been as serious and tense regarding the possibility of a pan-European war conflict as it is now,” he said.

The EU has updated its Arctic strategy, and militarism has replaced climate activism as Brussels’ new preoccupation in the frozen north. Despite what the new strategy claims, however, the Arctic is not “the EU’s Northern Neighborhood.”

Unveiled on Tuesday by the European Commission, the ‘Strategy for the Arctic’ describes the region as a “critical” zone for trade, investment, and conservation, and a flashpoint for military confrontation with Russia. 

Today, we adopt our new 🇪🇺 Arctic Strategy. The Arctic is where the tectonic plates of geopolitics collide head-on. It requires us to change our strategic posture. And work with like-minded partners that share our values ↓ https://t.co/B6GvgUOCQk

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) October 20, 2026

“With Russia and China increasing their footprint and ambition, the Arctic has become a front line of global power competition,” top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said in a statement. “Our revamped Strategy reflects this new reality and puts security firmly at its core.”

To understand just how dramatic this new focus on security is, it’s necessary to turn back the clock to 2021, when the commission released its previous Arctic strategy.

The EU’s green past

Published on October 13, 2021, the strategy opened by describing climate change as “the most comprehensive threat the Arctic is facing.” Russia’s refurbishment of Soviet-era military bases along its Arctic coastline was presented primarily as something that could “further aggravate the consequences of climate change,” and the EU pledged to work with Moscow “to improve environmental and health security,” and to leave military relations with Russia up to NATO and individual member states.

Four months later, Brussels severed relations with Moscow and entered the Russia-Ukraine conflict on Kiev’s side. The title of the 2021 strategy – ‘A stronger EU engagement for a peaceful, sustainable and prosperous Arctic’ – needed an update that reflected the EU’s new militarism.

Brussels claims the Arctic

“Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine has reshaped the security of the Arctic and the EU as a whole,” the new document opens, going on to assert that “the Arctic is not someone else’s frontier. It is Europe’s Northern Neighbourhood and the European Union is part of the Arctic.”

Geography is not exactly on Brussels’ side here. The 27-member union has no coastline on the Arctic Ocean, and only two of its members – Finland and Sweden – have territory inside the Arctic Circle (although a Danish dependency, Greenland left the EU in 1985). Russia accounts for 53% of the Arctic Ocean’s coastline, and 45% of all land inside the Arctic Circle.

To compensate for this, the new strategy proposes that all waters north of 60 degrees latitude be considered ‘Arctic’. The commission argues that this would allow its environmental regulations to “cover the actual footprint of Arctic shipping.” It would also dramatically expand the EU’s ‘Arctic’ territory and population by bringing almost all of Finland and Sweden into the new region, including Finland’s entire 1,340 kilometer border with Russia. It is on this frontier that the EU is preparing for conflict.

War preparations

The strategy sets out a lengthy list of military objectives, with the commission promising to:

• “Deepen engagement with NATO” and hold military exercises focused on moving troops and equipment into the Arctic

• Develop military logistics corridors from central Europe to the Arctic

• Upgrade ports and airports for military use

• Expand icebreaker capacity 

• Expand satellite surveillance of the region and tracking of Russian oil tankers

• Develop polar-capable undersea drones

• Establish a “Maritime Security Hub” and increase data-sharing with NATO

• Deepen military ties with Canada, Iceland, Norway, the UK, and US

The strategy is short on some specifics, and almost all of these goals are presented without an accompanying price tag. The only actual figures listed are €260 million for ten existing European Defence Fund projects, €107 million toward the construction of an undersea internet cable to Greenland, and the €200 million Greenland ‘Partnership Package’, which was announced last month. Although the commission says that this investment package will “support resilience, security and peace in the Arctic,” none of the €200 million in funding is earmarked for explicitly military projects.

‘Shadow fleet’ is an EU euphemism for tankers carrying Russian oil in international waters. Russian oil exporters do not abide by EU sanctions, nor do importers outside the EU. Nevertheless, EU member states have abrogated the authority to seize them, in what the Kremlin considers “flagrant violation of international law” and “outright piracy and robbery.”

Should the seizures continue, Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to respond in kind.

The ‘hybrid war’ deception

The EU’s militarization of the Arctic is justified, the document states, as Russia is “pursuing hybrid strategies against its neighbours… from drone incursions and Global Navigation Satellite System jamming to the sabotage of undersea cables.” In the absence of real, verifiable military action by Russia against Europe, EU and NATO leaders have taken to accusing Moscow of waging “hybrid war,” describing drone sightings, fires, and accidents at weapons factories, protests, and even natural disasters as Kremlin-orchestrated plots to destabilize the West. 

Nevertheless, claims of ‘hybrid war’ have persisted in European politics and media, to the point where some analysts view the claims themselves as a form of “hybrid warfare” against the European public, used to justify military spending hikes and welfare cutbacks.

“When you are sure it is the Russians, or almost sure it is the Russians, attribute it to the Russians,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte advised the bloc’s political leaders and intelligence chiefs earlier this month. 

Russia has been holding military exercises in the Arctic for decades, and the refurbishment of its Soviet-era bases in the region has been underway since before the EU published its 2021 Arctic strategy. However, the newly militarized EU is no longer content to handle this matter through old mechanisms – namely the Arctic Council – and insists that countering Russia in the north is its responsibility as well as NATO’s.

The Europeans dictate their terms

The EU’s new strategy calls on Russia to “ensure that freedom of navigation is preserved” along the Northern Sea Route (NSR), a formerly impassable navigation corridor that can now be traversed year-round, thanks to receding polar ice caps and the assistance of Russia’s vast icebreaker fleet. The NSR cuts transit time from China to northern Europe in half, and in August, the first Chinese container ship arrived at the port of Murmansk via this route.

The NSR skims along more than 24,000 km of Russian coastline, and through internationally recognized Russian territorial waters. Russia is the only state capable of rendering assistance to any ships passing through the route, and vessels wishing to pass in winter must pay to be escorted by Russian icebreakers. Moscow retains the right to deny any ships access to the NSR.

Nevertheless, the EU insists that it has a say over Russian maritime policy, even as it vows to “continue to sanction the shadow fleet entering from the Northern Sea Route” and place Russian shipping under satellite surveillance. The latest Arctic strategy states that the EU will “actively engage” with other nations to ensure freedom of navigation in the Arctic, but omits any possibility of engagement with Russia. Only “like-minded partners,” a term mentioned nearly two dozen times in the document, will be consulted.

Diplomatic and economic disputes in the Arctic were previously handled at the Arctic Council. However, seven of the council’s eight members – every one except Russia – stopped participating in high-level Council meetings in March 2022. That same month, the EU joined Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden in suspending any activities involving Russia within the separate Barents Euro-Arctic Council.

The EU’s Arctic delusion

In a message released by its embassy in the Netherlands on Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry described the document as “another pipe dream of EU hawks.”

“A quick reality check: Russia operates a fleet of 40+ icebreakers. How many does the EU have in total?” the ministry asked. “The Arctic should be a place of cooperation, not confrontation. Maybe it’s time to stop the provocations?”

After spending years pressuring New Delhi to cut back its Russian oil purchases, and isolate Moscow, Washington has now changed tack and is seeking India’s help to bring down elevated domestic fuel prices that are largely of its own making.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who skipped New Delhi entirely on his second visit to India this year, made clear what had brought him to the country – the massive refining capacity of Reliance Industries, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani.

“I’m also here in my capacity as the National Security Adviser,” Rubio said in Mumbai. “Energy is related to national security … we’re going to go see a company that has a tremendous amount of refining capability.”  

President Donald Trump’s administration is showing a new urgency to bring down the high fuel prices that threaten Republicans’ prospects in November’s midterm elections. US retail diesel prices reached a record average of about $6.32 a gallon on Tuesday.

American refineries are already operating at close to capacity, and Washington is working with India to increase refining output and bring more petroleum products to global markets, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in Houston the same day. 

“Energy politics is inseparable from American geopolitics,” Jindal School of International Affairs adjunct professor and former Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Anuradha Mitra Chenoy told RT. “The US is using energy as a geopolitical instrument, and that is central to understanding Rubio’s visit.”

From Russian oil tariffs to Venezuelan crude

Washington has regularly used energy sanctions to achieve its geopolitical aims. First it took Iranian, and then Venezuelan, crude off the market with the threat of sanctions. Since the Ukraine conflict began, Washington also pressured India to stop buying Russian crude. The argument was that choking off Moscow’s oil revenues would help end the conflict, which is now in its fifth year. 

New Delhi has maintained that providing affordable energy to its 1.4 billion people is central to its oil-purchasing decisions. India imports about 85% of its energy requirements, and Russia remains one of its biggest sources of oil.

But the pressure reached a breaking point when the US Congress passed a law last month that threatened “bone-crushing sanctions” on major buyers of Russian energy. New Delhi warned that the proposed measures could affect bilateral relations and global energy markets. 

Trump announced a deal with Russia to buy diesel for the domestic market. And cleared the deck for Rubio’s visit by waiving off sanctions on Moscow’s top oil buyers – which includes China and India, allowing Russian oil to flow more freely into global markets.

“None of these tariffs are meant to punish or harm India,” Rubio said in Mumbai, adopting a more conciliatory tone than has come out of Washington until recently.

Why Reliance, and Jamnagar, matter to Washington

Washington’s top diplomat held talks with Mukesh Ambani at Jamnagar in India’s Gujarat state on the second day of his visit. The Reliance refinery in Jamnagar is the largest single-site refining complex in the world, and can process around 1.4 million barrels of crude a day.

It is also one of the few facilities capable of processing large volumes of Venezuela’s extra-heavy crude, which is good for producing diesel – showing its importance to a US administration worried about domestic fuel prices. 

Jamnagar already plays a major part in keeping global fuel prices in check – by selling fuel refined from Russian crude to markets including Europe, which sanctions the same crude.

And it is buying more Venezuelan oil, accounting for more than 74% of the nearly $3.6 billion worth of Venezuelan crude imported by India between April and August, according to figures shared by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) think tank.

Rubio wants Reliance to buy, and process, more of the Venezuelan crude, which the US now controls after kidnapping the country’s President Nicolas Maduro.

“The refining capability exists,” GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava told RT. “The question is whether expanding purchases makes commercial sense.”

Venezuelan crude is cheaper but it also costs more to refine, he pointed out. He also questioned the wisdom of India buying more of the South American country’s oil, which was once subjected to US sanctions. 

“It would be very unwise for India to stop using Russian oil,” Chenoy said, pointing out that there are only a limited number of major sources available internationally, and Russia remains one of the most important.

Reliance is also involved in a proposed refinery project in Brownsville, Texas, under a long-term agreement to purchase its output. The facility, which Trump called a $300 billion project in March, is designed to process lighter American shale crude. 

The Indian conglomerate “helps utilize and unleash the energy that is being developed in the Western Hemisphere,” Rubio told the Indian Express, describing his visit as an opportunity to identify ways of diversifying energy supplies.

Rubio dodges a Musk-ignited controversy

Ahead of his meeting with Ambani, Rubio had to sidestep the controversy ignited by trillionaire Elon Musk.

The world’s richest man, a prominent donor to the Republican party, had accused Ambani earlier this month of obstructing the launch of his Starlink satellite internet service in India.

Musk targeted Ambani, sarcastically addressing him as “Prime Minister Ambani” and questioning whether his company would allow Starlink to compete in the country.

Reliance also dismissed suggestions that it was blocking competition. 

“Elon Musk is a private citizen,” Rubio told the Indian Express, adding that Musk had the right to express his views.

Rubio also sought to assuage concerns about the India-US trade deal, which has been holding fire despite months of tortuous negotiations. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman described the talks as deadlocked earlier this month, saying both sides were finding it “very difficult” to make further concessions.

“We are weeks, not months, away from, I think, finalizing it,” Rubio said. “I would say we are about as close as you can be without having executed the agreement.” 

India has been holding off on finalizing the deal as it wants to lock in a competitive advantage in the US market relative to rival exporter nations. 

Pragmatism back on the table

The US administration turning on the charm, so to speak, suggests that Washington’s energy and political interests are taking precedence over its geopolitical considerations and moral grandstanding.

With pragmatism back on the table, Rubio’s visit could mark a step toward easing bilateral tensions and strengthening cooperation beyond the immediate fuel crisis driving the change.

Still India must “carefully examine what it is being asked to commit to, what commercial benefits it can expect, and the risks of future changes in US policy,” Srivastava said.

Residents of New South Wales, Australia could soon have the option to make a final contribution to their garden upon death, after the state’s parliament approved turning human remains into compost as an alternative to burial and cremation.

The bill, introduced by Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, cleared the upper house on Wednesday after passing the lower house unanimously last week. It now awaits assent, with a minimum two-year wait before going into force.

Known as ‘terramation’ or natural organic reduction, a body is placed in a vessel with wood chips, straw, and other plant material. Microbes break down the remains, producing material that can eventually nourish trees and gardens.

US operator Recompose says its process takes 8-12 weeks, including a curing period. Remaining bones are mechanically ground down and mixed back in, and artificial implants are removed.

Under the NSW bill, families can take the resulting compost home to nourish a memorial tree or garden, or arrange for it to be placed elsewhere. However, choosing to become garden material remains a personal decision; operators are barred from turning a deceased person’s remains into compost against their written wishes.

“We are running out of burial space [and] that space can cost as much as $50,000 [Australian dollars],” Greenwich told ABC in June. He predicted that composting will become cheaper than cremation, although local prices have yet to be established.

Not everyone is pleased with the proposal. NSW Premier Chris Minns said in June that he felt “a bit weird about it.” Catholic Weekly columnist Michael Cook described it as a “bizarre solution to saving the planet,” arguing that composting conflicts with religious respect for the human body.

Similar human composting practices have already been approved in several US states and part of Germany. England and Wales are considering rules that could eventually allow it.

Israel’s leading political parties hold broadly similar positions on Palestinian statehood and Gaza despite their fierce electoral rivalry, RT correspondent Charlotte Dubenskij reports. 

With parliamentary elections scheduled for October 27, the report examines whether a change of government would bring any significant shift in the country’s policies toward the Palestinians.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who leads the right-wing Likud party, has categorically rejected the creation of a Palestinian state.

“There will be no Palestinian state to the west of the Jordan River,” Netanyahu declared.

His position is echoed by several political rivals. The leader of Yisrael Beiteinu, Avigdor Lieberman, has said that the idea of a two-state solution “has died,” while Gadi Eisenkot, head of the centrist Yashar party, has ruled out Palestinian statehood under a government he leads.

Even Yair Golan, leader of the left-leaning Democrats, has described a two-state solution as “too ambitious” for now, instead advocating civilian separation while retaining Israeli security control.

The similarities in position extend to Gaza, where the main parties all support disarming Hamas and maintaining Israeli military involvement, although they differ over who should govern the territory.

Military conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews remains a major point of contention, with disagreements over long-standing draft exemptions triggering widespread protests.

With smaller factions potentially playing a decisive role in forming the next coalition, Dubenskij raises the question of how much Israel’s policies could change after the vote.

Watch the full report below.

Russia and China could finalize agreements on a major new gas pipeline by the end of the year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak said on Wednesday, in a potential breakthrough that would significantly expand Moscow’s energy exports to Asia.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of talks between Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang in St. Petersburg, Novak said the planned Power of Baikal pipeline was among the issues discussed.

“Our companies – Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation – are negotiating a second route for gas supplies from Russia to the People’s Republic of China,” he said. “We are waiting for our companies to complete commercial negotiations and hope they will reach the relevant agreements by the end of the year.”

Li arrived in St. Petersburg on Tuesday for the regular meeting of the Russian and Chinese heads of government.

Russia already supplies gas to China through the Power of Siberia, a more than 3,000-kilometer pipeline launched in 2019. It carries gas from the Chayandinskoye field in Yakutia and the Kovyktinskoye field in Irkutsk Region through Russia’s Far East and across the border near Blagoveshchensk, connecting to a Chinese network extending toward Shanghai. Its annual export capacity is 38 billion cubic meters (bcm), with deliveries reaching 38.8 bcm in 2025.

The planned Power of Baikal, previously known as Power of Siberia 2, would open a major new energy corridor. The roughly 2,600-kilometer pipeline is designed to deliver up to 50 bcm annually from Russia’s Arctic gas fields on the Yamal Peninsula to China via Mongolia, including the Soyuz Vostok transit pipeline.

Unlike Power of Siberia, which draws gas from eastern Siberia, the new route would tap western Siberian reserves that previously supplied Europe, giving Moscow a major new outlet for gas following the collapse of much of its European market. Novak said the project was renamed Power of Baikal to distinguish it from the existing pipeline and reflect its planned route along the southern shore of Lake Baikal. The precise route remains subject to final commercial agreements.

