Paolo Zampolli has voiced optimism about broader participation by Russian athletes in the 2028 Los Angeles Games
Russia could make a major return to the Olympics in 2028 under its national flag for the first time in years, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Paolo Zampolli, has said.
Russian athletes were barred from numerous international competitions following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Some were later allowed to compete under neutral status, without their national flag or anthem.
Speaking to TASS on Thursday, Zampolli expressed optimism about broader Russian participation in the Los Angeles Games, arguing that sporting bans should not become a permanent substitute for political dialogue.
”I am optimistic about further progress that would establish a reliable mechanism for fuller participation by Russian athletes at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics,” he said. “The US must host Games that are safe, fair, and open to every eligible athlete.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) provisionally lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee in July, paving the way for broader participation at LA 2028. However, it has yet to decide whether Russian athletes will be able to compete under their national flag and anthem.
Several international federations, including World Aquatics, World Gymnastics and the International Fencing Federation, have also eased restrictions on Russian competitors.
Zampolli called the return of the Russian flag and anthem at the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Italy an “important step,” arguing that excluding top athletes for reasons unrelated to their conduct undermines international competition.
”True champions want to beat the best,” he said. “The greatest victories are those earned against the strongest opponents.”
Russia’s gradual return to international sport has faced opposition from the EU. On Monday, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, announced plans to propose measures to “sustain Russia’s isolation in global sports.” Nine member states have also urged Brussels to cut funding for international sporting bodies that readmit Russian athletes.
Moscow has repeatedly denounced the bans as politically motivated and challenged them in court. Despite the restrictions, Russian athletes have continued to win international titles in events where they are permitted to compete.
On Friday, Zampolli announced that he had left his position as special envoy for global partnership, which he held since March 2025. He expressed gratitude to Trump in a post on X, saying that “serving him and the US has been the greatest honor of my life.”
“Special envoys appointments are for one year. President Trump extended it for more than six months,” the businessman and former modeling agent stressed.
Politico reported on the same day that Zampolli was actually fired from the job because of a longstanding dispute with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau over a number of issues, including the chain of command, and messages that included personal insults.
Zampolli is known to have introduced Trump to his wife, Melania, during a party that he hosted in New York in 1998.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth had said the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who gunned down 13 US service members, would be webcast
The execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 US service members in a 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, will not be public, US President Donald Trump has announced. Days earlier, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth promised it would be webcast, drawing criticism from lawmakers across party lines.
In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump wrote that the former US Army major “will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed.” The US president explained that while webcasting Hasan’s execution “might have been a strong deterrent… many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device.”
Trump noted that the relatives of the victims would still have the right to view Hasan’s death in person.
According to Axios, citing an anonymous administration official, the US president has grown increasingly skeptical of the idea in recent days, not least because of all the “negative input” he supposedly received.
Speaking to reporters late last Friday, Trump said he “wasn’t involved in that decision.”
Hegseth told conservative commentator Jack Posobiec last Thursday that Hasan is scheduled to be shot at 1 PM on December 3 – the approximate time of day of the original attack – at the same installation where he carried out the massacre.
“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public, because people need to understand there’s serious consequences for these types of things,” the secretary said.
It will be the first execution carried out by the US military in more than six decades and the first by an Army firing squad since World War II.
The last public execution in the US took place in 1936, making Hegseth’s idea of livestreaming it highly controversial.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis characterized the proposal as “beyond disgusting,” with his fellow GOP lawmaker, Representative Austin Scott, writing on X that “live-streaming executions is what jihadists do.”
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy also likened public executions to those carried out by terrorist groups.
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, similarly condemned the livestream plan as a “barbaric promotion of a culture of death.”
Born in the US in 1970 to Palestinian immigrant parents, Hasan trained as a doctor before becoming an Army psychiatrist.
On November 5, 2009, he opened fire with two semiautomatic pistols on service members at Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Processing Center in Texas, where troops prepare for overseas deployment. He killed 13 people and wounded 32 others while reportedly shouting “Allahu akbar” – Arabic for “God is great” – during the attack.
Return fire from military police wounded Hasan before they could arrest him, leaving the shooter paralyzed from the waist down.
During his court-martial, Hasan acknowledged his responsibility for the attack, stating that he believed he was acting to protect fellow Muslims from US military actions in Afghanistan.
In August 2013, a military court found Hasan guilty of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. A panel of 13 senior military officers unanimously sentenced him to death later that month.
The US Supreme Court declined to review his conviction in March 2025, and Trump approved the execution earlier this month.
His loyalists expect another comeback, but former supporters say the spell has broken as the nation heads toward an election
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fights to retain power, loyalists are crediting him with strengthening the country and defeating its enemies, while former supporters blame his leadership for October 7 and are seeking alternatives on both the left and the right.
With less than a month to go before Israel’s elections, Netanyahu faces an uphill battle to retain power.
But polls show it won’t be an easy task. A recent survey conducted by Maariv, one of Israel’s leading newspapers, estimates that his party, Likud, will only win 20 seats out of 120 total in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, a drop of 12 compared with its performance in the 2022 elections.
The decline in Likud’s ratings is hardly surprising. Netanyahu and his government have been blamed for failing to prevent the October 7, 2023 attacks, in which more than 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 people were taken to Gaza as hostages.
He has also faced criticism for pursuing a series of controversial policies concerning the judiciary and the media; remaining in power amid graft probes that led to charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust; and contributing to Israel’s growing isolation on the international stage.
In Bibi we trust
Surprisingly, however, the Maariv poll shows that around 40 percent of respondents still want Netanyahu to remain Prime Minister of Israel. Loyalists offer a long list of Netanyahu’s achievements. For them he is the man who subdued Israel’s enemies, confronted Iran’s nuclear ambitions and strengthened Israel’s position in the region.
Under his leadership, Israel deepened relations with the United States and expanded its diplomatic ties through the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations with the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Bahrain in 2020. Under him, Israel has also bloomed economically, championing a more open, market-oriented economy, privatization and competition, something that has helped to position the state as a global technology hub.
Naor Shukri, a 56-year-old resident of Haifa, is among those loyalists; he vows to vote for Likud on October 27.
“Indeed, October 7 happened during the watch of Netanyahu, and he is also responsible for that failure. But he is not the only one. Many other people, including the Shin Bet [internal spy agency - ed.], the IDF and various politicians, are equally to blame and need to be investigated.”
“Plus, those events would have happened anyways, regardless of who was running the country. So pinning the blame on Netanyahu is not fair, to say the least,” he added.
Shukri is not alone. Yair Avraham, a 65-year-old resident of Tel Aviv, also believes that although Netanyahu failed to prevent the attacks, his subsequent record should be taken into account when assessing his suitability for another term.
“In the end of the day, he led a brilliant multi-front campaign against Hamas, Hezbollah of Lebanon, the Houthis of Yemen, the Iraqi militias and the regime of Iran. His achievements were recognized internationally and when you look at the map of the Middle East and compare it to what it was like three years ago, you realize that Israel has only emerged stronger. Our enemies are way weaker.”
Both men believe Netanyahu has not received sufficient credit for these and other achievements from the liberal media and the international community. In their view, this reflects an effort to discredit Israel’s actions, replace its right-wing government and hand power to more liberal political circles that they believe would be influenced by the West.
Their claims are not without context. Over the years, European countries have poured billions of dollars into Israel’s liberal NGOs and think tanks that promote equality, coexistence and a two-state solution with the Palestinians. Such funding has long been opposed by conservative circles, which argue that the money has also helped finance anti-government protests that have destabilized the country and ultimately created an opportunity for Israel’s enemies to attack on October 7.
