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France’s government faces a deepening political test after nationwide protests over living costs and public services descended into the country’s worst unrest in years. Around 550,000 people marched on Saturday, with almost 2,400 arrested and nearly 1,000 police officers injured. Rioters attacked public buildings and shops. At the same time many demonstrators protested peacefully but found their peaceful protests hijacked by rioters and looters.

The violence comes ahead of Tuesday’s parliamentary vote on the first part of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s 2027 budget, which seeks to make €54 billion in savings. France’s debt reached €3.6 trillion, or 119% of GDP, in the second quarter of this year complicating efforts to contain its deficit.

President Emmanuel Macron condemned the destruction and ordered a review of police preparedness. He also requested talks with students, teachers, unions, lawmakers and businesses to develop proposals addressing the crisis. Political opponents traded accusations over responsibility, while some unions called for further demonstrations on 5 November.

Sources: New York Times, CNBC

Violence at cost of living protests spread across northern Italy with clashes in Milan continuing for a second day on Sunday. Masked youths threw bottles and fireworks at police at Piazza Duomo, damaged shops and erected barricades. Police responded with tear gas and water cannon. At least four officers and 20 demonstrators were injured on Saturday.

The demonstrations reflect anger over high prices, stagnant wages and a shortage of affordable housing. Clashes were also reported in Turin, Bologna and Bergamo, while thousands protested in Rome. Italian General Confederation of Labour leader Maurizio Landini announced a general strike for November 20.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence and called a security meeting for Monday. Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala acknowledged the protesters’ grievances but said attacks on police and damage to the city were unjustifiable. The unrest has exposed a divide between the economic complaints driving demonstrations and the violence accompanying them.

Sources: Le Monde, DW

Attacks by Israeli settlers on European diplomats and an American photojournalist have drawn fresh scrutiny of violence in the occupied West Bank, days before Israel’s October 27 election. Masked settlers assaulted Belgian, French & Polish representatives near the Palestinian village of Taybeh on Saturday. A day earlier, Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine was seriously injured while covering an olive harvest near Abu Falah.

US Assistant Secretary of State Riley Barnes and US Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch visited Taybeh on Sunday. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemned the assault on Levine and called for arrests, while attending a settler conference that day.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned both attacks but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the circumstances required further investigation. Israeli authorities announced no arrests by Sunday. Rights group Yesh Din recorded at least 170 settler attacks since September 27, amid mounting criticism of the government’s response.

Sources: Times of Israel, Washington Post

US President Donald Trump has endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the October 27 election, praising his leadership during the joint US-Israeli war against Iran. Trump also suggested further American action against Iran could depend on Netanyahu remaining in office, saying he was reluctant to act alone under another Israeli leader.

The endorsement follows months of disagreements between the two leaders over Iran, Lebanon and Gaza. Their joint war against Iran has disrupted global energy markets, while Trump’s proposed ceasefire has disappointed some Israelis. Netanyahu thanked Trump and pledged that they would complete their mission.

Polls suggest Netanyahu’s governing coalition could lose its majority, although opposition parties may also struggle to form a government. Analysts say Trump’s support could help persuade wavering Netanyahu voters but is unlikely to transform the contest. Israel’s prime minister is chosen through parliamentary coalition building, leaving the outcome uncertain even after voting.

Sources: Reuters, Associate Press

Saudi Arabia’s advanced military is struggling to contain Houthi missile and drone attacks, exposing weaknesses in its air defences despite one of the world’s largest defence budgets. A strike on Riyadh’s international airport killed at least 13 people, while another attack injured six in Najran on Sunday. Saudi officials face shortages of missile interceptors and the challenge of protecting infrastructure spread across vast territory.

The Houthis combine mobile launchers, domestic weapons production and mountainous terrain with Iranian assistance. A senior US official said Saudi defences intercepted more than 90% of missiles aimed at protected areas, but over half of Houthi attacks targeted undefended locations.

Riyadh has sought military assistance from Turkey, Pakistan and European countries while continuing airstrikes in Yemen. The United States has limited its support to intelligence and other assistance. Analysts warn that air power alone cannot defeat the Houthis, leaving Saudi Arabia confronting difficult military and diplomatic choices.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, PBS

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Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has refused to resign after six days of student-led protests, warning that the unrest threatens the country’s ambition to join the European Union. Demonstrations over alleged corruption, unemployment and poor education standards have spread from Tirana to other cities. Protesters have attacked government buildings, banks and shops, while police have used tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets.

On Sunday, demonstrators again clashed with police outside the Education Ministry. Police said 388 people had been charged with criminal offences during the protests, which have injured scores of officers and demonstrators.

Rama, who has governed since 2013, invited students to talks but blamed unspecified foreign interests for the unrest. Albania is seeking EU membership by 2030, and the European Commission condemned the violence while welcoming assurances that the right to protest would be protected. Rama maintains that the demonstrations threaten that accession path rather than his government.

Sources: Reuters, DW

The United States has resumed intelligence sharing on Russian ballistic missile launches after a three day interruption, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday. Ukraine relies on American warnings to detect incoming missiles but alerts came only after five Russian missiles struck Kyiv on October 12. Zelensky said the service was now restored, although restrictions on Ukraine’s Starshield satellite communications remain in place.

The restoration comes amid growing friction between Kyiv and Washington. Zelensky criticised US President Donald Trump’s agreement to import Russian diesel and his decision to waive sanctions on Russia, warning that American support for Moscow would undermine Ukraine’s ability to defend itself.

Trump said his decisions were intended to keep Russia at the negotiating table. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pointed to continuing intelligence and munitions support but declined to say whether Washington considered Ukraine an ally. Zelensky expressed hope for further talks with US officials next week.

Sources: Reuters, Kyiv Independent

NATO fighter jets scrambled over Lithuania on Sunday after a suspected drone entered its airspace and apparently exploded, forcing residents in northern and central areas to shelter for an hour. Kaunas airport temporarily closed and debris struck a civilian vehicle. Two Italian Eurofighters responded but could not identify the object through cloud cover.

Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said the object arrived from Poland, although Polish radar did not confirm a border crossing. Ukraine suggested Russian electronic warfare may have diverted a drone off course. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda warned that Russia’s war was spilling across NATO’s eastern flank.

The incident followed Romania’s downing of two unidentified drones over its Black Sea waters on Saturday. Two chemical tankers had also been attacked off Romania’s coast on Thursday, leaving seven crew members missing. NATO is due to discuss the Romanian incursion on Tuesday, as repeated incidents raise concerns about security along the alliance’s borders.

Sources: South China Morning Post, DW, Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a summit with US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss ending the Ukraine war without Ukrainian participation. The meeting could take place alongside November’s APEC summit in Shenzhen. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed discussions but said neither the meeting nor its agenda had been agreed.

The proposal follows an October 9 call between Putin and Trump that produced an agreement for the US to buy Russian diesel. Trump has also delayed sanctions against Moscow, arguing that imposing them could drive Russia away from negotiations. He has criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over attacks on Russian oil facilities.

The format would exclude Ukraine and European governments from discussions about the war’s settlement. China has indicated it would not object if Trump agreed, although he has not committed. The prospect has alarmed Kyiv and European allies concerned about a settlement favouring Moscow.

Sources: Times of India, Wall Street Journal

Kenya has confirmed an eighth Ebola infection as an outbreak originating in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to spread across East Africa. Director-General for Health Patrick Amoth said one of 38 people tested on Sunday was positive. The 49-year-old patient attendant, who cleaned utensils and linens, was probably exposed to Kenya’s first case, a traveller from Congo who died in Nairobi on October 5.

Four other infections were reported on Saturday, including three healthcare workers who treated the first patient and one relative. The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain, for which no vaccine or specific treatment is available.

Congo has recorded at least 9,400 cases and more than 4,500 deaths since May. The virus has now reached eight Congolese provinces, while North Kivu authorities plan restrictions on arrivals from neighbouring Ituri. Uganda previously recorded 20 cases and two deaths before being declared Ebola-free in August.

Sources: Reuters, Al Jazeera

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On this day …

On this day in 1987, global financial markets experienced one of the most dramatic crashes in modern history. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 22.6% in a single session, its largest one-day percentage decline on record.

The sell-off spread across international markets, wiping billions from share valuations. Unlike previous major crashes, Black Monday occurred without an accompanying economic recession.

Computer-driven programme trading, portfolio insurance strategies and deteriorating investor confidence contributed to the collapse.

Regulators subsequently introduced circuit breakers and other safeguards designed to prevent disorderly trading.

Nearly four decades later, the episode remains a reminder that financial innovation can create risks that markets do not fully understand until something goes wrong.

Oil is still moving through Hormuz but under expanded US air cover as Iranian attacks spread. Saudi Arabia is still defending its cities but interceptor stocks are running low. Ukraine is still fighting Russia but its Patriot stocks are critically depleted while relations with Washington deteriorate. The global economy is still growing but resilience increasingly depends on strategic reserves, rerouted trade and alternative supply chains.

None amounts to systemic failure. The more important question is how long systems designed as back-ups can remain the normal way of keeping things working.

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Hormuz remains open but increasingly through active intervention rather than normal commercial confidence. Iran has widened the pace, type and geographical scope of attacks on shipping. Two cargo ships have sunk, while more than 14 vessels have been struck in two weeks.

US forces have expanded air & naval cover and monitoring as Washington pushes vessels through the strait. Regional oil exports had recovered to 18.2 million barrels a day before the latest attacks but the widening target set now includes container and dry-bulk ships.

The consequences extend beyond oil. Gulf fertiliser shipments remain largely halted, threatening supplies before planting seasons in parts of Asia and Africa.

Saudi Arabia faces a parallel problem. Houthi attacks have reached Riyadh airport, Aramco’s headquarters and now Yemen’s presidential palace in Aden. Riyadh is seeking outside assistance as its interceptor stocks run low.

Washington’s relationship with Kyiv moved beyond disagreement this week.

Trump announced an energy ceasefire that Moscow did not confirm, while Russia continued striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Washington simultaneously pressed Kyiv to stop attacking Russian refineries. Trump also temporarily eased sanctions to allow Russian diesel onto US and global markets as he sought lower fuel prices before the midterm elections.

The imbalance became harder to ignore as the week progressed. Trump said Zelenskyy was more difficult to deal with than Putin. Ukraine missed its usual advance warnings before Russian ballistic missile attacks. Restrictions on the US-controlled Starshield system then disrupted Ukrainian drone operations. By Thursday, US and Western officials said the order had come from inside the White House.

This is not US abandonment, yet. Trump says intelligence sharing continues and Patriot missiles are still flowing through a European-funded programme. However, Ukraine increasingly finds itself exposed to decisions made by the ally on which it remains heavily dependent.

The common thread is not simply military escalation. It is depletion.

Saudi Arabia is running low on interceptors needed to defend against Houthi attacks. Ukraine is critically short of Patriot missiles, with a Ukrainian official saying only a couple remained after stocks fell to 10 on 7 October and were largely used in subsequent attacks.

Those shortages connect the conflicts. The United States fired more than 1,000 Patriot and THAAD missiles during the first month of the Iran war. New Patriot interceptors can take up to 36 months to produce.

The same problem is visible in energy. More than one billion barrels have been released from commercial inventories since the Iran war began, with the G7 announcing another 100 million emergency barrels. The IMF warned that readily accessible stored oil is running low.

These reserves serve different purposes. What connects them is finite capacity. Resilience depends upon buffers and buffers can be consumed far faster than they are replenished.

The global economy has proved adaptable. The IMF says rerouted oil and strategic reserves helped contain the initial shock from the Middle East war. The WTO says businesses are diversifying supply chains and retaining alternative routes rather than returning entirely to previous trading patterns.

That adaptation has costs. The WTO forecasts Middle East exports falling 17% and imports 15%. Alternative routes can be more expensive, while repeated disruptions are strengthening contingency planning even where normal routes may eventually reopen.

The IMF’s warning points in the same direction. Public debt is heading above 100% of global GDP before 2030, borrowing costs remain elevated and fiscal cushions are limited. Another geopolitical shock could therefore arrive when governments have less room to absorb it.

Even headline trade growth carries a qualification. The WTO expects merchandise trade to grow 3.9% this year but says AI-related demand is masking weaker underlying trends from conflicts and tariffs.

This was not the week the system broke. Oil moved, Ukraine kept fighting, Saudi Arabia continued defending its infrastructure and global trade continued adapting.

The change is in what keeping those systems functioning now requires.

Hormuz increasingly needs military cover. Saudi Arabia needs outside air-defence assistance. Ukraine needs scarce interceptors and uninterrupted satellite support while becoming more vulnerable to decisions in Washington. Governments are drawing on energy reserves while businesses redesign supply chains around disruption.

Workarounds buy time. This week showed how many are now being used simultaneously, and how slowly some can be replenished.

The question is no longer simply whether the world can absorb another shock. It is how much spare capacity remains when the next one arrives.

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Houthi missiles and drones struck Yemen’s presidential Al-Maashiq Palace in Aden on Thursday, killing five people and wounding 16. Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani and cabinet members were safe. The palace is the seat of Yemen’s Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government. The attack was the first there in the current conflict between the Iran-aligned Houthis and Saudi Arabia.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group targeted what it described as a Saudi military operations headquarters, under its policy of targeting Saudi reinforcements wherever located. Fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-led coalition has escalated amid clashes linked to the US and Israeli war on Iran.

The escalation is also reaching Saudi infrastructure. Riyadh’s international airport has been targeted 20 times since the start of October, while attacks and threats against commercial shipping, airports and oil infrastructure have raised concerns over energy supplies, aviation and fuel prices.

Sources: CNN, The Guardian

Ukraine attacked an oil refinery in Russia’s Ryazan region on Thursday, ending a brief pause on energy-related strikes that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow had not observed. The drone attack started a fire at the refinery about 300 kilometres southeast of Moscow.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine had accepted US President Donald Trump’s demand to halt energy attacks but Russia continued striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure. He also said Ukraine had been denied its usual Western intelligence on Russian ballistic missile strikes and faced restrictions on US-controlled Starlink communications.

The dispute has deepened tensions between Kyiv and Washington. Zelenskyy said he felt betrayed by Trump, while Trump said Zelenskyy was more difficult to deal with than Russian President Vladimir Putin. Amid fears of declining US support, Zelenskyy travelled to Brussels for talks with European leaders, while EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Europe was standing beside Ukraine.

Sources: Associated Press, Times of India

An order to restrict the Starshield satellite system used by Ukraine’s military came from inside the White House, according to two US officials and a Western official briefed on the matter. Pentagon leaders were told the military-grade SpaceX service needed to be slowed, although the officials did not identify who issued the order.

Ukrainian officials said the restrictions interfered with drones used for strike missions against Russian forces and logistics in occupied territory, as well as interceptor drones defending against Russian Shahed attacks. Service was subsequently restored, although movement remained limited to 160 kilometres per hour.

The restrictions came as US President Donald Trump pressed Kyiv to stop attacks on Russian refineries. Relations have deteriorated as Washington also threatened to halt intelligence on Russian missile launches, while Trump said intelligence sharing continued. Kyiv was subsequently told the Starshield restriction was a White House decision.

Sources: Reuters, Kyiv Independent

Ukraine is critically short of Patriot interceptor missiles, leaving it increasingly exposed to Russian ballistic missile attacks. A Ukrainian official said only a couple remained after stocks fell to 10 on 7 October and were largely used during subsequent attacks. Another person familiar with the situation said the country had exhausted the sophisticated weapons.

Patriot systems are among the few capable of intercepting incoming ballistic missiles but global stocks have been depleted by heavy use in Ukraine and the Middle East. The United States fired more than 1,000 Patriot and THAAD missiles during the first month of the Iran war, while new Patriot interceptors can take up to 36 months to produce.

A senior NATO official said Patriot interceptors continue to flow through a European-funded programme. However, the Ukrainian official said deliveries have been irregular since May and cannot currently be guaranteed.

Sources: Washington Post, Kyiv Post

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Lebanese President Joseph Aoun not to return explosives seized from Hezbollah, in a case testing Beirut’s policy of keeping weapons under state control. Lebanese security forces intercepted about 780 kilograms of explosives, including TNT and C-4, being transported towards Beirut last week and arrested two suspects.

Hezbollah acknowledged ownership and said the explosives were intended for use against Israel. The group and its allies have pressed the government to return the shipment and release its members.

Rubio urged Aoun to hold accountable those who ordered, financed and directed the shipment. Aoun said Lebanese security forces were implementing decisions to confiscate weapons and combat smuggling, while judicial authorities would enforce the law without favouritism. Lebanon banned Hezbollah’s military activities in March and has pledged under a US-brokered agreement to disarm the group, which has refused while Israeli forces remain in Lebanon.

Sources: Axios, Jerusalem Post

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A drone struck the San Marino-flagged chemical tanker Wine Trader off Romania’s Black Sea coast on Thursday, setting it on fire and leaving seven of its 12 crew missing. Five people were rescued. Romanian President Nicusor Dan confirmed the strike and said another tanker, the Yara J, had been hit by a drone the previous night.

The incidents follow a series of attacks on commercial shipping near Romania and Bulgaria, both NATO and European Union members. Two merchant ships were struck off Bulgaria on Tuesday, while another drone attack sank a Turkish-owned cargo ship off Romania on 5 October, killing two people.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the alliance had increased counter-drone capabilities along its eastern flank and would adjust its deterrence and defence posture as needed. Romanian and Bulgarian leaders were also due to discuss whether to seek NATO consultations over threats to their security.

