No short-lived oil-price windfall can compensate for damage done by endless war between partners
By Murad Sadygzade | RT | October 22, 2026
… Western media and expert debates, including those focused on Middle Eastern politics, frequently portray Russia as a beneficiary of the war, arguing that disruptions to Gulf supplies drive up energy prices and create opportunities for Russian exporters.
A short-term price benefit is certainly possible, but to assume that war gives Russia a strategic advantage is analytically unsound, because the country’s national interests are not limited to a single source of export revenue. Additional income from commodity sales says little about the cost of damaged partnerships, postponed investment, and worsening conditions for long-term projects.
The Middle East matters to Russia as a political and economic partner, and stable relations depend on predictable institutions, transport routes, and financial transactions. A prolonged war raises shipping and insurance costs, complicates infrastructure agreements, and forces partners to divert resources from development toward immediate security needs. … Full article
By Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D. | The Defender | October 19, 2026
A British nurse who sustained permanent injuries after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was denied compensation for her injuries because she is “not disabled enough” to meet the threshold set by the U.K.’s Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS). The Telegraph first reported the story last week.
Marie-Claire Hoyle, now 44 and a mother of three, worked for Royal Liverpool University Hospital in 2020, when she volunteered for AstraZeneca’s U.K. COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial.
Within two weeks of receiving her second dose, Hoyle developed transverse myelitis, a rare and permanent neurological condition caused by inflammation of the spinal cord that interrupts nerve signals between the body and the brain.
The condition left Hoyle “in agonising pain and unable to use her limbs fully,” The Telegraph reported.
While rare in the general population, hundreds of cases of transverse myelitis have been recorded among people injured after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. … continue
Ofcom wants emergency blocking powers, proactive scanning, and fewer ways for users to route around them.
By Cindy Harper | Reclaim The Net | October 22, 2026
UK’s speech regulator Ofcom and some members of the country’s parliament are looking for ways to expand their censorship powers, including by going after VPNs.
The biggest one is the power to get sites blocked in the UK straight away, while Ofcom is still investigating, if “there was ongoing, urgent, immediate harm to the public.” […]
Labour MP Jeff Smith asked whether VPNs, which allow users to circumvent geoblocks that sites put up in compliance with the Act, also allow those companies to “get off with not paying their fines.” … Full article
Remix News | October 22, 2026
Germany’s federal states are proposing that social media platforms reserve at least 20 percent of algorithmic recommendations for content from a pool of approved media outlets deemed important for opinion diversity, according to a draft under public consultation. The proposed measure is already being slammed as a state-mandated propaganda effort that would force German citizens to view content friendly to the ruling establishment parties.
The measure is part of the second stage of a planned Digital Media State Treaty developed by the Broadcasting Commission of the Federal States. Under the draft, public broadcasters such as ARD, ZDF and Deutschland Radio would automatically qualify for certain offerings.
Meanwhile, private outlets would generally need to apply and demonstrate that they meet criteria including news and political reporting, information and educational content, documentaries, local or regional coverage, original journalistic production, editorial staffing and accessibility standards. Approvals would be decided by the 14 state media authorities. […]
The rule would apply to algorithmic recommendations shown to users, such as in feeds or under videos on platforms including Instagram and X. … Full article
Al Mayadeen | October 22, 2026
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is getting out of the business of endorsing candidates, writing checks from its own PAC, and bundling donations for specific campaigns, CNBC reported. The move undoes an approach the pro-“Israel” lobbying group adopted five years ago, and it comes as the organization contends with growing political pushback.
AIPAC laid out the changes in a letter sent to members on Wednesday, which CNBC obtained. The letter says the group will keep running its super PAC, the United Democracy Project, and will instead steer more of its energy toward encouraging individual supporters to contribute to candidates themselves.
Spokesperson Deryn Sousa told CNBC the organization wants to substantially broaden its community’s role in politics and give its activists more direct influence and that this will be its priority over the next two years. The letter itself struck a more somber tone, describing 2026 as among the toughest political climates the group has faced in years and cautioning that conditions will likely worsen.
The restructuring removes AIPAC’s most public-facing political tools but leaves its capacity to deploy big money intact. It may also make the group’s footprint harder to trace. … Full article
Palestinian Information Center – October 22, 2026
GAZA – Trade unions and labor groups in about 100 ports distributed across 17 countries are preparing to organize strikes and protests on Friday, October 30, to demand a halt to the transfer of weapons and goods related to the Israeli war on Palestinians, in a move that raises Israeli fears regarding the impact on supply chains and shipping traffic, including shipments transiting through intermediate ports.
Under the slogan “Port workers do not work for war”, the organizers of the action seek to put pressure on shipping companies and commercial institutions, by refusing to participate in the transfer of weapons, ammunition, and military equipment to Israel, and opposing transactions that contribute to the continuation of its war effort. … continue
Al Mayadeen | October 22, 2026
An investigation by The Guardian and Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism has linked reports of electric-shock torture against Palestinian detainees in Israeli custody to weapons manufactured by US company Axon Enterprise, raising questions about the continued supply of the equipment to Israeli security agencies.
The investigation examined the case of Issa, a 43-year-old Palestinian who recalls Israeli soldiers repeatedly subjecting him to electric shocks while he was detained. More than 18 months later, marks from the shocks remain visible on his body, according to the report. The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims said the proximity of two scars gives evidence that he received repeated shocks while tightly restrained.
Issa was abducted in January 2024 from the Jabalia refugee camp, where he had been staying after losing both feet in an Israeli aggression on his home. He was held at Ofer Prison before his release in October 2025.
‘Hell’s Wing’
According to his account, Israeli forces dragged him into a section of the prison known as “Hell’s Wing,” pushed him into a corner, and fired two rubber bullets at him. After binding him tightly, they continued beating him before one soldier used a stun gun against his body.
The investigation found that three other Palestinian detainees, subsequently released, also reported that Israeli personnel tortured them with Axon-manufactured weapons between 2024 and 2025. The company was formerly known as Taser International.
Axon’s business ties with Israeli security agencies
The investigation found that Axon has maintained commercial connections with Israeli entities for decades, with evidence indicating that its products and accessories continued to be supplied to Israeli security agencies.
In 1995, a delegation led by company founder Rick Smith attended a security trade exhibition in Eilat. More recently, Israeli distributors have facilitated the sale of its electroshock weapons.
In 2016, MR Hunter became an Axon distributor in “Israel” and signed a contract worth 13 million shekels, equivalent to approximately $3.5 million, to provide Israeli security agencies with Taser X26P weapons and related equipment.
