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Trump Waives Congress’s Sweeping Russia Sanctions Two Days Before They Took Effect as Zelenskyy Urges Americans to Speak Up: October 17, 2026

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has signed an executive order waiving a sweeping package of sanctions on Russia that Congress passed and he signed into law in September, blocking measures two days before they were due to take effect, BBC News, CBC News and DW reported.

“I am hereby waiving the application of such sanctions, restrictions, and duties provided for in the Graham Act,” the order said, adding that Trump had certified to Congress that the waiver is “in the national interests of the United States.” The White House posted the decision late Friday and did not immediately explain how it served that interest, DW said.

The Lindsey Graham Act gave the president power to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the top buyers of Russian oil and gas — most significantly China and India — and targeted senior Russian figures including Vladimir Putin, Russian banks and Moscow’s “shadow fleet” of tankers. Many of those provisions have now been waived, according to the BBC.

Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev called the move “an important and truly historic moment.” Democrats pushed back: Rep. Don Beyer called it “Trump’s latest surrender to Putin,” and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who helped draft the bill, said the waivers had “everything to do with sucking up to Vladimir Putin.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday it was unfortunate the U.S. had decided to “completely disregard” the law. “This Act could have helped enormously — and still can! But it needs to actually work, and every voice in support of it matters,” he wrote on X, as CBC News reported.

Zelenskyy said Russia struck more than 15 Ukrainian energy facilities overnight, warning that Moscow “is trying to cause a blackout in Ukraine – right before winter.” Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched four cruise missiles and 332 attack drones. Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators spoke on Friday and could meet next week.

Sources: BBC News, CBC News, DW

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World Brief, Evening: October 16, 2026

Donald Trump says the Starshield slowdown for Ukraine “wasn’t me” as EU leaders wrapped their Brussels summit behind Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Oregon police named the Silver Rail Elementary gunman and credited a teacher and a passing father with stopping him; and the new White House press secretary is out after less than five days. Ten stories as of Friday evening, October 16.

1. Washington / United States, and Kyiv / Ukraine. President Donald Trump denied limiting Ukraine’s access to Starshield, SpaceX’s military-grade sister network to Starlink, telling reporters as he left the White House, “It wasn’t me and I don’t think it was Elon,” and adding he was “not sure” it “ever came down,” BBC News reported. That came hours after Zelenskyy said speeds still hadn’t been restored; Elon Musk has suggested the Pentagon could be responsible, and Reuters reported Thursday that the order came from inside the White House. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators signed a letter demanding an investigation. Zelenskyy put it bluntly on X: the service wasn’t switched off, its speed was cut, and Ukraine then couldn’t intercept some jet-powered Shahed drones. In Rome, Italy’s defense minister Guido Crosetto told the BBC that restricting Ukraine’s satellite and intelligence access would be “a complete mistake, a major mistake.”

2. Brussels / Belgium, and Rome / Italy. EU leaders ended their two-day summit closing ranks behind Zelenskyy, promising to keep sanctions on Russia for as long as the full-scale invasion goes on and condemning Trump’s diesel deal with Vladimir Putin — though Bulgaria’s prime minister broke ranks to back it, Euronews reported. Zelenskyy asked for an extra €70 billion next year, and leaders told the European Commission to come up with a way to cover it. There was no deal on the 2028–2034 budget; Council President António Costa takes over those talks ahead of a special summit he has called for November 26. French President Emmanuel Macron vowed EU states would not abandon Ukraine, per the BBC. Also Friday, Pope Leo XIV — pictured for the first time since his lung surgery and cancer diagnosis, saying Mass at a makeshift altar in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital — phoned Putin to urge a ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky, where food and water have been cut off; the Kremlin said “it has been agreed to cooperate on this matter,” BBC News reported.

3. Bend / Oregon, United States. Police identified the gunman in Thursday’s attack at Silver Rail Elementary as Griffin J. John II, 16, a former special-needs student at the school who targeted a special-needs classroom, firing as many as 15 shots from a 12-gauge shotgun and carrying about 44 more rounds, Al Jazeera and the BBC reported. A teacher threw her phone at him, then tackled him and fought for the gun; Police Chief Mike Krantz said she “almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed.” Family members identified the man who ran in with a legally concealed .40-caliber pistol from his vehicle and shot the teen as Kaylub Giamanco, 36, a carpenter with two daughters at the school; police haven’t confirmed his name. Two victims were named: Rhoam Summer, 5, and teacher Meghan Lambert, 25. Police are still working out how the teen got the shotgun; the motive isn’t clear.