“We all know Europe and liberal Americans are trying to get rid of Netanyahu,” said Avraham.
“They don’t want to see a strong Israel. Inside their own countries, European governments surrendered to their Muslim radicals and they want Israel to do the same. That’s why Netanyahu needs to be the Prime Minister. Only he will make sure it won’t happen.”
The problem, however, is that Netanyahu’s coalition bloc, according to the polls, does not have enough seats to reach the crucial threshold of 61. To overcome this hurdle, Netanyahu will either need to perform better than expected on election day or persuade members of the opposing, so-called change bloc, that joining forces with him would be the better option.
He has pulled off this political maneuver before. In 2020, he convinced Benny Gantz, then leader of the Blue and White party, to form a unity government, bringing an end to a year-long political stalemate.
In 2023, shortly after the Hamas-led attacks, he did it again, establishing an emergency government with Gantz.
This time, Israeli analysts say, such an arrangement is unlikely, largely because politicians from the opposing camp no longer trust Netanyahu or his promises.
Indeed, many Israeli politicians have openly vowed not to join his government under any circumstances. The list is lengthy and includes former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, as well as other contenders for the top job, such as Gadi Eisenkott and Avigdor Liberman.
But Shukri and Avraham believe Netanyahu is such an experienced politician that he could still surprise his opponents.
“Netanyahu is a magician. He has been buried politically so many times before and yet he is still around, while all his rivals are no longer relevant,” said Shukri.
“Bibi cannot be underestimated. I agree it won’t be easy for him to form a government but he knows how to maneuver the system and I am sure in the end of the day he will find a solution, form a government and remain in power,” echoed Avraham.
War as a political tool?
Critics, however, argue that Netanyahu might not even need to rack his brains over coalition negotiations. They fear he could launch another round of hostilities with Iran, pushing the prospect of elections into the distant future.
Their concerns have not emerged out of thin air. Only recently, Israeli Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir warned that a war with Iran could postpone the vote.
Netanyahu himself sent an alarming message in late September, claiming there were “indications” that Israel’s enemies might attack the country ahead of the elections and vowing to retaliate if such a scenario materialized.
“I take the warnings of our Prime Minister very seriously,” argued Avraham. “I doubt he would go into a war just for the sake of postponing the elections. Throughout the years he has been known as a careful politician, who doesn’t like risking our soldiers’ lives and who only does that out of necessity. Here it would be the same. Netanyahu will open a front only if there is a concrete threat, not anything else.”
Shukri appears to agree. “Don’t believe what the liberal media is telling you about Bibi. They will always demonize him and depict him as a politician who clings to power no matter what. The truth is that he genuinely wants the best for the country, and I hope that on October 27, the people will give him that opportunity [to remain in power - ed.].”
He says he voted for Netanyahu and Likud from the time he first became eligible to do so in 2003. Today, however, he intends to support Yair Golan and the Democrats, a left-wing, liberal-Zionist party that advocates a strong security policy alongside diplomatic solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Plotnik says his opinion changed in 2014, during Operation Protective Edge, a 51-day military campaign against Hamas in Gaza that killed more than 2,000 Palestinians, many of whom were civilians.
“Operation Protective Edge was a major turning point. I watched Israeli leaders promise to destroy Hamas, demolish tunnels and restore deterrence, only to see a familiar cycle emerging: military action, a period of calm and then another round of fighting.”
“Everything was one big deception,” he recalled, arguing that right-wing governments had sold voters “fantasies that don’t correspond with reality.”
Then came October 7, 2023. For Plotnik, the massacre was not an isolated catastrophe but the collapse of a security concept that had been failing for years.
Israel’s leadership, he argues, had effectively built a wall that allowed politicians and the public to ignore Gaza while assuming that a state of neither war nor peace could continue indefinitely.
”That concept collapsed,” Plotnik said. “The policy of ignoring and stagnation crumbled down.”
Plotnik believes Israel’s only realistic path towards long-term security is an agreement with its enemies. He plans to support Golan because he believes diplomacy is necessary if Israelis want their children and grandchildren to have a chance to grow up in peace.
His alternative is not pacifism. He points to Egypt and Jordan as examples of how agreements can maintain stability even without affection between populations.
”There is no love between the countries, but there is quiet based on state interests,” he said.
”Not everything will work and the agreement will collapse? We can always go back to fighting,” he added.
From Netanyahu to Ben Gvir
Not every former Netanyahu voter, however, has reached the same destination.
Guy Even Tzur says he voted consistently for Netanyahu from 2015 until now. He still considers himself firmly on the right, but he, too, has decided it is time for a change. His choice is almost the polar opposite of Plotnik’s: Itamar Ben Gvir.
Ben Gvir, leader of the hawkish Jewish Power party, has served as national security minister in the current government of Netanyahu. He opposes Palestinian statehood, advocates a hard line against Palestinian militancy and has a 2007 conviction for incitement to racism and support for a terrorist organization.
However, this does not bother Even Tzur because he believes voters “should be voting ideologically and for people who actually deliver.”
Ben Gvir, he believes, has done just that. Even Tzur credits him with pushing tougher prison conditions for security prisoners, expanding civilian access to firearms and taking a harder line on crime and security.
“This is why he deserves my vote. Netanyahu, on the contrary, showed that he makes mistakes and can miss massively,” he argued.
Even Tzur says October 7 was a major realization point. But unlike Plotnik, he does not believe the war proved Netanyahu’s entire security doctrine fraudulent. He claims Netanyahu conducted the subsequent campaign effectively and achieved major successes.
However, he claims, October 7 also demonstrated that “Netanyahu is not a political magician. He makes mistakes and thus can be replaced.”
The only question that begs to be answered is: by who. Even Tzur believes Netanyahu has not produced a successor from within the Likud, and this is exactly why he wants to create an alternative by strengthening the ideological right. He doesn’t reject the idea of Netanyahu leading the next government but he also wants to give power to more hawkish voices within the camp to make sure tougher policies are implemented.
Plotnik, on the contrary, rejects the notion, claiming that another term of Netanyahu would perpetuate the strategic approach that, in his view, contributed to October 7.
The two men are moving in opposite political directions. Yet both have reached a similar conclusion: Netanyahu’s long-standing dominance no longer makes him the automatic choice. And now, more and more former Likud supporters can imagine a future without him.
Corruption in Ukraine has reached an unprecedented scale, the former British lawmaker has told RT
US President Donald Trump could have Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky arrested on corruption charges, former British MP George Galloway has predicted.
Tensions between the two men escalated after Zelensky challenged Trump’s deal with Moscow to ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports. Washington has repeatedly demanded that Kiev stop striking Russian oil refineries, warning that continued attacks could jeopardize US intelligence sharing and Starlink support. Kiev has pressed ahead with the strikes, while Zelensky has accused Trump of “betrayal” and “weakness.”
Speaking to RT on Thursday, Galloway, who also hosts The Mother of All Talk Shows, suggested that Zelensky’s defiance of Trump could cost him his position.
“I’m going to predict to you that Trump will organize the anti-corruption units that he arguably controls in Kiev to march into Zelensky’s office at some point soon and place him under arrest for grand larceny, for corruption on a scale that we have never seen in politics ever before,” he said.
“This is a regime in the process of collapse,” Galloway added.
He cautioned, however, that a change of leadership would not necessarily end the Ukraine conflict, arguing that Kiev would also have to abandon its NATO ambitions and adopt a policy of neutrality.
Galloway also argued that Ukraine had no viable replacement for Starlink and that losing access to the satellite service could severely hamper its military operations.