Gazprom and CNPC signed a legally binding memorandum on the project in September 2025, envisaging deliveries of 50 bcm annually over 30 years. A final supply contract, however, was not signed. Pricing is a key sticking point, with media reports suggesting Beijing is seeking rates close to Russia’s domestic prices, while Moscow has pushed for more commercially favorable terms. President Vladimir Putin said last year that pricing would follow a market-based formula similar to that used for European supplies, stressing that there would be “no charity” on either side.

The expansion comes as Russia accelerates its energy pivot toward Asia in light of Western sanctions and EU efforts to phase out Russian supplies. Before the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, Europe was Russia’s largest pipeline gas market, with Gazprom providing around 40-45% of the bloc’s total gas imports. Deliveries subsequently plunged as Brussels pursued alternative suppliers and imposed successive sanctions on Russia.

Unlike oil, which can be redirected by tanker, pipeline gas requires extensive infrastructure, making Power of Baikal a key project in Moscow’s efforts to replace lost European demand. Moscow has repeatedly accused Western governments of undermining European energy security through their sanctions policies.

The shift also follows the September 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines that previously brought Russian gas to Germany beneath the Baltic Sea. Novak said on Wednesday that Moscow remains ready to resume deliveries through the one Nord Stream pipeline string out of the four that remained undamaged.

Russia has repeatedly offered to resume energy supplies to Europe, particularly in light of the disruptions to global markets caused by the Middle East crisis, but says its proposals have received no response from European governments.

Russia’s Ural Airlines will start direct flights to Delhi next week, as it seeks to benefit from a spurt in business travel and tourism between the two countries.

The flights will operate from Ural Airlines’ base, Koltsovo Airport in Ekaterinburg, to New Delhi three days a week, on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, the airline told RT India.

The service will start on October 25.

“The decision to launch regular flights was driven by both commercial and strategic reasons,” the airline said, citing strong demand and the availability of a suitable fleet of Airbus aircraft.

Ekaterinburg is the largest transport and industrial hub in the Urals. Direct flights from the city will significantly slash travel time from the Urals and Siberia.

Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov recently said the number of airline services to India a week could soon jump nearly fivefold to 71 from the current 15.

“Siberian Airlines (S7) and Ural Airlines are actively working on the possibility of launching regular flights to Delhi from Novosibirsk and Ekaterinburg,” Alipov told RT.

“We are awaiting a response from our Indian partners,” the ambassador said.

Officials in Tatarstan also previously indicated they are in talks with the East-West Group and Russian authorities about launching direct flights to India, including to its financial hub, Mumbai.

India and Russia are similarly boosting ties in the civil aviation sector. Two Indian domestic airlines have signed agreements on buying 85 Russian passenger aircraft, as Moscow and New Delhi move to expand cooperation in civil aviation and manufacturing.

The new services come amid an expected surge in activity in various sectors including tourism, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and food processing, information technology, engineering, and transport and logistics. India and Russia expect bilateral trade to hit $100 billion by 2030.

A Russian Navy training ship has arrived in Namibia as part of a voyage around Eurasia and Africa, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday. The Baltic Fleet vessel ‘Perekop’ docked at the port of Walvis Bay after crossing the Indian and Atlantic oceans.

According to the ministry, the ship covered more than 1,800 nautical miles in seven days. During the journey, cadets from the Baltic Naval Institute continued their practical training, taking part in navigation watches, plotting courses using onboard instruments, and practicing maneuvers through narrow waterways. They also received instruction in ship operations and damage control.

The vessel was welcomed in Walvis Bay by representatives of the Russian Embassy and the Namibian navу. The visitors who toured the ship were briefed on its operations and the training program for future naval officers. The crew and cadets are also to visit local attractions during their stay.

According to Sputnik, the voyage is scheduled to conclude on December 9, 2026, after taking the vessel through four oceans, 14 seas, 23 straits, nine bays, and two rivers, with calls at 20 ports, including 12 overseas.

The ‘Perekop’ is not the first Russian naval ship to visit Africa. In July 2025, another Baltic Fleet vessel, the ‘Smolny’, visited the Republic of the Congo as part of a regional tour that also included Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé and Príncipe. The ship had previously called at several African ports in 2024, including in Namibia, Angola, and South Africa.

The Wall Street Journal has challenged Elon Musk’s denials over alleged restrictions on satellite services used for Ukrainian drone strikes deep inside Russia. The outlet has cited anonymous White House sources who have claimed that the SpaceX founder and Starlink owner had personally ordered restricting the service.

Ukrainian officials last week claimed that SpaceX’s Starlink satellite communications service and its military-grade version, Starshield, which Kiev uses for frontline drone operations, stopped working on drones traveling faster than 160 kph (100 mph). Neither Starlink nor SpaceX has publicly acknowledged a technical “signal or service failure,” leaving the questions of whether an actual service restriction took place, and if so what could have caused it, unconfirmed.

What has Ukraine claimed about Starshield?

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky initially claimed, without evidence, that Kiev had been told “technical malfunctions” had caused a service slowdown. He later shifted the blame to Washington. On NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ on Sunday Zelensky claimed, again without citing evidence nor being asked to provide it, that an order had come from the US government. According to Zelensky, Kiev had even secretly despatched cars to the EU, where they could drive "legally" at 180kph (110mph) where tests allegedly surfaced discrepancies in Starlink performance between the EU and Ukraine.

Musk has categorically denied that he instructed SpaceX to restrict either service, nor has he confirmed that any restriction or slowdown took place.

The WSJ cited anonymous sources who contradicted him, alleging on Tuesday that he personally ordered speed limits on Ukrainian hardware connected to the satellite network.

Even the WSJ's sources accounts differed. Some claimed that Musk acted unilaterally; others said he consulted senior administration officials, including President Donald Trump, before making the decision. The outlet also claimed that SpaceX representatives contacted the White House to coordinate their accounts of whether the restrictions had been agreed on with the administration. 

What has the US government said about Starshield?

Musk earlier insisted that Starshield is owned and controlled by the US government, meaning any speed or usage restrictions are determined by the US military and ultimately Trump – who denied that he ordered the restrictions, though he said on Monday he “would like to find out” who did. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent both said the administration was not behind the restrictions, with Bessent rebuking Zelensky for making “reckless” allegations.

Relations between Zelensky and Washington have effectively collapsed in recent weeks over sanctions on Russia and Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure. Both Musk and Trump have sharply criticized Ukraine’s attacks on Russian diesel refineries, blaming them for global fuel shortages and soaring prices at the pump.

Speaking at the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump warned Zelensky that he is “going to have to want to make a deal.” He also criticized the cost of supporting Kiev, saying the US has received “absolutely nothing back” except “grief, death and tremendous monetary loss.”

What did Kiev say about Starshield?

Despite Zelensky’s evidence-free assertions and there being no record in the public sphere to support it, the Western press and Ukrainian diplomats are echoing the claims regardless. Ukraine’s ambassador in Washington, Denis Senik, said on Tuesday that Kiev is still “waiting for the official response from contacts with the Pentagon and SpaceX” to understand what happened. 

What did the Kremlin say about Starshield?

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that Moscow is unaware of the reported Starlink restrictions, but stressed that “overall, of course, it would be better if such amazing technology… was not used for military purposes at all.” Moscow has condemned Western military assistance for Kiev, arguing that it only prolongs the conflict and obstructs peace efforts.

Is there any proof Starshield was slowed down?

There is no proof on the public record or in the public domain that the Starshield was affected. The only suggestions supporting the idea such an incident took place are Vladimir Zelensky's uncontested claim that Ukrainians sent cars to the EU with Starlink terminals to compare data and the claims of an anonymous Ukrainian officer who told German media giant Axel Springer's Global Reporter's Network, seemingly during the alleged service restriction, that all operations were on hold. 

Russia is ready to resume three-way negotiations with the US and Ukraine to discuss security arrangements for when the conflict has ended, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov has said.

The announcement followed nearly three hours of talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff at Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. Jared Kushner joined by video link after illness prevented him from traveling.

Ushakov said Putin told Witkoff that Moscow was “in principle, ready to resume” trilateral negotiations in mid-November, with the main topic being a post-conflict security system for Russia and Ukraine. Witkoff indicated that Trump would welcome the proposal, the aide added.

The presidential aide noted that earlier attempts to restart trilateral talks were derailed by Kiev having carried out massive attacks on Moscow and other cities during Russia’s recent parliamentary elections. Polling stations were targeted on the main voting day, with election commission personnel killed.

However, the situation has since been “re-evaluated, taking into account the signals received from the Americans,” Ushakov said, adding that Putin had praised the mediation efforts of Trump, his administration, and special representatives in seeking mutually acceptable solutions.

Beyond Ukraine, the participants discussed the October diesel agreement, under which Washington eased sanctions on Russian fuel exports. Both sides said the deal served their interests and would help stabilize global fuel markets. Other joint economic projects are also approaching implementation, Ushakov added.

Russia, Ukraine and the US last held talks in Geneva in February, following two rounds in Abu Dhabi. Further negotiations, however, were put on hold after the US and Israel launched their war against Iran, disrupting access to the UAE.

Ushakov told Russian media that Abu Dhabi was again being examined as a possible venue for renewed talks, noting that Putin has yet to choose the members of a future Russian delegation.

Asked by reporters whether the Ukraine conflict was approaching its end, Ushakov suggested it is “moving in that direction.”

Washington has been involved in nearly two dozen regime change operations across the Middle East, each ending in disaster, US Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack has said.

Barrack criticized American efforts to manipulate the region and impose change through military force during an interview at the Global Security Forum in Qatar on Tuesday. He warned that his remarks would be “real” rather than “diplomatic.”

“If you take the greater Middle East, including the Levant, the Gulf, the Caucases, Central Asia, North Africa, we’ve had 23 regime changes. None of them have worked,” he said, stressing that the US had been involved in all of them in one way or another and bore responsibility for the outcomes.

The diplomat added that “kinetic reactions have never worked” either, referring to US military interventions and their “unintended consequences.” The latest US-Israeli war on Iran, which began in late February, has also plunged the region into chaos.

Barrack acknowledged that fomenting “conflict and controversy” had previously benefited Washington because “the more off base the region was, the more [Washington] could manipulate fossil fuels for its own benefit.” That is no longer the case, he said.

The envoy contrasted the proposed approach with the arrangement Washington reached with Saudi Arabia in 1974 following the oil shock triggered by the Yom Kippur War between Israel and several Arab nations.

Under the old arrangement, Saudi Arabia continued pricing its oil exclusively in US dollars and invested much of its revenues in American assets, while also purchasing US weapons and expecting American troops stationed in the region to rescue it in case of a major conflict.

The US confrontation with Iran, culminating in two open wars since 2025, has crumbled the foundations of that relationship.

Barrack urged friendly Middle Eastern nations to temper their expectations of American assistance, saying the US is not offering “a commitment to open seas and open trade at any cost.” Washington should “do a better job of defining: here’s what we’re willing to do, here’s what we’re not willing to do,” he added.

“We leave Israel out of this because it’s so delicate to talk about,” Barrack said.

He also acknowledged that the Israeli government was reluctant to make any concessions on national security and described a “failure” of the Abraham Accords, a series of normalization agreements Israel signed with several Arab nations in 2020.

Libya’s eastern-based parliament has approved a disputed maritime agreement with Türkiye, drawing condemnation from Greece and Cyprus over competing boundaries and energy rights in the Mediterranean.

The House of Representatives voted unanimously on Tuesday to endorse the agreement, which was first signed in November 2019 between Ankara and Libya’s internationally recognized government in Tripoli. Lawmakers also overturned a 2020 decision to sever political ties with Türkiye.

The agreement demarcates maritime jurisdiction between the two countries in an area contested by Greece, Egypt, and Cyprus.

The Greek Foreign Ministry called the parliamentary decision “unilateral [and] legally unfounded,” saying the deal disregards Greek islands’ rights to maritime zones between the Turkish and Libyan coasts.

“The memorandum remains illegal, null and void, contravenes international law of the sea, and infringes upon the sovereign rights of states in the region,” the ministry said in a statement.

Ankara welcomed the vote, saying the agreement safeguards “the mutual rights and interests” of both countries under international law and the principle of equity, while deepening cooperation between Türkiye and Libya. “Türkiye will continue to work with all partners to foster trust, stability and peace in the Mediterranean basin, in line with its commitment to international law,” the Foreign Ministry stated.

Greece and Egypt signed an overlapping maritime agreement in 2020, which Türkiye rejects. Athens also approved offshore exploration south of Crete by a consortium led by Chevron last year, prompting Turkish objections.

The move on Tuesday comes amid improving ties between Türkiye and Libya’s eastern authorities, who are aligned with military commander Khalifa Haftar. Ankara helped Tripoli repel his forces’ 2019-2020 campaign to capture the capital, but has since expanded diplomatic contacts and investment in the east. The country remains divided between Abdul Hamid Dbeibah’s government in the capital, Tripoli, in western Libya, and an eastern administration led by Osama Hammad and backed by Haftar.

Poland does not have enough Patriot air defense missiles to hand over to Ukraine, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has said, urging other NATO members to supply Kiev with the scarce interceptors.

In an interview with the Polish Press Agency published on Monday, Sikorski warned of growing pressure on Western air defenses, citing the US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran.  

“Following the attacks on Iran, the shortage of interceptor missiles has indeed increased, and Russia is producing more missiles than we have interceptors to neutralize them. This is a real problem,” he said.  

“There are NATO countries that still have such resources to contribute, but Poland is not one of them,” Sikorski said, adding that Warsaw “can only join the calls for countries possessing Patriot missiles to share them with Ukraine.”  

Poland has emerged as one of the EU’s most rapidly militarizing nations, with defense spending reaching 4.7% of GDP. Warsaw has also been one of Kiev’s staunchest backers, pouring billions into military and other aid while serving as a crucial hub for Western arms shipments.  

Yet Poland now faces delays in replenishing its own arsenal, with deliveries of US-made PAC-3 MSE Patriot interceptors pushed back as the war with Iran drains American weapons stocks, Polish General Ireneusz Nowak warned earlier this month.  

Tensions flared again this year after Zelensky awarded a Ukrainian military unit the honorary title “Heroes of the UPA.” Polish President Karol Nawrocki subsequently stripped him of the country’s highest honor, politicians on both sides renounced state decorations, and Warsaw threatened to obstruct Ukraine’s EU accession.  

The ammunition crunch is spreading across NATO. In July, the Netherlands said it had exhausted its capacity to supply Ukraine with Patriot missiles from its own stocks, having already provided interceptors and helped assemble a complete Patriot system for Kiev.  

Vladimir Zelensky has requested 300 Patriot interceptors from European backers and complained that Washington has approved only some of the missiles purchased through a NATO-backed initiative. The White House has also delayed approving additional transfers as US President Donald Trump presses Ukraine to reach a negotiated settlement with Russia.  

Moscow has repeatedly maintained that Western weapons deliveries prolong the conflict, obstruct peace efforts, and risk drawing NATO countries into a direct confrontation with Russia.

The long-awaited agreement between Libya’s rival factions was finally signed on August 30 under the auspices of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). On that day, the mission gathered the two negotiating delegations at its Tripoli headquarters to formalize the text ironed out during earlier rounds of talks in Rome and Tunis. UNSMIL invited foreign diplomats, media representatives, and Libyan delegations to the event, where UN Special Representative Hanna Tetteh hailed the accord in her opening remarks as “another important milestone in Libya’s journey toward stability and national unity.”

This, however, bore a resemblance to previous diplomatic milestones – most notably the 2015 Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) signed in Skhirat, Morocco. The LPA established the rules of the political game in the fractured country; rules to which none of the domestic political actors seem fully committed, yet from which none completely depart. In a sense, Skhirat remains the ultimate reference point for every subsequent UN roadmap in Libya.

The August 30 agreement has two main parts. The first is restructuring the High National Elections Commission (HNEC), the agency in charge of organizing elections. In practice, this means replacing its leadership to settle disputes over appointments and regional representation. Although these changes were long delayed by regional quotas and political patronage stemming from the 2015 Skhirat agreement, rivals can still negotiate them with relative ease.

The 24-month timeline to hold elections was also established. However, the countdown is designed to govern the transition only once a single, unified executive authority and unified national institutions are established to oversee the voting process.

The second component concerns the central objective of UNSMIL’s latest roadmap: agreeing on viable election laws, an issue on which the UN has failed to make meaningful progress since the collapse of the planned 2021 elections.

Libya remains divided between rival power centers: the Government of National Unity (GNU), led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah in Tripoli, the western part of the country, and the Libyan National Army (LNA) command in the east led by General Khalifa Haftar. These exist alongside two political institutions: the Tripoli-based High Council of state (HCS) and the eastern-based House of Representatives (HoR). To break the deadlock, UNSMIL established a smaller negotiating group known as the ‘Smaller Convening’, or the ‘4+4’. It brings together eight representatives from the GNU, Haftar’s military command, the HCS, and the HoR.