4. Washington / United States. Katie Zacharia is leaving the White House press secretary job after less than five days, the BBC confirmed, hours after Trump told reporters, “honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider.” Her first briefing Tuesday lasted 14 minutes with three questions, and on Thursday she acknowledged she had not passed a bar exam after being described as an attorney. It is the quickest exit on any Trump press team; Anthony Scaramucci lasted 10 days as communications director in the first term. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries posted that “MAGA extremists continue to fall apart.”

5. Aden / Yemen. A day after the deadly strike on the presidential palace, two Houthi missiles landed near the runway at Aden International Airport, about 500 meters from a plane preparing to take off; all passengers and crew were safe, Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said, per Al Jazeera. The Houthis said they hit a Saudi forces command headquarters and a weapons depot in Aden province. Government forces claimed “territorial gains” in eastern Marib province, and the Saudi-led coalition said it downed missiles and drones over Riyadh. Iran’s foreign ministry denied any role in Houthi operations.

6. Nairobi / Kenya. Kenya confirmed its third case of Bundibugyo-strain Ebola — a 65-year-old woman, a close relative of the first two patients, who has been in quarantine since October 6 — and said there is no sign of community spread, Al Jazeera reported. The Health Ministry said 127 of 130 listed contacts have been traced and quarantined, and that the country has no restrictions on travel, trade or gatherings. Next door in Congo, the outbreak has passed 9,000 cases and 4,300 deaths since May, and the Africa CDC says more than $700 million in donor money for the response is unaccounted for.

7. New Delhi / India. Police detained Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party, as hundreds gathered at Connaught Place to demand the resignation of India’s election chief, BBC News reported. Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel sealed off Central Park, the planned rally site. It was Dipke’s second detention in under a week, and with co-leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka jailed for five days on Wednesday, all three of the movement’s main leaders are in custody. The party accuses the Election Commission of manipulating voter lists to favor the ruling BJP; both deny it.

8. São Paulo / Brazil. Internal Meta messages reviewed by Folha de S.Paulo acknowledge that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Instagram accounts were hit by restrictions during the campaign while the platform recommended challenger Flávio Bolsonaro’s profile and WhatsApp channel, Al Jazeera reported, citing the paper. Meta told Reuters the technical issues were already public and that “any suggestion that Meta favors one side is false.” On Thursday a judge on Brazil’s top electoral court ordered Meta to treat both candidates equally or pay 500,000 reais a day. The runoff is October 25.

9. Southwest of Acapulco / Mexico. Hurricane Trudy lost its eye and weakened unexpectedly, to 85 mph (140 km/h) at 6 p.m. CST Friday, about 220 miles southwest of Acapulco, and the National Hurricane Center no longer expects it to be a major hurricane at the coast. The center should approach southwestern and west-central Mexico Saturday and pass near the coast Saturday night into Sunday. A Hurricane Warning runs from Manzanillo north to Cabo Corrientes. Forecasters still warn of 4 to 8 inches of rain, locally 15, in Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco, with life-threatening floods and mudslides possible.

10. Hagåtña / Guam, and Suwarrow / Cook Islands. Tropical Storm Champi is strengthening fast and could be a Category 3 typhoon when it passes just south of Guam on Sunday morning local time, with gusts near 249 km/h, up to 20 inches of rain and 35-foot surf forecast, the U.S. National Weather Service said, according to RNZ Pacific. Guam and Rota are under Typhoon Warnings; Governor Lourdes Leon Guerrero raised Guam to Condition of Readiness 2, and the Northern Marianas declared a significant emergency. Far to the southeast, the depression we flagged this morning became Tropical Cyclone Wati, a Category 1 storm near Suwarrow — the region’s first cyclone, two weeks before the season officially begins, RNZ reported.

Coming Up

Confirmed dates on The Watch: the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok wrap up October 18. October 19, Alberta votes on whether to move toward a binding independence referendum. October 25, Brazil’s presidential runoff (Flávio Bolsonaro vs Lula). The Brussels summit is now in the books, and the board notes the special EU budget summit set for November 26. Full list at the link.

