Breakfast News Recap: Ukraine peace push, Middle East tensions and Europe’s political fault lines dominate

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are heading to Moscow and Kyiv with a peace proposal aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, as President Donald Trump said they were carrying a plan and downplayed the wider conflict as not a major issue.  🔗

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In the Middle East, Israeli strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon killed at least three people and injured 23, adding to truce tensions, while Israeli forces demolished 12 homes in Khirbet al Tabban in the occupied West Bank, leaving about 70 people homeless.  🔗  🔗

Trump also imposed sanctions on a Turkish bank and two subsidiaries over alleged links to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force, even as Virgin Atlantic said it is adding fuel surcharges because the Iran, US and Israel conflict has pushed up jet fuel costs.  🔗  🔗

Yemen's government forces said they recaptured the al Khazan and al Makahna hills in Jabal Habashi district west of Taiz city, as clashes with Houthi fighters intensified around Taiz and Hodeidah.  🔗

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In Europe, Germany's far right Alternative for Germany is heading into Sunday's Saxony Anhalt state election with a strong polling lead, raising the prospect of its first state level breakthrough in the east.  🔗 Separately, German authorities say sabotage and attempted attacks on electricity infrastructure appear linked to a militant climate activist suspect, with investigators hunting a 48 year old man.  🔗

Britain's Reform UK is under fresh pressure after two senior officials resigned over claims linked to foreign funding, including an alleged attempt to secure £5 million, while ministers again rejected Argentina's renewed claim to the Falkland Islands after President Javier Milei threatened oil sanctions.  🔗  🔗

Elsewhere in Europe and the Balkans, the EU's enlargement chief Marta Kos cancelled a planned visit to Serbia after condemning public glorification of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic.  🔗 In Brazil, the Supreme Court is dealing with a new split after justices Alexandre de Moraes and Andre Mendonca accused each other of wrongdoing.  🔗

Across the wider world, Malaysia has extended haze emergency measures in Sarawak after pollution from wildfires in Indonesia forced school closures, while eastern Australia is bracing for a powerful front bringing heat, thunderstorms, flooding and snow.  🔗  🔗 Niger says Russia backed Africa Corps helped loyalist forces retake Air Base 101 at Diori Hamani International Airport after a mutiny, and Costa Rica's president said possible US military operations could be beneficial for security, though legislative approval would be needed.  🔗  🔗

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On the diplomatic and humanitarian front, a new Freedom Flotilla Coalition mission has set sail for Gaza to challenge the blockade, and the UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution backing the Equal Earth map to better reflect Africa's true size.  🔗  🔗 Israel's election campaign is also being shaped by the legacy of the October 7, 2023 Hamas led attack, which remains central to the blame battle ahead of late October polls.  🔗

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