Axon listed another Israeli distributor, Goren-Kidon Group, in 2025. The company’s customers include the Israeli police, the Police Ministry, the Ministry of War, and the Israeli Prison Service (IPS).
In June 2025, Axon held a conference in “Israel” to present its latest electroshock weapons to representatives of Israeli security agencies.
The weapons are manufactured in Arizona and exported under the category of crime-control equipment. US export regulations allow authorities to consider evidence of human rights violations when determining whether to grant export licenses.
Palestinians describe electric shocks, lasting injuries
The investigation also examined two video clips produced by the Israeli Prison Service over the previous year. The weapons shown appear to resemble Axon-manufactured tasers, according to the report. Issa and the three other former detainees interviewed identified the weapons they said had been used against them as tasers.
One former detainee described being doused with water before receiving an electric shock during his detention in 2024. He said he continued to experience severe vision problems, muscle spasms, and recurring fainting episodes. Water can intensify the effects of electric-shock torture, according to guidance cited in the investigation.
In August 2025, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs reported that detainees at Gilboa Prison had been subjected to electric shocks before being dragged to shower areas, doused with water, and shocked again. … Full article
Palestinian Information Center – October 22, 2026
WEST BANK – The Palestine Center for Prisoner Studies has warned that approximately 9,400 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons face worsening conditions as winter approaches, amid continued deprivation of warm clothing, blankets, and heating for more than three years, alongside deteriorating living and health conditions inside prisons and detention centers.
Riyad al-Ashqar, director of the center, said Israeli occupation authorities have continued to deny prisoners access to clothing and blankets since October 7, 2023, while suspending family visits and closing prison commissaries, which prisoners previously relied on to purchase basic necessities.
In a statement issued by the center, al-Ashqar explained that Israeli authorities have prevented international organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), from delivering clothing to prisoners.
Meanwhile, prison authorities have confiscated prisoners’ personal belongings, including clothing and blankets, and removed mattresses and remaining bedding from rooms and cells during daylight hours.
Al-Ashqar added that prisoners have been forced to use the same clothing and blankets for extended periods without being able to wash or replace them, contributing to the spread of skin diseases, particularly scabies, amid inadequate medical care and a lack of necessary treatment. … continue
MEMO | October 22, 2026
Israeli strikes and gunfire across the Gaza Strip killed four Palestinians, including a girl, and injured more than 19 others on Thursday amid continued violations of an effective ceasefire agreement, medics said.
In the latest attack, a Palestinian was killed when an Israeli drone struck an electric bicycle west of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, a medical source said.
Another Palestinian was killed and others were injured, one seriously, when an Israeli drone struck a civilian vehicle in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood southwest of Gaza City, the source said.
In the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian girl in the head in Jabalia, a medical source told Anadolu.
In southern Gaza, another Palestinian was killed and two others were injured when an Israeli drone struck a motorcycle in Khan Younis, the source said.
Four members of a displaced family were also injured when Israeli artillery fire hit a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in the city.
A medical source at Nasser Hospital said a man, his wife, and their two children arrived with varying injuries after the shelling targeted Mustafa Hafez School.
An Israeli artillery shell struck a tent sheltering the displaced family in the school courtyard, according to local sources.
Al-Manar | October 22, 2026
Israeli occupation forces killed a civilian with disabilities during an incursion into Syria’s Daraa province and abducted a young man while obstructing a UN patrol in neighboring Quneitra province in southern Syria on Thursday, according to local media reports.
Alikhbariah TV reported that Israeli forces entered Taranja village in northern Quneitra countryside with seven military vehicles, abducted a young man and obstructed the passage of a patrol belonging to the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) by blocking the village road. The broadcaster did not provide details about the young man’s identity or where he was taken. It added later that the young man was released.
Earlier Thursday, Israeli forces entered Jamlah village in western Daraa province and shot dead a civilian with disabilities, according to Syria’s official SANA news agency. The victim’s body was transferred to Daraa National Hospital. The agency did not identify him or specify the nature of his disability.
During the incursion into Jamlah, Israeli occupation forces deployed in the village’s eastern neighborhood and positioned snipers on the rooftops of residential buildings, SANA reported.
Alikhbariah TV also said Israeli troops searched several houses and fired indiscriminately in residential neighborhoods.
On Wednesday evening, Israeli artillery shelled the outskirts of Abidin village in the Yarmouk Basin area of western Daraa. SANA reported that two shells landed west of the village, with no information available on casualties or material damage. … Full article
Al Mayadeen | October 22, 2026
Yemen’s Foreign Ministry in Sanaa has renewed its welcome for Al-Azhar’s call to end wars in the region, urging pressure on Saudi Arabia to lift its siege, halt its aggression, and end its occupation of Yemeni territory.
In a statement, the ministry expressed readiness to welcome any serious efforts aimed at ending the aggression against Yemen, lifting the siege, and ending the Saudi occupation of Yemeni lands.
Sanaa has consistently called on the Saudi regime to withdraw its hand from Yemen, warning that Riyadh would bear full responsibility for the consequences if it failed to do so.
The ministry’s statement follows a call by Al-Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb for Arab and Muslim countries to work toward an immediate and comprehensive halt to wars and hostilities across the region.
Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam had called on Arab and Muslim countries to prioritize the bonds of religion, kinship, and language, urging them to embrace dialogue and reason and immediately halt acts of war, fighting, destruction, and devastation that drain people’s resources and claim innocent lives. … Full article
Press TV – October 22, 2026
A series of Saudi airstrikes against residential neighborhoods across Yemen have killed at least two women and injured several others, as conflict intensifies between the Sana’a-based Yemeni government on one side and Riyadh and the Saudi-backed forces on the other.
Yemen’s official Saba news agency, citing local sources, reported that a woman was killed and a girl sustained injuries after Saudi fighter jets dropped bombs on an area in the Bakil al-Mir district of in Yemen’s northwestern province of Hajjah on Thursday morning.
The development came hours after a woman lost her life and eight people were wounded when a Saudi airstrike targeted a residential building in the Dhubab district of Yemen’ southwestern province of Ta’izz. … Full article
A reported strike plan, paused only until after the midterms, exposes the limits of American strategic independence.
By Dr. Sara Neumann | MEMO | October 22, 2026
On October 21, the Financial Times reported that Benjamin Netanyahu had instructed his military to prepare a multi-day bombing campaign against Iran for the weekend of October 10—only for Donald Trump to block it until after the November 3 midterms . The operation would have targeted electricity plants, nuclear facilities, and regime sites, surpassing the intensity of the joint offensive launched in February. Trump’s opposition did not end the war. It rescheduled it.
