His right-wing rival, Flavio Bolsonaro lost by 51.79% to 48.21% and has refused to concede, vowing to seek an annulment of the vote
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has received congratulations from Latin American nations and fellow BRICS members after winning reelection as Brazil’s president.
Lula prevailed over right-wing challenger Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of jailed former President Jair Bolsonaro and an ally of US President Donald Trump, in the second round of the vote on Sunday.
The 80-year-old veteran politician secured 51.79% of valid votes against Bolsonaro’s 48.21%, according to the completed count published by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), winning a historic fourth term by more than 4.4 million votes.
The victory means Latin America’s largest economy is set to maintain its prominent role in BRICS rather than shift closer to Washington under the Bolsonaro political dynasty. The defeated challenger had openly questioned Brazil’s membership in the bloc, accusing Lula of using it to antagonize the United States.
Addressing jubilant crowds in Sao Paulo, Lula thanked Brazilians for his reelection and singled out young people who had taken to the streets during the campaign.
“Today, my remarks are about gratitude,” he declared, pledging to give citizens a greater say in government decisions. “We are going to change the way this country is governed.”
However, Bolsonaro has refused to concede defeat and vowed to seek the annulment of the election, accusing the Supreme Court of improperly interfering in the vote.
“Brazil cannot accept this dirty trick,” he declared, denouncing the last-minute decision to extend voting hours nationwide by two hours as “unacceptable” and equivalent to “changing the rules of the game while the game was being played.”
The controversial ruling by Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin, Lula’s former personal lawyer, followed complaints from the incumbent’s campaign that public transport disruptions had prevented voters from reaching polling stations.
However, Bolsonaro did not mention that his own campaign had also requested extended voting hours in several cities affected by severe weather.
The decision came shortly after the original 5 PM deadline, when many polling stations had already closed and sealed their electronic voting machines. Senior judges have reportedly acknowledged procedural errors in handling the extension but ruled out annulling the election, according to Folha de S.Paulo.
Montes Claros City councilwoman Iara Pimentel was injured by a projectile at a campaign event
A politician from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s party was injured when attackers threw stones and bottles at a campaign vehicle on the eve of Sunday’s crucial presidential runoff.
The violent incident came as Brazilians voted in a tightly contested election between left-wing incumbent Lula, who has championed closer ties with BRICS nations, and right-wing challenger and Donald Trump ally Flavio Bolsonaro.
Montes Claros City councilwoman Iara Pimentel, a member of Lula’s Workers’ Party (PT), was struck in the face during a campaign event late Saturday night in Minas Gerais state in southeastern Brazil, according to state news agency Agencia Brasil (ABr).
Video footage showed bottles, bricks, and other objects being thrown at the campaign vehicle carrying the politician. Later images showed her bloodied face.
Ajudem essas imagens a chegar à policia! Não podemos permitir que esse tipo de gente, que estimula o ódio, governo o país! https://t.co/51eU79KCLR
She was taken to a local hospital by ambulance, ABr reported.
“Thinking differently is a right. Political violence is a threat to democracy. No disagreement can justify acts of aggression or put lives at risk,” Pimentel said in a statement cited by the agency.
Ana Elisa, a 21-year-old congresswoman-elect from Lula’s Workers’ Party representing Minas Gerais, condemned the attack and called for those responsible to be held accountable.
Lula also condemned what he described as multiple incidents of violence during the election.
“The most sacred thing in democracy is democratic coexistence in diversity,” he said, according to ABr, arguing that neighbors should be able to support different political candidates and sports teams or hold different beliefs without resorting to violence.
The assault occurred just hours before polls opened on Sunday and weeks after the close of the first round of Brazil’s presidential election on October 4. Lula received just over 45%, while 47% went to Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro – who is serving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup following his 2022 election defeat. Trump has described the former president’s prosecution as a “witch hunt.”
The election has also been marred by allegations of interference by US tech giant Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Meta blocked the Facebook advertising account used by Lula’s team ahead of the first round on October 4, then prevented his official Instagram account from boosting posts days later, according to campaign officials.
Meta denied politically interfering in the election, but internal company messages acknowledged technical restrictions affecting Lula’s Instagram account, Folha de S.Paulo newspaper reported last week, citing internal communications.
The bloc’s leaders rushed to congratulate the student-led opposition on its projected victory before the official vote count was complete
Serbia’s student-led opposition is leading in Sunday’s snap parliamentary election, according to preliminary results. Former Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has accused unnamed European powers and anti-Trump forces in the US of meddling in the vote to “bring down a sovereign country.”
According to preliminary results published by the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) early Monday, the opposition Student List leads with 51.84% of the vote, compared with 39.77% for Vucic’s United Serbia coalition, with nearly 93% of polling stations reporting.
The official figures have moved closer to the final projection by pollster Ipsos and election monitor CeSID overnight, which put the Student List at 52.9% and Vucic’s coalition at 38.8%, based on their stratified sample.
In his remarks earlier on election night, Vucic accused foreign powers of helping engineer his political downfall, describing the vote as the “verification of a revolution” carried out with direct support from “various European countries and the American deep state,” which he said was opposed to US President Donald Trump.
“I congratulate them, although they are merely the executors, the executors of dirty work devised by someone else to bring down a sovereign country,” Vucic said, referring to the student-led opposition.
“You have succeeded for the moment. For how long? We shall see,” he added.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa were quick to congratulate the Student List, issuing virtually identical statements on X. Both pledged Brussels’ support for reforms and efforts to advance Serbia’s integration into the EU.
Vucic also warned that a new government could impose sanctions on Russia within months, despite opposition representatives insisting that Belgrade’s policy toward Moscow would remain unchanged.
The former Serbian leader nevertheless pledged to respect the electorate’s decision and continue his political struggle from the opposition, dismissing speculation that he would flee the country.
“I love Serbia. I will never leave Serbia,” Vucic declared, insisting that his party would remain united and politically active.
The election follows nearly two years of political unrest sparked by the deadly collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad in November 2024, which killed 16 people and fueled allegations of corruption and failures in safety oversight. Vucic resigned as president on September 27 to participate in the parliamentary race.
The Ukrainian leader has worked against the US president’s interests and pocketed American taxpayer money, the senior Russian official has said
Vladimir Zelensky’s disregard for Donald Trump is doing more damage to the US president’s interests than Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela do combined, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday.
Ukraine’s leader has publicly backed Trump’s predecessor and former political rival, Joe Biden, rejected US proposals to settle the Ukraine conflict and worked to turn European leaders against Trump, Medvedev alleged.
“The Kiev scumbag regularly spits straight in the face of the US president, ignoring his demands and turning influential Americans (and not-so-influential Europeans) against him,” Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said in a Telegram post.
He said that Zelensky “shamelessly lined his own pockets with American taxpayer money” under Biden, who Trump says provided Ukraine with some $350 billion in US aid. “And he kept dipping into the pot under Trump, too, taking whatever was left,” Medvedev added.
The Ukrainian “cozied up to Mexican drug cartels” by providing drone warfare training in exchange for proceeds from drug sales in the US, he alleged.
Zelensky has also “given the American president the finger” by refusing to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries despite Trump’s repeated warnings.
There is a growing rift between Trump and Zelensky over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. The US president has demanded that Ukraine stop, accusing it of exacerbating the global fuel crisis and raising prices for Americans – a sensitive issue ahead of the November 3 US midterms. Kiev has thus far refused.
Zelensky has also accused Washington of temporarily restricting intelligence sharing and access to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite network, which Ukraine uses for battlefield communications and drone operations.