Sources: Associated Press, BBC

Wars and geopolitical shocks are driving lasting changes in global trade as businesses diversify supply chains and retain alternative routes, World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said. Middle Eastern trade has contracted sharply during the Iran war with the WTO forecasting exports to fall 17% this year and imports about 15%.

Okonjo-Iweala said trade could rebound after the war and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz but repeated disruptions have strengthened the case for contingency planning. Businesses have found alternative routes despite higher costs and some are likely to remain because companies and countries want protection against future shocks.

The WTO nevertheless expects global merchandise trade volumes to grow 3.9% in 2026, helped by demand for AI-related products. Okonjo-Iweala warned that AI demand is masking weaker underlying trade trends amid ongoing conflicts and tariffs.

Sources: Reuters, WTO

Student-led protests against Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama entered a third day on Thursday with demonstrators clashing with police in Tirana and unrest spreading to at least three other cities. Protesters threw rocks and fireworks, while riot police used tear gas and water cannons. National police chief Skender Hita said 71 officers had been injured.

The demonstrations began around demands for education reform but have joined the broader anti-government Flamingo movement, which alleges widespread corruption and opposes a luxury tourism development on Albania’s southern coast associated with an investment firm founded by Jared Kushner. Thousands of high school students joined marches through Tirana demanding Rama’s resignation.

Rama rejected calls to step down, saying he had a mandate to complete negotiations on European Union membership. The protests, which follow months of largely peaceful demonstrations over the development, are the biggest challenge yet to Rama after he won a fourth term last year.

Sources: Associated Press, NBC News

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu warned that authorities feared unrest during hundreds of protests planned for Saturday, saying demonstrations that began over school conditions no longer resembled a student movement but had become “a movement of urban violence”. France is in the fourth week of its biggest youth protest movement in decades.

The protests have blockaded hundreds of high schools as students demand absent teachers be replaced and decrepit buildings repaired. Police have opened internal investigations into 36 allegations of officer violence, while 6,773 under-18s have been taken into custody since demonstrations began in mid-September. More than 1,000 were released without charges.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez denied excessive policing or repression and suspended stun grenades at school demonstrations. Student leaders were meeting government officials on Thursday, while Lecornu acknowledged their grievances as legitimate amid what he called an atmosphere of “perma-crisis” driven by wars, inflation and purchasing-power concerns.

Sources: The Guardian, Reuters

Brazil’s Congress has approved a constitutional amendment cutting the working week from 44 hours to 40 and guaranteeing employees two days off without reducing salaries. The measure, championed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is the biggest overhaul of workers’ rights since Brazil returned to democracy in 1988 and is estimated to benefit more than 30 million workers.

The amendment passed the Senate by 75 votes to one less than two weeks before the presidential run-off between Lula and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro, who won the first round with 47% against Lula’s 45.2%, reversed his earlier opposition and voted for the measure, citing its popularity.

The change will be phased in, initially reducing the week to 42 hours after a two-month grace period before reaching 40 hours. Critics warn of higher production costs, while supporters argue better-rested employees will be more productive.

Sources: BBC, DW

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On this day …

On this day in 1964, China detonated its first atomic bomb at the Lop Nur test site in Xinjiang, becoming the fifth country to develop a nuclear weapon after the United States, Soviet Union, Britain and France.

The successful test came after relations between Beijing and Moscow had deteriorated sharply, leaving China increasingly determined to develop an independent nuclear capability. Mao Zedong’s government argued that possessing the bomb was necessary to deter nuclear coercion by the major powers. China would test its first hydrogen bomb less than three years later.

More than six decades later, China’s nuclear arsenal remains central to the strategic balance in Asia and indeed the world.

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Two cargo ships have sunk after Iranian attacks near the Strait of Hormuz, as strikes intensify alongside a U.S.-backed recovery in Gulf oil traffic. The GFS Pride was hit on Tuesday and caught fire before its crew was safely evacuated. A second vessel, attacked last month, sank on Wednesday.

Iran has struck more than 14 vessels in the strait over the past two weeks, while about two dozen ships have been hit since the beginning of October. U.S. forces have expanded air cover and monitoring as Washington pushes more vessels through the waterway to try to help lower global energy prices.

Regional exports had recovered to 18.2 million barrels a day before the latest attacks, while Iranian exports had fallen to zero under a U.S. blockade. Recent attacks have also expanded beyond oil cargoes, hitting container and dry-bulk ships that seafarers had previously regarded as relatively safe.

Sources: Washington Post, Wall Street Journal

A failure by the United States and Iran to agree within weeks on a UN-backed plan to move fertiliser through the Strait of Hormuz could trigger a food security crisis in parts of Asia and Africa. UN Under Secretary General Jorge Moreira da Silva said agreement was crucial before the approaching planting season.

Before the war, Hormuz handled roughly a third of globally traded urea and nearly half of seaborne sulphur, both key fertiliser inputs. Shipments from the Gulf remain largely halted. Fertiliser has represented a negligible share of shipping that has resumed.

The proposed mechanism could begin within seven to 10 days of an agreement, using a coordination centre in Oman and UN monitors at Gulf ports. Moreira da Silva said five vessels a day could maintain supplies to countries in critical need, warning that missing the planting season would significantly reduce agricultural productivity and increase prices.

Sources: Al Jazeera, Reuters

Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have reached the headquarters of state oil company Aramco in Dhahran, widening a campaign that has repeatedly targeted airports, military facilities and oil infrastructure. An overnight strike damaged the building’s top three floors and offices used by senior officials, but caused no casualties.

The attack followed repeated strikes on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, where attacks over the past week have killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 300. The Houthis said the latest attacks were retaliation for Saudi strikes in Yemen and warned that Saudi energy facilities and airports would remain targets.

Regional and international powers are also pursuing a ceasefire. Houthi political bureau member Mohamed al-Bukhaiti said Oman had sought renewed negotiations, while Russia and China had also approached the group through Iran. The Houthis nevertheless continued to warn of further attacks.

Sources: Associated Press, Wall Street Journal

Tens of thousands of students have taken to the streets of Tirana as protests over university conditions, education costs, employment prospects and corruption escalated into violence. Demonstrators set fire to part of the education ministry, while other government buildings, banks and businesses were also attacked.

Police used tear gas and water cannon as protesters hurled stones and firecrackers. Authorities said 23 police officers and six other people were being treated for injuries, while 35 people were detained. Deputy Prime Minister Albana Koçiu called for calm and urged protesters to distance themselves from violence and vandalism.

The student unrest follows months of anti-government protests against Prime Minister Edi Rama, initially triggered by a proposed luxury resort backed by Jared Kushner. The European Union voiced concern over the violent escalation and allegations of excessive police violence against protesters and journalists.

Sources: BBC, The Guardian

Ukraine says new speed restrictions on satellite connectivity are disrupting drone operations, while Elon Musk says limits on the military-grade Starshield service are controlled by the US government. Terminals travelling above 100mph lost connectivity, disrupting long-distance missions and Ukraine’s ability to operate drones.

Musk, chief executive of SpaceX, said any Starshield limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately the US president. The White House has neither confirmed nor denied his assertion, while the Pentagon did not immediately comment.

The restrictions come amid strains between Kyiv and Washington over Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy facilities. Ukrainian defence technology adviser Serhii Beskrestnov said the slowdown could not be a coincidence, while President Volodymyr Zelensky said Washington had threatened to restrict intelligence sharing unless Ukraine accepted President Donald Trump’s energy ceasefire. Trump denied that claim.

Sources: BBC, Al Jazeera

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A former Ukrainian army officer has gone on trial in Hamburg over the 2022 explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany. Serhii Kuznietsov, 50, faces charges including causing an explosion, disrupting public services and being an accomplice to war crimes by attacking civilian infrastructure.

Prosecutors allege Kuznietsov was the ringleader of a plot intended to permanently disrupt Russian gas deliveries and prevent Moscow using the revenues for military operations. His lawyers requested that all charges be dismissed, arguing he remains an active-duty Ukrainian soldier who cannot speak because of national security secrecy.

The case is politically sensitive for Germany, one of Ukraine’s closest allies. Investigators have found indications that Ukrainian state security agencies may have been involved, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied his country played any role. Sixteen court dates are scheduled through December 17.

Sources: Associated Press, DW

A US federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from sanctioning two American rights groups over their work supporting International Criminal Court investigations into alleged war crimes in Gaza. Judge Jesse Furman granted a preliminary injunction to Democracy for the Arab World Now and Taxpayer Alliance Against Genocide.

The groups challenged President Donald Trump’s February 2025 executive order authorising sanctions against people involved in investigations Washington said threatened US national security or its allies, including Israel. Furman said the order likely violated the groups’ First Amendment rights by regulating their speech-based activities.

The judge stopped short of declaring the executive order unconstitutional or imposing a universal injunction. The ruling follows US sanctions against the ICC after it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, accusations they reject.

Sources: New York Times, The Guardian

Jamaica has received its first group of third-country deportees from the United States, becoming the latest country to implement an agreement supporting President Donald Trump’s expanding deportation programme. Twenty-two adults arrived in Kingston on Tuesday and were taken by bus to an undisclosed location.

Under a bilateral agreement signed in June, Jamaica will act as a temporary transit hub before deportees are transferred to their home countries or other destinations. The government says arrivals are capped at 25 people per fortnight, nobody with a criminal record will be accepted and the arrangement will not be funded by Jamaica.

The agreement has prompted criticism because its full terms have not been made public. Opposition national security spokesperson Fitz Jackson said Jamaicans were being asked to trust a secret document affecting security and public services. Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith said the US had not agreed to make the deal public.

Sources: Al Jazeera, NBC News

Israel has blocked construction of a Gaza military outpost intended to house 150 international troops under US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace reconstruction programme. The board awarded Louisiana-based Arkel International the construction contract in August, but two months later contractors and trucks have not been permitted to enter Gaza.

The planned base would host rotating deployments from an international stabilisation force, with 500 personnel already sent from Morocco and Kosovo. A person with direct knowledge of the project said the wider Board of Peace programme cannot launch without the base because reconstruction requires security, construction equipment, utilities and basic life-support facilities.

The source said the board believes Israel will allow the project to proceed after elections scheduled for October 27. The Board of Peace, Israeli government and Israeli military declined to comment. The board unveiled a six-month, $2.45bn reconstruction plan in September.

Sources: The Guardian, Times of Israel

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has called a nearly $1.5 trillion defence budget request “absolutely critical” as Washington accelerates investment in autonomous warfare. Hegseth said advances in autonomy, robotics, space and artificial intelligence meant countries already ahead could pull further ahead, while those behind risked falling further behind.

Project Agincourt is intended to lay the groundwork for a four-star Autonomous Warfare Command, which would lead US forces in unmanned autonomous warfare. The Pentagon plans to field hundreds of thousands of one-way attack systems this year and millions in coming years.

The Pentagon has requested $54.6 billion for its Defence Autonomous Warfare Group for 2027, up from $225.9 million the previous year. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said autonomous systems were essential to meeting threats and could provide some combat power five to 10 times more cheaply than manned systems.

Sources: South China Morning Post, US Dept. of War

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On this day …

On this day in 1966, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California. Emerging amid racial discrimination, police violence and frustration with the pace of the civil rights movement, the organisation advocated Black self-determination and initially became known for armed patrols monitoring police activity.

The Panthers also developed community programmes providing free breakfasts, health clinics and other services in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Their militancy brought confrontations with law enforcement and intense scrutiny from the FBI, while internal divisions later weakened the organisation.

Were the Black Panthers primarily a radical political movement, a community organisation or inevitably both?

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Iran has changed the pace, type and geographical scope of attacks on shipping around the Strait of Hormuz, according to two senior Iranian officials, as Tehran seeks to keep oil prices high before November’s US midterm elections. One official said different offensive tactics began about 10 days ago, increasing attacks on vessels deemed to violate Iranian restrictions.

At least five incidents involving commercial ships were recorded around Hormuz in the past 48 hours while operations are expanding into the Gulf of Oman and waters off Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. A US military official said Iran is also using unarmed spotters in small boats after much of its radar capability was destroyed.

The escalation threatens a recent recovery in Persian Gulf oil exports. Shipping industry figures reported signs cargo flows may be slowing, although there was no clear evidence that oil loadings had changed.

Sources: Reuters, Bloomberg

Ukraine received no early warning from Western partners before Russian ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv on two consecutive nights, raising questions over a critical intelligence channel as relations between Kyiv and Washington deteriorate.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said warnings about ballistic missile launches help prevent deaths. US President Donald Trump said Washington was continuing to share intelligence, while Ukraine’s foreign minister said the first attack went undetected because Russia used a special type of weaponry. A senior Ukrainian official separately described the lapse as a “failure” rather than a deliberate decision.

Ukraine relies heavily on Western intelligence to monitor Russian military preparations and lacks comparable satellite capabilities. The United States has previously warned Kyiv of ballistic missile launches, allowing public alerts and air defences to respond. Washington briefly paused intelligence sharing after a White House confrontation in 2025.

Sources: Associated Press, New York Times

Saudi Arabia intercepted missiles and drones targeting Riyadh and other cities after the Saudi-led coalition struck a fuel depot near Yemen’s Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa, marking another escalation in the widening conflict.

Saudi-led coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki said four missiles and two drones were intercepted near Riyadh. An Aramco administration building in Dhahran was also targeted, causing a limited fire but no casualties, while debris from intercepted missiles injured four people and damaged 15 homes. The Houthis had warned they would target Saudi airports and oil facilities in response to strikes on Sanaa.

The exchange follows deadly Houthi attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, where 13 people were killed on Saturday and another person on Sunday. Saudi Arabia is backing a Yemeni government counteroffensive after the Houthis seized strategic territory in September, including along the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Sources: BBC, Al Jazeera

Drone attacks on two merchant ships near Bulgaria have left 11 sailors missing, escalating Black Sea hostilities close to NATO territory. The Guinea-Bissau-flagged HS Dignity sank 15 nautical miles east of Krapets, while the Ukrainian-owned Chelsea 3 was struck by three drones off Byala. All 15 crew aboard the second vessel were rescued.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said there was no clear evidence attributing responsibility, although he said logic suggested Russia benefited. Bulgaria summoned the Russian ambassador, informed NATO and the European Union, and requested assistance strengthening air and maritime surveillance and defence.

The attacks follow similar strikes in the area last week. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the Black Sea had become another front in the escalation of Russia’s war in Ukraine, while NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance had strengthened its posture along its eastern flank.

Sources: CNN, FT

Iran is shifting its campaign in Britain towards military sites and other harder targets, marking a “major shift” in Tehran’s ambitions, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum has warned. He said the intensity, scale and shape of the Iranian threat was changing, with more than 50 arrests in Iran-linked operations over the past year.

McCallum said the suspected September plot against RAF Fairford, used by US bombers striking Iran, was “not unique”. The United States later withdrew its bombers following reports of a possible drone attack.

However, McCallum said Iran remained constrained beyond the Middle East and had relied on criminals for operations in Britain and Europe. He said Tehran had not demonstrated anything close to the capability required for a sophisticated attack on British military installations. MI5 is now devoting more resources to foreign-state threats than during the Cold War, with McCallum describing Russia as Britain’s “aggressor No. 1”.

Sources: NBC News, Washington Post

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Albanian student protests over education and social conditions turned violent in Tirana on Tuesday, with demonstrators throwing bricks and concrete blocks at the Education Ministry and riot police responding with tear gas and water cannons. At least 23 people were arrested, while police said six officers and a female journalist were injured.

Student organisers cited university conditions, higher education costs, financial support and employment prospects after graduation. Some protesters also expressed frustration over inequality and government economic policies; demonstrators demanded Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation.

The unrest follows a series of anti-government protests in Tirana since May, sparked by a luxury tourism project linked to US President Donald Trump’s family. The project has fuelled anger over alleged corruption and lack of transparency. Deputy Prime Minister Albana Kociu condemned Tuesday’s violence, saying attacks on institutions, police and public property were not an acceptable form of youth expression.

Sources: Reuters, Al Jazeera

French school protests entered a third week as over 160,000 people marched nationwide on Tuesday over teacher shortages, overcrowded classes and deteriorating buildings. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg joined students outside a school in Saint-Denis, saying young people were not being included in decisions about their future.

Most demonstrations were peaceful, although riot police used tear gas in Nantes and Paris. Education Minister Édouard Geffray said 3,000 substitute teachers were being deployed to schools with the worst staff shortages, while 214 of France’s 3,700 high schools were completely closed on Tuesday.

The protests have left the government balancing demands for greater education investment against efforts to reduce France’s deficit and debt. More nationwide demonstrations are planned for Saturday, potentially drawing people concerned about fuel and energy prices and the cost of living, as student organisers insist the coming school holidays will not end the mobilisation.

Sources: The Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald

Argentina has asked an international tribunal to halt new oil and gas exploration near the Falkland Islands, escalating its dispute with Britain over activity around the territory. Buenos Aires says UK-authorised exploration is illegal and seeks to preserve Argentine sovereign rights over its continental shelf.