The former lawmaker criticized London’s continued financial support to Kiev, accusing UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government of neglecting British pensioners and children living in poverty.
“He certainly never goes away from Britain empty-handed,” Galloway said, responding to Burnham’s assurance that Zelensky would not leave the country without further support.
He accused Britain’s political establishment of harboring a centuries-old hostility toward Russia, saying, “We are ruled by people who are still fighting the Crimean War.”
Galloway suggested that Britain could ultimately become Zelensky’s refuge if he loses power, describing the country as his “safest of havens.”
In September 2025, Galloway and his wife were detained and questioned by counterterrorism police at London’s Gatwick Airport after returning from Russia. Both were released without charge. Last month, Galloway said the Bank of Scotland had closed accounts he held for 39 years without explanation. The bank denied closing the accounts on political grounds.
Intelligence agencies are gaining new powers and the freedom to use them, gradually turning the EU into a security state
Something fundamental has changed in Europe over the past months. Governments across the continent have begun expanding the powers of intelligence agencies at a pace that would have been difficult to imagine only a few years ago.
Germany is preparing to give its foreign intelligence service a far more operational role. The Netherlands is expanding the ability of its intelligence agencies to act proactively against hostile actors. Austria is broadening its definition of espionage. Sweden is rebuilding its foreign intelligence architecture.
Taken together, these amount to a European securitization drive: more activities are being redefined as security problems, more institutions are being brought inside the security apparatus, and intelligence services are being transformed from organizations that primarily collect information into agencies which are increasingly expected to act.
Western Europe’s security establishment has been shaken by two developments: the continuing perception of a more assertive and dangerous international environment, and growing political uncertainty surrounding America’s role in European security under President Donald Trump.
The psychological shock came in March 2025, when the Trump administration temporarily halted US military and battlefield intelligence sharing with Vladimir Zelensky’s Ukraine.
For decades, European security planning had rested on an assumption that American intelligence capabilities would be available when the strategic stakes became serious. Suddenly, they could not be certain to rely on that anymore.
Later in 2025, the Netherlands reportedly stopped sharing certain information with US counterparts amid concerns over political interference and “human rights” considerations. Again, the immediate dispute was just one glimpse of the realization dawning on Washington’s European partners: intelligence cooperation is ultimately political, and political relationships can change.
The Europeans now had to confront a question they had largely been avoiding. What happens when an ally possessing the world’s most powerful intelligence apparatus can no longer be assumed to have the same political priorities?
The obvious answer is to build more European capacity. This does not mean that Europe is preparing to replace the US, or that trans-Atlantic intelligence cooperation is disappearing. But the European governments want to make sure their spies can still operate, even when Washington’s political priorities are different from theirs.
Germany: From spying to sabotage
Friedrich Merz’s Germany is perhaps the best example of how far the transformation could go. Berlin is pursuing the largest overhaul of the country’s intelligence system since World War II.
Under reforms expected to take effect in January, the Federal Intelligence Service, or BND, would receive substantially greater latitude to conduct offensive activities. In a state of tension or military defense, the service could conduct acts of sabotage abroad.
That’s a major conceptual departure for an organization traditionally associated primarily with foreign intelligence collection.
The reforms would also expand the technological reach of German intelligence. The BND and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) would gain a greater ability to process large datasets with artificial intelligence and cross-reference biometric information with internet data. Telecommunications content collected for strategic intelligence purposes could be retained for up to six months, while communications data such as IP addresses could be retained for up to twelve months.
An intelligence agency that can collect more information is more powerful. An agency that can manipulate data, delete data, conduct offensive cyber operations or sabotage targets abroad becomes an instrument capable of exercising power, rather than simply informing those who exercise it.
In continental Europe, where historical experience has made the concentration of coercive authority particularly sensitive, that is a very big difference.
Austria is expanding what counts as espionage
The Austrian government is approaching the matter from a different angle. It has announced plans to strengthen its legal framework against espionage. Under the existing system, foreign intelligence activity could escape criminal liability when it was directed against entities other than Austria itself.
Under the proposed changes, espionage directed against international organizations headquartered in Austria could become a criminal offense. The list includes institutions such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations Office at Vienna, the OSCE and various EU bodies.
The definition of harm is also being revised to include activities that have the potential to damage Austria’s security and international standing or economic interests, rather than only when actual damage can be demonstrated. The law would also target the recruitment of individuals by foreign intelligence services, including so-called low-level agents.
This is another important feature of Europe’s new security politics: the security perimeter is expanding.
In August 2026, the Dutch government proposed changes to national security legislation that would broaden the powers of the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD), and the Defense Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD).
The proposed rules would allow the services to undertake certain proactive operations without obtaining prior permission and would facilitate greater intelligence sharing with the armed forces, other government bodies and private companies.
The government has explicitly identified China, Iran and Russia among the actors it regards as “obvious adversaries.”
It also increases private sector integration with the national security system. Technology companies, telecommunications firms and operators of critical infrastructure increasingly possess information that governments need, so the distinction between the intelligence community and the private economy is getting erased.
Sweden is rebuilding for the post-neutrality era
Sweden is undergoing its own institutional transformation.
On January 1, 2027, a new Swedish Foreign Intelligence Service, UND, is scheduled to begin operations, separating civilian foreign intelligence from military intelligence. The Swedish government argues that the division will clarify responsibilities and improve the country’s ability to assess a broader range of security threats.
Sweden’s accession to NATO fundamentally altered the country’s strategic environment, and the transformation of its intelligence architecture is a logical consequence.
Membership in NATO requires more than just military interoperability – a state needs to understand threats, produce intelligence, protect sensitive information and contribute intelligence to allies. Sweden is doing something which has become increasingly common across Europe: rebuilding national security institutions for a world in which strategic uncertainty is the baseline rather than the exception.
Brussels cannot build a European CIA – but it is building something
The irony is that the EU as a bloc remains remarkably weak when it comes to intelligence. National security is still firmly controlled by member states. Brussels can coordinate and analyze, but it does not command a conventional European intelligence service.
For decades, this was reinforced by national distrust. The EU’s most capable intelligence services preferred small circles of trusted partners. The Club de Berne, the continent’s best-known intelligence cooperation forum, has no permanent headquarters or secretariat and traditionally meets only periodically.
The situation is beginning to change. Former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö proposed in 2024 that the EU should consider a fully fledged intelligence cooperation capability, effectively a European counterpart to the CIA, capable of serving both strategic and operational needs.
Politically, that remains unrealistic. Few member states are prepared to surrender control over their most sensitive intelligence capabilities to Brussels. But that does not mean European intelligence cooperation is standing still.
Intelligence liaison officers are increasingly present in EU member states’ permanent representations in Brussels. The European External Action Service is strengthening its intelligence-analysis capacity. The EU Intelligence and Situation Centre, INTCEN, is being developed as an increasingly important channel for classified information.
INTCEN does not conduct espionage itself. It relies on intelligence supplied voluntarily by national services and turns it into strategic assessments for European decision-makers.
That model may ultimately prove more realistic than a European CIA. Rather than one giant EU intelligence service, Europe is likely to develop smaller circles of national agencies sharing sensitive information, surrounded by stronger EU-level coordination and analytical institutions.
The real question is who controls the new power
There is a danger hidden inside this whole big transformation. Western European intelligence systems are historically diverse. They developed under different constitutional traditions, experiences of war, and conceptions of the relationship between intelligence and executive authority.
Intelligence services have traditionally been expected to support executive power, not become executive power themselves.
Giving intelligence agencies the ability to conduct offensive cyber operations, manipulate information, disrupt hostile networks or conduct sabotage may be justified under carefully defined circumstances. But every new capability raises the same questions: Who authorizes it? Who supervises it? Who can challenge it? What happens when a government wants to revise the perception of external threats?