To ease the fuel crisis, Trump temporarily waived sanctions on Russian fuel exports as part of a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Under the agreement, Moscow agreed to supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel immediately, another 500,000 tons in November and further shipments thereafter. The first three tankers carrying Russian diesel are already heading across the Atlantic, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday.
The Yemeni militants confirmed new attacks as the conflict with the Riyadh-led coalition intensifies
Yemen’s Houthis have struck several targets in Saudi Arabia, including two international airports and energy infrastructure facilities operated by the oil giant Saudi Aramco, the group’s military spokesman said on Saturday.
The conflict between Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, and the Saudi-led coalition escalated last month, when the militant group seized the Red Sea port cities of Mocha and Dhubab as well as Perim Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The Houthis have since tightened their siege of Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city and a key stronghold of anti-Houthi forces.
In a statement posted on X, Yahya Saree said the Houthis had conducted seven operations using ballistic missiles and drones, targeting King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Najran Airport and Khamis Mushait Air Base, as well as Aramco’s facilities in Yanbu, the Rabigh oil refinery and crude oil pumping stations, and a pipeline linking eastern and western Saudi Arabia.
The spokesman said the attacks were carried out in response to what the group described as Saudi “aggression” against Yemen. Saree claimed Saudi forces had launched 100 airstrikes over the previous 24 hours, targeting civilian infrastructure in Sanaa and other areas, leaving dozens dead and wounded. He said the Houthis would continue attacking Saudi territory until the “aggression” ends and the Saudi-led coalition lifts its restrictions on the movement of goods and people into and out of Yemen.
The latest attack came as Riyadh’s main air hub prepared to resume operations after more than two weeks of disruption following earlier Houthi strikes. The facility announced a partial reopening from Sunday. In a separate post on X, Saree warned that airlines, airport staff and passengers against using the site, calling it a military target and saying it would remain unsafe.
The spokesman also accused Riyadh of spreading false claims that the Houthis had targeted the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, insisting that the group’s operations were directed solely at Saudi oil facilities and military bases and were announced as they took place.
The accusation came in response to Saudi Civil Defense claims that debris from the interception of two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis fell in the Mecca and Medina regions on Saturday. The debris landed in several locations, including Wadi Al-Mughammas in Mecca, Jeddah, Taif and Rabigh, the agency said on Saturday.
Yemen’s civil war began in 2014, with Saudi Arabia leading a military intervention the following year to support the internationally recognized government against the Houthis. Fighting eased under a UN-brokered truce in 2022 but escalated sharply in September 2026.
The renewed conflict has seen the Houthis launch missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities, while the Riyadh-led coalition has intensified airstrikes on Houthi positions, command centers and weapons networks.
The Houthis have claimed the total number of Saudi airstrikes and missile attacks since the latest escalation began has reached 3,123.
The streets may eventually fall silent, but the struggle over who governs, who pays and what survives is only beginning
These days, European headlines resemble reports from a war zone: from stormed city halls in Marseille and Lille, to looted boutiques along the French Riviera, burned tourist offices in Lyon, and clouds of tear gas enveloping the Élysée Palace. The ‘day of rage’ in France drew over 800,000 protesters onto the streets – an event that was dismissed by Paris and the European mainstream as merely the “spontaneous revolt of the outskirts” or a “raid by migrants.” However, a closer look at the ‘rebels’ reveals respectable, bourgeois-looking students and well-off citizens engaging in destruction and violence.
None of these people know what to expect from the future of mainstream European politics. In this shifting landscape, old institutions are losing their legitimacy, while right-wing political forces – whose ideas are increasingly seen as rational amid the chaos – are emerging on the broader European stage.
French President Emmanuel Macron arrogantly advised the people to express their political will in six months during the forthcoming presidential elections; however, the streets responded to Macron’s proposal with looting and arson targeting government buildings. This reaction serves as a precise diagnosis of the French political system. The country’s civic framework can no longer hold society together and there is no confidence in a stable future.
Many believe that the current riots in France are a “spontaneous revolt of the outskirts.” However, as Fyodor Lukyanov, Research Director at the Valdai International Discussion Club writes, we are witnessing an inverted version of May 1968. Nearly 60 years ago, the nationwide wave of protests led by students and leftist intellectuals shaped the liberal framework that has dominated global and European politics ever since.
Today, it has reached the point of aggressive absurdity. The old narratives of ‘liberation’ have been successfully adopted by the bourgeois youth, whose behavior is more violent that of an uncivilized tribe, as HSE professor Alexander Filippov notes. But then, one may remember that, centuries ago, the Bastille wasn’t stormed by migrants either.
How did this happen? The liberal establishment in Paris and Brussels has become totally detached from ordinary citizens. Its agenda is completely irrelevant to society. Having imposed a rigid “confrontation with Russia” at the expense of the prosperity and development of its own people, the EU offers its citizens no viable ideas for survival.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen suggested at a Paris business forum in August that Europeans should tighten their belts and become a continent that “produces, invests, and protects” by tapping into “idle” domestic savings. Her logic implies using household savings to fund the real economy through the Capital Markets Union. Clearly, the proposal to dip into citizens’ savings while shifting the risks of factory bankruptcies onto them can only be met with outrage by the decent bourgeoisie brought up on ‘European ideals’.
The system has set a trap for itself: in order to retain its waning power, the left-liberal establishment is forced to close its eyes to the riots of anarchists and radical leftists. The authorities fear street protests far less than the rise of their right-wing opponents. The liberal mainstream would rather burn cities than allow rational thinkers with worldviews grounded in national interests to come to power.
Despite their passion for destruction, the rioters have no idea how to reconstruct the future of united Europe. Moreover, as Irina Maltseva, head of the ‘France and Francophone countries: Politics, economics, culture’ project at the HSE Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies points out, the spontaneous street protests will inevitably die down as the presidential campaign approaches. Protests will wane, leaving us to wonder – what comes next?
The fight between left-wing and right-wing forces in Europe
The escalating competition between right and left-wing factions in Europe has transcended mere philosophical debate. It would be a mistake to view each new crisis as an isolated anomaly within the EU. Incidents like the riots in Paris, the brief unrest in Milan, the migration chaos in Ceuta, or the victory of the far-right in Germany’s Saxony-Anhalt state are all interconnected threads in the same narrative, best described as the collapse of the prevailing model.
Beneath the ideological clash between the right and left lies a harsh economic reality – the struggle over who will bear the costs of the sanctions crisis orchestrated by the European Commission. The establishment has attempted to persuade the world that a post-industrial economy – characterized by AI integration, cryptocurrency transactions, a shift toward green energy, Capital Markets Union speculations, and “normative” values – is more important than factories, raw materials, ports, and affordable energy. However, this is a path to economic self-destruction. The street protests in France and Italy vividly illustrate that Europe can no longer afford to uphold its previous social contract. Budget deficits are spiraling out of control and are becoming the EU’s economic curse.
Budapest serves as a prime example of this systemic failure. The Hungarian Parliament is currently reviewing the national budget proposal. Prime Minister Peter Magyar acknowledged that the country is grappling with a record-breaking, suffocating budget deficit of 7.5% to 8.3% of GDP. The economic strategies of past years, reliant on uninterrupted cheap energy from Russia and long-term loans from China, have collapsed under the pressure of the REPowerEU plan.