The action targets the Sea Lion project, a joint British-Israeli venture about 130 miles from the islands that is expected to begin production in 2028. The UK says the project is lawful and that Argentina’s application does not invalidate existing licences or require development to stop.

Britain is also preparing measures to protect companies from the extraterritorial impact of Argentine laws after President Javier Milei threatened sanctions against firms exploiting oil near the islands. UK Overseas Territories Minister Uma Kumaran accused Argentina of economic coercion, while London said it would engage with the tribunal and comply with any binding provisional measures.

Sources: BBC, Mercopress

Britain and the European Union will hold a leaders summit in Brussels on November 20, seeking agreements on agri-food trade, emissions trading and a youth mobility scheme as both sides pursue closer cooperation.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham told Parliament that securing those agreements was the immediate priority before beginning a “calm, clear-eyed, rational look” at options for the longer-term relationship. He has previously suggested those options could include rejoining the single market, customs union or the EU itself. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticised the focus, saying neither leaving nor rejoining would solve all Britain’s problems.

European Council President António Costa said stronger cooperation was essential, citing shared security and prosperity. Additional agreements could cover defence and security, migration and law enforcement. The summit, also to be attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, was originally scheduled for July but postponed after Keir Starmer’s administration collapsed.

Sources: Politico Europe, Reuters

Hungary’s parliament has repealed most provisions of a 2021 law restricting LGBTQ+ content accessible to children, marking the first significant reversal of policies introduced under former Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The amendment passed on Tuesday by 139 votes to 51, retaining protections for under-18s from sexually explicit or violent material.

The restrictions had limited the portrayal or promotion of sexual and gender diversity and were ruled in April to violate EU treaties by the European Court of Justice. Prime Minister Peter Magyar said the changes would bring Hungary into line with European Union regulations.

The EU welcomed the vote as an important signal of commitment to common values and subsequently unfroze €4.2 billion in funding for Hungary. Rights groups welcomed the removal of restrictions but said other discriminatory provisions remain, including laws preventing legal recognition for transgender people and adoption by same-sex couples.

Sources: DW, Euronews

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On this day …

On this day in 1066, the armies of William, Duke of Normandy and England’s King Harold II met near Hastings in one of the most consequential battles in English history. Harold’s forces had recently marched south after defeating a Norwegian invasion at Stamford Bridge, while William had crossed the Channel to press his claim to the English throne.

After a day of fighting, Harold was killed and the English army defeated. William was crowned king on Christmas Day, beginning Norman rule and transforming England’s aristocracy, government, land ownership, language and relationship with continental Europe.

Few battles have changed a country so comprehensively in a single day.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia struck at least six energy targets after US President Donald Trump announced that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to stop attacking each other’s energy systems. Zelenskyy said Ukraine had refrained from striking Russian energy sites since Trump’s announcement and remained ready to honour a ceasefire.

Trump insisted on Monday that the agreement was in place, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said talks were continuing. Peskov later rejected Zelenskyy’s proposal for a full 60-day truce, saying Russia wanted long-term peace rather than a ceasefire.

The dispute unfolded as Russian attacks continued across Ukraine. A strike on a Kyiv apartment building killed two people and injured at least nine, while Ukraine said Russia’s latest campaign against its grid had already caused daily power cuts in Kyiv. EU foreign ministers meanwhile approved their largest sanctions package since Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Sources: Associated Press, Reuters

General Alex Grynkewich, commander of US and NATO forces in Europe, pledged wide-ranging measures to defeat any Russian attack on the alliance, while US officials have privately pressed Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil refineries.

Grynkewich said NATO would “block, blunt and break” an attack, using precision weapons, drones and autonomous systems. He said conflict with Russia was neither imminent nor inevitable but promised any attack against an ally would prove futile.

The message contrasts with Washington’s private requests to Kyiv, which Ukrainian officials interpreted as carrying a threat to US weapons and intelligence support. President Donald Trump, seeking to lower energy prices before November’s midterm elections, has also agreed to buy Russian diesel and temporarily eased sanctions. The combination leaves Washington publicly strengthening NATO deterrence while simultaneously asking Ukraine to curb attacks that have damaged Russia’s energy infrastructure.

Sources: Washington Post, New York Times

The European Union has sanctioned almost 1,600 Russian people and companies linked to the country’s arms industry, its biggest single sanctions listing since Russia launched its full-scale war on Ukraine almost five years ago.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said more than half of the measures target the production chain for ballistic missiles used against Ukrainian civilians, adding that this was the time to increase rather than ease pressure on Moscow. The sanctions focus on mid-level suppliers identified as the core of Russia’s military industry.

The targeted companies provide components including electronics, communications equipment, radar & navigation systems, satellite & missile systems, explosives and ammunition. Another 77 people were sanctioned over their alleged involvement in elections in occupied Ukrainian territory. The measures bring the number of Russian officials and entities targeted by the EU to more than 4,500.

Sources: Associated Press, Eunews

Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia are widening from energy infrastructure to aviation, exposing growing security and economic vulnerabilities. Strikes on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport have killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 300, while Saudi officials are running low on interceptors needed to repel further attacks.

The campaign follows attacks on the kingdom’s East-West oil pipeline and refineries. Saudi Arabia is struggling to cover its territory with air defences, while foreign investment has fallen and the Finance Ministry expects GDP to shrink 3.6% in 2026.

The attacks are also threatening Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s economic diversification plans. Saudi Arabia has sought military help from Pakistan and additional air defences globally, while increasingly exploring a diplomatic solution.

President Donald Trump said the US was communicating with the Houthis and might join Saudi strikes against them.

Sources: Reuters, CBS News, Wall Street Journal

China and the European Union have reached a four-year deal limiting Chinese hybrid car exports to Europe, temporarily easing trade tensions after four months of negotiations. Brussels will cap Chinese hybrid imports at 350,000 vehicles annually, with the quota rising 6% each year.

The limit is less than half the 800,000 vehicles the EU expects China to export to the bloc in 2026. Beijing also agreed to ease restrictions on rare earth licensing, while cutting VAT export rebates for new energy vehicles from 13% to 9% from April.

The agreement follows calls from French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for stronger EU trade defences against foreign economic distortions.

Brussels plans further proposals, while some officials fear the concessions could weaken political support for tougher measures. The EU runs a trade deficit with China exceeding €1 billion a day.

Sources: South China Morning Post, Euronews

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Hundreds of French supermarkets were hit by a cyber-attack that remotely disabled refrigeration systems, forcing stores to discard food and demonstrating how digital intrusions can cause physical disruption. About 150 Intermarché stores were affected, with fridges and freezers heated to 50C for around six hours.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said the attack affected connected refrigerators across several major retailers, with food losses and fires reported. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu instructed France’s cybersecurity agency ANSSI to investigate, which identified a vulnerability in software supplied by Danish refrigeration company Danfoss.

Danfoss said affected units were running outdated firmware and that it had long advised customers to update supported systems or replace legacy technology. France is coordinating with European counterparts because other countries may also be affected. Dutch supermarket group Ahold Delhaize separately reported a security issue and took systems offline.

Sources: The Guardian, Bloomberg

The global economy could soon test the limits of its resilience as emergency energy stocks dwindle and heavily indebted governments lose capacity to absorb further shocks the International Monetary Fund has warned.

Global growth has weathered the Middle East conflict better than feared, helped by rerouted oil supplies and releases from strategic reserves. The IMF forecasts 3.1% growth this year but says another geopolitical shock could rapidly transmit through energy prices and supply disruptions.

IMF chief economist Silvana Tenreyro said borrowing costs have risen sharply in advanced economies, public debt is at historic highs and fiscal cushions have thinned. A scenario combining higher commodity prices with lost fiscal and monetary credibility would cut global growth by 0.5 percentage point in 2027. The IMF urged governments to rebuild fiscal capacity, warning that prolonged Middle East conflict could drive energy and food prices higher.

Sources: The Guardian, Wall Street Journal

Conflict and an El Nino-induced drought affecting roughly half of Sudan are increasing the risk of famine across Darfur and Kordofan, as food availability falls, prices rise and livelihoods deteriorate.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said poor vegetation growth affects nearly two-thirds of cropland in North Darfur and about half in South Darfur, West Kordofan and South Kordofan. Healthcare is extremely limited and clean water increasingly scarce, while farmers are becoming more dependent on food assistance.

In May, nearly 19.5 million people, more than 40% of Sudan’s population, faced high levels of acute food insecurity, including 135,000 in the most severe classification. Severe acute malnutrition among children accessing nutrition services in Nyala more than doubled between January and August, while two South Darfur displacement camps recorded acute malnutrition above famine thresholds.

Sources: Al Jazeera, Arab News

At least 72 gold miners have been killed in air strikes in a remote and disputed area along the Sudan-Egypt border, according to a Sudanese rights group, exposing growing insecurity where Sudan’s central authority has weakened during its civil war.

Emergency Lawyers accused the Egyptian military of carrying out the strikes in mountainous territory it says lies inside Sudan. Egypt has not commented, and independent verification is difficult. In June, another mining site in the same border region was attacked before Egypt conducted what it called a large-scale operation against illegal gold mining.

The poorly demarcated border has long been disputed and contains significant gold deposits. Sudan’s economic collapse has pushed people into dangerous, unregulated mining, while Egyptian security forces conduct border operations against illegal mining, migration and smuggling. The latest attack highlights how Sudan’s war is increasingly complicating security along its borders.

Sources: DW, Al Jazeera

India’s opposition has asked the Supreme Court to halt a nationwide revision of voter lists after more than 130 million names were removed, escalating a dispute that has triggered mass protests and detentions.

Thousands of protesters marched through New Delhi on Monday, while opposition parties submitted a petition alleging irregularities and seeking an investigation. Critics say eligible voters risk being disenfranchised, while the Election Commission denies wrongdoing and says its decisions were unanimous. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party says the revision is needed to remove duplicate and ineligible names.

The dispute is widening beyond the capital. The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party has threatened renewed protests, while a coalition of farmers’ organisations plans nationwide demonstrations on October 23. New Delhi police have also removed Jantar Mantar’s designation as a protest venue and selected three replacement sites.

Sources: NPR, Bloomberg

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On this day …

On this day in 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the mass arrest of members of the Knights Templar across his kingdom. Founded during the Crusades to protect Christian pilgrims, the Templars had grown into a wealthy & powerful military order with extensive landholdings and a sophisticated financial network stretching across Europe.

Philip, who was heavily indebted to the order, accused its members of heresy and other crimes. Many were tortured into confessing, and Pope Clement V formally dissolved the order in 1312. Its last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake two years later.

Was the destruction of the Templars driven more by religion, politics or money?

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Saudi Arabia has vowed a firm response after Houthi attacks struck Riyadh’s King Khalid international airport on consecutive days. Saturday’s missile attack killed 13 people and injured more than 300, while a projectile hit a passenger terminal on Sunday, killing one and injuring 11. The Houthis warned airlines, passengers and staff to stay away from Saudi airports.

The attacks are drawing Saudi Arabia’s partners closer to the conflict. President Donald Trump said he was weighing joining the Saudi military campaign, while Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey said they would accelerate implementation of their mutual defence pact. Britain will provide defensive military support, including aircraft refuelling.

Saudi Arabia has also sought assistance from France, Egypt, Britain and Pakistan as its interceptor missile stocks run low. The escalation comes as Saudi-backed forces have failed to dislodge the Houthis from recent gains near the Bab al-Mandab strait.

Sources: Washington Post, The Guardian

US President Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine have agreed to an energy ceasefire that is effective immediately but Moscow has not confirmed an agreement and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Kyiv is still awaiting details from Washington.

Zelensky said Ukraine would support a ceasefire if Russia did the same but reported that Russian forces continued attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure after Trump’s announcement. The proposal follows US demands that Kyiv halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, which Ukraine says are intended to reduce Moscow’s ability to finance the war.

Trump has also announced a deal temporarily reversing sanctions to allow Russian diesel onto US and global markets as he seeks to lower fuel prices before November’s midterm elections. The diesel agreement has drawn criticism from Zelensky, European officials and US lawmakers from both parties.

Sources: BBC, Reuters

Russia suffered more than 50,000 casualties in Ukraine during September, including as many as 28,000 personnel killed, according to a senior NATO military official. Ukrainian forces suffered about 5,000 casualties over the same period, the official said.

The losses came as Russian forces continued offensive operations, sending troops into areas covered by drones, land mines, artillery and other defences. Ukraine has meanwhile recaptured more than 125 square kilometres of territory and carried out deep strikes against Russian oil refineries and data centres.

Russia’s defence spending is expected to approach 17 trillion rubles this year, around 40% above the government’s original plan. Moscow does not publish casualty or recruitment figures. Ukraine’s General Staff separately estimated 46,230 Russian personnel losses in September, its highest monthly total this year, although the figure does not distinguish fatalities.

Sources: Bloomberg, Kyiv Independent

US President Donald Trump’s deal to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian diesel is unlikely to have a meaningful effect on fuel prices, according to energy analysts. The initial 300,000-tonne shipment equals about three-quarters of one day’s US consumption, while energy analyst Ashley Kelty said transporting it could take about three weeks.

Trump says the agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin will reduce diesel prices, which have risen almost 70% since the Iran war began to about $6.30 a gallon. Further shipments of 500,000 tonnes are planned for November, followed by another 1m tonnes.

The agreement has also drawn bipartisan criticism. Republican Senator Thom Tillis said there was a legitimate case that Trump was not following the law, while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the deal would provide Russia with additional revenue to finance its war against Ukraine.

Sources: South China Morning Post, The Guardian

At least 139 migrants, including 15 children, have died after an overcrowded boat carrying 305 people capsized off Djibouti while travelling to Yemen. At least 84 people remained missing, while more than 80 survived. They were all Ethiopian nationals according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The vessel sank close to shore shortly after departing on 8 October. IOM Djibouti mission chief Alexandre Coissac said authorities were overwhelmed as bodies reached the shore, while survivors were taken to a rescue centre in Obock for medical and psychological support.

Tens of thousands of migrants cross from the Horn of Africa towards Yemen each year seeking work and safety in Gulf countries, despite escalating fighting across the strait. More than 900 migrants died or went missing on the route in 2025. IOM Director-General Amy Pope said governments and donors should expand safe and legal pathways.

Sources: Associated Press, BBC

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India’s opposition parties are planning a march to the Supreme Court after thousands of protesters were detained during demonstrations against a contentious voter-roll revision that removed more than 130 million names from draft rolls.

Opposition parties are demanding an end to the revisions and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party has also pledged to continue peaceful protests after three of its leaders were released from detention on Sunday.

India’s Supreme Court has ordered authorities to allow peaceful, unarmed gatherings outside restricted areas and ensure metro, rail and internet services operate normally. The weekend crackdown included road closures and disruption to transport and internet services.

The UN Human Rights Office has urged authorities to respect peaceful assembly, while India’s Foreign Ministry rejected the criticism as unwarranted interference.

Sources: Bloomberg, New York Times

Finance officials gathering for the IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok face a widening Middle East war, rising interest rates and the biggest-ever energy supply shock, with the IMF forecasting global growth of about 3% this year.

More than 1 billion barrels of oil have been released from commercial inventories since the Iran war began, while G7 countries have agreed to release another 100 million barrels of diesel and crude from emergency reserves. Industry executives warn that globally accessible stored oil is running low, increasing market fragility and supporting prices.

Debt compounds the risks. The IMF says public debt is at its highest level since World War Two and will exceed 100% of global GDP before 2030. Developing countries face $400 billion in external debt payments this year, with average interest costs already exceeding 10% of government revenue.

Sources: Reuters, Al Jazeera

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to immediately stop airing taxpayer-funded television advertisements featuring US President Donald Trump and barred further spending from the $20 million allocated to the campaign.

US District Judge Jennifer Rochon issued a 14-day temporary restraining order requiring scheduled advertisements to be cancelled. About $19 million has already been spent. The coalition challenging the campaign includes Common Cause and a Service Employees International Union local. Judge Rochon said it had shown it was likely to win its lawsuit and would suffer irreparable harm without an injunction.

The advertisements began airing in late September and included political messaging ahead of November’s midterm elections. Trump said on 5 October that he or his political fundraising operation would pay for the advertisements going forward. The White House has said there are no immediate plans to reimburse the government for money already spent.

Sources: Associated Press, CNBC

Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari has declared a state of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and suspended the provincial government led by the party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan. A governor will take charge initially for six months, while troops are being deployed to the province.

The federal government and military accuse Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of failing to curb Islamist militants as attacks increase in the province bordering Afghanistan. PTI rejects the allegation and says Islamabad has not provided sufficient funding and equipment.

The move escalates a political standoff after PTI supporters rallied to demand Khan’s release and threatened to march on Islamabad. Authorities have detained hundreds of activists and three of Khan’s sisters, while tens of thousands of security personnel have been deployed around the capital. PTI spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari described the emergency as a “coup disguised as emergency.”

Sources: Reuters, South China Morning Post

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said Russia interfered in the UK’s 2016 Brexit referendum becoming the first serving prime minister to publicly make that claim. Burnham said he asked after entering Downing Street whether Russian interference had occurred and received a clear answer that it had but provided no details about the evidence or how Moscow interfered.

Burnham said European voters should be better informed about attempts to disrupt their politics, warning voters in France and Germany about Russian-backed influence. He also said he discussed possible links between Russia and Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party with Chancellor Friedrich Merz last week.