Western Europe has legitimate reasons to strengthen its capacity to detect and disrupt threats. The strategic environment is more competitive. Cyber operations have become routine instruments of statecraft. Intelligence warfare increasingly targets companies, infrastructure, political institutions and individuals rather than simply military installations.
But the transformation should be watched closely. Europe’s intelligence revolution is happening through dozens of apparently technical decisions: a longer data-retention period here, a broader definition of espionage there, new cyber authorities somewhere else, closer cooperation with private companies, a new intelligence office in Brussels.
There is no single European ‘Intelligence Act,’ but there does not need to be one. The security state can expand incrementally – which may be exactly what is happening now.
The strategic shock created by the Ukraine war and uncertainty over America’s future role has accelerated a process that was already underway. European governments are concluding that they need more independent intelligence capacity, more operational flexibility and tighter cooperation among themselves.
The likely result will not be a European CIA. It will be something more distinctly European: powerful national intelligence services operating in increasingly dense networks, supported by a stronger Brussels-based analytical and coordinating layer.
The continent is giving its spies teeth. The next question is whether it will also build strong enough institutions to decide when – and against whom – they may bite.
The Yemeni movement said that it was seeking to take out “Saudi military concentrations” in the country
Yemen’s Houthis have conducted a missile strike on the presidential palace in the southern city of Aden, where the internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government is located.
The group claimed the strike killed several Saudi officials and mercenaries, while the government acknowledged only two fatalities among security guards. Later in the day, the figure was revised to five dead and at least 16 wounded.
The Al-Maashiq presidential palace was hit by at least five missiles on Thursday, with footage circulating online showing black smoke and a large plume of dust emitting from the compound. Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said the country’s prime minister and cabinet members were at the compound during the strike yet escaped the attack unharmed.
The militant group, known officially as the Ansar Allah movement, said that the compound served as military operations headquarters run by Saudi officers and was being used as a weapons depot. There were multiple casualties at the site, the Houthis claimed.
“The strike on the Saudi enemy’s military operations headquarters in Aden falls within the framework of the previously announced policy: targeting Saudi military concentrations wherever they may be and considering any military presence of the Saudi enemy a legitimate target for our forces, wherever it is located,” the group’s military spokesman, Yahya Saree, has said.
Yemen has remained locked in a civil war since 2014, with the situation further aggravated by a Saudi-led intervention launched in March 2015 to prevent the then-imminent Houthi takeover. The fighting waned after a United Nations-brokered truce in 2022, but recently returned to all-out warfare.
Throughout September, Ansar Allah inflicted a decisive defeat on pro-Saudi forces on Yemen’s western coast, reaching the strategic Bab-el Mandeb Strait. The most intense fighting is currently around the country’s third-largest city of Taiz, which is controlled by the Aden-based government. Houthi forces have cut off the city and report daily advances, tightening the encirclement.
The renewed fighting has been marked by long-range attacks by both sides. The Houthis have repeatedly attacked Saudi oil installations and international airports, warning air carriers against operating in the kingdom altogether. Riyadh has carried out air strikes against the Houthis, and both sides have repeatedly accused each another of hitting civilian targets.
The Pentagon had to delay an air raid on Iran after the bombers’ departure time was leaked to the press, the US president has claimed
Government employees sharing confidential information with journalists should face the death penalty, US President Donald Trump has said.
Addressing supporters during a midterm rally in Bullhead City, Arizona on Wednesday, Trump cited an occasion when the Pentagon allegedly had to put off an air raid against Iran after the bombers’ departure and arrival times were leaked to the press, including the New York Times and CNN.
It was not immediately clear which military operation Trump was referring to, although several media outlets conjectured that he was speaking about last year’s bombing campaign targeting Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.
“Somebody leaked – some sleazebag,” Trump said, adding that “they ought to go to jail and be shot.”
He argued that “in the old days we used to shoot leakers… [especially] when they leak what time you’re going to attack a country.”
“The leakers are the scum of the earth,” Trump concluded.
Since the start of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran in late February, the Republican leader has repeatedly lashed out at government officials leaking information to the press as well as media outlets publishing such materials.
“Keep on leaking you dirty dogs! When we find you, you will pay a big price,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post last month in response to media reports claiming that some of his aides had advised him against attacking Tehran.
In August, the US president similarly accused leakers of making “treasonous statements,” saying that they were “being hunted down” and that “long term jail sentences will be sought!”
The tirade was prompted by a Washington Post report alleging that Trump was frustrated with US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for providing misleading information about supposed ammunition shortages, especially with respect to long-range missiles and air defense interceptors.
Trump dismissed the allegations as “completely FALSE,” insisting that the “US has massive amounts of ‘munitions’,” with yet more being produced and supplied, as needed.
The New York Times subsequently reported that the Pentagon had subjected dozens of civilian employees and military officers to polygraph tests in a bid to identify the source of the leak regarding the supposed ammunition shortages.
In April, Trump demanded that the journalist who had reported the details of a rescue mission for the two crew members of the US F-15E Strike Eagle, which was shot down over Iran, divulge their sources or face jail. The US president suggested that the leak had put one of the service members’ lives in danger.
Steadfast Noon brings 17 allies to the exercise – though joining the drills and carrying American bombs are very different commitments
From October 13 to 23, 2026, Italy is hosting NATO’s annual nuclear deterrence exercise Steadfast Noon. The exercise will take place at air bases in Aviano and Ghedi in northern Italy. Flight operations and training involving mock nuclear weapons will take place in designated airspace over the Tyrrhenian Sea and other areas under NATO jurisdiction in Southern and Western Europe. The purpose of these exercises is to prepare NATO aircraft for the potential deployment of US nuclear weapons stationed at European airbases.
This year’s exercise boasts a record number of participants – 17 NATO countries, compared to 14 in 2025 and 13 in 2024. While the complete list of participating nations hasn’t been disclosed, it is confirmed that the US, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and Türkiye will take part. Romania and Poland will likely provide fighter support and ensure integration along NATO’s eastern flank. New NATO members – Sweden and Finland – are fully engaged in the training missions. Finland may host US nuclear weapons in the future and has already started acquiring F-35 carrier aircraft.
Notably, France does not participate in NATO’s nuclear planning group and is not involved in these exercises, likely due to its own air-delivered nuclear capabilities.
The exercise involves around 70 military aircraft and over 2,000 service personnel. The main focus is on dual-capable aircraft, which can carry both conventional and nuclear payloads. In Europe, this currently includes F-35A Lightning II multi-role fighters, German Tornado IDS strike aircraft, and F-16 multi-role fighters. Under the US Nuclear Sharing program, these European planes are equipped to carry US nuclear bombs. Additionally, Swedish JAS 39 Gripen jets will also be involved in the exercise, although these planes are not equipped to carry American nuclear bombs.
Strategic support for the tactical air units is provided by American B-52H bombers. Air-to-air refueling during the exercises over the Tyrrhenian and Mediterranean seas will be carried out by KC-135 Stratotanker and KC-767A aircraft. Coordination of aircraft operations will be managed by NATO’s E-3A Sentry AWACS aircraft. Logistic support will be provided by Airbus A400M military transport planes.
The official tactical scenario for the exercises is fully classified. However, it can be inferred that the drills focus on the repositioning of nuclear-capable strike aircraft, aerial refueling operations, and coordination among NATO air forces from various countries. Military personnel are being trained to safely transport mock nuclear warheads from underground storage facilities, attach them to aircraft, carry out aerial refueling, and coordinate efforts between air forces and ground services in the event of a nuclear alert. It’s important to note that these exercises use mock bombs rather than real ones; no actual nuclear weapons are mounted on aircraft or involved in the training. All strikes and nuclear weapon deployments are simulated electronically.