The Hungarian government’s only remaining support mechanism is the so-called ‘solidarity contribution’ tax imposed on excessive profits in opposition-led cities, but local governments can no longer afford to pay it amid the current crisis. To prevent Hungary from experiencing large-scale social upheavals similar to those in France, Magyar is urgently implementing a progressive tax system, cutting government contracts, imposing a wealth tax on billionaires, and escalating tensions with EU leadership by demanding the immediate unfreezing of €16 billion in EU grants, while threatening Orban with lifetime imprisonment if he pushes the opposition onto the streets.
The analysis of the internal dynamics of economic issues in the EU, however, should not boil down to a simplistic equation of ‘budget deficit = street protests’. For example, we may wonder why there are no protests in Poland and Romania, despite similar or even more severe budget deficits (7.3% and 7.9%, respectively), while Albania (a rather financially stable country and non-EU member) is engulfed in turmoil and the Flamingo Revolution.
The answer seems to lie in the differing nature of the deficit and the resilience of national institutions. In Poland and Romania, budget shortfalls are currently masked by rampant electoral populism and ‘social bribes’ – like Romania’s subsidies for farmers or Poland’s price caps at gas stations.
The government manages to mitigate discontent with funds extracted from big business. However, in France, the government has completely exhausted this option. The budget deficit has led to direct cuts in essential social commitments – from school funding to suburban support – quickly eroding its legitimacy.
For many Europeans, the right-wing agenda and national self-interest have become the only rational option. Right-wing pragmatists propose a clear audit and financial protection, while Brussels’ liberal framework advocates for insolvency for the sake of rather dubious dogmas.
The tactics of growing competition, or how to succeed in the ‘darkroom’
Contemporary global politics resembles a sort of ‘darkroom’ where old rules no longer apply, and new ones are still taking shape. The key revelation is that the ‘new right’ has learned to navigate this darkness by playing by Brussels’ own rules. There’s a growing understanding that to save the industrial base from stifling deficits, ideological romanticism must be abandoned.
A good example is Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Her approach has shown that it’s possible to dutifully follow external Euro-Atlantic rituals while negotiating exceptions from Brussels on crucial issues vital to the national economy – such as energy or migration.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico follows a similar path, cleverly blending leftist social principles with hardline national populism. Bratislava is demanding official transitional periods and exemptions from the European Commission to continue receiving Russian gas, citing the need to protect the wallets of its voters.
A comparable maneuver is being executed by Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis; while his policies can’t be called pro-Russian, pragmatism dictates a simple truth: if Czech factories want to survive amid America’s selfish diesel policy, they’ll need to negotiate with Moscow. Even Hungary has adeptly shifted the discussion to a language of tough bargaining. Budapest has formally agreed to comply with REPowerEU requirements and phase out Russian energy supplies by October 2027, but insists that the EU must provide compensation, or else Hungarian companies will face bankruptcy.
Poland’s stance is particularly notable. Rhetorically, Warsaw demands a complete sanctioning of Eurasian projects, presenting itself as Europe’s “primary eastern shield.” Yet this is merely an attempt to maintain appearances during a losing game. Internal realities compel Warsaw to negotiate with Beijing to preserve transit through the Malaszewicze hub and to impose a 60% windfall tax on its state-owned company Orlen to temporarily quell public dissatisfaction at gas stations ahead of elections.
Remarkably, this ‘trial by rage’ is unfolding not only within the EU, and it doesn't only affect Western capitalist giants. The trend is taking on a global scale.
In Albania, the ‘Flamingo Revolution’ is brewing. The social upheaval was sparked by the allocation of resort zones for a mega project spearheaded by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and undermined the decade-long stability of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s left-liberal government. In a desperate attempt to cling to his dwindling legitimacy, Rama resorted to his usual tactics, accusing street protesters of links to the American Antifa political movement and “Moscow’s influence.”
The pendulum has swung even further in India, where a massive youth uprising led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and Rahul Gandhi’s opposition alliance has paralyzed major cities from New Delhi to Mumbai. Although the immediate trigger was the Special Intensive Revision of electoral polls, the underlying issue is similar to the problem in France: the pro-American digital outsourcing model and liberal dogmas can no longer sustain the younger generation amidst a global crisis.
The issue isn’t capitalism per se, but rather the collapse of its specific, degenerate form: liberal globalization. In its place arises a rigid, sovereign capitalism rooted in national self-interest. The new right-wing pragmatists are not ‘Moscow’s friends’. They merely advocate for their own wallets in times of scarcity.
For Russia, this is an important signal: the West’s ‘unified’ sanctions policy has turned into an uncomfortable, but purely decorative facade; and behind it, we glimpse scenes of impressive but ultimately meaningless discontent. In this light, a critical question arises – will the political mainstream acknowledge its defeat and negotiate with its opponents, or will it continue to operate under the “apres nous, le deluge” (after us, the flood) principle? A key indicator will be the formation of a coalition between the ruling government and right-wing forces in Saxony-Anhalt, and their ability to govern effectively and maintain power in the long term.
Links with Russia and the country’s long-standing EU candidacy are among the key issues in Sunday’s snap parliamentary vote
The mother of former Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic was attacked by his political opponents in Belgrade on Sunday, his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) has alleged.
Serbia is voting for its next government and Vucic is running for prime minister. His ruling coalition has been polling strongly against a student-backed opposition movement, attempting to remove SNS from government after 14 years in power.
“A group of young men... shoved Angelina Vucic, screamed at her, and tore open the bags of groceries she was carrying from the market,” SNS said in a statement on its official website. The statement alleged that the attackers were aligned with anti-government protesters who have occupied universities and blocked roads across the country.
The party denounced the alleged assault as an “unacceptable act of aggression, humiliation, and intimidation.”
“No one’s mother, no one’s grandmother – no woman at all – should ever be a target of violence due to political differences!” it added, demanding that police take decisive action against the attackers.
Vucic resigned on September 27 following two years of protests, saying he wanted to participate in the election as an ordinary citizen. His ruling coalition led the student-backed opposition by 47% to 40%, according to an Ipsos poll published on Thursday.
Anti-government protests followed the deadly collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad in 2024, which killed 16 people and sparked allegations of corruption and safety oversight failures.
Vucic has accused foreign organizations of funding the ongoing demonstrations, alleging on Thursday that actors abroad wanted to remove him from Serbia’s political landscape.
The politician has also pledged to keep Serbia out of any future war with Russia if elected, warning that Europe is preparing for a military confrontation with Moscow.
The prime minister wants to move away from military neutrality – and the Irish people could be left with a bill for foreign entanglements
The Irish political week has once again been marked by bitter exchanges, this time over the Triple Lock Agreement, our long-standing tradition of military neutrality, and whether a referendum should be held before any fundamental change is made to it.
Taoiseach (Ireland’s prime minister) Micheal Martin has accused the country’s largest opposition party Sinn Fein, which fiercely opposes the idea of dismantling Triple Lock, of not giving a “continental” about Irish neutrality. The word is his own, and it is worth reflecting on its meaning.
But I have a question of my own for Mr. Martin: does he give a continental about the health and well-being of the Irish people?
What does neutrality mean to a parent whose three-year-old child is suffering in agony while waiting nine hours in Galway Regional Hospital? What comfort does it offer families struggling to access essential medical care, or parents and students caught up in this week’s education strikes? And what of the many other problems that continue to weigh upon ordinary Irish households?
The latest figures, obtained from the HSE by Padraig Rice, Social Democrats TD and Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Health, make the situation even more difficult to ignore. Between January and July of this year, more than 70,100 people in Ireland either left emergency departments before completing their treatment or did not wait to be seen. A further 31,821 patients waited longer than 24 hours to be admitted or discharged. The average waiting time in emergency departments was 9.3 hours.
