Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Donald Trump’s freeze on the new Russia sanctions law a “reward” for Vladimir Putin and said he expects more relief to follow; France saw a major day of nationwide protests, with more than 250 arrests and a tourism office burned in Lyon; and masked settlers attacked a European diplomatic delegation in the occupied West Bank. Ten stories as of Saturday morning, October 17.
1. Kyiv / Ukraine, and Washington / United States. Zelenskyy said Trump’s decision to put the Lindsey Graham sanctions act on hold rewards Putin and will embolden him, adding, “Unfortunately, the lifting of sanctions will continue, and I believe that the ‘diesel deal’ is the first step,” The Guardian reported. Trump’s Friday-night executive order called the suspension a matter of US “national interest,” two days before the measures — including tariffs of up to 100% on top buyers of Russian oil and gas — were due to take effect; Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev hailed “an important and truly historic moment,” BBC News reported. Overnight Russia hit more than 15 power generation and transmission sites; Ukraine’s air force counted four cruise missiles and 332 drones, and Zelenskyy said Starlink speed restrictions are leaving Ukraine’s interceptor drones ineffective, ABC News (Australia) reported.
2. Paris, Lyon and Marseille / France. Students, teachers, unions and a revived “yellow vest” movement marched across France on Saturday over the cost of living and school conditions; police fired tear gas around Place de la République in Paris, Lyon’s tourism office was set on fire, and local media said protesters breached Marseille’s town hall and looted shops, Al Jazeera reported. The Interior Ministry counted 140 protest actions and 32,800 participants by midday, with more than 250 arrests; the BBC later put arrests above 272 and said the main Paris march itself looked largely peaceful. President Emmanuel Macron had appealed for calm, saying the right to protest “comes with the need to respect.” It follows three weeks of student-led protests.
3. Taybeh / occupied West Bank. Masked Israeli settlers attacked a delegation of European diplomats and public figures, along with Palestinian olive harvesters, in the Christian village of Taybeh near Ramallah on Saturday, Haaretz reported. Israel’s Army Radio said seven masked settlers on ATVs surrounded vehicles from the French, Belgian and Polish missions, demanded ID and smashed a Belgian consulate car window; footage showed a member of the delegation lying on the ground, The Times of Israel reported. Witnesses told France 24 that a French mayor was beaten. It comes a day after settlers hurt 12 Palestinians and a US photojournalist near Abu Falah.
4. Strait of Hormuz. At least 12 ships were attacked in the week to October 16, the UK’s maritime agency UKMTO said, while warning that most targeted vessels are no longer reporting, making October the worst month for ship attacks since the US-Israel war on Iran began on February 28, Al Jazeera reported. On Saturday a tanker master reported an RPG strike from a small boat about 78 nautical miles northeast of Jubail, Saudi Arabia. CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper insisted “the Strait of Hormuz is controlled by the United States and our regional partners, not Iran,” citing 400 ships in a week, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said two tankers had hit mines, Reuters reported. Flows are running around 68% of pre-war levels, per Kpler.
5. Cairo / Egypt, and Aden / Yemen. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi asked Egypt’s parliament to hold an emergency session to authorize defense help for Saudi Arabia if Riyadh requests it — “I am not speaking in order for us to fight anyone or attack anyone. I am speaking only for defence” — after weeks of Houthi strikes on Saudi airports and oil sites, Al Jazeera reported. Separately, the United Arab Emirates has agreed to re-enter the Yemen war by resuming payments to southern government forces, with Saudi Arabia providing air cover, sources in Yemen told The Guardian. On Friday two Houthi missiles hit Aden’s airport as a passenger plane prepared to take off; no casualties were reported.
6. Tunis / Tunisia. Thousands marched down Habib Bourguiba Avenue in the biggest protest against President Kais Saied in years, led by the UGTT labor federation alongside opposition parties and civil groups, Al Jazeera reported; AFP counted more than 3,000. Protesters demanded the release of detained critics and an end to limits on union rights, revived a 2011 slogan calling for the government’s fall, and carried signs reading “No democracy without freedoms.” UGTT leader Salah Eddine Salmi said “silence will no longer be acceptable.” Tunisians are also grappling with water and power cuts and medicine shortages.
7. Bangkok / Thailand. Nearly half the delegates at the IMF’s steering-committee meeting walked out when Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov began speaking, among them Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and counterparts from France, Germany and several Nordic and Baltic countries, The Guardian reported. “We cannot normalise relations with Russia,” a European diplomat said. Committee chair Mohammed al-Jadaan, Saudi Arabia’s finance minister, said all members still agreed the chair’s statement. A US Treasury official said Washington supported Russia’s presence. The IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings wrap up Sunday.
8. Manzanillo / Mexico. Hurricane Trudy held at 90 mph (150 km/h) at 9:00 a.m. CST Saturday about 170 miles (270 km) south of Manzanillo, moving northwest at 10 mph, and is expected to pass near the coast of west-central Mexico later Saturday into Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said in Advisory 17. A Hurricane Warning covers Manzanillo to Cabo Corrientes, and a new Tropical Storm Warning runs north of Punta Mita to San Blas. Forecasters expect 4 to 8 inches of rain, locally 15, across Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco, with risk of flooding and landslides, Al Jazeera reported.
9. Hagåtña / Guam, and Aitutaki / Cook Islands. Typhoon Champi strengthened to Category 2 with 100 mph winds and could hit as a Category 3 early Sunday; Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero put Guam under its highest readiness condition, ordered residents indoors, set up six shelters and told southern coastal areas to evacuate, and the Coast Guard closed the commercial port, RNZ Pacific reported. United cancelled Sunday and Monday flights in the Marianas. To the southeast, Category 1 Tropical Cyclone Wati is forecast to pass about 100 km north of Aitutaki by Sunday morning with gusts to 100 km/h, the Cook Islands Meteorological Service said, according to RNZ.
10. Brasília / Brazil. With the October 25 runoff eight days away, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reversed his longstanding position and said he now backs lowering the age of criminal responsibility for “heinous” crimes from 18 to 16 — a shift polls say 80% of Brazilians support — as he tries to overtake Flávio Bolsonaro, who remains slightly ahead, The Guardian reported. Bolsonaro, for his part, pledged a fiscal adjustment while rejecting cuts to social spending, Reuters reported. Meta, ordered by an electoral judge on Thursday to treat both campaigns equally, denies favoring either side, Al Jazeera reported.
Coming Up
Confirmed dates on The Watch: IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok close October 18. October 19, Alberta’s referendum on whether to move toward a binding independence vote. October 25, Brazil’s presidential runoff (Flávio Bolsonaro vs Lula). October 27, Israel’s election for the 26th Knesset, and the Fed’s two-day meeting opens in Washington (October 27–28). Full board at the link — we don’t reprint the whole list here.