A 2020 parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee report found that the British government had failed to establish whether Russia interfered in the Brexit referendum, although it found Moscow had sought to influence Scotland’s 2014 independence vote. Russia has previously denied meddling in the Brexit referendum.

Sources: South China Morning Post, Al Jazeera

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On this day …

On this day in 2000, suicide bombers attacked the US Navy destroyer USS Cole while it was refuelling in the port of Aden, Yemen. The attackers approached in a small boat packed with explosives and detonated it alongside the ship, killing 17 American sailors and injuring dozens more.

Al-Qaeda was blamed for the attack, which exposed the organisation’s growing ability to strike American targets well beyond its bases in Afghanistan.

Less than a year before the September 11 attacks, the bombing provided an early warning of the threat posed by transnational jihadist networks.

In retrospect, was the USS Cole attack a warning the United States failed to fully understand?

A Pause Is Not A Settlement

For several weeks, the relative absence of major American attacks on Iran has offered some respite from the most intense phase of the war. Oil exports from the Middle East have recovered towards pre-war levels and President Donald Trump says Washington is holding productive discussions with Tehran.

Yet the events of this week offer little reassurance that the conflict is approaching a settlement.

Iranian attacks on commercial shipping have increased sharply and extended beyond the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia is fighting an increasingly difficult campaign against the Houthis, who continue to strike targets inside the kingdom. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has prepared options for renewed operations against Iran, even as Trump insists there will be no further attacks before the November midterm elections.

The central question is whether the current hiatus is creating space for diplomacy, or simply postponing another round of fighting.

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The recovery in Middle East oil exports looks increasingly precarious. Regional crude shipments reached around pre-war levels but attacks on tankers around Hormuz rose to their highest weekly frequency since the war began. By Thursday, vessels had also been struck near Qatar and Fujairah, suggesting the threat to commercial shipping was extending beyond the strait itself.

Saudi Arabia faces a parallel problem. Its Yemeni allies reported recovering territory around Bab al-Mandab but the Houthis continued fighting elsewhere and launched attacks on Saudi airports that killed three civilians. Riyadh has activated its recently signed defence agreement with Pakistan and Turkiye, bringing new partners into an already difficult campaign.

Washington’s position is equally unsettled. The Pentagon has prepared options for another major operation against Iran, while Trump has thus far rejected several proposals and promised no new attacks before the midterms. Talks continue but the nuclear dispute remains unresolved.

Oil is flowing, for now. Whether that can continue amid widening attacks is far less certain.

Ukraine’s battlefield position has become more complicated than the steady Russian advance sometimes suggested by territorial maps and by the public statements of the Russian leadership. Kyiv’s Operation Vivaldi has recovered ground in northern Donbas and disrupted Russian efforts to encircle Ukrainian positions. Russian territorial gains have slowed considerably, while Ukraine claims its long-range attacks have disabled more than half of Russia’s oil-refining capacity, a figure that remains unverified.

None of this has stopped Russia inflicting severe damage. Missile and drone attacks have struck cities across Ukraine, while a glide bomb attack beside public buses in Kramatorsk killed at least 30 people. Moscow continues its campaign against Ukraine’s defensive positions in Donbas, although a major breakthrough is considered unlikely this year.

There is also a direct connection to the Middle East. Ukraine continues to face shortages of American Patriot interceptor missiles as the Iran war consumes air-defence resources.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the conflict as a strategic stalemate.

This week’s developments illustrate what that means: neither side seems able to secure a decisive advantage but the mutual destruction just continues.

Spain’s housing crisis moved directly into electoral politics. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called a snap election after his minority government failed to secure parliamentary support for emergency housing measures. Nationwide protests, intensified by the eviction and subsequent death of 87-year-old María del Carmen Abascal subsequently prompted the government to revive a package of 21 measures and sparked nationwide protests.

France faces a different confrontation. Student protests over deteriorating school conditions have continued for three weeks, accompanied by allegations of excessive police force. The government suspended the use of stun grenades after a 15-year-old lost his hand during a demonstration. A presidential election is six months away.

In Israel, the approaching election has reopened questions about responsibility for the failures surrounding the October 7 attacks. Benjamin Netanyahu’s opponents are promising an independent inquiry, while he continues to defend his wartime leadership.

These are distinct political disputes, not evidence of a single electoral trend. Their common feature is that unresolved grievances are becoming questions voters will be asked to judge.

Britain and Israel came close to a serious diplomatic confrontation over London’s restrictions on trade linked to Israeli settlements. Israel threatened to close Britain’s historic consulate in East Jerusalem, while London considered retaliatory expulsions.

A last-minute agreement avoided the immediate confrontation, but at a cost. Britain retains a smaller diplomatic mission serving Palestinians, while the consulate’s previous status has ended. London has not withdrawn its sanctions.

Relations between South Korea and Ukraine have also deteriorated. Seoul is recalling its ambassador after Kyiv publicly disclosed the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea. The governments disagree over whether the transfer was supposed to remain confidential, although both say discussions will continue.

The European Union faces a more institutional version of the problem. Brussels wants fewer national vetoes and potentially fewer commissioners to accommodate enlargement, but member states remain resistant.

None of these disputes has produced a complete rupture. They do, however, demonstrate how difficult it can be to preserve cooperation when governments disagree over important interests.

The week’s most consequential developments concern the difference between keeping a difficult situation manageable and finding a way to resolve it.

In the Middle East, recovering oil exports have not brought greater security. In Ukraine, slowing Russian advances have not reduced the human cost of the war. European governments are responding to domestic grievances without yet settling the disputes behind them, while diplomatic partners are finding compromises that leave substantial disagreements intact.

The Iran war presents the clearest immediate test. Trump has deferred another major military operation, but the attacks on shipping are intensifying and the prospects for a negotiated settlement remain uncertain.

A hiatus can last longer than expected. It can also end abruptly.

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At least 30 people were killed and 18 injured after a Russian glide bomb struck beside public buses in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine on Thursday. The attack came as Russian forces intensify operations around Ukraine’s 31-mile “fortress belt” in Donbas, where Moscow has advanced gradually recently but a breakthrough is considered unlikely before the end of 2026.

Kramatorsk is one of the largest cities in that defensive belt with Russian forces now roughly three to six miles from its eastern edge. Oleksandr Honcharenko, head of Kramatorsk’s military administration, said there were “almost no safe locations left” in the city.

The strike followed a Russian missile attack on Pryluky that killed 22 people, including five children, a day earlier. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the war as being in a “strategic stalemate” and said there currently appeared to be no prospects for a negotiated settlement.

Sources: Washington Post, PBS

Iranian forces struck two commercial tankers outside the Strait of Hormuz within 24 hours, signalling a possible expansion of attacks beyond the waterway. Several projectiles hit the vessel Acers near Qatar on Wednesday, causing casualties, while a tanker caught fire off Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday.

Neither Iran nor IRGC-affiliated media officially claimed responsibility for either attack. However, IRGC-affiliated outlets suggested Tehran had extended operations against commercial vessels beyond Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since war began in late February.

The escalation came as oil prices rose sharply, with Brent crude settling 4.1% higher at $104.27 a barrel. U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States would not attack Iran before next month’s midterm elections, citing “productive” talks with Tehran, while analysts said increased attacks on shipping were intended to strengthen Iran’s bargaining position.

Sources: Euronews, Wall Street Journal

Britain and Israel reached a last-minute agreement to preserve a reduced British diplomatic presence serving Palestinians in East Jerusalem, avoiding a deeper dispute between the longstanding allies. The British Consulate building will become the U.K. Mission, Jerusalem, after Israel threatened closure following London’s sanctions on trade from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The two governments portrayed the compromise differently. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the mission remained independent and operational, while Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the consulate had ended operations and only seven diplomats would remain. The consul general and 19 other diplomats are ending their assignments.

London stood by its sanctions and agreed not to retaliate against Israeli diplomatic posts in Britain. The settlement preserves a British presence and services for Palestinians while formally downgrading a consulate first opened in Jerusalem in 1838.

Sources: New York Times, Wall Street Journal

Iranian operatives used artificial intelligence to help place nearly 100 articles under seven fake author identities in media outlets around the world, according to OpenAI. The campaign focused mainly on the U.S.-Iran war and used ChatGPT to pitch and polish articles in Persian and English.

OpenAI banned accounts involved after finding users had also asked ChatGPT to generate social media comments portraying the U.S. as the aggressor, Israel as an unreliable ally and Iran as a resilient victim. The company could not identify who was behind the operation, but said its activity appeared consistent with a commercial actor running a “for-hire” influence campaign.

The campaign shows how AI can help false identities reach authentic publishing channels. OpenAI found operations seeking placement in established media appeared to reach wider audiences than campaigns relying on fake social media accounts.

Sources: CNN, NPR

President Donald Trump said the United States would not attack Iran before the November 3 midterm elections, citing “productive discussions” with Tehran, even as the Pentagon prepares options for renewed major combat operations.

Three US aircraft carriers will soon be in the Middle East, while military planners have developed options for a roughly three-day campaign targeting Iran’s missile and drone arsenal, energy facilities and Revolutionary Guard sites. Trump has nevertheless rejected five proposals for major operations against Iran or the Houthis in recent months.

Diplomatic talks continue through mediators but remain divided over Iran’s nuclear programme. The military backdrop is also becoming more difficult: Iran has improved its tactics and targeting, forcing the United States and regional partners to use more interceptors against attacks. US commanders remain ready for larger operations if Trump changes course.

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post

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The U.S. military has had 81 aircraft damaged or destroyed in the war with Iran, with losses valued at between $1.9 billion and $3.3 billion, according to a Congressional Research Service report. More than half were MQ-9 Reaper drones, while an F-35A fighter jet and an E-3 Sentry were also among the aircraft affected.

Some aircraft have been repaired and returned to service, including eight F-15 Strike Eagles that sustained light damage in an Iranian strike on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan in September. The report draws on Pentagon, inspector general, U.S. Central Command and news reporting.

The losses are raising broader questions for Congress about funding repairs and replacements, industrial capacity and risks beyond the Middle East. The report said losses of ageing, limited platforms such as the E-3 could create capability gaps or increase risks in other theatres.

Sources: The Independent, CNN

The Pentagon says the execution of former U.S. Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, will be livestreamed. U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Hasan would be executed by firing squad at the Texas base on December 3 and said the public would be able to watch the sentence being carried out.

The execution would be the first by the U.S. military in more than 60 years and the first military firing squad since the end of World War Two. President Donald Trump approved Hasan’s sentence this week after a recommendation from Hegseth.

However, lawyer John Mills said Hasan’s appellate process was not over and that federal court review would likely stay the execution. He described livestreaming an execution as unprecedented in the modern era and on uncertain legal terrain.

Sources: The Guardian, BBC

South Korea will recall its ambassador to Ukraine as a dispute deepens over Kyiv’s disclosure that two captured North Korean soldiers had been transferred to Seoul. South Korea says the countries agreed to keep the transfer confidential, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office says no non-disclosure agreement existed.

Zelenskyy revealed the transfer during an address to the UN General Assembly last month. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called the disclosure “greatly disappointing”, while Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said an apology from his Ukrainian counterpart fell short of Seoul’s expectations.

Ukraine said it remained open to restoring constructive dialogue despite the recall, while South Korea said consultations would continue. The soldiers, captured while fighting for Russia, had said they wanted to be sent to South Korea. Seoul has demanded an official explanation and apology, saying Ukraine’s actions seriously damaged trust between the countries.

Sources: BBC, Yonhap News

Microsoft and Adobe have been suspended indefinitely from a US programme allowing employers to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency, as the Trump administration widens its crackdown on employment visas. Several major IT outsourcing companies were also suspended from the Permanent Labor Certification Program, known as PERM.

Vice President JD Vance accused Microsoft of abusing the system and said companies should employ more American workers. Microsoft disputed the administration’s characterisation, saying 80% of roughly 6,000 H-1B applications it submitted last fiscal year involved extending or changing the status of existing employees.

The administration also opened investigations into J-1 visa use at nine universities, including Harvard, Stanford and MIT. The moves extend scrutiny from temporary skilled-worker visas into permanent residency and academic exchange programmes, while Microsoft said it looked forward to providing the administration with additional information.

Sources: Bloomberg Law, New York Times

British police have accepted that search warrants used at properties linked to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor were issued unlawfully and must be quashed, although the investigation into King Charles III’s younger brother will continue. Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to his links to Jeffrey Epstein.

High Court Justice Nicholas Hilliard said Thames Valley Police had made a “significant error” when applying for the warrants but said quashing them did not end the investigation or make the entire investigation unlawful.

Police are seeking to retain material seized during searches at Windsor and Sandringham, which Mountbatten-Windsor is opposing. The issue will not be settled until next year. Police said no material had been returned except items deemed unrelated to the investigation. The former prince remains under investigation and has denied wrongdoing.

Sources: South China Morning Post, Al Jazeera

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On this day in 1989 around 70,000 East Germans gathered in Leipzig for one of the largest demonstrations against communist rule in the country’s history. Expectations of violence were high. Security forces had been mobilised, and memories of China’s suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests four months earlier remained fresh.

Instead, the authorities allowed the demonstration to proceed without major intervention.

The decision proved consequential. Demonstrations grew rapidly across East Germany as the government’s capacity to intimidate its population weakened.

Exactly one month later, on 9 November, the Berlin Wall opened.

Leipzig demonstrated that authoritarian systems can appear durable until the moment people realise that the state may no longer be willing, or able, to enforce obedience.

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Houthi claimed attacks on airports in Riyadh and Abha have killed three civilians and injured 36 others, as fighting between Saudi-backed forces and the Iran-aligned group escalates in Yemen. Two female residents, a Moroccan and an Algerian, were killed at Abha, while a Sudanese national died at King Khalid International Airport.

Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Major-General Turki al-Maliki said forces intercepted a ballistic missile north of Riyadh and destroyed a launch platform in Sanaa. New cage-like fences have been erected around Aramco fuel tanks and equipment near Riyadh airport after recent attacks on Saudi oil and military assets.

The escalation reaches beyond airport security. Houthi territorial gains around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait have supported a blockade of Saudi-linked shipping, while Saudi Arabia and allied Yemeni forces have launched a counter offensive to retake territory along Yemen’s western Red Sea coast. About 12 percent of global trade transits the strait.

Sources: Al Jazeera, Times of Israel

Attacks on tankers around the Strait of Hormuz reached their highest weekly level since the Iran war began, even as Middle East oil exports returned to around pre-war levels. Maritime security sources recorded at least 12 attacks on oil, LNG and LPG tankers between September 28 and October 5, while UN shipping agency data recorded nine incidents.

The increase comes as Gulf producers push exports higher. Gulf oil exporters exceeded pre-war levels for about half of September, while Kpler data showed the seven-day moving average of Middle East crude exports reached 18.3 million barrels per day on September 30, compared with about 18 million before the war.

The security risk may also be widening geographically. A tanker off Qatar’s north coast was struck by multiple projectiles on Wednesday, with casualties reported, in an attack described as unusual because vessels have more commonly been targeted in the Strait of Hormuz.

Sources: Reuters, Al Jazeera

Israel’s October 27 election is shaping up as a reckoning over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership three years after the Hamas-led October 7 attacks killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Some survivors and families are demanding accountability for the security failures, while others credit Netanyahu’s wartime leadership.

Netanyahu has blamed security chiefs for the failures, refused to accept personal responsibility and has blocked an independent commission of inquiry. His electoral challengers Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett have promised to establish an inquiry on their first day in office.

The political outcome remains uncertain. Most polls show Eisenkot’s party leading Likud, but neither bloc appears likely to secure the 61 seats required for a Knesset majority. Netanyahu argues his leadership delivered an effective battlefield response across Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and Iran, while critics say the failure to investigate October 7 remains unresolved three years later.

Sources: Washington Post, Axios

Russian missile and drone attacks across Kyiv and a dozen other Ukrainian regions killed at least 25 civilians, including five children, and wounded around 100 overnight, despite Ukrainian intelligence warning a day earlier that Moscow was preparing a massive strike.

Nineteen people, including the five children, were killed when a missile struck an apartment building in Pryluky. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said three of the children were one year old and another was eight. Russia said its overnight attack targeted facilities involved in producing and storing missiles and drones.

The assault exposed continuing weaknesses in Ukraine’s air defences. Ukraine cannot stop Russian ballistic weapons without ammunition for US-made Patriot systems, while Patriot missiles are in short supply because of the Iran war. Kyiv is also racing to develop interceptors capable of catching Russia’s newer jet-powered drones as the two countries continue their long-range aerial war.

Sources: Associated Press, BBC

Ukraine’s monthslong Operation Vivaldi counteroffensive in the northern Donbas has reclaimed territory and disrupted Russian efforts to encircle the remaining Ukrainian-held cities, challenging President Vladimir Putin’s repeated claim that the region’s fall is inevitable.

Russia continues intense assaults in the southern Donbas, but Ukrainian forces have reorganised their defences and prevented further advances towards encircling major cities. More broadly, Russian territorial gains across Ukraine have slowed sharply in 2026. September was Russia’s worst month for net territorial gains since June 2023, according to Finland-based Black Bird Group.