That distinction is the entire story. The veto is being presented as proof that Washington can restrain Jerusalem. In reality, it is a demonstration of an alliance leash—a tether that permits tactical friction while leaving the strategic architecture of the war untouched. Trump can pull the leash to protect Republican seats. Netanyahu can pull it to protect Likud seats. Neither pull ends the war. Both manage the calendar.
The FT report is clear that the operation was not cancelled, only deferred. “There will either be a deal or an attack,” one person familiar with the matter said. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth traveled to Israel on Monday to meet Netanyahu, and Israeli officials presented an updated target bank that included civilian infrastructure not struck earlier in the year. The machinery of escalation remains fully assembled. The only variable that changed was the date. … continue
RT | October 22, 2026
The US-Israeli war on Iran has caused an “unprecedented” shock to global energy markets, removing some 3 billion barrels of oil supply, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser has warned.
The war launched in February effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil and LNG artery, sending crude prices up roughly 50%. Despite Gulf exports recovering to a reported 80% of pre-war levels, renewed attacks on vessels have kept markets on edge, with Brent hitting a five-month high above $112 this week. Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure and shipping have compounded the crisis, threatening another vital trade chokepoint, the Red Sea’s Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
In an interview with Al Arabiya Business aired on Thursday, Nasser said the nearly eight-month crisis had deprived global markets of an estimated 3 billion barrels of oil. … continue
MEMO | October 22, 2026
US President Donald Trump on Thursday accused Iran of attempting to drive up global oil prices ahead of the midterm elections, Anadolu reports.
“Iran is doing everything they can to drive up the price of Oil prior to the U.S. Midterm Election. They are even making up fake hits, mines, and everything else, because more Oil is coming through the Hormuz Strait now than it did even prior to the beginning of the Conflict,” Trump wrote on his Truth social platform.
He accused Iranian authorities of continuing to kill protesters and others who oppose the government, claiming that 75,000 protesters had died in less than seven months.
By Larry C. Johnson | SONAR21 | October 22, 2026
Earlier this month, Aramco’s chief executive, Amin Nasser, assured the markets that “our system is intact” and that Saudi Arabia could restore its full 12 million barrels a day of capacity within days. It is a comforting message, and Washington, European capitals and oil traders have every reason to want to believe it. It is not true.
Karl Miller has just completed a 37-slide operating assessment of Saudi Arabia’s energy system, covering everything from the oil fields to the fuel depots, as of October 20. I have read it closely. It is the most careful accounting of this damage I have seen, and it is careful in a way that should worry anyone counting on Saudi oil this winter. Miller does not count Houthi boasts, social-media videos or plumes of smoke as damage. He separates confirmed hits from claims, and he refuses to add up the design capacity of every facility that was struck as if it were all offline at once. Even with all of that discipline, the picture is grim. … continue
By Philip Giraldi • Unz Review • October 21, 2026
If one were seeking to create something like a modern-day folk tale based on current realities and having the theme of “good versus evil” there are any number of real-life narratives available that could be exploited to invite speculation on actual environments that might have served as models for the fiction. I have found much of the bizarre and blood-soaked evil relationship between the United States and Israel, which serves no US interest at all, to be one such arrangement in which two countries have through their own behavior become the most hated in the world. They have successfully established an odd partnership based largely on a common view of which other nations they hate and would like to destroy. … continue
Press TV – October 22, 2026
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei says the United States’ negotiating behavior, marked by coercion and one-sided demands, rather than Iran’s religious beliefs, makes rational negotiations impossible.
In a post on his X account on Thursday, Baghaei questioned the relevance of Iranians’ “religious beliefs” to Washington’s failure to honor its diplomatic commitments and its addiction to force and pressure.
He said faith does not preclude rationality, noting that genuine diplomacy requires more than imposing terms on the other side. … continue
Al Mayadeen | October 22, 2026
A senior security official in Tehran said Iran would consider US political targets, along with the infrastructure of countries participating in a new war, legitimate targets if another round of broad war includes assassinations of officials and the massacring of civilians, Fars News Agency reported late on Wednesday.
The official said Iran has communicated this to its operational ranks.
The official explained that Iran takes a US and Israeli attack as a given and regards American diplomatic gestures as lacking credibility, a view that intensified after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s October 7 speech in Athens, which Tehran sees as giving the war a historical and civilizational cover.
The official said Iranian leaders and elites have reached the unprecedented conclusion that US Middle East policy is directed from Tel Aviv and that “Israel” will not allow a diplomatic solution, because for Trump, “Israel” comes first. … continue
By Brenda Baletti, Ph.D. | The Defender | October 19, 2026
Highlights:
- Idaho prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Andrea Shaw, who faces first-degree murder charges in the May 2025 suffocations of her twin toddlers.
- Idaho’s primary execution method is now firing squad under a July 2026 state law.
- Shaw has pleaded not guilty, denying the charges and alleging her children became severely ill and died following a “post-immunization reaction” from routine vaccinations received days earlier.
- Shaw’s attorney called the capital punishment filing “outrageous,” noting that core prosecution evidence remains unreleased while grand jury indictments and coroner reports are sealed.
- Children’s Health Defense (CHD) outside counsel Rick Jaffe joined the defense team last week.
Full article
By Sayer Ji | October 19, 2026
Twenty years ago, Mayo Clinic published a report that should have changed how we treat leukemia forever.
It didn’t.
Not because the patients didn’t improve.
Not because the doctors who saw it were fringe.
Not because the follow-up trial failed.
It didn’t because the thing that helped them was a green tea extract, and nobody stood to profit from carrying it to the finish line.
I’ve spent two decades tracking studies like this one: findings that make it into the peer-reviewed record and then quietly disappear from medical practice. Across more than 100,000 studies indexed on GreenMedInfo, this is one of the clearest examples I know.
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL, is the most common adult leukemia in the Western world. For most patients diagnosed early, the standard of care is a phrase that patients come to dread: watch and wait. There is no treatment offered. You come back every few months, and your doctors measure how fast the disease is advancing until it is bad enough to justify chemotherapy.
In 2004, a Mayo Clinic team that included hematologists Tait Shanafelt and Neil Kay reported that a green tea compound called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) killed leukemic cells from CLL patients in the lab. The paper in Blood found that EGCG significantly increased leukemic cell death in 8 of 10 patient samples.
Then something happened that rarely happens in medicine. Patients read the research and acted on it.
In 2006, the Mayo team published a report in Leukemia Research on four of their own patients with low-grade B-cell cancers who had started taking over-the-counter green tea extracts on their own. Three of the four met standard criteria for a partial response.
The detail that matters most is this: several of these patients had documented, steady progression immediately before they started the green tea extract, and then developed objective responses shortly afterward.
