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1271 articles · page 16 of 27
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv on Sunday on an unannounced visit, shortly after which a Russian missile struck the city's North Bridge, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed. The attack follows days of targeting of Kyiv's bridges, as the capital faces an upsurge in Russian aerial strikes.
· 3 sourcesThe Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has expressed deep sorrow over the killing of two Christian women in an Israeli air attack on Gaza City, which Al Jazeera reports is the latest violation of a US-brokered ceasefire.
The US war with Iran is 'nowhere near over,' according to Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group, as a major opinion piece published on Saturday delivers a scathing assessment of President Donald Trump's handling of the conflict, now in its seventh month.
· 4 sourcesPrime Minister Mark Carney has acknowledged that Canada has prepared for the once-unthinkable scenario of a US invasion, while insisting the risk is low and highly improbable, as President Donald Trump's tariffs and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st state redefine the relationship between the two allies.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that Ukraine will escalate attacks on Russian oil refineries in response to what he describes as a new Russian doctrine of airstrikes aimed at forcing civilians to abandon Kyiv and other cities. Speaking as air raid sirens sounded outside his office, Zelenskyy said intelligence documents obtained by Kyiv show that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has authorized strikes on a much broader range of civilian targets this winter, including infrastructure, logistics, roads, schools and hospitals. Ukraine will respond by targeting Russian energy infrastructure but will not deliberately strike civilians, he said.
· 2 sourcesYemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have targeted a Saudi Aramco oil facility south of Riyadh with ballistic missiles and drones, a military spokesman said, as hostilities between the foes intensify following the collapse of a fragile truce.
· 3 sourcesAn Israeli air attack hit a residential apartment in the Remal neighborhood of Gaza City on October 3, killing at least five Palestinians. No warning was given before the strike on one of the city's most densely populated areas.
· 2 sourcesRussian strikes hit Kyiv's Northern Bridge for a second consecutive day on Sunday, as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital. Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed the attack damaged the road surface and trolleybus overhead wires, marking the latest in a series of strikes on major bridges that had not been targeted before this week.
· 4 sourcesThe Philippine government today rejected China’s assertion of sovereign rights and jurisdiction over waters off Batanes, the country’s northernmost province, after the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) drove away a Chinese research vessel that had been loitering in the area for four days. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it “firmly and strongly rejects” the Chinese claims, marking the opening of a new front in the long-running maritime dispute between the two nations.
India's relations with the United States have entered a difficult phase, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's September 28 phone call with President Donald Trump described as notably cold, just days after the US president signed a law that could impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on countries still buying Russian oil and gas, including India.
An analysis published by The Diplomat has raised concerns about the invocation of the World War II alliance between the United States and China at the September 2026 US-China summit, warning that Beijing may be weaponizing the shared wartime history for political ends.
South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung has threatened unspecified "further action" if Ukraine does not issue a public apology for revealing that two North Korean prisoners of war had been transferred to the South, a disclosure Seoul says was meant to remain secret.
The Taiwan Coast Guard has confronted Chinese fishing boats in waters near the Dongsa Islands, according to reports. The incident highlights ongoing tensions over maritime sovereignty in the South China Sea.
Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko has warned that intensified Russian drone and missile strikes are "tearing Kyiv apart", describing a "very dramatic situation" as the capital's critical infrastructure, logistics and housing come under sustained attack. His warning followed a crisis meeting of the city's defence council after a Russian drone struck cables on the Pivdennyi bridge, suspending all metro and automobile traffic on the key crossing, and recent strikes on data centres causing internet outages.
· 2 sourcesRussian naval operations near Japan's southwestern islands have intensified, demonstrating Moscow's extended military reach. The activity follows President Vladimir Putin's first visit to the disputed Kuril Islands in August, which renewed the decades-old territorial dispute with Japan.
Spain's warming relationship with China, highlighted by Shanghai becoming the first Asian city of honour at Barcelona's La Mercè festival, is drawing criticism from EU member states concerned about Beijing's influence and the bloc's lack of a unified China policy.
Exiled Russian opposition figure and former chess world champion Garry Kasparov has stated that American and Lithuanian security services warned him his life was in danger. The warning follows a US Justice Department indictment charging five people allegedly linked to a Kremlin network with plotting attacks and murders targeting Russian dissidents and defectors overseas.