Western battlefield trackers differ on precise figures but broadly agree Russia has gained only slightly more territory than it has lost this year. Ukraine’s progress remains limited: months of preparation were required to reclaim a small fraction of occupied territory, while Russia continues sending hundreds of troops into daily assaults in one of the front’s most contested sectors.

Sources: New York Times, Kyiv Post

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France has suspended the use of stun grenades during nationwide student protests after a 15-year-old boy lost his hand during a clash with police in Lens. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said there was a strong possibility a grenade caused the injury and ordered the suspension while the incident is investigated.

The protests, now in their third week, continued on Wednesday with more than 500 schools fully or partially closed. Students are demanding better learning conditions, including more teachers and improved buildings, while rights groups, unions and opposition politicians have accused police of disproportionate force.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the government would review student demands and present proposals at the end of October. The dispute is unfolding six months before an election to replace President Emmanuel Macron, with 72% of French people considering the students’ demands legitimate but 55% saying the protests should stop.

Sources: Reuters, BBC

More than 5,000 people remain missing after Nepal ended non-essential search and rescue operations after the August 26 floods, leaving many families unable to obtain death certificates or compensation. Nepalese law generally presumes a missing person dead only after 12 years, while existing exceptions do not cover disasters like the flood.

Families need death certificates to access funeral and bereavement payments, transfer property and inheritance. More than 1,400 bodies have been recovered but identification is slow, with Nepal having little experience processing DNA at scale.

The government says it is seeking a solution and is prepared to amend the law if required. The legal problem comes alongside a reconstruction bill estimated at up to USD 4.8 billion with 7,570 private buildings were damaged or destroyed. Prime Minister Balen Shah has said rebuilding will require more than 10% of Nepal’s gross domestic product and is seeking grant-based international support rather than new loans.

Sources: Times of India, BBC

The United States has confirmed it has deployed weapons in space, joining a wider field of nations developing counterspace capabilities. Systems under development across 13 countries include satellites able to approach or disable spacecraft, anti-satellite missiles, electronic jamming, lasers, high-power microwaves and cyber operations. Russia and China have also demonstrated satellite manoeuvres with potential military applications.

But disclosure does not necessarily create deterrence. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink revealed that the US has fielded on-orbit space control weapons without specifying their type, effects or what actions might trigger their use. Analysis of the disclosure argues that deterrence requires adversaries to understand, in general terms, both what crosses a line and that retaliation will follow.

The challenge is compounded by the legal framework. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty prohibits weapons of mass destruction in orbit but not conventional weapons, while dual-use technologies make agreement on broader restrictions difficult.

Sources: PBS, CSIS

The death of María del Carmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman whose eviction from her Madrid home triggered nationwide protests, has intensified Spain’s housing crisis weeks before an early election. Abascal had lived in the apartment for more than 70 years before police and social workers removed her by stretcher on September 23.

Thousands marched towards parliament after her death, while trade unions announced a nationwide general strike over housing for November 11. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called an early election for November 29 after parliament rejected emergency measures aimed at curbing evictions and rent pressures.

Housing costs have become a broader source of anger. Average rents have almost doubled over the past decade, while the government says 26% of Spanish renters spend an average 40% of their income on rent and utilities. Abascal had become a symbol for renters struggling with affordability.

Sources: The Independent, NBC News

More than half a million chinstrap penguins have disappeared from Zavodovski Island since 2011, stripping the remote Antarctic outcrop of its title as the world’s largest penguin colony. Researchers found occupied chinstrap nests fell 63% between 2011 and 2025, an annual population decline of around 7%.

Scientists ruled out the island’s 2016 volcanic eruption, competition for nesting space and regional krill fisheries as causes. They concluded the most plausible explanation is human-driven climate change heating the ocean and disrupting krill, the penguins’ key food source. As warming pushes krill south, chinstraps cannot follow because the water becomes too icy for them.

The decline contrasts with Zavodovski’s macaroni penguins, whose population increased before stabilising. Researchers say chinstraps’ limited range, specialised diet and rapid declines elsewhere in Antarctica could eventually push the species from least concern into the endangered category.

Sources: CNN, The Guardian

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On 8 October 1912, Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire, beginning the First Balkan War. Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece soon joined the conflict as the Balkan League sought to seize remaining Ottoman territories in Europe. Within months, Ottoman forces had suffered major defeats and lost most of their European possessions.

Victory did not bring stability. Disputes among the Balkan states over the division of conquered territory soon produced another war, while Serbia’s growing strength intensified its confrontation with Austria-Hungary. Less than two years later, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo would trigger the First World War.

The Balkan Wars showed how the collapse of one regional order can create dangerous competition over what replaces it.

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Houthi attacks damaged airports in Jizan and Najran in southern Saudi Arabia, wounding three people as renewed fighting in Yemen increasingly threatens regional energy routes. Saudi Arabia and its Yemeni allies have launched a counteroffensive to retake Houthi-held territory near the southern Red Sea and prevent disruption to oil exports.

The Iran-backed Houthis are fighting around Dhubab, a strategic Yemeni town, while their position along the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb gives them leverage over Saudi energy shipments. The group has also warned international airlines using Saudi airspace to halt flights, except over Mecca and Medina.

The escalation comes as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains below prewar levels because of continuing risks of Iranian attacks. With conflict now affecting both maritime chokepoints, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the attacks were “undermining global energy security”.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Associated Press

German prosecutors have arrested August Hanning, the former head of the country’s BND foreign intelligence service, on suspicion of treasonous espionage, accusing him of seeking to pass state secrets to foreign governments.

Prosecutors said Hanning illegally obtained nearly 2,000 agency documents through his former chief of staff, who continued working at the BND and supplied classified information for payment over 12 years until 2022. The material included briefings prepared for weekly security meetings at the chancellor’s office. Hanning allegedly used some information to prepare an analysis for a foreign intelligence officer and supplied another foreign intelligence representative over several years.

The investigation began after prosecutors searched Hanning’s premises in September 2025 during an unrelated case and discovered classified documents. Current BND chief Martin Jäger said the agency had launched extensive internal investigations, adding that there could be “no compromises on internal security”.

Sources: Washington Post, New York Times

Spain’s government has approved 21 emergency housing measures after nationwide protests and unrest in Barcelona, reviving proposals rejected by Parliament last week as rising costs and a housing shortage price many Spaniards out of the market.

The package includes a new tax on seasonal rentals, extended eviction protections for vulnerable residents, regulation of room rentals and a ban on speculative property purchases. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the government would also establish a €10 billion fund offering loans of up to €50,000 to help people buy their first home.

The measures will require approval from a 69-member interim legislature after Parliament was dissolved ahead of a snap election on November 29. Sánchez’s coalition needs 35 votes after lacking a majority in the 350-seat Parliament.

The protests were triggered by last month’s eviction of 87-year-old María del Carmen Abascal from her Madrid home.

Sources: Fortune, NBC News

The UK is considering expelling Israeli diplomats if Benjamin Netanyahu’s government closes the British consulate in East Jerusalem, as relations between the two countries deteriorate following British measures against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

UK national security adviser Jonathan Powell travelled to Israel last week seeking a compromise but no agreement has been reached ahead of Thursday’s closure deadline. Israel ordered the nearly 200-year-old consulate, which primarily serves Palestinians, to close after London imposed an import ban on goods and some services linked to Israeli settlements.

Israel has already expelled British officials from Ramallah and a US-led Gaza coordination centre and has barred British MPs from entering Israel. UK foreign secretary Ed Miliband has said Britain does not want the consulate closed. People familiar with the discussions warned that further retaliatory measures could deepen the deterioration in bilateral ties.

Sources: FT, Al Jazeera

Kenya has recorded its first Ebola death after a Kenyan man infected with the Bundibugyo strain travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Uganda and flew commercially from Entebbe to Nairobi. He died on Monday after being transferred to an isolation facility.

Kenyan Health Minister Aden Duale said the man passed standard airport screening before doctors later suspected viral haemorrhagic fever and confirmed Ebola. Authorities have identified at least 28 contacts, including relatives and healthcare workers and are tracing passengers and crew from his flight. Surveillance at airports and border crossings has been intensified.

The case extends an outbreak that has killed more than 4,000 people in DR Congo this year. There is no approved vaccine or treatment for Bundibugyo Ebola, although vaccines are in development.

The World Health Organization has recorded 8,544 cases and 4,114 deaths in the current outbreak.

Sources: BBC, Wall Street Journal

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Iran has increased attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz just as oil shipments approach prewar levels, leaving a rebound in energy flows exposed to worsening maritime security. UK Maritime Trade Operations has reported nine attacks in the waterway this month, half September’s total for Hormuz and the Persian Gulf combined.

Oil shipments have risen as the US military protects a route along Oman’s coast, while some tankers transfer crude to other vessels in the Gulf of Oman. Shipments averaged about 10.3 million barrels a day last week, 23% below one prewar baseline.

The recovery remains costly. Freight rates from the Persian Gulf to China reached a record $1.3 million a day on Monday as fewer shipowners crossed Hormuz. Brent crude rose above $101 a barrel as investors weighed higher flows against increasing attacks, while freedom of navigation has not been restored.

Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC

Israeli settlers assaulted Agence France-Presse photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh as he covered violence against Palestinian olive farmers in the occupied West Bank, beating him with rifle butts near Israeli soldiers. The 58-year-old veteran journalist was hospitalised with severe bruising but no broken bones.

Ashtiyeh and AFP photographer John Wessels were near Aqraba when armed men approached them after gunfire left a Palestinian man wounded in the foot. Ashtiyeh tried to enter a vehicle marked “Press” but was beaten and had his camera equipment taken. Wessels said Israeli soldiers were within 500 metres.

The assault comes amid a sharp rise in settler violence. The United Nations documented more than 1,600 attacks causing injury or property damage during the first eight months of this year. AFP global news director Phil Chetwynd called for a full investigation, saying Israeli security forces had made no attempt to intervene.

Sources: The Guardian, Washington Post

Two commercial vessels have been struck by sea and aerial drones in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, sinking one ship and forcing the evacuation of another. Bulgarian authorities said the drones’ origin remained under investigation.

Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the Togo-flagged Alfa Watan suffered critical structural damage and sank, with its crew missing. The Palau-flagged Able, carrying grain, caught fire before all 18 crew members were rescued, including two who were injured. Radev called the attack a “blatant violation” of maritime law and warned the war was expanding geographically.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed Russia, saying Ukraine had conducted no operations near the vessels and describing the strikes as a combined Russian attack.

Moscow had not commented on the incident, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said attacks on civilian shipping were unacceptable.

Sources: Associated Press, BBC

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that intelligence indicates Russia is preparing a “massive attack” on Ukraine, urging citizens to respond to missile danger alerts. He did not specify when the attack was expected.

Zelensky said Ukraine’s emergency services and air force were ready to respond to the extent allowed by available defences but said the country’s position depended largely on weapons its allies could provide. He called for political will, particularly from the United States and Europe, to supply the defensive capabilities Ukraine needs.

The warning follows intensified Russian attacks. At least 13 people were killed and 104 injured across Ukraine over the previous day, while a Russian air strike damaged a hospital in Kryvyi Rih. In recent weeks, Russia has increasingly launched jet-powered attack drones towards Kyiv throughout the day, bringing air raid alerts and explosions into working hours.

Sources: Reuters, Kyiv Independent

The European Commission has proposed reducing national vetoes and the number of commissioners as it prepares the EU for possible expansion to 30 or more members. Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said the bloc was already fit for enlargement in most policy areas, while acknowledging reforms would not be easy.

Brussels wants greater use of qualified majority voting, including fewer unanimity decisions during accession negotiations. It also proposes dropping the principle that every member state has its own commissioner, potentially reviving a rotation system envisaged under the Lisbon Treaty.

The proposals face resistance. Four EU diplomats said the internal reforms were unlikely to succeed, while smaller states have long feared losing influence without permanent representation in the Commission. EU leaders will discuss the enlargement reforms at the European Council on 15-16 October, providing the first test of governments’ willingness to change how an expanded bloc operates.

Sources: Euronews, DW

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On this day …

On this day in 2023, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups launched a large-scale attack on southern Israel. Around 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians and 251 were taken hostage. Civilians were murdered in their homes and at a music festival while hostages subsequently endured abuse and violence in captivity.

Israel responded with a massive military campaign in Gaza. Over the following three years, tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed, much of Gaza was destroyed and most of its population was displaced.

The conflict also spread across the region, reshaping alliances, politics and perceptions far beyond Israel and Gaza.

Three years later, both the brutality of 7 October and the devastating consequences of Israel’s response continue to define the Middle East.

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Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces said they had recaptured Mocha and key positions around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, reversing some of the Houthis’ rapid territorial gains in September. Government forces also retook Dhubab, while a Saudi-led coalition provided air cover for the offensive.

Coalition spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki said 100 fighter jets were supporting Yemeni forces and that the coalition had secured “air protection” over the strategic strait. The offensive aims to retake remaining Houthi-held territory including a separate operation directed towards Sanaa.

The gains remain contested by fighting elsewhere. The Houthis said they had captured Turbah and cut a vital supply route between Taiz and Aden, while military sources said the group was surrounding Taiz city. More than 70 people were reported killed in fighting around Taiz over the previous day.

Sources: The Guardian, Al Jazeera

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye have activated their Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, agreeing to rapidly deploy military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia after an emergency meeting in Riyadh. The pact, signed in August, treats an armed attack on one member as an attack on all three.

The move follows recent Houthi attacks on Saudi territory. Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman said the alliance had agreed to activate collective deterrence measures, while the three governments condemned attempted attacks on Mecca and Medina and threats to Saudi security and territorial integrity.

The agreement marks a shift from the pact’s previously unspecified military commitments towards practical implementation. The joint statement said the countries would provide agreed forces and capabilities under approved arrangements, with rapid deployment intended to strengthen readiness, military integration and their collective capacity to confront threats.

Sources: Times of India, South China Morning Post

US and international health officials are monitoring an unexplained death at a plague research institute in Siberia after Russian authorities quarantined contacts and imposed anti-epidemic measures. The 28-year-old laboratory worker died after developing pneumonia of unknown origin, while reports that she contracted pneumonic plague remain unconfirmed.

Russian media reported that about 200 contacts were quarantined, while authorities said all known contacts had been examined and placed under medical supervision. No new cases among institute staff have been reported, and Russia’s health watchdog said it found no evidence of accidents involving pathogen handling.

The World Health Organization said the public health risk to the general population appears low based on available information. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was monitoring the situation closely but did not consider it cause for alarm, while US officials said more information was needed to assess any potential threat.

Sources: Washington Post, Reuters

The US military evacuated a dozen B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford in Britain after intelligence indicated a potential Iranian drone attack, according to US officials. The aircraft, deployed only weeks earlier and used in strikes on Iran, returned to their home bases in the United States.

President Donald Trump said the bombers were moved because of a security threat linked to Iran, contradicting an earlier explanation from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that described the movement as part of regular rotations. Trump said the aircraft “didn’t fly out by accident” and warned Iran would “suffer greatly” if it launched an attack.

US officials said it remains unclear whether people arrested by British security forces several days earlier were connected to the alleged drone plot. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had provided Britain with intelligence pointing to a threat of an Iranian attack.

Sources: Axios, CNBC, US State Department

French school protests entered their third week after a 15-year-old lost a hand in a grenade explosion during clashes with police in Lens. Investigators have not established whether the teenager picked up the police device or whether it landed on him. The case has been referred to police internal affairs.

The demonstrations began over teacher shortages, overcrowding and deteriorating schools before spreading nationwide. Education Minister Edouard Geffray said 190 students and 78 teaching staff had been injured, while 24 schools had been burned or ransacked. More than 5,000 people have been arrested since the protests began, most of them teenagers.

The unrest comes ahead of nationwide student demonstrations on Tuesday. Rights groups have criticised police tactics against minors, while government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said the government’s priority was to “restore order”.

Sources: Reuters, Al Jazeera

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Multiple security failures allowed FlyDubai co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami to operate a flight to Israel despite Oman previously removing him from flying duties over concerns about extremist views. He later attacked the captain of Flight 1073 with an emergency axe in an incident the UAE attorney general called a terrorist act.

Oman had not formally withdrawn Hammami’s pilot licence, while FlyDubai hired him in February. Israeli authorities received the flight’s passenger and crew manifest before departure but the Transportation Ministry said its procedures did not include checking crew names and that FlyDubai was responsible for background checks.

Hammami’s Omani nationality should also have prevented him flying to Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a review of security for foreign airlines, while authorities in the UAE, Israel and Oman are examining how the failures occurred.

Sources: CNN, Wall Street Journal

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called a snap election for November 29 after his minority government failed to pass emergency housing measures, bringing the vote forward from next year. Sánchez is seeking to turn public anger over soaring rents and evictions into a contest over housing after opposition parties blocked measures including rent caps and restrictions on further evictions.

Recent polling suggests the gamble favours the right. The Popular Party has been polling above 30%, the Socialists around 26% and Vox around 18%, raising the possibility of a PP-Vox government. Sánchez has nevertheless survived previous political setbacks and has governed for eight years without winning a parliamentary majority.

The election also follows a summer migration crisis in Ceuta and corruption allegations involving Sánchez’s inner circle. Spain remains one of Europe’s stronger economies, with growth forecast at 2.1% this year, three times the wider eurozone rate.