Read that again. The disease was getting worse. They added green tea extract. The disease reversed. … continue
By Robert Yoho, MD | Surviving Healthcare | October 14, 2026
Summary
· The National Toxicology Program (NTP) reviewed 72 studies and concluded, with moderate confidence, that fluoride lowers children’s IQ. A 2025 meta-analysis of 74 studies found that 64 reported the same result. The 2 prospective cohort studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found IQ losses of 2.5 to 4.5 points per unit of maternal fluoride exposure.
· On September 24, 2024, Senior Judge Edward Chen of the federal district court in San Francisco ruled that fluoridation at 0.7 milligrams per liter “poses an unreasonable risk of reduced IQ in children” and ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate it. On May 21, 2026, a Ninth Circuit panel vacated his order on a procedural technicality without ruling on the science. The Supreme Court deadline to file a petition is October 18, 2026.
· Fluoridation chemicals are scrubber waste from phosphate-fertilizer plants. About 95 percent of what goes into American water is this byproduct. Imports supplied about two-thirds of it in 2019, and China was the primary foreign source.
· The American Dental Association (ADA) took in $237 million in 2024 and charges an average of $53 per fluoride-varnish application. In 2022, it asked the Biden health department to remove “neurotoxin claims” from the NTP report before its release. Assistant Secretary Rachel Levine then put the report on hold, and it took 2 more years and a court order to publish it.
· Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised in November 2024 that the White House would advise every water system to stop on day 1. Twenty months later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) still recommends fluoridation. The EPA is in step 2 of a 4-step review with no deadline, and 2 states have banned it.
· About 2.3 million American babies are born each year to mothers who drink fluoridated water. Europe almost without exception rejects the practice. The pattern mirrors every other globalist program I have written about: a known harm, a captured profession, a public-health slogan, and a regulatory agency that defends the harm in court.
[…]
Adults have finished building their brains, so the damage lands elsewhere. In 2015, Stephen Peckham at the University of Kent compared hypothyroidism rates across 7,935 English general practices. Practices in areas with water fluoride above 0.3 milligrams per liter were 30 percent more likely to report high rates of hypothyroidism. Fluoridated West Midlands practices were nearly twice as likely as unfluoridated Manchester practices to report high rates of hypothyroidism.
A 2018 Canadian study found the effect was concentrated among iodine-deficient adults, who made up 18 percent of the sample. Fluoride competes with iodine for the thyroid, and Americans have less iodine to spare than they did. … Read full article
Palestinian Information Center – October 21, 2026
RAMALLAH – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) prevented farmers in the village of Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank, from reaching their lands to harvest olives on Wednesday morning. The measure comes days after attacks by Israeli settlers targeting local farmers and solidarity activists in the village.
The head of the village council, Eid Hammad, told Al Jazeera channel that the IOF had declared the village a closed military zone and barred farmers from harvesting their olive crops. This coincides with ongoing restrictions on residents’ access to their fields during the olive harvest season. … Full article
Palestinian Information Center – October 21, 2026
WEST BANK – A Palestinian man was wounded by live ammunition on Wednesday evening during an attack by Jewish settlers on the village of Osarin, south of Nablus.
In a separate incident, two Palestinian children were exposed to pepper spray during a similar assault in the Huwara area of Masafer Yatta, south of al-Khalil, in the southern occupied West Bank.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society reported that its emergency crews treated a 40-year-old man who had been shot in the hand by settlers in Osarin. He was subsequently transported to a hospital for medical treatment.
According to local sources, Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian farmers while they were harvesting olives in the village and opened fire with live ammunition, wounding one of the farmers.
In a separate attack, Jewish settlers sprayed two Palestinian children with pepper spray in the Huwara area of Masafer Yatta, south of al-Khalil. … Full article
IMEMC | October 21, 2026
On Wednesday morning, October 21, 2026, Israeli forces demolished seven residential apartments belonging to the Abu Labba family near Qalandia refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank. The apartments had housed approximately 35 Palestinians.
Jerusalem Governorate said Israeli bulldozers carried out the demolitions in the al-Wad area, near the quarry adjoining Qalandia refugee camp.
Masdar News, citing the governorate, reported that Israeli forces were deployed around the area during the demolition operation. The report said demolition operations began that morning.
According to Jerusalem Governorate, the demolitions were carried out under the pretext that the buildings lacked Israeli-issued construction permits.
Video footage published by local media showed Israeli forces beating owners of homes threatened with demolition near the refugee camp. Soldiers also smashed a vehicle and beat homeowners in the area. … Full article
Palestinian Information Center – October 21, 2026
GAZA – Two Palestinians, including a child who was in critical condition, were martyred and others were wounded on Wednesday following Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Information Center reporter said that 10-year-old Abdul-Rahman Awad succumbed to wounds he sustained last Monday in an Israeli strike near al-Saroukh junction, north of Gaza City.
In southern Gaza, a citizen was killed and another one was injured in an Israeli drone strike in the al-Mawasi area of al-Qarara, north of Khan Yunis.
Another civilian was wounded by Israeli gunfire in al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
Earlier, two schoolgirls were injured by Israeli gunfire during a morning assembly at a girls school in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza.
Gaza’s ministry of education said Israeli forces opened fire towards the school and the area around it, injuring sixth-grade student Suaad Abd Rabbo, who was shot in the thigh and required surgery, while fourth-grade student Amena Khadr sustained abdominal injuries.
The ministry said “the incident comes amid a growing pattern of attacks on Palestinian students and children,” noting that six children had been killed and several others injured over the past two days. … Full article
Press TV – October 21, 2026
The Yemeni armed forces say they have struck Saudi military equipment flown by cargo aircraft into Riyan airport in the port city of Mukalla, warning Riyadh against using civilian facilities for military purposes.
Brigadier General Yahya Saree, spokesperson for the Yemeni armed forces, announced the operation in a brief statement on Wednesday, saying the consignments had been transported to the airport aboard Saudi military cargo aircraft.
“The criminal Saudi enemy is using Riyan Airport to transport weapons and military equipment aimed at the massacre of Yemeni people,” Saree stated.
He warned that Riyadh is making use of Yemeni civilian facilities in order to advance its military agendas. … Full article
Al Mayadeen | October 21, 2026
The Pentagon is reconsidering the future of its military bases across West Asia after Iranian strikes inflicted significant damage on several key US installations during the war, raising questions over Washington’s ability to maintain and protect its longstanding military presence in the region.
A senior US defense official said the Pentagon is currently working with US Central Command (CENTCOM) to assess damaged installations and determine which facilities remain necessary under Washington’s future military posture.
