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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking at the EU summit in Brussels, said that Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil refineries and other targets are justified, as they weaken Moscow's ability to wage war. According to him, Russia, including Vladimir Putin, does not seek to end the conflict and is escalating hostilities ahead of winter.
According to a CNT/MDA poll, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro holds 46.8% against 45.9% for incumbent President Lula da Silva ahead of the October 25 runoff. Counting valid votes only, Bolsonaro leads 50.5% to 49.5%. Datafolha also registers a narrowing of the gap to two points. Congress approved a constitutional amendment abolishing the six-day workweek — a campaign promise of Lula's.
At the TechCrunch Disrupt conference, Replit CEO Amjad Masad said the company is no longer working with Anthropic and has made OpenAI the preferred partner for Replit Agent, citing cost, partnership, and performance. He later clarified that Anthropic models remain available to customers, but ChatGPT has become the default option. Informed sources, however, claim the Anthropic partnership is still in place.
On the morning of October 14, 2026, Turkish police raided the headquarters of the opposition TV channel Halk TV in Istanbul, halted live broadcasts and handed management over to an external trustee. The prosecutor's office linked the action to an investigation against the channel's chairman Cafer Mahiroglu, accused of bribery, tender fraud and money laundering. The opposition and journalistic organizations called the raid an attack on press freedom.
French club Troyes has dismissed sporting director Jocelyn Blanchard with immediate effect. The decision came hours after a report that the prosecutor's office opened a judicial investigation against the 54-year-old former footballer. Earlier, several female club employees, according to L'Est Eclair, filed complaints over his inappropriate behaviour and sexist remarks; an internal investigation is being conducted by City Football Group.
Students at Berlin schools blocked building entrances on Friday, demanding increased education funding and opposing a possible return of compulsory military service. The action took place at the Andreas Gymnasium in Friedrichshain, the Leibniz Gymnasium in Kreuzberg, and near the Ellen Key school. The protests continue a wave that began on Monday at the French Gymnasium in central Berlin in support of student demonstrations in France.
According to Anadolu, citing medical sources, an Israeli quadcopter opened fire on Palestinians in the At-Tawam area in northwest Gaza City, killing one man with a shot to the head. Another young man died of wounds sustained in a drone strike on Thursday, and four people, including a woman and a girl, were wounded in a helicopter strike on a residential house. According to Gaza's health ministry, violations of the ceasefire in effect since October 10, 2025 have killed 1,505 Palestinians and wounded 5,332.
At the European Council summit in Brussels, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez rejected criticism of his migration policy from the Czech Republic, Denmark and Austria, calling claims of a 'population replacement' far-right rhetoric. Denmark, Poland and Italy unsuccessfully sought changes to the summit's conclusions, while Macron backed Madrid over the crisis in Ceuta.
A BFMTR poll showed that nearly 70% of the French support the October 17 protests against rising prices. The Interior Ministry expects about 250 gatherings and 80 marches across the country; the mobilization is compared to the 2018 'yellow vests' movement.
At the SNP conference in Aberdeen, relations with the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham are being discussed: he proposes transferring employment powers to Scotland and a 'regional economic model', but rejects the idea of a new independence referendum. Swinney considers Scotland one of the most centralised countries in Europe — contrary to the Labour Party's position.
On October 16, 2026, Pope Leo XIV, who is recovering after surgery, held a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The pontiff expressed deep concern over the humanitarian situation in the occupied Oleshky in Kherson region and called for a ceasefire to deliver food and medical aid, as well as for the voluntary and safe evacuation of civilians. The Kremlin said Putin thanked the pope for his willingness to help settle the conflict and wished him a speedy
Democrat Gregory Meeks introduced a bill prohibiting the Trump administration from purchasing and importing Russian diesel. The measure restricts funding for Russian energy projects, revokes certain OFAC licenses, and requires sanctions against Russia's energy sector.
Cardiff singer Jamie Miller, whose song Babydoll went viral on TikTok and entered the UK top 10, has recorded a joint version of the track with Off Campus actor Antonio Cipriano. Miller admits that in early 2026 he was close to ending his music career, and now his song is second in the UK chart only to Taylor Swift.
UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the deal to sell Telegraph Media Group to the German media group Axel Springer will not be referred for an in-depth investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The public interest intervention notice issued in January 2024 has lapsed. The Telegraph has been under external management since 2023 following debts incurred by the Barclay family; earlier, the RedBird IMI consortium, backed by the UAE, tried to complete the deal, but after a ban on foreign state ownership was introduced it abandoned the purchase and passed the rights to Axel Springer.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, at the EU summit in Brussels, stated the need to protect the country's pharmaceutical and petrochemical sectors. According to him, GSK's restructuring with a possible loss of more than 1,200 jobs in Belgium is linked to US demands to invest domestically. He also criticized Chinese competition in clinical trials.
Louvre President and Director Christophe Leribout said that ticket sales will finance 75% of the museum's €1 billion ($1.16 billion) renovation plan under the
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke on the second day of the EU summit in Brussels. He urged against softening sanctions, criticized the US-Russia diesel deal, named Ukraine's financial needs for 2026 and requested a 'winter package' of 300 Patriot interceptors.
Yemen's army 35th Armored Brigade said it captured a Houthi group specializing in drone operation on the Al-Akroud-Kahlan front southeast of Taiz. The number of detainees was not disclosed; the Houthis did not comment on the statement. The detention came amid an escalation of fighting in Taiz in October and Operation Yemen's Dawn, launched on October 5.
