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Tear Gas and Water Cannon in Buenos Aires as Thousands Protest Milei’s Refusal to Fund Universities: October 16, 2026

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Police fired tear gas and water cannon outside Argentina’s Congress on Thursday as thousands of students, university staff and union members demanded that President Javier Milei’s government release legally mandated funding for public universities, DW and Al Jazeera reported.

The rally was largely peaceful, but masked people threw stones at police, injuring at least eight officers, and about 25 people were arrested, according to the National Security Ministry. Security Minister Alejandra Monteoliva said protesters wanted to “sow chaos” and that the right to protest is not “a right to exercise violence,” DW said.

Congress overrode Milei’s veto of a 2025 University Funding Law that ties staff pay to inflation and restores scholarships, and courts have ordered the money released. The government says the law is “suspended” pending its legal challenge; Milei has said “there is no money.” A federal judge has begun fining the government 100,000 pesos a day for failing to comply, Al Jazeera reported.

Public spending on universities fell 41% in real terms in the first half of 2026, according to a University of Buenos Aires research center. Thursday’s march was the fifth over education funding since Milei took office in 2023.

Sources: DW, Al Jazeera

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Maduro Calls Torture Charges ‘False’ as a New York Judge Enters Not-Guilty Pleas for Him and Cilia Flores: October 16, 2026

NEW YORK — Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro told a federal court in New York on Thursday that new torture charges against him were “false accusations and false testimony,” prompting the judge to enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf, BBC News and The Guardian reported.

“I reject this document entirely,” Maduro said through a translator before U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein cut in. His wife, Cilia Flores, said: “I am completely innocent. I am not guilty.” The couple, captured in a U.S. military raid in Caracas in January, remain jailed in Brooklyn.

A rewritten indictment unveiled last week accuses them of creating and maintaining “a violent system of repression” in which thousands of Venezuelans were killed, harassed or tortured, using methods including “electric shock, asphyxiation, rape, forced nudity, prolonged isolation, starvation,” the BBC said. Prosecutors allege U.S. citizens were among the victims.

The torture counts were added to earlier narco-terrorism, drug-trafficking and weapons charges. Their lawyers argue the case should be dismissed on sovereign-immunity grounds. Both sides want the June 2027 trial moved from June 1 to June 14, The Guardian reported.

Sources: BBC News, The Guardian

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Ethiopia’s Abiy Installs a Six-Month Caretaker Government in Tigray and Promises Elections After Rout of the TPLF: October 16, 2026

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government has named a six-month caretaker administration for the northern Tigray region and set a goal of holding elections there within that time, after federal forces pushed back an offensive by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, Reuters and Ethiopia’s state news agency ENA reported Friday.

The administration was created by a Council of Ministers regulation following a House of Federation decision, and will operate under federal direction, ENA said. Its tasks include restoring security and public services, repairing war damage, returning displaced people and the “disarmament and reintegration of armed elements.” Its mandate excludes long-term strategic decisions until an elected regional government takes office.

“The people of Tigray must break free from this cycle of conflict,” Abiy said in a statement posted on X, Reuters reported. The TPLF led an offensive against the government last month, reviving a war that killed hundreds of thousands in 2020–22; Ethiopia’s military and allied militia have since taken large parts of Tigray, including the regional capital Mekelle. A TPLF spokesperson did not immediately comment.

Addis Ababa accuses Eritrea, Egypt and Sudan of backing the rebels, which they deny. Around 750,000 Tigrayans were still internally displaced as of February, according to the U.N. refugee agency, and the region faces drought linked to El Niño, Reuters said.

Sources: Reuters (via CNBC Africa), ENA, The Reporter via allAfrica

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Houthi Missiles Hit Yemen’s Presidential Palace in Aden, Killing Five as the War With Saudi Arabia Widens: October 16, 2026

ADEN, Yemen — Five people were killed and 16 wounded when Houthi missiles struck al-Maashiq Palace in Aden, the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognised government, officials said, in the first attack on the palace in the current conflict between the Iran-aligned rebels and Saudi Arabia, BBC News and The Guardian reported.

Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani told the BBC that Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani and other ministers were unhurt when five ballistic missiles hit the complex. Health Minister Qasim Buhaibeh said the dead and wounded included guards and civilian employees. Zindani called the attack “cowardly.”

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group struck “the Saudi enemy’s military operations headquarters in Aden.” Agence France-Presse quoted an unnamed government minister as saying a coalition command centre was hit, with Yemeni and Saudi casualties, according to The Guardian.

The U.N. Security Council on Thursday condemned “escalatory” Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including strikes on Riyadh’s airport, where an attack last weekend killed 13 people. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted a cruise missile over Medina; the Houthis denied firing it.

At least 1,282 people have been killed and 5,890 injured in fighting in Yemen since Aug. 6, according to the government’s health ministry, and the U.N. says 201,000 more have been displaced amid a surge in suspected cholera cases, the BBC said.

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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New Zealand’s Spy Service Will Help Fiji Overhaul Intelligence After U.S. China-Interference Claims: October 15, 2026

SUVA, Fiji — Fiji announced a six-month partnership with New Zealand’s Security Intelligence Service to review and reform its national intelligence system amid U.S. claims of Chinese infiltration in the Pacific, RNZ Pacific reported.

