Breakfast News Recap: Ukraine strikes St Petersburg as Gaza aid cuts, France unrest and regional tensions mount

Ukraine said a mass drone strike hit St Petersburg overnight, setting fire to oil and logistics sites and causing wider power cuts and disruption in the city, in one of the most far reaching attacks reported in this window.  🔗

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Russia said it had launched a massive strike on Kyiv and the surrounding region, while the war also featured a separate account of anti Putin sabotage inside Russia, where a man identified only as Ivan said he carried out surveillance work for Ukrainian intelligence.  🔗  🔗

In Washington, Donald Trump defended his decision to block planned sanctions on Russia, saying he wanted to keep Moscow at the bargaining table, even as he clashed with Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the direction of peace efforts.  🔗 Trump also signalled strong backing for Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel's 27 October election and warned the US may act against Iran.  🔗  🔗

Across the Middle East, a Flydubai captain described being attacked in the cockpit by a co pilot in what Emirati authorities allege was a plot to crash the aircraft into Ben Gurion Airport, while an Austrian Airlines Tel Aviv Vienna flight was diverted to Sofia after a bomb threat.  🔗 Israeli police also arrested 10 people after West Bank settler attacks on an American photographer and a French mayor, adding to tensions around the occupied territory.  🔗

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Gaza's humanitarian crisis deepened as the World Food Programme said it would sharply reduce food aid because of a funding shortfall, and a separate report said the olive harvest had collapsed after orchards were destroyed and access to farmland was blocked.  🔗  🔗 In parallel, Gulf foreign ministers condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia after the coalition intercepted multiple drones near Riyadh and in the south of the kingdom.  🔗

Europe saw unrest of its own, with France's interior minister saying police had lost control in some cities during violent protests that spread nationwide at the weekend, and firefighters in Limoges still assessing damage to the historic town hall after an apparent arson attack.  🔗  🔗 In the far north, residents of Longyearbyen in Svalbard were told not to drink tap water after heavy metal contamination linked to thawing permafrost.  🔗

In Africa, Kenya confirmed another Ebola case, taking the total to eight as health officials traced contacts linked to the first patient.  🔗 In the Americas, Alberta voted in a referendum on whether the province should remain part of Canada or move toward a second binding independence vote, a ballot taking place as the province also mourned the deadly fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright.  🔗  🔗 Brazil's presidential runoff debate turned into a series of personal attacks a week before the October 25 vote.  🔗

In Asia Pacific, Indonesia is battling its worst wildfire season in a decade, with toxic haze spreading across the region, while Australia said its Ghost Shark autonomous underwater drones can launch aerial drones and carry sea mines.  🔗  🔗 Vanuatu said it expects China's police presence to fall over time after signing the Nakamal Agreement with Australia, and Citizen Lab said an ad tech spyware campaign had targeted Australian nuclear and government networks.  🔗  🔗

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Israel's election campaign was also shaped by the battle over Arab led and ultra Orthodox kingmakers ahead of the October 27 vote, underlining how small parties could decide the next government.  🔗 Ukraine's steel industry meanwhile warned that new European Union import restrictions are hurting exports, adding another economic strain linked to the war.  🔗

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