The ‘4+4’ format developed alongside (and ultimately eclipsed) UNSMIL’s broader Structured Dialogue. Even before those conclusions were finalized, UNSMIL was already facilitating a parallel ‘Smaller Convening’ behind closed doors – the 4+4 was born. As Hanna Tetteh told the Security Council on June 18, the explicit goal of this smaller format was to bypass the paralysis between the legislative bodies and force an accord on the roadmap’s first two steps: reconstituting the elections commission’s board and resolving the contested electoral framework. Thus, the ‘4+4’ was a deliberate strategy to concentrate decision-making among the political and military figures deemed capable of enforcing an outcome.

After the HoR approved the agreement on September 14, the HCS formally rejected it on October 5, along with the related laws and decisions issued by the House, arguing that they bypassed the constitutional, legal and consensual frameworks governing the political process. In her October 14 briefing to the UN Security Council, Tetteh acknowledged this rejection but maintained that the agreement offers an actionable path to presidential and legislative elections under a single, unified executive authority within 24 months.

She also announced that UNSMIL would meet members of the 4+4 committee later this month to examine the possibility of establishing a broadly representative national mechanism under Article 5 of the agreement in consultation with the Security Council. This proposal implicitly acknowledges that the 4+4 mini-dialogue alone may not be sufficient to advance the roadmap.

Ultimately, the structural core of the August 30 agreement rests on a fundamental contradiction: 4+4 does not equal 1. Combining four delegates from Tripoli’s political-institutional structures, including representatives of the HCS, with four delegates representing the eastern power structure in Benghazi does not produce a unified state. Instead, it seems to function as a shared enterprise in which rival political elites, rather than competing to build a single nation, recognize that their mutual survival depends on dividing power and maintaining exclusive control over the state apparatus.

Setting a 24-month timetable neither offers a guarantee that elections will actually occur; instead, it grants entrenched factions another two years of status quo protection without imposing any penalty for non-compliance.

Still, the UN Security Council appeared to endorse the latest UNSMIL plan. Following Tetteh’s briefing on October 14, the Council reaffirmed its support for the agreement, despite concerns over its implementation and the High Council of State’s rejection.

Last week, the UNSC did not vote to extend UNSMIL’s mandate, which expires on October 31. However, this is largely a technicality, since the Council has already approved UNSMIL’s roadmap.

A German sniper who deserted the Ukrainian military after failing to receive a promised payment has been detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the agency announced on Wednesday.

In footage released by the agency, the man said he had served with German forces in Afghanistan between 2004 and 2010, took part in fighting in Somalia from 2006 to 2008, and later fought as a mercenary in Syria between 2008 and 2010.

The former Bundeswehr soldier said he then served as a sniper with Ukraine’s 25th Territorial Defense Battalion near Donetsk between 2016 and 2018, alongside fighters mainly from Britain and Georgia.

He later moved to Switzerland before returning to Ukraine in November 2025 to sign another three-year military contract the following month. The man said he held the rank of corporal and served as a sniper.

“After signing the contract, I was promised a payment of 100,000 hryvnias ($2,200). However, I did not receive this money and was forced to flee the Ukrainian armed forces,” he said in the testimony.

The detention comes a week after the FSB apprehended Swedish national Freddy Mikael Stalkrantz Lindholm in Russia’s Pskov Region. According to the agency, he crossed the border illegally to carry out sabotage and terrorist attacks on Russian military facilities, posing as a prospective recruit for the Russian Army.

Lindholm previously commanded a drone unit in Ukraine’s Aidar battalion, which Russia has designated a terrorist organization. He faces charges of illegally crossing the border, while investigators are considering additional charges related to terrorism and mercenary activity.

US investigators have also reportedly uncovered a scheme in which Mexican drug cartels sent their members to Ukraine to gain battlefield experience and paid officials close to Vladimir Zelensky for their “training,” Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service said on Tuesday.

At least 20,000 foreign mercenaries have fought for Kiev since 2022, Russian diplomat Yulia Zhdanova told the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation earlier this month, saying most came from the US, UK, Canada, and Georgia.

Moscow has repeatedly pursued criminal cases against foreign fighters fighting for Kiev, including prosecutions in absentia, and has warned that mercenaries are not entitled to prisoner-of-war protections under the Geneva Conventions.

The ideological parent of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has slammed talk of regime change in the country in the wake of protests in Europe as a deliberate ploy by Western forces.

Citing recent political upheavals in neighboring Bangladesh and Nepal and the raging protests in France and Albania, the head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Mohan Bhagwat, said on Tuesday that such movements were fueled by forces pursuing vested interests inimical to the interests of the country.

“There are many powers in the world that want India to lose,” he said.

RSS, the world’s largest voluntary and Hindu nationalist organization, has between an estimated 4-6 million members across India.

“A storm has blown in from the West,” Bhagwat added. “India is their main target because India is progressing. Regime change will not happen in India.”

The row ignited when a leader of India’s Aam Aadmi Party, Prashant Bhushan, said at a press conference last week: “We want regime change… what is wrong in this?”

Uddhav Thackeray, a former Modi ally in the western Maharashtra state, also demanded “regime change” on Tuesday.

Their comments followed the massive protests by the opposition parties and the youth-led satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in the Indian capital earlier this month demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over millions of names being cut from the voter rolls following a nationwide revision exercise.

The other opposition parties have not explicitly described the protests as an effort at toppling the Modi government.

“They claim that changing a regime will change the situation, but that has never really happened,” the RSS chief said at a rally. “Problems will remain, and protests are inevitable in a democracy.”

He added that the protests should be aimed at finding solutions.

The CJP’s protests have found resonance across the country, and police action against the protesters has triggered backlash.

The RSS chief slammed the “forces” exploiting social differences by injecting a sense of victimhood among communities. He urged political leaders, protesters, and administrators to refrain from pursuing a divisive agenda.

Ukrainian officials allegedly stole more than $5 million by purchasing over 5,000 drones for the military at inflated prices, according to anti-corruption investigators.

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), which exposed the alleged scheme last year, announced on Tuesday that they completed their investigation. The Western-backed agencies, which frequently target Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s inner-circle, put the losses at 254 million hryvnia ($5.65 million).

The alleged scheme operated from May to September 2023, after Ukraine’s State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection (SSSCIP) received $667 million to purchase drones for the military. Investigators say a department head at the agency, which oversees cybersecurity and secure government communications, rigged contracts for 5,100 drones, paying up to 90% above market prices.

Ukrainian media previously identified all five suspects. The alleged ringleader is reportedly Vladimir Mokrenko, a former procurement chief at SSSCIP. His suspected civilian accomplice was identified as Lviv-based businessman Yury Volyan, reportedly the brother of a businesswoman who is a close acquaintance of Mokrenko.

The other suspects reportedly include another SSSCIP official and two private-sector representatives accused of participating in rigged tenders.

The drone procurement scheme coincided with the final months in office of then-SSSCIP chief Yury Shchigol and his deputy, Viktor Zhora, who were fired in November 2023 amid a separate corruption scandal uncovered by NABU. The two were implicated in an alleged scheme that operated from 2020 to 2022 and resulted in $1.72 million in overpayments for software and related services.

Zelensky’s government has been rocked by a series of corruption scandals involving people close to him since November 2025, when NABU and SAPO accused businessman Timur Mindich, a longtime associate of the Ukrainian leader, of masterminding a $100 million kickback scheme involving state contracts in the energy sector.

Critics accuse Zelensky of presiding over a sprawling corruption network permeating his government, allegedly helping him maintain power and enriching those involved.

NABU’s latest high-profile investigation targeted an alleged protection racket involving scam call centers and officials from the Prosecutor General’s Office. Although he was not personally named as a suspect, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko left Ukraine before being dismissed by parliament last month, according to Ukrainian media. He has denied wrongdoing.

Anti-corruption investigators are reportedly targeting the head of Ukraine’s central bank, Andrey Pyshny, in a series of searches.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) confirmed on Wednesday that its detectives were searching the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) and the residence of one of its employees. The agency, seen as a Western-backed beach-head for tackling rampant corruption in Ukraine, neither confirmed nor denied media reports that Pyshny was involved.

Pyshny was identified by several opposition MPs and law enforcement sources cited by Ukrainskaya Pravda and the US-funded Ukrainian branch of RFE/RL. Both outlets have a track record of obtaining insider information from NABU.

The central bank chief was previously mentioned in the Ukrainian press as a possible person of interest in the so-called Forest Gump case, a NABU investigation into the alleged laundering of money intended to cover bail for former Energy Minister German Galushchenko.

Vadim Vesyoly, a former adviser to the bank’s supervisory board, has been described by Ukrainian media as an informal overseer influencing its decisions on behalf of Zelensky’s inner circle. Pyshny has denied allegations that he arranged Vesyoly’s appointment in 2023, shortly after the bank was nationalized. Vesyoly’s formal advisory role ended last year, although some Ukrainian outlets claim he continued to wield influence.

Vesyoly’s name surfaced in surveillance recordings linked to Timur Mindich, a longtime associate of Zelensky. Last November, Mindich was accused of masterminding a $100 million kickback scheme involving the state-owned nuclear power company Energoatom.

After Mindich fled Ukraine, Sense Bank and Vesyoly reportedly began dealing directly with Zelensky’s office, allegedly enabling Mudraya to carry out the money-laundering operation. Galushchenko, the former minister whose bail was allegedly financed with dirty money, is also a suspect in the Mindich case.

MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, one of the lawmakers who first publicized Wednesday’s searches, claimed NABU detectives were pursuing leads concerning Vesyoly’s involvement with Sense Bank and Karpatneftekhim at the central bank.

Nigeria has confirmed its first Ebola case in more than a decade after a woman who recently traveled through Uganda tested positive for the virus in the capital, Abuja.  

The patient arrived in Nigeria in early October and began showing symptoms on October 7, the country’s Health Ministry said on Tuesday. The woman sought treatment at a private hospital on October 11 and was diagnosed with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola on October 20, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The woman remains in isolation and is receiving medical care. Health authorities have identified 44 people who may have been exposed to the infection.  

The patient was initially treated for malaria-like symptoms, but doctors became concerned after her condition failed to improve, Odianosen Ehiakhamen, an official at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), told Arise TV, as reported by Punch. 

“For the 44 contacts, they are majorly healthcare workers and support staff of the hospital, because everything has happened within the hospital,” Ehiakhamen said.  

Nigeria is the fifth country to report the Bundibugyo virus since the current outbreak began in DR Congo in May, following earlier cases in Uganda, France and Kenya, according to the WHO. Kenya has recorded nine infections linked to an imported case, while the outbreak in DR Congo continues to spread. 

The Ebola outbreak in DR Congo has claimed 4,602 lives, with 9,552 confirmed infections recorded since it began in May, according to the country’s Health Ministry. As of October 18, the virus had affected eight provinces, with Ituri accounting for nearly 73% of all cases. 

Nigeria previously contained an Ebola outbreak in 2014. 

Ghana plans to stop exporting unprocessed mineral ores by 2030 to build domestic industries and retain more of its resource wealth, the West African country’s president, John Dramani Mahama, has announced.

Speaking at the Mining in Motion Summit in Accra on Monday, Mahama said restrictions would be introduced in phases, backed by legislation, requirements for individual minerals, and implementation timetables. The plan covers resources including bauxite, manganese, iron, and lithium.

“I have set a clear goal that by 2030, raw mineral ores should no longer leave our shores,” the president said. Ghana has spent generations supplying foreign industries with manganese and bauxite while importing finished products, losing opportunities for skilled jobs and technological development, he added.

Mahama urged African countries to export manufactured goods, including electric vehicle batteries, cables, and aluminum parts, instead of mineral ores.

Since returning to office in January 2025, his government has expanded local gold refining through the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod). Its partnership with the majority privately owned Gold Coast Refinery in Accra began processing one metric ton of gold weekly in February 2026. From September 1, GoldBod also required licensed self-financing aggregators to refine gold purchased under approved offtake arrangements locally before export.

Other projects include Ghana Manganese Company’s planned $450 million refinery in the country’s western region. Mahama said on Monday that Accra is advancing manganese processing alongside aluminum refining and iron and steel production.

Mahama delivered a similar message at the UN General Assembly on September 24, warning that Western demand for minerals needed for the green-energy transition must benefit Africans. He said Africa’s critical mineral extraction must not repeat colonial-era exploitation, calling for local processing to create jobs and retain more value on the continent.

US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff has thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for releasing US Air Force veteran Stephen Hubbard, who had been convicted in Russia on charges of fighting for Ukraine.

Witkoff thanked Putin on Wednesday during talks with the Russian leader at Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg. He expressed gratitude on behalf of Trump and the American people for freeing Hubbard, adding that he had met Hubbard’s son, a priest at a Greek Orthodox church, several days earlier and discussed his father’s detention.

Putin responded that Hubbard was already at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport, preparing to leave the country. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later noted that the decision to release Hubbard was made on “humanitarian grounds,” adding that Moscow and Washington maintain contacts on prisoner swaps.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump confirmed the release, stressing that the US “was not required to give anything in return,” which he described as “an unprecedented situation for Russia.”

Hubbard, 74, is a retired Michigan schoolteacher and US Air Force veteran. He was detained by Russian forces in the Ukrainian city of Izyum in April 2022, shortly after Moscow launched its military operation. Hubbard had been living in Ukraine with his Ukrainian partner since 2014, the year hostilities in Donbass erupted following a Western-backed coup in Kiev.

In 2024, a Russian court sentenced him to six years and ten months in prison on mercenary charges over joining a Ukrainian territorial defense unit and fighting for Kiev in exchange for $1,000 a month.

Hubbard’s sister claimed that he held pro-Russian views, was a non-military pacifist, and was highly unlikely to take up arms.

On Tuesday, Trump said he had personally asked Putin to release Hubbard. “I don’t ⁠want to talk about it, but everybody has been after Hubbard for a long time, long before I got here… Watch what happens. We have been focused ⁠on Hubbard,” he told reporters at the time.

Hubbard’s release follows the unilateral decision by Moscow in August to free former US Marine Robert Gilman, who was detained in early 2022 after drunkenly assaulting a police officer while traveling through Russia by train. At the time, Trump said Putin pardoned Gilman on humanitarian grounds, adding that no prisoner exchange was involved.

In April 2025, Moscow and Washington carried out a prisoner swap, with Russia releasing Ksenia Karelina, a US-Russian dual national jailed over donations to a charity that supports the Ukrainian military, while Washington freed Arthur Petrov, a German-Russian citizen arrested for allegedly exporting sensitive microelectronics.

Ukrainian forces have effectively laid siege to the frontline town of Alyoshki in Russia’s Kherson Region, leaving civilians facing acute shortages of food, water, and medicine, residents who managed to escape have told RT.

Located on the left bank of the Dnieper River opposite the Ukrainian-held city of Kherson, the town has been largely cut off from essential supplies and basic services for months. Russian authorities estimate that between 1,500 and 2,000 civilians remain trapped there, including elderly residents and around 15 children.

Kherson Governor Vladimir Saldo has accused Kiev’s forces of deliberately choking off humanitarian deliveries to Alyoshki by remotely mining access roads and targeting vehicles carrying food, fuel, and medicine. Strikes have also damaged the town’s energy and communications infrastructure, deepening the humanitarian crisis.

Russian forces have partially broken through the blockade by clearing some roads, but continued shelling and drone attacks hamper regular aid deliveries. Regional children’s rights commissioner Irina Kravchenko said on Tuesday that aid is reaching the town, but remains woefully insufficient.

The crisis has also reached the highest diplomatic levels. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, discussed the situation during a phone call earlier this month. Russia’s human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, has said she is in contact with US First Lady Melania Trump’s team, which has expressed willingness to help civilians.

Moscow has accused Kiev of deliberately creating the humanitarian emergency while attempting to shift the blame onto Russia. Saldo has invited international organizations to visit Alyoshki and witness the conditions firsthand.

“The town is burning. There’s nothing left intact,” one evacuee said, describing a destroyed water pump and food prices soaring beyond residents’ reach. She claimed no food supplies have entered the town since May, leaving people “starving.” RT spoke exclusively to Alyoshki evacuees about their struggle to survive and the desperate plight of those left behind.

A drone threat has been announced south of St. Petersburg shortly after US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, arrived in the city for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine conflict. The warning comes just days after a massive Ukrainian drone barrage on the city and outskirts killed one person and injured 15 others.

Witkoff arrived at Pulkovo Airport on Wednesday morning. His motorcade headed for Constantine Palace, around 20 km southeast of St. Petersburg.