Eritrea has cut diplomatic relations with Ethiopia, prompting Ethiopia to shut its embassy in Asmara and declare 10 Eritrean diplomats persona non grata. The move follows a dispute over the Tigray region, marking a significant deterioration in bilateral ties between the two Horn of Africa neighbours.
· 3 sourcesA 22-year-old British national has been arrested in Westminster, London, on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts in connection with the incident near RAF Fairford on 27 September, counter-terror police said on Tuesday. It is the seventh arrest in the investigation; no one has been charged to date.
· 7 sourcesRussian President Vladimir Putin has ruled out a ceasefire in Ukraine and warned the West that Russia will use all weapons in its arsenal, including nuclear ones, to defend its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, as tensions between Moscow and NATO continue to escalate.
· 4 sourcesExports of crude oil from the Strait of Hormuz have largely recovered to levels seen before the outbreak of the Iran war, as producers and shippers adopt alternative transport methods including pipelines and ship-to-ship transfers, according to analysts tracking the region. However, flows of refined products such as diesel remain constrained, pushing prices higher.
· 3 sourcesMI5 has issued a rare public espionage alert warning that more than 100 UK-linked academics contributed to research projects funded by an organisation with 'very strong ties' to China's Ministry of State Security. The Security Service named the China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI) and said its primary purpose is to fund academic work that directly improves China's technical espionage capabilities. Universities and researchers who continue collaborations risk committing offences under the National Security Act 2023.
Ukraine has reported a fresh wave of Russian drone strikes that hit a school and the grounds of a nuclear research facility in Kyiv, as well as a key bridge, with no casualties reported but infrastructure damage in the capital and the port city of Odesa.
Ukraine pressed on with strikes on Russian oil refineries overnight, defying President Trump who blames the attacks for worsening a global diesel shortage and pushing up fuel prices. Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on social media that Kyiv struck an oil facility in Russia's southern Samara region, along with a Russian vessel in the Black Sea and a launch and storage site for attack drones in the Oryol region.
· 2 sourcesChina has inaugurated a joint military logistics and training center at Ban Keun Airport in Laos, marking its first overseas air force base and the expansion of its military footprint in mainland Southeast Asia. The opening has drawn analytical attention to Beijing's growing ability to project power in a region long dominated by US influence, with neighboring Vietnam expected to be the most concerned.
· 2 sourcesVladimir Putin has given no indication he intends to stop Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with all signs pointing to continued escalation despite heavy battlefield losses and mounting damage to Russia's economy. His appearance at the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow on Thursday is being watched for any signal about his plans.
Britain's domestic security service issued a rare public espionage warning on Wednesday, telling researchers and academics to cease all work with the China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI), also known as the China Academy of General Technology (CAGT), which MI5 described as a 'significant threat' and a front for Chinese intelligence operations stealing vital UK research.
· 4 sourcesRussia has launched its largest combined attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure since the spring, striking power facilities around Kyiv and across 11 regions overnight and forcing the first emergency power cuts since the end of the last heating season. At least five people were killed, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying a child was among seven dead. The attack damaged the Trypilska power station, the largest supplier of electricity to Kyiv.
· 5 sourcesPresident Donald Trump has defended North Korea's right to possess nuclear weapons, according to reports published by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Brisbane Times.
· 3 sourcesThe United States military formally completed its withdrawal from Iraq on Wednesday, departing from Erbil Air Base after a 12-year campaign against the Islamic State and marking the end of a two-decade presence that began with the 2003 invasion. The move fulfills a 2024 agreement between Washington and Baghdad and transitions the anti-IS mission to an over-the-horizon operation based in Jordan.
· 10 sourcesSaudi Arabia is being urged to reconcile with the United Arab Emirates over Yemen as the necessary price for forming a military alliance capable of pushing back the Houthi separatists, according to a new report.
Argentina's President Javier Milei has threatened to launch a legal challenge against the British government unless it halts oil exploration off the coast of the Falkland Islands, setting a two-week deadline for the Sea Lion oilfield project to be scrapped.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has declared that Israeli settler violence has made everyday life for Palestinians 'untenable', after a mob of more than 100 militant settlers overwhelmed Israeli security forces early Tuesday to attack a Palestinian family attempting to reclaim their homes in the West Bank village of Jalud, setting two houses on fire and injuring three Israeli security officials.
