Global Express | October 21, 2026: UK Deploys Typhoon Jets to Defend Saudi Arabia as Houthi Attacks Escalate

1. UK Deploys Typhoon Jets to Defend Saudi Arabia as Houthi Attacks Escalate

Britain will deploy Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets to Saudi Arabia to help defend the kingdom against increasing attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels, the UK government announced on Tuesday. The aircraft will protect Saudi cities and critical infrastructure from drones and missiles, the Ministry of Defence said, and will not carry out offensive strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the continuing Houthi attacks on "our ally Saudi Arabia are absolutely despicable", particularly condemning strikes on Riyadh's international airport, which has been targeted 20 times since the beginning of October. Strikes on the airport have killed at least 18 people and wounded hundreds this month, according to reports.

The deployment follows a request from Saudi Arabia and expands military assistance announced by London in September. Britain will also send an Atlas A400M transport aircraft and military advisers, and has extended its offer of air-to-air refuelling for Saudi aircraft operating against the Houthis by another 90 days. Yemen's civil war has escalated since a truce collapsed in September; the Houthis have targeted Saudi oil facilities, imposed a naval blockade and attacked tankers, disrupting oil exports and pushing up energy prices. Yemeni authorities said a Houthi strike on Monday killed 58 people at a training camp.

Source: DW　Source

2. Limoges City Hall Set on Fire, More Than 2,500 Detained in France

Police in France have arrested a suspect after the historic 19th-century city hall in Limoges was set on fire over the weekend, causing its roof to collapse. President Emmanuel Macron vowed during the anti-government protests that "there is no place for violence in our republic".

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said more than 2,513 people have been taken into custody since the weekend. The unrest has been fuelled by grievances including rising living costs and mass migration, with protests reported in Paris, Lille and Lyon and localized curfews imposed. The US Embassy in Paris warned Americans to steer clear of demonstrations, and reports said the October 17 protests turned violent.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Tuesday condemned riots across Europe over rising living costs and urged police to avoid excessive force. He said he deplored the actions of those exploiting protests to commit violence and vandalism against public and private property, adding that they should be held individually accountable, and voiced concern over reports of unnecessary and excessive use of force against protesters, including children.

Source: Fox News　Source

3. Australian MP Loses Both Legs in Vehicle Attack

Australian independent lawmaker Helen Haines has had both of her legs amputated after being rammed by a car outside her electoral office, her husband Phil Haines said at a news conference on Wednesday. The attacker hit her twice with his car in Wangaratta, northeast of Melbourne, on Monday; doctors amputated her left leg and then failed to save her right leg.

"The good news in all this is Helen is alive, and she's stable," he told reporters. "That is the most important thing for our family." The suspect, 43-year-old Brendan Nugent, made a brief court appearance on Wednesday charged with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing injury and causing harm to a public official, as well as cultivation and possession of cannabis.

His lawyer said Nugent has a rare neurological condition called idiopathic transverse myelitis and is recovering from a concussion. Police are still investigating the motive, and Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said there was no specific intelligence indicating a threat to Haines. Haines worked in nursing, midwifery and academia before being elected in 2019 for the rural seat of Indi, which she retained in 2022 and 2025.

Source: Al Jazeera　Source

4. Kallas Accuses US of Pushing Ukraine to 'Surrender on Putin's Terms'

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas sharply accused the United States on Tuesday of pressuring Ukraine to capitulate on terms exclusively favourable to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "American negotiators have been trying to push Ukraine into surrender for already almost two years, one and a half years now," she told the European Parliament in Strasbourg. "Why Ukraine hasn't surrendered on Putin's terms is because Europe has been supporting Ukraine."

Kallas argued that a European presence at the negotiating table was needed to balance positions from the White House that have become increasingly tilted toward Moscow. US President Donald Trump recently struck a diesel supply deal with Putin and eased sanctions until April 2027 without obtaining Russian concessions, has called for new elections in Ukraine, and complained that Volodymyr Zelenskyy was "more difficult to deal with" than Putin. Zelenskyy has said he feels betrayed.

Kallas also accused Russia of endangering security in the Black Sea with an armed blockade and weaponising food supplies, noting that Romania and Bulgaria recently reported Russian drone strikes off their territorial waters. She criticised Moscow for refusing an energy ceasefire and ramping up bombing ahead of winter. Senior officials from the European Commission, NATO, Germany, France, the UK and Poland flew to Oslo on Tuesday for a new round of peace talks.

Source: Euronews　Source

5. Sudan Drone Strikes Kill More Than 300, Including Funeral Mourners

Sudan's army has been accused of launching several drone strikes that reportedly killed more than 300 people, including dozens travelling to a funeral. Sources told the Sudan War Observatory, which tracks the conflict, that strikes in two areas of West Kordofan state on Sunday evening killed 150 people.

In Abyei, a disputed border area between Sudan and South Sudan, 153 people were killed when drones hit a market on Monday, the region's information minister said. A military source told the BBC the army carried out the Abyei attack, saying the market was a fuel supply site for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. South Sudan has summoned Sudan's ambassador to lodge a formal protest, amid fears the conflict could spill across the border.