Shortly after arriving, Leningrad Region Governor Alexander Drozdenko announced a UAV threat in the airspace over Luga District, around 125 km south of the venue for the talks. The governor warned that mobile internet speeds could be reduced but did not specify the number, exact location, and direction of the drones, and did not report any interceptions.

The alert follows Sunday’s unprecedented Ukrainian drone attack on St. Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad Region. According to the Russian authorities, the strikes killed one person and injured 15, damaged residential buildings, and sparked fires at an oil terminal, oil depot, and industrial facilities.

Commenting on the raid at the time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described it as “final manifestations of agony” of Ukraine. “The Kiev regime is fighting back [but] it cannot alter the course of history.”

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said the Putin-Witkoff talks will center on the Ukraine conflict. This comes after the Oslo talks where the US, Ukraine, and Kiev’s Western backers discussed security guarantees, a postwar economic plan, and a broader European security architecture, according to Reuters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held three-hour talks with US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg to discuss ending the Ukraine conflict and restoring US-Russia relations. Witkoff’s trip comes after Moscow and Washington reached a diesel deal and amid an escalating feud between Trump and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky.

The talks began at Constantine Palace – around 20 km southwest of St. Petersburg – on Wednesday morning, with Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov and Russian investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev also attending.

Witkoff had traveled to St. Petersburg from Oslo, where on Tuesday he met Zelensky and the leaders of Norway and Finland, alongside European and NATO officials. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had joined the Oslo talks remotely, also participated in the St. Petersburg discussions via video link.

Opening the meeting, Putin thanked Trump for his efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict and asked Witkoff to brief him on the outcome of the Oslo negotiations. According to an unnamed US official cited by Reuters, the Oslo discussions covered security guarantees for Ukraine, a postwar economic plan, and a broader European security architecture.

Witkoff said he wanted to present documents outlining new peace proposals and asked Putin to consider resuming trilateral negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine, and the US, potentially with technical teams working through unresolved issues.

The envoy also thanked Putin for the release of US Air Force veteran Stephen Hubbard, who had been convicted in Russia on charges of fighting for Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the move was made on “humanitarian grounds.”

Following the talks, Peskov called the meeting “productive,” but added that there have been no agreements on a further round of negotiations in the near future.

Speaking to reporters, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said Witkoff had briefed Putin on “new elements” in proposals put forward by Kiev and its European backers, but noted that Moscow saw little in them that could help resolve the conflict. Putin, meanwhile, outlined the battlefield situation, asserting that Russian forces hold the strategic initiative and are advancing along the front, he added.

The talks also covered the US-Iran conflict, with Putin offering Russian mediation. Ushakov added that the Russian leader had outlined practical ideas for a possible trilateral meeting with Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, although no agreement on holding such a summit was announced.

Witkoff’s visit was marred by a drone alert south of St. Petersburg as the talks were about to start. Leningrad Region Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said the warning was issued in Luga District, around 125 km south of the Constantine Palace.

The alert followed Sunday’s unprecedented Ukrainian drone attack on St. Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad Region. According to the Russian authorities, the strikes killed one person and injured 15, damaged residential buildings, and sparked fires at an oil terminal, oil depot, and industrial facilities.

Trump has also repeatedly demanded that Zelensky halt attacks on Russian oil refineries, something he has categorically refused to do. As tensions escalated, Trump suggested that Zelensky – whose presidential term expired more than two years ago – should be replaced, while multiple outlets reported that Ukrainian troops were not receiving advance warnings on Russian ballistic missile strikes and were encountering issues with Starlink communications, which are crucial for drone control. The US denied it had suspended intelligence-sharing.

France will deploy military personnel from its counterterrorism force to support police during a new wave of nationwide protests, as the government prepares a “massive” security operation following some of the worst riots in years.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced the move on Tuesday, confirming that soldiers from Operation Sentinelle, established to protect France against terrorist attacks, would be mobilized ahead of demonstrations scheduled for Saturday.

The troops will primarily take over guarding sensitive locations, freeing police and gendarmes to confront rioters and prevent a repeat of last weekend’s widespread violence and looting. According to French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, 1,000 military personnel will be available in Paris on October 24, including 500 on patrol, compared with the usual 300.

“The deployment for next Saturday will be massive,” Lecornu told lawmakers, accusing radical left-wing groups of orchestrating an “insurrectionary plan” during demonstrations against soaring living costs.

Nunez also announced plans to mobilize elite police units, including RAID, GIGN, and BRI, along with helicopters, armored Centaure vehicles, and water cannons. The authorities are considering banning demonstrations deemed likely to threaten public order.

According to Le Monde, 997 police officers and gendarmes were injured, including seven seriously, as overwhelmed security forces struggled to contain the violence.

More than 2,400 people have been arrested, while over 800 have been brought before the courts. The authorities have also imposed localized curfews in Paris and several other cities.

Germany’s most popular party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), has suffered a massive cyberattack, with unknown hackers reportedly stealing and publishing hundreds of thousands of internal emails, while the country’s political establishment seeks grounds to outlaw the opposition party.

The breach, which was first reported by Bild on Tuesday, reportedly exposed 421,179 emails totaling 281 gigabytes, including correspondence involving AfD co-chair Alice Weidel, honorary chairman Alexander Gauland, and other senior party figures.

The leaked material reportedly includes photographs of identity documents, bank statements, invoices, membership applications, and internal party lists. Bild said it examined a small sample of the files, including an identity card belonging to Markus Frohnmaier, the deputy leader of the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag.

The identities and motives of the hackers are unknown, and the authenticity of the published material has not been independently established.

“Only a few email inboxes were unlawfully copied, most of which had not been used for years,” a party spokesman told Bild, adding that current federal party email accounts were unaffected.

The AfD condemned the breach as an “attack on the German party system and therefore on democracy” and said it reported the cyberattack to the security authorities.

No statement from investigators or condemnation of the breach by senior government officials has emerged as of early Wednesday.

The attack comes amid an escalating campaign by Germany’s established political parties to isolate and potentially ban the AfD. The Euroskeptic party, which advocates stricter immigration controls and opposes Berlin’s military support for Ukraine and sanctions on Russia, has surged to 30% support in the latest INSA poll for Bild, opening a 12-point lead over Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU/CSU bloc, which has slumped to 18%.

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has also sought to classify the party as a confirmed right-wing extremist organization, but a Cologne court blocked the designation in February pending further legal proceedings.

The AfD has rejected the accusations, portraying the proposed ban as an attempt to overturn the will of millions of voters and eliminate political competition.

Moscow expects US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the near future, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. US mediators held talks with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky in the Norwegian capital, Oslo on Tuesday.

Russia highly appreciates US mediation efforts, Peskov said at a news briefing on Tuesday, adding that Moscow sees every meeting between Putin and Trump’s envoys as “very important and well-timed.” He did not provide any details about the date or place of a potential meeting, but said the Kremlin expects Witkoff to inform Moscow about the results of Tuesday’s talks with Zelensky and his European backers.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia is willing to discuss any economic and financial initiatives Washington puts forward, provided they are “advantageous to us.”

He stressed that Russia will not make one-sided political concessions, warning that any deals with the US might not last beyond Trump’s term in office.

Russia should not expect “some political favor to carry us through all global affairs,” Lavrov said. “We must rely solely on ourselves.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, who hosted the meeting between Zelensky and the US negotiators, said Witkoff will travel to St. Petersburg on Wednesday for a meeting with the Russian leadership.

Last week, the Financial Times reported that Washington proposed unfreezing billions of euros in Russian assets held in the EU to give impetus to Ukraine peace talks during negotiations in Miami with officials from Ukraine, France, Germany, Britain, the EU, and NATO. The idea was vehemently opposed by Kiev’s European backers, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Russia has said the stance of Kiev’s European backers is one of the main obstacles to settling the conflict. The EU is still clinging to the idea of “strategically defeating Russia,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated last month.

The renewed diplomatic push follows a spat between Trump and Zelensky over Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil facilities. The US president has demanded that Kiev stop the attacks, blaming them for surging fuel prices globally and in the US. The dispute has since widened, with Zelensky accusing Washington of withholding intelligence on Russian missile attacks and restricting Ukraine’s access to the Starlink satellite network.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has accused Washington of trying to force Ukraine to surrender to Russia, attacking President Donald Trump’s diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

Speaking to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday, Kallas credited Europe’s military and financial backing of Kiev with prolonging the conflict and preventing Ukraine from accepting Moscow’s terms.

“American negotiators have been trying to push Ukraine into surrender for already almost two years, one and a half years now,” she said, as quoted by Euronews.

Kallas’ remarks came a day after US President Donald Trump said negotiations were making “great progress,” defending his decision to ease economic pressure on Russia to keep diplomacy moving.

Trump has stepped up his criticism of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, describing him as “more difficult to deal with” than Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has accused Zelensky of prolonging the conflict and taking Washington’s extensive support for granted, and has criticized Kiev’s continued attacks on Russian refineries for disrupting global diesel markets. Zelensky has said he feels betrayed by Trump.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff held talks in Oslo on Tuesday with Zelensky, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner joining remotely. Witkoff is expected to travel to St. Petersburg on Wednesday for another round of discussions with Russian officials, according to Store.

Russia has insisted on a long-term peace deal that addresses the root causes of the conflict, rejecting the idea of a temporary truce. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Zelensky of repeatedly undermining negotiations, suggesting that any agreement acceptable to Moscow and Washington would threaten the Ukrainian leader’s hold on power.

Further financial support for Kiev has also become a source of disagreement within the EU. At Friday’s EU summit in Brussels, Zelensky demanded another €70 billion ($78.5 billion) for next year, in addition to €90 billion already pledged by the bloc to bankroll Kiev’s war effort.

The images of French and Italian cities gripped by unrest are shocking, while Albania is in turmoil, police are dispersing demonstrators in Argentina, and India’s protests show no sign of abating. Add the upheavals across the Global South, and the parallels with 1968 become difficult to ignore.

That year, political and social unrest swept across much of the world almost simultaneously. It was a less interconnected age, divided by the Cold War, yet similar movements erupted in countries with vastly different political systems as a remarkable synchronization of discontent took place. 

Direct comparisons are inevitably imperfect, but many of the underlying grievances are familiar, such as inequality, problems in education, wars without clear objectives, and growing frustration with political elites unwilling or unable to adapt.

In 1968, the rebellion was largely directed against the conservative establishment, but while the protesters didn’t achieve everything immediately, their ideas ultimately prevailed and in both the West and the socialist bloc, the upheavals helped transform political and social life over subsequent decades.

Today, however, we may be witnessing the opposite process in the end of the political era that 1968 helped create.

Governments are devoting themselves to preserving the existing order, employing everything from political manipulation to outright repression. As in 1968, many protesters have lost faith in democratic institutions, yet there’s little evidence of a coherent revolutionary alternative, and what we see instead is an explosion of destructive energy.

The events of 1968 tested the resilience and adaptability of political systems, with very different results.

In Western Europe, governments initially suppressed the unrest but subsequently absorbed much of the protest movement into mainstream politics and, in doing so, they renewed their own legitimacy and broadened their social base.

The socialist system took a different path. Unable to accommodate dissent, it relied on repression, so the tensions accumulated until, eventually, the system broke.

Today’s political challenge is similar, although the ideological balance has reversed.

Western Europe’s establishment has adopted a peculiar strategy, where  rather than accommodating these movements, it increasingly tolerates destructive forces on the opposite side of the political spectrum, apparently regarding them as less threatening than its conservative challengers.

Behind the growing instability lies a fundamental disconnect between governing elites and the societies they claim to represent, given those in power are increasingly preoccupied with questions that ordinary citizens don’t regard as priorities. Nowhere is this contradiction more evident than in Europe, where the political establishment’s fixation on confrontation with Russia clashes with public concerns about prosperity and living standards and the gap between these competing priorities continues to widen.

The upheavals of 1968 eventually reshaped the political order and  today’s unrest may prove equally consequential, but in precisely the opposite direction, and the longer Western Europe’s leaders refuse to recognize the change, the greater the danger that the political system they’re determined to preserve will become its next casualty.

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

Russia and the US urgently need to resume dialogue on strategic stability and arms control, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. The absence of a treaty-based framework in this areas is creating a very dangerous situation, he added.

The New START treaty, the last remaining bilateral agreement limiting US and Russian strategic nuclear arsenals, expired in February without an extension or replacement.

Signed in 2010 and extended in 2021, the treaty capped each side at 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and 700 deployed delivery systems, while providing for transparency and on-site verification measures.

Following the treaty’s expiration, Russia suggested maintaining caps on warheads for another year if Washington reciprocated, but the initiative went unanswered, according to Moscow.

Russia is convinced that talks must resume soon, Peskov told reporters on Tuesday. “This is an extremely important issue,” he said. “For the first time in a long while, the world has been left without this treaty-based legal framework.” He described the situation as “extremely dangerous.”

The Trump administration has long insisted that any future nuclear arms control agreement should include China as well. In February, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington will press for trilateral talks with Beijing and Moscow.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump said he is open to discussing nuclear disarmament at a potential meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of next month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China.

“We would have it to talk about nuclear weapons and denuclearization,” he told reporters. “If President Xi wants to have it, I’d have it. I’m sure we’d talk about other things like trade too.”

Peskov said Russia cannot disregard the nuclear arsenals of European NATO members, particularly Britain and France, in future strategic stability talks with the US.

Moscow has warned that the strategy could backfire, saying it cannot “ignore an obvious buildup of the nuclear component of NATO’s joint potential.”

In August, NBC reported that the Pentagon was also working on a nuclear strategy that would give the US president a wider range of nuclear options in a potential conflict with Russia or China. The approach would reportedly pivot towards shorter-range tactical nuclear weapons instead of relying primarily on long-range strategic nuclear weapons.

Russia updated its nuclear doctrine in 2024, stating that aggression by a non-nuclear state backed by a nuclear power would be treated as a joint attack and that nuclear weapons could be used if conventional aggression posed a critical threat to the sovereignty or territorial integrity of Russia or its ally Belarus. Moscow also criticized the US nuclear weapons deployment to Europe as part of NATO’s nuclear-sharing arrangements.

Saudi Arabia has postponed its flagship investment forum until next year, organizers have announced, as Houthi strikes have continued to hit the kingdom.

Launched in 2017, the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference, often dubbed ‘Davos in the Desert’, brings together world leaders, top executives and global investors.

“This decision comes from a deep commitment to our partners, members, speakers, and delegates,” FII Institute CEO Dr. Maha Bint Mishari Al Saud said in a press release on Monday, adding that the new 2027 dates would be announced soon.

The event was set to mark the conference’s tenth anniversary, with financial and tech heavyweights including BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Alphabet President and Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat, and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon expected to attend.

The conflict with the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, has caused broader disruptions in Saudi Arabia. Government agencies and businesses in Riyadh, including those at the Kingdom Center and King Abdullah Financial District, have instructed some employees to work remotely, according to Al Jazeera.

The Houthis retaliated with missile strikes and declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia. The move came in response to restrictions imposed by the Saudi-led coalition on Yemen’s Houthi-controlled ports and airports since March 2015, when Riyadh intervened in the country’s civil war.

The escalating conflict has caused civilian casualties in both Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Multiple Houthi attacks on Riyadh airport earlier this month killed at least 14 people and injured more than 300, according to the Saudi authorities. Saudi strikes have killed 141 people and wounded 395 since September 3, most of them women and children, the Houthi-run Health Ministry said on Monday.

Israeli settlers have attacked Palestinian farmers, European diplomats and an American journalist during the annual olive harvest in the occupied West Bank, as violence against local communities intensifies, RT correspondent Charlotte Dubenskij has reported.

The annual olive harvest is a vital source of food and income for Palestinian families, providing both oil for household use and surplus crops to sell.

In Taybeh, a predominantly Christian Palestinian town, European diplomats who had arrived to help local farmers were reportedly attacked by masked Israeli settlers armed with clubs. A 78-year-old French mayor was reportedly kicked and beaten, while stones were hurled at diplomatic vehicles, smashing their windows.

Calls for help were made to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), but troops took hours to respond, despite having a military outpost less than two kilometers from the scene, according to Dubenskij. The area had been designated a closed military zone, and the diplomats reportedly visited without coordinating with the IDF.

“If Palestinians had been the ones throwing those stones, the IDF would have been greenlit to shoot them,” Dubenskij said.

In a separate incident in Abu Fallah, near Ramallah, American photojournalist Heidi Levine was seriously injured while documenting Palestinian villagers gathering olives. Footage shows the veteran journalist, who was clearly identifiable as a member of the press, being kicked while lying on the ground.

“A group of about 15 or so of these terrorists grabbed my mother and began hitting her,” Miller said.