These matters concern real people, their children, their dignity, and their daily lives. Before our leaders lecture us about international responsibilities, should they not first explain why such basic needs remain unmet at home?
Ireland is not a wealthy country merely because figures on a government spreadsheet say so. A country’s true wealth lies in the quality of its health service, the education of its children, the reliability of its transport, and the infrastructure that allows people to live and work with confidence. By that measure, we still have much to do.
Yet Irish taxpayers are repeatedly asked to support ever greater expenditure connected with the conflict in Ukraine. At what point do we pause and ask whether our priorities are in the right order?
Mr. Martin, charity begins at home. Have you forgotten the recession of 2008 and the painful years that followed? Irish families know what it means to endure financial insecurity, lost opportunities, and the consequences of decisions made far above their heads. We should remember, too, the countries that stood by Ireland during difficult times, and consider carefully where our obligations lie today.
This week, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has again been pressing for further support for Ukraine while criticizing US President Donald Trump. Ordinary European citizens are expected to accept the bill.
But surely there comes a moment when the people who pay must be entitled to ask questions.
I believe European citizens should stand up for themselves, examine the priorities of their leaders, and refuse to treat every pronouncement from Brussels as unquestionable wisdom. Supporting a country in distress is one thing; allowing an open-ended political commitment to overshadow pressing needs at home is quite another.
Imagine what could be achieved if public money were spent with greater care and accountability. Imagine health services where children did not have to wait hours in pain, schools where disputes did not repeatedly interrupt education, and transport and infrastructure that served communities as they deserve to be served. These are not some extravagant dreams – just the reasonable expectations of a modern society.
Meanwhile, EU leaders continue to speak as though the destruction of Russia were a realistic or desirable political objective. I believe this approach is dangerously misguided. Russia is a major power, and European security requires clear thinking, diplomacy, and an honest assessment of the risks of prolonged confrontation. Declaring ever more money and resources necessary does not, by itself, bring peace any closer.
Nor does constant hostility offer a convincing vision for Europe’s future. António Costa, Kaja Kallas, Ursula von der Leyen, and other senior figures in the European hierarchy should be judged by the consequences of their decisions, not by the strength of their rhetoric. The EU was supposed to offer cooperation, stability, and prosperity. It should not become an institution in which confrontation abroad takes precedence over the needs of its own citizens.
And what of Ukraine itself? If European leaders genuinely care about the Ukrainian people, surely their first concern should be the preservation of human life and the search for a sustainable peace. Endless conflict brings suffering, displacement, destruction, and the loss of generations who might otherwise have built a future for themselves. The human cost deserves at least as much attention as the political ambitions of those directing the response.
I do not believe that the future of Europe should be built upon the assumption that Russia must be destroyed. I believe it should be built upon realism, diplomacy, accountability, and the recognition that war always extracts its price from ordinary people first.
Ireland has its own history of hardship, resilience, and recovery. We know what it means to struggle, to rebuild, and to depend upon the solidarity of others. That history should make us thoughtful about the suffering of people elsewhere, but it should also remind us of our responsibility to our own citizens.
Before asking Irish taxpayers to shoulder yet another burden, our government should explain what it is doing to ensure that a sick child receives timely treatment, that pupils receive the education they need, and that public services function as they should.
Mr. Martin, the question is not whether Ireland should care about the wider world. Of course it should. The question is whether caring about the wider world has become an excuse for neglecting the people who elected you.
Charity begins at home. So does responsibility. And so, ultimately, should political accountability.
It is time for Ireland, and for the EU, to put ordinary people back at the center of public life. Our taxes should serve the public good, our leaders should be answerable for their choices, and diplomacy should seek to preserve lives rather than prolong their destruction.
The bloc talks, but takes no actual steps toward finding a solution to the conflict, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said
The EU stance on the diplomatic process to settle the Ukraine conflict has not been constructive, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
Berliner Zeitung reported earlier this week that Finnish President Alexander Stubb is being seen as the most likely candidate to represent Brussels in possible peace talks with Moscow, Washington, and Kiev. Finland’s proximity to Russia – the two countries share a 1,340 km border – and Stubb’s good relations with US President Donald Trump make him the best fit for the job, according to the paper.
When asked to comment by TASS on Sunday, Peskov said that “the EU has been willing to [appoint a negotiator] for a very long time, but it either cannot do so or lacks the resolve to do so.”
The bloc’s stance “can hardly be called constructive” because its leaders “are only talking and not taking any action,” he stressed.
However, the Kremlin spokesman noted that “if there was to be a negotiator – that would be good. And if that negotiator was someone genuinely committed to facilitating a peaceful settlement – that would be even better.”
Peskov did not say how Moscow would react if Stubb is actually given the job. The Finnish president has been one of the staunchest supporters of Ukraine in the EU. In an interview with German tabloid Bild in August, he claimed that Ukraine was “the best security guarantee” that the bloc had against Russia, arguing that “If Ukraine loses, we lose.”
Following a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, Moscow announced that it was ready to restart trilateral talks with Washington and Kiev to settle the Ukraine conflict. The next such meeting could take place in Abu Dhabi in mid-November, according to the Kremlin.
The Telegraph reported on Thursday that there has been “a growing sense of urgency” in Europe to find a representative to join the peace negotiations, despite refusing to talk to Russia for years and insisting on a military solution to the Ukraine conflict.
The paper also placed Stubb on its list of candidates being considered by the EU, which also included Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Czech President Petr Pavel, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and the head of the Norwegian government, Jonas Gahr Store.
Speaking about peace negotiations on Friday, European Commission deputy chief spokesperson Arianna Podesta stressed that “there is an expectation that there will be a multilateral-level discussion with representatives at a senior official level, and the EU will be present at these talks.”
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the EU leaders “constantly speak of a ‘Russian threat’ and even discuss preparations for a war with Russia – which, in my view, amounts to a kind of political schizophrenia. But I hope that it will pass.”
Putin reiterated that Moscow is not seeking a truce but “definitive, long-term agreements” as a result of the Ukraine peace talks, adding that the discussions should also address a wider all-European security architecture.
The organizers have claimed that more than 100,000 took part in a rally in Tel-Aviv
A major protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken place in Tel-Aviv just days ahead of the Israeli parliamentary election on October 27.
A square outside the Museum of Art in the country’s largest city was packed on Saturday evening, with the demonstrators holding national flags and banners, reading ‘Change will come’, ‘No more Mr. Far Right Guy’ and other slogans.
The organizers of the gathering from the October Council group put the attendance at over 100,000. The police have yet to announce official figures.
Netanyahu’s main rival in the election – Yashar party chairman and former military chief of staff, Gadi Eisenkot – and other leaders of the opposition bloc have attended the rally. The crowd cheered Eisenkot’s appearance, chanting: “Who’s coming? The next prime minister.”
The October Council was formed by families of the victims of the attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023, who demand accountability from Netanuahy’s right-wing government for the failure to prevent the incursion.
Saturday’s protest, organized with the title ‘In Three Days, Vote for a State Commission of Inquiry’, is the culmination of three years of weekly rallies, according to the group.
The State Commissions of Inquiry, which are independent panels appointed by the Supreme Court, are usually set up in Israel to investigate major failures by the authorities. However, Netanyahu refused to establish such a probe into October 7, insisting that it would be biased against his government.