“We’re meeting with CENTCOM [US Central Command] and doing the assessments right now from an installation perspective,” the official told reporters during a Defense Writers Group breakfast in Washington.
“Part of this is what will the global posture be in the future, and what does that require us to have?”
The review comes after Iranian strikes targeted several US military sites across the region following the US-Israeli attack on Iran in February.
Among the facilities hit was Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, one of Washington’s most important military hubs in the region, where strikes reportedly rendered the Pentagon’s Combined Air Operations Center inoperable.
US installations in Saudi Arabia and Jordan were also targeted, while military infrastructure in Bahrain sustained major damage.
Acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao acknowledged the scale of the destruction in Bahrain, saying “they blew the hell out of Bahrain.”
Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle separately said the US Navy would not be returning to Naval Support Activity Bahrain “anytime soon.”
Rather than automatically restoring the facilities that were struck, Pentagon officials are now assessing whether rebuilding them fits Washington’s future military requirements.
The senior defense official said the department intends to direct resources toward bases considered essential to US operations, suggesting that reconstruction decisions will depend on broader changes to Washington’s regional deployment strategy.
The financial cost of rebuilding the damaged installations has also yet to be fully disclosed.
While the Pentagon has provided lawmakers with estimates related to the war with Iran, those figures have not included a complete assessment of damage to US military bases. … Full article
The Cradle | October 21, 2026
Iraq shut the strategic Sheeb border crossing with Iran on 21 October, sources told western media outlets, framing the move as a result of intensified US pressure on Baghdad to strangle the Islamic Republic.
An Iraqi source told AFP that the crossing was shut “until further notice.” Two other sources said Washington is pressuring Baghdad to close more border crossings. … continue
Al Mayadeen | October 21, 2026
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that his country has opened special routes for ships carrying Iraqi oil through the Strait of Hormuz, with the aim of reducing the economic losses Iraq is bearing as a result of the strait’s closure.
In an interview for Iraqia News, Araghchi explained that Tehran is aware of the scale of the losses and economic burdens Iraq has incurred because of developments in the strait, stressing that the Iranian side has made efforts to mitigate them.
He added that the economic damage was not limited to Iran but extended to Iraq and the rest of the countries in the region, attributing it to the American-Israeli aggression and the subsequent disruption to navigation and trade.
Araghchi welcomed the withdrawal of American forces from Iraqi territory, praising the steadfastness of the Iraqi people and the role of the Iraqi Resistance in achieving this outcome.
In addition, the Iranian foreign minister noted that he discussed developments in Yemen and regional conditions with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, in addition to holding consultations with ministers taking part in the conference held in Baghdad on the Iranian nuclear file and issues of mutual interest. … Full article
Press TV – October 21, 2026
A senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has warned that Iran could target undersea Internet cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz if the country’s infrastructure is attacked.
Brigadier General Yadollah Javani, political deputy to the IRGC chief commander, made the remarks in an interview with Iran’s Arabic-language Al-Alam television news network on Wednesday.
Addressing the possibility of strikes against undersea Internet infrastructure, Javani said Iran would use its full capabilities if the country’s own infrastructure came under attack. … continue
By Peter Clack | October 7, 2026
The world consumes roughly 28 million tons of copper every year—a mass equivalent to five Great Pyramids of Giza.
Yet that refined metal is just the tip of the iceberg of a far more monstrous physical reality.
Beneath those 28 million tons of copper sits a massive geological footprint: billions of tons of blasted rock, colossal volumes of chemical tailings, vast energy expenditures and trillions of liters of water.
This is all fresh, relentless demand.
Crucially, up to 75 percent of that copper never enters individual turbines, solar panels or electric vehicles. It goes into the invisible grid infrastructure required to link everything together and make it function.
When you trace 28 million tons of copper backward into the Earth, the true scale and cost is staggering.
The drive to overhaul the global energy structure rests on a profound misunderstanding of physics: it treats energy supply as a ‘software’ problem while ignoring the devastating raw material gridlock caused by manufacturing billions of solar panels and over a million wind turbines, with hundreds of thousands more in the pipeline.
When an energy system shifts from reliable, high-density fuels—hydrocarbons and uranium—to low-density, intermittent sources like wind and solar, the physical apparatus needed to capture, convert, stabilize and transmit that diffuse flux just explodes.
It becomes an absurd trade-off: expending colossal amounts of finite, high-grade ‘fossil fuels’ upfront simply to dig up materials for low-density generators—generators that can never run a steel mill, power an ocean cargo vessel or sustain international air travel.
Mining is already a vast consumer of continuous energy. As global copper ore grades decline—frequently dropping to 0.5 percent or lower—the mass of rock that must be dug, hauled, and crushed grows exponentially per unit of recovered metal.
Crushing rock alone accounts for roughly three to four percent of total global electricity consumption. Demanding billions of additional tons of processed metal creates a self-defeating loop: huge volumes of reliable, baseline power are consumed just to extract the raw materials needed to construct weather-dependent hardware.
Yet the primary metals drain does not come from the turbines or arrays themselves. It stems from the enormous physical web needed to transport that energy across vast distances. Diffuse generators located hundreds of kilometers from cities require unprecedented volumes of step-up transformers, substations, high-voltage transmission lines and regional grid overhauls.
The heavy overhead wiring looping across the landscape regularly dwarfs the metal required to build the turbine in the first place. Because two centuries of industrial civilization have already extracted the highest-grade deposits, meeting future demand forces miners to dig deeper, crush harder and manage billions of tons of toxic slurry. … Full post
RT | October 20, 2026
Acting Serbian President Ana Brnabic has accused the European Parliament of breaking its own ethics rules and sending a team of political operators to Serbia “with already formed conclusions” about how they want this weekend’s election to end.
Former Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is running in parliamentary elections this Sunday, after vacating the presidency last month. Vucic’s coalition, led by his SNS party, is competing against the Student List – an electoral faction put together by the organizers of anti-government protests raging in Serbia since 2024.
European Parliament elections observers are due to arrive in Belgrade on Thursday. However, in a letter to Parliament President Roberta Metsola on Tuesday, Brnabic accused the team of political bias, pointing out that some of its members have openly expressed “extremely negative judgments about the authorities in Serbia [and] expectations for their removal.”
Lead EU observer Andreas Schieder monitored parliamentary elections in Serbia in 2023, and signed off on the official result, before accusing Vucic’s party of fraud and vote-buying. Brnabic explained this in her letter to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, which was seen by Serbian media outlets.