The National Press Club demanded an investigation into the assault, saying: “A brazen attack like this cannot go unanswered.” 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, rejected allegations of settler violence, describing them as a “blood libel” against Jewish communities in the West Bank, which he characterized as law-abiding and courageous.

Following pressure from Washington, Israeli police have arrested at least ten suspected settler attackers under Operation Olive Leaf, while security forces have demolished two unauthorized outposts.

The arrests came against a backdrop of widespread violence against Palestinians during the harvest season, with Israeli forces also accused of firing rubber bullets and tear gas at those attempting to gather their crops, Dubenskij said.

Watch the full report below.

Paris is burning again. Violent riots are tearing through French cities as protests over rising living costs descend into chaos. Looting. Arson. More than 2,400 arrests. Dozens of officers injured. Historic town halls torched. Streets devastated in Paris, Limoges, and beyond. While leftist protesters chant about the “cost of living,” flames rise from neighborhoods that once stood as beacons of French liberty and culture.

Paris riots: The verdict on progressive rule

This disorder is the brutal, undeniable verdict on decades of liberal and progressive rule: the project has failed completely. Mass migration is not simply a generous humanitarian act. It is a deliberate security threat. It is the engine of the left’s cherished dream of erasing European civilization from within – something many conservatives call the ‘Great Replacement’, and many liberals, a conspiracy theory.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the firebrand capitalizing on these riots, has long appeared to despise the “white and stale” France of tradition, faith, and national pride. He fights for a “New France” – young, urban, multicultural, queer, and woke. He embodies the argument that the Western European far left is no friend of Europe. It is its enemy.

In Spain, socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has moved to legalize over one million illegal immigrants in his country, granting them rights to roam the EU at will. The move has provoked fury, including within European political circles. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has recently warned that, if the tide continues, Central European nations may have to “defend our borders” and deploy an army on the German frontier.

The Ceuta crisis – in which some 80,000 migrants surged into the Spanish enclave only a couple of months ago – is another stark reminder of the pressures facing Europe’s borders.

Sánchez does not stand alone. He represents the broader Brussels euro-bureaucracy: billions in EU funds flow to media organizations and NGOs promoting mass migration, while the same bureaucracy tightens Digital Services Act rules and advances the European Democracy Shield, suppressing conservative voices and the integrity of democratic competition.

Marco Rubio, America’s Secretary of State, saw the challenge during his early October European tour, which included Iceland, Greece, and Portugal. Defense and energy security talks were vital, but his real message came in Athens, beneath the shadow of the Acropolis. Rubio called for a revival of the West. He demanded greatness, self-confidence, civilizational vitality, pride in Christianity, and nationalism, and an “unapologetic pursuit of national power.”

He criticized transnational bureaucracies, mass migration, the massive welfare state that he argued had bred decline, the “climate cult,” and open borders. In February, he had made the argument even more starkly at the Munich Security Conference: the “end of history” and the triumph of liberal democracy? No. A foolish idea. The West, he argued, must build a new Western century.

And the Trump administration is not just talking. It is acting. Funding is being redirected from globalist and woke agendas towards conservative voices, think tanks, and interests across Europe and beyond. If America is prepared to push back against the EU’s accelerating drift towards demographic replacement, political authoritarianism, and economic insanity, this is not simply interference; it is the strongest possible counterpressure – precisely what Europe’s patriots need right now.

Donald Trump was right. Europe needs regime change. Europe needs a conservative revolution.

The riots, the terror, the spread of antisemitism across Western Europe, the destruction of great monuments, and centuries of culture – Ceuta and Paris stand as stark reminders. The liberal establishment is impotent. It cannot even manage its own cities. It has turned European streets into war zones and its capitals into symbols of surrender.

Let us be clear about the stakes. For centuries, Europe stood at the heart of Western civilization. Now, its pillars are rotting under the weight of progressive dogma. Open borders erode national cohesion. The welfare state invites dependency instead of self-reliance. The climate cult distracts from real dangers. Bureaucracies in Brussels regulate everything except the influx that is changing Europe’s demographics permanently.

Today’s Europe bears witness to the growth of parallel societies in cities from Paris to Stockholm. Crime statistics indicate that migrant cohorts are disproportionately involved in sexual assaults, terrorism, and gang violence. Integration failures breed resentment. Cultural clashes erupt into the very riots we see today. Antisemitism has surged: synagogues attacked, Jewish communities targeted. These are symptoms of a demographic transformation that left-wing elites frame as “humanism.”

Yet, amid this despair, hope flickers. Patriots are rising. In France, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally has gained ground with policies rooted in sovereignty, borders, and family values. In Germany, the AfD is growing stronger. Across the continent, millions of ordinary Europeans share the same unease: our ancestors built cathedrals, universities, and statehood. Will we allow globalists and progressives to consign that legacy to history?

Marco Rubio’s Athens address captured this challenge. He reminded the world that the West is at an inflection point. It can atrophy, serve hostile interests, or decline into irrelevance.

A return to Christian roots strengthens families and communities. Healthy nationalism fosters loyalty and shared sacrifice. Sovereignty restores democratic control over people’s destiny. These are not inherently divisive principles; they are the very pillars that once made the West great.

Europe’s achievements were not accidental. They flowed from the interplay of faith, reason, and ordered liberty. Replace those foundations with open borders and wokeness, and you risk producing the Paris we see today: burning buildings, paralyzed cities, and eroding trust. The liberal establishment has demonstrated that it cannot cope with the challenges confronting it.

Rubio’s message is clear: build a new Western century. That means stronger combat capabilities and fighting spirit, and policies that put nation-states and citizens first. Trump’s America is already acting. Europe’s best interests demand the same: counterpressure against globalist networks and liberal elites.

The riots have spoken. Ceuta showed the southern front. Paris showed the domestic front. Western Europe needs to wake up and realize that the liberal experiment is over. And so is the time for complacency. The battle for sovereignty, identity, and civilizational future has begun. The question is no longer whether Europe must change, but whether its leaders will find the courage to lead that change.

Acting Serbian President Ana Brnabic has accused the European Parliament of breaking its own ethics rules and sending a team of political operators to Serbia “with already formed conclusions” about how they want this weekend’s election to end.

Former Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is running in parliamentary elections this Sunday, after vacating the presidency last month. Vucic’s coalition, led by his SNS party, is competing against the Student List – an electoral faction put together by the organizers of anti-government protests raging in Serbia since 2024.

European Parliament elections observers are due to arrive in Belgrade on Thursday. However, in a letter to Parliament President Roberta Metsola on Tuesday, Brnabic accused the team of political bias, pointing out that some of its members have openly expressed “extremely negative judgments about the authorities in Serbia [and] expectations for their removal.”

The appointment of Schieder, an Austrian Social Democrat, violates the UN’s Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, she continued. This document, to which all EU delegations are beholden, states that observers must be “free from any political, economic or other conflicts of interest.”

In June, Schieder publicly backed the student protest movement and accused Vucic of leading Serbia into an “authoritarian downward spiral.”

Speaking to Austria’s APA news agency on Tuesday, Schieder described Brnabic’s letter as “unprecedented attack on the European Parliament’s election-observation mission.”

The observation team also includes liberal MEP Helmut Branstetter, who has described Vucic as “not the person to lead Serbia to the European Union,” and promised to “do everything” to cut Serbia off from EU funds and accession talks over his refusal to ban the funeral of former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic in September. 

Two Croatian MEPs are members of the mission. Gordan Bosanac has met with protesters at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, while Suncana Glavak has signed a letter to EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos calling for talks with Serbia to be suspended. 

Recurring protests have dogged Vucic since 2024, when the deaths of 16 people in a railway station disaster in Novi Sad sparked nationwide discontent. More than two decades earlier, the US successfully fomented mass protests that forced Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic out of power, and Vucic has accused the EU and Western NGOs of attempting to run the same playbook against his government.

Last month, Vucic described MEPs who traveled to Novi Sad to support the protests as “scum that cannot rule even in their own countries,” who have “come to demolish Serbia from the outside.”

The UK government’s negligent approach towards care homes at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic led to high disease and death rates among the elderly, a public inquiry into the nation’s response to the disease outbreak has concluded.

More than 43,000 people died from Covid-19 in care homes throughout the UK from March 2020 to July 2022, with most of them registered during the first year of the pandemic, according to data presented in the inquiry report published on Tuesday. That amounts to just under 10% of the total care homes population from 2022 to 2023.

An earlier report published by the UK Parliament put the death toll from March 2020 to April 2021 at over 41,000, adding that it amounted to nearly a quarter of deaths from all causes among care home residents as well as more than a quarter of all Covid-19 deaths in England over that period. The report called the rate one of “the worst in Europe,” adding that the loss of life could have been mitigated.

“The mantra of ‘protecting the NHS’ sometimes came at the expense of the users and providers of care,” she stated. “These failures created environments in care settings in which the virus could spread like wildfire.”

In March and April 2020, around 25,000 hospital patients were discharged into care comes in England alone to free up beds before mandatory testing was introduced in mid-April 2020. The practice was later recognized as unlawful by the British high court. The investigation head defended the practice, calling it the “least worst decision to a terrible problem,” but maintained that a lack of isolation advice was a “significant omission” on the government’s part.

The report is the sixth out of ten to be published by the inquiry costing more than £200 million ($267.77 million). In July, another report by Hallett and her team concluded that the UK wasted billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money during the pandemic. The country entered the pandemic with its PPE stockpile “in a perilous state,” including large quantities of expired equipment, while emergency procurement and distribution plans had never been properly tested, it said at the time.

Earlier reports by the inquiry found that authorities across the UK did “too little, too late” during the pandemic and that delays in introducing restrictions contributed to thousands of additional deaths.

The US arrest warrant for former Cuban leader Raul Castro is political revenge, Russia has said, warning that escalating pressure on Havana could destabilize Latin America and the Caribbean.

A Florida judge issued the warrant on Monday against Castro, 95, on a charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder over the 1996 downing of two planes operated by Brothers to the Rescue – a Miami-based Cuban exile group led by CIA operative Jose Basulto, who has long pressed for charges against Castro. Four men were killed in the shootdown.

The US authorities accuse Castro of ordering the attack. Havana maintains it acted in self-defense against aircraft violating its airspace. The Cuban Embassy in Washington accused the group of committing more than 25 airspace violations from 1994 to 1996, despite repeated warnings from Havana.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry called the accusation “groundless” and “contrived,” describing its revival more than 30 years later as “revenge by Miami’s anti-Cuban lobby.”

It warned that further pressure on Cuba, which is already struggling under an unprecedented economic, financial, and energy blockade, could provoke unrest and mass migration, creating social crises in neighboring countries.

The ministry linked its concerns about the warrant to the US seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January. Without that precedent, the court decision might have been dismissed as reflecting the views of a particular group, it said, describing Maduro’s abduction as a violation of international law.

US President Donald Trump has intensified pressure on Havana since the operation against Venezuela, imposing a near-total energy blockade and declaring that Cuba would be “next.” The restrictions have contributed to severe energy shortages and frequent blackouts on the island.

Moscow reaffirmed its solidarity with Havana on Tuesday, pledging to strengthen ties through mutual support, assistance, and cooperation. Russia has been among the countries providing relief to Cuba, delivering around 700,000 barrels of oil in March.

Political consultant Roger Stone has called for cutting off US funding to Kiev, highlighting that Vladimir Zelensky is showing contempt for Washington despite receiving billions of dollars in American aid. Speaking on America Now with RT’s Ben Swann, Stone said the Ukrainian leader “has no interest in peace.”

The comment comes as US President Donald Trump continues to ramp up pressure on Kiev to accelerate efforts to reach a peace deal with Russia. Trump has repeatedly called for a halt to strikes on Russian oil refineries as part of a broader effort to curb energy prices, while Washington has negotiated a deal with Moscow to release Russian diesel supplies to global markets.

Stone pointed to Ukraine’s resumption of strikes on Russian energy facilities after agreeing to a ceasefire covering them. The host of ‘The Stone Zone’ highlighted the attacks had undermined a deal negotiated by US President Donald Trump to release Russian diesel fuel at reasonable prices, which Stone argued could have helped bring down fuel costs worldwide.

“Ukraine kept that promise for about a nanosecond and went right back to driving the cost of diesel high,” he said.

Stone also criticized what he described as Zelensky’s inappropriate reaction to a question about the potential political fallout in the US from strikes on Russian energy facilities.

“Look, I saw a piece, a video in which he was asked whether the fact that he had blown up these factories would cause an election problem for Donald Trump and his party,” he said. “He smiled, which is thumbing his nose at the country that has given this man tens of billions of dollars, not all of which, of course, can be directly accounted for.”

Watch Benn Swann’s full interview with Roger Stone here.

South Korea is withdrawing more diplomatic staff from Ukraine over Kiev’s failure to resolve a dispute sparked by Vladimir Zelensky’s disclosure of a secret North Korean prisoner transfer, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul has announced.

The dispute erupted after Zelensky publicly announced the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers to Seoul during his address to the UN General Assembly in September. South Korea insists that the operation was supposed to remain confidential, while Ukrainian authorities deny that any such agreement existed.

The servicemen were reportedly captured in January 2025 in Russia’s Kursk Region, where North Korean troops helped Russian forces repel a Ukrainian incursion.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Park Doo-soon announced the withdrawal at a press briefing on Tuesday, saying that Kiev had failed to take “positive steps” to settle the dispute despite repeated diplomatic protests.

He also cited persistent threats of airstrikes across Ukraine, saying they had made it difficult to guarantee the safety of diplomatic personnel.

Seoul did not disclose how many staff would be withdrawn. A chargé d’affaires will remain in Kiev to maintain diplomatic contacts, while consular personnel will continue assisting South Korean nationals.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung accused Kiev of violating a confidentiality agreement intended to protect the prisoners and their families in North Korea. He warned that exposing the transfer could endanger their relatives and undermine stability on the Korean Peninsula, insisting that Ukraine itself had originally demanded secrecy.

Earlier this month, Lee warned that “if the Ukrainian government continues to refuse acknowledging the facts and issuing a public apology, we will take additional measures.”

South Korea recalled its ambassador from Kiev on October 8 after its demands went unanswered. The move marked the first time in 18 years that Seoul had withdrawn an ambassador in a diplomatic protest. The latest decision further escalates the standoff, with South Korean media reporting that roughly half of the embassy staff are now expected to leave Kiev.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga previously sought to downplay the row with Seoul, describing it as a “diplomatic misunderstanding” and saying that he was working to resolve it. He denied that Kiev had breached its commitments, attributing the dispute to differing interpretations of confidentiality arrangements.

South Korea has become a major arms exporter since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, securing multibillion-dollar weapons deals with Poland. However, Seoul has refused to supply lethal weapons directly to Kiev, citing its longstanding policy against arming countries at war.

It has instead provided non-lethal military equipment, including helmets, bulletproof vests, and mine detectors, alongside humanitarian and financial aid.

A Ukrainian conscription officer previously convicted of bribery has been accused of beating a recruit to death in the western city of Lviv, Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) said on Tuesday.

In September, the suspect, together with other officers of the Territorial Center of Recruitment and Social Support (TCC), the body overseeing mobilization, brutally beat a prospective recruit, who could not defend himself with his hands cuffed behind his back.

“At the hospital, medical staff discovered that the man had sustained multiple rib fractures, severe lung damage, and other life-threatening injuries,” the DBR said in a statement. “Despite the efforts of the medical team, he could not be saved.”

The officer, who received a non-custodial sentence for bribery in August, is now formally suspected of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm resulting in death as part of a group. He faces up to ten years in prison and has been detained without bail, according to the DBR.

Ukraine has faced mounting scrutiny over abuses by TCC officers, as numerous videos showing recruitment patrols snatching men off the streets and often beating them have circulated on social media. Several incidents have also resulted in deaths.

In April, the DBR charged a draft officer in connection with the death of another prospective recruit, whom he allegedly beat and shocked with a stun gun during transportation. His commanding officer, who allegedly failed to intervene, was also charged.

Public tensions surrounding Ukraine’s recruitment practices have also spilled over into multiple violent incidents.

At least six people have been injured in the latest case, when a detained man went on a shooting spree inside a TCC building in Kiev.

South Sudan has accused neighboring Sudan of carrying out a drone strike on a market in the disputed Abyei region which reportedly killed 73 people and injured 19 others. 

The South Sudanese Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it had summoned Sudanese Ambassador Essam Mohamed Karrar to express its strong objection to the attack on Amiet Market, located north of Abyei town.

“The Government of the Republic of South Sudan has learned with grave concern of the drone attack carried out by the Sudanese Armed Forces against Amiet Market, situated north of Abyei Town,” the ministry said. However, officials in Juba and Abyei did not provide direct evidence pinning the strike on the Sudanese Army. The Sudanese government has not publicly commented on the allegations.