World Brief: October 16, 2026

Donald Trump called Ukraine’s renewed refinery strikes a “disgrace” as EU leaders closed ranks around Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Brussels; a 16-year-old killed three children and a teacher at an Oregon elementary school before a bystander shot him; and Japan’s weather agency briefly warned of a magnitude-9.9 megaquake that never came. Ten stories as of Friday morning, October 16.

1. Brussels / Belgium, and Kyiv / Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told an EU summit he was “only standing up for Ukraine’s interests” after President Donald Trump called Kyiv’s new wave of strikes on Russian oil refineries a “disgrace” and said Zelenskyy was “more difficult to deal with than” Vladimir Putin, BBC News reported. Zelenskyy, angered by Trump’s diesel-import deal with Moscow, said he could not accept it — “If I don’t stand up to this… who else will?” — and praised “real leaders” in Brussels as the bloc pledged continued support, Deutsche Welle reported. He told the European Council the war will cost €155 billion next year and that Ukraine needs at least €70 billion more from Europe for defense and resilience. Overnight and through Friday, Russia kept striking Ukrainian energy sites; Zelenskyy said parts of the Volyn region and Kyiv were still without power.

2. Bend / United States. A 16-year-old shot dead three children — ages 5, 8 and 11 — and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday afternoon before a community member pursued him into the building and shot him dead, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said, according to BBC News. The teenager forced entry by shooting at locked doors; police arrived about three minutes after the bystander engaged him. A seven-year-old and a 54-year-old teacher were taken to hospital in critical condition. Hundreds gathered for a candlelit vigil Thursday evening; school-district official Steven Cook called the community “stunned and heartbroken.”

3. Aden / Yemen. Five people were killed and 16 injured when five Houthi ballistic missiles hit al-Maashiq Palace, the presidential compound in Aden that seats Yemen’s internationally recognized government, Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani told the BBC. The prime minister and other ministers were unhurt; Health Minister Qasim Buhaibeh said the dead and wounded included guards and civilian employees. Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarea claimed a strike on “the Saudi enemy’s military operations headquarters in Aden.” Prime Minister Shaya Zindani called the attack “cowardly” and said government forces would keep pressing on Red Sea front lines.

4. London / United Kingdom. Johannes Natland, 19, was sentenced to 20 years’ detention at Woolwich Crown Court after a jury found him guilty of conspiracy to murder for traveling from Norway to the UK as a “hitman” for the Iran-linked Foxtrot Network, BBC News reported. He was arrested in a Huddersfield hotel in March 2025 with two working guns and 19 rounds. Prosecutors said he had been offered about 270,000 Norwegian kroner (~£21,000); Counter Terrorism Policing said the intended victim was never firmly identified. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said Foxtrot recruits young people at arm’s length to carry out violence — what Europol has called “violence-as-a-service.”

5. Tokyo / Japan. Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued an emergency earthquake warning at 12:40 p.m. Friday forecasting a magnitude-9.9 quake with shaking up to shindo 7 from Hokkaido to the Tokai region — then withdrew it at 12:48 p.m., the first time an emergency quake warning has been cancelled that way, The Japan Times and the JMA reported. The real event was a magnitude-6.9 quake off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula two minutes earlier; Japan registered only shindo 1. Officials said the system wrongly placed the epicenter near the Kuril Islands and applied a domestic magnitude formula to a distant quake. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said there were no damage reports from the Kamchatka tremor.

6. Addis Ababa / Ethiopia, and Mekelle / Tigray. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government installed a six-month caretaker administration in Tigray and said it aims to hold free elections there within that window after federal forces pushed back a TPLF offensive, Al Jazeera and France 24 reported. Five officials, including Mekelle’s mayor, will run the region under federal direction; the TPLF had not immediately responded. The September fighting revived a war that killed hundreds of thousands in 2020–22; Eritrean troops who entered Tigray later withdrew after Ethiopian drone strikes.

7. Buenos Aires / Argentina. Thousands of students, university staff and unionists protested outside Congress against President Javier Milei’s refusal to release court-ordered public-university funding; police used tear gas and water cannon, at least eight officers were injured, and about 25 people were arrested, Deutsche Welle reported. Congress overrode Milei’s veto of the University Funding Law, but the government says the measure is “suspended” amid its legal challenge. University of Buenos Aires researchers say real public spending on universities fell 41% in the first half of 2026.