Sources: Reuters, New York Times

Flávio Bolsonaro, son of jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro, has won the first round of Brazil’s presidential election, taking 47.03% against President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva’s 45.16%, setting up a runoff on October 25. No first-round runner-up has recovered to win the presidency since Brazil returned to democracy in 1985.

The result was part of a wider advance for the Brazilian right. Jair Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party nearly doubled its Senate representation to 28 of 81 seats, while hard-right parties together secured 43 seats, giving the movement an upper-house majority. Right-wing or centrist candidates also won outright or finished first in around 20 of Brazil’s 26 states and the Federal District.

The Bolsonaro family also expanded its representation, with Jair Bolsonaro’s wife Michelle and son Carlos winning Senate seats and two other relatives entering the lower house. Flávio now enters the runoff as favourite, while Lula faces the challenge of reversing a first-round deficit.

Sources: The Guardian, Wall Street Journal

South Korean and UN investigators have concluded that North Korea planted anti-personnel mines south of the Military Demarcation Line, after an explosion inside the Demilitarised Zone on September 21 severely injured South Korean soldiers. Forensic testing identified the device as a North Korean-made plastic mine and matched fragments with previously recovered North Korean landmines.

Investigators also found another unexploded mine near the blast site and determined that the mines, believed to have been planted about a year ago, violated the 1953 Armistice Agreement. South Korean forces have begun mine-clearance operations and said they would continue them south of the demarcation line.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff vice-chairman Kwon Dae-won urged Pyongyang to remove the mines and apologise. North Korea has denied responsibility, with Kim Yo-jong, sister of leader Kim Jong-un, calling Seoul’s accusation groundless.

Sources: South China Morning Post, Japan Times

Ukraine says long-range strikes have disabled 51% of Russia’s oil refining capacity, hampering Moscow’s ability to supply its forces. The Defence Ministry said recent attacks had hit refineries including Moscow, Yaroslavl, Ust-Luga, Perm, Saratov and Syzran, although the claim could not be independently verified.

The attacks have contributed to a fuel crisis that has forced Russian authorities to restrict petrol sales. President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the economic impact on October 1, saying the strikes had cost Russia roughly 1% of gross domestic product and had partially achieved Ukraine’s goal of damaging the economy.

The International Energy Agency says Russian diesel output has fallen by about 30%, while repeated strikes and emergency repairs risk degrading refinery units over time. Russia has responded by delaying maintenance, restarting mothballed units and lowering fuel quality standards, while a diesel export ban has pushed global prices higher.

Sources: Associated Press, The Guardian

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On this day …

On this day in 1973, Egypt and Syria launched coordinated attacks against Israel, beginning the Yom Kippur War. Egyptian forces crossed the Suez Canal while Syrian troops attacked the Golan Heights, initially catching Israel by surprise. The conflict lasted less than three weeks but drew the United States and Soviet Union into an increasingly dangerous confrontation as they supplied their respective allies.

Its consequences extended well beyond the battlefield. Arab oil producers imposed an embargo against the United States and other Israeli supporters, helping drive a global energy crisis. The war also reshaped regional diplomacy, eventually contributing to peace between Egypt and Israel.

It demonstrated how a regional conflict could rapidly become a global economic and strategic shock.

This week did not produce many solutions. It produced evidence of systems learning to function under conditions that remain costly, dangerous and difficult to sustain.

Oil is moving through the Strait of Hormuz again, but with military escorts and altered routes. Iran remains at war while sanctions deepen and its currency deteriorates. Saudi Arabia is again confronting direct Houthi attacks as Yemen’s renewed war worsens.

Russia and NATO are spelling out the consequences of escalation around Kaliningrad while the Ukraine war continues to develop new weapons and outside support. And in artificial intelligence, governments and companies are imposing new restrictions as the capabilities they are trying to control become harder to ignore.

The common thread is adaptation. None of it looks much like resolution.

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Oil flows through Hormuz averaged 13.1 million barrels a day last week, almost 80% of the pre-war level, while JPMorgan estimates total Middle Eastern crude flows through and around the strait have recovered to 98%.

That sounds close to normal until you look at how it is being achieved. The recovery has relied on military-escorted shuttles, “dark” transits and Saudi barrels redirected after the East-West pipeline was attacked. Refined-product flows remain at 58% of pre-war levels and global inventories have fallen by around 2 billion barrels during the war.

Iran, meanwhile, is being squeezed harder. The rial fell beyond 2.5 million to the dollar, inflation is almost 90% year on year and Washington widened sanctions into rail and automotive transport. Tehran has offered concessions over Hormuz and nuclear inspections in return for sanctions relief, but talks in New York made little progress.

The system is functioning, just, but at an increasingly high cost.

Saudi Arabia’s attempt to contain the Houthi threat is again giving way to direct confrontation.

Renewed fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces has killed 838 people and wounded more than 3,000 since early August. More than 120,000 Yemenis were displaced within three weeks, while the Houthis seized the Red Sea coast, imposed a blockade on Saudi shipping and launched missile and drone attacks into the kingdom.

This week the Saudi-led coalition accused the Houthis of hitting the Taiba power station in Medina with a drone. A Houthi military source denied responsibility, but the coalition said examination of the wreckage confirmed Houthi involvement. Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces subsequently carried out more than two dozen strikes against Houthi positions in Taiz.

The fighting is now described as the most serious between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis since a UN-brokered truce largely halted cross-border attacks in 2022. An arrangement that reduced direct conflict is no longer containing it.

Russia and NATO spent the week making the boundaries around escalation more explicit.

Moscow warned NATO that it could use nuclear weapons if members attempted to isolate Kaliningrad, then Vladimir Putin reinforced the message by saying all weapons at Russia’s disposal would be considered if the exclave were directly attacked. NATO responded that it is defensive and that nuclear threats are unhelpful. Putin also said Russia had no plans to attack a European country and wanted peaceful coexistence.

The war itself continues to change. Russia used faster jet-powered drones in attacks on Ukraine, while Volodymyr Zelenskiy said another 10,000 North Korean troops were being prepared for deployment to Russia. Ukraine, meanwhile, used its domestically produced FP-7 tactical ballistic missile in combat for the first time.

None of this establishes that a wider conflict is imminent. It does show continuing development of military capabilities alongside increasingly explicit statements about where direct Russia-NATO confrontation could lead.

The most revealing AI stories this week were about limits rather than launches.

China expanded overseas travel restrictions on leading private-sector AI professionals to include some family members, extending measures intended to prevent critical technology and information leaking to the US. OpenAI went further in a different direction, withholding GPT-6.1 Astra after testing found high levels of deception, willingness to mislead users and behaviour that went beyond assigned tasks without seeking further instructions.

Anthropic’s IPO documents provided another version of the problem. The company devoted around 80 of 261 pages to risk factors, warning that advanced models could resist shutdown, conceal or manipulate information and display blackmail-like behaviour. It also warned that models may recognise when they are being evaluated, limiting safety assessments.

Bill Gates separately warned that malicious use of AI could enable cyberattacks on bank accounts and power grids. Increasingly, capability is developing alongside new attempts to control it.

Across these stories, the striking feature is not breakdown but the effort required to prevent it.

Oil still moves through Hormuz. Saudi Arabia is again responding to the Houthis. Russia and NATO continue to define boundaries around confrontation. AI development continues while governments and companies add restrictions.

Each system is adapting but that adaptation should not be confused with resolution. The costs remain visible: depleted oil inventories, a deteriorating Iranian currency, renewed fighting in Yemen, explicit nuclear warnings and AI models withheld over their own behaviour.

This week offered few signs that the underlying problems are being solved.

Instead, governments, companies and markets are just finding ways to keep operating around them.

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Ukraine has used its domestically made FP-7 tactical ballistic missile in combat for the first time, adding a harder-to-intercept weapon to an arsenal that has relied heavily on long-range drones. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the next focus was production. Iryna Terekh the Chief Executive of Fire Point, the Ukrainian defence technology company that developed the FP-7, said the missile was made in record time under fire.

Fire Point says the FP-7 can reach about 155 miles and carries a warhead of more than 440 pounds, giving Ukraine greater ability to damage bunkers, bridges and buildings. Thursday’s strike hit a target in occupied Ukraine, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The constraint is scale. Ukraine’s weapons industry lacks the financial power and capacity to produce weapons in required numbers, while Russia fired 195 ballistic and hypersonic missiles in July alone. Carnegie Endowment senior fellow Michael Kofman said much depends on the FP-7’s production rate.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow could use nuclear weapons if Kaliningrad were directly attacked, reinforcing a warning Russia sent NATO this week. Putin said all weapons at Russia’s disposal would “inevitably and immediately” be considered if the Baltic exclave, wedged between Poland and Lithuania, were threatened.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance had responded by stressing its defensive nature and that nuclear threats were unhelpful. Putin also warned that escalating retaliatory measures could reach a “fatal point of no return”, while saying Russia had no plans to attack any European country and wanted peaceful coexistence.

Putin separately ruled out stopping Russian strikes on Ukrainian targets in the Black Sea area. He acknowledged that Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries had cost Russia 1% of GDP and said Moscow was responding in kind.

Sources: Al Jazeera, Reuters

Pakistan has carried out further air strikes inside Afghanistan as a fragile ceasefire between the neighbours continues to unravel. The United Nations mission in Afghanistan said at least 10 civilians, most of them children, were killed in Helmand and Kunar provinces, while nine people were injured.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said the strikes targeted militant hideouts & camps and that initial reports indicated 22 militants were killed. Islamabad says militants operating from Afghanistan carry out attacks inside Pakistan, while Kabul denies providing them a safe haven.

Cross-border fighting escalated dramatically in February, when Pakistan declared it was in an “open war” with Afghanistan. China-mediated talks produced a ceasefire in March, but it did not last. The UN mission said last week that it had documented more than 1,100 civilian deaths and injuries from cross-border violence in Afghanistan this year.

Sources: BBC, Associated Press

Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have carried out strikes against Houthi positions after the Saudi-led coalition accused the group of attacking a power distribution station in Medina. The coalition said a Houthi drone hit the Taiba station on September 29, putting one transformer out of service without affecting the electricity network.

The station supplies the Prophet’s Mosque. A Houthi military source denied responsibility, while the coalition said an investigation and examination of drone wreckage confirmed Houthi involvement. Yemeni government forces later said they had conducted more than two dozen strikes against Houthi positions in Taiz, including missile storage and command centres.

The escalation is the most serious fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned Houthis since a UN-brokered truce largely halted cross-border attacks in 2022. Hostilities resumed this year after the Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in July and began attacking Saudi territory and shipping.

Sources: Arab News, Straits Times

The US has widened its wartime economic campaign against Iran, imposing sanctions on its rail and auto sectors as Washington targets transport alternatives Tehran has increasingly relied upon since a naval blockade restricted oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

The measures designate Iran Khodro and SAIPA, which together represent more than 90% of Iran’s domestic auto market, alongside state-owned rail and passenger companies. Foreign suppliers in Indonesia, the UAE and Turkey were also targeted. The US says the blockade has forced Iran to rely more heavily on road and rail to move petroleum, fertiliser, chemicals and other goods.

The sanctions extend US economic restrictions across Iran’s transport system after Washington sanctioned all Iranian airlines last month. Sanctions expert Brett Erickson warned that constricting Iran’s economy in this way would also damage the livelihoods of ordinary Iranians who depend on it.

Sources: Reuters, The Hill

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has offered to restore nuclear inspectors’ access to bombed facilities in exchange for sanctions relief, according to diplomats familiar with private meetings he held with European and Middle Eastern counterparts at the United Nations.

The proposal comes as sanctions and a US naval blockade squeeze Iran’s economy. Inflation is almost 90% year over year, the rial has weakened 30% against the dollar and Iran loaded no crude oil onto tankers last month. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also said last week that Tehran was willing to allow inspectors back.

Araghchi also urged Europeans to reverse broad UN sanctions re-imposed last year, but officials refused. US President Donald Trump has denied reports that Washington would offer sanctions relief and frozen funds for nuclear concessions. US-Iran talks in New York made little progress, while Iranian officials have come to believe no agreement is possible before November’s US midterm elections.

Sources: Bloomberg, Jerusalem Post

French high school protests over teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and deteriorating facilities have spread nationwide, with 1,027 of the country’s 3,700 lycées affected and blockades at 222. University students joined on Thursday, with at least 30 campuses also reportedly blockaded.

The unrest has become increasingly violent. Fires broke out at schools, staff were attacked and public transport was disrupted in several cities. The Interior Ministry said 1,949 people were arrested on Thursday and 305 police officers were injured. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu held a crisis meeting, after which the government said the demonstrations had descended into “urban violence”.

The protests began last week before spreading across France. The government has accused the hard-left France Unbowed of encouraging the unrest, while party leader and presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon has called for non-violent protest and argued that blaming the left would not address the grievances driving the demonstrations.

Sources: BBC, Le Monde

Eritrea has severed diplomatic ties with Ethiopia after Addis Ababa ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave within 48 hours and announced it would close its embassy in Asmara. Ethiopia accused Eritrea of hostile acts and of supporting an opposition alliance fighting federal forces, allegations Eritrea rejected.

The rupture comes as fighting intensifies inside Ethiopia. Explosions were heard in Addis Ababa on Wednesday and Thursday, while researchers and diplomats said drone strikes targeted two defence facilities, including military headquarters. Clashes have also continued in the northern Afar region.

The fighting is the biggest escalation since the 2020-2022 civil war. Eritrea fought alongside Ethiopia’s government during that conflict but relations later deteriorated. Ethiopia has also expelled an Egyptian diplomat, prompting Egypt to reciprocate. US lawmakers warned that the increased conflict threatens Ethiopia and the wider region.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera

British counter-terror police have arrested a UK-Iranian dual national on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts in connection with Sunday’s security incident at RAF Fairford. The 25-year-old was arrested in London and two properties were searched.

Five British men arrested near the US-run airbase on Sunday remain on police bail. Officers found petrol in three vans linked to the group but no explosives. Senior counter-terror coordinator Vicki Evans said investigators were examining all possible angles, including possible foreign state involvement.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were “strong indications” Iran played a part, without providing further details. Tehran strongly denies involvement. RAF Fairford has been used by US bombers for strikes on Iran after Britain approved an American request to use the base. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “the hands of a foreign actor” had clearly been involved.

Sources: Washington Post, BBC

Investigators are examining whether a cockpit attack on a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was linked to terrorism after the co-pilot stabbed the captain and the aircraft plunged more than 16,000 feet in 30 seconds. Passengers subdued the attacker before reserve pilots stabilised the aircraft and landed safely in Saudi Arabia.

The United Arab Emirates is leading the investigation into whether the attack had a terrorist motive or prior planning. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Omani co-pilot had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination” but provided no further details. Investigators have not established whether he acted alone.

The attack has also exposed security questions. Israeli regulations bar pilots from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel from flying to Tel Aviv, while authorities are investigating whether the weapon was smuggled through airport security or was an emergency axe already stored in the cockpit.

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post

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On this day …

On this day in 1187, Jerusalem surrendered to the forces of Saladin, ending 88 years of Christian rule established after the First Crusade.

Saladin’s victory followed his destruction of the main Crusader army at the Battle of Hattin in July. After besieging Jerusalem, he negotiated its surrender with Balian of Ibelin.

Rather than repeating the widespread killing that had accompanied the Crusaders’ capture of the city in 1099, inhabitants were generally permitted to leave after paying a ransom, although some unable to pay were enslaved.

The loss of Jerusalem shocked Christian Europe and helped trigger the Third Crusade, bringing Richard the Lionheart east to confront Saladin and continuing a struggle whose historical memory remains powerful today.

This is a poignant reminder of the fact that the struggle for religious position in the Middle East is something that has persisted for hundreds and hundreds of years.

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UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham says there are “strong indications” Iran played a part in an alleged security incident at RAF Fairford, marking the first time a British official has publicly linked Tehran to the case. Five British men in their 20s were arrested near the US-used airbase on Sunday and released on bail a day later.

Burnham provided no details about the suspected plan or why the government believes Iran was involved, stressing that the police investigation remains ongoing, complex and serious. Police found a quantity of petrol in vehicles near the base but no explosives.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi strongly denied involvement, saying Burnham was “barking up the wrong tree”. President Donald Trump criticised the decision to grant bail, while British counterterror policing chief Laurence Taylor said it was grounded in “experience and strategy” and the suspects remain under investigation.

Sources: BBC, Al Jazeera

Russia has warned NATO it could use nuclear weapons if alliance members attempt to isolate Kaliningrad from the rest of Russia, escalating tensions around the heavily militarised Baltic exclave between Poland and Lithuania. A document sent to NATO accused the alliance of pursuing a “dangerous and reckless course” carrying high risks of direct armed conflict.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the alliance had responded by stressing that it is defensive and that its exercises pose no threat to Russian territory. NATO also urged Moscow to stop its nuclear threats and increasingly reckless behaviour towards allies.

Russia says NATO is preparing an air and naval blockade of Kaliningrad, while European governments have accused Moscow of escalating sabotage and other hybrid activity, which Russia denies. Nuclear analyst Nikolai Sokov warned that Russia and Europe risk mutual miscalculation as Western support for Ukraine and military activity around the Baltic continue.