Reports in the US and local media claimed that the prime minister ignored warnings of the planned attack by Hamas he had received from various sources, including Israeli intelligence and the UAE and Egypt. Netanyahu has denied those claims.
A poll by public broadcaster KAN published before the start of the election silence period on Friday, suggested that Eisenkot’s opposition bloc would get 52 out of 120 in the Israeli parliament, with Netanyahu and his supporters winning 50 seats. This means that neither is likely control the Knesset outright.
Israel responded to the October 7 incursion by Hamas, in which 1,200 people lost their lives and around 250 were taken hostage, by launching a military campaign in Gaza.
Israeli airstrikes and a ground offensive have killed more than 74,000 Palestinians, including at least 21,000 children, and injured over 175,000 others in the enclave over the past three years, according to the local Health Ministry. More than 1,500 deaths happened after a US-brokered ceasefire went into effect in October 2025.
Investigators are examining whether the suspect intended to offer confidential company information to Saudi Arabia
The FBI is examining whether a former OpenAI engineer accused of bugging an executive meeting room intended to offer secrets to Saudi Arabia.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is weighing an economic espionage charge against a former OpenAI engineer accused of bugging a restricted conference room, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing a law-enforcement official.
Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national, was arrested on October 9 after OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, discovered an encrypted recorder behind a television in an executive meeting room at its San Francisco offices. He is currently charged with using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications, an offense carrying up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Investigators are now examining whether Alfozan stole information to offer to the Saudi government, even without having been recruited to do so, according to the WSJ. He is also reportedly being investigated for possible trade secret theft. An economic espionage conviction could carry up to 15 years in prison and a $5 million fine per count.
His lawyer, William Pernik, said he had received no information about a possible espionage case, telling the WSJ that his client “will fight these charges and allegations in court, not in the press.”
Pernik has stressed that Alfozan was charged with violating a federal recording statute, “not stealing trade secrets or working as a foreign agent.”
OpenAI and the Saudi Embassy declined to comment when approached by the newspaper.
According to court documents, prosecutors claim that Alfozan, who joined OpenAI in July 2025, had intended to capture sensitive discussions about its AI technology. He allegedly maintained frequent contact with an unnamed member of the Saudi royal family throughout 2025 and 2026, with whom he discussed a potential job at an AI initiative in the kingdom. His ties also included a role at Saudi investment firm Raed Ventures alongside Prince Khalid bin Bader Al Saud, though the prince was not identified as the royal involved.
Prosecutors said that Alfozan had booked tickets to the kingdom for himself, his wife, and their infant son for October 12. After his arrest, a flight for his family was reportedly arranged by a member of the Saudi military, whom Alfozan’s lawyer identified as his wife’s brother-in-law acting in a personal capacity.
The Saudi consulate has offered to cover his full bail, arrange supervision, and withhold travel documents, while the defense offered an additional $1 million in his assets.
On Monday, Magistrate Judge Alex G. Tse nevertheless denied release over flight concerns, describing the offer as “problematic.”
“It seems like a blank check: ‘We’re gonna pay whatever the court wants to make sure he gets out,’” the judge said, noting that Saudi Arabia has no extradition treaty with the US.
Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, whom US President Donald Trump appointed earlier this month to lead a federal AI task force, said the case underscored why winning the AI race was “a national security prerogative” and pledged to safeguard “America’s cutting-edge intellectual property from foreign threats.”
The incident comes amid intensifying global technological competition, with Trump insisting that America must prevail in the AI race at any cost.
The US president has repeatedly rejected calls by industry leaders to slow the development of increasingly powerful models, stressing that “Whoever wins AI, wins.”
The Israeli PM warned of declining international support and a potential end to US aid
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country must prepare to adapt its economy to global sanctions, citing declining international support and a potential end to US financial and military aid.
Public opinion toward Israel has grown increasingly negative amid the wars in Gaza and Iran. In the US, a recent Chicago Council on Global Affairs report recorded the country’s lowest favorability rating since its polling began in 1978, with a majority supporting reducing or ending military aid.
Last month, the UK announced a ban on imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband describing settlers as “terrorists” supported by Netanyahu’s government and accusing them of ethnically cleansing Palestinians. The same day, 11 other countries, including France, Spain, and Canada, joined Britain in a statement supporting the two-state solution and announcing plans to impose or consider restrictions on trade with the settlements.
“We must understand that there could be sanctions, including banking sanctions,” Netanyahu said in an interview which aired on Israel’s Channel 10 on Friday.
“We need to prepare an alternative economy capable of functioning by circumventing these sanctions,” he added, noting that blockchain technology, which underpins cryptocurrencies, was among the options under consideration and that he had already requested an implementation plan.
The Israeli prime minister also expressed concern over a potential shift in Washington’s position, saying that “it’s only a matter of time” before US military aid is completely “over.”
“If you think we’re going to continue receiving what I secured twice, and that’s tens of billions of dollars in American aid for the defense budget, prepare yourselves and get used to the fact that it won’t happen because America has changed,” he said.
Under an agreement signed in 2016, Washington committed to providing $38 billion in military aid through 2028. Netanyahu previously said he wanted to phase out the financial component of US military assistance within ten years.
Former prime minister and opposition figure Yair Lapid seized on the remarks, saying that “Netanyahu now admits, in his own words, that if his government is returned to power, American military aid will end and Israel will face sanctions that will devastate our economy, trigger uncontrolled price surges, and cause irreparable damage.”
The comments come days before Israel’s first national election since the October 7 Hamas attacks, with accountability for security failures, the cost of living, ultra-Orthodox military service, and the country’s international standing among the issues facing voters. Neither Netanyahu’s allies nor the opposition have a clear path to a parliamentary majority.
The Ukrainian military violated the service’s terms by conducting deadly drone strikes, the SpaceX CEO has said
SpaceX has closed a “loophole” that allowed the Ukrainian military to use the civilian satellite internet network for offensive drone strikes, Elon Musk has announced, telling warmongers who prolong the conflict to “burn in hell.”
The billionaire’s harsh remarks on Saturday come amid a deepening rift between Washington and Kiev, with US President Donald Trump accusing Vladimir Zelensky of repeatedly rejecting opportunities to end the conflict and worsening global fuel shortages by attacking Russian oil infrastructure.
“Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be,” Musk wrote on X. “Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week.”
Correct.
Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be.
Starshield, a different system, is controlled by the US government. What they decide to do is up to them.
Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week.
Starlink remains critical to the defense of Ukraine, as it is the only system that cannot be jammed or blown up, at least for now. Were Starlink to be turned off, the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately. This is NOT a threat, it is simply a statement of fact.
Starlink was also crucial to preventing Russia from overrunning Ukraine in the early days of the war, as all other means of communication were destroyed or jammed by Russia.
SpaceX has done more to defend Ukraine than any private company on Earth BY FAR.
That said, I have nothing but UTTER CONTEMPT for the virtue-signaling evil warmongers who push for endless slaughter and offer no realistic solution to the conflict. May you burn in hell.
End of story.
The SpaceX CEO distinguished between the commercial Starlink network and Starshield, a separate military-grade system controlled by the US government. “What they decide to do is up to them,” he said.
Musk concluded with a blistering attack on unnamed “warmongers” who keep pushing for war. His criticism echoes Trump’s increasingly harsh rhetoric toward Zelensky, whom the US president has accused of squandering numerous opportunities to negotiate an end to the fighting.
