Houthi Strikes Widen Threat to Regional Energy Routes (Conflict)
Former German Intelligence Chief Held Over Espionage (Germany)
Spain Revives Housing Plan After Nationwide Protests (Spain)
UK Weighs Diplomatic Retaliation Over Jerusalem Mission (UK)
Kenya Records First Ebola Death as Outbreak Spreads (Africa)
Hormuz Oil Recovery Faces Rising Iranian Attacks (Middle East)
AFP Photographer Beaten by Settlers in West Bank (Middle East)
Black Sea Drone Attack Sinks Cargo Ship (Conflict)
Zelensky Warns Russia Is Preparing Massive Attack (Conflict)
EU Tests Appetite for Reform Ahead of Enlargement (Europe)
A succinct daily briefing delivered each weekday to help you stay on top of the stories shaping the world.
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.