What types of nuclear munitions could be involved in the 2026 exercise? It is known that B61-series US thermonuclear tactical bombs are stored in Europe, including at Aviano Air Base.
B61-3 and B61-4 bombs belong to the penultimate generation of nuclear bombs. These are free-fall (gravity) nuclear bombs. Their yield can be adjusted – from a minimum of 0.3 kilotons to a maximum of 45–50 kilotons in TNT equivalent – depending on the mission requirements set before takeoff.
The B61-12 represents the latest modification in the US arsenal. A particular feature of this model is the tail kit produced by Boeing, which transforms a conventional bomb into a guided precision weapon. The high level of precision allows for reduced explosive yield while maintaining destructive power against heavily fortified command centers and other critical targets. Additionally, lowering the yield significantly mitigates collateral radioactive contamination of the surrounding area. The B61-12 is gradually replacing older munitions in the American nuclear stockpile.
The primary delivery systems for B61-12 bombs include US F-16C/D Fighting Falcon fighters, as well as fifth-generation F-35A fighters, which are gradually being integrated into the air forces of European NATO members.
As previously mentioned, Exercise Steadfast Noon takes place regularly. However, given the current geopolitical landscape, any routine military activity takes on added significance and is viewed by observers through the lens of a potential East-West confrontation. On the one hand, NATO emphasizes the defensive nature of these exercises, and there is a relatively small number of participating aircraft – for example, only three German Tornado aircraft. On the other hand, the number of participating nations is steadily increasing, and many NATO countries now possess nuclear-capable aircraft, particularly F-35 fighters. While today, Finland may participate in these maneuvers more as a student and observer, Finnish F-35s could soon be ready to transport nuclear bombs.
There’s a growing sense that this ‘train’ is headed in the wrong direction. And it’s unlikely that the growing number of ‘Chekhov’s guns’ will contribute to fostering lasting peace in Europe. Perhaps it would be wiser for Europe to focus on peaceful initiatives rather than militarization and the proliferation of potential nuclear platforms.
The lawsuits allege that ChatGPT has encouraged suicide and violence
Eight US states have sued OpenAI, accusing its ChatGPT chatbot of encouraging self-harm and violence, including among children, and misleading the public about its safety.
The states allege that ChatGPT is designed to be excessively agreeable and engaging, gaining users’ trust while reinforcing delusions, encouraging dangerous behavior, and even helping plan mass shootings.
“OpenAI claims ChatGPT is safe while it’s giving dangerous medical advice, encouraging people to hurt others, and coaching people to commit suicide – all while pretending to be their fake friend,” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said.
Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho, and Montana filed separate lawsuits in state courts on Wednesday. The complaints accuse the company of violating consumer protection laws and creating a public nuisance.
The states seek financial penalties, damages, and changes to ChatGPT. They also want OpenAI barred from developing self-improving AI models unless it can demonstrate that those systems are aligned with human values.
OpenAI spokesman Drew Pusateri defended the company’s age-specific protections, parental controls, and break reminders, saying that “while no system can be perfect, we’ll continue to work with experts to inform our work and build additional safeguards.”
Separately, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent civil subpoenas to OpenAI and Anthropic on Wednesday seeking documents about safety incidents and possible consumer protection violations, Axios reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The subpoenas reportedly exceed 50 pages each and cover security incidents, safeguards, marketing materials, and privacy policies. The regulator also plans to compel senior AI executives to testify. Neither the companies nor the FTC immediately responded to Reuters’ requests for comment.
OpenAI already faces numerous lawsuits alleging that ChatGPT contributed to suicides, delusions, and violence. Families affected by February’s Tumbler Ridge school shooting in Canada accuse the company of failing to alert police about the shooter’s violent conversations. OpenAI has acknowledged that it considered alerting police but ultimately did not do so before the attack.
Scrutiny has also intensified over AI agents acting outside their intended instructions. Anthropic recently disclosed that its models submitted a false homicide tip to police and incomplete visa applications, while OpenAI investigated its agents accessing outside systems without authorization during testing.
The small Balkan nation, which has endured months of anti-government protests, has been hit by a new wave of student-led rioting
The Ministry of Education building has been set ablaze in Tirana. The Albanian capital is reeling from a third consecutive day of student-led mass protests.
The protests which began in the country this week were reportedly sparked by the ongoing unrest in France and were initially aimed at rising education costs, the poor condition of educational facilities, and widespread corruption.
The unrest promptly grew political and violent, and the protesters are now demanding the departure of socialist Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama as well as the leader of the country’s democratic opposition, Sali Berisha. The two have dominated Albania’s political landscape for about four decades, and both have repeatedly faced allegations of corruption.
The unrest comes on top of months of anti-government protests in Albania, which have mainly revolved around a major luxury tourism development project linked to US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The movement, which has become known as the ‘Flamingo Revolution,’ has been condemned by the prime minister as part of a “hybrid war” waged by the “enemies of Israel and Albania.”
On Wednesday, a large crowd of protesters breached the premises of the Education Ministry, setting the building on fire. Footage from the scene shows the fence of the compound damaged, with a large group of protesters watching black smoke billowing out of the windows.
Violent protests continue in Tirana, while the Ministry of Education building has caught fire.Citizens are demanding the resignation of PM Rama & the removal of opposition leader Berisha-two strongmen who have dominated Albania for nearly 40 years with abuse & massive corruption https://t.co/OXEJbCVwF0pic.twitter.com/wfE4N6SM8d
The protesters have been seen destroying surveillance cameras across Tirana. They justified their actions by claiming the companies operating them have been using “Israeli spyware.”
📌 Student protesters in Albania have destroyed surveillance cameras, accusing companies of allegedly using Israeli spyware
The protesters are demanding better conditions for young people and opposing what they describe as the growing influence of the “Kushner clan” in the… pic.twitter.com/IcdNY5EJ1K
Numerous videos circulating online show riot police brawling with protesters in the streets, unleashing batons, tear gas, and water cannons in an attempt to quell the unrest. A large column of military trucks has been reported entering the capital, potentially indicating the government opted to deploy soldiers onto the streets.
🚨🇦🇱 BREAKING: COLUMNS OF MILITARY TRUCKS ENTER TIRANA, ALBANIA’S CAPITAL
Columns of military trucks have reportedly entered Tirana as tensions continue amid ongoing student protests and wider anti-government demonstrations. https://t.co/JMIgO9GXnQ
The violence follows widespread rioting across the capital on Wednesday, when groups of protesters attacked government buildings, banks, and businesses. At least 89 people, including 61 police, were injured throughout the day, according to the Albanian Health Ministry.
Rama has already refused to step down, insisting that his rule will end solely through a democratic procedure and pointing out that national elections were only held last year. While the prime minister expressed a readiness to discuss issues related to education, he condemned the violence and vowed not to allow the unrest to derail Albania from its path to the “European future.”
The overture “startled” Kiev’s European backers, who refused to cede control over funds Moscow considers “stolen,” the paper says
The US has proposed unfreezing billions of euros in Russian assets held in the EU to give impetus to Ukraine peace talks, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing sources. Moscow has long described the freezing of its assets as “theft” while warning of significant retaliation if the funds are seized.
The proposal was raised last week during negotiations in Miami involving President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and officials from Ukraine, France, Germany, Britain, the EU, and NATO, four people familiar with the matter told the paper.