“I have nothing but UTTER CONTEMPT for the virtue-signaling evil warmongers who push for endless slaughter and offer no realistic solution to the conflict. May you burn in hell,” Musk wrote.
The comments follow days of controversy over restrictions imposed on satellite services used by Ukrainian forces. Kiev claimed the slowdown had disrupted drone operations and initially suggested that Washington was responsible.
Trump denied that his administration had ordered the restrictions. US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also rejected allegations of Washington’s involvement, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Kiev against escalating the dispute.
Musk stressed that Starlink remains essential to Ukraine’s military communications and battlefield survival. “Were Starlink to be turned off, the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately,” he wrote, adding that the statement was “NOT a threat” but an assessment of the military’s dependence on the network.
On Saturday, Kiev announced that Starlink and Starshield had returned to their previous operating speeds, with Ukrainian officials thanking Trump and other American representatives for helping resolve the disruption.
Earlier this month, the SpaceX chief declared that “Zelensky has gone too far” after the Ukrainian leader called Trump’s deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to ease the global diesel crisis a “weak decision.”
Musk has also accused Ukrainian elites of enriching themselves through Western assistance while ordinary Ukrainians are sent to die on the battlefield. He further alleged that some American taxpayer money sent to the country was being laundered back into US political campaigns.
Senators reportedly intend to derail President Donald Trump’s diesel deal with Russia, meant to lower prices at home
Democrats’ vehement opposition to the diesel deal that US President Donald Trump struck with Russia earlier this month proves they do not care about Americans’ well-being, guests have told RT.
According to recent media reports, a group of Senate Democrats are working on ways to block the arrangement that is meant to rein in skyrocketing diesel prices in the US, while a Republican Russia hawk has put forward legislation to nullify Trump’s efforts.
Speaking to RT on Saturday, American journalist John Varoli said that Democrats are engaged in a “political witch hunt” and so have no qualms about targeting a deal that is “in the interest of the American people.”
He predicted that should Democrats prevail in next month’s midterm elections, they would do “everything possible just to ruin this deal and to inhibit it” for purely ideological reasons.
American broadcaster Garland Nixon concurred that driven by “ideological anger at Russia,” Democrats are showing a disregard for the plight of American consumers.
“At this point, what we’re seeing [is that Democrats] are totally ignoring domestic issues, domestic policy, totally ignoring the working class, and they’re focusing only on foreign policy,” Nixon told RT.
He warned that if left unchecked, rising fuel prices could plunge the US economy into a “severe recession.”
Legal and media analyst Lionel told RT that opinion polls that predict a Democratic victory in the midterms should be taken with a grain of salt. He argued that American voters could punish the party for its efforts to undermine the diesel deal.
“This is political suicide to proceed with this,” he added.
Matt Weinglass, producer, director and host of The Homeless Left, argued that opposition to the diesel deal is driven by a decade-long political narrative vilifying Trump, which has taken precedence over the economic interests of ordinary Americans.
“It’s not going to help the American people. It’s going to help the billionaire class and the donor class, the people that have wanted to keep this conflict alive as long as possible,” Weinglass told RT. He also suggested that European leaders could join forces with Trump’s domestic opponents ahead of the midterms.
Former Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich argued that his former colleagues should abandon their longstanding hostility toward Russia and focus instead on ending the Ukraine conflict and the war with Iran, both of which have disrupted global energy markets and driven up fuel prices for ordinary Americans.
“There’s this animosity that has built up. And some Democrats are just having trouble letting it go, and they seize on every opportunity,” he told RT, dismissing the proposed legislation to block Russian fuel imports as “going nowhere.”
Rather than trying to derail Trump’s diesel deal, Kucinich urged Washington to redirect its resources toward domestic priorities. “We have problems here in America to take care of health care, retirement security, education, on and on and on,” he said. “That’s what we’ve got to be focused on, not on war.”
Since diesel is extensively used in agriculture and freight, its price has a direct impact on the cost of numerous other goods. Farmers and truckers are particularly vulnerable to diesel price spikes.
Amid global energy supply chain disruptions caused by the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, as well as the Ukraine conflict, diesel prices have risen considerably in the US, hitting a record $6.50+ per gallon in September, with prices in parts of California topping $8 per gallon.
The soaring costs have become an increasingly pressing domestic issue for Trump and his Republican Party ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
Earlier this month, the US president stated that Washington and Moscow had struck a deal for Russia to immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to American and global markets, followed by 500,000 tons in November, another million tons shortly thereafter, and potentially another three million tons. Shortly afterward, the US Treasury Department announced a temporary waiver of sanctions on Russian diesel, allowing the fuel to be sold, delivered, and imported into the US until April 7, 2027.
Inspired by French student unrest, anti-government protests have escalated into clashes with police across several European nations
Mass protests have swept across Europe over the weekend, with demonstrators clashing with riot police amid widespread anger over soaring living costs and government policies.
The unrest has largely been inspired by the protests in France, which began in September. Spearheaded by students, they were originally aimed at rising education costs, a lack of teachers, and the poor condition of educational facilities. They eventually morphed into widespread violence and now carry a broader anti-government undertone.
France remains the hotbed of the protests, with at least 410,000 people hitting the streets nationwide on Saturday, including some 110,000 in Paris, according to Interior Ministry figures. The CGT union, one of the key organizers of the demonstrations, put the estimate nearly twice as high, at about 800,000.
The French authorities have implemented strict security measures in an effort to avoid a repeat of widespread rioting over the past weekend. In Paris, the demonstrators were banned from gathering at several central locations, ending up confined to the city’s southeastern edge.
The protests nevertheless turned violent in multiple locations, including Paris, where clashes between police and rowdy demonstrators were observed after the march concluded. Violence has been reported in Clermont-Ferrand, Lyon, Marseille, Strasbourg, Nice, Nantes, and other cities, where law enforcement used riot control measures to repel protesters.
🔴 Marseille
Les forces de l'ordre sont visées par un mortier de feu d'artifice.
#24octobre https://t.co/E0yOMFTTvI
Nearly 1,000 people were arrested across France on Saturday, according to authorities, as several cities reported looting, vandalism and attacks on police. Some 70,000 officers were deployed nationwide to contain the unrest.
A Grenoble, en marge de la mobilisation du 24 octobre, des casseurs sont entrés et ont pillés un magasin alimentaire.
En plus des canettes, des chips, des pizzas, et tout autre type d’aliments sont jetés à la foule. Certains récupèrent les aliments et s’enfuient en courant. La… https://t.co/JyckQUAPAj
— Le Dauphiné Libéré Grenoble Sud Isère (@LeDL_Grenoble) October 24, 2026
🚨🇫🇷 MONTPELLIER : des manifestants tentent de FORCER un barrage de police, sans succès ! (Aury Bouzar) https://t.co/fnR9GRDc7P
Albania is another hotspot. Riot police repeatedly clashed with demonstrators in Tirana on Saturday as thousands gathered for renewed anti-government protests. Months of unrest have escalated into a nationwide movement fueled by soaring living costs, unemployment, corruption and deteriorating public services. Student-led demonstrations demanding cheaper education and better university conditions have intensified pressure on Prime Minister Edi Rama, whose resignation has become a central demand of the protesters.
Italy
Mass protests have also been held across Italy, which endured a wave of violence last weekend. Bracing for renewed unrest, the government deployed an additional 500 troops to Milan, where luxury boutiques were boarded up in an effort to prevent a repeat of looting and clashes.
