October 20, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• At least 36 Palestinians were killed in Israeli military strikes across Gaza over the weekend, despite the recent cease-fire agreement, according to local health officials. Israeli military officials say forces struck dozens of Hamas targets after troops came under fire. Reports today say Israel has resumed enforcing the cease-fire and will allow the resumption of aid deliveries to the Palestinian enclave. [more]
• Reports say Iran-backed Houthi rebels detained at least 20 United Nations employees yesterday in Yemen's capital, Sanaa. The rebel group has repeatedly alleged that U.N. staff have engaged in spying on Yemen – charges that the U.N. has denied. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,334 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• U.S. President Donald Trump suggested yesterday that Ukraine's Donbas region should be "cut up" along current battle lines, leaving most of it in Russian control, as a step toward ending the war in Ukraine. Reports also cite Trump as urging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a Friday meeting to accept Russian terms for ending the war, warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin had said he would destroy Ukraine if it did not agree. [more on Donbas] [more on Russian terms]
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that his country is preparing a contract to purchase 25 U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems to boost Ukraine's ability to defend against Russian aerial attacks. [more]

U.S. DRUG WAR | Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said yesterday that U.S. forces struck a seventh small boat believed to have been carrying illegal drugs in the Caribbean Sea on Friday, killing three people on board the vessel. Two survivors of a separate U.S. strike earlier in the week were detained by U.S. forces and then released to their home countries of Ecuador and Colombia, according to a statement by President Donald Trump on Saturday. No reason was given for not having detained the survivors for prosecution. [more]

U.S. PROTESTS | An estimated 7 million people took part in some 2,600 "No Kings" protest events across the U.S. on Saturday, according to organizers. Responding to the events, the White House made several related social media posts, including an AI-generated video showing President Trump dropping what appeared to be feces onto protesters from a fighter jet and a picture showing Trump wearing a crown. [more]

U.S. MPOX | Health officials in Los Angeles County, California, say two recent cases of mpox, also known as monkeypox, in residents may be the first resulting from local spread of the viral disease in the United States. Officials note that both patients are recovering from the infection and that the risk to the public is considered to be low. [more]

U.S. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN | Day 19. The Federal Aviation Administration said yesterday that shutdown-related staffing issues were causing travel delays at multiple major U.S. airports, including in Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, and Newark. More than 5,800 flights were delayed across the U.S. yesterday, according to tracking platform FlightAware. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | President Donald Trump announced Friday that he had commuted the seven-year federal prison sentence of former congressman George Santos, who admitted last year to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of 11 people to make donations to his political campaign. Santos was released from prison later in the day, having served 84 days of his sentence. [more]

U.S. AND COLOMBIA | U.S. President Donald Trump accused Colombian President Gustavo Petro of being "an illegal drug dealer" over the weekend and said the U.S. will cut its assistance to the South American country and impose tariffs on its exports. The statements came amidst Petro's criticism of recent U.S. military strikes on suspected drug-running boats in the Caribbean Sea and his call for a criminal investigation of Trump in connection with the strikes. [more]

AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN | Following a series of recent border clashes in which dozens of people were killed, Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed yesterday to respect a new cease-fire that was brokered by Qatari and Turkish mediators. [more]

FRANCE | The Louvre Museum in Paris, France, remains closed for a second day today following yesterday's theft of historic jewels from the former royal palace by a crew of thieves reported to have been posing as construction workers. [more]

E.U. AND RUSSIA | At a meeting in Luxembourg today, E.U. energy ministers backed a proposal to phase out new Russian gas import contracts from January 2026, existing short-term contracts from June 2026, and long-term contracts in January 2028. Reports note that the plan must still be finalized and approved by the European Parliament. [more]

CHINA | The Chinese government begins its policy-setting "fourth plenum" meeting today, during which President Xi Jinping and other Communist Party leaders are set to map out their country's goals for the 2026-2030 period. [more]

CHINESE ECONOMY | According to government data released today, China's economic growth slowed to 4.8% in the July-September quarter – down from 5.2% in the previous quarter and the slowest growth rate in a year. Economists cite U.S. tariffs and slow domestic demand as contributing to the slowdown. [more]

BOLIVIA | Centrist legislator Rodrigo Paz won Bolivia's run-off presidential election yesterday, according to preliminary results from the South American country's Supreme Electoral Tribunal. [more]

JAPAN | Sanae Takaichi is expected to become Japan's first female prime minister via a parliamentary vote tomorrow that comes just two days after Takaichi's governing Liberal Democratic Party reached a coalition agreement with the opposition Japan Innovation Party. [more]

U.K. | Amidst new reporting on his communications with late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Britain's Prince Andrew has agreed to give up use of his remaining royal titles, including that of Duke of York, according to a statement released by Buckingham Palace on Friday. [more]

TECH OUTAGE | Amazon Web Services, which provides computing services and resources to governments, universities, and companies around the world, has reported a significant disruption this morning. Online outage service DownDetector reports associated issues with numerous well-known services, including Amazon, WhatsApp, Venmo, Snapchat, Roblox, Zoom, Reddit, the U.K. government website, and online brokerage Robinhood. The cause of the issues remains under investigation, according to AWS, which also noted that its services have begun to recover. [more]

BASEBALL | The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-2, last night to force a Game 7 in the American League Championship Series. The two teams will play tonight for the AL pennant, with the winner taking on the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday. [more]

COLLEGE FOOTBALL | Following weekend games, Ohio State remains at No. 1 atop the AP Top 25 College Football Poll, followed by Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama, and Georgia. [full poll] [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "Black Phone 2" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $26.5 million in receipts, followed by "Tron: Ares" and "Good Fortune." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1973, during the ongoing Watergate investigation, U.S. President Richard Nixon ordered special prosecutor Archibald Cox fired, resulting in the resignations of Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William D. Ruckelshaus, both of whom refused to carry out his request. The events became known as the “Saturday Night Massacre” of Justice Department officials. [more history]