8. Avarua / Cook Islands. A cyclone alert is in force as Tropical Depression TD01F moves toward the Southern Cook Islands and may reach Category 1 strength within about 24 hours, the Cook Islands Meteorological Service warned, according to RNZ Pacific. The system was roughly 352 km north of the low-lying atoll Suwarrow, with sustained winds near 46 km/h and a risk of gale gusts to about 93 km/h, heavy rain and very rough seas. Director Maara Vaiimene urged residents to secure loose objects and keep radios ready; he linked the unusually early development to El Niño — the official South Pacific cyclone season does not begin until November 1.

9. South-southwest of Acapulco / Mexico. Hurricane Trudy strengthened to Category 3 with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 km/h) by 9:00 a.m. CST Friday about 235 miles southwest of Acapulco, and Mexico issued a Hurricane Warning from Manzanillo northward to Playa Perula, the National Hurricane Center said in Advisory 13. Trudy was near 14.6°N, 102.5°W, moving north-northwest at 5 mph, and is forecast to approach southwestern and west-central Mexico this weekend. Tropical-storm and hurricane watches/warnings also cover stretches from Zihuatanejo to San Blas.

10. Abu Falah / occupied West Bank. Dozens of masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian olive harvesters near Abu Falah, setting fire to cars and trees; a local official said 12 Palestinians were injured, including four dual Palestinian-American citizens, and a foreign journalist was also hurt, BBC News reported from the scene. A BBC team saw wounded farmers fleeing as smoke rose from fires; one American citizen, Majdi Fheed, said attackers used guns, rocks and nail-studded sticks. A U.S. State Department spokesperson condemned “criminal violence by any party in the West Bank” and called for investigations and arrests.

Coming Up

Confirmed dates on The Watch: October 15–16, European Council in Brussels (Zelenskyy’s Ukraine session is Friday). IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok continue through 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). Full board at the link — we don’t reprint the whole list here.

Norwegian Teen Hired by Iran-Backed Foxtrot Gang to Carry Out a UK Killing Is Sentenced to 20 Years: October 16, 2026

LONDON — A 19-year-old from Norway who travelled to England to carry out a contract killing for the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish crime group backed by Iran’s government, was sentenced Friday to 20 years’ detention, BBC News and The Guardian reported.

Johannes Natland was arrested at the Briar Court Hotel in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, in March 2025 with two working handguns and live ammunition, two days after flying into Manchester on an emergency passport. A jury at his retrial found him guilty of conspiracy to murder; he had admitted possessing the firearms.

He had been offered 270,000 Norwegian kroner, about £21,000, to shoot a target who has never been identified. “We haven’t been able to establish exactly who the intended victim was,” said Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London. Police moved after Norwegian officers arrested the teenager who recruited him and found messages about the plot, the BBC said.

“You agreed to assassinate another human being, a stranger to you, in a foreign country,” Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told him at Woolwich Crown Court. Natland had told jurors he planned to shoot himself in the foot to escape the “pickle” he was in, The Guardian reported.

The Foxtrot Network has been sanctioned by both Britain and the United States over its links to Tehran. Europol has described its use of hired teenagers as “violence-as-a-service.”

Sources: BBC News, The Guardian

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Trump Calls Ukraine’s Refinery Strikes a ‘Disgrace’ as EU Leaders Close Ranks Around Zelenskyy in Brussels: October 16, 2026

BRUSSELS — U.S. President Donald Trump called Ukraine’s renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries “a disgrace” and said Volodymyr Zelenskyy is “more difficult to deal with than Putin,” as European Union leaders gathered around the Ukrainian president at a summit in Brussels on Friday, BBC News, The Guardian and DW reported.

“All he’s doing is making the world oil price higher,” Trump told Newsmax in an interview aired Thursday. “There are a lot of targets you can hit, but when you shoot at diesel refineries … then he’s not doing a good service for the world.” Trump also said he is “not a big fan of Zelenskyy.”

Kyiv had paused attacks on Russian energy sites for three days at Trump’s request, but resumed them after saying Moscow never stopped hitting Ukraine’s power grid. The rift has deepened over a U.S. deal to import 300,000 tonnes of Russian diesel and over restrictions on Ukraine’s battlefield satellite links, the BBC said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Russia “did not respect” the energy ceasefire “not a single minute” and that sanctions “have to increase.” European Council President António Costa said it was “no time to withdraw support” or “relieve Russian sanctions.” Zelenskyy said a winter package “is not only energy, it’s also defence and funding.” Asked whether he was a scapegoat for Trump’s troubles, he smiled and said, “This is my answer,” DW reported.

Zelenskyy also held his first bilateral meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar on the summit’s sidelines; Magyar said the two countries had agreed to put relations on a new footing, according to DW.

Overnight, Russian strikes killed three people in Kharkiv and cut power to hundreds of thousands in the western Volyn region, prompting Poland to scramble fighter jets, while Russia said it downed 644 Ukrainian drones, 94 of them headed for Moscow, Al Jazeera reported.

Sources: BBC News, The Guardian, DW, Al Jazeera

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World Brief, Evening: October 15, 2026

A 16-year-old killed three children and a teacher at an Oregon elementary school before a bystander shot him dead; Reuters reports the Starshield slowdown for Ukraine came from inside the White House; and Hurricane Trudy still aims at a major Friday with new coastal watches on southwestern Mexico. Ten stories as of Thursday evening, October 15.

1. Bend / Oregon, United States. A 16-year-old Bend resident forced his way into Silver Rail Elementary School on Thursday afternoon by shooting at locked doors, killing three children — ages 5, 8 and 11 — and a teacher before a community member who saw him enter pursued him inside and shot him dead, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said, per AP and BBC News. A 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher were taken to St. Charles Medical Center in critical condition. The first 911 call came about 12:59 p.m. local time after shots into a vehicle; the school locked down at 1:01 p.m.; officers arrived about a minute later to find the suspect already dead. Families reunited at a nearby church; Bend-La Pine schools closed Friday; the FBI is assisting. Governor Tina Kotek called it “a horrible day” and thanked the intervening community member.

2. Washington / United States, and Kyiv / Ukraine. The order to slow SpaceX’s military-grade Starshield service for Ukraine’s battlefield communications and drones came from inside the White House, two U.S. officials and a Western official told Reuters — after Defense Department leaders were told the system needed to be slowed. A senior U.S. official said “No such request was ever made by the president”; the White House did not say whether other aides issued it. Ukrainian officials said Kyiv was told it was a White House decision; receptors that had failed on fast-moving platforms were working again Thursday but only up to about 100 mph (160 km/h). The limits complicated drone strikes and Shahed interceptors as President Trump pressed Kyiv to stop hitting Russian refineries. Separately, Elon Musk wrote on X that “the slaughter continues” and it was “Time for Zelensky to go.”

3. South-southwest of Acapulco / Mexico. Hurricane Trudy held near 90 mph (150 km/h) at 6:00 p.m. CST Thursday about 235 miles south-southwest of Acapulco, and the National Hurricane Center said rapid intensification is expected to resume overnight, with a major hurricane forecast Friday or Friday night and a coastal approach to southwestern and west-central Mexico on Saturday. A Hurricane Watch is in effect from north of Punta San Telmo to Playa Perula; a Tropical Storm Warning covers Punta San Telmo southward to Zihuatanejo — upgrades from the morning Tropical Storm Watch. Additional watches or warnings are likely tonight or Friday. Tropical Storm Simon, farther northwest, continued to weaken offshore.

4. Aden / Yemen. Five people were killed and 16 injured when Houthi forces fired five ballistic missiles at al-Maashiq Palace — the presidential complex that houses Yemen’s internationally recognised government in the southern port city — Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani told BBC News. Prime Minister Shaya Zindani and other ministers were unhurt; casualties included guards and civilian employees. Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarea claimed a strike on a “Saudi military operations headquarters.” The attack comes amid a wider Houthi–Saudi escalation that has already hit Riyadh’s airport and Aramco facilities this month.

5. North Ubangi / Democratic Republic of the Congo. Congo’s Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak has reached an eighth province — North Ubangi, which borders the Central African Republic — with two cases confirmed by health officials though Kinshasa has not yet announced them, Reuters reported. The mid-May outbreak is the second-largest on record, with more than 9,000 cases and more than 4,000 deaths; Ituri remains the epicentre, with recent rises in North Kivu. Suspect deaths in a mining area of the Wapinda health zone prompted lab testing. Cases have also spilled to Uganda (declared free in August) and Kenya, which confirmed a second linked case Wednesday.

6. Tirana / Albania. Student-led anti-government protests entered a third day of clashes with riot police outside the education ministry Thursday, as Prime Minister Edi Rama vowed not to resign, AP and The Guardian reported. Demonstrators threw rocks; police answered with tear gas and water cannons and detained several people. Wednesday’s unrest left 89 injured, including 61 officers, after attacks on government buildings, banks and businesses. Students join the broader “Flamingo” movement demanding Rama quit over corruption and a Kushner-linked luxury tourism project.

7. Buenos Aires / Argentina. Thousands of students, teachers, university staff and unions marched on Congress Thursday demanding that President Javier Milei’s government implement the 2025 University Funding Law — inflation-linked pay, scholarships and operating funds that courts, including the Supreme Court in June, have ordered into force, AFP reported. The main rally stayed peaceful; dozens of mostly hooded protesters broke away near Congress, throwing stones and damaging street furniture, and police answered with tear gas and water cannon. Security sources told AFP at least 25 people were detained and eight officers injured. Milei’s spokesman has called the law “suspended” while the government litigates; this was the fifth such federal university march since he took office.

8. Aksum and northern Tigray / Ethiopia. Ethiopian federal forces and allied Tigray Peace Force fighters entered the historic city of Aksum as fighting with TPLF-linked rebels continued, conflict monitors and AFP reported via Al Jazeera. A pro-government militia claimed Eritrean troops took heavy losses and withdrew toward the border; Eritrea’s information minister called the claims false. ACLED documented Eritrean withdrawal through Zalambessa after Ethiopian advances, and tanks moving toward the border earlier in the week. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio phoned Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Wednesday urging de-escalation after reports of possible Ethiopia–Eritrea confrontation. Mekelle, Adwa and Adigrat fell back to government control earlier this month.

9. New Delhi / India. For nearly two weeks, mostly young protesters have filled New Delhi streets demanding the resignation of India’s election commissioner over voting-roll and electoral-process changes they say dilute youth and opposition turnout, ABC News reported. Police have cracked down on the “cockroach” youth organisers — some jailed after a Jantar Mantar sit-in — yet demonstrators say they will return, BBC News reported. The unrest is the sharpest Gen Z challenge yet to the electoral machinery ahead of India’s next national cycle.

10. Riyadh / Saudi Arabia (Fijian patients). Doctors in Saudi Arabia successfully separated 13-month-old conjoined twins from Fiji in an “exceptionally rare” multi-stage operation, ABC News reported. The case drew Pacific attention as a medical milestone for Fijian families who seldom access that level of specialty care at home.

Coming Up

Confirmed dates on The Watch: IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok continue through October 18 (G20 finance ministers met October 15). October 15–16, the European Council in Brussels. October 19, Alberta’s referendum on whether to move toward a binding independence vote. October 25, Brazil’s presidential runoff. November 7, New Zealand’s general election. November 29, Spain’s general election. NHC: Trudy is forecast as a major hurricane by Friday with a southwestern Mexico approach Saturday. Full board at the link — we don’t reprint the whole list here.

Sources: AP; BBC News; Reuters; Al Jazeera; The Guardian; ABC News; AFP; U.S. National Hurricane Center; Bend Police Department.

World Brief: October 15, 2026

Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Financial Times Ukraine is “done” holding back on Russian oil refineries; Istanbul’s governor called Thursday’s deluge the city’s heaviest rain in 84 years; and Hurricane Trudy is rapidly intensifying off southwestern Mexico. Ten stories as of Thursday morning, October 15.

1. Kyiv / Ukraine, and Brussels / Belgium. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Financial Times that Ukraine’s pause on striking Russian energy sites is over — “We’re done” — after Russia kept hitting Ukrainian power networks while Washington pushed an “energy ceasefire” Moscow never confirmed, BBC News and The Guardian reported. The Kremlin accused Kyiv of a large-scale strike on a Ryazan refinery south of Moscow; Zelenskyy said he would only pause again if the U.S. supplied more Patriot interceptors. He also said U.S. intelligence-sharing gaps and Starshield/Starlink limits were “will,” not a glitch; Ukrainian defence sources told the BBC some Starshield “on the move” function had returned Thursday morning. Separately, Zelenskyy said Ukraine destroyed four Su-34 jets and damaged two more at a Voronezh-region airfield overnight. Russia, for its part, kept up what Zelenskyy called a massive Shahed drone attack through Wednesday and overnight; more than 360 drones targeted the central Kirovohrad region, killing three, The Guardian reported. In Brussels for the European Council, he met NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