The appointment of Schieder, an Austrian Social Democrat, violates the UN’s Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, she continued. This document, to which all EU delegations are beholden, states that observers must be “free from any political, economic or other conflicts of interest.” … continue
Global Times | October 20, 2026
The Chinese Embassy in UK has urged Chinese nationals to protect personal property and privacy, amid multiple cases involving prolonged questioning and seizure of electronic devices by British border officials.
Multiple Chinese nationals have been detained and questioned for extended periods when entering or leaving the UK, with personal electronic devices, including mobile phones, also seized in several cases, the embassy said on Tuesday.
The cases involved several members of Chinese trade and business delegations visiting the UK, Chinese nationals traveling to visit relatives privately, and ordinary tourists, according to a post published on the Consular Affairs WeChat account of the Chinese Embassy in the UK. … Full article
The Cradle | October 21, 2026
UK universities have waged a coordinated crackdown on students and academics who express solidarity with Palestinians and oppose Israel’s genocide in Gaza since October 2023, deploying “repressive and heavy-handed measures” to stifle dissent, according to an Amnesty International report released on 20 October.
Examining 26 cases between October 2023 and September 2025, the rights group documented universities turning to campus bans, court injunctions, surveillance, and drawn-out disciplinary cases to quell peaceful protesters.
Students were subjected to disciplinary action for chanting, clapping, and wearing keffiyehs, acts that universities treated as threatening or disruptive without any evident sign that anyone had been targeted or harmed. […]
Some students discovered that senior administrators had compiled dossiers on their activities, denying them any means to access, contest, or have the files expunged, while in many cases their data was gathered or retained without consent or legal justification. […]
The group also raised alarm over counterterrorism measures such as the Prevent duty, which obliges university staff to refer people to police over suspected drift toward terrorism even when no crime has been committed, calling for it to be scrapped across the education sector. … Full article
MEMO | October 20, 2026
French prosecutors sought a 10-month suspended prison sentence on Tuesday and a two-year ban on holding public office for European Parliament member Rima Hassan for a deleted social media post citing one of the perpetrators of a deadly 1972 attack at Tel Aviv airport, broadcaster FranceInfo reported.
The prosecution argued that Hassan’s post amounted to “glorification of terrorism,” saying it “trivialized” the attack and “praised its perpetrator.”
The prosecutor’s office also rejected Hassan’s claim that the case was politically motivated, calling the alleged offense “flagrant” and denying that the proceedings were brought because of her political views. … Full article
MEMO | October 20, 2026
Pro-Palestinian activists blocked entrances to several German arms manufacturing sites on Tuesday, protesting the country’s continued weapons exports to Israel, Anadolu reports.
The coordinated sit-ins were organized by the group Peacefully Against Genocide.
Protesters targeted multiple locations of weapons manufacturers, including Rheinmetall facilities and a General Dynamics site.
In Berlin, demonstrators staged a sit-in in front of Rheinmetall’s plant in Wedding.
Laila Fuisz of Peacefully Against Genocide said in a statement that for three years people in Palestine have been killed daily.
“For three years Israel has been committing a genocide against Palestinians,” she said.
Despite that, the German government continues to approve weapons deliveries to Israel and companies such as Rheinmetall produce at full speed, Fuisz stressed.
“International law clearly prohibits participation in genocide through weapons deliveries, but that does not stop the state from continuing to deliver weapons,” she said.
“We are blocking weapons factories because it is necessary – not to break a law, but to defend the rights of all and protect human lives.” … Full article
MEMO | October 20, 2026
An Italian engineering consultancy has withdrawn from a planned cable car project near Jerusalem’s Old City, becoming the fifth foreign company to pull out of the initiative amid longstanding legal, environmental and political objections. […]
The decision follows the withdrawal of four other foreign companies, including three French firms and one Swiss company, that had previously considered involvement in the project. … Full article
Hind Rajab Foundation | October 19, 2026
Sean Glass commanded the “Vampire Empire” Company implicated in the killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab, members of her family, and the medics sent to rescue them. HRF’s investigation places him and his troops in the direct vicinity of Hind’s vehicle during the killing.
HRF alleges that he most likely gave the order to open fire. His alleged responsibility extends across Gaza: attacks on Al-Shifa Hospital, the destruction of the UNRWA headquarters, the razing of entire neighbourhoods, and the destruction of the Rafah Crossing—devastation he publicly celebrated.
Today, Glass walks free in the United States. HRF demands that the U.S. authorities arrest him and bring him to justice. … continue
Al Mayadeen | October 20, 2026
Seven Palestinians were martyred and others wounded in a series of Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent reported.
In northern Gaza, the body of Mahmoud Khalil al-Mutawwaq was transferred to al-Shifa Medical Complex after Israeli forces targeted him in the al-Qasasib neighborhood of Jabalia.
In Gaza City, Karam Abu Huzeima was killed by Israeli artillery fire in the southeastern Zeitoun neighborhood. Earlier, at dawn, an Israeli attack on an apartment killed Akram Yassin and his wife, Dina Abu Bakr.
In central Gaza, Karam Abu Batihan was martyred and another person critically wounded in an Israeli attack outside the entrance to al-Sawarha cemetery in al-Zawaida on Tuesday evening. Both were taken to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah.
Baraa Maarouf was also killed in an Israeli attack while riding a motorcycle near Wadi Gaza, north of al-Nuseirat refugee camp.
In the south, Nasser Medical Complex said the teenager Majd Mohammad Fakhri Hassan, 15, was killed by Israeli gunfire in Qizan al-Najjar, south of Khan Younis.
Nasser Medical Complex received six Palestinians wounded by Israeli gunfire near the “Yellow Line,” while Israeli forces wounded three others with gunfire in the al-Mawasi area of Rafah, in southern Gaza, according to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent.
In central Gaza, heavy gunfire from Israeli military vehicles east of al-Maghazi refugee camp wounded one person, while an Israeli drone struck al-Bureij refugee camp. … Full article
Al Mayadeen | October 20, 2026
Saudi warplanes launched 93 air and missile attacks on civilian infrastructure across eight Yemeni governorates in the past 24 hours, Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced.
The attacks hit al-Jawf, Taiz, Saada, Marib, Hajjah, Lahj, Amran and Ibb, killing and wounding civilians, Saree said. He added that F-15 and Typhoon aircraft flew the sorties from bases in Khamis Mushait, Taif and al-Kharj, and from Sharurah Airport.
The latest raids bring the number of Saudi air and missile attacks since the escalation began to 2,793, according to Saree.
Saudi aircraft bombed fishing boats off al-Kadaha beach in Dhubab district on Yemen’s western coast, killing eight fishermen, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent reported.
