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With the midterms just weeks away, a cascade of attacks across the Middle East has left the Trump administration facing what one geopolitical expert called “only the BEGINNING of the October Surprise,” one that was predicted by another expert months prior.Yemen’s Houthi militants carried out a deadly attack on Saudi Arabia’s capital Saturday, the third such attack in recent weeks. The Houthis have also strengthened their hold on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a critical global shipping chokepoint, much like the Strait of Hormuz, where strikes have intensified over the past several days, Al Jazeera reported Sunday.Vessels have also been struck outside the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, such as a tanker struck in the Gulf of Oman, according to British Navy agency UKMTO data reviewed by Reuters, and Iraqi militias have been discovered to be coordinating with Iran to threaten its Gulf state neighbors.“We are witnessing only the BEGINNING of the October Surprise. Vessels are being hit constantly by Iran. And not just ‘little hits.’ The radius of the strike area has expanded into the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf,” wrote geopolitical expert Brett Erickson Sunday in a statement published on social media.“Ansar Allah (Houthis) are striking airports and energy infrastructure across Saudi [Arabia]. Iraqi militias are ready to join the fight. This is a disaster that a TODDLER could have predicted.”The “October Surprise” Erickson described was predicted back in August by foreign policy expert Trita Parsi, who warned at the time that President Donald Trump’s apparent strategy to “push the [Iran] conflict out of the minds of voters” would likely backfire.“If Washington wants to keep things quiet until the midterms, Tehran may conclude that the optimal moment to strike back is two or three weeks before the Congressional elections, maximizing the political damage to Trump,” Parsi warned in August.Parsi doubled down on his prediction in early September, warning that “all signs” were pointing to a “major escalation” from Iran sometime in October, just weeks away from the U.S. midterms.We are witnessing only the BEGINNING of the October Surprise.Vessels are being hit constantly by Iran. And not just “little hits”. The radius of the strike area has expanded into the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf.Ansar Allah (Houthis) are striking airports and energy infrastructure across Saudi.Iraqi militias are ready to join the fight.This is a disaster that a TODDLER could have predicted.— Brett Erickson (@BrettErickson28) October 11, 2026

Oliver Blume says ‘Made in Europe’ rules to counter rapid rise of lower-price Chinese brands ‘must reward real value creation’The boss of Volkswagen has backed EU proposals to boost its domestic industry, arguing European carmakers need to be able to “compete under comparable conditions” with Chinese rivals.Oliver Blume said “Made in Europe” rules from the EU “must reward real value creation in Europe”, speaking in Paris before the motor show this week. Continue reading...

Yemen’s Houthi militants carried out a deadly attack on U.S. ally Saudi Arabia Saturday that killed at least 12 people and injured more than 300, but the looming midterms will likely limit the Trump administration’s response, according to conflict analyst Hisham Al-Omeisy.“Fortunately, I don’t see them rushing for major action,” Al-Omeisy, senior Yemen adviser at the European Institute of Peace, told Al Jazeera for its report published Sunday. “The last thing the administration needs is getting stuck in another quagmire in the region, especially with what’s happening in Hormuz that has not been resolved yet.”Saturday’s attack saw the Iran-backed Houthis strike Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, which the group previously struck last week and last month. Trump told reporters on Saturday that his administration “may” retaliate against the Houthis militarily, but according to Al-Omeisy, that was unlikely given the administration’s unresolved conflict with Iran, which continues to keep fuel prices elevated heading into the midterms.The Houthis have continued their campaign to exert more control over the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a critical global shipping chokepoint in the Red Sea, much like the Strait of Hormuz. The group announced a blockade on all Saudi oil exports transiting the Bab al-Mandab Strait in July, one that its territorial gains have only made stronger in recent weeks.Even if the Trump administration were to move forward with strikes against the Houthis, such efforts would prove futile, warned F. Gregory Gause, a Saudi specialist at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.“The only realistic solution for the Saudis is an end to the Iranian-American war, in which the U.S. gets the Iranians to commit the Houthis to an end of hostilities as part of the overall deal,” Gause told The New York Times Sunday. “Unfortunately for the Saudis, it is not clear how much President Trump listens to them on this.”

President Donald Trump raced to Truth Social Sunday to announce the brokering of a new ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine — an announcement that stood for mere minutes before it was contradicted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to Axios’ Barak Ravid.Trump claimed that “effective immediately,” a ceasefire had been agreed to by Russia and Ukraine to halt strikes on energy infrastructure. Moments later, however, Ravid claimed to receive conflicting information after speaking with Zelenskyy by phone.“The announcement about the ceasefire was news to me,” Zelenskyy said, according to Ravid.Trump has made similar claims before. In September, he announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop striking energy targets, only for Ukraine to hit a major Moscow-area oil refinery days later.Nevertheless, Zelenskyy said that if Russia did agree to pause striking energy targets, Ukraine would follow suit.“But if the Russians agree to a ceasefire in the energy sector, Ukraine will also agree,” he said, according to Ravid. “If President Trump agreed to this with Putin — please let us know when the ceasefire begins. We are ready and will agree to it.”