2. Istanbul / Turkey. Two people died after severe flooding that Istanbul Governor Davut Gül said was the city’s heaviest rainfall in 84 years, BBC News reported. A 14-year-old boy was electrocuted stepping into a puddle, and a 34-year-old man slipped crossing a road and hit his head. Nearly 600 people were rescued after becoming stranded; more than 8,000 workers responded; schools were closed Thursday and Friday; and 46 planes could not land. Residents were told to stay home unless necessary.

3. Washington / United States. President Donald Trump called off plans to livestream the firing-squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan after bipartisan backlash, saying “many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die,” BBC News reported. Hasan, who killed 13 soldiers at the Texas base in 2009, is still scheduled to die by firing squad on December 3 — the first U.S. military execution in more than 60 years. Families of the victims may still watch in person.

4. South-southwest of Acapulco / Mexico. Hurricane Trudy rapidly intensified to 90 mph (150 km/h) by 9:00 a.m. CST Thursday about 285 miles south-southwest of Acapulco, and the National Hurricane Center issued a Tropical Storm Watch from Punta San Telmo southward to Zihuatanejo. Rapid intensification is forecast, with Trudy expected to become a major hurricane by Friday and to approach southwestern and west-central Mexico this weekend. Rainfall of 4–8 inches (locally 12) is possible across Colima and Jalisco through the weekend, with life-threatening flooding and mudslides in steep terrain.

5. Peshawar / Pakistan. At least 33 pupils and a teacher were killed when the roof of a temporary private school, Al-Khair in Dir Colony, collapsed through three floors of classrooms Thursday morning, BBC News reported. Police chief Mian Saeed said the structure had “substandard” roof slabs and was overloaded; the school’s owner has been arrested. Rescuers struggled to reach the narrow street; more children were feared trapped. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor ordered a province-wide school safety audit.

6. South Sumatra / Indonesia. With Indonesia’s worst wildfire haze season in a decade blanketing Kalimantan and Sumatra and drifting into Singapore, Malaysia and East Timor, authorities scattered dry-ice pellets over Palembang and surrounding areas Thursday in an experimental attempt to break up low-level smog, BBC News reported. Unlike cloud seeding meant to make rain, the dry ice is meant to lift haze upward. An unusually strong El Niño has worsened drought and fire conditions.

7. Brasília / Brazil. Brazil’s Senate approved a constitutional amendment cutting the workweek from 44 hours to 40 with two days off and no pay cut — 75 votes to 1 — in a major win for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva less than two weeks before the October 25 runoff against Flávio Bolsonaro, BBC News reported. The change is billed as the biggest workers’-rights overhaul since 1988 and is estimated to cover more than 30 million workers. Bolsonaro, who once called the measure opportunistic, voted yes after citing its popularity.

8. London / United Kingdom, and Asmara / Eritrea. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood threatened to ban all Eritreans from entering the UK if Asmara does not take back more small-boat migrants and foreign national offenders, BBC News reported. From Thursday, Eritrean diplomats face travel limits beyond 60 km from London, and VIP fast-track visas are stopped. Eritreans were the largest nationality among small-boat arrivals in the year to June (about 18%); only seven were returned to Eritrea in that period.

9. Hamburg / Germany. A Hamburg court sentenced two men — a 54-year-old Dane with Afghan roots and a 43-year-old Afghan living in Denmark — to eight-and-a-half and four-and-a-half years for espionage and attempted murder after they plotted attacks on Jewish leaders for Iran’s Quds Force, Deutsche Welle reported. Targets included Josef Schuster of the Central Council of Jews in Germany and Green politician Volker Beck of the German-Israeli Society; prosecutors also cited preparatory work for arson at a Berlin kosher deli. Denmark extradited the pair after arrests in Aarhus.

10. Canberra / Australia. Communications Minister Anika Wells introduced the Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026, which would force platforms to let Australians over 16 choose a following-only feed instead of algorithmically recommended content — “My Feed, My Way” — and tighten eSafety powers, ABC News and the minister’s office reported. Wells also left the door open to Greens-backed private lawsuits against big tech. Consultation on the feed-choice rules runs into early November.