Italy sends 500 military troops to Milan and business have boarded up in preparation for more riots. https://t.co/UxACjcaEBK
Still, violence erupted at many locations across the country, including Rome, Naples, and Bologna, with police seen deploying water cannons and using tear gas to try to disperse rowdy protesters.
A group of protesters forced their way into the Colosseum in Rome, briefly occupying the ancient landmark before being forced out by security guards. Elsewhere in the capital, demonstrators hurled bottles and firecrackers at police barricades.
Chaos in Rome. Masked rioters storm the Colosseum, forcing the entrance barriers. "Peaceful protest" they say. Unbelievable. https://t.co/9KROPmUWTe
Major anti-government demonstrations have been held in Brussels, Belgium. The country was one of the first to feel the spillover effects of the French unrest, with local youth also embarking on violent protests for the sake of better conditions in the education system.
The clashes in Brussels appeared to be less violent and much smaller compared to the previous weekend. Still, police were seen using pepper spray and tear gas to disperse demonstrators, even though they had reported no major incidents by the end of Saturday afternoon.
Spain
Spain has joined the weekend of protests too, with a massive pensioners’ demonstration held in Madrid. Thousands took to the streets of the Spanish capital, demanding better pensions and closing the gender gap, as well as regular indexation to inflation.
🚨 BREAKING: THOUSANDS PROTEST FOR HIGHER PENSIONS IN MADRID
Retirees marched in central Madrid demanding stronger public pensions, higher minimum payments and protection against a shift toward private pension funds. Attendance estimates ranged from 25,000 to 50,000. https://t.co/XikzAZDifO
While the pensioners' protest was orderly and peaceful, violence hit Spain’s second-largest city of Barcelona, where an unauthorized youth protest was staged. The rally was reportedly organized and coordinated through social media. While law enforcement managed to break up the main gathering, the protesters dispersed in smaller groups across the city, engaging in looting and arson, chaotic footage from the scene suggests.
Portugal
Lisbon also saw mass demonstrations on Saturday, with thousands marching against soaring rents and unaffordable housing. Protesters erected dozens of tents in the capital’s central Rossio Square despite police warnings and a crackdown earlier in the week, when officers dismantled a previous encampment and arrested 55 activists.
Grupos de extrema izquierda vuelven a montar la acampada en la plaza del Rossio, en Lisboa, tras días de su desalojo por la Policía portuguesa. https://t.co/cz4PCMz0el
Rebranded Confucius Institute chapters were trying to “infiltrate the minds of American students,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has claimed
The Pentagon has designated cultural programs linked to China’s Confucius Institute as a national security threat, according to US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. He claims that the centers, which largely offer Chinese language courses on American college and university campuses, serve as a front for Beijing’s “propaganda” campaign – an allegation Chinese officials have previously denied.
In a video posted on Facebook on Friday, Hegseth said that while the US Congress had previously “banned” the Confucius Institutes from American educational institutions, they “came back disguised in new forms” and under new names.
Hegseth was apparently referring to several measures passed by Congress in recent years that stripped universities that hosted Confucius Institutes of federal funding. The pressure from the lawmakers has led to the closure of multiple centers on US soil.
According to Hegseth, over the past two months, the Department of War has “systematically dismantled” 80 new Chinese-backed cultural centers across 30 universities, adding “these sleeper organizations to our list of institutions that threaten our national security.”
The official alleged that the targeted entities had sought to “steal intellectual property and to infiltrate the minds of American students,” but stopped short of providing any concrete evidence.
Back in 2020, the US Department of State designated Confucius Institutes as a “foreign mission of the People’s Republic of China,” requiring the institutions to regularly provide information regarding their Chinese personnel, recruitment, funding, and operations to the US government. The US Department of State characterized the China-funded cultural centers as “part of Beijing’s multifaceted propaganda efforts.”
Later that year, then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo alleged that the centers were working to recruit “spies and collaborators” at US colleges, and expressed hope that “we will get them all closed out.”
China’s Foreign Ministry at the time accused Pompeo of deliberately undermining cultural and educational exchanges “by discrediting Confucius Institutes… [out of] ideological bias and political expediency.”
Beijing urged Washington to “abandon the Cold War zero-sum mentality… [and to] stop interfering with normal people-to-people and cultural exchanges.”
Confucius Institutes have similarly come under government pressure in several other Western countries in recent years.
Last year, Australian media reported that six local universities had shut down Beijing-backed cultural centers amid government scrutiny, reducing the number of such entities in the country by half.
In 2020, several media outlets, including The Times, claimed that Sweden had become the first European nation to close all Confucius Institutes and related classrooms.
Senate threats over Russia sanctions waivers can scare companies off, hurting fuel supplies and driving up costs for everyone
With Americans struggling from soaring energy prices, and businesses across the country trying to keep their heads above water, the Democrats’ apparent priority is to threaten companies that might help ease the pressure.
According to an October 22 Washington Post report, Senate Democrats are preparing to investigate American companies involved in US President Donald Trump’s decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has reportedly asked businesses to preserve relevant documents ahead of possible congressional investigations, should Democrats regain control of Congress in the November midterms.
For a party that claims to champion working Americans, this is a peculiar way of demonstrating its concern.
Diesel is the lifeblood of the American economy. It powers the trucks that carry food to supermarkets, the tractors that harvest crops, the machinery that builds homes and roads, and the locomotives that move freight across the vast country.
Yet the people who depend on it have too often been treated as an afterthought by the Washington establishment. They live and work in the industrial towns, farming communities and sprawling rural counties that coastal political elites dismiss as flyover country.
Just recall Hillary Clinton’s infamous 2016 description of millions of Trump supporters as a “basket of deplorables” – a perfect crystallization of the contempt that many ordinary Americans felt was directed at them by the Democrats.
A decade later, that perception is unlikely to be helped by the Democratic lawmakers’ threats to investigate businesses for participating in an arrangement intended to bring additional fuel to the market.
The timing makes those threats extra galling. America is facing an energy crunch aggravated by the Trump administration’s own military campaign against Iran. There is no reason to pretend otherwise. Yes, the president’s decisions helped disrupt global energy markets, and Americans are entitled to demand answers about their consequences.
But recognizing that responsibility does not mean opposing every subsequent attempt to alleviate the damage.
Trump’s decision to temporarily ease restrictions on Russian diesel represents an effort to increase available supplies at a time when the market desperately needs relief. It is a pragmatic response to an immediate economic problem, whatever one thinks of the circumstances that created it.
And now Democrats are determined to make that response costly for the companies willing to participate.
Congress has every right to examine whether the administration acted within its legal authority. But threatening private businesses with investigations for engaging in transactions authorized by the federal government is another matter entirely. If those companies comply with the law, why should they have to fear becoming targets of a future congressional majority?
The actual volume of Russian diesel involved is almost beside the point. Moscow initially pledged to release some 300,000 metric tons of diesel, with further shipments promised in the following months – a modest quantity compared to America’s enormous fuel consumption.
But that’s not what the markets will be reacting to. They react to expectations, regulatory certainty and the willingness of businesses to undertake transactions without fearing political retaliation. And now, even a lawful, government-authorized energy deal could expose companies to years of investigations simply because a different party took power.
Just imagine the chilling effect.
Today, the dispute concerns a relatively small quantity of fuel from one supplier. Tomorrow, the same approach could be applied to other commodities, trading partners or commercial arrangements that fall afoul of Washington’s shifting ideological priorities.
In effect, the Democrats want to hold American energy security hostage to domestic political warfare.
And for what? The ostensible objective is to keep pressuring Russia.