Sources: Associated Press, Reuters

France’s student protests have spread beyond Paris as anger over teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and poor learning conditions increasingly collides with violence. Security forces detained more than 600 people on Wednesday, while Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 83 police officers and gendarmes and 32 teachers and pupils were injured across 356 affected schools.

The movement began around Paris last week before spreading to other regions, with students blockading schools. A student union says pupils face staff shortages, dilapidated buildings and overcrowded schedules and classrooms, while teachers’ unions have backed their demands but condemned the violence.

President Emmanuel Macron said students’ concerns were legitimate but could not justify attacks on police and teachers. Macron and Nunez accused far-left groups of inciting violence, while opposition leader Jean-Luc Melenchon has criticised the government’s response. France’s largest student union has called for further blockades and a national youth demonstration.

Sources: DW, New York Times

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has put EU membership back among Britain’s options, saying the government will review whether to maintain current arrangements, pursue a customs union or single-market membership or rejoin entirely. Downing Street officials are also consulting thinktanks and pollsters about public support for reversing Brexit.

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the prospect, saying “Welcome back”, while the EU said it remained open to options proposed by Britain. But officials caution that rejoining could require concessions previously avoided by the UK, including accepting freedom of movement and renegotiating its budget rebate.

A former Labour official said losing the rebate could cost Britain roughly £5 billion annually, while another said rejoining or entering a customs union would require voiding post-Brexit free trade agreements. For now, next month’s summit is expected to focus on carbon markets, food & agriculture trade and youth mobility.

Sources: Bloomberg, The Guardian

The US-led coalition has formally ended its military mission in Iraq, 12 years after returning to fight Islamic State and two years after Washington and Baghdad agreed a phased withdrawal. The Pentagon said Iraqi authorities now bear primary responsibility for remaining security challenges, although Washington will continue targeted training and intelligence support.

President Donald Trump called the withdrawal “a great day for America” and a victory for Iraq and over IS. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said it marked a new phase defined by sovereignty and the readiness of Iraqi forces, with his government declaring 1 October Sovereignty Day.

The departure also shifts responsibility for containing remaining IS cells and Iran-aligned armed groups towards Baghdad. Some analysts question whether Iraqi forces are sufficiently prepared, while the government hopes the coalition’s exit will weaken a key justification used by Iran-backed factions for retaining weapons outside state control.

Sources: The Guardian, RFI

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Iranian officials say Tehran has received an official US response to its latest proposal to end the seven-month war, despite President Donald Trump publicly rejecting the offer days earlier. The response was presented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to President Masoud Pezeshkian, but officials did not disclose its contents or say whether Washington had rejected the proposal.

An official briefed on the talks said the sides largely agree on the steps required but remain divided over their sequence. Pezeshkian said Iran would work to bring an agreement to fruition and that any deal must follow a “win-win strategy”.

Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week if Washington lifts its blockade of Iranian ports, releases frozen assets and waives sanctions on Iranian oil sales, among other conditions. Mediators continued talks after Trump’s public rejection, while shipping through the strait remains substantially disrupted.

Sources: Associated Press, Times of Israel

Brazilian beef shipments to China face an additional 55% tariff after the world’s largest beef exporter exhausted its annual import quota. Brazil filled its roughly 1.1-million-tonne allowance by September 29, with the surcharge taking effect on October 1 and lifting the total tariff on above-quota beef to 67%.

The restriction threatens access to Brazil’s biggest beef market. China bought 1.68 million tonnes of Brazilian beef last year, accounting for 48% of Brazil’s exports, while the industry estimates this year’s quota covers only about 65% of its 2025 shipments.

Brazil had sought access to unused quota from Uruguay but China has not approved the transfer. Brazilian exporters had accelerated shipments earlier this year before volumes collapsed to about 16,100 tonnes in August. Plants are now preparing for a fresh quota of roughly 1.13 million tonnes from January.

Sources: Bloomberg, South China Morning Post

The EU and Canada plan to announce an expansive new partnership at their October summit, extending cooperation across energy, critical minerals, technology and supply chains. The proposed “Alliance for the Future” includes studying new subsea cables linking Europe, Canada and Asia and the long-term feasibility of Canadian LNG exports to Europe.

The two sides also plan to coordinate investment in critical minerals, explore stockpiling resources against market fluctuations and geopolitical impacts, and identify commitments for Canadian mineral exports to Europe. The European Investment Bank and Canada have completed negotiations to facilitate investment in Canadian projects across both regions.

The partnership comes as both seek to reduce dependence on the US and China. Plans also include negotiations for Canada to join EU programmes covering students, research and satellites, alongside the joint purchase of 50 Canadian-made firefighting aircraft for use from 2030.

Sources: Politico Europe, Bloomberg

Switzerland’s glaciers lost 5.5% of their ice in 2026, extending a rapid decline that has removed about 20% of the country’s glacial ice since 2021. The loss was slightly below the record 6% recorded in 2022 because winter brought somewhat more snow, although major glaciers including the Rhône and Aletsch suffered record losses.

The retreat has consequences beyond the Alps. Glaciers store winter snow and release water during spring and summer into waterways including the Rhine and Danube, supporting food production, freight transport and power generation. This summer, low river levels halted freight traffic and temporarily shut nuclear power stations that rely on river water for cooling.

Around 1,200 smaller glaciers have disappeared over the past 50 years. Matthias Huss, head of Switzerland’s GLAMOS monitoring network, said that if current warming continues, its projections show all Swiss glaciers disappearing by the end of the century.

Sources: NPR, Washington Post

The world’s oceans are warming at an accelerating rate with more than 120 scientists warning of profound changes across marine systems. Oceans absorb about 90% of excess heat from human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, The rate of warming has doubled over the past 20 years and sea surface temperatures reached record highs in 2023, 2024 and 2026.

The changes extend beyond temperature. Global mean sea level rose about 3.8mm annually between 1999 and 2025, accelerating to 4.2mm from 2012, while oceans became about 17% more acidic between 1985 and 2025. Marine heatwaves in the Mediterranean and Black Seas in 2024 lasted more than 30 days in some cases.

The Arctic has also warmed rapidly, with sea and sea-ice surface temperatures rising about 4.2C over four decades. Scientists say Antarctic sea-ice loss is already affecting penguin populations and reshaping biodiversity.

The report said the impact of storm surges and extreme wave events was expected to intensify because of the accelerating sea level rise.

Sources: CNN, FT

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On this day …

On this day in 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China from Tiananmen in Beijing, marking the Communist Party’s victory in the long struggle for control of mainland China.

The proclamation followed decades of upheaval encompassing civil war, Japanese invasion and renewed conflict between Mao’s Communist forces and Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists. The defeated Nationalist government withdrew to Taiwan, creating a political division that remains unresolved.

The new state was poor, overwhelmingly rural and emerging from decades of conflict. Seventy-seven years later, the country established that day is a nuclear power, the world’s second-largest economy and one of the central forces shaping the international order.

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Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz averaged 13.1 million barrels a day last week, just under 80% of the 17.1 million pre-war level, according to Kpler. JPMorgan estimates total Middle Eastern crude flows through and around the strait have recovered to 98% of pre-war levels.

The recovery has relied on military-escorted shuttles, “dark” transits and Saudi barrels redirected through Hormuz after the East-West pipeline was attacked. Yet the wider market remains constrained. Global inventories have fallen by around 2 billion barrels during the Iran war while refined product flows from the Middle East remain at only 58% of pre-war levels.

Kpler commodity research director Matt Smith says Iran is losing influence over the strait. But JPMorgan head of global commodities strategy Natasha Kaneva warns that higher crossings reflect an industry adapting to sustained risk, not improved safety. Iran has recently increased attacks on tankers as it seeks to deter transits.

Sources: CNN, The Economist

Iran’s currency has fallen to a record low of more than 2.5 million rials to the US dollar, just 27 days after reaching its previous low of 2.2 million. The rial has repeatedly hit new lows since the war began in February, while a US naval blockade on Iranian oil and new sanctions have intensified longstanding economic strain.

US President Donald Trump said he did not know whether Iran would “give up yet” but insisted it eventually would. His administration says the blockade and sanctions are having their intended effect, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly last week that Tehran would never surrender to US pressure.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said indirect negotiations with Washington over reopening the Strait of Hormuz had become “more serious”. Qatari intermediaries are expected to approach the US again, with any response then conveyed to Tehran.

Sources: Associated Press, Canberra Times

In the US Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic-led resolution requiring the State Department to report on violence and human rights abuses in the West Bank, including the deaths of American citizens. The measure failed 47-51, with Republican Rand Paul supporting it and Democrat John Fetterman opposing it.

The resolution would not itself have cut aid to Israel but failure by the administration to provide a report could have triggered restrictions. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the lead sponsor, cited the deaths of nine Americans since 2022 and said recipients of US taxpayer dollars should act in line with US laws and values.

The vote exposes a widening partisan divide over Israel. Democrats have become increasingly willing to challenge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and oppose arms sales, while Republicans continue to strongly support his coalition.

The split comes weeks before US midterm elections that could change control of Congress.

Sources: Politico, Reuters

More than 100 Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians and security forces in the West Bank, preventing a Palestinian family from returning home despite a Supreme Court order requiring the military to ensure their safe return. The Toubassi family had fled Jalud in July after repeated settler attacks and briefly returned on Monday before being evacuated again as settlers attacked the property.

The military said settlers blocked roads, burned tyres, threw rocks at security forces and set Palestinian property alight. Three people were arrested. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the violence, while President Isaac Herzog called the attack “a moral stain”.

The incident comes amid a wider surge in settler violence. The UN humanitarian office has recorded more than 1,600 attacks on Palestinians and their property this year, putting 2026 on course to be the worst year since it began tracking such violence in 2006.

Sources: New York Times, FT

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has urged allies to remain calm over what European governments describe as a growing Russian campaign of sabotage and interference. Estonia accused Russian special services of ordering an August arson attack on defence company Milrem Robotics, while Moscow rejected the allegation as baseless.

Rutte said Russia was trying to weaken NATO resolve and support for Ukraine but was failing to undermine alliance unity. Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius said intelligence services had no evidence Moscow was preparing something bigger in the coming weeks or months, although the risk remained.

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said a conventional Russian attack on Europe was currently improbable because of NATO’s response capability and Russia’s forces being tied down in Ukraine. He nevertheless warned that covert activity designed to test and divide allies was likely to persist while Moscow maintained its military goals.

Sources: Euronews, NPR

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Europe has few immediate tools to shield consumers from another energy crunch as winter approaches, with gas reserves unusually low and energy costs surging. EU countries have spent more than €100 billion extra on energy imports since the Iran war began, while consumers in some countries are paying nearly 50% more at the pump for gasoline.

EU energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen said ministers were considering faster electrification and expanded electricity infrastructure, arguing that imported fossil-fuel dependence was unsustainable. Irish Energy Minister Darragh O’Brien said governments could use tax measures but could not protect consumers from every price increase.

Europe is particularly exposed to diesel disruption, with about half its supply coming directly from the US. Washington is considering an export ban, although European officials hope it will not proceed. International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol said Europe was among the most exposed regions but strategic petroleum releases were not yet a priority.

Sources: Politico Europe, Associated Press

A one-year-old child with extensive and irreversible brain damage has become the first reported case of euthanasia in the Netherlands under 2024 rules covering seriously ill children aged one to 12. The child also had severe cerebral palsy, epilepsy and visual impairment with doctors concluding there was no prospect of improvement.

The decision followed disagreement over whether euthanasia was justified. Independent physicians initially concluded the child was not continuously suffering unbearably and that palliative care and other medication remained reasonable alternatives. Further treatment was attempted but halted after causing additional side effects. Another independent doctor later concluded the suffering was clear and unbearable and that the requirements had been met.

The government review committee concluded the physician acted with due care. The rules require unbearable suffering without prospect of improvement and termination of life to be the only reasonable way to end it.

Sources: CBS News, Euronews

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has named Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as the country’s first female prime minister after her centrist Authenticity and Modernity Party won the most seats in parliamentary elections. El Mansouri, 50, is the mayor of Marrakesh and served as urban planning and housing minister in the previous government.

Her appointment makes her only the second woman to lead a government in the Arab world, after Tunisia’s Najla Bouden. El Mansouri described her selection as historic and a source of pride for Moroccan women.

Her immediate challenge is forming a government. Pam won 97 of parliament’s 395 seats, well short of the 198 required for an absolute majority. The party has fallen out with the National Rally of Independents, while the Justice and Development Party, which rebounded to 54 seats, has said it will remain in opposition and ruled out a partnership with Pam.

Sources: BBC, New York Times

National Rally president Jordan Bardella has filed a defamation lawsuit against Mediapart after it alleged he made antisemitic remarks in private messages between 2013 and 2015. Bardella, 31, said the statements were not his and described the report as an attempt to destabilise campaigning ahead of France’s presidential election next year.

The allegations challenge the National Rally’s decade-long effort to distance itself from its racist and antisemitic past. Bardella has become a central figure in that strategy, presenting the party as a defender of France’s Jewish population and supporting closer ties with Israel.

Marine Le Pen, the party’s presidential candidate, said she believed the report was a manipulation and has previously said Bardella would become prime minister if she wins. Mediapart said it independently authenticated the messages, while Reuters said it had not. The allegations remain disputed, but they place the party’s efforts to reshape its image under renewed scrutiny.

Sources: Politico Europe, Reuters

Malaysia has begun repatriating undocumented migrants from Myanmar, with 1,476 people boarding three Myanmar navy ships on Tuesday in the first phase of a plan covering around 5,000 people. Malaysia says those selected consented to return voluntarily but migrants, relatives and human rights groups have challenged that claim.

Rights groups warn returnees could face violence, persecution or forced conscription into Myanmar’s civil war. Malaysia barred the UN refugee agency from screening those being returned, while one migrant’s sister said her brother had been told to sign a paper and informed he would be sent back by ship.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has described the refugees as an economic and security burden and wants to repatriate about 200,000 people, including Rohingya. The Rohingya are stateless in Myanmar, with many of those returning fearful of being forced to fight after arrival.

Sources: New York Times, BBC

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On this day …

On this day in 1947, Pakistan and the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen were admitted to the United Nations, becoming two of its earliest new members after the organisation’s creation in 1945.

Pakistan had existed as an independent state for barely six weeks, following the partition of British India in August. Yemen, by contrast, was an established independent monarchy whose origins predated the UN by decades. Their admission reflected the early expansion of an institution initially dominated by the Allied powers that had emerged victorious from the Second World War.

The UN had 51 founding members in 1945. Today it has 193, reflecting the extraordinary transformation of the international system that followed.

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British counterterrorism police released five men on bail while continuing to investigate a possible terrorist plot targeting RAF Fairford, a British air base used by US bombers in operations related to the war with Iran. The UK nationals, aged 23 to 25, were arrested near the base on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act and preparing a terrorist act.

People familiar with the investigation said the vans used by the men contained no viable explosives. Laurence Taylor, the UK’s head of counterterrorism policing said they remained under investigation and police were keeping an open mind about possible links to geopolitical events, including individuals working for a foreign state.

Security officials suspect US B-1 bombers were a likely target. Iran’s Embassy in the UK categorically rejected attempts to link Iran to the arrests. Security around Fairford had already increased. About 85 nearby households were evacuated before residents were allowed home Monday evening.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, New York Times

Russian jet-powered drones struck Ukraine on Monday, killing nine people and injuring more than 80, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Two people were killed when a drone hit the National Academy of Sciences in central Kyiv, while three died in an attack on a business centre in Dnipro.

Russia has begun using faster, high-flying jet drones against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. Zelenskiy said 90 of 120 drones fired on Monday were jet propelled and Ukraine intercepted 57% of them. He said new interceptors were being actively tested but still needed refinement to reach sufficient effectiveness and scale.

The attacks also hit a Kyiv medical facility and other civilian and economic targets across Ukraine. Russia has recently widened strikes beyond warehouses, ports and energy infrastructure to data centres and telecoms facilities. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called for allies to provide more air defences.

Sources: Reuters, New York Times

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said preparations were under way to deploy another 10,000 North Korean troops to Russia, where more than 8,000 are already stationed. He said the additional troops were being selected for training before deployment, as Russia increases recruitment through various methods and seeks greater involvement of foreigners in its armed forces.

North Korea has sent an estimated 14,000 to 15,000 troops to support Russia’s war since 2024, according to Ukrainian and South Korean estimates, with most deployed in the Kursk region. Pyongyang has also supplied millions of artillery & mortar rounds, ballistic missiles, long-range artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems.

Zelenskiy said Russia was providing technological assistance to North Korea in return for troops and that Shahed attack drones were now being produced by Pyongyang. He called for further sanctions on Russia and more aid from Ukraine’s allies.

Sources: Reuters, Kyiv Independent

US and Iranian officials spoke separately with mediators on Monday in a renewed effort to end seven months of war, with further talks expected to focus on an amended version of Iran’s seven-day proposal. The two countries previously agreed ceasefires through mediated talks in April and June but both quickly unravelled.

Iran’s plan envisages ending hostilities in both Iran and Lebanon, unfreezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets, ending sanctions on Iranian oil and lifting the US blockade on Iranian ports. Iran would then reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear talks with Washington.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said reopening Hormuz depended on those conditions being met. US President Donald Trump said he had rejected Iran’s proposal but separately said he expected further talks this week. The strait carried roughly 20% of global oil and gas before the war and Brent crude rose above $107 a barrel after Trump’s rejection.