According to the Sudan War Observatory, a truck carrying around 200 mourners from north of Abyei was hit as it arrived in the town of Al-Dabab in West Kordofan, killing 145 people, while five others died when a funeral tent was hit and 150 more were injured. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the organisation was "alarmed by the continued deadly drone strikes". The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, forced more than 14 million from their homes and left 20 million facing acute hunger.

Source: BBC　Source

6. Storm Adam Batters Eastern Spain, Killing at Least Five

The DANA weather system Storm Adam began to ease on Tuesday after leaving at least five people dead and causing severe flooding in eastern Spain. In the Valencia region, the Civil Guard has evacuated more than 2,100 people and rescued almost 500 since the storm began. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was due to visit Valencia on Tuesday.

The Valencian town of Oliva was among the worst affected, with rainfall of 600 litres per square metre in 24 hours; around 600 people received assistance at the municipal centre and 400 spent the night there from Monday into Tuesday. Emergency operations deployed more than 1,300 Civil Guard officers with helicopters, boats and specialised water and mountain rescue units.

The State Meteorological Agency kept warnings in place in nine provinces on Tuesday, with particular attention to Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. In L'Atzúvia in Alicante province, 713 litres per square metre fell, while Pego registered 632 litres in 36 hours. The rain caused rivers and a ravine to overflow; 145 municipalities in Valencia and Alicante were temporarily locked down on Monday and classes were suspended for more than 100,000 pupils.

Source: Euronews　Source

7. UK Inflation Jumps to 3.5%, Cementing Rate Hike Expectations

UK inflation rose by a hotter-than-expected 3.5% in the 12 months to September, driven by the surging cost of motor fuels. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 3.4%. The reading continued an upward trend from 3.1% in August and 2.9% in July, and was the highest annual figure in almost a year.

The Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday that the motor fuel inflation rate had hit its highest level since August 2022. UK motor fuel prices surged 29.8% in the year to September. Britain is a net energy importer, making it vulnerable to external energy shocks such as the US-Iran war and the struggle to move oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

Markets are pricing in a 98% chance that the Bank of England raises its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 4% next month, according to LSEG data. Separate data published on Wednesday showed UK national debt exceeded £3 trillion for the first time in September. Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey, who unveils his first budget next week, said he would maintain fiscal discipline while driving for growth and giving businesses and families some breathing space.

Source: CNBC　Source

8. Musk Confirms He Is Considering Merging Tesla and SpaceX

Elon Musk said on Tuesday he is actively considering merging Tesla and SpaceX, his two biggest companies. "Do I think it would be a good idea? Yes," he said during a call with financial analysts to discuss SpaceX's latest results. Special committees within both companies have been formed to examine the move, though Musk said a merger could not be assumed and would need shareholders' support.

With Tesla valued at roughly $1.5 trillion and SpaceX at $2 trillion, a combination would mark one of the largest mergers in history. Musk said the special committees have not reached agreement on terms of any transaction and there is no guarantee they will. He is not included in either committee and described himself as a "conflicted party".

Starlink's revenue rose to $5.2bn in the three months to September 30 from $3bn a year earlier, while SpaceX's cloud compute business generated $7.5bn, up from $813m. SpaceX as a whole is not profitable: revenue rose to $27bn from $13.7bn over the first nine months of the year, with a loss of $1.1bn, although it reported a $4.4bn profit in the most recent three months. SpaceX shares rose 8% in after-hours trading and Tesla gained 2%.

Source: BBC　Source

9. Anthropic Posts $80bn Loss in First Half of 2026

Anthropic, the AI company known for its Claude chatbot, recorded a net loss of more than $80bn in the first half of 2026, up from $13bn a year earlier, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company also indicated it could spend up to $750bn in coming years to acquire more computing capacity, including potential deals under discussion.

The main driver of the loss was $72bn in accounting charges related to changes in the value of convertible notes and other financial instruments issued to raise funding, the report said. The figures show the hefty costs of the AI race even as investors look more closely at whether money poured into chips and data centres will pay off. Anthropic's listed risk factors include uncertainty over how to prevent its products from doing harm.

Reuters reported in September that Anthropic posted a net loss of $42bn in 2025. At an investor day in San Francisco last week, some investors discussed a valuation of around $1.5 trillion after the latest disclosures, down from roughly $2 trillion previously expected for the November share sale. Revenue jumped to $16.3bn in the six months to June 30 from $1.1bn a year earlier, while AI infrastructure spending nearly quadrupled to almost $9bn.

Source: Al Jazeera　Source

10. Carney Welcomes Alberta Referendum Result, Says No Constitutional Change Needed on Immigration

Alberta residents voted on October 19 in a first, non-binding referendum on whether to leave Canada, with an overwhelming majority backing remaining in the federation. With three-quarters of ballots counted, 76% supported staying in Canada and 24% backed holding a binding independence referendum, according to Reuters.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was pleased Albertans chose unity and that it was "a very good result for Canada". He said he had spoken with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith; the two first focused on a recent fire at the Wainwright military base in the province and on aid for victims and their families before turning to the referendum.

On whether to amend the constitution to give Alberta greater control over immigration, Carney said no constitutional change is needed because the federal government can work with the province on a sustainable immigration policy. He did not entirely rule out an amendment, saying he preferred to seek consensus with Alberta and other provinces first and would consider a formal constitutional process only if that fails.

Source: 8world　Source