The attack took place on Monday morning, hitting several sections of the market, including its northern entrance. At least 73 people were killed and 19 injured in the attack, Abyei’s information minister, Yohana Akol Ngor, told Radio Tamazuj.

An anonymous diplomatic source and an aid worker told Reuters that the strike hit a fuel depot at the market. The facility had previously been used to supply Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the source added.

Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when fighting broke out between the army and the RSF. 

Abyei has remained disputed since South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011. The UN maintains a peacekeeping mission in the area, known as UNISFA, to help prevent violence.

In May, Russia’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Anna Evstigneeva, warned that armed groups were obstructing efforts to settle Abyei’s status. Addressing the UN Security Council, she said RSF activity and continued fighting in neighboring areas were worsening security conditions. “It is the actions of elements opposing Khartoum that are the main obstacle to the start of a comprehensive settlement process,” Evstigneeva said.

Polish authorities have charged nine people, most of them Ukrainian nationals, over their alleged involvement in a money-laundering operation.

The group was described as part of a broader international network helping criminal enterprises launder illicit proceeds in statements released on Monday by the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Lodz and the Internal Security Agency (ABW). Ukraine has become a major hub for online and telephone fraud operations, many of which are said to enjoy protection from corrupt government officials.

Polish investigators said the group laundered more than $86 million between February 2025 and July 2026. Authorities seized approximately $250,000 in cash and gold during the arrests.

Nine suspects aged 26 to 53 were detained over their alleged roles in the operation: two money couriers, four cashiers, and three currency exchange clerks. Eight suspects are Ukrainian nationals, while the ninth is a Belarusian woman. A 34-year-old Ukrainian man was accused of leading the ring.

All nine were charged, with seven remanded in custody. The two cashiers were released on bail and barred from leaving Poland.

The group allegedly served primarily online and call-center fraud operations, channeling their proceeds through currency exchange offices, fictitious gold purchases and cryptocurrency transactions.

The cash was then delivered to cryptocurrency exchange offices, where cashiers received confirmation codes by text message before accepting the money without carrying out mandatory anti-money laundering checks.

Some of the laundered funds were reportedly concealed in specially modified vehicles and transported abroad rather than deposited into bank accounts or converted into cryptocurrency.

Ukraine’s domestic telefraud industry, estimated to generate around $1 billion annually, attracted international attention last month after Western-backed investigators accused the head of the cybercrime division at the Prosecutor General’s office of operating a protection racket for fraudulent call centers on behalf of his superior. Prosecutor-General Ruslan Kravchenko was not personally charged but nevertheless left the country before parliament dismissed him.

Critics have questioned the effectiveness of the crackdown, arguing that many fraudulent operations simply relocated from rented offices to private apartments to continue targeting victims.

Petroleum product prices have soared in Germany, with gasoline and diesel nearly 49% more expensive and heating oil nearly doubling over the past year, according to official figures.

The surge comes as Europe’s largest economy continues to grapple with the fallout from its break with Russian energy in 2022, now compounded by the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Prices for refined oil products jumped 51.3% year-on-year in September and 8.2% from August, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported on Tuesday. Heating oil surged 91.8%, motor fuels rose 48.6%, and naphtha, used in chemical manufacturing, climbed 53.8%.

The figures reflect producer prices rather than those paid by consumers at the pump.

The shock spread across the energy sector. Producer energy prices rose 14.9% year-on-year, with natural gas distribution costs up 15% and electricity 8.2%.

The pressure has spread across German industry. Overall producer prices rose 6.7% year-on-year in September, the sharpest increase since March 2023. Manufacturing materials and components became 6.4% more expensive, while machinery and equipment rose 2.4%. Excluding energy, producer prices were up 3.2%.

The Iran war has severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, driving up energy prices worldwide. Brent crude topped $111 a barrel on Tuesday, a five-month high, while US benchmark WTI exceeded $104.

Germany’s energy troubles, however, predate the Middle East crisis. The country has faced high costs since abandoning cheap Russian energy following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, forcing energy-intensive manufacturers to seek more expensive alternatives.

Before the break, Russia supplied 55% of Germany’s natural gas imports. Direct imports from Russia have since fallen to zero, with Germany reportedly paying five times as much for gas. Norway (44%), the Netherlands (24%), and Belgium (21%) have become its main suppliers, with US liquefied natural gas (LNG) accounting for much of the remainder.

Meanwhile, Berlin committed €96 billion in Ukraine-related support, launched a €100 billion rearmament drive, and pledged to raise core defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2029.

Amid criticism that increased military spending is at the expense of domestic needs, Merz’s approval rating sank to a record-low 10% in a poll in October. His Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has suffered major electoral setbacks against the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has overtaken the CDU-led bloc in national polling. The AfD has called for Russian gas imports to be restored.

Moscow has long argued that Western energy sanctions are counterproductive, redirecting Russian exports while forcing Europeans to pay more for alternative supplies. Russia has offered to cover shortages and resume deliveries, but says its proposals have gone unanswered.

Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian facilities are “off-the-charts,” with around 8,200 strikes recorded over the past week alone as Kiev continues to reject US demands to stop attacks on oil refineries, Rodion Miroshnik, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s mission tracking alleged Ukrainian war crimes, said.

Speaking to TASS on Tuesday, Miroshnik reported that the attacks averaged nearly 1,200 daily, with 22 killed and 211 wounded, among them 13 children over the past week. He added that drone strikes accounted for 96% of the casualties.

According to the diplomat, the worst-hit areas include the Russian regions of Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson, as well as the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics – all of which are close to the front line and have been intensely bombarded by Ukraine throughout the conflict.

Ukraine has also shown no signs of moving toward an energy ceasefire, which was proposed by US President Donald Trump, Miroshnik said, pointing to drone attacks on two oil refineries in the regions of Saratov and Ryazan. Another drone raid on Sunday on St. Petersburg sparked a fire at an oil terminal. The attack killed one and injured five others, the local authorities said.

Trump announced a Russia-Ukraine energy ceasefire on October 11, though neither side confirmed that a deal was reached. Trump has repeatedly demanded that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky stop attacks on Russian oil facilities to alleviate the pressure on global markets and American consumers, but he has refused to comply.

As tensions mounted, Trump said Ukraine should replace Zelensky with a leader capable of reaching a peace deal. On Sunday, the president lashed out at Zelensky, saying he “doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did.” Zelensky blasted Trump over his diesel deal with Moscow, saying he felt betrayed.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the Ukrainian attacks as “some final manifestations of agony,” adding that although “the Kiev regime is fighting back, it cannot alter the course of events.”

Further relief from record fuel prices could force South Africa to divert money from other government programs, President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned as his administration considers a new intervention to ease pressure on households.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the Bana Pele ECD Summit in Sandton on Monday, Ramaphosa said rising fuel prices were a global problem. “The issue of the fuel price is a problem globally. We’re not the only country that is affected by rising fuel prices and of course there are various responses by various entities and governments and businesses and we are giving serious consideration on what needs to be done,” the president said.

Ramaphosa noted the government had previously intervened when fuel prices increased, spending about 24 billion rand (about $1.46 billion) on a subsidy system.“You must remember that when the fuel price rose a few months ago, government intervened and poured into a subsidy system about 24 billion rand,” he said.

The increases came after the temporary fuel-levy relief introduced between April and June was phased out. The relief reduced the general fuel levy by R3 a litre on petrol and by up to R3.93 a litre on diesel at its peak. Parliament has since advanced a proposed R10 billion fuel-relief allocation for debate in the National Assembly. However, the proposal does not guarantee an immediate reduction in petrol and diesel prices.

With fuel prices rising again, he noted that the government was considering what further action could be taken. “Now that it’s gone up again, everyone in the world is giving consideration on what they should do, so are we,” the president said.

First published by IOL

Ukrainian officials are reportedly panicking after US investigators uncovered links between Mexican drug cartels and Kiev, including paid drone training for cartel members. The probe threatens to further strain the already fragile relations between Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump.

In a statement on Tuesday, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said American law enforcement investigating the cartels had identified at least 80 members who learned to assemble and operate combat drones while serving with Ukrainian forces.

The payment for this “education” was transferred to officials close to Zelensky using proceeds from drug sales in the US, according to the SVR report obtained by RT.

The agency also noted that Zelensky’s office is aware that the presence of trained first-person-view (FPV) drone operators among drug cartels could ultimately threaten American officers combating drug trafficking along the Mexican border and damage relations with Washington.

The Washington Post similarly reported last month that Mexican cartels were hiring drone operators who had fought in Ukraine and were sending members there for training. The State Department said it was working with Kiev to prevent those skills from reaching the cartels.

Mexico’s Milenio newspaper also claimed last year that members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel had received drone and urban warfare training in Ukraine.

The alleged ties have extended beyond training, with Russian intelligence reporting in June that Ukrainian security agencies were facilitating Latin American drug trafficking into Europe while the cartels helped Kiev in recruiting fighters.

US financial support for Ukraine could ultimately backfire on Washington, with foreign funded military training potentially helping Mexican cartel members acquire skills they could later use against the US, Italian war correspondent Andrea Lucidi told RT.

The allegations come amid an increasingly bitter dispute between Zelensky and Trump over Kiev’s continued strikes on Russian refineries and stalled peace negotiations.

Trump has increasingly questioned the Ukrainian leader’s true intentions regarding the conflict, stressing that he should have settled it “a long time ago” and suggesting that he “doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did.”

Trump recently went as far as stating that Ukraine should “get a new president,” and said on Monday that Kiev should get someone else to negotiate peace, arguing that Zelensky “doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

Watch RT’s full report below.

As Israel prepares for the October 27 elections, accusations of foreign interference are intensifying. While Israeli leaders have pointed to Iran, Russia, and China, journalist Nick Kolyohin argues that greater scrutiny should be directed at Western funding of Israeli media outlets and civil society organizations, which he believes may be influencing the country’s political discourse.

With election day approaching, political parties are stepping up efforts to attract voters and consolidate their support.

The right-wing camp, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is seeking to rally hawkish voters behind him, potentially at the expense of other conservative parties. The opposition bloc is trying to persuade voters to abandon Netanyahu and shift their support to its side.

Yet the battle for the Israeli electorate is not being fought exclusively within the country’s borders. Foreign actors are also seeking to shape the political landscape and influence the outcome of the election.

Several days ago, speaking to Channel 14, Netanyahu raised this concern.

“Iran is trying to damage the elections with the help of its terror arms Hamas and Hezbollah. It is totally true – they say it openly that they need to topple me because their real desire is to destroy the State of Israel.”

Iran, however, is not the only country accused of interference. In July, speaking at the Knesset, opposition leader Yair Lapid also accused China and Russia of attempting to meddle.

“The elections are drawing closer. Iran is involved, Russia is involved, and influence operations are running rampant on social media. They want to divide us, strengthen the extremists, weaken the moderates, and sow chaos and hatred.”

Nick Kolyohin, a veteran Israeli journalist and Russia expert, disputes the accusations against Moscow, saying he has seen no evidence of Russian interference in the current or previous election cycles:

“I am not witnessing, neither in the current round, nor in the previous, any influence from the Russian side.”

“I am not even sure which side Russia prefers in this internal dispute between the different political parties. Israeli politicians are not speaking about Russia so it doesn’t even make any sense for Moscow to interfere because it is not clear which government is going to be good or bad for the Kremlin,” he said.

Kolyokhin maintains that the broader relationship between the two countries lends weight to his assessment. Despite periodic setbacks and fluctuations, economic ties and trade have continued. Diplomatic relations and cooperation have also endured through some of the most turbulent periods in recent history, including the Syrian civil war, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023.

“I know for a fact, including from my sources within the PM office, that the current premier has very good and close relations with President Vladimir Putin. Israel understands that from time to time Moscow needs to slap it [publicly] because it is a part of a broader geopolitical game but in the end of the day this will not sour the relationship between the nations.”

The West dictates

Kolyohin argues that while Russia has come under scrutiny over alleged interference in the upcoming elections, another potential source of foreign influence is receiving far less attention: liberal political circles in Europe and the US.

“For many years, the European Union and the Democratic Party have been pouring money into the Israeli NGOs, news outlets, journalists, think tanks and experts – all of whom are located on the left side of the Israeli political map. So they ended up promoting European interests, which I find outrageous, especially now, when the EU is openly unfriendly towards Israel.”

In recent years, several European countries have recognized Palestine despite Israeli appeals. European governments have also pursued sanctions on Israeli products manufactured in the West Bank and Golan Heights, imposed embargoes on military equipment, and suspended bilateral agreements.

Kolyohin says he has evidence to support his allegations of Western interference. In recent weeks, he says, he obtained three documents that point to substantial financial transfers from Western liberal circles to Israeli left-wing organizations.

The first transfer involved around $48,000 (€43,000). According to Kolyohin, the money came from Canal France International (CFI), a French public media-development agency, and went to the Seventh Eye, an Israeli liberal outlet known for its critical coverage of Netanyahu.

CFI has also reportedly provided hundreds of thousands of euros to another liberal Israeli organization, the Israeli Association of Internet. While the stated objective was to support Israel and combat disinformation, Kolyohin suspects that the underlying motivations extend beyond those publicly declared goals.

“This is one of the ways for the west to censor and control the information in Israel and in this way they can also interfere in the elections, and promote their agenda among the public.”

According to the journalist, the Western agenda extends beyond the promotion of liberal ideas. He argues that another key objective is to foster anti-Russian sentiment in Israel, a goal he believes is advanced through media outlets and think tanks that receive Western funding.

“These journalists and experts learned fast that if they want to be honored, invited to conferences, and get prizes, they need to criticize Russia even if that is contrary to the interests of Israel itself,” Kolyohin said.

“You have to understand: Russia is an important partner of Israel but very often the Israeli government is trying not to flash these tight relations petrified by what the media and the experts are going to say.”

Kolyohin says he has personally experienced what he regards as the consequences of anti-Russian sentiment in Israel. Several Israeli news outlets have investigated his alleged connections to the Kremlin. His name is frequently associated with what local outlets describe as Russian propaganda, and he believes these efforts have damaged his professional standing.

In 2025, he was barred from press conferences held by Israel’s Foreign Ministry after asking Foreign Minister Gideon Saar to comment on Ukraine’s glorification of the Nazis.

A year later, he was removed from a plane carrying Netanyahu to Washington, where the prime minister was scheduled to meet with Trump. According to Kolyohin, the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, wanted to examine his background and ties.

“They are after journalists like me because I am not slamming Russia like the rest of them. They are after me because I dare to speak to the Russian media, I dare to give interviews and do reports. That’s why they want to discredit me, and they are even trying to tilt the PM office and the Shin Bet against me.”

Kolyohin has filed a lawsuit against several Israeli organizations that receive foreign funding and says he is prepared to continue his legal fight to find out the truth: Who funds Israeli NGOs, for what purpose, and how is this money used to shape public opinion?

South Africa must prepare for exclusion from Washington’s preferential trade program for African countries, President Cyril Ramaphosa warned amid deteriorating relations with the US.

Speaking to journalists on Monday, Ramaphosa said his government is discussing South Africa’s continued participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) with Washington.

“Congress has decided that we should be kept in AGOA. What now remains is the executive,” he said. “I need, as president, to prepare us if it ever happens.”

AGOA has granted eligible African countries duty-free access to the US market for thousands of products since 2000. US President Donald Trump signed an extension through 2028 last month, although individual countries’ eligibility remains subject to review. South Africa remains eligible.

Ramaphosa warned that exclusion would have a “devastating” impact on jobs, with vehicle manufacturing and agricultural exports among the sectors reliant on access to the US market.

Relations have deteriorated since Trump returned to office in January 2025. He has accused the South African government of allowing “white genocide,” which Pretoria has dismissed as misinformation.

Washington halted aid in February 2025, expelled South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool the following month, and imposed a 30% tariff on South African goods that August.

On Monday, Ramaphosa said he and Deputy President Paul Mashatile are seeking alternative markets, pointing to China’s offer of “the opportunity to be able to export our goods on a tariff-free basis.” Pretoria has also revived preferential trade talks with India.

China effectively eliminated tariffs on nearly all goods (97% to 100% of tariff lines) from 53 African countries from May 1, expanding preferences previously reserved for the least developed nations. Chinese President Xi Jinping initially announced the expansion during a televised address to the 39th African Union Summit on February 14.

India and the US are “very close” to finalizing a bilateral trade deal, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said.

“We are very, very close,” Rubio told reporters in Mumbai on Tuesday, with US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, by his side. “I would say we are about as close as you can be without having executed the agreement.” The two countries have been negotiating the deal for months.

Although the US Supreme Court threw out the tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed on India, along with on other countries, New Delhi has held off signing the deal as it sought terms that gave it a competitive advantage in the US market.