Washington reportedly floated several mechanisms for releasing the frozen funds as part of a comprehensive peace deal, including transferring some of them into a special-purpose vehicle overseen by the US. However, the exact arrangements have not been finalized, with numerous ideas about how the funds could be used being discussed, the FT said.
During the talks, Washington asked Kiev to present proposals for spending potential reconstruction funds and to work with the World Bank on tackling rampant corruption and introducing financial accountability measures, a US official told the paper.
Kiev’s European backers, however, rejected the American initiative, refusing to surrender control over the assets, with the move requiring the unanimous approval of all 27 EU members, according to the newspaper. The proposal also reportedly “startled” European delegations and Kiev, with some wondering about Washington’s intentions.
“They were told that this was just simply not going to happen,” one person familiar with the discussions told the FT.
Publicly, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ruled out any compromises on Russian assets, insisting that “they should remain frozen in Europe. This is our business and we are deciding over it.” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski was even more blunt, saying that any returning of the funds to Russia could only occur “over our dead bodies.”
Western countries froze approximately $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, with the bulk held at the Brussels-based Euroclear securities depository. Moscow has denounced the move as outright “theft.”
While EU countries managed to agree on using proceeds from the funds to support Ukraine, the proposal to confiscate them outright has met fierce resistance amid concerns that the move would undermine the bloc’s business reputation and trigger legal retaliation from Moscow.
Belgium has proven the most formidable obstacle as it feared that using Russian sovereign funds without Moscow’s consent would expose Euroclear and Belgian taxpayers to enormous legal claims.
Commenting on the FT article, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had no information about the purported American initiative. However, he stressed that Russia would make every effort to recover the “stolen assets,” including legal action, court proceedings, and the prosecution of those responsible.
The FT report comes after Trump last week announced an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow additional Russian diesel exports to alleviate the pressure on American and global markets.
In addition, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing sources, that Washington is also considering relaxing sanctions on some vessels belonging to what Western media call a Russian “shadow fleet” used to transport Russian oil.
The report also comes amid an escalating Trump-Zelensky feud, with the US president blaming Kiev’s strikes on Russian oil refineries for soaring fuel prices and calling for Ukraine to get a “new president.” Zelensky, in turn, said he felt betrayed by Trump over the Russian diesel deal and restrictions on Ukraine’s access to Starlink.
At least three people have died as record-breaking rainfall flooded streets, swept away vehicles, and disrupted dozens of flights
At least three people have been killed as torrential rains unleashed devastating floods across Istanbul, submerging streets, sweeping away vehicles and bringing much of Türkiye’s largest city to a standstill.
The storm battered the city overnight on Wednesday, flooding residential neighborhoods, businesses, and major roads on both the European and Asian sides. Schools were closed, public transport was disrupted, and authorities urged residents to remain indoors as further rainfall was forecast.
The downpour, described by local officials as the worst in decades, has triggered a massive emergency response, with thousands evacuated and dozens of flights diverted.
Reporting from the flooded streets of Istanbul on Thursday, RT correspondent Yasin Ekin said the scale of destruction was still being assessed, with emergency crews working to rescue stranded residents and clear debris.
İstanbul Sarıyer Ayazağa mahallesi korkunç görüntüler..
#yağmur https://t.co/zeCuRDGX4Q
Istanbul Governor Davut Gul described the rainfall as the heaviest in 84 years, according to Ekin, with some areas receiving up to 270 millimeters of precipitation.
The correspondent illustrated the extraordinary volume of water, explaining that such rainfall would amount to roughly 27 metric tons of water falling on an area of 100 square meters.
The flooding also reportedly forced a tanker carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) aground near the Sariyer district along the Bosphorus Strait.
The death toll rose to three on Thursday after another body was discovered in the Kagithane district, according to local media. Earlier fatalities included a 14-year-old electrocuted after stepping into a flooded puddle in Fatih and a 34-year-old who suffered a fatal head injury while attempting to cross a flooded road in Sariyer.
Sarıyer'de sel sularının geldiği korkunç anlar ortaya çıktı. https://t.co/9fkKaYkY5i
Footage from the district shows a massive surge of floodwater sweeping over buildings before cascading into the streets below.
Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said more than 2,700 stranded people had been evacuated. Authorities also reported thousands of emergency calls, dozens of landslides, and widespread damage to infrastructure.
Air traffic was severely disrupted, with 43 flights diverted from Istanbul Airport, while operations at Sabiha Gokcen Airport were temporarily suspended. Schools were closed across six provinces, and restrictions were imposed on motorcycles and scooters.
Istanbul’s geography and urban development have aggravated the disaster, with many residential and commercial areas built along former streambeds and valleys where floodwaters naturally accumulate. The combination of exceptionally heavy rainfall and construction in flood-prone areas left entire neighborhoods vulnerable.
Emergency workers continued clearing flooded streets on Thursday as authorities warned that further downpours could threaten already devastated districts.
The potential second-ever combat use of the Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb would be intended to intimidate Tehran
The Pentagon is developing plans to use the largest conventional bomb in the US arsenal in its war on Iran, CNN has reported, citing multiple sources in US President Donald Trump’s administration.
If approved, the strike would mark only the second combat use of the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or MOAB, following its deployment in Afghanistan in 2017 during Trump’s first term.
According to CNN, such an operation would primarily serve as “psychological warfare” against Iranian forces while potentially boosting domestic support for the Trump administration. Sources suggested the weapon, nicknamed the “mother of all bombs,” could be dropped ahead of the US midterm elections in early November.
The MOAB is a massive 9,800 kg (21,600-pound) airburst munition designed to devastate a large area and intimidate enemy forces witnessing the explosion. While capable of destroying relatively unfortified targets, it is not a penetrating “bunker-buster” designed to destroy deeply buried installations, such as those used by Iran for critical military infrastructure.
The “bunker-buster” GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator weighs approximately 14,000 kg (30,000 pounds). However, the MOAB carries at least four times as much explosive material.
“The MOAB is a massive information operation type weapon that is great for huge area clearance but not much else,” one of CNN’s sources said.
“POTUS has unfortunately put himself in a situation where he is almost compelled to do something,” the official added. With the president’s options limited, “you have to look at psychological effects for which the MOAB is well-equipped.”
In 2017, the US dropped a MOAB on a tunnel complex in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province, targeting militants identified by American officials as members of ISIS-K, a local offshoot of the now-defunct Islamic State terrorist group. Initial reports put the death toll at 36.
A series of recent US media reports has suggested that military officials are preparing options for renewed large-scale attacks on Iran, which would potentially be timed shortly before or after the midterm elections.
Skeptics argue that the initial US-Israeli assault in February and March failed to crush Iran’s military, while American forces are now in a significantly weaker position, having depleted crucial munitions and lost access to military bases across the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Tehran retains the ability to threaten commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, putting economic pressure on Washington. Iran could also launch large-scale attacks against strategic economic targets in US-allied Gulf states if it faces an imminent defeat.
Twenty-eight children and a teacher died in Peshawar, prompting the authorities to investigate the building’s structural safety
At least 28 children and a teacher were killed when the roof of a private school collapsed during lessons in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar on Thursday. More than 50 others were injured, some critically.
The roof of an upper floor at the three-story Al-Khair School gave way, bringing down the ceilings of classrooms below. Students were attending lessons when the structure collapsed, trapping children and teachers beneath the rubble.
Rescue workers, assisted by police and local residents, pulled children from the debris and rushed the injured to Lady Reading Hospital, where an emergency was declared. The rescue operation concluded several hours later, with officials confirming that everyone trapped had been recovered.