After the first attack, the aircraft returned and targeted the fishermen who had survived as they tried to escape, killing all of them in a second attack… Full article
Al Mayadeen | October 20, 2026
The UK government announced Tuesday that it will deploy fighter jets and additional military personnel to Saudi Arabia, expanding its military support for Riyadh amid the renewed aggression against Yemen.
The British Ministry of Defense said the deployment would provide “additional defensive military support” to Saudi Arabia, including Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fighter jets tasked with protecting Saudi cities and critical infrastructure from aerial attacks. […]
Alongside the fighter jets, Britain will send a military transport aircraft to facilitate the movement of defense equipment within Saudi Arabia. British military advisers will also assist Saudi staff officers, according to the Ministry of Defence.
British Defense Minister Wes Streeting condemned the Yemeni Armed Forces’ retaliatory operations, describing them as “absolutely despicable,” but neglected Saudi attacks that have targeted civilian sites across Yemen. … Full article
The Cradle – October 20, 2026
US special envoy Tom Barrack conceded that a “ground kinetic” battle in Yemen by the US “seems fruitless” during a talk at the Global Security Forum in Qatar on 20 October.
“I think the president’s been clear that he supports Saudi Arabia and the backing that they need logistically he will supply. But America getting involved in a ground kinetic battle somewhere else seems fruitless.” … continue
Al Mayadeen | October 20, 2026
Ukraine has deployed drone personnel and thousands of microdrones across countries surrounding Iran, including Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, an Iranian security source told Tasnim News Agency, highlighting the deployments as part of a broader network of hostile activities directed against Tehran.
According to the security source, Kiev had established an operational microdrone network across the region, with thousands of drones deployed in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.
The source withheld the names of the countries hosting Ukrainian personnel and equipment, stating that the information remained confidential and would be disclosed in due course. … continue
Press TV – October 20, 2026
Iran’s Minister of Science, Research and Technology has announced that a branch of the University of Tehran will soon begin operating in Iraq, offering 14 academic programs, following approval by the Iraqi government.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony at University of Science and Technology on Tuesday, Hossein Simaei-Sarraf said the university would begin operations in Iraq in the near future.
“God willing, the University of Tehran’s branch will soon begin operating in Iraq with 14 academic programs,” he said, adding that the initiative had received approval from the Iraqi government.
Emphasizing the importance of international academic and cultural exchanges, the minister said education contributes to the promotion of peace, ethics and tolerance, particularly when it extends beyond national borders. … Full article
By Andrew M. Leonard | Responsible Statecraft | October 19, 2026
When the Senate returns to session after the midterm elections, it will face sharp debate over a highly contested Fiscal Year 2027 (FY2027) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The House version passed with a slim margin of 216-212, and included a provision entitled, “United States – Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative,” often referred to simply as “Section 219”; the pending Senate bill contains a related, but not identical provision, entitled “Section 1217: United States-Israel Framework for Upgraded Technologies, Unified Research, and Enhanced Security (FUTURES) Act of 2026”.
In title, the U.S.-Israel FUTURES Act sounds like one of many bilateral cooperative agreements between the U.S. military and a partner military force anywhere in the world. But in reality, as written, the provision would pressure existing security cooperation entities to expand and accelerate bilateral technological integration through a statutory executive agent arrangement that lacks clear precedent even among the U.S.’s closest allies. … continue
Al Mayadeen | October 20, 2026
Nearly half of active-duty US service members oppose the military’s involvement in the US war on Iran, with 48% expressing opposition, according to a poll conducted by Change Research for the veteran-led advocacy group Common Defense and published by Responsible Statecraft.
The poll surveyed 156 active-duty service members, 431 veterans, and 144 immediate family members of active-duty personnel between September 15 and 28. Its findings showed broader opposition to the war among respondents, with 49% opposed and 44% supportive.
Opposition was strongest among military families, who opposed the war by a 38-point margin, while active-duty personnel opposed it by 16 points. Veterans were the most supportive group, with 53% backing the war and 44% opposing it. … Full article
Press TV – October 20, 2026
Iran’s Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN has urged the world body’s Security Council to hold an emergency meeting and condemn threats by the United States and the Israeli regime against the Islamic Republic’s territory and critical infrastructure.
Gholamhossein Darzi made the remarks in a letter dated Monday and addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the president of the Security Council.
The letter cited recent US media reports that the White House and the US Department of War had prepared fresh military options, including the possible use of the GBU-43/B, known as the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) or so-called “Mother of All Bombs,” against Iran.
Darzi noted that US President Donald Trump had discussed the weapon in a televised interview and threatened further attacks. … continue
Al Mayadeen | October 20, 2026
Tehran no longer views Pakistani and Qatari mediation as yielding tangible results, Iranian sources told Al Mayadeen on Tuesday, as a Russian initiative coordinated with China proposes joint management of the Strait of Hormuz with Iran.
Iranian sources told Al Mayadeen that Tehran has come to view Pakistani and Qatari mediation as ineffective in delivering tangible results, citing Islamabad and Doha’s limited ability to influence the US position. This has prompted Iran to explore alternative channels for mediation.
In this context, Iranian international affairs expert Mehdi Khan Alizadeh told Al Mayadeen that a new Russian diplomatic move could pave the way for Moscow to assume a more substantive mediating role, amid coordination between Russia and the United States. He pointed to a Russian initiative developed in cooperation with China that proposes joint management of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz with Iran.
Alizadeh explained that the initiative concerns the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf security. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Tehran addressed these issues, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is expected to visit Moscow again, reflecting continued efforts surrounding the Russian proposal. … continue
Press TV – October 20, 2026
Democrats on the US Senate Armed Services Committee have urged the Pentagon to publicly disclose the cost of damage to US military bases and facilities during the unprovoked war on Iran.
In a letter addressed to Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), on Sunday, five Democratic senators demanded that the Pentagon reveal the “true cost” of the war on Iran.
Senator Elizabeth Warren led efforts to prepare the letter, which was also signed by senators Mazie Hirono, Richard Blumenthal, Tammy Duckworth, and Gary Peters. They called on CENTCOM to release the estimate publicly, stating, “There is no rationale for classifying that cost estimate.”
“Americans deserve to know how much of their money is being burned on Trump’s war with Iran,” Warren said in an X post on Monday.
Video footage, satellite images, photos, and media reports have offered a glimpse of the destruction, painting a “dire picture of US bases and facilities damaged and destroyed by Iran,” the senators wrote.
The lawmakers are requesting unclassified responses by November 2, emphasizing that “Congress and the public need this information to determine the steps necessary to recover from this debacle.”