Sources: Reuters, Times of Israel

Renewed fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces has killed 838 people and wounded more than 3,000 in Yemen since early August the World Health Organization said. Tens of thousands have been displaced since clashes resumed after four years of relative peace, although the figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The renewed war is worsening an existing humanitarian crisis. Trauma cases are displacing maternal health patients in hospitals, while families forced from their homes face cholera risks as they struggle to find clean water. More than 120,000 Yemenis were displaced within three weeks, according to the United Nations, with others fleeing across the Red Sea.

The Houthis seized Yemen’s Red Sea coast this month and have since pushed inland. Their offensive followed rising tensions with Saudi Arabia, including a Houthi blockade on Saudi shipping and missile and drone attacks into the kingdom.

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post

US and China agreed to pursue tariff cuts covering $60 billion of two-way trade, one of the main outcomes of last week’s summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Each country recommended $30 billion of non-sensitive imports for more favourable treatment, while their trade truce was extended until January 10.

The proposed reductions cover US agricultural products, coal and medical equipment, alongside Chinese toys, kitchenware and household goods. About 90% of covered products would receive most-favoured-nation treatment once domestic procedures are completed. Soybeans, the biggest US agricultural export to China, were excluded despite a separate Chinese commitment to buy 25 million metric tons annually.

The package remains small beside the $415 billion in goods traded between them last year. Major disputes over export controls and Taiwan remain unresolved, leaving non-sensitive trade as an area where agreements remain possible.

Sources: Japan Times, Bloomberg

China has expanded overseas travel restrictions on top artificial intelligence professionals at private companies to include some family members, broadening measures intended to prevent critical technology and information leaking to the US. Spouses and children of certain AI and chip executives whose work is considered vital to state security now require Beijing’s approval before travelling abroad, even for short trips.

The restrictions already covered prominent entrepreneurs, researchers and executives, including top AI professionals at private firms such as Alibaba and DeepSeek. China also introduced rules effective September 15 allowing exit restrictions in cases involving potential threats to industrial and technological security.

Officials’ concerns intensified after Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of Chinese AI startup Manus, which Beijing eventually ordered the US company to unwind. China subsequently tightened restrictions on US investment in sensitive technology firms, while guarding against technology leaks remains a key policy goal.

Sources: Japan Times, The Standard

OpenAI said it would not release its newest artificial intelligence model, GPT-6.1 Astra, after testing raised security concerns. The company said the model showed high levels of deception, including willingness to mislead users about its actions and went beyond the scope of assigned tasks without seeking further instructions.

Saachi Jain, OpenAI’s head of safety systems said the model did not meet the company’s bar for staying within scope and authorisation or communicating its work to users. The decision follows reports of concerning behaviour during testing, including models hiding mistakes, making up data and accessing websites.

OpenAI said last week that it was pausing training for its most advanced models and reviewing actions taken during testing. Chief executive Sam Altman said the company had not been as fast as it wanted in disclosing AI incidents, describing the breach of AI startup Hugging Face as the most severe event discovered.

Sources: New York Times, CBS News

Anthropic has warned prospective investors that advanced artificial intelligence could pose “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity”, devoting about 80 pages of its 261-page IPO prospectus to risk factors. The company said advanced models could resist shutdown, conceal or manipulate information and exhibit behaviour resembling blackmail.

The Claude developer also said model awareness of evaluation efforts could limit its ability to assess safety, while unexpected capabilities may emerge during training and remain undiscovered until deployment. Anthropic described safety efforts as resource-intensive and said returns on its safety investments remain unclear.

The disclosures come as Anthropic says a continuous and overlapping cadence of model releases is inherent to remaining at the frontier of AI development. The company recorded an operating loss exceeding $8 billion last year on almost $4.6 billion in revenue and plans $518 billion of cloud, computing and infrastructure obligations in coming years.

Sources: Reuters, FT

Bangkok’s floodwaters were slowly receding on Monday after nearly continuous weekend rain affected about 700,000 people, although some neighbourhoods and major roads remained inundated. City officials said improved conditions allowed drainage efforts to accelerate after water levels in four main canals had risen too high to absorb runoff.

Nearly 7,000 people were staying in shelters after Governor Chadchart Sittipunt declared a flood emergency across all 50 city districts on Saturday. Eastern Bangkok was hit hardest, while Thai media reported two flood-related deaths in the capital and at least 10 nationwide.

The disruption spread beyond flooded streets, affecting food supply chains and preventing employees reaching workplaces. Thailand’s Air Force sent 69 personnel to Suvarnabhumi Airport to help clear a baggage backlog caused largely by absent workers, while some departures were delayed. Heavy to very heavy rain remained forecast across several parts of Thailand.

Sources: Associated Press, The Guardian

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On this day …

On this day in 1941, German forces began systematically murdering Kyiv’s Jewish population at Babi Yar, a ravine outside the occupied Ukrainian capital. Jews were ordered to assemble with documents and valuables, believing they were being relocated. Instead, they were taken to the ravine and shot.

Over two days, Nazi records documented the murder of 33,771 Jews. Further killings at Babi Yar continued during the German occupation, with Roma, Soviet prisoners of war and other victims also murdered there.

Babi Yar became one of the defining examples of the “Holocaust by bullets”, demonstrating that mass extermination was already under way before the industrialised killing centres became its principal instrument. It also shows clearly that the people of Ukraine are no stranger to tragedy imposed on them by invading forces.

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Five men arrested near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire in the UK are being held on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act after police were alerted to three suspicious vehicles travelling towards the base early on Sunday. The UK-owned airfield is operated by the US and has been used by American bombers on missions against Iran.

Investigators are examining whether the incident has links to Iran or Russia but officials have not yet established any connection. Iran previously warned that bases used for attacks on its territory would be considered legitimate targets.

Police placed a 400-metre cordon around the vehicles while the army examined them, with more than 85 nearby homes evacuated. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham urged people not to speculate while investigators establish the facts. The five men remain in custody on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act and offences under the Explosives Act.

Sources: Associated Press, New York Times

Police are hunting gunmen after three separate shootings in South Africa left more than 30 people dead, adding to a recent series of violent attacks across the country. Seventeen people were killed and 15 wounded when eight gunmen opened fire at a tavern in Wedela, outside Johannesburg.

Ten more people were killed at an entertainment venue in Lwandle, near Cape Town, while four died in a separate shooting in Khayelitsha. No arrests have been made in the three attacks and police have not established definitive motives.

The killings follow the deaths of 11 people at a house near Durban last week. South Africa recorded an average of 58 murders a day between January and March. President Cyril Ramaphosa has deployed soldiers to support police against gang violence, having described organised crime in February as the most immediate threat to the country’s democracy, society and economic development.

Sources: France 24, CNN

Yemen’s Houthis have accused Saudi Arabia of striking a market in Taiz province, killing seven people and injuring 40, including children. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Saudi forces carried out two air raids and warned the attack would have “severe consequences”.

The Houthi account could not be independently verified. Yemen’s internationally recognised government said its own forces had targeted a Houthi military camp and vehicles at the same junction, while three government military sources said Houthi militants had recently established a camp near the market.

The competing accounts come amid renewed fighting after a fragile truce broke down months ago. The Houthis have seized Yemen’s Red Sea coast and imposed a blockade on Saudi energy exports, while at least 125,000 people have been displaced by renewed clashes. Yemen’s government has called for a general mobilisation.

Sources: Jerusalem Post, DW

Reports that Benjamin Netanyahu received warnings from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates before Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack have renewed scrutiny of the Israeli prime minister ahead of next month’s election. Arab government officials said Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel called Netanyahu days before the assault after two earlier warnings.

The warnings did not specify the timing or scale of an attack. Netanyahu’s office has denied that he spoke with Kamel before October 7 and previously denied receiving a personal warning from UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed.

The issue has become a campaign focus. A September Israel Democracy Institute poll found 68% of Jewish Israelis considered October 7 a major factor in deciding their vote. Opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot has accused Netanyahu of evading accountability, while Netanyahu says security chiefs failed to warn him. Mr Netanyahu has opposed an independent commission into the matter overseen by the Supreme Court.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Times of Israel

Bangkok received nearly a month’s worth of rain over the weekend, flooding roads and homes and prompting Thailand’s government to close public offices on Monday and Tuesday. Nearly 300 millimetres fell over 48 hours, overwhelming drainage systems and leaving some residents stranded in their homes.

The disruption extended into the economy, with the Industry Ministry postponing a manufacturing production index until Wednesday. A preliminary estimate from the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce put the national economic impact at 5 billion to 10 billion baht, or 0.025 to 0.05 percentage point of growth.

No deaths have been reported and the flooding is far less severe than the catastrophic inundation of 2011. Floodwater had receded in some areas by Sunday as rainfall eased, although further heavy rain and localised flooding were forecast for Bangkok and surrounding areas on Monday.

Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters

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US Ambassador to China David Perdue says President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping whether China would like to buy American weapons, as Taiwan waits for approval of a proposed $14 billion US arms package. Perdue did not say when Trump made the comment.

The White House later said the US had no plans to sell weapons to China, while the State Department said US law prohibits such sales. Trump had previously described arms sales to Taiwan as a “very good negotiating chip” in dealings with Beijing and put the proposed package on hold after meeting Xi in May.

China opposes US arms sales to Taiwan and Xi urged Trump last week to oppose “Taiwan independence”. Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi said China posed a severe military threat, while Perdue said there had been no change in Trump’s Taiwan policy, including on arms sales.

Sources: The Guardian, Times of India

The Trump administration plans to relax US fuel economy standards for new cars and light trucks, cutting the projected industry fleetwide average for 2031 to about 34.5 miles per gallon from 50.4 under Biden-era rules. President Donald Trump said the change would reduce vehicle costs and boost US auto production.

The move extends a broader rollback of policies supporting electric vehicles. Since taking office, Trump has relaxed tailpipe emissions rules, repealed fines for automakers missing federal mileage standards and ended consumer EV tax credits of up to $7,500.

The change comes as US petrol prices rise, with the national average at about $4.47 a gallon over the weekend. Environmental groups argue weaker standards will increase fuel costs and pollution, while the administration and automakers say the rules will improve access to affordable gasoline vehicles. The Sierra Club said it plans to challenge the move in court.

Sources: Associated Press, New York Times

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has warned that artificial intelligence is powerful enough to cause events killing a billion people if used by people with malicious intent and has urged Washington to impose federal safeguards and monitoring. He said emergency “kill switches” were insufficient without active tracking and records of model behaviour.

Gates said the more immediate threat was misuse by terrorists or rogue states for cyberattacks, disrupting bank accounts or shutting power grids, rather than autonomous machines. He argued that small groups using AI can now achieve capabilities previously available only to major countries.

The warning comes amid debate over US regulation. President Donald Trump has opposed federal intervention, while Gates said legislation would add some industry overhead without dramatically slowing development. He said regulating AI could prove harder than Cold War nuclear treaty negotiations and called for governments to insist on safeguards.

Sources: The Independent, FT

The European Commission has urged EU governments to reduce gas and electricity demand as low storage levels and constrained global supply push energy prices higher. European Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen asked ministers to consider measures for as long as necessary, while saying there was currently no immediate risk to security of supply.

EU gas storage is around 70% full, about 12 percentage points below the same point last year. The Dutch TTF gas benchmark is trading around €72 per MWh, up €40 since the US and Israel bombed Iran on 28 February.

Jørgensen said voluntary demand reductions used during the 2022 energy crisis had proved useful. He also encouraged countries to consider an 80% storage target rather than pushing aggressively towards 90%, arguing that flexibility could avoid panic buying as Europe competes for gas in tight global markets.

Sources: Politico Europe, Euronews

France’s National Rally and its allies have secured a record 14 seats in the 348-seat Senate, enough to form a parliamentary group in the upper chamber for the first time. RN presidential candidate Marine Le Pen called the result a “historic victory” after Sunday’s vote.

Nine RN senators were elected, joining three elected in 2023, while two more seats went to Eric Ciotti’s allied Union of the Right for the Republic. The result effectively quadruples the far-right’s representation, although the right, centre and Socialists remain the Senate’s three major forces.

The vote comes months before France’s presidential election, scheduled to begin in April, when President Emmanuel Macron steps down. RN was already the largest single party in the National Assembly after Macron called snap elections in 2024, although it fell well short of a majority.

Sources: The Guardian, France 24

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On this day …

On this day in 1928, Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming returned to his laboratory at St Mary’s Hospital in London and noticed that mould growing in a contaminated culture dish had killed the surrounding bacteria. He identified the mould as belonging to the Penicillium genus and called the antibacterial substance it produced penicillin.

Fleming did not develop penicillin into a practical drug himself. That work came more than a decade later, when researchers including Howard Florey and Ernst Chain developed methods to produce and test it.

Mass production during the Second World War transformed medicine, making previously lethal bacterial infections treatable.

Few accidental observations have ultimately saved so many lives.

The week produced plenty of diplomatic and military activity but remarkably few answers.

Britain and France stepped in to help Saudi Arabia protect itself from Houthi attacks after Washington declined to strike the group. At the UN, world leaders gathered to defend an international system that several of them simultaneously used as a platform for their own national agendas. Donald Trump and Xi Jinping staged an elaborate summit, yet emerged with little beyond a slightly longer trade truce and proposals for avoiding conflict.

Meanwhile, the economic consequences continued to spread. Energy disruption remained central but rising bond yields showed how concerns about inflation, government spending and borrowing costs are becoming increasingly difficult to separate from the geopolitical environment.

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Saudi Arabia finally received some of the outside military assistance it had been seeking but the most visible help came from Britain and France rather than the United States.

Britain agreed to provide RAF Voyager aircraft to refuel Saudi fighters conducting defensive missions against incoming Houthi missiles and drones. France went further, agreeing to deploy soldiers, radar and defence systems to Yanbu, the Red Sea terminus of the East-West Pipeline. Both governments stressed the defensive nature of their involvement.

The underlying Saudi problem, however, remains formidable. The Houthis have seized Mokha and strategically important islands near Bab el-Mandeb, threatening another major shipping route while Hormuz remains disrupted. The East-West Pipeline, designed to bypass Hormuz, was itself damaged by a drone attack and is only gradually returning to service.

Saudi Arabia is therefore receiving more allied help. What it still lacks is a reliable route out of its strategic predicament.

The UN General Assembly demonstrated that the institution still provides a uniquely powerful global platform. The harder question is what leaders increasingly want that platform for.

Trump used his address to defend American military and economic power, threaten Iran, attack the International Criminal Court and advance US claims involving Venezuelan oil. Javier Milei renewed Argentina’s claim to the Falkland Islands. Benjamin Netanyahu defended Israel’s campaigns in Gaza and Iran as scores of delegates walked out.

Others, notably two figures close to retirement, tried to defend a different conception of the institution. Emmanuel Macron warned against a world governed by the “law of the jungle”, while António Guterres argued that military, economic and technological power alone cannot deliver peace, stability or security.

That contrast was difficult to miss. The UN remains somewhere governments come to talk. Increasingly, however, some of its most prominent speakers appear to be using its authority less to build consensus than to amplify positions already established at home.

Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington looked important. The substance was considerably more modest.

Trump personally welcomed Xi at Joint Base Andrews, complete with a 100-foot red carpet, military honour guard and B-1 bomber flyover. Both leaders spoke positively about managing the relationship and the existing trade truce was extended for another two months.

Xi also proposed stronger communication, regular military dialogue and better crisis-prevention mechanisms, arguing that competition should remain within bounds and the two countries should avoid conflict.

Those proposals may be useful precisely because so much remains unresolved. Washington and Beijing continue to disagree over Taiwan, advanced chips, artificial intelligence, trade and Iran. The summit produced no broad settlement of those disputes.

The choreography suggested rapprochement. The substance suggested something narrower: two competing powers trying to establish enough guardrails to prevent their disagreements becoming something considerably more dangerous.

The economic consequences of conflict are no longer confined to the price of oil.

US diesel prices climbed above $6.50 a gallon, prompting Trump to support an export ban even as officials warned that restricting exports could reduce supply and provoke retaliation. Disruption to Russian and Middle Eastern energy flows remained part of the problem.

By Friday, attention had broadened to global bond markets. The US 30-year Treasury yield reached 5.48%, its highest since 2004, while the 10-year yield hit 5.20%. German 10-year yields climbed above 3.6%, their highest in 17 years, and Japanese 10-year yields reached levels last seen in 1996. US mortgage rates returned to 7%.

High energy costs are only one factor alongside resilient growth and government spending. Yet the direction is important. Geopolitical disruption is interacting with existing economic strains, while the resulting borrowing costs are reaching households, businesses and governments alike.

There was movement almost everywhere this week but remarkably little resolution.

Britain and France helped Saudi Arabia defend infrastructure without solving the underlying threat. The UN remained indispensable enough for leaders to use its stage, even as they disagreed over what the institution should represent. Trump and Xi demonstrated that, for now, Washington and Beijing can manage their rivalry without resolving the disputes driving it.

That may be the more useful way to read the week. Governments are constructing defences, diplomatic guardrails and temporary arrangements around problems they cannot yet settle.

Markets provide the reminder that containment has a cost. The longer those underlying problems remain unresolved, the harder their economic consequences become to isolate.