However, Trump recently waived “bone crushing sanctions” on the buyers of Russian oil, including India – the prospects of which had worried policy planners in New Delhi – removing a potential major obstacle to the deal.

Rubio called India a very important partner, and said there will be some good news to announce very soon.

#WATCH | US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits the Gateway of India in Mumbai, Maharashtra, accompanied by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. #MarcoRubio #IndiaUSRelations #Mumbai #DevendraFadnavis https://t.co/BxifwllfGf

— DD India (@DDIndialive) October 20, 2026

On Monday, while in Uzbekistan, Rubio showed that the Trump administration recognizes New Delhi’s arguments about buying Russian oil. India is the world’s third biggest crude importer and the second largest buyer of Russian oil.

“Every country has a complex set of factors that they ⁠have to take into account,” he told reporters. “Geography is real. For some countries, it’s very difficult to acquire energy from alternative sources.”

Rubio’s focus on his trip, the second this year to India, is oil. He is meeting Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, who owns the world’s largest refinery complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat state, on Wednesday.

Tapping Reliance’s massive refining capacity and allowing its output to flow into the world markets is important for the administration’s push.

Calling India a “refining superpower,” Rubio said he will talk with Ambani about Reliance buying more Venezuelan oil. The Reliance refinery is configured to refine the heavy Venezuelan crude.

Rubio said “energy is a matter of national security as well,” justifying his focus on oil.

He is also meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Mumbai.

At least nine members of a Libyan security force have been killed and several others injured in a mortar explosion during a training exercise in the western city of Zawiya, the country’s Ambulance and Emergency Service has reported.

The blast, which involved an 82mm mortar round, took place during exercises conducted by members of the Anti-Threat Security Agency, according to Asharq News, citing the Libyan emergency service. The agency said the explosion occurred after sunset prayers on Sunday. The emergency service mourned the victims, describing the incident as a “painful tragedy and a painful loss” for Zawiya.

The explosion occurred at a security camp in the Harsha area of Zawiya, according to The Libya Observer. Three personnel reportedly died at the scene, while six others later succumbed to their injuries. Several wounded personnel remained hospitalized, some in critical condition, the outlet reported, citing a local source.

Zawiya is located approximately 40km west of Tripoli and is home to Libya’s largest operating oil refinery. The city has experienced repeated clashes between rival armed groups. The Anti-Threat Security Agency operates under the UN-recognized Government of National Unity based in Tripoli and led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.

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 Dbeibah’s administration, while a rival government in the east is backed by the military commander Khalifa Haftar.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has made an unannounced visit to Israel for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just days before the country’s parliamentary elections, according to Axios.

The reported meeting comes as Washington and Israel discuss potentially resuming major military operations against Iran, while indirect negotiations continue over the war they launched in February. Israel, a major recipient of American military funding and weapons, has justified its offensives on security grounds, even as the conflict has spread across the region, disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and driven up global energy prices.

Hegseth met Netanyahu on Monday at Ovda Air Base in southern Israel, where US fighter jets and refueling aircraft are stationed, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the visit. The Pentagon chief also met American troops deployed at the facility.

The surprise visit followed US President Donald Trump’s public endorsement of Netanyahu ahead of the October 27 parliamentary elections – Israel’s first since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks and the subsequent devastating Israeli military campaign in Gaza. On Sunday, the US president hailed Netanyahu as a “Great Warrior Prime Minister” and offered him his “Complete and Total Endorsement.”

“BIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump declared on Truth Social, praising the Israeli leader’s role in the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Hegseth’s trip also reportedly comes as Washington and West Jerusalem discuss the possibility of unleashing another major military campaign against Iran. Trump has raised the prospect of renewed strikes after the US midterm elections in November.

“If we need to act alone, we will act alone,” he declared on Sunday, outlining a security doctrine centered on preemptive military action.

Netanyahu has also called for the overthrow of Iran’s government, claiming Tehran would continue to rebuild its military and nuclear capabilities as long as its current leadership remains in power. Iran has repeatedly denied seeking nuclear weapons, insisting its nuclear program is peaceful.

Japan’s space agency has launched a mission aimed at becoming the first to land on one of Mars’ moons and return samples from its surface to Earth.

An H3 rocket carrying the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center on Monday, according to a live broadcast by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

If the mission proceeds as planned, at least 10 grams of material from Phobos will be returned to Earth in 2031, with the first landing operation scheduled for around two years from now.

No spacecraft has ever successfully landed on Phobos or Mars’ smaller moon, Deimos. The USSR launched two probes in 1988, but neither completed its mission.

Phobos 1 was lost before reaching Mars after an erroneous command from Earth disabled its attitude-control system. Phobos 2 spent nearly two months observing Mars and Phobos before a communications failure ended the mission, preventing it from deploying two small landers.

Russia’s subsequent Fobos-Grunt sample-return mission failed in 2011 when the spacecraft’s propulsion system failed to send it out of Earth’s orbit toward Mars.

JAXA plans for MMX to reach Mars in August or September 2027 and begin observations before deploying a rover in late 2028 or early 2029. The spacecraft carries a 25-kilogram French-German rover named IDEFIX, which will be dropped onto Phobos to study its surface for around 100 days. The main spacecraft will then attempt two landings to collect samples. MMX is also expected to fly past Deimos in 2030 before its return module heads back to Earth.

Landing on Phobos presents a major technical challenge. The moon measures just 27 kilometers across its longest dimension, and its gravitational pull is too weak for conventional close-orbit operations. Instead, MMX will synchronize its orbit around Mars with that of Phobos, effectively becoming a “quasi-satellite” of the moon.

Scientists hope the samples will help establish whether Phobos formed from debris thrown into orbit by a massive impact on Mars or is an asteroid captured by the planet’s gravity.

China’s Tianwen-3 mission could return samples collected directly from Mars to Earth as early as 2031.

The oil-rich Canadian province of Alberta has voted to remain part of the country, with most voters rejecting a proposal to move toward an independence referendum, national broadcaster CBC reported on Tuesday.

The vote comes amid purported contacts between pro-independence activists and US officials, as well as mounting tensions between Alberta and the federal government in Ottawa. The dispute centers on what advocates of independence see as insufficient attention to the province’s interests.

The preliminary results showed that 76.2% of voters backed remaining a Canadian province, while 23.8% supported initiating the legal process for a future binding referendum on independence.

Located in western Canada, Alberta borders the US state of Montana and is home to about 5 million people. Its economy is driven by oil and gas, with the province accounting for 83.6% of Canada’s oil production in 2024, according to the government. Much of its oil comes from northern oil sands, which reportedly hold an estimated 158.9 billion barrels in reserves.

Advocates of Alberta’s independence argue that the province faces excessive federal restrictions, particularly over climate policy. Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government proposed caps on emissions for the oil and gas sector and power plants, as well as limits on pipeline construction. Although Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government has abandoned some of the measures and advanced plans for a new pipeline to the Pacific coast, tensions persist.

Alberta’s independence movement gained momentum in 2025-2026, with supporters launching a petition for a separation referendum in January. A court overturned approval of the initiative in May after indigenous groups challenged it over a lack of consultation and potential threats to their treaty rights. Premier of Alberta Danielle Smith later announced that the separation question would be included in the October 19 provincial referendum.

Alberta independence advocates held at least three meetings with US State Department officials ahead of the vote and prepared a document outlining potential areas of cooperation should the province leave Canada, AP reported. The State Department did not deny the meetings, but stressed that the vote was a matter for Albertans alone. In January, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the province as a “natural partner” for Washington if it left Canada.

More than 1.35 million people voted ahead of election day between October 13 and 17, representing 43.1% of eligible voters, according to Elections Alberta. The ballots are being counted by hand, with votes on the separation question tallied first. Official results are due on October 29.

US President Donald Trump has claimed that America could face similar chaos to the violent unrest sweeping France if the Democrats win next month’s midterm elections, accusing left-wing politicians of fueling mass migration and instability across the West.

France has struggled to contain escalating riots that erupted last month over teacher shortages and crumbling facilities. The protests have since grown into a broader movement against inequality and soaring living costs.

Hundreds of thousands took to the streets over the weekend as demonstrations descended into clashes with police, arson, and looting. Nearly 2,400 people were arrested, hundreds of businesses looted, and buildings torched across the country, while around 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured.

Footage drew comparisons to “scenes from a civil war,” with videos also showing some protesters waving Palestinian flags alongside the French tricolor.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Monday, Trump warned that “Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon,” blaming France’s immigration policies for the unrest.

Trump: Paris is going to be a Muslim city pretty soon. pic.twitter.com/9S5fx0ppPo

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 19, 2026

He sharpened his criticism in a Truth Social post, describing France as a “once-great nation” being “conquered, looted, and burned to the ground.” Trump blamed “migrants, jihadists and communists” for the violence, accused European leaders of surrendering their countries to people unwilling to assimilate and urged them to “close their borders” before it is too late.

“If you want to see what is at stake in this Election, just look at what is happening in France… Globalist Leftwing Politicians have treasonously imported millions of Third World Migrants who are totally incompatible with Western Values, and despise everything that makes France great... they have surrendered their country to vandals,” he wrote.

Trump’s renewed focus on immigration – a cornerstone of his successful 2024 campaign – comes as his approval ratings slide and Republicans face mounting pressure ahead of the midterms. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Monday put his approval at 31% – down one point from two weeks earlier and the lowest of either presidential term. Democrats led Republicans 47% to 35% among registered voters on a hypothetical congressional ballot.

Trump repeated his Truth Social message at a Kansas rally for Republican Senator Roger Marshall, whose once-safe seat, according to polls, is now facing a competitive challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton, a Methodist pastor campaigning against the president’s “erratic leadership.” Trump won Kansas by 16 points in 2024, and the state has not elected a Democratic senator in 94 years.

❗️ [ 🇺🇸 ÉTATS-UNIS | 🇫🇷 FRANCE ]

🔸 Donald Trump s’en prend violemment à la France, qu’il décrit comme une « grande nation d’autrefois » en train d’être « conquise, pillée et incendiée » par des « migrants, des djihadistes et des communistes » qui, selon lui, « haïssent le…

— Little Think Tank (@L_ThinkTank) October 20, 2026

The rally kicked off a six-day campaign blitz through Republican strongholds, with stops planned in the Carolinas, Florida, Iowa and Georgia, as Trump seeks to boost turnout and defend the party’s narrow congressional majorities. Democrats need to flip four seats in each chamber to overturn Republicans’ 218-214 House majority and 53-47 Senate advantage.

Trump’s bet on Russian diesel

Trump has also sought to shore up Republican support ahead of the midterms by tackling soaring fuel prices, as the Iran war and tariffs squeeze household budgets. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 68% of Americans disapprove of his handling of the economy, including 37% of Republicans.

The deal with Moscow would release over 300,000 tons of diesel immediately, another 500,000 tons in November and one million tons thereafter. Russian presidential aide Kirill Dmitriev told RT the agreement had an immediate “positive effect,” with New York diesel futures falling 5% on the announcement.

The move, however, drew accusations of “betraying Ukraine” from Democrats and some Republicans, who urged Trump to end the Iran war instead. He defended the deal as “the right choice for the American People” and later went further by invoking a national-interest exemption to suspend recently enacted Russia sanctions, including 500% tariffs on Russian imports and 100% tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil and gas.

A Kenyan court has convicted preacher Paul Mackenzie of murdering 190 children and one adult by forcing them to starve to death to “meet Jesus,” in a massacre that President William Ruto described as “akin to terrorism.”

Justice Diana Kavedza delivered the verdict in Mombasa on Monday, finding Mackenzie and 28 co-defendants guilty on all 191 murder counts. The court found that his Good News International Church used religious teachings and a hierarchy of village elders to organize and enforce fatal fasting in Shakahola Forest in coastal Kilifi County.

“Mackenzie’s followers were first whipped through an established religious and communications network. They were subsequently directed to relocate. Once at the settlement, they were directed to fast,” Justice Kavedza said.

The judge found that children were targeted first, while guards beat followers who tried to eat or escape. Mackenzie also instructed believers to reject schools and healthcare, according to the ruling.

Mackenzie was arrested in April 2023 after police rescued emaciated followers in Shakahola Forest, where investigators subsequently uncovered hundreds of bodies in shallow graves. Postmortem examinations showed that some victims died from suffocation, strangulation, or head injuries. Others were too badly decomposed for a cause of death to be established.

A total of 429 bodies were recovered from graves in Shakahola Forest, according to a 2024 report by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. The commission accused security officials of “gross abdication of duty and negligence” for ignoring credible warnings dating back to 2017.

Earlier this year, Mackenzie and seven associates faced new charges after investigators discovered the bodies of 52 people who allegedly died between January and July 2025 at Kwa Binzaro, around 30 km from Shakahola.

During the trial, prosecutors called 123 witnesses, including children and adult accomplices, and presented DNA analysis, digital recordings, and forensic reports, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said in a statement on Monday.

Vice President J.D. Vance refused to call Ukraine a US ally, noting that the two countries are at odds on a number of issues.

Asked by journalist Mark Halperin in an interview released on Monday whether Ukraine is a US ally, Vance suggested that Kiev is “certainly a partner” but noted that the countries “have some divergent interests from time to time.” 

“Do I think they should be bombing Russian diesel facilities that raise the cost of energy for Americans? No… I think they should stop bombing Russian energy.”

Pressed on the distinction between partner and ally, Vance said the US has no formal alliance with Ukraine. “They’re not in NATO. I don’t think that they should be in NATO,” he said. He added that the two countries will continue to work on some issues despite their differences.

Zelensky called the deal a “weak decision,” which came after Kiev ignored a number of US requests to stop attacking Russian refineries.

Zelensky refused to comply with Trump’s demand to end the strikes. The US president accused him of driving up fuel prices for Americans and said: “I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president.”

Zelensky’s presidential term expired in May 2024, but he refused to hold a new election, citing martial law. Russia has since declared Zelensky illegitimate, saying his status is an obstacle to signing a binding peace deal.

On Sunday, Trump accused Zelensky of not wanting the conflict with Russia to end, saying he “probably never did,” adding that Ukraine should “get somebody else to negotiate.”

Ukrainian officials also reported that they missed advance US warnings of Russian missile strikes and claimed there are new restrictions on the Starshield satellite service developed by SpaceX and used by Ukrainian drones. Media reports also suggested that the US threatened to stop intelligence sharing with Kiev, which US officials have denied.

Six people have been injured after a man opened fire inside a military recruitment center in Kiev, local officials have reported.

The shooting occurred on Monday evening in the Ukrainian capital’s Pechersky District, amid mounting tensions over Kiev’s forced mobilization campaign and repeated incidents of violent resistance.

The National Police reported that three of its officers and three military personnel were injured and hospitalized. The recruitment center said the suspect “obtained a firearm” on the premises but did not explain how.

Journalist Roman Bochkala, who reported from the scene, identified the suspect as a man in his early 40s who allegedly used a SIG Sauer handgun. The man had reportedly been taken to the center after being seized by a patrol.

Kiev relies on mandatory conscription of men aged 25 to 60 to replenish battlefield losses. Recruitment patrols have repeatedly been filmed forcibly detaining potential recruits on the streets, with some encounters escalating into deadly violence.

In February 2025, a gunman shot dead a military recruitment officer near Piryatin in Poltava Region during a coordinated attempt to free a conscript being transported to military training. The attacker and the conscript were later arrested.
In Dnepr in May, three recruitment officers were reportedly wounded in a shooting involving a traumatic pistol. The suspect admitted firing a warning shot but maintained that he was defending himself against an unlawful attempt to detain him.

Violent clashes involving recruitment patrols also erupted near Uzhgorod in March and in Lviv in July. Following the latter incident, groups described as “volunteers” reportedly assaulted suspected rioters and forced them to apologize on camera, apparently with the tacit approval of the authorities.

Iran has completed a key railway line connecting the southern port of Chabahar with Zahedan near its border with Afghanistan, amid a US blockade of its ports and mounting economic pressure from the West.

The 730-km rail link will give Tehran more flexibility to move cargo to neighboring countries from the port, which is being developed by India, RT correspondent Saman Kojouri reports.

The railway is a key link in the strategic International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which is backed by India, Iran, and Russia. Iran’s broader ambition is to connect its southern ports to transport networks connecting the Caspian Sea and beyond, operationalizing a vast land corridor for market access across Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Russia.

The Chabahar route would be 40% shorter and 30% cheaper than the existing Suez Canal route for moving cargo. The line, which has 39 tunnels, 201 bridges, and 33 stations, is expected to become operational in the next 2-3 months. It can also move about 7 million tons of cargo and 1 million passengers annually.

The route will allow India to bypass the territory of arch-rival Pakistan, although sanctions and blockades remain a challenge. However, New Delhi and Tehran are actively engaged in smoothing out customs, logistics, and operational issues to maximize the line’s commercial potential.