A local resident, Samiullah Khan, helped rescue three young girls from the wreckage. His son, who attended the school, survived after stepping outside his classroom for a drink of water shortly before the collapse, he told the newspaper Dawn.
Look at the site of the collapsed school building in Peshawar, where all three floors have crumbled into rubble. Authorities say substandard construction materials were the main cause of the collapse. #PeshawarTragedy #SchoolTragedy #Pakistan https://t.co/IK5De81joV
Police have arrested the school’s owner as the authorities investigate the cause of the collapse. Peshawar police chief Mian Saeed Ahmed said the building was structurally weak and that additional construction had placed excessive weight on the roof. The provincial government has formed an inquiry committee.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed condolences to the families and directed the authorities to provide medical assistance to the injured. President Asif Ali Zardari called for a comprehensive investigation. The governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Faisal Karim Kundi, also ordered a structural safety audit of educational institutions.
In June, 14 children were killed when the roof of a private tutoring center collapsed in Lahore, in Punjab province. Four children were also killed in a classroom roof collapse in Dera Ghazi Khan in May.
The incident in Bulgaria occurred weeks after a fire at a station in Poland used by SpaceX to relay data
A blaze has occurred at a Starlink satellite internet service facility near Bulgaria’s capital Sofia, Bulgarian Prime Minister Roumen Radev has announced.
In September a fire was reported at a data-relay station in Poland used by SpaceX, which serviced the Ukrainian military. Ukraine has relied heavily on Starlink during the conflict with Russia for battlefield communications and controlling drones.
Earlier this week, an MP for the opposition Democratic Bulgaria coalition, Ivaylo Mirchev, published a video he claimed shows masked men setting alight a facility used by Starlink outside Sofia, destroying 11 of its 17 antennas.
🚨 Two masked men reportedly set fire to 11 of 17 antennas linked to SpaceX's Starlink network near Sofia, Bulgaria.
via WarSurv https://t.co/RgvLK4sasG
Radev confirmed the incident to the Bulgarian parliament on Wednesday, but declined to say if it was a result of an arson attack.
“An investigation is underway. Just a little more patience, and there will be a result,” the prime minister said, urging other government officials against disclosing any details of the probe until it’s concluded. “If the specific findings are revealed, we will not achieve the outcome we are aiming for,” he added.
Bulgarian Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev told lawmakers that additional measures to protect Starlink stations and similar facilities across the country will be implemented. However, he stressed that they are private sites and that the primary responsibility for their security lies with their owners.
However, Democratic Bulgaria MP Bozhidar Bozhanov wasted no time waiting for the results of the investigation of the blaze to lash out at Moscow. “Why are you afraid to name Russia? Why don’t you act like Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk,” he asked Radev.
The prime minister responded by saying that Bozhanov apparently has “a crystal ball and therefore knows who the perpetrator is.”
Tusk previously called the fire at Wola Krobowska outside Warsaw last month “another act of hybrid warfare.” Polish special services coordinator Tomasz Siemoniak said this week that there was “no doubt that Russian intelligence services are behind this act of sabotage,” but provided no proof to the accusations. Two Turkish nationals have been arrested in Germany in connection with the incident.
Russia has consistently rejected claims of it engaging in any sabotage activities in Europe. Russian President Vladimir Putin and various officials have said that the so-called “Russian threat” is only being promoted by Western politicians to scare their public, distract people from the mounting problems in their own countries and justify growing military spending.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian officials and frontline commanders complained that Starlink terminals had suddenly stopped working when drones flew faster than 100 mph, disrupting some combat missions. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk denied giving any instructions to restrict Kiev’s access to the service, saying that doing so is the prerogative of the American military and US President Donald Trump personally.
The problems occurred as Trump is working to increase pressure on Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, which he blames for surging global energy prices.
Last month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that allowing Starlink to be used to facilitate Ukrainian strikes deep into Russian territory would be “a very harmful, potentially dangerous and misconceived step.” Moscow has all the means to respond to such actions, he warned.
State-backed Rosatom is discussing building new high-capacity units at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, says Aleksey Likhachev
Russia is in discussions with Bangladesh to build a new phase of high-capacity units at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant near Dhaka, Rosatom CEO Aleksey Likhachev said on the sidelines of the Russian Energy Week forum.
Rooppur, built in collaboration with state-owned Rosatom, is the South Asian country’s first nuclear plant. Its first unit is on track to be connected to the national power grid by the end of November.
”We are primarily talking about a possible additional phase of large units,” Likhachev told reporters. “Although our Bangladeshi friends are also discussing small-capacity units and a research reactor with us, the main trend for future development, in my view, is increasing the capacity of the Rooppur NPP.”
He said Bangladesh has asked for proposals from Rosatom for “small nuclear power plants and floating nuclear power plants.”
The Rooppur plant comprises two Russian-designed reactors with a combined capacity of 2,400 megawatts. Moscow is financing $11.9 billion in state loans for the project, which is estimated to cost up to $12.8 billion.
Rosatom expects to begin commissioning the second unit of the Rooppur plant next year, Likhachev said. The first unit attained criticality – where a self-sustaining chain reaction occurs – on Sunday.
Russia is providing equipment, nuclear fuel, and engineering assistance for the project, and the plant is expected to meet up to 12% of Bangladesh’s electricity demand when completed.
Bratislava won’t participate in providing Kiev with loans it will never repay, Robert Fico has said
Ukraine will never repay the billions of euros lent to it by the EU to keep it afloat in the conflict with Russia, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said. Slovakia is refusing to partake in another massive financing package for Kiev.
Speaking in Brussels on Wednesday, Fico noted that the existing €90 billion ($101 billion) EU loan package had already proved insufficient. The sum was intended to meet Ukraine’s needs in 2026–2027, with €60 billion allocated to the military and €30 billion to budget support. Under the agreement, Ukraine is required to repay the loan only after receiving Russian reparations – something that Moscow has categorically ruled out.
Fico said that the EU is now considering another loan, stressing that while Slovakia would not prevent other EU countries from providing additional funding, it would seek an opt-out for itself.
“By all means, give money to Ukraine, but the Slovak Republic will not participate in this mechanism. These are not loans; they are gifts. Ukraine will never pay back any of this money,” he stressed.
The prime minister suggested the EU summit could produce a political commitment to decide on another multi-billion-euro loan in December. He warned against tying participation in the scheme to negotiations over the bloc’s 2028–2034 budget, insisting that Slovakia would once again seek an opt-out.
Under Fico, Slovakia has remained skeptical of Ukraine assistance as well as the country’s push to join NATO, and has halted government weapons shipments while consistently calling for peace talks.
Fico’s remarks come after Ukraine’s revelation in August of an unexpected $27 billion defense funding shortfall, reportedly catching European officials off guard. Many are said to doubt whether Kiev is overstating its needs.
Brussels refused to validate the figure, subsequently rejecting Kiev’s request to bring forward funding earmarked for 2027. Instead, it is demanding progress on reforms – including those meant to tackle rampant corruption – to unlock assistance already available.
Earlier this month, Vladimir Zelensky announced that Ukraine would be able to cover its budget deficit through austerity measures and spending reallocations. A Ukrainian government source told RBC-Ukraine that some funding would be found by cutting weapons expenditures. Kiev’s European backers had also agreed to work toward arranging for weapons production while shifting payments into January, the outlet reported.
A Treasury Department review found that nine banking giants discriminated against clients over their beliefs and business activities
Nine of the largest US banks discriminated against customers over their political views and business activities, including conservative organizations and individuals, the Treasury Department’s banking regulator has said.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reviewed the policies of JPMorgan Chase Bank, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo Bank, US Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank, and BMO Bank under President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at ensuring “fair access” to banking services for all Americans. Trump has long accused Democrats of weaponizing institutions against his donors and supporters.