For years, Moscow has faced sweeping Western sanctions, restrictions on financial transactions and efforts to shut its energy exports out of international markets. None of this has forced Russia to accept any of the West’s demands.
Russia has shown it can adapt and endure economic pressure. While not entirely painless, sanctions have consistently failed to produce the political outcome their advocates have called and hoped for.
Meanwhile, Moscow has repeatedly signaled that it remains prepared to negotiate to reasonable counterparts that would take Russia’s own security concerns and national interests into account. Whether those positions are acceptable to Washington is a matter for diplomacy – and refusing to talk altogether is not diplomacy.
Trump is willing to acknowledge that Russia remains a major power with which the US must eventually find a workable relationship. It’s the baseline level of recognition of political reality one expects from the leader of a major world power.
What the Democrats are doing is the international-politics equivalent of pressing their hands to their ears and shouting ‘La La La’ at the top of their lungs.
The truck driver paying more at the pump, the farmer counting operating costs for the next season and the small-business owner watching expenses climb have little interest in Washington’s political theater. They want affordable fuel, predictable costs and a government that remembers whom it is supposed to serve.
Threatening investigations to discourage companies from helping supply the American market is not sending the message the Democrats seem to think it’s sending. It suggests that, to them, political obedience matters more than keeping the country running.
And ordinary Americans could once again be left paying the bill.
Right-wing firebrand Marine Le Pen is widely seen as the front runner in the election scheduled for next spring, according to several polls
France’s presidential hopefuls are turning burning streets, smashed storefronts, and accusations of police brutality into campaign ammunition, RT’s Oumaima Ichchar has reported.
While right-wing firebrand and potential front runner Marine Le Pen blames collapsing state authority, her left-wing rival, Jean-Luc Melenchon, accuses the government of failing to hear the voice of the people.
Nationwide protests began in September over underfunded schools and rising living costs, and escalated into widespread violence last week. Rioters have torched cars, looted or damaged thousands of businesses, and set fire to Limoges’ 143-year-old city hall. The clashes have also left hundreds of protesters and law enforcement officers injured and led to thousands of arrests.
In some of the most brazen incidents, a 15-year-old boy lost a hand to a police grenade, while a 17-year-old girl permanently lost sight in one eye after being struck by a projectile in Mulhouse. Macron, meanwhile, blamed radical-left militants and criminals for much of the destruction, and on Thursday ordered the local authorities to ban protests and restrict officially organized marches.
The unrest came ahead of the French presidential election scheduled for the spring of 2027, in which Macron is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term. His potential successors, however, have scrambled to use the protests to score votes.
Le Pen has urged a tougher crackdown on rioters to restore order. “Our country is caught in a vice, if not held hostage, between violence and powerlessness,” Le Pen said, pledging support for police and demanding tougher penalties for rioters. National Rally president Jordan Bardella blamed far-left militants and criminals from the suburbs for the unrest, proposing to suspend family benefits for repeat offenders and make vandals pay for damage.
On the left, Melenchon backed the protests while pointing to a growing disconnect between the public and the institutions. “French democracy is in a very bad way,” the ‘France Unbowed’ leader said, calling for greater public participation and constitutional change.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Attal and Edouard Philippe, two former prime ministers under Macron, sought to distance themselves from their ex-boss, whose approval rating has sunk to a record low of 15%, according to an October Ipsos survey. While Attal insisted that the priority should be the defense of people and property, Philippe called for the “reestablishment of the authority of the state, the punishment of looters and vandals, as well as a detailed method for restoring discussion with high school students and trade union organizations.”
Recent polls show Le Pen – who has long ridden a wave of public discontent over immigration, crime, and the rising cost of living – holding a commanding lead over her rivals ahead of the 2027 election. An OpinionWay survey published on Thursday put her at 36% in the first round, compared to 16% for Melenchon, and 12% for Philippe. A separate Ifop-Fiducial poll conducted after the October 17 unrest also placed Le Pen ahead in every hypothetical second-round matchup, including 56% against Philippe and 68% against Melenchon.
The police suspect arson as the cause, according to Bild
The Eagle’s Nest mountainous retreat built for Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler in the Bavarian Alps has been devastated by a blaze, the German police have said.
The former tea house for the leader of the Third Reich, which was constructed on the peak of the Obersalzberg in southern Germany in 1938, sits at an altitude of 1,834 meters (6,000 feet).
A fire alarm at the Eagle’s Nest went off on Friday evening, and it was completely engulfed in flames by the time emergency services arrived, the police said.
The high elevation complicated the work of some 200 fire fighters, who were only able to extinguish the blaze on Saturday morning, they added.
“It is damaged to a large extent. The house is unlikely to be saved,” a police spokesperson told Bild tabloid.
The police said that a suspect had been arrested in connection with the fire, but revealed no further details.
According to Bild, the detained person was a motorcyclist whom the officers encountered on their way to the burning retreat, but his involvement in the case currently remains unclear. Investigators believe arson caused the fire, the paper’s sources claimed.
Following reports of the blaze, the Bavarian authorities announced plans to rebuild the structure, Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said.
“We will not allow ruins to remain there,” DPA quoted him as saying.
The Eagle’s Nest was one of the few historic building from Hitler’s era to avoid damage by bombing during the World War II. The retreat hosted a museum and a restaurant since the 1950s, becoming a popular tourist destination. It was preserved as “a cautionary reminder of the abysses of the inhumane Nazi dictatorship,” according to its website.
Senate Democrats reportedly plan to investigate US companies involved in the deal, while Republican warhawk Brian Fitzpatrick has tabled a bill blocking Russian oil imports outright
A number of American lawmakers intend to block the Trump administration’s deal to ease sanctions on Russian diesel through April and are threatening action against US companies involved in the trade. The bipartisan group is also planning to block the US Treasury from issuing such a waiver in the future.
US President Donald Trump announced the deal earlier this month, as US diesel prices hit a record $6.50+ per gallon in September and prices in parts of California topped $8. Under the waiver, struck just weeks ahead of the impending November midterm elections, Moscow agreed to immediately put 300,000 tons of diesel into the market, and commit to further releases.
The disruption of global energy markets, caused by the Iran war and the Ukraine conflict, has resulted in rising gas prices in the US, further denting the positions of Republicans ahead of the vote. Diesel is the key fuel type extensively used in agriculture and freight; its price affects the cost of virtually all goods, resulting in further cost-of-living issues. Rural communities, smalltime farmers, and truckers are particularly vulnerable to diesel prices spikes.
Senate Democrats are now seeking to investigate the diesel deal, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing an unnamed Senate Democratic aide. According to the aide, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has requested companies involved in the scheme to preserve documents ahead of a possible probe by the panel.
“[The companies] should have liability concerns as well as investigative concerns,” the aide told WaPo.
Further action against the diesel deal has been taken by Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1), an outspoken hawk, Ukraine backer, and proponent of sanctions against Russia. The proposed legislation, titled the Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Act of 2026, would effectively block Russian oil imports for good.
The bill would nullify the standing Russian oil waiver, “immediately rendering General License 135 ineffective and prohibiting future waivers or general licenses authorizing the importation of Russian energy products,” as well as strip the Treasury from the ability to expend funds “on agreements that violate the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act of 2022,” the legislation that sanctioned Russian energy products, including diesel, in the first place.
Apart from the energy part, the bill also would “reinforce critical intelligence support for Ukraine,” obliging spy agencies to cooperate with Kiev and to “notify congressional intelligence committees within 24 hours of any interruption.”
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