The Congressional Budget Office’s report last month estimated the cost of the war at $38 billion but stated that the Pentagon had not shared figures for damage to US military bases and facilities. … Full article
By Larry C. Johnson – SONAR21 – October 20, 2026
Washington and Israel are talking again about “finishing the job” in Iran. Before they do, someone should take a hard look at the bill for the jobs already done. My friend Karl Miller, who has called this region correctly more often than most of the people paid to do it, sent me his latest assessment on Monday. His conclusion is blunt: on the current course, another round of escalation is coming, and the countries paying for it will be the ones that never got a vote. … continue
RT | October 20, 2026
Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian facilities are “off-the-charts,” with around 8,200 strikes recorded over the past week alone as Kiev continues to reject US demands to stop attacks on oil refineries, Rodion Miroshnik, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s mission tracking alleged Ukrainian war crimes, said.
Speaking to TASS on Tuesday, Miroshnik reported that the attacks averaged nearly 1,200 daily, with 22 killed and 211 wounded, among them 13 children over the past week. He added that drone strikes accounted for 96% of the casualties.
According to the diplomat, the worst-hit areas include the Russian regions of Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson, as well as the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics – all of which are close to the front line and have been intensely bombarded by Ukraine throughout the conflict.
Miroshnik also accused Kiev of deliberately targeting more than 280 passenger buses since the beginning of the year. Ukrainian drones have often hunted civilian vehicles, including ambulances, in the frontline regions in recent months.
Ukraine has also shown no signs of moving toward an energy ceasefire, which was proposed by US President Donald Trump, Miroshnik said, pointing to drone attacks on two oil refineries in the regions of Saratov and Ryazan. Another drone raid on Sunday on St. Petersburg sparked a fire at an oil terminal. The attack killed one and injured five others, the local authorities said. … Full article
RT | October 20, 2026
A Ukrainian conscription officer previously convicted of bribery has been accused of beating a recruit to death in the western city of Lviv, Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) said on Tuesday.
In September, the suspect, together with other officers of the Territorial Center of Recruitment and Social Support (TCC), the body overseeing mobilization, brutally beat a prospective recruit, who could not defend himself with his hands cuffed behind his back.
“At the hospital, medical staff discovered that the man had sustained multiple rib fractures, severe lung damage, and other life-threatening injuries,” the DBR said in a statement. “Despite the efforts of the medical team, he could not be saved.”
The officer, who received a non-custodial sentence for bribery in August, is now formally suspected of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm resulting in death as part of a group. … Full article
RT | October 20, 2026
Six people have been injured after a man opened fire inside a military recruitment center in Kiev, local officials have reported.
The shooting occurred on Monday evening in the Ukrainian capital’s Pechersky District, amid mounting tensions over Kiev’s forced mobilization campaign and repeated incidents of violent resistance.
The National Police reported that three of its officers and three military personnel were injured and hospitalized. The recruitment center said the suspect “obtained a firearm” on the premises but did not explain how.
Journalist Roman Bochkala, who reported from the scene, identified the suspect as a man in his early 40s who allegedly used a SIG Sauer handgun. The man had reportedly been taken to the center after being seized by a patrol. … Full article
Sputnik – 20.10.2026
“It’s quite possible that these facts could serve as a tool to exert pressure on the Kiev regime,” but the US government “will never publicly acknowledge that they have leveraged drug cartels to further their own interests,” RAS Institute of Latin America senior researcher Alexander Stepanov told Sputnik.
Commenting on the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service’s report that the US is looking into the deployment of 80+ cartel members to Ukraine for drone training, Stepanov said he suspects Washington won’t take any substantive measures “because the criminal networks and cartels operating in the Western Hemisphere are affiliated with the US intelligence community.”
“These groups serve as proxy instruments for the US, deployed when necessary to pressure opposing governments and act as a key destabilizing factor – thus creating opportunities for the US to exert influence over the region.”
US intelligence even “oversees the recruitment of individuals from these cartels, categorizing them based on technical proficiency, equipment, and intended use,” Stepanov pointed out, highlighting the historical use of American prisons for this purpose, and the fact that “virtually the entire leadership of Mexico’s cartels comes from security or military backgrounds, including the special forces.” … continue
Al Mayadeen | October 20, 2026
China’s military accused the United States of undermining regional maritime security and stability on Tuesday after a US warship entered waters near Xianbin Reef in the South China Sea, according to RIA Novosti.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command Navy said the USS Charleston, a US littoral combat ship, entered waters adjacent to the reef, part of the Nansha Islands, without authorization from the Chinese government.
“On the morning of October 20, the US littoral combat ship USS Charleston intruded into the waters adjacent to Xianbin Reef of Nansha Islands without permission of the Chinese government,” the Chinese navy said.
The statement added that Chinese naval forces were dispatched to track and monitor the vessel in accordance with the law. … Full article
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- Huckabee aide goes to ‘unusual lengths’ to portray ‘Israel’ positively
- Colonizers Assault Father and Child, Destroy Olive Trees
- Israeli army arrests 16 Palestinians including Ibrahimi Mosque director in occupied West Bank
- Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian, Injure Three in Central Gaza
- Israeli attack wounds six in northeastern Lebanon
- YAF repel second Saudi-backed advance toward Bab al-Mandab
- Saudi airstrikes on Sanaa injure civilians, destroy two factories
- Yemeni forces repel Saudi forces attack near Bab al-Mandab
- British chemical warfare commentator’s MI6 ties exposed in leaked emails
- Russian military blogger detained in NATO country
- Zelensky ‘doesn’t give a damn’ about Ukrainians – Russian envoy
- ‘The Nord Stream pipelines will be relaunched,’ says right-wing Polish MEP Braun during meeting with AfD in Germany
- MEP blasts ‘Euro-Gestapo’ for lecturing Russia on democracy
- Colonizers Injure Olive Harvesters Near Salfit
- Israeli forces launched brutal assault on Gaza detainees on October 7
- Eight Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza, including two women and child
- Israeli attacks ravage South Lebanon, UNIFIL base near Kfar Chouba hit
- Israeli army shells outskirts of village in southern Syria
- Syria May Send Troops to Saudi Arabia Amid War with Ansar Allah
- Yemeni Armed Forces Warn Saudi Oil Facility Workers to Avoid Targeted Sites
- Houthis strike Saudi airports after ‘final warning’
- Pakistan secures $1.2 billion IMF bailout deal at key stage
- Pakistan rejects NYT report on military action against Yemen as ‘fake’
- Turkey rules out sending troops abroad to attack under Mecca Pact
- Sanaa forces advance in Taiz as Saudi-backed brigades surrender
- Baghaei to Rubio: Distorted narratives cannot erase US record of broken commitments
- UK whines about losing billions to ‘Putin tax’