· 3 sourcesEstonian authorities have formally accused Russian special services of orchestrating an arson attack on a domestic defence manufacturer in Tallinn last month. Prime Minister Kristen Michal stated that the August attack on Milrem Robotics, which supplies unmanned military vehicles to Ukraine, was ordered from Moscow.
· 4 sourcesAn Israeli air strike has killed Izz al-Din Al-Beik, the head of Hamas' armed wing in the northern Gaza Strip, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials, in a significant escalation as a US-brokered ceasefire shows signs of unraveling.
Five suspects have been arrested near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating that a foreign actor was “clearly” behind the alleged plot. Labour’s deputy leader, Lucy Powell, expressed trust in British police after Rubio and former US president Donald Trump questioned the decision to bail some of the suspects. Iran’s embassy in London has strongly rejected any speculation linking the country to the arrests.
· 3 sourcesAl Jazeera reports that negotiations between the United States and Iran are ongoing, but a final agreement is considered unlikely before the upcoming US midterm elections. The brief report did not provide details on the status of talks or specific sticking points.
China and the United States have agreed to cut tariffs on $60 billion worth of each other's goods, following last week's Trump-Xi state visit in Washington. The deal covers everything from surgical robots and pure-bred whales to soccer balls, but leaves out politically sensitive items including American soybeans and AI-linked technology.
· 2 sourcesNew research from Australian National University and the University of Sydney has identified common threads in the speeches of leaders before genocides, including the repeated framing of the target group as an imminent threat. The pilot analysis of 13 speeches from eight genocide cases between 1956 and 2000 found that references to the danger posed by the target group were more frequent than direct incitement to violence.
North Korea, long known as the world's most isolated nation, has opened its first road bridge to Russia and is nearing completion of another to China, marking a significant shift in regional connectivity that has raised alarms about potential military use.
Russia has continued to bombard Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, following a deadly strike on the National Academy of Sciences, with newly released footage showing people leaning out of windows as bright flames engulf part of the historic building.
· 2 sourcesPakistan launched air and missile strikes on three Afghan border provinces on February 21, 2026, targeting camps of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State of Khorasan Province, triggering a retaliatory attack on Pakistani border posts and a declaration of 'open war' by Pakistan's defense minister. Months of strikes and counter-strikes have followed, straining a 30-year alliance between Islamabad and the Afghan Taliban.
China’s military conducted a joint air and naval exercise around Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on September 28, two days after the Philippines accused Chinese coast guard vessels of obstructing a resupply mission to troops at Second Thomas Shoal. The People’s Liberation Army Southern Theater Command said the drill was a necessary response to actions by “certain countries” that it said had undermined regional peace and stability.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung asked US President Donald Trump to help revive stalled talks between the United States and North Korea during an unannounced meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, according to the Blue House, South Korea’s presidential office. The Blue House reported that Trump reaffirmed his willingness to engage with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the 30-minute encounter.
South Korea has warned it will hold North Korea fully responsible for landmine explosions that injured three South Korean military officers in the demilitarised zone (DMZ), according to preliminary findings from a joint probe with the United Nations Command. The blasts occurred on September 21 while soldiers were clearing a patrol route in the western sector of the heavily fortified border area.
Beijing has disclosed further details from last week's Trump-Xi summit, revealing agreements to launch an AI dialogue, establish a communication channel for AI incidents, extend the existing trade truce by two months, and hold behind-closed-doors discussions on Iran. The disclosures, released by China on Monday, provide the first concrete outcomes from a meeting that otherwise produced no joint statements and little public breakthrough.
· 3 sourcesUS Ambassador to China David Perdue has revealed President Donald Trump asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping whether China would like to purchase American weapons. The disclosure, made on Fox News Sunday, comes as the Trump administration withholds a $14 billion arms package for Taiwan, raising questions about the administration's broader strategy toward Beijing.
· 4 sourcesA late-night discovery by a bus driver at Leipzig Airport has exposed what German intelligence says was a Russian plot to blow up a freshly refuelled Ukrainian cargo plane, an attack officials describe as part of a significant escalation in Moscow's hybrid war against NATO members.