Coming Up

Confirmed dates on The Watch: October 15, G20 finance ministers in Bangkok as the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings continue through October 18. October 15–16, the European Council in Brussels (Zelenskyy is attending Friday’s Ukraine session). October 19, Alberta’s referendum on whether to move toward a binding independence vote. Full board at the link — we don’t reprint the whole list here.

Albania’s Edi Rama Refuses to Resign as Student Protesters Torch Ministries in Tirana: October 15, 2026

TIRANA, Albania — Prime Minister Edi Rama vowed he will not resign as student-led anti-government protests entered a third day of clashes with police in Tirana, after demonstrators attacked ministries and set the Education Ministry ablaze, BBC News and The Guardian reported.

Protests that began Tuesday over university conditions, tuition and job prospects turned violent on Wednesday. Riot police used tear gas and water cannon; police said 51 officers were injured and 65 people arrested, while Tirana’s public hospital treated seven injured protesters, The Guardian reported.

“As for calls for my resignation, governments are changed through democratic elections. We had elections last year, not a revolution,” Rama told Reuters in written answers cited by the Guardian. He said he would discuss education costs but condemned attacks on institutions as unrelated to legitimate student demands.

Deputy Prime Minister Albana Koçiu urged “calmness” and said “Albania does not need to burn to change.” Student Enida Bimi told Reuters the anger was about “corruption all around,” while Education Minister Mirela Kumbaro drew a line between civic protest and violence against public property. The unrest is the biggest challenge yet to Rama’s fourth term.

Sources: BBC News, The Guardian

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Eight Crew Missing After Drones Set the Tanker Wine Trader Ablaze Off Romania’s Black Sea Coast: October 15, 2026

SULINA, Romania — Eight of 12 crew members were missing Thursday after a drone attack set the San Marino-flagged tanker Wine Trader ablaze about 13 nautical miles (24 km) east of the Danube mouth at Sulina, Romanian naval authorities and President Nicușor Dan said, according to BBC News.

The vessel reported blasts and a fire on Thursday morning. Romanian authorities launched a search with two Black Hawk helicopters and two rescue boats. A swarm of Russian drones was detected overnight near Ukraine’s Snake Island, not far from the scene, the BBC said.

Moscow said two cargo ships with military cargo bound for Ukraine’s Odesa port were hit during the crossing but did not name the vessels. On Tuesday, drones struck two merchant ships off Bulgaria; one sank and 11 sailors went missing. Sofia summoned Russia’s ambassador, saying it suspected Moscow was behind that earlier attack.

BBC News noted the Black Sea’s western coast has seen a spate of drone incidents as the Ukraine war’s maritime front widens toward NATO members Romania and Bulgaria.

Sources: BBC News

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Zelenskyy Says ‘We’re Done’ Holding Back as Ukraine Hits a Ryazan Refinery After Trump’s Energy Pause Collapses: October 15, 2026

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is finished holding back strikes on Russian energy sites after a brief pause tied to U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called “energy ceasefire,” as Russia reported a fire at a refinery in the Ryazan region early Thursday, BBC News, NPR and DW reported.

“The block [on energy infrastructure attacks] is out. We’re done,” Zelenskyy told the Financial Times, according to DW and the BBC. Kyiv had restricted attacks for about three days while Russia kept hitting Ukrainian power infrastructure, leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity. The Kremlin never said it had agreed to Trump’s Sunday proposal.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said four missiles and dozens of drones were intercepted and that falling debris caused a fire at a plant south of Moscow in Ryazan; a senior Ukrainian official confirmed to NPR that Ukraine had hit the refinery. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Kyiv of clashing with U.S. peace efforts.

Zelenskyy also accused Washington of cutting intelligence-sharing on Russian ballistic launches and of deliberate Starshield/Starlink limits to pressure Kyiv after a U.S. deal to import Russian diesel — claims Trump has denied on intelligence and that SpaceX’s Elon Musk has partly attributed to U.S. military decisions.

Separately on Thursday, Zelenskyy’s office said Ukrainian forces had struck an airfield in Russia’s Voronezh region overnight, destroying four Su-34 jets and damaging two more that it said were loaded to attack Ukraine.

Sources: BBC News, NPR, DW

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