The NZSIS will “assess the existing intelligence structure and develop evidence-based options for reform,” focusing on information-sharing and fixing “fragmentation” across Fijian agencies, Suva said. The review will weigh changes to functions, governance, workforce and oversight “to support a sustainable national intelligence system.”

In an August threat assessment, NZSIS said it had identified people conducting “espionage and foreign interference activities in the Pacific” for “a foreign intelligence service,” and called China “the only country we have detected doing it at scale” in New Zealand.

Last week Washington designated Fiji hotel owner Zhao Fugang for “significant corruption,” alleging bribes to advance China-linked interests. On Wednesday China’s embassy in New Zealand denied U.S. claims of Chinese-backed cyber activity against a Suva-based Pacific body — allegations Beijing also rejected after a U.S. Embassy Fiji statement earlier this week, RNZ Pacific noted.

Sources: RNZ Pacific

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Trump Ousts Kimberly Guilfoyle as U.S. Ambassador to Greece After Corruption Allegations: October 15, 2026

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as U.S. ambassador to Greece amid mounting allegations she sought donor help with credit-card bills in exchange for access and behaved inappropriately in Athens, new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia said, according to BBC News.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday she had done a “good job” but would “not be there” longer: “I didn’t like what I read.” Zacharia, in her first and unusually brief briefing, confirmed Guilfoyle was “asked to resign” and called her “a wonderful asset,” without detailing the claims.

Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host and ex-fiancée of Donald Trump Jr., said on X that her ambassadorship — which she called the “honour of a lifetime” — was “coming to an end,” denied wrongdoing, and vowed to “vigorously defend” her reputation against what she called “false accusations,” the BBC reported.

She was nominated in December 2024 shortly before Trump’s return to office. The Athens post had grown tenuous over the past week as the allegations piled up, the BBC said.

Sources: BBC News

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Brazil’s Senate Cuts the Workweek to 40 Hours in a Pre-Runoff Win for Lula: October 15, 2026

BRASÍLIA — Brazil’s Senate approved a constitutional amendment cutting the standard workweek from 44 hours to 40 and guaranteeing two days off without cutting pay, a major labour win for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva less than two weeks before the Oct. 25 runoff, BBC News and DW reported.

Senators passed the measure 75–1 after the Chamber of Deputies backed it in May. The government says more than 30 million workers could benefit; one survey found nearly 70% of Brazilians support ending the six-day “6×1” schedule. Lula is expected to sign it next week.

Rival Flávio Bolsonaro, who leads Lula after the first round 47% to 45.2%, reversed his opposition and voted yes, saying most workers want the change — a shift Lula called “electoral opportunism.” BBC News said it is the biggest workers’-rights overhaul since Brazil’s 1988 return to democracy.

“It means more time to live, rest, be with family,” Lula wrote on social media. Businesses warn of higher costs, and freelancers and delivery workers in the informal economy remain largely outside the reform, DW noted.

Sources: BBC News, DW

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Senegal’s LGBTQ Crackdown Leaves Hundreds Arrested and Communities in Hiding, Rights Groups Say: October 15, 2026

DAKAR, Senegal — More than 320 people have been arrested since February on “acts against nature” allegations in Senegal, and LGBTQ+ people are going into hiding amid forced HIV testing and pressure on lawyers, Human Rights Watch said in a report covered by The Guardian on Thursday.

At least 84 of those detained were charged with “voluntary HIV transmission” based solely on HIV status, according to HIV Justice Network figures cited in the report. Senegal’s parliament in March doubled the maximum prison term for consensual same-sex relations to 10 years and added up to seven years and heavy fines for “promoting” homosexuality or financing LGBTQ groups.

“LGBTQ+ people are being forced to curb their normal activities … for fear of arrest and increased stigma,” HRW researcher Larissa Kojoué said. Police have used seized phones, tip-offs and raids on private homes; lawyers told HRW they fear prosecution for representing clients, and doctors said people are avoiding HIV testing, The Guardian reported.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and former prime minister Ousmane Sonko backed tougher laws during the 2024 campaign. Activists say media leaks of HIV status and identities have exposed people to stigma and violence. Senegal once had a stronger HIV response in the region; consultants warn the crackdown is driving patients away from clinics.

Sources: The Guardian

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China and North Korea Open the New Yalu River Bridge After a 12-Year Delay: October 15, 2026

DANDONG, China — China and North Korea formally opened the long-delayed New Yalu River Bridge on Thursday, a 3 km (1.9-mile) crossing meant to become the main land trade route between Dandong and Sinuiju, BBC News and DW reported.

Construction finished around 2014, but North Korea long left its approach roads and customs unfinished as ties cooled; COVID border closures added further delay. Chinese Premier Li Qiang, in a video address, called the bridge a “new landmark” of friendship and said the countries were “opening a new chapter,” Xinhua via the BBC reported.

China is North Korea’s largest trading partner and a lifeline under U.N. sanctions over Pyongyang’s nuclear programme. Bilateral trade hit about $2.7 billion last year, near pre-pandemic levels, mostly Chinese exports. Experts told the BBC a sudden trade surge is unlikely while sanctions remain and while Pyongyang fears deeper Chinese market influence.

The new cable-stayed span is an alternative to the older Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge built under Japanese occupation. Train travel between the neighbours only restarted in March after six years; North Korea has still not resumed tourism visas for Chinese visitors, DW noted.

Sources: BBC News, DW

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