A few hours after Donald Trump eased sanctions on Russian diesel, Ukraine set a major Russian fuel export terminal on fire.Ukrainian drones hit the NZNP Rostovsky oil export terminal in Rostov-on-Don overnight, “setting the facility ablaze just hours after the U.S. eased sanctions on Russian fuel exports,” according to the markets account First Squawk. Al Jazeera also reported the strike came hours after what it called a “Trump-Putin diesel deal.”The Hormuz Letter, an X account that covers oil markets, posted video of the fire lighting up the night sky.“This is a products export terminal, exactly where the diesel would leave Russia under the deal,” the account wrote.It also said Ukrainian military sources had warned earlier in the day that the Trump administration’s effort to use Russian diesel to bring down U.S. prices before the midterms “will bear no fruit.”The deal comes as Republicans struggle to contain voter anger over fuel costs three weeks before Election Day. The New York Times reported on Friday that record diesel prices are hitting farm states just as harvest season starts. Fuel prices have soared nationwide since Trump launched his war against Iran, the Times reported, and Republicans are now “triaging the map” as their internal polling gets worse.Trump’s turn to Moscow for relief puts the United States on the opposite side of Ukraine’s long campaign against Russia’s energy infrastructure. Kyiv has spent the past year striking refineries and export terminals to choke off the oil money that funds Moscow’s war.MAGA pundit Brian Glenn said early Saturday, "Trump strikes a diesel deal with Russia. (To help soaring fuel prices, a good thing) Ukraine then bombs terminal to which the diesel would flow from. There you go."

Donald Trump did not take the Nobel news well.Hours after the Norwegian Nobel Committee gave the 2026 Peace Prize to former International Criminal Court judge Navi Pillay, the president posted a nearly 600-word rant on Truth Social at 11:39 p.m. Eastern on Friday. He called the decision “an indelible stain on Norway, one that will never be forgotten.”“This is the woman who received the Nobel Peace Prize over the Great United States of America, whose Representative, ME, settled eight Wars, and many other things,” Trump wrote. “I know nothing about this woman, and neither does anyone else!”He then argued he’d been shortchanged several times over.“In actuality, I should have won 8 Nobel Peace Prizes, not just 1,” he wrote, before listing the eight conflicts he claims to have ended. “Egypt and Ethiopia” made the list, even though the two countries haven’t been at war. So did “Israel and Iran,” with his own administration still fighting Iran.Trump also said last year’s winner, María Corina Machado, had “stated to the Media when she gave me her Nobel Prize of last year” that he “deserves the Nobel Peace Prize more than any person that has ever received it.”Pillay is an 85-year-old South African jurist. Before serving on the ICC, she defended Nelson Mandela and other opponents of apartheid, according to Reuters. Trump dismissed her as “a liberal person who works at the United Nations, who nobody has ever heard of.”He finished with a shot at the committee.“The Nobel ‘Peace’ Prize has been forever discredited by a handful of Radical Ideologues who are Anti-Democracy, and Enemies of Civilization!”The Nobel committee called international law “under tremendous pressure” in its citation. Last month, Trump urged countries to leave the ICC, Reuters reported.Ex-prosecutor Ron Filipkowski responded to the long-winded post, writing, "Donnie having a late night cry."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tore into President Donald Trump over a newly struck agreement he warned will bankroll Russia's war against his country.Zelenskyy told Axios in a phone interview Friday that Trump's move to let Russia sell its diesel on world markets was "not fair and not honest." He went further in a voice memo sent to reporters the same day, branding the deal a "weak decision" and accusing Trump of using Ukraine's negotiators "as a smokescreen," according to the Financial Times."You know, it looks like a happy birthday present for Putin," Zelenskyy told Axios, pointing to the Russian leader's birthday earlier this week. "It looks absolutely terrible."Trump announced the arrangement on Truth Social after a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, claiming Moscow would ship roughly 4.8 million tons of diesel in stages. The timing stung Kyiv. Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Miami at that moment, sitting down with Ukraine's negotiating team and senior diplomats from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the European Union and NATO to hash out new U.S. proposals for ending the war."At this very moment, while our team is speaking with the American team in Florida, the President of the United States is talking to the Kremlin leader, the leader behind this war and this aggression, and is reaching an agreement allowing Russia to export diesel," Zelenskyy said in the memo."This means millions, billions," he added. "Ultimately, it all goes towards the war against people, against Ukraine, against all of us."He called the arrangement "certainly not how partners should act.""In my view, it is a weak decision," Zelenskyy said. "Sadly, a weak decision made by strong partners."Roughly two hours after Trump’s post, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general license clearing the sale and delivery of Russian-origin diesel, including into the United States, through April 7, 2027. Trump’s announcement made no reference to the license.

Recommended dose of hepatitis B vaccine will be withheld from thousands of newborns by Danish researchersA controversial research trial that will withhold hepatitis B vaccines from some African newborns was given approval to move forward this week.It is a central part of the vaccine vision for Robert F Kennedy Jr, the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and a longtime vaccine opponent.This article was amended on 13 October 2026. A previous version said CIDRAP first reported news that the research trial was approved by the Denmark ethics committee. Rolling Stone had actually reported the news first. Continue reading...