The review found that between 2020 and September 2025, all nine banks “have denied, debanked and discriminated against customers and lawful businesses,” Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said on Wednesday.
According to the OCC, the banks closed accounts and denied financial services to customers whose activities risk managers considered “controversial,” including on issues such as abortion and LGBTQ rights. In some cases, bank employees openly stated that the activities of certain groups conflicted with their institutions’ values. Other decisions were reportedly based on “social risk” considerations and “polarizing” public opinion on issues such as gun rights.
The review examined nearly 100,000 complaints and about 420,000 pages of documents
The regulator cited a case in February 2021 in which a payment processor owned by an unidentified bank closed the account of a merchant selling merchandise promoting Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) brand.
The report also found that the banks maintained public and internal policies restricting services to companies involved in Arctic oil and gas exploration, the construction or expansion of coal-fired power plants, the sale of certain firearms and tobacco products, and the construction or operation of detention centers.
Although the report highlighted restrictions affecting conservative causes and politically sensitive industries, it also identified cases involving Democratic-leaning organizations. In 2023, Capital One rejected an unnamed organization supporting abortion rights, with a risk management employee noting that approximately 95% of its political contributions went to Democrats.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott told Fox News Digital that denying banking services for religious or political reasons was “simply un-American” and pledged that the committee would take action.
Trump himself has accused major banks of politically motivated debanking. He sued Capital One in 2025 and JPMorgan Chase in 2026, alleging that they closed accounts belonging to him and his businesses following the January 2021 Capitol riot because of his political views. JPMorgan has denied political discrimination, maintaining that account closures are based on legal and regulatory risks.
All 21 crew members were rescued from the vessel, which had attempted to enter the Persian Gulf
A container ship sank after striking a mine in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, amid a wave of attacks on shipping in the region and stalled talks between the US and Iran. More than 20 oil tankers and other vessels have been attacked this month.
The Singapore-registered container ship GFS Pride caught fire and later sank. All 21 crew members were rescued, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.
Photos and videos shared on social media show smoke rising from the listing vessel and dozens of shipping containers floating in the water.
A second Singapore-registered vessel, the GFS Giselle, was struck the same day, sustaining hull damage. It managed to leave the area under its own power, with no injuries reported among the crew.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said the GFS Pride, which was carrying more than 2,500 containers, sank while sailing along what it described as an “unauthorized and dangerous route.”
“Local vessels and fishermen must exercise the utmost safety when navigating this route so they do not collide with containers floating on the water,” the IRGC Navy said in a statement carried by Press TV.
BREAKING: Iran announces a large UAE-owned container ship carrying more than 2,500 containers hit a naval mine, exploded and sank this morning in the US-backed southern Omani corridor of the Strait of Hormuz.
It is the first vessel sunk by a mine in the war.
Initial reports indicate the cargo ship was carrying luxury perfumes and iPhones from Dubai.
Top Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf reiterated earlier this month that Iran would not reopen the vital waterway, which normally handles around a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil and LNG trade, until the US accepts Tehran’s terms. The conditions include lifting sanctions and releasing frozen Iranian funds.
🇮🇷 Footage from the 2,500-container ship that was attacked and sunk in the Strait of Hormuz.
Now you know why the insurance rates are so high...
Writer: Samuel https://t.co/YSNxr87mT1
The US Navy said it had guided more than 1,600 vessels through the Strait of Hormuz between May and mid-September along routes that Iran considers illegal.
On Saturday, US forces struck and disabled the Panama-flagged bulk carrier Ocean Molica, which US Central Command (CENTCOM) said had attempted to violate the blockade of Iranian ports.
U.S. Forces Disable Cargo Vessel Attempting to Violate Blockade
TAMPA, Fla. — U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces disabled a commercial cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman, Oct. 10, after the ship’s crew ignored repeated warnings and attempted to run the ongoing naval blockade against Iran.
A U.S. military fighter jet struck the stern of Panama-flagged M/V Ocean Molica (also known as the “Arika Sun”) with a precision munition, fully disabling the ship’s propulsion without harming the crew. The large cargo vessel was attempting to transit regional waters after having previously departed an Iranian port.
CENTCOM forces resumed America’s blockade against all ships entering or departing Iranian ports on July 14. Four commercial vessels have been disabled and 135 ships have been turned around during three months of strict enforcement. Additionally, U.S. forces have destroyed 10 tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' multibillion-dollar shadow network over the same period.
All mariners are advised to heed blockade warnings from CENTCOM forces. Crews should also continue to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and contact U.S. naval forces on bridge-to-bridge channel 16 when operating in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz approaches.
On Wednesday, CENTCOM released a video showing an October 6 strike on a sailing vessel that it claimed had been “conducting surveillance and targeting the US Navy ships” on behalf of Iran.
On Oct. 6, U.S. forces destroyed an Iranian-affiliated dhow conducting surveillance and targeting U.S. Navy ships in the Gulf of Oman. Over the past seven months, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has continued to indiscriminately target thousands of civilian mariners transiting regional waters in addition to U.S. Navy warships. Crew members were safely removed prior to destruction of the dhow. Repatriation efforts are ongoing.
Iran said on Sunday that the US response to its proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was insufficient, despite Washington accepting several of Tehran’s seven conditions. Iranian officials said they were reviewing the response, while warning that fighting could resume even if a deal is reached.
The US president had pressured Kiev to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, which he blamed for surging energy prices
Elon Musk has denied instructing his company SpaceX to abruptly restrict Starlink and Starshield satellite communications services used by Ukrainian forces to operate drones.
Ukrainian officials and frontline commanders said terminals suddenly stopped working overnight Tuesday into Wednesday when drones flew faster than 100 mph, disrupting some combat missions. The problems with Starshield, the military-grade counterpart to SpaceX’s Starlink service, occurred as US President Donald Trump was pressuring Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, which he blamed for surging energy prices.
“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” Musk wrote on X on Wednesday in response to criticism from Ukraine. He had earlier suggested that the disruption might have been “a mistake” and said he was working to restore connectivity.
Musk also said that Starlink should be used only for civilian and defensive purposes, arguing that using it for offensive operations would be “inappropriate for a commercial company.”
Although Trump has not commented directly on the restrictions, a senior US official told Axios that his administration had nothing to do with the disruption of Starlink services.
In an interview with NPR on Tuesday, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky confirmed reports that the US had threatened to stop sharing intelligence with Kiev unless Ukraine halted attacks on Russian energy facilities.
Ukrainian officials also said they had received no advance warning from their Western partners before Russian missile strikes on Kiev on two consecutive nights, Monday and Tuesday. According to media reports, US officials attributed the failure to detect the missile launches to bad weather, an explanation their Ukrainian counterparts reportedly found hard to believe.
Asked by British talk show host Piers Morgan on Wednesday whether he had been “betrayed” by the Trump administration, Zelensky replied, “Yes.”
“It’s a pity that we are losing a strong partner,” he added.
Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fyodorov said Wednesday evening that Starlink connectivity at speeds of up to 100 mph was being restored, but urged the removal of speed restrictions on Starshield altogether.
Ukrainian media reported on Thursday that the operation of Starshield systems had been fully restored. Sources within the country’s Ministry of Defense said military units confirmed that communications were back online while officials continue to investigate the reasons for the restrictions.
Russia has argued that Ukraine would use a ceasefire without preconditions to regroup and replenish its forces. “We want not a ceasefire but a lasting peace, and we are ready to do everything possible to achieve it,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
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