Transit volumes through Chabahar are already up tenfold in the last few months compared to the same period a year ago, the CEO of the Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone, Mohammad Saeed Arbabi, told RT. The new railway line will further increase transit volumes, creating new opportunities in investment, manufacturing, exports, and re-exports, and thus reinforcing the port’s role as a key transit hub, he said.

He noted that although military tensions with the US have reduced shipping activity, India has not withdrawn from the port project. “India remains actively involved,” Arbabi said, adding “we welcome investment from all countries except hostile nations [in the port project].”

According to Arbabi, cooperation with Pakistan and Afghanistan remains strong, with activity expanding beyond previous levels.

Vladimir Zelensky has appealed to a bipartisan group of US senators to pressure President Donald Trump into lifting alleged restrictions on US military assistance and intelligence sharing, Axios reported on Monday.

During a virtual meeting with lawmakers led by Republican Senator Thom Tillis and Democrat Richard Blumenthal on Monday, Zelensky complained about alleged disruptions to weapons deliveries, satellite communications, and early warnings of Russian missile attacks, according to a transcript obtained by Axios from Ukrainian officials.

The Ukrainian leader suggested that the Trump administration deliberately “slowed down support” to force Kiev into accepting a negotiated settlement with Moscow.

The dispute escalated earlier this month after Trump struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports and increase supplies to the global market. Kiev condemned the agreement, accusing Washington of making concessions to Moscow behind Ukraine’s back.

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner reportedly reminded Ukrainian negotiators during talks in Miami that Washington is supplying Kiev with weapons and intelligence and that Ukraine should not pursue attacks that hurt American consumers. Ukrainian officials interpreted the remarks as a threat to suspend the assistance unless the refinery strikes stop.

Yet Zelensky continued to challenge the administration, telling senators that SpaceX’s Starlink and the US military’s Starshield satellite systems remain partially restricted and that Ukraine missed US early warnings about Russian ballistic missile attacks on three occasions over the past week.

He also accused Secretary of War Pete Hegseth of holding up Patriot interceptor missiles and AIM-9X missiles that NATO countries already purchased for Kiev.

The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon has yet to authorize certain transfers of Patriot missiles from third countries.

Trump lashed out at Zelensky on Monday, accusing him of obstructing efforts to end the conflict and suggesting that someone else should negotiate on Ukraine’s behalf.

“Zelensky doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Trump told reporters. “Maybe it’s time for Zelensky to get someone else to negotiate… We’ve given a lot to Ukraine, they’ve given nothing to us.”

The Italian government is sending 500 soldiers to Milan to protect the city from looting and violence after two days of riots left shops ransacked, police officers injured, and hundreds of people detained.

Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini announced the deployment on Monday as luxury boutiques in Italy’s financial capital shut their doors and removed merchandise from display windows, fearing another wave of unrest.

“From words to action: 500 more troops to defend Milan,” Salvini, who leads the right-wing League party, wrote on social media.

Dalle parole ai fatti! ✅ https://t.co/eAZVJjzzEx

— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) October 19, 2026

The announcement followed an emergency security meeting chaired by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose government is preparing tougher measures against violent protesters and youth gangs.

Riot police deployed tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators who hurled bottles and other projectiles. Among the businesses targeted were Decathlon, Arc’teryx, and Vodafone, while other retailers boarded up their shattered storefronts.

Police detained 271 people on Sunday alone, with 32 formally arrested, including 23 minors and 13 foreign nationals. Another 28 were referred to the judicial authorities. Fourteen police officers were injured, according to ANSA news agency.

Luxury retailers including Chanel, Hermes, and Pomellato closed their doors on Monday. Other high-end stores cleared their display windows amid fears of renewed attacks.

Salvini accused the rioters of deliberately seeking confrontation with police, arguing that the violence cannot be excused by economic hardship.

“This is not social distress,” he said, calling for tougher legislation to allow preventive detention of minors and arrests based on video evidence of looting.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also promised a firm response. Reports suggest that the government could fast-track measures against violent youth gangs.

Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala condemned the destruction as “unacceptable and unjustifiable,” warning that the tensions are far from over.

The French authorities reported nearly 2,400 arrests over the weekend, with hundreds of businesses looted and public buildings set on fire. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced localized curfews on Monday as President Emmanuel Macron faces mounting criticism over the government’s failure to contain the violence.

Ukraine needs a new representative to negotiate peace with Russia as Vladimir Zelensky “doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” US President Donald Trump has said. He added that he is ready to discuss a resolution to the conflict with Russia and China.

The statement comes amid a deepening rift between Trump and Zelensky over Ukraine’s continued targeting of Russian refineries after the US president struck a deal with Moscow aimed at reining in skyrocketing global energy prices through Russian diesel exports.

“Zelensky’s a man that should have this war settled a long time ago,” Trump told reporters on Monday when asked about the Ukrainian leader’s criticism of his deal with President Vladimir Putin.

The agreement between Trump and Putin reached earlier this month involves the US easing restrictions on Russian 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 Russia supplying diesel to the global market and potentially to the US as well.

Ukraine has continued to target Russian oil infrastructure despite repeated demands by Trump to stop the attacks, which he blames for surging global energy prices. On Monday, he reiterated that Ukraine is behaving ungratefully.

Asked if he is ready to negotiate a settlement of the Ukraine conflict with Russia and China without Zelensky present, Trump said he just wants the conflict to end and will do “anything I can do to end the war, whether somebody is there or not.”

Earlier on Monday, the Kremlin said Putin, Trump, and Chinese President Xi Jinping could meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next month.

Trump’s remarks follow a series of similar statements in recent days. Over the weekend, he said Zelensky “doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did.”

Russia has long accused Ukraine’s Western backers, including former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, of sabotaging the 2022 peace talks in Istanbul. Russia has also identified the stance of Ukraine’s European backers as one of the key obstacles to resolving the conflict.

Elon Musk has pledged to give every child in the United States a share of SpaceX next year, in a massive giveaway potentially worth more than $10 billion that has earned praise from US President Donald Trump.

The world’s richest man, whose fortune is estimated at around $1 trillion, announced the initiative on Monday, saying it’s the beginning of a broader effort to distribute his wealth. The announcement comes as Musk deepens his political and financial support for Trump and the Republican Party ahead of the midterm elections in November.

“Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America,” Musk wrote on X. “This will be the first of many.”

Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 19, 2026

With around 73 million children under 18 in the US and SpaceX shares closing at $147.97 on Monday, up 1.33%, the giveaway could be worth $10.8 billion.

Trump enthusiastically welcomed the announcement, saying the shares will be distributed through government-backed investment accounts established under his administration.

Trump said the initiative demonstrates how the private sector can help invest in America’s future and “give every American Child a piece of the American Dream.”

‘Trump Accounts’ are tax-advantaged investment vehicles designed to help children build savings from an early age. Under the program, the federal government provides $1,000 in seed funding for eligible children born between 2025 and 2028, while parents, employers, and private donors can make additional contributions.

The pledge follows an announcement by rival AI company Anthropic that it will commit 5% of its equity to a new public benefit fund. Musk responded by recommending that companies distribute shares directly to ordinary people.

Musk and Trump publicly feuded last year over the president’s spending legislation but have since reconciled, with the billionaire emerging as a major financial backer of the Republican midterm campaign. According to the New York Times, Musk has donated more than $276 million to Republican groups since July, bringing his political contributions during the 2025-2026 election cycle to around $366 million.

An explosive-laden Ukrainian attack drone crashed in Lithuania on Sunday, damaging a passenger car, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius confirmed on Monday.

The drone triggered a high-level air alert in several Lithuanian regions before crashing in the northern Pasvalys district, near the Latvian border. Debris from the UAV damaged a passing car, but no one was injured, according to National Crisis Management Center head Vilmantas Vitkauskas.

Sinkevicus said the response to the incident was different from standard procedures because the drone arrived from a fellow NATO nation.

“The drone entered from the Schengen Area, crossing the border with Poland, so the response was slightly different. Fighter jets were, of course, scrambled and tracked the moving object, but they were unable to see it visually due to adverse weather conditions,” the prime minister said.

On Monday, Sinkevicus confirmed that the UAV was identified as a Ukrainian strike drone. “There is no doubt that it was carrying an explosive payload.”

“Some of the drones were diverted off course by Russia’s electronic warfare systems and ended up in our territory. This particular drone is a consequence of the attack on St. Petersburg,” the minister told the LRT broadcaster. He also identified the drone as a Ukrainian FVP-1 model.

The Ukrainian drone attack on St. Petersburg on Sunday night killed one person and injured five others, according to Governor Aleksandr Beglov. It also damaged more than a dozen apartment buildings and sparked a fire at an oil terminal.

Moscow has condemned the Ukrainian strikes on Russian civilian and energy infrastructure calling them terrorist attacks aimed at compensating for setbacks on the battlefield, where Russian forces have continued to advance.

Despite identifying the drone as Ukrainian, Lithuania blamed Russia for the incident. The case will be investigated as part of a Lithuanian probe into “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” a police official told Elta news agency. Kiev said it regretted the drone incident, while calling Russia’s actions “the root cause of the security threats in our region.”

In July, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Galuzin said Russia has “verified data indicating that Latvia and other Baltic republics have already provided air corridors for Ukrainian drones that have attacked our country’s civilian infrastructure.”

The Baltic nations and Finland, which have been among the staunchest backers of Kiev in the EU amid the Ukraine conflict, previously denied any involvement in the drone attacks on Russia.

Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu previously warned that if it turns out that the Baltic states and Finland “deliberately provide their airspace” to Ukrainian UAVs, Russia will have the right to self-defense in response to an “armed attack” under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

Elon Musk has quietly forked out more than $400 million to Republican organizations since July, making him the largest known donor of the 2026 midterm elections. But can money alone buy the midterms?

The windfall represents a change in tune from May 2025, when Musk, in the middle of a political feud with President Donald Trump, grumbled, “In terms of political spending, I’m going to do a lot less in the future.”

The donations come at a critical time for the Republicans who are struggling in the popularity polls amid a sluggish economy, political infighting, and an on-again, off-again war with Iran, a potential quagmire that has the MAGA crowd furious. Nevertheless, the slush fund is helping Republicans, who currently control both the House of Representatives and the Senate as part of the 119th United States Congress, to purchase pricey late-campaign advertising. Meanwhile, the Democrats have no billionaires in their corner who can match Musk’s financial power.

The biggest Musk payout was awarded to the Senate Leadership Fund, the primary super PAC that supports Republican Senate candidates. Musk lavished the organization with nearly $200 million over the summer, which was a quarterly record for one donor at the group and more than its Democratic counterpart raised from all sources in the same quarter.

America PAC spends most of its midterm budget on door-to-door canvassing and intensive field operations. PAC officials said nearly 3,000 paid canvassers worked across the country last month, and knocked on 6.5 million doors in seven Senate battlegrounds and nearly three dozen House races. The mission focuses on registering and turning out conservative voters, especially those who vote irregularly, a more difficult objective in a midterm year without Trump leading the ballot.

The PAC’s messaging focuses on socialism and transgender policy, hot button topics for their Democratic rivals. Its canvassers are focusing on connections between Democratic candidates to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, two highly controversial figures who are members of the Democratic Socialists of America. Never before have socialists held such high positions in the US and that has many Americans vexed. At the same time, its best-known advertisement in Texas features Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, who remarked in 2021 that God is “nonbinary.”

“If Democrats take control of Washington and win key gubernatorial and attorney general races this November, then America risks becoming a socialist, woke and borderless country,” America PAC spokesman Andrew Romeo told reporters in a recent interview. “These robust investments have allowed the G.O.P. apparatus to get its message out so Republicans can have a fighting chance to defy history.”

In other spending sprees, from July through September, Musk gave $20 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, $10 million to the Republican Governors Association, and $2 million to the Republican Attorneys General Association.

The Republicans, especially Trump, owe a lot to the world’s first trillionaire. Musk endorsed Trump for the 2024 presidential election and became one of his largest political donors, reportedly spending hundreds of millions backing him and other Republican candidates. Trump returned the favor by putting Musk in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to slash federal spending.

The seemingly unbreakable relationship between Trump and Musk collapsed after the US president pushed through his One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Musk has called a “disgusting abomination,” “debt slavery,” and “political suicide.” The fracture between the two men was so serious that Musk went on to create the America Party to challenge the two-party system.

Today, Musk, apart from funneling massive amounts of money into Republican campaign coffers, has remained on the sidelines of the political process to devote more time to his various business ventures. His dream of a third party has also been put on hold as he did not file formal registration paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to legally establish the America Party.

In the meantime, the native of South Africa will have to wait and see if his vast funds can make a difference in one of the most momentous midterm elections in history.

Fyodor Dostoevsky, the great 19th century Russian author of ‘Crime and Punishment’, ‘The Idiot’, and ‘The Brothers Karamazov’, was a counterintuitive thinker who could have appeared on RT. That’s the opinion of Times literary supplement editor Martin Ivens, who, in a piece for Bloomberg arguing against censorship of Irish author Sally Rooney in the UK, mentioned the Russian great.

The suggestion is not without merit. Dostoevsky knew persecution, famously spending ten years in Siberia, four of which were in captivity and another five in military exile having completed his initial present sentence in February 1854.

Rooney is a best-selling author who has publicly taken a stand to back Palestine Action, a group whom it is illegal to support, and about whom it is illegal to make public gestures of support in the UK. British police have made hundreds of bizarre arrests of elderly protesters holding signs supporting the group. Her books have been banned in Britain.

Ivens has used his platform in the Times Literary Supplement to highlight how Russian writers often assume the status of prophets. In his Bloomberg piece he reaffirmed that censoring literature is counter-productive and only serves to feed resentment against the mainstream already in the body politic.

However, his suggestion that Dostoevsky could appear on RT inspired us to inquire as to what topics the great man might hold forth on in 2026.

On Europe

Like many since, Dostoevsky viewed Western Europe with a complex mix of cultural admiration and affinity, moral revulsion, and spiritual anxiety. His experience in captivity – where he was subject to a mock execution – is said to have destroyed his faith in secular humanism. He argued that discarding God led to a moral chaos where “everything is permitted.” 

“Conscience without God is a terrible thing; it can stray into the depths of immorality.”

He also predicted that attempts to build a so-called paradise on earth through rationalism and secularism alone would inevitably lead to political tyranny.

On the EU’s crisis

Dostoevsky would likely and emphatically make the case that Western European leaders have by now displayed a total political bankruptcy and that Western Europeans should renounce materialism and seek meaningful social relations. The riots engulfing major European capitals, and the unfettered profiteering and immigration that have given rise to such tensions, are a symptom of the malaise of the Western European mind. Forcing humanity into rationalist conformity will only lead to extreme bloodshed, he claimed.

“Starting from unlimited freedom, I arrive at unlimited despotism.”

On liberalism 

Dostoevsky would have undoubtedly lamented the emergence of the European Union as a bureaucratic bearer of so-called liberal values. He would have highlighted how his book ‘Demons’ predicted the so-called democratic deficit that characterizes the EU – a tiny, largely unelected bureaucratic elite unreachable to the regular population who are stripped of freedoms.

He would have called the Covid-19 pandemic a brutal event in the restriction of human experience.

Abandoning God and zealously attempting to replace spiritual authority with a moral relativism where everything is permitted will only lead to social and spiritual collapse, Dostoevsky believed. He would have stoutly defended the emphasis and respect for traditional values in popular Russian culture.

“The Westernizers have placed themselves above the people as a paternalistic intelligentsia, rejecting the people.”

He also enjoyed the mess, and this is where he probably would’ve got into trouble with Brussels. The EU notoriously wishes to regulate everything, where Dostoevsky emphasized the irrational and fundamentally spiritual nature of human beings.

On techno-fetishism

He foresaw the loss of grace in the world and its replacement by either authoritarian Catholicism, rational individualistic Protestantism, or indeed technological fetishism. Artificial intelligence in this respect may have represented the apotheosis of his foreboding.

Similarly, Dostoevsky rejected the idea that humans could be rendered calculable and rational beings in their entirety and in that sense would undoubtedly have been horrified at the creeping legislation and legalization of everyday life.

“Human nature acts as a whole, with everything it possesses, consciously and unconsciously.”

The European Union’s Digital Services Act, which allows the behemoth to interfere in the local elections of member countries, would represent such a bureaucratic and legalistic invasion. He would’ve taken a strong stand against the nullification of anti-systemic narratives but would also have emphasized that such political and authority and overreach was inevitable given the collapse of religion and morality.

Dostoevsky would have been as much energized as he would have been horrified by developments in 2026. Were he to be with us today it’s highly likely his voice would contribute to the choir of outspoken and brave commentators who make the channel what it is.