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  1. 1

    Trump announces Russia-Ukraine energy ceasefire as Zelenskyy reports new Russian strikes on power plants

    Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an 'energy ceasefire', effective immediately, without giving details. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the announcement was news to him and that Kyiv would back a truce if Moscow did, while the Kremlin had yet to comment. Zelenskyy then said Russia had hit a power plant in Kyiv with a drone.

    The ceasefire announcement follows a diesel deal lifting sanctions on Russian fuel, which Trump says will ease US fuel prices before the midterms. Zelenskyy has called it a gift to Putin, and Trump has suggested Ukraine needs a new president after telling Zelenskyy to stop hitting Russian refineries. European officials and some Republicans oppose the deal.

    Key facts

    • The US deal with Putin buys over 300,000 tons of Russian diesel now, 500,000 in November, then 1 million.
    • Zelenskyy said Russia hit Kharkiv thermal power station No 5, latest of 200-plus strikes this week on electricity.
    • Senators' statement says diesel deal runs counter to a law banning Russian energy imports; BBC counted seven senators, CBS six.
    • Saturday's Russian bombing in Zaporizhzhia killed 23, including four children; Al Jazeera's photo caption said 16 were killed.
    • A drone attack halted operations at Yandex's Vladimir data center, the third strike on its facilities in four days.

    Commentary

    What moved is leverage rather than the truce: Washington is pressing Kyiv to give up its most effective weapon while nothing in the announcement binds Moscow. That tilt means the real test is whether Russia matches any restraint Ukraine shows, a test Ukraine's officials have already framed as one-sided.

    Sources: BBC, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, CBS News

  2. 2

    Trump's plan to import Russian diesel faces growing criticism in US and abroad

    President Donald Trump said on Friday that Vladimir Putin had agreed to release Russian diesel to American and global markets, as fuel costs soared after the US-Israel war with Iran began in February. Polls show most Americans disapprove of his economic handling ahead of the midterms. Lawmakers in both parties have objected, with Republican Senator Thom Tillis saying Trump may be breaking the law. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the deal a gift to Putin, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting criticised it. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the agreement works through existing legal channels. On Sunday, Trump claimed Russia and Ukraine had agreed an energy ceasefire without details.

    Key facts

    • Trump announced 300,000 tonnes of Russian diesel immediately, then 500,000 tonnes in November and one million more after.
    • Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak confirmed the figures to Tass, saying exports could reach three million tonnes monthly.
    • Seven senators from both parties said the deal violated US law and urged Trump to 'reverse course.'
    • It is understood the US Treasury is suspending sanctions on Russian diesel exports until 7 April.
    • US diesel averages $6.28 a gallon according to AAA, down from a record $6.53 at the end of September.

    Commentary

    The political cost of the deal is arriving faster than any price relief: analysts doubt the volumes will move pump prices, while Republican Senator Thom Tillis has linked his support for year-end funding to the issue. Trump is absorbing a legal fight for a price benefit voters may not feel.

    Sources: BBC, The Washington Post, NBC News, NPR, DW.com

  3. 3

    Iran calls latest US response to end war insufficient as diplomacy stalls

    Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told IRNA that Tehran finds the latest U.S. response to its proposal to end the war "insufficient." He said Iran is no longer responding to Washington, which has accepted some of Iran's seven conditions but must clarify issues. Iran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz to the U.S. or resume negotiations until its conditions are met. Iran's sped-up proposal at the UN was rejected, though mediators keep the sides in contact. Rezaei also threatened cables, data centers and AI facilities in the region if fighting resumes. Iran-backed Houthis have attacked Riyadh's airport, and Iran's foreign minister offered to help start dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

    Key facts

    • Al Jazeera reported Trump is weighing resumed strikes on Iran after earlier ruling them out before the midterms.
    • Vessel traffic through Hormuz remains about 75% below pre-conflict levels.
    • UK Maritime Trade Operations recorded 11 attacks on commercial vessels in the week ending October 9.
    • CENTCOM said a US fighter jet disabled the Panama-flagged Ocean Molica's propulsion after it ignored warnings.
    • Al Jazeera reported Saturday's Riyadh airport attack killed 12 people; Iran International put the toll at 13.

    Commentary

    What moved is the scope of the threat, not the rejection: Tehran's leverage now reaches beyond the strait, so renewed fighting would impose costs on parties far from the negotiating table. Saudi airports are already absorbing that cost, which makes the mediated channel, not public ultimatums, the most plausible place for any exit to be found.

    Sources: PBS, Iran International, Al Jazeera

  4. 4

    China sanctions Paraguayan and Belizean ministers over Taiwan ties

    China's foreign ministry announced sanctions on Monday against ministers from Paraguay and Belize over their diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory. AFP named them as Paraguay's communications minister, Gustavo Villate, and Belize's foreign minister, Francis Fonseca, while Bloomberg called Villate Paraguay's information technology minister and named Belize's minister as William Fonseca, foreign affairs and trade minister. Beijing said the ministers had taken 'egregious actions and statements' damaging its core interests, and that the sanctions, which took effect Monday, aim to 'safeguard national security' and 'oppose separatist activities.' Taipei has only 12 diplomatic allies, and Beijing has vowed to claim control over Taiwan by force if necessary while systematically poaching them.

    Key facts

    • Bloomberg reported this is the first time Beijing has sanctioned officials of Taiwan's diplomatic partners.
    • Sanctions freeze the ministers' property and assets in China and deny them visas.
    • Chinese organisations are banned from doing business with the two ministers.
    • Paraguay's President Santiago Peña, calling Taiwan a 'fundamental partner', visited Taipei earlier this year.
    • Taiwan's foreign minister Lin Chia-lung visited Belize last month; Taipei said both sides agreed to deepen ties.

    Commentary

    What moved is the target: Beijing is punishing individual ministers rather than the governments that hold Taiwan ties, putting the cost on officials personally. Its wording blames 'anti-China politicians' driven by self-interest, casting the dispute as a few people's choice. The bill falls on those ministers and on Chinese organisations shut out of dealing with them.

    Sources: Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, Bloomberg.com, The China-Global South Project

  5. 5

    Poland arrests man suspected of threatening attack on Prime Minister Tusk

    Poland's interior minister, Marcin Kierwiński, said on Sunday that a man suspected of threatening and planning to attack Prime Minister Donald Tusk had been arrested. He gave no details about the man's identity or the kind of attack planned. Police had earlier said they had received information about a possible plot against Tusk and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, and government spokesperson Adam Szłapka said Tusk first learned of the threat that morning, calling it exceptionally concerning.

    The arrest comes as Poland is on high alert after three school attacks in Mazovia province this week left one dead and many wounded, including children, and amid fears of a possible Russian hybrid attack.

    Key facts

    • Tusk wrote on X: "The man who threatened an attack was detained."
    • Jacek Dobrzyński said authorities considered a "high probability" the threats would be carried out.
    • Threat information first reached the state protection service, which passed it to police.
    • Moscow denies Tusk's September claim that Russia planned drone or rocket strikes on Ukraine-backing countries.

    Commentary

    The arrest matters less for the suspect than for what the government is signalling: it is bundling a single threat with school violence and Russian hybrid risk into one security alert. That framing rests on officials' assertions, not on public evidence yet, so credibility will stand or fall on what authorities disclose next.

    Sources: ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos