The World

KYIV — Ukraine sent hundreds of drones at Moscow and St. Petersburg overnight into Sunday. Russia's Defense Ministry said it shot down about 1,015, which would make it one of the largest attacks of the war. Video showed fires at a St. Petersburg oil terminal and a data center. Russian attacks continue as well. Zelensky said more than 320 drones and missiles hit over 15 energy sites from Friday night into Saturday. He also said Russia has struck energy or oil and gas targets 76 times since Trump announced an 'energy ceasefire.' Washington is easing some pressure on Moscow. On October 9, the Treasury authorized the sale and import of Russian diesel until April 7, 2027. Trump has also waived some Graham Act sanctions, which drew congressional criticism. The EU, meanwhile, listed a record 1,569 Russian individuals and entities on October 12. Ukraine also says a Starlink speed cap has hampered its drone defenses.

GAZA CITY — The Gaza ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025. More than 100 aid and rights groups say it now exists largely on paper. Gaza's Health Ministry reports more than 1,400 Palestinians killed since the truce began, and more than 74,000 since October 2023. UNICEF said on October 16 that over 340 children have been killed since the ceasefire was announced. HRW and Amnesty say the Israeli-held area behind the 'Yellow Line' has grown to about 64 percent of the Strip. Israel says its strikes target militants and accuses Hamas of violations. Prime Minister Netanyahu is demanding that Hamas disarm before further Israeli withdrawals. Hamas says it will not give up its weapons until Israeli forces have fully withdrawn. The Board of Peace's recovery program has not started. Aid groups warn of a fourth winter in tents, with 1.4 million people facing crisis-level hunger.

UNITED NATIONS — The UN Security Council met on Sudan on October 16. Rosemary DiCarlo, a UN undersecretary-general, urged a mutual ban on drone attacks. She said the weapons are now the leading cause of civilian casualties, with more than 1,100 killed by drones in the first half of the year. She also said neither the army nor the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is moving toward talks. The U.S. and Britain called for an expanded arms embargo, which currently covers only Darfur. The UN says 20 million people face acute hunger. The IPC hunger monitor warned on October 12 of rising famine risk in Darfur and Kordofan. It blamed conflict and an El Niño drought. Crisis Group notes that army advances in North Kordofan and West Darfur may harden both sides' positions, while the RSF continues drone attacks on El Obeid and offensives in Blue Nile. MSF reported a drone strike on a Nyala market on October 16 that killed at least four people.

TAIPEI — China has told Taiwan it must 'bear the consequences' of using a coast guard water cannon on a Chinese fishing boat near the Taiwan-held Pratas Islands earlier this month. A spokesman for Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office asserted 'indisputable sovereignty' over the islands but did not say what action China might take. Taipei called the response proportionate law enforcement. Its security council says Beijing is using militia boats and research ships in incremental coercion. Taiwan also reported a 13-aircraft Chinese combat-readiness patrol, and China said the carrier Liaoning was drilling in the Western Pacific. China has not staged a large exercise around Taiwan after President Lai's National Day speech. A U.S. think-tank analysis notes that the Marine Corps and Japan's Self-Defense Forces will deploy anti-ship missiles to Yonaguni, about 110 km from Taiwan, during Keen Sword exercises from October 19 to 29.

LONDON — Prime Minister Andy Burnham told Parliament on Oct. 12 that the suspected plot against RAF Fairford, a base used by U.S. bombers, was highly likely coordinated in Iran and almost certainly directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Five British men were arrested near the base on Sept. 27 on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offences. Police found petrol but no viable explosives in the vans. The five were released on bail, and two other men, including a British-Iranian dual national, have also been released. Britain sanctioned Ruhollah Bazghandi, described as the IRGC's head of counterespionage operations, and Shahram Ali Reza Tamarzadeh Jakki, a facilitator for the Zindashti criminal network. Nearly 30 countries, including the U.S., Canada, France and Germany, issued a joint statement condemning Iranian plotting, sabotage and cyberattacks. Tehran denies involvement. The public evidence remains thin, and the attribution rests on unpublished intelligence.

BERLIN — Germany's Federal Prosecutor arrested August Hanning, 80, who ran the BND foreign intelligence service from 1998 to 2005, on Oct. 6, along with Manfred D., his former chief of staff. Prosecutors suspect that from 2010 to 2022 Manfred D. supplied him with roughly 2,000 BND documents for payment, and that Hanning used them in his consulting business. They also allege he prepared a security analysis for an unnamed foreign intelligence service. The case surfaced after a September 2025 search of Hanning's home in an unrelated investigation. The Insider found he made at least seven trips to Russia between 2015 and 2019, though media reports say Russia was not the recipient of the analysis. Der Spiegel, as relayed by the Washington Times, reports he had contacts with a retired Chinese general who has said he had not seen Hanning in a long time. Hanning says he is being wrongly persecuted. His lawyer says he kept confidential files but denies passing them on to Germany's detriment or for money.

WASHINGTON — David Rush, a former CIA officer who was fired, has pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, according to NBC News. In the plea he admitted that he disclosed identifying information about a clandestine U.S. human source to a foreign official. Investigators examining that compromise found black briefcases of gold bars and cash at his home, officials told NBC. His sentencing is set for Jan. 28. The disclosure was not charged as a separate crime, and the filing does not name the country involved. Reporting indicates Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton asked the intelligence community's inspector general to open a separate inquiry, though that detail comes from secondary accounts that have not been verified against a primary document.